Criminal Minds (2005–…): Season 14, Episode 13 - Chameleon - full transcript
Hmm.
I got your coffee.
Are we gonna
talk about this?
I'm late.
Traffic's already a mess.
David, come on.
Have you seen my keys?
They're in your hand.
- I...
- Stop.
How are you feeling?
Um, I don't... I don't know
when I'll be home.
Don't wait up.
Hello, sir. Hi.
Hey.
Uh, when do the bandages
come off?
The doc says a week.
How are you doing?
Good. I'm good.
I think he's been here
all weekend.
Should have seen it.
Should have seen it.
Why didn't I see it?
How much sleep have you
gotten since we got back?
It was right there. It was right there,
and I didn't see it.
None of us did.
How are you doing?
Fine.
Not you, too.
You're tired of
people asking you
how you're doing?
Yes, I am.
Do you know what this is?
It's an open investigation.
That's all.
We lost the first time,
but we'll get another chance.
Yes, we will.
This team doesn't
take care of me.
I take care of them.
That's my job.
Maybe it's because
you do that job so well,
we want to be there
for you when we can.
You went through something
terrible out there,
but you can't keep it
bottled up.
You know that.
So, Dave, there's really
only one question,
and it's not
"how are you doing?"
It's, who do you
trust enough
to say
"I'm not doing so good"?
What happened?
I got sent home by
the principal.
You ready to talk
about it?
Rossi,
I couldn't breathe.
I couldn't breathe.
I'm here.
I'm here.
*CRIMINAL MINDS*
Season 14 Episode 13
*CRIMINAL MINDS*
pisode Title: "Chameleon"
Captioning performed by
The National Captioning Institute, Inc.
Sync corrections by srjanapala
Thanks.
Ah. It's portia.
So how is
my soon-to-be
stepdaughter doing?
She likes
to share quotes with me.
Here's today's.
Stephen king wrote,
"The most important things
are the hardest to say."
- Hmm.
- How weirdly appropriate.
Come on.
We are getting married
in 3 weeks.
And if we want this to work,
you have to let me in.
It started when we
got called in
on a single.
A single homicide
in Nashville, Tennessee.
That is, firefighters
responded to a house fire
in the Green Hills
neighborhood
and were able
to put out the fire
before it destroyed
everything,
but they discovered the body
of Monica Feinstein,
with a complete face lift.
And I'm not talking about
the kind that you need
a weekend and a bottle of
aspirin to get over.
I'm talking cheek to cheek,
neck to noggin.
Her whole face was lifted,
like, removed from her...
All right.
Well, burns on the body
were limited
to the legs and feet,
but knife marks went all
the way down to the skull.
Possibly symbolic.
Were the cuts
postmortem?
They were.
Cause of death was strangulation.
So the face is
a trophy.
He took it with him
to relive what he did.
As with
Jeffrey Dahmer,
killers often collect
body parts
to combat a feeling
of inadequacy.
They see the trophy as an
extension of their own identity,
something they'd rather die
than give up.
How did the unsub
set the fire?
Firefighters sourced
the flames to a lit stove
and then discovered evidence
of corroded gas pipes.
The gas pipes are made of
galvanized steel,
and the house is only
a few years old.
The unsub could've used
sulfuric acid
to mimic the effects
of corrosion.
Yeah, he's gone to
great lengths
to make the fire look
like an accident.
No forensic countermeasure.
Burning the house down
would be
a perfect way
to cover your tracks.
The sophistication suggests
this isn't his first,
and he's probably
planning more.
Wheels up in 20.
Did you find any other
victims?
Not on the first sweep.
So we discussed
what we knew
on our way
to Nashville.
Monica Feinstein, 52.
Taught preschool, volunteered
in a soup kitchen.
Single mom, adult son.
About as low-risk a lifestyle
as you can get.
And there's
no sign of forced entry,
so, the unsub was either
someone she knew
or didn't see as a threat.
He sets the fire to
destroy the evidence,
but he could also be
setting it
to hide his own shame
or disgust
for having taken
the face.
Yeah, that's true,
but even if it was
a trophy,
he might've hated
himself for wanting it.
Most unsubs have
a love-hate relationship
with their compulsions.
Which in this case would be
erotophonophilia.
Erotophono-what?
It's a $10 word
for lust murder.
It involves the mutilation
of body parts
the unsub finds most
attractive.
Now, it could be feet
or kneecaps,
but it's usually
breasts or genital...
Ok, got it. Got it.
- You asked.
- Ok, well,
you know, maybe we
should have
a safe word
or something.
Maybe you should
just tell me
when to leave something
to the imagination.
Deal. Ok.
So in this case,
it was the face. Why?
That's the question
we pursued when we landed.
According
to the autopsy,
the cuts on Monica were
rough and imprecise.
But he had
already strangled her.
He had the time and control
to do what he wants.
He had no reason to rush.
Based on his skill
and organization,
it's not inexperience.
It could be that
he loses control
because he's obtained
gratification.
A dopamine rush is similar
to drug addiction,
where a feeling of euphoria
suspends fine motor skills.
Monica feinstein
has a grown son?
Yeah, carl, age 19. He
goes to tennessee tech.
Let's bring him in.
If the unsub was somebody
Monica knew,
he might be able
to give us a suspect.
Yeah. I know exactly
who did this.
His name's Mac.
He, uh...
He was dating my mom.
What can you tell me
about him?
Dorky, boring.
He always wore
these, uh...
These
wool sweaters.
He never
stayed over.
He said he wanted
to protect
my mother's virtue.
The kind of guy that
would go out of his way
to appear nonthreatening?
Yeah.
You went right after him
as your mother's killer.
How come?
Because yesterday.
I came home to help
my mom around the house.
Don't worry,
honey.
I'll be home soon.
I love you, too.
Bye.
- Hey, who's that?
- Huh?
Oh, ho. Hey! Carl,
I was... I was just...
No, no. Who,
uh, who was that?
Is everything
all right?
No. He just said
"I love you"
to somebody on the phone.
Uh...
Yeah, my mom.
Oh, yeah? You call
your mother "honey"?
Yeah, I do.
He does.
I've heard him. He checks
on her several times a day.
