12x02 - Sick Day

Episode transcripts for the TV show "Criminal Minds". Aired: September 2005 to February 2020.*

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The cases of the BAU an elite group of profilers that analyze the nation's most dangerous criminal minds in an effort to anticipate their next moves before they strike again.
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12x02 - Sick Day

Post by bunniefuu »

[expl*si*n]

[Screaming]

Hey.

Hey.

You all right?

Yeah.

You sure?

Oh, this?

This hurts like hell, but, yeah, yeah, I'm good.

You need anything?

No. I'm ok.

Water? Tea?

I saw some microwave popcorn back there.

Really, I'm... I'm fine.

You don't look fine.

You know, I've seen you look fine.

That's not it.

I know I'm the new guy and everything, but, uh, I'm here if you need me.

Listen, I just... I just need my own bed. That's all.

All right.

If you want to talk, I'm around.

Hey, Luke.

Um...

Thank you...

For what you did.

You don't need to thank me.

We're a team.

[Water running]

Will.

Shh.

[Whispering] Why is the shower running?

Shh, shh, shh...

It's ok.

It's all right, bud.

It's ok.

It's ok.

It's all right.

Babe, it's 3:00 in the morning.

What happened to your hand?

What's going on? Why are you up?

Michael's sick. He's got the croup.

Oh, no.

Yeah, it's pretty bad.

Why didn't you call me?

I've been pretty busy with the both of them.

Does Henry have it, too?

No. No, not yet, anyway.

Come on.

Did you call the doctor?

Of course I did.

Well, what did he say? Did he prescribe anything?

Just steam showers, cool night air, and watch his breathing.

Some ibuprofen for the fever and the pain.

When did this happen?

Well, he started going south last night, but tonight the cough's really bad.

Babe, you should have told me.

Why? So you could worry while you were on a case?

There's nothing you could have done.

It doesn't matter. You should have called me.

You don't think I can handle it?

I didn't say that.

Then what are you saying?

Hey, where you going? Forget it.

To sit with him.

The doctor said to watch his breathing, right?

The monitors are on.

What's wrong?

Nothing. I just... can I please take care of my son?

He's sleeping. Trust me, you don't want to wake him up.

JJ, come on, look at me.

What is it?

What's going on?

You want to talk about it?

Well, you know we have to, right?

Remember what the Bureau therapist said.

No holding it in, ever.

We bring it home, we gotta get it out.

It was kids, wasn't it?

Yeah. Come here.

Listen, I'm gonna go downstairs and put some coffee on so we can talk.

Ok?

You all right?

Ok.

Not gonna get much sleep tonight anyway.

I'm glad you're back, babe.

Jennifer!

Help me!

Please, Jennifer, help me!

Jennifer! Help me, please!

Please help me!

JJ: "Loss and possession", "death and life are one. There falls no shadow where there shines no sun."

Hilaire Belloc.

How's that hand?

Kills.

What'd you do to it?

b*rned it.

You want me to sit there?

[Sighs]

[Exhales]

Well, we were on our way back from Seattle.

Right. The spree k*ller with the as*ault r*fle.

Yeah.

That's when we got the call.

Alvez: Hey, we turned. Why are we turning.

Because we're not going home yet.

This morning in Los Angeles the bodies of two children were found in an abandoned building that b*rned down.

Are these the missing kids that Hotch is consulting on?

No positive I.Ds, but that's what he's thinking.

Garcia, are you ready?

Born that way, sir.

Ok, this is the horrible part of my job where I stream this sadness to your tablets.

14-year-old Hannah Robertson disappeared 5 days ago from Irvine, California.

That little guy is 11-year-old Max Wasserman.

He disappeared from Anaheim, California, yesterday.

Hannah was last seen on her way to school, and Max was on his way home from taekwondo class.

Both kids were abducted in broad daylight in low-risk neighborhoods, this guy's got skills.

You know, I'd bet he's using some kind of a ruse so that way he can hide in plain sight.

A blitz att*ck would be faster and intimidating.

He would need that to establish control.

Either way, he's patient and organized.

He probably stalked them and learned their daily routines.

Wait, Garcia. Two years ago, San Diego.

Yeah, way ahead of you, brainiac.

Lisa Ruiz and James Jefferson.

