01x08 - De Los Inocentes

[bunniefuu]

Jack: Over 68 million Americans leave the safety of our borders every year. If danger strikes, the FBI's international response team is called into action.

♪

♪ La gente quiere un bailazo ♪
♪ cada noche es un bailazo ♪
♪ zapata vive un bailazo ♪
♪ baila, revolucionario ♪
♪ manos pa'rriba que es un asalto ♪

This is the best trip, ever.

You say that every year.

I didn't say it when Dad got stung by a jellyfish.

[Laughs]

You did after the hotel doctor took us all in his catamaran.

That was awesome.

What about you, Mom?

What's your favorite vacation down here?

[Tearfully]

I don't know, honey.

They're all special, 'cause your dad and I shared them with you two.

[Chuckle]

Let's toast, hm?

To our last night in paradise and, uh, to I already booked this place for next year.

[Laughter]

Yeah!

You know what's really gonna make this the best trip, ever?

One Direction's free concert tonight.

Oh, my god! I love this place!

Hey, guys, we called. There is no concert tonight.

But it says so right there.

Yeah, I know.

But the flyer's just a prank.

Today is... what did the guy call it?

Día de los Inocentes.

Día de los Inocentes, which means today is like April fools' day.

Wow.

That seriously sucks...

Ryan! Language.

Look, I know it's very disappointing, but I say we finish up dinner here and then we all head back to town and ransack the place for souvenirs.

What do you say? Who's with me?

Hm?

Go inside and wash up.

Dad will take you to the boardwalk.

Okay.

You're not coming with us?

No, I'm exhausted.

We shouldn't have come.

It's just gonna make it harder.

[Crickets chirp]

♪

[Eerie music plays]

[Whispering]

Daniel.

Daniel.

[Gasp]

Unh!

[Ring]

Good morning. Thank you for calling.

Daniel: Help! Something happened to my wife.

There's blood.

I was in the den. I woke up and went to check on my wife. Oh, God.

Mr. Wolf, I'd like to suggest we move your children back to the main building for both their safety and comfort.

Dad, we wanna stay with you.

Where's Mommy?!

We're gonna find her, honey.

Just go with this lady, okay?

I'll be right there. I'm just gonna look for Mommy.

[Suspenseful music plays]

We need to call the police. Have you called the police yet?

We've notified the authorities. They're on their way.

But, please, Mr. Wolf, I need you to remain calm.

Calm?! My wife is gone! There's... there's blood!

We're wasting time!

Jessica!

Señora Wolf!

Jessica!

Señora Wolf! Señora Wolf!

Jessica!

Jes-si-ca!

[Suspenseful music climbs]

[Chime]

Whatcha readin'?

"And then there were none."

Why, you lose a bet?

Agatha Christie mystery.

Is that the one where the judge does it?

He kills everybody and then, he sh**t himself in the head, leaving this red mark, like the mark of Cain.

Well, so much for my in-flight entertainment.

Sorry, guys. Looks we are not going home, after all.

We caught another case.

Puerta de Santos, México.

You gonna be all right with this?

Yeah, why wouldn't I be?

Just wanna make sure.

It's Mexico.

Well, it's a big country, Jack.

Yes, it is, it's a big country I know you've been deliberately avoiding since Brad's death.

Look, I appreciate your concern.

I really do.

But, now, I'm back in the IRT and, the fact of the matter is I was bound to face this situation, sooner or later.

You know we have your back, always?

Mm, that's why I'm gonna be all right.

Hola, mis amigos.

Here's news from south of the border, down Mexico way. Jessica Wolf, age 36, a graphic designer from Fort Worth, Texas, is on vacation with her husband, Daniel, a management consultant; And their two kids: Ryan, 11; and Megan, 9.

They're staying at a beachfront villa at the Las Casitas del Pacifico resort.

At 4:12 am local time, Daniel reported his wife, Jessica, missing. There were indications of v*olence, and $4,000 worth of jewelry was stolen, however, a canvas of the resort's property turned up nothing.

Then, at 11:47 am, a body washed ashore at Cobra Cove, about 5 miles south of Las Casitas.

