04x14 - Cold Comfort

[bunniefuu]

Deceased

Detective fulwood.

You got a visitor.

I'm not here.

It's sandra lombardini.

The body we found the woods-- it wasn't brooke.

Do you know who?

It was lynette hagen.

Her parents just identified the remains.

We have people searching the area, but the rain's making it tough.

You should try to get some sleep, sandra.

I can't.

Not without knowing.

Ron, I need something from you.

Anything.

The necklace--brooke's-- the one you found on the ground by the car.

That's in evidence.

Something like that may take some time.

Please. I need it.

May I ask you why?

He says it could tell him things.

What is it?

What did you see?

"current influences should turn this day into one with plenty of potential, "

"but aidhe trap of trying too hard.

Know your strengths. Rely on them.

"confidence, real or pretend, is your magic ingredient."

Confidence. Yes, I like that.

Come on, guys, you don't think there's actually anything to that stuff, do you?

You'd be surprised.

It's gibberish.

Thank you.

Oh, you are just jealous because you don't have the magic ingredient.

I have the magic ingredient.

It's called splenda.

All right, skeptic, what's your sign?

No.

No--is that in april?

Reid, we need a d.o.b.on prentiss.

Ah, 7:12 a.m., october 12, 19-- libra--i should have known.

"a romantic opportunity may experience a slight hitch thanks to the pesky lunar influence"

"which could have you dipping into a rather chilly mood.

If being demonstrative and warm is difficult, "

"then neutralize this temporary cold front with a simple but affectionate gesture."

I have a simple gesture.

You guys ready to gather?

Well, look at you, miss thing. First day back and you're all business.

Well, it's either dive right in or confront my separation anxiety.

It's tough being away from him, huh?

Yeah.

Oh, hey, that's new, isn't it?

Yeah, citrine. It's henry's birthstone.

Will and I both got one.

Oh, that's sweet.

You done with this?

All yours.

Thank you.

There's been a string of abductions in olympia, washington, going back 9 months.

4 women in all, blond, blue-eyed, early 20s.

This morning they found one.

When were they taken?

9 months ago.

So she was the first?

Yeah.

Looks almost mummified.

Uh, not exactly.

Frozen?

Embalmed.

That's different.

Yeah. So the time of death is a bit of a question mark right now.

Where did they find her?

In a state park just east of olympia.

Seasonal hiking area.

The body was jarred loose during a mudslide.

That, plus the abnormal decomp makes it difficult to know how long she was there.

It says the victims were abducted about 3 months apart.

He's rotating his victims out.

There are gonna be more bodies out there.

Criminal Minds Season04 Episode14 Cold Comfort "and so, all the night tide "i lay down by the side of my darling, my darling, "

"my life and my bride, in the sepulcher there by the sea, "

In her tomb by the sounding sea."

Edgar allan poe.

So if I wanted to embalm a body, well, what's the process?

Start with some nose plugs.

The blood is drained through the jugular vein And replaced with embalming fluid through one of the two major arteries.

It usually takes a few hours.

Then you'd need special equipment, training.

Knowledge of the human vascular system would also be a plus.

A doctor, maybe.

A nurse, technician, somebody with a background in mortuary sciences.

Now, there's a major they didn't offer at my school.

Personally, the whole thing just seems weird to me.

Embalming, I mean.

Some people like to look good for their funeral.

But it's not them. It's just a shell, polished and painted.

I just want to be cremated.

The question is why somebody would embalm the body of someone they just m*rder*d.

He wants to hold on to them.

It's a possession issue.

This way they can never leave.

Maybe fear of abandonment speaks to his history.

But eventually even an embalmed body will decay and he finds himself in need of new victiMs.

That explains the abduction cycle-- a new victim every 3 months.

Which means at least 2 of the remaining women are already dead.

And the third?

Brooke lombardini.

It's been 4 days since she, uh, disappeared following her shift at a local restaurant.

We know the odds.

90% of all abduction victims are k*lled within the first 36 hours.

Hiker found a foot protruding from the soil right up here.

Whole side of the hill slid down from up there.

So you're focusing the search in this area here.

Yeah, but if he dumped other bodies here, he's got over 800 acres to work with.