Ok, have you
ever met his mother?
No, I haven't,
but...
Hey, let's clear the air
and address what's
really going on here, yeah?
You're being protective
of your mom. Heh!
And as you should,
because she is
an incredibly
special woman.
But I want to...
I want to prove to you how pure
my intentions are with her,
because I know
this has been fast.
Um, I've been waiting
my whole life for you...
And I don't want to wait
any longer.
What?
What?
Will you marry me?
Oh, of course
I will.
It's beautiful.
I love it.
Carl, I couldn't
stand watching her
make such an awful decision
like that, so I left.
He must've killed her
as soon as I was gone.
You have any photos of Mac?
My mom, she posted a lot
on social media.
Here's all his
contact info.
PAUL MaclNTYRE,
AKA "MAC."
He dated Monica two months
before he proposed to her.
And the address he gave her
was a fake,
and the phone number that he
gave to her was
for a burner that's now
been disconnected.
You know, it could be
an unsub who targets
a lonely hearts
victimology...
Middle-aged women who are emotionally
susceptible to his charisma.
And he takes his
charm and harm seduction
all the way up
to the proposal
and kills them.
Garcia,
what'd you find?
OK, I RAN THIS PHOTO
OF MR. MaclNTYRE.
Through facial recognition,
and I'm telling you with
my full confidence
he does not exist.
And I-I want to be really
clear about this.
I'm not saying he
covered his tracks.
I'm saying this guy is
a stone-cold apparition.
Is there anything in the
creation of the false identity
we can track?
Ok. According to his
faux dating profile,
he values family
and serving the homeless,
which would be really
cute if, you know,
he didn't cut her face off
and burn her house down.
Helping the homeless was
exactly what Monica
was interested in.
The unsub was creating
a persona tailor-made
to get her guard down.
What about
financial records?
Oh, this is where
things get really nasty.
Actually, the part about
the face is the nasty thing,
but I'm sending you
the specifics on this.
Shortly before dating
Monica, the unsub opened
a bank account using
this fake identity.
He used it as a fence
to create
an untraceable
offshore account.
He was draining Monica's money
the whole time they were dating.
And then the
low-down, lying sleazeball
closed said account.
And we all know
what that means,
don't we, my pretties?
He's a con man.
Yeah, but con men
resort to violence
only out of necessity.
If he had a false identity,
it would have been easier
just to skip town
than murder Monica.
Maybe after the proposal,
Monica discovered
he wasn't
who he said he was,
and then he killed her to
protect his anonymity.
But then why go
to these lengths?
Why start the fire?
And, more importantly,
why cut off the face?
I was wondering
that, too.
I mean, I've met my
share of con men
dealing blackjack
in vegas,
but all they care
about is the score.
Exactly. His ritual
didn't match
what a typical grifter
would do.
So why go through
all that stuff
with the face
and the fire?
We weren't sure.
And while we were trying
to figure that out,
he'd already left the state...
And did what
every con man does
when they're on the run.
He started over.
How about this?
Turn to the left.
Now to the right.
It's great.
They're all great.
I also like the tan one
and the navy one.
You are literally no help.
Ohh. I'm sorry
I'm late, honey.
Meeting in
Nashville went long.
Didn't get on
the road till 1:00.
Aw.
Hey.
Hey.
Chatty gal.
She'll get used
to this.
- I love this.
- Oh, this?
Mm-hmm.
Something I just
threw on.
You know
what I was thinking.
Maybe we'd try that
new Italian spot
unless you're
too tired.
- Nonsense.
- No?
Just let me settle in
for a second, huh?
Ok.
Mm.
Oh, be still.
You know, it wouldn't
be so bad if you
had cleaned it properly
in the first place.
You big baby.
So... let's review.
On the one hand,
you have
a casanova
con artist
sweeping a middle-aged
woman off her feet
while emptying her
bank accounts.
And on the other, we had
a killer carving faces off.
You said there were
no other cases.
Not at first until
Prentiss realized
we were looking in
the wrong place.
We didn't take his
forensic countermeasure
into account.
It's the arson.
And that's the element
we overlooked
for previous murders.
Bae, hit me.
Garcia, look
into accidental fires
in Tennessee, where a
middle-aged woman was killed.
Here I thought you were
gonna task me
with something bone-crushingly
bleak and depressing.
Accidents... middle-aged.
Limit the search to
women in their 50s.
Who were dating
a younger man.
Entering cougarville. Rawr.
It's gonna take me
a hot minute
to hack and slash through
all this social media.
2, 3, 4, 5, 7 hits,
still counting.
Con artists typically
target someone
with a void
in their life.
So what made Monica
an optimal target?
Her son left for college
last year.
She was living alone.
Garcia, of those 7 women,
how many of them had
children who moved out just
before they were killed?
Putting on my
empty nester filter.
Boom. Clarissa Carney,
age 54.
Died in a fire in memphis
5 months ago,
two adult children...
Clare and Damian Carney.
Ok, let's bring
those kids in here
and see if they
recognize our unsub.
That's him.
He don't look
anything like this.
Mom called him Mike.
She said he was a Godsend
after our dad died.
A Godsend. How exactly?
He was interested
in all the same things
she was interested in.
Took her on trips.
Which she loved.
Bought her all
kinds of gifts.
Notice anything strange
about the relationship?
I was a little worried
when they got engaged.
It was a little fast.
And then he
disappeared just as fast.
He proposed,
and then the next day,
the fire happened.
He didn't even come
to the funeral.
Did he have access
to your mom's bank accounts?
No. Why?
Are you sure?
He didn't try taking
any money from your mom?
No. In fact,
we were surprised
at how much she left us
in the will.
It was over
7 figures.
You said you had
a picture of him?
She emailed this to us
when they took
a trip to chicago.
We learned a lot
from the photo.
He's older
in this picture.
Beard, different glasses,
different hair color,
different eye color,
which means he's
wearing colored contacts.
Con men know
how to change their look.
Well, not to this length.
Take a look at his
first identity again
when he was Mac.
Ok.
Imagine something with me.
It's not gonna be gross
or scary, is it?
No. Just close
your eyes, listen,
and put yourself there.
