07x08 - Hope

[bunniefuu]

Here goes. And, uh, this is the part I always leave out.

I had missed my curfew the second time that week, and when I got home, it was crazy late.

It was like 3:00 in the morning, and my parents weren't home, and the phone rang, and my life stopped.

My parents were k*lled by a drunk driver when they were out looking for me.

And if they hadn't been out looking for me, then...

[Takes deep breath]

We all have wounds that we want to heal.

That's why we come here every week, right?

And I have to believe that as we keep coming here and talking and revealing, that eventually, in time, even the deepest wounds we carry will begin to heal.

Monica, is there something you want to say?

Huh? Um...

Sorry.

But I believe that time...

Wears you down.

A few weeks ago...

I walked by the bakery that we used to go to...

And I saw this...

Little girl with blond pigtails.

[Crying]

I'm sorry. I can't.

Don't be sorry.

It's totally ok.

That's why we're all here.

I think that's enough for tonight.

I'm going to wrap it up. Ok?

Thank you all for coming.

I look forward to seeing you next week.

Hey, Mon, what's the rush?

I thought you wanted to talk to me.

It's all right.

It's just been a long week.

Yeah, it's only Monday.

What's going on?

Yesterday was the anniversary of Hope's disappearance.

Oh, God, that's ri--

I'm so sorry. I for-- why didn't you say something?

Ok, I totally understand.

Do you want to grab a late dinner and talk?

No, 'm good.

You go enjoy.

I promise, we'll talk later.

Are you sure you're ok?

Yeah.

Girl: Dear mommy, please don't tell the police.

If he finds out I'm writing you, he'll k*ll me.

I see you got one of those, too.

What?! That's Hope.

Oh, my God.

Who put this here?

I saw a man and a young woman putting them on cars.

Well, they-- well, where did they go?

Did you see what they looked like?

They were headed out of the parking lot by the time I saw them.

Wait! They couldn't have gotten far. We'll take my car.

It's right here.

Come on.

Ok. Ok, so wait.

So you're saying it's literally just doubling up on the flour?

Exactly.

Oh, God, that's genius.

Ok, it won't be a molten mass next week, I promise.

See ya.

I'll see you next week.

What about those two?

No, it's not them.

What about them?

To be honest, I think we might have missed them.

No, I need to find them.

I can't imagine how hard yesterday was for you.

What?

I'll bet since you got that letter, you've read it a hundred times.

How do you know about the letter?

'Cause I'm the one who took Hope.

♪ Criminal Minds 7x08 ♪

Hope
Original air date on November 16, 2011

♪

Garcia: "Hope is faith holding out its hand in the dark."

George Iles.

I understand, ma'am, but again, we can't yet treat this as a missing persons case.

Clearly something happened here.

Officer, I can take care of it from here. Thank you very much.

So, any word?

No. I just--

I have this feeling.

And that officer wouldn't listen, and I--

Penelope.

I believe you. I do.

But I need you to keep your head in the game right now. You hear me?

Yeah, ok, I'm sorry.

Right.

Ok, I'm here.

I'm right here.

Is there any chance Monica left with someone?

No. No, not today.

Yesterday was the anniversary of her daughter's abduction.

How long have you known her?

5 years.

And her daughter was abducted.

Did they catch him?

No. The case went cold.

The police ran down all kinds of leads. No dice.

Garcia, you do know the effect anniversaries can have on survivors, right?

Are you insinuating that she might have k*lled herself?

She didn't. I know her.

She's a survivor.

She wouldn't do that.

It looks like she left in a hurry.

The keys are still in the ignition.

And she left her purse.

What's that?

It's a letter, signed by somebody named Hope?

That's her daughter.

What do you mean, you took Hope?

Haven't you always wanted to know what happened to her?

Of course I do.

Where is she?

Well, it's important that you understand how it all began.

Why are we here?

Answer me.

Ok, just tell me where she is.

I won't call the police, I swear.

