Criminal Minds (2005–…): Season 9, Episode 24 - Demons - full transcript

In the aftermath of the shootout the authorities have with Preacher Mills, several people are down. Among the dead are Mills himself and Sheriff Coleman, and three people associated with the pool hall. Injured is Morgan. But seriously injured is Reid, whose shooting Blake blames on herself as he pushed her out of harm's way. What the BAU is able to determine is that the three pool hall victims were dead before the shooting started, which confirms their theory that Mills was being framed by the true unsub, that the unsub was at the scene among the shooters, and that Dinah Stidham is connected as the only person associated with the pool hall who was not there. When they eventually catch up with Dinah, they can see that she is scared but does know much about what is going on. The nature of how she was located leads to the team coming up with a new theory, one where they have to find a way to make Dinah talk while protect her while she is in the unusually unsafe police station, and protect Reid who the unsub will also be after.

Previously on Criminal Minds...
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A friend of mine,
Sheriff Peter Coleman

down in Briscoe County, Texas,
reached out to me

about a possible case.

The same UnSub killed one john

and two prostitutes.

(groans)

You can't make sure
my bitches are safe,

then what good are you?

GARCIA:
Before he was Preacher Mills,

he was Gordon Borell,
and he was arrested for cutting



- one of the ladies he employed.
- COLEMAN: But you said the UnSub

wanted us to catch him
and punish him.

What he really wanted was for us
to catch the preacher.

BLAKE: We need to tell him
we know he didn"t do this.

- (sirens wailing)
- Oh, Preacher,

what have you gotten
yourself into?

(gunshot)

Shots fired! Shots fired!

(gunfire)

Blake!

(groans)

Reid!

(glass shattering)

(rapid gunfire)



(gunfire continues)

(grunting)

(gasping)

We need a medic now!

There's too much blood.

- (indistinct shouting)
- Hey.

Hey, you're doing great.

All right?

Yeah, you got to stay
right here, okay?

Eyes on me. Eyes on me.

Yeah.

No, no, no, no.

No.

Ethan, Ethan,

open your eyes.

Hurry! Hurry!

(grunts)

(men shouting in Spanish)

♪♪

(door opens)

(distant clattering)

(clattering continues)

Suspect is down.
Repeat: Suspect is down.

We got this covered.

One of yours is in bad shape.

Let's go.

CRUZ (over phone):
Copy that.

Two of ours, three of theirs.

Any casualties?

One. Coleman.

Coleman?

HOTCH:
And what about Reid?

BLAKE:
Not good.

They're taking him
to the hospital.

I-I'll call you back.

JJ:
All right, Derek,

you should go get that
looked at.

We'll meet you there.

BENNETT: Fastest route
to the hospital

is Highway 17.

Thanks.

(sirens wailing)

REID (weakly):
It sounded like a tea kettle.

Did you hear it?

What?

Reid?

- (monitor beeping)
- Pressure's dropping.

Pulse is thready.

- Starting large bore IV.
- Reid!

Agent, you've got to sit back.

You got to help him, man.

Kid, come on now.

Stay with me. I'm right here.

Reid? Reid!

Stay with me.

(sirens wailing)

(monitor beeping steadily)

REID: "When truth is buried,
it grows.

"It chokes.

"It gathers
such an explosive force

"that on the day it bursts out,

it blows up everything
with it."

Émile Zola.

(woman speaking indistinctly
over P.A.)

Anything yet?

No.

Spence would've read, like,
two books by now.

Maybe three.

It should've been me.

Or me or... any of us.

No.

He pushed me out of the way.

If he doesn't make it...

He'll make it.

He has to.

He's just... he's too young.

Yeah, there's still things
for him to do.

You know, he wants kids.

Can you imagine Spence as a dad?

(chuckles)

Now, that'd be the luckiest kid
in the world.

No doubt.

(whispers):
Hey.

- You made it.
- Yeah, turns out,

we're not the only one
that's connected,

and he knows somebody
with a plane.

How is he?

(sighs)
Still in surgery.

You all can see
Agent Morgan now.

Well, if you don't mind,
I'd really like to stay here.

Listen, the second
you hear anything,

call me.

Hey.

I'll be right back.

MORGAN:
How's Reid?

(sighs)
He's still in surgery.

- (sighs)
- GARCIA: No.

- What are you doing?
- You can bet your ass

I'm not just gonna sit
around here.

Guys, come on,
get me out of here.

CRUZ: Actually, you are.
Just hang on a second.

Just until we figure out
what's what.

- Catch me up.
- HOTCH: The three victims

inside were dead
before the shooting started.

Lividity had set in
and there was no blood spatter.

