Criminal Minds s08e19 Episode Script

And let me conclude by saying that even though we've been deemed The City of Tomorrow, this award says as much about Bronson Springs today.
I submit that there is no finer place in this great country of ours to call home-- past, present, or future.
Now, we've got in mind-- we've put together a little gift basket a time capsule, to be opened in 25 years.
Those people lucky enough to call Bronson Springs home in 2013 will have a snapshot of what made their city so special way back here in 1988.
Ladies and gentlemen, we were voted the best in 1988 and we're still the best now.
Ok, this is the moment we've been waiting for.
Plug your ears.
Wow, look at that.
I have to say that as mayor I'm excited to see what the past will bring us.
Let's open it up and see what we've got.
Sam, since you were sitting in the mayor's chair when all of this started, it's only fitting you do the honors.
Thank you.
Thank you.
So how many bags are in there, Sam? We have 20 bags to open.
Then let's do this while there's still sunlight.
All right, let's see what we have here.
Floppy disks.
I see a lot of confused young faces out there.
Hey, trust me, kids.
Floppy disks really did used to be floppy.
Ok, now it's my turn.
Oh, my God! Two days ago, the head that once belonged to rolled out of a time capsule in Bronson Springs, Colorado, And I know--I know this is hardly news-- the video we are now watching has already had 1.
3 million views online.
We're being called in on a cold case? Sadly, no, because as of two hours ago, the decapitation menu in Bronson Springs has expanded to include both cold and hot selections.
It is hard to tell from this photo-- thank you, friendly universe-- uh, but the latest victim also does not have a head attached to him.
Has he been identified? is a retired deputy from Bronson Springs.
His body was found next to his vehicle on a remote road 30 miles east of town.
That's a lot of years in between.
Is there any connection between the victims? Nothing that jumps out.
Wade Burke was a clean-cut honor student type.
Graduated from college in 1988, went to work at the family's carpet business.
Charlie Figg was already on the job working as a deputy.
It doesn't seem like their paths crossed.
And Wade Burke's body was never found.
Well, is it realistic to think this could be the same killer? A 25-year dormancy period is highly unusual.
But not unheard of.
A number of serial killers have had long intervals of time between kills.
BTK, Jeffrey Dahmer, the Keystone Killer.
Jack the Ripper and the Zodiac Killer appear to have even stopped completely.
Then again, there might be other victims we don't know about.
I don't know, my gut says copycat.
I mean, like Garcia said, this time capsule thing's been all over the news.
And that video, what was it, Derek's right.
That's exactly the kind of high-profile notoriety that could inspire an imitator.
Whether it's one unsub or ten, Bronson Springs is getting a lot of attention.
And if the killer's feeding off of publicity, it'll only encourage him to strike again.
Wheels up in 30.
"A memory is what is left when something happens and does not completely unhappen.
" Edward De Bono.
The removing of heads has an interesting history.
In medieval times it was considered an honorable way to be executed, reserved for noblemen and knights.
Lucky them.
That's not what killed our latest victim, though.
Charlie Figg died from a single gunshot wound to the chest.
The head was removed postmortem.
Garcia, is this the entire case file from Wade Burke's 1988 disappearance? That is not a Garcia glitch, sir.
You're looking at all one page of it.
Well, not much of an investigation.
Apparently there was no suspicion of foul play back then.
Well, given what we know now, will you look a little more closely into Burke's background? Yeah, already started working on it.
- Thank you.
- Bye.
It wouldn't hurt to look harder into Charlie Figg's history either.
Potential murderers aren't jumping off the page.
A second set of tire tracks were found off the side of the road where Charlie Figg was killed, but they weren't able to pull a tread pattern.
He could have fallen for a ruse.
Charlie Figg's crime scene was right out in the open.
It's messy business removing a head, time consuming.
The trophy's obviously crucial to the unsub.
Morgan, you and JJ go talk to Wade Burke's mother.
Reid, you and Dave talk to the former mayor, see who had access to the 1988 time capsule.
Blake and I will go see what we can find out about Charlie Figg.
And so the guessing game begins.
From what nook or cranny will our new missing head roll out? You must be the FBI.
Yes, sir.
I'm Agent Hotchner.
This is Agent Blake.
