Criminal Minds

Pam Baleman carries two large shopping bags into her home, trying to beat the thunderstorm that threatens outside her darkened windows. She is talking on her cell phone, telling a friend that things are hard, that it would have been Amy's birthday tomorrow as she reaches for a framed picture of two young girls amidst the bottles and papers strewn on the dining room table. She isn't worried about her husband, Paul, because he is a "glass is always full" guy. She thanks her friend for calling as she moves about the kitchen, pulling trash and leftovers from the counter and into the wastebasket. A brilliant lightning strike hits nearby and Pam is suddenly in total darkness. She hangs up the phone and gets a flashlight from a nearby drawer, calling for her husband Paul. She makes her way up the stairs and into the hallway. The upstairs carpet is drenched, water pooling in front of the locked bathroom door. Pam's knocks become more frantic as the thunder crashes outside, and, finally, she pushes her whole weight against the door, forcing it open. Turning, the lightning outside illuminates a strange scene – her husband is in the tub, fully clothed, clutching a space heater. His eyes are open and blood trickles from his nose. Kate moans in horror – her husband is dead.



Police and investigators enter the bathroom, taking photographs, collecting evidence, until all that is left is a tub half-full of stained water and a burned out electrical outlet. Det. Ronnie Baleman takes a final look around before he makes a call on his own cell phone to Agent Jennifer Jareau at the BAU. Something isn't right in his town.



In Quantico, Virginia, SSA David Rossi leans into SSA Aaron Hotchner's office. Noticing the packed ready-bag on Hotchner's desk, Rossi wonders if Hotchner has already decided to take the new case, or if he is planning to travel to some other destination. Hotchner turns from the window and asks Rossi for a favor – he needs a day of personal time to go and speak with his son, Jack. He doesn't want to lose his son the way he lost his wife. Rossi assures him that he's doing the right thing.



In the BAU conference room, JJ places a newspaper clipping on the round table which describes a fire in a Shadyside Rec Center in Pittsburgh, PA, which killed 14 children four months ago. JJ goes on to explain that, over the past three months there have been five suicides in the area – all people who lost children in that fire. Most recently, Paul Baleman was found electrocuted in his bathroom yesterday and JJ received a request for help. Morgan doesn't understand why Pittsburgh PD wants the BAU's help concerning suicides. Reid, quickly looking at JJ's notes, sees that all of the suicides have occurred two weeks apart, and it could constitute a pattern. JJ explains that Det. Ronnie Baleman thinks that something else is going on. "Well of course he does," comments Morgan. Det. Baleman is the dead man's brother and didn't believe his brother committed suicide. Morgan is ready to walk out, dismissing this case as a non-event when Prentiss calls him back. She is concerned about the rash of suicides within such a short time period. Rossi and Reid agree, adding that suicides don't spike after a tragedy: after WWII, Kennedy assassination, and 9/11 the suicide rate went down. Rossi listens to Reid explaining to the group that people come together when faced with an outside threat and watches out the conference room window as Hotchner carries his bag through the bullpen, alone. Prentiss believes the people left behind have a right to know what is going on and Rossi agrees. Morgan is adamant – he believes Social Services is the correct agency to speak with the families, not the BAU. Rossi stands silently for a moment, and then tells JJ to tell the Pittsburgh detective that the BAU is coming.



Aboard the BAU jet, Morgan stubbornly insists that Hotchner would never have taken this case, such as it is. Rossi, walking past, suggests they must look at the facts without bias one way or the other, and Morgan retorts that they have no facts – no files of any kind. Leaning over Prentiss' seat, Rossi starts the discussion, encouraging everyone else to jump in anytime. Reid has the statistics: one fire, fourteen deaths, five suicides. The others continue: each suicide was connected with the fire, and each occurred exactly two weeks apart. All of the other agents seem to be trying to convince Morgan that there is a pattern here that he cannot deny. Morgan believes that parents who have just lost a child can believe that suicide is the only way out, but, Rossi counters, what if there is someone out there who just wants to make it look like a rash of suicides? The team discusses the possibility that these suicides are the work of an "Angel of Death" – someone putting people out of their misery. Morgan is not convinced.



When the BAU team enters the Pittsburgh Police Department, only Det. Ronnie Baleman gives them a warm welcome. He explains that the other police officers did not just lose a brother. Reid asks for the case files, informing Det. Baleman that he will be doing "psychological autopsies" to determine whether or not the victims killed themselves. As Reid moves away from the group towards the stacks of boxes, Baleman insists on accompanying the other agents to the "crime" scene – his brother's house. Morgan and Rossi tell him that he cannot go with them – he is too tightly connected to the case. Reid diplomatically requests help from the detective for his search through the case files. As Prentiss, Rossi, and Morgan head off, Det. Baleman hands Reid his brother's journal, telling him that the last entry did not sound like that of a suicidal man. When JJ comments that the detective seems convinced that there is a killer here, he replies that the BAU must be convinced as well – they are in Pittsburgh.