Jessica Wolf was a U.S. citizen m*rder*d on Mexican soil, so, our consulate general in Juarez has requested the IRT's help with the impending homicide investigation.

Which won't be made any easier by the fact that Puerta de Santos does not have a police force.

Usually, resorts like Las Casitas enlist the service of a private security firm.

In this case, it's a U.S.-based company called PLN International.

They secured the villa and the beach site until the Mexican federal police arrived and they are on the scene now.

Mae: We can't tell much from these photos, but the sheets that are wrapped around Jessica's body look like a crude forensic countermeasure, a way to spirit a body off the grounds without raising much suspicion.

Well, if $4,000 in jewelry was taken, then, burglary could've been a primary motive.

Jessica's m*rder could've been an impulsive act.

Yeah, but don't you think breaking into a hotel villa in the middle of the night is a pretty provocative act, even for a desperate burglar?

It's possible Jessica was targeted.

What do you think?

I'd like to know where Daniel Wolf was when all this went down.

Where were his kids?

What did they see and hear?

I wish I could tell you, but, aside from his initial statement, Daniel stopped cooperating with police as soon as his children were taken into protective custody as material witnesses.

Our job now is to get down there and assist the MFP while also protecting Daniel's civil rights, regardless of his guilt or innocence.

Not to rush to judgment, boss, but what I just dug up on this guy is straight out of the shady-husband playbook.

Take a look.

[Beep]

A year ago, Daniel's consulting firm filed for bankruptcy.

Eight months later, Jessica filed for divorce, and then she withdrew the filing a month later.

But here's the kicker: 30 days ago, Daniel took out an insurance policy on his wife, so, now, this dude is line to collect... wait for it...

$1 million.

[Whistle]

The fact is that the only way we're gonna know if Daniel Wolf is playing the grieving husband is by getting down there and talkin' to him face-to-face.

Well, what if he refuses to talk to us?

What if he refuses to talk to the only people who can protect his best interests, his civil rights?

Well, that'll tell us something about him, then, won't it?

Clara: "Perfect order is the forerunner to perfect horror."

Carlos Fuentes.

[Guitar plays]

Unit Chief Garrett.

I'm Consul General Patrick Hillis.

It's a pleasure to meet you.

This is Mr. Raymond Wright. He's representing Daniel Wolf and his family.

Good to meet you. This is my team... look, I'm sorry, but, pleasantries aside, I'm deeply concerned that every moment the MFP is focused on my client as a suspect is a moment wasted on finding the real k*ller.

Mr. Wright, please. The IRT...

Can't change the fact that the crime scenes have been compromised by hotel employees and can't change the fact that expediency trumps justice in the Mexican legal system.

I thought it was my youth and inexperience that was the problem.

Just getting to that, Miss Ruiz.

That's Chief Inspector Ruiz to you, Señor Wright.

To all of you.

Unit Chief Garrett.

Agents Seger, Simmons, and Jarvis.

Look, I won't lie to you.

I don't want you here.

This is my case and you being here complicates my life and I don't like complications.

I like everything muy fácil.

But my bosses in the capital think that the FBI's cooperation will help me, so, please, follow me.

Man: Hombres, necesito en la playa ahora.

CI Ruiz, are you the only officer assigned to this case?

See? This is what I'm talking about.

Mr. Wright, I understand your concern, but, right now, you need to be seen, not heard.

Yes, I'm the only MPF officer assigned to this case, but my bosses gave me permission to deputize the Las Casitas security staff.

They're U.S.-trained, so probably a whole lot better than MFP, don't you think?

So, how do you think somebody managed to take Jessica Wolf off the property without bein' picked up on one of these security cameras?

That's a good question.

Jessica's k*ller knows the lay of the land.

And your client fits that description.

He needs to start answering my questions.

He'll answer questions when you let him see his children.

His children are material witnesses.

They're scared, so they haven't talked... of course they're scared. They lost their mother and their father's being kept from them.

Hold on. I have a solution here.

Agent Seger has years of expertise taking witness statements from minors.

