Chapter 10
Rossi and Hotch walked on either side of Detective Parsons as the trio walked along a worn path leading into the park near the public high school. The men ducked beneath the yellow crime scene tape and continued walking. Hotch sighed and looked at Rossi. He just about had time to hurry inside and hand an officer the evidence bags containing the letter and envelope with instructions to have both checked for prints. He hurried to join the others who waited for him outside the SUV.
"You said an early morning jogger found the body?" asked Rossi glancing at Parsons.
"Yeah. But he didn't see anybody if that's what you're going to ask me next."
"Strange area of the park to dump a body," Hotch observed. "The Unsub took a big risk bringing and dumping a body here. From the looks of this path, it's often used by foot traffic. He risked running into joggers or others using this same path."
"It is," Parsons explained. "It's used often by civilians and students alike and not just for jogging. A lot of the students in the high school use it as a shortcut to and from the school." He stopped when they reached their location. The detective stared at the upper half of the young woman's body leaning against a tree as if in a partial seated position. The lower half lay, spread-eagled, on the ground at an angle, as if tossed there like trash. He had hoped Clarissa Meadows would be found alive.
"Same as the others," Rossi commented, hands on hips staring at the body. He glanced at Hotch who hadn't uttered a word since they saw the body, and wondered what was on the man's mind. "Aaron? You all right?"
The dark-haired man looked at his friend. "I will be when we catch this sick bastard." As Hotch studied the body, he glanced at Rossi. "It was something JJ said to me. She asked how could I look at the parents I spoke with, and tell them I believe their missing child is alive when in my heart I knew they were probably dead."
"We all hope the same thing when we interview parents. We have to give them and ourselves something to hold onto."
"I realize that. But from the moment Clarissa Meadows went missing, my gut kept telling me the Unsub had her. I knew she was dead the entire time." He exhaled and swallowed the lump in his throat. "I feel like I lied to JJ."
"The way this Unsub's escalated since we've been here, that's not surprising. You didn't lie. We have to accept that innocent people are gonna die and that we can't save everybody."
Hotch crouched beside the body. He frowned at the expression of horror forever etched on Clarissa's face because of the torture she endured at the hands of the Unsub. Hotch grieved as he looked at the damage done to the young woman. Every time he thought he had seen the worst that a part of humanity subjected the innocent to, he still found himself amazed. He mulled over what he would tell the Meadows family.
The rest of the team walked inside the police station, and right away sensed something had happened.
"What's going on?" asked Prentiss.
"I'll see if I can find out," JJ said before she hurried off to speak with the nearest uniformed officer leaving the others alone. She came back a few minutes later looking grim. "Clarissa Meadows' body was discovered a few minutes ago. Hotch and Rossi went to the crime scene with Detective Parsons." There was silence among the other profilers for a few minutes until Reid broke the silence.
"At least the Unsub is sticking to his MO," he said. He then looked at Morgan. "I'm not saying you need to worry, Derek. I'm just reminding you we all need to keep on our toes now. This Unsub's killed another woman. And if my hypothesis is correct, and I don't doubt that it is, it's a safe bet our next victim will be a male."
"What about your belief that the next victim will be somebody on this team?" asked JJ. "I mean, we have four males on this team. You, Morgan, Hotch and Rossi."
Reid remained calm on the outside; but inside, he was a bit nervous. "Then I suggest the rest of us will have to be on our toes."
"Unless…." Prentiss began. "This is the Unsub's intention. To get us believing the next male victim is one of our own, so we'll be distracted enough when he grabs somebody off the street."
"It would be the perfect means," JJ agreed with a shake of her head.
"Then I say let's give him what he wants," Morgan added.
"What are you talking about?" asked Emily afraid of the answer.
"He wants us to believe that I'm the next target. I say let's use that to our advantage. I can make myself available as bait to lure this guy out of hiding."
