Criminal Minds (2005–…): Season 4, Episode 22 - The Big Wheel - full transcript

I thought about you all day.

Don't stop.

We shouldn't.
Vincent is downstairs.

We'll just be real quiet about it.

Oh, this is wrong.

Excuse me.

You, uh... you...
you dropped something.

Hey, almost done.
Think I got a bite.

A couple.

One more potential,
and then I'm home.

What?



Honey, I'm at work.

I love you, too. Gotta go.

Hi! Uh...

Robert, right?

OK, I gotta tell you, Robert,

of all the houses I
have on the market,

this one is my favorite.

My name's not Robert. Not Robert.

I'm sorry. Uh...

Uhh!

Where are you going?

Where are you going?

Her name's Michelle Watson,

a realtor murdered in
Buffalo a week ago.



Until yesterday they had nothing,
no leads, and then they got this.

Buffalo PD received it from
an unknown source, yesterday.

They able to trace it?

No. Sent through an encrypted
server from Ukraine.

- There's no sound.
- Yeah, at first glance

there doesn't seem to be a single
frame to identify who shot it.

He even covered up the mirror.

I've seen some crazy things
sitting at this table, but that...

Why send that to the police?

Well, maybe it's a taunt,

to show the police how smart he is.

Catch me if you can.

The two people in the video...

they look directly at the unsub
and neither one seems to register

that they're being filmed.

I think it's probably
a hidden camera.

The witnesses were able to
give us enough for a sketch.

White male, early 30s,
wearing glasses.

It looks like an editing suite.

So he not only films the murder,
he edits it.

Do we know what this is
that's playing on the monitor?

Buffalo PD is concerned that it
might be another filmed killing.

If it is, then we're not looking
at just one murder, but two.

Buffalo is underfunded, undermanned,
and they need our help.

Buffalo's a big gang town.

Murder in the last year
alone was over 700 people.

Garcia, I need you
to go through this,

frame by frame,
and put everything on disks.

Yes, sir. I'm on it.

Also, put together a go bag.

If we get any more of these films,

I want you on the ground,
taking point.

Is that OK with you?

Yes, sir. Excellent.

OK.

Fast forward...

Go bag. I don't have a go bag.

There's something I
want everyone to see.

He's writing something.

"In order for the light
to shine so brightly,

the darkness must be present."

Francis Bacon.

A serial killer asking for help.

Well, that's a new one on me.

Attempt at sarcasm?

What if he's sincere?

Then he's deeply ambivalent.

He wants to stop, but like an
alcoholic, he simply can't.

When we see him driving,
his point of view is elevated.

I'd say he's driving
a van or an SUV.

And the film stops where
it starts... at his home.

So, we could use the film to
trace back, street by street,

from the crime scene, right?

It only lasts 9 minutes.

And in this frame,
he clearly looks at a clock,

and it's 9:22.

OK, the autopsy says Michelle
Watson's time of death

was 4:30 in the afternoon.
So, he edited out 7 hours.

Garcia, look for
unsolved murders of women

in their early 30s
who were stabbed,

Buffalo and surrounding cities.
Go back 10 years.

Wouldn't VICAP have
already picked up on that?

Mm, VICAP only went
web-based about a month ago,

and Buffalo PD only
recently uploaded the data.

They show Watson
holding a day planner.

They find that at the crime scene.

Yeah, that, her wallet,
and all of her jewelry,

including a 3-carat diamond ring.

So we know he's not
financially motivated.

First count... I have 22.

22? We had 6.

You think it could be that many?

We went back 10 years and
included surrounding cities.

The unsub may be out
of his comfort zone.

Now, they may not all be connected,

but they all match Michelle's type.

Blonde, white, early 30s.

The autopsy reports
will help us determine

which of these cases is connected.

I'll get them here right away.

We also need to take a look at the
crime scenes, Detective Henderson.

- Of course.
- I'll stay and help Reid.

I'll take Prentiss and Morgan.

Tell me, do you think
this is a one off,

or can I expect more films?

Not a one off.