She'll be able to put the children at ease and get to the truth.

I also think Daniel might be more comfortable talkin' to me.

Daniel will agree to that.

Like I said, muy fácil.

One of you is a coroner, right?

A medical examiner, yes.

We were going to transport the body to Mexico city for an autopsy. Could you do it here?

They don't just bring me along for my good taste and my sense of humor.

I'd like Agent Simmons to walk through the villa crime scene.

I have no problem with that, as long as I get to chaperone.

Okay.

Let's go to work.

So you're with the FBI?

Yes. I'm here to help, Daniel.

They found Jessica. They won't let me see her.

Won't even let me see my own kids.

What the hell's wrong with these people?

I know this is difficult, but the best way to help yourself nd your family is to just talk to me.

Where were you last night?

Jessica wasn't feeling well.

She wanted to stay in the villa while I took the kids souvenir hunting.

We got back late, after midnight.

Kids crashed on the couch.

I didn't want to disturb Jessica, so, I went to the den, fell asleep.

I woke up at 4:00.

I checked on her.

And that's... that's when I found the blood and jewelry box tossed on the floor.

I-I called for help.

Nobody told me there's no police in this damn town and that it'd take an hour for them to get here.

All that wasted time.

Did you account for every guard who was present at this scene?

Did you take their prints as exemplars?

Like I said, all well-trained in the U.S.

They know how to fill out the correct incident reports.

Well, they don't know how to preserve a crime scene or collect evidence.

You know, as well as I do this scene is compromised.

Agent Simmons, you know, as well as I do your rules of evidence aren't the same as mine.

Besides, saved the best for last.

[Eerie music plays]

Well, that looks like at least 2 liters of blood.

Maybe 3.

A lethal loss of blood.

Jessica wasn't just assaulted here.

She d*ed in this room and someone tried, not so good, to cover it up, make it look like a burglary gone wrong.

May I look at your cellphone?

What?

Your cellphone. May I see it?

Why?

Well, it may have digital information on it that could support your alibi.

I-I lost it.

Somewhere out there, on the beach, during the search.

Look.

I'm here to help you, Daniel.

But I know your consulting firm went bankrupt, I know Jessica filed for divorce, and I know she's now worth a million dollars, now that she's dead, so I need you to tell me the truth.

I didn't k*ll my wife.

Houston, we have a problem.

In prepping the body for autopsy, somebody was kind enough to remove those sheets that were wrapped around her body.

They shouldn't have done that.

Note to file: Must find missing evidence.

All right, Jess.

Help me help you.

Victim sustained several defensive wounds during the att*ck, including a severe incised wound to the palmar surface of both hands, indicating that she grasped the blade of the w*apon during the att*ck.

She fought.

Cause of death is exsanguination, due to a single sharp-force injury, severing the ascending aorta.

The remaining 46 penetrating sharp-force injuries were administered postmortem, indicative of the assailant's acute aggression, usually referred to as overkill and typically a sign that the att*ck was personal.

Ryan, Megan, you don't have to talk to me, or anyone.

I just wanna make sure you're safe.

You guys hungry?

Do me a favor and order me a pizza.

Yes, Ma'am.

So, food is on the way.

Okay?

Thank you.

You're welcome.

You need anything else, you let me know, all right?

Did Daddy hurt Mommy?

[Melancholy tune plays]

Why would you ask that?

Mom and Dad, they just yelled.

A lot.

Just on this trip, or were they fighting before that?

For a long time, but, we hoped this trip would make it better.

It wasn't.

It was just weird that they were pretending like nothing was going on and...

Like we didn't know something was going on.

It was so stupid.

Did you ever see your father be rough with your mother?

You think you can tell me what you remember from last night?

I don't remember much, just...

Dad woke us up.

Mom wasn't there.

What about you, Ryan?

I-I remember my father.

Jessica: Daniel. Daniel.

Standing over me. It was weird and... and I fell asleep again, and, like Meg said, Dad woke us up.

Mom was gone.

Okay.