Keep your men near the fire road, detective.

One man dragging a body through the woods...

110 pounds of dead weight, he's not gonna get far from the path.

That's why a lot of K*llers dismember their victiMs.

They're easier to dispose of that way.

You think it says something about the profile, he didn't chop her up?

Possibly, yeah.

What is it?

Uh, detective.

We got--we got something up here.

The answer to your question, detective, is yes, this k*ller can't dismember these women.

He cares for them.

Brooke worked the closing shift the night she disappeared.

She would have walked this way to her car.

Upscale restaurant?

Well, let's just say that I don't go unless it's on someone else's dime.

What are you thinking?

These women were taken as they left work.

High-end spa, nice restaurant, jewelry store.

If he patronizes these businesses, then he's got money.

It narrows the profile a little.

The cook said that he left just a few minutes after brooke.

Saw her car there, driver's side door open.

He was quick. Surprised her.

11 p.m., it was dark, he had cover.

She probably never saw him coming.

It says in here they recovered her necklace, amethyst, broken chain?

Right here, right next to the car.

Did you process the necklace?

We couldn't get anything off of it.

Just some hair in the clasp. Hers.

I'd like to take a look at it.

Yeah, well, I gave it back to her mother.

Isn't it a little premature to be returning evidence to the family?

There were special circumstances.

She hired someone.

Guy by the name of, uh, stanley usher.

He helped find a kid in portland a couple years ago.

Private investigator?

A psychic.

What does that have to do with the necklace?

Apparently he can read personal things...

Their aura. I don't know.

So what did he tell her?

I know brooke is still alive.

It's not too late for you to do the right thing.

Let her come home to me.

She turns 27 on wednesday.

Wish she would have waited until we had a chance to coach her.

I don't know, she seems to be doing a pretty good job.

Good enough to make the unsub think twice about k*lling brooke.

If he hasn't already.

Chances are this is all too late.

It's her daughter. She has to have hope, right?

Hope's one thing. False hope is something else.

I guess you've worked with psychics before?

Yeah. Not by choice.

You know, there are cases where people believe they've helped.

When people are vulnerable, they'll believe a lot of things.

We think the man who took her, uh, may have come by her work.

A customer, someone she may have talked about.

We think this man is a loner.

He would dine by himself, make frequent visits.

But he's shy, avoids eye contact.

She got asked out sometimes.

No, this man wouldn't have asked her out.

He wouldn't have had the courage.

He would have stared at her, made her uncomfortable.

I've told the police everything I know.

You shouldn't be here. You should be looking into the clues.

Right. Clues from brooke's necklace.

Yes, sir. It's called token object reading, or-- psychometry.

Yeah. You're not my first.

A fenced-in area, the color orange, and the numbers 8, 6, 7.

Does that help you?

So, Mr. Usher, by touching a personal item, you think that you can tell if someone's alive or dead.

Sometimes.

See, a person's energy makes an impression on everything they touch.

It allows me to connect with them.

The hard part is interpreting what I'm given.

Did you get anything else, uh, about her condition?

Only that she...

Felt weakened, tired. I don't know, uh... Heavy.

Heavy. Can I talk to you for a second?

Excuse me.

I've been around a little, and I've seen guys le you come into the lives of grieving families.

Sir, I assure you, that's not what-- - listen to me.

The last thing this woman needs is some con man giving her unrealistic ideas.

With all due respect, sir, you may not know what she needs.

Your job is to know the perpetrators.

We're not talking about my job.

Well, maybe we should be.

Because there are a lot of people out there who don't believe in what you do, either.

I just got a call.

They found a third body.

Annette hagen, erin bonham, and melissa st. Claire, all embalmed.

That's the first 3. That leaves the lombardini girl still out there.

Did you figure out cause of death?

Blood loss.

Blood loss?

They were alive when they were embalmed?

Looks that way. Tox screens show significant levels of barbiturate.

They were sedated, maybe unconscious.

Reid, look at this. They all have the same haircut.

These are recent photos. These two had much longer hair at the time of their auction.

So the unsub cut it.

Something else he may have done.

Their ears have all been double-pierced.