The filming of his kills

makes him a sexual psychopath.

We'll find more, many more...

just like this one.

"Help me" is in direct conflict

with the psychology
of a psychopath,

and it's something
I've never seen before.

Psychopaths don't have the capacity

to feel empathy towards others.

They can mimic it,
but they can't feel it.

Then he didn't mean it?

Or someone, or something,
is showing him

who he really is.

OK, friends, the video
on this film is analog.

It's since been digitized,
but it is seriously degraded.

Meaning what?

Meaning this kind of
degradation only happens

over at least a decade and
thousands of repeated viewings.

It's the only way he
can get any release.

Then you're right.
He's been doing this for 10 years.

Uh, more like 20.

That woman in this video...
she's wearing a sweater

I haven't seen since Flashdance.

On the day of her death, the 21st,

Michelle entered the
name Robert, at 4 PM.

Yeah, we found no one connected
to her with that name,

and we think it's an alias.

Michelle's highly organized,

she's precise, light of hand,

so left-handed.

How can you tell?

The hardest point
is where she starts,

the lightest point is
where she tails off.

In her case,
she tails off to the right.

It's weird.

- What?
- Hmm.

I'm not sure, but the number 29
is circled twice, in red ink,

and it tails off to the left.

Whoever wrote that is right-handed.

That person is right-handed and
"help me" is written in red.

The unsub wrote the circled 29.

Guys...

tomorrow's the 29th.

Hotch is in position,
so let's walk through this.

OK, Prentiss,
Michelle stood right here...

facing me.

OK.

Door's still open.

She didn't shut it.

And now she turns her back to it.

That's her first mistake.

OK, she's on the phone
with her husband.

3:55 PM.

She tells him she has
another client coming.

Here comes the unsub.

But you don't turn around.
Just keep talking.

Now the unsub's in the house.

Yeah, I hear him.

You hear him, but you don't
turn around. Not yet.

Now you turn.

Because if she leaves
the front door open

and she turns her back,
she must have been expecting Robert.

It's an open house.

There's no one else here.
He knew she'd be alone.

She's standing face to face
with the unsub, talking to him,

and yet she still turns away.

Second mistake.

He poses no threat.

Yeah, and if she'd seen a camera,
she would have registered it.

Now she turns, faces the unsub...

He strikes...

right into her chest.

And then he drags her
over here to the sofa...

and he films her death.

He chose a controlled environment

in which he could ensure privacy.

No witnesses, and most importantly,

he didn't have to dump the body.

Garcia?

Prentiss, the point of view...

she didn't see the camera because
the glasses have to be the camera.

Thanks, Garcia.

He left us another message.

He circled the number 29
in Michelle's day planner.

So we've only got 24
hours to stop him.

Thanks.

Morgan thinks the unsub's
glasses are the camera.

You need to get a
sketch of the unsub

out to every camera
shop in Buffalo.

If he hunts within a comfort zone,

then whichever of these camera
shops he visits the most,

that's the one he'll
live closest to.

Alright. You heard the man.

OK, Hotch also wants
us to focus on victims

found in controlled locations.

Secure areas with little
chance of witnesses.

And ones where he left the
bodies where he killed them.

OK, based on that,

June '98, Emily Flyn,
found in her apartment,

stabbed 23 times.

Hillary Habner, March 2000,

found in her basement,
stabbed 18 times.

Cindy Stagnal, April 2001,

stabbed multiple times,
found in her office.

And May 1999, Vanessa Bright, 29,

stabbed and found in her studio.

Ladies and gentlemen,

it appears as though
we've found our timeline.

It looks like our killer strikes

almost exactly every 12 months.

Oh, my God.

All these women,
and he got away with it.

I think we need to
inform the media.

Buffalo has a serial killer.

Every so often, he's stopping
and looking down at the ground.

At what?

I don't know.

But it's clear he's
trying to step around

some type of objects.

There aren't any objects.

Well, at least not the we can see.

But remember in the film,
he cut the sandwich and turned it twice?

And the 29th was
circled twice in red.

