Hey guys welcome back. Sorry for the delay but a couple family issues arose that didn't involve the holidays. As a result I didn't get a lot of work done on any of my fics until recently.
As a sidenote, I wanted to clarify something, this fic is more of a filler fic than anything. What I mean is that it's not going to be a fic I give my primary focus to unless I am stalled on my other fics. So if I am making progress on another fic's chapter then I am not going to be writing chapters for this. The reason being that I have an outline for how each chapter of this is supposed to go because I am following the episodes while the others I have to make from my head mostly, thus I have an easier time writing for this fic than I do for the others.
Also, I am now considering JJ for Naruto after some talks with a few others but nothing is concrete yet. For Garcia, really people she and Derik are not an item, they playfully flirt but have a sibling relationship hence why both still flirt and tease even when they are in a serious relationship. Hell, even after Derik got married he STILL flirted with Garcia and Derik isn't an asshole who would cheat on his wife, so again the flirting doesn't mean they have an actual relationship that would be ruined by Naruto being with Garcia.
Now, I don't think I have anything else to address from the reviews so let's get this show on the road.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Criminal minds nor do I own any characters from either item.
"Speech"
"Thoughts"
"Radio or altered voice"
"Book, Computer, Letter, Text Message"
* see bottom for explanation
[Translation]
Chapter 4: The Fox and the Hunter
Season 1, Episode 7: The Fox
Opening Quotes: "With foxes, we must play the fox" – Dr. Thomas Fuller
BAU
Naruto was standing in the conference room with a frown as Gideon put up the pictures of the Crawford family; Husband, wife, daughter, and son. He turned as Elle came into the room, "Crawford Family. All of them killed in their home while they were supposed to be on vacation." Naruto stated as Elle looked over the pictures with no small amount of horror and sadness.
"Murder/Suicides?" Elle asked and Naruto shook his head.
"They look that way, but there's something wrong with this that tells me that it was just murder." Naruto stated knowing that his instincts were never wrong on these kinds of things.
"Regardless, we're going to find out for sure what happened. Go get Hotch and the others." Gideon stated making Naruto and Elle nod as they went towards the elevators, "So how's your week been?" Naruto asked and Elle smirked a bit.
"Was fine till now." Elle stated making Naruto snort in amusement before they came across the others with Hotch's wife Haley there showing off their newborn son, Jack.
They came up just as Garcia asked Morgan, "Don't you want one of these?"
Morgan smiled and hummed a bit, "Hmm, I think I'll just stick to practicing." Morgan stated with a grin as Garcia elbowed him and laughed with the others.
Elle and Naruto then walked up, "Congrats to you both." Naruto stated making the couple smile and thank him.
"She-she's amazing. I'm a little terrified." Hotch stated getting a few laughs before Haley noticed the seriousness and decided it was time to go.
"Nice seeing you Mrs. Hotchner." Naruto and Reid stated as Haley waved and the others walked to the conference room.
Naruto's expression then turned serious as he handed Hotch a file, "Bad?" Hotch asked all sense of joy and relief gone from him.
"Oh yeah." Naruto stated as they walked back to the conference room.
"Crawford family, murdered 3 days ago, I saw it on the news." Morgan stated walking in with some coffee.
"Found in the basement of their house while several bags packed for a vacation they never took remained upstairs, unopened or disturbed." Reid read while the others all took different positions.
"Reporter said murder/suicide: Father stabbed the mother and kids then shot himself and local PD came to that conclusion as well." Morgan stated still sipping his coffee.
"Yeah, the gun was found next to the father and there was gunpowder residue on his hand." JJ stated making Morgan nod.
"And now we have some reason to believe it may not have been a murder/suicide committed by the father?" Morgan asked and Naruto nodded.
"Yes, three other families." Naruto stated having JJ pull up a photo titled "Miller Family", then another photo titled "Davenport Family", and then another picture titled, "Auditore Family." The first was a white mother and father and two black children, the second was a African American family, and the third was an Italian family, "Before I was caught, I was looking into the deaths of the Auditore and Davenport Families. All three of these are just like the Crawford family: All supposed to go on vacation, all stayed home, all dead in the basement, all presumed to be murder/suicide, and all discovered five days exactly after they were supposed to have started their vacation with them only having been dead 24 hours. I was looking into one other family as well before I was caught since I couldn't find a pattern to how these families were picked and getting into their homes only showed that each one was hiding or doing something to put up false pretenses despite struggling." Naruto stated before JJ brought up a fourth photo that Naruto had asked for, this one titled "Smith Family." The Smith Family photo showed an all American family with a blonde mother, business man father, outgoing daughter, and slightly nerdy son holding a bowl with a goldfish.
"This was a case that Naruto had brought to our attention when he was caught and we monitored it as best we could, but it wasn't until the Crawfords that something showed up. The Millers were viably killed by the mother, Reese Miller's ex-husband Eric Miller who had violent tendencies and was known to have hurt his wife on more than one occasion." Hotch stated making the others nod as they all sat at the table except Naruto.
"The only problem is that Eric Miller has no signs of ever touching his children and all of his and Reese's friends said that he loved his children more than anything so he could have killed the wife and the new husband but in no way would he have touched the kids." Naruto stated, "He was picked up last night for a disturbance at a bar at his hotel and there was blood on his jacket, which I think is because he went into the house and found them and then hugged his children since there are signs they had been moved." Naruto stated making them nod.
"Naruto, tell us what you know on the other suspected victims so we can maybe find more overlap." Gideon stated and Naruto nodded.
Naruto then moved to the screen before pointing to the pictures, "Alright first up we have Davenport family comprised of Achilles, Abigail, Conner, and Aveline Davenport. Achilles was a lawyer, Abigail a florist, and the two kids were average. It was a starting belief that one of Achilles' past cases got him killed, but that was before the cops found out that he wasn't a criminal attorney." Naruto stated before going to the next picture.
