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They all retired to their hotel for the night, Morgan watching Mara disappear into Reid's room.
He nudged JJ and they both shook their heads. "Play on, playa."
The next morning, Mara woke up in her bed, in her room, unlike Morgan's perverted thoughts. They only hung out for a while before Mara retired to her own room.
They were called bright and early at the call of another body being found. The sheriff, Reid, and Mara all arrived at the crime scene, watching the police officers gather around, about to cut the victim down.
Reid hopped out the truck, yelling. "Whoa, what are you doing?"
"Do not disturb the crime scene!" The sheriff said to the officers as they backed up.
"Well, we took a bunch of pictures just like you ordered us." An officer said.
"I ordered you not to touch a damn thing." Sheriff Coleman snapped.
"We need to look at this crime scene undisturbed." Mara rolled her eyes.
"Do you mind not standing there?" Reid gestured to where an officer was standing,making him back up. "Thanks."
Mara and Reid started profiling the scene, the sheriff yelling at his officers.
"He's escalated his cuts," Mara said, pulling gloves on. "They're not only bigger, cutting was done postmortem. It was the gunshot that killed her."
"How can you tell?" Coleman asked once he was done scolding his officers.
"Based on the lack of blood flow and scar tissue," Reid answered. "If she were alive when this was done, there would be a lot more blood on her back."
"Which means this wasn't S&M, this was symbolic." Mara said.
"Symbolic of what?" Coleman asked.
"We're not sure." Mara said, watching Reid lean closer to the body.
"Can you smell that?" Reid asked as the two shook their heads. "Lavender."
"That doesn't grow in these parts," Coleman confirmed. "Why would he do that?"
"Reid, can you look into it?" Mara asked. "We can't trust the coroner to follow through."
Reid nodded and stood up. "We need to deliver the profile."
Once they arrived back at the station, Mara grabbed Reid's hand to hold him back, meeting his eyes.
"What's wrong?"
Mara looked around to make sure none of the other officers were around. "I know things are done differently in small towns like this but something is off."
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know," she replied, furrowing her eyebrows as she thought. "It's like we're being purposely sabotaged so we can't solve this."
Reid nodded. "I can see it. Don't let that stop us."
Hotch opened the door, looking at the couple. "We're delivering the profile."
They went into the station, gathered the officers and started speaking.
"We believe this UnSub we're looking for is a white male in his early thirties," Hotch started. "While his MO is that of a sadist, we think there's an underlying pathology of what we call a wound collector."
"What's that?" An officer asked.
"A wound collector is someone who uses a lifetime of sleights, grievances, and wrongs as justification for violence," Reid answered. "Examples can be as large-scale as Hitler scapegoating the Jews for the Holocaust."
Mara noticed the confused looks on their faces before giving another example. "Or as common as an abusive husband blaming his wife as an excuse to beat her."
"This UnSub is low key, almost submissive in public. He has to be to attract the prostitutes," Morgan said. "But his real nature will be revealed in the safety of isolation."
"This is the type of man who would anonymously express himself online by raging against how these women are filled with disease and filth, how they deserve what's coming to them, probably to cover for the rejection of a woman or spouse who's wronged him," Mara explained. "Which means the UnSub probably has a working-class or part-time job. It gives him the time to plan and execute the murders."
"He's strong and good with his hands and probably drives a work truck or large vehicle," Rossi said. "This allows him to move the bodies and carry the tools for posing his victims."
"Tabitha Ryerson tells us he's losing control," Hotch said. "He killed her in her home and then transported her body to the woods so he could mutilate her postmortem. The public nature of the display was a message."
"To who?" An officer asked.
"To use," JJ said. "This is a small town and he knows the FBI is here investigating his crimes. He thinks he's showing that he's smarter than we are. He's also showing us his wounds. There's part of him that wants us to stop and punish him for his crimes."
"Thank you." Hotch said, answering a call from Garcia.
He talked for a moment before hanging up, turning to the group. "Garcia found Mack the Knife, Morgan, you're with me."
When they brought him back, Mara was hopeful that they found an effective lead. While Hotch and Morgan questioned him, Abby's sister came back into the station.
"Mrs. Lawson?" Mara furrowed her eyebrows.
"Did preacher Mills talk to you?" She asked.
"Not since yesterday," Mara answered. "Why?"
"We were talking in his church, and one of the girls, Belinda, came in begging for help," she said. "The preacher said he was gonna tell you what she was and get an update on the case, but he never came back."
"When was this?" Mara asked.
"This morning," she replied. "She said the same thing my sister did. They were coming to get her. What the hell's going on?"
"Excuse me for a moment." Mara stepped away and moved to Reid.
"I think I know what the lavender on Tabitha Ryerson's legs is about," Reid said as everyone gathered around, Hotch and Morgan coming from the interrogation room. "Have you ever heard of spikenard?"
Everyone shook their heads and he continued. "It's perfume. It's mentioned in the gospel. It's derived from lavender. It's what Mary Magdalene used to wash Jesus' feet, which tells us that this UnSub's message is obviously religious in nature."
"Preacher Mills," Mara said, everyone furrowing their eyebrows. "He came forward to volunteer information. Well, yesterday, he said he'd let us know if he had any more information, but apparently he's changed his mind."
Reid nodded. "He fits the profile. He's morally rigorous, submissive in public."
