13x14 - Miasma
Posted: 08/07/20 17:55
Previously on "Criminal Minds"...
You're not going down?
I have to go up, actually.
Oh, right, you're meeting with Barnes.
Should I be worried?
Not as long as I'm in charge.
Good evening, agent Jareau.
Assistant Director Barnes.
I'm sorry for the sudden urgency
in having to meet tonight.
However, effective immediately,
SSA Emily Prentiss will be placed on administrative leave
pending an internal review.
If you wouldn't mind leaving your cell phone out here,
we can talk in my office.
My apologies for the cloak-and-dagger routine with the email.
I needed a reason to bring you in
that would ensure a certain confidentiality.
What do you mean, Agent Prentiss
has been placed on administrative leave?
I've been looking over your work,
and I think you're doing an excellent job.
Why do you think the brass didn't give you a shot
at unit chief when Agent Hotchner elected to leave?
Prentiss was the natural choice.
She had seniority.
You're aware this month marks the one-year anniversary
of Agent Reid's arrest in Mexico?
I was aware that was coming up, yes.
When something like this happens,
it's standard operating procedure
for the director to initiate an internal audit.
I've been asked to go over the BAU's caseload
to make sure that you're following protocol.
We work by the book, always.
Then this should be a fairly painless process.
Of course.
As team leader, Agent Prentiss will need
to give a full account of the BAU's actions.
That's why effective immediately,
you will be the acting head of the Behavioral Analysis Unit.
I...
Pending further review, you and your team
will remain on active duty.
Agent Jareau, as a courtesy,
I chose to inform you first.
I'll be speaking with Agent Prentiss in the morning,
so I'd appreciate it if you'd keep this between us
until you hear from me.
Emily?
Hey, I was hoping we were gonna get the night off,
but we've just pulled another case.
I know it's been a long week, but I need you back here.
Are you still in...
Emily, something's going on.
Thank you all for getting back here so quickly.
I got a call from Chief Wheeler
at the New Orleans Police Department.
They've requested our help. Garcia, go ahead.
The big easy has its own big bad operating in its midst.
Earlier today, police uncovered a mass grave
inside a vandalized crypt.
Tremé cemetery.
10 bodies in total were discovered
by the groundskeeper this afternoon.
Yeah. The bodies were buried and burned
inside the secluded tomb that had been pried open.
They are believed to have been placed there in the last few weeks.
The tomb was off-limits due to some maintenance being done.
Looks like local PD is still working on IDing the victims.
Has a cause of death been determined?
No. But the coroner did reveal this one super icky detail...
All of the bodies had been drained of their blood.
Let's make sure to check on that first thing.
Tremé cemetery's an active site.
It's famous. It's the oldest cemetery in the city.
Home to Marie Laveau,
the voodoo queen of New Orleans,
known for her powers of clairvoyance, healing, and intimidation.
Legend has it she once helped free a man
accused of m*rder by praying for 72 hours straight
with 3 hot peppers in her mouth.
Voodoo queen. I mean, is that what this is?
Some kind of ritualistic k*lling?
I see these Xs here.
They're used to denote the grave
of a powerful voodoo practitioner.
Markings like this aren't uncommon in these parts.
These look like they've been here for a while.
Could be the reason our unsub chose this particular crypt
to do his bidding.
New Orleans PD wants us there asap.
There is one more thing. I won't be coming along.
JJ will be acting as unit chief in my absence.
I have a meeting with Assistant Director Barnes tomorrow morning.
It's short notice, but as far as I understand,
it's just a standard administrative review,
so I'm sure everything will be fine.
Ok. Um, wheels up in 30.
"My wound is geography."
"It is also my anchorage, my port of call."
Pat Conroy.
First Barnes pulls you in for a late-night meeting,
then Prentiss.
And it feels like something's going on.
Yeah, and why all the urgency?
I mean, it couldn't have waited till we all got back?
Something must have triggered an internal review.
It's me.
It's been almost a year since my arrest in Mexico.
It's just an annual review,
standard operating procedure.
Matt, you worked with Barnes on your last assignment.
How much trouble are we in?
I mean, I hate to say it,
but this is the exact same thing
she did with the IRT. Before disbanding the unit.
She started with the head of the team,
then she worked her way down.
She tried to pit us against each other.
Barnes' reputation precedes her.
She's climbed the ranks well.
Well, clearly she's good at her job.
We're better.
And we haven't done anything wrong.
We can't worry about this right now
because we have a case.
People need our help.
So, let's get started with victimology.
5 of the 10 victims have been identified.
These 3... Jason Chamers, Lindsay Montoya,
and Gary Keulchy... were homeless.
And these two... Sonequa Fox and Daniel Rikers...
were working professionals.
And Mr. Rikers and Ms. Fox were
both reported missing a week and a half ago.
That's correct. They both left their homes in mid-city
and never returned.
And the 3 homeless victims were last seen
in a shelter near the French quarter?
Yes. We periodically check the nightly roll calls
when we find a body.
They were most likely panhandling in the area.
Our unsub crossed racial and gender lines.
And he's mobile.
You know, realistically, it's likely each victim
was abducted, k*lled, and disposed of individually.
We need to see what the M.E. can tell us
about the timeline of the murders.
We'd expect an unsub like this
to start with high-risk victims like the homeless
and then move on to low-risk victims
like Sonequa and Daniel,
but until we ID the remaining victims,
it's really hard to draw any conclusions.
So he'd need somewhere to hold them
and do his bloodletting business
before bringing them back to the crypt.
I've already started a geo-profile, but the more we can learn
about the victims' last moments, the more accurate it'll be.
Good. Garcia can help with that, too.
Excuse me, sir.
Found another burned body.
This time in a crypt in Tremé cemetery number two.
- Just one?
- Yeah.
And the crypt wasn't nearly as secluded.
We've disrupted his routine.
Another tomb,
but now he's improvising.
Dave, head to the M.E.
Spence, Tara, why don't you guys stick around here,
help with the identification efforts?
Matt and Luke, you're with me.
Let's head to this latest crime scene.
I want to reiterate that this conversation is on the record.
Today is February 1, 2018.
This is Assistant Director Linda Barnes
sitting with Unit Chief Emily Prentiss.
Now, Agent Prentiss, do you know why you're here today?
I do not.
Agent Jareau didn't call you?
No.
We're not off to a very good start, are we?
I've asked you one question, and you've lied to me.
Shall we try that again?
Did Agent Jareau call you?
No, Agent Jareau did not call me.
I called her to let her know we had another case.
She informed me that she had spoken with you,
but she did not disclose what was said.
Agent Jareau isn't in any trouble.
I expected she'd call you.
As I'm sure you're aware, it is the one-year anniversary
of Agent Reid's arrest in Mexico
following a high-speed chase with the local authorities.
Your team traveled down to conduct your own investigation
into the incident
and, per your case report,
transfer him to a federal facility in the U.S.
I went through your findings
and subsequent months-long investigation.
The thing is, once I started to dig, I couldn't stop.
What I found, Agent Prentiss,
was that with you at the helm,
team loyalty is more important than Bureau policy.
That's not a fair assessment.
As your team has expanded, so have the cases
you've agreed to investigate.
Mistakes have been made.
So that's what we're here to discuss...
The state of the Behavioral Analysis Unit
under the leadership of Emily Prentiss.
Unsub was confident he wouldn't be caught.
This would take a lot of effort.
What do you got?
Scorching patterns on the concrete
indicate the unsub used some kind of accelerant.
No signs of blood or trauma.
It's likely he was k*lled elsewhere
and then disposed here.
All right. Well, our victim here is Jeremy Paulson.
