Criminal Minds (2005–…): Season 5, Episode 17 - Solitary Man - full transcript

Man: once upon a time...

There was a lonely king.

He spent many days
and many nights

Wandering, searching,

Looking for that one
special someone.

Good night, jody.

Good night, mrs. Clemons.

That one...

Perfect woman

Who would be his queen.

Daddy!



[Laughing]

[Kiss]

I was hoping
you'd come tonight.

Can you tell me
another story?

Well...

If you lay back down there

And close
your little eyes.

Close your eyes.

[Clears throat]

And the lonely king
searched far and wide

Looking for this woman
who would be his queen.

And he'd almost given up
hope of ever finding her

When he came upon
this small tavern...

[Johnny cash singing
"solitary man"]



With a simple
country barmaid.

Now, when she looked
at the lonely king,

He felt as if they
had known each other

For a thousand years.

Do you need a refill?

Tanya, i guess
i'm going home alone.

Excuse me a second.

First of all,
you're not alone.

And secondly,
you're not driving.

Keys.

Betty, sam needs a cab.

Sure.

That's weird.

Did you see
where that guy went?

Johnny cash:
* a solitary man *

Hmm.

♪ a solitary man ♪

Man: so he waited
until she was alone,

Watching from afar

Because he was afraid
to speak to her.

[Engine won't start]

And then one day...

Her carriage wouldn't start.

[Horn beeps]

And the king thought...

This is fate.

And so he rode down
to rescue her.

And she said to him...

Must be the rain.

Pop the hood.

Thank you!

Jody: did he rescue her,
daddy?

Was she the one?

Well, the king thought so.

Try it now!

[Engine starts]

Yes...

Hey, i appreciate your...

Hello?

Hello?

You ok?

So they rode off
into the night together.

And they lived
happily ever after?

Well, no, sweet pea.

She wasn't the one.

But don't worry.

The king's never
gonna stop looking.

But what if he never
finds a queen?

Well, then he'll just...

He'll just go
to a better place.

Good night, princess.

[Thunder]

[Thunder]

Her name was tanya hill.
She was 29, a bartender.

Found 2 days ago
in edgewood, new mexico.

She's the fifth woman
in over 6 months

To be found dead in a ditch
off the i-40 and i-25.

All were manually strangled.
None were sexually assaulted.

Well, maybe the act of
strangulation is what gets him off.

Where were they
abducted from?

All over.

Well, they're not just
crossing state lines.

These cities are
hundreds of miles apart.

That's a lot of bodies. Why is
it taking so long to be invited?

We haven't been invited.
We found this on hsk database.

Morgan: well, a lot of police
departments won't want this problem.

The geographic profile shows
that only one of them has it.

They just don't
know it yet.

Because he has a comfort zone...
how do you know that?

Based on the direction he was
heading when he dumped the bodies.

All 5 cases
point to our unsub

Heading to edgewood,
new mexico.

And now so are we.

We gotta ride that.

Hi!

Oh. Excuse me.

I think you forgot these.

Hee hee!

You are so cute.

Bye!

Goodbye.

Do you know anyone
that's heading west?

Mm...sorry.

I am.

Great.

Prentiss:
tennessee williams said,

"We're all of us sentenced
to solitary confinement

Inside our own skins,
for life."

Morgan: clearly this unsub doesn't
care about his victims being found.

Or he knows
he can't be linked to them.

The m.E.'S report
supports that.

Matching dna was found
on all 5 victims.

But not in any database.
Right.

It's also in keeping with the
victimology and abduction sites.

Which are what?

Target rich
and offender friendly.

Time of death
from time of abduction

Varies dramatically
in each case.

Some lived 12 hours, others
24 before they were killed.

So what's he doing
with them?

Well, he's not having
sex with them.

There's no sign of torture
or even restraints.

What was
the matching dna?

Uh, skin. That and metal
shavings were found

Under the fingernails
of all 5 victims.

Tanya only had one nail left.

Jj: one nail?

