Criminal Minds s13e12 Episode Script
Bad Moon on the Rise
1 [Growling.]
Aah! No! No! 5? You got 5 older brothers? What was that like? Loud.
But it had its perks.
Um, I didn't have to share a bedroom.
Bullies at school didn't mess with me.
And I learned how to run a rack or two.
I didn't realize I was having dinner with a pool shark.
So, do you have kids? No.
No.
You? Mm-mm.
Maybe someday.
I never do this blind dates.
Me neither.
But Phil insisted that we meet and he wouldn't Wouldn't take no for an answer? Was he like that when he was your partner? You mean like a pain in the ass? I meant like a dog with a bone.
Speaking of which, he brings the puppy you gave him to all his physical therapy sessions.
It's really helping with his recovery.
Yeah, he told me that.
I'm really happy about that.
How long have you been there? What? I'm sorry.
There's a very colorful woman at the bar.
I think she's trying to get your attention.
Do you know her? Yeah.
Excuse me.
Garcia, what are you doing here? I hate to be the bearer of buzz killing news, but We have a case? Well, I texted you.
You didn't respond back.
I turned my phone off while we were eating.
Well, I figured.
That's why I pinged your location on my way in.
All right, let me tell my date.
Would you like to meet her? I don't want to intrude, but Is everything ok? Lisa, this is Penelope Garcia.
We work together at the BAU.
Penelope, this is Lisa Douglas.
- Garcia: Hey.
- Lisa: Hello.
Lisa, I'm sorry.
I have to go.
Sorry to tear him away.
Duty calls.
Brr brr brr Ha ha! Sure, I understand.
You should stay and, you know, have dessert or coffee, whatever.
- I'll take care of the waiter.
- Ok.
Luke is a really great guy, if you're wondering.
Although him and I are like the proverbial oil and water, silk and sandpaper, Elton John, Madonna, before they kissed and made up.
Oh.
Oh, no.
No.
Not like that.
I've heard other people say he's smart and funny and, I guess, easy on the eyes, but he's not my type.
And we're strictly work colleagues.
That's all.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Look, again, I'm sorry.
Um, I'll call you.
Ok.
It was nice to meet you.
You, too.
Get dessert.
[Chuckles.]
Hey, you better get a sitter for that sweet little girl of yours 'cause this case is gonna be a doozer.
NYPD needs our help.
Garcia: I'll say they do.
Ok, earlier tonight the body of a jogger, Brad Norton, 32, was found in Central Park.
He was disemboweled and his throat torn out.
Garcia: Yeah, and then last month, the body of Victor Guzman, 26, was also found in Central Park, and he had been What Rossi said.
Any witnesses to either crime? Prentiss: No, none.
And the wounds on both victims look like claw and bite marks from a large animal.
Did the police check to see if any large predatory animals escaped from Central Park zoo? Every last creature has been accounted for down to the last penguin.
Simmons: Well, there are people who think that having exotic pets, like lions or tigers, is a good idea.
Maybe one escaped or was abandoned and is living in the park.
There are a lot of places to hide.
Central Park is 843 acres, including 58 miles of pedestrian paths, 36 bridges, 7 bodies of water, 6 miles or roads, and 5 miles of bridle paths.
JJ: If it is a wild animal, it's a job for animal control.
Lewis: Someone could have trained a pit bull or a large breed like a mastiff or an akita to attack on command.
I can search kennels and dog breeders in the area.
Rossi: This case reminds me of one from '97.
Two teenagers killed a man in the park in almost the same way.
Yeah, I was living in the Bronx then.
It's, uh Daphne Daphne Abdella and a Christopher Vasquez.
They slit a man's throat, gutted him, and then filled his body cavity with stones before they threw him in one of the lakes.
Wild beast or human, either way, wheels up in 20.
Man: You having a good time, honey? Woman: Let's see.
A surprise trip to New York.
Tickets to a Broadway show.
Champagne on top of the Empire State Building.
Hmm.
What do you think? Well, I think it's not every day you get to spend 25 years with the love of your life.
Oh, honey.
Happy anniversary, honey.
We should head back.
Honey, which way is the hotel? It's behind us.
Just keep walking.
Aah! [Growling, snarling.]
[Screaming.]
âIt is the very error of the moon, She comes more nearer the earth than she was wont.
And makes men mad.
William Shakespeare.
The latest victim, Brad Norton, moved to New York City 5 years ago from Danbury, Connecticut.
Alvez: He was single, worked as an insurance agent, and had the same job for 10 years.
JJ: From all accounts, he lived a low-risk lifestyle.
Though jogging in the park alone after dark is pretty high-risk behavior for anyone.
Garcia: According to his social media, his goal was to run a marathon.
He said, ânothing was going to stop him.
â Yeah, well, we all know how that turned out.
Simmons: Victor Guzman, the victim from last month, is a much different story.
He was a member of the Amsterdam crew, which is a particularly violent gang on Manhattan's upper West Side.
You know, some street gangs use aggressive dogs as a weapon to intimidate or instill fear.
A rival gang might have targeted Guzman to send a message.
Alvez: The jogger had no gang ties.
But he could have witnessed something in the park while he was running.
Maybe it's a case of wrong place, wrong time.
Maybe not time.
Both attacks happened during a full moon.
Just saying.
Coincidence or lunar effect? Oh, come on.
No one really believes the full moon triggers strange and erratic behavior in people.
Garcia: Uh, yes, they I I do.
I believe that.
Yes.
Studies, albeit informal, show an increase in suicides, homicides, E.
R.
visits, psychiatric hospital admissions, traffic accidents, even fights at professional hockey games.
Garcia: You guys, another victim was just found at the park.
Same M.
O.
, same full moon.
When we land, Luke, JJ, go to the latest crime scene.
Dave, Matt, see what the M.
E.
can tell us.
The rest of us will set up in the precinct in Central Park.
Prentiss: Does the park have any surveillance cameras? Around the perimeter.
Not inside.
We checked the footage but didn't see anything unusual.
We'd like to take a look.
Of course.
What are the park's hours? Open 365 days a year.
It's closed daily from 1:00 to 6 a.
m.
You'll need additional units, on foot, bike, horseback, and in vehicles.
Already deployed.
But with a park this size, there's no way we can be everywhere at every moment.
Well, hopefully our geo-profile can help.
Thank you.
I was hoping we could keep a lid on this for a little longer, but the media's gotten a whiff.
They always do.
âCentral Park Ripper.
â âWelcome to Slaughter Park.
â âMonster in the park.
â Headlines like these are only gonna cause panic.
Or give our unsub exactly what he was looking for Fame and glory.
Alvez: The victim's name is Frankie Brown.
He's got a long rap sheet Theft, assault, drug possession.
The wallet and the bag belong to a couple from Ohio who were mugged last night.
Well, robbery doesn't seem to be the motive.
His throat was ripped out, and he was disemboweled like the others.
The robbery happened on the other side of the park.
So the unsub must have followed Brown or maybe tracked him down with a trained dog.
If we didn't know the jogger led such a squeaky-clean life, I'd say the unsub's a moral enforcer clearing out the park of its bad elements.
He could be some sort of territorial vigilante.
You know, might feel like he's protecting the park, like it's his home.
