The team separated after the debrief. Morgan joined Gideon at the crime scene, Reid joined Hotch questioning the victim's brother and Christine stayed behind to finish studying the map and then check in with the M.E. Once her team had left, Christine turned her attention to the case file that had the coroner's reports of the injuries on the latest victim. Glancing at the wound patterns, she noticed a barely discernable pattern on the knife wound. If she hadn't had the same knife, she wouldn't have noticed it, but she did. Furrowing her brow, she compared the picture with the knife wound with the knife she kept in her boot at all times. It was hard to tell, so she decided to perform a little experiment. Grabbing the photo, she left the office and scouted around for the Agent assigned to assist her if she needed anything. Sure, enough she found him, after being sure that he wasn't too busy she gently cleared her throat to get his attention.
"Excuse me Agent Richards, sorry to bother you but do you have a plaster castor or some kind of mold I can use?" Giving her a confused look, the agent asked with a voice showing just how confused the request she made of him baffled him.
"A Plaster Castor or Mold? For what exactly?" Even though they do have a mold and castor, he can't just give it to anyone they have to have a reason to even see it let alone use it. They have a small quantity because they rarely need to use it and the materials to make and maintain them is pricey, so they have a limited amount due to the departments budget. So, for a profiler to request one out of nowhere, especially when he doesn't see the relevance to use it, confused him and made him hesitant to even accept her request to use it.
Giving the man a hard stare, she decided it wasn't worth the headache of the fallout if she let her sass and snarky response of "because I am FBI and have a higher rank than you and because I said so?" Somehow, she didn't think that would earn her anything other than a headache and a small bit of satisfaction. Instead, she told him of her need to compare the knife in her hand, the picture, and the body downstairs in the morgue.
If her hunch was correct than the knife in her hand is the same as the murder weapon. Seeing as there is only one brand of knives made with this design there are only so many stores that sell them. If they are custom made like hers, than the unsub could have had the handle customized if she were lucky, which would narrow the search. If she could find the unsub by the knife, she could also adjust her profile a bit because the customization is pricey, so the unsub has money to burn and likes to flaunt it. If it is not customized though than that means the unsub is more practical than flashy and doesn't have as much money or has a moderate amount but is practical about how he spends it.
Since this is her personal knife, the cast is for the blade design, to compare to the body. Christine needs a clean non-contaminated knife to compare to the body and having her knife with who knows what germs on it near the body could compromise any evidence still on the body and could be used in court to file for a mistrial due to contaminated evidence. Christine would rather be over cautious and have the clean cast instead of that disaster. Luckily, he agreed with her and signed off for her to have a small cast big enough for just the blade, which was fine, they didn't need the handle, they just needed a sample of stabs and slashes and an impression of the knife type. Once she had that and a final comparison with the photo in her hand, she headed downstairs to visit the ME to compare her findings and talk to the ME of anything new he found and if there was a possible connection to the Boston Strangler. Luckily though, it looks like from what she can see this has nothing to do him.
"Was there anything in the updated Tox results? Were there any odd or natural Herbs in her system that could paralyze, stun or disorient someone?" Christine queried as she examined the victims fingernails, noting the discoloration that indicated signs of Gangrene, indicating that she was bound for more than twenty-four hours, less than forty though otherwise she would have died from it, and she was killed before her forty hours were up. There were also tape burns over her eyes as well as her wrist and ankles. The M.E. shook her head at Christine's question and proceeded to hand her the results of their more detailed Toxicology report. Seeing the results, Christine sighed, as she realized that there was nothing in her system, meaning she was aware of everything happening to her. Seeing as her feet were bound as well as her hands, to keep her from escaping, she didn't want to assume that being bound like she had prevented her from suffering as no women should suffer, but she had to ask.
"Were there signs of rape?" Seeing the look in the M.E's eyes, Christine closed her eyes in dismay as she gently shook her head in dismay. Christine didn't need an answer, she already knew the answer. Releasing a sigh, she asked one final question, "did the cast of the blade match?" Christine hoped that it did, if so, she would be able to find this SOB faster. Unfortunately, the ME shook her head. "The blade is smaller, the grooves of the wound weren't consistent with a blade, like a knife. Besides the cast was similar to the wound in design but the blade was too big for the wound. I would assume whoever made the weapon, made the blade on the cast."
