02x04 - Psychodrama

[bunniefuu]

Don't you even think about it!

Back it up.

Everybody, down!

Everybody, down!

I think I said watch it.

I said watch it!

Please, don't.

Over the past two months, the L. A. Field office has been tracking a series of 4 bank robberies in the L. A. Metro area.

It's one individual wearing a black ski mask.

He's highly skilled.

It's his unique M. O.

That put him squarely in our court.

This happened two days ago.

He's making them undress?

He takes their clothes and locks them in the vault, then he goes for the cash.

Smart.

Nobody's going to run after him butt naked.

It's also a psychological advantage.

Make the captives feel exposed, intimidated, and much less likely to fight back.

That, and the mac-10 he's waving around.

Boy's got a lot of firepower.

But why is this case for us?

Because in the last robbery, two things changed.

One, he b*at the security guard nearly senseless, and two, after he made everyone undress, he forced two pairs of victims together at gunpoint, then he made them simulate sex with each other.

It's remarkable. By utilizing a practical M. O.

The unsub has stumbled on to a psychological signature.

It's fascinating.

He's a sex offender now.

Fueled by violent rage.

Only our unsub doesn't know it yet. If he did, he wouldn't be robbing banks anymore.

So, he's a violent sex offender in denial.

And a sexual predator who's just escalated his crimes.

He's a serial k*ller in the making.

Hey, what are you doing here?

Your cell phone kept going straight to voicemail.

Yeah, no, I was in a meeting.

Is everything all right?

Going out of town?

Yeah, we gotta go to L. A. I was going to call you from the car.

What is it?

You really don't know why I'm here?

Honey, I'm sorry, we're running late.

I just got back from the hospital.

Jack?

Oh, my God, the tests.

What happened?

He's got a condition.

It's treatable and he's going to be okay.

I'm sorry.

How was he?

Scared.

They put those electrodes all over him and he was wondering where his daddy was.

Babe, you promised you'd be there.

I know.

I'm sorry.

Where is he now?

At home with my mom.

I didn't want him here while we were talking.

Look, I know this job is important to you, but we're important, too.

You don't have to tell me that.

I don't want you to wake up some day in some random city and realize that you don't know your own son.

They can go without me.

No, they can't.

It's okay.

Go.

We'll talk about it when you get home.

I'm so sorry.

Sorry "Man is least himself when he talks in his own person.

Give him a mask and he will tell you the truth."

Oscar Wilde.

"Stripping bandit."

That's terrible. That makes it sound like the bandit's doing the stripping.

What would you call him?

Pervert.

Scumbag.

I'd call him an ass Hey, focus, please.

We have the details of the 4 bank robberies to learn before we get to Los Angeles.

At this point is he more a bank robber or a sex offender?

Seriously. What's he going to do next, rob a bank or r*pe somebody?

I'd say we need to know more about how he robs the banks and who he chooses to victimize.

Why these banks and why these victims?

Pairing these specific people together is a fantasy.

If we can figure out the nature of that fantasy, we may be able to predict his targets.

In the last robbery I don't see any photos of what he made the victims actually do.

There is a problem with this surveillance system. We're working on it.

We should hit the ground running.

How should we break it down?

There's got to be a pattern to the banks.

We should run a geographical profile.

That's yours.

And for the sexual aspects, we need to look at the specific victimology.

You and I can go with the victim reports, see whatever surveillance footage they've got.

Leaves the unsub himself.

We'll need his perspective.

Crime scene.

The suspect entered around 2:00 P. M.

And a witness said he saw a man on a motorcycle with a backpack speed by a few minutes after the robbery.

Freeway's just a few blocks that way, right?

Actually, we're within a half-mile of 3 freeways.

This is a perfect location.

If he's on a bike, he's got no trouble getting out of here.

Well, first he's got to get to his bike.

Where's it parked?

It could be anywhere.

No! No.

A guy this good wouldn't risk his bike not being anywhere near when he comes out.