Of course you won't, because doing that would guarantee you'll never see her again.

You recognize this place?

We used to stop here for gas on the way home.

It's also the first place I met Hope.

You wouldn't buy this for her.

Do you remember how upset she was?

Mommy, please.

Please, mommy.

I believe your exact words were, "What part of no do you not understand?

Go put it back."

I didn't want her to ruin her dinner.

She made a choice not to take candy from a stranger.

No, thank you.

And in that moment, I made a choice, too.

I had to have her.

Where did you take her?

We all make choices, Monica.

You can choose to walk out that door or you can come with me.

Take me to my baby.

I got you something.

It's still her favorite.

Garcia, I'll do the case presentation.

Oh, no, sir, I can do it.

I got it.

Thank you, sir.- No problem.

7 years ago yesterday at Manassas, Virginia, 8-year-old Hope Kingston was abducted from her front yard while playing with a friend.

She's been presumed dead.

A few hours ago, her mother Monica disappeared from a parking lot after attending Garcia's victims support group.

It's not uncommon for unsubs to reach out and contact relatives of victims.

Joran Van Der Sloot extorted $25,000 from Natalee Holloway's mother in exchange for information.

Do we think both abductions were related?

I found a letter signed by Hope inside Monica's car.

The anniversary could have been the trigger.

We can't rule out the possibility that Monica committed su1c1de.

No. No, Monica would-- would never hurt herself.

She--she still thought Hope was alive.

Is the father in the picture?

No, he d*ed in a car accident right before Hope was born.

There's no postmark, which means this letter was obviously hand-delivered.

You do a full linguistic analysis.

We need to determine authenticity.

There's a butterfly drawn next to Hope's name.

That has to mean something.

There was no sign of struggle at the scene.

What if she went willingly?

He could have approached her and had Hope with him.

That would certainly get her attention.

Still, it's pretty high-risk to abduct in such a high-traffic area.

The parking lot was right next to a strip mall.

Any witnesses?

I was the last person that saw her.

Unless we have reason to believe otherwise, we should assume that the same unsub is responsible for both abductions.

Let's get started.

Why did you bring me back here?

To show you how her life with me began.

It brings back a lot of memories, doesn't it?

You followed us home.

She used to run around for hours. Remember?

Like a...

[Chattering and laughing]

young butterfly floating in the wind, just a vision of beauty.

No peeking this time.

Ready or not, here I come!

I got so wrapped up in watching them, I almost forgot why I was there.

Monica.

We all have choices, remember?

I thought that was you.

Everything all right?

Yeah. Uh, we were just driving by.

At this time of night?

I didn't--I didn't realize how late it was.

You sure you're all right?

Yeah, I'm fine.

We were just leaving.

It's rare that parents of a missing child would leave the home they shared.

From what Garcia said, she didn't have a choice.

She focused her resources on finding Hope.

The mortgage took a back seat.

But she still wanted to stay close to the home she shared with Hope.

So she moved to an apartment nearby.

Lights are on a timer.

Yeah, in case Hope came home.

Which means there's probably...

A key under the mat.

That's risky for a single woman, leaving a key out like that.

If he stalked her, he would have had complete access to her here.

But he waited and abducted her in public.

The same way that he took her daughter.

So this letter Monica allegedly received from her daughter contains no indication of female authorship.

It lacks expression of emotional attachment.

The unsub wrote it?

I believe so. The language used is inconsistent with that of a 15-year-old held in captivity for 7 years.

Uh, I just got a hit on someone who matches Monica's description at a gas station 17 miles outside of Manassas.

Hope's not with him.

Reid: It looks like they're having a conversation.

She's cooperating.

Garcia, can you get any closer?

No. No, I can't get a good look at him.

Reid: Look at his body language.

He's shielding himself from the cameras.

He knows where they are.

He's protecting his identity.

Why isn't Monica asking for help?

She doesn't want to draw attention to herself.

Reid: She leaves, but the unsub stays?