Look, this is me, trying very hard to extend professional courtesy to fellow law enforcement, but I'm not here to ask for permission to arrest Daniel Wolf.

Well, thank you for your courtesy, CI Ruiz.

It's just that I've had the chance to speak with Daniel and compare notes with my team and there are a few psychological inconsistencies here.

Is that right?

Take Daniel's expression of love for his children.

It's genuine. It's very telling.

His behavior totally contradicts my all-in theory.

All-in theory?

Patriarchs who m*rder their wives with their own children present usually feel compelled to go all-in, k*lling the whole family, including themselves.

Patriarchs perceive it as an act of love and mercy.

That didn't happen here. Why?

Hijos de la fregada.

How can you look at evidence right in front of your face and not even see it?!

With all due respect, the evidence in this case is circumstantial.

It's how you're choosing to contextualize it that makes it appear beyond a reasonable doubt.

It's kind of like hearing hoofbeats and thinking horses, not zebras.

With all due respect, we don't get a lot of zebras around here.

You seriously don't think this man m*rder*d his wife?

I don't think he stabbed her to death, no.

But I think he might know who did.

[Ring]

[Ring]

You said you lost your phone.

Ray, you need to get my kids back from the cops, right now.

There's nothin' I can do. You know that.

You bring them here and then, we're getting out of town.

I will not get railroaded into spending the rest of my life in a Mexican prison.

Dan, what's wrong with you?

The FBI is gonna clear you.

You've got nothin' to worry about, right?

Get my damn kids back, Ray.

[Chime]

Look, I've gotta go. I'll be back.

[Suspenseful music plays]

[Tires screech]

¿Y dónde está? Pues encuéntralo.

Daniel just took off.

And we lost him.

What do you say now, Agent Garrett?

I said Daniel didn't s*ab his wife.

But he might have just reached out [cellphone beeps] to the person who did.

Monty, we got eyes on Daniel?

As you predicted, he reached out to his partner in crime.

Here's a fun fact for you...

Daniel's cellphone business plan has four phones, two of which... thank you, GPS... are now moving together hand in hand.

We're on our way.

♪

Monty, I need to know where we're headed.

They seem to have gotten a room at the Rancho Sierra Inn.

CI Ruiz, suspects are located at the Rancho Sierra Inn.

We will follow your tactical lead.

Ruiz: Copy that.

[Sirens wail]

[Police radio chatter, dog barking]

Can you pinpoint a location?

Monty: Uh, they're like 75 feet due east.

Mae and I will cover the back.

[Speaking Spanish]

[Object shatters, body thuds]

[Groans]

[Window opens, dog barking]

Get back in. Get down.

Don't! Don't! Wait! Don't sh**t!

I surrender! I surrender.

Clara: Daniel, you okay?

Looks like she clocked you pretty good.

Oh, yeah. My head.

Ah.

Stand up.

Ah.

Good.

'Cause you're under arrest.

Ruiz: Since Puerto del Santos doesn't have a police force, it also doesn't have a jail.

[Camera shutter clicks]

So, in order to look after our new prisoners...

[Camera shutter clicks]

We've had to make some special arrangements nearby.

Playa Diablo Penitentiary.

They say that even the devil himself would prefer death over Diablo.

Ruiz: Laura Hayes, Fort Worth, Texas.

This says you're a promotions manager.

Is that right?

You ready to talk to us, Laura?

What were you thinking, taking off and leaving your children?

I wasn't leaving my children.

I'd never abandon them.

They're all I have left in this world.

Let's talk about you and Daniel.

How long were you guys having an affair?

Two years, I guess.

But I swear, at the time when we started, I didn't know he was married.

I wish I could go back and make a different choice.

At the time, I-I felt like I needed more, like I deserved more.

But you did find out he was married eventually, right?

I did.

His wife, she found out about us around that same time, too.

She filed for divorce.

I begged her to reconsider, if not for us, for the sake of the children.

I told her I'd break it off, and I did.

He comes to me and he says he needs to fight for his family.

All the promises, all the plans we made, just gone, thrown away like garbage.

I shouldn't have lied to you before.

