Criminal Minds s05e17 Episode Script

Once upon a time There was a lonely king.
He spent many days and many nights Wandering, searching, Looking for that one special someone.
Good night.
Good night, jody.
Good night, mrs.
Clemons.
ThatOne PerfectWoman Who would be his queen.
Daddy! mmm.
I was hoping you'd come tonight.
Can you tell me another story? Well If you lay back down there And close your little eyes.
Close your eyes.
And the lonely king searched far and wide Looking for this woman who would be his queen.
He had almost given up hope of ever finding her When he came upon this small tavern With a simple country barmaid.
Now, when she looked at the lonely king, He felt as if they had known each other For a thousand years.
Do you need a refill? Tanya, I guess I'm going home alone.
Excuse me a second.
First of all, you're not alone.
And secondly, you'reot driving.
Keys.
Betty, sam needs a cab.
Sure.
That's weird.
Did you see where that guy went? Hmm.
So he waited Until she was alone, Watching from afar Because he was afraid to speak to her.
And then one day Her carriage wouldn't start.
And the king thought This is fate.
And so he rode down to rescue her.
And she said to him Must be the rain.
Pop the hood.
Thank you! Did he rescue her, daddy? Was she the one? Well, the king thought so.
Try it now! Yes Hey, I appreciate your-- Hello? Hello? You ok? So they rode off into the night together.
And they lived happily ever after? Well, no, sweet pea.
She wasn't the one.
But don't worry.
The king's never gonna stop looking.
What if he never finds a queen? Well, then he'll just-- We'll just go to a better place.
Good night, princess.
Her name was tanya hill.
She was 29, a bartender.
Found 2 days ago in edgewood, new mexico.
She's the fifth woman in over 6 months To be found dead in a ditch off the I-40 and I-25.
All were manually strangled.
None were sexually assaulted.
Well, maybe the act of strangulation is what gets him off.
Where were they abducted from? All over.
Well, they're not just crossing state lines.
These cities are hundreds of miles apart.
That's a lot of bodies.
Why is it taking so long to be invited? We haven't been invited.
We found this on hsk database.
Well, a lot of police departments won't want this problem.
The geographic profile shows that only one of them has it.
They just don't know it yet.
How do you know that? Because he has a comfort zone Based on the direction he was heading when he dumped the bodies.
All 5 cases point to our unsub Heading to edgewood, new mexico.
Now so are we.
You got a ride.
Hi! Oh.
Excuse me.
I think you forgot these.
Hee hee! You are so cute.
Bye! Goodbye.
Do you know anyone that's heading west? Hmm.
Sorry.
I am.
Great.
Tennessee williams said, "we're all of us sentenced to solitary confinement Inside our own skins, for life.
" Clearly this unsub doesn't care about his victims being found.
Or he knows he can't be linked to them.
Yet the m.
E.
's report supports that.
Matching dna was found on all 5 victims.
But not in any database.
Right.
It's also in keeping with the victimology and abduction sites.
Which are what? Target rich and offender friendly.
Time of death from time of abduction Varies dramatically in each case.
Some lived 12 hours, others 24 before they were killed.
So what's he doing with them? Well, he's not having sex with them.
There's no sign of torture or even restraints.
What was the matching dna? Uh, skin.
That and metal shavings were found Under the fingernails of all 5 victims.
Tanya only had one nail left.
One nail? Yeah.
It looks like whatever she was in, She tried to claw her way out.
Jj, have garcia match victimology And abduction sites to hsk findings for the last year.
If he sticks to this timeline, Edgewood is about to discover another body.
So she was abducted 32.
Which means if they drove the speed limit They got here in So, how long's it gonna take you To get in that ditch? Get in that ditch? I got shot in the knee, remember? My doctor said I'm not allowed to do any climbing.
It's a ditch.
New boots, huh? Italian leather? Yeah, what can I tell you? So, uh, From here I can be seen by any passing vehicle.
And I can't.
So she was dumped at night.
Must have.
He drives up, Dumps the body.
Job done, he leaves.
I don't think so.
What? All 5 victims were found posed in the fetal position With their right arm palm-up, left arm palm-down.
Remorse? Or staging.
To look like what? Like they're asleep.
You have any ideas why? No.
