Criminal Minds intro song goes HERE (which is something else I don't own).
If you don't have it prerecorded on a handy listening device, feel free to hum along, in your head or out loud, as preffered.
Chapter 2
Reid ordered two medium coffees for JJ and himself, the resolute coffee drinkers it seemed-everyone else turned down his offer- at the coffee stop closest to the airport. He glanced at his watch; half an hour to get to the plane. The teenager behind the counter absently fiddled with his lip piercing, looking depressed and out of place with the classic Italian vibe that the shop was shooting for. His nametag read Jared, and he sounded annoyed as he told Reid his drinks would be ready in a couple of minutes.
"Thanks," Reid said, collecting the change from his twenty. As he dug his wallet out, his phone rang, making him wish that he had more than two hands, but wondering, as always, where he would put the third. He ended up putting most of the change in the tip-jar on the counter instead of in his wallet, at which Jared's face brightened considerably. Reid didn't mind, remembering some of his more disagreeable jobs as he answered the phone.
"Hello, Reid speaking," He said.
"How is my geeky genius this fine evening? I didn't get a chance to say goodbye," Garcia's voice managed to convey her smile even through the phone speaker.
"I know. Sorry Garcia, I was kind of in a hurry--" Reid said as he accepted the two coffees from Jared, who actually managed a smile.
"To meet up with someone named, I don't know, Jessica?"
"How did you know that?" Reid asked, sputtering on the first sip of his coffee (black, equal parts sugar and beverage).
"Oh Vanilla Cupcake, you do know who you're talking to, right? But I didn't call just to stun you with my all-knowing powers."
"You've already done that, by my estimate, about 1,245 times, Garcia. What did you call for, then?" Reid asked as he shouldered open the exit door. "How was the seminar? Did you call to apologize and tell me you've renounced your wicked ways and need my help?"
"Hah, no. You're the one who needs help," Garcia laughed. "I wanted to show you something…here; I'm sending it to your phone."
The image finished downloading just as he settled into his car, pulling the seatbelt across his chest. He studied the image. It showed a young man, maybe a few years younger than Reid. With his dark hair and eyes, skinny build, and pale skin, he could have passed for Reid's brother. He was also dead. Garcia took Reid's long silence as an invitation to continue.
"This is the third victim in the case you guys are working on. Now tell me you're not getting a freaky, black cat, Friday the thirteenth, lost-twin sort of vibe here," Garcia said. She sounded concerned.
"Garcia, that's absurd," Reid said, re-examining the picture. She was right, of course, and that was what was causing her concern. Reid thought Garcia worried about the team too much, and hated seeing his co-worker, and friend, distraught over a case. If he could convince her she was seeing things, maybe she wouldn't worry so much.
"At best it's a…a lost second cousin sort of vibe. Just a coincidence. I'd love to talk, but I've got to drive to the airport."
"Hmm…Maybe first cousin." Garcia sounded unconvinced. "Just be careful on this one, okay?"
"Promise," Reid said, starting his car. "I'm sure we'll be calling you soon enough."
"Thanks Reid," she said before hanging up.
The drive to the airport was uneventful, though the troubling feeling he had when he first saw the third victim—an unsettling twist in his stomach--persisted. Reid boarded the plane, and handed JJ her coffee, accepting her thanks and a copy of the case file before taking a seat.
The team each had their favorite method of attacking a case file, Reid noticed. The usual playful banter that took place between team-members was gone, replaced by the single-mindedness and determination typical of when they were on a case. Everyone but Reid was soon riveted by the file, trying to gather some insight into the dark criminal mind they had been tasked with cracking. The responsibility settled on their shoulders, suppressing idle repartee and driving everyone in the cabin to fixed concentration.
Rossi spread his file out on a pull out table beside him. And on the neighboring seats. And the floor. He likes to surround himself with the case, muttering comments to himself as he worked through it. Next to him, Hotch examined the file with meticulous scrutiny, oblivious to everything else. He neatly replaced each sheet and photo after quickly scanning each, getting a big-picture idea of the case before diving into the details.
Though Morgan sat behind him, Reid imagined that, like Rossi, he had spread the case around him, already organizing and forming a rough picture of the UNSUB in his head.
Across the aisle, J.J carefully leafed through the folder containing her file, taking neat notes on a spiral pad. Like Hotch, J.J was extremely detail-oriented, and was probably already preparing a media statement in her head to give the team the best advantage. Emily bit her pen absent-mindedly, absorbed in some detail of the case. She glanced up at Reid, a strange expression on her face, and Reid looked away. Had she, like Garcia, seen the resemblance? No, he decided. It was more likely that she had just noticed him staring.
Reid turned his gaze to the unopened file before him, thinking that perhaps he should cut back on the coffee, as his stomach twisted. He opened the file, and read the basic case details.
Pico Aldo was a medium sized, California college town, with a population of about 42,000 during the school year. It was about a half an hour's drive from any major highway, and was bordered by large areas of desert: essentially in the middle of nowhere. Reid noted that it was a city large enough to support, and hide, a serial killer, but small enough to need the BAU's assistance.
Reid flicked aside the cover sheet, turning to the section concerning the victims. The physical resemblance intrigued him, unwillingly drawing his eyes to the gruesome crime-scene photos. Since it seemed that their haunting images would stay in the back of his mind regardless of where he decided to begin, he opted to start with victimology; what the three dead men had in common, where they worked, what they did for fun, relationships. Reid knew from experience that finding the common links between each man, even if it meant tearing their lives apart or uncovering carefully guarded secrets, would allow him to start building up this monster in his mind. He pulled out his laptop.
