Criminal Minds (2005–…): Season 10, Episode 13 - Nelson's Sparrow - full transcript
The members of the BAU team are brought back to their origins as they look at one of Gideon and Rossi's old cases.
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Are you sure?
It's Gideon.
"The bitterest tears
shed over graves
are for words left unsaid
and deeds left undone."
Harriet Beecher Stowe.
There are no fresh tire tracks,
but keep the roadblocks going.
- He's got a three-hour
head start. -
He's got a high-powered rifle.
He shouldn't be approached
without backup.
Hotchner.
Yeah, just tell them
you're with us.
They'll let you through.
Okay.
Is this how it's gonna go?
All my friends dying off?
First Erin, then Harrison,
and now Jason.
Disease is one thing,
but... murder?
I hadn't talked to him in years.
Me, neither.
How does that happen?
Back in the day,
I would have bet my life
that we'd always be close.
But maybe we never were.
You know, it could be
that after all these years,
I just rewrote our history.
So you guys haven't seen
Gideon in, like, eight years?
He didn't say good-bye
or anything?
He left Spence a letter.
The way to love him was
to let him be.
- Sounds intense.
- More like passionate.
He had that reputation.
Guess that's what it takes
to be one of the godfathers
of the BAU.
Yeah, he was a legend.
Yeah, I was excited
he was teaching this class,
and I signed up,
but he only lectured twice.
Ah, because he found
the Footpath Killer
and came back to the unit.
I heard
that's why he jumped ship.
There was always
a method to his madness.
Maybe because
he followed his heart.
So he retired
and then got into these birds?
Mm, yeah, birds have always
been his thing.
Not sure why.
Graves Apple Farm
is a mile from here.
They're his closest neighbors.
Called in the gunfire at 3:15.
Evidence of size ten boots,
wide tread, likely rubber sole.
Between those
and a high-powered rifle,
it could be anyone
from around here.
He didn't leave any casings.
Sorry.
There's not much evidence
out here.
Then we'll just have to look
at what he did.
He could have easily
shot him from here.
It wasn't close enough...
he wanted
to kill him in his own house.
Wounds him first
because he's a coward,
then doesn't have the guts
to go inside
until he's got the upper hand.
He'd only feel confident
if he'd knew he'd weakened him.
Sounds like a hunter.
He wanted Gideon
to know who he was.
He watched,
waited and hunted him.
This is personal.
Who's that?
Stephen.
Oh, my God.
He's not a kid anymore.
That's the slowest
I've ever seen you type.
Snooping into Gideon's
spending habits
makes me feel like a creep.
Yeah, well, try looking
through his bedroom.
- Oh. You win.
- All right,
so there was a newspaper,
few days worth of clothes
and hotel soaps.
Oh, he always did that.
He'd, uh, collect them and put,
like, money and gum,
and make these little bags,
and keep them in his car,
- give them to the homeless.
- Tells us he's been traveling.
A lot, according to his plastic,
mainly down the East Coast.
But he came back home,
so who knew that,
and who would want him dead?
We should start
with recent releases.
Gideon's arrested
a lot of people.
Thousands. He's been a crime
fighter since, what, 1975?
Yup, 40-year sentence
sounds pretty good
until the 40 years are up.
Out of respect,
I kept him covered.
Appreciate that.
Cause of death was hypovolemic
shock due to ballistic trauma.
Three points of entry.
Left shoulder, right abdominal
wall and right temporal.
- Did he suffer?
- Not for long.
No. His brain stopped working
before he was able
to process his last breath.
After the final shot,
he was gone
within a fraction of a second.
Would you excuse us, please?
Of course.
Thank you.
Did you hear any of that?
He didn't suffer.
Listen to me. Listen to me.
Sometimes you put up these walls
and you block us out,
and you can't do that,
not right now.
We need you, kid.
Gideon needs you.
I'm gonna step right out there.
And when you're ready,
let's go get
this son of a bitch.
Who would want to kill my dad?
That's what we're trying
to figure out.
Did he say if anyone had
contacted him recently?
- You mean someone from his past
or something? - Anything.
Well, after he left the BAU,
he, uh, called to tell me
about his list.
He never said it a bucket list,
but that was the idea.
Anyway, uh, reconnecting
with me was one of his things.
Which was ironic because...
... most of my life,
I felt like he was avoiding me.
He was gone so much of the time,
I figured he regretted
even having me.
That's not true.
I knew your dad pretty well.
And he had trouble
with a lot of things.
Saying "I'm sorry"
was one of them.
Okay, Gideon fueled up
every 350 miles.
He probably stopped
at some diners along the way,
'cause you know the man could,
like, live off of milk shakes.
Definitely took his sweet time
going down the coast,
but booked it
back from Jacksonville,
and instead of coming here,
home to his cabin, he stayed
one night in Roanoke.
Why? That's only an hour away.
Spence?
I just don't understand
any of it anymore.
I guess I'm just looking
for it again.
For the belief
I had back in college.
The belief I had
when I first met Sarah
and it all seemed so right.
That's beautiful.
Who's Sarah?
Gideon's first love.
You're remembering the letter
Gideon left you.
I'm thinking maybe he rushed
back and stayed in Roanoke
because he was finally happy.
What if he found someone
like Sarah again?
How's the kid?
Not great, but he'll get
his head back in the game.
Rossi, this is crazy.
Gideon and I used to walk around
scenes like this all the time.
He'd always say to me,
"Morgan, I'm the UnSub.
How did I do it?"
Well, first, I shoot my target
from a distance,
wounding him.
Then, I move in for the kill.
Gideon has the strength to shoot
a few rounds into the door.
But he misses me...
because I've weakened
his dominant hand.
Gideon didn't have the strength
to hold his gun steady.
So, I stand over.
I get off on this.
My face is the last thing
he'll see.
And then I finish him.
All right, most of the gunfire
was from here to the door,
right?
So then why did Gideon shoot
way over here into this wall?
It's like
this was done on purpose.
Shot's got to mean something.
