Here's the next installment for you all. I want to say thank you so much for the positive feedback I've recieved after just one chapter. You guys are absolutely amazing!. I tried to get back to a few of you!
Without further ado...
"So the only thing that's consistent is the messages left. Other than that his Victimology is all wrong" Rossi sighed as the BAU regrouped at the Police station. The sun had set which meant that the next murder would more than likely happen within the next few hours.
"And that's what makes him dangerous, he's killing for thrills, now that he's started he can't stop and his kills seem to be escalating" Reid chipped in his eyes still scanning the map on the large board. There was a considerable distance between each area and no pattern from what he could see but getting between them within an hour or two was very possible. "I've tried to isolate locations where he could be coming from, and the most likely place is anywhere in this radius" He said circling a large portion of the map between each murder.
"Okay we'll get a heavier police presence around that area" Hotch said looking through more of the folders in front of him. "What have we learnt from the post mortem on each of the victims?" He asked turning to look at Rossi and Reid who went to the second crime scene.
"Lynsey was stabbed 26 times, but she didn't die quickly. She bled out on the floor and died within a few minutes. So the killer hung around, waiting for her to die before posing her on her back, legs crossed but arms out beside her" Rossi spoke up as they all looked at the photo of the pretty youngster in front of them.
"Emma and Max weren't killed at the same time. Max was killed first judging by the time of death and he too bled out from his wounds. Stabbed 15 times in the upper body. Emma had been stabbed repeatedly and was still alive when she was hung up to the tree, even with her stab wounds counting up to 18 times and the fact she too was bleeding out it was asphyxiation that killed her due to the rope around her neck. She would have been too weak to do anything to prevent it" Emily said recounting what the coroner had told her and Morgan.
"Me and Prentiss believe that he killed Max Barnes first to eliminate the serious threat. So we think he's not the strongest of people, strong enough to lift a young girl who was barely a hundred pounds but not strong enough to take on a man who was more muscle than bone. The drag marks from the front door around to the back were prominent, so he struggled with the man's weight" Morgan added on and Hotch and JJ nodded, glad that they were building some kind of physical profile.
"Good work guys" Hotch nodded, pleased by their thorough analysis of the scene. Though he was never surprised by it anymore. Putting the two of them together was the best thing he did, they were a perfect team, no matter what situation and he hadn't questioned their logic nor skills, he didn't need to.
"What did you get from your scene?" Emily asked and JJ began to speak recounting what they learnt from theirs.
"Not much at all. Jack Hartman's body had already been removed almost a day ago but the scene hadn't been touched since. There was nothing. The only thing we got from there was that the door to the warehouse had been jimmied, so he didn't have a key meaning it probably wasn't a place that he was too familiar with. The coroner confirmed that it was a quick kill, the hook severed the carotid artery killing him almost instantly" JJ said giving her recount. "The Detectives out there are still trawling through the CCTV to see if we can find out how he managed to lure the kid into the place".
As they spoke the conference phone in front of them buzzed and Hotch answered knowing who it would be. "Hello my very own crime fighters, I've got what you've asked from me" Penelope sang down the phone and the group came and huddled around the table hearing what she had to say.
"What have you got us Garcia?".
"Okay first things for my terrific twosome Emily and Derek, I looked through everything I could, social lives, where they eat, where they work and I got Zilch. But there is one thing they all have in common, and I believe that this technical genius here had found out how he first met his victims. In the last two weeks all three of the house owners had problems with their home landlines, and each one of them had been in touch with the same repair company to come and fix it, DW Repairs" Garcia spoke urgently down the phone and Reid jotted it down quickly on the pad in front of them.
"Have you got staff records?" Hotch asked down the phone.
"That's where things get weird. When I looked up who worked for them there was nothing, no trace of a human being there, and it's not even a legitimate company. It has no records, nothing, just a crappy name" She finished with a sigh as she nibbled at her pen anxiously awaiting her next orders.