Were they sexually assaulted?

Not exactly.

There was no tearing or bruising that would normally suggest it.

But I did find trace amounts of semen.

You're saying it may have been consensual?

No.

She's saying they were dead.

I spoke to the families.

None of the victims had double-pierced ears at the time of their abduction.

Cutting hair and piercing ears.

He's changing them.

Into what, though?

Into who.

The burial suggests an affection for his victiMs.

Which says he might be remaking them into the image of a loved one.

The m.e.found high levels of barbiturate?

Yeah. Why?

Just, uh, something the psychic said-- that brooke felt tired, heavy.

Why are we talking about the psychic?

It's a scam. These guys talk without saying anythg and you fall for it.

Well, he said that brooke's alive, so I guess I just want to believe him.

Jj, you know the profile.

A necrophiliac has no use for a live victim.

You ready to talk to them?

Garcia, I need you to run a full background check for me.

Name's usher, stanley usher.

By now we know the dna found on the victims did not match anyone in the system, So we're gonna have to look beyond physical evidence to identify the k*ller.

Our unsub is a white male in his mid to late 20s, and he has money.

He lives alone, in a large residence.

There's enough space and ventilation to accommodate an embalming suite.

He's awkward with people, especially women.

An inability to relate socially is common in homicidal necrophiles.

Because of the alterations to the bodies, we believe the unsub is attempting to recreate a woman he once loved.

Like a girlfriend?

Or a wife, a mother. Someone who left or d*ed suddenly.

This projection of the loved one coupled with his need to preserve the victims through embalming is similar to the psychopathology of serial m*rder*r ed gein.

Gein had an oedipal complex which developed in the years he nursed his paralyzed mother back from a stroke.

After she d*ed, his obsession compelled him to dig up corpses of women who resembled his mother.

So persistent was his desire to resurrect his dead mother that He actually dressed in female suits fashioned from human skin.

Eventually, gein grew unhappy with the flesh of dead bodies, Which had a tendency to dry and cr*ck, So he shifted his focus to live victims whose bodies he could better preserve.

The evolution from dead to live victims will also be mirrored in our unsub's maturation.

We've put together a list of incident reports prior to 2006.

You're gon want to follow up on these.

Now, they are inappropriate postmortem conduct, cadaver theft, and graveyard disturbances.

60% of necrophiles work in the death business, So be sure to canvass local cemeteries, mortuaries, and morgues.

And since we have the k*ller's dna, we're gonna be sending you out with kits to swab potential suspects.

The odds of finding brooke lombardini alive are slim, But the quicker we identify the k*ller, the better her chances are.

For her sake, let's work fast.

That lawsuit is a joke.

It's my job to prep the deceased.

I s simply adjusting her clothing.

By adjusting you mean undressing?

Look, man, I'm not here to judge you.

I'm looking for a k*ller.

So if you want to prove your innocence, all you gotta do is say "ahh."

We're looking for instances where graves have been disturbed-- desecrations, exhumations.

Female bodies. Attractive ones.

Nobody's attractive once they've been in the ground.

They would have been recent burials.

No, haven't had anything like that.

An older grave got ransacked a couple years ago.

Was the body taken?

No. The body was just a pile of bones.

They stripped it clean, though.

Made off with the jewelry, dress.

I won't lie. It--it happens in the industry.

And we put a stop to it when it does.

You don't report it to the police?

Well, we... Like to keep that kind of thing quiet.

A k*ller is dressing up his dead victims and violating them.

Maybe quiet isn't the best way to go.

He dresses them up?

That mean something to you?

We hired an apprentice a while back.

Odd guy. Even for this business.

I didn't like the attention he paid the female cadavers.

I come to find out he liked to do their makeup.

Put a wig on them and such.

Can you describe the wig for me?

We cleaned out his locker after his termination.

There she is.

He never came back for it. Imagine that.

I need this man's name.

Ivan bakunas?

Yeah. Can i-- can I help you?

You could invite us inside.

It's a little wet out here.

Oh, i--i can't.

Mother's sleeping.

We're investigating a series of murders in the area.

We believe the k*ller works in your field.

Jeez. You're kidding. Do I know him?

