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"The verses." Reid says to Gideon quickly as we walk up to him and Morgan.
"Found something?" He asks.
"A question. We found the entire ballad. He following it exactly, the death side at least." I explain as we all look at the ballad.
"But?" Gideon questions.
"Why didn't he leave them at the first three murders?" Reid asks and they stare at him, "I mean, this ballad is ten verses long just on the death side--he's got plenty to work with. But if it's not part of his signature, if it isn't something that he has to do for an emotional reason, then, I mean, why start?" Reid questions. It dawns on me at the same time as Gideon.
"JJ, find out when the press ran the first story on this unsub." Gideon tells her and she looks at him confused.
"When?" She questions.
"After which victim." I clarify.
"Yeah, you got it." JJ responds, picking up the phone to make some calls.
"What are y'all thinking?" Morgan questions us.
"He didn't get enough attention. The police sometimes don't realize the pattern fast enough." I explain.
"Yeah, until somebody tells 'em." Morgan states.
JJ, still on the phone, tells us, "The first story ran the morning after the fourth victim was found."
"The increased patrols didn't begin until after the fourth victim, either." Morgan states while looking at the file.
"Yeah, the police didn't realize what was happening, he writes his verse." Gideon remarks.
"And everyone knows that he's was there." Spencer finishes as Hotch and Elle walk out of the elevator and stand next to us.
"The offender in this new attempt is a black male." Hotch reveals and I shake my head.
"Black male? Cross racial--that doesn't happen." Morgan denies.
"What about Herbert Mullin? He killed fourteen different people of completely varying ages, races, and creeds." Spencer questions and I shake my head.
"His crimes weren't sexual though." I argue and he nods agreeingly.
"And he wore a ski mask. This attacker wore a ski mask." Elle reveals and I shake my head, he can't be our unsub then.
"Tell 'em we're ready." Gideon demands.
"For our profile?" Morgan questions and we all look at Gideon.
"We're gonna make Tommy contact us." Gideon states before walking away.
-
"The unsub brought his weapons with him. Tape, glue, wire." Gideon states looking to his left before continuing, "He did not leave them at the scene. He took them when he left. He has a kind of killing kit that he carries."
Hotch takes over for him and says, "Organized killers usually have a skilled job, likely technology related, which may involve the use of the hands. The crime scenes are far enough apart that he needs a vehicle. This will be well kept, obsessively clean, as will be his home. He's diurnal, the attacks occurred during the day, so the vehicle may be related to his work, possibly a company car or truck."
"We believe he watches the victims for a time, learns the rhythms of the home, knows his time frame." Morgan explains.
I take a deep breath before saying, "You won't catch him by accident. He breaks symbols of wealth in each home. He is envious and hateful toward people of a higher social class. They make him feel invisible."
"Class is the theme of the poem which he left at the various crime scenes. At one point in the poem, the women attempts to bribe death, but he doesn't accept it. He says this is the one moment riches mean nothing. When death comes, the poor and the rich are exactly alike." Reid explains.
"So he's poor." A cop summarizes and I shake my head.
"Probably middle-class." Hotch deduces, "A decidedly lower-class person would stick out in a highly patrolled neighborhood. This guy appears to belong there. He blends in."
"Why does he glue the eyes open?" Another cop asks.
"The unsub is an exploitative rapist. Most rape victims close their eyes during the attack, turn their heads. For some rapists, this ruins the fantasy. For this type of rapist, the goal is more related to the victim watching him than the act itself." Elle responds.
"The verses, the staging, the aggressive language, 'I am death,' this is a guy who, while being in control at the crime scene, almost certainly feels inadequate in the rest of his life." Hotch explains.
Gideon stands and remarks, "That's why he couldn't wait for you to figure out what he'd done, why he needed to make sure all his crimes were counted."
I sigh and say, "His victims represent that which is controlling him, he wants the control back. He is held down by a powerful woman who scares him."
"And a final point. He is white." Gideon concludes.
Griffith argues, "We have witnesses that identify him as a black male."
Gideon nods, "The attacker was black. He is not the Tommy Killer." He explains.
"Mrs. Gordon's husband came home at the same time that he always does. The Tommy Killer would have known that." Hotch says.
"And Mrs. Gordon's attacker wore a ski mask." Elle adds, "The unsub knows when he walks into a house, he's going to kill the woman who lives there. If you're not leaving any witnesses, why wear a ski mask?" She questions.
"And he wants the victim to see him anyway." Morgan states.
"Your attempted rapist is a garden variety disorganized young man." Hotch explains.
"When the victim's age gets older, it's most likely that the attacker gets younger. Mrs. Gordon is in her sixties, so her rapist should be about twenty." I tell them.
"And it takes years to develop the level of calm and sophistication that Tommy displays at a crime scene, and the rapist is far too young for that." Gideon explains.
Elle tells everyone, "Mrs. Gordon told me that there's a young man who delivers groceries to their home. He fits a lot of what we're describing here."
Griffith stands up angrily, "Great. So we're back to zero on Tommy." He snaps, turning to grab something from the cop behind him.
"Not at all. May I see you in your office for a moment?" Hotch asks him.