According to his wife, he left work early last night
told co-workers he wasn't feeling well.
His car was found parked at the neighborhood basketball court.
His water bottle and basketball were found nearby.
So did he meet someone
or was he just playing hooky?
We should get local PD to canvass the area for witnesses,
both here and at the park.
This crypt doesn't have any voodoo markings or symbols,
which is odd,
considering that a lot of the graves in this area do.
So maybe it's not as important to him
as we initially thought.
Well, if this doesn't involve voodoo,
then why the elaborate M.O.?
It's not for show. He's concealing and burning the bodies.
And we found his burial ground
and he barely skipped a beat.
This feels less like some kind of a ritual
and more like a mission.
The question is, what's his grievance?
Sorry. Just allergies.
What you doin'?
You can't park here. It's...
What?
Unh!
So despite having one of the highest solve rates in the Bureau,
your leadership record is complicated.
This business with Roswell
just being the most recent example.
Most recent example of what?
A team gone rogue.
We've been accused of that before,
and we've even testified
in front of the Senate intelligence committee.
It wasn't true then, and it isn't true now.
But you'd agree that transparency and accountability
are of the utmost importance?
Of course.
So the sh**ting death of a man in custody
in a police station in Roswell...
Hold on. Let's just get our facts straight first.
It was a su1c1de, not a sh**ting.
The man in question wasn't in custody,
and he was not in a police station.
Mr. Downey voluntarily agreed to speak with the police
about an unusual death in the Roswell truther community.
And he had a concealed w*apon?
The w*apon wasn't detected due to a mechanical error
with the metal detector that the Roswell PD had installed.
There was no indication that he or anyone else would be armed.
However, if you had questioned this group
formally in a police station,
the outcome might very well have been different.
The truthers distrust law enforcement.
They would never have cooperated
if we'd brought them into a police station.
Perhaps not.
And ultimately, that decision
allowed us to find the person
responsible for the m*rder of a local man.
At the cost of another.
And then there's the death
of SSA Stephen Walker,
your team member.
You knew Agent Walker.
You worked with him on assignment in France.
You recruited him to join the BAU.
He was an exemplary agent.
SSA Walker was the first agent to die in the field
in the BAU's storied history.
So I can tell you
what kind of accelerant he used.
Good old drugstore variety rubbing alcohol.
That's why the burn patterns on the bodies are so uneven.
These aren't defensive wounds, are they?
No. The flexion of the elbows, knees, and hands
is caused by the shrinkage of body tissues
due to dehydration.
So the pugilistic pose is a result
of the body being exposed to extreme heat.
Yes. And it can occur even if the bodies were dead
before they were burned,
which I believe was the case here.
And the bloodletting, was that done postmortem as well?
Yes. He sliced the carotid.
Nice clean cut.
So the unsub is skilled with a knife.
If exsanguination wasn't the cause of death, what was?
Each victim had large quantities of pure ketamine
in their system...
A powerful anesthetic.
They were most likely injected with a pretty hefty dose.
So all the v*olence done to the body was postmortem.
What do you have, Rossi?
A strange contradiction.
The cause of death was a lethal dose of ketamine.
Now, these kills may look extreme,
but the C.O.D. itself was practically painless.
Well, it's doubtful the unsub would even
need to interact or create a ruse with his victims.
I mean, he could just sneak up and inject them.
All right. Thanks, Rossi.
We gave a full report
on our year-long investigation to apprehend Mr. Scratch.
Stephen Walker's work was essential to our case.
Your team drove into an ambush.
No. We spent months on the offensive
luring Scratch out of hiding, and it worked.
Agent Walker's death was a tragedy, but it wasn't...
Anyone's fault? Preventable?
I spoke with Agent Walker's widow,
and you're lucky she's not suing the Bureau for negligence.
What we have here, Agent Prentiss,
is a series of questionable decisions.
You're not out in the field.
It's not black and white.
These are snap decisions.
Ok. Let's go back to the case
that triggered this review.
I spoke with an officer Cabrera in Matamoros, Mexico.
Do you remember him?
I do.
For our reports, I would like to have
the recording of that cognitive interview.
I didn't record it.
Who has the knife? Who is stabbing Rosa?
It's in my hand.
Right now this is just more evidence against him.
I trust you know what you're doing.
We do.
He says you deleted a voice memo
in which Agent Reid allegedly confessed
to the m*rder of Nadie Ramos.
That's not just tampering with evidence.
That's obstruction of justice,
charges that could end your career.
I'd like to take a break.
Ok, two more of the initial 10 victims
have been identified...
28-year-old dentist Tyler Roberts
and teen runaway Heather Pineda.
According to missing person reports
and the timeline the M.E. sent over,
they're most likely victims number 4 and 5.
This guy's victimology's all over the place.
I mean, he's bouncing back and forth
between the vulnerable and working professionals.
These may all be victims of opportunity,
but there's a measure of compassion to these kills.
It doesn't feel random.
Yeah, he doesn't want them to suffer.
It's almost like he's putting them to sleep.
Or putting them out of their misery.
This unsub has been back and forth
across the city at all hours of the day,
so he's clearly using some kind of vehicle to hunt.
He's most likely unemployed.
We may not understand his ritual, but we know
he possesses an overwhelming need to complete it,
enough to risk going back to the area
despite a heavy police presence.
These cemeteries are important to him,
if not for personal reasons, then for what they represent.
So did he lose someone? Is that what triggered all of this?
We should increase patrols in and around the graveyard
and within a two-mile radius,
and if they are important to him,
he'll probably revisit.
And ketamine is available on the street,
but it's pricey,
so we should also check in to vet offices,
medical providers, see if any of them
had any recent break-ins.
All right, the victim's name is Carl Kevork,
and he escaped the crash with only minor injuries.
The EMTs who transported him to the hospital
said he had been heavily drugged,
most likely ketamine, like the others.
Carl's a big guy. The unsub must have gotten the dosage wrong.
Well, Carl doesn't remember much.
He recalls running down an alley,
seeing a van, getting inside.
We profiled he'd be unemployed.
It looks like our unsub's been living out of this van for a while.
And what about before you were drugged, Carl?
What's the last thing you recall?
I was waiting for the bus, right?
I just got done working at the shack.
My boss made me go home early
because he said I couldn't stop sneezing and stuff.
I said it was just allergies,
but he made me go home anyway.
So I'm sitting there, I'm checking my phone,
then this van pulls up, blocks the bus stop.
I'm like, hey, you can't park here.
Then the door on the side opened,
and I got, like, yanked in and stuff.
Did you see your attacker?
Only out of the corner of my eye.
But this dude's like a damn weirdo, man.
He had some kind of freaky mask on
with some long black gloves.
Go ahead, Garcia.
I tracked the van via Vin number... say that 3 times fast.
The vehicle was stolen from Houston, Texas, 8 years ago.
After that, I got nada.
Well, there's no telling if or how many times
it's changed hands since.
Can you get the police report
and track down the original owner?
Will do.
Hey, Garcia, anything from Prentiss?
My crazy covert sources say that she was done with Barnes
a few hours ago,
but Emily's light is still on in her office
and I can't tell if it's a good thing or it's bad.
Well, she's probably just catching up on paperwork.
Right. Totally. That's what I was telling myself, too.
Yeah, ok. I'll hit you back when I have more.
Thanks, Penelope.
Hey, guys,
given our geo-profile,
I think I have a pretty good guess
as to where our unsub has been holding his victims.
Carl was headed east, right?
Medico della peste.
Jeremy Paulson and Carl Kevork
both described themselves as feeling ill before they were abducted.
You think that's why he targeted them?
And it's his job to take care of them
before they contaminate others.
