surrender, criminal minds [ 2 ]

046. the lesson

"Let's get started." Hotch says, walking in.

"Uh..." Penelope starts.

"Sorry I'm late." Spencer walks in. "I had an appointment."

"Yeah. Okay. 3 days ago, Bruce Phillips was found dead with his blonde hair dyed black. He had been put in a box and left on a busy street." Penelope says.

"A custom made box." Rossi notes.

"Maybe our unsub was a carpenter." Blake suggests.

"He stuffed them in there practically folding him in half." Derek says.

"He had also been hung and restrained and that's where the plot thickens like bad soup." Penelope says. "Yesterday, Justin Marks and Connie Foster, who were dating, they went missing two miles away from the first abduction site."

"A couple? He's escalating." JJ says.

"Yes. This morning, Justin's body was found. He had been hung. He had been stuffed in a box left in an alley." Penelope says. "Office says his brown hair had been dyed black. Connie's still missing."

"So he probably still wants her." JJ says.

"Why would he reject Justin overnight but keep the first male victim for two days?" Derek asks.

"Something about him didn't work out." Rossi says. "Look at his neck. He was hung multiple times."

"The question is, what does he do with Connie?" Blake questions.

"He could make her watch him abuse the men or have asphyxiative sex with them." Spencer says.

"Well, a brunette male and a woman are crucial to this guy's fantasy." Derek says.

"Well, he's kept Connie." Blake says.

"Maybe she's the object of his desire." Madelyn says.

"Well, our first order of business is finding her and then making sure he doesn't do this again." Hotch says. "Wheels up in 30."

+++

"All right, let's go over victimology." Hotch says. "Both male victims had their hair dyed black, and the woman is a brunette."

"The guys are similar. Same ages, same builds." Blake says.

"They were also abducted outside their homes, which were all in the same area." Rossi says.

"So they were probably being stalked." Derek says.

"Was Connie with her boyfriend when she was abducted?" Spencer asks.

"It looks that way. Her purse was found on the ground outside of his house." JJ says.

"So this involves some kind of ruse." Derek says.

"It's difficult to lure most people from the security of their own homes." Spencer says.

"Well, some people let their guard down." Blake says.

"Yeah, but stalking victims vary their routes home. They enter and exit through different doors, they wear disguises. They don't talk to anyone in their driveway. They hardly talk to anyone at all. They're-- they're terrorized." Spencer says. Madelyn's eyebrows raise at the tone of his voice, seeming more effected than he normally would be.

"Okay, so maybe they were followed, Reid. I mean, bottom line is the unsub escalated. The first male was abducted alone, the second was with his girlfriend." Derek says.

"Well, what do we know about her?" JJ asks.

"Connie was in her 30s, baked cakes for a living. She never had a run in with the law." Blake says.