You might. His victims are just your type. Blond hair, blue skin.

You're suggesting I'm some kind of m*rder*r?

Then you are way out of line.

So you wouldn't object to giving us a sample of your dna.

I don't know. No.

We can get a warrant.

I think I've said all I'm gonna say.

Did you find anything on ivan bakunas?

Nothing in juvey.

But he was expelled from evergreen state For assaulting his girlfriend.

Sexual?

He was slipping her tranquilizers and having sex with r while she slept.

That qualifies.

Oh, wait! Emily, maybe this is that romantic encounter your horoscope foretold.

Bye, garcia.

Between that and the wig, we should be able to persuade a judge.

Detective, I'm not gonna stand in your way if you want to serve a warrant on bakunas, But I think you're wasting your time.

You're kidding, right?

We profiled a man of means.

According to his tax records, bakunas hasn't held down a job since he graduated college.

He lives with his mother.

Doesn't have a car.

The embalming equipment, the dr*gs-- that stuff's not cheap.

Look, this guys like to get it on with dead people.

If that's not probable cause, I don't know what is.

Hotch, a 911 operator just got a distress call from someone claiming to be brooke lombardini.

Hello?

Can you speak up, ma'am?

No. He'll hear me.

This is brooke lombardini.

Please, I need help.

Where are you calling from, ma'am?

I'm being held prisoner.

Ok, ma'am. Can you look outside?

Can you see a street name or an address?

Please... I think he's...

Ma'am?

Gonna k*ll me.

Please help me.

You're certain? She's barely audible.

Y surveillance expert will tell you it's almost impossible to positively identify a whisper.

You think I don't know my own daughter's voice?

Why would someone who was not brooke call 911 and say they were?

Sometimes people get off injecting themselves into the story.

You've been on tv now and that could bring out a lot of sick individuals.

Stanley said she was alive. This proves it.

Stanley usher has a vested interest in telling you that your daughter is alive.

And do you have a vested interest in telling me that she's not?

He has a record, ma'am.

I had a colleague look into it.

Usher was charged with fraud in oregon...

Before he pulled up stakes and moved here.

I need my baby to be alive.

All she has right now is hope.

Why would you take that from her?

You know, most people think that a person's hair and nails continue to grow after they're dead.

That's a myth.

Abby... Abby... Abby, hold still.

I know how much you like a straight line.

Who's abby?

You are, silly.

911 call came from a disposable cell.

No i.d., but they traced it to the nearest tower And that narrows it down to a 20-mile radius here just southeast of seattle.

That's a densely populated area.

Were they able to triangulate?

Garcia tried to ping the phone, but it was already dead.

The unsub probably turned it off when he found her with it.

You mean if he found her.

Dave, I agree with you about psychics, But the fact is sandra lombardini positively identified her daughter's voice.

We have to assume that that call was genuine.

So what do we think?

Why is the unsub keeping brooke alive?

And how long do we think she has until he kills her?

Maybe he needs them alive to effect their transformation.

The change in the hair, the makeup, piercing the ears-- that would only take a few hours.

He's had her for almost 5 days.

Ok, so maybe it's about something more than just appearance.

Maybe it's something deeper.

On the phone she made it sound li she was being locked up, and she sounded drugged.

These are control mechanisms used in cases of sexual sl*very, mind control-- it's brainwashing.

So he's trying to break her down, make her surrender her identity.

That's what he's waiting for.

That's the version of them he wants to hold onto.

The longer she holds out, the longer she stays alive.

And as soon as she accepts her new role, her fate is sealed.

Abby?

Abby.

Tell me a story, abby.

You know I can't sleep without a story.

Please...

Let me out.

Story first, abby.

I told you, I'm not abby.

What did you do to me?

Tell me a story, abby.

I told you, I'm not abby!

Ok. Thank you.

That was the lab with the dna results on those swabs.

No matches?

No. Our guy's still out there.

What's he doing here?

Detective, a word.

Do you know what you're doing?

Can't afford to let my ego get in the way on this one.

Take all the help I can get.

Look, I'm happy to be wrong about brooke.

Hell, I'm praying I am.

But I'm not wrong about this guy.