Yeah. It looks like
whatever she was in,

She tried to claw
her way out.

Hotch: jj, have garcia
match victimology

And abduction sites to hsk
findings for the last year.

If he sticks to this timeline,

Edgewood is about to discover
another body.

Reid: so she was abducted
32.9 miles west of here,

Which means if they drove
the speed limit

They got here
in 30 minutes or less.

So, how long's
it gonna take you

To get in that ditch?

Get in that ditch?

I got shot in the knee,
remember?

My doctor said i'm not
allowed to do any climbing.

It's a ditch.

New boots, huh?

Italian leather?

Yeah, what can i tell you?

So, uh,

From here i can be seen
by any passing vehicle.

And i can't.

So she was dumped
at night.

Must have.

He drives up,

Dumps the body.

Job done, he leaves.

I don't think so.

What?

All 5 victims were found
posed in the fetal position

With their right arm palm-Up,
left arm palm-Down.

Remorse?

Or staging.

To look like what?

Like they're asleep.

You have any ideas why?

No.

Well, i guess there is
a first time for everything.

Hey, rossi, i'm gonna need
a little bit of help

Getting out of this ditch.

Rossi!

Rossi?

Hey...

I got it.

Listen, i appreciate
you guys coming down here,

But i only got one body.

Which we believe is the
work of a serial killer.

Doesn't it have to be
more than one to be a series?

If you include a slightly
larger area than just edgewood,

We've got 5 bodies.

All strangled, all staged,
and all dumped.

Why edgewood?

It's significant to him.

We believe that he either grew
up here or he lives here now.

Look, i'm sorry that somebody's
driving through my town

And dumping bodies, but it
doesn't mean he lives here.

We're searching
for more victims

Through
the hsk database.

What's that?

Highway serial killer
database.

We started it
a few years ago

To track bodies found
off of major highways

All over the country.

Law enforcement, no matter
how small the town,

Reports the murders and we use the
database to try to connect them.

Whoever's killing these
women isn't slowing down,

And he's about to dump
another body on your doorstep.

[Gasping]

Oh, god.

Oh, my god.

[Banging]

Stop! Stop!
What do you want?!

I'll do anything.
Just tell me what you want!

Man: i want you
to be quiet.

Ok, ok, i'll stop.

What else?

What else do you want?

To talk.

Ok, we can talk.

We can talk.
I want to talk.

I want to do that.

[Flicking lighter]

No...

Here's an m.E. File
of another victim.

We know that
all these women

Were strangled
by the same unsub.

As evidence
found by dna

And metal fragments
under their fingernails,

But there's something else.

Tanya had diesel fuel
on her clothing.

Well, she was found
off the freeway.

I'm sure they all had.

They all did.
And sugar.

Table sugar was found on almost
all the victims' clothing.

Sugar?

It absorbs diesel fuel.

It's a trucker trick.

We know how
he's transporting them.

[Breathing hard]

I'm thirsty.

Please, i need a drink.

I have some questions
first.

Anything.

What do you want to know?

Well, it's important
to...

It's important
that you listen.

Are we clear?

Ok.

Are you religious?

What? I'm sorry?

Do you believe in god?

Yeah.

Do you want children?

Someday...

Maybe.

Yeah, i do.

I do. I really want kids.

I don't believe you do.

No...

[Sobbing]
let me out of here!

Courtney, it doesn't mean he
won't invite you to the prom.

Seriously, mom,
you just wouldn't understand.

You know, i did go to
high school at one time.

Yeah, like 50 years ago.

I don't even know why
i'm talking to you about this.

I'm just gonna
let that one go.

Thank goodness.

[Inaudible]

Yeah, ok.

Oh...

[Muttering]

[Footsteps]

Courtney?

Courtney, is that you?

Hey, will you stop
fooling around.

Ohh!

Aah! No!

All right.

All right,
thanks, baby girl.

Garcia says there's
782 truckers

Working and living
in this county.

We gotta narrow down
the specific routes.

We'll need more than that.

The daughter confirmed.