"Forget it!" Prentiss stated. "Are you out of your mind? Hotch would never go along with that to begin with."
Morgan sighed. "Look, we don't have many options left. We lost our only two suspects, and we haven't found anybody else that even comes close to meeting the profile. I, for one, don't see us having any other choice."
Prentiss found herself staring at Morgan fuming with his somewhat cavalier attitude. "Forget it. You are not gonna play cowboy. And I, for one, do not want to have to explain to Garcia how you purposely risked your life again." She saw her words had struck a cord with the agent. "Or did you forget New York?" she asked with an arched eyebrow.
Morgan's stance softened. He recalled how upset his baby girl was when he drove an ambulance carrying a bomb into Central Park in New York which had been parked inside a hospital.(1)
JJ folded her arms across her chest. "Why don't we let Hotch decide what options we do or don't have before you run off and play hero."
Jason Armitage stood back and smiled. The secret room was in order awaiting Aaron Hotchner's arrival. The aluminum table and his knives were clean; even the crowbar had been wiped clean of stains. After all, he didn't want his guest to get an infection and die before he killed him. Also, he intended to take his time with Hotchner. He wanted to savor every moment with the profiler. He hugged himself as he dreamt of all the things he wanted to do to the agent before he killed him. To conquer the almighty Aaron Hotchner was his goal and in less than forty-eight hours, he would have him.
Hotchner had been a problem for more than ten years, and it was time the man paid for what he did to him. He had never forgiven the man for prosecuting him when Hotchner was with the district attorney's office. How dare he prosecute him for killing the man who killed Armitage's son while letting the guilty man himself go free. And when he held Hotchner prisoner last time, the agent explained that there was no proof the man Armitage believed guilty was responsible. But Armitage didn't believe him. Hotchner was just covering for his own incompetence. So, he took matters into his own hands and killed the man himself. But his own incarceration wasn't the only fallout he suffered. The death of their child had led to the death of Armitage's wife.(2) Payback was the one thing which kept him alive and fueled his rage at the FBI agent throughout the years.
He though he had Hotchner years ago when he locked him in a house and set it on fire leaving the man restrained on a bed. If it hadn't been for Agents Rossi and Morgan, Hotchner would have perished in the fire. But they got the man out just before the entire house became engulfed. "If you had just done your job, Aaron," Armitage said aloud to nobody. "All you had to do was your job and you wouldn't be in this predicament. it's all your fault." He chuckled. "And I am going to be your judge, jury and executioner." He ground his lower jaw. "And mark my words, this time you will not escape your punishment."
Reid, Morgan, Prentiss and JJ, seated around the conference table, had been going over their information. After about an hour, the door opened, and Hotch and Rossi walked in looking grim.
"We heard about Clarissa Meadows," JJ said, her blue eyes focused on her boss's stoic face. Hotch nodded. The blond could see the familiar haunted look in his dark brown eyes. "Hotch, you can't blame yourself," she added. "We suspected the Unsub may have had her the moment she went missing. "You keep blaming yourself for everybody we can't save, you're going to burn yourself out like Gideon."
"I'll be all right," Hotch replied in a tone indicating the discussion about his feelings was finished. But his eyebrows arched when JJ, smiling, handed him a paper bag same time Emily handed one to Rossi.
"What's this?" asked Hotch as he opened his.
"Well, since you and Rossi skipped breakfast, JJ and I decided to bring you both something back from the coffee shop," Emily grinned.
"We got Rossi coffee and a buttered bagel. And for you, coffee and a croissant."
"So both of you, shut up and eat," Prentiss smirked.
Rossi and Hotch both sat down at the table. "Guess we've been outnumbered," Hotch told his best friend before taking a bite of his croissant.
"I agree," Rossi kidded. "Facing an angry JJ and Emily is one thing. But with an empty stomach, not advisable." He took a bite of the bagel and smiled.
"Any news on the items I turned over for a fingerprint check?" Hotch asked between bites of his pastry.
