As promised, Creative Karma is back with more on my Criminal Minds fan fic.
Instead of going though a big explanation, since there isn't one really needed, I will jump right in.
Here is Chapter 1 of Loaded Smile.
Chapter 1
“The price of seeking
to force our beliefs on others is that someday they might force their beliefs
on us.”
~Mario Cuomo
The team
was settled into their private jet heading off for Little Rock, Arkansas.
They all gathered around to go over the files to get a sense for their unsub.
“It appears
that each one of the victims was a homeless person with no family or friends to
speak of. Makes them easy targets,” Rossi said.
“But why
homeless people? What’s the motive for choosing them?” asked J.J.
“Actually
this is not all together uncommon. Olga Rutterschmidt and Helen Golay, also
known as the “Black Widows” were convicted of killing two homeless men. They
would invest thousands of dollars in insurance polices for the men, put them up
in apartments to only later drug them and run them over with their car. It was
presumed they wanted to make it look like a hit and run,” Dr. Reid pointed out.
“Well these
seven victims didn’t have any holdings. No insurance polices. Nothing under
their names at all. So it couldn’t have been about money,” said Morgan as he
countered the idea.
“And the
taking of the body parts. Trophies? Or for some other reason?” Hotch wondered
aloud.
“Jeffery
Dahmer was known for dismemberment and cannibalism in each of his seventeen
murders of men and boys,” Reid offered.
“Yet, it’s
not the same body part being taken in each case. If it was a case of
cannibalism, then why not more dismemberment? What is the significance of
taking those pieces of these victims?” Rossi asked.
A call came
through on the laptop set out on the table for all of them to see. Agent
Hotcher reached out and tapped a key to answer.
“What do
you have Garcia?” he asked.
“I’ve
looked into the area the bodies were found and discovered that they were all
dumped within a 10 mile radius. In this area are various homeless shelters,
churches, and soup kitchens,” Garcia said.
“A place
with a high homeless presence. A place where the bodies would be found quickly.
Is this a message to the people helping the homeless or to the homeless people
themselves?” Morgan asked as he looked between the members of the team.
“What about
witnesses or people that might have seen them last?” Hotcher asked Garcia.
“There’s
nothing on that end. The police have talked to the homeless in the area and
they were either afraid of the police or didn’t know who these people were,”
Garcia replied.
“Thanks
Garcia. Keep looking for a link between the victims,” Hotch ordered.
“When I
know something, you’ll know,” she said before hanging up.
“So we have
to figure out why these homeless people are being targeted. Is it something
about these specific people or is it about all homeless people?” Hotch asked
aloud as he closed the files in his lap.
“Must soup
kitchens and homeless shelters are run by some religious group. Maybe this is a
religious sort of attack,” J.J. offered.
“That’s
true. In Arabic speaking countries, it was a common practice to cut the hands
off someone who was caught stealing. In Exodus, there is a quote saying: “then
you shall appoint as a penalty life for life, eye for eyes, tooth for tooth,
hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for
bruise,” Reid quoted as he looked among his colleges.
“So maybe
this unsub is either a religious leader, was excommunicated, or is using the
Bible as a way to pay forward onto his or her victims for the abuse they
received in the past,” Morgan offered as a valid reason for the murders.
“If that’s
the case and this attack has only been on the homeless then the unsub has a
large population of people to exact their revenge or judgment upon. J.J., I
want you and Reid to meet with the chief of police and see if they have a place
set up with the information we need and find out if there have been any more
suspicious murders of homeless people in the area. Rossi, you and I will head
to the latest crime scene to see what sort of area these victims are being
dumped I, and Morgan you head over to interview that singer and see what
information he can give about the person that stole his wallet. He may have
been the last one to see the victim alive.” Hotch said with an air of
authority.
Reid
and J.J. headed into the police station as they were given looks by the other
police officers. It was hard to hide that they weren’t part of their unit but
something else all together.
A
gentleman who was leaning over a desk looked up at their entrance and came over
to them looking grim.
“You
the FBI?” he asked.
J.J.
gave a smile and held out her hand to shake his. “I’m your liaison Jennifer
Jareau and this is Doctor Reid. It’s nice to meet you Chief Parker.”
