Thanks to CMFAN2009 for reviewing this chapter for me to help me get it right.

Chapter 4-Narrowing The Field

It was very late by the time Hotch and his team returned to Hotch's hotel room where they all decided to meet and go over what had been uncovered during the day and hopefully come up with a profile of their UnSub. Hotch practically collapsed in a chair and ran a hand over his dark hair. It was then he noticed Reid watching him with concern.

"Something wrong?" he asked the young man.

As if surprised his boss caught him watching him, Reid nervously shifted in his chair. "Uh, no, no. Everything's fine. Just had a long day." An equally nervous partial grin appeared.

"Haven't we all," Hotch answered wearily. He glanced about his team. "Okay, so what have we got?"

Morgan leaned forward from his seat on the sofa, arms on his thighs and rubbing his hands together. "Reid and I visited all the crime scenes…." he began when Rossi's cell phone rang. When he saw who it was he got up from his seat. "It's Garcia. I have to take this. Excuse me." He left the room to answer the call.

"What did you find?" he asked the computer tech.

"Okay. First, I'm sorry it took so long but there were over eight hundred cases Hotch handled during his five years as a prosecutor. Of those eight hundred, Hotch was successful in prosecuting seven hundred and twenty cases and lost eighty. Of those seven hundred and twenty, one hundred and seventy-five complained to anyone who would listen that Hotch either concealed or tampered with evidence and witnesses, the usual. Of course we all know Hotch wouldn't do such a thing. Now, of those remaining one hundred seventy-five, one hundred are still incarcerated; that leaves seventy-five. Of those seventy-five, ten are still on death row; twenty-five either died in prison or while awaiting appeal; seventeen were set free on appeal. That leaves twenty-three who, by last check, were quite vocal about getting back at Hotch after their conviction."

Rossi sighed wearily. "It wouldn't be someone still incarcerated because it would require hiring someone on the outside to do the job and would be too risky for our guy to kill Hotch because then he wouldn't be in control. There's no way for him to let Hotch know who was behind it. And those freed on appeal would no longer care because they were free. What about those on death row?" Rossi heard Garcia clicking away on her keyboard.

"Eight of them have been executed and the other two are awaiting execution; all their appeals have been exhausted."

"What about the others who died in prison?"

"Looks like after initially threatening Hotch for their situations they didn't have anything else to say."

"Sounds as if they were simply blowing off steam after the shock of being convicted."

"That's what I believe, too," Garcia said.

Rossi let out a deep breath. "Twenty-three possibilities. Is there anyway to narrow it down?"

Garcia smiled. "I knew you'd ask that oh wise one, so I went back about six months. Six of them have since been brought up on additional charges while incarcerated; seven spend their days in solitary with no contact with other prisoners. Three were killed by other prisoners during fights; four were transferred to other prisons out of the area. That leaves three. Those three escaped together about ten days ago. One was shot and killed during a stand-off with Missouri police yesterday, another committed suicide rather than be re-arrested, and the third one is still at-large. The three escapees were still threatening Hotch at the time they escaped and promised to kill him. There's an APB out on the one still at-large."

"Good job, Garcia," Rossi commented.

"Thank you. But don't grovel at my feet just yet. There's something else."

"What's that?"

"One of the escapees was named Cooper. Shane Cooper."

"Cooper? That's the same last name as…"

"The guy who made a play for Brennaman's wife, I know. They're brothers. Brandon is the older of the two. They both made a lot of noise when Shane was convicted."

"What was he convicted for?"

"Let's see. There's a newspaper article. Oh God."

Rossi heard the change in her tone. "What is it?"

"Shane Cooper was charged with the murder of a female police officer by shooting her execution-style when she walked in on a stick-up in progress while off-duty."

"Garcia, you are an angel."

"But of course mere mortal. I am a Goddess after-all. Rossi, don't let anything happen to the boss-man."

"We won't," Rossi promised. "Thanks." He disconnected the call and with hands on hips looked in the direction of the living room.

"As I was saying, Reid and I visited all the crime scenes," Morgan continued after Rossi left the room. "There was nothing unusual about any of them and it looks like our UnSub got the drop on each of our victims. None of them ever realized they were in any kind of danger from this guy."

Reid, his long legs outstretched and crossed, had his elbows on the arms of his chair with fingertips meeting. "Of course Morrissey was the victim of a hit-and-run, and Collins was hit from behind and put in his car. Brennaman was already in his car when he was shot. That leaves Atkins and Bellamy, and both of them saw their attacker before they were killed."

Emily's eyebrows went up. "Wait a minute. They saw their attackers?"

Everybody glanced up when Rossi re-entered the room. Hotch noticed the expression on his face. "You okay?" he asked the older agent.