"Just as you said, Hotch," Morgan explained. "There weren't any. Unsub must've worn gloves."
"Well, you gotta admit one thing," Rossi began as he sat between Morgan and JJ. "This guy's organized and professional in carrying out everything while leaving us nothing."
"Except bodies," Emily commented with a shake of her head.
Hotch, taking a drink of hot coffee, sensed the team wasn't telling him something.
"What's going on?" he asked looking at each one except Rossi.
Prentiss, JJ, and Reid exchanged troubled looks and avoided their boss's face.
"I'm waiting," Hotch insisted. "Prentiss?"
Emily looked into Hotch's face and found the man staring at her with a look that would wilt an artificial plant. She bit her lower lip. "Morgan wants us to use him as bait to lure this guy out into the open. We told him…"
"Absolutely not!" Hotch interrupted her, his stare now on Morgan. "I do not want you to put yourself in any danger on purpose, Morgan. We will find this guy."
Morgan let out a deep breath. "I know we will, Hotch. But if he wants me, let's give him easy access to me. I can wear a wire and have a tracking device hidden on me. That way you guys can…"
"I said forget it," Hotch replied a bit harsher than he planned. He wasn't about to risk a member of his team to this lunatic. His face softened. "But thank you for the offer. Now, is there anything else we should know?"
The others told him of Reid's belief that the letter left for Morgan was a decoy. Hotch's eyebrows arched as did Rossi's.
"So you believe the letter left for Morgan was a ploy by the Unsub to distract us from his real target?" asked Rossi. "Am I understanding this correctly?"
"Not only that," Reid interjected. "But I believe somebody else on this team may be the real target."
"Any idea who that somebody else might be if it's not Morgan?" asked Hotch staring at his youngest agent.
"Unfortunately no," Reid replied. "But based on his predisposition to killing men followed by women, it's safe to say his next target will be a male. And if that holds true, that leaves you, Morgan, Rossi, and me as possible targets."
Rossi sighed. "Interesting hypothesis if true," Rossi wrapped his arms around himself. His eyes landed on Reid. "But that still leaves us with why Morgan got a letter, and not me, Hotch, or you. Just Morgan."
Reid crossed his long legs. "It's possible the Unsub believes that by leaving letters for each of the males on this team, it would put all of us on high alert. And he doesn't want that. But by singling out one of us, he believes we would rally around that one man to protect him at all cost, thus exposing the others. If he sent each of us a letter, we would all be on guard."
"As good as your theory is, Reid," Hotch explained. "I still can't justify using Morgan as bait. It's just possible our Unsub may want us to use Morgan as a way of getting to him." Hotch reached inside his jacket pocket hearing his cell vibrating. He checked the caller ID, and pressed a button. "You're on speaker, Garcia."
"Boss man, you asked me to let you know if I had any luck checking on who may have purchased Dahlias online."
"What did you find?" Hotch asked, his interest now peaked.
"That's just it, sir. I have a list so far of so far of eighty people who have purchased said flower in the past six months. Can you give me more to narrow down the search somehow?"
"Yeah, pretty mama. Check for people who have purchased either these flowers or bulbs within the last six months since moving to Santa Barbara," said Morgan.
"And Garcia…" Hotch interjected. "Include in that anyone who has bought these plants or bulbs in excess. Leave out anybody who bought one or two at a time. Our Unsub would have to have a supply of these flowers at his disposal.
"That's it," Garcia added, fingers flying over the keyboard. "Give me some more."
"Garcia…" Reid added. "Concentrate of those who only bought Dahlias in white and pink."
They could hear the tech analyst's fingers typing away on her keyboard. "I'll be back in a flash with the 411," she said before disconnecting the call. Hotch returned the phone to his pocket. He pressed a napkin to his mouth after finishing his croissant. "What else do we have so far?"