Both runaways and foster kids with police records, uh, but their bodies were discovered several months apart.

He crosses race lines and those kids were older, but the M.O. is the same.

A boy, a girl, and they were all found b*rned to death in abandoned buildings.

But these latest victims were b*rned together, so why the change?

He might need two kids at the same time to do his thing.

I'm curious about the fire.

It could be a forensic countermeasure, but the consistency from victim to victim point so some kind of compulsion based ritual, and since pyromaniacal urges usually emerge in early adolescence, it probably has something to do with his childhood.

How can we even be sure this is all the same guy?

So what did you think?

Definitely the same guy.

Why?

M.O's too similar. Geography was too close.

And when we got to the crime scene, we knew.

Reid: He used the same type of lock and chain to restrain the victims in San Diego.

He also used cots like this.

The wood, too. It's like a funeral pyre.

The guy goes from runaways to good kids from good neighborhoods.

That's a lot more work and a lot more risk for him.

So what was so special about these two?

Why did he want them so bad?

He may be discovering what his true victim selection criterion is.

Well, the runaways were probably just a practice run...

Easy targets, no one reports them missing.

But the boy/girl pattern he's established suggests that there might be some kind of fantasy he's trying to perfect.

So what's the fantasy, then?

Is he righting some kind of wrong?

Getting revenge, maybe?

If he has kids of his own, it might have something to do with them.

I can't imagine what would drive a parent to do something like this.

If he's mentally or chemically imbalanced, a tragic life-altering event could have been the trigger.

Pyros like to watch, right?

Yeah, they do. It's an inextricable component of the compulsion.

Look. Look at the position of these cots.

The kids could see each other while this was happening.

Psychological t*rture. And the unsub probably watched as well, until at a certain point the fire took over and he had to go.

But he needs both kids to make it work.

He took Hannah Robertson 4 days before Max Wasserman.

That means he held her someplace and kept her alive.

Yeah. As soon as he got Max he couldn't wait any longer.

He planned everything.

He probably stalked them until he found the perfect place to set his fire.

That would explain the two-year dormancy period.

Who he burns is just as important as the fire itself.

Alvez: I hate to think what he did to her while he held her here.

You get anything from the coroner?

Um, Max Wasserman's body was virtually incinerated, but, um, I guess the fire department arrived before Hannah Robertson's body was completely destroyed.

Rossi: Hannah Robertson had several burn wounds that were a few days old.

Lewis: He couldn't resist burning her while he held her.

Hotch: Any sign of sexual as*ault?

Inconclusive, but she did have a, uh, broken orbital bone around her right eye, like she got punched.

Hotch: What about the other child?

Rossi: Too much damage. But they did find traces of lighter fluid on both of them. A lot of it.

M.E. seems to think the boy was lit on fire first.

Yeah, that tracks with what the fire department said, that the boy was the flash point.

Well, it could be he was trying to prolong his pleasure by burning them one at a time.

It's more than about just watching.

He wants them to suffer physically and mentally.

It's important to him.

Both of these kids were brunette.

If this is about perfecting a fantasy, they're probably surrogates for somebody.

Yeah. But who?

So did you get an exact cause of death?

Um, based on the amount of smoke inhalation, we knew that he b*rned those kids alive.

All 4 of them.

You know what?

Uh, can... can we please do this in the morning?

I'm really tired.

JJ...

I'm exhausted.

You cannot go to sleep with this in your head.

It's not healthy.

You've gotta get it out.

You have to.

And I just had two cups of coffee, so neither one of us is gonna sleep.

Come on.

Come on.

Well, um...

We did what we always do.

We coordinated with local police to canvass every part of the area.

We covered every angle of our victimology by interviewing family members and friends.

We looked everywhere for a connection between these victims, but there... There was nothing.

So we issued a statement to the press to alert the public.

We were hoping that someone out there knew something.

We had no leads, so anything would have helped.

The forensic teams were stumped because of all the fire damage.

Our profile was developing, but the guy was in the wind.

A couple days went by, and to tell you the truth, I lost hope.

A guy like that might get quiet because he knows we're getting close.

But he wouldn't be able to contain his urges, not for long.

But...

The case cooled off.

And we all thought he went dormant again, he needed time to plan his next kills.