So, this isn't a message.
This is something he has to do.

It's the cracks in the pavement.

That's what he's stopping for.

He's stepping over
them because he has to.

He's obsessive-compulsive.

Meaning no matter
how hard he tries,

he simply can't stop himself.

Well, if he wanted to,
he could have turned himself in.

By writing "help me,
" he really means, "stop me."

Errr...

Ahhh...

Go away, go away, go away...

Vincent, it's Alice.
I know you're in there.

OK. Um...

just a moment.

Hi.

How you doing?

Where have you been, Vincent?

It's been weeks.

Wow. For a single guy,
you're so neat.

What's in there?

Nothing.

How did you find me?

I dropped you off
after the conference,

remember?

Aren't you gonna offer me a drink?

I'm... I'm not thirsty.

I... I meant...

you're weird.

But cute.

Alice, you know,
it's... it's not really OK.

It's not really OK that you
just come by my home like this.

You should... you should go.

No, I came because there's
a wedding tomorrow

and they want you
to film and edit it.

I mean, you're the best, Vincent.

Oh. Uh...

well, uh, I'm not
doing that anymore.

Why?

It's really late, and I'm tired.

You should go, Alice, yes, please.

...The same suspect.

Keep in mind...

Vincent, that looks a lot like you.

And he may use hats or other
means to hide his appearance.

This man has a type.

He kills women, blonde women,

in their 30s,

and he kills them where they
feel safe... in their homes,

- in their workspace...
- Vincent?

Wherever they are alone
and vulnerable...

I have to change my glasses.

There was no purse, no jewelry,
nothing to ID her with.

Whereas, with Michelle,
he didn't care what he left behind.

He knew we couldn't
connect her to him.

Why did he cover her up and
fold her arms across her chest?

She can't be more than 24.

That doesn't fit his victimology.

Well, the chest wound matches
that of Michelle Watson.

The way he's positioned her,

the blanket, shows remorse.

He probably knew her more
intimately than the others.

That's somewhat of a leap.

Not when you consider this is the
first time he dumped the body.

Unlike the others, he brought
her body here and dumped it.

Yeah. Someone will
be missing her soon.

Today's the 29th.

He probably killed her last night.

Whatever his plans are,
he still has them.

We're ready to give the profile.

We've confirmed 11 kills
over a 10-year period.

This makes 12.

All but one blonde,
white female, mid-to-late 30s.

Be careful.

Time me.

Stanley, be careful.

This unsub has extreme
obsessive-compulsive disorder.

This woman doesn't
fit his victimology.

He probably didn't target,

or even mean, to kill her.

5 camera shops in Buffalo
were shown this sketch.

The owner of Tarquinio's Camera Shop,
on Union Road, recognized it.

He knows him only as Vincent.

He bought two 3-millimeter
mini wireless cameras

and had them retrofitted
to his glasses.

He's well-versed in
camera technology.

He probably generates
income from a related field.

So stake out the shop,
but keep a low profile.

He walks in off the street,
he politely waits his turn,

he pays in cash.

This is him.

Black overcoat, black baseball cap.

You'll get more from your sketch.

Now, this last kill
shows the most remorse.

This guy's mobile.

Most likely in a SUV.

Low-profile, mute in color.

He's beginning to devolve.

His OCD will get worse and he'll
have a hard time hiding it.

He will take bigger and bigger
risks to achieve his ultimate goal.

In Michelle's Watson's day planner,

he circled the number 29.

Today is the 29th.

So we believe he may have
something planned for today.

Don't go anywhere.
I'll be right back.

He sent us this film as
his way of reaching out.

He may be ambivalent,
but his OCD won't let him stop.

Now, if he sees a heavy police
presence and he's not done,

he'll run.

The East side is his comfort zone.

This is where he lives.

However random,
anything out of the ordinary,

please let us know.

Thank you very much.

Tell me again what the
autopsy report said.

He seems to be killing once a year.

And they were all,
except for Michelle Watson,

overkill.

He stabbed her just once.

And hers was the only kill

he sent footage of to the police.

That's a definitive change.

