08x05 - The Good Earth

[bunniefuu]

Hey.

Ohh!

You scared me.

Sorry.

I hit a wall.

Whoa, oh.

Give me a second.

Well, our time's almost up, anyway.

Here, let me just show you a couple of cool-down stretches.

Next time.

You hired me as your personal trainer, right?

Right.

And here's your training lesson for today.

Next time needs to be now time.

It's just...

I got some errands to run.

I'll see you Saturday.

Hey!

Yeah.

Terry.

Pain is not gain.

Got it?

I got it.

[Breathing hard]

[Music playing]

Radio: ♪ I'm talkin'

behind your back ♪
♪ you better be payin' attention ♪
♪ there's a w*r goin' on

♪ rollin' up my short sleeves

[music distorting]

[Playing indistinctly]

♪ ...almost everything I ever had ♪
♪ and you make me so mad

[continues indistinct]

♪ I'm lookin' at...

[Turns off engine, music stops]

What do you mean, he's not going?

Every kid loves trick-or-treating.

Henry's scared.

One of his little buddies told him Halloween was the only time when all the real monsters come out because they can blend in.

Never thought about that.

Good monster strategy.

[Chuckles] You did tell him it wasn't true, right?

Of course I did.

But he's convinced.

Childhood fears are resistant to adult logic.

Sometimes you just have to wait it out.

For how long?

Well, if he's 23 and this still worries you, you got a problem.

Well, see, the thing is, I think I am partly to blame.

How?

Well, the other night will and I were up late, we were having some wine, talking about some of the cases we've worked on, and at one point, I said I felt like there was no end to all the monsters walking around, and...

Henry sneaked into the room to listen to the grownups.

Yeah. We need a cone of silence for our house.

[Garcia chuckles]

Those of you who like a good mystery, please unleash your inner Agatha Christie, 'cause this one's a real humdinger.

Gary Ellard, Barry Deaver, Paul Hicks, Terry Rodgers.

Over the course of the last month and a half, these 4 men have gotten in their cars in La Grande, Oregon, and drove into the never-to-be-seen-agains-ville, poof, gone.

The latest victim Terry Rodgers disappeared 24 hours ago.

Forensic evidence point us anywhere?

Uh, point would imply there is evidence, and there is no evidence, at least for the first 3 victims.

No forensics, no witnesses, no ransom demands.

Maybe these guys just voluntarily decided to hit the road.

4 sudden disappearances in a community this small-- this isn't about seeking green pastures.

Based on last known sightings, we're dealing with a sizeable geographic area.

He's efficient and well organized.

It's not easy to make 4 people vanish and stay vanished.

It has been done before, though.

Political kidnappings frequently require holding multiple adults simultaneously.

Or they're already dead.

Nothing says "can't be found" like a shallow grave in the middle of nowhere.

Assuming they are alive, how is the unsub controlling them?

And for what purpose?

The time between abductions is shortening with each victim.

Wheels up in 30.

[Groaning]

♪ Criminal Minds 8x05 ♪

The Good Earth
Original air date on October 31, 2012

♪

Reid: "I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity."

Edgar Allan Poe.

Garcia, anything on the last victim, Terry Rodgers?

Only that he's unemployed and lives in a cabin in the woods.

But primitive, like no flush toilet primitive.

That doesn't fit the victimology of the other 3.

Ellard coaches track and field at a local college, Deaver's a small business owner, and Hicks is an attorney.

All married with young families.

Rossi: Another difference-- the first 3 victims were all born and raised in La Grande.

Terry Rodgers only moved to town a couple of months ago.

Do you know where from, Garcia?

Rhode Island. Though there's a 5-month gap between Terry being in Rhode Island and then arriving in Oregon.

Where he was and what he was doing is a big fat blank.

It says here that vomit was found in the vicinity of his abduction.

Mm. Thank you for reminding me of that disgusting detail, Dreamy D.

Yes, that vomit has been collected and is being analyzed as we speak, and I'm very grateful that I have this job and someone has that one that's not me.

Rodgers is the obvious anomaly of the 4, but there's no apparent overlap between any of the victims.

Almost like the unsub was selecting his targets at random.

Blake, you and Morgan go talk to the families of the victims.