Well, I guess there is a first time for everything.
Hey, rossi, I'm gonna need a little bit of help Getting out of this ditch.
Rossi! Rossi? Hey-- I got it.
Listen, I appreciate you guys coming down here, But I only got one body.
Which we believe is the work of a serial killer.
Doesn't it have to be more than one to be a series? If you include a slightly larger area than just edgewood, We've got 5 bodies.
All strangled, all staged, and all dumped.
Why edgewood? It's significant to him.
We believe that he either grew up here or he lives here now.
Look, I'm sorry that somebody's driving through my town And dumping bodies, but it doesn't mean he lives here.
We're searching for more victims Through the hsk database.
What's that? Highway serial killer database.
We started it a few years ago To track bodies found off of major highways All over the country.
Law enforcement, no matter how small the town, Reports the murders and we use the database to try to connect them.
Whoever's killing these women isn't slowing down, And he's about to dump another body on your doorstep.
Oh, god.
Oh, my god.
Stop! Stop! What do you want?! I'll do anything.
Just tell me what you want! I want you to be quiet.
Ok, ok, I'll stop.
What else? What else do you want? To talk.
Ok, we can talk.
We can talk.
I want to talk.
I want to do that.
No Here's an m.
E.
File of another victim.
We know that all these women Were strangled by the same unsub.
There's evidence found by dna And metal fragments under their fingernails, But there's something else.
Tanya had diesel fuel on her clothing.
Well, she was found off the freeway.
I'm sure they all had.
They all did.
And sugar.
Table sugar was found on almost all the victims' clothing.
Sugar? It absorbs diesel fuel.
It's a trucker trick.
We know how he's transporting them.
Oh.
I'm thirsty.
Please, I need a drink.
I have some questions first.
Anything.
What do you want to know? Well, it's important It's important that you listen.
Are we clear? Ok.
Are you religious? What? I'm sorry? Do you believe in god? Yeah.
Do you want children? Someday Maybe.
Yeah, I do.
I do.
I really want kids.
I don't believe you do.
No-- let me out of here! Courtney, it doesn't mean he won't invite you to the prom.
Seriously, mom, you just wouldn't understand.
You know, I did go to high school at one time.
Yeah, like 50 years ago.
I don't even know why I'm talking to you about this.
I'm just gonna let that one go.
Thank goodness.
Yeah, ok.
Oh Courtney? Courtney, is that you? Hey, will you stop fooling around.
Ohh! Aah! No! All right.
All right, thanks, baby girl.
Garcia says there's 782 truckers Working and living in this county.
We gotta narrow down the specific routes.
We'll need more than that.
The daughter confirmed.
Definitely driving a big rig.
Now, she wasn't able to make out any logos or see the plate.
I'd like to talk to her.
I got checkpoints at every route in and out of the county.
If he's on the road, we'll find him.
He doesn't hunt at rest stops.
He just did.
It's way too isolated here.
It's a perfect place to take somebody.
Not for this guy.
He goes to offender friendly environments So he can blend in and still interact with his victims.
He hasn't had a chance to do that.
Well, if he's from here, why would he need a rest stop? Clean up, maybe.
You check the rest rooms yet? Yeah, the sink is full of dirt in the men's room.
This is a dump site.
It's not an abduction site.
He must have dumped a body around here somewhere.
Sheriff, I want you to have your officers spread out.
Tell them to start with the ditches.
Any distinguishing marks? Anything at all? I wasn't looking.
I was texting.
I heard a truck start.
When I went to the bathroom, she was gone.
How are you gonna find her? There's a good chance he's gonna stay here.
Why wouldn't he just run? Because he always comes back to edgewood.
Your mother is the first woman he's taken from here.
We were just driving through.
We live in phoenix.
Mom was just trying to get me home So I could go to tryouts.
You have to find her.
She's all I have.
You should come down to the station.
Excuse me.
Hey, where are you? I'm in the woods south of you.
You need to see this.
Strangled, metal shavings under her nails.
He dumps her body, He cleans up at the rest stop, And then just happens to stumble onto nancy campbell.
So he didn't wait a minute between victims, And he left the daughter as a witness.
Hey.
What's going on with him? That's what we need to find out.
Ok.
Latest victim is younger than the others.