Releasing a sigh, Christine studied the wound some more and hummed in thought, tilting her head she leaned closer to the wound as she noticed something she hadn't before. "Grooves?" Christine murmured to herself as she thought on the words the ME chose to use and what she was seeing. It looked a lot like… "keys?" Christine murmured to herself in surprise. Thanking the ME for her time and reminding her to forward anything else she finds out, especially any DNA there might be from the rape, Christine headed back upstairs dialing her brother's number as she went. By the third ring, Seeley's curt voice answered her, showing he didn't check the caller ID.
"Booth."
Usually, she would tease him but considering what she had found out and what her thoughts were concluding to, she didn't bother.
"Hey Seeley, good news. From all evidence so far as well as a gut feeling, there is no connection to the Boston Strangler." Christine could just imagine her brother leaning his head back, eyes closed releasing a breath of relief. Unfortunately, she had more to share.
"Unfortunately, the only similarities besides being strangled, were the rape. The message he left behind sounded like a plea for help. Like, the killer or one of them wants the police to stop him. I-"
"One of them?" Seeley interrupted as he tried to follow his sisters thought process. Seeley had the same files and evidence as his sister did, anything she received Booth automatically received too. Gibbs as well if the case was in his authority or had a connection to the case Christine works on. So, while his sister was talking, Booth was at his desk perusing the files about the case with his sister on speaker phone. Seeing in the corner of his eyes that Brennan had joined him, he gave her a nod and mouthed Christine to let her know who he was talking to. Giving Booth a nod, Brennan grabbed the nearest file to his dismay and began looking everything over, listening to Booth's sister on the speaker phone.
"If you notice the angle of the stab wound, it was right-handed, right?" Grabbing the picture of the stab wound, Booth didn't see it. Giving a confused squint to the picture, Brennan grabbed the photo from him despite his silent protests and glanced at the photo. Brennan immediately saw what Christine was talking about. "The angle of the stab wound came from a 45-degree angle from the right and considering from the height of the blow the killer was above her, the angle, direction and force of the stab wounds indicate the dominate hand of the killer is right-handed considering the strength and precision of the blow. But what about the tape?" Brennan answered for Booth and let Christine know she was there as well.
Christine smiled at Brennan's voice, she loved working with Dr. Brennan and loved the fact that she could keep up with her. If she didn't love her job so much, Christine is sure that she would have worked with her. Alas, whenever she visits her brother or collaborates on a case is the only time they see or work together. Christine made a mental note to find time to hang out with Brennan outside of work sometime, she could use more female friends that she isn't dating.
"Hey Dr. Brennan, nice to hear from you. Your analysist is correct, though the tape is where my hunch of two unsubs comes from. As Dr. Brennan pointed out, the tape burns looked to have been removed from left to right. If it were just one unsub, the unsub who stabbed her then it would have been right to left. It isn't as easy to remove duct tape as you would think, especially if the tape were there for more than twenty-four hours but less than forty."
"Gangrene?" Dr. Brennan guessed as she studied the photos of the tape burns and noticed the discoloration from restricted blood flow. Christine had by this point exited the elevator and noticed her team had returned and entered the room, giving everyone a nod, and mouthing Seeley and Dr. Brennan. Gideon and Hotch gave her a nod and continued to look at the evidence board. Morgan continued to throw a baseball up and down as he kept one ear on Christine's phone call and the rest of his attention was thinking about the case. Reid looked envious and exited about Dr. Brennan but gave her a sheepish look and turned back to the case notes when she gave him a warning look when it looked like he would babble about her friend.