See if there's something that links them that's not on paper.

Dave and I will go to the abduction site.

Reid, you and JJ go to Terry Rodgers' cabin.

He's the one we know least about.

Maybe he made himself obscure for a reason.

[Indistinct chatter]

Sheriff, I'm Agent Hotchner.

This is Agent Rossi.

Sheriff Colwin.

I am glad to have your help.

The best we can reconstruct it, victim's car veered off the road at a low rate of speed, plowed through the fence, and ended up in the field.

He managed to get about 20 feet away before throwing up.

The photo showed a second set of tracks.

Were you able to pull a tread pattern?

We're checking on it right now.

Maybe our guy got sick and had to pull over.

Or he was forced off the road.

Either way, the unsub was following him.

Mrs. Deaver, did your husband give any indication at all that something might be wrong the night he disappeared?

No, not at all.

Barry was supposed to coach our son's little league game that night.

So he wasn't depressed, preoccupied?

Nothing.

It was a day like any other day.

This is what happens to other people.

You see it on the news, you know.

Give it, what, 30 seconds of your time?

Shake your head, go back to whatever stupid thing you were doing.

Washing dishes or putting away laundry.

You never think it's going to happen to you.

[Cell phone rings]

Go ahead, you're on speaker, Garcia.

Sir, I just got the full lab report for the...

You know, the regur-- for the puke, and there's no toxins or bacterial infections.

However, Terry Rodgers did have elevated levels of Melatonin in his system. And I'm sending you the full lab report... Now, on your phones.

Elevated?

His Melatonin levels are off the chart.

Is that significant?

It's a sedative.

An amount this large would induce extreme drowsiness.

Do you think he might have overdosed by accident?

No, no, this was no accident.

The victim was drugged.

Sheriff, the police report said there were groceries in Rodgers' car.

Do you know if he ate anything out of the bags?

He didn't. We compared the supermarket receipt to what was in the bags.

Nothing missing.

So, how did Rodgers unknowingly ingest such a massive dose of Melatonin?

Reid: You know, aside from the outhouse, this cabin isn't so primitive.

Ok.

Economics, philosophy, political theory.

It isn't exactly breezy, take to the beach reading.

I would, but I don't really like the beach.

Why is that?

Sandy food, pink skin, limited and unengaging topography, but mostly the drug-resistant bacteria spread by sea gull feces.

Sorry I asked.

You know, there's a lot of material here about global warming, overcrowding.

The evils of technology.

There's no phone, no TV.

I wonder what this guy does for fun.

I think maybe I just found the answer.

Tread marks were inconclusive.

Probably from a pickup truck, though.

What's that?

The likely routes our 4 victims took on the day they disappeared.

Gary Ellard-- apartment, DMV, was a no-show for his morning class at Eastern Oregon University.

Barry Deaver--home, gas station, never made it to his karate group.

Paul Hicks--home, daughter's preschool, doctor's appointment.

He was supposed to meet a client over here but never showed.

And we already know about Terry Rodgers.

And all this tells you what?

It's more about what it doesn't tell us.

None of the lines intersect.

I just had a chat with Terry Rodgers' personal trainer.

She said he never talked about his private life.

He's shelling out for a personal trainer?

This is a guy with no indoor plumbing.

She said he was dedicated.

Not in great shape, but dedicated.

[Groaning]

[Line ringing]

Hey. You're talking to the room, P. G.

Mm. If by P. G. You mean parental guidance strongly advised, I say P. A., prudent advice.

Ok, here's what's happened.

I checked all the employees and vendors and delivery people who work at the supermarket where Terry Rodgers bought his groceries, and there were no red flags.

Also, Barry Deaver, the second victim, I found his car.

Where?

Impounded.

It was abandoned 3 weeks ago on Fish Hatchery Road, picked up by Gus' Towing Service, where it has been collecting dust and racking up storage fees ever since.

Where's Fish Hatchery Road?

Off the beaten track, like Terry Rodgers.

Looks like the unsub's hunting grounds are rural and remote.

Well, to have ended up there, Barry Deaver must have gone on a diagonal, north first, and then headed west towards his karate class.

So, did you learn anything?

Yeah. Spence here does not like the beach.