The devil is in the detail.
I need to check something out.
Let's take a ride.
Um... hi.
Do you need some help?
Ah, pretty sure
this thing is busted.
I've got a quarter.
Want me to try?
It'll just eat it.
It already took
three of my coins.
You have a phone I can borrow?
Forget it.
No. Uh, no, maybe I can help.
What's wrong?
Van won't turn over.
And my dog is sick.
- -Trying to call the
vet 'cause they got a shuttle
that'll come pick him up.
Here you go.
What's wrong with your dog?
Oh, bum leg.
I thought a walk would help,
but I think all that
made his heart hurt.
You can pet him.
He won't bite.
He looks okay.
Yeah?
That's good.
Maybe he just needs some water.
Good boy.
I just always thought
I'd see him again.
I know.
I'd just really like to play
one more game of chess with him.
I know I'm not being
very rational,
and I know I haven't seen him
in a really long time, but...
I think about him
all the time, and...
I knew he was always out there,
and now it just feels...
empty.
Yeah.
But time will pass,
and slowly you'll forget
how much it hurts.
And maybe you'll find
something else to...
fill that empty space.
I don't want
to find something else.
I've never been
in this building.
No need to. This was the
bomb shelter back in the day.
I'm sure we can find something
dehydrated if you get hungry.
Damn if it doesn't smell
the same.
We're back where it all started,
my friend.
We were the Behavioral Science
Unit back then.
This is awesome.
They called us the B.S. Unit.
We were pretty organized.
All right, I think this is it.
Salem, Virginia,
Roanoke County, 1978.
Gideon was the lead on this one.
You know, we got enough material
here for one hell of a book.
Don't you think?
Huh?
I said I'm gonna write
a book someday,
use all our hard work,
take the credit for myself.
Make a million bucks.
That's nice.
What are you looking at anyway?
Birds.
There's a third murder
without motive in Salem.
A serial crime.
Let's get used to saying that.
For the past year,
he's killed one woman
every three months
like clockwork.
So he's seasonal like Zodiac?
Yeah, but he's not taunting us
like Zodiac.
He's too obsessed
with his own thing.
- What's his type?
- 20-something,
brunettes. He strangles them,
then leaves them
in an open grave.
But here's the thing.
He puts dead birds
in their hands.
- What kind?
- Small, brown.
They look like every other bird
I've ever seen.
But it's got
to mean something to him.
Well, you got me hooked.
- Let's take a trip to Roanoke.
- You know, I want to talk
to these victims' families.
Maybe there's a connection
between them.
- Did you catch him?
- No.
There was never a fourth body.
So he wasn't obsessed
with the seasonal killing.
Maybe you forced him
into hiding.
He was too fixated
to stop cold turkey.
We thought maybe
he was locked up or moved away.
And you never saw
that signature again?
No.
But Gideon must have
seen something
to make him leave Florida early
and drive directly to Roanoke.
Go ahead, Dave.
Hotch, I think this is it,
but I need to fill
everyone else in.
The last thing Gideon did
was to shoot a bird painting.
I think he was trying to tell us
that his killer is the same one
from a case
we worked on in 1978.
So it was someone he locked up.
No, those murders went unsolved.
So this wasn't
about revenge on Gideon
if he didn't lock the guy up;
then what was this?
Maybe he went after Gideon
because he was back
on the case again.
The UnSub was strangling
20-something brunettes.
Garcia, were there any female
bodies found in Roanoke County
- in the past few days? - Let me
check the crystal Web ball.
Uh...
Yes.
An unidentified woman in her 50s
was found in a shallow grave
just outside of Salem.
Was she strangled?
That's the mystery.
There was no foul play.
Was there a dead bird
in her hand?
What? Ew.
None of that fowl play either.
What's the significance
of the bird?
Those little brown birds
were the UnSub's obsession.
So how did Gideon
get back on the case?
He saw the story
in a national paper,
and it obviously piqued
his interest.
What are the chances
that the same woods
and the same ritual
make headlines again?
But the signature was missing.
That's why he drove to Roanoke.
He needed to make sure
- it wasn't just a coincidence.
- Well, clearly it wasn't.
And this woman would have been
in her 20s back then.
Age-wise, that's his type.
Gideon must have thought
the same thing.
If she was a victim, then she
was held captive for 37 years.
Who knows what he did to her
in all that time?
What if he stopped killing
because he found the victim
he really wanted
and held on to her?
Her recent death could have sent
the UnSub into a tailspin.
He's probably gonna want
to find someone new.
And if it's anything like
what he did before,
he may hunt and kill
until he finds the right one.
We'll meet you in Roanoke, Dave.
You need to stay here
with Garcia.
- I know.
- Okay.
We need to retrace
Gideon's steps. - We know
he arrived too late to see
the body, which is probably why
- he stayed overnight.
- Maybe he looked
at the disposal site first
and went to the M.E.
In the morning.
Would he have gone
to the sheriff?
Probably not, without evidence
to back up his theory.
Oh. The Roanoke sheriff
just sent me the report
and a crime scene photo.
Gideon didn't have this photo,
but he still had
a hell of a hunch.
Wait a minute.
Gideon had a picture.
Search through his wallet.
There's a picture of a girl.
Sir, he has a lot
of pictures in here.
Well, look at one of the older
ones, like it was from a...
high school yearbook.
Tara Barnett, Roanoke High,
class of '76.
That's her. It's got to be.
We met her mother back then.
How long has Tara been missing?
- Three days.
- You told the sheriff?
He doesn't believe
anyone kidnapped Tara.
Why is that?
She isn't much of a looker.
Like they think
no one would want her.
But you know this crazy man
isn't taking the pretty ones.
When you told the sheriff
your concerns,
did he report Tara missing
to other jurisdictions?
No.
He told me to make a flyer.
That's it? Why?
Because Tara ran away
when she was in high school,
a few times.
She wasn't a bad kid.
It's just...
her father's a real...
And sometimes
the cops would come.
So they think
she's run off again.