I-I wasn't thinking straight.

I thought I could talk to Laura, convince her to... convince her to do what, Daniel?

[Sighs]

To tell the truth.

Laura k*lled my wife.

Clara: The car that you were driving was a rental car you picked up in Fort Worth.

So you drove 1,500 miles to do what exactly?

I don't know. I wanted to come down here and blow up his life like he had mine.

Phone records say you were still in touch with Laura and that you gave her one of your phones.

I was still juggling.

I was hoping this trip would fix everything.

Then Jessica found out that Laura was calling me.

What she didn't know is that Laura had followed us all the way down here.

Got a motel room, called Dan a few times, and then, around midnight, I called one more time.

You're gonna meet me.

You're gonna meet me at the boardwalk in an hour.

I'm headed over there, okay?

And I threatened him, told him I'd come over if he didn't come see me.

She wanted to meet me at the boardwalk.

I didn't have a choice. I had to go.

And when I hung up the phone, I caught my reflection in the mirror, and I didn't even recognize myself.

I mean, how did I become this crazy stalker?

I felt so much guilt and shame.

Wasn't even like I decided not to see him.

I just passed out.

Laura never showed up. I called her.

Never heard anything, so I went back to the villa.

What time was that?

Quarter after 2:00 in the morning.

And you didn't think to check on Jessica at the time?

I did. I checked the bedroom.

The door was locked. I figured she was pissed at me.

I got up at 4:00 a.m. to check again.

This time, the door was unlocked, and Jessica was gone.

I might have been jealous of that woman, but I didn't k*ll her.

I swear I didn't k*ll my wife.

But if you're asking me if I think he did it, I will you tell you without hesitation that, Daniel, he's capable of anything that helps Daniel.

Laura knew exactly how this would look.

She's been hell-bent on punishing me for what I did to her.

And I don't know. Maybe I deserve it.

But Megan and Ryan, they don't deserve any of this.

None of it.

♪

[Sighs]

What do you see here, Jack?

Well, I'll tell you what I don't see.

I don't see Daniel stabbing his wife to death with his children only a few feet away.

Early in my career, I learned to see the scene as the k*ller does... at the same hour, under the same conditions.

And this doesn't add up.

So you don't think he's lying now?

I think his lies, at first, were meant to cover up his affair with Laura.

Then they continued out of his sincere belief that she'd become the scorned woman avenging her broken heart by k*lling his wife and framing him for the m*rder.

That may be what he believes, but that's not what happened.

Even though her patterns suggest an obsessive love disorder, her passions tend towards deliberate self-harm rather than externalized rage.

Plus, if she's not working with Daniel, she just wouldn't be capable of wrapping up Jessica on her own, carrying her off the property, then dumping her in the ocean.

What about that insurance policy?

Monty's initial information came from the company that issued that policy, but Daniel's lawyer got me in touch with the Wolfs' estate planner.

It was Jessica's idea to purchase that policy.

And that, my friends, is the sound of motive leaving the building.

We've been looking at this whole thing the wrong way from the beginning.

Okay, so back to square one.

Who k*lled Jessica Wolf and why?

But now we have two innocent Americans falsely accused and imprisoned for that crime, and we've got to get them out of there.

♪

You want me to release them?

I'd like you to release them into our custody, pending the outcome of the investigation.

Investigation's over. We got 'em.

They didn't k*ll Jessica Wolf.

How can you say that?

Because you looked into their eyes and saw their souls?

Everything that's done or left at a crime scene isn't just a piece of evidence.

It's a piece of the offender himself.

My team's job is to put those pieces together, create a profile of that person.

Yeah, in this case, that profile does not fit Laura Hayes or Daniel Wolf.

Your profile or wishful thinking?

Because I also know it's your job to protect Americans.

Look, we're the ones extending professional courtesy now.

We can have the same conversation with your superiors in Mexico city.

We could.

But even if they agreed with you, it's out of their hands.

The state prosecutor will now decide the fate of Daniel Wolf and his mistress.

There has to be at least some way to transfer them out of Playa Diablo.

No.