I don't. Terry Rodgers definitely wanted to live off the grid.

A small generator for minimal electrical needs.

No phone, no TV, no radio.

And lots of material about the evils of technology, living healthy off the land, that sort of thing.

Sounds like the unabomber.

We did find a small stash of marijuana hidden away.

Did you find any evidence that a baby lived there or visited there?

Uh, no, why?

I just got the list of things that he bought at the supermarket.

4 jars of baby food.

A body matching Rodgers' description was found in a river 10 miles out of town.

[Indistinct]

Easy.

Easy.

Right there.

A fisherman found him washed up on a bank.

Well, other than the ligature marks on the wrists and ankles, there's no signs of v*olence or t*rture.

A lot of care was taken with the k*lling and disposing of the body.

Sedation and drowning.

We may have to dramatically reassess who the unsub is.

What do you mean?

We might be looking for a woman.

Mommy?

Lexy!

I told you to never come out here by yourself.

I know, but I'm hungry.

Stay away from the barn.

There's a lot of dangerous equipment in there.

You could hurt yourself.

Go back to the house and stay there.

I'll be in to fix you something.

But I mean it-- stay there.

Ok.

[Motor starts]

There's got to be something else that links these victims.

Rossi: They were all athletic.

Ellard teaches track and field.

Deaver has a martial arts studio.

Paul Hicks had tendonitis from playing competitive tennis.

But Rodgers' trainer said that he was out of shape.

Did the medical examiner determine Rodgers' time of death?

3 hours from when he was found at the river.

So the unsub kept Rodgers alive for the entire day before drowning him.

Go ahead, Garcia.

Ok. I've got something.

That's really bugging me.

I can't figure out what Terry Rodgers was doing those missing 5 months.

I mean, you can't sit on a park bench in this country and not leave a paper trail.

But you figured it out.

No. This is me venting.

What I did figure out was what Terry Rodgers was doing in Rhode island before he went awol. Check it.

He was married, divorced, married again, currently way behind on child support payments to wife number two, and that's all I know.

If you'll excuse me, I have more digging to do.

Owes child support.

Could explain why Rodgers vanished for 5 months.

And why he lived off the grid. Hard to find.

And that's what links him to the other victims.

They all fathered children.

We believe the unsub that we're looking for is a woman, who is highly organized, she's thorough, and she's patient.

Based on the complexity and the sophistication of the abductions, we think she is most likely between the ages of 30 and 40.

Rossi: She's familiar with the rural area surrounding La Grande.

Either a native or someone who's lived there for a while.

Morgan: We think she's keeping her victims in isolation in the countryside, which means she has access to land or a structure that is remote, hidden, and private.

She's abducting exceptionally health conscious men, ideal specimens, if you will.

Specimens. For what?

Possible breeding.

Hotch: Ability to father children is something we think she's looking for in her victims.

They're all age appropriate, and they are all fathers.

Sheriff: But why k*ll the last victim?

Reid: She may have seen him as being flawed.

He was the least physically fit of the 4, and he neglected to pay child support.

Blake: Making him undesirable.

The victims may be surrogates for a man that she wants but she cannot have.

Because she k*lled the last victim, we have to consider the possibility that the unsub is engaged in some sort of elimination process.

Preselecting a handful of prime candidates and then whittling them down one by one until she has her ideal breeding partner.

And if this is the case, the the k*lling's just begun.

[Gasps]

Mommy, what's the matter?

[Indistinct P. A.]

We got a frequent flier.

Which one?

The tomato lady.

I don't believe this.

Emma.

Dr. Gourse.

Thank God you're here.

Those other doctors don't understand my history.

Yeah, I thought we talked about this last time.

Yeah, we did. But the scleroderma came back. Look.

There's nothing on your arm.

But it's right there.

You treated me after my husband died.

It's the same thing.

Yeah, your scleroderma was treated successfully.

You are fine now.

But this could be a mutation.

Things mutate. What about Stevens-Johnson syndrome?

Stevens-Johnson is extremely rare.

And you'd have severe blistering all over your face.

Emma, we talked before about how a delusion--

I'm not crazy.

Emma, listen to me.

There may be other issues that are going on with you.

Did you contact the therapist that I recommended?

I guess that's no.