They weren't killed there.

The preacher's car was clean,

so there's no way
he transported bodies in it.

So you were right.
He was being framed.

- But by whom?
- HOTCH: The answer

is in the victims.
Belinda Clark and Jesse Moore

were both tied to prostitution
like the others.

Travis Henson was a regular
at the pool hall,

but he didn't work there.

See, I don't get why
the preacher

didn't just come clean with you.

He was a narcissistic sociopath
who was cornered,

but he still thought
that he could get away with it.

Once he started shooting,
he made his decision.

Coming clean was no longer
an option.

MORGAN: Guys, I don't think
he was the first one

to shoot.

Whoever set him up was there.

That's ballsy.
What makes you think that?

Because I'm pretty sure
that Reid and I

heard the first shots fired.

We were all outside
of that diner.

Anybody got any photos?

Yeah, I-I downloaded
the crime scene photos.

- All right, show me Coleman.
- Right here.

Where's my vest?
I want to show you something.

All right, you see these?

It's from a MAC-10.

Now look at this.

You see how the impact
mushrooms out?

That's from a semi-jacketed
Hydra-Shock round.

It makes a high-pitched scream,
and I know that I heard it.

That's law-enforcement issue.

Friendly fire?

No.

All those cops were shooting
into the diner.

This round came from the same
direction as the preacher.

JJ: Okay, I don't...
I don't know

who shot first, but I do know

that every victim's connected
to the pool hall.

The only one missing is Dinah.

Go find her.

(sighs)

(gasps)

What are you doing, Dinah?

Come on, Owen.

Just let me be.

I-I'm not stubborn
like the preacher.

I won't give you any trouble.

You know I ain't gonna
say nothing.

Oh, I know you better not.

Owen, please.

Owen, I won't tell anyone.

- (crying): I swear.
- I know.

- Let's go. Come on. Let's go.
- Okay.

- Okay, okay, okay.
- Move it.

(engine starts)

(siren wailing)

(sighs)

Agent?

How is he?

Incredibly lucky.

Two millimeters to the right,
and the bullet would've torn

- through the carotid artery.
- (sighs)

It nicked some smaller vessels,
but we stopped the bleeding.

You can see him now.

(phone ringing)

JJ:
Hey, how is he?

Great.

Okay.

Thanks, Alex. Bye.

(beep)

(sighs)

Spence is in recovery.

Good.

Kid's too smart to die.

Probably rerouted the bullets
by power of suggestion.

(chuckles)

I was scared.

Yeah, I was, too.

Well, it looks like she packed
a few things before someone

forced their way in here.

Truck's still out front.

She strike you
as the mothering type?

Well, if you pay her
for it. Why?

She has this framed?

It was in the bottom of her bag,
so that probably means

it was one of the first things
she packed.

It must be very important
to her.

(phone ringing)

ROSSI:
Yeah, Hotch?

She's gone, but it doesn't look
like she went willingly.

HOTCH:
No, she didn't.

Meet us at the station.

- Right.
- (beep)

JJ:
Where did you guys find her?

BENNETT:
Trying to get out of town.

Deputy McGregor found her
flying down Route 13.

When he pulled her over,
she resisted arrest.

I'd like to talk
to Deputy McGregor.

Well, he's back out there.

What do you need to know?

What was she driving?

He didn't say.

Her truck, I presume. Why?

Just curious.

Well, it doesn't matter much.

Looks like we got her now.

She's got to be behind all this.

Probably got tired
of the preacher controlling her,

pulled a power play.

I'm sure you guys have
a proper word

for that kind of behavior.

Devious.

Excuse me, folks.

Dinah's truck was still
at her place.

We need to talk to her.

Happy to do it.

JJ:
Hi, Dinah.

Sometimes investigators...

suffer from a form
of tunnel vision.

Especially when one of their own
gets killed,

they stop asking questions
and start to frame the case

around their theory.

Do you know what they think?

They think that you did
all of it,

not just the preacher,
but the sheriff

and all of the girls, too.

But here's the thing.

I don't think you wanted
those girls to die.

You were scared for those girls.

'Cause you were one of them.

Weren't you?

Dinah,

you can tell me whatever it is
you are afraid of.

I will protect you.

You can protect me?

We have federal jurisdiction.

(chuckles)

Who was the little boy
in the picture frame?

He's, like, seven years old?

(clears throat)

You're wasting your time.

I got nothing to say to you.

BENNETT:
All due respect, Agent,

she's here
under resisting arrest charges,

and my guess is
there's a hell of

a lot more that'll stick.

See?

Tunnel vision.

Thing about tunnels,

they can get
real dark real fast.