He's ridding the streets of the infected.
Hey. Just, uh, checking in to see how you're doing.
It's tough to remain calm
when someone's trying to get under your skin.
This isn't an annual review?
Ostensibly, yes, but Barnes
has been through every command decision I've made
since taking over as Unit Chief
and thrown them back at me,
including Stephen's death.
She's trying to rattle you.
Yeah. She's after something.
I just don't know what.
You know we've got your back, right?
I do.
So how can we help?
Solve this case.
Show Barnes we can color within the lines.
Ok. Well, hang in there.
When I get back, drinks are on me.
Deal.
And, Emily,
don't let her push you around.
You've earned that seat.
So the unsub's trigger is sickness,
whether real or perceived.
Every victim we've IDed so far
had symptoms of either a cold or allergy.
What about the dead chickens in his lair?
I mean, they certainly point toward some kind of ritual in my book.
They do, but not in the way that you think.
Medieval medical practitioners
believed that chickens could absorb illness.
They would rub the birds all over the bodies of the diseased
in an attempt to rid them of their sickness.
This is a venetian bird mask.
During the 17th century,
doctors would stuff these with herbs and spices
and wear them to protect against infection.
From the plague.
That along with the burning of the bodies
and the burial ground, Tremé cemetery number two,
and the fact it was originally built
to house victims who died from cholera and smallpox,
tells us that this unsub believes himself to be
a modern day plague doctor.
A vigilante or angel of death,
whose job it is to stop sick people
from spreading disease.
Our unsub wants to eradicate not just the sick,
but the sickness within them.
In fact, it wasn't until the middle of the 19th century
that humorism, the belief that illness
was caused by an imbalance
of the fluids in the body, was discredited.
Before that, it was believed
that there were 4 humors in the body...
Black bile, yellow bile, blood, and phlegm,
all of which were susceptible to miasma,
or bad air, that carried disease.
Our unsub's fixation on these ancient medical practices
speaks to a very specific kind of stressor.
It indicates a distrust in modern medicine.
He or a loved one may have suffered a loss
brought on by illness or disease.
Or he may blame modern medicine
for failing to save a loved one.
Our unsub was living on the fringes of society.
His van was not just his means of transport,
it was his whole life.
And now that he's lost it,
there's no telling what he'll do next.
The bacteria will get into the blood.
The bacteria will get into the blood.
The bacteria will get into the blood.
The bacteria
will get into the blood.
The bacteria has gotten into your blood.
What does that mean?
You're very sick.
The storms have brought forth
various plagues and diseases we haven't seen in centuries.
Your immune system is weak.
A bad cold could land you in intensive care or worse.
Get regular check-ups, take your meds.
Take care of yourself.
It's ok, Mama.
When I grow up, I'm gonna become a doctor,
and I'll find a way to make you better.
A doctor? That'll suit you just fine.
It was their fault.
They didn't help her.
They didn't listen to her. It was their fault.
They didn't help her!
It was their fault...
It was their fault!
It was them.
They didn't help.
I'd like to pick up where we left off yesterday.
No. Let's not.
This is not about our case in Mexico last year
or any other cases.
This is about you.
You want something.
I want the BAU to be held accountable
for its actions.
If you truly believe
that we acted inappropriately
or had evidence of a crime that was committed,
you would have had me arrested.
The fact that you haven't
tells me that's not what you're after.
No?
No. Your specialty is remaking units
and divisions in your image...
Slimming them down, dividing their resources,
so you can maximize their efficiency.
You want to make a name for yourself.
Everything about your demeanor says
"I want to be in charge."
And you project power not because you fear you don't have it,
but because you can't get enough.
You want to be the director someday.
That's why we're here,
to appease your ego, your ambition.
Have you always had issues with authority?
Better agents than you
have tried to split the BAU and failed.
Each time, the BAU has done its job,
and done it well, and so have I.
And you know what that's gotten me?
Respect,
support,
and capital.
So whatever game it is you're trying to play here,
I want no part of it.
Why don't we take a break
before you say something you will regret?
CSU techs believe the unsub
scrubbed the van clean after each victim.
And while we did find some DNA,
it wasn't the windfall we were hoping.
For a guy living out of his van,
he sure kept things neat.
We found men and women's clothing
and personal belongings.
The items look to be dated,
but it certainly does speak to the fact
that the unsub lost someone...
Someone close, probably a wife or a mom,
maybe a sister.
We got nebulizers and corticosteroids and a few others.
Some are current. Some expired as far back as 2008.
No identifying information.
It looks like a year's worth of medication.
This person was sick a long time.
That must have been tough to go through,
especially in close quarters.
You know, most of these are used to treat
a lung condition or breathing ailment.
But this one, cholestyramine, is interesting.
Cholestyramine has many off-label uses,
particularly as a binding agent for biotoxins.
Biotoxins. Like mold or fungi?
Along with cyanobacteria, dinoflagellates,
spirochetes, apicomplexans, and mycotoxins,
all of which can make you very sick.
And these would be rare conditions?
Incredibly rare.
This could help Garcia narrow down our search.
- I'll call her.
- Thank you.
Ok, so let's think about this.
He has no means of transportation,
and he has nowhere to take his victims,
so our unsub is starting over again.
So, what does he do now?
Does he steal another van?
No. Too risky.
This is a guy going through the stages of grief.
So maybe anger's next.
Well, he could start to lash out, focus his rage.
Especially if he finds himself near a hospital
or a pharmacy. Anywhere there's sick people.
Ok, let's put a warning out to hospitals and clinics
to be on the lookout for any suspicious persons
loitering in the area,
see if they can post extra security
at all entrances and exits.
- We'll get on it.
- Thank you.
Hi. I was just closing up for lunch.
Do you mind coming back in...
That woman was sick.
She was contaminated, and you just let her leave.
Yes. I gave her some medicine. Do you need...
That medicine can't help her.
She's contaminated.
You can't help her.
You couldn't help my mother.
No. All doctors do is make people suffer,
make them live with false hope.
Sometimes people just get sick, and there's...
My mother didn't just get sick!
She was made sick.
That bacteria got in her blood
and none of you did anything.
Aah! Stop it! Oh! No, no!
Get off...
So the burning was postmortem, like the others?
Yes, but C.O.D. was a s*ab wound to the back.
Well, just as we predicted.
This is our guy. He's gone wildly off pattern.
Burned the clinic, att*cked the doctor here.
He's devolving.
Well, maybe he finally figured out
that k*lling sick people won't stop the spread of disease.
The clinic was probably a stark reminder
of the failure of modern medicine.
It shows an evolution of thought,
and he's gone from putting the blameless out of their misery
to punishing those in the medical profession.
He's no longer on a mission of mercy, that's for sure.
This could very quickly become
about finding that person that he thinks
is responsible for the loss he suffered.
Here you go.
Oh, thank you.
Of course.
I just keep sitting here,
hoping for a revelation.
Oh, this guy's elusive.
We found his home, secondary location,
means of transport but not his name.
He feels invisible.
But it couldn't have always been the case,
you know?
At some point, this guy,
he had friends and family.
He lost someone important to him.
So what are you thinking?
This timeline.
We need to go back
to where it all started for our unsub,
with his first victim, Hunter Dillon.
Now that you've had a chance to gather yourself...
I would like to getback to the task at hand,
because I may be ambitious,
but I've read your file, Agent Prentiss,
and there's more of me in you than you'd like to admit.
But the BAU is not infallible
and I'd like to talk about your team
and their role in all of this.
I'm the unit chief. The buck stops with me.
Sure. But Agent Rossi has just published another book.
He's been spending a lot of time with his family.
Perhaps he hasn't always been as focused as he could be.