Was she posed as well? Yeah.
Nancy campbell's abduction hit the news.
Let's hope he doesn't see it.
He could panic and then he'll dump her faster than the last one.
Why has he dumped one victim and taken another within the hour? What have you got, garcia? A bloody and busy trucker.
I have been on the hsk myself.
I've connected 4 more victims to this guy.
I'm sending their names to you now.
Brings his count to 10.
We need to get photos of the victims garcia identified up on the board.
If we figure out why he's choosing these women, We find him.
please! Please, let me out! I can't breathe! Shh.
Why are you doing this? Keep quiet and the light stays on.
What--what do you want? What do you want? You.
NoPlease Please What's all this? There are 4 more victims? He started killing months before we thought.
His first victim was erika joy From lexington, south carolina.
She disappeared from a truck stop.
What did she do for a living? According to her rap sheet, everyone she could.
So she's a lot lizard.
It's a name they give prostitutes who hang around truck stops.
What about the others? Waitress, gas station attendant, female trucker.
Any of them married? Just nancy campbell, the latest abductee, But she's a widow.
Yeah, well, her mom's gonna get A lot more attention than Well, all these other women.
Taking nancy campbell was a huge risk.
It doesn't fit his m.
O.
He must have had a reason.
We just got some new information.
Come with me.
Sorry.
I'll be back in a minute.
He had to have walked right by that minivan.
Why didn't he take courtney? Maybe she's too young.
She's closer to the victims' ages than her mother.
That parking lot was deserted.
He could have taken courtney, nobody would have seen a thing, But instead, he walks past her-- Because that's not who he wants.
He watched nancy.
He followed her because he wanted her.
So much so that he left courtney as a witness? What could be that important? Well, until a few hours ago, he had a type.
The other victims were younger, less sophisticated.
It wouldn't take more than a day To figure out if they're worthy or not.
Of what? Being his companion.
Then he's completely delusional.
There are easier ways to figure that out.
No, not for this guy.
He's got a schedule that forces him to stay on the road.
He's alone for long stretches.
He can't devote any real time to courting.
You really think he's killing Because he's lonely? It wouldn't surprise me.
How are the pancakes, princess? Not as good as yours.
Excuse me.
Look, daddy.
Do you like it? Well, now Yeah, that's beautiful.
You know, your daddy really misses you.
Can you tell me another story? Ok.
So The lonely king had all but given up hope Of ever finding the beautiful queen.
When all of a sudden She appeared.
Now, this time it was different.
This time, He knew she was the one.
This time She was perfect.
Courtney? Courtney, is that you? Hey, will you stop fooling around.
Ohh! Sorry, sweetie, it's time to go.
Do we have to? It's time for school.
Here.
Why don't you go pick out a candy bar To put in your lunch.
Oh, hey, princess, don't worry.
We'll be a family again real soon.
You've got to stop telling her that.
Why? It's true.
Nothing's changed.
The judge isn't gonna let her live with you.
I am trying-- She's being placed with her adoptive family.
She is my daughter.
You people can't just take her away.
You can't just do that! I have more time.
Mr.
Hatchett, please.
I wanted you to see her, But clearly that was a mistake.
You've known for months now That this was a possibility.
I'm gonna make this work.
By this afternoon? You can't take care of her.
You can barely take care of yourself.
You're living in your truck.
You're on the road, and without a wife or a home, You just-- you can't do it.
You gotta let her go.
Let her be happy.
I know you want that for jody.
Her mom would want what's best for her.
I'm what's best for her.
Look, I made a promise That I would not let anything happen to her.
She is my little girl.
No one's gonna love her the way that I can.
Why can't you understand that? You all set? Mm-hmm.
I love you, daddy.
Oh, hey.
I love you, too.
What about the queen? Is she the one? I don't know.
The story's not over yet, princess.
Nancy campbell's been missing over 12 hours.
If he jumped on the I-40 before we got the police blocks out-- He could be 3 states over by now.
We don't think he has time for that.
He's courting these women.
He needs them in edgewood.
There are over 800 truckers on this list.
We have to get garcia to run background on all of them.
He's either parked at his own house Or he's hiding in plain sight.
Listen, I've already given you a list Of all the trucker stops that we've checked in town.