Con men
are creatures of habit,
which is a nice way of
saying they're
fundamentally lazy.
Like most psychopaths,
they get bored easily.
They change just enough
about their appearance
to keep their con alive.
This guy did more than just
change his clothes and hair.
Based on our interviews,
we learned that he
altered his mannerisms,
his body language,
even his accent.
You
are so darn beautiful.
You're not so bad yourself,
mister. Ha ha...
Oh, my God.
♪ I said, wow! ♪
♪ I said,
wow ♪
Now, a man
who can change that much.
How do you think he would feel
about himself?
Shh.
Ha ha!
Mm. Mm.
Like he had no identity...
Like he had
no face.
That's when we knew it was
time to deliver the 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.
This man is a malignant
narcissist and misogynist
who fundamentally hates the
women he takes advantage of.
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.
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.
Wait. Why his mother?
Couldn't he just be some guy
with a broken heart?
Something must have happened
during his formative years
to produce this level
of violence.
He's been nursing this anger
for a long time.
The time he spends
with his marks
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.
And the details
he recycles might
be helpful to
our investigation.
There might be some
bread crumbs in there
that help lead us
to where he is now.
Or, more likely, they'll tell
us who he was to begin with.
Ok, I know
this part from dealing cards.
Every bluff has
a tell,
and that tell is
the truth seeping out.
That's right.
A con man keeps
his story straight
by drawing
from his own life.
But to get those details, we
needed to find more victims.
Did you find them?
Garcia did, once she expanded
her search beyond state lines.
But as we were pulling
those families,
he'd already moved on
to another target.
Ok, you two are just
the cutest team ever.
- Careful now.
- Yes, ma'am.
Don't leave me
hanging.
Ok.
Tell me, what do I have to
do to get on your good side?
Well, for starters, you could
maybe explain something to me.
What?
What are your plans
with her?
Well, uh...
Honestly, I don't...
I don't know right now.
It's early. We... we just
started seeing each other.
Look...
Just don't
hurt her, ok?
He did
hurt her, didn't he?
Yeah.
How did you know what happened?
I mean, you weren't there.
We gathered that from
interviews after the fact.
And as we brought in
the families,
we drilled down on
the unsub's back story,
and that's how we found
a pattern.
He told my mom he worked for a
high-powered consultant firm
and traveled all over
the country.
And what about where
he was from?
- Did he ever tell you that?
- Yeah.
He said he was from Aberdeen,
Mississippi, his hometown.
Yeah, that's right.
Aberdeen, Mississippi.
- He told a story about his daughter.
- I think her name was Grace.
Grace.
Yeah, she, um,
she was only 5 years old,
back in Aberdeen.
Yeah, he said that Grace
drowned when she was young.
Yeah, drowned
in the bathtub.
And that it was
his mother's fault.
She left Grace alone.
Grace bumped her head
in the bath and drowned.
Yeah, he never forgave
her after that.
So let's assume that
part of the unsub's story is true.
Letting his daughter die could be the
source of his rage toward his mother.
We profiled something in his
more formative years, though.
You know, the drowning could be
the culmination of the mother's
lifelong neglect
towards the unsub.
Well, most grandmothers would watch their
grandchild like a hawk in the bathtub.
You know, as confidence
games go, his story is
both utilitarian
and elegant;
drowning garners instant
sympathy from his victims.
How big is Aberdeen?
It's about 5,000 residents.
Why?
Town that small,
it shouldn't be too hard
to find a record of
a tragedy that big.
But in this
particular instance, it was.
- Any luck?
- Sadly, I tell you no.
Aberdeen is a little
too small.
The police haven't
digitized the records yet,
let alone anything
from the early aughts.
We'll have to go
through them by hand.
I'll send Luke and Matt.
So you did and that's
how you caught him, right?
What?
David, what is it?
We were closing in
on him,
but the woman
he was with...
Mary...
She made
a terrible mistake.
Mary, I didn't do anything
to deserve a meal
this extraordinary.
What's the occasion?
Well, I wanted tonight
to be special.
Special?
Mm-hmm.
Listen, Bill, uh,
I got you something.
What's that?
It's Hawaiian Koa wood.
It reminded me of when you said
that you always wanted to go to Kauai.
Well, I've been saving up
points and paid sick days,
enough for us to go on a
modest but extended honeymoon.
Honeymoon?
I knew that you were
the man I wanted
to spend the rest of my life
with the moment we met.
And I know this isn't
how it's done, but,
Bill,
would you be my husband?
Oh.
I love Hawaii.
No!
That poor mother
and daughter.
What they went through.
You said you were
closing in on him, and...
The path went through
Aberdeen, Mississippi.
Matt and Luke went
down there.
In an accidental death
like that, witnesses
certainly wind up
in a police report.
So they looked for smaller, petty
crimes he might have
been busted for.
They searched
arrest records for fraud.
Instead, found one for bigamy.
Whoa.
Of course.
He proposed
with every crime.
I mean, he'd leave
a trail.
Except it wasn't
his record.
It was
the unsub's mother.
Roberta Lynch, 62.
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.
An arrest in 1991 revealed
she had a son, Everett,
who was playing second fiddle
to the con she was busted for.
Having a con woman for a
mother would have instilled
the narcissism and
misogyny that we profiled.
Ok, the path to finding him is through
his mother. Where is she now?
South Mississippi state prison.
She's doing 25 to life
for killing a boyfriend
in a domestic dispute.
Sounds like that runs
in the family, also.
I imagine a con woman
would be
pretty tight-lipped.
That was
our assumption, too,
but she wasn't quite
what we expected.
We appreciate you speaking
to us, mrs. Lynch.
Oh.
My degenerate lawyer is who
talked me into that plea deal.
Now I'm stuck
in this box
until I'll be... sportin' depends
underneath the jumpsuit.
But it also means
that I'm an open book.
Oh.
Sorry. So what can I do
for you, brown eyes?
Mrs. Lynch, we, uh...
Oh, please.
You got to call
me Bobbie. Hmm?
But not you.
Nope.
You call me
Ms. Lynch
'cause you're
a bad, bad boy.
I, uh, don't know what
to say to that.
Ha! Still got it.