And Agent Reid's been busy with his teaching assignment.
Academia is a more natural fit
for an intellect like his.
I think even he would agree with that.
Wait. That's what this is,
a... fishing expedition?
My investigation has revealed
a pattern of negligence within the BAU.
You want me to give you a fall guy?
So the bureau can avoid some bad PR
and you can get a win.
You thought if you threatened my career
that I'd play ball.
Rossi put himself in charge
following your abduction.
Reid spent months in a federal prison.
Neither are good at following the rules.
They're indispensable.
They are loose cannons!
I am asking you to sacrifice a couple of pieces
to save the whole board.
I stand by my team and the actions we've taken.
We thought our unsub was on a mission to cleanse the streets,
but it's way more complicated than that.
This whole ritual of his
is an act of mercy in his mind.
It didn't just come out of thin air.
I think he's been thinking about it,
preparing for it in some way.
Exactly. But we haven't found anything
connecting our unsub to the first body, Hunter Dillon.
What if Hunter wasn't his first victim?
That would mean there's another victim out there
we haven't identified.
Ok, so our unsub started
by putting people out of their misery,
saving them from their sickness.
What if the woman he lost, who was sick,
didn't just die,
but she was his first k*ll?
Then everything he's done since
would be about reliving that moment,
justifying that action.
These murders would be about easing his own guilt.
There's plenty of evidence of this woman in the van.
Just no DNA and no prints.
Ok, what about her belongings?
We have clothes and blankets.
A small jewelry box.
Some toiletries.
And this bouquet.
Why would someone keep dead, rotting flowers?
It could be of personal significance,
an emotional attachment that overrides
his compulsion for cleanliness.
Ok, did the CSUs find any prints or DNA on the plastic wrapping?
No. But the wrapping did have a label
that led to a flower shop.
The CSUs followed up but came up empty-handed.
That's because they're not Penelope.
Garcia, we need your help.
Bring it.
Yes, I sent the flowers.
Tanesa Winters was my neighbor.
I was devastated
when I got the word that she passed.
How long have you known Tanesa?
Oh, gosh, a long time.
I met her after Katrina.
She was struggling to get back on her feet after the storm.
For a while, she even lived in a rooming house
over on Fig and 44th.
When was that?
Oh, about 10 years ago.
But then something happened.
The building got condemned.
Tanesa came into some money.
Uh-huh. And her son Kevon came to stay with her.
They lived right over there.
I tried to help her when I could. But...
They fell on hard times?
Couldn't afford to keep up with their bills.
They said that Tanesa died in her sleep.
I hope she finally found some peace.
And thank you so much for talking to us, Edna.
We need to find out everything we can about Kevon Winters.
She said something happened 10 years ago. 2008.
That's when the medication in the unsub's van dates back to.
I wonder if that's when Tanesa got sick.
Talk to me, my pretties.
What can you tell us
about Tanesa and Kevon Winters?
Ok. Tanesa Winters.
She died 3 weeks ago.
She's survived by her son Kevon.
It looks like he was born in New Orleans.
Uh, he spent some time in Houston,
but he returned at some point,
because I've got a local college transcript
and a notice from a collection agency.
Kevon dropped out of school,
thousands of dollars in debt.
That's when the trail goes cold.
We also need information on this flophouse.
It was condemned about 10 years ago.
It's on 44th and Fig.
I can tell you it's not there anymore.
It's now a coffee shop.
Let me take a deep dive here
and see what secret secrets I can find.
We believe Tanesa Winters lived there
for a short time.
Yeah, she did.
The tenants there filed a civil suit.
It looks like Tanesa was the primary plaintiff.
They sued for negligence and bodily harm.
That building sustained a lot of damage
after the flooding caused by Katrina.
Let me guess. It was never properly cleaned or vented.
It was not.
Tanesa became very ill due to black mold.
The residents repeatedly asked for the building, to be inspected
and the landlord and the insurance companies ignored them.
That's it. That's the unsub's stressor.
That's the root of all of this.
What ever happened to the landlord who owned the building?
Walter Trudeau paid out a modest settlement
and went on to become a local business mogul.
He owns a lot of property in the area.
If the unsub is now directing his anger
to those he holds responsible
for failing to help his mother,
Walter Trudeau will be on that list.
Yeah, we need to warn him.
Penelope, can you get ahold of Mr. Trudeau
and let him know that we'd like to speak to him?
And send us...
His home and work address?
It's like I do this for a living.
And... Oh! Flag on the play.
Sports reference.
Trudeau spends a lot of time at a bar he owns.
I'm sending you the address now.
Garcia, before you go, find out what you can
about Tanesa Winters' death, specifically the cause.
Copy that. Here it comes.
All right, thanks.
So you think I'm in trouble.
Well, you may be targeted
because of this prior lawsuit and your history
with the Winters family.
This was over 10 years ago.
People have moved on. They've rebuilt.
It's what my lawyers call taking personal responsibility.
Walter Trudeau,
show yourself!
Hey! What are you doing?
Ohh! Aah! Ugh! Uh!
Walter Trudeau!
Trudeau, come or I will burn this place to the ground!
There's no telling how much gasoline vapor's in the air.
We take a shot, we could throw
this whole room up in flames.
We got to approach this tactically.
Let's get the fire department out here asap.
What can I do? What can I do?
Nothing. Just stay out of sight. Let us do our job.
Is that another way downstairs?
Yeah. It's the fire escape.
It takes you around back.
All right, Dave, I'll buy us time.
I'm on it.
Yes, sir.
Garcia, what did you find out
about Tanesa Winters' death?
Kevon Winters.
Don't come any further. Stop.
I'm SSA Jennifer Jareau.
Where's Trudeau?
Kevon, I...
I understand you lost your mother recently.
I'm... I'm so sorry.
My... my husband lost his dad to Katrina.
The storm didn't take my mother.
It was Trudeau.
That building wasn't safe, and he knew.
They all knew!
The doctors, the insurance companies,
but it was Trudeau.
He hid it from us. He lied.
And if he would have done what he was supposed to do,
my mother would have never gotten sick.
She'd still be here!
You're right. Trudeau didn't do the right thing.
He didn't, but you... you can, ok?
You can let this innocent man go.
No, no, no, no! He has to face me!
Move.
I'm sorry about your mother.
Don't. Don't you dare!
Her death was a tragedy.
It was your fault,
and now it's your turn to suffer!
Hey, you don't want to do this.
It's his turn to lose something!
Trudeau didn't k*ll your mother, Kevon.
We read the coroner's report.
It said she died in her sleep,
but that's not the whole story, is it?
It was you.
You gave her...
A lethal dose of ketamine.
I should have been stronger.
But I couldn't lose her. She was all I had.
And I let her suffer.
No. I...
- Ugh! Aah!
- Ok.
It's ok, son. It's ok.
It's ok, son, it's ok.
It's ok. It's ok. It's ok.
It's ok.
Aah!
It's ok.
"All of us labor in webs"
"spun long before we were born."
William Faulkner.
Not bad for the first time steering the ship.
Prentiss would be proud.
Have you heard from Emily?
No.
I, uh, I texted her
to let her know we were on our way back, but...
I'll be glad when this is all over.
Yeah.
Hey.
How was the case?
We got our guy.
I heard you did a fantastic job.
How did it go with Barnes?
I have an announcement to make.
I have been suspended from active duty.
I've turned in my badge and my g*n.
What... I don't understand.
For how long?
Indefinitely.
JJ will continue being acting unit chief,
but as of today,
Assistant Director Linda Barnes
will be personally overseeing the unit.
Are we under investigation?
Yes, we are under investigation.