He'd park illegally. Probably not in the parking lot, but further down the block, maybe, or or right across the street here.

We need to know if any of these places have security cameras that might have caught the bike.

Ready?

Let's go rob a bank.

Basically, we assume the suspects will hunt close to where they live, but far enough to remain anonymous.

Each one of these data points represents a bank that he hit, and this area where the lines intersect give us the best estimate of the unsub's home.

So, how many does that narrow it down to?

Couple hundred thousand.

Oh.

Witness statements.

Not planning on seeing any of the sights this afternoon, were you?

I've already seen the Hollywood sign, been to the Getty center, I'm not really interested in John Wayne's footprints, so I guess that covers the sights of Los Angeles.

Let me guess, New York?

Now, what would make you say that?

Is this all the video equipment you've got?

That ain't Quantico.

I need to set up a link with our tech back there.

We got another bay as crappy as this one down the hall.

You all right?

I just need some popcorn.

Have fun.

So, he enters and he walks right to this spot.

Pulls his w*apon out and sh**t into the ceiling right there.

That gets everyone's attention, let's them all know he's dead serious.

Efficient.

This is the best spot in the bank.

I can see all the tellers, the front door, and that's the back office over there.

So, he knew exactly where to go.

He had been here before.

Next.

Next, he turns, - aims the g*n at the guard.

Don't you even think about it!

Back it up.

Disarms the guard and handcuffs him to the base.

So, where's the thr*at?

The guard's disarmed and chained.

How's he a thr*at to the unsub?

He isn't.

Then why did he take the time to as*ault?

He's got control, he's obviously got skills, the very thing that he doesn't have is time.

He didn't as*ault the guards in the previous banks, why?

What's changed? What's different about this guard?

Maybe this guard reminded him of somebody.

What were the guards in the previous robberies wearing?

Uniforms?

Black suits.

That's it.

That's all.

Our boy's efficient, he's determined.

This ain't his first picnic.

He's got his trade down cold.

Something about a guy in uniform triggers an emotional response.

Army?

No Army, you're conditioned to work with people. This guy, he don't trust anybody.

Prison.

Best trade school in the country.

I got access to 4 bank robberies with security footage.

- What do I get to do with them?

You know your... digital perspective whatever software?

- Digital perspective analysis rendering?

Yeah.

Honey, not only do I know it, I helped develop it.

Good, 'cause I want every physical dimension of the unsub: Height, waist size, inseam, everything that you can give me.

Honey, if he opens his mouth, I'll give you the length of his teeth.

Just keep it clean and don't call me honey.

See anything interesting?

Maybe.

He took his time, he looked at me, then he pointed his g*n at me.

And you were all naked at this point?

Yes.

Bank manager's wife. She stopped by to pick him up.

They were going to celebrate their son's 16th birthday.

The son was with them?

Daughter, too.

He knows the kids are theirs?

Witnesses said he checked their wallets first.

He would have seen their names.

So, of all 13 people, he puts together woman in her 60's, guy in his 30's, married couple in front of their kids.

Why?

Maybe they were the most inappropriate couples he could think of.

He's sadistic.

Would explains why he brings them here.

He could have taken them behind the teller windows, he could have taken them back into the vault, but he chooses here.

It's the most exposed place in the bank.

Like a stage.

Like, it was as important for them to see what was going on as it was for him.

Public humiliation.

I said, watch it!

Robbery wasn't about the money. It was about getting off on what he made these people do on this spot.

Forcing others to squirm and watch.

We got to know what exactly they were forced to do.

We need to see the fantasy.

Did you ever get a hold of the security videos?

Yes, but they were mostly erased.

That's Henderson, the bank manager.

Said he was so flustered after what he had been through, that when he was gathering the tapes for us, he hit the wrong buttons and erased part of them.

You believe him?

No. I told him I thought he was embarrassed about the tapes getting out and he erased them on purpose.

He denied it.

