deep end, cm [ 1 ]

027. the boogeyman

Everybody but Elle and Hotch are on the jet and flying to their next case.

"Did you guys hear Elle was cleared?" Spencer asks, sitting next to Derek. JJ nods.

"Self defense." Derek says.

"So it was a good shoot." Spencer says.

"Mm, she hit what she was aiming for." JJ says.

"That's not what I meant." Spencer says.

"I know." JJ says.

"If they cleared her, how come she's not here with us? Or Hotch?" Derek questions.

"Focus on the case." Gideon tells them.

"Well, that's gotta mean something." Jessica mutters.

"Ozona police and autopsy report for Nicholas Faye and Robbie Davis." JJ hands papers out.

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

"With no apparent sexual motivation." Spencer says. "That's rare when the victims are this young."

"This unsub seems to be taking pleasure from the kill itself." Gideon says.

"So if it's not sexual, what's the significance of targeting young males?" Derek asks.

"Most serial killers prey upon specific types to carry out their fantasies of revenge. Bundy killed women that looked like an ex-girlfriend who jilted him. Dahmer claimed that schoolyard harassment fed into his fury." Spencer explains.

"Okay, so then maybe these kids represent someone who victimized the offender." Jessica says.

"Like a young male from his past. Maybe a bully, an older brother, someone who abused him." Spencer says.

"No, that's unlikely." JJ says, getting off the phone. "They just found another body. 11 year old girl."

"Why would the victimology just suddenly change?" Spencer asks.

"Maybe the girl wasn't the target. Maybe she just got in the way." Derek suggests.

"Or the sex of his victim isn't significant." Gideon says. "The pace he's killing certainly indicates a velocity of change."

"We can't surveil every kid in Ozona, how are we supposed to keep 'em all safe?" JJ asks.

"Enforce a curfew?" Spencer asks.

"Children shouldn't have to worry about something like that." Derek says.

"Tell me about it. The woods were the only thing I was afraid of when I was a kid." JJ says.

"Seriously? I thought you grew up in a small town." Derek says.

"Yeah, surrounded by woods." JJ says.

"Bummer for you."

"Yeah."

"The only thing I was afraid of was the dark."

"Some of us still are." Spencer comments. Jessica rolls her lips into her mouth, refraining from saying anything, not wanting to subject Spencer to too much teasing from Derek or JJ.

"When we land, Morgan and Reid go to the new crime scene. The little girl. Taylor and I will look at the scene where Nicholas Faye was found."

+++

"This is where he dumped the body." The sheriff informs.

"This isn't a dump site. Murder happened right here." Gideon states. "Autopsy report indicates no signs of a struggle."