Ok, I'll have Garcia look into park employees, zoo workers, tour guides, groundskeepers.
The unsub may view park-goers as trespassers who need to be punished.
The jogger, Mr.
Norton, had his carotid artery severed first.
He was then eviscerated postmortem.
And the victim from last month, uh, Victor Guzman? He was killed the same way.
And what can you tell us about the wounds? Fatal bite marks indicate they were made by 4 large, pointed, and extremely sharp teeth, one on each side of the upper and lower jaw next to the incisors.
Those are especially prominent in dogs.
Yes, they appear canine.
You know which breed? I sent saliva samples out for DNA testing and to check for the rabies virus antigen.
That'll tell us.
You said âappearedâ canine.
You're not convinced a dog did this? In my exam I found bite marks and hair from rats and raccoons that nibbled on the victim postmortem.
That's not unusual.
Feral animals will usually feast on whatever they can find.
M.
E.
: True, but what is unusual is what I didn't find.
There wasn't any dog hair or bloody paw prints anywhere on the victim's body or clothes.
Oh.
Lab results.
Huh.
What is it? The, uh, saliva found in the bite wounds it's human.
The unsub's kill zone is literally all over the map.
Yeah.
There's definitely something about the park that's compelling him to kill there.
Hey, guys.
Rossi sent over a copy of the M.
E.
report.
There were traces of amphetamine and MDA found in the saliva on all 3 victims.
Alvez: MDA is a more potent form of ecstasy.
And it can induce delusions, hostility, even violent behavior.
The unsub may be suffering from some sort of drug-induced psychosis.
That could explain the frenzied nature of the kills.
Ok, we've got dog-like bite marks, eviscerations, human saliva, drug use, and kills timed to the lunar cycle.
I know what this is.
Our unsub thinks he's a werewolf.
Right.
You're kidding, right? Well, not an actual one, obviously, but he may be suffering from a syndrome called clinical lycanthropy.
It is rare, but it's a recognized medical condition.
So a man with a beast inside of him.
The saliva also showed high levels of cortisol.
Cortisol rises slowly over time and takes time to return to its base level, indicating someone's under an incredible amount of stress.
That's just about everyone these days.
What bumps me are the bite marks.
So what did he do, he filed down and sharpened his own teeth? Human teeth, while incredibly strong, are too small to inflict these kinds of wounds.
I think it's more likely that he fashioned some sort of mouthpiece to mimic that of a dog's.
Creating a canine mouthpiece would speak to his organization, which is something a psychotic killer wouldn't show.
Alvez: It would also mean that he made a conscious decision to make it.
Lewis: Well, he could be inducing his wolf delusion.
I mean, maybe it provides an escape or a release from something.
But what? You! By the garbage.
Turn around slowly with your hands in the air.
Let me see your hands! Do it now! What were you doing in Central Park last night, Chad? Chad: I fell asleep on a bench.
And before you fell asleep? I drank, you know, smoked some weed.
It helps me forget about being cold.
Simmons: Mm-hmm.
You've gotten a number of summonses for loitering, aggressive panhandling, staying in the park after closing hours.
What are you doing hanging out there so much? Well, I don't know.
It's a cool place.
Well, yeah, it must be.
You've run away from your foster group home in the Bronx about 10 times? It's safer in the park.
What happened to Mom and Dad? When Chad was 5, his father killed his mother in a murder-suicide.
The bodies weren't discovered until Chad told a neighbor he couldn't wake them up.
JJ: Ok, so, you got high in the park.
Then what? Blacked out, I guess.
You blacked out? Yeah, next thing I know, the cops are yelling at me.
You have blood on your hands.
Where did it come from? I must have done something bad? He's either lying or can't remember because of the drug use.
It doesn't add up.
How does a kid go from committing low-level crimes to brutal and savage murder? Simmons: The coat with blood on it is it yours? Where'd you get it? I don't remember.
The blood was matched to a man named Frankie Brown.
Did you see him last night? He's a short white guy with a spider tat on his neck.
Chad: Yeah, I saw him.
We hung out at the bandshell Rossi: Except Frankie Brown was tall and African-American.
Chad could have found the coat after the unsub discarded it as a forensic countermeasure.
Simmons: Frankie Brown was found murdered last night.
I did it.
I remember now.
I, uh, I did it.
It's a false confession.
It's a confession.
He has no history of violence.
Innocent suspects often confess when they're confused, terrified, exhausted, or feeling hopeless.
Rossi: Chad could be deliberately trying to get himself off the street and as far away as he can from his group home.
To him, prison is a better option.
Yeah.
And he must have had some interaction with the unsub.
We need to interview him again when he sobers up.
Officer: Yeah, well until the DNA tests come in, he's staying in custody.
[Grunts.]
Damn it.
[Grunting.]
Aah! [Indistinct radio transmissions.]
Prentiss: Vihaan Patel.
So he was still selling hot dogs at night? According to the cops, he got into a heated dispute earlier in the night with an unlicensed vendor who was trying to poach Patelâs spot.
That's understandable.
Vendors can pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees for prime park locations.
Apparently the dispute scared away some customers, so Patel told his wife he was going to try to make up for the lost business.
Prentiss: And judging by the blood trail, he was dragged to this spot.
His brutality's escalating.
Not only is Patelâs throat torn, he's nearly decapitated.
So this unsub is showing no mercy to his victims, yet he didn't kill Chad Higgins when he was asleep on that park bench.
Why? Well, Chad will be clear-headed by now.
We need to talk to him.
[Door opens.]
There's more if you want.
Chad, it's not safe to be in the park alone after dark.
It doesn't matter anymore.
I'm going to prison, right, for what I did? No, you're not.
We know you didn't kill anyone.
The DNA doesn't match, and while you were in custody, there was another murder in the park.
Then how'd that bloody coat get on me? Hmm? I had blood on my hands.
JJ: Well, we want to try and help you remember.
Ok? Close your eyes.
Ok.
Last night, you're in the park.
What's the first thing you remember? It was really cold.
You know, my face stings.
What are you hearing? Traffic.
You know, a siren in the distance.
Somebody on a bike.
They're going by really fast.
And what are you doing? I'm on a bench, trying to sleep.
I hear footsteps.
Did you open your eyes? No.
I'm afraid.
I'm hoping they'll just go away.
Alvez: But they don't.
No.
I can still hear his breath.
JJ: His? Who's there with you? A man Standing over me.
Alvez: What does he look like? I didn't see his face.
Is he the one putting the coat on you? Yeah.
It's warm.
I I, um, I pull it around me.
Does he say anything to you? Unsub: You need to stay warm.
"You need to stay warm".
Did he say anything else? Uh-uh.
Ok.
You can open your eyes now.
You did good.
What happens now? Now you get released.
And an officer will drive you back to the Bronx.
JJ: We know why you wanted to get arrested.
You'd rather go to prison than back to that group home.
You gotta know prison's only gonna be worse.
We are going to look into getting you into a safer living situation, ok? We promise.
Whatever.
I'm gonna be 18 soon, and then I'll be out of there for good.
So the unsub placed his coat on him in an act of kindness.
It's ironic.
Seems he cared more for Chad than any of his foster families ever did.