"Next is the Auditore family with father Giovanni Auditore, mother Maria Auditore, daughter Claudia, and son Petruccio. Giovanni was a banker, Maria a seamstress, Claudia and Petruccio average kids. Giovanni easily provided for his family even though there was talk that perhaps he had been helping some clients evade the IRS on some matters. Maria was a bit of a gossip, but had a standing afternoon tea with her friends every Wednesday except for the vacation period. Claudia and Petruccio were ordinary kids with ordinary hobbies." Naruto stated before moving to the last picture.
"Lastly is the Smith Family with father Stan Smith, mother Francine Smith, daughter Hayley, and son Steve. Stan was a government worker, what he did specifically I don't know other than he didn't work for the FBI, NSA, NASA, or quite a few of the known abbreviations that our government likes to use and it was suspected that he flat out sucked at his job and it was a wonder that no one knew what he actually did. Francine was a realtor and part time baker while also being a part time stay at home mom that loved to throw backyard parties, barbeques, and block parties. Hayley was a bit of a hippie style girl, most likely in rebellion against her father, and Steve was a regular nerdy kid, though from what some of his friends said, he'd try to hit on any girl he found attractive regardless of their age." Naruto stated as he moved back to the table.
"Anything in common with the most recent victims besides the obvious repetitions?" Elle asked and Naruto sighed a bit.
"Only common denominator I found was that they were all two children households with a boy and girl, all had some bit of a secret that they tried to keep hidden for appearances, and that at least one member was in therapy, but each one had a different therapist and were not referred to their therapist by the same person or group. The one minor note which led me to believe it was a serial was the fact that all the husbands were missing a wedding ring." Naruto stated making them all nod as they kept going over the files with them both looking for other facts and any mention of the husbands still having their rings.
"Any working theories with the first ones?" Morgan asked and Naruto nodded.
"Yeah, someone connected to the therapists was involved and either snuck in or surprised them under an "unscheduled home visit" before subduing the families. Doing a surprise home visit would let him scope the place and find the easiest way in. Being in the offices would let him know the notes and details of things like hobbies, school, work, and other daily workings. I just couldn't pin down a suspect since there was just no time with other killings coming up faster since this guy had a cooling period of nearly a year at the start and now it's down to just one week. I had other killers that were having far less cooling periods and then I was caught. We're looking at least three families spread over a two and a half year period before I was caught and I'm willing to bet there's some that were missed after I was locked up leading us to these current two." Naruto stated making them frown since that was a decent cooling period that was slowly getting less and less.
"I already have Garcia checking into the therapists of the families to see if there is anyone that overlapped between them." Hotch stated making them nod.
"Reid, you interview Mr. Miller since you could use the experience running an interrogation solo." Gideon stated making Naruto smirk at the kid looking at him in confusion, "Morgan, Naruto, we're at the house since it's the most recent crime scene." Gideon continued making them nod as the three left for the house.
Crawford Home
Naruto, Morgan, and Gideon entered the house before heading down to the basement to look at the main part of the scene, "When being led down here, they had to know the end was coming." Gideon stated as they looked at the workout/laundry room.
"Coroner and forensic techs confirm they were all killed down here. Sam by the fold up bed, Emily a little ways towards the machines, Allison in the middle of the floor, and Chris at the dryer, most likely giving him a prime view of the others dying." Naruto stated looking at everything.
"Alright, Naruto, you're the unsub, how do you do it?" Gideon stated as Naruto looked around a bit before frowning.
"I give Chris the most direct line of sight to what I'm going to do to his family, which means that he's probably the one I am focused on the most. I can't risk trying to bring them all down here at once so I bring one down at a time and ensure they are properly restrained and don't move." Naruto stated as he looked around.
"No restraints found and no ligature marks." Gideon stated knowing that would change things.
"So I used soft materials or I have access to bed restraints like at a mental hospital. I'd only need them for the mother and father at best since the kids I can convince that if they don't obey and behave then I'll kill mommy and daddy. The parents then obey because if they don't I will kill their children and then their spouse before killing them and they can tell that I mean it. So I bring Chris down here first to get him positioned then I bring the others down one at a time. I either wait till they are all together to do the stabbings or I do it one at a time to inflict maximum emotional pain. Chris is forced to watch as those he loves most slowly bleed out and die and he's incapable of doing anything. I not only cause massive pain, but I also show him how this is all his fault. If he were stronger, if he were faster, if he better protected the home, and if he wasn't able to be subdued so easily then his family wouldn't be dying right in front of him. And then, once I've completely shown him his failure and broken him, I give him the act of mercy by just putting him out of his misery quickly and cleanly with a bullet to the head." Naruto stated making the two nod since it made sense.
"Let's go see how they lived, shall we?" Gideon stated as they climbed the stairs up to the next floor and then went to the living area.
"Yard's overgrown, roof needs maintenance, Chris' car needs a tune up and cleaning, but Allison's car is pristine. Most likely, Allison drove the kids to school, which was a private school, so she wanted to keep appearances up for her fellow parents and make them believe her family fit in perfectly." Naruto stated and Gideon nodded.
"Just like the house: designer magazines conspicuously placed, expensive high end furniture, plasma tv, intricate photo frames, and fine china and silver put out at the table and shown in the cabinet. However, behind the curtains is water damage." Gideon stated pointing to a corner area.
"So Allison spent money on the things her friends could see, but neglected what they couldn't see. Wanted to present themselves as a higher class despite struggling due to Allison's spending and Chris having a hard time getting better paying work. However, living beyond their means would only last so long, so where was the bonus money coming in from since I think people would notice if Chris or Allison won the lottery?" Naruto stated making Morgan and Gideon nod.
"I'll get Garcia to deep digging on the Crawford family financials, see if maybe there was an inheritance, loan, investment, or anything that recently came or paid off." Morgan stated as they moved to the kitchen area where Naruto paused as he saw a picture on the fridge.
"Emily." Naruto read at the bottom of the paper with a house, trees, family, fence, and dog all made of black paint, "This is a very one-dimensional picture for a child to make especially of their own home and family. They usually love to add color even if the color doesn't really fit. They typically want the picture to be fun, expressive, and nice to look at. Yet, this picture is stationary, bland, and kind of dark… oh." Naruto stated before speaking the last word a moment of silence later.
