~Chapter 3~
Hotch, Morgan, and Catherine arrived back at the police station to meet up with the rest of the team who had been working furiously to unearth the movements of the two victims as well as the currently missing woman on the days they were abducted.
As the trio entered the room, Hotch looked among the members sitting at the table.
"What have you guys found out?" Hotch questioned them.
J.J. spoke up first.
"I looked into Coryn Sanders background. She has no close family although she did have a boyfriend she was supposed to be meeting at the party. During the day, she moved about Dallas quite a bit.
"First, she was seen at a bank making a withdrawal, followed by a costume store where she purchased the costume she was wearing when she was taken, and finally the post office where she typically picked up her mail from a P.O. box. The only thing that doesn't fit her usual traveling was the park she was found in. According to her friends, she never even stepped foot in that park."
"So she didn't wear the wig until she bought it the night of the party," Morgan asked in confusion. "If she didn't wear it till then, then why did the unsub pick her?"
"If he's looking for red headed girls and is able to grab them from places they frequent because he's been following them then he would have known about Coryn's black hair," Rossi added.
"With Patricia the pattern makes more sense," Reid began, "she was always known to wear contacts to make her eyes look blue but they were also prescription lenses. She was going to be married in two weeks and had close family. The family had been stated as saying Patricia told them she felt like she was being watched lately but she never saw anyone."
Catherine stepped in then. "What if Coryn was just a victim of chance? What if he saw her with the red hair and took her but found out she didn't have what he was looking for? That would mean he started to be more careful to find women who did have red hair meaning he would have to stalk them first," she suggested.
"If that's true, then that would mean this guy might not have a criminal record at all. He's kept under the radar all this time and seeing a woman with red hair on that specific date was just the perfect storm," Morgan explained.
"What about the last victim, Monica Vorenburg? Does the pattern fit the statements given to the police?" Hotch asked.
Rossi leaned back in his chair.
"According to her husband, she had the same feelings moving up to the day she was taken. He had suggested she report this to the police but with no actual description or proof she was being stalked the police couldn't do anything. She had her hair constantly treated at the hair salon she was taken from to keep the dye job looking fresh," Rossi explained.
"There are a lot of factors here. The unsub is looking exclusively at women with red hair and blue eyes. But notice the relationships of the three women. The first only had a boyfriend, the second was engaged, and the third was married. This unsub knows these things about them, save for the first one where he might have noticed she wasn't wearing a ring. The second and third he could have watched for a full year before abducting them. He had more than enough time to gather the information he needed and find out the right place to take these women from.
"If Catherine's theory is correct, then this unsub is looking for someone to replace someone dear to him that he lost. If the woman isn't perfect then he kills her, dumps the body, and goes out looking for the next candidate," Hotch summed up from the bits of information they had gathered.
He pulled out his cell phone and placed a call to Garcia.
"You've got the office of queen of information," Garcia spoke happily.
"Garcia, I need you to look up deaths in the areas the women were taken from on a November 3rd. Look for any female deaths in which they were married or engaged," Hotch spoke with authority.
"I'm on it boss, the second I get a hit you'll be the first to know," Garcia agreed before hanging up and quickly setting to her work.
Hotch looked to the team members in the room.
"At this current point we can only give the police a cursory profile of the unsub. J.J. I want you to gather everyone for a meeting so we can get to them what we have so far," Hotch spoke to J.J putting her in motion. He looked to Catherine. "Since you came up with the current theory, I want you to explain that to the police. Let them know what his possible motive is and that this date is important for him."
Catherine nodded to him, "Yes, sir."
"Good," he replied.
Moments later, the team, including Catherine, was assembled out in the squad room with the police listening attentively.
"Thank you for gathering everyone. I want to remind you that this is profile is a cursory profile at best but we thought it best to give what information we are certain about as soon as possible," Hotch said as he started the briefing.
One of the officers in the back spoke up.
"If this isn't a full profile, what good will it do?" he asked.
"Even a profile that's not fully formed will give us a place to start. It narrows down the suspect pool and gives us a place to look without looking at every citizen as a suspect," Morgan explained.
Hotch nodded and looked to Catherine.
Catherine caught his eye and stepped up as he stepped back, her gaze taking in all of the officers before her. Her stance becoming more relaxed as this felt more like the teaching she was used to.