It's time to deliver the profile.
Rossi: The unsub we're looking for is suffering from clinical lycanthropy.
It's a rare but real psychiatric syndrome where the person believes he can transform into an animal.
In most recorded cases, that animal is a wolf.
So you're saying this guy thinks he's a werewolf.
Do we need to put silver bullets in our guns? [Laughter.]
Although the legend of the werewolf can be tracked back to the ancient Greeks, this syndrome's associated with mental preconditions, like schizophrenia, drug-induced psychosis.
A drug-induced psychosis is often triggered with the use of hallucinogens, like LSD or ecstasy.
Alvez: Another precondition could be severe depression.
Our unsub might be facing a major stressor in his life right now, and drug use could be his way of coping with it.
JJ: And it's likely he is fully aware of his actions and he's enjoying the power and control they're giving him.
Rossi: Though while in his delusional state, he's convinced he's shape-shifting.
He may be using a fabricated mouthpiece to complete his transformation.
Prentiss: Based on his tender treatment of Chad Higgins, the unsub may have suffered a loss.
Lewis: This dualistic, or Jekyll-and Hyde-like behavior, indicates a personality split of some kind.
Reid: Which means the unsub's human side may be struggling to keep the violent animal within him at bay.
Lewis: With continued drug use, it's possible he'll suffer a permanent break from reality, with his violent persona completely taking over.
Prentiss: Which means he will continue killing, and it could be anyone he comes across in the park.
Rossi: We'll be conducting a coordinated stakeout of the park beginning at dusk until 6 a.
m.
Captain Savalas will have your assignments.
Thank you.
Hi.
You look great.
I'm glad you came.
I can't stay long.
I have to get back to the office.
Please.
Please sit.
I swear, what would Dennigan, Shuster, and White do without you? Oh.
Your caffeine fix.
I know how you can't go through the afternoon slump without it.
Thanks.
You said it was important.
Is everything ok? You look tired.
I'm good.
In fact, I'm better than good.
I've changed, Adele.
I'm not the man I used to be.
Mitch, I don't want to Please.
Hear me out.
I know that I wasn't the kind of man you needed me to be back then.
The kind you both needed.
Mitch, please.
But I I am now.
You know it can never be the same.
But it could still be good.
We can work it out Together.
We tried.
Remember? We both need to move on.
I'm sorry.
I have to go.
Prentiss: Matt, Luke.
Yeah.
Go ahead, Emily.
What's your status? It's all quiet here.
Nothing to report.
Same as the others.
Ok, stay alert.
10-4, boss.
Over and out.
So who is she? What do you mean? That's about the 10th time you've checked your phone.
Who is she? I met her on a blind date.
Ahh.
She's, uh, funny and beautiful and smart.
She can't be too smart.
She went out with you.
Well, she's, uh, she's a doctor.
She worked for Doctors Without Borders.
And then she volunteered in Pakistan, Yemen, South Sudan.
Dangerous places to work.
Yeah.
Anyway, the date got interrupted by this case.
By Garcia, actually.
I told her I'd call her, and I left a message, but there's been nothing but radio silence since.
You think what we do for a living has something to do with it? Nah.
One of her brothers is a cop, and she knows the life.
Well, I wouldn't sweat it.
You'll hear from her soon.
You know, it's funny, when I was hunting down fugitives, I preferred being alone.
Nothing to worry about, no one tying me down.
What about now? I can't stop thinking about her.
[Laughs.]
You poor bastard.
- Who found her? - Sanitation crew.
Her body was hidden by a mattress they we're about to haul away.
Witnesses? If there were, they haven't come forward.
Whatever happened to âsee something, say somethingâ? Reid: M.
E.
places the time of death between midnight and 2 a.
m.
This is the first time he's killed a female and the first time he's attacked outside the park.
Rossi: It's just a few blocks.
Despite our stakeout and the risk of being seen, he still felt compelled to return to the park.
Victim's been disemboweled, throat's torn out.
Look at this.
Reid: Pinky and the ring finger have been bitten off on her left hand.
He's unraveling.
He'll find it harder to contain his rage.
This may be turning into a spree.
If he's killing outside the park now, this whole city's in danger.
Kelly Sinclair was attacked walking her dog.
Her fiance said she never took off her diamond engagement ring since the day he proposed.
Reid: And the ring was not recovered at the crime scene.
The unsub could have taken it.
Prentiss: He's never taken souvenirs from any of his other victims, and why just the ring? She was also wearing an expensive necklace and watch.
Lewis: Biting off Kelly's finger could have something to do with the real target of the unsub's rage.
A wife? An ex? Simmons: We said that he may have suffered some kind of loss.
Taking Kelly's ring may symbolize a divorce, a broken engagement, death of a spouse.
Prentiss: When the unsub put his coat over Chad while he was sleeping on the park bench, he was acting more like a protector than a predator.
Wolves by nature are fearless predators, but they're also incredibly social.
They live in packs, they mate for life, they fiercely protect their family.
What if there was a loss to his family unit? His pack, so to speak.
Lewis: If he failed to protect a family member in that park, he could be trying to right that wrong by targeting those he perceives to be bad.
Protector transforming into vigilante.
Reid: Exactly.
The unsub could have witnessed Victor Guzman involved in gang activity, Frankie Brown mugging the out of town couple, and in his delusion, it might have looked like the jogger, Brad Norton, was fleeing the scene of a crime.
Why the hot dog vendor? Well, maybe he saw Mr.
Patel have that fight with the other vendor.
Prentiss: Garcia.
Emily Prentiss, you have ESP.
And by that I mean, especially spectacular posture, but also the other kind, 'cause I was just about to call you.
What have you got? Unfortunately a lot of bupkis.
I found two current lycanthropy cases but none in the New York area.
And as far as park employees with red flags, there's nothing that's like flapping in the breeze.
We need your help with something else.
Bring it.
We're looking for incidents that happened in the park that may have involved a child or family.
Go back 10 years.
Pulling up crime stats now.
Ah, I'm gonna need a skosh bit more time to go through this.
Ok, get back to us.
You know it.
Garcia down, but not out.
[Cell phone rings.]
Alvez.
Hi, Luke, it's Lisa.
Hey.
How are you? Good.
Good.
Um, I've been meaning to return your call.
I've just been slammed at work.
Hey, no worries.
Listen, I wanted to thank you again for dinner, but I don't think it's gonna work out between us.
Ok.
Um, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed.
I thought we hit it off.
But, uh, I guess I was wrong.
Am I wrong? No.
But For any relationship to work, I believe it needs to be truthful, and at dinner, you weren't honest with me.
What are you talking about? You told me you don't have kids.
I don't.
Your co-worker, Garcia, before you two left, she said you'd need a sitter for your sweet little girl.
Roxy.
That's her name? Yeah, but she's not my daughter.
She's my dog.
A dog? Yeah.
A very sweet Belgian malinois.
Oh, boy.
Do I feel like a jerk.
[Laughs.]
Look, I can see how you would think that.
Listen, why don't Why don't we start over? Hi.
I'm Luke.
Hi, Luke.
I'm Lisa.
Mama Pajama.
[Beep.]
Go ahead, Garcia.