"Correct. Listen, I'm with my team now, we'll go over the rest of the evidence, but I'm confident in my analysis, including that the cases aren't connected. Dr. Brennan if you would like to coordinate with my brother on the evidence you already have and any further evidence we get, any insight would be appreciated so long as my brother gives you permission. Considering my brother's clearance level, it shouldn't be an issue and if either of you aren't involved in a case at the moment, any further help is appreciated. Considering the fact the unsubs have Heather right now, she might not have a lot of time and if we want to find her before it is too late, I am welcoming any help to find her before it is too late." Christine knows she didn't have the clearance or permission to do that, that was Hotch's call. But considering there is a life at stake, she figured he wouldn't mind if she uses all of the resources at her disposal and considering her connections that was a lot. Hotch sharply glanced at her, his eyes conflicted in disapproval for making such a call and approval for the reason why. Finally figuring saving a life and catching a killer is more important than protocol he gave her a nod of approval much to her relief. After exchanging goodbyes, she hung up on her brother and his partner, now ready to debrief and share her findings.
After the team had shared their findings, Gideon, and Morgan the inconsistency of clothing the body with signs of remorse but dumping it like she was trash. Reid and Hotch shared about the thought that the unsub lured his victims by posing as selling a car that appealed to the victims. For Heather it was a specific vintage car. Finally, it was Christine's turn which it was good that she was last because she has a lot to share.
Getting up from her seat next to Reid, she stalked to the board grabbing a highlighter as she went and connected the where the victims were dumped as she spoke.
"First off before I give my analysis of the body there was something bugging me earlier about the dumpsites of the bodies. We know that the unsub has knowledge of law enforcement but look at the direction of the bodies dumped." Dragging her highlighter to connect the bodies it showed the first connected laterally to the second, then the third, goes directly Southeast of the second body. But there was nothing connecting the victims. Grabbing the files of the first three victims, she spread them out and showed her team. There was no building, club or job that connected them. They had different financial situations, relationship status's and ages. The only thing they had in common was that they wanted to buy a new car and that they were women. But other than that, and the direction the bodies were dumped, the connection to the victims is not the reason for Christine's interest. "The only thing I can think of that connects the body dumpsite is the unsub either lives or works somewhere in this radius." Christine circled the map with the body dumps inside the circle. "It's a residency area, so it would have to have been where the unsub or at least one of them was comfortable."
"One of them?" Hotch interrupted, once more amazed at his favorite Agent. There was a reason he hailed her as his best Agent, she has good instincts and is very dedicated to her work. After all, compared to what everyone found out today and what she did, it was excellent work. This was also something that Reid and Gideon would never have found out or thought of, at least this early in the investigation. Not for the first time were they all very thankful that Christine Grey-Booth is on their team.
Giving her team a nod, she grabbed the ME file from Morgan who was looking at the photos of the stabbed victim, she took out one of the pictures of the stab wound and the victims tape burns, particularly her eyes. Putting the pictures on the board so that her team could see better, she grabbed a marker and circled the beginning of the stab wound and turned to her team to present her case.
"As you can see, the stab wound is angled at a 45-degree angle starting from the right and down a bit. Like the unsub either was above her when he stabbed or, intended to slash the victim but ended up stabbing her, or-"
"Or the Unsub is right-handed." Concluded Gideon, as he reached the same conclusion, the more he looked at the picture the more the scenario fit. Especially considering this is his first victim. Impressed, Gideon shared an impressed look with Hotch which Christine missed as she continued her hypothesis circling the eye where the tape was removed giving the coloration of the burn.
"Correct." Christine pointed the marker at Gideon and gave a firm nod and glanced at Reid who was examining the photo of her eyes.
"Whereas the tape was removed left to right. Taking off duct tape isn't easy, especially if you aren't using your dominant hand. Most especially if the tape was on the victim for almost forty hours. There was enough time for the victim to get Gangrene. Which is when-"
"Gangrene is when there is a localized death and decomposition of body tissue, resulting from either obstructed circulation or bacterial infection. After forty hours, death is inevitable. The signs are discoloration of the area where the blood flow is obstructed, the skin hardens like a corpse. Also, when infected there are pus-"
Seeing the annoyance and disgust on her teams faces as Reid continued, Christine cut him off and continued to give her report.