Reid
nodded to the Chief.
“Well,
it’s good to have you guys here. I hope you guys can get a handle on this
situation before it gets out of control,” he said, “I set up our conference
room for your use while you’re here.” Parker motioned off to a room he began to
lead them too.
“Thank
you very much Chief,” J.J. said as they walked to the room. “You informed me
that this was the seventh murder like this?”
He
opened the door and let him pass by them as he answered. “Yes ma’am.”
“Have
there been any other suspicious murders or disappearances of the homeless in
this area?”
“There’s
always homeless disappearing off these streets everyday. I don’t see what one
missing homeless person matters here.”
“Actually,
Chief, this is the end result of this unsub’s practice and trials. No one
suddenly gets this organized this quickly. There’s a possibility that there are
other bodies of known or suspected homeless people that were his first targets
that didn’t make the cut. Even before
the unsub started on the homeless it’s possible that they tested their methods
on animals to see what it would take,” Reid pointed out.
“Well,
I’ll get you all the files I can but it won’t cover all of the disappearances
in the area. You’d be surprised by how many homeless just disappear. No missing
person’s report, nothin’,” Parker added.
J.J.
nodded. “Any information you can offer would be a great help.”
Parker
nodded and left to get the files together.
Reid
looked over to the map that had been placed up on a board. Stick pins had been
placed in the places that the bodies were dumped. All the pins seemed to be in
the downtown area rather than in the less populated outskirts.
“This
unsub seems to be confident enough to dump the bodies in a place of high
population. There are many more less populated places to dump a body and never
be seen but these bodies are all found by someone in the downtown area whether
by sanitation workers or restaurant staff,” Reid thought aloud as he looked at
the map.
J.J.
looked over to the map. “Seems like he is well versed with the area.” She
looked back to the files on the table and began to flip through the photos
taken of the most recent victim.
A
black SUV pulled up to the curb outside the taped off crime scene. Hotch and
Rossi exited the vehicle and headed towards the yellow tape.
“Seems
to be in a heavy populated area,” Rossi noted as he looked around at the
diverted flow of pedestrians that seemed never ending.
“Considering
the amount of foot traffic the unsub would either have to be driving a vehicle
that isn’t out of place driving in and out of these alleyways or they are
dropping the body off at a such a time when there aren’t many people around,”
Hotch agreed and suggested.
“That
would narrow down the possible vehicles and times for the drop at the very
least.”
After
they ducked under the yellow police tape they were approached by what seemed to
be the Captain of the local police force.
Hotch
and Rossi took out their credentials and flashed them to the Captain as Hotch
introduced them. “I’m Aaron Hotcher of the BAU and this is SSA Rossi.”
The
Captain shook hands with both of them as they put up their credentials. “I’m
Captain Stoker. Good to have you guys on board. I’ve seen some crazy stuff in
my day but I’ve never seen anything like this. At first we thought we caught
the guy. There was some nut that was practically a cannibal. Been arrested a
few times for trying to take bites out of people and the cuts on the body
weren’t smooth like they are now.”
He
motioned them over to where the newest body laid.
Rossi
knelt down by the markings to show how the body was laid there.
“While
this was a body dump it doesn’t seem like the body was just discarded like
trash. There was some care in positioning the body wasn’t there?” He asked.
“Now
that you mention it, yeah there was. Guy was all stretched out but with his
arms flat down his sides and his clothing was actually clean despite being placed
on the garbage pile,” the Captain confirmed.
“The
victim was redressed after he was killed and amputated,” Hotch said to no one
in particular. He looked over to Captain Stoker. “Besides the damage to the
body did he look like a homeless person?”
“The
ME said the body was clean for a homeless man. Only way we knew this one was
homeless because he had been arrested in the past.”
“What
were the charges?” Rossi asked.
“Robbery.
Guess he tried to pick the wrong pocket this time,” Captain Stoker said grimly
in a vain attempt at humor.
“Thank
you Captain. You’ve been very helpful,” Hotcher said as the Captain moved off
to talk to the other officers.
“What
do you think Hotch?” Rossi asked.