But...
Look, I might not be
the best mother,
but I love her.
And in my gut,
I know something's really wrong.
Help me.
Ma'am, we have to work beside
- the local law enforcement.
- But they don't believe me.
You have to convince them
to file the proper paperwork.
Well, no one is listening to me.
- The FBI has no jurisdiction
here. - Please. Please.
Can you just...
can you please...
This way I'm not the only one
thinking about Tara.
Thank you.
You can't keep that.
You and your partner.
It's like seeing ghosts.
He still had Tara's picture,
you know.
I know.
He was a good man.
What did you
and Agent Gideon talk about?
He wanted to know
if she had a butterfly tattoo
- on her ankle.
- Did she have that tattoo?
Yes.
And now you're wanting
to know, too.
So what's going on?
That ink's pretty faded.
She must have got that
40 years ago.
- What was the C.O. D?
- Cancer.
- Cancer?
- She was riddled with it.
No evidence of tissue damage
from chemo or radiation.
At first I thought
her severe muscle atrophy
and bone loss was a side effect
of the disease.
And she clearly lost
her appetite,
because her stomach shrunk
to half its size.
You said at first you thought
it was about the disease.
What changed your mind?
Well, I hadn't finished the exam
when I explained all of this to
the other one. What's his name?
Gideon.
Yes, him.
Now that I've had time
to fully examine the body,
it tells a different story.
She's got ripped ligaments
between her pelvic girdle
and femur bone, like her legs
had been dislocated
multiple times.
She's got calluses like she was
crawling around like a limp dog.
Have you ever seen that before?
Yes.
On three young women
many years ago.
He took the time to bring her
all the way out here,
but he didn't bury her.
Speaks to his remorse.
Yeah, he probably
came here to visit.
And I'll bet this place
has emotional value to him.
But leaving dead birds
in his victim's hands
was his signature,
so why abandon it now?
Maybe he outgrew it.
Keeping her for 40 years
became his new obsession.
He's got to be comfortable here;
it takes some time
to gather all this.
Clearly not worried
about getting busted.
Hotch?
He put her on display.
It's a nest.
I'm waiting on the dead
girl's case files from '78.
They didn't have
any of them scanned yet,
so it's gonna take
at least an hour.
Found it in his freezer.
Mint chip.
That was his favorite.
Remember that birthday of his
when he had the taste test?
Yeah, you couldn't fool him.
It was the good stuff
or nothing.
We haven't eaten since...
Last night.
This is too weird.
Yeah, it is.
For lots of reasons.
Okay.
That was fast.
It was.
This is not then though.
This is now. I set an alert
for all things Roanoke,
including the boring stuff.
This is not boring, this is bad.
There's a missing woman.
Her name's Josie Behdart.
Called on her cell
to say she'd be
five minutes late for her shift
at the library,
and she never showed up.
There she is.
He likes that age.
Hey, Hotch,
there's another missing woman.
You need to get to the library
on 3rd and Main right now.
Josie Behdart, 23, single.
She walked to work.
Local cops just found
her cell phone in the trash can,
and, surprise, no cameras.
And all the original reports
confirm that each of the victims
- was taken within a mile of this
This guy's got
a precise comfort zone...
it hasn't changed since '78.
My guess is there's another
significance to this location.
A library could be
his ideal hunting ground,
a haven for the lonely.
I'm gonna check it out.
Gideon's plan in coming here
was to prove his hunch,
so he would've gathered enough
to make a clean arrest
and that's when he would've
called us in.
Except he didn't get the chance.
The UnSub identified him first.
Where did he spot him?
The places
where the UnSub was hunting.
Local hangouts. Where else
would Gideon have gone?
What can I get you?
Did you see a white man in here
yesterday... early 60s?
He was wearing a striped shirt,
khakis, sneakers.
Oh, sure, yeah.
I usually only get
regulars here,
so it's easy to remember him.
Um, messed with his hands a lot.
I took his order, and he sat
at this booth,
breakfast to supper.
I gave him an extra piece
of pie, he was here so long.
Speaking of which, let me
get you gentlemen a slice.
- Uh, just coffee, please.
- Sure.
He knew this guy was a local
and creature of habit.
And this place screams both.
Gideon stood out
because he's neither.
That's how the UnSub
knew who he was.
And you know he did something
to make sure he got
the UnSub's attention.
I'm gonna do that to you.
Takes a long time.
The librarian remembers Gideon.
He got a temporary card,
checked out these books
in the morning,
left them in the drop box
on his drive home last night.
He left the library
and came here to read books.
It's classic Gideon,
classic profiling.
He sat right here
to let the UnSub know
- he was watching.
- And it worked.
If Gideon was so sure
he lured the right guy,
why didn't he tell us?
It's like the UnSub
was his white whale.
He wanted to catch him
on his own.
And his last move is when
the UnSub targeted him.
The age of the victims
has stayed the same
as the UnSub has aged; it speaks
to his arrested development.
So the question's what it's
Why them, why now?
Why them, why now?
Why them, why now?
It's called twitching
in England.
Bird-watching.
I understand the appeal of it.
It's like hunting.
You hate hunting.
I hate it so much.
But bird watching...
it's kind of like what we do.
Everyone's got a name
and a lineage,
but it's the behavior
that really distinguishes them.
Like this one here.
It builds courtship nests
in evergreen hemlock trees.
The blue-headed vireo.
Is there a quiz later?
And this one here.
A madly in love,
overworked Italian
who stops at every pay phone
to call his wife
and buys an incredible amount
of postcards.
It's a David Rossi.
Not what you think.
See, you're collecting
the kind of postcards
you would collect
if you had a kid.
But you don't have a kid.
Which means...
you and Carolyn are expecting.
We are.
- Mazel.
- And according to
my mother and her Old World
"hang the needle and thread
over the belly" trick,
it's a boy.
It's never been more important
to catch a guy like this.
Everyone is someone's baby.
Exactly.
So, this book of yours...
what does it say about
the kinds of birds he's leaving
- in the victims' hands?
