timeless, spencer reid [ 1 ]

038. the uncanny valley

"Yes, to hide the fact that clumps of their real hair had fallen out." She says.

"But if they were fed through I.V.s, that wasn't from malnutrition, right?" Spencer asks.

"You see this a lot in bedridden patients. Loss of motor function. Especially in a young woman like this."

"Of course. Psychic shock. Yeah, the mental effects take a physical toll. One last question -- in your professional opinion, do you think the hair extensions were clipped on before or after death?"

"Before."

"And you seem pretty certain of that?"

"You know the old wives' tale about your hair and nails growing after death. What's really happening is that dehydration is shrinking your skin, pulling it back. Based on where she put these extensions, they were definitely still alive."

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"Now, we know this unsub is stuck in a rich fantasy, right?" Spencer asks.  "An incredibly detailed delusion. We don't know what the delusion is, but we know that it involves remaking these women, and it begins the moment she has them drugged."

"So she has them paralyzed and she can do whatever she wants. Why is she killing them?" Hotch asks.

"Well, I don't think she means to. The brain is a machine designed to respond to stimuli. If you keep the brain awake but the body immobile, it breaks down, loses its hair. After two months, it eventually strokes out." Spencer explains.

"So death isn't the unsub's goal, it's an unfortunate side effect." Rossi says.

"Exactly." Spencer nods.

"What'd you find?" Hotch asks Emily and Derek as they walk in.

"Both Rita Stuart and Stacia Jackson were clothes hounds, but because they were petite women, they had a lot of their stuff altered." Derek says.

"Could be how our unsub is finding her victims. She gets her hands on their measurements." Emily says.

"But we already exhausted tailors alteration shops. There's no overlap." Derek says.

"The tailors might send specialty items out to third parties. Dig deep into extended employment records and see who they might be subcontracting to." Hotch says.

"Garcia needs to talk to us." JJ says, walking in. Hotch hits a button on the phone.

"Go ahead, Garcia." He tells her.

"Hello, my pretties. I have finished my missing persons sweep. I've got nothing on the medical vehicle, but two new matches on the clothes make the woman front. Cindy Admundson. She was abducted outside a thrift store, and Maxine Wynan was last seen at the Hillridge Mall."

"That sounds like our girl." Derek says.

"Any surveillance footage at the mall?" Rossi asks.

"No. It was an outside parking lot. So sorry." Penelope says.

"The new abductees -- what's their physical type?" Hotch asks.

"They look pretty tiny to me." Penelope says. "I'm gonna send you pictures. Also, if it pleases the court, I would like to direct your attention to Exhibit A, the calendar map."

"What about it?" JJ asks.

"Both of these new victims were abducted one week ago. Exactly one day before the bodies of Rita Stuart and Stacia Jackson, respectively, turned up." Penelope informs.

"She doesn't let a body go until she has a replacement." Hotch says.

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"Look, collectors are good, honest people. Just because you enjoy dolls doesn't make you a freak or a pedophile." The owner says.