I'm still waiting on the full M. E. report on Terry Rodgers.

They say they want to retest some of the findings.

Did they say why?

No.

I recognize that scowl, Aaron.

What are you thinking?

Something Garcia said earlier about not being able to sit on a park bench in this country without leaving a paper trail.

And...

So what if Rodgers wasn't in the country for those 5 months?

It wouldn't be the first time someone crossed borders to get away from troubles.

Guys, there's something interesting about this grocery list.

What?

Look at the items he bought in bulk.

Garlic, green tea, vitamin D, ginger.

All of these items are specifically known to boost the immune system.

What if Terry Rodgers was seriously ill?

What about the baby food?

A side effect of radiation treatment is sores inside the mouth.

In fact, doctors advise you to eat the way an infant would eat.

Chemotherapy?

The marijuana in the cabin could have been medicinal.

I'll have Garcia check medical facilities outside the country.

And, Reid, you and JJ go to the medical examiner and have them look specifically for a pre-existing condition with Rodgers.

Hotch. You were right.

Back in June, Rodgers checked himself into an experimental clinic in Mexico. Cancer.

That's why the unsub disposed of him so quickly.

It was Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Did you find any sedatives in his system?

The question is, what sedatives didn't we find?

Melatonin, Valerian, marijuana, hops, catnip, kava-kava...

Bone meal and kelp.

In the victim's stomach, along with some materials that we're retesting.

Take a look at the bottom.

Sawdust residue caked in the nostrils?

Not just any sawdust.

Pure pinewood pellet sawdust.

It's usually imported from China.

Was it a 0.5% mixture?

I don't know.

All I know is, it's not your everyday spread-on-the-floor sawdust.

Yeah.

That was Reid.

They found a half dozen natural sedatives in Rodgers' system.

I don't get it.

The unsub's drugging victims and trusting that they'll conk out at the right place at the right time.

Why not use a pharmaceutical drug?

Or poison?

Which would be quicker and a lot more reliable.

Natural holistic elements must be important to her.

She may have health issues of her own.

[Cell phone rings]

Go ahead, Garcia.

I just hit the trifecta, but with two things instead of 3.

What is that, a bifecta?

Exacta. What do you got?

Well, that-- anyway, two missing vehicles not missing anymore.

Paul Hicks' car was found by some utility workers an hour ago.

It had rolled off into a ravine.

And Gary Ellard's car was picked up on a speeding violation in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.

Idaho?

Stolen by some local kids 10 days ago in La Grande.

Car was just sitting by the side of the road, keys in the ignition.

They made a typically sound teenage decision, decided to take it on a cross-state joyride.

Garcia, I need to know the exact spot where the vehicles were originally found.

On it.

[Key remote chirps]

All right, based on what we just got, this is the revised best guess on the victims' routes the days they were abducted.

Blake: Two intersect here, the other two here.

And this is where Terry Rodgers bought his groceries.

It looks like Paul Hicks might have gone there after his doctor's appointment.

Now, what was at the intersection where Deaver and Ellard crossed?

That's a shopping center with a dozen or so businesses.

We're getting a list right now.

One of our deputies sighted an abandoned car on the outskirts of town.

There was a second set of tire tracks behind it that matched those found at Terry Rodgers' abduction site.

Vehicle's registered to Cheryl Winslow, 4801 Davenport Avenue.

[Indistinct police radio]

These are all from a baby shower.

We contacted her husband.

She's due in 3 weeks.

If this is our unsub, taking a pregnant woman would be a huge shift in victimology.

We profiled she was abducting the men as breeders.

But why take someone else's baby if you're planning on having your own?

Maybe she can't have one or she lost one.

Ok, so this-- this isn't about fertility, but the experience these men would bring as fathers.

Could she be building a family?

[Muffled crying]

Ohh... Oh, please. Oh, please.

What are you doing?!

[Gasping]

[Screaming]

Keep still.

Oh, my God!

[Screaming and sobbing]

Prep and get her to O. R. 3.

Doctor, is she gonna make it?

There's been massive blood loss.

She was given a C-section with a serrated-edge knife, then crudely stitched back up.

We found her and the baby in our parking lot.

How's the baby?

The child is fine.

It's her I'm worried about.

