Spencer rushes forward, stopping the elevator doors with his bag.
"Sorry." Spencer tells the woman in the elevator. "Hi." He waves. Bedelia politely smiles at her as she walks in.
"Good morning. Which floor?" The woman asks.
"Uh, 6, pl-- hmm, you, too." He says. Spencer glances at her a few times, squinting. "Karaoke at The Benjamin."
"Excuse me?"
"You were singing karaoke at The Benjamin the night it closed." Spencer clarifies.
"I was. Good memory." Kate says. "Billy Joel might have died a little that night."
"Sadly, he was not the only one." Spencer says. "He got us started, but we went on to do a 6 song set."
"The '80s took a fatal hit, if I remember correctly." Kate says. "Have you guys seen the place that took over? It's like techno and twerking."
"Uh, it's not really my crowd." Spencer says.
"What? You don't twerk?" Kate asks.
Bedelia smirks at her husband's confused look, the woman doing her best to hold in her laughter.
"I was just-- I was kidding." Kate says, letting out a small laugh. "I don't twerk." She says.
The elevator doors open and they walk out.
Spencer holds the glass door open for the two.
"Ah. A gentleman and a scholar." Kate remarks.
"Thanks, baby." Bedelia whispers, Spencer smiling at her.
"Agent Hotchner's office is the first one at the top of the stairs." Spencer points out.
"Thanks." Kate says.
"Good luck." Spencer says as Kate walks to Hotch's office. The couple walk over to their desks, getting ready for the day.
"What? What surprised you?" Bedelia looks up at Penelope's question.
"Hotch talked to Emily." JJ says.
"And?" Penelope asks.
"She just doesn't want to come back." Rossi says.
"Why? She loves us." Penelope says.
"For what it's worth, Hotch is interviewing someone we've met before." Spencer says.
"He is?" JJ asks, trying to look into the office, but the blinds are shut.
"How many candidates is that now?" Derek asks.
"This one makes lucky number 10." Rossi says.
"What? See, this is what happens when I don't sleep. I miss thing." Penelope says. "Who is this person? Are they nice? Why is that the first question I always ask?"
~ ~ ~
They're in the round table room, waiting for Hotch.
"Everyone, this is SSA Kate Callahan from Andi Swan's unit. She'll be joining the team." Hotch states.
"Hi." JJ greets.
"Congratulations." Spencer says.
"Thanks." Kate says.
"How are Andi and Seaver doing?" Derek asks.
"Oh, they're great and they say hello." Kate says.
"Welcome, welcome." Penelope says.
"We can get started." Hotch says.
"Yes, we can." Penelope says. "Uh, The Mad Butcher of Bakersfield has left another torso in the desert. This brings the body count to 3 this month and still none of them have been identified."
"At this pace, he's going for a record." Rossi says.
"Yeah, and quite the imagery. What's he trying to say?" Kate asks. "A torso by itself has no life."
"Right. It can't survive." Rossi says. "It might be how he sees himself."
"It could also be a simple forensic countermeasure." Rossi says. "He dumps the toros after getting rid of all the pieces that can identify his victims."
"That would make sense for someone who's criminally sophisticated, but this guy's leaving his DNA all over the torsos." Derek says.
"Well, we've kept tabs in CODIS. He's not in any system." Rossi says. "But it's still a risk for him to taunt us." He says. "Hey, Einstein." He calls to Spencer. "You're awfully quiet."
"I'm just reading here the M.E. thinks the victims were alive for 48 hours while he disarticulates." Spencer says.
"That means the unsub's sexual gratification comes from cutting." Kate says.
"Exactly. He wouldn't go to these extremes if he were merely discarding the limbs." Spencer says. "He obviously enjoys the ritual. It's some kind of torture."
"So if it isn't about easy disposal, the limbs could be his trophies." Derek says.
"He'd need preserving agents and isolate." Hotch says. "Garcia, come up with a list of suppliers in Southern California. We'll cross that with a geographical profile when we have it."
"Keywords sodium dioxide and silicate." Spencer tells her.
"You are the best. Thank you." She tells Spencer.
"Tell them we're on our way." Hotch says.
"Yes, sir." Penelope says.