At Paul and Pam Baleman's home, Pam tells the agents that her husband was not depressed. As Morgan and Prentiss go upstairs to the scene, Rossi asks Pam Baleman about the fire. She explains that the Annual Fall Dance at the Rec Center is highly anticipated by the kids in the community. When Rossi begins questioning her about other parents who lost children who also committed suicide, Pam blurts out that Paul "wouldn't do this, he would not leave us, not like that."



Det. Baleman nods to JJ as she hesitates to post his brother's picture on the board of evidence that Reid is creating at the Pittsburgh PD. Reid explains that these facts are the physical representation of the equivocal deaths, helping him perform psychological profiles on each of the victims to determine whether or not they committed suicide.



There is a small window in the Baleman's bathroom, and Prentiss suggests that an unsub could have escaped the scene through it. Morgan comments that it is a "good 20-foot drop" but it could be done. Prentiss, looking at the scorched outlet, sees that there is no GFI in the bathroom, even though it has clearly been remodeled. Morgan remembers seeing one in the kitchen, and tells Prentiss that he puts them in the bathrooms and kitchens of all of his properties. That takes Prentiss aback, and she asks him how many properties he owns. "Four," he answers, shortly. The agents conclude that whoever threw the space heater in the tub knew there was no GFI circuit in the bathroom. Back in the living room, Mrs. Baleman tells the agents that her husband was a contractor, and Morgan smirks knowingly at Prentiss.



Det. Baleman is anxious to inform the media if Reid's analysis reveals that the deaths were not suicides, but JJ warns him to proceed cautiously as the area has already been dealing with enough tragedy. Baleman is confused – he needs to warn the community if there is a serial killer in their midst. JJ assures him that, as soon as they have proof one way or the other, the community will be informed.



Little Jake Smoler is in his booster seat, drinking juice from his sippy-cup in the kitchen of the Smoler home. Beth, his mother, is happily having a one-sided discussion about the possibilities of Jake becoming an NFL football player when he grows up when the doorbell rings. Beth escorts her visitor through the kitchen, telling him that she has his bag in the other room. Jake sits quietly at the table, fingering his juice, as the daylight dims in the bright kitchen. The sun sets and Jake wants out of his chair and begins to cry. His mother's body hangs lifelessly in the laundry room next door.



Prentiss stands outside the back door, looking at the small crowd that has gathered as the coroner removes Beth Smoler's body from her home. Morgan watches her, leaning up against the side of the house, and wonders if there is something wrong. Mentally shaking herself, Prentiss says no. Discussing the situation, Morgan sees the lack of defensive wounds as an argument for suicide, but Prentiss doesn't believe a woman with a baby crying for her in the other room would do that. JJ, Rossi, and Reid are in the kitchen, wondering why an unsub would leave the child without a scratch. There is no suicide note with this case, and none of the cases involve any signs of struggle or breaking and entering. Rossi tells JJ to get Prentiss and contact every family connected with the Rec Center fire – to warn them about the situation.



Outside, Prentiss is still trying to get through to Morgan. She explains that the Smoler house does not show any of the signs you'd expect to find with depression and suicidal thoughts. Paul Baleman's house had all the signs – everything in the past was orderly, everything from the present was disorderly. She insists that everything about Beth Smoler's home said that she moved on after the tragedy. Then, Morgan demands, how did the unsub get Beth Smoler to hang herself with no sign of a struggle?



Rossi and Reid determine that each one of the victims let their attacker into their homes. Prentiss wonders if the unsub subdued the victims by drugging them, and immediately calls Garcia to ask her to look for drugs that would not show up in Toxicology Reports.



Reid has analyzed the handwriting from each of the suicide victims and begins laying out his findings for JJ and Det. Baleman. Speaking specifically of the victim who jumped from a roof, he explains that the handwriting in her suicide note shows optimism and enthusiasm by the upwards slant and long "T" bars. Reid also believes that these notes were not coerced; the wording of the notes would be different. Baleman is nervous, edgy, cutting Reid off and making assumptions about his answers. When he sarcastically asks if they can inform the media now, JJ tells him that she already has. Morgan arrives to ask the agents to meet the team outside the police station.



Hotchner has arrived, and the team fills him in on their findings thus far. When Hotchner observes that the unsub is targeting grief, Det. Baleman doesn't understand. Reid tells the detective that an event in this unsub's life caused him to believe that ending someone's life was the right thing to do. All of his actions now are based on his own sense of morality, rationalizing his first kill again and again by targeting people he believes need to be "saved" by him. Det. Baleman realizes that this killer is not going to stop by himself. Morgan continues claim the devil's advocate position by stating that there might not be a "him" to stop. The BAU team gives Baleman the profile of this alleged "Angel of Death" – a white male in his mid-thirties who is polite, and doesn't stand out. All of these families let him in. Det. Baleman insists that his brother's family were withdrawing – they weren't letting anyone in – but the team tells him that this unsub finds a way to connect with the families.