You rule out the possibility he was in on it?

Why would he be involved in a robbery when he had to go through something like that?

Maybe he didn't know what was gonna happen. Maybe he was betrayed by the unsub.

Or perhaps he was coerced.

There's been many documented cases of robbers forcing bank managers to assist them with their crimes.

None of that is consistent with the M. O.'S of the other robberies.

Maybe there's a reason this last one was different from the others.

A call from Quantico on one.

Thanks.

Garcia, it's Hotch.

Are we ready for something completely weird?

How weird are we talking, Garcia?

The security footage Hotch gave me, I ran it through my software 3 times...

And?

And there are weird height issues.

I. e., the unsub in the first three robberies is 6 foot 1 and the unsub in the last robbery, he's 5'10".

So what? In the last robbery we're dealing with a different unsub?

An unsub who is somehow able to erase tapes that show exactly what happened at that bank.

An unsub who may have possibly had inside help.

I think it's time we sit down with the bank manager.

Look, I already told the other agent that I was nervous. I screwed up.

What else do you want me to say?

It took you 9 minutes to call 911 after the robber left.

I was collecting the tapes.

Before you called 911?

You think I had something to do with this?

You think I'd put my family through this?

No.

I don't think you'd put your family through letting those tapes get out either.

You were the only one who had access to those tapes, mr. Henderson.

Now, at best, you erased them because you were embarrassed, and at worst, because you had something to do with the robbery.

Now, which would you rather have us think?

You got to understand.

We were raised baptists.

It's hard for us to talk about this kind of thing.

It's hard for all of us.

The thought about anybody seeing those tapes, even the police...

No.

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.

I didn't think it would matter.

I think it's pretty clear what this is about.

Shame and humiliation.

Everybody, down!

I said, watch it!

Watch it!

There is nothing wrong with my software.

My software is perfect, isn't it? No, it isn't.

Why must your beauty be so painful? God!

- Yeah?

Pals, don't be ticked, but I think I may have missed the sort of glaringly obvious here.

How would you make yourself taller without being a different person entirely or having some sort of weird chinese surgery?

Heels.

Right, sunshine, but would have seen heels, unless the unsub had them hidden inside his shoe.

The point is, lifts.

Lifts.

Lifts, all hidden up inside his boot.

With a little fancy footwork, pun emphatically intended,

Garcia here managed to dig him out.

Thanks, girl.

He's trying to throw us off, hide his real height.

But why would he take the lifts out just for the last robbery?

Maybe he's getting careless.

Which means he's also getting more dangerous.

At least we know we're only dealing with one unsub.

Based on the knowledge that spending a significant time in prison stunts emotional growth while increasing professional skills, we can estimate this unsub went to jail between the ages of 18 and 22 and spent between 5 and 10 years inside.

That puts him at the approximate age between 23 and 35.

This guy's much more than just a bank robber though.

What started out as a practical M. O., stripping his hostages, triggered a deep psycho-sexual response.

In other words, when he found himself in front of a bunch of naked people under his control, he snapped, then he decided to manipulate them.

And better, or just getting worse, he's attacking banks earlier in the day when more and more people are present.

This sounds like he's sacrificing the safety of having just a few hostages to contain, for the satisfaction of having more subjects to control.

He'll be less interested in money and more interested in sadistically manipulating his captives.

In all likelihood, he'll be high on dr*gs.

It would be wrong, however, to write this guy off as crazy.

Bank robbing is an ambitious crime and it takes time and planning to pull it off.

What makes this unsub unique is his fractured psyche.

On the one hand, a cold, organized bank robber.

On the other, a disorganized sexual sadist full of bottled up rage.

Freeze!

Drop it!

No.

Come on now, just put it down.

I got a mac-10.

One sh*t. You got one sh*t to k*ll me.

Even if you k*ll me, I'm going down sh**ting.

The two parts of his psyche have just begun to bleed together, now when they finally converge, we're talking about a criminal with the skills and efficiency of a master bank robber and the rage of a su1c1de bomber.