I've been looking into crimes that happened in the park among families and children in particular.
I think I found what you're looking for.
Please check your tablets.
2 years ago this month, the McCord family of Bellerose, Queens, father Mitchell, mother Adele, 15-year-old son Bryce, decided to go ice-skating in the city.
On their way home, they went for a walk in the park.
They were confronted by a robber with a gun.
Bryce intervened.
And he was shot and died in his mother's arms.
Talk about your off-the-charts stressor.
And it was a full moon that night.
Mitchell must have started using drugs to self-medicate to escape his pain and grief.
So in his delusions, he can release his rage and dispense his own vigilante justice.
Rossi: Garcia, what does the dad do for a living? Uh He works as a dental lab technician.
Alvez: Now we know where he made the canine mouthpiece.
Prentiss: Garcia, you know what to do.
Yeah.
Work and home addresses, sent.
[Sirens.]
In the back.
I got the side.
Cover.
FBI! Warrant! Mitchell McCord, where is he? Man: Honey? What's going on? Mitchell doesn't live here anymore.
Prentiss: Where can we find him? He's living in an SRO on East 103rd in the city.
I'll let Tara and the others know.
I can't believe he would do something like this.
It might have something to do with the night your son died.
We've read the police reports, but could you tell us what happened? It was one of those clear winter nights.
We had a fun time skating.
Hey, buddy.
We were walking to the car.
I'm gonna need your help cleaning out the basement on Saturday.
I'm gonna go game with Justin.
Then we're gonna hang with the guys at the burger barn.
You can do that another time.
Your father needs your help.
And don't you and your friends go to the mall anymore? Mom, nobody goes to the mall anymore.
[Adele laughs.]
Ok.
Sure, Dad, I'll help.
Adele, voice-over: I saw that his jacket was open.
Bryce, zip up.
It's cold.
- You need to stay warm.
- I got it.
Hey! Adele, voice-over: That's when he showed up.
Come on.
Come on.
Your money, phones.
Take it easy.
You can have whatever you want.
Man: That's right, Dad.
Don't be a hero.
You, too.
Here.
Here, here.
The ring.
Adele, voice-over: He wanted my diamond ring, but it wouldn't come off.
Mom, just give him your ring.
I can't get it off! Stop playing with me! Give me the ring! Mom! Adele, voice-over: That's when Bryce went for the gun.
Mitch! Hey, kid! Kid, stop! I screamed at Mitch to do something.
Mitch, do something! [Gunshot.]
[Screaming.]
Mitch! Don't leave me, baby! No Oh, god! [Sobbing.]
[Screaming.]
Mitch! [Sobbing.]
Oh, no! He just stood there.
And then my baby was dead.
Rossi: And the robber who killed Bryce was never found.
And that ate away at Mitch.
After a year, we separated.
I filed for divorce last month.
How did he take it? He kept putting off signing the papers.
Man: When Adele and I started dating, he dug in his heels even more.
Adele: Just yesterday he asked if we could try again, that he was a changed man.
Changed how? That he was now the man I wanted him to be.
I said some terrible things to him when Bryce died.
You blamed him.
I said a real man would have protected his family.
I told him I wish he had died instead of Bryce.
Man: You didn't mean it.
But I did.
I wanted him to hurt as much as me.
It's not fair, I know.
He loved Bryce more than anything.
It's all right.
Here you go, kid.
Hey, thanks, man.
Hey, mister, can you help me get some food? Please, sir? You need to stay warm.
Ok? Hey, get off me.
You need to stay warm.
I said, get off! You're him, the guy with the coat.
Get off of me! Let me go! Help! Help! It's obvious Mitchell McCord feels a tremendous amount of guilt over not fighting back the night his son was killed.
Yeah, but he did the right thing.
I mean, it's better not to confront someone with a gun unless it's absolutely necessary.
With his marriage crumbling and his son's murder, it's no wonder he spiraled into a deep depression.
JJ: The trigger must have been Adele asking for a divorce.
The family he loved and wanted to provide for was now gone forever.
Thanks, Matt.
Mitchell wasn't at his SRO or the dental lab.
Savalas: Mitchell McCord was just seen dragging someone into Central Park.
The victim's description matches that of Chad Higgins.
Where? The person who called it in lost him in the park.
Ok, he's probably transferring his need to protect his son onto Chad.
Ok, his delusion would make him take Chad somewhere safe, someplace he could defend.
Reid: Like a den.
It's where a wolf would take its cub.
Wolf dens are usually located near water on south-facing slopes, and they could be anywhere on a natural structure, like a boulder or tree roots.
It sounds like the area around the Harlem Meer or the Great Hill.
Ok, we'll split up and meet your people there.
Wait.
Guys, I have an idea.
We just made contact.
McCord's got the boy.
He's alive.
Now, I got a team ready to go with a stun grenade.
We can disorient McCord and rescue the hostage.
It's too risky.
It would be better to try and talk him out.
Talk.
This guy ripped apart 5 people.
Yeah, but he hasn't killed Chad, which means his human side is still reachable.
Prentiss: We can use that to our advantage.
How? Chad: Oh, please let me go.
I can't.
It's too dangerous.
I can protect you.
What are you talking about? I'll protect you.
I couldn't before but now I can.
Yeah, and that's great, man, but you know what? You don't have to worry about me.
The cops are out there Mitch: What good are the police, huh? Where were they when you got hurt? Let me go! He's still out there! Mitchell? Honey, can you hear me? I don't think I can do this.
Adele, I'm here with you, ok? Savalas: I don't like this, Agents.
Give us some time.
You got 5 minutes.
Then we're going in.
Adele, tell him you're sorry that you couldn't talk to him more yesterday.
Mitch! I'm sorry I had to run off like that yesterday.
If you want to talk, we can do it now.
I really want to.
Let him know nothing will happen to him if he comes out with the boy, ok? But he has to come out.
Why don't you let that boy go? He didn't do anything.
There are people here who will make sure he's safe.
And the police promise nothing will happen to you if you No! You know that they can't protect our boy! Oh, god, he thinks Bryce is in there with him? Alvez: Adele, you said you regret the things you said to your husband on the night your son was killed.
I do.
He needs to hear that.
He needs to know that you don't blame him, that you know he was just trying to protect his family.
Mitch, that night we lost him I was wrong.
It wasn't your fault.
Those things that I said, they weren't true.
You are brave and strong.
And you were a great father.
I'm so sorry.
Please.
Bryce wouldn't want you to do this.
Oh, god.
What have I done? Please let me go.
Come here.
Mitch! No.
Prentiss: Mitchell, let him go.
I'm sorry.
Go.
Reid: Put your hands up.
JJ: Ok.
You're ok.
Come with me.
Come on.
Alvez: Curt Siodmak wrote: âEven a man who is pure at heart âand says his prayers by night âmay become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms and the moon is full and bright.
â [Loud music playing.]
All right, Minnesota fats, let's see what you got.
I'm more of a Jeanette Lee fan.
Oh, black widow.
Mm-hmm.
Loser buys beers? Yeah, you're on.
Hope you brought your wallet.
Man: love you, love you oh, yeah love you Whoa! Don't worry.
I'll teach you that later.
Ok.
