"The puncture wounds on the victim's stomachs represent constellations. They're from a family of constellations known as the 'heavenly waters'." I said, laying out photos of the stars compared to the wounds. The group was standing in a semi-circle around a table in the main room of the police station.
"I guess we know how he came up with the nickname," Morgan said.
"That's why he'd open up the windows after each kill, to release their souls into the sky," Rossi stated.
"Delphinus the dolphin, and Equuleus the horse," I said, pointing to the pictures.
"There are nine constellations in the heavenly waters, the Angel Maker killed six," Hotch said.
"The unsub continued where he left off. First, she did Vela, and last night she did Carina. The only one left is Columba. The Dove." I continued, pointing.
"One more kill and she completes his set," Prentiss added.
"She knew the meaning of the stomach wounds, something we didn't even know," Hotch said.
"Looks like she was a lot closer to Ryan than we thought," Morgan said.
"They weren't just close, they were in love," Reid said as he backed into the room, pulling a board on wheels behind him. "I've been studying the letters sent back and forth from Ryan and the Dove, and realized there was a code. It took me a while to crack it until I realized it was an Aryan code. The Aryans used a cipher based on a four-hundred-year-old code. Each letter is assigned a bit string of five binary digits. This combination yields thirty-two possible codings. Normally you'd use a computer to run all these combinations, but it was quicker just to do it long-hand until I found the right one." Reid stated without pausing for a breath.
"Did that make sense to any of you guys?" Morgan asked, smirking. There was a chorus of 'no's', and 'absolutely not's'.
"There were a few lines that piqued my interest. At one point she said, 'I will bring a part of you back'." Reid said.
"A child?" JJ asked.
"She could have used the semen to plant at crime scenes and get herself pregnant," Hotch said.
"There's this too, 'I knew even before they told me that the future had taken route'," Reid said.
"Taken route. Conception?" Rossi asked.
"Maybe we can track her through birth records?" Prentiss asked, taking out her phone and dialing.
"Hello, you beautiful behavioral analyst. How can I help you?" Garcia said through the speaker.
"Could you pull up some birth records for us, Garcia?" Emily asked.
"I'm going to need a little bit more information." She responded.
"The date on the letter is January 7th, so fast forward nine months," Morgan said.
"Ten months, actually. Ask me how I know." JJ said, laughing.
"There were 9 single mothers who gave birth around September to October. Sending them to you now." Penelope said through the phone.
"Alright, thank you, Penelope," Prentiss said before closing the phone.
"Chloe Kelcher was on jury duty for Ryan's trial," Reid said, pointing to the list Garcia sent us.
"That makes sense. She would have been exposed to the case information, she would have seen firsthand what he did to his victims." I said.
"That's when she fell in love with him. Sitting across the courtroom every day." Hotch said as he moved next to me.
YOU ARE READING
Stars | Aaron Hotchner
Romance"Why didn't you wait for backup?" He yelled. "I didn't want him to get away." I said, walking further into the room. "You disobeyed my direct order." He said, still yelling. "Would you have rather me let him get away?" I said, getti...