Sheriff Collier.
Follow me this way.
We got you guys set up back in the conference room.
So this work for you? Yes, this is fine.
Uh, we could use a large case board if you have one? You can have every case board in the joint.
Till we get the bastard that killed Charlie, there's only one active investigation going on in Bronson Springs.
Who in the department knew Charlie Figg best? You're looking at him.
When I first joined, Charlie took me under his wing.
He was like my father, my older brother, my best friend all rolled into one.
Exemplary family man, just a stellar human being.
Any idea what Charlie was doing in the area where he was found? It's fairly remote.
Charlie liked to hunt.
There's no law against that last I checked.
Sheriff, I'm not being antagonistic.
We're here to help you.
No, you're right.
I'm sorry.
It just, uh-- -- You know those stages of grief you're supposed to go through, shock, denial, and whatever? Well, I skipped past all that, I went straight to anger.
That's where I am and that is where I'm gonna stay until we get the son of a bitch who did this.
Mrs.
Burke, we're so sorry about your son.
People have been calling me the past 3 days.
They all say that at least I have closure now.
All the times I've walked across that courthouse lawn, now I know that Wade was under there the whole time.
My little boy Buried in the ground in that metal tube.
My husband didn't get closure.
He went to his grave not knowing.
Who's the lucky one, him or me? police felt that your son left on is own, voluntarily.
Did you also believe that? Yes.
The weeks before he disappeared, Wade talked about leaving.
He wanted a change.
Your son graduated with a degree in Electrical Engineering.
That's right.
But he worked for the family carpet business in sales? My husband was a good man.
But he could be controlling.
He wanted to keep Wade close.
Keep him close why? Is there anything else? I'd like to go now.
Here's the list of names you asked about.
These are the 20 people who put a bag in the capsule? Yes, sir.
I don't think you're gonna find any killers on that list.
Grade school kids, local businessmen, PTA types.
The name we need is whoever put the 21st bag in the capsule.
Now, this is-- this is where we did it, right in here.
The bags went in, capsule got sealed, The next morning, took it outside and buried it.
Forensics found the seal had been cut and then carefully resealed.
The unsub must have broken into the courthouse the night before, cracked open the seal, and put in the head.
Why wasn't the capsule guarded? It was a different world then, son.
Back then, folks in Bronson Springs didn't lock their doors, kids rode their bikes after dark.
Didn't occur to anybody the damn thing needed guarding.
Hey, Wanda.
Sam.
This is, uh, Agent Rossi and Dr.
Reid of the FBI.
Wanda Sullivan is the editor of our local newspaper.
Nice to meet you, and thank you for what you're doing for us.
I've already looked through them.
Nobody lurking in the background with a hatchet.
Wanda here took these pictures.
She was just brand-new at the paper back then.
Is the FBI gonna be at the town meeting tonight? Uh, yes, ma'am.
Do you think it's smart? People hear that the FBI is in town, they're gonna get scared.
No offense, but I think it's the head without the body and the body without the head that has the people scared.
We'll just be there to answer questions, hopefully give some reassurance.
I think it's a mistake.
Bye.
Was it my cologne? Don't take it personal.
We used to call her 'Cyclone Sullivan'.
You know, back in '88, once she got a whiff that Bronson Springs was on the short list for 'City of the Future Award', she, uh--well we were gonna win that sucker or else.
She made it her personal business to keep the folks in this town in line.
How did she manage that? Well, the first thing she did was put a crime blotter type column in the newspaper.
Every morning she'd publish stories about people's run-ins with the law.
Shame the townspeople into good behavior.
Yeah, that was the idea.
Do you think you could get us copies of those newspaper columns from that time? This could be someone holding a grudge.
You bet.
Ah It feels like a different world.
Sometimes I wish I could crawl back in that time capsule and just put it in reverse.
Well, you know what they say.
Progress was a wonderful thing, it just went on too long.
Hey, I got something.
So I dug deeper into our boy scout Wade Burke And? Not much a boy scout.
How so? How so is that while Wade was away in college, he had 6--6 cases of public intoxication, including one involving a hit-and-run with a pedestrian in a crosswalk.
Why wasn't any of that on his record? Because daddy's big fat bank account comes with a big fat eraser, so anytime Wade did something wrong, it just got swept under the rug.