BENNETT: I'm gonna take care
of my case now.

So if you don't mind.

Okay.

Well, she"s definitely afraid,

but got defiant
when Bennett walked in.

You get anything about the kid?

Nothing but a look
of desperation.

CRUZ:
If she has someone to lose,

they hold all the cards.

Outside.

So, Garcia did some digging,

and it turns out
that Travis Henson,

the third victim from the diner,

was also
a confidential informant.

- For Coleman?
- No.

For a decorated deputy
named Owen McGregor.

You mean the same deputy
who arrested Dinah

but didn't stick around
to book her?

JJ:
Explains the Hydra-Shock rounds

found in Coleman, and why
all the victims are afraid.

Each one reported
"they" were gonna get them.

What if "they" is more
than just this Owen McGregor?

What if it's the whole force?

I'm telling you,
Coleman was not a dirty cop.

No, but he's only been sheriff
for a year,

so he's the outsider.

That's what got him killed.

It's a massive body count.

What the hell
are they protecting?

A way of life?

Corruption like this can make
a lot of people a lot of money.

And you never met this McGregor?

ROSSI:
He just finished

his 4/40 when we landed.

CRUZ (scoffs):
Convenient.

He's back on the clock now.

Where would he go?

BENNETT: Bad news.
That agent"s gonna make it.

You need my help?

OWEN:
No.

I'll take care of it.

(monitor beeping steadily)

GARCIA: Lt'll be so great
if he wakes up,

and this...
is the first thing he sees.

BLAKE:
Yeah.

Good doctor
will always make him smile.

(chuckles)

Be really weird if he wakes up,
and we're all just...

(groans) staring at him.

So I'm gonna go stand over here.

(car door opens, closes)

What's wrong?

Trust no one, my friend.

Why?

Corruption.

HOTCH:
Something this organized needs

a strong leader; we think
it's Deputy Owen McGregor.

And there's a second in command
who appears trustworthy,

but has the access and the
skill set to do a lot of damage.

Deputy Bennett
is presenting as that.

JJ: They framed the preacher
and Dinah.

She"s still alive
and terrified.

ROSSI:
She ran the prostitution ring

with the preacher,
but she must play a bigger part

in the rest of this.

MORGAN: She"s clearly worth more
alive than dead.

JJ:
For now.

But we could
offer her something,

get her to trust us.

We've seen this before.

You find her kid,
maybe she'll talk.

See if Garcia can find him.

The rest of us need to figure
out who else is involved.

(dialing)

(line ringing)

Hey, Garcia.

GARCIA:
Hi. I found juice,

broth and Jell-O.

Super bland,
but he needs the calories.

When this comes off,

I'm gonna look just like
Boris Karloff.

Yeah, a little green makeup,

and you'll have
the best Halloween costume ever.

Everybody's fine. Don't worry.

I'm not.

You've got that furrowed brow.

Hey.

Hey, look who's still awake.

Can you tell her
she can go now, please?

I'm okay, Alex.

Go help the team.

All right, I'm out of here.

I'm glad you're awake.

(softly):
Thank you.

GARCIA:
Okay.

Juice, broth or Jell-O?

Jell-O? My favorite.

You guys were out there
a long time.

Anything we should know about?

Just getting some fresh air.

Okay.

GARCIA: Dinah didn't claim
any dependents

when she filed her tax returns.

Bonus points for checking in
with Uncle Sam.

At least that part
of her life's in order.

She's from around here;
mom lives ten miles away.

- Uh...
- (computer chirps)

This is weird.

Her mom has a first grader

enrolled at
Buckingham Elementary.

What are the chances a
78-year-old has a first grader?

- What's his name?
- Josh. I'm sending

- all the information now.
- All right, thanks, Garcia.

(beep)

(beep)

Hey, eat that.

So, Garcia tracked down
Dinah's son,

who's living close to here,
but, um,

I've got eyes all over me,
so someone else should go.

How's Dr. Reid?

He's awake; gonna be fine.

That's good to hear.

What's wrong?

Let's take a car ride.
I'll fill you in.

JJ, send us the info.

Will do.

CRUZ:
We knew Coleman

had only been here a year,
but get this.

He replaced a sheriff
who'd also died.

Of what?

Allergic reaction to medication.

He was in the hospital,
recovering from gunshot wounds.

- JJ: Who shot him?
- Got away.

Report says it was a drug raid
that ended in automatic gunfire.

Who wrote that report?

Owen McGregor.

So the old sheriff

realized that his office
was corrupt.

They staged a murder.

- That sounds familiar.
- JJ: And if the prostitutes

witnessed it
and threatened to tell,

that's what got them killed.