You're right.
Call Reid and Prentiss.

Tell them to go over the autopsy
report again. We need to know why.

He sure does like his blondes.

Not a good date, though.
Too stabby.

Less so, though,
with Michelle Watson

and the girl we found this morning.

Every one of these murders
happens during a month of Spring.

So, Spring, for the unsub,
is a stressor.

Hey. Do you think my video
was done in the Spring?

There's a good chance.

OK. Eighties, Spring, Buffalo.

Search for homicide,
see if I can make a connection.

All of the victims,
except for Michelle Watson,

were killed within a
year of each other.

Victim number 10, Joyce Wolcott,

stabbed 32 times.

And then Michelle Watson was
stabbed just once 2 years later.

What's missing from the
Michelle Watson murder

is any sign of rage or overkill.

Yeah. Instead, on the tape,
we see signs of remorse.

A complete and sudden
emotional change.

It's absolutely fascinating.

I love you, Reid,
but the stuff you find fascinating

is sad.

OK. The woman in my video...

she looks a lot like the ones
on your board, don't you think?

So he's killing her
over and over again.

Maybe. I don't know. Not my job.

Guys, there was an actual witness

- A witness?
- In the Joyce Wolcott murder.

A boy. Her son.

53 seconds. You were
faster the first time.

What happened?

Ran over a cat.

Did you kill it?

It's a joke. I'm joking.

I know.

Happy birthday, Stanley.

King for the day, right, Vincent?

Right.

Hey, um...

I made you a promise.
Do you remember it?

Of course.

So, hold out your hand, palm up.

No way.

For real?

Uh-huh. Tonight. It's here tonight.

But you can't tell anyone, OK?

Just tell no one. You promise?

Promise. No one.

So listen out for me, OK?

OK.

Hey, Vincent.

You know nothing will happen

if you step on them, right?

You're a kid. What do you know?

Neighbors called the police
when they heard her son Stan

screaming for his mother.

Let's see, they were found in
the backyard and she was dead.

So he saw the whole thing?

If he did, why didn't the unsub

kill the only living witness?

Did they interview him?

He was traumatized.

Did he see the killer?

He didn't see anything.

Where is the boy now?

Single mom, father
dead in a car accident.

He was foster-homed
after her death.

Tell me he's still in Buffalo.

Uh...

He is.

How you doing there, kid?

We're looking for Stanley Wolcott.

Who wants to know?

My name's Derek Morgan.
I'm with the FBI.

FBI? Cool.

Today's your birthday, right?

Can I help you?

FBI.

I'm sorry to do this today,
of all days,

but we need to talk to Stanley.

It's urgent.

Stanley's been with
me for 9 months now.

The adoption papers
came through last week.

So we're moving to California.

Uh, Stanley's been
blind since birth.

His mom didn't want him to
use a cane, so, he, uh...

My way around life.

It's called echolocation.

It's where the sound
bounces off objects,

kind of like a bat uses sonar.

I'm the Batman.

Well, heya, Batman.

Myself and my colleague here, Dave,

we need to ask you some questions.

This is about my mom, isn't it?

Yeah, it is.

- And I need to ask you...
-Have you found him?

I can feel a lie.

We're looking for him, Stan.

We could use your help.

Now, what I'm asking you to
do probably won't be easy.

Will it help you catch him?

It might.

I'm not sure about this.

It's OK.

I want to.

That a boy.

OK.

2 years ago,

on that night,

you were playing in the snow,
with your mom.

She said my lips were turning blue.

She told me to go in and get warm.

She said it was getting dark.

So then you came inside

and you took off your gloves.

You took off your jacket.

And you got warm.

But after a while,
she didn't come back in.

Mom?

Mom?

Stanley, what do you hear?

The snow is so thick.

It covers the house,

the yard.

Everything's so quiet.

You call out for her,
but she doesn't call back.

Mom?

Mom!

Now I hear something.

What do you hear?

I think I can hear my mom.

Is she talking?

Crying.

Now what do you do?

Go outside.

Stanley, we can stop doing
this now, if you want.

