The entire team of profilers was already gathered in the briefing room when their unit chief Aaron Hotchner entered.
"What do we have?" he asked while grabbing his chair and sitting down.
"Two months ago, Erik Chamberlain was found dead, shot in the head not far from Denver, nearby Lakewood. Six days later, Sasha Brown was uncovered by a jogger in Crown Hill Park Denver". Garcia paused and swiped to the next photo displaying Sasha's body.
"Was she shot too?" asked Prentiss.
"No. Her body was in a rough shape due to the contact with the water, but the medical examiner concluded that she had been restrained, probably raped several times given the contusions and marks before being strangled.
-Then what is the link between the two?" wondered Morgan raising his eyebrows and looking back and forth between the screen, Hotch and the rest of the team.
"Denver police requested our help to find out if there is one because the two were neighbours. And this is not the only weird thing happening here. Wait for the rest" responded Garcia. Then she turned back to the screen to continue scrolling and providing her colleagues with all the information she had.
"Two weeks ago, they found this girl Sherley Davis, dead in Rocky Mountain Lake Park, similar MO to Sasha but unfortunately no link between the two has been identified so far. Also, her body was in a slightly better condition, and they were able to extract some DNA from her body. But here we go again: no match was found in the FBI database.
"She does not look anything like Sasha" says JJ thinking out loud. "Something's odd definitely but are we sure we are looking for the same killer here?
-I agree with JJ the MO is similar, but killings are spread across two months which is unusual, then you have two women no distinct resemblance, no apparent link; and finally, you have Erik who stays a question mark. Sure, he was Sasha's neighbour. But then what?". Rossi paused and looked at the other agents.
"Well, then this is where it becomes creepy – if it was not already the case" sighed Garcia. "Amber Marshall was found dead this morning a few 50km away from Denver. She also presented ligature marks, contusions and bruises on the legs. DNA found on her matches Tommy Hilburg, a 40-years-old business developer reported missing one week ago in Phoenix, Arizona after he never came home from his swimming session.
-Was Tommy's DNA tested on Sherley?" asked Hotch.
"They did, sir. And they are still waiting for the results the moment we speak.
"Ok, let's work on the victimology. We need to analyse it and build it from scratch to see if there is any evidence there could be a case" added Hotch while opening the file he had in front of him this entire time.
"We have 4 dead bodies and 1 potential missing person that we know of – of which 3 are women, 2 are men. As Dave already mentioned, the police did not find any link between all three feminine victims whether it was their looks, activities, jobs, social status, and/ or living conditions. But we cannot ignore the MO. It seems that the unsub is kidnapping them, detaining and raping them for a few days" started Prentiss.
"Then why did we find Tommy's DNA on the last victim? Is it possible that we are looking at two unsubs working together?" questioned Reid who has been silent since they'd started the briefing.
"Could be, yes. Now I am wondering what Erik has to do with this" added Rossi. And meeting with his colleague's eyes, he could tell he was not the only one looking for answers in this room.
"Maybe he witnessed something he should not have, after all do we know when and how Sasha was taken?". Now it was Derek's turn to open the door to questions the profilers did not have the answer to. This case was strange and complicated in a way they had rarely seen. Usually the MO was clear, the similarity or existing link between the victims was easily identifiable. This time, they were grasping at straws, hoping these could lead to something.
"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.