Hotch
looked down to the area the body had been found and then around him. “The unsub
is a member of this community. At the very least he knows how long it’ll take
him to kidnap, kill, dismember, dump the body and get out of the area before
he’s seen. I didn’t see any marks on the curb that would suggest tire marks so
the unsub must have a vehicle he can drive through the alleys in and get back
out.”
“That
takes a lot of planning. You’d have to know what alleys are dead ends and what
your escape route is.”
“You
also have to be aware of the police presence in the area. The routes they take.
Then, you have to have a secondary route if your primary one is blocked.”
“The
unsub would have to constantly be watching and looking for his next target and
drop point.”
“We
need to narrow down the time in which the streets empty enough after most
people go home and when the waste management trucks make their rounds.”
“Since
all the victims are homeless there’s not going to be much information about
them or their movements. The only thing we could hope for is someone comes
forward with information or a way to talk to the other homeless in the area. To
make them aware of the situation. Otherwise we are going to have a large group
of victims who are unaware of the danger.”
Morgan
looked up and down the hallway he stepped into as he moved out of the high
class shining elevator. The hallway with its expensive light fixtures, fresh
smells, and unworn carpets spoke of the kind of money that stayed in this
hotel.
He
moved down the hall with his own air of confidence as the gold plated number
placards shone his reflection back at him as he passed each door which was
wider apart than in most hotels.
Once
he was nearly at the end of the hallway, Derek Morgan stopped in front of room
1335. He gave a sharp few knocks on the door and waited.
It
wasn’t long till sound could be heard behind the door. Soon after, a voice
carried through.
“Who
is it?” said a gruff voice.
Derek
Morgan removed his badge from where it was hooked to his belt and flashed it to
the peephole as he replied, “I’m Derek Morgan with the BAU here to ask
questions about the night Mr. Lambert’s wallet was stolen. I was told the
meeting was set up by the Chief of Police.” He hooked his badge back on his
belt as he waited.
After
a few moments hesitation, the door was unlocked and opened. A bodyguard dressed
in the always typical black shirt, black dress pants, and black dress shoes was
standing in the door.
“Come
in, I with inform Mr. Lambert that you’ve arrived,” said the unnamed bodyguard
as he turned and headed back out of the main entry way and disappeared into the
room beyond.
Derek
Morgan followed the bodyguard and looked around the room that opened up before
him. The bodyguard was nowhere in sight but a door off to the right of the room
was open.
The
room was opulent. It was the size of any normal living room in a typical home.
All the furniture was expensively made with a full sofa, side tables with glass
vases full of real flowers, a glass and dark wood table in front of the sofa
and two arm chairs on the opposite side of the table from the sofa.
A
full screen, flat panel TV was hanging off the wall closest to the door and
below it was a dark wood entertainment center with all the newest electronics.
The other walls were decorated with the typical paintings of stationary items
in gilded frames.
Derek
looked over as he caught movement out of the corner of his eyes and spotted the
male figure that had just entered the room.
It
was the same man from the tabloids and newspapers this time dressed more
conservatively in a black button down shirt with the top buttons unbuttoned.
This revealed the set of necklaces he wore around his neck. The shirt was
tucked into a pair of black dress pants with a black belt with silver studs and
buckle. Black square toed boots pointed out from under the flare of the dress
pants.
He
smiled to Derek and walked over with his hand extended and a shine to his blue
eyes that were lined with black liner.
“You
must be Agent Morgan that I was told was coming,” said Adam Lambert as he shook
Morgan’s hand.
“Yes,
I’m Agent Morgan from the BAU. Thank you for seeing me Mr. Lambert,” Derek
politely replied.
“You
can call me Adam. Please, have a seat.”
Adam
motioned to the furniture as he moved over to sit on the sofa.
“Thank
you,” he said as he took a seat in the chair across from him. “I came here to
ask you about what happened the night that your wallet was stolen. It seems you
and your bodyguard might have been the last people to see the victim alive.”
Adam’s
face dropped into a more serious one. “I hate to think about what was done to
him. About what kind of person it would take to do that to another human
being.”
“Any
help that you could offer about the last time you saw the victim would be a
great help.”