No pun intended.
Get it? Because the Burke family business is rug manufacturing.
So carpet--sweeping it under the-- Yeah, got it, Garcia.
Ok.
That would explain why his father kept him on a short leash.
Thanks, Morgan.
Morgan says the M.
E.
confirmed that it was the same saw that cut off both the heads of Wade Burke and Charlie Figg.
So we're dealing with a single unsub.
Wait.
You're saying the same guy killed Wade Burke and Charlie? He just changed his M.
O.
Burke's body was never found, and Charlie's body was left in a place where it would be discovered almost immediately.
The killer wants to let everyone know he's back in business.
And he's shown preference for an audience.
The town hall meeting tonight.
Well, maybe we better cancel it.
No, it'll be helpful to observe those who attend.
Observe what? The guy's not gonna show up dragging a hacksaw behind him.
This is a killer who had the patience to wait 25 years.
That's uncommon.
And, Sheriff, that distinctiveness might show itself in other ways.
My kids are afraid to go out with their friends.
What am I supposed to tell them? We'll answer all of your questions as soon as the meeting comes to order.
I'm here now.
Can't I ask a simple question? It's ok, Tom.
We understand your frustration, but that's why we asked the FBI to help.
Their top profilers are here.
What happens if another person gets their head chopped off while they're busy profiling? Sir, the best thing anyone can do is stay calm and be vigilant.
The investigation is underway.
Do you have any leads? Nothing concrete, no.
But we are narrowing the parameters of the search.
Hotch.
I got him.
That's why we are suggesting people travel in pairs and make sure your doors and windows are securely locked.
This guy's cutting off heads.
Do you think locking a window is gonna stop him? Folks, during our question and answer period, everyone will be given a chance to talk.
Please, try to hold your questions till everyone is present.
- Got him! - No, no, wait! - Get your hands behind your back! - What happened? It's a joke! Come on, man, we were just messing around.
Get up.
My buddies and me were drinking.
They dared me to come here and do this.
It's just a joke.
Get him out of here.
Everything's under control.
It looked like there could have been a head in that bag.
That's why I wanted you to hold off.
He was much too young to be the unsub.
If the real killer was going to show, you may have spooked him now.
I'm sorry.
No, no, no, no, no.
Absolutely not.
I want you to write it up, then I want to bury it.
Ok? Look, it was a fiasco, just like I knew it would be.
Yeah, but we're not gonna throw more flame on the fire now.
Look, just email me your copy.
I want to look at it before we publish tomorrow.
Ok? Thanks.
Hello, Wanda.
He took her head.
The whole world's gone crazy.
Sheriff, this wasn't random.
She was targeted and stalked just like the other victims.
Who would do a thing like this? Wanda Sullivan was a big anti-drug crusader, right? Rossi said that's what the ex-mayor told him.
Well, they found that in her garden.
She was cultivating a nice patch of marijuana for herself.
Guess she wasn't as squeaky clean as she appeared to be.
And Wade Burke was the perfect student who turned out to not be so perfect.
Maybe that's the connection.
The unsub's targeting people whose private lives don't measure up to their public image.
We should take a closer look to the private lives of all the victims.
Thought I heard you in here.
Hey.
Thought we had rules about coming into the man cave.
Even when it's to announce your breakfast is ready? Ok.
Special exemption.
Hey, I'll be in in a couple of minutes.
Ok.
Did you know that guy? Which guy? Wade Burke.
The one whose head was in the capsule? No.
Why? You guys were just about the same age.
That's all.
Thought maybe.
No.
Paths never crossed.
You better come eat before your eggs get cold.
Thanks.
Agent Hotchner.
Jim here talked to Wanda Sullivan's neighbors-- Sheriff, when you referred to Charlie Figg as an exemplary family man, to which of his families were you referring? The family he kept here in Bronson Springs that everybody knew about, or the second secret family he kept 3 hours east? Jim, can you give us a minute? How'd you find out about that? Is there anything else you haven't told us about? - Nothing.
- Are you sure? Really.
Nothing.
Look, Agent Hotchner, Charlie had some, uh, some issues in his personal life.
That's true.
But it didn't affect his work as a cop.