He was definitely
driving a big rig.

Now, she wasn't able to make
out any logos or see the plate.

I'd like to talk
to her.

I got checkpoints at every
route in and out of the county.

If he's on the road,
we'll find him.

He doesn't hunt
at rest stops.

He just did.

It's way too isolated here.

It's a perfect place
to take somebody.

Not for this guy. He goes to
offender friendly environments

So he can blend in and still
interact with his victims.

He hasn't had a chance
to do that.

Well, if he's from here, why
would he need a rest stop?

Clean up, maybe.

You check the rest rooms yet?

Yeah, the sink is full
of dirt in the men's room.

This is a dump site.

It's not an abduction site.

He must have dumped
a body around here somewhere.

Sheriff, i want you to have
your officers spread out.

Tell them to start
with the ditches.

Any distinguishing marks?
Anything at all?

I wasn't looking.

I was texting.

I heard a truck start.

When i went to the bathroom,
she was gone.

How are you gonna find her?

There's a good chance
he's gonna stay here.

Why wouldn't he just run?

Because he always
comes back to edgewood.

Your mother is the first
woman he's taken from here.

We were just driving through.

We live in phoenix.

Mom was just trying
to get me home

So i could go to tryouts.

You have to find her.
She's all i have.

You should come down
to the station.

[Cell phone rings]

Excuse me.

Hey, where are you?

Morgan: i'm in the woods
south of you.

You need to see this.

Strangled, metal shavings
under her nails.

He dumps her body,

He cleans up
at the rest stop,

And then just happens
to stumble onto nancy campbell.

So he didn't wait
a minute between victims,

And he left the daughter
as a witness.

Hey. What's going on
over there?

That's what we need
to find out.

Ok.

Latest victim is younger
than the others.

Was she posed as well?

Yeah.

Nancy campbell's
abduction hit the news.

Let's hope
he doesn't see it.

He could panic and then he'll
dump her faster than the last one.

Why has he dumped one victim and
taken another within the hour?

[Telephone rings]

What have you got, garcia?

A bloody and busy trucker.

I have been on the hsk myself.

I've connected 4 more victims
to this guy.

I'm sending their names
to you now.

Brings his count to 10.

We need to get photos of the victims
garcia identified up on the board.

If we figure out
why he's choosing these women,

We find him.

[Sobbing] please!

Please, let me out!
I can't breathe!

[Gasping and sobbing]

Shh...

Why are you doing this?

Keep quiet
and the light stays on.

What...what do you want?

What do you want?

You.

No...please...

Please...

[Sobbing]

What's all this?

There are
4 more victims?

He started killing
months before we thought.

His first victim
was erika joy

From lexington,
south carolina.

She disappeared
from a truck stop.

What did she do
for a living?

According to her rap sheet,
everyone she could.

So she's a lot lizard.

It's a name they give prostitutes
who hang around truck stops.

What about the others?

Waitress, gas station
attendant, female trucker.

Any of them married?

Just nancy campbell,
the latest abductee,

But she's a widow.

Yeah, well,
her mom's gonna get

A lot more
attention than...

Well, all these
other women.

Taking nancy campbell
was a huge risk.

It doesn't fit his m.O.

He must have had a reason.

We just got
some new information.

Come with me.

Sorry. I'll be back
in a minute.

He had to have walked
right by that minivan.

Why didn't he take
courtney?

Maybe she's too young.

She's closer to the victims'
ages than her mother.

That parking lot
was deserted.

He could have taken courtney,
nobody would have seen a thing,

But instead,
he walks past her...

Because that's not
who he wants.

He watched nancy.

He followed her
because he wanted her.

So much so that he left
courtney as a witness?

What could be
that important?

Well, until a few hours ago,
he had a type.

The other victims were younger,
less sophisticated.

It wouldn't take
more than a day

To figure out
if they're worthy or not.

Of what?

Being his companion.

Then he's completely
delusional.

There are easier ways
to figure that out.

No, not for this guy.

He's got a schedule that
forces him to stay on the road.