Bobbie,
we're here to talk
to you about Everett.
Yeah, all right.
That doesn't surprise me.
When was the last time
you saw him?
That kid's been in the
wind since he was...
22 or...
And he's never
reached out. Heh!
He never even came
to visit me.
You tell me,
what kind of son
treats his mama
that way?
Especially after everything
that I taught him.
What did you teach him?
Well, he was
my little soldier.
He was...
My partner in crime.
We were just a couple
of rolling stones,
making our way across
the Bible belt.
You're talking
about your cons, right?
That's right, muscles.
See, I would find
some gullible schmo...
And I'd
tell him how we...
I was thrown out on the
street with my poor kid.
You know,
nothing opens up doors
like a blubbering
7-year-old, I tell ya. Ha!
They would fall ass
over elbows, just...
And then,
pretty soon...
They'd get down
on one knee
and I would just take 'em
for every last nickel.
Then you know what
would happen?
What?
We'd laugh.
Oh, my, we would
laugh so much just
about these poor,
helpless chumps. Ha!
Where do you think everett
might be right now?
I don't know.
I got no idea.
But... heh! given that the
feds are lookin' for him,
I surmise that he's
still runnin' cons,
and guess what.
You're never gonna
catch him
'cause I taught him
everything I know,
everything, and that
is enough to keep him
always just out
of your reach.
He's killing
his marks now.
But we think
he's doing it
because he can't
kill you...
After what you did
to Grace.
Grace?
Yeah, your granddaughter.
The one you let drown, you were
supposed to be watching her?
Took away my utensils,
just 'cause
I shivved some pretty
bitch last summer.
Forgive me, agents,
but...
I think that I've answered
enough of your questions.
The detail about the
drowning hit a nerve with Roberta.
Which suggests there's
another element
of truth to Everett's back story.
Now, he puts himself
in the submissive role
that he and his mother would
take advantage of in her cons.
So every time he gets down on
one knee with his victims,
he hears his mother's
laughter ringing in his ears.
Roberta said that she taught
everett everything he knows.
What if there's
a pattern in that?
What kind of pattern?
Following her trail,
maybe, going to the cities
where her con worked, thinking
he can work the same magic.
Hey, Rossi's right.
All 3 of Eeverett's kills
happened in cities where
his mom conned a man:
Birmingham, Memphis,
Nashville.
He's even mirroring the order in
which his mother visited each city.
- Where did Roberta go after Nashville?
- Little rock.
Well, that's got to be
where he is now.
I was getting lonely.
What do you need?
We think our unsub's next
target lives in Little Rock.
I need you to assemble a
pool of potential victims
based on our victimology...
women roughly 50 years old,
- recent empty-nesters.
- No bout a doubt it.
Limit your search to
women on dating websites,
specifically those interested
in getting married.
Ok, women in Little Rock
looking for... a Little Rock.
Send us their dating
profiles and social media.
- We'll work it on our end.
- Yeah, yeah.
That must have been a
long list of potential victims.
Reid does have a knack of finding
the black cat in the coal mine.
Got him.
And that's how you
caught him, finally.
No, it is how we
found him,
but what we didn't know was
that the unsub's mother
made a phone call from the
prison after we left.
To her son.
To her lawyer,
and since that's
privileged, we don't know
exactly what she said, but
we can hazard a guess.
You tell
that rotten bastard
that the FBI is
on his ass,
and how dare he,
how dare he bring my
granddaughter into his...
And that's not my fault.
He did what he did
to... to poor little Gracie.
That's not on me.
Because of that, we lost
the element of surprise.
She said what?
Ok.
I'm gonna need to
improvise a little bit,
ok?
So here's what
we're gonna do.
So you were walking
into a trap.
I...
I can't leave this next
part to the imagination.
It's ok. Just...
Just take your time.
We underestimated.
Underestimated what?
How many women he killed.
So...
With these first
3 victims...
We were
barely scratching the surface.
Once we were inside the house,
we heard her screaming.
- Help! Help me!
- Upstairs.
We need to clear
the back of the house.
I'm with you, go.
Who, the mother?
- The daughter.
- Please, you got to help me!
Hey, don't worry. We're
gonna get you out of here.
He took her!
You have to save her!
No sign of him or Mary.
Lewis is with Rossi and Simmons.
Where did he take
your mom?
There's a barn
in the woods out back!
Rossi, check the woods behind the house.
Look for a barn.
We got you.
It doesn't make sense.
The faces are his trophies.
He wouldn't leave them
behind if...
- He knew we were coming.
- Please!
You have to find her!
Don't worry. We're
gonna find your mom.
All right,
now what's your name?
Grace. I'm Grace. Please!
He's gonna kill her!
Grace?
Daddy!
Oh, my God.
She was his daughter?
Yes.
Mary cullen did have
a college-age daughter,
but she was at college.
- Grace never drowned?
- No.
And this was the first time he
brought her in on one of his cons.
We didn't see it,
and it almost got us
all killed.
Find out where
he's shooting from!
Take the other side. I'm going
to try to flank him from behind.
Yeah.
My last thought was,
"Don't black out.
If you black out,
you're dead."
And then I blacked out.
We saved Mary,
we arrested Grace,
but he got away.
You'll catch him.
Except this guy,
he's a chameleon.
He could walk up to
me with a gun
in his hand and
I'd never see him coming.
That's where this
came from.
He left me a
reminder of what he could do.
He could have taken
my face if he wanted.
He didn't.
You know, sometimes
you lose... on this job.
I get it, but this is the
first time in a long time
that I was beaten by
someone younger, faster,
stronger than I am.
But that's what's been bothering
me about this case...
That maybe I'm...
..just not as good
as I once was.
Maybe I'm a half a step
slower, maybe...
Maybe I shouldn't
be out there
because next time...
Next time,
I won't wake up.
You left
something out.
You didn't say smarter
because he isn't,
and that's how you're
gonna catch him
because that's how you
always catch 'em.
You're not the only one
that lost.
He lost, too.
And even I know
where you have to go next.
Thank you
for listening...
for...
for being here.
Do you want me
to go with you?
No.
I've got to do
this one on my own.
Let's talk
about your father.
Captioning performed by
The National Captioning Institute, Inc.