+++
"No head, hands, prints, or dental records." The M.E. says. "He's not making it easy."
"What do you know about this victim?" Derek asks.
"I haven't completed the internal exam yet, but if she's anything like the others, she'll have traces of some leather particulate in her stomach." She says.
"So maybe he gags them with a belt as he tortures? He's definitely a sexual sadist." Derek says.
"That's my guess. What I know for sure is she's got a good muscle tone and even has tan lines from a sports bra, indicating she's active."
"Both females were in shape, not malnourished?" Spencer asks.
"No." The M.E. says.
"It's unlikely they were transients." Spencer says. "What do we know about the offender?"
"He has a decent knowledge of the anatomy." The M.E. says.
"You think he has medical training?" Bedelia asks.
"Not necessarily. He could be a butcher or a hunter. The first step in amputation is ligating the supplying artery and vein, which the offender did."
"Well, that would make sense if he's trying to keep them alive for the torture." Bedelia says.
"The next step would involve an oscillating saw, but he opted for a long-angled blade."
"And he'd have to be pretty strong to make a clean cut like that." Derek says.
"Absolutely." The M.E. says. Spencer pulls the sheet back a bit to inspect the body. "And they're identical on each victim. The decapitation was one swift, clean cut between the second and third vertebra. No hesitation."
"He's methodical." Spencer says. "This isn't mutilation. He followed a line like a surgeon would for breast augmentation." Spencer says.
"She has scar tissue that looks about 5 years old." The M.E. says.
"He removed her implants because he knew we could trace her via the serial number." Spencer says.
"This guy's smarter than we thought." Derek says.
+++
"Well, pretty boy here figured out how to I.D. the latest vic." Derek says.
"We had Garcia match body type and weight with local missing women who also had surgeries." Spencer says.
"Her name's Kim Eakle. She recently moved to California. She's single. Parents just reported her missing." Bedelia informs.
"Where's she from?" JJ asks.
"Riverside. But we have no way of knowing where or when she was taken." Bedelia says.
"This is all over the news. Everyone's hyper-vigilant." The detective says. "You think he's got some kind of ruse to get her?"
"More like he knocks her out. Nothing about this guy says charming." JJ says.
"Garcia, where are we on the preservatives?" Hotch asks.
"Who knew that southern California was a hub for silica gel?" Penelope questions. "I've got a dozen places shipping regularly to a few residences."
"He needs isolation. Do any of the residences have basements or detached garages?" Hotch asks.
"No basements, but two have garages." Penelope says.
"Any of them single men?" JJ asks.
"I wish that they were, then they'd be doing their silica weirdness family free. Both of them are married with children, actually." Penelope says.
"All right, send the addresses." Hotch says.
"Yep, done." Penelope says.
+++
"The whole thing sounds bizarre." The detective says. "Do you believe him?"
"Yes. Fetishes aren't always violent. He had a need for the limbs, but not a desire to kill." Kate says.
"Then who are we looking for?" The detective asks.
"Single white male, 30 to 40, living in isolation." Hotch says.
"He seeks out solitude because he was probably raised in an abusive home and he's still looking for refuge." Derek says.
"Chances are he lost his job recently, which is why he sold the body parts." JJ says.
"His lack of social skills point to menial work, but his sophistication tells us he's more intelligent than we thought." Rossi says.
"Just like Jeffrey Dahmer, he's also deranged, but he's learned from others' mistakes. He knows not to keep strong smells around too long, which is why he disposes of the torsos within a few days." Spencer says.
"There's a very good chance that he snapped because of serious rejection." Bedelia says. "If he finally got the guts to ask a woman out, he would have been clumsy and aggressive and she would have pushed him away."
"It's why he got rid of all the things that symbolized intimacy. It's how his psychopathology developed." Hotch says.
"But if this is about about a girl that rejected him, why kill a guy first?" The detective asks.
"He might be connected to the second victim." Hotch says.
"But without their identities, we can't say for sure." Bedelia says.
"What about the revisiting? Can we catch him like that?" The detective asks.
"He's obsessive about these locations, but he's probably seen the surveillance." Hotch says.
"Well, then, what will he do?" The detective asks.
