Bedelia runs her hand through Spencer's hair as he finishes crying, the brunette holding her own tears back, knowing she'll cry when she's in the shower later.
"If only we had been faster. We could've saved her." Spencer mumbles.
"Spence..." Bedelia mumbles. "Don't do that. Don't think that way. I know it's terrible and I miss her, too, but... we can't dwell on "what if's"."
"I know." He mumbles. He moves his head making Bedelia take her hand away. "Just wish we could've done something."
Bedelia's heart aches with guilt, the woman barely able to keep it in any longer. She hates watching him sob every night, barely having energy to go on one of his rants when they're watching something. He doesn't even put much effort into the dinner arguments, just accepting whatever she chooses to get.
"Spence, I... look, I have to tell--" Bedelia's cut off as both of their phones go off.
Spencer grabs his phone, looking at the text.
"It's Garcia. We have a case." He says.
"Great." Bedelia sighs.
"What'd you wanna tell me?" Spencer looks back at her.
"Um... I just think you might be right about the pizza. It-- it's getting a little old." Bedelia says, internally cursing herself for chickening out of telling him the truth.
"Yeah. Yeah, sure, whatever you want." Spencer says, his response only making Bedelia feel worse.
+++
"A woman went up there and just shot up the place?" Ashley asks after Hotch turns the news off.
"Yeah, witnesses heard gunshots and saw a woman leaving the store." Penelope says.
"Is there enough for a sketch?" Derek asks.
"Family owned business. No cameras." Hotch says.
"The only thing of value the witnesses said was that she seemed really calm." Penelope says.
"Like an office or school shooter." Ashley says.
"Did she work there?" Bedelia asks.
"No. Local police have already ruled that out." Penelope says.
"Then she must have known one of her victims. I doubt this was random." Ashley says.
"You know, Klebold and Harris documented their hatred of the athletes at Columbine, but on the day, they targeted the cafeteria instead of the gymnasium because they were only interested in obtaining the highest possible body count." Spencer says.
"These offenders usually hole up in one location and eventually commit suicide, either by their own hand or in a shootout with the police." Rossi says.
"But this woman took off before the cops arrived." Derek says.
"She's probably not finished." Hotch says.
+++
"Larry Connors, born and raised in Tampa, he's owned the gun store for 16 years." Spencer says.
"Seaver, what did you find out about victimology?" Hotch asks.
"They're all locals with similar backgrounds." Ashley says. "Blue collar jobs, they're all divorced, and they've all got tempers. Most of them have misdemeanor bar fights on their record."
"Testosterone fueled victims, but somehow she still gets the drop on all of them." Derek says.
"Men like this may not view her as a threat because she's a woman." Ashley says.
"Who's likely in the middle of a psychotic break." Spencer says.
"We should check psych wards in the area for recent releases." Hotch says.
"And run incident reports on women who've been asked to leave businesses due to angry outbursts." Rossi adds.
"How far do we want to go back? A year?" Ashley asks.
"No, more than that. No incident is too small." Rossi says. "She's probably been boiling for a while."
"Unless she's in serious denial, then she's been burying her feelings, which would have just made her worse and worse." Spencer says.
"The question is, why did she choose today?" Hotch asks.
+++
"This woman has access to ammo for a .38, but not a gun." Hotch says.
"She most likely lives with someone who's into guns but doesn't allow her access." Spencer says.
"Usually locking weapons is a way to protect children, but to keep a key from her is a controlling and dominating act." Derek says.
"She could be in an abusive relationship and today's the day she had enough." Rossi suggests.
"She stole the gun at 9:00 this morning. If she needed it to go after somebody, why hasn't she done it yet?" Ashley questions.
"Maybe she has them hostage right now and is working up the courage to end it all." Bedelia says.
"Or maybe her target knows her personally and isn't letting her get close enough for a kill." Hotch says.
"And she's setting a trap and waiting." Rossi says.
+++
"Garcia, based on victimology, the unsub's husband or boyfriend most likely owns a .38. We need to search for white males ages 35 to 50 who have registered that model." Spencer says.
"We think he might be law enforcement or military." Ashley says.
"It's possible the unsub was in an abusive relationship that contributed to her breakdown, Garcia." Derek says. "So look for crossover with reports of domestic abuse."
"This is tricky. Do you have anything else to narrow it down?" Penelope asks.
"Why?" Ashley asks.
"Because Florida's a stand your ground state." Penelope says.
"Castle Doctrine based on English common law allows homeowners to use deadly force to protect their land." Spencer says.