Garcia: I don't understand.

He's got complete control.

He's not worried about her contacting the authorities.

Garcia, run the pump receipts against the timeline.

Maybe he used a credit card.

Pumps one...through 9.

Nothing. Who goes to a gas station and doesn't buy anything?

There are plenty of service stations between the community center and here, but he drove her clear across town.

This place must mean something to the both of them.

This could be where it all started.

Here we are.

Home sweet home.

I pass by this street every day on my way home from work.

7.2 miles door to door.

I can't believe you've had her here this whole time.

Oh, my God.

Oh, my God.

I love that picture of Hope.

She's so photogenic.

I need to see her.

It's getting late.

I've done everything you've asked.

Come with me.

Anything?

She was there, but we just missed her.

The owner of Monica's old house reported seeing her parked outside just 2 hours ago.

Was the unsub with her?

Yeah, but he didn't get much of a description on the unsub or the truck.

He did say Monica had been by a lot recently.

Apparently somebody dropped a letter for her a week ago.

The owner called her to come pick it up, and ever since then she's been parked outside the house.

What's this guy doing with her?

If he's had Hope c*ptive for 7 years, she's completely compliant by now.

He might have abducted Monica as a reward for good behavior.

Or he could be getting off on the fact that he successfully abducted a mother and a daughter.

Monica's statement the day of Hope's abduction confirmed that she made a purchase at the same gas station hours before Hope went missing.

It's not a coincidence that he brought Monica from that particular gas station to her old house.

He's taking her through all the steps of Hope's abduction.

Having both of them could have been his plan all along.

So are we saying he's sexually diverse, attracted to children and adults?

The unsub stalked Monica, so he knew about the spare key under the mat.

He had complete access.

So why wait 7 years to circle back if that's the case?

The butterfly could symbolically represent not just transformation but maturation of his erotic ideal.

Well, he started with easy targets.

Children are much easier to abduct, manipulate, and control.

Or he could be a preferential offender and a situational child molester, meaning adult woman have always been his preference, but given the right circumstances he'd offend against a child.

Monica's not a preference.

She's a specific target.

Rossi: He didn't go after just any woman, he went after Hope's mother.

Which means that Hope is probably dead and he's taken Monica because she reminds him of Hope.

This is everything the Manassas P. D. had on Hope's investigation.

All right, let's get to work.

Wait, please!

Rise and shine.

How did you sleep?

I didn't.

Oh, Hope grew out of those when she was 12, but I didn't need to use them on her much after that.

So I have water, orange juice, milk--

She's not here, is she?

Why would I bring you here if that was the case?

Then prove it.

I want to see her!

Go ahead.

Have a look.

[Crying] Hope.

Hope: Sorry, Bill.

I'll do it better next time.

So, what's the word, genius?

I may have been able to narrow down the unsub's comfort zone.

The gas station was the third point I needed to complete the geographical profile.

Factoring in Monica's abduction site and her apartment, I would assume the unsub lives somewhere within this area.

That would make it easier for him to learn her routines.

That zone can't be more than 20 miles.

All right, so all the local employees that were on duty last night checked out.

Nobody saw a thing.

You know, it looks like there are 5 different reported incidents that we might be able to attribute to this unsub.

When was the first case reported?

6 months before Hope's abduction.

A 12-year-old girl in the area reported a man taking pictures of her on her way home from school, and 3 weeks after that, she thought he was peeping into her window.

And then her house was burglarized, and the only thing that was missing were her clothes.

Well, if that's him, then there was a clear escalation in his M. O.

He was building his confidence to abduct Hope and then 7 years later, Monica.

Hey, uh, these were found on Heather Wilson's bike 2 weeks after Hope disappeared.

That's the girl that Hope was playing with when she was abducted.

The butterfly again.

"Without you, she wouldn't have been set free.

This is a token of my appreciation"?

He sent a thank-you card to the girl he didn't abduct.

This is what I saw.