Excuse me.

Touch-and-go for a while, but she's going to make it.

Thank God.

It was a crude stitch-up job, but functional.

Probably what saved her life.

Whoever did this had some practice somewhere.

You think there'd be any way we could talk to her? It's very important.

I'm sorry, but the next 24 hours are critical.

She's heavily sedated.

I understand.

Her husband's here.

Excuse me.

Our unsub removed the baby, then returned mother and child to a hospital.

Baby wasn't due for 3 more weeks.

If the unsub's trying to put together the perfect family, maybe a premature infant isn't good enough.

Let's hope not.

That means she'll go out looking for a healthier baby now.

Mommy?

Mommy?

[Grunting]

[Grunting]

Lexy, get down from there!

That was Hotch.

The doctor told him the placenta was scraped completely out of the victim's uterus.

Every bit of it.

You know, the placenta does carry special significance in many cultures.

In ancient Egypt, it had its own hieroglyph.

And the Ibo tribe in Nigeria considered it to be the child's dead twin.

Well, that would be helpful, if our unsub was an ancient Egyptian or Ibo tribeswoman, but...

[No audio]

I can hear the high-pitched whine from your I. Q.

All the way over here.

What is it?

It could be placentophagy.

What?

Consuming it. In the wild, it's common for animals to eat their own afterbirth.

It's super rich in nutrients.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait.

So the unsub might have harvested this last victim...

For food?

Here.

No!

No...

No, please, mommy.

I promise I won't go to the barn again.

I promise.

This is not punishment.

I'm trying to keep you healthy.

No!

No!

Ohh!

What's wrong with you?!

Do you have any idea what I did to get that for us?

Uhh!

[Whimpering]

[Sobbing]

It's ruined.

I'm sorry.

[Wailing]

Oh, I'm sorry I yelled at you.

But...

Mommy?

It's about food.

Herbal sedatives, gruel, and now the placenta.

Ugh. And FYI, there's no record of anyone in La Grande buying that weird kind of sawdust the M. E. found.

I'll widen the search.

We still need to figure out how this unsub was able to drug all these men.

The southeast intersect doesn't get us much.

Laundromat, video rental store.

The other intersect is the supermarket, but none of the employees recognized Paul Hicks.

He never shopped there.

Garcia, what day of the week were each of the victims abducted?

Let me see. Gary Ellard on a Monday, Barry Deaver on a Saturday, Terry Rodgers and Paul Hicks both on a Thursday.

Is there anything special that happens in the vicinity of the market on Thursdays?

Uh...wow, you've done this before, haven't you?

Yeah. There's a farmers market across the street from the supermarket every Thursday morning.

And where is it today?

Pendleton, about 40 miles north on Interstate 84.

I'm sending Blake and Morgan.

[Indistinct chatter]

Enjoying your Melatonin bar?

Job's making you paranoid, Blake.

Well, apparently a lot of people work this market.

It's not like everybody else knows everybody else.

I'm gonna get a list of vendors and launch Garcia anyway.

You can see how it happened, though.

And Terry Rodgers got his groceries, made his way back to his car...

Grabbed a power drink on his way home.

He drank it...

And then he tossed it.

Now the Melatonin's in his system with no evidence of where it came from.

Hey, what do you got?

Full toxicology report.

And?

Unlike any tox panel I've ever seen before.

They found gypsum?

Yeah. Gypsum's rich in sulphur, a vital plant nutrient.

She's feeding her captives soil additives?

Seed meals, too.

Look, cotton, flax.

[Gagging]

[Coughing]

[Gasping]

Come on.

[Choking]

It's animal feed.

Why would you treat a human being like livestock?

People raise cattle to eat.

The unsub might be using the placenta as food, but nothing in the profile suggested cannibalism.

I mean...unless the sawdust they found in Terry Rodgers' nose...

What about it?

When livestock die, animal carcasses turn into a useful soil amendment through the aerobic biodegration process.

Like compost.

Exactly.

You need to add a substrate high in carbon to balance the nitrogen, and one of the most efficient substrates on earth is pure sawdust.

She's using her victims as human fertilizer.

How are you feeling, honey?

Mm...

This won't hurt you.

I made it all from roots and herbs.