“Well,
my bodyguard saw the man first. Once he stole my wallet, one of my bodyguards
chased him down. I couldn’t see anything for a short while since the rest of
the bodyguards surrounded me. However, they all relaxed and led me down the
sidewalk. I saw my bodyguard holding the man down and a second figure kneeling
next to them that seemed to be a young woman.”
“A
young woman?”
“Yes.
When I got close enough to see what had happened I could tell it was a young
woman. She stood up and looked at me and I could tell she was homeless by her
appearance alone. Even with the lack of light I could see that she wore glasses
and had brown hair.”
“Did
you catch her name?”
“Catherine…her
name was Catherine.”
Morgan
wrote the name down on a note pad he pulled out of his pocket.
“No
last name?”
“Not
one that she told me. At the time she seemed scared because of the situation
but she was more afraid of what was going to be done about Gary and then by the paparazzi that rushed
over to get their photos.”
“She
wasn’t pictured in any of the papers.”
“I
didn’t think she would be. I know she was mentioned briefly but she deserved
more than that for what she did.”
“What
did she do?”
“According
to my bodyguard, it was apparently Catherine who had just come out of an
alleyway ahead of the chase that tackled Gary
to the ground. Once the bodyguard arrived, she let him take over and just knelt
nearby and waited to try and prevent me from pressing charges.”
“She
stood up for Gary?”
“Yes
she did. She told me he was new to being homeless and that he was just hungry
and didn’t know a better way to get food without stealing. That she was or had
been trying to help him out. Seemed by that statement alone that she had been
homeless for a while if she was able to command any respect among the other
homeless like that.”
“How
old do you think she was?”
“I’m
not sure. She was short, short enough that I first thought she was Gary’s daughter or some
semblance of that. But the way she talked sounded like she had been more
formally educated. So at least late 20s but beyond that I wouldn’t know.”
“How
tall would you say she was?” Derek was writing everything down in his notebook.
“Maybe
5’. Maybe shorter. Again it was hard to tell but she was much shorter than I
am. She’d maybe come up to about here.” Adam motioned on the side of his body
at about halfway up his chest. “She would be at least a foot shorter than I am
and I’m 6’1”.”
Morgan
wrote it down in this notebook then looked back to Adam.
“What
happened next?”
“I
told her that I wasn’t going to press charges which seemed to relieve her
greatly though she was still tense around the photographers. Not that I could
blame her. I gave five dollars to Gary
and told my bodyguard to let him go. After he took off, I offered 20 dollars to
Catherine and she didn’t want to take it. Told me that she didn’t want to just
take something she didn’t earn. I told her that she did earn it for making sure
I got my wallet back. She didn’t like it but she eventually took it. I watched
her walk off before I headed back to my limo with my bodyguards.”
“Where
did this happen at?”
“I’d
say two alleyways down from the restaurant I went to that night. Near the
corner of South Spring Street
and West Markham Street.”
Derek
added that bit of information into his notepad before putting it away.
“You’ve
been a great help. How much longer will you be in town in case we need to ask
some more questions?”
“I’ll
be here another week or so. You can contact me the same way to set up another
time if you have more questions. I’d just like to ask one thing.”
“Sure.”
“If
you see that girl again I told you about thank her again for me for helping
out. She didn’t have to jump in and she was the only one that did while other
men just watched. She did a brave thing and she deserves to know that. I’d like
to be able to tell her myself if the chance ever came up.”
“I’ll
tell her for you.” Derek rose from his chair as Adam followed suit.
They
shook hands.
“Again,
thanks for the information. You’ve been a great help.”
Adam
nodded with a smile to Derek.
“You’re
welcome.”
With
that, Derek left the hotel room. After closing the door and starting to head
down the hallway, he pulled out his cell phone and called Hotch.
“Hey
Hotch. I got a lead on the girl that was at the scene the night the singer’s
wallet was stolen. I’m heading over to the area and see if I can find her.”
He
paused a moment as he listened to Hotch’s response.
“I’ll
send Rossi over to meet you. I need to head to the police station and see what
head way J.J. and Reid have made. What’s the address?”
Derek
parroted off the information that Adam had given him.
“Rossi
will be on his way shortly. He’ll wait for you if he makes it there first.”
“All
right, Hotch.” Derek said in closing as he closed his phone and got back on the
elevator.