But it does affect our profile.
So you've got a few minutes to prepare your officers.
They're going to hear some things they're not gonna like.
We're looking for a physically fit male between the ages of 45 and 55.
And he's targeting people that he perceives as hypocrites.
In the 1980s, Wade Burke won student citizenship awards, but in fact had significant, repeated brushes with the law that were covered up.
Wanda Sullivan was a fervent anti-drug activist yet secretly grew her own stash of marijuana.
And Charlie Figg broke the law that he was sworn to uphold by illegally maintaining a second family.
This need to punish hypocrisy might have been triggered when Bronson Springs was given the award as the perfect city, being held up as an example for the future.
If the unsub felt victimized or that an injustice had been done to him, it might have motivated his need for revenge, not just against Wade Burke but against the entire city as well.
This person has extraordinary patience.
He put the head of his first victim in a time capsule, knowing that it'd be 25 years before people would know what he'd done.
He always spends a great deal of time meticulously planning his kills.
So look at professions that would reflect this type of mindset.
Artisans, uh, those who work long hours in solitude perfectionists.
How did this guy keep from killing all those years? We call it self-initiated predation cessation.
Most serial killers are unable to control their own impulses, but some seem to be able to self-regulate.
It's like they have an on/off switch that they themselves can control.
The secret of the head in the capsule was probably enough to sustain him during this dormant phase.
And when the time capsule finally was opened, it was like an alarm clock going off, a wake-up call to resume killing.
He witnessed the fear it instilled in the town and he wanted to keep that panic going.
He's collecting heads again for a purpose.
We think the unsub is preparing for his next statement.
And this statement will be bigger and bolder, and he's not going to wait 25 years.
Thank you.
Bet you thought I forgot.
Forgot what? Our anniversary.
What are you talking about? Our anniversary isn't until October.
I'm talking about the anniversary of the day we first met.
You remember? I sure do.
I was a waitress in that little restaurant in Pueblo.
You were the new fry cook.
Dishwasher.
Let's keep it honest.
Talk about fate.
Two kids from Bronson Springs who grew up 3 miles from each other had to go all the way across the state to meet and fall in love.
Must have been destiny.
That's exactly what it was-- Destiny.
Listen, I gotta go run some errands this morning.
I'll see you later on? Morning.
Morning.
They biting? Ah, nibbling.
Did manage to, uh, hook a good-sized trout about an hour ago.
Yeah? Where is it? Oh, tossed it back.
Catch and release.
Is that the law? Oh, more of a common courtesy.
Keeps our lakes and streams full of fish for everybody.
That's nice.
Except for the fish.
Hook goes in your mouth, gets torn out, get tossed back, so somebody else can do the same thing.
You eat fish? Sure.
Me, too.
Love fish.
Healthy.
You cook 'em with the head on or off? Usually on.
Not me.
Last thing I need is some beady pair of eyes looking up at me while I'm trying to eat.
I always take the head off.
Well, I think it's time for me to leave.
Uh Nice talking to you.
Sorry, Mr.
Backus.
When I catch, I don't release.
Penelope Garcia beaming in.
Hey, throw me a bone, baby girl.
Oh, lover, I'm tossing you a 24-ounce tofu steak.
So I cross-checked the newspaper crime column with the sheriff dispatch records, and on the night of July 18, 1988-- that would be one month before Wade Burke vanished-- a deputy responded to a possible sexual assault on the 400 block of Ferndale Road.
Now, 3 things are interesting about this.
One--the deputy that responded was Charlie Figg.
only this incident was omitted from Wanda Sullivan's crime blotter column.
And 3--pregnant pause to ratchet up dramatic tension-- If you go down Ferndale Road half a mile, that's where Wade Burke worked at his family's carpet business.
We got another one.
Todd Backus, 72-year-old widower, retired, lives by himself not too far from here.
Who found him? Local fisherman.
Said the victim liked to come to this spot a lot.
This unsub has a confidence bordering on recklessness.
Anybody could have witnessed this.
Yeah, but nobody did, you know? Not here, not on the county road with Charlie Figg, not at Wanda Sullivan's house.
This unsub's either very lucky or very good.
Well, up until now, all of the victims in some way circle back to Wade Burke and his family.