All it does is help you take a little nap.

And when you wake up, you'll be the beautiful little girl that you are.

Ok, put your arms around me now.

How are we doing with the farmers market background search?

Not good. Turns out that people who grow organic rutabagas are loosey-goosey about punching in a time clock.

Sheriff, if we expand the search of the second intersection by a few square blocks, would we find any markets or restaurants?

There's a health food co-op 3 blocks away.

The soil will heal you.

Sheriff, the surgeon who operated on Cheryl Winslow said that whoever did the C-section might have done one before.

If she did, we never heard about it.

Nothing like this has ever happened in La Grande.

Well, we can keep looking, expand the search radius to nearby towns.

What about farms?

My grandparents had a farm in Pennsylvania.

Once my grandmother had to deliver a calf by C-section to a cow that was in distress.

[Cell phone rings]

Go ahead, Garcia.

I have got something.

Emma Kerrigan.

She runs a small juice and vegetable stand at the farmers market, and she works part-time giving out free samples at the health food co-op.

I'm sending you her picture now.

That sounds like our unsub.

Where does she live?

Piping Rock Farms west of town, with 100 acres, belonged to her husband's family.

Wait, she has a husband?

Had. Died in a car accident a year and a half ago, leaving her and a 10-year-old daughter.

Let's go.

I've got more info on Emma Kerrigan.

30 E. R. visits in the past 6 months.

Big-time hypochondriac.

A co-worker says she didn't eat anything unless she grew it herself.

To be fair, she did have an actual skin disease a couple years ago-- scleroderma.

Garcia, did the E. R. visits coincide with the death of the husband?

No. She was sick with the scleroderma when he died.

Cleared up a few months later.

The E. R. visits didn't kick in until the following year.

Please...

[Groans]

Blake: Clear.

Clear!

Clear.

What's that?

Garcia, what happened to Emma Kerrigan's husband's body after he died?

Uh, cremated.

And what happened to the ashes?

Obit says they were planning on spreading his ashes in the family garden throughout the 4 seasons.

Renewal, cycle of life, rejuvenation, that kind of thing.

Garcia, you got a map of the farm?

Place this size, we need to narrow the search.

I got the satellite image.

There's two groups of buildings.

And then there's a small square patch next to a barn that could be a private garden.

All right, let's go.

Hotch. Back garden.

Emma Kerrigan, FBI.

Put your hands where I can see them.

Emma, put that knife down.

No. My daughter needs this.

Look at her.

Put it down so we can get her the help she needs.

My daughter will be dead by then.

Blake: I believe you, Emma.

I can see how sick she is.

I talked to your doctor.

Dr. Gourse? You talked to Dr. Gourse?

Yes. He said Lexy is too sick for this to work.

This man's blood won't do anything.

[Sobs]

But it has to.

It's all I have left.

No.

No. What can cure Lexy is what cured you.

Uh...

Funeral homes are required by law to keep a portion of the remains of those that they cremate.

These are your husband's ashes.

Only these will make your daughter well.

Those are his?

[Crying]

It's a miracle.

It's a miracle.

Not bad, Blake.

Not bad at all.

[Groaning]

Took a chance.

I mean, I saw her fireplace there...

Blake: Alfred Austin said, "Show me your garden and I shall tell you what you are."

I assume you're not trick-or-treating either?

Ah, none of my treats seem to want to call me back, Rossi.

Then I'll buy you dinner.

I'm in.

Uh, excuse me, everybody.

I have an announcement to make.

As I'm sure some of you were aware, Henry was a little nervous about going trick-or-treating this year.

But he's decided to go anyway.

Great.

What changed his mind?

The BAU did.

I told him that he should go out on Halloween and try to figure out which monsters are real and which ones are not.

So he wants to be a profiler.

Ah.

He wants to be his favorite profiler.

Wow! Yeah!

Oh, wow!

You look great, Henry.

Put this on here.

Morgan: Oh, he's official.

Yeah.

[Whispering]

Tell him.

E equals MC squared!

Morgan: Oh, there it is!

Ohh!

The monsters don't stand a chance.

Oh, I know. Shall we go get you some candy?

Come on.

Whoo-hoo.

Watch your back, pretty boy.

[Chuckles]