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'Weird, Alaska'
Chapter Two
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The team sat at the round table in their conference room looking at their individual copies of the information Sheriff Reischl had provided. "You really think this little town in the middle of nowhere has a serial killer?" Rossi asked.
"It wouldn't be the first time," Morgan commented.
"Sheriff Reischl is certainly convinced," Hotch added.
"What did the State Police say when you called them, JJ?" Reid asked.
"They told me the same thing they told Sheriff Reischl, that they believe the three murders to be just a coincidence."
Prentiss shook her head. "Calling it a coincidence seems a little convenient, don't you think? I mean, three victims all within a relatively small area when the UnSub has a state the size of Alaska to dump the bodies in?"
"The state of Alaska is the largest of the fifty United States. It consists of approximately 663,267 square miles, or 1,717,854 square kilometers, 86.23 percent of which is land area. The other 13.77 percent of area consists of water from 3,000 rivers and three million lakes. However, only ninety-four of those lakes have a surface area of more than ten square miles…" Reid's voice trailed off as he realized all six of his teammates were now staring at him.
"Thank you for the geography lesson, honey. I was never much good at it in high school," Garcia commented with a grin. Her comment elicited a laugh from Morgan.
"Do you know its 3,359 miles from D.C. to Anchorage, Alaska?"
"Thank you kid," Morgan commented.
"So tell us, Reid, what's the population of Alaska?" Rossi asked.
"As of the 2000 Census the population was approximately 626,932, which ranked Alaska forty-eighth amongst the states. However, the 2005 estimate puts the population at 663,661; which moves the state up one rank to forty-seventh in terms of population."
"So," Garcia said, leaning forward. "Is it true there are more men than women in Alaska?"
Reid nodded. "51.7 percent male versus 48.3 percent female. However, in some areas of the state the population disparity is much higher." He looked around at the others. "Um, she asked…"
"Yeah. Thanks a lot, Garcia!" Prentiss commented.
"Why haven't any of these three women been identified yet?" JJ asked.
"Sheriff Reischl said none of the three victims were local. If they're from elsewhere in Alaska there's no missing persons reports out that they could be matched up with; and they haven't been matched to any missing persons in the national databases either," Morgan answered.
"These women came from somewhere," Rossi commented. "Someone knows they're missing."
"No identification of the victims makes a profile that much more difficult." Reid stood up and walked over to the board where JJ had hung a large map of Alaska. He traced the Parks Hwy with a red marker from Anchorage to Fairbanks and then stood looking at the map for a moment. "Since the George Parks Hwy is the major route between Anchorage and Fairbanks that makes it one of the three most travelled routes in Alaska. I also noticed the first murder occurred six months ago, the second occurred three months ago, and the third only three weeks ago."
"Approximately three months apart. Might be a pattern," Hotch commented.
"Three months equates to what?" Morgan asked. "Maybe we have a businessman who travels quarterly between Anchorage and Fairbanks for a sales meeting or a presentation?"
"How far off the road were the bodies found?"
Hotch looked at the file. "The latest victim, the one found just outside the city limits was approximately one hundred feet north of the road connecting Weird to the Parks Hwy. Victim one was found one hundred feet east of the Parks Hwy just north of the junction of the road and the Hwy, while victim two was found 100 feet west of the Parks Hwy just south of the junction of the two roads."
"One hundred feet, one hundred feet…"
"What are you thinking, Reid?" Morgan asked.
"Hotch, you said the Sheriff's jurisdiction extends twenty miles in all directions from the town?"
"Yes."
"And Weird is ten miles from the Parks Hwy…" Reid stood looking at the map for a moment then turned to look at his teammates. "The Parks Hwy itself would be under the jurisdiction of the State Police. However, if the Sheriff's jurisdiction continues past the highway, which it apparently does for another ten miles, then the state jurisdiction begins a certain distance on one side of the highway and ends a certain distance on the other side of the highway before Sheriff Reischl's jurisdiction begins again."
"So…the UnSub probably knows that," Rossi commented. "And perhaps was making sure to leave the victims in an area that would fall under local jurisdiction instead of state jurisdiction."
"Makes a lot of sense," Hotch commented.