But we were wrong.

[Song playing]

Excuse me.

Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you.

What?

I didn't mean to scare you.

I just thought maybe you could help me.

My daughter told me to get this app called Snaptalk, but I can't find it anywhere.

I'm terrible with this thing.

Snapchat.

What?

It's Snapchat, not Snaptalk.

You're kidding. That would explain it.

And why can't I find it?

See? I told you, I'm terrible.

My little girl always gives me a hard time.

She's a lot younger than you are.

What are you, 17?

16.

Ooh. [Chuckles]

Driving.

You know what?

Would you mind just...

My daughter, she always just does it for me.

I'm sorry, I'm late for school.

Oh, it's ok.

No problem, sorry.

You have a good day.

[Muffled screaming]

Francesca Morales.

16 years old.

Broad daylight. No witnesses.

Nothing.

Now, I'll never understand how that happens.

It's a huge city. I mean, everyone's on there camera phones and no one sees a 16-year-old girl go missing?

It happens, babe.

[Michael coughing]

[Gasping]

Jennifer!

I gotta go...

Just sit down. Just relax.

Will! Will, let me go look after him, ok?

All right.

[Michael crying, coughing]

JJ: It's ok. It's ok. Mama's here.

I love you.

He still has a fever.

[Exhales]

Well, we can give him some more medicine in a couple hours.

That cough, though.

Yeah, tell me about it.

The first time he barked like that, I thought we were headed to the E.R.

I'm sorry.

About what?

Snapping at you.

I know it's hard when I'm not here.

And it's probably harder when I am here.

[Both laugh]

Ohh...

I love you, too.

So what happened next?

Assuming you all issued an Amber alert.

Mm, yeah. Right away.

And what was your profile?

Uh, he was accelerating, getting confident and bold.

And based on the victimology and the physical effort it would take to execute his M.O., we thought it was a white man between 25 and 35.

We are referring to him as a sadistic pyromaniac, which is a rare and dangerous combination because there's a strong compulsive element to his psychopathy.

It's not just about watching the fires he sets.

It's also the mental pain and anguish he inflicts.

We believe that he's driving a truck, van, or an RV.

He needs space to abduct and transport his victims.

We know that he's extremely mobile.

We've notified law enforcement in surrounding counties.

We just want to make sure he doesn't leave the city limits.

JJ: We've scoured CODIS, as well as the list of arson arrests in the area and there's nothing. So our guy probably hasn't let his fire habit get him in trouble.

Alvez: He's smart enough not to get caught.

And with intelligence come social skills.

So, odds are he comes off like a nice guy.

And he's well adjusted enough to hold down a steady job, but it is highly likely he's sublimating his desires through his chosen line of work.

Reid: He could be a firefighter.

He might work in a crematorium.

Even being a cook in a kitchen could satiate his urges.

He would want to be anyplace near open flames.

Alvez: It's a very specific M.O.

And that consistency and behavior means that it's need-based.

So he will stick to his pattern.

The bad news is he's already picked his next victim, an adolescent boy.

But the good news is, Francesca Morales is probably still alive.

So time is of the essence.

He's moving fast, we need to move faster.

Thank you.

We had the LAPD double their patrols.

The fire department was on high alert, but this guy moved around a lot, all over Southern California, and he could have been anywhere.

So, in the meantime, we talked to the family.

You know, it's funny.

I used to do that all the time, you know, talk to the families.

But ever since we had kids, the worst part of the job, hands down.

Actually, I used to think I was helping those people.

You are helping those people.

Her name is Renee.

Single mom, registered nurse.

Her husband Tony was k*lled in Afghanistan 6 years ago.

Did Francesca walk to school the same way every day?

Yeah. With her brother.

But he was sick today.

I thought she'd be fine. She had her cell phone.

She's 16, you know?

I should've went with her.

Hey. I know this is a lot, but you cannot blame yourself.

Why did this happen?

Mrs. Morales, we believe this man appears as very non-threatening.

So it's possible he could have just...

No. No, she just wouldn't go off with somebody.

She knows better than that.

We talked about that.

So we knew if he tried to use a ruse on her, it wouldn't work on this girl.

So he probably resorted to some kind of blitz att*ck.

The compulsion was too strong.

