Chapter 14
Week 05
"Katie!" Rossi beamed at the familiar figure coming in the door, trailing a brace of junior agents.
SSA Katherine "Katie" Cole came over and gave him a big hug. "Dave. I haven't seen you in forever! How have you been?"
"It's been a long few weeks around here. How's the Innocent Images Unit doing?"
"Hopefully in good hands for a few weeks." She looked around as Hotch came over to them. "All right, Aaron, we're yours for as long as you need us."
"Thank you." Hotch said. "I know it's asking a lot." He looked around at the team. "Why don't we go into the conference room." Once they were all settled he addressed the group. "We should probably start with introductions, I know my team is familiar with Katie here, but I don't believe you and Blake have met, Blake this is SSA Katherine Cole, but she prefers Katie. She's currently heading up the Innocent Images Unit."
"Child porn and trafficking?" Blake confirmed.
"Yes, but before that she was with the BAU for three years. I worked with her when I first joined the unit. Our teams worked a case together…six years ago but otherwise there hasn't been a lot of crossover."
"Meaning you don't know Dr. Reid socially?" Katie nodded, triggering Blake's smile, "A profiler who doesn't know Reid. Perfect."
"Katie, this is Alex Blake…" And Hotch went on with the introductions, both his team and the agents Katie had brought with her.
But Rossi was the better teacher. "For those of you unfamiliar with some of our techniques we're been trying to run vicimiology in the Reid/Patterson case. In our department this means going through every detail of the life of every victim to answer the question why. Why this victim at this time, what do they have in common with the other victims that may have made them part of a class that met the Unsub's desires? If we can find out what he was looking for we might be able to learn something about him that will help us find him."
"Sometimes it's as simple as prostitutes with blond hair." Morgan said. "Or women who remind him of his mother. Sometimes it's more complex, for example Samantha Malcolm chose victims who reminded her of a set of dolls she had as a child. Karl Arnold and Miranda Jakar both chose families who reminded them of their families at the time that their families fell apart. But in each case understanding the victims helped point the way to the killer."
Hotch continued. "The problem is that one of the victims is an agent from this unit. More than that, he's a friend. We know him too well, we're being blinded by our assumptions and we believe that because of this we're missing something. So we need your help. You have access to all of his case files, to all of his records on his work outside of the Department, to his home and personal vehicle, any of us will sit for an interview, and there are funds budgeted for travel anywhere in the US. Hopefully you can find what we're missing."
"Just so you all know." Rossi spoke up. "Things may come up that need to stay off the official record. If that happens calculate it in but discretely."
"Rossi?" Hotch asked. "Will you liaise with Katie's team? You have the most experience."
"Of course," Rossi replied.
"Thank you." Hotch looked over at Katie. "Good luck." And with that the rest of the BAU team left the room.
"Okay." Katie took over. "Let's start at the beginning. Johnny, get with Garcia and go over his virtual life. Peter, you and Lisa go over his case files, but don't look only at the Unsubs, I want to know what Dr. Reid's role was in each case. Kelly, you and Mike start with his personal world, his desk here, briefcase, car and his apartment. In between that you can help me with the interviews." She went and put a list on the white board:
Hotch
Morgan
Jareau
Blake
Rossi
Garcia
Katie looked over at Rossi. "What about his family?"
"His Mom, Diana Reid." Rossi replied. "I'll go with you on that one; we'll have to head out to Vegas and interview her there. It's going to be a tricky one, she has Paranoid Schizophrenia. JJ's husband Will LaMontagne, I know he's close with their family. And…off the record?"
"Of course."
"We can try to track down his sponsor."
"Sponsor?" It took a minute. "AA?"
"NA."
"One of her agents spoke up, "This guy?"
"It's a long story."
"Okay." Katie said.
Hotch
Morgan
Jareau
Blake
Rossi
Garcia
Diana Reid
Will LaMontagne
Bill W.
"Who else?" She asked.
"Who else?" Rossi asked, clearly confused.
"What about his father?"
"They've been estranged for years; I don't think they keep in contact at all."
"Any siblings? Extended family?"
"Not that we know of."
"What about a girlfriend?"
"He's only had one and she passed away last year."
"What about any friends, people he associates with outside of the job?"
"I know he teaches at Georgetown. Blake's your go-to on that."
"What about outside of work entirely?" Rossi was silent. "So….you're saying he doesn't have a private life?"
Rossi was silent a little longer and then sighed. "You know, ten minutes ago I would have said his life was an open book. But he hid his relationship with Maeve Donovan for almost a year, none of us had a clue…"
"That's not an open book." Katie pointed out.
"I know." Rossi replied. "I'm glad you came out Katie."
"Likewise."
.
Note: SSA Katherine "Katie" Cole was seen in episode 02x02 "P911"