Come Downstairs and Say Hello; S.R.

Case 1: Part 2

A dark skinned woman met Morgan, Hotch, Reid, and Joey at the crime scene, shaking their hands and individually greeting and introducing herself to them.

"Thanks for coming, all of you. Follow me." The detective lead the group to the park, pointing in several directions as she spoke, "the cones mark the places where the victims were."

"So we know he shot from somewhere around this area." Jo observed, Hotch nodding.

"Close enough to hit all of the victims, not far away enough to remain unseen." He added.

"His intentionally wounding the victims would classify him as a sadistic killer." Reid said, The detective turning to him with an all-too-familiar look of unamusement on her face.

"That would help us?" She asked in a slightly annoyed tone.

"Well, we know a lot about sadists, but most want to be close to their victims to watch them suffer." Morgan said.

"A powerful scope would allow him to observe it-" Reid began.

"Without being seen." Jo finished, making him turn in her direction and give her a nod with a slanted smile.

"So how do we determine if he's a sadist?" The detective asked.

"We spend some time in his shoes." Morgan replied.

"We let him tell us." Jo specified. Hotch called for everyone, and they all gathered around a handicap spot in the parking lot.

"This handicap spot couldn't be farther away from the entrance of the building." Hotch said.

"Yeah?" Morgan questioned.

"It also has line of sight to all three victims and the flagpole." Hotch continued, his hands on his hips. Jo looked at her boss and saw the familiar expression of pondering on his face.

"What's on your mind?" She asked.

"At this range, the unsub would have to factor in wind direction and speed as he shot." Hotch explained, "To do this, he needed a spot with a wide field of fire where he could see the flag to judge the wind and it's possible affect on each shot." Jo nodded. "He came her previous to the shooting, decided on this spot, and made sure it would be empty when he came back." Jo looked down at the handicap sign on the parking space.

"You're saying he's shooting from his car?" She asked.

"Yes." Hotch responded without hesitation, and Jo knew he was serious.

"That would mean he wanted a quick getaway, and he wouldn't have stayed around to watch is victims suffer." Morgan said.

"So he would not be a sadist." Said Reid, Morgan shaking his head.

"Well then what would he be?" The detective asked.

"A very smart, very resourceful, very paranoid sociopath." Jo couldn't help but tense at Hotch's words, her anxiety about the case flying back at her.
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Reid, detective Calvin, Jo, and Hotch stood in front of the board that had all the victims on it along with numerous notes, all of them reading different sections. Morgan had stepped off to answer a call from Garcia, and Hotch was describing the profile they had come up with to the detective.

"We think the shooter has intimate knowledge of law enforcement procedures." He said.

"Detective Calvin, how far out of your jurisdiction was crime scene number two?" Reid asked. The detective crossed her arms and thought for a minute before responding.

"About a sixth of a mile. Why?"

"If he knew how difficult it is for local police departments to communicate with each other, he may have crossed jurisdiction lines on purpose." Jo said, Reid nodding while she explained. The detective stared, her mouth gaping open, until what looked like an amused smile spread across her face.

"Y'all are saying the shooter's a cop."

"We're saying it's possible." Hotch responded. "He scouted and prepped each crime scene. He chose and elevated position with excellent enfilade and perfect field of fire." The detective shook her head.

"That's textbook military practice."

"True."

"Maybe he was in the army?" The detective suggested. Morgan walked back over after speaking to Garcia, joining the conversation.

"He was probably a marine, ranger, or other specialized unit. Garcia says the bullet was a .223 fired from an M-4 variant of the M-16." Morgan explained.

"All the services use an M-4." Reid said.

"It's got a shorter barrel than the M-16." Morgan pointed out, "it's less accurate, and it's a lot harder to fire, especially at these distances. This level of skill indicates specialized training." Jo could practically smell the aggravation from the detective, and she shot a worried look at Reid, who nodded at her to tell her it was normal.

"If he has specialized training, he knows exactly what he's doing." Reid said.

"He intended to would them." Hotch added.

"The underkill is deliberate." Said Jo. "Everything he does would be deliberate."

"But it's as if he needs to show us how smart he is." Hotch affixed to Jo's claim.

"Since the crime scenes aren't centered around a single location, Garcia can't get a geographic profile without additional data."

"What kind of data?" The detective snapped.

"More crime scenes." Morgan said.

"She'll get them. This guy has something to prove." Hotch said.