"This unsub is looking for a specific type of woman on a specific date. November the 3rd means something to him specifically. The type of woman this man is targeting has red hair and blue eyes. We believe the suspect is looking for this type of woman to replace one he has lost in the past.
"This may have been a fiancé or a wife but somehow he lost her due to death either by accident or disease and now he's looking to replace her to fill a void in his life," she stated to the police.
Reid spoke from off to the side drawing everyone's attention.
"His first victim was random. An accident that seemed to him like fate and set him down this path. But the second and third victims were not accidents. He followed them for months learning everything he could about them trying to discover if they were the woman he was looking for.
He feels like his wife might be out there and is under the delusion that he can find her and replace her. This date might be their anniversary of marriage or simply the first day they met. But it is key to understanding this unsub and his motives," Reid explained.
"This unsub is also very well educated," Rossi added, "He has had formal education in a way a vagrant might not have. Because of this, we believe that he may not even have a criminal record. He most likely was a very productive member of society up until the death of this woman from his life.
"Now, he may still be employed but he might have trouble socializing with his co-workers. He might be easily distracted but still remains meticulous to the tiniest details. More than likely, he will be mostly a loner. Tending to spend long hours alone instead in the company of others no matter how often they ask."
"But we are also looking for an older man rather than a young guy," Morgan amended, "no young guys are going to own a typewriter, let alone know how to use one. He knows how to use one and uses it often. His friends and relatives might even know about him preferring to use that over a more conventional computer."
"Above all, this unsub seems very contained but can be prone to violence and even rage. Once he discovers that these women are lying about matching his perfect woman, he attacks that lie before he kills them. But now he's getting more and more violent. His rage will only increase with each victim," Hotch concluded before the police chief took over.
Hotch gathered his team around him.
"We've done what we can for tonight. For now, we'll head back to the hotel but keep your phones on in case something comes up and we need to move quickly," Hotch told them.
Catherine felt wrong about just ending it like this but she didn't see where else they could look right now.
On the way back to the hotel, Catherine had ridden in the SUV with Reid, and J.J while Hotch, Morgan, and Rossi led them in the other SUV. During the ride, Catherine and Reid had caught up on the things she hadn't told Reid about how her degree and teaching was going. She had asked about how his cases before this had been and about how his mother was.
J.J., whom was driving, had faintly smiled when he simply answered the questions without any thought. The conversation was going on as if they were completely alone in the car. She noted that Reid was sharing and had shared more of his life with Catherine than he had with them.
Once they parked the SUV's at the hotel, they grabbed their luggage out of the back to carry up to their rooms. They had made arrangements for Catherine to share a room with J.J.
They headed up to their rooms in groups talking over various matters. When Reid, J.J., and Catherine neared their rooms, J.J. looked to Reid.
"Reid, if you have a moment I need to talk with you about something," J.J. stated vaguely.
Reid looked a little confused and shrugged.
"All right, sure," he replied.
J.J. looked to Catherine and smiled, "I'll be in shortly."
Catherine nodded, "Sure thing." She glanced to Reid, "'Night Spencer."
"Good night, Catherine," he said smiling softly.
Silently, Catherine turned and entered the room letting the door click softly behind her.
Reid turned and opened his door heading inside but holding it open for J.J. to follow him in. He headed over to the single bed and set his luggage and satchel down on the bed.
J.J. glanced around the room before moving further into the room following Reid but keeping a bit of distance.
"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" Reid asked as he turned to face J.J.
She smiled softly as she set her luggage down.
"Catherine seems to have settled in well," she began.
Reid nodded and replied, "Everyone has been impressed by her today. I knew she'd do well."
"You two are pretty close. You guys talked all the way here."
Reid shrugged. "I guess."
J.J. softly laughed. "Reid, do you don't even see it do you?"
He furrowed his brows and stuck his hands in his pockets.
"See what?"
"See that you two have something. You are more open with her than anyone else. And it's obvious she cares about you."
"She told me before that it was the way she feels about someone like a brother. She took care of me and I returned the favor," he replied seeming rather oblivious for a typically smart man.
She shook her head. "I think you need to talk with her a bit more about that. There's a bit more to it than that. You'll see."
J.J. turned and left the room leaving behind a very confused Reid.