Come Downstairs and Say Hello; S.R.

Case 1: Part 6

Using the word "arrogant" to describe Dr.Landman would be an understatement. The entire time he was being questioned by Gideon, he referred to himself as a god and bragged about how he was too busy banging nurses to shoot people. At that specific point of the interrogation he turned to the window, sending Jo a wink. She shuddered, scoffing.

"What a prick." She spat.

"I'm not disagreeing with you on that, but I think we probably should go question the nurse he was with. Starling, Reid? Up for a walk?" Hotch asked.

"Always." Jo responded, following Hotch to the E.R.

"My guess is Dr. pate is gonna corroborate Landman's alibi." Hotch told the two youngest members of the BAU.

"You don't think Landman's the shooter?" Reid asked.

"Richard Angelo wanted to be a hero because in his everyday life, he was a nobody. Landman's a surgeon. He has power and recognition.

"Yeah, but you know, surgeons are a different breed. They're the stars in their field, and Landman is definitely not one of them." Reid pointed out, and Jo nodded along, trying to figure out anything she could. Once in the E.R., Hotch walked up to the front desk.

"Excuse me, We'd like to speak with Dr. Pate." Jo said politely to the man behind the counter while Hotch held up his badge. The man had kind of awkward sideburns, and bags under his eyes. He anxiously glanced at the badge before meeting Jo's eyes.

"Yes, Ma'am. I'll find her for you." He walked away, and Hotch put his badge away, motioning for his subordinates to huddle in close as he spoke.

"The motivations for Hero Homicide are excitement, power, and respect, and even though Landman's not a star, he still gets respect. Racing against the clock to save someone's life is exciting." Hotch said. Jo looked up from her feet.

"Maybe it's not exciting enough."

"That would be why he shoots three people at a time." Said Reid.

"But he can only operate on one at a time, it wouldn't be any more exciting." Hotch said, and Jo bit her lip. "At least...not for Landman, and not in the O.R." Hotch said quietly. Reid looked around the room before turning back to Hotch.

"The policemen and E.R. Personnel are on the exact same 24-hour shift schedule." He said, Joes eyes going wide.

"He wasn't shooting at shift change because of the absence of cops..he works the second shift in the emergency room." She whispered.

"Contact with the victims." Said Reid. Hotch flipped open his phone.

"Sir, you can't use cell phones in the hospital." A woman working behind the counter told him. Hotch walked up to the woman and secretly showed her his badge.

"We're FBI agents, and we believe that one of your staff members might be the sniper." He said. "The man we're looking for works second shift, and he would've transferred from Arlington in the past two weeks."

"We haven't hired any new personnel in two months." The woman replied.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"This man is in his thirties. He's vain, rude, arrogant. He works out. He shows up to work late and blames others for his mistakes, and doesn't take responsibility for his behavior, all of his coworkers detest him." Hotch described. The woman began to look panicked.

"Oh, my god." She whispered. "It's Phillip Dowd. He picks up shifts at Arlington."

"Is he here today?"

"Oh, my god." The woman began to breathe heavily, and Jo gently put her hands on her shoulders to keep her looking at them.

"Okay, Ma'am, please calm down. We're here to help, and your patients don't need you panicked. Please tell us if he's working today." The woman nodded. "Do you see him right now?" Jo asked kindly. The woman swallowed and looked around, shaking her head. Hotch touched Jo's shoulder.

"Both of you, go tell Gideon. Don't split up, we don't know where he could be." He ordered. Jo nodded, and both of them began to hustle off. "Hey, easy, you two." Hotch said, and Jo blushed, embarrassed, and nodded, slowing down. Reid looked just about as nervous as Jo felt, so, as an attempt to lighten his mood a bit she nudged him in the side, giggling.

"I bet the last thing this hospital needs is two nerdy-looking FBI agents hauling ass down the hallways." She joked, and he smiled. When she looked back up, as she saw the anxious doctor they had met at the counter coming their way, and he suddenly yanked something out of his jacket, Jo's blood going cold. Her panic got worse when he took whatever it was and hit Reid with it, making him go down.

"Spenc-" Jo began to call for him, when she felt a sudden pain in the back of her head, and immediately fell to the ground, blacking out.