"That's about it," Morgan sighed watching his Unit Chief. "What happened at the crime scene? We heard that Clarissa Meadows' body had been found but no details."
Rossi took a gulp of coffee. "Not much to tell. Her murder was same as the others. The Unsub did a real number on her."
"She had been beaten about the head and face with a blunt instrument," Hotch continued. "There were many cuts and stab wounds. Gouges of flesh were missing. All the injuries which were present with Shannon Carstairs were present with Clarissa Meadows." Hotch then glanced at the blond. "JJ, I'll speak with the Meadows family this time," he said.
JJ smiled at her boss's offer. "If it's okay with you, I'd rather be the one to tell them."
"You don't have to."
"Yeah, I do." Her blue eyes met his brown ones and an unspoken message passed between them. Hotch nodded. He left out a deep breath. "We also found a crushed pink Dahlia beneath the lower half of her torso."
"But there was one thing different though," Rossi added, eyes narrowing. "With the other bodies, both halves were tossed like trash with the lower halves spread-eagled to give the impression of a sexual assault. With Clarissa Meadows, the upper half of her body was in a seated position, almost like it was placed there with the utmost care. The lower half, while lying spread-eagled, appeared to have been arranged instead of simply tossed like the others."
"Sounds like he took extra care with this victim," remarked Prentiss. "But why?"
"Could it be he knew her?" asked JJ.
"Maybe Clarissa Meadows reminded him of somebody he loved and lost?" asked Morgan. "Or maybe somebody he's working his way up to somebody with these kills."
"We didn't work any of that into the profile," Hotch interjected as he looked at his team. He crossed his arms. "We might have to rethink this entire profile. We're missing something."
Armitage leaned back in his recliner with a glass of red wine, staring out the window at the sun shining high over the trees. A slow smile appeared on his face. Everything was ready now. He knew his long-awaited dream of destroying the great Aaron Hotchner would soon come to fruition. As he closed his eyes, he imagined what he would do the minute he had Hotchner in the secret room.
He would use all his tools of torture on the man. He would not rush through what had to be done, because he wanted to savor everything. The man's screams would be music to his ears. Screams from the beatings, cuttings and gouging. The others had all screamed and so would the agent. And in the end, he would use the machete, and sever the man in half at the waist. He would enjoy hearing Hotchner's screams as his blood sprayed everywhere.
Armitage took a sip of his wine and smiled. He couldn't wait for the big moment. While it was good to relax, even he had to admit he was impatient. Impatient because he couldn't wait to grab Hotchner and get started. But now was not the time to rush things. To rush led to mistakes, and he was too close to reaching his goal to make a mistake now. He shifted in his chair and got more comfortable. No, he would somehow keep himself occupied and let things take their natural course.
The team sat around the table going over the information they had on the four murders hoping to find something they may have overlooked. Reid was busy at the board making a notation of where the latest body had been found. JJ was not with them, as she had gone into the outer room to phone the Meadows family and inform them of their daughter's death. Hotch held the evidence bag containing the envelope in his hand, staring at it, hoping to trigger his memory. If he could force himself to remember where he had seen the lettering.
Rossi glanced at his friend out of the corner of his eye. "Has that envelope talked back to you yet?"
Hotch looked at Rossi as if seeing him for the first time. "What?"
"You keep staring at that envelope like you expect it to talk back to you."
"I'm hoping if I look at it long enough, I'll remember where I've seen it before."
"Is it helping?"
"No." Hotch tossed the bag on the table in frustration. "It's just…I just have a feeling if I could remember where I've seen it before, it might help find the Unsub. I can't tell you why I feel this way, and I can't explain it, Dave." He looked at Rossi. The older man smiled. "It'll come to you, Aaron, when you least expect it."
Hotch exhaled through his nose and picked up the bag again. "I just wish I knew if we have the time for me to remember, Dave."
(1) Mayhem, Season 4.
(2) Mistaken Identities written by me, HotchRocks.