Mr. Usher, good to see you again.

And you.

Can I help you with something?

I'm spoken for.

This way.

Ma'am.

Congratulations.

Tell me a story, abby.

Tell me a story so I can sleep.

"once upon a time there was once...

A lad who went to look for a place..."

"and he went along, he met a man who asked him where he was going."

He told him his errand and the stranger said that he--" you're not doing it right!

You're supposed to do the voices.

Ok, just tell me what you want and I'll do it!

I want abby!

I'll be abby! I'll be whoever you want!

No! No! No!

Abby?

Abby.

So you went ahead and arrested him.

He was trying to cross the border into vancouver.

Are you gonna charge him?

Will if he confesses.

Failing that, we'll hold him so he can't skip town while we're waiting for his dna results.

I'll let the lab know a priority sample's coming.

Thanks.

Well, what did he get off of the wig, detective?

Enough to know that that's one sick puppy in there.

Why don't you tell me about that.

Looks like a wig.

That is a magic wig.

It chaes the identity of the dead.

What?

Well, I thought that's why you were putting it on the bodies at the morgue.

It makes the fantasy more real.

Ivan...

Who were you trying to turn them into?

I have worked some sick cases-- rapists, pederasts--

I hope you're not grouping me with those people.

You may be the sickest of them all.

Well, sick or no, many would argue it's a victimless crime.

What's victimless about lynette hagen?

Who?

Or melissa st. Claire.

I don't know these women, ok?You have the wrong-- the wrong necrophile?

What, you think I'm the only guy in town who likes to cr*ck open a cold one?

Where is brooke lombardini?

I don't know who that is.

I don't k*ll people.

These, uh, profilers say our k*ller is trying to turn these girls into a loved one.

Like a wife or a mom.

Is your, uh, mother a blonde, ivan?

That's disgusting.

The wig isn't even the important part.

For me it's--it's the shoes.

So you put shoes on them, too.

They're a very special pair.

What's special about them?

The woman walked in them.

Sunny raines.

The weather girl?

She was a local celebrity k*lled in a car accident a couple of years ago.

A friend of mine was working when she came in on a slab.

He knew I was a fan.

Oh, so... He stole her shoes for you.

The wig, it just completed the look, but the shoes...

Genuine article.

That's what makes it real.

Genuine article.

Reid.

I took a report of a grave robbery.

I thought you said it was just a simple theft.

Yeah, but listen to what was taken.

A dress, a pair of diamond earrings, and a pair of pearl earrings.

2 pair.

If our unsub is like bakunas, Then he needs the genuine articles from the true object of his affection to complete the fantasy.

Exactly. This grave could belong to that woman.

Let's see. Abigail hansen.

Ok, so I got her obit from the olympian.

Abigail reina hansen d*ed suddenly at 26 from myocarditis, a heart defect.

Sending her passport photo now.

Well, she certainly looks the part.

Garcia, what else can you tell us about her?

I can tell you that she was born in amsterdam, she never married, And her employment records show her working for patrick and leona gless from 1985 to her death in 1992.

Can you get us an address for the gless family?

They might be the only ones who can tell us who abigail was.

Yeah.

"this is the most beautiful place I could ever hope to live, said the troll's daughter."

"the youth and his sweetheart entered the castle, which was now theirs, and held their wedding."

"now all the kings roundabout who had been in the troll's debt And were now out of it came to the wedding"

"and saluted the youth as their emperor.

Long live the king!"

"and he ruled over them all And kept peace in the kingdom" abby.

"and lived in his castle with his beautiful empress happily ever after.

The end."

And as soon as she accepts her new role, her fate is sealed.

Did garcia say what Mr.

Gless does for a living?

Failed artist.

Guess that's what they call failing up or marrying well.

I think about abigail from time time.

She was such a nice girl.

She was like one of the family.

Was that why you paid for the funeral?

She didn't have anyone else.

She was from denmark.

Holland, dear.

What kind of work did she do for you?

She was the au pair.

And there was some cooking and cleaning.

She took care of the children?

Just the one-- our son roderick. - Here.

This is the two of them together.

They were close.

She basically raised the boy.