And once he saw her, he would have needed to take her.

But...

Now, how do you explain that to a parent?

Do you even have kids?

Yeah.

Yeah, I have two boys.

She's a working mom.

She's trying to do her best.

She was like anybody, you know?

Just like anybody or just like you?

I just kept wondering how... how she's doing it all alone.

I don't know what I'd do without you.

And that wasn't even the hardest part.

Francesca had a little brother.
[Knock on door]

[Door opens]

Roberto?

My name's Jennifer.

I'm with the FBI.

You know what that is, right?

You need anything? Your mom said you haven't eaten.

We can get you whatever you want.

Roberto?

Nobody calls me that.

Oh, uh, well, what do they call you?

Just Berto.

All right.

You collect comic books?

Obviously.

May I take a look?

Yeah?

All right, let's see.

Hmm.

I'm not seeing any D.C. Comics in here.

Who's your guy? Spider-Man? X-Men?

Dr. Strange?

You've never heard of him.

Try me.

Silver Surfer.

You mean Norrin Radd.

The Herald of Galactus.

Yeah, my son really likes him, too.

You want to ask me about my sister, don't you?

Is that ok?

Do you remember anything unusual about this morning?

Even stuff you think isn't important might be helpful.

Your mom said you were sick today, so you didn't go to school, but do you ever remember seeing anything weird on your way to school on any other day?

Did anyone ever try to talk to you?

Do you remember ever seeing the same guy over and over again?

Ok.

I am so sorry that this is happening, Berto.

And now you're scared but we are your friends.

Ok? And we will not stop until we get her back.

Can I tell you something?

Anything.

But you can't tell my mom.

Yeah. What is it?

I wasn't really sick today.

I was just faking it.

He won't leave the city.

Lewis: You say something?

I don't think he'll leave the city.

Look, if you track his activity from the start, his first two victims were found near the Mexican border.

But they were discovered 6 months apart and in locations 52 miles apart.

Unfortunately, because they were runaways, it's impossible to track when or where they were taken, but his next two victims, Hannah Robertson and Max Wasserman, only lived 14 miles apart, and they were taken within days of each other.

Ok.

But he took them both 39 miles all the way here to Los Angeles to finish the job.

We profiled that that could be about availability.

A lot of abandoned space here.

And a high police presence around the abduction sites.

Maybe it makes sense he'd keep moving to avoid being caught.

But he didn't keep moving, and he didn't go dormant.

He stayed right here and accelerated.

Los Angeles is where he wants to be.

I think he's been converging on the city.

If that's true, his next victim probably lives in Los Angeles, too.

Sir, yes, sir.

Garcia, how many boys live within a 15-mile radius of Francesca Morales?

Uh, thousands, Sir, like literally.

All right, narrow your search by hair color.

We're only interested in boys with brown hair.

Right. Uh, this is gonna take me a while because kids that age don't usually have photo I.Ds.

They have passports, maybe, but it's all about the parents' social media.

I'm gonna handle this. I'll hit you back when I have something.

All right, thanks.

Wait a second.

Francesca Morales has a brother that age.

If the unsub is converging, he could be a target.

Yeah, but Hannah Robertson had an 11-year-old brother and a 9-year-old brother, and Max Wasserman has a 15-year-old sister.

That could be why he picked them.

They had siblings the right age.

So then why didn't he take the other siblings?

Who knows? Confidence, opportunity.

Maybe he just wasn't ready.

Maybe the pattern isn't about older girl, younger boy.

It's about older sister, younger brother.

We should bring in this Morales kid just to be safe.

JJ and Alvez are there now.

[Ring]

Yeah, Hotch.

We think the Morales boy might be a target.

It would be a good idea to bring him and his mother in as a precaution.

We just left about 10 minutes ago.

All right, we'll head back, but LAPD was just finishing up when we left.

[Sirens]

Those are the same cops that were at the house.

He lit a car on fire nearby.

He used it as a diversion to get those cops away from the house.

Which means he was probably watching while we were there, and he just waited for us to leave.

Renee?

Berto?

It's Jennifer with the FBI.

Hello?

Luke!

She's still alive.

All right, I'll call it in.

House is clear, but Berto's not here.

Damn it.

Wow, I was hungrier than I thought.

When was the last time you ate?