I wonder how Mr.
Backus here figures in.
Tory? Permission to enter man cave? If you want dinner tonight, you better let me in.
Garcia, you have anything yet on Todd Backus? What I have is a frustration headache.
I love digging up dirt.
But? But it's like Todd Backus he's never done anything wrong in his entire life.
He's originally from Missouri.
He's been married happily to the same woman for the last 45 years.
When did he move to Bronson Springs? Let me see.
Oh.
1988.
April of 1988.
A few months before Wade Burke disappeared.
Oh my God! Oh my God.
I wish you hadn't seen that.
So we know the first three victims were all directly tied to the sexual assualt incident on July 18th 1988.
But we don't know the identity of the person who was attacked.
It's a good bet it was Wade Burke committing the assault.
Given his track record and proximity to the Burke family business, it had to be him.
Charlie Figg was the responding officer.
He was working patrol alone that night.
And Wanda Sullivan omitted mentioning it in her column.
Ok, so where does Todd Backus fit in? Baby girl, do we know why Backus came out to Bronson Springs in the first place? Yeah, to seek employment.
He had lost his job in Kansas City the year before.
Did he find work? Eventually he started punching a time clock again by July 28, 1988.
That can't be a coincidence.
Who hired him? He was hired at M.
B.
Fabrics, and that is owned by Burke Carpeting.
There it is.
Wade Burke's father gave Backus a job.
Where was Backus living the night of July 18, when the sexual assault happened? The first two weeks he was living in like a temporary hotely type place, then his family joined him, they moved to a small apartment, Which is just down the road from where the sexual assault was reported.
Backus witnessed it.
He called it in to the police.
And the job offer was to keep him quiet.
Please, don't! I'm not going to hurt you.
I just can't have you messing this up after all I've done.
I need to finish a few things and then we'll do it.
Do what? Teach this town a lesson they'll never forget.
Guys, I got another something.
Wade Burke's father was cooking the books at his business.
How so? July 21st, 3 days after the incident, he made a one-time $30,000 payment to a Clarence Tipton.
He charged it off as a consulting fee.
Do we know who Clarence Tipton is? Yes, and the only thing he would be good at consulting about is like welfare fraud and not getting employed.
The 30,000 was hush money.
Clarence Tipton and his wife Arlene moved out of Bronson springs shortly after all this happened.
I'm shooting you their new address right now.
There it is.
Kirkwood? That's less than an hour north of here.
That money come to us fair and square, and it's already spent, So you can't get it back if that's what all this is about.
The money was a consulting fee.
That's right.
Do you remember what business Mr.
Burke was in that he asked you to consult? - The money we got had nothing to do with that.
- Arlene! What the hell is the difference, Clarence? Practically everybody from then is dead now, anyway.
Our daughter got raped by that boy.
- Wade Burke.
- Yes.
And the money was part of the cover-up.
They was gonna drag all our names through the gutter if we went to trial.
She was only barely 16.
After what that boy did to her, she had to take pills for depression.
I'll say it and I mean it.
I'm glad that boy's head turned up like it did.
Where's your daughter now? She moved to the other side of the state since she turned 18.
We haven't heard one word from her since.
Thanks to the price tag you and Mr.
Burke put on her.
I don't have to sit and listen to this.
Hold on a second.
I keep this hidden from my husband.
The son of a bitch would throw it away if he knew I had that.
This is your daughter? Yeah.
That's the only thing I have left of her to remember.
I'm sorry, ma'am.
We lost her that night.
Lost her from our lives as if she'd been killed dead.
Tory? Tory, are you out there? No! You need to settle, Leanne.
You gotta trust me on this.
There.
That's better.
I located Leanne Tipton, who worked briefly in a restaurant in Pueblo in 1990, but then she disappeared again later on that year.
So either she went way off the grid or she changed her identity again, 'cause I can't find her.
So I'm reattaching my snorkel and goggles, diving back in.
What's that? The rape case file from 1988.
Charlie had it at his house.
You knew it was there this whole time? No, ma'am.
We all take home files now and then.
Except sometimes Charlie's files wouldn't come back.
I took a chance that maybe that's what happened this time.
His wife Sandy showed me where he kept them.
This is the rape victim's statement.