- Nelson's sparrow.
See, they're secretive
in nature.
They don't
listen to their own instincts
when they're in danger.
Instead of flying off,
they scurry away by foot.
These victims...
their self-esteem is so low,
they ignore their own instinct
to fight or flight.
So they wouldn't trust their gut
enough to scream or run away
when danger's
smack in front of them.
A person has to have
enough self-worth
to want to cause a scene.
Here you go.
And this unknown subject,
he wants to claim his kill.
Yeah.
He makes it unique to him.
The bird in the hand is like...
A signature.
A signature, yeah.
I like that.
We should call it that.
This is it.
Nelson's sparrow.
It's what the UnSub
left in their hands
because its behavior matched
that of the insecure victims.
So the UnSub really knew his
birds and where to find them.
Was there some kind of
bird lovers club in the area?
Garcia, are there
any nature centers
or bird-watching
chapters in the area?
Uh, there's an old-timey
bird-watching group
called the Flappers,
Median age of, like, 89.
They started in the '60s.
Most of the members have
- gone extinct.
- And chances are
the UnSub and his victims
weren't a part of that group,
so where would else
would he meet them?
Tara was his ideal.
What makes her so special?
Tara's mother
said she was broken.
And he knew that because
he spent more time watching her
- than the others. - That's how
he was able to study her
and not just glance
as she passed by the window.
She was a few years
out of high school
when she disappeared;
maybe he knew her from there.
- She wasn't very social.
- Well, neither was he.
They were both
in their 20s when she was taken.
If they weren't friends
in high school,
- maybe they worked together.
- Tara's mom said
right out of school,
she bagged groceries.
I've got Tara working at
Joe's on Main,
summer of '76 through '77.
Are there any employees
at Joe's Supermarket who started
in the '70s and are still there?
Well, that's nearly 40 years ago
in a galaxy far, far away
that wasn't using
my magic binary boxes,
but, uh, the place is still
family-owned and operated.
Give me a hot minute.
Okay,
three of the people
still working there are women.
That leaves two males.
- Here's a name I've heard
before... Mallick. - Who?
Gertie Mallick was
one of the founding members
of the bird group.
Died in 1974.
Her next of kin was her nephew
Donnie Mallick,
who inherited her farm and...
...buys enough birdseed
to let me know I should
send you his address.
Do I crack it?
I want to crack something.
Say I get to!
You get to.
You or it?
It.
You're so whispery right now.
Why so whispery?
I'm scared.
You're scared.
That's funny.
Do I crack you or it?
It.
It? Really?
- It.
- Yeah? Crack it?
- You sure?
- Yes! It!
It? Crack it?!
I crack it?
Okay, you say so.
What did that bird
ever do to you?
What did he do to you?
Tell me.
Nothing.
He didn't hurt me.
Yeah?
Babies having babies.
Zettie Mallick gave birth
to Donald Allen Mallick in 1956,
three months shy
of her 14th birthday.
Father unknown. When she was 18,
she was sent to live
in a mental health facility
for schizophrenia,
and four-year-old Donnie
was sent to live
with his only living kin,
72-year-old wheelchair-bound
Aunt Gertrude.
I have no school records on him
past 1971, and if I do the math
from Aunt Gerty's
death certificate, he's been
on his own since he was 17.
The years of isolation
in that house were his stressor.
That explains why
he was obsessed with birds.
And when she died,
he replaced her with Tara.
Shh. Shh.
Hey!
You can lock me up.
I still win.
I got my girls.
And I killed Jason Gideon.
You're right.
You'd be a big deal in prison
for killing a federal agent.
A legend if you killed two.
This is wrong.
This is just plain wrong.
Pull over, Dave.
For God's sake, pull over!
Look, the trail is dead.
The Bureau isn't
letting us stay.
We can't just leave here.
We did the best we could, Jason.
That's not good enough,
because he's still out there.
He's gonna do terrible things,
and we won't find him,
because there's so many of them
and there's only three of us.
And we can't do it all.
We can't!
Look at this.
We didn't find her.
This is someone's baby.
Do you get that?
Of course I get that.
And you're right,
we need more help.
- We need an army. - Then let's
get back and build our army.
But we aren't gonna get it
with you screaming to the gods.
Okay.
You know,
if this writing thing works out,
you can buy us a plane.
Oh, sure, yeah.
I can see it now.
You know, you've been...
pretty edgy.
What's really going on?
You tell me, profiler.
I like that.
Profiler.
So, go ahead.
Tell me why I'm so edgy lately.
Simple, really.
Takes one to know one.
You're gonna be a father, too.
You're very good.
Not as good as me,
but impressive, Agent.
What's your middle name?
Stephen. Why?
He was brilliant at his job
because of you.
He wanted your world to be as
great as he knew you would be.
Thank you.
He always said
you were his family.
I get it.
If you need anything, you know
where to find me, Stephen.
He loved watching
the seasons change from here.
Couldn't wait to get snowed in.
So, about ten years ago,
we were sitting on the runway
in Denver, and we're waiting
for the wings to be de-iced.
And everybody's stressed out.
And suddenly, Gideon collapses
in this...
fit of uncontrollable laughter.
You know, the crazy kind
where he ends up in tears.
I know the one.
And he says that it reminds him
of a case that you two worked in
a blizzard in Upstate New York.
And there were no cars,
so you had to take sleds.
Lockport. The only time
it isn't snowing is
on the Fourth of July.
So, he says that
there was a dare?
A double dare.
To take a sled
down Rattlesnake Hill.
There was this local kid...
must have been 12...
he dares us
to go down this incline
that was... legendary.
Well, you know Gideon.
He's not about
to turn down a challenge.
- Not from a 12-year-old.
- Of course.
So, he takes this kid's sled
and goes flying down this hill.
I mean, it was like lightning.
He jumps off right before
it smacks into a headstone.
He said that was you.
No.
Yeah, well,
he never let the truth
get in the way of a good story.
