Aftermath

Chapter 1

"We do not. The thing we can be sure of is that this unsub or this team of unsubs are not lost in delusions. They know what they want, they probably chose carefully their victim before kidnapping them. And look how careful they are trying to be when disposing the bodies" exclaimed Reid. "The fact that they chose a different area each time, look for National Parks, dump the bodies near water sources tells me they are organized, well equipped, and probably grew up near Denver or been leaving here for quite a few years now".

"Garcia, please inform Denver police we will be on our way. The rest of us, we will continue this discussion on the plane. Wheels up in 30".

**

Three days that the agents were working the case and they were not moving forward. All the additional piece of information they were getting would create more questioning than it was providing elements to understand the unsub's actions.

"You should go back to the hotel and sleep" said Rossi when he entered the small room made available for the profilers by the Denver police department.

The unit chief sighed. "No, Dave. I need to understand what is happening here".

"And you will not be able to if you don't rest" added carefully David.

Aaron gave his friend a look which told the other profiler not to push it and stop asking him to go and sleep while people were still dying out there.

Within the past few days, they had uncovered two additional bodies. And at the moment it felt like it was just numbers adding to an existing pile of unsolved murders.

"Ok. Then let's start from the beginning and back to the basics" said Rossi while taking a chair and sitting across the table from Hotch.

Aaron had already dismissed the rest of the team and told them to go get some sleep a few hours ago. It was now somewhere around 3am in the morning.

Hotch thanked Rossi silently with a small nod and opened again the file that was in front of him.

"Autopsy reports of the victims showed that all four women had sexual intercourse before being killed. They were all strangled whereas the two male victims we have were shot in the head. They were all hydrated and fed. The unsub or unsubs want to keep them alive for quite a while. His satisfaction lies in torturing his victims. Killings are quick and the lack of emotions or remorse when dumping the bodies matches this idea of a sadistic killer.

-If you look at the chronology of abductions and disposal of bodies in the parks, the unsub held captive several times two victims at the same time. I am still doubting only one person could pull this out alone". Hotch was thinking out loud his eyes wandering between his files, Rossi and the white board where there were still some Reid drawings remaining.

"The theory of Tommy being an accomplice will all make sense then. Though Tommy was not the dominant in the pair. His previous life could easily tell.

-Now looking at the geographical profile, Reid's got a point. This man knows this area. He knows all the potential dumping sites, all the national parks, the paths that are usually the most crowed. The location he chose to dispose the bodies are always off the beaten tracks, surrounded by bushes, barely visible from the joggers or hikers" added Aaron.

"Right. So, we are sure we are looking for a Caucasian man, most probably born and raised here in Denver, with a driver license and a car big enough for him to transport his dead victims to the dumping sites. He is methodical, organised, patient so why do you kill Tommy now?".

Hotch looked at Rossi. He has been asking himself the same question since yesterday morning when they uncovered Tommy's lifeless body.

"Maybe sharing the victims with Tommy was becoming too much and he needed to regain control of the whole situation.

-Or Tommy may have started to question his implication and wanted out" finished Rossi. "But now that he killed him, who is going to help him abduct, take care and abuse the victims?".

"This man cannot have a family. He is incapable of feeling any empathy towards anyone. He is a loner, and he needs this to fulfil his needs of dominance and guilty pleasure" added Hotch.

"And sadistic killer tends to practice on animals before evolving to human beings when growing older. We should ask Garcia to look for any petty crimes, reported house intrusions and animals' torture cases in the area". With those words Rossi let himself sink in his not-comfortable chair.

"Now, go sleep for at least 2 hours before the rest of the team comes back. We'll deliver this partial profile in the morning".

Surprisingly, Hotch nodded to Rossi's request. "Yes, I will". And with these words, Dave got up and made his way to the hotel which was at a walkable distance from the precinct.

"Don't tell me you slept on the couch" said Morgan when entering the precinct and seeing Hotch already there, sitting on the couch his head and his hands.

The unit chief liftedhis eyes to see Morgan and Prentiss standing there. "No" was all he responded almostin a whisper. By the worried look he saw on Derek and Emily's faces he couldtell they were not buying it for one bit.