Sheriff, has this building undergone any sort of renovations since 1988? Not really.
It's been pretty much like this forever.
What are you thinking, Hotch? The unsub knew everything that happened that night.
What was discussed and the people involved.
There were only 3 other employees working the station that night and none of them are still alive.
Maybe one of them told somebody.
Not likely.
A lie this big is too hard to maintain.
Sheriff, where would the victim have given her statement? Right over there where the deputy is standing.
And the accused Wade Burke, where would he have been held? In there.
Was this area always used for storage? No, up till a couple years ago it was a temporary holding cell.
That's it.
The unsub didn't hear about the cover-up, he witnessed it.
Garcia, we need you to check the crime blotter column for July 18th.
Were there any other arrests made? Uh, July 18th.
July 18th.
There was a woman, for shoplifting.
She was released.
There were two underage kids for alcohol possession.
They were picked up by their parents.
And there was one 22-year-old male arrested for vandalism.
- Was he released? - No, as far as I can tell.
He cooled his heels in jail overnight.
We need his name, Garcia.
It was Tory Chapman.
He got in a lot of trouble with the law when he was younger, but then he straightened out.
Where is he now? He lives at 228 Brook Street in Grangerville.
That's a little town 15 miles south of Bronson Springs, and he makes furniture.
FBI! It's clear here.
Clear.
Clear! The place is empty.
Someone was interrupted before they could finish.
He's on the run.
It's a good bet he took his wife with him.
I'll get an APB out.
What do you got, Rossi? He married her? Tory Chapman killed Wade Burke, then he must have insinuated himself into Leanne Tipton's life.
Why? Leanne must have presented as a victim and he saw himself as a rescuer.
Why did you kill Wade? Why? I'll tell you why.
All this crap about the time capsule and showing the future what a great place Bronson Springs is in 1988.
I wanted to give the folks in the future a real snapshot, one that isn't in their stupid chamber of commerce booklets.
Please don't do this.
You were done a terrible wrong.
I am making it right.
Tory, there's something about that night you don't know.
Leanne Tipton's statement about the rape-- It's off.
What do you mean? Listen to this.
"He took me in the back room "and I was really, really scared.
"I didn't know what was going on, and he-- "he kind of put his hand on my throat.
"Then he started to, you know, take my clothes off.
"I just tried to And when he was finished, I ran.
" What's off about that? It sounds like a woman getting raped.
"Really, really scared" is overselling.
"Kind of put his hand on my throat" is underselling.
And she uses the word "just", which minimizes what follows, and down here, um, "He started to take my clothes off.
" And "started to" typically indicates that what follows was interrupted.
This is a false accusation.
No.
Tory You're lying.
You're lying.
I was in love with Wade.
And that night, we got into a fight.
And he--he No, that's not what happened.
He he raped you.
He raped you! My dad would have beaten me senseless if he had known about Wade.
I was so scared.
So I--I made up a story.
I'm sorry.
I'm so sorry.
You were in love with him.
I wish my folks hadn't taken the money.
You took money? So what the hell was going on in here? Garcia said he made furniture for a living.
Engraving materials.
Not typical for standard carpentry.
This is where we did it-- right in here.
Bags went in, capsule got sealed, the next morning we took it outside and buried it.
Aaron I think I know where he's going.
Step up.
What are you doing? Tory, you're hurting me.
The busts in the display case are judges, mayors, civic leaders.
Chapman probably had to walk past them every time he went to court.
And if he felt that he and Leanne were given a raw deal No, no, no, no, please, Tory, don't.
Open your eyes.
No.
Open them, or I'll open them for you.
Oh, god.
I think I'm gonna be sick.
What for? You're looking at Bronson Springs' finest.
It takes a special kind of integrity to earn your way in there.
Tory, please.
It turns out you were worse than any of them.
Please don't.
Please! Tory, please don't.
Please don't! Please! Drop the weapon.
Drop it now.
Don't shoot.
I'm putting it down right here.
Do it slowly.
Cutting the heads off of people? Only a crazy person would do that, right? And crazy people get released eventually.
I wouldn't count on that.
It may take 25 years, but I can do that.
It's only time.
"There is no present or future, only the past happening over and over again now.
" Eugene O'Neill.