He's alone for long stretches.

He can't devote any real time
to courting them.

You really think
he's killing

Because he's lonely?

It wouldn't surprise me.

How are the pancakes,
princess?

Not as good as yours.

[Cell phone rings]

Excuse me.

Look, daddy.
Do you like it?

Well, now...

Yeah, that's beautiful.

You know, your daddy
really misses you.

Can you tell me another story?

Ok.

So...

The lonely king
had all but given up hope

Of ever finding
the beautiful queen.

When all of a sudden...

She appeared.

Now, this time
it was different.

This time,

He knew she was the one.

This time...

She was perfect.

Nancy: courtney?

Courtney, is that you?

Honey, will you stop
fooling around.

Ohh!

Sorry, sweetie,
it's time to go.

Do we have to?

It's time for school.

Here.

Why don't you go pick out
a candy bar

To put in your lunch.

Oh, hey, princess,
don't worry.

We'll be a family again
real soon.

You've got to stop
telling her that.

Why? It's true.

Nothing's changed.

The judge isn't gonna
let her live with you.

I am trying.

She's being placed
with her adoptive family.

She is my daughter.

You people can't
just take her away.

You can't just do that!
I have more time.

Mr. Hatchett, please.

I wanted you to see her,

But clearly
that was a mistake.

You've known for months now

That this was
a possibility.

I'm gonna make this work.

By this afternoon?

You can't take care
of her.

You can barely
take care of yourself.

You're living in your truck.

You're on the road, and
without a wife or a home,

You just...
you can't do it.

You gotta let her go.

Let her be happy.

I know you want that
for jody.

Her mom would want
what's best for her.

I'm what's best
for her.

Look, i made a promise

That i would not let
anything happen to her.

She is my little girl.

No one's gonna love her
the way that i can.

Why can't you
understand that?

You all set?

Mm-Hmm.

I love you, daddy.

Oh, hey.
Come here.

I love you, too.

What about the queen?

Is she the one?

I don't know.

The story's
not over yet, princess.

Nancy campbell's been
missing over 12 hours.

If he jumped on the i-40 before
we got the police blocks out...

He could be 3 states over
by now.

We don't think
he has time for that.

He's courting these women.
He needs them in edgewood.

There are over 800
truckers on this list.

We have to get garcia to run
background on all of them.

He's either parked
at his own house

Or he's hiding
in plain sight.

Listen, i've already
given you a list

Of all the trucker stops
that we've checked in town.

We're gonna need
to check them again.

I've searched for you
for a long time.

Did you know that?

You know how important
family is, don't you?

See, i knew you would.

You're not like
the others.

Oh, would you like
some water?

No, thank you.

That's not polite.

I'm sharing with you.

You should accept.

Yeah, please.
That would be great.

Much better.

You know,
family's everything.

With family,
you're never alone.

Please...

If our daughter
were crying...

What would you do
to get her to stop?

Please let me go.

If our daughter
were crying,

What would you do
to get her to stop?

I don't know.

I'd tell her a story.

I would...i'd hold her.
I don't know.

You like stories?

Our daughter
likes stories.

[Chuckles]

Look at you.
You're a mess.

I don't want
the princess to see you

All dirty like that.

I have a daughter.

Please let me go.

Please let me go.

Please!

Please!

Let me go!

Please...

Please let me go!

Let me go!

Please...

That's fine. Thanks.

Is this about
that missing woman?

Do you know anything
about it?

Only what i saw
on the news.

We have reason to believe
that our suspect

Has been in your facility
in the past 24 hours.

Here?

You think he's here?

We could really
use your help.

Well, we could give you
our manifest.

It logs all the truckers
and their loads.

That's exactly
what we need.

[Door unlocking]

All right, get up.
You're coming with me.

I said get up!

All right.
Take it easy!

[Telephone rings]

It's your dime,
mr. Amazing.

Listen, i might have something
to narrow your search.

We don't think he drives
for a company.

The schedules
are way too tight.

