Criminal Minds Series Rewrite: Season One

Charm and Harm: Final Part

You've been at Doug's house for a good ten minutes, just staring at the pictures he has around his house. Doug is starting to get nervous and impatient, and he expresses this with a sigh.

"I know you guys didn't come here to look at pictures of my son. Did something happen?"

"Why are there no memories of your wife here?" Gideon finally asks.

"Why would I want to remind my son of the most horrible thing that ever happened to him?"

"Normally when a parent dies, the other parent tends to overcompensate by building a shrine of pictures and leaving their personal effects untouched sometimes for years," you explain. "You didn't happen to do that."

"Why didn't you tell us your son was in the car when your wife died?"

"I didn't think it was important."

"You didn't think it was important," Gideon scoffs. "You didn't think it was important to tell us your son witnessed his mother dying?"

"No."

"The fact that he witnessed his mother die at such a young age clearly affected how he regards women," Spencer says.

"Do you know why your son was married for such a short period of time?"

"Yes. It was a mistake. He was young."

"Not according to his ex-wife," you say, crossing your arms. "Mark was obsessed with thinking she was unfaithful."

"It could happen," Doug shrugs.

What the hell is he hiding?

"But she never was. He made life unbearable for her. She couldn't leave the house. She couldn't take a breath without worrying about it. Something must have happened to feed that distrust, to give him such a distorted view of relationships."

"How were things with your wife, Mr. Gregory?" Gideon asks the million-dollar question.

"Normal and uneventful."

"Was she being unfaithful? Did she pick men up?"

"Alright, alright. Enough," Doug sighs tiredly. "Uh... when she couldn't find a babysitter, she would take him with her to the motel and let him play by the pool. This went on for over a year. What kind of mother would do that?"

"Did you ever take him to therapy, Mr. Gregory?"

"No."

"Why?"

"I didn't think he needed it."

"Didn't think he needed it? A boy watches his mother die. He lives, she dies. You don't think that's confusing to a ten-year-old?"

"I didn't say that."

"Yeah, you did," you nod.

"Mark was smart enough to know what was going on," Spencer speaks up. "That explains his issues with infidelity, his hatred towards women, and why he tortures and drowns them. His first victim was married. She was having an affair with him, which clearly reminded him of what his mother did to you."

"You think your wife's death was an accident?"

"I honestly don't know."

"Well, what do you know? What do you think? Do you even know what I'm talking about? Your son did what you thought about doing a hundred times. These are innocent women. Innocent women, Mr. Gregory. Did it ever occur to you your son might be trying to stand up for you in his own sick, demented way because you weren't there? You weren't there, Mr. Gregory."