"He'll find a new victim." Hotch says.
+++
"You'd think after 10 years, I'd seen it all." Penelope says.
"How many sites are there, mama?" Derek asks.
"Hundreds. And that gem of a fellow you've got in custody has looked at all of them at one time or another." She says. "Anonymity is huge for these sites. They use a tor network, which is an onion router. The point is, you're not gonna be able to find anyone this way. Do you know there are actual variations on a disarticulation fetish? I need baby kitten pics ASAP."
"Oh, have you seen the hippo who lives with the family?" Kate asks.
"What?" Penelope asks.
"Sleeps with a blanket, gets massages, eats better than I do." Kate says.
"Where is that?" Penelope asks.
"South Africa. It's amazing." Kate says.
"Trust me, I have an arsenal of cuteness. Have you seen the one with the baby elephant--"
"Oh, and the baby chicks? Yes. I love that one." Kate gushes.
"Uh, hey, guys?" Spencer calls.
Bedelia smiles in amusement.
"Sorry." Kate apologizes.
"Sorry." Penelope echoes.
"The most recent victim was taken from Riverside. That's more than 2 1/2 hours away from here." Spencer says.
"So his comfort zone isn't limited to here." Derek says.
"That's not good. He's got a lot more confidence than we thought." Kate says.
"He's leaving vics here, so he must have some connection to Bakersfield." Derek says.
"The M.E. says he's gotten better at ligating each victim, which means he may have had practice." Spencer says.
"On what?" Bedelia asks.
"We didn't originally profile him as an acrotomophile, but that sort of attraction typically has deep roots in childhood." Spencer says.
"Maybe the unsub grew up around dead bodies, like a funeral home, so it wasn't that big of a leap for him." Kate says.
"It could be. We know he wasn't social enough to continue the family tradition, so maybe he found work in a morgue or a hospital." Derek says.
"When you say work..." Penelope says.
"Security guard, janitor, anything entry level." Kate says.
"Uh, the UC system has a medical facility in Bakersfield." Penelope says.
"Anyone fired recently?" Bedelia asks.
"No, but there's an anatomy professor on sabbatical." Penelope says.
"Oh, what's his name?" Kate asks.
"Dylan Myers."
+++
Bedelia and Derek walk over to the table where Spencer is. He's sitting down and rubbing his shoulder, fingers tucked under the collar of his shirt. They walk over so they're in front of him and see him grimace.
"Kid, you okay?" Derek asks.
"Yeah. You two?" Spencer asks.
"Just tired." Derek says.
"Spencer." Bedelia warns.
"I'm okay." He promises. "Just sore."
"Okay." She mumbles.
"Dr. Lee sent this over. The most recent victim had more than just leather particulates in her stomach." Spencer says. "She chewed through it, leaving entire chunks behind. And she also found traces of horse hair. He's using a bridle."
"This guy could have used anything. Why that?" Derek asks.
"It's either specific to his fantasy or something he had easy access to." Spencer says.
"How many horse ranches are around here?" Derek asks.
+++
"So the real unsub killed Myers and then framed him." Derek says.
"But it's not just a countermeasure. He took out a lot of rage on this man for a reason." Hotch says.
"Maybe this Dylan Myers stood in the way of the unsub's true object of affection." Spencer suggests.
"Well, it makes sense since we thought the first and second victims were connected." Derek says.
"Only Dylan Myers was single." Bedelia says.
"Garcia, was Dylan Myers dating anyone?" Hotch asks.
"He was a bit of a hermit, and like I said, zero social media skills, did go old school with a landline." Penelope says. "Tracking his frequently called numbers. He called a young woman named Christine Locke several times. She's a former student, lives in Bakersfield. And she's missing. Sending you her picture now."
"Uh, she looks just like the second victim." Kate says.
"Did she have a restraining order out on anyone?" Hotch asks.
"Checking now. Uh, yes. She filed for and was granted a restraining order on August 6 from a Steven Parkett."
"And where is he?" Hotch asks.
"Probably on his way to Hell in a handbasket, sir. He was raised and lives at a castle ranch and slaughterhouse in Bishopville just outside of Bakersfield. Sending you the coordinates now."