"Strange" Rossi mused leaning back in his chair. "Looks like he was freelancing then, posing as a legitimate company to gain access into their houses. So it explains how he met them, but not how he continually knew where they were, who they were with" He continued and the others absorbed his words.
"Also lovelies the victims from the last murders had some weird phonecalls before they were killed, and I mean literally just before. Three of the calls last around 5 seconds but the last one lasted around five minutes. And before you say it yes I tried to trace the call but the number is unrecognisable and literally untraceable. I'll keep trying though" She added on making sure to give them everything she could.
"Okay thanks baby girl, keep on digging" Morgan said and Garcia clicked hang up instantly going back to work.
"So we know how he got access to his victims, posing as a repairman. But how could he keep an eye on them, all three of them enough to know where they would be" Reid spoke his face scrunched up as he thought extremely hard about it all. He was getting frustrated by how confusing the killer was.
Emily was sat silently as Reid's words rang in her ears. How could he be watching them?. He meets them through fixing their phones… Fixing their phones. At that moment and idea popped into her head and leaned forward quickly, startling JJ who was sat next to her.
"What if he wasn't watching them?. What if he was listening to them. Think about it, he goes in to fix their phones, whilst doing it he messes around with the thing and places a bug into the line. He doesn't need to see them because he can hear everything their saying" Emily spoke loudly and the others nodded in appreciation.
"And to anyone who doesn't know a lot about phones it would be unrecognisable, they'd have no idea whatsoever" JJ spoke a slight smile on her face as she nudged her friend. Finally they were getting somewhere, all thanks to Emily's quick thinking.
"It's the perfect way to spy on them whilst he's doing something else, stick in some headphones and he can hear every plan they make, what they're cooking" Reid said jumping up to his feet and going back to his board. "He's got to be in this area somewhere for him to reach potential customers or in his case victims, he must have a van or something reasonably big for the tools and cables, I know it's a stretch but we may have to ask the Detectives to look for a van that is spotted in the area at the time of each murder." Reid said and Hotch nodded in agreement.
"It's not much but it's a start, now we're getting somewhere" Hotch said closing the file and standing up. "We'll have to brief everyone out there on what we have". Hotch said and the group began to put together the profile on who this man would be.
0o0o0o0o0o
"You're looking for a white male between the ages of 25 an 40" Rossi said standing before the entire precinct his colleagues by his side.
"He'll more than likely be in repairman uniform. Tools on his belt a hat on his head and driving a van or large truck. He's also not going to be physically imposing, thin and quite wiry" Emily said stepping forward as she took over from Rossi.
Seamlessly Morgan began to speak. "If he has been bugging the phone's then he's tech savvy, so he probably knows his way around electronics and more than likely he'll be socially awkward, he's not good interacting with people hence why he's using their phones to track them and not himself".
"Have a look around the City centre and check out any hardware stores that would sell the necessary items to commit these acts, that's all for now we'll get back to you when we find out more" Hotch ordered and obediently the officers began filtering out and getting to their tasks given to them.
"Okay I'll ask Detective Jones to send a few of his officers around to the crime scenes to collect the phones. Reid I know its late but we don't have anytime to waste. I want you to go to Lynsey's parents house and Rossi I want you to go to Jack Hartman parents house and talk to them. Try and work out why he'd be out that deep into town at that hour. Morgan and Prentiss I want you to join up with the Detectives and scour the area, you'll be able to help the officers know what they're looking for. JJ I want you to set up a press conference, encourage anyone who has had contact with DW Repairs to come forward and give us descriptions and anything that could help with the investigation" Hotch ordered in his usual brisk tone and the group dispersed.
Morgan and Prentiss made their way out of the police station and opened the back of the SUV pulling out their FBI vests and chucking them on. Quickly they chucked in their ear pieces and grabbed their weapons holstering them to their sides before the two jumped into the large vehicle. Detective Jones had already sent the co-ordinates to the GPS, so all they had to do was join up with the primary team.
