Come Downstairs and Say Hello; S.R.

Case 3 Part 3

Jo and Reid stayed behind at the police office while the rest of the team went to check Scott Harbin's house. Jo had been watching Reid stare at the word puzzles when her phone rang, shaking both of them out of their trances. She grabbed her phone.

"Yeah?"

"It's Hotch."

"Hey, what's the situation?"

"We found Harbin. We also found a woman under his bed."

"You're kidding. Is she alive?"

"Yeah. Here's the kicker: Harbin fits the profile."

"You mean we've got our guy?" Reid turned around.

"Let's not jump to conclusions. We'll meet up with you soon."

"Got it. Good job." She hung up and turned to Reid, who was obviously looking for an explanation. Jo put her phone down, "They've arrested Harbin. They found a girl being held captive under his bed, and he fits the profile. But I'm sure sir Ryan won't let that happen." Jo explained, rolling her eyes.

"Well, it is off profile for him to keep her in his house." Reid said, and Jo nodded.

"Right-O, Genius Man." Her phone rang again, and she picked up, "Hey."

"It's me again. Harbin's a killer, just not the right one."

"Huh."

"The one we're looking for left a note for Max on the car, said something about balance."

"Like good and evil?"

"Exactly. We're almost there." Jo hung up, sighing. Reid raised an eyebrow.

"This has to be the first time a killer led us to another killer." Morgan said as the rest of the team shuffled into the room.

"Come on, we all know they make the best profilers, they admire each other's work." Gideon responded.

"Yeah, but usually from afar." Said Elle.

"Well, at least you guys got Harbin off the streets, right?" Jo said optimistically, handing Elle a coffee she had prepared for her just the way she likes. Hotch sat down, acknowledging the rest of his team before he spoke.

"Alright, let's review, what do we know about the Keystone Killer?"

"He's not dead or in jail." Elle said.

"He enjoys the taunting, the game." Gideon added.

"He's in complete control." Morgan piped up.

"He strangled 7 women in the 1980s, stopped for 18 years, and then began again, suffocating them. 10% of all violent crimes are caused by strangulation, it only takes 11 pounds of pressure to fully incapacitate your victim, and if you hang on for at least 50 seconds, they'll never recover." Reid said matter-of-factly. Jo bit her lip.

"Strangely though, when you suffocate someone, you have less control over their death, am I correct?" She asked, Hotch nodding.

"It's actually more passive, because the killer doesn't feel life leaving the body." He further explained.

"He's changed almost everything that he does." Elle said, distressed.

"Why? What's he getting out of this new MO?" Gideon asked, "you've got Carla Bromwell, she sustains a significant head injury. Blitz attack suggests disorganization, no self-confidence. This is a guy who walks into 7 victims' homes prior to this. There's no forced entry at any of the scenes, where's the loss of confidence?"