In fact, in 24 hours, they'll be let into general population.

That's like handing them a death sentence.

They say the punishment fits the crime, Agent Garrett.

But if you want to break them out of jail, all you have to do is bring the prosecutor the real k*ller.

Restarting this investigation without the MFP's cooperation is gonna be challenging, but, Mae, you say you have something.

Yeah.

So I've been trying to track down those sheets that were wrapped around the body.

Mm-hmm.

I assumed that they were bed sheets that were taken from the villa.

They weren't?

No. A fancy place like this keeps really tidy records, and all sheets and other sort of linens are accounted for, which means that the k*ller brought the sheets with him.

Okay, so where are we on trace analysis from Jessica's body?

I can head back to the plane and check on the presumptive reports.

Go now.

I need eyes in that prison just in case the clock runs out.

I agree. I'll see what I can do.

That silhouette that Ryan thought was his father standing over him, do you think it's possible he saw something more than he remembers?

I'm not sure.

I need you to perform a cognitive interview with him.

Jack, what if Ryan doesn't remember because he suppressed that memory?

If we open that wound...

We don't have a choice.

I know it's terrible, but we need to do everything we can right now to make sure that he and his sister don't lose their father, too.

Now, I want you to feel yourself floating backwards and feel yourself lying on the couch.

My skin keeps sticking to it.

It's warm.

Air conditioner is off.

And the air, what does it smell like?

[Inhales deeply]

Seaweed.

F-fish and chicken from the barbecue.

I want you to feel yourself as you were drifting in and out of sleep, your eyes open.

What do you see?

I see my dad standing over me.

I need you to take a closer look.

Can you see his face?

No, I can't, but I hear him.

What do you hear?

[Indistinct whispering]

He's whispering.

He's holding a cross on a chain.

[Voice breaking]

Why is he holding a cross?

A cross?

Like two ice cream sticks crossed together, tied with gold.

[Woman screaming]

And I hear my mom crying.

I got to go to sleep.

I got to go back to sleep.

That's the man.

That's the man who k*lled my mom.

I should've woken up. I could've saved her.

You need to let me go!

No, no. No.

Let me go!

Stop. Look in my eyes.

This is not your fault.

There is nothing you could've done.

[Sniffles]

Nothing. Okay?

Do you understand?

I'm so scared.

Come here. It's okay.

Look. You are safe.

No one is gonna hurt you. Okay?

[Slow piano music plays]

[Woman singing in Spanish]

[Ringing]

Mae: Hey, Clara.

Um, listen, you didn't happen to find any residue of protein filaments on the body, did you?

Mm, no. Why?

I'm working on a theory.

What about any hemp fibers or mineral oils?

It's like you're reading my preliminary trace report.

I'll be right over.

You and Monty and the art skills.

Monty is the artist. I just doodle.

But these particular doodles suggest something peculiar to me.

And if I'm right, what Ryan saw in the k*ller's hand was a crude Latin blasphemy of the True Cross.

True Cross... what people refer to as the physical remnants of the cross that Jesus was crucified on.

Exactly.

And in this theological context, I was thinking about how the k*ller wrapped the body.

What if he didn't do it as a forensic countermeasure?

What if he did it because he was actually trying to mimic an old-Judeo-Christian burial custom?

You mean prepping the body with oil then shrouding it with cloth?

Well, if that's true, then we're not just talking about someone with remorse.

We're talking about someone... someone with a signature.

And I think this someone is caught between frenzied aggression, the multiple s*ab wounds, and a more serene, contemplative ritual of preparing a body for burial.

Yeah.

But what we're actually talking about is burial in the ground rituals, not dumped at sea like Jessica was.

Yeah.

Well, there's still a lot to fill in.

But if we are right, this isn't this unsub's first rodeo.

Okay, well, I think that we should see what Monty can dig up.

So I cross-referenced our M.O's, and I got something... five more homicides taking place across these Latin-American resorts all over the last five years... all tourist families, all taking place on the same day.

Well, these victims were male, teens and adolescents, the family's oldest male children.

Día de los Inocentes.