"What is it?" Gideon asked and Naruto showed it to him.
"It's not Emily's view of this house and her family, it's the unsub's." Naruto stated making Gideon frown as he took the picture before Naruto moved over to Morgan who was kneeling at the back door, "Electric doggy door?" Naruto asked and Morgan nodded.
"Yeah, no collar was found and the dog would have to have one to get in, so I'm guessing the unsub got in through here otherwise the alarm would have gone off. When the cops got here, house was locked and alarm was activated." Morgan stated making Naruto nod as Gideon came up.
"So the only way in and out the night the Crawfords were murdered was through the doggy door with the collar." Gideon stated looking at the photos while Morgan was kneeling by the door.
"Yeah, whoever killed and controlled this family had to be a BIG guy. Chris Crawford was a black belt in judo and would have fought hard." Morgan stated before he felt a finger at his head.
"You're a black belt too. Only now, I've got a gun to the back of your head and possibly a knife handy. Maybe you could take one or both from me, but your children and wife are in the same room and if you fail, they will die. It really doesn't matter now how big I am now, does it?" Naruto asked before moving to the Living Room while Morgan chuckled a bit.
"Bound or not, threatened or not, Allison and Chris would have put up one hell of a fight, while Emily and Sam would have been crying." Naruto stated looking out at the street seeing the house across the street had no lights on.
"Chris didn't kill his family, and there's no evidence Miller was ever in this house or even knew the Crawfords." Morgan stated before he jumped slightly as Naruto started screaming.
"HELP ME! HELP! PLEASE SOMEONE! NO! NO! GOD NO! PLEASE! MY GOD NO! DON'T DO IT! AAAAAAH!" Naruto screamed as Morgan calmed the officers nearby.
"What the hell?" Morgan stated before Naruto pointed across the street showing him that the neighbor was awake and turning on lights.
"Why didn't anyone hear them scream or cry for help?" Naruto asked looking back at him before motioning one of the officers to tell central that everything was fine.
"Supports your original theory that he uses the family against each other: If you scream, fight, or disobey, then I'll kill one of the others and I'll do it right in front of you." Gideon stated as they kept looking over the house for an hour or so before they went back to the BAU where Naruto was outfitted with a tracking bracelet so he could sleep at the office for the night.
The next morning had them all together again with Reid telling them that there was no way that Eric Miller killed them. As Naruto had stated, Eric would have possibly killed his wife and new husband if he was drunk enough, but would never have hurt his children. He also confirmed Naruto's other theory that Miller had found the bodies and then ran since he knew the cops would never believe him and started drinking the memories away.
Naruto however clued in on him mentioning he wanted to know what his son painted and looked through the photos before finding one, "Reid, when this is over, give Eric Miller this picture from the house." Naruto stated showing Reid a picture by Ty showing him, his sister, his mother, stepfather, and his father all standing and smiling in front of his house while the mother was holding his father and stepfather's hands, "Let him have that, it will be something nice rather than the blood soaked paper that Ty was holding at death." Naruto stated knowing the picture would make Eric emotional, but it was a better kind of emotional than blood splatter.
Reid nodded before they turned to Gideon who was staring at the black picture, "This unsub controlled the entire family like Naruto said, "You scream then I'll kill one of the others."" Gideon stated while looking at the photos, "He had a way of restraining them that left no marks so like Naruto also said, use of soft materials or the straps used for psychiatric hospitals are likely. Lastly, as Naruto predicted, the M.E. determined the father was the last to die based on lividity." Gideon stated confirming Naruto's statements and reads.
"If he did spend time with the families, then it's because he knew he'd have time to spend with them." Morgan stated making them nod.
"Because he knew they were going on a vacation." Reid stated making Naruto sigh.
"Yeah, but that only narrows it to people they told they were going on vacation or were supposed to know for some reason. Since they have different relatives, work areas, and school areas, we can cut out those kinds of things for how the unsub knew." Naruto stated making them nod, "However, I still feel that a therapist is the best choice since it's easy for one to say, "Oh, take a vacation to improve your family ties, your marriage, to celebrate, to get out of the house" and yadda yadda." Naruto stated before the intercom buzzed.
"Guys, we've been digging into the Crawford financials." Hotch stated as Garcia chimed in.
"Allison Crawford was spending WAY more money than Chris could afford, they had racked up some SERIOUS debt and it was not looking pretty for them at all." Garcia stated as she typed away.
"Chris also wrote a number of checks to see a therapist." Hotch stated making the others in the conference room pause as Naruto merely motioned at the intercom showing his point proven.
However, before a comment could be made, Garcia spoke up, "She also had two cell phone accounts…with one being billed to an address in southeast Washington, D.C.." Garcia stated making most of them frown.
"My guess is a brother, but someone should still check it out." Naruto stated making them look at him, "Allison's personal calendar only had the birthdays of family members in it, and there was one marked "F" in December with a heart next to it. Allison doesn't seem like the type to cheat and all the other relatives were easily marked, so F must be a brother." Naruto stated making them nod as they went to gear up for the location while Naruto hung back with Garcia and JJ.
"So how come you didn't go with them?" JJ asked and Naruto shrugged.
"They are going to see Allison's brother, but he couldn't have killed them since he has no connection to the other families. I'd still want to talk to him, but there was no point in going on the raid." Naruto stated making JJ nod, "So how many cases do you have piled up on your desk at this point?" Naruto asked with a slight smirk knowing that JJ had to filter the cases that the team could actually help with from the cases that were isolated incidents that the team wasn't needed on.
"Only about 30 or so." JJ stated and Naruto chuckled.
"You know, I could help you sort through them a bit faster, maybe even help you get some profiling mojo of your own going. It would help you go through the items faster and possibly motivate you to being a full agent and profiler." Naruto stated making JJ smile.
"While I'd like the first part, I'm not sure about the second." JJ stated and Naruto chuckled in response.
