deep end, cm [ 1 ]

057. birthright

Everybody is in the conference room when JJ walks in.

"Uh, everyone's here. Sorry I'm late." She says, putting a stack of files on the table. She clears her throat and grabs the remote. "Last night in Fredericksburg, a 20 year old woman, Molly McCarthy, was abducted. She's the third to go missing in the last six weeks. All disappeared from public places, no one's seen them since."

"Until now." Rossi says.

"A couple of days ago, body parts with cigarette burns were recovered from a national park which was once the site of the Battle of Chancellorsville." JJ says.

"Were they able to make an ID?" Hotch asks.

"It was the first victim, taken six weeks ago. Decomp indicated that she had been dead just over a week." JJ says.

"So he likes spending time with them." Jessica comments.

"How'd she end up like that?" Emily asks, pointing to the photo.

"M.E. found microscopic tool marks on the body." JJ says.

"I remember reading about a case like this in Spotsylvania County. Similar markings on the bone." Spencer says.

"It was the winter of 1980, also Fredericksburg." JJ says. "5 women, 16 to 24. Buried in pieces. Same markings. Same Civil War battlefield."

"Killed the same time of year and left at the same dump site?" Rossi asks.

"It's like an anniversary." Derek says.

"That case is still open." JJ says.

"Back then the victims were drug addicts and runaways." Spencer says.

"If he spends that much time with them, there's a chance these two women could still be alive." Hotch says.

"What, we think this could be the same killer? That's a hell of a cooling off period." Emily says.

"BTK resurfaced after a 25 year hiatus." Jessica says.

"True, but he didn't kill anyone, he only taunted the police." Spencer says.

"Marks on the bone and where he dumps them -- that's a very specific signature." Rossi says. "Hard to copycat details that were never made public."

"Garcia, check the M.O. against girls missing in other states. It could explain the long absence." Hotch says.

"I'm on it." She walks out.

"If this is the same unsub, what's he been doing for the past 27 years?" Rossi questions.

+++

"Am I in the right place?" An older man walks into the station.

"David Rossi." He introduces, shaking the man's hand.

"John Caulfield." The man says.

"Agents Derek Morgan, Jessica Taylor, Emily Prentiss." Rossi nods to each of them. Jessica gives him a small wave and polite smile.

"Just going over your old case, sir." Derek says.

"Oh." He mumbles. "Sharon Chroniger." He picks a picture up. "She was 16 years old. We found her body in pieces. I promised her parents that I would find out who did this. Then her father passed away."

"Tell us what Fredericksburg was like in 1980." Rossi says, taking the photo, realizing it's hard for the man.

"It was a farming community. Rural." John says, sitting down. "Everybody knew everybody. You could leave your doors open at night."