"Thanks Reid. Anyway, the evidence points to two unsubs, one dominant personality, one submissive. All of the wounds indicate the right-handed unsub killed them, I would dub him the dominant. The second unsub, the submissive one cleans up after him, wrapping the bodies, unwrapping the tapes, I wouldn't be surprised if he were also the one who raped them."
Giving her team a moment to absorb the information, she grabbed the cast of her knife, she tossed it to Morgan as she concluded her report with her thought process of the weapon used to stab the first victim.
"At first I thought the weapon used to stab the first victim was similar to my combat knife. Very few stores sell them, they are a specific brand and if customized, awfully expensive. It would at least narrow the profile to indicate the dominates financial and class status. However, the ME concluded that it wasn't a knife, the grooves on the wound was made similar to the blade, but it wasn't a knife. Kind of like the manufacture is the same, just not the weapon. Considering that my knife is according to military standards and manufactured by the military this proves that the dominant is involved with law enforcement of some type but not due to having been in prison as a criminal. This brand is sold specifically to the military, law enforcement etc. They do background checks; they wouldn't permit the sale of any of their products or services to someone with a record. So, I'll need Garcia to check, but they should have records of who or where this manufacturer sells keys."
"Keys? The victim was stabbed by a key?" Morgan frowned at his only female colleague as he thought everything over. Like Hotch and Gideon he was impressed and strove to keep up with her. Morgan thought he could see where she was going with this, studying a close up shot of the stab wound he could see the grooves in the stab pattern she was talking about.
"That's correct, the groove pattern, the size of the stab wound it is consistent with a key. The material the metal was made of is a specific formula for the military grade combat blades and high security prisons and security keys." Christine finished presenting her case, capped the marker and retook her seat besides Reid, giving her team time to mull over everything. Christine is positive that the dominant killer is either a prison guard or a cop. Considering this is the only precinct working the case, that she knew of it was either someone in this precinct or another one. But her gut is telling her it isn't a cop, her gut is screaming prison guard. Christine will have to investigate some more before she brings her suspicions to the team. Christine knows that she could tell them now and they'll believe her, but she has no evidence, and she needs to be sure considering they have less than twelve hours to find Heather before she is killed, her time is running out quickly and they have no time for assumptions. They need to be sure whoever they bring in is the right unsub or unsubs if they want to bring Heather home alive. Christine made a mental note to team up with Garcia later to check out potential prisons around the area and their guards to see if one of them matches the dominant unsub. Christine highly doubts the submissive would give up the dominant without something big to flip him. Christine is brought out of her thoughts by Gideon's voice.
"All right enough," Christine realized she was so focused on her thoughts that she missed her team spit balling facts and assumptions based on their evidence until Gideons firm voice interrupted them. "Let's tell them we're ready." Grabbing a file on the table, Gideon and Hotch left the office to head to the bull pen.
"We're ready?" Morgan parroted in disbelief. Even with all of the evidence and assumptions so far, Morgan didn't think they had a complete profile. Especially if there were two unsubs. Morgan has faith in his female team members analysis and agrees with the dominant and submissive unsubs. But they don't have any separate profile on them or how they work as a team beside one kills and the other cleans up. They don't know if it is the submissive or the dominant who rapes them. They don't know why they are doing this, or why these women. Frankly, there is too many questions for Morgan to be comfortable to give a profile this soon. Glancing at Reid, the only person who Morgan feels will agree with him, he questions him. "Reid you good with this? We got a girl with a couple of hours left to live, an incomplete profile and a unit chief on the nerve of a nervous breakdown."
"They don't call it nervous breakdowns anymore," Gideon poked his head back into counter Derick's question and to show that he heard him and didn't appreciate it before he left again. Ears turning red in embarrassment, Derrick's jaw ticked as Christine's sassy reply dripping with amusement at his expense filled the silence before she too followed Gideon from the office.
"Yeah, didn't you know Morgan, they call them a major depressive episode."
Gritting his teeth in annoyance he grumbled to himself about annoying little sisters to a chuckling Reid as they followed her out of the office to give the profile."