"Yeah. I had Garcia check something out for me. It can wait though." Rossi noticed Hotch give him an odd look before turning back to Reid. "Care to explain?"

Reid swallowed. "Well, when we were at the crime scene where Atkins was stabbed during a possible robbery, there were two sets of footprints facing each other indicating two men were facing each other possibly engaged in conversation at the time. Then one of the men turned his back on the other because he stepped almost in his exact footprints except the toes were pointing in the opposite direction. That was when the UnSub stabbed him because you can see where Atkins' heels dug into the ground indicating he was reacting to having been stabbed in the back."

"And Bellamy?" asked JJ.

"The car door opener device was under his car after he fell face-down on the ground near his car," Reid continued. "It appears whoever it was engaged him in conversation before he killed him. A passing security guard who saw them earlier said the victim didn't appear nervous or need assistance, so he kept going on his tour. When he returned later he found Bellamy's body in a pool of blood with no sign of the other person."

"Wait a minute," JJ said with a shake of her head. "How much time passed between the time the security guard saw Bellamy speaking with someone until he found his body?"

Reid looked at Morgan.

"About twenty minutes," Morgan explained. "When he returned he found the body and no sign of the perpetrator."

Hotch let out a deep breath. "We know Morrissey and Bellamy were both killed at their place of business. Did either of these places have surveillance cameras?"

"Jenson, Andrews and Gulliver where Bellamy worked does, but the camera that surveys the employee parking lot was broken," Reid explained.

"And the company where Morrissey was employed has surveillance cameras but only inside the building," Morgan added. "Not covering the parking lot."

Hotch and Rossi turned their attention then to Prentiss. "Emily?" Rossi asked.

Letting out a deep breath, Prentiss crossed her long legs and folded her arms. "According to Brennaman's parents he had no enemies and was well-liked by all who knew him. His marriage was sound and as far as they knew there were no problems financial or otherwise. Bellamy was divorced and after his ex-wife remarried she moved out of the state. There were no children. I left a phone message and she hasn't gotten back to me yet. Atkins' fiancée is named Julie Ackers and she told me Atkins was very respected by his bosses, co-workers and all who knew him. As far as she knew he had no problems at work or at least none that he ever told her about, and no enemies. In fact, the first time she even knew about the letter was when the police told her about it. It had been found in his briefcase in his car."

"What about Collins and Morrissey?" asked Reid.

"Collins was married in his early twenties but his wife divorced him a year later because of personal reasons. She also moved out-of-the-state ten years ago. Morrissey is a widower. His wife, teenage and infant daughters were killed in a car accident fifteen years ago when a drunk driver ran through a red light and hit them head-on. Both cars exploded on impact. He never remarried and wasn't seeing anybody as far as I know." Emily saw Hotch wince when she had explained about Morrissey's two daughters knowing how her boss felt when children were involved.

"What about the parents of the others?" asked JJ. "Were you able to talk to them?"

Prentiss sighed wearily. "The parents of Morrissey are deceased as are his late wife's parents. Bellamy's parents are out-of-the country on a cruise and can't be reached. I didn't have a chance to speak with the parents of Atkins or Collins. I can speak with them first thing tomorrow."

"How was your day?" Reid asked looking at Hotch and Rossi. Rossi sighed and ran a hand over his hair.

"According to Mrs. Brennaman, her husband was well-liked and respected by everyone but never discussed his work with her. She told us she had found the letter the others had received. She also mentioned there had been a telephone call with nobody on the other end although she sensed there was someone there. After that, her husband had their phone number changed."

"However…" Hotch continued. "She did tell us something interesting. Seems two weeks before her husband's death, a co-worker got a little physical with her while she waited for her husband in his office which resulted in him nearly coming to blows with her husband when he walked into his office. She had gone there to meet him for lunch. Brennaman reported the incident and the co-worker was fired. Name was Brandon Cooper. I had Garcia run a check on him. We'll question him tomorrow. Emily can finish with the family members also." Hotch turned his attention to Reid, Morgan and JJ. "I want you guys to visit the law firms involved and see what you can find out there. See if any of the clients of the victims weren't happy with their cases. We'll then meet back at the police station tomorrow afternoon. I'd like to have profile ready by four tomorrow afternoon. Any questions?" Seeing there were none, Hotch started to get up but was stopped when Rossi put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hotch, wait a minute. There's something we need to discuss while the entire team is here."

"What is it?"

"Does the name Shane Cooper ring any bells with you?"

Hotch, wracking his brains for several minutes, shook his head. "Can't say it does. Who is he?"

"He's the younger brother of Brandon Cooper, our possible UnSub, and possibly the man who tried to run you down this afternoon outside the Brennaman home." Rossi never broke eye contact with Hotch who's own eyes narrowed and his face darkened.