Uh, I'm looking forward to that.
love you love you love you Oh.
Aah! No! No! 5? You got 5 older brothers? What was that like? Loud.
But it had its perks.
Um, I didn't have to share a bedroom.
Bullies at school didn't mess with me.
And I learned how to run a rack or two.
I didn't realize I was having dinner with a pool shark.
So, do you have kids? No.
No.
You? Mm-mm.
Maybe someday.
I never do this blind dates.
Me neither.
But Phil insisted that we meet and he wouldn't Wouldn't take no for an answer? Was he like that when he was your partner? You mean like a pain in the ass? I meant like a dog with a bone.
Speaking of which, he brings the puppy you gave him to all his physical therapy sessions.
It's really helping with his recovery.
Yeah, he told me that.
I'm really happy about that.
How long have you been there? What? I'm sorry.
There's a very colorful woman at the bar.
I think she's trying to get your attention.
Do you know her? Yeah.
Excuse me.
Garcia, what are you doing here? I hate to be the bearer of buzz killing news, but We have a case? Well, I texted you.
You didn't respond back.
I turned my phone off while we were eating.
Well, I figured.
That's why I pinged your location on my way in.
All right, let me tell my date.
Would you like to meet her? I don't want to intrude, but Is everything ok? Lisa, this is Penelope Garcia.
We work together at the BAU.
Penelope, this is Lisa Douglas.
- Garcia: Hey.
- Lisa: Hello.
Lisa, I'm sorry.
I have to go.
Sorry to tear him away.
Duty calls.
Brr brr brr Ha ha! Sure, I understand.
You should stay and, you know, have dessert or coffee, whatever.
- I'll take care of the waiter.
- Ok.
Luke is a really great guy, if you're wondering.
Although him and I are like the proverbial oil and water, silk and sandpaper, Elton John, Madonna, before they kissed and made up.
Oh.
Oh, no.
No.
Not like that.
I've heard other people say he's smart and funny and, I guess, easy on the eyes, but he's not my type.
And we're strictly work colleagues.
That's all.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Look, again, I'm sorry.
Um, I'll call you.
Ok.
It was nice to meet you.
You, too.
Get dessert.
[Chuckles.]
Hey, you better get a sitter for that sweet little girl of yours 'cause this case is gonna be a doozer.
NYPD needs our help.
Garcia: I'll say they do.
Ok, earlier tonight the body of a jogger, Brad Norton, 32, was found in Central Park.
He was disemboweled and his throat torn out.
Garcia: Yeah, and then last month, the body of Victor Guzman, 26, was also found in Central Park, and he had been What Rossi said.
Any witnesses to either crime? Prentiss: No, none.
And the wounds on both victims look like claw and bite marks from a large animal.
Did the police check to see if any large predatory animals escaped from Central Park zoo? Every last creature has been accounted for down to the last penguin.
Simmons: Well, there are people who think that having exotic pets, like lions or tigers, is a good idea.
Maybe one escaped or was abandoned and is living in the park.
There are a lot of places to hide.
Central Park is 843 acres, including 58 miles of pedestrian paths, 36 bridges, 7 bodies of water, 6 miles or roads, and 5 miles of bridle paths.
JJ: If it is a wild animal, it's a job for animal control.
Lewis: Someone could have trained a pit bull or a large breed like a mastiff or an akita to attack on command.
I can search kennels and dog breeders in the area.
Rossi: This case reminds me of one from '97.
Two teenagers killed a man in the park in almost the same way.
Yeah, I was living in the Bronx then.
It's, uh Daphne Daphne Abdella and a Christopher Vasquez.
They slit a man's throat, gutted him, and then filled his body cavity with stones before they threw him in one of the lakes.
Wild beast or human, either way, wheels up in 20.
Man: You having a good time, honey? Woman: Let's see.
A surprise trip to New York.
Tickets to a Broadway show.
Champagne on top of the Empire State Building.
Hmm.
What do you think? Well, I think it's not every day you get to spend 25 years with the love of your life.
Oh, honey.
Happy anniversary, honey.
We should head back.
Honey, which way is the hotel? It's behind us.
Just keep walking.
Aah! [Growling, snarling.]
[Screaming.]
âIt is the very error of the moon, She comes more nearer the earth than she was wont.
And makes men mad.
William Shakespeare.
The latest victim, Brad Norton, moved to New York City 5 years ago from Danbury, Connecticut.
Alvez: He was single, worked as an insurance agent, and had the same job for 10 years.
JJ: From all accounts, he lived a low-risk lifestyle.
Though jogging in the park alone after dark is pretty high-risk behavior for anyone.
Garcia: According to his social media, his goal was to run a marathon.
He said, ânothing was going to stop him.
â Yeah, well, we all know how that turned out.
Simmons: Victor Guzman, the victim from last month, is a much different story.
He was a member of the Amsterdam crew, which is a particularly violent gang on Manhattan's upper West Side.
You know, some street gangs use aggressive dogs as a weapon to intimidate or instill fear.
A rival gang might have targeted Guzman to send a message.
Alvez: The jogger had no gang ties.
But he could have witnessed something in the park while he was running.
Maybe it's a case of wrong place, wrong time.
Maybe not time.
Both attacks happened during a full moon.
Just saying.
Coincidence or lunar effect? Oh, come on.
No one really believes the full moon triggers strange and erratic behavior in people.
Garcia: Uh, yes, they I I do.
I believe that.
Yes.
Studies, albeit informal, show an increase in suicides, homicides, E.
R.
visits, psychiatric hospital admissions, traffic accidents, even fights at professional hockey games.
Garcia: You guys, another victim was just found at the park.
Same M.
O.
, same full moon.
When we land, Luke, JJ, go to the latest crime scene.
Dave, Matt, see what the M.
E.
can tell us.
The rest of us will set up in the precinct in Central Park.
Prentiss: Does the park have any surveillance cameras? Around the perimeter.
Not inside.
We checked the footage but didn't see anything unusual.
We'd like to take a look.
Of course.
What are the park's hours? Open 365 days a year.
It's closed daily from 1:00 to 6 a.
m.
You'll need additional units, on foot, bike, horseback, and in vehicles.
Already deployed.
But with a park this size, there's no way we can be everywhere at every moment.
Well, hopefully our geo-profile can help.
Thank you.
I was hoping we could keep a lid on this for a little longer, but the media's gotten a whiff.
They always do.
âCentral Park Ripper.
â âWelcome to Slaughter Park.
â âMonster in the park.
â Headlines like these are only gonna cause panic.
Or give our unsub exactly what he was looking for Fame and glory.
Alvez: The victim's name is Frankie Brown.
He's got a long rap sheet Theft, assault, drug possession.
The wallet and the bag belong to a couple from Ohio who were mugged last night.
Well, robbery doesn't seem to be the motive.
His throat was ripped out, and he was disemboweled like the others.
The robbery happened on the other side of the park.
So the unsub must have followed Brown or maybe tracked him down with a trained dog.
If we didn't know the jogger led such a squeaky-clean life, I'd say the unsub's a moral enforcer clearing out the park of its bad elements.
He could be some sort of territorial vigilante.
You know, might feel like he's protecting the park, like it's his home.