He will explode.

Take them off.

I said take them off.

No.

Take... them... off!

Sir, bank robbery in progress. Corner of Washington and Sepulveda.

Kid in the back room called 911 on his cell.

Said the suspect's started making people undress.

L. A. air 8, requesting immediate air support, Washington and Sepulveda.

How far are we from the bank?

Without traffic, 10 minutes.

Let's avoid traffic.

Do I have everybody's attention?

How we doing?

About 8 minutes.

Make it 3.

Please?

Less than a mile.

Just around the corner.

Is this your bike?

Call E. M. S.!

F. B. I.

He took off.

Where?

I don't know.

Ma'am. Ma'am, Can you hear me?

She's unconscious.

Medics are on their way.

Gideon, he may be headed your way.

You know what the odds are of catching a motorcycle with a car in L. A.?

Try not to think about it.

There.

Damn it. Go.

It's the first time he's made so many mistakes.

Hit the bank in the morning, more people around.

Didn't clear the back room, parked his bike right out front.

Didn't bother taking any money.

Did almost everything you predicted.

Sometimes it sucks to be right.

Witnesses said he refused to take off his clothes.

Damn.

That's enough.

It's not the kind of rage you bottle back up.

This could be the beginning of a spree.

How's JJ doing on that suspect list?

I'll call her. I'll call Reid and Elle and get them on it, too.

You don't think he's going to rob another bank?

No.

He doesn't care about money anymore.

Whatever he's after, he'll hurt anyone who gets in his way.

You call Elle and Reid?

Yeah.

What's that?

My son's first steps.

I was out of town and Haley sent me the file.

It's nice.

It's 5 months ago. I haven't loaded anything on here since.

Okay. So you film a new one when you get home.

So, you're sure this is it?

Yeah. Based on all the parameters, age, armed robbery charge, time spent in prison, approximate location of home address based on geographical profile.

It's about 360 names.

These guys aren't sweethearts, but there's only a handful with sex crimes on their rap sheets and none are sexual sadists.

That's not surprising. Bank robbers and g*n nuts aren't typically sex offenders.

That's what makes this unsub unique.

What about a pimp?

Roland Lynch, 32 years old.

Pimps are characteristically sociopathic and, in many cases, sadistic.

Helps control their employees.

Well, this one started out robbing convenience stores before working his way into pimping.

That's unusual. Pimps typically violate by proxy, forcing others to do the work for them, whereas, bank robbers usually operate in pairs or alone.

So, he's sexually sadistic and has experience with armed robbery.

Along with fitting all other parameters of the profile.

All right. I'll get in touch with his parole officer.

You're Lynch's parole officer. When was the last time you talked to him?

Haven't talked to Lynch in a month.

What can you tell us about him?

Roland?

A real peach.

He used to punish his girls by raping them in front of their little sisters.

He got a habit?

Which one of mine doesn't?

If I'm not mistaken, he probably has about a 10 rock a day monkey.

If Lynch is our guy, he's going downhill fast, but if he's tweaking, he's going down even faster.

His latest drug test isn't back yet, but I'm betting it isn't going to be clean.

You got a line on him?

Give me a break. You know what my case load is like?

Hey, come on, man.

He might have beaten a civilian to death with a mac-10, caved in a meter maid's face, and that's just the beginning.

That make the top of your list.

I'll make some calls.

Thank you.

F. B. I. I need Roland Lynch.

Talk to me, Roland Lynch. Roland lynch?

Hey! Roland Lynch?

Quoi?

Don't even think about it. Don't move!

Give it to me. Give it to me.

You know I can count about 16 different ways you've just violated your parole.

They send in feds for busting parole?

We're here for the bank robberies and the delivery man you k*lled.

I don't rob banks.

You violated parole, we've got you on possession, you're going down.

You think I'm gonna roll over'cause you're waving 3 to 5 at me?