Nope, he sure didn't.
Thanks for reminding me.
"When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him."
Euripides.
Ripped By mstoll
Are you sure?
It's Gideon.
"The bitterest tears
shed over graves
are for words left unsaid
and deeds left undone."
Harriet Beecher Stowe.
There are no fresh tire tracks,
but keep the roadblocks going.
- He's got a three-hour
head start. -
He's got a high-powered rifle.
He shouldn't be approached
without backup.
Hotchner.
Yeah, just tell them
you're with us.
They'll let you through.
Okay.
Is this how it's gonna go?
All my friends dying off?
First Erin, then Harrison,
and now Jason.
Disease is one thing,
but... murder?
I hadn't talked to him in years.
Me, neither.
How does that happen?
Back in the day,
I would have bet my life
that we'd always be close.
But maybe we never were.
You know, it could be
that after all these years,
I just rewrote our history.
So you guys haven't seen
Gideon in, like, eight years?
He didn't say good-bye
or anything?
He left Spence a letter.
The way to love him was
to let him be.
- Sounds intense.
- More like passionate.
He had that reputation.
Guess that's what it takes
to be one of the godfathers
of the BAU.
Yeah, he was a legend.
Yeah, I was excited
he was teaching this class,
and I signed up,
but he only lectured twice.
Ah, because he found
the Footpath Killer
and came back to the unit.
I heard
that's why he jumped ship.
There was always
a method to his madness.
Maybe because
he followed his heart.
So he retired
and then got into these birds?
Mm, yeah, birds have always
been his thing.
Not sure why.
Graves Apple Farm
is a mile from here.
They're his closest neighbors.
Called in the gunfire at 3:15.
Evidence of size ten boots,
wide tread, likely rubber sole.
Between those
and a high-powered rifle,
it could be anyone
from around here.
He didn't leave any casings.
Sorry.
There's not much evidence
out here.
Then we'll just have to look
at what he did.
He could have easily
shot him from here.
It wasn't close enough...
he wanted
to kill him in his own house.
Wounds him first
because he's a coward,
then doesn't have the guts
to go inside
until he's got the upper hand.
He'd only feel confident
if he'd knew he'd weakened him.
Sounds like a hunter.
He wanted Gideon
to know who he was.
He watched,
waited and hunted him.
This is personal.
Who's that?
Stephen.
Oh, my God.
He's not a kid anymore.
That's the slowest
I've ever seen you type.
Snooping into Gideon's
spending habits
makes me feel like a creep.
Yeah, well, try looking
through his bedroom.
- Oh. You win.
- All right,
so there was a newspaper,
few days worth of clothes
and hotel soaps.
Oh, he always did that.
He'd, uh, collect them and put,
like, money and gum,
and make these little bags,
and keep them in his car,
- give them to the homeless.
- Tells us he's been traveling.
A lot, according to his plastic,
mainly down the East Coast.
But he came back home,
so who knew that,
and who would want him dead?
We should start
with recent releases.
Gideon's arrested
a lot of people.
Thousands. He's been a crime
fighter since, what, 1975?
Yup, 40-year sentence
sounds pretty good
until the 40 years are up.
Out of respect,
I kept him covered.
Appreciate that.
Cause of death was hypovolemic
shock due to ballistic trauma.
Three points of entry.
Left shoulder, right abdominal
wall and right temporal.
- Did he suffer?
- Not for long.
No. His brain stopped working
before he was able
to process his last breath.
After the final shot,
he was gone
within a fraction of a second.
Would you excuse us, please?
Of course.
Thank you.
Did you hear any of that?
He didn't suffer.
Listen to me. Listen to me.
Sometimes you put up these walls
and you block us out,
and you can't do that,
not right now.
We need you, kid.
Gideon needs you.
I'm gonna step right out there.
And when you're ready,
let's go get
this son of a bitch.
Who would want to kill my dad?
That's what we're trying
to figure out.
Did he say if anyone had
contacted him recently?
- You mean someone from his past
or something? - Anything.
Well, after he left the BAU,
he, uh, called to tell me
about his list.
He never said it a bucket list,
but that was the idea.
Anyway, uh, reconnecting
with me was one of his things.
Which was ironic because...
... most of my life,
I felt like he was avoiding me.
He was gone so much of the time,
I figured he regretted
even having me.
That's not true.
I knew your dad pretty well.
And he had trouble
with a lot of things.
Saying "I'm sorry"
was one of them.
Okay, Gideon fueled up
every 350 miles.
He probably stopped
at some diners along the way,
'cause you know the man could,
like, live off of milk shakes.
Definitely took his sweet time
going down the coast,
but booked it
back from Jacksonville,
and instead of coming here,
home to his cabin, he stayed
one night in Roanoke.
Why? That's only an hour away.
Spence?
I just don't understand
any of it anymore.
I guess I'm just looking
for it again.
For the belief
I had back in college.
The belief I had
when I first met Sarah
and it all seemed so right.
That's beautiful.
Who's Sarah?
Gideon's first love.
You're remembering the letter
Gideon left you.
I'm thinking maybe he rushed
back and stayed in Roanoke
because he was finally happy.
What if he found someone
like Sarah again?
How's the kid?
Not great, but he'll get
his head back in the game.
Rossi, this is crazy.
Gideon and I used to walk around
scenes like this all the time.
He'd always say to me,
"Morgan, I'm the UnSub.
How did I do it?"
Well, first, I shoot my target
from a distance,
wounding him.
Then, I move in for the kill.
Gideon has the strength to shoot
a few rounds into the door.
But he misses me...
because I've weakened
his dominant hand.
Gideon didn't have the strength
to hold his gun steady.
So, I stand over.
I get off on this.
My face is the last thing
he'll see.
And then I finish him.
All right, most of the gunfire
was from here to the door,
right?
So then why did Gideon shoot
way over here into this wall?
It's like
this was done on purpose.
Shot's got to mean something.
The devil is in the detail.
I need to check something out.
Let's take a ride.
Um... hi.
