Chapter 3
Catherine
sat in a chair next to Reid. A cup of water that she accepted but hadn’t
touched yet was still sitting on the table in front of her.
Despite
knowing each other in the past, they had only conducted small talk, asking how
the other was, the surprise of seeing them again. Neither of them seemed to
know what else to say.
She glanced
at him as he sat there rolling his lower lip around in the way that usually
spoke of his nervousness or that he was thinking.
Finally,
Reid pulled up the courage to speak. “What, uh…what happened to your face?”
Catherine
reached up to her bruised cheek without thinking before she lowered her hand
and responded, “Well…I suppose it happened when I stopped Gary from running away with that guy’s
wallet.”
“So, you
really did stop a grown man from stealing a wallet?”
Catherine
faintly smirked. “You sound so surprised Reid. I don’t really think I’ve
changed all that much. Then again, I don’t really have much in the way of a
frame of reference anymore.” She grew solemn as she finally picked up the cup
of water and took a sip before setting it back down.
“You never
really did tell me what happened. How you became…”
“Homeless?”
Catherine finished for him. “You and I… You know we never really shared much
with each other. Even back then. We were just there for each other when we were
needed. But let’s just say…the economy wasn’t as nice to me as it was to you.
Plus, you had all the brains. I knew it would really take you somewhere one
day. And here you are, working for the FBI.”
Catherine’s
comment reminded Reid that there was still a job to be done.
“About
that…what did you know about Gary ?”
She grew
serious as she looked at him for a moment. “Gary used to have a family but he didn’t like
to talk about it. I think he felt guilty but I never pushed him about it. He
had a hard enough time dealing with being homeless.”
“What do
you mean?”
“For a
while, he would beg for money like most of them do in the beginning but he’d
try to waste it on alcohol unless I managed to catch him before he bought any.
He could have easily drunk himself to death without someone helping him because
he didn’t reach out for help. So, I did what I could for him. Showed him how to
keep himself clean and how to make sure to get the things needed. But he didn’t
really understand. Didn’t want to work at being the type of homeless person
that is more than a thief but someone that doesn’t want people to give up on
him. To be worth helping to a better place. That’s all I really knew about Gary save for the place
he rested at night.”
“Did he
stay at a homeless shelter?”
Catherine
shook her head. “No, you’d be surprised how many homeless don’t or can’t. Gary was one of those
that just didn’t see the point. So, he slept in an abandoned crate in one of
the alleyways. Most wouldn’t know how to get there unless they took the time to
really look for it.”
Reid paused
for a moment about to say something but then changed his mind and moved to the
next question to be asked.
“After Gary took off, which way
did he go?”
“He ran
farther down for the sidewalk…maybe another block before he disappeared into
another alley. It was hard to tell which one with all the people on the
sidewalk.”
“And you
didn’t see him the rest of the night?”
Catherine
shook her head. “After I left, I went looking for him. I checked in all the
spots he was usually seen at but I couldn’t find him anywhere. I just assumed
that he found some other place or was hiding somewhere.”
“Did he
have any friends? Someone he would talk to?”
“I wasn’t
aware of any besides myself. It’s always possible there was someone that he didn’t
want me to know about. Someone selling drugs or something else. That’s just
part of this culture that I don’t know anything about.”
“You said
you were trying to help him. Were their others? Other that you tried to help or
that would listen to you?”
“Yeah, why
do you ask?”
Reid paused
a moment trying to think how to word the next part.
“You know
that Gary is
dead but…it seems that…there is someone out on the streets that are targeting
homeless people.”
“You mean…someone killing homeless people?”
“You mean…someone killing homeless people?”
Reid nodded
slowly. “But there’s no way to make the rest of the homeless population aware
of what’s happening. You said that not all the homeless stay at the homeless
shelters or they can’t. Even if we had them warn people it wouldn’t protect
everyone. We want to protect as many as we can.”
“I can warn
the people I know and have them spread the word if you and your people put the
word out to the homeless shelters and soup kitchens. Word travels fast on the
streets by word of mouth. Just have to get everyone talking. It would take the
rest of the day to spread the word but it could be done. Is that what you want
me to do?”
Reid
nodded. “Yes, but only if you promise to meet me back here once you’ve got the
ball rolling.”
Catherine
looked a little confused. “Come back here? Why?”
“I…I’ll
have more questions for you once it’s set up. That’s all.”
This seemed
reasonable enough to her as an explanation. “All right then. I’ll come back
here as soon as I know I have it working.” She paused for a moment. “Is that all?”
“Actually,
I’d like to ask if you can think of any people in particular that no one would
think twice about trusting out there on the street.”
Catherine
seemed to think about that a moment. “Anyone that might work or volunteer at
the soup kitchens or homeless shelters. Sometimes they go out and had out food
to the homeless. Then priests, pastors, nuns, pretty much anyone in the
religious end of things. And cops of course but not back into the deep alleys
where the others go to. Cops won’t patrol back into the alleyways without just
cause. Maybe that’s why you can’t find this guy. If he’s back in there and
subdues them or they trust him somehow then the cops wouldn’t even know it’s
happening till the…the body is found.”