I don't know.

Uh, this morning?

[Laughs] You mean yesterday morning?

Do you want some more?

Um, no, thank you.

I don't... I don't understand why your eggs are so good.

I still can't make 'em like that.

I told you, it's the butter.

Mm.

Yeah.

[Imitating him] It's the butter.

It is the butter.

Oh, man.

Remember when we used to have breakfast like this all the time?

Yeah.

Just you and me.

A long time ago.

[Chuckles]

You know, he keeps asking for you.

He keeps asking for my phone so he can look at pictures.

I miss so much.

It goes... it goes so fast.

I know.

Yeah. But you and me both know you won't be happy unless you're on the job.

Neither of us would.

You stay here and let me have this.

All right?

Yes, sir.

So I'm assuming that you all issued another Amber alert.

Renee Morales got a severe concussion, but she's gonna be fine.

I'm surprised he didn't k*ll her.

He didn't want her.

Was she able to give a description?

Not much of one. White guy, about 6 feet tall.

That's about it.

Well, that narrows the search.

LAPD's increased patrols in low income and industrial areas, places where's he's likely to find the space he needs.

Well, he's been planning this for a while.

Right now he's got an actual brother/sister pair.

He won't be able to wait long.

But if siblings are the key here, then what did we miss?

Odds are this whole thing is about his siblings.

If he wants to be in Los Angeles, that means he must have an end game.

Yeah, and if he does, then he may escalate somehow and perfect that fantasy, light a bigger fire.

We should take another look at our arson lists in the area, see if any have brothers and sisters.

Garcia: Ready, willing, and excellent, Sir.

Garcia, our lists of arson arrests and convictions in California.

Ok. Those are mostly men.

They are all men.

BTW, bad boys that play with fire.

How many of them have siblings?

A lot of names. I'm gonna get jiggy with it and give you lots of those. 166.

We profiled that he might sublimate his desires with work.

Do any of them have jobs in any fire-related businesses?

Ok. Hold on. Searching.

One name.

Two names.

Still searching.

Why does the last 10% always take so flippin' long?

There we go... 3 names.

Hotch: All right, go ahead.

First up is John Bryant.

He's a firefighter in San Diego.

Definitely not our unsub, 'cause according to Facebook he's been in Hawaii for the last week with his wife and adorable kids.

And who else?

Next up we have Steve Addison.

He's a sales exec at Wing-Ho Fireworks in Riverside.

Definitely not it because he's been in Shanghai for the last month.

And lastly we have Rudy Sheffield, certainly not our unsub because he is serving two years in Chino state prison on drug charges.

All right, expand your search to neighboring states.

Ok. Arizona, Nevada, Oregon.

36 names and I've cross-checked those with guys who have siblings and work in fire-related occupations.

And we've got...

Hello.

John David Bates, resident of Nevada, currently renting an apartment in Los Angeles.

What's he doing here?

Uh, he works for smoke-out repair and construction.

They fix fire damage, board up windows and stuff.

What was he arrested for?

Whoa. When he was 12, he set fire to the family house with his 14-year-old sister locked inside of it.

Did it work?

No. But he's a tenacious little bugger and two years later he tried to do it again.

Also did not work, but at that time, his parents relinquished custody and he was rehomed, and then went into juvey, and eventually the foster care system.

That could be the fantasy he's trying to live out, burning his sister alive.

Then why does he need the boy, too?

Self-loathing. The boy's a surrogate for him.

His parents gave him up. It devastated him and he's lashing out.

And where's the sister now?

Ok. Trisha Bates currently resides in...

Los Angeles.

That's why he came to Los Angeles.

His end game is her.

Are they in touch?

Uh-uh. Looks like he was doing work in San Diego two years ago, somehow found her email address and tried to reconnect.

Two years ago? That's when the first murders took place.

Garcia, did she respond to the email?

Yeah. She basically told him to go have sex with himself and then she deleted that email account.

That rejection was probably his trigger.

We should go pick her up.

Garcia, we need addresses for Bates and the sister.

Of course. Sent, sent, and sent.

[Heavy metal song playing]

[Turns up volume]

What? Oh. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!

[Ring]

What's up, Garcia?

I got a pong to my ping on Roberto Morales' cell phone.