In the past few months,
he's had the flexibility

To hunt and kill, and he couldn't
do all that and run loads.

So you need me
to narrow down

The independent
contractors.

You're reading my mind, red.

I just emailed you the manifest
from the local depot

Where all the truckers
check in. Can you...

Of course i can.

76 licenses registered
under own authority,

And i just sent them
back to you.

Woman, you are good.

You have no idea.

So, how many of these cases
have you worked on?

Too many.

How many of these women
have you gotten back alive?

Morgan: all right, so let's
go over this again.

This offender's
preferential,

Young women
mid- To late 20s.

He takes his time
watching them.

He makes sure
there are no witnesses.

He kills them 12 to 24
hours after abduction.

Only now that timeframe's
getting shorter.

Then he comes home
to edgewood

Where he's home
and he feels safe.

Courtney, listen,
this man,

He doesn't try
to hide his victims.

So you think
she's still alive?

I was so rude to her.

I just don't want the last thing
i said to her to have been...

If he had hurt her,

We would have
found her already.

So what's he doing to her?

Hotch:
there's no rape involved.

So is it companionship
he's after?

Reid: there might be an almost
chivalrous aspect to this.

Jj: how do you figure?

Truckers have a romanticized
image of themselves,

And in fact all lifestyles
revolving around the open road do.

The hell's angels,
for instance,

They refer to their women
as their old ladies,

But in fact, there's no one
they'd rather protect or die for.

Their treatment of women wouldn't be
out of place in king arthur's court.

And their sense of isolation
would amp up that fantasy.

So he's looking
for a wife.

He starts out
with easy targets,

Then he moves on
to women

Who could actually
fill the role.

Sweet, outgoing, warm.

The bartender who takes
extra care of you,

The chatty hitchhiker.

But over the course
of the day,

They fail the test.
This infuriates him,

And he strangles them
and dumps them.

Ok, so why take nancy campbell?

She's the opposite of all
the other victims he's taken.

It's true. She's older.
She already has a kid.

I think that's why
she's still alive.

What if he's not looking
for a companion?

What if he's looking
for a mother?

Morgan: if he's got
a kid of his own,

That would explain what keeps
him coming back to edgewood.

It would explain
why he walks past courtney

To get to nancy.

Just by watching
he knows she's a mother.

She's already qualified
to pass any test.

Garcia.

Sir.

I want you to narrow down
the own authority trucker list

And tell me which ones have
been through a divorce recently

Or a custody battle.

Rossi: the custody fight
would be a stressor.

Limit your searches to months
prior to the first murder.

Got it. Thanks.

What's going on?

Hold on a second.

Wait, what's going on?

They found a body
off the i-40.

No identification.

Is she dead?

We don't know.

What do you mean
you don't know?

The police found a body and they
aren't sure if it's your mother.

I want to go.

Reid: i think
we should wait here.

I need to see
if it's her.

Courtney, please, dr. Reid and i
are going to stay here with you,

And as soon as we know
anything, we will tell you.

Ok?

I'll call emily.

Are you sure?

Ok, thanks.

It's not your mother.

Hey, baby girl,
talk to me.

Garcia: of your 76
independent truckers,

I have 28 who are currently
involved in custody cases.

How many of those cases
are still open?

Uh, 8 pending.

Not the most relationship
friendly job, trucking.

Look for instances
where the mother died.

A guy like this wouldn't tear a
child away from his own mother.

Caroline hatchett
died in a house fire,

Leaving behind
a 7-Year-Old daughter jody

And a husband wade hatchett.

Wade lost his home, his wife,

And custody of his daughter

When the courts
deemed him unfit.

He's still contesting the case.

Why was he deemed unfit?

Uh...

Double whammy...job kept him
away for weeks at a time,

And he didn't have any other
family to help him watch the girl.

Looks like he bent over
backwards trying to make it work,

But she missed a lot of school

And he was charged with
neglect of a minor.

You have an address?

Just a p.O. Box
for over a year.

What about the daughter?

Jody currently resides
in foster care.