Sync corrections by srjanapala
I got your coffee.
Are we gonna
talk about this?
I'm late.
Traffic's already a mess.
David, come on.
Have you seen my keys?
They're in your hand.
- I...
- Stop.
How are you feeling?
Um, I don't... I don't know
when I'll be home.
Don't wait up.
Hello, sir. Hi.
Hey.
Uh, when do the bandages
come off?
The doc says a week.
How are you doing?
Good. I'm good.
I think he's been here
all weekend.
Should have seen it.
Should have seen it.
Why didn't I see it?
How much sleep have you
gotten since we got back?
It was right there. It was right there,
and I didn't see it.
None of us did.
How are you doing?
Fine.
Not you, too.
You're tired of
people asking you
how you're doing?
Yes, I am.
Do you know what this is?
It's an open investigation.
That's all.
We lost the first time,
but we'll get another chance.
Yes, we will.
This team doesn't
take care of me.
I take care of them.
That's my job.
Maybe it's because
you do that job so well,
we want to be there
for you when we can.
You went through something
terrible out there,
but you can't keep it
bottled up.
You know that.
So, Dave, there's really
only one question,
and it's not
"how are you doing?"
It's, who do you
trust enough
to say
"I'm not doing so good"?
What happened?
I got sent home by
the principal.
You ready to talk
about it?
Rossi,
I couldn't breathe.
I couldn't breathe.
I'm here.
I'm here.
*CRIMINAL MINDS*
Season 14 Episode 13
*CRIMINAL MINDS*
pisode Title: "Chameleon"
Captioning performed by
The National Captioning Institute, Inc.
Sync corrections by srjanapala
Thanks.
Ah. It's portia.
So how is
my soon-to-be
stepdaughter doing?
She likes
to share quotes with me.
Here's today's.
Stephen king wrote,
"The most important things
are the hardest to say."
- Hmm.
- How weirdly appropriate.
Come on.
We are getting married
in 3 weeks.
And if we want this to work,
you have to let me in.
It started when we
got called in
on a single.
A single homicide
in Nashville, Tennessee.
That is, firefighters
responded to a house fire
in the Green Hills
neighborhood
and were able
to put out the fire
before it destroyed
everything,
but they discovered the body
of Monica Feinstein,
with a complete face lift.
And I'm not talking about
the kind that you need
a weekend and a bottle of
aspirin to get over.
I'm talking cheek to cheek,
neck to noggin.
Her whole face was lifted,
like, removed from her...
All right.
Well, burns on the body
were limited
to the legs and feet,
but knife marks went all
the way down to the skull.
Possibly symbolic.
Were the cuts
postmortem?
They were.
Cause of death was strangulation.
So the face is
a trophy.
He took it with him
to relive what he did.
As with
Jeffrey Dahmer,
killers often collect
body parts
to combat a feeling
of inadequacy.
They see the trophy as an
extension of their own identity,
something they'd rather die
than give up.
How did the unsub
set the fire?
Firefighters sourced
the flames to a lit stove
and then discovered evidence
of corroded gas pipes.
The gas pipes are made of
galvanized steel,
and the house is only
a few years old.
The unsub could've used
sulfuric acid
to mimic the effects
of corrosion.
Yeah, he's gone to
great lengths
to make the fire look
like an accident.
No forensic countermeasure.
Burning the house down
would be
a perfect way
to cover your tracks.
The sophistication suggests
this isn't his first,
and he's probably
planning more.
Wheels up in 20.
Did you find any other
victims?
Not on the first sweep.
So we discussed
what we knew
on our way
to Nashville.
Monica Feinstein, 52.
Taught preschool, volunteered
in a soup kitchen.
Single mom, adult son.
About as low-risk a lifestyle
as you can get.
And there's
no sign of forced entry,
so, the unsub was either
someone she knew
or didn't see as a threat.
He sets the fire to
destroy the evidence,
but he could also be
setting it
to hide his own shame
or disgust
for having taken
the face.
Yeah, that's true,
but even if it was
a trophy,
he might've hated
himself for wanting it.
Most unsubs have
a love-hate relationship
with their compulsions.
Which in this case would be
erotophonophilia.
Erotophono-what?
It's a $10 word
for lust murder.
It involves the mutilation
of body parts
the unsub finds most
attractive.
Now, it could be feet
or kneecaps,
but it's usually
breasts or genital...
Ok, got it. Got it.
- You asked.
- Ok, well,
you know, maybe we
should have
a safe word
or something.
Maybe you should
just tell me
when to leave something
to the imagination.
Deal. Ok.
So in this case,
it was the face. Why?
That's the question
we pursued when we landed.
According
to the autopsy,
the cuts on Monica were
rough and imprecise.
But he had
already strangled her.
He had the time and control
to do what he wants.
He had no reason to rush.
Based on his skill
and organization,
it's not inexperience.
It could be that
he loses control
because he's obtained
gratification.
A dopamine rush is similar
to drug addiction,
where a feeling of euphoria
suspends fine motor skills.
Monica feinstein
has a grown son?
Yeah, carl, age 19. He
goes to tennessee tech.
Let's bring him in.
If the unsub was somebody
Monica knew,
he might be able
to give us a suspect.
Yeah. I know exactly
who did this.
His name's Mac.
He, uh...
He was dating my mom.
What can you tell me
about him?
Dorky, boring.
He always wore
these, uh...
These
wool sweaters.
He never
stayed over.
He said he wanted
to protect
my mother's virtue.
The kind of guy that
would go out of his way
to appear nonthreatening?
Yeah.
You went right after him
as your mother's killer.
How come?
Because yesterday.
I came home to help
my mom around the house.
Don't worry,
honey.
I'll be home soon.
I love you, too.
Bye.
- Hey, who's that?
- Huh?
Oh, ho. Hey! Carl,
I was... I was just...
No, no. Who,
uh, who was that?
Is everything
all right?
No. He just said
"I love you"
to somebody on the phone.
Uh...
Yeah, my mom.
Oh, yeah? You call
your mother "honey"?
Yeah, I do.
He does.
I've heard him. He checks
on her several times a day.
Ok, have you
ever met his mother?