"JJ, you're driven, passionate, compassionate, understanding, smart, bring unique perspectives, and don't take shit from anyone. All you need is a bit of profiling 101, some gun and hand to hand practice, and maybe some none dress style heels." Naruto stated making JJ blush a bit at the praise before she smiled.
"Well, I'll think about it." JJ stated with a smile making Naruto nod.
"What about me?" Garcia asked as she was grabbing a cup of coffee and waiting for her search parameters to kick something out.
"Well you're driven, loving, smart, fun loving, confident, caring, unique, quirky, dedicated, and have unique perspective in life and care for things." Naruto stated making Garcia smile, "I could teach you a few profiling tricks if you want, even if you don't want to be a field type or agent you could still be on the lookout for the creeps and jerks out and about." Naruto stated making Garcia think on it as they kept chatting til the others came back.
Later
Naruto and the team were standing in the observation room looking at Frank Fielding, Allison Crawford's brother and manic depressive. Gideon has found a painting done by Emily in his home meaning he had to either have been there, which was unlikely since there was no evidence of him even existing at the Crawford home, or perhaps Allison gave it to him.
Now it was just the difficult part of trying to get him to talk, "Let me talk to him, I've dealt with this kind of situation before." Naruto stated making Morgan frown while Gideon nodded.
"We can't just let him talk to the guy, he's not even an agent." Morgan stated and Gideon and Hotch sighed.
"It's really no different than a psychologist or psychiatrist talking to a suspect for law enforcement groups and then reporting the findings." Naruto stated as he grabbed Frank's pills and went to the room while Morgan merely bit back his response and just watched.
Naruto entered the room and sat down across from Frank, "Hello Frank, before we get in too deep into this discussion, I have to ask if you've been taking your meds?" Naruto stated calmly and civilly.
Frank fidgeted in his seat, "They…they make me feel wrong inside." Frank stated before seeing the painting, "And that's mine." Frank stated pointing at the painting.
"Because Allison gave it to you, right?" Naruto asked and Frank nodded, "I'm going to guess you did something to make her mad or Chris didn't like you since there was hardly anything to suggest Allison had a brother." Naruto stated and Frank nodded while fidgeting.
"Chris never liked me, he threatened to have me thrown in the loony bin if I ever came to the house. Allison got me a phone so we could stay in touch and she'd come and visit me some times, she even brought me that painting that my niece made. Then she came over recently and said she couldn't see me anymore and when I tried to call her a few days later, they had cut my phone off." Frank stated sounding a little angry at the end.
"So what did you do Frank? Had to be something bad if you're guilty about it." Naruto asked and stated making Frank nod.
On the other side of the glass the rest of the team was watching, "For Frank to have gotten in the house, he had to have had a key. Based on his relationship with his brother in-law, you see him having one?" Elle asked making the rest of them shake their head.
"Not a chance." Hotch stated before Frank started talking again.
"I went to the house, I knew I wasn't supposed to but I had to see her." Frank stated and Naruto nodded.
"It's understandable Frank, just tell me what happened." Naruto stated calmly to let Frank's mind process easily.
"I went to the dining window, it was cold out and my breath fogged up the glass, so I had to use my sleeve to clear it. I saw Allison saying blessing over the food and Sam was crying, I guess he got in trouble. Allison noticed and looked at me and she mouthed something, but because of the glare she had I figured it was "get the hell out", so I left. And then he killed them! Chris killed them all!" Frank stated getting angry at the very end and Naruto nodded.
"Was Chris there when you were?" Naruto asked and Frank shook his head.
"No, he wasn't there. There was some friend at the head of the table." Frank stated uncaringly and Naruto narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Can you describe this friend?" Naruto asked knowing it had to be the unsub.
"Red hair… and tiny. White I think. Not sure what else there is." Frank stated as Naruto hummed.
The others all looked at each other as they knew what that meant, "It wasn't a friend he saw, it was the unsub." Elle stated grimly knowing this could change some things.
"And she wasn't telling him to leave, she was asking him for help." Gideon stated making them all nod.
Frank, however, saw Naruto's face and realized what they did, "Oh…it-it wasn't a friend at all." Frank stated and Naruto started trying to calm him.
"Frank listen to me." Naruto stated as Frank started getting more upset.
"Oh… I-I could have done something. No…no…NO! No no no no no." Frank stated as he started hitting his hands against his head.
However, before the team could get in there, Naruto acted by grabbing his arms and slamming them down on the table. He then held them there with one hand while his other grabbed Frank's head and made him look at Naruto, "Frank! Listen to me, you had no phone, no way to get a phone, and you would have been so frantic that people would have thought you were a crazy person. If you had gone into the house, you would be dead. I'm sorry for what has happened but it is not your fault." Naruto stated trying to calm Frank and it was working as he went from self-hating violent to saddened and started to cry on the table.
Later
The team was sitting in the conference room thinking on what to do now, "All the families had a dog and a dog door, so that had to be the entry point." Morgan stated and the others nodded.
"Frank said the person he saw was small, but to be able to get through the door he'd have to be short in stature." Elle stated making Morgan nod.
"We can't be looking for a guy bigger than 5'4" if that and he definitely had to be thin." Morgan stated looking at the pictures again.
"The other unlikely scenario is the person is extremely flexible. An expert gymnast could fit through there with some effort and a contortionist could easily do it. However, as I said, it's unlikely and it's no more plausible than Eric Miller." Naruto stated as he lied on the floor.
"When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." Gideon quoted making Naruto smirk.
"Sherlock Holmes was a fictional character, this guy definitely isn't. We can be sure he's found another family by now." Morgan stated making Naruto hum in agreement.
"Good news is, we should have at least 4 days to find him. Bad news is, if he's devolving then he could just kill them at any point in time. Even if he doesn't get the satisfaction that he normally would get, he'll just kill them and find another one until he can get it fully." Naruto stated making them nod knowing they had to work fast.
Next Day
Naruto was sitting with his head back and eyes closed thinking while Gideon kept looking at the pictures thinking there was something more to them, "He hasn't stopped looking at those pictures all morning." Elle stated as Naruto smirked.
"It's his process." Naruto stated as Morgan hung up the phone.