"Yeah, it's a high falutin way of saying that the gun laws are lax at best. After the 2008 elections, the Floridians were nervous about losing their second amendment rights and gun sales shot through the roof, pun intended." Penelope says.
"How many of those men fit that profile in Tampa?" Derek asks.
"As it stands right now, 638." Penelope says.
Spencer's phone beeps.
"There's been another shooting." He says.
+++
"Her emotional turmoil appears to be manifesting in the geographic pattern of her spree." Spencer says.
"Meaning?" The detective asks.
"There's a reason she hasn't left." Hotch says.
"Her first was the gun store in West Tampa, then the security guard in Ybor City, then the officer at the checkpoint in Riverside Heights, then finally the EMTs in Oakford Park." Spencer says.
"She's like a bouncing ball." Ashley says.
"There's no logic. She circled back after getting through a roadblock." Derek says. "She's driven purely by emotion."
"She doesn't care about self-preservation or escape." Rossi says. "It's like she has nothing to live for."
"She may have suffered a loss herself and she's blaming someone for it." Derek says.
+++
"No leads on the hotline and no sign of her vehicle." The detective says.
"This woman obviously has a plan." Rossi says. "The only clear decision she made this morning was walking into that gun store."
"There are 8 of them in her comfort zone. Why choose that one?" Spencer asks.
"Convenience. Maybe it's close to where she lives." Ashley says.
"If we're saying this morning is when she was the most clear headed, then it was a conscious decision to walk into that particular store." Derek says.
~ ~ ~
"I have hundreds of teal wagons. None of the registrations match the physical description of our unsub." Penelope says.
"What about the gun store?" Derek asks.
"Mm. And then there's that. I searched the entire history of Larry's gun shop. Nothing of significance has ever happened there aside from this morning's massacre." Penelope says. "And on top of that, you know those 600 plus registered .38 owners? They bought them all over the city, so we're pretty much screwed unless you can think of some other kind of connection."
"Then the date only means something to her." Ashley says.
"Garcia, we profiled that it was a major loss. Run accident reports. Look for young victims." Derek says.
"She seems to be going after heroes." Spencer says.
"Okay, you guys, I'm doing that now, but this will take forever." Penelope says. "Tampa's got almost half a million people. Everybody's got a story. How am I even supposed to-- oh."
"Oh?" Ashley asks.
"Yeah. My super skills just squelched my pessimism." Penelope says. "I have a couple of accidents here that happened in the last few years on or around today's date. Please hold while I deduce."
"This looks promising." She says. "There was a high speed traffic chase in West Tampa last year. A policeman was killed."
"Who were they chasing?" Derek asks.
"Uh, Hanley Waters." Penelope answers.
"Maybe he's the target." Derek suggests.
"No. He's in jail." Penelope says. "He started a whole mess because he decided to do an armed robbery at a liquor store and then have a high speed car chase with the cops. Oh, there's video. It's 365 days ago to the dot. I'm sending this to your tablets. Observe and prepare yourself."
Bedelia picks her tablet up, watching the video of two police cars following Waters' car. She grimaces when Waters' car slams into the side of an oncoming car.
"Who is it who got hit?" Hotch asks.
"Tampa mom Shelly Chamberlain." Penelope says. "She was unhurt. Her 6 year old Damion died."
"That's her." Ashley says.
"Oh. And today is Damion's birthday." Penelope says.
"Your son enters and leaves your life on the same date. That's one hell of a stressor." Rossi says.
"It explains why she went on her spree today." Derek says. "All the good and bad memories are hitting her at once."
"And to add salt to it all, the fallen policeman was the only one who got any attention. Damion was like a footnote." Penelope says.
"If Shelly Chamberlain is our unsub and the man who caused this is in jail, then who's her target?" Spencer asks.
"Garcia, what's Shelly's marital status?" Hotch asks.
"Don Chamberlain, city firefighter. He filed for divorce 3 months ago." Penelope says.
"A local hero, like some of the others she shot." Rossi says.
"But the pain of losing a child destroyed the marriage." Ashley says.
"He could be the next target of her rage, the man who didn't bear witness to her grief." Derek says.
"Morgan, you find him, Dave and I will go to Shelly's house." Hotch says.
+++
They get to Don's house and go in.
"Clear!"
"Clear!"
"Clear!"
"Shelly's car is still here." Spencer says.
"And Don's is gone. Which means she beat us here and she moved him in his car." Ashley says. "But why didn't she just kill him? She didn't travel with any of her other victims."
"He must play some part in the fantasy of her rage." Spencer says. "She wants to punish him for something."
