Come Downstairs and Say Hello; S.R.

Case 3 Part 2

The team stood in front of the Philly PD in order to share virtually the same profile they had 20 years ago, only with changes.

"A lot has changed in 20 years, including the age of the Keystone killer's victims." Hotch began.

"He's older, his victims are older- makes sense to me." Santangelo, an officer of the Philly PD said

"Well, sir, most unsubs have a specific fantasy, as if they're killing the same person again and again." Jo explained, and he nodded.

"This unsub clearly had a type of young brunettes, and now he's switched on to older women." Hotch said.

"What does that mean?" Santangelo asked.

"Ted Bundy only killed women that looked like his fiancée." Reid said, "but then he devolved and brutally attacked a house full of sorority sisters that looked nothing like his previous victims." Jo nodded.

"He went "off script", so to speak." Reid gave her a nod of approval.

"His final victim was a 12 year old girl. When police found the van he used to kill her, the amount of blood revealed that he had lost complete control. It was that de-evolution that eventually led to his capture."

"He could be de-evolving into a frenzy." Gideon suggested.

"So you mean he's about to mess up."

"The Keystone Killer's de-evolution is only a theory. We need to be prepared for anything." Morgan said, and Jo nodded in agreement.

"If he is in a frenzy, he could fall apart at any speed."

"And he can take any number of victims with him." Gideon added.

"So we're gonna go over everything we know, old and new, and hopefully find him before we find another body." Hotch said. Gideon picked up a file from the table before him.

"We'll start with agent Ryan's original profile." He turned to his old friend, "Max, do you wanna present it?" His question came out as more of a suggestion.

"No." Max turned, walking out of the room. Jo turned to Reid with her eyebrow raised in a non-verbal way of asking what the hell just went down, but Reid didn't seem to know either. Hotch sighed, before turning to the PD.

"We're looking for a white male in his late fourties. The controlled crime scenes, the meticulousness and his collection of trophies suggest a possible military background, and we believe he's been living around the same geographic area his entire adult life." Once finished sharing the profile, the team went into one of the conference rooms. Jo collapsed into a chair near the whiteboard, where Reid was standing, her back turned to the table so she could watch him scribble stuff on the board, filling in all of the word puzzles. Just about everything he did interested Jo in one way or another, no matter how lame or geeky it was.

"Let's focus on the differences in the crimes, what's he doing that's new?" Hotch walked into the room, making Jo turn in her seat so she could pay attention to him.

"His latest victim was hit in the head, that's new." Elle observed.

"He said she didn't fight in the word puzzle, so why would he hit her?" Jo asked.

"To scare her, maybe?" Morgan guessed, "or to show her he's in charge?"

"He never did that before." Hotch said.

"And a blow that hard wouldn't scare her, it'd probably just knock her unconscious." Elle said.

"In order to control her?" Hotch asked.

"He switched from using rope to flex-cuffs. The intricate knot was part of his signature." Gideon explained. Jo nodded.

"Flex cuffs are easier, they probably saved him time."

"It's more than that. The rope was meticulously tied, it was intimate. Completely unnecessary." Said Gideon. Elle squinted her eyes.

"And he abandoned the rope and the use of his bare hands, which makes his kills less personal and less controlling." She observed. The team sat silently, everyone trying to figure out something in their head. Morgan sighed loudly.

"Okay, seriously, guys, let's just abandon all this. Let's just treat him like a new offender." He suggested.

"He isn't." Gideon argued.

"But he has a point, Gideon. If he changed this much, the only way we have a chance of finding him is if we change how we think about him!" Jo said. Gideon shook his head, and she sighed. She turned to Reid, who had just circled something on one of the word searches.

"Guys, I have a name." He said. Jo read what he circled and tilted her head.

""Nibrahs"?" She raised an eyebrow, "That's a name?"

"It's backwards." Reid explained, "S Harbin- there was a Scott Harbin on Ryan's original suspect list-"

"It's not Scott Harbin." Max cut Reid off, and Jo bitterly thought about how that must be his favorite hobby. Max continued, "Harbin went to jail in 1988 for stabbing a guy while he was trying to escape during a home invasion. The guy later died. Harbin didn't even know there was anyone at home at the time he broke in."

"How long did he get?" Morgan asked.

"30 years." Max responded.

"That makes him a little more than halfway done." Gideon said.

"Unless he's been paroled." Hotch suggested.

"No-no, it's too easy. I interviewed Harbin twice. He's a pervert. He's a small-time burglar with a fetish for lingerie." Jo's mouth hung open in disbelief, and her eyes met with Reid's, who had his arms crossed and a just as baffled look on his face. "I mean, he's a creep, but he is not the Keystone Killer. Believe me, our guy has not been in jail all these years."

"Maybe he knows something.." Jo said weakly, nervous Max would have an outburst. Luckily he didn't, and Morgan responded instead.

"I'll call Garcia and see what she can dig up on this guy."

"He's not the guy!" Max exclaimed, making Morgan stop in his tracks and Joey jump. This time, she looked at Elle, who was sharing her wide-eyed expression. The team sat silently yet again, and Max left the room. Joey let out a large sigh of both distress and relief.

"What are we doing here, Jason?" Hotch turned to Gideon.

"What do you mean?"

"Is Ryan interested in catching the Keystone Killer, or just proving he's right?" Jo looked up at Gideon, who crossed his arms and left the room, Jo guessing he was going after Max. She leaned back, looking up at Reid.

"If I ever get like that...promise you'll kill me." She joked. Reid smiled, and went back to the board.