Ok, I'll have Garcia look into park employees, zoo workers, tour guides, groundskeepers.
The unsub may view park-goers as trespassers who need to be punished.
The jogger, Mr.
Norton, had his carotid artery severed first.
He was then eviscerated postmortem.
And the victim from last month, uh, Victor Guzman? He was killed the same way.
And what can you tell us about the wounds? Fatal bite marks indicate they were made by 4 large, pointed, and extremely sharp teeth, one on each side of the upper and lower jaw next to the incisors.
Those are especially prominent in dogs.
Yes, they appear canine.
You know which breed? I sent saliva samples out for DNA testing and to check for the rabies virus antigen.
That'll tell us.
You said âappearedâ canine.
You're not convinced a dog did this? In my exam I found bite marks and hair from rats and raccoons that nibbled on the victim postmortem.
That's not unusual.
Feral animals will usually feast on whatever they can find.
M.
E.
: True, but what is unusual is what I didn't find.
There wasn't any dog hair or bloody paw prints anywhere on the victim's body or clothes.
Oh.
Lab results.
Huh.
What is it? The, uh, saliva found in the bite wounds it's human.
The unsub's kill zone is literally all over the map.
Yeah.
There's definitely something about the park that's compelling him to kill there.
Hey, guys.
Rossi sent over a copy of the M.
E.
report.
There were traces of amphetamine and MDA found in the saliva on all 3 victims.
Alvez: MDA is a more potent form of ecstasy.
And it can induce delusions, hostility, even violent behavior.
The unsub may be suffering from some sort of drug-induced psychosis.
That could explain the frenzied nature of the kills.
Ok, we've got dog-like bite marks, eviscerations, human saliva, drug use, and kills timed to the lunar cycle.
I know what this is.
Our unsub thinks he's a werewolf.
Right.
You're kidding, right? Well, not an actual one, obviously, but he may be suffering from a syndrome called clinical lycanthropy.
It is rare, but it's a recognized medical condition.
So a man with a beast inside of him.
The saliva also showed high levels of cortisol.
Cortisol rises slowly over time and takes time to return to its base level, indicating someone's under an incredible amount of stress.
That's just about everyone these days.
What bumps me are the bite marks.
So what did he do, he filed down and sharpened his own teeth? Human teeth, while incredibly strong, are too small to inflict these kinds of wounds.
I think it's more likely that he fashioned some sort of mouthpiece to mimic that of a dog's.
Creating a canine mouthpiece would speak to his organization, which is something a psychotic killer wouldn't show.
Alvez: It would also mean that he made a conscious decision to make it.
Lewis: Well, he could be inducing his wolf delusion.
I mean, maybe it provides an escape or a release from something.
But what? You! By the garbage.
Turn around slowly with your hands in the air.
Let me see your hands! Do it now! What were you doing in Central Park last night, Chad? Chad: I fell asleep on a bench.
And before you fell asleep? I drank, you know, smoked some weed.
It helps me forget about being cold.
Simmons: Mm-hmm.
You've gotten a number of summonses for loitering, aggressive panhandling, staying in the park after closing hours.
What are you doing hanging out there so much? Well, I don't know.
It's a cool place.
Well, yeah, it must be.
You've run away from your foster group home in the Bronx about 10 times? It's safer in the park.
What happened to Mom and Dad? When Chad was 5, his father killed his mother in a murder-suicide.
The bodies weren't discovered until Chad told a neighbor he couldn't wake them up.
JJ: Ok, so, you got high in the park.
Then what? Blacked out, I guess.
You blacked out? Yeah, next thing I know, the cops are yelling at me.
You have blood on your hands.
Where did it come from? I must have done something bad? He's either lying or can't remember because of the drug use.
It doesn't add up.
How does a kid go from committing low-level crimes to brutal and savage murder? Simmons: The coat with blood on it is it yours? Where'd you get it? I don't remember.
The blood was matched to a man named Frankie Brown.
Did you see him last night? He's a short white guy with a spider tat on his neck.
Chad: Yeah, I saw him.
We hung out at the bandshell Rossi: Except Frankie Brown was tall and African-American.
Chad could have found the coat after the unsub discarded it as a forensic countermeasure.
Simmons: Frankie Brown was found murdered last night.
I did it.
I remember now.
I, uh, I did it.
It's a false confession.
It's a confession.
He has no history of violence.
Innocent suspects often confess when they're confused, terrified, exhausted, or feeling hopeless.
Rossi: Chad could be deliberately trying to get himself off the street and as far away as he can from his group home.
To him, prison is a better option.
Yeah.
And he must have had some interaction with the unsub.
We need to interview him again when he sobers up.
Officer: Yeah, well until the DNA tests come in, he's staying in custody.
[Grunts.]
Damn it.
[Grunting.]
Aah! [Indistinct radio transmissions.]
Prentiss: Vihaan Patel.
So he was still selling hot dogs at night? According to the cops, he got into a heated dispute earlier in the night with an unlicensed vendor who was trying to poach Patelâs spot.
That's understandable.
Vendors can pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees for prime park locations.
Apparently the dispute scared away some customers, so Patel told his wife he was going to try to make up for the lost business.
Prentiss: And judging by the blood trail, he was dragged to this spot.
His brutality's escalating.
Not only is Patelâs throat torn, he's nearly decapitated.
So this unsub is showing no mercy to his victims, yet he didn't kill Chad Higgins when he was asleep on that park bench.
Why? Well, Chad will be clear-headed by now.
We need to talk to him.
[Door opens.]
There's more if you want.
Chad, it's not safe to be in the park alone after dark.
It doesn't matter anymore.
I'm going to prison, right, for what I did? No, you're not.
We know you didn't kill anyone.
The DNA doesn't match, and while you were in custody, there was another murder in the park.
Then how'd that bloody coat get on me? Hmm? I had blood on my hands.
JJ: Well, we want to try and help you remember.
Ok? Close your eyes.
Ok.
Last night, you're in the park.
What's the first thing you remember? It was really cold.
You know, my face stings.
What are you hearing? Traffic.
You know, a siren in the distance.
Somebody on a bike.
They're going by really fast.
And what are you doing? I'm on a bench, trying to sleep.
I hear footsteps.
Did you open your eyes? No.
I'm afraid.
I'm hoping they'll just go away.
Alvez: But they don't.
No.
I can still hear his breath.
JJ: His? Who's there with you? A man Standing over me.
Alvez: What does he look like? I didn't see his face.
Is he the one putting the coat on you? Yeah.
It's warm.
I I, um, I pull it around me.
Does he say anything to you? Unsub: You need to stay warm.
"You need to stay warm".
Did he say anything else? Uh-uh.
Ok.
You can open your eyes now.
You did good.
What happens now? Now you get released.
And an officer will drive you back to the Bronx.
JJ: We know why you wanted to get arrested.
You'd rather go to prison than back to that group home.
You gotta know prison's only gonna be worse.
We are going to look into getting you into a safer living situation, ok? We promise.
Whatever.
I'm gonna be 18 soon, and then I'll be out of there for good.
So the unsub placed his coat on him in an act of kindness.
It's ironic.
Seems he cared more for Chad than any of his foster families ever did.
It's time to deliver the profile.