"Do you know its 2,463 miles from Anchorage to Seattle, plus the approximate 250 miles the Sheriff had to drive to Anchorage to even get on a plane? He travelled a long way to get to your seminar." Reid looked back at the map. "All the officials that travelled from Alaska did, though some of them flew out of Fairbanks or other locations within the state."
"We know that already. What's your point?"
"I just thought I would mention it." Stung a little by Rossi's comment Reid stared intently at the map for a few seconds before drawing a small red circle on it.
"What's that?" Morgan asked, leaning forward.
"I found the town of Weird on this map."
"Good job, Spence. I couldn't find it when I looked," JJ commented.
"Here's the road," Reid said, his brow furrowed as he grabbed a different color marker and traced the short road from the town to the highway with it. "You can barely see it." He sat back down at the table and asked, "Does that little ten mile road have a name?"
"If it does I don't know what it is," Hotch answered.
"What's the weather like in that part of the state this time of year?"
Five members of the team looked expectantly at Reid. He looked down at the table and said nothing. "Well, ahem," Garcia said, flipping her laptop open. "Finding weather information on the Internet is easy."
"The average temperature in Anchorage for the month of April is 35.8 degrees Fahrenheit, with an average high of 42.8, and an average low of 28.6. In Fairbanks the average temperature is 30.7 degrees Fahrenheit, with an average low of 20.4, and an average high of 41.0. Precipitation can be unpredictable. The weather around the town of Weird is likely to be within the temperature ranges of those two cities." Reid looked around the table. "So basically we would need jackets and gloves, maybe a hat and a scarf as well."
"But a parka and a heated space suit won't be necessary," Rossi quipped. His comment elicited a chuckle from Morgan and a small smile from Hotch.
"Garcia, we would like to have you along; however, it doesn't appear the facilities in Weird will be adequate for you to do your job. You would need to set up in Fairbanks, which is over one hundred miles away."
"One hundred miles is a lot closer than 3,359 miles," Garcia commented.
"I may be there with you, Penelope," JJ commented. "Once the State Police find out we're coming in there will be a reaction. Either they'll be pissed off, or they'll take Sheriff Reischl a lot more seriously. Regardless I'll need to act as a liaison between them, us and the Sheriff." She looked over at Hotch. "We are coming in, right Hotch?"
"I have to admit, I was personally convinced before Sheriff Reischl left the room back in Seattle."
Morgan nodded. "He had me too."
"Why come all the way back, then? Why not stay there and just call the rest of us?" Rossi joked. "You could have saved yourself all the hassle of flying cross country again."
"We wanted to run the case by you and get your input. I also wanted to see Jack before we left again."
"Of course. I can certainly understand that."
"Okay everyone, go home, and pack appropriately. Meet at the airstrip in two hours. We'll be flying into Merrill Field at Anchorage and driving from there to Weird." He looked at his watch. "With the time difference between here and Alaska and the flying time involved we should arrive at approximately four pm local time."
"Who the hell decided to name a town 'Weird' anyway?" Rossi asked.
"Someone with a sick sense of humor, maybe?" Garcia cracked.
As the team rose from their chairs and gathered up their files Hotch said, "Reid, may I see you for a moment?" Morgan looked from Hotch to Reid as he left the room and Reid stayed behind. Once the others had filed out Hotch continued, "Reid, what's wrong?"
"Nothing is wrong, Hotch."
"You don't seem quite like yourself today."
"In what way?"
"That thing about the weather, for example. If you know something you usually say so."
Reid shrugged. "People get tired of hearing me talk sometimes."
"Someone has said that to you recently?"
"Well, not in so many words…"
"Reid, I admit you can be irritating when you go off on tangents, but that doesn't mean you should feel uncomfortable with giving us information if you have it. After all this time I thought you would be over feeling that way." Hotch looked at him for a moment. "Reid, is something else bothering you? Things don't usually bother you like this."
"I, I don't know. Maybe I'm just feeling a little down right now." Almost as if he realized he might not have said the right thing he quickly added, "But that doesn't mean I can't go to Alaska. In fact I want to go!"
"Reid, you're going. I was just a little concerned, that's all."
