The Photographer
folder
1 through F › Criminal Minds
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
23
Views:
1,807
Reviews:
1
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
1 through F › Criminal Minds
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
23
Views:
1,807
Reviews:
1
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Criminal Minds or any of the characters, nor do I make any type of profit from this.
VII
RICHMOND COUNTY JAIL
Richmond, VA
“How the hell do they justify havin’ Walker’s dumb ass transport the suspect, an FBI agent no less, in the most prolific serial case in Richmond history? He can’t even get here on time.” Sergeant Dawson threw his empty coffee cup into the garbage as his radio came alive with chatter.
“Attention all units. We have a reported officer down on the corner of Jefferson and Maine. Officer was transporting suspect Aaron Hotchner. Hotchner is to be considered armed and extremely dangerous.”
Dawson grabbed his radio as he listened to the alert again, unable to believe what he had heard. If something happened to Walker, he would make Hotchner’s life a living hell.
---
INTERSECTION OF JEFFERSON AND MAINE
Richmond, VA
Morgan stood in the middle of the intersection and just stared at the yellow police tape. The throbbing in his arm was nothing in comparison to the dread he was feeling. Something had caused the officer transporting Hotch to pull over into this construction site and now he was dead and Hotch was missing. The officer had been double tapped in the back of his head with his own pistol. Hotch’s handcuffs were discarded just outside the driver side door, the keys lying next to them. Morgan already knew what the officers were thinking; this was Hotch’s handy work. The fact that the suspected agent was nowhere to be found didn’t help prove his innocence.
The acting Unit Chief walked up to Detective Neal, not sure what to say. They hadn’t even looked at each other since their altercation, so Derek was trying to be careful not to set the man off. “Any sign of Hotch?” The detective didn’t even hesitate as he continued dusting both the gun and key for prints. “Get these back and run them. I want to know who touched this gun and who took our suspect’s cuffs off in no less than an hour.” Warren stood and faced Morgan, his hands folded across his chest. “Yes, Unit Chief Morgan?” His voice gave away the contempt he felt for the black agent. “No, there’s no sign of Mr. Hotchner. He’s most likely on the run after his most recent kill.” He looked over at the young officer being carted away in a body bag. “Walters was a good man, good cop. He had a promising career. Kind of like Hotch when he was this kid’s age. Strange how quickly things can change.”
The detective stood very close to Derek, his voice becoming a low growl. “When those prints come back on the gun saying they belong to Hotchner, I’m going to flood the streets with my men, armed tooth and nail ready to take him down, so if you know where he is, I highly suggest you let me know.”
Derek folded his good arm across his chest defiantly. “The BAU does not harbor fugitives, no matter who they are. If we know anything, we will let you know.” He turned back to his vehicle, starting the engine and racing back to the Richmond police station. He put his phone on speaker so that he wouldn’t have to hold it, needing his one good arm to steer the vehicle.
-- “Tell me how you want it.”
“Baby girl, I need you to get into the Richmond PD computer system and let me know the results on the prints they run from Walters’ gun as soon as they come in. Call me as soon as you know.”
-- “You got it, sugar.”
At this point, the whole team knew Hotch was missing. Strauss had personally called each member of the team and informed them that if they were in any way helping Hotch to stay hidden, they would be suspended and charged for harboring a fugitive. They of course didn’t need to be reminded of this, but did not argue with the Section Chief. They couldn’t waste precious time.
---
RICHMOND PD EVIDENCE HOLD
Richmond, VA
“These are all identical. Down to the letter, but there’s nothing here to tell us what we don’t know about this UnSub.” Reid continued his fast paced reading through the case files, soaking up every bit of information he could. Rossi stared at the evidence board, looking at everything as if some hidden face was just waiting to jump out at him. “Keep looking, Reid. It’s in there.” Rossi rubbed his chin as he stared at the picture of Hotch that had been pinned over the one of Ferracci, identifying him as the UnSub.
“Dave, you don’t honestly believe Hotch did this, do you?” Reid had finished reading the autopsy files and was desperate to escape the thoughts floating through his mind. Rossi didn’t budge, his stare resting on the picture of their colleague. “Reid, we’re profilers. We can’t rule something of someone out just because of how we feel. Everything in this case if pointing to Hotch. Instead of ignoring that, we need to work this case knowing that there’s a good chance that… Aaron is the UnSub.”
Reid just stared at the older agent, not believing what he had just said. What he could believe even less was how he responded. Before he knew what he was doing, Spencer had shoved Dave against the wall, holding him there by the lapels of his shirt. “You have no clue what you’re talking about! Aaron Hotchner is the only reason why I was found before Tobias Hankel could kill me. He is the only reason I faced my drug addiction instead of succumbing to it. He is not capable of something like this.” His voice was stern; having gained an edge that Rossi had only heard when Reid had interrogated his own father. Spencer let go of Rossi and stepped back from him, leaving the conference room. “Maybe you’re not as much of a part of this team as we thought.” He slammed the door behind him, leaving Rossi alone, who was still shocked by the sudden show of physicality from the young doctor. Maybe he should have lied.