I took b*ating's that lasted longer than that.

If I were you, I wouldn't even worry about the m*rder charge.

I'd worry what happens to you when word gets around you're a pervert.

Yeah, well, I made my living being a pervert.

You can tell them that.

Oh, this is different.

Went after little old ladies, kids.

Witnesses say you got off when the old lady took her shirt off.

Old ladies, kids, inside, think about it.

Hey, Roland, you're high out of your mind right now, aren't you?

Get him in the car.

Take him back to the field office, spend a few hours with him, he'll sober up.

Give me a pot of coffee and I'll go all night with this fool. Get him out of here.

- Hey, Morgan.

We got him.

This guy's a hardcore prison rat.

Elle.

Hang on.

We just got another call, restaurant in the south bay.

Guy came in in a ski-mask, started making people undress.

He just sh*t a 14-year-old kid. - When?

10 minutes ago.

What'd she say?

Hardcore or not, you've got the wrong scumbag.

According to witnesses, he came in and fired into ceiling.

He separated all the kids from their parents.

Then?

He's forcing the sons to hit their mothers.

He started to.

When he tried to get the first one to hit his mother harder, he refused, and when he refused...

It doesn't make sense. They're children.

He's playing out a fantasy.

Yeah, but it's his fantasy and someone else's children.

They're surrogates of some kind.

No. You don't do this to someone else's kids to get off. You just don't do it.

It just doesn't make sense to me.

You internalize v*olence. You take it out on other people.

Why force somebody else to do it?

Why force children to act out your rage?

He didn't make the children do anything at the bank.

Manager said he put the parents together.

So, why is he so focused on the kids now?

I want to talk to the bank manager again.

I don't know what else I can tell you. I've already gone over it 3 times.

What we need to know is if there's something in that tape that you don't want us to know about?

There were 12 other people in that bank who were forced to watch.

What could I possibly be hiding?

This is about your children, isn't it?

We're sorry.

Mr. Henderson, this is very important.

He's already k*lled 2 people and he's not going to stop.

God! Go ahead.

Why don't you tell them what he did to us, what you let him do?

He had a g*n.

He was going to k*ll me.

Come on.

They took my family from me.

We can't even look at each other anymore.

I don't know how a family gets over something like that.

They don't.

Excuse me.

Is it true he would have k*lled my father if he tried to stand up to him?

There's no way to know, Darren, but your father did the right thing.

Is there some reason you doubt that?

It's just...

The robber said something afterwards.

He said he was sorry.

He apologized.

Sadists don't apologize.

They gloat, maybe, but they don't apologize.

Our guy's not a sadist.

We got that part of the profile wrong.

He doesn't derive any sadistic pleasure from these fantasies, they're more like a compulsion.

Compulsion that's literally life or death?

I mean, if anyone interferes, he kills them.

It's like he's compelled to direct these fantasies using these people as actors.

Actors on a stage, it's a play.

It's a psychodrama.

What's that?

It's a form of psychotherapy whereby actors serve as surrogates for actual people in the patient's life.

Incorporates many elements of theatre, including an audience.

There's a very famous pilot program at the San Luis Obispo county jail in the mid-nineties.

Isn't that just a couple hours away from here?

Let's go over the suspect list and see how many of them did time in San Luis Obispo.

The answer is 4.

Come on. Tell me you narrowed it down a little more than that.

Only two live in state, but only 1 lives in L. A.

Ha, that a girl.

Caleb Dale Sheppard, last known address 236 Harbor Lane, Inglewood.

Thanks, mama.

That's only 1.6 miles from the last restaurant that he hit.

I've been studying a lot of L. A. Maps.

If he's been attacking that close to home, he's given up any interest in protecting his identity.

We need to all go down there and split up, half to his address, half patrol in the area around the restaurant in case he's on the hunt.

Mrs. Sheppard, do you know where your son is?

Dale doesn't live here anymore.

Where is he, mrs. Sheppard?

