~Chapter 2~
Catherine stood facing the board filled with information, photos, and a large map of Texas with her arms crossed. Her hazel eyes flitted about the typed letters hanging in plastic bags from the board.
Her mind took in where the letter was pressed harder or lighter, which words were darker than others, which letters weren't in line with the others. All the clues to what type of man and his feelings would be in these typed letters and on the bodies themselves.
Yet, she knew that she wouldn't know anything about the bodies. Catherine was more and sure she would freeze up if she was faced with the bodies of the murdered women; however, a question was echoing in the back of her mind.
"What do you think so far?" Rossi's voice questioned from behind Catherine.
She whipped her head around as she was pulled out of her thoughts. Slowly, she gathered herself and uncrossed her arms to offer her thoughts to Rossi.
"He is obsessed with these women," she stated in a very matter-of-fact manner.
"What makes you say that?" he asked as he moved around the room towards Catherine.
She turned back to the letters hanging from the board and pointed towards the first typed note, "Here in the lines from the 'Eolian Harp', you can see that the letters look very uniform in the amount of pressure applied to the keys but as soon as you get to the words 'thee' and 'Maid' the pressure applied to those keys is harder making the words darker. The same thing happens in the later quotes where they mention a woman.
"In order, the verses become more and more obsessed. The first one talked about how he was given this woman and the second tells about the beauty of this woman."
Rossi looked over the letters as she spoke.
"It seems our unsub has picked these women for a reason and won't stop till he finds the right one," Rossi commented.
"It makes me wonder…" Catherine muttered softly.
"What is it?"
"Not sure yet. Though I do have a question about the letter themselves…where were they found on the bodies? Were they in the women's pockets, in their purses, or were they holding them?"
"According to the officers on the scene, the notes were found leaned up against the bodies of the women."
"Not in their hands or something but just near them?"
"Exactly…it's like he doesn't want to disturb the bodies after he placed them there. He cares about them even though they aren't what he is looking for."
"I got the feeling that…well…I mean he's looking for someone. But…what if he lost someone and now he's trying to get that back?"
Rossi was about to respond when Hotch came back in the room followed by Morgan and Reid.
"The coroners have come together and set up a viewing of both bodies so we can see them side by side. Catherine, I want you to come with Morgan and I to the coroner's office to tell us what you think so far. Reid, stay here with Rossi and J.J. I want to know everything about the movement of the victims the day they were abducted and where the dumpsites are located in relation to their homes," Hotch commanded as he looked among the members of the team.
Catherine felt apprehensive but nodded. "Yes sir."
She moved to follow Hotch and Morgan as they left the room. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught the encouraging smile from Reid just before she headed out of the room.
Reid came over and looked over at the board filled with the information they had gathered so far.
"I have to say…I'm impressed, Reid," Rossi remarked.
Reid looked over to Rossi looking confused. "Impressed with what?"
"Catherine," Rossi spoke as it was obvious. He glanced to Reid. "I didn't expect her to do very well in this situation. She wasn't trained for but she's handling herself in a very professional manner."
"I knew Catherine a long time ago…even back then…she never spoke her mind unless she was confident that what she said was fact or she felt strongly enough about it to express it. Even after everything she's gone through…I think it has only become more a part of her. She's…grown into herself," Reid explained with the added emphasis that showed how high the regard was that he held for her.
Rossi watched Reid as he spoke. "In any case, she has some potential for this kind of work I think. I'll get the police started on getting the files about these women." He headed out of the room to talk with the police chief.
Hotch, Morgan, and Catherine arrived at the corner's office and headed into the morgue to view the bodies of the victims.
As the trio entered the morgue, an older man looked up from his position on one side of the two tables holding the bodies. He pushed his wire black framed glasses up onto his nose.
Hotch moved up to the front while Catherine and Morgan stopped on either side of him but slightly behind him.
"I'm SSA Hotchner from the BAU. This is SSA Morgan and Doctor Harmon," Hotch spoke with authority as he gave the introductions.
"Welcome, it'll be nice to catch the person that's behind these killings. I'm Doctor Ryder," the coroner stated.
Catherine nodded keeping her eyes mostly on the coroner to avoid looking at the body as long as she could.
"What can you tell us about the victims?" Hotch questioned.