JJ and Emily, both caught by surprise, were momentarily speechless. Finally, it was Emily who spoke.

"Hotch? Somebody tried to kill you?"

Jumping to his feet angrily, Hotchner glared at Rossi. "I told you to drop it, Dave! What happened has nothing to do with this case. End of story."

"Not from where I sit, man," Morgan said leaning forward. "I mean, you can shrug it off all you want; but you've been distracted since before we left Quantico. Now something's eating at you and we believe it has something to do with this case. But in case you forgot, these victims all look like you and I don't think it's a coincidence. Now why don't you let us help you?"

Hotch ran a hand over his dark hair. "Because there's nothing to help with."

Rossi figured this had gone on long enough. "Hotch, listen to me. I had Garcia go back over your record as a prosecutor. Now it took her awhile since you handled over eight hundred cases, but she finally finished. I then had her cross-reference the seven hundred and twenty case you successfully prosecuted out of eight hundred with those still in prison, and the ones most vocal in threatening you. She narrowed it down to twenty-three people. Of those twenty-three, it was narrowed down further to three who still wish you harm. And of those three, there's only one. I said Shane Cooper is the younger brother of Brandon Cooper. When you were a prosecutor, you convicted Shane for killing a police officer. He threatened you from the moment the guilty verdict was read and hasn't stopped threatening you to anyone who would listen. His older brother Brandon threatened you also because of the conviction." Pausing, Rossi could tell he had Hotch's full attention before continuing. "According to Garcia, ten days ago the three men still threatening you all escaped from prison. One was shot and killed in Missouri yesterday; another killed himself before the police could arrest him again, and the third one, Cooper, is still at-large. Now you tell me if there's no connection."

Letting out a deep breath before collapsing into a chair. Hotch massaged his forehead with one hand, then let his head fall backwards and stared up at the ceiling.

Reid licked his lips. "Hotch, you have a wife and son who need you. We need you. Let us help. Five men have already died at the hands of this UnSub whoever he is. We don't want to see you become number six." Hotch turned his head to look at the young genius.

"Don't shut us out, man," Morgan added. "We want to help."

Hotch seemed as if he wasn't listening as he continued staring at the ceiling. "I received a letter the day we left Quantico to come here. It was lying on my desk when I came into the office. No return address, no nothing. When I opened the envelope there was a single sheet of paper inside. The message was the same one as the others. 'You will pay for what you did to me.'"

"Did you turn the letter over to the lab to have it checked for DNA and dusted for prints?" asked Rossi already suspecting what the answer was going to be. Hotch's silence gave him his answer. Rossi mumbled something under his breath.

Morgan got to his feet swearing under his breath as he stormed around the room. "What's the matter with you, man?" he asked his boss. "I know you know better than that, Hotch. Just what the hell were you thinking?"

"I don't know," was all Hotch could say quietly.

"What do you mean you don't know…?" Morgan began when Rossi's hand gripped his shoulder.

"That's enough, Morgan," he said calmly. The two men stared hard at each other.

"What are you saying, Rossi?" Morgan asked. "You saying you're okay with what he did?"

"No," Rossi's voice remained calm. "I'm saying that's enough." He looked at the others. "Look, guys, why don't all of you give us some privacy. I need to speak with Hotch for a few minutes." He and Morgan continued to stare at each other and then Morgan's eyes shifted to his boss who wasn't looking at anybody or anything. He sighed.

"Sure. I mean okay. No problem. We'll wait outside in the hall." Morgan motioned with his head for the others to follow him and leave the two men alone. Emily, JJ and Reid slowly walked out the door and waited as Morgan paused in the doorway. He looked back at his boss. "Hotch, for what its worth, man, I'm sorry I lost my temper." Hotch didn't answer but maintained the same blank expression on his face. Sighing, Morgan exited and closed the door leaving the two men alone. Sighing wearily, Rossi sat down in a chair facing his friend.

"Dammit, Hotch!" Rossi bellowed. "You of all people should know better. The minute you received that letter, opened it, and saw what it was, you should have turned it over to the lab and had it tested for any possible fingerprints and DNA. What were you thinking?" Hotch didn't reply but continued staring. "Well?" asked a still irate Rossi. "Don't you have anything to say for yourself?"

Hotch closed his eyes and massaged his forehead with two fingers. "I don't have anything to say. Is that what you want to hear, Dave? Go ahead and say it," his voice was flat and without emotion. "I possibly destroyed evidence that could help catch an UnSub. There, I said it. I may have destroyed evidence. If you want to report me to Strauss go ahead. I can't stop you. Just do it and get it over with."