"I'm sorry, Hotch. I don't mean to make you to feel that way. I'm fine." He smiled. "Maybe that cool, fresh air up there in Alaska will be good for all of us."
"Maybe it will."
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Two hours into the plane ride everyone other than Reid and Hotch were asleep. Reid sat with a book in his lap and Hotch was reading files. "Hotch, you should try and get some sleep. This is a long flight with plenty of time to relax; and besides, you work too much anyway."
A small smile tugged at the corner of Hotch's mouth before he answered. "Thank you for your concern, Reid. It's appreciated. However, if I work on this now I should be able to nap the last couple hours of the flight."
"Oh, sure. I believe you're really going to sleep for two hours on this plane. When have you ever done that?"
"I'll tell you what Reid; if I haven't closed these files and tried to take a nap by the time we are within two hours of Anchorage you have my permission to pull them out of my hand and smack me with them."
Reid laughed out loud, causing Morgan, who was sitting across from him to stir. "Hunh, what?"
"Nothing Morgan, go back to your beauty sleep," Reid commented. "I can't believe you actually said that, Hotch."
"You've said you're trying to be more conversational, and I'm trying to exhibit some semblance of a sense of humor on occasion."
With a grin Reid reached into his messenger bag and pulled out a small travel alarm clock. "I'm holding you to your word. I'm setting the alarm on this clock for three hours from now. If I doze off I'm going to wake up and check to make sure you're actually getting some rest."
As Reid laid his head back against his seat back and closed his eyes Hotch quietly remarked, "I'm sure you will."
Three hours later Reid was startled awake by his alarm. He yawned, for a moment forgetting why he had set the clock in the first place. He looked around the plane, and saw Hotch dozing in his seat with a file folder still open on the table in front of him. Reid stood up, walked over to him, and picked up the file and closed it. He gathered up all the folders that had been sitting in front of Hotch and slid them into his briefcase. He then returned to his own seat, leaned his head back against the seat once more and dozed off again within a few minutes.
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"What time zone are we in now?" Morgan asked; yawning as the team prepared for the plane to land in Anchorage.
"Alaska Daylight Time," Reid responded. "Most of Alaska is in the same time zone, except for the Western Aleutian Islands which are on Hawaii-Aleutian Time. We are currently one hour behind Pacific Time, four hours behind Quantico, and eight hours behind Greenwich Mean Time…" His voice trailed off as he noticed a couple of his teammates rolling their eyes. He busied himself resetting the time on his watch. He flipped open his cell phone to check the time on it as well, though he knew the time would automatically set itself to the local time based on what cell phone towers the signal was bouncing off of.
"It's okay, Spence," JJ said. "Just a little more info than a couple of us felt like hearing when we just woke up and are feeling grouchy."
"Reid," Hotch called as the younger agent headed for the exit.
"Yes, Hotch?"
"Thank you."
Reid's brow furrowed. "For what?"
"For actually waking up to check on me and also for putting the folders away. I know it was you who did that."
Reid smiled. "No problem, Hotch. I told you I would make sure you were resting."
As the team exited the plane they could see two Bureau SUVs waiting for them. In addition they saw a black Ford Expedition with standard police lights on its roof and a star logo on its side sitting next to their vehicles. As they approached the vehicles they saw a tall, slender man with longish dark hair walk around the front of the Expedition and head toward them. He was wearing jeans and a flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up over a long-sleeved thermal shirt. Garcia leaned over toward Prentiss and JJ. "See what I mean, ladies? Sheriff Jacob Reischl in the flesh. Mighty fine, right?"
"Unh, hunh," Prentiss commented. "Good description, Penelope."
"I have to admit though, he looks better in person than in the pictures I saw."
"Ladies!" JJ said, trying not to laugh.
"Agent Hotchner," Sheriff Reischl said, extending his hand. "It's really good to have you here." He looked at Morgan and nodded. "Agent Morgan, good to see you again."
"You really didn't have to come all the way down here to meet us," Hotch commented. "But thank you for doing so."
"It's the least I could do, Agent Hotchner." He looked around expectantly at the rest of the group.
"Everyone, this is Sheriff Jacob Reischl. Sheriff Reischl, this is SSA David Rossi, SSA Jennifer Jareau, SSA Emily Prentiss, SSA Dr. Spencer Reid and our technical analyst Penelope Garcia."