Jessica wasn't the unsub's target.

Uh, excuse me?

Día de los Inocentes.

That is what all of this means to the unsub.

Wait. Our unsub's obsessed with Mexico's April fools' day?

Today, Día de los Inocentes is an excuse to pull pranks.

But it began hundreds of years ago as a feast day in remembrance of the biblical m*ssacre of the innocents by King Herod.

Herod ordered the execution of all male children under 2 in the vicinity of Bethlehem so as to avoid loss of his throne to the coming Messiah.

But if you're right, he's mixing up biblical traditions here... the innocents and passover.

And adapting his own narrative line.

Which is?

I don't know.

But I do know that Jessica was m*rder*d because she walked in on the unsub as he was about to att*ck her son, Ryan.

Jessica: Daniel. Daniel.

[Gasps, muffled scream]

All those defensive wounds.

Jessica fought as hard as she could to protect her children.

[Screaming]

Ryan and these five other boys are surrogates for whatever our unsub's twisted fantasy is.

Right, but if Ryan was the real target here, then why didn't the unsub go after him after he finished with Jessica?

Because Daniel came back.

He interrupted him again.

[Lock disengages]

And he was already out of his comfort zone, having k*lled Jessica.

The only thing left to do was clean up his tracks, confuse the crime scene.

Okay. So let's draw it up.

Our unsub is undoubtedly male.

Given his technical proficiency and historical knowledge, he is most likely in his 30s or 40s.

Highly educated, and yet, due to socialization issues, he's most likely a dropout or someone who was expelled from college, maybe even a seminary or church.

He is both motivated and repelled by his concept of sin, which somehow correlates to his chosen surrogates and suggests that he's a grief-induced, anger-retaliatory narcissist.

You know, if this guy really thinks that he's some latter-day King Herod massacring Messiahs, then maybe he's retaliating against God himself.

Which could mean our unsub's trigger was some kind of act of God, maybe even one that took the life of a loved one.

Monty, go back to just prior to the first m*rder.

Identify any natural disasters in the region that could fit our profile.

[Keyboard clacking]

[Speaks Spanish]

♪

I've got something on our act-of-God search.

Take a look.

La verdadera iglesia Fe, the true faith church.

Part of it collapsed during an earthquake 6 years ago.

The head pastor's son, Matthew, d*ed.

He was only 12 years old.

Yeah. Matthew's father is Rafael Acosta.

He's got a record.

About 6 months after his son d*ed, he was arrested at Mazatlan for assaulting a 13-year-old boy.

This guy can't still be the pastor there, can he?

I wouldn't think so, but I'm not finding a great deal of information online about the church's current staff.

Well, if this Rafael Acosta's our guy, doesn't make any sense that his victims would be surrogates for his dead son.

All right, so who do the victims represent?

Guess we'll just have to ask Rafael Acosta himself.

Let's start with this church.

I actually have two locations of interest for you.

One is the church itself.

The other is a condemned property that the church also owns, about 15 miles northwest of Las Casitas resort.

Divide and conquer.

Simmons and Mae, you take the church.

Clara and I will check out this condemned property.

Let's go.

[Crow caws]

♪

Hello.

[Crow caws]

Man: Hola.

¿Qué tal?

Hola.

Soy Officer Simmons y es Officer Jarvis. Somos del FBI.

Gracias, but I do speak English.

I'm Reverend Esteban Soria.

How can I be of service to the FBI?

We're looking for one of your pastors...

Rafael Acosta.

He hasn't been with us for a few years now.

We understand that he lost his son here during an earthquake.

Yes. A terrible tragedy.

But yet, strangely coupled with a miracle.

Miracle? What do you mean?

There were two boys in the sanctuary that day that it collapsed...

Matthew and this boy, uh, Bryant.

He and his parents were visitors from the U.S. just like you.

When we dug through the rubble, we pulled him out, and he was still alive.

Do you recall how Rafael responded to this miracle?

He was never the same after that day.

He was always unusually fierce in his expression of faith, some thought too fierce.

Do you remember his last name, Bryant's?