No. It's OK.

I can do this.

You're doing good, Stanley.

You're doing really good.

I'm right here, OK?

Mom?

Can you hear her?

No.

I need to find her.

Mom?

Stanley...

someone's here.

I can feel them.

It's not my mom.

That's enough.

Enough. That's enough.

He saw me...

didn't he?

Yes, Stan, he did.

Hey, what's up, man?

Looks like you know
where you're going.

I don't want any trouble.

See, I don't know you.

I don't want any trouble.

Look, you said that twice.

What you doin' walkin'
around here, anyway, huh?

You ain't lost.

Hey, man. Hey, look at me.

All right, come on.

You walk like you know
where you're going,

so, you gotta know what's next.

See, this here's my street.

And you pay to walk on my street.

I've been thinking
about you all day.

You shouldn't have been.

What the hell is this?
Get out of my house!

No, wait.

How can you do this to me?

How can you do this with
our son in the house?!

So what? I don't care.

I hate you!

I hate you!

I hate my life!

Mom?

Mommy?

Mom?

He just came out of nowhere.
He rolled up on us.

Which way was he walking?

That way.

He's heading East.

So, your friend shot him,

the man defended himself,

and you did nothing?

You ran away and called 911?

I'm done talking, fed.

I ain't saying nothin'.

I want my lawyer.

You'll get a lawyer.
Answer my question.

He shot him once.

Where?

In the stomach.

What was he doing when
you rolled up on him?

Head down, walking real fast,
like he was late for something.

So you jumped him.

When he didn't give
you what you wanted,

what did he do?

At first nothing.

He just started making
this noise with his tongue.

What kind of noise?

OK, listen to me.

Yeah, like that. Exactly like that.

And he slammed Jay with a knife

and turned and came after me.

It's called echolocation.

The unsub's 10th victim...

she left behind a blind son

who uses echolocation
to get around.

How would the killer know that?

Because he saw the boy was blind

the night he killed his mother.

And I think that's why
he didn't kill the boy.

Wait a second.

Today's that kid's birthday.
He's the event.

Henderson, get units to meet us
at 6518 Cantwell Drive, right now.

He's gone! He's gone.

I thought he was in his room.

He said he was tired.

When was the last time
you checked on him?

- Did you hear anything?
- 20 minutes ago.

I just don't understand.
He would have had to pass me to get out.

Kate, think. When you checked on Stan,
he was asleep, yes?

He was under the covers.

You closed his door.
You went to your room.

You settled down.

I watched TV.

Did you hear anything?

I, um, I heard a car
horn beep twice.

I looked out the window,
but I didn't see anything.

He's gotta have 20 minutes on us.

Oh, God.

Oh, my God, he's gonna
kill him, isn't he?

Let's just take a look inside.

Are you OK?

The FBI came to my house.

Wow.

The FBI.

The man that killed my mom...

he stood right next to me,

in the snow.

He could have killed me,
but he didn't.

Well, maybe he saw
something in you.

Well, what did he see?

I don't know.

But, uh...

you know, it stopped him.

Stopped him from hurting you.

He's back.

He did a bad thing.

He did a... he did a very...
a very bad thing, but...

when he saw you, he knew...

he knew that he couldn't hurt you.

He knew that.

He'll never...

he'll never ever hurt you.

I wish he'd killed me.

There's blood here.

Oh, no, please.

It's not Stan.

We believe the man who
took Stan was injured.

It's his blood.

We think his name is Vincent.

Vincent?

You know him?

Stan knew him before he came to me.

For how long?

For over a year.
He was a registered helper

in a mentoring program.

Which one?

Oh, God.

Stan has belonged
to so many programs.

I can't remember
where he met Vincent.

Garcia, I got a name... Vincent.

Morgan, I'm gonna
need a surname, honey.

She can't remember.

Can you at least
cross-reference Vincent's name

with all of the mentor
organizations in Buffalo?

I think we'll get
more from the video.

We're running out of time.

Come on, Garcia,
we gotta find this kid.