"Well I hope it gives him something. I've checked lawyers, doctors, tutors, travel agents, contract workers, and I got nothing." Morgan stated as he sighed.
"Why those families?" Elle asked and Naruto shifted slightly.
"Because he's lost his own, it's why the husbands are all missing their wedding rings: He lost his family and now he targets other families. He see's a supposedly happy family and then sees the underlying secret of them that makes them not perfect and he gets angry. He's a highly organized killer which means he's skilled at his job and has above average intelligence. Could be a few different working classes. Definitely male. In the workplace he's socially confident while sexually confident with women. Every offense he commits is carefully planned and organized, the planning and targeting are as enjoyable as the execution. He's meticulous, careful, and compelled to do it and keep everything in its proper place. He does exhaustive research on their targets, every little detail no matter how small or insignificant, to the point he knows every move his targets make and will make. Everything is kept written down somewhere like a book or journal: Bath time, school lets out, dad arrives home, dad leaves, supper, bed, wake up, etc. etc. He plans the work then works the plan with nothing left to chance, accident, or mishap, which enables him to keep control of his life and his targets. Thus, nothing can be out of place by even a millimeter, ever. He plans the work until he's ready and then works that plan. He takes such great pride in it that his work has to be the answer for the availability for it." Naruto stated making them nod before he opened his eyes and sat up making them look.
"What is it?" Gideon asked as he knew Naruto had just realized something.
"He lost his own family and he takes his anger out on husbands. He knows they'll be on vacation so he knows no one will interrupt his fantasy. So, for 3 days he gets to play loving husband and father." Naruto stated making Gideon see where this was going.
"Hotch, have forensics check the fathers' clothes, he may have worn them to live out the fantasy entirely." Gideon stated making Hotch nod as he started the call.
"So why kill them?" Elle asked and Naruto sighed.
"Because the fantasy can't last, so as soon as it starts to unravel he kills them and starts looking for the next family to get the fantasy going again. Only, the problem is that he's not getting the same high and pleasure from the next one and the next one is even worse making him have to keep going again and again until he can find a family that can let him keep living his fantasy." Naruto stated knowing such a thing was impossible since the standards would be too high and demanding to succeed.
"Do we have anything that will help us catch and identify this bastard?" Elle stated as Naruto frowned in thought before widening his eyes and quickly grabbed the case files.
"What is it Naruto?" Hotch asked as he moved to see the files.
"Chris Crawford worked for the IRS, Reese Miller was a secretary for the GAL, Stan Smith was a government worker, Giovanni worked for a Federal Bank, and Achilles worked for the Patent and Trade office as a lawyer." Naruto stated making them widen their eyes.
"That makes them all Government Employees." Elle stated as she got up.
"Let's check out Chris Crawford and Reese Miller since they are the two most recent." Gideon stated making them nod.
"I'll go to Garcia, see if I can help her find some kind of connection between them since if the other families were in therapy, then they most likely were too. Family Therapists often use children's paintings to assess the family unit." Naruto stated making them nod as they headed out to the workplaces.
"We gotta stop meeting like this, Naruto, people are gonna start to talk." Garcia stated with a smirk while Naruto chuckled.
"People are gonna talk regardless, might as well give them something interesting to talk about." Naruto stated making her grin, "Besides talk, when not to a therapist, is cheap." He stated making her chuckle as she typed, "The Crawfords made 12 weekly payments to the Applewood Family Medical Center, what about the Millers?" Naruto asked as Garcia typed before a few beeps later the financial items came up.
"Nope, nothing at all." Garcia stated making Naruto hum in thought.
"How about medications? No one gets therapy these days without a healthy dose of medication." Naruto asked as Garcia typed.
"Just what are you implying there stud?" Garcia asked with a teasing grin and Naruto smirked.
"That everyone is medicated." Naruto stated making her look at him.
"Did you just make a joke?" Garcia asked with a teasing grin and Naruto chuckled.
"Somewhat, it would be funnier if it wasn't true." Naruto stated and Garcia shrugged before typing again.
"Okay, medication usually requires reimbursement for the HMO, but since she worked for the government like I do, we share the same Health Care Provider." Garcia stated and Naruto smirked.
"You realize hacking into the government's HMO database is illegal and I'm already in prison right?" Naruto asked and Garcia merely grinned.
"Well maybe I'll get lucky and we can be cellmates." Garcia stated and Naruto chuckled as she kept typing.
"Ah right there. Nice call, Mr. Namikaze. Mrs. Reese Miller, Diazepam 10mg." Garcia stated and Naruto leaned in.
"Who was the prescribing doctor?" Naruto asked and a few keystrokes later had Garcia finding that out.
"Dr. R Howard of the Applewood Family Center. Let's see what he looks like." Garcia stated before typing and pulling up the picture making them blink at the picture, "Uh… Doctor Howard definitely isn't a he." Garcia stated as the picture showed Doctor Rachel Howard, a woman with red hair.
"Well, she may not be the unsub, but she's definitely part of our connection." Naruto stated as he left to call Hotch and Gideon, "Guys, Doctor Rachel Howard, she works at the Applewood Family Medical Center where the Crawfords were attending and she was prescribing Reese Miller, Diazepam. I'm willing to bet she prescribed something for one of the Crawfords and the other families too." Naruto stated over the phone.
"Alright Naruto, we'll pick you up and head over." Gideon stated before hanging up.
Applewood Center
Naruto, Gideon, Hotch, and Morgan followed a secretary as she led them to Dr. Howard's office, where she was talking with a mother and daughter, "Very nice, Lacie, it's so full of color. It's gonna be beautiful when you finish it." Dr. Howard stated in a soft calm voice before the four entered.
"Doctor Rachel Howard, Special Agent Aaron Hotchner with the FBI." Hotch stated making Dr. Howard frown before she stood.
"Come on Lacie, go with mommy." Dr. Howard stated letting the mother and daughter leave before she turned to the four, "Can I help you?" She asked in a normal voice now.
"I'm Agent Jason Gideon with the Behavioral Analysis Unit." Gideon stated showing his credentials.