And I tried, but with the suspension,
I can't protect you.
I'm sorry.
You're not going down?
I have to go up, actually.
Oh, right, you're meeting with Barnes.
Should I be worried?
Not as long as I'm in charge.
Good evening, agent Jareau.
Assistant Director Barnes.
I'm sorry for the sudden urgency
in having to meet tonight.
However, effective immediately,
SSA Emily Prentiss will be placed on administrative leave
pending an internal review.
If you wouldn't mind leaving your cell phone out here,
we can talk in my office.
My apologies for the cloak-and-dagger routine with the email.
I needed a reason to bring you in
that would ensure a certain confidentiality.
What do you mean, Agent Prentiss
has been placed on administrative leave?
I've been looking over your work,
and I think you're doing an excellent job.
Why do you think the brass didn't give you a shot
at unit chief when Agent Hotchner elected to leave?
Prentiss was the natural choice.
She had seniority.
You're aware this month marks the one-year anniversary
of Agent Reid's arrest in Mexico?
I was aware that was coming up, yes.
When something like this happens,
it's standard operating procedure
for the director to initiate an internal audit.
I've been asked to go over the BAU's caseload
to make sure that you're following protocol.
We work by the book, always.
Then this should be a fairly painless process.
Of course.
As team leader, Agent Prentiss will need
to give a full account of the BAU's actions.
That's why effective immediately,
you will be the acting head of the Behavioral Analysis Unit.
I...
Pending further review, you and your team
will remain on active duty.
Agent Jareau, as a courtesy,
I chose to inform you first.
I'll be speaking with Agent Prentiss in the morning,
so I'd appreciate it if you'd keep this between us
until you hear from me.
Emily?
Hey, I was hoping we were gonna get the night off,
but we've just pulled another case.
I know it's been a long week, but I need you back here.
Are you still in...
Emily, something's going on.
Thank you all for getting back here so quickly.
I got a call from Chief Wheeler
at the New Orleans Police Department.
They've requested our help. Garcia, go ahead.
The big easy has its own big bad operating in its midst.
Earlier today, police uncovered a mass grave
inside a vandalized crypt.
Tremé cemetery.
10 bodies in total were discovered
by the groundskeeper this afternoon.
Yeah. The bodies were buried and burned
inside the secluded tomb that had been pried open.
They are believed to have been placed there in the last few weeks.
The tomb was off-limits due to some maintenance being done.
Looks like local PD is still working on IDing the victims.
Has a cause of death been determined?
No. But the coroner did reveal this one super icky detail...
All of the bodies had been drained of their blood.
Let's make sure to check on that first thing.
Tremé cemetery's an active site.
It's famous. It's the oldest cemetery in the city.
Home to Marie Laveau,
the voodoo queen of New Orleans,
known for her powers of clairvoyance, healing, and intimidation.
Legend has it she once helped free a man
accused of m*rder by praying for 72 hours straight
with 3 hot peppers in her mouth.
Voodoo queen. I mean, is that what this is?
Some kind of ritualistic k*lling?
I see these Xs here.
They're used to denote the grave
of a powerful voodoo practitioner.
Markings like this aren't uncommon in these parts.
These look like they've been here for a while.
Could be the reason our unsub chose this particular crypt
to do his bidding.
New Orleans PD wants us there asap.
There is one more thing. I won't be coming along.
JJ will be acting as unit chief in my absence.
I have a meeting with Assistant Director Barnes tomorrow morning.
It's short notice, but as far as I understand,
it's just a standard administrative review,
so I'm sure everything will be fine.
Ok. Um, wheels up in 30.
"My wound is geography."
"It is also my anchorage, my port of call."
Pat Conroy.
First Barnes pulls you in for a late-night meeting,
then Prentiss.
And it feels like something's going on.
Yeah, and why all the urgency?
I mean, it couldn't have waited till we all got back?
Something must have triggered an internal review.
It's me.
It's been almost a year since my arrest in Mexico.
It's just an annual review,
standard operating procedure.
Matt, you worked with Barnes on your last assignment.
How much trouble are we in?
I mean, I hate to say it,
but this is the exact same thing
she did with the IRT. Before disbanding the unit.
She started with the head of the team,
then she worked her way down.
She tried to pit us against each other.
Barnes' reputation precedes her.
She's climbed the ranks well.
Well, clearly she's good at her job.
We're better.
And we haven't done anything wrong.
We can't worry about this right now
because we have a case.
People need our help.
So, let's get started with victimology.
5 of the 10 victims have been identified.
These 3... Jason Chamers, Lindsay Montoya,
and Gary Keulchy... were homeless.
And these two... Sonequa Fox and Daniel Rikers...
were working professionals.
And Mr. Rikers and Ms. Fox were
both reported missing a week and a half ago.
That's correct. They both left their homes in mid-city
and never returned.
And the 3 homeless victims were last seen
in a shelter near the French quarter?
Yes. We periodically check the nightly roll calls
when we find a body.
They were most likely panhandling in the area.
Our unsub crossed racial and gender lines.
And he's mobile.
You know, realistically, it's likely each victim
was abducted, k*lled, and disposed of individually.
We need to see what the M.E. can tell us
about the timeline of the murders.
We'd expect an unsub like this
to start with high-risk victims like the homeless
and then move on to low-risk victims
like Sonequa and Daniel,
but until we ID the remaining victims,
it's really hard to draw any conclusions.
So he'd need somewhere to hold them
and do his bloodletting business
before bringing them back to the crypt.
I've already started a geo-profile, but the more we can learn
about the victims' last moments, the more accurate it'll be.
Good. Garcia can help with that, too.
Excuse me, sir.
Found another burned body.
This time in a crypt in Tremé cemetery number two.
- Just one?
- Yeah.
And the crypt wasn't nearly as secluded.
We've disrupted his routine.
Another tomb,
but now he's improvising.
Dave, head to the M.E.
Spence, Tara, why don't you guys stick around here,
help with the identification efforts?
Matt and Luke, you're with me.
Let's head to this latest crime scene.
I want to reiterate that this conversation is on the record.
Today is February 1, 2018.
This is Assistant Director Linda Barnes
sitting with Unit Chief Emily Prentiss.
Now, Agent Prentiss, do you know why you're here today?
I do not.
Agent Jareau didn't call you?
No.
We're not off to a very good start, are we?
I've asked you one question, and you've lied to me.
Shall we try that again?
Did Agent Jareau call you?
No, Agent Jareau did not call me.
I called her to let her know we had another case.
She informed me that she had spoken with you,
but she did not disclose what was said.
Agent Jareau isn't in any trouble.
I expected she'd call you.
As I'm sure you're aware, it is the one-year anniversary
of Agent Reid's arrest in Mexico
following a high-speed chase with the local authorities.
Your team traveled down to conduct your own investigation
into the incident
and, per your case report,
transfer him to a federal facility in the U.S.
I went through your findings
and subsequent months-long investigation.
The thing is, once I started to dig, I couldn't stop.
What I found, Agent Prentiss,
was that with you at the helm,
team loyalty is more important than Bureau policy.
That's not a fair assessment.
As your team has expanded, so have the cases
you've agreed to investigate.
Mistakes have been made.
So that's what we're here to discuss...
The state of the Behavioral Analysis Unit
under the leadership of Emily Prentiss.
Unsub was confident he wouldn't be caught.
This would take a lot of effort.
What do you got?
Scorching patterns on the concrete
indicate the unsub used some kind of accelerant.
No signs of blood or trauma.
It's likely he was k*lled elsewhere
and then disposed here.
All right. Well, our victim here is Jeremy Paulson.
According to his wife, he left work early last night
told co-workers he wasn't feeling well.