No, I haven't,
but...
Hey, let's clear the air
and address what's
really going on here, yeah?
You're being protective
of your mom. Heh!
And as you should,
because she is
an incredibly
special woman.
But I want to...
I want to prove to you how pure
my intentions are with her,
because I know
this has been fast.
Um, I've been waiting
my whole life for you...
And I don't want to wait
any longer.
What?
What?
Will you marry me?
Oh, of course
I will.
It's beautiful.
I love it.
Carl, I couldn't
stand watching her
make such an awful decision
like that, so I left.
He must've killed her
as soon as I was gone.
You have any photos of Mac?
My mom, she posted a lot
on social media.
Here's all his
contact info.
PAUL MaclNTYRE,
AKA "MAC."
He dated Monica two months
before he proposed to her.
And the address he gave her
was a fake,
and the phone number that he
gave to her was
for a burner that's now
been disconnected.
You know, it could be
an unsub who targets
a lonely hearts
victimology...
Middle-aged women who are emotionally
susceptible to his charisma.
And he takes his
charm and harm seduction
all the way up
to the proposal
and kills them.
Garcia,
what'd you find?
OK, I RAN THIS PHOTO
OF MR. MaclNTYRE.
Through facial recognition,
and I'm telling you with
my full confidence
he does not exist.
And I-I want to be really
clear about this.
I'm not saying he
covered his tracks.
I'm saying this guy is
a stone-cold apparition.
Is there anything in the
creation of the false identity
we can track?
Ok. According to his
faux dating profile,
he values family
and serving the homeless,
which would be really
cute if, you know,
he didn't cut her face off
and burn her house down.
Helping the homeless was
exactly what Monica
was interested in.
The unsub was creating
a persona tailor-made
to get her guard down.
What about
financial records?
Oh, this is where
things get really nasty.
Actually, the part about
the face is the nasty thing,
but I'm sending you
the specifics on this.
Shortly before dating
Monica, the unsub opened
a bank account using
this fake identity.
He used it as a fence
to create
an untraceable
offshore account.
He was draining Monica's money
the whole time they were dating.
And then the
low-down, lying sleazeball
closed said account.
And we all know
what that means,
don't we, my pretties?
He's a con man.
Yeah, but con men
resort to violence
only out of necessity.
If he had a false identity,
it would have been easier
just to skip town
than murder Monica.
Maybe after the proposal,
Monica discovered
he wasn't
who he said he was,
and then he killed her to
protect his anonymity.
But then why go
to these lengths?
Why start the fire?
And, more importantly,
why cut off the face?
I was wondering
that, too.
I mean, I've met my
share of con men
dealing blackjack
in vegas,
but all they care
about is the score.
Exactly. His ritual
didn't match
what a typical grifter
would do.
So why go through
all that stuff
with the face
and the fire?
We weren't sure.
And while we were trying
to figure that out,
he'd already left the state...
And did what
every con man does
when they're on the run.
He started over.
How about this?
Turn to the left.
Now to the right.
It's great.
They're all great.
I also like the tan one
and the navy one.
You are literally no help.
Ohh. I'm sorry
I'm late, honey.
Meeting in
Nashville went long.
Didn't get on
the road till 1:00.
Aw.
Hey.
Hey.
Chatty gal.
She'll get used
to this.
- I love this.
- Oh, this?
Mm-hmm.
Something I just
threw on.
You know
what I was thinking.
Maybe we'd try that
new Italian spot
unless you're
too tired.
- Nonsense.
- No?
Just let me settle in
for a second, huh?
Ok.
Mm.
Oh, be still.
You know, it wouldn't
be so bad if you
had cleaned it properly
in the first place.
You big baby.
So... let's review.
On the one hand,
you have
a casanova
con artist
sweeping a middle-aged
woman off her feet
while emptying her
bank accounts.
And on the other, we had
a killer carving faces off.
You said there were
no other cases.
Not at first until
Prentiss realized
we were looking in
the wrong place.
We didn't take his
forensic countermeasure
into account.
It's the arson.
And that's the element
we overlooked
for previous murders.
Bae, hit me.
Garcia, look
into accidental fires
in Tennessee, where a
middle-aged woman was killed.
Here I thought you were
gonna task me
with something bone-crushingly
bleak and depressing.
Accidents... middle-aged.
Limit the search to
women in their 50s.
Who were dating
a younger man.
Entering cougarville. Rawr.
It's gonna take me
a hot minute
to hack and slash through
all this social media.
2, 3, 4, 5, 7 hits,
still counting.
Con artists typically
target someone
with a void
in their life.
So what made Monica
an optimal target?
Her son left for college
last year.
She was living alone.
Garcia, of those 7 women,
how many of them had
children who moved out just
before they were killed?
Putting on my
empty nester filter.
Boom. Clarissa Carney,
age 54.
Died in a fire in memphis
5 months ago,
two adult children...
Clare and Damian Carney.
Ok, let's bring
those kids in here
and see if they
recognize our unsub.
That's him.
He don't look
anything like this.
Mom called him Mike.
She said he was a Godsend
after our dad died.
A Godsend. How exactly?
He was interested
in all the same things
she was interested in.
Took her on trips.
Which she loved.
Bought her all
kinds of gifts.
Notice anything strange
about the relationship?
I was a little worried
when they got engaged.
It was a little fast.
And then he
disappeared just as fast.
He proposed,
and then the next day,
the fire happened.
He didn't even come
to the funeral.
Did he have access
to your mom's bank accounts?
No. Why?
Are you sure?
He didn't try taking
any money from your mom?
No. In fact,
we were surprised
at how much she left us
in the will.
It was over
7 figures.
You said you had
a picture of him?
She emailed this to us
when they took
a trip to chicago.
We learned a lot
from the photo.
He's older
in this picture.
Beard, different glasses,
different hair color,
different eye color,
which means he's
wearing colored contacts.
Con men know
how to change their look.
Well, not to this length.
Take a look at his
first identity again
when he was Mac.
Ok.
Imagine something with me.
It's not gonna be gross
or scary, is it?
No. Just close
your eyes, listen,
and put yourself there.
Con men
are creatures of habit,
which is a nice way of
saying they're
fundamentally lazy.