And what date
did the sheriff die?

Uh, it says here,
March 20, a year ago.

Yeah, same day as
the first victim, Lucas Wagner.

So Owen's had a whole year
to figure out his endgame.

It all started on that night.

You need to see
if you can get Dinah talking,

and you need to find out
everything you can

about Owen McGregor.

♪♪

What was that about?

Just seeing
if she wanted to talk.

Hmm. A person like that
has got to have some demons.

It's like she was born
into bad choices.

(phone ringing)

(beep)

Hola.

(beep)

(shutter clicks)

(phone chirps)

(beep)

(line ringing)

(beep)

- Hey.
- Hey, did you get it?

That's the cop
we're looking for.

That way?

Affirmative.

He's right there, isn't he?

He's at the nurses' station.

Oh, I got to get back to Reid.

Garcia, get in that room
and shut the door.

MAN:
Sorry, Officer. Excuse me.

Okay, I did that. Now what?

I need you to focus,
and I need you to listen to me.

- Can you do that? - Yes, yes,
I can do that, I can do that.

Is there a wheelchair
in the room?

Um...

- Yes.
- Good. Get Reid in it.

That is not gonna be easy.

Then get his patient bag;
his gun is in there.

Oh, my God, what?

Penelope, I need you to get out
in that hallway.

Okay.

You okay?

Oh, you know... relieved.

I thought it was gonna be
the worst day.

I was so afraid
Reid wasn't gonna make it.

Yeah, but he did,
and look at us now.

We're gonna go protect a kid
and give his mom another chance.

Yeah.

Doesn't get much better.

Dirty cops doesn't get
much worse.

It's funny about this job,
isn't it?

The extremes.

Yeah, well...

it's always been that way.

One of the best days
of my career

turned out to be
one of the worst.

July 16, 1983.

Child abduction turned murder.

The guy we nabbed
killed five boys,

and they were cases
we had already tracked.

There was such a victory

in knowing that we'd stopped him
from hurting anyone else.

When I got home,
my bags were packed.

Caroline had had enough.

I'd forgotten our anniversary...

again.

As well as all
the other little things

that didn't seem important,

because saving lives
trumped everything.

So I let ours die.

Yeah, well,
it's the great balance of life.

Always finds a way to...

knock your legs away.

What the hell?

They're headed to get the kid.

- What are you talking about?
- They figured it out.

I knew I should've
handled this myself.

(fire alarm blaring)

(urgent chatter)

What do you want us to do?

Kill them.

(sirens wailing)

Thought you said
it doesn't get any worse.

Until it does.

(indistinct
police radio chatter)

Are they really gonna
shoot federal agents?

ROSSI: They're cops who'd
rather die than get locked up.

They're desperate.

She's coming to you.

Have you got one in the chamber?

Yep.

Let's roll.

(panting)

LORENZANA:
Oh, God.

They rammed us.

We got off a few rounds.

BENNETT:
The got away.

We... we messed up.

(indistinct
police radio chatter)

DISPATCHER: We've got a 10-71
on Highway 17.

All units respond.

We've got a 10-71...

(gunshot)

(groaning)

BLAKE:
Safe house isn't too far away.

And Dinah will be waiting
for us?

We may get there first.

Hey, Josh, can I take
a photo for your mom?

Okay.

Okay, now you want to give me
a big smile?

(beeping, shutter clicking)

Great. Okay, go ahead.

JJ:
He's with agents now.

(sighs)
Oh, my God.

Do you agree to cooperate?

Yes.

Just get me the hell

- out of here.
- Let's go.

EVERETT:
Oh, I got orders.

She's not to leave the premises.

You can tell your boss
she's leaving with me.

You tell yours she's not.

Let go of me.

Unless you want to be arrested
for obstruction

of a federal investigation,
let her go.

MORGAN:
He"s gone, right?

He is gone.

They're letting us back in.

All right, good.
Well, you did it, baby girl.

I lost a couple of karma points,
but, uh-huh, I did it.

All right, I'm gonna be there
in about five minutes.

I know you and the first victims
witnessed Deputy Owen

kill the former sheriff.

Why did he spare you?

When he looks at me,
he sees dollar signs.

He runs everything
through the pool hall,

and I don't say a word,
'cause if I did,

he'd hurt my son.

And he's got a lot of help.

I mean, even if people
aren't getting paid off,

they're all too scared
to say anything.

So the whole force knows?

Enough of them.

JJ:
What"s he dealing?

DINAH:
Everything.

He gets all the product he can,

and then he sells it
to the highest bidder.

JJ:
Where does he get it?

DINAH:
Steals it.