His car was found parked at the neighborhood basketball court.
His water bottle and basketball were found nearby.
So did he meet someone
or was he just playing hooky?
We should get local PD to canvass the area for witnesses,
both here and at the park.
This crypt doesn't have any voodoo markings or symbols,
which is odd,
considering that a lot of the graves in this area do.
So maybe it's not as important to him
as we initially thought.
Well, if this doesn't involve voodoo,
then why the elaborate M.O.?
It's not for show. He's concealing and burning the bodies.
And we found his burial ground
and he barely skipped a beat.
This feels less like some kind of a ritual
and more like a mission.
The question is, what's his grievance?
Sorry. Just allergies.
What you doin'?
You can't park here. It's...
What?
Unh!
So despite having one of the highest solve rates in the Bureau,
your leadership record is complicated.
This business with Roswell
just being the most recent example.
Most recent example of what?
A team gone rogue.
We've been accused of that before,
and we've even testified
in front of the Senate intelligence committee.
It wasn't true then, and it isn't true now.
But you'd agree that transparency and accountability
are of the utmost importance?
Of course.
So the sh**ting death of a man in custody
in a police station in Roswell...
Hold on. Let's just get our facts straight first.
It was a su1c1de, not a sh**ting.
The man in question wasn't in custody,
and he was not in a police station.
Mr. Downey voluntarily agreed to speak with the police
about an unusual death in the Roswell truther community.
And he had a concealed w*apon?
The w*apon wasn't detected due to a mechanical error
with the metal detector that the Roswell PD had installed.
There was no indication that he or anyone else would be armed.
However, if you had questioned this group
formally in a police station,
the outcome might very well have been different.
The truthers distrust law enforcement.
They would never have cooperated
if we'd brought them into a police station.
Perhaps not.
And ultimately, that decision
allowed us to find the person
responsible for the m*rder of a local man.
At the cost of another.
And then there's the death
of SSA Stephen Walker,
your team member.
You knew Agent Walker.
You worked with him on assignment in France.
You recruited him to join the BAU.
He was an exemplary agent.
SSA Walker was the first agent to die in the field
in the BAU's storied history.
So I can tell you
what kind of accelerant he used.
Good old drugstore variety rubbing alcohol.
That's why the burn patterns on the bodies are so uneven.
These aren't defensive wounds, are they?
No. The flexion of the elbows, knees, and hands
is caused by the shrinkage of body tissues
due to dehydration.
So the pugilistic pose is a result
of the body being exposed to extreme heat.
Yes. And it can occur even if the bodies were dead
before they were burned,
which I believe was the case here.
And the bloodletting, was that done postmortem as well?
Yes. He sliced the carotid.
Nice clean cut.
So the unsub is skilled with a knife.
If exsanguination wasn't the cause of death, what was?
Each victim had large quantities of pure ketamine
in their system...
A powerful anesthetic.
They were most likely injected with a pretty hefty dose.
So all the v*olence done to the body was postmortem.
What do you have, Rossi?
A strange contradiction.
The cause of death was a lethal dose of ketamine.
Now, these kills may look extreme,
but the C.O.D. itself was practically painless.
Well, it's doubtful the unsub would even
need to interact or create a ruse with his victims.
I mean, he could just sneak up and inject them.
All right. Thanks, Rossi.
We gave a full report
on our year-long investigation to apprehend Mr. Scratch.
Stephen Walker's work was essential to our case.
Your team drove into an ambush.
No. We spent months on the offensive
luring Scratch out of hiding, and it worked.
Agent Walker's death was a tragedy, but it wasn't...
Anyone's fault? Preventable?
I spoke with Agent Walker's widow,
and you're lucky she's not suing the Bureau for negligence.
What we have here, Agent Prentiss,
is a series of questionable decisions.
You're not out in the field.
It's not black and white.
These are snap decisions.
Ok. Let's go back to the case
that triggered this review.
I spoke with an officer Cabrera in Matamoros, Mexico.
Do you remember him?
I do.
For our reports, I would like to have
the recording of that cognitive interview.
I didn't record it.
Who has the knife? Who is stabbing Rosa?
It's in my hand.
Right now this is just more evidence against him.
I trust you know what you're doing.
We do.
He says you deleted a voice memo
in which Agent Reid allegedly confessed
to the m*rder of Nadie Ramos.
That's not just tampering with evidence.
That's obstruction of justice,
charges that could end your career.
I'd like to take a break.
Ok, two more of the initial 10 victims
have been identified...
28-year-old dentist Tyler Roberts
and teen runaway Heather Pineda.
According to missing person reports
and the timeline the M.E. sent over,
they're most likely victims number 4 and 5.
This guy's victimology's all over the place.
I mean, he's bouncing back and forth
between the vulnerable and working professionals.
These may all be victims of opportunity,
but there's a measure of compassion to these kills.
It doesn't feel random.
Yeah, he doesn't want them to suffer.
It's almost like he's putting them to sleep.
Or putting them out of their misery.
This unsub has been back and forth
across the city at all hours of the day,
so he's clearly using some kind of vehicle to hunt.
He's most likely unemployed.
We may not understand his ritual, but we know
he possesses an overwhelming need to complete it,
enough to risk going back to the area
despite a heavy police presence.
These cemeteries are important to him,
if not for personal reasons, then for what they represent.
So did he lose someone? Is that what triggered all of this?
We should increase patrols in and around the graveyard
and within a two-mile radius,
and if they are important to him,
he'll probably revisit.
And ketamine is available on the street,
but it's pricey,
so we should also check in to vet offices,
medical providers, see if any of them
had any recent break-ins.
All right, the victim's name is Carl Kevork,
and he escaped the crash with only minor injuries.
The EMTs who transported him to the hospital
said he had been heavily drugged,
most likely ketamine, like the others.
Carl's a big guy. The unsub must have gotten the dosage wrong.
Well, Carl doesn't remember much.
He recalls running down an alley,
seeing a van, getting inside.
We profiled he'd be unemployed.
It looks like our unsub's been living out of this van for a while.
And what about before you were drugged, Carl?
What's the last thing you recall?
I was waiting for the bus, right?
I just got done working at the shack.
My boss made me go home early
because he said I couldn't stop sneezing and stuff.
I said it was just allergies,
but he made me go home anyway.
So I'm sitting there, I'm checking my phone,
then this van pulls up, blocks the bus stop.
I'm like, hey, you can't park here.
Then the door on the side opened,
and I got, like, yanked in and stuff.
Did you see your attacker?
Only out of the corner of my eye.
But this dude's like a damn weirdo, man.
He had some kind of freaky mask on
with some long black gloves.
Go ahead, Garcia.
I tracked the van via Vin number... say that 3 times fast.
The vehicle was stolen from Houston, Texas, 8 years ago.
After that, I got nada.
Well, there's no telling if or how many times
it's changed hands since.
Can you get the police report
and track down the original owner?
Will do.
Hey, Garcia, anything from Prentiss?
My crazy covert sources say that she was done with Barnes
a few hours ago,
but Emily's light is still on in her office
and I can't tell if it's a good thing or it's bad.
Well, she's probably just catching up on paperwork.
Right. Totally. That's what I was telling myself, too.
Yeah, ok. I'll hit you back when I have more.
Thanks, Penelope.
Hey, guys,
given our geo-profile,
I think I have a pretty good guess
as to where our unsub has been holding his victims.
Carl was headed east, right?
Medico della peste.
Jeremy Paulson and Carl Kevork
both described themselves as feeling ill before they were abducted.
You think that's why he targeted them?
And it's his job to take care of them
before they contaminate others.
He's ridding the streets of the infected.