Rossi: The unsub we're looking for is suffering from clinical lycanthropy.
It's a rare but real psychiatric syndrome where the person believes he can transform into an animal.
In most recorded cases, that animal is a wolf.
So you're saying this guy thinks he's a werewolf.
Do we need to put silver bullets in our guns? [Laughter.]
Although the legend of the werewolf can be tracked back to the ancient Greeks, this syndrome's associated with mental preconditions, like schizophrenia, drug-induced psychosis.
A drug-induced psychosis is often triggered with the use of hallucinogens, like LSD or ecstasy.
Alvez: Another precondition could be severe depression.
Our unsub might be facing a major stressor in his life right now, and drug use could be his way of coping with it.
JJ: And it's likely he is fully aware of his actions and he's enjoying the power and control they're giving him.
Rossi: Though while in his delusional state, he's convinced he's shape-shifting.
He may be using a fabricated mouthpiece to complete his transformation.
Prentiss: Based on his tender treatment of Chad Higgins, the unsub may have suffered a loss.
Lewis: This dualistic, or Jekyll-and Hyde-like behavior, indicates a personality split of some kind.
Reid: Which means the unsub's human side may be struggling to keep the violent animal within him at bay.
Lewis: With continued drug use, it's possible he'll suffer a permanent break from reality, with his violent persona completely taking over.
Prentiss: Which means he will continue killing, and it could be anyone he comes across in the park.
Rossi: We'll be conducting a coordinated stakeout of the park beginning at dusk until 6 a.
m.
Captain Savalas will have your assignments.
Thank you.
Hi.
You look great.
I'm glad you came.
I can't stay long.
I have to get back to the office.
Please.
Please sit.
I swear, what would Dennigan, Shuster, and White do without you? Oh.
Your caffeine fix.
I know how you can't go through the afternoon slump without it.
Thanks.
You said it was important.
Is everything ok? You look tired.
I'm good.
In fact, I'm better than good.
I've changed, Adele.
I'm not the man I used to be.
Mitch, I don't want to Please.
Hear me out.
I know that I wasn't the kind of man you needed me to be back then.
The kind you both needed.
Mitch, please.
But I I am now.
You know it can never be the same.
But it could still be good.
We can work it out Together.
We tried.
Remember? We both need to move on.
I'm sorry.
I have to go.
Prentiss: Matt, Luke.
Yeah.
Go ahead, Emily.
What's your status? It's all quiet here.
Nothing to report.
Same as the others.
Ok, stay alert.
10-4, boss.
Over and out.
So who is she? What do you mean? That's about the 10th time you've checked your phone.
Who is she? I met her on a blind date.
Ahh.
She's, uh, funny and beautiful and smart.
She can't be too smart.
She went out with you.
Well, she's, uh, she's a doctor.
She worked for Doctors Without Borders.
And then she volunteered in Pakistan, Yemen, South Sudan.
Dangerous places to work.
Yeah.
Anyway, the date got interrupted by this case.
By Garcia, actually.
I told her I'd call her, and I left a message, but there's been nothing but radio silence since.
You think what we do for a living has something to do with it? Nah.
One of her brothers is a cop, and she knows the life.
Well, I wouldn't sweat it.
You'll hear from her soon.
You know, it's funny, when I was hunting down fugitives, I preferred being alone.
Nothing to worry about, no one tying me down.
What about now? I can't stop thinking about her.
[Laughs.]
You poor bastard.
- Who found her? - Sanitation crew.
Her body was hidden by a mattress they we're about to haul away.
Witnesses? If there were, they haven't come forward.
Whatever happened to âsee something, say somethingâ? Reid: M.
E.
places the time of death between midnight and 2 a.
m.
This is the first time he's killed a female and the first time he's attacked outside the park.
Rossi: It's just a few blocks.
Despite our stakeout and the risk of being seen, he still felt compelled to return to the park.
Victim's been disemboweled, throat's torn out.
Look at this.
Reid: Pinky and the ring finger have been bitten off on her left hand.
He's unraveling.
He'll find it harder to contain his rage.
This may be turning into a spree.
If he's killing outside the park now, this whole city's in danger.
Kelly Sinclair was attacked walking her dog.
Her fiance said she never took off her diamond engagement ring since the day he proposed.
Reid: And the ring was not recovered at the crime scene.
The unsub could have taken it.
Prentiss: He's never taken souvenirs from any of his other victims, and why just the ring? She was also wearing an expensive necklace and watch.
Lewis: Biting off Kelly's finger could have something to do with the real target of the unsub's rage.
A wife? An ex? Simmons: We said that he may have suffered some kind of loss.
Taking Kelly's ring may symbolize a divorce, a broken engagement, death of a spouse.
Prentiss: When the unsub put his coat over Chad while he was sleeping on the park bench, he was acting more like a protector than a predator.
Wolves by nature are fearless predators, but they're also incredibly social.
They live in packs, they mate for life, they fiercely protect their family.
What if there was a loss to his family unit? His pack, so to speak.
Lewis: If he failed to protect a family member in that park, he could be trying to right that wrong by targeting those he perceives to be bad.
Protector transforming into vigilante.
Reid: Exactly.
The unsub could have witnessed Victor Guzman involved in gang activity, Frankie Brown mugging the out of town couple, and in his delusion, it might have looked like the jogger, Brad Norton, was fleeing the scene of a crime.
Why the hot dog vendor? Well, maybe he saw Mr.
Patel have that fight with the other vendor.
Prentiss: Garcia.
Emily Prentiss, you have ESP.
And by that I mean, especially spectacular posture, but also the other kind, 'cause I was just about to call you.
What have you got? Unfortunately a lot of bupkis.
I found two current lycanthropy cases but none in the New York area.
And as far as park employees with red flags, there's nothing that's like flapping in the breeze.
We need your help with something else.
Bring it.
We're looking for incidents that happened in the park that may have involved a child or family.
Go back 10 years.
Pulling up crime stats now.
Ah, I'm gonna need a skosh bit more time to go through this.
Ok, get back to us.
You know it.
Garcia down, but not out.
[Cell phone rings.]
Alvez.
Hi, Luke, it's Lisa.
Hey.
How are you? Good.
Good.
Um, I've been meaning to return your call.
I've just been slammed at work.
Hey, no worries.
Listen, I wanted to thank you again for dinner, but I don't think it's gonna work out between us.
Ok.
Um, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed.
I thought we hit it off.
But, uh, I guess I was wrong.
Am I wrong? No.
But For any relationship to work, I believe it needs to be truthful, and at dinner, you weren't honest with me.
What are you talking about? You told me you don't have kids.
I don't.
Your co-worker, Garcia, before you two left, she said you'd need a sitter for your sweet little girl.
Roxy.
That's her name? Yeah, but she's not my daughter.
She's my dog.
A dog? Yeah.
A very sweet Belgian malinois.
Oh, boy.
Do I feel like a jerk.
[Laughs.]
Look, I can see how you would think that.
Listen, why don't Why don't we start over? Hi.
I'm Luke.
Hi, Luke.
I'm Lisa.
Mama Pajama.
[Beep.]
Go ahead, Garcia.
I've been looking into crimes that happened in the park among families and children in particular.