Like most psychopaths,
they get bored easily.
They change just enough
about their appearance
to keep their con alive.
This guy did more than just
change his clothes and hair.
Based on our interviews,
we learned that he
altered his mannerisms,
his body language,
even his accent.
You
are so darn beautiful.
You're not so bad yourself,
mister. Ha ha...
Oh, my God.
♪ I said, wow! ♪
♪ I said,
wow ♪
Now, a man
who can change that much.
How do you think he would feel
about himself?
Shh.
Ha ha!
Mm. Mm.
Like he had no identity...
Like he had
no face.
That's when we knew it was
time to deliver the 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.
This man is a malignant
narcissist and misogynist
who fundamentally hates the
women he takes advantage of.
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.
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.
Wait. Why his mother?
Couldn't he just be some guy
with a broken heart?
Something must have happened
during his formative years
to produce this level
of violence.
He's been nursing this anger
for a long time.
The time he spends
with his marks
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.
And the details
he recycles might
be helpful to
our investigation.
There might be some
bread crumbs in there
that help lead us
to where he is now.
Or, more likely, they'll tell
us who he was to begin with.
Ok, I know
this part from dealing cards.
Every bluff has
a tell,
and that tell is
the truth seeping out.
That's right.
A con man keeps
his story straight
by drawing
from his own life.
But to get those details, we
needed to find more victims.
Did you find them?
Garcia did, once she expanded
her search beyond state lines.
But as we were pulling
those families,
he'd already moved on
to another target.
Ok, you two are just
the cutest team ever.
- Careful now.
- Yes, ma'am.
Don't leave me
hanging.
Ok.
Tell me, what do I have to
do to get on your good side?
Well, for starters, you could
maybe explain something to me.
What?
What are your plans
with her?
Well, uh...
Honestly, I don't...
I don't know right now.
It's early. We... we just
started seeing each other.
Look...
Just don't
hurt her, ok?
He did
hurt her, didn't he?
Yeah.
How did you know what happened?
I mean, you weren't there.
We gathered that from
interviews after the fact.
And as we brought in
the families,
we drilled down on
the unsub's back story,
and that's how we found
a pattern.
He told my mom he worked for a
high-powered consultant firm
and traveled all over
the country.
And what about where
he was from?
- Did he ever tell you that?
- Yeah.
He said he was from Aberdeen,
Mississippi, his hometown.
Yeah, that's right.
Aberdeen, Mississippi.
- He told a story about his daughter.
- I think her name was Grace.
Grace.
Yeah, she, um,
she was only 5 years old,
back in Aberdeen.
Yeah, he said that Grace
drowned when she was young.
Yeah, drowned
in the bathtub.
And that it was
his mother's fault.
She left Grace alone.
Grace bumped her head
in the bath and drowned.
Yeah, he never forgave
her after that.
So let's assume that
part of the unsub's story is true.
Letting his daughter die could be the
source of his rage toward his mother.
We profiled something in his
more formative years, though.
You know, the drowning could be
the culmination of the mother's
lifelong neglect
towards the unsub.
Well, most grandmothers would watch their
grandchild like a hawk in the bathtub.
You know, as confidence
games go, his story is
both utilitarian
and elegant;
drowning garners instant
sympathy from his victims.
How big is Aberdeen?
It's about 5,000 residents.
Why?
Town that small,
it shouldn't be too hard
to find a record of
a tragedy that big.
But in this
particular instance, it was.
- Any luck?
- Sadly, I tell you no.
Aberdeen is a little
too small.
The police haven't
digitized the records yet,
let alone anything
from the early aughts.
We'll have to go
through them by hand.
I'll send Luke and Matt.
So you did and that's
how you caught him, right?
What?
David, what is it?
We were closing in
on him,
but the woman
he was with...
Mary...
She made
a terrible mistake.
Mary, I didn't do anything
to deserve a meal
this extraordinary.
What's the occasion?
Well, I wanted tonight
to be special.
Special?
Mm-hmm.
Listen, Bill, uh,
I got you something.
What's that?
It's Hawaiian Koa wood.
It reminded me of when you said
that you always wanted to go to Kauai.
Well, I've been saving up
points and paid sick days,
enough for us to go on a
modest but extended honeymoon.
Honeymoon?
I knew that you were
the man I wanted
to spend the rest of my life
with the moment we met.
And I know this isn't
how it's done, but,
Bill,
would you be my husband?
Oh.
I love Hawaii.
No!
That poor mother
and daughter.
What they went through.
You said you were
closing in on him, and...
The path went through
Aberdeen, Mississippi.
Matt and Luke went
down there.
In an accidental death
like that, witnesses
certainly wind up
in a police report.
So they looked for smaller, petty
crimes he might have
been busted for.
They searched
arrest records for fraud.
Instead, found one for bigamy.
Whoa.
Of course.
He proposed
with every crime.
I mean, he'd leave
a trail.
Except it wasn't
his record.
It was
the unsub's mother.
Roberta Lynch, 62.
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.
An arrest in 1991 revealed
she had a son, Everett,
who was playing second fiddle
to the con she was busted for.
Having a con woman for a
mother would have instilled
the narcissism and
misogyny that we profiled.
Ok, the path to finding him is through
his mother. Where is she now?
South Mississippi state prison.
She's doing 25 to life
for killing a boyfriend
in a domestic dispute.
Sounds like that runs
in the family, also.
I imagine a con woman
would be
pretty tight-lipped.
That was
our assumption, too,
but she wasn't quite
what we expected.
We appreciate you speaking
to us, mrs. Lynch.
Oh.
My degenerate lawyer is who
talked me into that plea deal.
Now I'm stuck
in this box
until I'll be... sportin' depends
underneath the jumpsuit.
But it also means
that I'm an open book.
Oh.
Sorry. So what can I do
for you, brown eyes?
Mrs. Lynch, we, uh...
Oh, please.
You got to call
me Bobbie. Hmm?
But not you.
Nope.
You call me
Ms. Lynch
'cause you're
a bad, bad boy.
I, uh, don't know what
to say to that.
Ha! Still got it.
Bobbie,
we're here to talk
to you about Everett.
Yeah, all right.