~ ~ ~
"There's not a single reminder of Damion anywhere in this house." Derek says.
"Because Don had accepted it?" Ashley asks.
"It's only been a year. What are the chances he's done grieving?" Derek questions.
"Maybe it's just too hard to look at. Maybe not having anything around helps him grieve." Bedelia says.
"Maybe that's why she's mad at him and wants him to suffer." Ashley says.
"Hey, guys, look at this." Spencer calls. They go over to the TV and see the video. "Don edited it together and he put music to it. This is how he grieved."
"Yeah, but she wouldn't know that." Derek says. "She might force him to grieve the same way she does." He says as Spencer looks through a box.
"Where? Their son's grave?" Ashley asks.
"It looks like they celebrated their son's third, fourth, and fifth birthday at Sir Burger." Spencer says.
"Her day is coming to an end, and today's an anniversary." Derek says. "That's gotta be where she's going."
+++
They get outside of Sir Burger where other cops already are since Shelly took her gun out inside.
"How many people we got in there?" Derek asks.
"Not sure. 5 or 6." The detective says. "Manager got some out. I'm calling in SWAT."
"Don't do that. If she feels pressured, she might snap." Spencer says.
"She hasn't done that already?" The detective remarks. "If I get the shot, I'm taking it."
"I'd like to try to talk to her." Hotch says.
"It's too late for that. She's got hostages." The detective says.
"She's probably not aware of them." Rossi says.
"Well, I am. It's my job to protect them." The detective says.
"You don't have line of sight and a sniper round could pass through her and into somebody else." Hotch says.
Hotch hangs up with the manager.
"He can't get to her. I'm gonna go in." Hotch says.
"You sure about this?" Rossi asks.
"She hasn't hurt anyone." Hotch says. "This is about her family and her grief."
"If she's at the end of her break and nothing else matters, she could do anything, Hotch." Derek says.
"I'll keep my mic open." Hotch says. He takes his vest off before going inside.
"Shelly?" They hear Hotch asks.
"Who are you?" Shelly asks.
"My name is Aaron Hotchner. I'm with the FBI. And I know it's Damion's birthday, and I just want to tell you how sorry I am for what happened." Hotch says.
"What-- what's going on?" Shelly asks.
"It's okay. He's here to help." Don says.
"No-- nobody helps." Shelly says. "You-- you-- you don't know a thing about Damion."
"I know he was a happy and confident little boy." Hotch says.
"H-how-- how could you know that?" Shelly asks.
"I have a picture of him standing next to you. You're holding his hand and he's smiling. He's not... hiding behind you like some children do. It tells me that you encouraged him and you gave him a lot of confidence."
"That picture, it doesn't belong to you."
"I know. That's why I want you to have it back."
"Wait-- no-- how did you-- were you in my--"
"You turning 7 today, Sam?" Hotch asks. "That's not much older than Damion. I know you don't want to scare Sam, so they're gonna leave now. Bill, will you show them out, please?"
"No! What-- what are you doing? No-- what's-- what's going on?"
The family of three and the manager run outside, SWAT leading them to safety.
"Don, I found this picture of you and Damion." Hotch says. "It's clear who his hero was. I know you blame yourself, and you shouldn't. And, Shelly, all the hurt that you might inflict on people is not gonna bring him back."
"They need to know what they did." Shelly says.
"Believe me, everyone who tried to save him that day isn't gonna forget." Hotch says. "They'll ask themselves what they could have done. Could they have gotten there sooner? They'll heal, but it's gonna take time. They'll move on, but they won't forget."
"I could see that-- that he was dying." Shelly says. "And I tried to help him. I tried. I tried."
"Please don't. Please." Don begs.
"I said, honey, honey, it's gonna be all right. It's gonna be all right. You hear those sirens? Do you hear those sirens? That is daddy, and daddy is coming, and he's gonna-- he's gonna help us. He's gonna save us. But you never came."
"I know." Don cries. "I know, Shelly, and I'm so sorry. You know that."
"Yeah, but he doesn't know that! He doesn't know that." Shelly says. "I-- I made a promise to him. I promised him--"
"Shelly, you have to stop blaming yourself." Hotch tells her.
"No." She says. "I yelled at him. And it was-- it was... the last thing he heard."
"That's your regret. It's not what he remembers. Look. Look how happy he was." Hotch says.
"No, I can't. I can't."
"Losing him is not your fault. He was taken from you and that's not fair. But while he was here, while you were lucky enough to have him, he was happy. That's how he lived and that's how he left."