I think I found what you're looking for.
Please check your tablets.
2 years ago this month, the McCord family of Bellerose, Queens, father Mitchell, mother Adele, 15-year-old son Bryce, decided to go ice-skating in the city.
On their way home, they went for a walk in the park.
They were confronted by a robber with a gun.
Bryce intervened.
And he was shot and died in his mother's arms.
Talk about your off-the-charts stressor.
And it was a full moon that night.
Mitchell must have started using drugs to self-medicate to escape his pain and grief.
So in his delusions, he can release his rage and dispense his own vigilante justice.
Rossi: Garcia, what does the dad do for a living? Uh He works as a dental lab technician.
Alvez: Now we know where he made the canine mouthpiece.
Prentiss: Garcia, you know what to do.
Yeah.
Work and home addresses, sent.
[Sirens.]
In the back.
I got the side.
Cover.
FBI! Warrant! Mitchell McCord, where is he? Man: Honey? What's going on? Mitchell doesn't live here anymore.
Prentiss: Where can we find him? He's living in an SRO on East 103rd in the city.
I'll let Tara and the others know.
I can't believe he would do something like this.
It might have something to do with the night your son died.
We've read the police reports, but could you tell us what happened? It was one of those clear winter nights.
We had a fun time skating.
Hey, buddy.
We were walking to the car.
I'm gonna need your help cleaning out the basement on Saturday.
I'm gonna go game with Justin.
Then we're gonna hang with the guys at the burger barn.
You can do that another time.
Your father needs your help.
And don't you and your friends go to the mall anymore? Mom, nobody goes to the mall anymore.
[Adele laughs.]
Ok.
Sure, Dad, I'll help.
Adele, voice-over: I saw that his jacket was open.
Bryce, zip up.
It's cold.
- You need to stay warm.
- I got it.
Hey! Adele, voice-over: That's when he showed up.
Come on.
Come on.
Your money, phones.
Take it easy.
You can have whatever you want.
Man: That's right, Dad.
Don't be a hero.
You, too.
Here.
Here, here.
The ring.
Adele, voice-over: He wanted my diamond ring, but it wouldn't come off.
Mom, just give him your ring.
I can't get it off! Stop playing with me! Give me the ring! Mom! Adele, voice-over: That's when Bryce went for the gun.
Mitch! Hey, kid! Kid, stop! I screamed at Mitch to do something.
Mitch, do something! [Gunshot.]
[Screaming.]
Mitch! Don't leave me, baby! No Oh, god! [Sobbing.]
[Screaming.]
Mitch! [Sobbing.]
Oh, no! He just stood there.
And then my baby was dead.
Rossi: And the robber who killed Bryce was never found.
And that ate away at Mitch.
After a year, we separated.
I filed for divorce last month.
How did he take it? He kept putting off signing the papers.
Man: When Adele and I started dating, he dug in his heels even more.
Adele: Just yesterday he asked if we could try again, that he was a changed man.
Changed how? That he was now the man I wanted him to be.
I said some terrible things to him when Bryce died.
You blamed him.
I said a real man would have protected his family.
I told him I wish he had died instead of Bryce.
Man: You didn't mean it.
But I did.
I wanted him to hurt as much as me.
It's not fair, I know.
He loved Bryce more than anything.
It's all right.
Here you go, kid.
Hey, thanks, man.
Hey, mister, can you help me get some food? Please, sir? You need to stay warm.
Ok? Hey, get off me.
You need to stay warm.
I said, get off! You're him, the guy with the coat.
Get off of me! Let me go! Help! Help! It's obvious Mitchell McCord feels a tremendous amount of guilt over not fighting back the night his son was killed.
Yeah, but he did the right thing.
I mean, it's better not to confront someone with a gun unless it's absolutely necessary.
With his marriage crumbling and his son's murder, it's no wonder he spiraled into a deep depression.
JJ: The trigger must have been Adele asking for a divorce.
The family he loved and wanted to provide for was now gone forever.
Thanks, Matt.
Mitchell wasn't at his SRO or the dental lab.
Savalas: Mitchell McCord was just seen dragging someone into Central Park.
The victim's description matches that of Chad Higgins.
Where? The person who called it in lost him in the park.
Ok, he's probably transferring his need to protect his son onto Chad.
Ok, his delusion would make him take Chad somewhere safe, someplace he could defend.
Reid: Like a den.
It's where a wolf would take its cub.
Wolf dens are usually located near water on south-facing slopes, and they could be anywhere on a natural structure, like a boulder or tree roots.
It sounds like the area around the Harlem Meer or the Great Hill.
Ok, we'll split up and meet your people there.
Wait.
Guys, I have an idea.
We just made contact.
McCord's got the boy.
He's alive.
Now, I got a team ready to go with a stun grenade.
We can disorient McCord and rescue the hostage.
It's too risky.
It would be better to try and talk him out.
Talk.
This guy ripped apart 5 people.
Yeah, but he hasn't killed Chad, which means his human side is still reachable.
Prentiss: We can use that to our advantage.
How? Chad: Oh, please let me go.
I can't.
It's too dangerous.
I can protect you.
What are you talking about? I'll protect you.
I couldn't before but now I can.
Yeah, and that's great, man, but you know what? You don't have to worry about me.
The cops are out there Mitch: What good are the police, huh? Where were they when you got hurt? Let me go! He's still out there! Mitchell? Honey, can you hear me? I don't think I can do this.
Adele, I'm here with you, ok? Savalas: I don't like this, Agents.
Give us some time.
You got 5 minutes.
Then we're going in.
Adele, tell him you're sorry that you couldn't talk to him more yesterday.
Mitch! I'm sorry I had to run off like that yesterday.
If you want to talk, we can do it now.
I really want to.
Let him know nothing will happen to him if he comes out with the boy, ok? But he has to come out.
Why don't you let that boy go? He didn't do anything.
There are people here who will make sure he's safe.
And the police promise nothing will happen to you if you No! You know that they can't protect our boy! Oh, god, he thinks Bryce is in there with him? Alvez: Adele, you said you regret the things you said to your husband on the night your son was killed.
I do.
He needs to hear that.
He needs to know that you don't blame him, that you know he was just trying to protect his family.
Mitch, that night we lost him I was wrong.
It wasn't your fault.
Those things that I said, they weren't true.
You are brave and strong.
And you were a great father.
I'm so sorry.
Please.
Bryce wouldn't want you to do this.
Oh, god.
What have I done? Please let me go.
Come here.
Mitch! No.
Prentiss: Mitchell, let him go.
I'm sorry.
Go.
Reid: Put your hands up.
JJ: Ok.
You're ok.
Come with me.
Come on.
Alvez: Curt Siodmak wrote: âEven a man who is pure at heart âand says his prayers by night âmay become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms and the moon is full and bright.
â [Loud music playing.]
All right, Minnesota fats, let's see what you got.
I'm more of a Jeanette Lee fan.
Oh, black widow.
Mm-hmm.
Loser buys beers? Yeah, you're on.
Hope you brought your wallet.
Man: love you, love you oh, yeah love you Whoa! Don't worry.
I'll teach you that later.
Ok.
Uh, I'm looking forward to that.
love you love you love you Oh.