Well, I wouldn't go quite that far.

No? What would you call it?

Patrick likes to think he was a good father.

So...

Why do you want to know about abigail?

We believe that there may be a connection to some recent murders.

Someone she knew.

How old was your son when abigail d*ed?

9.

We weren't here when it happened.

We were on a cruise.

But roderick was here with abigail?

When we returned, we knew something was wrong.

The smell.

They were in his room on the floor.

He was...

Curled up next to her, with her arms around him.

It's how he got to sleep.

How long had she been dead?

The coroner said 2, maybe 3 days.

I didn't have the stomach for the details.

We'd like to speak to roderick.

Well, if I knew where he was I'd be happy to tell you.

But we haven't spoken for years.

When he turned 21, he dropped out of medical school, liquidated his trust fund.

We knew he was troubled.

But I had no idea he would ever hurt someone.

They don't know for sure that he's-- y-you don't know for sure.

When was your last communication?

We got a letter about a year ago.

Can we borrow this?

You can have it.

And while you're at it, take this, too.

It's exactly how they said.

Roderick's trust was emptied in march of '04. Half a million bucks.

Where is he now?

Sir, the thing is, he's gotta be using straight cash, 'Cause there's no paper trail on him for the last 4 years.

Nothing from the i.r.s., from the dmv.

There's no property or utilities in his name.

You can't find him?

I'm sorry.

You know, a half a million isn't what it used to be.

And the way this unsub is accustomed to living, After 4 years he would need to supplement his income.

Anything between the lines, reid?

Nothing that points to a specific location.

He's basically saying he's happy.

That should be enough for her.

It's essentially a goodbye letter.

Enough for her?

It's only addressed to leona.

Why not his dad?

Maybe they didn't get along.

No, that's not right.

Garcia, I need you to check something else.

So basically we got nothing.

I missed you.

Me, too.

Drink.

It's the last time.

Promise?

Promise.

The whole thing.

It's a surprise.

What is this place?

It's forever.

Water.

That's what he said.

Roderick is near water.

It's not very specific. The earth is two-thirds water.

He specified a rocky shoreline you could see.

Jj, this man is not exactly a reliable source of information.

Ok. This photo from the gless house-- it was taken at their house on mercer island.

Waterfront property.

No one's lived there for 10 years. It's abandoned. I checked.

This could be where he's holding brooke.

He's sending him money.

What'shat?

Roderick's dad.

It's the reason roderick never said goodbye to him in the letter.

They never lost contact.

That supplemental income you were asking about?

This is it. Every 6 months, a $50,000 wire.

This is western union, though. There's no way to tell he's on the receiving end.

I'm telling you, he's sending it to roderick.

If you'd seen his father, you'd know.

It's true. Deep down, he was very guilty about neglecting him.

He's submissive in the marriage.

He's probably ing it behind her back.

You don't think his dad knew?

No. No, I think he's a sad man trying to buy his kid's love.

This is where brooke's 911 call originated.

This western union is within the circle.

Mercer island isn't.

We've got a location.

Abby!

Abby!

Is she alive?

Paramedics!

He uses a barbiturate.

Start 2 large-bore i.v.s.narcan, 2 milligraMs.

Some psychic this guy is.

This place is as far from a rocky shoreline as you can get.

Dave.

"for those who believe, "no proof is necessary.

For those who don't believe, " no proof is possible stuart chase.

Watch your step there.

Easy, now.

Honey.

Brooke.

She's gonna be ok.

You're in early.

Couldn't sleep.

I know how it can be coming back here.

The bad things seem worse.

You want easy answers.

If you're gonna tell me not to believe in psychics, you don't have to.

You can believe in what you want.

But when you're here, you need to have faith in what we do.

It works.

I just... I saw a mother losing her child, and, uh...

We didn't have any other leads.

I thought, what harm could it do?

I asked the same question once.

You did?

It was a kidnapping case in georgia.

We had nothing, time was running out, and there was a local woman known for her...

Abilities.

On her advice, we took the investigation in the wrong direction.

The boy d*ed.

I'm sorry.

It was a long time ago.

Well, we won this time.

That's what matters, right?

Welcome back.