SPENCER
Hotch called us into the conference room. JJ and Emily came in from the door next to the screen, having just poured themselves some coffee. Morgan, Rossi and I came in through the usual entrance.
"Where're we travelling to this time?" Morgan asked as he sat down.
"We'll get to that in a minute. We've got some news first." Hotch insisted as he nodded to Penelope, who pulled up a video. On the screen was Cat Adam's image.
"Damn it. Don't tell me she's escaped." Rossi rolled his eyes.
"Actually no." Penelope shook her head, pressing play on the video.
"Catherine 'Cat' Adams, the contract killer who was arrested by the Behavioural Analysis Unit within the FBI, was found dead in her prison cell only hours ago. The cause of her death is unknown at this time, but the warden of the prison suspects her death to be suspicious." The news reporter spoke as she looked back and forth between the pages in her hand and the screen.
"Cat...is dead?" I almost gasped, shocked. Cat made herself out to be unkillable. She was certain that she'd live on.
"According to the report, yes. I did some digging. She was found dead 2 hours ago, and the autopsy occurred right after she was found. What the news doesn't know, is that there was poison in her system. The warden does indeed believe that her death is suspicious." Penelope explained further.
"Am I right in assuming that we're all glad that she's dead?" Morgan asked, cautious.
"Yes, you are. Cat caused a lot of issues for us. Knowing that she won't be able to hurt a single person ever again is comforting." JJ smiled.
"As much as Cat's death is a topic that we all want to discuss further, we have a case." Hotch exhaled.
"Alright, crime fighters. You're heading to Los Angeles, California. A family was murdered in their Californian home. The mother, 45-year-old Teresa Mayberry, had her neck sliced open. The father, 47-year-old Kevin Mayberry, was shot, execution style. Their 14-year-old son Cayden, was shot in the heart before being hung from his balcony. Their 10-year-old daughter Lily, was shot in the chest. Unlike her unfortunate family, Lily survived her gunshot, but now resides in the hospital, in a coma." Penelope explained as she put up photos of each member of the family, before showing their dead bodies.
"So, we have a family annihilator?" Emily asked, looking down at her file.
"It seems so, although, there don't seem to be any other victims." I noted, confused.
"Actually, there are other victims, but they're not the kind of victims you'd expect." Hotch shook his head.
"I did some digging, considering there weren't any other noticeable victims of this family annihilator. That's when I came across this." Penelope pulled up a list.
"It's a list?" Rossi asked, confused.
"This list in front of you all, details at least 45 different men, women and children who have been murdered over the past 6 years." Penelope exhaled.
"Okay? How does this relate to the case?" JJ asked.
"I'm so glad...and sorry that you asked." Penelope clicked a button on her remote.
"Each and every man, woman, and child on this list was killed the same way as the Mayberry family. All the women's necks were sliced open. All the men were shot, execution style. All the boys were shot and hung. All the girls were shot in other areas of the body." Hotch connected the dots.
"So, we're dealing with a family annihilator who has killed all these people in California?" Morgan asked.
"Oh, how I wish it were that simple. The Mayberry family is the only family to be murdered in California. The rest of the people on the list are located all over the U.S." Penelope exhaled.
"Uh, what?" JJ furrowed her eyebrows.
"I've put what I just said into visuals." Penelope shook her head, clicking another button.
Up on the screen rested a map of the U.S., 45 red dots all over the place.
"Each of those dots represent a man, woman and child who has been murdered?" My eyes widened.
"Exactly. Every single dot represents a victim who was murdered in the same way that the Mayberry family was." Penelope frowned, nodding.
"This list is...almost completely random. Apart from the Mayberry family, the rest of these names barely connect. There are a few people with the same last names, but apart from that, every other victim is random." JJ noted, confused.
"Here's a separate list, showing you all the people who are related." Penelope clicked another button.
"Out of that list of 45 people, only 6 of them are related?" Morgan asked.
"Yep. Susan Redman, Conor Redman and Callum Redman are all related; wife, husband and son. Tiffany Christianson, Danielle Christianson and Kyle Christianson are all related; Wife, wife and son." Penelope nodded.
"So, we have 6 related victims and 39 other random victims. This unsub is all over the place." Emily shook her head.
"This unsub is clearly organised. They have planned every single murder. They haven't left any clue as to who they'll strike next. It seems as if this unsub has a kit of some sort, or at least a select range of weapons at their disposal. And, whoever this unsub is, they don't seem to be a sadist, but they do have a signature. From the description of how each member of the Mayberry family were killed, as well as the list of other victims linked, it's likely that these methods of murder are a ritual. There doesn't seem to be any diversion from the ritualistic method of murder." I explained, eyeing each member of the team as I spoke.
"And police didn't connect these cases sooner?" JJ asked.
"Each of the 39 random victims and the 6 related victims were murdered in different states, which means that police never thought the cases to be connected. There's a victim from Boise, Idaho. There's a victim from Marshfield, Wisconsin. The list of victims is all over the place, location wise." Penelope sighed.
"Surely someone higher up identified the - now obvious - connection?" Morgan questioned.
"When two murders happen across state lines, unless they're deemed connected by police, the FBI - or more specifically, us in the BAU - don't have jurisdiction, and therefore, cannot get involved." I explained that part.
"Apart from the signature of the unsub, we have no clear victimology, and no idea who and where the unsub will strike next. How did the Los Angeles Police even connect the Mayberry family murder to the other murders?" Rossi asked.
"The Los Angeles Police Department have no idea that the Mayberry family murder and the other murders are connected. They don't even know about the other 45 murders. They assumed that they had a killer loose in California and called us. As far as they know, the Mayberry family are the only known victims so far." Hotch explained, shocking everyone.
"Well, they're in for a rude awakening." Emily exhaled.
"Are we even sure we should tell them? I mean, this unsub has murdered different people in different states. There's no reason tell them about the other murders, considering the Mayberry family are most likely going to be the only victims from California." I directed my question at Hotch, who took a moment before answering.
"I believe it's wise to wait. We need to figure out how long this unsub's cool-down period is, and then if and when we figure that part out, we can see if another murder happens in California, or somewhere else." Hotch insisted.
"Wheels up in 30." Hotch exhaled before picking up his go bag, exiting the conference room.
أنت تقرأ
Façade//Spencer Reid
العاطفيةSome people kill for attention. Some people kill to build fear. Y/N? She kills for family. Loosing most of her family, Y/N's guilt and grief forces her to a life of crime and killing. She didn't choose this life. It was thrust upon her without warni...