---
GARRISSON HOME
Richmond, VA
James Garrisson tightened the laces on his tennis shoes as he got ready for his morning run. It was before five in the morning, so everyone in the neighborhood was still asleep, giving him absolute peace. He put his ear buds in and opened his front door. “Oh my… NO! NO!” He fell to his knees at the sight before him. There, dangling from the overhang above his door, was the mangled body of his wife, Linda. Hanging from her neck was a DVD with the word ‘DEATH’ written on it. The Photographer had finished with Linda Garrisson and was ready for his next victim.
---
The entire neighborhood was filled with police cars and media vans as multitudes of officers canvassed the neighborhood looking for the killer. “He’s gone sixteen hours and he’s already disposed of his latest victim.” Neal kicked some of the gravel beneath his feet in frustration. “Get all units out looking for Hotchner. I want him back in custody.”
---
CONFERENCE ROOM – POLICE HQ
Richmond, VA
Reid paced around the room, deep in thought. JJ and Emily sat around the conference table, watching the gears in his head turn. Rossi snuck into the room and sat down with a folder in his hands, waiting for Reid to stop pacing. The young doctor stopped without a word and sat down, recalling the files he had read.
“I’ve spent the whole night looking over the autopsy reports, looking at every similarity between the cases. The evolution between each murder can be seen and you can tell by the methods and strokes that these have all been done by the same killer. There’s also something else I found. Michael Ferracci was right handed. The direction that the slashes were made on the victims indicate that our UnSub is left handed.” Rossi didn’t need to say what he was leading to, everyone was already thinking it; Hotch is left handed.
The silence seemed to freeze everyone until Morgan came bursting into the room. “Linda Garrisson’s body just turned up. Richmond PD is already pointing the finger at Hotch.” Morgan walked up to the evidence board and stared at the picture of the missing agent. “Why the hell hasn’t he at least called us?” As if on cue, his cell phone began to ring. “Go ahead, Garcia.” The disappointment was apparent in his voice as he put the phone on speaker.
-- “Derek, are you with the team? I’m not saying this twice.”
“Yes, we’re all here… alone.”
Garcia cleared her throat several times in an attempt to suppress the shakiness in her voice. She wasn’t successful.
-- “The results are back from the prints on the gun and the keys to the handcuffs.”
There was silence. Part of the team wanted to know the results so they could clear their boss of the charges. The other part of them dreaded hearing who had handled the gun, scared they might further implicate their colleague.
-- “The prints match Hotch. He killed Officer Walters. He unlocked his handcuffs.”
No one said a word as Garcia’s sobs were heard over the receiver, everyone overcome by emotions of betrayal and confusion. This didn’t make sense. Hotch couldn’t have done this… could he?
Richmond, VA
“How the hell do they justify havin’ Walker’s dumb ass transport the suspect, an FBI agent no less, in the most prolific serial case in Richmond history? He can’t even get here on time.” Sergeant Dawson threw his empty coffee cup into the garbage as his radio came alive with chatter.
“Attention all units. We have a reported officer down on the corner of Jefferson and Maine. Officer was transporting suspect Aaron Hotchner. Hotchner is to be considered armed and extremely dangerous.”
Dawson grabbed his radio as he listened to the alert again, unable to believe what he had heard. If something happened to Walker, he would make Hotchner’s life a living hell.
---
INTERSECTION OF JEFFERSON AND MAINE
Richmond, VA
Morgan stood in the middle of the intersection and just stared at the yellow police tape. The throbbing in his arm was nothing in comparison to the dread he was feeling. Something had caused the officer transporting Hotch to pull over into this construction site and now he was dead and Hotch was missing. The officer had been double tapped in the back of his head with his own pistol. Hotch’s handcuffs were discarded just outside the driver side door, the keys lying next to them. Morgan already knew what the officers were thinking; this was Hotch’s handy work. The fact that the suspected agent was nowhere to be found didn’t help prove his innocence.
The acting Unit Chief walked up to Detective Neal, not sure what to say. They hadn’t even looked at each other since their altercation, so Derek was trying to be careful not to set the man off. “Any sign of Hotch?” The detective didn’t even hesitate as he continued dusting both the gun and key for prints. “Get these back and run them. I want to know who touched this gun and who took our suspect’s cuffs off in no less than an hour.” Warren stood and faced Morgan, his hands folded across his chest. “Yes, Unit Chief Morgan?” His voice gave away the contempt he felt for the black agent. “No, there’s no sign of Mr. Hotchner. He’s most likely on the run after his most recent kill.” He looked over at the young officer being carted away in a body bag. “Walters was a good man, good cop. He had a promising career. Kind of like Hotch when he was this kid’s age. Strange how quickly things can change.”
The detective stood very close to Derek, his voice becoming a low growl. “When those prints come back on the gun saying they belong to Hotchner, I’m going to flood the streets with my men, armed tooth and nail ready to take him down, so if you know where he is, I highly suggest you let me know.”