Rossi let out a deep breath and didn't know what to say to his boss and someone he considered his best friend. He was at a loss for words. Although he was angry that his friend may have destroyed evidence, he also felt sympathy for him and how he must have felt seeing that letter addressed to him after the murders of five attorneys who all bore a resemblance to him. He knew it must have rocked Hotch to the core.

"Where's the letter?" asked Rossi gently.

"In my middle desk drawer back in Quantico. I didn't want to take a chance bringing it with me." Hotch suddenly let out a deep breath. "Dave, I won't deny anything if you want to tell Strauss what happened. I have no defense for what I did, plain and simple."

"It's okay, Aaron," Rossi assured him. "Don't worry about it." He patted his friend's arm.

"I guess I didn't want you to focus on me. You all needed to concentrate on the UnSub and not me. Any distraction could be disastrous for any or all of you and I didn't want that. I know its not an excuse, but it's the truth."

"I know," said Rossi. He smirked. "You realize of course I should kick your butt for withholding evidence. But I won't because I think you're doing enough of that on your own."

Hotch chuckled slightly. "You think?" He let out a deep breath. "I know I have no right to ask, but what are you going to tell Strauss?"

Rossi let out an equally deep breath and studied his friend's face. "I'm not going to tell Strauss anything. There's no reason for her to know. As far as anyone knows, that letter arrived for you right after we left to come here. You never saw it."

Hotch didn't respond. He looked at his friend with a silent 'thank you' on his face.

"You're welcome," Rossi replied with a smile. "So, you ready to let the others back in?"

"Might as well. They're probably wondering what's going on in here anyway."

Getting to his feet, Rossi walked over to the door and opened it motioning for the others to come back inside. As he closed the door he noticed the others sitting down around their Unit Chief. "Hotch and I have discussed a few things," He began slowly. "And I've decided Strauss needn't be told anything about this. We all know she'd just use it against Aaron. Do any of you have a problem with that because if you do, I need to know now." The others voiced their agreement that despite being angry with their Unit Chief for destroying evidence, they would stand by and protect him from any reprimand Section Chief Erin Strauss might issue if she discovered the truth considering how much she disliked Hotch. If she did, they each knew she would see to it Hotch's career with the FBI and BAU would come to an immediate end.

Reid looked at his hands which were in his lap and remained quiet. JJ studied the young genius with concern.

"Reid, you have a problem with what Rossi asked of us?" she asked sounding surprised.

"Not at all," Reid replied. "I was just wondering if we can still get any useful fingerprints off of the letter Hotch received."

"Forget about the fingerprints, Reid," Rossi advised him gently.

"What do you mean forget about it?" asked Morgan a little louder and harsher than he wanted. "We might still be able to get something…."

"I said forget it," Rossi replied more firmly. "The only prints we'll probably find on the envelope and letter will be Hotch's anyway."

Morgan groaned. "You don't know that, man. Just because there weren't any on the others doesn't mean…"

"I said leave it alone," Rossi reiterated. He watched Morgan fold his arms but remain silent.

"Something just occurred to me," Emily suddenly said in a soft voice.

"What's that?" asked JJ, curious.

"We might have to rethink a few things about this UnSub now," Emily replied looking at the blond woman.

"Like what?"

"Well, first we need to know if Hotch has been the intended target all along. Two, if he is, did the UnSub kill the others out of frustration because he couldn't get to Hotch? Or if he's delusional and truly believed the other victims were really Hotch and only after he killed them realized they weren't?"

"And its more important than ever that we speak with Brandon Cooper and find his brother Shane," Rossi added. "One or both of them could be our UnSub."

"You know," said Reid. "It's not unusual for brothers to be involved in committing murder together. In 1880, Dostoevsky wrote The Brothers Karamazov which told about four brothers driven by uncontrollable emotions of rage and revenge and become involved in the murder of their father. And in April of 2003, in Largo, Florida, identical twin brothers were found guilty of the murder of a cocktail waitress thirteen years earlier."(1)(2)

Rossi squeezed Hotch's shoulder. "Don't worry, Aaron. We'll get him. I promise you we'll get him."

"Just promise me one thing," Hotch said looking at his team.

"Anything," Rossi promised. "What is it?"

"If anything happens to me, promise me you'll look after Haley and Jack for me."

Rossi, Reid, JJ, Morgan and Prentiss all exchanged concerned looks. Finally, Emily looked her boss straight in the eye.

"We promise," she said softly.

(1) The Brothers Karamazov was the last work written by Fyodor Dostoevsky.

(2) The murder in Largo, Fla. is true from the Associated Press of April 25, 2003. Identical brothers, Brian and Alfred Calzacorto were charged with the rape and murder of Laurie Colannino in 1990.