The Boss' Niece (Spencer Reid)

68. Like father, like son

"I have a sweet tooth?" Penelope added.

"Did you locate the missing woman on the security footage?" Derek asked as he and the team arrived at the desk of Detective Wolynski.

"On it. It's coming your way in 5, 4, 3, 2..." Before Penelope could finish, the security footage was on the Detective's computer screen.

"I got it." Derek smiled.

"Keep me on speaker, will you?" Penelope requested, Derek putting his phone on speaker before placing it on the desk.

"She doesn't seem to be on anyone's radar." Spencer noted, watching the footage.

"Look. Who's the kid?" Matt asked, pointing to the little body on the screen.

"Does Claire Thompson have a son?" Derek asked.

"No. 2-year-old daughter." Emily shook her head.

"It looks like the kid's lost." Rossi exhaled.

"Garcia, this all you got?" Derek asked.

"That's it. They turned down a hallway with no security camera and we lose them." Penelope shook her head, exhaling with disappointment.

"I'll get a list of missing kids, see if we can make out a resemblance to any of them." Detective Wolynski insisted, walking off.

"Derek, what's that look on your face?" Spencer looked at Derek, who exhaled.

"All the abductions and disposals have been timed around school. Emily and I thought the unsub might work in the system. What if this guy's actually using his own son to lure his victims?" Derek explained.

10 minutes later, half a dozen cops sat in the conference room of the station, each of them holding a pen and notepad in their hands. Emily had been talking for a bit while the team listened. As Spencer looked around at the room, he noticed Cassidy sitting in the corner, observing the meeting. What he noticed about her, was the fact that she had been quietly eating saltine crackers that were neatly stacked in a plastic container.

"Detective Wolynski told us you're trying to single out trucks and vans. That's smart." Matt nodded, exhaling.

"The unsub is dumping his victims in the business district, so I'd agree with you- he's probably not driving something that would stand out. He may even have some type of company logo on the side of his vehicle as well." Derek leaned against the back of a chair.

"We know that he abducts the women in Wauwatosa and dumps their bodies somewhere in the third ward. Most unsubs keep their area of control - where they kill their victims - triangulated between the two points." Spencer tried not to focus on the fact that his wife had been eating a whole lot of saltine crackers, and instead focused on helping the team catch the unsub.

"Which means that the unsub probably lives in Wauwatosa or the third ward. Somewhere in that area. And the people who live there know the unsub." Rossi exhaled.

"There's no sexual component to these crimes, which means it's more about the unsub making a point. He's cutting their hearts out." Emily tried not to groan at the disgusting fact.

"It might just be that this is the sickest way the unsub knows to disfigure the women and...throw them out like trash. We can't really know." Derek shrugged his shoulders.

"The two most important questions to ask ourselves are: What is this guy doing with these women for 48 hours? And why is he willing to use his own son to abduct them?" Spencer asked. He watched as Cassidy stood up, wiping her mouth and putting the container away.

"And if he is truly using his own son, then it's likely that he has what we call borderline personality disorder. Now, borderlines- they think that all relationships revolve entirely around them. When they set their mind to something, absolute. There is no gray area." Cassidy explained, walking over to the group.

"It would also manifest in a way that would be visible to people around the unsub. Intense bouts of anger and depression, problems drinking. He would also be highly sensitive to rejection." Spencer explained.

"And one last thing. It is not easy to crack clean into breastbone. You're dealing with a guy who works with his hands and he's used to hard labour. At the very least, he's not afraid to get dirty." Derek shook his head.

After 5 minutes, the team had finished their semi-profile and were now sitting in the significantly emptier conference room. JJ and Tara had returned from their time interviewing Claire Thompson's husband.

"All right, is it possible we're looking at this the wrong way?" JJ asked as she looked up from her file.

"What do you mean?" Emily asked, confused.

"Well, we're trying to zero in on the unsub. Now, you guys tell me, but...if he really is using his son, wouldn't the trauma manifest more clearly on the boy?" JJ suggested, Tara nodding.

"We need a list of all the children in the area that we're targeting." Emily exhaled, Derek getting out his phone. He dialled Penelope's number, and within seconds, she answered. He put the call on speaker.

"Talk dirty to me." She spoke in a seductive tone, making Derek roll his eyes.

"Okay, baby girl. Calm down a little. You're on speaker. But, I need a list of every grade school in the third ward and Wauwatosa." Derek asked.

"Sure thing. The third ward has one public grade school, but there appears to be 4 private schools that draw from that area." Penelope exhaled.

"And Wauwatosa?" JJ asked.

"That would be 9." Penelope typed away.

"And how many students?" Spencer asked.

"3200." She exhaled.

"We also need a list of every guidance counsellor that deals directly with the student body in that area." Emily added, hearing the furious typing from Penelope's end.

"We need to present these counsellors with a profile of a troubled kid." Cassidy exhaled.

———
(At The Schools)

"The boy we're looking for is possibly from a single-parent home." JJ started, exhaling.

"He's sullen and withdrawn." Derek added.

"He may have been caught stealing things from his female teachers." Matt explained.

"He's more than likely clinging to maternal figures in inappropriate settings- hugging the female bus driver, the woman in the lunchroom." Tara spoke, watching as some of the teachers seemed to agree.

"His classmates might notice this inappropriate behaviour and tease him, which makes the boy incredibly angry." Cassidy asked. One of the teachers handed Spencer a few dozen files, his eyes widening.

"That many?" Cassidy asked, looking at the pile in Spencer's hand.

"I'm afraid so." The teacher exhaled, nodding.

"Well, thank you." Spencer nodded, him and Cassidy exiting the school with the files in hand.