Ah, I believe it was Bryant Holt.

Do you have any idea where we might be able to find Rafael now?

No, I'm sorry. I don't.

Gracias, Reverendo.

Local media Down Baja Way is still pretty analog, but I found this in a Ballard, Utah, paper.

The victims are all surrogates for this miracle boy, Bryant Holt.

Yeah, Rafael Acosta is avenging himself by massacring this innocent over and over.

And we still need to find him.

[Crow caws]

♪

It's clear.

He was definitely here recently.

$4,000 worth of jewelry really did mean nothing to him.

That was just a way to throw us off.

He had no way to know how much the Wolf family drama would do that.

So where does he go from here?

You know, I keep trying to wrap my head around this unsub's patience, his devotion to the annual cycle.

How does he sustain himself over 365 days in between sacrificial killings?

Maybe he's like Dennis Rader.

Right. The BTK k*ller.

Rader was able to soothe his k*lling urges by becoming a compliance agent.

Maybe our unsub pacified his urges by working a job with strict responsibilities, like a civil servant or a code enforcer.

Security guard.

[Conversing in Spanish]

I'm sorry this hasn't been easy for you, but this gentleman's gonna drive you to the airport so you can get on a plane and go back home.

I know how much your grandparents miss you.

Where's Agent Clara?

[Cellphone rings]

Look at that. Speak of the devil.

FBI.

Agent Garrett, I was starting to miss you.

Yeah, I can hold the children.

[Kn*fe plunges]

[Gasps]

Stop! Aah!

Stop! Let her go!

What are you doing? Stop! Stop!

Stop!

Don't do it! Stop!

[Kn*fe plunges]

All right. He's got Ryan. He's got a Kn*fe.

He knows we're here, Jack. Be careful.

[Chanting]

Mea culpa.

Rafael?

We know what happened to your son.

We know what happened to Matthew.

We're very sorry for your loss.

You know nothing.

God took my son. I take his.

An eye for an eye.

Clara: Rafael, no.

God took my husband.

Rafael, I know exactly what it feels like to be angry with God.

My husband, Brad, he was... he was the love of my life, and God ripped him away from me.

Afterwards, I was just consumed with rage.

I was his most faithful servant.

[Panting]

Why take my Matthew?

I asked myself the exact same question when I lost Brad.

All of that pain, it is... it is overwhelming, isn't it?

It burns.

And that's why you felt the need to take the lives of those boys because each time you took one from this world, you thought that it would stop that pain.

But it didn't, did it?

All of these acts of vengeance, they do nothing to quell the agony of Matthew's death.

It's not fair.

Matthew was innocent.

Yes.

Yes, he was, just like Ryan, just like that little boy that you are holding in your arms right now.

No. He's been chosen.

Rafael, I want you to listen to me.

Remember what it says in proverbs...

"let not mercy and truth forsake thee.

Bind them upon thy neck.

Write them on the table with your heart."

Rafael, do you know why God writes his words in your heart?

So that when your heart breaks, his words, they fall in.

[Sobbing]

I'm forsaken.

It's over, Rafael. Put your hands on your head.

[Car door closes]

Dad. Dad.

[Sobbing]

Oh, my babies. My babies, I missed you.

You're a lucky man, Daniel.

Not too many people get a second chance, a sh*t at redemption.

I'm not sure I deserve it, but maybe I got it because of my kids.

♪

[Sighs]

You did great work today.

Thank you.

But...

But what?

And I thought Brad had a bad poker face.

Yours is so much worse.

Is that right?

Yeah.

You cut open a pretty deep scar today in order to talk down Rafael Acosta.

Oh, believe me, I didn't want to.

But there's nothing else I could have done.

You gonna be all right?

You know, when Brad d*ed, it dawned on me for the very first time why every orthodox faith on this planet has these strict timelines and rituals for how you're supposed to mourn the dead and move on with the living.

You violate those customs, you dishonor the dead.

As well as the living.

There has to be a time to grieve.

And a time to move on.

I'm really glad you're back.

Me, too.

So let's go home.

♪