Hey. Just, uh, checking in to see how you're doing.
It's tough to remain calm
when someone's trying to get under your skin.
This isn't an annual review?
Ostensibly, yes, but Barnes
has been through every command decision I've made
since taking over as Unit Chief
and thrown them back at me,
including Stephen's death.
She's trying to rattle you.
Yeah. She's after something.
I just don't know what.
You know we've got your back, right?
I do.
So how can we help?
Solve this case.
Show Barnes we can color within the lines.
Ok. Well, hang in there.
When I get back, drinks are on me.
Deal.
And, Emily,
don't let her push you around.
You've earned that seat.
So the unsub's trigger is sickness,
whether real or perceived.
Every victim we've IDed so far
had symptoms of either a cold or allergy.
What about the dead chickens in his lair?
I mean, they certainly point toward some kind of ritual in my book.
They do, but not in the way that you think.
Medieval medical practitioners
believed that chickens could absorb illness.
They would rub the birds all over the bodies of the diseased
in an attempt to rid them of their sickness.
This is a venetian bird mask.
During the 17th century,
doctors would stuff these with herbs and spices
and wear them to protect against infection.
From the plague.
That along with the burning of the bodies
and the burial ground, Tremé cemetery number two,
and the fact it was originally built
to house victims who died from cholera and smallpox,
tells us that this unsub believes himself to be
a modern day plague doctor.
A vigilante or angel of death,
whose job it is to stop sick people
from spreading disease.
Our unsub wants to eradicate not just the sick,
but the sickness within them.
In fact, it wasn't until the middle of the 19th century
that humorism, the belief that illness
was caused by an imbalance
of the fluids in the body, was discredited.
Before that, it was believed
that there were 4 humors in the body...
Black bile, yellow bile, blood, and phlegm,
all of which were susceptible to miasma,
or bad air, that carried disease.
Our unsub's fixation on these ancient medical practices
speaks to a very specific kind of stressor.
It indicates a distrust in modern medicine.
He or a loved one may have suffered a loss
brought on by illness or disease.
Or he may blame modern medicine
for failing to save a loved one.
Our unsub was living on the fringes of society.
His van was not just his means of transport,
it was his whole life.
And now that he's lost it,
there's no telling what he'll do next.
The bacteria will get into the blood.
The bacteria will get into the blood.
The bacteria will get into the blood.
The bacteria
will get into the blood.
The bacteria has gotten into your blood.
What does that mean?
You're very sick.
The storms have brought forth
various plagues and diseases we haven't seen in centuries.
Your immune system is weak.
A bad cold could land you in intensive care or worse.
Get regular check-ups, take your meds.
Take care of yourself.
It's ok, Mama.
When I grow up, I'm gonna become a doctor,
and I'll find a way to make you better.
A doctor? That'll suit you just fine.
It was their fault.
They didn't help her.
They didn't listen to her. It was their fault.
They didn't help her!
It was their fault...
It was their fault!
It was them.
They didn't help.
I'd like to pick up where we left off yesterday.
No. Let's not.
This is not about our case in Mexico last year
or any other cases.
This is about you.
You want something.
I want the BAU to be held accountable
for its actions.
If you truly believe
that we acted inappropriately
or had evidence of a crime that was committed,
you would have had me arrested.
The fact that you haven't
tells me that's not what you're after.
No?
No. Your specialty is remaking units
and divisions in your image...
Slimming them down, dividing their resources,
so you can maximize their efficiency.
You want to make a name for yourself.
Everything about your demeanor says
"I want to be in charge."
And you project power not because you fear you don't have it,
but because you can't get enough.
You want to be the director someday.
That's why we're here,
to appease your ego, your ambition.
Have you always had issues with authority?
Better agents than you
have tried to split the BAU and failed.
Each time, the BAU has done its job,
and done it well, and so have I.
And you know what that's gotten me?
Respect,
support,
and capital.
So whatever game it is you're trying to play here,
I want no part of it.
Why don't we take a break
before you say something you will regret?
CSU techs believe the unsub
scrubbed the van clean after each victim.
And while we did find some DNA,
it wasn't the windfall we were hoping.
For a guy living out of his van,
he sure kept things neat.
We found men and women's clothing
and personal belongings.
The items look to be dated,
but it certainly does speak to the fact
that the unsub lost someone...
Someone close, probably a wife or a mom,
maybe a sister.
We got nebulizers and corticosteroids and a few others.
Some are current. Some expired as far back as 2008.
No identifying information.
It looks like a year's worth of medication.
This person was sick a long time.
That must have been tough to go through,
especially in close quarters.
You know, most of these are used to treat
a lung condition or breathing ailment.
But this one, cholestyramine, is interesting.
Cholestyramine has many off-label uses,
particularly as a binding agent for biotoxins.
Biotoxins. Like mold or fungi?
Along with cyanobacteria, dinoflagellates,
spirochetes, apicomplexans, and mycotoxins,
all of which can make you very sick.
And these would be rare conditions?
Incredibly rare.
This could help Garcia narrow down our search.
- I'll call her.
- Thank you.
Ok, so let's think about this.
He has no means of transportation,
and he has nowhere to take his victims,
so our unsub is starting over again.
So, what does he do now?
Does he steal another van?
No. Too risky.
This is a guy going through the stages of grief.
So maybe anger's next.
Well, he could start to lash out, focus his rage.
Especially if he finds himself near a hospital
or a pharmacy. Anywhere there's sick people.
Ok, let's put a warning out to hospitals and clinics
to be on the lookout for any suspicious persons
loitering in the area,
see if they can post extra security
at all entrances and exits.
- We'll get on it.
- Thank you.
Hi. I was just closing up for lunch.
Do you mind coming back in...
That woman was sick.
She was contaminated, and you just let her leave.
Yes. I gave her some medicine. Do you need...
That medicine can't help her.
She's contaminated.
You can't help her.
You couldn't help my mother.
No. All doctors do is make people suffer,
make them live with false hope.
Sometimes people just get sick, and there's...
My mother didn't just get sick!
She was made sick.
That bacteria got in her blood
and none of you did anything.
Aah! Stop it! Oh! No, no!
Get off...
So the burning was postmortem, like the others?
Yes, but C.O.D. was a s*ab wound to the back.
Well, just as we predicted.
This is our guy. He's gone wildly off pattern.
Burned the clinic, att*cked the doctor here.
He's devolving.
Well, maybe he finally figured out
that k*lling sick people won't stop the spread of disease.
The clinic was probably a stark reminder
of the failure of modern medicine.
It shows an evolution of thought,
and he's gone from putting the blameless out of their misery
to punishing those in the medical profession.
He's no longer on a mission of mercy, that's for sure.
This could very quickly become
about finding that person that he thinks
is responsible for the loss he suffered.
Here you go.
Oh, thank you.
Of course.
I just keep sitting here,
hoping for a revelation.
Oh, this guy's elusive.
We found his home, secondary location,
means of transport but not his name.
He feels invisible.
But it couldn't have always been the case,
you know?
At some point, this guy,
he had friends and family.
He lost someone important to him.
So what are you thinking?
This timeline.
We need to go back
to where it all started for our unsub,
with his first victim, Hunter Dillon.
Now that you've had a chance to gather yourself...
I would like to getback to the task at hand,
because I may be ambitious,
but I've read your file, Agent Prentiss,
and there's more of me in you than you'd like to admit.
But the BAU is not infallible
and I'd like to talk about your team
and their role in all of this.
I'm the unit chief. The buck stops with me.
Sure. But Agent Rossi has just published another book.
He's been spending a lot of time with his family.
Perhaps he hasn't always been as focused as he could be.
And Agent Reid's been busy with his teaching assignment.