She was--she was here.

She was just here.

She wrote you so many times.

Where are you hiding her?!

"Dear mommy, why don't you come see me? I miss you."

Go to hell!

Anger's how you're dealing with your guilt.

Hope!

Hope was angry at first, too.

Hope, if you're here, say something! Mommy's here!

You want to know how I got her to calm down?

[Crying]

We used to play a lot of games.

What are you doing?

Go ahead, I'll give you a head start. 1... 2... 3...

Heather? I'm Agent Jareau.

This is Agent Prentiss.

We're with the FBI.

We have some questions about Hope Kingston.

Do you remember her?

What do you think?

I know you've been through this before, but we need to talk to you about that day.

Heather, we have reason to believe that the same man who took Hope abducted her mother last night.

This can't be happening again.

Did you and Hope play together often?

Every day.

She was like a sister.

You told the police that you saw a man watching you guys play that day.

Look, I've been through this a thousand times.

I wish I could help you more, I really do, but I gotta get to class now.

You put streaks in your hair because it's a constant reminder of how much you two looked alike.

You don't know anything about me.

I know that you struggle to let people in because you're afraid of losing them.

And that you are constantly asking yourself why he took Hope instead of you?

Are you done?

Listen, if there's something that you know, please tell us.

It wasn't the first time I had seen him.

It was a week earlier when Hope and I were at the park.

Did he say anything to you?

No.

Can you tell us about the day Hope was abducted?

Um... We were playing hide-and-go-seek in front of her house.

It's your turn.

Don't peek!

[Crying] I had just finished counting.

Ready or not, here I come!

And I turned around, and there he was...

Just standing there smiling at me.

He was holding a jar of butterflies.

He knew that would get my attention.

I'll be it, ok?

Go hide.

And that's when he asked if he could play.

And I told him he could.

1...

2...

3...

Ready or not, here I come.

I'll never forget that voice.

Why didn't you ever tell anyone?

Because it was my fault.

I'm the one who told him that he could play with us.

I overheard my dad saying that someone put a butterfly necklace on my bike.

Then he asked if I knew who had put it there.

It was my chance to come clean...

But I just kept my mouth shut.

[Sobbing]

Hey. How you holding up?

Oh...

After Em, I never thought I'd see another person I love up there.

Baby, you gotta stop blaming yourself.

We're doing everything we can to find her.

No, we're not. We're not doing enough to find her.

If we we doing everything, we would have found her.

I'm not doing everything I can.

Every minute that goes by, there's more chance that she's dead.

Ok, Garcia, stop it.

What?

Stop it.

I need you to calm down.

I am doing everything I can to keep it together and I'm so scared.

Ok, you need to listen to me right now.

Guys.

We're ready to deliver the profile.

Penelope.

Let's go find her.

Ready or not, here I come.

7 years ago we believed our unsub to be a preferential child molester.

And now we think that his preference evolved into an erotomanic obsession with Hope Kingston.

So much so that in her absence, his attentions are now focused on her mother.

At the time Hope went missing, there was another potential victim, who was the same age and had the same physical characteristics as Hope, and she was even more accessible.

Which tells us that Hope became his idealized target.

Despite the high risk, he abducted Monica in public, which shows she's pivotal to his fantasy.

We believe the unsub has Monica c*ptive within a 20-mile radius of this abduction site.

There's a strong possibility that until recently the unsub kept Hope alive.

This explains why he didn't hunt again for all these years.

And that it was Hope's death that triggered the change in his M. O.

If the same guy has her, how long is she really gonna last?

I know her.

I know Monica.

Monica is my friend, and she is a fighter, and she is not gonna give up, so neither should we.

Monica?

Don't go in there!

I didn't want you to find out like this.

I'm sorry.

I can explain.

[Retching]

Shh.

No! Don't touch me.

I loved her, too.

[Sobbing]

She was my baby?

The moment I saw her, I knew what a beautiful woman she'd become.