He even smuggles people
across the border.

What are they gonna do?

- He wears a badge; they don"t.
- All right, let's go.

Where would Deputy McGregor go

now that he knows
we're closing in?

To a junkyard he controls
on the edge of town.

His final move's gonna be
a distraction.

Like what?

You okay?

Yeah, I'm just really tired.

Of course you are.

You need to get some sleep.

Oh, but how can you sleep?

'Cause you're at a hospital,

where people
are always poking you.

He had his meds an hour ago.

Yeah, post-op antibiotics.

Yeah, he had those, too.

Which one is it?

Carbenicillin?
No, that-that's not right.

I have a severe reaction
to beta lactams.

I can't have that.

Well, it's not in your chart.

What are you doing?
What are you doing?

Garcia, he has a gun!

(gunshot)

GARCIA:
I didn't...

Oh, he's moving.

Okay.

I didn't know... how loud.

I can't hear except for my...

heart feels like
it's gonna come out.

Can that happen?

Physically, can your heart burst
out of your chest?

And what is this ringing?

My ears don't pop for, like,

a week after I fly,
and if this is like that,

that's gonna drive me bonkers.

Am I yelling? Because it feels
like I might be yelling.

You saved my life.

Can you hear me?

Yeah, I heard that.

That makes it better.
Thank you for saying that.

Thank you for doing it.

Uh-huh.

Okay.

You're okay.

Okay.

Josh.

Oh.

My sweet boy.

Closest federal support
is an hour away.

- (phone ringing)
- I've called the Rangers.

- How long for them?
- 30 minutes.

(beep)

Hey, Morgan, is everyone okay?

Everything's fine; don't worry.

It was all a big distraction,

but it's got to be a part
of McGregor's endgame.

He's headed to a junkyard;
I'll send you the address.

(men chattering nearby)

♪♪

(engine idling)

FBI!

(gunshot)

(crashing)

(horn blaring)

(clattering)

(groaning)

(woman whimpering,
man speaking Spanish)

(man shushing)

(people gasping)

Okay, it's okay.

It's gonna be okay.

(shouting in Spanish)

Drop it!

(gunshot)

(grunting)

(gunfire)

(gunshot, man grunts)

(sighs)

(grunting continues)

(sirens wailing in distance)

♪♪

Huh. Look at this.

It's a booked flight.

CRUZ: Maybe with the year
we've all had,

uh, the brass will give us
a bigger plane, huh?

Yeah, let me know how that goes.

(chuckling)

What did the Rangers think?

CRUZ:
Sadly, they've seen this before.

- (phone chirps) -They're gonna
have their hands full

cleaning the place up.

(beep)

Hotch, don't tell me
we have another case.

Are we turning the plane around?

No.

No, we're gonna go home
and get some sleep.

Lots of it, I hope.

I am starting now.

BLAKE:
You sure you're okay?

I feel great.

Ah, that's overselling it.

I, uh... I feel great

considering I just
got shot in the neck.

Where do you want this?

Um, any... right there
is fine, thanks.

(yawns)

Okay.

So, you should get some sleep.

You all right?

Yesterday touched a nerve,

when I saw you like that.

Who's Ethan?

My son.

He was nine when he died.

Doctors said
it was neurological,

but they didn't have
a name for it; still don't.

That drove me crazy.

No word to put to this thing
that took away my greatest love.

I'm sorry.

He-he kept growing,
despite his disease.

The last time I laid beside him,
he was almost as long as me.

He was ready to go,

but I wasn't ready
to say good-bye.

Begged him to open his eyes.

And the cruelest part
was that I could see

who he would be at 20,
but I knew he'd never get there.

(sighs)

Ethan's a great name.

Yeah.

Means "enduring."

It's fitting.

You and James never let go
of one another.

Have you ever...
had that feeling that

your future is somehow
behind you?

All the time.

I did, too.

But it isn't.

Ethan would've been
a lot like you.

Thank you for being there
when I woke up.

It meant a lot.

Of course.

Bye, Alex.

♪ Let me go♪

♪ Gravity gets us all♪

♪ Just thought you should know♪

♪ In tomorrow's morning light♪

♪ Things will look
a lot less frightening♪

♪ And now♪

♪ And now, and now♪

♪ Maybe♪

♪ Just maybe♪

♪ We could♪

♪ Rewrite history♪

♪ Baby, I'm fading...♪

REID:
"We must be willing

"to get rid of the life
we"ve planned,

so as to have the life
that is waiting for us."

Joseph Campbell.

♪ Let's not forget♪

♪ What we said♪

♪ Let's hold it instead♪

♪ So you let me go.♪
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