Derek folded his good arm across his chest defiantly. “The BAU does not harbor fugitives, no matter who they are. If we know anything, we will let you know.” He turned back to his vehicle, starting the engine and racing back to the Richmond police station. He put his phone on speaker so that he wouldn’t have to hold it, needing his one good arm to steer the vehicle.
-- “Tell me how you want it.”
“Baby girl, I need you to get into the Richmond PD computer system and let me know the results on the prints they run from Walters’ gun as soon as they come in. Call me as soon as you know.”
-- “You got it, sugar.”
At this point, the whole team knew Hotch was missing. Strauss had personally called each member of the team and informed them that if they were in any way helping Hotch to stay hidden, they would be suspended and charged for harboring a fugitive. They of course didn’t need to be reminded of this, but did not argue with the Section Chief. They couldn’t waste precious time.
---
RICHMOND PD EVIDENCE HOLD
Richmond, VA
“These are all identical. Down to the letter, but there’s nothing here to tell us what we don’t know about this UnSub.” Reid continued his fast paced reading through the case files, soaking up every bit of information he could. Rossi stared at the evidence board, looking at everything as if some hidden face was just waiting to jump out at him. “Keep looking, Reid. It’s in there.” Rossi rubbed his chin as he stared at the picture of Hotch that had been pinned over the one of Ferracci, identifying him as the UnSub.
“Dave, you don’t honestly believe Hotch did this, do you?” Reid had finished reading the autopsy files and was desperate to escape the thoughts floating through his mind. Rossi didn’t budge, his stare resting on the picture of their colleague. “Reid, we’re profilers. We can’t rule something of someone out just because of how we feel. Everything in this case if pointing to Hotch. Instead of ignoring that, we need to work this case knowing that there’s a good chance that… Aaron is the UnSub.”
Reid just stared at the older agent, not believing what he had just said. What he could believe even less was how he responded. Before he knew what he was doing, Spencer had shoved Dave against the wall, holding him there by the lapels of his shirt. “You have no clue what you’re talking about! Aaron Hotchner is the only reason why I was found before Tobias Hankel could kill me. He is the only reason I faced my drug addiction instead of succumbing to it. He is not capable of something like this.” His voice was stern; having gained an edge that Rossi had only heard when Reid had interrogated his own father. Spencer let go of Rossi and stepped back from him, leaving the conference room. “Maybe you’re not as much of a part of this team as we thought.” He slammed the door behind him, leaving Rossi alone, who was still shocked by the sudden show of physicality from the young doctor. Maybe he should have lied.
---
GARRISSON HOME
Richmond, VA
James Garrisson tightened the laces on his tennis shoes as he got ready for his morning run. It was before five in the morning, so everyone in the neighborhood was still asleep, giving him absolute peace. He put his ear buds in and opened his front door. “Oh my… NO! NO!” He fell to his knees at the sight before him. There, dangling from the overhang above his door, was the mangled body of his wife, Linda. Hanging from her neck was a DVD with the word ‘DEATH’ written on it. The Photographer had finished with Linda Garrisson and was ready for his next victim.
---
The entire neighborhood was filled with police cars and media vans as multitudes of officers canvassed the neighborhood looking for the killer. “He’s gone sixteen hours and he’s already disposed of his latest victim.” Neal kicked some of the gravel beneath his feet in frustration. “Get all units out looking for Hotchner. I want him back in custody.”
---
CONFERENCE ROOM – POLICE HQ
Richmond, VA
Reid paced around the room, deep in thought. JJ and Emily sat around the conference table, watching the gears in his head turn. Rossi snuck into the room and sat down with a folder in his hands, waiting for Reid to stop pacing. The young doctor stopped without a word and sat down, recalling the files he had read.
“I’ve spent the whole night looking over the autopsy reports, looking at every similarity between the cases. The evolution between each murder can be seen and you can tell by the methods and strokes that these have all been done by the same killer. There’s also something else I found. Michael Ferracci was right handed. The direction that the slashes were made on the victims indicate that our UnSub is left handed.” Rossi didn’t need to say what he was leading to, everyone was already thinking it; Hotch is left handed.
The silence seemed to freeze everyone until Morgan came bursting into the room. “Linda Garrisson’s body just turned up. Richmond PD is already pointing the finger at Hotch.” Morgan walked up to the evidence board and stared at the picture of the missing agent. “Why the hell hasn’t he at least called us?” As if on cue, his cell phone began to ring. “Go ahead, Garcia.” The disappointment was apparent in his voice as he put the phone on speaker.
-- “Derek, are you with the team? I’m not saying this twice.”
“Yes, we’re all here… alone.”
Garcia cleared her throat several times in an attempt to suppress the shakiness in her voice. She wasn’t successful.
-- “The results are back from the prints on the gun and the keys to the handcuffs.”
There was silence. Part of the team wanted to know the results so they could clear their boss of the charges. The other part of them dreaded hearing who had handled the gun, scared they might further implicate their colleague.
-- “The prints match Hotch. He killed Officer Walters. He unlocked his handcuffs.”
No one said a word as Garcia’s sobs were heard over the receiver, everyone overcome by emotions of betrayal and confusion. This didn’t make sense. Hotch couldn’t have done this… could he?