He's a grown man.

You have any idea how much trouble your son could be in?

Jail?

He's a good boy.

Lost his way a bit, that's all.

Well, that's one way to look at 12 years in and out of prison.

You've never made a mistake?

Your son spent time in a juvenile home?

He was out of control, even att*cked his own sister once, but his father d*ed.

It wasn't his fault.

Was it yours?

What?

Was it your fault?

How many of these did you take today, mrs. Sheppard?

I had...

Back problems my whole life.

She's completely out of her mind.

She's so lonely she'll just keep talking to us.

I doubt she'll tell us where he is.

That was Garcia. Apparently Sheppard's sister d*ed 12 years ago, su1c1de.

Lady sure did a number on her kids.

She's probably lonely after the husband d*ed and on painkillers, not in her right mind, and nobody there to turn to but Sheppard and his sister.

So, now he's symbolically punishing his mother?

He's playing out a fantasy.

Sons gaining total control over their mothers.

We got something.

"Dale daybreak hotel."

Sheppard, F. B. I.

Key?

No, I got one.

Clear!

Yeah, it's clear here, too.

Morgan. Crystal meth.

Oh, he's got to be halfway out of his mind by now.

Which would explain why he left this behind.

Well, it looks like he's on foot. Here's his bike.

I'm calling Hotch.

- Yeah?

Look, he's not here.

From the looks of it, he just left.

Hotch, he's tweaking.

He's unmasked and he's probably on foot.

All right, stay there. Call if there's any sign of him.

Okay. You Too.

If he's on foot, he must still be in the neighborhood.

How do we find him?

At this point, he'll probably hit the first thing that catches his attention.

Families.

A public place.

If the trend continues, he'll look for a bigger audience.

Public place with families.

Guys, there's a public park not far from here.

Where?

. 6 miles from where we are now.

. 9 miles from the hotel where the unsub's staying, which we'll actually pass if we take a right at the next light.

There's no sign of him.

We've got cruisers everywhere. Where could he be?

There's only a few blocks between here and his hotel.

He's got to be really close.

Do it.

No.

I said, do it.

No.

Do it.

It's okay.

Come on, you can do it.

No, no.

Please, just do what he says, please.

I said do it!

Please, do what he says.

It's ok, sweetheart.

Mommy says it's ok.

Put it down.

Drop the Kn*fe.

It won't fix you, Sheppard.

It doesn't matter what you make them do, how many people are watching you.

Oh, my God.

Got him.

It's okay, baby.

Look at these people. Look at them!

They're children.

They're children, for god's sake.

I need something that kills.

Give me something. I need something.

You sh*t me!

You had a hunting Kn*fe to a little boy's throat.

Just give me something for the pain, you son of a bitch!

She did it!

Who did?

My mom.

You don't know what she did to me.

Did you really think you were going to get back at your mom by attacking all these other people?

The bitch deserved it.

Except you didn't go after her, you went after all these other women.

So what?

You went after children.

They're gonna have to learn sooner or later.

What are they going to have to learn? That no one's there for you.

He's a drug addict. He's detoxing.

I don't care what he asks for.

Don't give him anything.

Come on.

He's not a doctor.

He's right. I'm an F. B. I. agent, and he k*lled a 14-year-old boy today.

"The basis of shame is not some personal mistake of ours, but that this humiliation is seen by everyone."

Milan Kundera.

You okay?

I was showing those trainees around the offices the other day.

They all want to be in the BAU.

I told them what a great job it is.

And they even applauded when the tour was over.

I heard.

Yeah, but I didn't really tell them the truth.

I didn't tell them what it's like to spend your days in this hell.

It's fun, huh?

I mean, who's to blame for somebody like Sheppard?

His mother?

Broken home?

Society? All of it? None of it?

It gets worse and worse with each case.

Save one life, we save the world.

Yeah.

Well, the one thing I didn't tell the trainees.

What's that?

We do not get paid enough.

You got that right.