That doesn't surprise me.
When was the last time
you saw him?
That kid's been in the
wind since he was...
22 or...
And he's never
reached out. Heh!
He never even came
to visit me.
You tell me,
what kind of son
treats his mama
that way?
Especially after everything
that I taught him.
What did you teach him?
Well, he was
my little soldier.
He was...
My partner in crime.
We were just a couple
of rolling stones,
making our way across
the Bible belt.
You're talking
about your cons, right?
That's right, muscles.
See, I would find
some gullible schmo...
And I'd
tell him how we...
I was thrown out on the
street with my poor kid.
You know,
nothing opens up doors
like a blubbering
7-year-old, I tell ya. Ha!
They would fall ass
over elbows, just...
And then,
pretty soon...
They'd get down
on one knee
and I would just take 'em
for every last nickel.
Then you know what
would happen?
What?
We'd laugh.
Oh, my, we would
laugh so much just
about these poor,
helpless chumps. Ha!
Where do you think everett
might be right now?
I don't know.
I got no idea.
But... heh! given that the
feds are lookin' for him,
I surmise that he's
still runnin' cons,
and guess what.
You're never gonna
catch him
'cause I taught him
everything I know,
everything, and that
is enough to keep him
always just out
of your reach.
He's killing
his marks now.
But we think
he's doing it
because he can't
kill you...
After what you did
to Grace.
Grace?
Yeah, your granddaughter.
The one you let drown, you were
supposed to be watching her?
Took away my utensils,
just 'cause
I shivved some pretty
bitch last summer.
Forgive me, agents,
but...
I think that I've answered
enough of your questions.
The detail about the
drowning hit a nerve with Roberta.
Which suggests there's
another element
of truth to Everett's back story.
Now, he puts himself
in the submissive role
that he and his mother would
take advantage of in her cons.
So every time he gets down on
one knee with his victims,
he hears his mother's
laughter ringing in his ears.
Roberta said that she taught
everett everything he knows.
What if there's
a pattern in that?
What kind of pattern?
Following her trail,
maybe, going to the cities
where her con worked, thinking
he can work the same magic.
Hey, Rossi's right.
All 3 of Eeverett's kills
happened in cities where
his mom conned a man:
Birmingham, Memphis,
Nashville.
He's even mirroring the order in
which his mother visited each city.
- Where did Roberta go after Nashville?
- Little rock.
Well, that's got to be
where he is now.
I was getting lonely.
What do you need?
We think our unsub's next
target lives in Little Rock.
I need you to assemble a
pool of potential victims
based on our victimology...
women roughly 50 years old,
- recent empty-nesters.
- No bout a doubt it.
Limit your search to
women on dating websites,
specifically those interested
in getting married.
Ok, women in Little Rock
looking for... a Little Rock.
Send us their dating
profiles and social media.
- We'll work it on our end.
- Yeah, yeah.
That must have been a
long list of potential victims.
Reid does have a knack of finding
the black cat in the coal mine.
Got him.
And that's how you
caught him, finally.
No, it is how we
found him,
but what we didn't know was
that the unsub's mother
made a phone call from the
prison after we left.
To her son.
To her lawyer,
and since that's
privileged, we don't know
exactly what she said, but
we can hazard a guess.
You tell
that rotten bastard
that the FBI is
on his ass,
and how dare he,
how dare he bring my
granddaughter into his...
And that's not my fault.
He did what he did
to... to poor little Gracie.
That's not on me.
Because of that, we lost
the element of surprise.
She said what?
Ok.
I'm gonna need to
improvise a little bit,
ok?
So here's what
we're gonna do.
So you were walking
into a trap.
I...
I can't leave this next
part to the imagination.
It's ok. Just...
Just take your time.
We underestimated.
Underestimated what?
How many women he killed.
So...
With these first
3 victims...
We were
barely scratching the surface.
Once we were inside the house,
we heard her screaming.
- Help! Help me!
- Upstairs.
We need to clear
the back of the house.
I'm with you, go.
Who, the mother?
- The daughter.
- Please, you got to help me!
Hey, don't worry. We're
gonna get you out of here.
He took her!
You have to save her!
No sign of him or Mary.
Lewis is with Rossi and Simmons.
Where did he take
your mom?
There's a barn
in the woods out back!
Rossi, check the woods behind the house.
Look for a barn.
We got you.
It doesn't make sense.
The faces are his trophies.
He wouldn't leave them
behind if...
- He knew we were coming.
- Please!
You have to find her!
Don't worry. We're
gonna find your mom.
All right,
now what's your name?
Grace. I'm Grace. Please!
He's gonna kill her!
Grace?
Daddy!
Oh, my God.
She was his daughter?
Yes.
Mary cullen did have
a college-age daughter,
but she was at college.
- Grace never drowned?
- No.
And this was the first time he
brought her in on one of his cons.
We didn't see it,
and it almost got us
all killed.
Find out where
he's shooting from!
Take the other side. I'm going
to try to flank him from behind.
Yeah.
My last thought was,
"Don't black out.
If you black out,
you're dead."
And then I blacked out.
We saved Mary,
we arrested Grace,
but he got away.
You'll catch him.
Except this guy,
he's a chameleon.
He could walk up to
me with a gun
in his hand and
I'd never see him coming.
That's where this
came from.
He left me a
reminder of what he could do.
He could have taken
my face if he wanted.
He didn't.
You know, sometimes
you lose... on this job.
I get it, but this is the
first time in a long time
that I was beaten by
someone younger, faster,
stronger than I am.
But that's what's been bothering
me about this case...
That maybe I'm...
..just not as good
as I once was.
Maybe I'm a half a step
slower, maybe...
Maybe I shouldn't
be out there
because next time...
Next time,
I won't wake up.
You left
something out.
You didn't say smarter
because he isn't,
and that's how you're
gonna catch him
because that's how you
always catch 'em.
You're not the only one
that lost.
He lost, too.
And even I know
where you have to go next.
Thank you
for listening...
for...
for being here.
Do you want me
to go with you?
No.
I've got to do
this one on my own.
Let's talk
about your father.
Captioning performed by
The National Captioning Institute, Inc.
Sync corrections by srjanapala