[DISCONTINUED] 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐀𝐆𝐄 , criminal minds

002 - hard loss, boy wonder

"If DHS doesn't raise the terror alert now, they'll look weak." Gideon pointed out.

"Make sure Homeland Security knows that this is everywhere." Hotch told JJ, who nodded and turned to walk out.

Suddenly, there was an explosion on the TV.

"Woah." JJ stared blankly at the TV. Odette looked at the TV in shock and set her coffee cup down.  Everyone began to look at each other.

"Looks like we're going to Palm Beach. Let's meet at the Airstrip in 20." Hotch ordered.

________

"BOMBINGS occurred within 3 miles of each other. First victim was a 74-year-old widow, Barbara Keller. 2 hours after that, Clurman got hit in his driveway. And 45 minutes later... Well, we all saw that. Jill Swenson, 34-year-old housewife, who lived across the street from Clurman. Of the 3, only Clurman survived." Hotch explained on the jet.

"Is there any connection between the victims?" Reid asked.

"One. Uh, Clurman was a partner in a $10-million condo development deal in which Keller was an investor, and a few weeks ago, the whole deal went bust." Hotch answered.

"How?" Odette asked, while looking at the folder on the table she, Reid and Elle were sitting at.

"Geologists discovered that the land was on methane, the condos never got built, the land became worthless, and Clurman lost a lot of people, a lot of money." Hotch said.

"So maybe one of them was mad enough to take aim at Clurman." Reid suggested.

"Yeah, maybe one of them blamed Clurman." Odette added.

"Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves. It's a little too early to theorize about motive." Gideon redirected.

"Then where do we start?" Elle asked.

"From the beginning. What do we know about bombers?" Gideon answered.

"Mostly male, loners, history of criminal activity." Reid answered.

"About 50% of all bombings are actually the product of vandalism." He continued.

"And more often than not, bombers end up accidentally blowing themselves up, so the first suspects you always look for in the bombing case are the victims." Hotch added.

"Back to what Reid said, there was only one male victim. Could it be him?" Odette looked up from the pictures.

"Clurman was the only male. Losing a large business deal like that, it.. could be a powerful stressor." Elle added to what Odette said.

"Well, then there's the crime scene. Clurman was the only victim who didn't get hit at his door. Why? What was different about this one?" Gideon asked.

"Maybe he switched up two packages, ended up taking the bomb instead of the other one. Accidentally blew himself up." Odette theorized.

________

"BEFORE Clurman passed out, what he told cops at the time was that he saw the package sitting on the stoop outside his kitchen door." Hotch explained.