[Crying]

I loved her, Monica.

I loved her.

No.

No.

No.

You don't know how I searched.

I was about to give up, and then--and there she was, this beautiful cocooned butterfly ready to emerge.

You kept her chained like an animal.

No, no, no, you don't understand what happened.

My child.

Why did you...

[Sobbing]

It wasn't my fault.

You m*rder*d my baby no, Hope k*lled herself!

[Sobbing]

So the day of the anniversary would have been when Monica was most vulnerable and exposed.

And the unsub knew that and he came armed with information about Hope.

So she lets her guard down, leaves the house, and goes to the support group meeting.

Where she can share her feelings with people who understand her.

But how did he know after this particular meeting she'd be emotionally raw?

Well, if he stalked her in the parking lot after the meeting, he would have seen the pain written across her face.

What if he knew because he'd heard the story before?

What if he's a member of her support group?

JJ, the things we talk about in that group are beyond personal.

We wouldn't have asked you to do this if we didn't think is was gonna help us find Monica.

I know, but to talk about what happens in there, it's a violation of all kinds of--of privacy.

I promise, nothing that doesn't pertain to this case will ever leave this room.

Who's sharing?

Monica.

She's talking about a little girl that looked like Hope that she saw.

Ok, now, I want you to look around the room.

Is anyone reacting to her?

No. They're all just listening to her.

Ok, now what happened after Monica finished sharing?

She was trying not to cry and...

I didn't know what to say.

Did anyone share after her?

Someone started to say something, but then I ended the meeting because--

Ok, stop right there.

I need to know who spoke.

That's why we're all here.

This guy who lost his wife.

He was sitting behind her and he rubbed her shoulder.

He was trying to calm her down.

Ok, so let's move to the end of the night.

What happened after the meeting?

I followed Monica out to the hallway, and she said she had to go home.

And then what happened?

[No audio]

It's Bill.

Please let me explain.

No, I don't want to hear anything.

At night, I could always hear Hope walking around up in her room.

And then...

This one night she was pacing back and forth.

Then she stopped. So...

I came up to check on her...

But the door was blocked.

And when I tried to open it...

There was blood everywhere.

No...

No!

I tried to stop the bleeding, but it was too late.

[Gasps]

Wait a minute.

I've heard this.

You spoke in group.

It was...your wife.

But you were talking about my Hope.

I lost her.

You were my only connection to her.

[Crying]

I shed tears for you.

I helped you grieve.

So William Rogers joined the support group 2 months ago.

Garcia's still looking for an address.

Any priors?

Yeah. An attempted kidnapping of a 14-year-old.

He lured her to a studio with promises of becoming a model.

When she got there, he made sexual advances.

She got away.

You know, rethinking the type of offender he was 7 years ago, it's possible the unsub didn't sexually as*ault Hope initially but waited until she was older.

Well, that would explain why he held on to her all this time.

In his fantasy, he might envision Hope at a more desirable age.

What story did he use to get into the support group?

Well, he told them his pregnant wife committed su1c1de.

Apparently they were trying to conceive for over a year.

Hope couldn't bear the thought of bringing his child into this world, so she took what little control she did have and ended her life.

And that was never part of his plan.

It turned his world upside down.

He's not ready to let go of the bond he had with Hope.

And now he's trying to get back what was taken from him.

Wouldn't it just be easier for him to start over again?

Unless Monica could give him what he lost.

Another Hope.

He didn't take Monica to remind him of Hope, he took her to recreate her.

[Door unlocks]

I want to make peace.

You shared with the group that you were thinking of having another baby.

What are you--

All those things that you missed out on with Hope, we'll get to experience with this new baby that we're going to create.

Don't touch me.

Don't you touch me!

Uhh!

Address, address, address.

This guy like redefined home invasion.

By going to those group meetings, it was like he read Monica's diary, like she only talked about her most personal feelings in that group.

The group--the group is definitely gonna have to disband.