The two drove in a comfortable silence both doing their silent inwardly recon. As Morgan drove through the quiet streets he snuck a glance at Prentiss who was looking out of the side window her forehead scrunched up. He knew that look well, the 'combing through every piece of evidence' look which had been stuck on her face since the investigation had started that very morning. He knew something was bugging her. Trying to lighten the mood a little he found his voice. "I still can't believe they took the radio's out of these SUV's, could do with some music seems as we're probably gonna be driving around for the next few hours" He smiled and finally she looked away from the window a small smile playing on her lips.
"My voice annoying you?" She smirked back shifting her position.
"Princess you know your voice is music to my ears, but you've been silent for the last twenty minutes" He said softly eyes flicking between her and the road.
She was glad he was looking back at the road as he wouldn't notice the pink hue that crept up her neck at his words. Before Doyle his flirty comments never fazed her and she took them with a pinch of salt but now she couldn't help but want him to say them more. "Sorry" She said finding her voice as she composed herself. "This is just weird, I've said it once and I'll say it again I've seen these killings somewhere" She spoke up and he nodded, thinking that was what was bugging her.
"I get you Prentiss, but don't overthink it too much just yet" He reassured as they pulled up to where a group of officers were sat on the hood of the police cars. Emily was about to get out when Derek put his hand on her forearm, preventing her movements. "Don't worry Princess, we'll get this sorted and hopefully that little thing that's nagging you is nothing okay" He cooed softly and she smiled back at him, grateful for the reassurance and patting his hand gently she hopped out of the car, the place where his hand had been was practically scolding her skin. Rubbing it quickly shook all thoughts of it out of her head, now wasn't the time for this, she had work to do. So falling into step with her closest friend they briefed the officers on all they should know.
0o0o0o0o0o
The Unsub was sat in his van a smile on his blood soaked face. The thrill he had felt from this kill was through the roof, and the sound, oh the sweet sound of her screams and the angry sound of the chainsaw as it sawed through her bones was amazing.
He ripped off his gloves and dropped them beside him before picking up the small video camera he stored in the glove compartment. Turning it on he flicked backwards, passed the recent video, he'd save that for later, and finally he came to the one he wanted. Clicking play he was well and truly mesmerized as his eyes stuck to the raven haired Agent that prowled around the crime scene an air of confidence surrounding her.
He couldn't believe his luck, she was a spitting image of her. It was fate, it had to be. He was nearly done being someone else, copying his kills. He was nearly ready now, ready to be his own killer, and he'd be as infamous as the ones he had re-enacted. It was nearly time for the real show to begin.
And with a smirk he shut the camera and started up the engine. Yes he was nearly there, and now he had his cast, and SSA Emily Prentiss was the star.
0o0o0o0o0o
The two had been driving around for an hour now, their trained eyes looking for the van but so far they had seen nothing, the roads were quiet, deserted. "Ughh this sucks" Emily grumbled sipping at her coffee. "I hate this waiting around, I feel useless!".
"Tell me about it" Derek groaned as well. They'd been in constant contact with the rest of the team and had discovered that all of the phones had been bugged, but the victims families had been unable to shed light on anything, so they had hit a dead end down that route.
But they had gotten some good news, they'd been given a visual on a medium sized white van which had been spotted near every crime scene. They'd run the plates but they came up empty, proving what they had suspected. Prentiss and Morgan had linked up with the officers briefly and handed them photos of the van which they had picked up from the station, so at least they had something to go on.
Emily was about to speak but the shrill ringing of her phone cut it short. Flipping the phone open she put it on speaker. "Yeah JJ?" She said hearing her friend's voice and instantly picked up on the panicked tone.
"Emily we've just got a call, a young man saying he's found a young woman dead. 116 Pinewood Lane" JJ said quickly and she heard Morgan turn on the siren that came with the SUV's.
"Okay thanks JJ we've got this" Emily said and was about to hang up but JJ's voice stopped her.