Do you need some help?
Ah, pretty sure
this thing is busted.
I've got a quarter.
Want me to try?
It'll just eat it.
It already took
three of my coins.
You have a phone I can borrow?
Forget it.
No. Uh, no, maybe I can help.
What's wrong?
Van won't turn over.
And my dog is sick.
- -Trying to call the
vet 'cause they got a shuttle
that'll come pick him up.
Here you go.
What's wrong with your dog?
Oh, bum leg.
I thought a walk would help,
but I think all that
made his heart hurt.
You can pet him.
He won't bite.
He looks okay.
Yeah?
That's good.
Maybe he just needs some water.
Good boy.
I just always thought
I'd see him again.
I know.
I'd just really like to play
one more game of chess with him.
I know I'm not being
very rational,
and I know I haven't seen him
in a really long time, but...
I think about him
all the time, and...
I knew he was always out there,
and now it just feels...
empty.
Yeah.
But time will pass,
and slowly you'll forget
how much it hurts.
And maybe you'll find
something else to...
fill that empty space.
I don't want
to find something else.
I've never been
in this building.
No need to. This was the
bomb shelter back in the day.
I'm sure we can find something
dehydrated if you get hungry.
Damn if it doesn't smell
the same.
We're back where it all started,
my friend.
We were the Behavioral Science
Unit back then.
This is awesome.
They called us the B.S. Unit.
We were pretty organized.
All right, I think this is it.
Salem, Virginia,
Roanoke County, 1978.
Gideon was the lead on this one.
You know, we got enough material
here for one hell of a book.
Don't you think?
Huh?
I said I'm gonna write
a book someday,
use all our hard work,
take the credit for myself.
Make a million bucks.
That's nice.
What are you looking at anyway?
Birds.
There's a third murder
without motive in Salem.
A serial crime.
Let's get used to saying that.
For the past year,
he's killed one woman
every three months
like clockwork.
So he's seasonal like Zodiac?
Yeah, but he's not taunting us
like Zodiac.
He's too obsessed
with his own thing.
- What's his type?
- 20-something,
brunettes. He strangles them,
then leaves them
in an open grave.
But here's the thing.
He puts dead birds
in their hands.
- What kind?
- Small, brown.
They look like every other bird
I've ever seen.
But it's got
to mean something to him.
Well, you got me hooked.
- Let's take a trip to Roanoke.
- You know, I want to talk
to these victims' families.
Maybe there's a connection
between them.
- Did you catch him?
- No.
There was never a fourth body.
So he wasn't obsessed
with the seasonal killing.
Maybe you forced him
into hiding.
He was too fixated
to stop cold turkey.
We thought maybe
he was locked up or moved away.
And you never saw
that signature again?
No.
But Gideon must have
seen something
to make him leave Florida early
and drive directly to Roanoke.
Go ahead, Dave.
Hotch, I think this is it,
but I need to fill
everyone else in.
The last thing Gideon did
was to shoot a bird painting.
I think he was trying to tell us
that his killer is the same one
from a case
we worked on in 1978.
So it was someone he locked up.
No, those murders went unsolved.
So this wasn't
about revenge on Gideon
if he didn't lock the guy up;
then what was this?
Maybe he went after Gideon
because he was back
on the case again.
The UnSub was strangling
20-something brunettes.
Garcia, were there any female
bodies found in Roanoke County
- in the past few days? - Let me
check the crystal Web ball.
Uh...
Yes.
An unidentified woman in her 50s
was found in a shallow grave
just outside of Salem.
Was she strangled?
That's the mystery.
There was no foul play.
Was there a dead bird
in her hand?
What? Ew.
None of that fowl play either.
What's the significance
of the bird?
Those little brown birds
were the UnSub's obsession.
So how did Gideon
get back on the case?
He saw the story
in a national paper,
and it obviously piqued
his interest.
What are the chances
that the same woods
and the same ritual
make headlines again?
But the signature was missing.
That's why he drove to Roanoke.
He needed to make sure
- it wasn't just a coincidence.
- Well, clearly it wasn't.
And this woman would have been
in her 20s back then.
Age-wise, that's his type.
Gideon must have thought
the same thing.
If she was a victim, then she
was held captive for 37 years.
Who knows what he did to her
in all that time?
What if he stopped killing
because he found the victim
he really wanted
and held on to her?
Her recent death could have sent
the UnSub into a tailspin.
He's probably gonna want
to find someone new.
And if it's anything like
what he did before,
he may hunt and kill
until he finds the right one.
We'll meet you in Roanoke, Dave.
You need to stay here
with Garcia.
- I know.
- Okay.
We need to retrace
Gideon's steps. - We know
he arrived too late to see
the body, which is probably why
- he stayed overnight.
- Maybe he looked
at the disposal site first
and went to the M.E.
In the morning.
Would he have gone
to the sheriff?
Probably not, without evidence
to back up his theory.
Oh. The Roanoke sheriff
just sent me the report
and a crime scene photo.
Gideon didn't have this photo,
but he still had
a hell of a hunch.
Wait a minute.
Gideon had a picture.
Search through his wallet.
There's a picture of a girl.
Sir, he has a lot
of pictures in here.
Well, look at one of the older
ones, like it was from a...
high school yearbook.
Tara Barnett, Roanoke High,
class of '76.
That's her. It's got to be.
We met her mother back then.
How long has Tara been missing?
- Three days.
- You told the sheriff?
He doesn't believe
anyone kidnapped Tara.
Why is that?
She isn't much of a looker.
Like they think
no one would want her.
But you know this crazy man
isn't taking the pretty ones.
When you told the sheriff
your concerns,
did he report Tara missing
to other jurisdictions?
No.
He told me to make a flyer.
That's it? Why?
Because Tara ran away
when she was in high school,
a few times.
She wasn't a bad kid.
It's just...
her father's a real...
And sometimes
the cops would come.
So they think
she's run off again.
But...
Look, I might not be
the best mother,
but I love her.
And in my gut,
I know something's really wrong.