Focus on finding this address.

I am. I'm focusing and freaking out at the exact same time.

I got it. I got it.

He has two addresses.

The first one is on Main.

It's listed as a previous, but it's not been updated in the system.

And the second one is on Brooks.

And I have just sent them to your PDAs.

Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Where do you think you're going?

I'm going with you.

No, that can't happen.

It could be way too dangerous.

Ok. Um, either you let me go with you or you're going to have to forcibly remove me from the SUV. Your choice.

I brought you your favorite tea.

You know, we have to move forward in our lives.

That's what Hope would want.

For both of us.

You think so?

Of course.

Ohh! Ohh!

Aah!

Ohh!

Uhh!

Uhh!

[Grunting]

Monica!

Do it! k*ll Me!

She k*lled herself so she wouldn't have to spend another second with you!

Shut up!

You don't know what you're talking about.

You can't hurt her anymore.

FBI!

They're in.

Officer, we need bolt-cutters.

Clear!

Clear!

Clear!

They cleared the other location.

Reid and I are gonna take two officers, check the perimeter, see if we can find the point of entry.

You're with Dr. Reid, you're with me.

Building rapport could take hours.

I don't know if Monica has that much time.

All right, so we need to treat this like a hostage situation.

I need you to be attentive and compassionate.

Just tell him whatever he wants to hear.

Ok. I got this.

I got this.

[Line rings]

Recording: Hello, this is Bill.

Please leave a message. [Beep]

Bill, it's Penelope from the support group.

Bill, I'm not gonna go away.

I need to talk to her.

I know Monica is in there with you and I need you to put her on the phone.

Monica can't come to the phone right now.

Put her on the phone, Bill.

You know I can't do that.

I think you can, Bill.

Right now I am the only thing that is going to help you out of this.

And I want to help you, but you need to put her on the phone.

Hello?

Monica.

She's dead.

There you go.

She's fine. [Hangs up]

Call back.

Ok.

[Telephone rings]

[Ring]

[Ring]

Penelope, I'm not...

Much of a phone person.

So if you want to continue this conversation in private...

The door is open.

Monica: Penelope, don't!

I'm going in there.

Uh--no, no, Garcia.

JJ, I have to.

I have to.

All right.

You just stay close.

Ok.

Morgan: JJ, we're in.

All right, go ahead.

Bill?

Bill?

I don't want to upset you.

[Grunts]

Hey.

Bill, you never meant to hurt Monica.

Just like you never meant to hurt Hope.

He m*rder*d my baby.

Shut the door!

Bill...

I--I know the pain you feel.

I get you.

I know. I heard you talk about it in group.

Why doesn't Monica understand that?

Bill, I just think she needs more time to understand it.

What?

Listen, Bill.

I know all you ever wanted was just somebody to love.

You were trapped inside a cocoon just waiting for somebody to set you free.

Hope made me feel...

For the first time in my life, I felt love.

She was my baby!

You brought Monica here because you're heartbroken.

And you're desperate to recreate what you lost with Hope.

I lost my child!

Bill, you need to tell her.

You can do this, ok?

You need to let her know why this is all happening.

You need to tell her.

You can do this.

Say something.

Say something!

Our baby...

Oh, my God.

[Sobbing] Oh, my God, my baby.

Hope was pregnant.

Bill, drop the g*n.

Do what he says.

Drop it--now.

It's ok, Bill.

Nice and easy, now put your hands where I can see them.

Reid: Slowly step away from Monica.

Morgan: Easy...

Garcia: Monica!

[g*nsh*t]

Garcia: We are each on our own journey.

Each of us are on our very own adventure, encountering all kinds of challenges, and the choices we make on that adventure will shape us as we go.

Those choices will stretch us and test us and push us to our limit.

And our adventure will make us stronger than we ever knew we could be.

There's a quote by my favorite author, Joseph Campbell, and it goes like this: "Find a place inside where there's joy, and the joy will burn out the pain."