Author's note: I'm baaaaaaack. Thank you to everyone that has followed/favorited/reviewed! it means the world to me that you guys are enjoying my story so far and I was so excited that I finished this chapter sooner than expected. Please, please please review! I love reading comments about my works.
(I do not own criminal minds or their characters)
Let's go!
"Are you the BAU team?" an officer called as Reid followed Hotch into the crowded California police station.
"Yes, I'm SSA Aaron Hotchner and this is Dr. Spencer Reid." Hotch said, shaking hands with the man. Reid sent him a small wave rather than a handshake, preferring not to exchange pathogens with the strange man.
"I'm Detective Andrews. We have a room back here for your team." The two agents followed Andrews down a hall and the trio entered a large room set up with a round table, multiple white boards, clear maps of Pasadena, crime scene photos and a box of relevant files. "Are you guys it, or are there more members of your unit?"
"The rest of us are in the field, looking at the most recent dumpsite and the bodies of the victims." Hotch's tone was dismissive as he began pinning photos up on the wall.
"Well, let me know if you need anything." Andrews said nearly over his shoulder as he turned to leave.
"We will, thank you." Reid said as he proceeded to draw black dots in each alley where bodies were dumped, and red dots where each of the victims lived on a clear, Pasadena street map. "He's already all over the map with victims, literally." He said to Hotch, gesturing for him to come over and look at what he'd done. "None of the victims lived within 20 miles of each other."
"Garcia is looking into backgrounds right now, seeing if there's a connection between any of them. If these victims are random, there's no telling where he'll strike next."
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"All of their stomachs and intestines were completely empty. They definitely were not fed." The coroner said, brushing a strand of long, blonde hair away from her bright, blue eyes. "There are tract marks on each victim's left hand, so they were on IV fluid to keep them alive, but there was no evidence of it in their blood, so it was probably taken out a day or two before they were killed."
"Were the genitals and biceps of the male victims removed post or anti mortem?" JJ asked. The sight of these defaced bodies was one of the worst she could recall seeing.
"Post. There was little blood in the areas that were cut to retrieve the parts."
"So it's not torture." Morgan wondered aloud. "They must be trophies. The female victims were missing hair, noses and nails. Were those removed post mortem as well?"
"No," the coroner cringed, uncovering the faces of the two girls. "Everything done to the girls was done while they were alive."
"So it's about torturing the girls and emasculating the men post mortem?" JJ looked to Morgan and he had the same look in his eyes, the one that said 'this guy's MO is all over the place.'
"Would the male victims have survived if they had been alive for the amputations?" Morgan asked.
The coroner raised one eyebrow. "No. Not both at least. Maybe one or the other, but both would cause too much blood loss, especially in the younger boy. They would have died much sooner. Although that didn't seem to be a problem for the women."
"How much medical training would someone need to know removing muscles and reproductive organs would cause fatal blood loss?"
"Not much. Considering the size of the cuts removing entire muscles would leave behind and the fact that sex ed. is mandatory in schools, this person could have been a sixth grader that paid attention in health class."
"Well that doesn't narrow it down much." JJ said, slightly disappointed that it didn't take an MD to know about the amount of blood vessels in the male reproductive system. "Thank you for your time and report."
"No problem." The coroner smiled. "Do me a favor and find this guy before I have to perform another autopsy on one of his victims."
"We'll do our best ma'am." Morgan smirked slightly. "We will do our best."
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"Hey Blake," Reid looked up as Hotch answered his phone and put it on speaker, "what did you guys find?"
"There was nothing special about either dumpsite, Hotch." Blake's voice came through the phone. "They were just alleys. One between a bar and a restaurant and another between an apartment building and a barber shop. Both were lined with dumpsters, but that was the only similarity."
Rossi's voice came through the phone next. "I think it's all about what the unsub does while he has his victims. Unless there is something similar in victimology, because these dumpsites are just that, dumpsites."
"Garcia should be calling us any minute with info on the victims and their families. When she does, we'll have her dial you in." Reid said, just before Hotch hung up.
"When are the families coming in?" Reid asked, surprised that he hadn't seen at least one member of any of the victim's families.
"We're going to them. This afternoon. You're talking to Amanda Stevenson's fiancé." Hotch's tone was flat to the untrained ear, but Reid could pick out the subtle change in his voice; the one that told him he could empathize with the fiancé better than anyone.
"Alright, for now we should-" Hotch' phone rang, cutting Reid off. "Wait for Garcia to call."
Hotch answered the phone. "Dial Rossi and Morgan in, Garcia." He said.
"You got it my liege." Garcia's happy, sweet voice bubbled through the phone. Seconds later, the rest of the tem was listening to what Garcia had to say. "So," she began, setting everyone up for the long lecture they were facing, "the first two victims, Tom and Jesse were quite similar. Tom was the quarterback on the varsity team when he was a sophomore, captain of the baseball and volleyball teams, and head of student council. The younger boy, Jesse, is all of those things. He's like a miniature version of Tom. Since that was the case, I kept digging and their paths never crossed. Tom moved to Pasadena a couple of months ago, so they didn't attend the same high school, they live 25 miles apart so they don't shop at the same grocery stores, go to the same coffee shops, or have any medical providers in common. As far as I can tell, the two have never even passed each other on the street."
"Garcia," Morgan interjected. "Why did Tom Adams move to Pasadena?"
"Because his business branched out. He owned a chain of fitness facilities and taught self defense classes in his Pasadena location."
"So they were both alpha males." Reid mumbled, he knew he was starting to figure something out, but his subconscious wouldn't let the rest of his mind see the progress yet. "Their victimology is similar, what about the two girls, Garcia?"
"Well, boy wonder, I'm glad you asked because we have yet another case of creepily similar people. Both girls were head cheerleader, captain of the dance team, had solos in choir, were named prom queen, got the leads in the school plays and didn't break a sweat doing any of it." Garcia paused to take a much needed breath after that long winded explanation. "They were both the stereotypical popular girls, but again, their paths never crossed. Mallory was practicing to be a model and Amy was a model, but with different companies on the opposite sides of the city. No shared schools, jobs, nothing."
"They sound like alpha females." JJ said. "Could that be the connection? The unsub is going after people he perceives as powerful?"
"And he's experimenting with how he likes to torture and figuring out what helps him get off." Rossi concluded.
"Thanks Garcia. When the rest of you get back, we'll start putting together the profile. We can't present it until we talk to the victim's families, but we're almost there. Morgan and JJ, got talk to Jesse Moore's family, Blake and Rossi, Tom Adams'. Reid will talk to Amy Stevenson's fiancé and I'll go to Mallory Campbell's house. Garcia, send the addresses."
"On it boss." Garcia's smirk was audible as a chorus of "Okay"s came through the phone form the rest of the team. Garcia disconnected the call and Reid's phone buzzed seconds later, notifying him of the text Garcia had sent. Hotch's phone dinged a moment later, signalling that he had gotten his address.
"Call me as soon as you're done." Hotch said to Reid as they left the building.
"Will do." Reid called as he ducked to get into the SUV, still brushing the top of his head against the roof of the black vehicle. He waved through the tinted window as Hotch drove out past him in the opposite direction. Reid never particularly enjoyed asking families about their deceased loved ones; they always got angry or extremely emotional and he was never quite sure how to comfort them. But after Maeve, Reid knew better than anyone on the team-accept for maybe Hotch-what it felt like to lose the person you love most, and the young genius was more than prepared to use that empathy to his advantage.
Hope you enjoyed! The action is coming next chapter I promise! Till then, 3 3 all the love! Please review!