"We both deal with the dysfunctional. Though happily I get better results in my line of work than you do with yours." Dr. Howard stated crossing her arms a bit.
"Unless you're the Crawford or Miller Family, you knew them both." Gideon stated making her lose some of her stance.
"Yes, I knew them, but-" Dr. Howard started to say before Naruto spoke up.
"Ma'am, did you know the Auditore, Davenport, and Smith family?" He asked making her freeze slightly.
"They… They were patients here before they died." She stated not sure what was going on.
"I think you should take a seat ma'am." Naruto suggested making her frown.
"Why exactly?" Dr. Howard asked and Naruto sighed.
"Because we have reason to believe all five families were murdered and right now, you and this practice are the only connections." Naruto stated making her decide to take that seat.
"Thi-this has to be some kind of mistake." She stated and Naruto shook his head as he sat in front of her.
"I'm afraid it's not." Naruto stated and she looked at him.
"Wait, you don't seriously think that I-." She started before Naruto shook his head.
"No, I looked you up on the way here. Not only do you not fit the profile, but you're happily married and have four teenagers. I can think of a dozen things you'd rather do than spend three days with your patients' families before then killing them." Naruto stated making her nod.
"That's right. Besides all I did was assess their cases since this place handles hundreds of families ranging from military to cops to lawyers to congressmen to feds. The Davenports were my patients because Connor was having some trouble adjusting to school and they were worried something else may have been going on. I only met the Crawfords, Auditores, Smiths, and Millers once." She stated and Hotch frowned.
"Yet you prescribed medication to them all." Hotch stated since Garcia confirmed that each family had a prescription.
"Well yes, I'm the only medically licensed doctor in the building. If a doctor feels they could use something, they give me the file to look over and I prescribe what I think could help them." She stated making them nod.
"Who did you hand the cases over to?" Gideon asked making Dr. Howard frown before she stood and went around the desk.
"I'll have to check my files." She stated as she opened a filing cabinet.
"You don't use the computer?" Morgan asked and Naruto smirked.
"Nah, she likes files because it lets her still feel in control, correct?" Naruto stated and Dr. Howard nodded.
"Yes, and please, do not read into that." Dr. Howard stated as Naruto nodded and she began flipping through the folders, "Uh… Karl Arnold handled the Crawford case. I'd have to look around a bit for the Miller, Auditore, Smith, and Davenport files." She stated knowing the latter three would have been put in storage after their passing.
"I'd like to see Karl Arnold now." Gideon stated looking at the file.
"Well that's not gonna be possible, he works a four-forty: Four 10-hour days. He's off today, but he'll be in first thing tomorrow." Dr. Howard stated and Hotch frowned.
"Can you give us his home address?" Hotch asked making her nod and write it down along with his cell and home phone.
"I'll get a team out to his house." Morgan stated making Hotch nod.
"In the meantime, we need to see his office." Naruto stated making her nod before handing Morgan the address and numbers as she began leading them through the halls.
Upon reaching the office, Morgan hung up, "Arnold's cell is going straight to voicemail." Morgan stated making Dr. Howard frown.
"Karl's a good man." She stated making Naruto nod.
"Yeah, that's what he wants people to believe, then someone finds a body in the basement." Naruto stated before trying the door finding it locked. Sighing since they didn't have time, he just kicked it open, "Karl Arnold will pay for it." Naruto stated when Dr. Howard looked at him expectantly.
Upon entering, they found everything neatly organized with a wall covered in paintings done by children, "Gideon." Naruto called pointing to five paintings, "Emily, Connor, Ty, Steve, and Petruccio." Naruto stated knowing they had the right guy.
"Where's he now?" Gideon mumbled under his breath before Naruto turned to Dr. Howard.
"I can't believe he would…" She started and couldn't finish her own sentence.
"Where is he?" Naruto asked seriously.
"I don't know, if he's not at home or work, then maybe he's gone to see his family." Dr. Howard stated and Naruto snorted.
"He's married?" Morgan asked and Dr. Howard nodded.
"With two children: Karl Jr. and Sarah." Dr. Howard stated looking at him.
"And how long ago did the marriage collapse?" Naruto asked making her freeze.
"A-about five years ago." She stated before Naruto spoke up.
"Let me guess, around a month before the Davenport family was killed?" He asked making her eyes widen as Morgan answered his cell phone.
"It… it wasn't a good time for Karl, he took some time from work. He-he couldn't concentrate, started drinking. I-I can't believe that- May-maybe you've got it wrong… I-I would've seen…" Dr. Howard tried to argue, but found herself failing to justifiably argue, "Oh my god, I feel sick." She stated turning paler and covering her mouth.
"Where's Karl's family live?" Gideon asked and she thought a moment.
"She took the kids and moved to Idaho." She stated not believing that she couldn't see what Karl was.
"Alright." Morgan stated hanging up his phone, "They raided Karl's place, they got nothing." Morgan stated making Gideon frown.
"Call his wife, see if she can give any insights." Naruto stated making Hotch nod as he did so.
A minute or so later, he got an answer, "Hello?" A woman's voice stated over the line.
"Fey Arnold? This is Agent Aaron Hotchner of the FBI, I'd like to know where you ex-husband is." Hotch stated making her scoff on the other end.
"As long as he's nowhere near me, then I don't give a damn." She stated not caring one way or the other.
"We really need to find him, when was the last time you saw him?" Hotch asked.
"I haven't seen him in over two years. He-he's a scary guy… but, he did call me about an hour ago. I wish he'd go to Hell and stay there." Fey stated sounding anxious.
"What did he say?" Hotch asked making her sigh.
"He just babbled on about how precious family is and…" Fey stated not really caring.
"Did he say where he was?" Hotch asked.
"No, no, he just wanted to talk to the kids. He said he had just met a little girl that reminded him of my Sarah." She stated with confusion clear in her voice.
"Did he seem upset, anxious, or confused?" Hotch asked making her snort in amusement.
"He seemed like he always is: angry, controlling, manic." She replied back.
"Do you have any idea where he might be?" Hotch asked hoping for something.