Help me.
Ma'am, we have to work beside
- the local law enforcement.
- But they don't believe me.
You have to convince them
to file the proper paperwork.
Well, no one is listening to me.
- The FBI has no jurisdiction
here. - Please. Please.
Can you just...
can you please...
This way I'm not the only one
thinking about Tara.
Thank you.
You can't keep that.
You and your partner.
It's like seeing ghosts.
He still had Tara's picture,
you know.
I know.
He was a good man.
What did you
and Agent Gideon talk about?
He wanted to know
if she had a butterfly tattoo
- on her ankle.
- Did she have that tattoo?
Yes.
And now you're wanting
to know, too.
So what's going on?
That ink's pretty faded.
She must have got that
40 years ago.
- What was the C.O. D?
- Cancer.
- Cancer?
- She was riddled with it.
No evidence of tissue damage
from chemo or radiation.
At first I thought
her severe muscle atrophy
and bone loss was a side effect
of the disease.
And she clearly lost
her appetite,
because her stomach shrunk
to half its size.
You said at first you thought
it was about the disease.
What changed your mind?
Well, I hadn't finished the exam
when I explained all of this to
the other one. What's his name?
Gideon.
Yes, him.
Now that I've had time
to fully examine the body,
it tells a different story.
She's got ripped ligaments
between her pelvic girdle
and femur bone, like her legs
had been dislocated
multiple times.
She's got calluses like she was
crawling around like a limp dog.
Have you ever seen that before?
Yes.
On three young women
many years ago.
He took the time to bring her
all the way out here,
but he didn't bury her.
Speaks to his remorse.
Yeah, he probably
came here to visit.
And I'll bet this place
has emotional value to him.
But leaving dead birds
in his victim's hands
was his signature,
so why abandon it now?
Maybe he outgrew it.
Keeping her for 40 years
became his new obsession.
He's got to be comfortable here;
it takes some time
to gather all this.
Clearly not worried
about getting busted.
Hotch?
He put her on display.
It's a nest.
I'm waiting on the dead
girl's case files from '78.
They didn't have
any of them scanned yet,
so it's gonna take
at least an hour.
Found it in his freezer.
Mint chip.
That was his favorite.
Remember that birthday of his
when he had the taste test?
Yeah, you couldn't fool him.
It was the good stuff
or nothing.
We haven't eaten since...
Last night.
This is too weird.
Yeah, it is.
For lots of reasons.
Okay.
That was fast.
It was.
This is not then though.
This is now. I set an alert
for all things Roanoke,
including the boring stuff.
This is not boring, this is bad.
There's a missing woman.
Her name's Josie Behdart.
Called on her cell
to say she'd be
five minutes late for her shift
at the library,
and she never showed up.
There she is.
He likes that age.
Hey, Hotch,
there's another missing woman.
You need to get to the library
on 3rd and Main right now.
Josie Behdart, 23, single.
She walked to work.
Local cops just found
her cell phone in the trash can,
and, surprise, no cameras.
And all the original reports
confirm that each of the victims
- was taken within a mile of this
This guy's got
a precise comfort zone...
it hasn't changed since '78.
My guess is there's another
significance to this location.
A library could be
his ideal hunting ground,
a haven for the lonely.
I'm gonna check it out.
Gideon's plan in coming here
was to prove his hunch,
so he would've gathered enough
to make a clean arrest
and that's when he would've
called us in.
Except he didn't get the chance.
The UnSub identified him first.
Where did he spot him?
The places
where the UnSub was hunting.
Local hangouts. Where else
would Gideon have gone?
What can I get you?
Did you see a white man in here
yesterday... early 60s?
He was wearing a striped shirt,
khakis, sneakers.
Oh, sure, yeah.
I usually only get
regulars here,
so it's easy to remember him.
Um, messed with his hands a lot.
I took his order, and he sat
at this booth,
breakfast to supper.
I gave him an extra piece
of pie, he was here so long.
Speaking of which, let me
get you gentlemen a slice.
- Uh, just coffee, please.
- Sure.
He knew this guy was a local
and creature of habit.
And this place screams both.
Gideon stood out
because he's neither.
That's how the UnSub
knew who he was.
And you know he did something
to make sure he got
the UnSub's attention.
I'm gonna do that to you.
Takes a long time.
The librarian remembers Gideon.
He got a temporary card,
checked out these books
in the morning,
left them in the drop box
on his drive home last night.
He left the library
and came here to read books.
It's classic Gideon,
classic profiling.
He sat right here
to let the UnSub know
- he was watching.
- And it worked.
If Gideon was so sure
he lured the right guy,
why didn't he tell us?
It's like the UnSub
was his white whale.
He wanted to catch him
on his own.
And his last move is when
the UnSub targeted him.
The age of the victims
has stayed the same
as the UnSub has aged; it speaks
to his arrested development.
So the question's what it's
Why them, why now?
Why them, why now?
Why them, why now?
It's called twitching
in England.
Bird-watching.
I understand the appeal of it.
It's like hunting.
You hate hunting.
I hate it so much.
But bird watching...
it's kind of like what we do.
Everyone's got a name
and a lineage,
but it's the behavior
that really distinguishes them.
Like this one here.
It builds courtship nests
in evergreen hemlock trees.
The blue-headed vireo.
Is there a quiz later?
And this one here.
A madly in love,
overworked Italian
who stops at every pay phone
to call his wife
and buys an incredible amount
of postcards.
It's a David Rossi.
Not what you think.
See, you're collecting
the kind of postcards
you would collect
if you had a kid.
But you don't have a kid.
Which means...
you and Carolyn are expecting.
We are.
- Mazel.
- And according to
my mother and her Old World
"hang the needle and thread
over the belly" trick,
it's a boy.
It's never been more important
to catch a guy like this.
Everyone is someone's baby.
Exactly.
So, this book of yours...
what does it say about
the kinds of birds he's leaving
- in the victims' hands?
- Nelson's sparrow.
See, they're secretive
in nature.