Reid nodded
and smiled. “That’s really helpful. Is there anyone else you can think of?”
She took a
slow breath and really gave this more thought. Her eyes turned downward as she
thought through the possibilities.
“I really
can’t think of anyone else that could just come into the alleys that someone
would trust or at least cause a commotion. I mean, unless this guy was dressing
up like a homeless guy then that would be something new for a short time but
after a while it’d be suspicious if everyone he hung out with disappeared.”
“So you’ve
narrowed it down to homeless shelters, soup kitchens, and churches. That’s
really helpful.”
“Really?”
“Yes,
really.”
Catherine
smiled softly. “I’m glad I could help.”
“Well, I do have one other question
I want to ask you.”
“What’s
that?”
Reid looked
down for a moment as if gathering himself for what he had to ask before looking
back to Catherine. “How…how long have you been homeless?”
Catherine
blinked at him. She was taken aback by the question. Her eyes grew distant for a moment as they
looked off into space. Apparently, she had to actually think about the answer
to that question.
Eventually,
her eyes focused back on Reid.
“I’d say
around…three years now. Maybe a little more.”
“How long
was that after you graduated?”
“From
college?”
Reid nodded.
“Around two
years I suppose.”
Reid took a
slow breath that came out as a sigh. “I couldn’t imagine how hard this all must
have been on you. I thought you had such a great job lined up. You were so
happy. I knew we really weren’t that close save for helping each other out
but…I didn’t really think we’d lose contact like that.”
Catherine
shrugged. “The first year was only hard, Reid.
I’ve always sorta bounced back from things like this. Making the best of
what I’ve got. As far as the job went…like I said, the economy wasn’t good for
me or anyone else for that matter. Pretty much everyone who hadn’t worked there
more than five years was given the boot. Then, it was nearly impossible to find
any other employment.”
“Seems a
shame though…”
Catherine shrugged
and glanced to the window and saw the sun was starting to set. “Well, I better
head out now if we want to get this guy before he takes someone else.” She
looked back to Reid.
“Oh right.
Yeah.” He rose. “Just remember to meet me back here.” He reached into his
pocket and pulled out his card and handed it to Catherine. “If they try to keep
you out show them this card and tell them I’m expecting you.”
Catherine
took the card and looked at it before shoving it in her pocket. She rose from
her chair and looked up to Reid as she nodded. “Sure, I’ll come back. Might
take me a couple of hours but I’ll do my best.”
“Thanks.”
He smiled to her.
Catherine
smiled back to him. “You’re welcome. It was nice seeing you again.”
Reid headed
over to the door and opened it for Catherine as she headed out. She passed by
the rest of the group waving to them as she headed out the front of the police
station. Reid came over to join them but was watching her retreating figure.
“How’d it
go?” Morgan asked.
Reid looked
to him quickly having just heard him. “Oh, it went well. I know she wasn’t the
one that did these things. Even if there was a partner of some kind. But she’s
going to help us out.”
“How is she
going to do that?” Rossi asked with suspicion thick in his voice.
“She is
going to start spreading the word through the other homeless in the area to
make them watchful about the area. To know that all the homeless dying or
disappearing is all connected. She believed that it would spread quickly that
way and if we also warned all the homeless shelters, soup kitchens, or churches
in the area to keep an eye out. Anyone that either works or volunteers there
could be the unsub. It’d have to be someone that likes going out there alone
instead of with the group since a large group.”
Hotch
nodded. “Good work Reid. Anything else?”
“She said
she didn’t think it would be someone pretending to be a homeless person. That
even among the homeless they would be wary of the person who befriended someone
and they suddenly go missing or turn up dead. That makes sense. Even though the
homeless are wary of the police, they would still report something like this.
Also that maybe the reason no one is seeing this happening is not only because
this unsub is someone they might trust or allow them to get close enough
without making much noise is that it’s happening in a place that the police
rarely look. Most of the alleyways can’t be seen by simply driving by and
shining a light.”
“If all
this is true, it may narrow down our suspect pool. The homeless shelters and
soup kitchens might keep records of the people that work for them or be able to
recall someone that was more interested than most in the homeless who commit
those serious crimes but haven’t been caught,” Morgan suggested.
“J.J., I want
you and Morgan to work on contacting the homeless shelters and soup kitchens
within the unsub’s pick up and disposal site. Speak only with the heads of the
department. If the unsub catches wind of us getting close he might move to a
new location. Also, check to see if all these homeless people have a connection
in one of those places,” Hotch said.
“You got
it,” said Morgan as J.J. and himself headed off to get started.
“Rossi I want you to check out the
churches in the area and see if they send out groups of people on a regular
basis or if it’s a more a single person operation. If they send out groups,
find out if there is one particular person that either wanted to join them or
prefers to work alone,” Hotch continued.
Rossi
headed off with his instructions.
“Reid, you and I will talk to the
officers here and ask that they be more vigilant in their rounds at night.
Depending on how this works out, we might have to have Catherine come back in,”
Hotch said.
“Actually, I told Catherine to come
back for more questions once she got the people she knew to pass the word
along,” Reid replied.
“Good thinking, Reid. With any luck
we just might be able to find clues about our unsub before he strikes again.”