I'm sending you the file now.

Rossi: if this
is the same unsub,

He didn't bother to
pose her this time.

This is
much more brutal.

It feels personal.

Her name is lynn clemons.

Deputies found her wallet
about 100 yards up.

Must have spilled out
when he dumped her.

Garcia, we need
everything that you have

On a lynn clemons.

Lynn clemons?
She's the...

Foster parent
of jody hatchett.

I was just telling
the others

Her father is a trucker
who lost custody

When his wife died.

Jody's in the process
of being adopted.

He ran out of time.

Is the team on their way
to his house?

No, he only has a p.O. Box.

He killed
the foster parent.

He's going after
his daughter.

Garcia, where's
jody hatchett right now?

[School bell rings]

Wait!

Hey, jody.

Who are you?

I'm emily.

Where's mrs. Clemons?

Well, i'll tell you
inside, ok?

It's ok. Come on.

Hotch: jody.

What's going on?

We're helping the police, and
we're trying to find your dad.

Do you know where he is?

No.

Hotch, truck's coming
up the road right now.

Hey, jody, can we
go play in your room?

It's right here.

Ok.

All right.

Get up.

Somebody's moving toward
the front of the cab.

All right,
it's nancy campbell.

He's behind her and
he's got his gun on her.

Morgan, do you
have a shot?

Negative. Negative.

He's using her
as a shield.

Hotch, he might kill nancy
to get to jody.

Did you paint
all of these yourself?

Mm-Hmm.

It looks like they're
sleeping?

Yeah. The king tucks them in,
just like my daddy does for me.

Is this your mom here,
this one?

No. That's the queen.

Who's that?

She's the one that the king
tried to take home

To the castle,
but she didn't make it.

What happened to her?

Her carriage broke down,

And he had to leave her
behind to save the princess.

Ohh.

There's a lot of queens here.

They all look different.

They are.

What happened
to this one here?

She was dirty.

The king said,
"how do you expect

"To give
my daughter a bath

If you can't even
take one yourself?"

I like that story.

Do you make up
all these stories?

No. My daddy does.

I like painting them.

Well, this story
isn't over yet, is it?

That's what my dad said.

Mm-Hmm.
He did?

Today, we were eating pancakes,

And he said she was perfect.

Hey, would you like
to meet a queen?

Yeah.

Yeah?

Where's jody?

I don't see her.
What are they doing to her?

How old is jody?

Do you...do you think
she'll like me?

Daddy? Daddy, are you there?

Hi, baby.

You need to tell me
the rest of the story.

Well, the lonely king and
the queen are at the castle.

To pick up the princess?

Well, the guards
are in the way.

Will you let the queen
talk to them?

They won't listen.

But i want to see her.

Will you let her go
so she can hold me?

You said that she's perfect,

That she's the one.

She wants to live
in the big castle with me.

I need to see you.

Ok.

Hi, daddy!

Hi, princess.

She's so pretty, daddy!

Go, go.

Now the king won't be
lonely anymore.

No.

And they're gonna
live happily ever after.

Why aren't you coming,
too, daddy?

You did a great job, jody.

Are you going
to the better place?

What?

Yeah. We're both going
to a better place, princess.

Close your little eyes,
sweet pea.

Hatchett!

Turn around.

[No audio]

[Gunshot]

Morgan: christopher lasch said,

"Family is a haven
in a heartless world."

What you reading?

The hsk database.

Do you know there's probably
half a dozen serial killers

Driving around right now?

What's really
bothering you?

Jody lost her mom

And then her dad,

And the couple that was
going to adopt her backed out.

It's all over the news.

It's just...

It's just not fair.

Her aunt saw the story.

She came forward.

She'd lost touch
with jody's mom

Over the past few years, but
she's her only living relative

And she wants
to raise jody.

Really?

Mm-Hmm.

You know, prentiss,

When i think about the things
we see on a daily basis,

All the bad,

I'm still amazed
at all the good.

Yeah, but...

Do you think
it evens out?

I'd like to think
it does.