They don't
listen to their own instincts
when they're in danger.
Instead of flying off,
they scurry away by foot.
These victims...
their self-esteem is so low,
they ignore their own instinct
to fight or flight.
So they wouldn't trust their gut
enough to scream or run away
when danger's
smack in front of them.
A person has to have
enough self-worth
to want to cause a scene.
Here you go.
And this unknown subject,
he wants to claim his kill.
Yeah.
He makes it unique to him.
The bird in the hand is like...
A signature.
A signature, yeah.
I like that.
We should call it that.
This is it.
Nelson's sparrow.
It's what the UnSub
left in their hands
because its behavior matched
that of the insecure victims.
So the UnSub really knew his
birds and where to find them.
Was there some kind of
bird lovers club in the area?
Garcia, are there
any nature centers
or bird-watching
chapters in the area?
Uh, there's an old-timey
bird-watching group
called the Flappers,
Median age of, like, 89.
They started in the '60s.
Most of the members have
- gone extinct.
- And chances are
the UnSub and his victims
weren't a part of that group,
so where would else
would he meet them?
Tara was his ideal.
What makes her so special?
Tara's mother
said she was broken.
And he knew that because
he spent more time watching her
- than the others. - That's how
he was able to study her
and not just glance
as she passed by the window.
She was a few years
out of high school
when she disappeared;
maybe he knew her from there.
- She wasn't very social.
- Well, neither was he.
They were both
in their 20s when she was taken.
If they weren't friends
in high school,
- maybe they worked together.
- Tara's mom said
right out of school,
she bagged groceries.
I've got Tara working at
Joe's on Main,
summer of '76 through '77.
Are there any employees
at Joe's Supermarket who started
in the '70s and are still there?
Well, that's nearly 40 years ago
in a galaxy far, far away
that wasn't using
my magic binary boxes,
but, uh, the place is still
family-owned and operated.
Give me a hot minute.
Okay,
three of the people
still working there are women.
That leaves two males.
- Here's a name I've heard
before... Mallick. - Who?
Gertie Mallick was
one of the founding members
of the bird group.
Died in 1974.
Her next of kin was her nephew
Donnie Mallick,
who inherited her farm and...
...buys enough birdseed
to let me know I should
send you his address.
Do I crack it?
I want to crack something.
Say I get to!
You get to.
You or it?
It.
You're so whispery right now.
Why so whispery?
I'm scared.
You're scared.
That's funny.
Do I crack you or it?
It.
It? Really?
- It.
- Yeah? Crack it?
- You sure?
- Yes! It!
It? Crack it?!
I crack it?
Okay, you say so.
What did that bird
ever do to you?
What did he do to you?
Tell me.
Nothing.
He didn't hurt me.
Yeah?
Babies having babies.
Zettie Mallick gave birth
to Donald Allen Mallick in 1956,
three months shy
of her 14th birthday.
Father unknown. When she was 18,
she was sent to live
in a mental health facility
for schizophrenia,
and four-year-old Donnie
was sent to live
with his only living kin,
72-year-old wheelchair-bound
Aunt Gertrude.
I have no school records on him
past 1971, and if I do the math
from Aunt Gerty's
death certificate, he's been
on his own since he was 17.
The years of isolation
in that house were his stressor.
That explains why
he was obsessed with birds.
And when she died,
he replaced her with Tara.
Shh. Shh.
Hey!
You can lock me up.
I still win.
I got my girls.
And I killed Jason Gideon.
You're right.
You'd be a big deal in prison
for killing a federal agent.
A legend if you killed two.
This is wrong.
This is just plain wrong.
Pull over, Dave.
For God's sake, pull over!
Look, the trail is dead.
The Bureau isn't
letting us stay.
We can't just leave here.
We did the best we could, Jason.
That's not good enough,
because he's still out there.
He's gonna do terrible things,
and we won't find him,
because there's so many of them
and there's only three of us.
And we can't do it all.
We can't!
Look at this.
We didn't find her.
This is someone's baby.
Do you get that?
Of course I get that.
And you're right,
we need more help.
- We need an army. - Then let's
get back and build our army.
But we aren't gonna get it
with you screaming to the gods.
Okay.
You know,
if this writing thing works out,
you can buy us a plane.
Oh, sure, yeah.
I can see it now.
You know, you've been...
pretty edgy.
What's really going on?
You tell me, profiler.
I like that.
Profiler.
So, go ahead.
Tell me why I'm so edgy lately.
Simple, really.
Takes one to know one.
You're gonna be a father, too.
You're very good.
Not as good as me,
but impressive, Agent.
What's your middle name?
Stephen. Why?
He was brilliant at his job
because of you.
He wanted your world to be as
great as he knew you would be.
Thank you.
He always said
you were his family.
I get it.
If you need anything, you know
where to find me, Stephen.
He loved watching
the seasons change from here.
Couldn't wait to get snowed in.
So, about ten years ago,
we were sitting on the runway
in Denver, and we're waiting
for the wings to be de-iced.
And everybody's stressed out.
And suddenly, Gideon collapses
in this...
fit of uncontrollable laughter.
You know, the crazy kind
where he ends up in tears.
I know the one.
And he says that it reminds him
of a case that you two worked in
a blizzard in Upstate New York.
And there were no cars,
so you had to take sleds.
Lockport. The only time
it isn't snowing is
on the Fourth of July.
So, he says that
there was a dare?
A double dare.
To take a sled
down Rattlesnake Hill.
There was this local kid...
must have been 12...
he dares us
to go down this incline
that was... legendary.
Well, you know Gideon.
He's not about
to turn down a challenge.
- Not from a 12-year-old.
- Of course.
So, he takes this kid's sled
and goes flying down this hill.
I mean, it was like lightning.
He jumps off right before
it smacks into a headstone.
He said that was you.
No.
Yeah, well,
he never let the truth
get in the way of a good story.
Nope, he sure didn't.
Thanks for reminding me.
"When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him."
Euripides.
Ripped By mstoll