coffee | s. reid [discontinued]

14 | the dark

COFFEE

14 | the dark

"Did you guys hear Elle was cleared?" Spencer asked, taking a seat on the plane across from JJ.

     Derek nodded, sparing a quick glance over to Madlyn. "Self defence."

     Maddie nodded, reclined on the sofa. "A good shot," she mumbled. "Certainly hit what she wanted to."

     "If they cleared her, how come she's not here with us?" Derek asked, trying to find some evidence in the images. "Or Hotch?"

     "Focus on the case," Gideon spoke up.

     "Ozona police did an autopsy for Nicholas Faye and Robbie Davis," JJ announced, passing the file to Gideon.

     "Well, the bludgeoning could suggest frustration or rage," Derek suggested.

     "No apparent sexual motivation. That's rare when the victims are this young," Spencer pointed out.

     "The unsub seems to be taking pleasure from the kill itself."

     "So if it's not sexual, what's the significance of targeting young males?" Derek asked, looking to Spencer for an answer.

     "Most serial killers target people who look like they can play a part in their fantasies," Maddie chimed in, looking up from the pictures and furrowing her brows. "Ted Bundy targeted young women who looked like his ex-girlfriend and Jeffrey Dahmer said that his harassment in school tapped into his fury."

     "So maybe these kids represent somebody who victimised the offender," Derek suggested, looking passed Spencer and to Maddie.

     "It would be someone from his past, like a bully or maybe a sibling who abused him," she agreed, nodding her head.

     "That's unlikely," JJ denied, her voice quiet. She set down her phone on the table. "They just found another body. Eleven year old girl."

     "Why would the victimology suddenly just change?"

     "Maybe the girl wasn't the target, maybe she just got in the way," Derek suggested.

     "Or the sex of his victim is insignificant. Pace of these killings certainly indicate a velocity of change."

     "We can't surveil every kid in Ozona, how are we supposed to keep them all safe?" JJ asked with a frown.