"David Rossi? The David Rossi? I had no idea you were part of the team. I've read several of your books. This is very cool."
"Thank you."
"I guess I spoke to you on the phone, nice to meet you," he said to JJ. She nodded. "Agent Prentiss, nice to meet you. Miss Garcia, nice to meet you as well." He looked at Reid. "Hmm. You must be the exceptional one."
"Uh, excuse me?"
Morgan chuckled. "At the seminar one of the questions asked was how old was the youngest member of the team. Hotch said the youngest member was twenty-eight and had been with the BAU almost six years, and with a mentor in the Bureau before that. He also said you were exceptional."
Reid blushed. "Oh, uh, thank you, Hotch."
"Thanks Sheriff," Hotch commented. "Now he'll have a swelled head."
"I don't know how you all handle protocol with names, but I personally don't think it's necessary for people to be calling me Sheriff Reischl all the time. Most of the people in town just refer to me as Sheriff or Jacob. You can handle it however you're comfortable handling it."
"No problem," Morgan answered. "We're not overly formal with names for the most part."
"We have three vehicles here, mine and your two. I guess we'll have to figure out who wants to ride with whom before we start on our way." He reached for one of the bags Garcia was carrying. "Here, let me help you with that." Garcia handed her computer bag over with a silly grin on her face.
As everyone once again started walking toward the vehicles Garcia commented, "He has just a little gray at the temples. And beautiful gray eyes."
JJ nudged Prentiss with her elbow. "What?"
"Look higher, girl. Your eyes are aimed too low."
"JJ!"
"They are, honey!" Garcia laughed as she observed Sheriff Reischl talking to Hotch as they walked.
"You have to admit the back view and the front view are both pretty good," Prentiss replied.
"Ladies, can we please try to remember we are professionals here, and that Sheriff Reischl is a law enforcement official we are here to help solve a case?"
"We can try, but I ain't dead, JJ!" Garcia commented.
"We just got off a flight of over seven hours. So we're a little punch drunk," Prentiss joked.
"I'll drive one of the SUV's," Hotch was saying. "Rossi can drive the other. Okay, who wants to ride where?"
"I'll ride with the Sheriff," Morgan commented.
"Do you mind if I do as well?" Reid asked.
"Of course not."
"Damn those boys!" Garcia grumbled. "There goes my chance to ride with him!"
"Okay then, Morgan and Reid will ride with Sheriff Reischl; JJ you're with me, Garcia and Prentiss with Rossi."
Sheriff Reischl placed Garcia's computer bag into Rossi's SUV while the others stowed their bags in whatever vehicle they were riding in. As Reid set his messenger bag on the back seat of the Expedition he said, "Sheriff, if you don't mind…at some point I'd love to hear your thoughts on possibly moving the State Capital from Juneau to Anchorage or some other location."
"Reid…" Morgan started to say.
"No problem, Agent Reid. The most recent initiative was in 2002 and it failed. That was the sixth attempt by ballot initiative, and there have also been three legislative referrals. I'm sure they'll get it on the ballot again at some point. Once we get going here I'll be happy to discuss the pros and cons with you." He shut the back of the Expedition after Reid and Morgan put their bags inside. "I'm just happy to see that someone from the Lower Forty-Eight even knows anything about moving the capital, let alone is seeking out an opinion on the idea." He looked at the group. "Well, you've all had a long flight. Would you like to grab something to eat or drink before we set out? We're talking better than four hours of driving to get to Weird."
"Not a bad idea," Hotch said. "We're in your hands. What do you recommend?"
Sheriff Reischl laughed. "Depends on what you like. Just follow me, I know a place." He climbed into the driver's seat of the Expedition, with Morgan in the passenger seat and Reid in the back seat. The others climbed into the respective vehicles, and followed the Sheriff as he maneuvered his vehicle out of the parking area.
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A/N: You have to love the Internet because it makes it so much easier for me to look up statistics for Reid to quote…
A/N: Weird is almost twice as far from Anchorage as it is from Fairbanks. However, I decided to fly the team into Anchorage and have them drive the longer distance past Denali and other locations.
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