The Boss' Niece (Spencer Reid)

19. Evading capture

After interviewing Carl Feinstein and siblings Damian and Clare Carney - another two victims who escaped the unsub's terror - the team had a profile.

"The unsub we're dealing with thinks he's a con man, but a con man wouldn't leave money in the bank like he did with Clarissa Carney." Emily began the explanation, exhaling.

"This man is a malignant narcissist and misogynist who fundamentally hates the women he takes advantage of." Spencer continued.

"He can't reveal who he truly is to them, so at the moment of their greatest happiness, he destroys it and takes their face." Cassidy exhaled, feeling a sense of unease.

"Now, a hatred this severe, where rage trumps money, indicates that our unsub has a damaged relationship with the primary female figure in his life, most likely his mother." Hotch continued on, earning a few confusing looks from the police officers who were listening.

"Wait. Why his mother? Couldn't he just be some guy with a broken heart?" A cop asked, confused.

"Something must have happened during his formative years to produce this level of violence." Morgan explained.

"He's been nursing this anger for a long time." JJ mentioned.

"The time he spends with his targets is our best lead right now, and although he goes to great lengths to hide his face, he probably uses all or part of the same cover story in his con." Rossi deepened the explanation.

"And the details he recycles might be helpful to our investigation." Hotch nodded.

"There might be some bread crumbs in there that help lead us to where he is now." Cassidy informed the cops.

"Or, more likely, they'll tell us who he was to begin with." Spencer exhaled, finishing the profile briefing.

Once the briefing was over, the team headed back into the conference room.

"He proposed with every crime. I mean, he'd leave a trail." Emily shook her head, trying to get rid of the nagging feeling that something had been left out.

"Except it wasn't his record. It was the unsub's mother. Roberta Lynch, 62." Emily realised, getting Penelope to do a full background sweep on the woman.

"Starting in the late seventies, she hopped from suitor to suitor, getting them to marry her and then taking them for all they're worth." Cassidy read the information.

"An arrest in 1991 revealed she had a son, Everett, who was playing second fiddle to the con she was busted for." Spencer revealed.

"Having a con woman for a mother would have instilled the narcissism and misogyny that we profiled." Morgan nodded, clearly knowing that the team was one step closer to finding the unsub.

"Okay, the path to finding him is through his mother. Where is she now?" Hotch asked.

"South Mississippi state prison. She's doing to life for killing a boyfriend in a domestic dispute." JJ explained.

"Sounds like that runs in the family, also." Rossi chuckled.

———

Hotch and Spencer had gone to visit Roberta. They both assumed that she'd be closed off, but she was the opposite. She was more than happy to answer the questions they had lined up for her. That was until they had mentioned something about her granddaughter, Grace.

"The detail about the drowning hit a nerve with Roberta. Which suggests there's another element of truth to Everett's back story." Hotch explained, confusing the team.