Academia is a more natural fit
for an intellect like his.
I think even he would agree with that.
Wait. That's what this is,
a... fishing expedition?
My investigation has revealed
a pattern of negligence within the BAU.
You want me to give you a fall guy?
So the bureau can avoid some bad PR
and you can get a win.
You thought if you threatened my career
that I'd play ball.
Rossi put himself in charge
following your abduction.
Reid spent months in a federal prison.
Neither are good at following the rules.
They're indispensable.
They are loose cannons!
I am asking you to sacrifice a couple of pieces
to save the whole board.
I stand by my team and the actions we've taken.
We thought our unsub was on a mission to cleanse the streets,
but it's way more complicated than that.
This whole ritual of his
is an act of mercy in his mind.
It didn't just come out of thin air.
I think he's been thinking about it,
preparing for it in some way.
Exactly. But we haven't found anything
connecting our unsub to the first body, Hunter Dillon.
What if Hunter wasn't his first victim?
That would mean there's another victim out there
we haven't identified.
Ok, so our unsub started
by putting people out of their misery,
saving them from their sickness.
What if the woman he lost, who was sick,
didn't just die,
but she was his first k*ll?
Then everything he's done since
would be about reliving that moment,
justifying that action.
These murders would be about easing his own guilt.
There's plenty of evidence of this woman in the van.
Just no DNA and no prints.
Ok, what about her belongings?
We have clothes and blankets.
A small jewelry box.
Some toiletries.
And this bouquet.
Why would someone keep dead, rotting flowers?
It could be of personal significance,
an emotional attachment that overrides
his compulsion for cleanliness.
Ok, did the CSUs find any prints or DNA on the plastic wrapping?
No. But the wrapping did have a label
that led to a flower shop.
The CSUs followed up but came up empty-handed.
That's because they're not Penelope.
Garcia, we need your help.
Bring it.
Yes, I sent the flowers.
Tanesa Winters was my neighbor.
I was devastated
when I got the word that she passed.
How long have you known Tanesa?
Oh, gosh, a long time.
I met her after Katrina.
She was struggling to get back on her feet after the storm.
For a while, she even lived in a rooming house
over on Fig and 44th.
When was that?
Oh, about 10 years ago.
But then something happened.
The building got condemned.
Tanesa came into some money.
Uh-huh. And her son Kevon came to stay with her.
They lived right over there.
I tried to help her when I could. But...
They fell on hard times?
Couldn't afford to keep up with their bills.
They said that Tanesa died in her sleep.
I hope she finally found some peace.
And thank you so much for talking to us, Edna.
We need to find out everything we can about Kevon Winters.
She said something happened 10 years ago. 2008.
That's when the medication in the unsub's van dates back to.
I wonder if that's when Tanesa got sick.
Talk to me, my pretties.
What can you tell us
about Tanesa and Kevon Winters?
Ok. Tanesa Winters.
She died 3 weeks ago.
She's survived by her son Kevon.
It looks like he was born in New Orleans.
Uh, he spent some time in Houston,
but he returned at some point,
because I've got a local college transcript
and a notice from a collection agency.
Kevon dropped out of school,
thousands of dollars in debt.
That's when the trail goes cold.
We also need information on this flophouse.
It was condemned about 10 years ago.
It's on 44th and Fig.
I can tell you it's not there anymore.
It's now a coffee shop.
Let me take a deep dive here
and see what secret secrets I can find.
We believe Tanesa Winters lived there
for a short time.
Yeah, she did.
The tenants there filed a civil suit.
It looks like Tanesa was the primary plaintiff.
They sued for negligence and bodily harm.
That building sustained a lot of damage
after the flooding caused by Katrina.
Let me guess. It was never properly cleaned or vented.
It was not.
Tanesa became very ill due to black mold.
The residents repeatedly asked for the building, to be inspected
and the landlord and the insurance companies ignored them.
That's it. That's the unsub's stressor.
That's the root of all of this.
What ever happened to the landlord who owned the building?
Walter Trudeau paid out a modest settlement
and went on to become a local business mogul.
He owns a lot of property in the area.
If the unsub is now directing his anger
to those he holds responsible
for failing to help his mother,
Walter Trudeau will be on that list.
Yeah, we need to warn him.
Penelope, can you get ahold of Mr. Trudeau
and let him know that we'd like to speak to him?
And send us...
His home and work address?
It's like I do this for a living.
And... Oh! Flag on the play.
Sports reference.
Trudeau spends a lot of time at a bar he owns.
I'm sending you the address now.
Garcia, before you go, find out what you can
about Tanesa Winters' death, specifically the cause.
Copy that. Here it comes.
All right, thanks.
So you think I'm in trouble.
Well, you may be targeted
because of this prior lawsuit and your history
with the Winters family.
This was over 10 years ago.
People have moved on. They've rebuilt.
It's what my lawyers call taking personal responsibility.
Walter Trudeau,
show yourself!
Hey! What are you doing?
Ohh! Aah! Ugh! Uh!
Walter Trudeau!
Trudeau, come or I will burn this place to the ground!
There's no telling how much gasoline vapor's in the air.
We take a shot, we could throw
this whole room up in flames.
We got to approach this tactically.
Let's get the fire department out here asap.
What can I do? What can I do?
Nothing. Just stay out of sight. Let us do our job.
Is that another way downstairs?
Yeah. It's the fire escape.
It takes you around back.
All right, Dave, I'll buy us time.
I'm on it.
Yes, sir.
Garcia, what did you find out
about Tanesa Winters' death?
Kevon Winters.
Don't come any further. Stop.
I'm SSA Jennifer Jareau.
Where's Trudeau?
Kevon, I...
I understand you lost your mother recently.
I'm... I'm so sorry.
My... my husband lost his dad to Katrina.
The storm didn't take my mother.
It was Trudeau.
That building wasn't safe, and he knew.
They all knew!
The doctors, the insurance companies,
but it was Trudeau.
He hid it from us. He lied.
And if he would have done what he was supposed to do,
my mother would have never gotten sick.
She'd still be here!
You're right. Trudeau didn't do the right thing.
He didn't, but you... you can, ok?
You can let this innocent man go.
No, no, no, no! He has to face me!
Move.
I'm sorry about your mother.
Don't. Don't you dare!
Her death was a tragedy.
It was your fault,
and now it's your turn to suffer!
Hey, you don't want to do this.
It's his turn to lose something!
Trudeau didn't k*ll your mother, Kevon.
We read the coroner's report.
It said she died in her sleep,
but that's not the whole story, is it?
It was you.
You gave her...
A lethal dose of ketamine.
I should have been stronger.
But I couldn't lose her. She was all I had.
And I let her suffer.
No. I...
- Ugh! Aah!
- Ok.
It's ok, son. It's ok.
It's ok, son, it's ok.
It's ok. It's ok. It's ok.
It's ok.
Aah!
It's ok.
"All of us labor in webs"
"spun long before we were born."
William Faulkner.
Not bad for the first time steering the ship.
Prentiss would be proud.
Have you heard from Emily?
No.
I, uh, I texted her
to let her know we were on our way back, but...
I'll be glad when this is all over.
Yeah.
Hey.
How was the case?
We got our guy.
I heard you did a fantastic job.
How did it go with Barnes?
I have an announcement to make.
I have been suspended from active duty.
I've turned in my badge and my g*n.
What... I don't understand.
For how long?
Indefinitely.
JJ will continue being acting unit chief,
but as of today,
Assistant Director Linda Barnes
will be personally overseeing the unit.
Are we under investigation?
Yes, we are under investigation.
And I tried, but with the suspension,
I can't protect you.
I'm sorry.