We gonna need to check them again.
I've searched for you for a long time.
Did you know that? You know how important family is, don't you? See, I knew you would.
You're not like the others.
Oh, would you like some water? No, thank you.
That's not polite.
I'm sharing with you.
You should accept.
Yeah, please.
That would be great.
Much better.
You know, family's everything.
With family, you're- you're never alone.
Please If our daughter were crying What would you do to get her to stop? Please let me go.
If our daughter were crying, What would you do to get her to stop? I don't know.
I'd tell her a story.
I would--I'd hold her.
I don't know.
You like stories? Our daughter likes stories.
Look at you.
You're a mess.
I don't want the princess to see you All dirty like that.
I have a daughter.
Please let me go.
Please let me go.
Please! please! Let me go! Please Please let me go! Let me go! Please That's fine.
Thanks.
Is this about that missing woman? Do you know anything about it? Only what I saw on the news.
We have reason to believe that our suspect Has been in your facility in the past 24 hours.
Here? You think he's here? We could really use your help.
Well, we could give you our manifest.
It logs all the truckers and their loads.
That's exactly what we need.
All right, get up.
You're coming with me.
I said get up! All right.
Take it easy! It's your dime, mr.
Amazing.
Listen, I might have something to narrow your search.
We don't think he drives for a company.
The schedules are way too tight.
In the past few months, he's had the flexibility To hunt and kill, and he couldn't do all that and run loads.
So you need me to narrow down The independent contractors.
You're reading my mind, red.
I just emailed you the manifest from the local depot Where all the truckers check in.
Can you-- Of course I can.
under own authority, And I just sent them back to you.
Woman, you are good.
You have no idea.
So, how many of these cases have you worked on? Too many.
How many of these women have you gotten back alive? All right, so let's go over this again.
This offender's preferential, Young women mid- to late 20s.
He takes his time watching them.
He makes sure there are no witnesses.
He kills them 12 to 24 hours after abduction.
Only now that timeframe's getting shorter.
Then he comes home to edgewood Where he's home and he feels safe.
Courtney, listen, this man, He doesn't try to hide his victims.
So you think she's still alive? I was so rude to her.
I just don't want the last thing I said to her to have been If he had hurt her, We would have found her already.
So what's he doing to her? There's no rape involved.
So is it companionship he's after? There might be an almost chivalrous aspect to this.
How do you figure? Truckers have a romanticized image of themselves, And in fact all lifestyles revolving around the open road do.
The hell's angels, for instance, They refer to their women as their old ladies, But in fact, there's no one they'd rather protect or die for.
Their treatment of women wouldn't be out of place in king arthur's court.
And their sense of isolation would amp up their fantasy.
So he's looking for a wife.
He starts out with easy targets, Then he moves on to women Who could actually fill the role.
Sweet, outgoing, warm.
The bartender who takes extra care of you, The chatty hitchhiker.
But over the course of the day, They fail the test.
This infuriates him, And he strangles them and dumps them.
Ok, so why take nancy campbell? She's the opposite of all the other victims he's taken.
It's true.
She's older.
She already has a kid.
Maybe that's why she's still alive.
What if he's not looking for a companion? What if he's looking for a mother? If he's got a kid of his own, That would explain what keeps him coming back to edgewood.
It would explain why he walks past courtney To get to nancy.
Just by watching he knows she's a mother.
She's already qualified to pass any test.
Garcia.
Sir.
I want you to narrow down the own authority trucker list And tell me which ones have been through a divorce recently Or a custody battle.
Custody fight would be a stressor.
Limit your searches to months prior to the first murder.
Got it.
Thanks.
What's going on? Just hold on a second.
Wait, what's going on? They found a body off the I-40.
No identification.
Is she dead? We don't know.
What do you mean you don't know? The police found a body and they aren't sure if it's your mother.
I want to go.
I think we should wait here.
I need to see if it's her.
Courtney, please, dr.
Reid and I are going to stay here with you, And as soon as we know anything, we will tell you.
Ok? I'll call emily.
Are you sure? Ok, thanks.
It's not your mother.
Hey, baby girl, talk to me.
Of your 76 independent truckers, I have 28 who are currently involved in custody cases.
How many of those cases are still open? Uh, 8 pending.