"No, no, but I did hear kids in the background. Then, someone started to cry and that's when he hung up." She stated not sure what was going on.
"Alright, thank you." Hotch stated before hanging up, "He just called her, she heard kids in the background." Hotch stated making Naruto curse.
"He's already inside another family's house." Naruto stated before looking to Dr. Howard, "I need you to get us all the files on families that were going on vacation this week, specifically ones that are married with a boy and a girl." Naruto stated making her nod as she quickly got a few assistants to help her get the files.
A few minutes later had them digging through files, "There's hundreds of files here." Morgan stated as they kept flipping through them.
"Then we'll send an agent to every home if necessary." Hotch stated as they kept going,
"Ok, Karl's family has the daughter being older and the other families match, so sort through and remove all families with the boy being older. We can also rule out any with teenagers, no dog, parent is overseas, any that left for vacation last week and are still gone, and any where the parents are getting divorced." Naruto stated moving files away that didn't match the parameters.
"Targets would fit the same functions." Hotch stated moving a file away.
"How could I not have seen this?" Dr. Howard asked and Naruto grunted.
"Because he's that good, if he wasn't then he would have been caught a long time ago." Naruto stated as he kept going.
"He have a journal?" Gideon asked looking through the desk.
"He writes everything in it and takes it everywhere, never leaves his sight more than a few moments." Dr. Howard stated trying to maintain her composure.
"It's likely he also collects trophies, if they aren't in his home then they have to be here in this room." Naruto stated moving another two files away.
"Trophies?" Dr. Howard asked and Naruto nodded.
"Every husband was missing his wedding ring. If Karl doesn't confess then we'll need the rings as evidence." Naruto stated making Dr. Howard swallow a lump in her throat.
"Here's one, the Harrisons: boy and a girl." Hotch stated putting it on the table.
"I got two here: The Boyds and the Dunkens." Morgan stated making Dr. Howard freeze.
"Wait. The Dunkens, that's not one of his cases that's one of mine." She stated getting scared as she stood up, "They have a baby boy and a slightly introverted eight-year-old girl named Jackie." She stated making Naruto frown before he got one of the pictures Karl hadn't framed for his wall yet.
"This hers?" He asked and she nodded.
"He took it from my office." She stated now shedding tears.
"Were they planning a trip?" Gideon asked and she nodded again.
"To the Adirondacks." She stated crying making them move.
"Hotch stay here and tear the office apart!" Gideon stated as Hotch nodded and handed Naruto the Dunken file.
"Check the built in shelving, wouldn't take much to pry out a backing and then dig a space out." Naruto called making Hotch nod.
"I'll get you backup and support." Hotch called making the phone call before he started tearing the office apart including the shelving.
Dunken Family Home
Gideon, Morgan, and Naruto were suited up and backed by S.W.A.T. as they approached the house. The captain was using an infrared scanner of the house and found them in the dining room, "We got three adults and 2 children sitting at the dining room table." He stated before motioning his men to surround the house.
The captain then took point towards the dining room's double doors to the yard as Gideon, Morgan, and Naruto followed with the rest of the men, passing the dead dog on the ground as they did.
Naruto counted off before they made entry, "FBI!" They shouted opening the door as the daughter moved to the mother.
"Please! He's got my baby!" Mrs. Dunken stated frantically.
"Ma'am is he alone?" Naruto asked as he cut Mr. Dunken free.
"Where's the basement?" Gideon asked as Mrs. Dunken pointed at the stairs.
"Under the stairs." She shouted still frantic.
"Captain, get them out of here and then secure the house. I don't want this bastard getting away." Naruto stated making the captain nod as his men got the three out while Naruto, Morgan, and Gideon went down to the basement just as the lights went out.
The three moved slowly and carefully scanning the room, "Karl?" Naruto called as he took point, "Karl, it's the FBI." Naruto stated as they moved and found him huddled behind some Christmas decorations cooing at the baby.
Karl then looked at them as their flashlights came on him. All three moved slowly keeping the guns trained on him, "Karl." Gideon stated with Karl shushing him slightly, "Why don't you give me the baby?" Gideon asked as the baby started crying, "Karl, I want you to look at me. I'm gonna put my gun away and I want you to hand me that baby." Gideon stated slowly putting his gun away while Morgan and Naruto kept theirs trained on him.
Karl slowly stood while seeming nervous and slowly walked towards Gideon. However, once he got close, he frowned and threw the baby at Morgan, who caught the baby before it he could hit anything, before slashing at Gideon with a knife. Naruto pushed Gideon out of the way before grabbing and breaking Karl's wrist, causing him to scream and drop the knife. Naruto then pinned Karl to the wall with his hands around his throat, "You move, and I will break your neck." Naruto threatened as he held Karl there, who was choking slightly.
Morgan calmed the baby as Gideon got the handcuffs and hooked Karl up before taking him to the car. Naruto smiled slightly seeing Morgan hand the baby back to Mrs. Dunken.
BAU
Naruto, Gideon, and Morgan stepped out of the elevator escorting Karl, who now had a splint over his right arm due to Naruto breaking his wrist. The whole time, Karl was impassive or smiling at everyone in a friendly matter while being taken to the interrogation room. Morgan took him there while Gideon and Naruto stopped at JJ.
"He say anything?" JJ asked Naruto shook his head, "Well, forensics couldn't find any foreign DNA. Hotch did find a box of wedding rings, we sent them down to the lab to be tested for DNA while forensics are also going over his car and the Dunken house. With the rings were also restraints, videos of the families' first sessions, and journals marked for each family… They found a total of 8 for the rings, journals, and videos." JJ stated making Naruto and Gideon nod.
"We still might need the confession just to further bury him." Naruto stated making JJ look at him.
"Can you get one?" She asked curiously and Naruto smiled.
"Did you do what Gideon asked?" He asked and she nodded, "Then most likely we will." Naruto stated as he and Gideon went to the interrogation room.