"Both of the victims were healthy and had no other medical conditions. The first victim Coryn Sanders was 36 and had short black hair and blue eyes. The second victim was Patricia Kernighan, age 35. She has red hair and green eyes but we found the remnants of a blue contact on her clothing," Ryder stated.
"What do you mean by remnants of a blue contact?" Morgan questioned.
Doctor Ryder sighed. "The contact appeared to be torn but it wasn't till we started on the autopsy that we found some fragments of the contact in her eye."
Catherine looked confused as she worked on staying analytical as she looked down at the face of the girl in front of her whose head had actually been shaved. She looked across to the other body and she saw the red hair under the sheet. Quickly, she looked up to Ryder.
"Was her head shaved when you found her?" Catherine asked.
Doctor Ryder nodded and responded, "We found her bald in the park but her friend confirmed she had black hair originally."
Hotch glanced to Catherine and then looked back to the coroner.
"You said you found fragments of the contact in the second victim's eye," he spoke with a questioning lilt to his voice.
Ryder motioned them over to the other table. Once they were situated around the table, he slowly drew back the sheet covering her face. The eye lids had some slices through them that had been stitched closed.
"The victim had apparently been stabbed multiple times in both eyes. It was the eventual brain trauma that led to her death."
Catherine looked for a moment at the body then found she had to look away.
Morgan noticed and gently placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder and motioned her towards the doors as if he had something to discuss with her. Hotch glanced back at them as they headed out of the morgue before looking back to Ryder.
"Did she have any other damage done to her other than to her eyes?" he inquired.
"She had a few bruises that suggest defensive wounds."
"So she was alive when the attacker stabbed her eyes?"
"Unfortunately, death wasn't quick until the knife made it behind her eyes. The force behind these strikes is an amazing amount of force and anger."
Hotch glanced back to the other victim.
"What was the cause of death for Coryn Sanders?"
"Asphyxiation by strangulation. Again it suggests a crime of passion," Ryder spoke with complete confidence.
"Thank you, Doctor Ryder. Will you send your full report to the police station for my team?" Hotch requested.
"Of course, I'll get right on that," Ryder replied.
"Thanks," Hotch added as he headed out to find Morgan and Catherine.
It wasn't long till he found them standing in the foyer of the coroner's office. He looked to Catherine.
"Are you all right?" he asked showing a bit of concern.
Catherine looked to Hotch and nodded.
"Yeah, I was all right till the other body. I doubt I'll ever be a coroner," Catherine added trying for a joking demeanor.
"If you ever have to step out, don't feel like you have to stay. This isn't a normal part of your usual job and you don't have to push yourself if you don't feel up to it," Hotch offered.
"Thanks but I think I'll be all right. I'll keep that in mind though," she nodded with a faint smile.
"I have to admit for someone who has never done this for a living you contained yourself very well back there," Morgan complimented her.
Catherine smiled and shrugged. "I guess, I mean this means something to someone and that helps to keep my mind focused."
"Back there, you asked the coroner about the first victim's hair…" Hotch trailed off on the open question.
"According to what we know so far, he is only picking up women. While even I know that we don't have much in the way of coincidence…with two women abducted whom, at that time, had red hair and blue eyes, seems too big of a coincidence. He hacked off the first girl's hair because he found out it wasn't red and…he…gouged out the other girl's eyes who weren't blue but green. It makes me think he is specifically looking for a red haired and blue eyed girl in this area otherwise he'd have spread out to other parts of Texas and not just close to Dallas.
"I discussed this with Rossi back at the police station, I feel like he is obsessed with these girls as he tries to find the right one. I think he lost someone, either a sister or a wife or maybe a girlfriend tragically and now he's looking for a replacement."
Monica looked around her surroundings for anything that could help her while the man was out of the room. She looked down to the ties that bound her to the chair. They were ropes but they laid over a soft cloth that kept the rope from biting into her skin.
She flinched as she heard the man come back through the far door. Her eyes watching him closely as he drew near carrying a wash rag, soap, shampoo, conditioner, a hair brush and a hair dyer which he set down on the table in front of her.
He looked to her kindly as he moved over to grab a bucket nearby that by sound alone seemed to have water in it.
"No worries my darling. You are just a little dirty and I'm going to help you clean up. Can't be dirty for our anniversary dinner now can we? Just need to get some of this dirt out of your hair," the man spoke calmly.
Monica stiffened at those last words as she eyed the hair care products. She remembered his comments about her red hair and how much he liked it. How would he react when the color started to fade?