Trust me, OK? Give me a second.

That's her. That's the
woman from the film.

June 5, 1983.

Kim Rowlings was
killed in her home.

When police arrived, they found her
son Vincent Rowlings. - Garcia...

Thank me when we've got an address.

Vincent was found sitting with
the body of his murdered mother.

Police believe that he sat with
her for more than 24 hours.

He was only 9 years old.

He filmed his mother's murder

and hid the tape from the
police all these years.

Vincent Rowlings, 5605 1/2 Pearl Street,
East side, Buffalo.

Tell Hotch we're en route.
I love you.

FBI!

Clear.

...with our son here?!

I hate you!

I hate you! I hate my life!

Get off of me!

Garcia, I need you to
conference everybody now.

Hotch, you've got Rossi and Morgan.

And we have Stan's foster mother,
Kate, here.

Stanley is missing,
and there's blood on the windowsill.

Kate, did Vincent take Stan out?

Was there a favorite
place they liked to go?

A park? Playground?

No. No. Like I said,
I only allow him to see Stan

under this roof,
under my supervision.

He's been coming around more since
I told him we were moving away.

When did you tell Vincent that?

Like a week ago. Why?

What?

He killed Michelle
Watson over a week ago.

That must be the stressor that
triggered Vincent's behavior change.

Kate, Vincent's
drawn the number 29,

with a circle around it,
numerous times.

Today is the 29th.

We believe the circle may
represent a specific location.

They would have talked about it, or he
might even have taken him there before.

Did Vincent talk to Stan about
adventures that they could take?

Places they could visit?

What are Stanley's
favorite things to do?

He just likes to make things.

To build things.
Vincent used to help him.

- The construction sets?
-Yeah.

Ferris wheel.

It's a circle.

When did he build this?

Over the last couple of months.

He's been in here every night.

Garcia, check Buffalo and
the surrounding areas

for any theme parks,
permanent or visiting.

Theme park just outside of Buffalo.

Ferris wheel?

Um...

Yes!

Let's go.

You both go. I'll stay
here in case he comes back.

I want to go over everything and
see how many others we've missed.

Got it.

What do you see?

Tell me, Vincent.

What do you see?

So many colors.

Lights everywhere.

Is it here?

The Ferris wheel?

It's here. It's...

Is it like the one we built? Is it?

Uh-huh. Exactly.

Then let's go.

Are you OK, buddy?

Yeah.

I just get a little
nervous at heights.

Ah. Just don't look down.

Hey, uh...

He, uh, he wants to
stop it at the top.

C-can you do that?

Yeah, sure.

Just close your eyes.

Like me.

It's going up.

Move! FBI! Out of the way!

Is it beautiful?

Can you see the stars, Vincent?

Can you see the stars?

There's thousands of them.

They're all over the sky.

I bet if you lean forward,
you can reach for them.

Ohh...

I got you.

Remember you said you'd
wished he'd killed you?

He's up top!

Out of the way! Out of the way!

You can never,
ever wish to be dead.

Never wish for that.

I saw my mom die, too.

And like my father,
I did some bad things.

I did some bad things.

What are you talking about?

You're gonna hear things.

You're gonna hear
bad things about me.

But you can never,
ever wish to die, Stan.

Because you're special.

How am I special?

Because you helped me to see.

To see.

Can... can we go
around one more time?

Ohh...

I need you to get this kid
off the wheel. Do it now.

I don't think so.

I wish you were my dad.

Forgive me.

Do it now!

OK, stop the wheel.

Now open it.

Stanley, it's Derek,
from the FBI. It's OK.

Sit tight.

Stanley...

What's going on?

It's me, Derek.

Vincent, what's... what's going on?

Listen to me.
I need you to come with me.

Let go of Vincent.

Just come with me.

I'm getting you out of here.

That's right. That's right.

It's gonna be OK.

You're OK.

Vincent?

It's OK. It's fine.

Oh, honey!

Derek.

What's up, kid?

Did he kill my mom?

"No matter how dark the moment,

love and hope are always possible."

George Chakiris.