I called you guys 'cause you're closer.

All right, send us the address and notify LAPD.

I already sent it. I'll let Hotch know.

No, no, no, no, no, no.

Go. Wait, go, come on.

Wait till you see this.

No! Stop it! No!

Please stop!

Help me, please!

No, no! Please!

JJ, wait!

They were alive?

And you ran in there, didn't you?

You look mad.

I'm not mad.

I didn't think. I just reacted.

I know. It's ok.

I'd have done the same thing if there were kids trapped in a burning building.

Don't mean I have to like hearing about you doing it, though.

So I guess that's how you hurt yourself, huh?

Going in there?

Yeah. But that happened later.

Help us, please!

Please, please, someone come.

JJ: When we got there we could hear the kids screaming.

Johnny!

But then we heard this other voice.

Another voice? Who else was in there?

Trisha Bates.

The unsub's sister.

Johnny, don't! Please don't do this!

Ohh!

Johnny!

Don't do it! FBI!

Don't move!

Don't move!

Luke, I got them, I got them! Go get him!

I'll free them.

I'm not leaving you here!

Go! Do not let him get away!

Go, Luke! I got this!

Please help me! Help me!

Help me! Aah!

Jennifer, help me!

Berto: Jennifer, please! Jennifer!

Help me!

[Coughing, gasping]

Aah! Uhh!

I'm gonna get you out of here.

Jennifer! Help me!

Please help me!

Stay calm! Help is on its way!

[Sobbing, coughing]

I'm gonna get you out of here.

Help!

Berto, turn your head that way and close your eyes, ok?

[Grunting]

[Sirens]

You guys got bolt cutters?!

[Screaming]

Run! Get out of here! Come on!

Go, go, go.

Go. Run. Run.

Berto!

No, go!

Help me! Please!

It's gonna be ok.

Come on!

He broke my ankles. I can't walk.

It's all right.

I can't walk.

I can't walk.

Get her out of here. I'll free Francesca.

[Gasping]

Jennifer! Please help me!

Jennifer!

[Gasping] Jennifer!

Please help me!

Ohh!

Jennifer!

Please help me!

Jennifer!

Please hurry!

Hurry! Aah!

Please! Hurry!

JJ!

Let's go! Go!

No! No!

No! No!

Let's go, let's go!

Aah!

[Sirens in distance]

I've got two ***, coming out right now.

You ok?

You're supposed to keep that on.

♪ When it's over ♪
♪ when it's all done ♪
♪ when we say... ♪

I couldn't let him be alone, so I sat with him until his mom got there.

And then...

I had to tell her what just happened.

♪ Amen ♪

[Sobbing] No!

Mom! Mom! Mom!

My baby!

♪ And all is well... ♪
♪ We say... ♪

I want you to take some time off.

I don't need time off. I'm...

At least a week.

I'm fine.

It's not a request.

♪ Amen ♪
♪ Amen ♪

You spend a lot of time telling people they can't blame themselves.

So maybe you ought to take your own advice.

You saved that boy's life and a woman, too.

Yeah, what about Francesca's?

That wasn't your fault.

Oh, whose fault was it?

The unsub. And now because of you, he's never gonna be able to do that to anyone again.

Now she's dead because I made a choice.

No, don't. That monster k*lled her.

No, I chose Roberto.

You want to know why?

Because he reminded me of Henry.

That's it.

I didn't even realize it until later, you know?

Maybe if I went to her first, I...

I could have saved both of them.

I shouldn't have sent Luke out.

We could have saved all of them. I know that.

Or maybe you'd all be dead.

JJ, you're gonna spin yourself like a top with the what ifs.

Now, you made a choice, the best choice you could, and two people are alive because of it.

You're a hero, Jennifer Jareau.

You're my hero and your boys' and your team, and all those other people that you saved.

And don't you ever forget that.

Come here, I got you.

[Michael chattering]

Hey.

Ohh...

Oh, buddy.

[Michael chattering]

Yeah, you're fine?

How you doing, buddy?

His fever's broken.

Mommy, you're home!

Hi.

How are you?

Good.

I missed you.

Oh, buddy.

JJ: Mother Theresa said, "Love begins by taking care of the closest ones...

♪ kiss me ♪

.. the ones at home."
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