Not the most relationship friendly job, trucking.
Look for instances where the mother died.
A guy like this wouldn't tear a child away from his own mother.
Caroline hatchett died in a house fire, Leaving behind a And a husband wade hatchett.
Wade lost his home, his wife, And custody of his daughter When the courts deemed him unfit.
He's still contesting the case.
Why was he deemed unfit? Uh Double whammy--job kept him away for weeks at a time, And he didn't have any other family to help him watch the girl.
Looks like he bent over backwards trying to make it work, But she missed a lot of school, And he was charged with neglect of a minor.
You have an address? Just a p.
O.
Box for over a year.
What about the daughter? Jody currently resides in foster care.
I'm sending you the file now.
If this is the same unsub, He didn't bother to pose her this time.
This is much more brutal.
It feels personal.
Her name is lynn clemons.
Deputies found her wallet about 100 yards up.
Must have spilled out when he dumped her.
Garcia, we need everything that you have On a lynn clemons.
Lynn clemons? She's the Foster parent of jody hatchett.
I was just telling the others Her father is a trucker who lost custody When his wife died.
Jody's in the process of being adopted.
He ran out of time.
Is the team on their way to his house? No, he only has a p.
O.
Box.
He killed the foster parent.
He's going after his daughter.
Garcia, where's jody hatchett right now? Wait! Hey, jody.
Who are you? I'm emily.
Where's mrs.
Clemons? Well, I'll tell you inside, ok? It's ok.
Come on.
Jody.
What's going on? We're helping the police, and we're trying to find your dad.
Do you know where he is? No.
Hotch, truck's coming up the road right now.
Hey, jody, can we go play in your room? It's right here.
Ok.
All right.
Get up.
Somebody's moving toward the front of the cab.
All right, it's nancy campbl.
He's behind her and he's got his gun on her.
Morgan, do you have a shot? Negative.
Negative.
He's using her as a shield.
Did you paint all of tse yourself? Mm-hmm.
It loo like they're Sleeping? Yeah.
The king tucks them in, just like my daddy does for me.
Is this your mom here, this one? No.
That's the queen.
Who's that? She's the one that the king tried to take home To the castle, but she didn't make it.
What happened her? Her carriage broke down, And he had to leave her behind to save the princess.
Ohh.
There's a lot of queens here.
They all look different.
They are.
What happened to this one here? She was dirty.
The king said, "how do you expect "to give my daughter a bath If you can't even take one yourself?" I like that story.
Do you make up all these stories? No.
My daddy does.
I like painting them.
Well, this story isn't over yet, is it? That's what my dad said.
Mm-hmm.
He did? Today we were eating pancakes, And he said she was perfect.
Hey, would you like to meet a queen? Yeah.
Yeah? Where's jody? I don't see her.
What did they do with her? How old is jody? Do you think she'll like me? Daddy? Daddy, are you there? Hi, baby.
You need to tell me the rest of the story.
Well, the lonely king and the queen are at the castle.
To pick up the princess? No, the guards are in the way.
Will you let the queen talk to them? They won't listen.
But I want to see her.
Will you let her go so she can hold me? You said that she's perfect, That she's the one.
She wants to live in a big castle with me.
I need to see you.
Ok.
Hi, daddy! Hi, princess.
She's so pretty, daddy! Go, go.
Now the king won't be lonely anymore.
No.
And they're gonna live happily ever after.
Why aren't you coming, too, daddy? You did a great job, jody.
Are you going to the better place? What? Yeah.
We're both going to a better place, princess.
Close your little eyes, sweet pea.
Hatchett! Turn around.
Christopher lasch said, "family is a haven in a heartless world.
" What you reading? The hsk database.
Do you know there's probably half a dozen serial killers Driving around right now? What's really bothering you? Jody lost her mom And then her dad, And the couple that was gonna adopt her backed out.
It's all over the news.
It's just It's just not fair.
Her aunt saw the story.
She came forward.
She'd lost touch with jody's mom Over the past few years, but she's her only living relative And she wants to raise jody.
Really? Mm-hmm.
You know, prentiss, When I think about the things we see on a daily basis, All the bad, I'm still amazed at all the good.
Yeah, but Do you think it evens out? I'd like to think it does.