Gideon sat down across from Karl while Morgan leaned against a wall behind him and Naruto merely stood there, "Emily Crawford was a very talented and gifted girl. Her brother Sam, a bright, energetic child." Gideon stated while noticing Karl looking at the board behind him knowing there was a mistake there that would drive Karl to be angry since there was a photo that was wrong, "You watched them from the yard for days, maybe even weeks. You learned everything about them, you studied their every move, and then you wrote it all down." Gideon stated calmly knowing the irritation was going to be building up in Karl.
"May I have a glass of water please?" Karl stated trying to remain calm.
"Something wrong, Karl?" Naruto asked knowing that the mix up was eating away at him.
"No, I'm just thirsty." Karl stated still trying to be calm. Gideon nodded to an agent who started getting the water while Karl flexed his hands, "Can you please remove the shackles? I'm clearly no threat to you." Karl asked then clarified and Naruto shook his head.
"Sorry, no. They are for your protection at the moment." Naruto stated knowing that any movement he made from being free of the shackles gave any of the agents in the room the right to shoot him if it seemed like a threatening move.
Karl sighed and started sipping the water he was given as Gideon continued, "You chose families that reminded you of the one you lost. You stalked them, you bound them, you terrorized them, then you killed them… one by one. We have your journals, Karl." Gideon stated making Karl sigh and straighten himself.
"It's my job… to write everything down, to get to know them. I can't help them solve their problems without knowing background. And I make home visits… sometimes without their knowledge because people lie." Karl stated as he got a bit more angered while Gideon just smirked, "You of all people, should know that." Karl stated before Gideon showed a picture of Reese Miller's family making Karl scoff, the Crawford Family was shown making him roll his eyes, then the Auditore family making snort, the Smith family making him click his tongue, and then the Davenport Family making him glare.
"Eric Miller was an awful husband and father. Allison Crawford hemorrhaged money her husband didn't have. Giovanni was more concerned helping clients keep their money then he was about his family's happiness. Stan Smith regularly blew money they didn't have and then expected people to just give him money for no reason. Achilles was too kind and soft with his children, Aveline regularly got into trouble at school and Connor was fighting with every boy he could. Such things can strain any marriage." Karl stated making Gideon nod before he showed him his own family picture making Karl bite his lip.
"On the surface, that looks like any family, U.S.A. 2 parent household, 2 kids, boy and girl. If you look a little closer, you'll see their body language tells a different story. The woman and children are distant from the man. Their smiles are stiff. Their eyes are frightened. Every hair is in place, wearing their Sunday best, their own private Hell being memorialized on film." Naruto stated while Karl was only half listening as the mistake on the board was still eating away at him.
"Something wrong?" Gideon asked as Karl kept squirming and trying to control himself.
"It isn't right." Karl ground out trying to control himself.
"What's not?" Naruto asked feigning ignorance.
Karl snarled, "You got the pictures, mixed up!" He shouted with Naruto having the agents stand down as Karl pointed at the board, "The one in the middle, THAT is Sam Crawford's. It…should…be…Ty…MILLER'S!" He shouted as Gideon turned to look at the board, "You need… to swap them. You NEED to make it right." Karl stated breathing heavily.
Naruto stood and moved over before pointing to a child's foot with white skin that was among the Miller Family crime scene photos, "This one right here?" Naruto asked pointing to it.
"What the hell have I been trying to tell you?" Karl stated nearly dumbfounded.
"You're right. They're switched. That is Sam Crawford's foot with the Miller family, but how did you know that, Karl?" Naruto stated then asked as he looked at him.
Karl merely turned his head away as JJ walked up a bit seeing they had him. It wasn't much longer till he confessed telling them everything he did to avoid the death penalty. Giving every detail of each family and how he did it all with no shame, hesitation, or remorse.
When asked why the father last, he replied, "So he could see… what happens to families when the head of household isn't strong. Wives wither. Children perish. But me? I'm an excellent father." He stated while crying a bit knowing he had no chance of seeing his family again.
Naruto merely shook his head before leaving, even now the fool was too blind to see that he was no better than anyone else he found fault in.
Coming back to the bullpen, Naruto saw Elle sitting there, "Congrats, you got to close a case that had been eating at you." Elle stated offering him some water, which he took.
"Yeah, but if I had been faster years ago, I could have saved four families." Naruto stated not really feeling sorry for himself, but wished he could have helped them.
"Hey, we do what we can when we can, you're the one always talking about how we can't save anyone no matter how hard we try. Don't beat yourself up over something beyond your control." Elle stated taking his hand making him smile a bit before the Marshalls arrived making him sigh before he kissed her hand and walked off.
"Make sure Reid gives Eric Miller that photo." Naruto called as he left.
Elle for her part, blushed a bit before going back to her paperwork glad that she'd get to see the blonde haired man again.
Unknown Place and Time
"So it's been confirmed? Naruto Namikaze is working for the BAU to take down different killers?" A male voice asked in a darkened room with a few others.
"Yes sir, he's escorted from prison to the BAU by an armed transport of Martials before going around the country with their top team." Another male voice stated while another growled.
"I don't give a damn who we have to go through! I want him to suffer for what he's done." The third male voice growled angrily.
"And he will, but we will not jeopardize ourselves or our operations to get him. He knows too much and showing our hand early could be disastrous for us. For now, we wait and prepare." The first voice stated with authority making the others sound off in agreement, even if the third voice's was reluctant.
"I don't care what it costs or takes, I'll get that miserable bastard for what he did to my son." The third person thought already making his own plans for when the time came. If his allies wouldn't help him, then they were dead weight and expendable.
Done!
Naruto caught a killer, but he's being targeted by a group of individuals now. Who are they? What do they have against Naruto? Does Naruto even know who they or what he supposedly knows?
All that will be revealed… later!
Anyway, I used the Davenport (plus Aveline), Auditore, and Smith family since the episode only gave five of the eight families that Karl Arnold killed. Three of which you only learn if you look closely at the tapes in Karl's little hiding spot. So I decided to do some families from other items to fill in the missing 3.
Keep checking my profile for polls especially since it's looking like I'll have to redo my current one again after I've cut the bottom choices.
That's about it, so I'll y'all later!