The first victim had been discovered about three months ago…
Their arrival at the Pico Aldo Police Station was met with guarded appreciation by a portly, balding man who introduced himself as Sheriff Steve Wayne.
Reid saw relief in many faces, which supported his earlier conclusion that Pico Aldo lacked the resources to deal with a case of this magnitude. He also saw a measure of cautious wariness in some, which was hardly surprising. They were strangers here, and local law enforcement agencies were usually somewhat skittish around them. Often there was the fear that the B.A.U. would take all of the credit but none of the blame on these cases. The team was typically only marginally successful in alleviating that fear, and it hung around for most of their cases, unspoken but evident.
Reid looked at Hotch and saw that he was scoping the place out with the same scrutiny with which he had picked apart the case-file. Hotch would know how to handle the wariness, toeing the right lines and saying just the right words to soothe damaged egos and spur people into action.
The team was led to a non-descript conference room which looked like it hadn't been repainted wince the 70's. It held several officers; Reid assumed that they had been assigned to the case, and a dirty whiteboard which doubled as a projector screen. One wall was taken up by a large corkboard on which the case was laid out, with so many holes that it resembled Swiss cheese. It looked as though it had been hastily cleared to make room for the new investigation; scraps of paper remained stapled to it, spread out like confetti between reports and photographs of the three victims.
Introductions were quick and to the point. JJ was soon off to contact local media and prepare a statement, while Prentiss and Morgan were sent down to the morgue to examine the latest victim in person, and then to scope out the three dump sites. Soon, Reid found himself presenting the victimology chart he had typed up on the plane.
"I've made a chart containing the case information in order to search for possible links between the victims," Reid said, connecting his laptop to the projector so everyone could see.
---------------------Ronald McCain ---------------David Peterson------------ Tony Sterling ----------
Victim number:----------1--------------------------------- 2-------------------------3---------------------
Date of discovery: --June. 7 ---------------------------July. 3 -------------------Aug. 17 ----------------
Disappearance: --Afternoon (June. 1)-----------Afternoon ( July. 1)----------- Evening (Aug 15)-----
Probable Time
of Death:---Late evening (June 2) ---------Late evening (July. 2)-------------Late evening (Aug 16)-
City resident?----------Yes --------------------------yes-------------------------------Student -------------
Sex:-------------------------M----------------------------- M----------------------------------- M-----------
Ethic Group:------- white/American -------------white /American ----------------------white /American
Age: ----------------------------29--------------------------- 25--------------------------------- 23 ------
Sun Sign: --------------Capricorn ----------------------Virgo--------------------------- Scorpio -----------
Height:-------------------6'1" -----------------------------5'11"---------------------- 6' 0"-----------------
Weight: -----------------159lb -----------------------------147 lb------------------------- 153lb------------
Hair length: -----------short -------------------------------short ---------------------------short-----------
Hair Color:-------------------- brown-------------------dark-brown ------------------brown -----
Hair Type: ----------------straight --------------------wavy-------------------------straight --
Eye color: ------------black------------------------------- blue------------------------ brown --------------
Tattoos:--------------none---------------------------------none----------------------------- none ---------
Occupation: -- Cable Inspector -------------------Illustrator ---------------------Student (psychology)--
Employer:-------- Cable inc.------------------ -unemployed ---------------------- Pico Aldo College -----
Residence: ---------apartment ------------------------apartment-------------------- town-house---------
Relationships:---------- single --------------------girlfriend------------------------------ divorced--------
Personal items
Missing :---------------cell-phone, keys -----------cell-phone, keys-------------------- cell-phone, keys
-------------------------------watch -----------------------ring -------------------------------watch----------
Items missing
From home: ----------------video camera------------------ none-------------------------------- none ---
Criminal record:---------------- none ---------------------none---------------------------------- none----
Recovery site:----------Side of Highway-----------------Public Park--------------------gas station
Connection to
Scene of crime?----------------?------------------------------?------------------------------?--------------
Connection to
Recovery site?------------------?----------------------------?---------------------------------?-------------
Site of first
Contact-------------------------?------------------------------?---------------------------------?-------------
Body posed? ------------------no -----------------------------no --------------------------------no---------
Body washed? ----------------yes -----------------------------yes------------------------------- yes------
Cause of death? -------strangulation ---------------------strangulation -------------------strangulation
Ligature?--------------Yes (wrists, ankles) ------------------Yes (w, a) ---------------------Yes (w, a) --
Torture?-----------multiple lacerations--------- multiple lacerations--------------- multiple lacerations
One of the officers, a young woman with choppy, bleach-blond hair raised her hand.
"Yes, Officer…?" Rossi said.
"Vasquez," She replied. "Why are we concentrating so much on the people he's already killed? Shouldn't we be putting our efforts into catching this bastard before he kills again?"
"Vazquez--" Wayne started, but was cut off by Hotch.
"No, it's a valid question," Hotchner said. "Reid?"
"We look for similarities between the victims in order to find what made the killer choose these people," Reid explained. "Performing this sort of analysis will very probably tell us key information about our killer, like how he gets close to his victims, or where he first contacts them. It will give us some insight into how he thinks, which will ultimately lead to his capture."
"So you're saying a profile will catch this guy?" Vasquez asked, looking incredulous.
"No," Hotch said. "Police catch killers, not the profile. The profile is only a tool."
"How soon will we have a profile?" Wayne asked. "I want to be able to tell my people what they should be looking for."
"We'll get a preliminary out by tomorrow at the latest," Hotch said. "Judging by this guy's timetable, we have about two weeks before he takes another victim, and a day after that until he kills, so everyone will need to move fast if we want to catch our UNSUB before he strikes again."
Please, sir. Can I have some Review?