"Be careful, you'll be first on the scene and we've lost touch with the man who called it in. Reinforcements are on their way!" She said wanting to make sure her friends were aware of the situation, she knew how dangerous it was going in blind.
"Will do" She said before hanging up the phone and slipping it in her pocket. Derek put his foot down, they were only a few minutes out from the area and if there was a chance that this guy was there they were going to take it. "You think this is him?" She asked Morgan who was completely focused on the road.
"The chances of it not are real low Prentiss" Derek groaned. Sure he had wanted his night to pick up, but not because someone had been killed. He watched as she readied her gun, holding it in her hand, her grip strong. She was ready for this bastard, and even though he wanted to keep her safe, to wrap her up in cotton wool he knew he would never be able to, she was stubborn and bull headed and he wouldn't have wanted anyone else by his side.
Within minutes they pulled up outside of the house and the two jumped out, holding their guns in front of them. Looking around there was no one there, the house was half a mile up a rural road and there was no vehicles bar theirs. The two hurried up the garden path towards the front door which was hanging off its hinges.
They hurried through the doors flicking on their flashlights. The house was in entire darkness. Emily motioned that she would check the upstairs whilst he scanned the downstairs. He was hesitant about them splitting up, he hated doing it these days but sucking it up he knew it was necessary. He cleared the downstairs reasonably quickly but was startled as he spotted a figure huddled in the corner.
"FBI!" He called out and pointed the flashlight at the young boy, who had have been still in his teens who was curled up in a ball in the corner a small dog in his lap. He noticed the strewn phone on the floor next to him.
"D-don't hurt m-me" The boy trembled his entire body quaking. Derek walked over to him and put his gun down to his side.
"It's okay Kid!" Derek reassured instantly knowing that this wasn't the Unsub. "Are you the one who called the police?" He asked and the boy nodded trying to catch his breath. "Can you tell me where the body is?" He asked once again and the boy pointed at the stairs. Derek nodded thankfully. "Okay stay here, I won't be long okay" Derek said with a soft tone as he turned and made his way up the stairs.
His gut churned as he realised he hadn't heard anything from Prentiss since they had split. "Emily?" He called out his gun out directly in front of him. He waited with baited breath for her reply and couldn't help but breath out in relief as he heard her voice.
"In here" She said and when he rounded the corner the first thing he could see was blood soaking all the walls. Walking down the hallway Emily walked out of the room her face void of any colour and her face hard. Her gun was holstered so he put his back on his hip knowing that she must have cleared upstairs.
Hesitantly he walked into the room she had just vacated and his stomach turned in sickness. Shaking his head he couldn't believe what he could see. Body parts were scattered all over the room and there wasn't one surface that didn't have blood on the walls. An arm on the bed, a leg on the windowsill and a head posed on top of the large tv in the corner of the room. And there written boldly in blood initials on the wall. LF. Shuddering he walked out hearing the police sirens nearing and seeing the familiar red and blue lights flash through the window.
"If we thought he was escalating before then this is to a whole other level" Emily managed to get out as she rested on the bannister. She was good at compartmentalizing things, but the shock of walking in on what she had shook her more than had wanted it to.
"Jesus" Morgan spoke shaking his head. Putting his hand on her shoulder he guided her down the stairs away from the carnage. Walking past the officers he tilted his head towards the stairs. "I hope you have a strong stomach" Was all he said before a group made their way up to the scene.
"What the hell is happening Morgan? Who is this guy?" Emily asked shaking the images of that woman's head out of her mind but that was much easier said than done.
"I don't know Em" Morgan shook his head sadly as they exited the house. "I really don't know".
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So chapter two lovelies. Have you all caught on yet, I hope so. If not a lot will be revealed in the coming chapters. Now this isn't going to be a super long story, because I'm trying to structure it like an episode, fast paced, information filled etcetera. But I really do hope you're enjoying reading it as much as I am writing it.
Please let me know how you feel, reviews are like hugs, and I love cwtches.
So until next time friends!.
Gwen.