The unsub stands before a large bulletin board and calendar filled with tacked-up notes and cards, not unlike the board that Reid is putting together in the Pittsburgh Police Department. His board, however, is filled with cards and posters about self-help groups: Victims of Abuse, Alcoholics Support Group, Grief Recovery, as well as name tags with the victims' names crossed out.



Finally, the BAU team tells Det. Baleman the reason they are meeting outside the police station: many unsubs fitting this category are either police officers or in the medical profession. Reid has asked Garcia to come up with a list of first responders to each killing. Morgan believes that, if this killer exists he is hyper-vigilant and avoids risks; the only way to find him is to figure out how he infiltrated all of his victims' lives.



In a local AA group, a Curtis Fackler tells the group how hard it has been since his son was killed in the Rec Center fire. He was been pushed to go to one of his son's little league games, but finds himself just driving past day after day. The other men and women look on in sympathy, or avoid eye contact, intent on their own pain.



JJ and Prentiss begin interviewing the families who lost a child in the fire, looking for any connection. After many interviews, Laurie Ann Morris seems the most deeply shocked by this situation. Her husband, Jonathan, sits beside her on the couch, holding their young son on his lap. Again and again the child reaches out for his mother, but she does not respond. She is fatalistic, uncaring that this man is investigating their lives so closely, and may want to kill them. Prentiss gives the family the profile of the unsub, and gives Mr. Morris her card as the family leaves.



He's finally made it. Curtis Fackler sits in the stands, watching the young boys practicing at the baseball field when Peter Redding, another member of his AA group arrives. "Face what you fear the most. Step ten; continue to take personal inventory…" Peter congratulates Curtis on his progress, and Curtis nods, his eyes intent on the young men on the field, his expression determined.



Garcia calls Morgan to report that every toxicological panel known to mankind has been run on the victims with no results. She believes that the killer might be using a neuromuscular agent like succinylcholine which would not show up on autopsy results. She also contacted the coroner who found a small puncture would in Beth Smoler's hairline. This drug, available on the internet, would cause the victim to be paralyzed but completely awake and aware of everything that was going on.



A syringe lies on the coffee table at Curtis Fackler's home, and Peter Redding walks around his paralyzed victim, explaining that he saw the look in Curtis' eyes. He knows that, if Curtis could end the pain by himself, he would have done so. Since he can't, Peter will end the pain for him. "When you looked at me, Curtis, I knew in that moment what you wanted of me – what you wanted me to do." He tells Curtis that it is time to let go, places a handgun under Curtis' chin and pulls the trigger.



Examining the body, Rossi asks the coroner to check the victim's hairline, and they find a puncture wound made by a needle. Morgan looks over the note left by the victim and tells Rossi that "he's in."



At Pittsburgh PD, Reid also examines the notes left by the victims, realizing that each one has the same tone, "It's uncanny." None of them are forced, and none of them say good-bye: these notes are not meant for anybody in particular. When Prentiss asks him who these people are writing to, Reid says that they are amends left to themselves, written as part of a program. He is quiet, self conscious when he mentions that many self-help groups ask that the participants write amends to themselves. Prentiss doesn't take her eyes from the young agent as she notes that all of these groups are anonymous. Reid nods.



Garcia has bad news: just for alcoholic support groups, and just for that night, there are 91 groups meeting around the Pittsburgh area. Reid tells them that these groups have different times, different degrees of participation, different religiousness. There are 11 meeting within a two mile radius of Shadyside. When Det. Baleman asks for a list of members' names, Reid tells him no, pointedly – these groups are anonymous. The agents and local officers scour the different groups – going to churches, community rooms, and many of them hear the same story. One man is moving among the groups and talking repeatedly of his brother's suicide.



Back in the conference room they bring all of the stories together: the family was so poor that he shared a room with his brother until he was fifteen, his name Peter, his father was a professor at local Brassard College. His father molested his brother, James, and Peter would pretend to be asleep when it happened. One night Peter found his brother in bed after he'd slashed his wrists – his brother looked him in the eye and he knew that he had to let his brother go. Garcia inputs all of the facts into her computer as the agents discuss the matter, when Reid quietly speaks up: Angels of Mercy repeat the same event over and over again – his brother didn't kill himself, Peter killed him. This became the trigger, and now he relives that moment when he kills other grief-stricken victims. He is devolving, his killers coming quicker and closer together. Garcia has found an article in the Brassard Ledger about "the youngest suicide in Pennsylvania" – James Redding. Garcia has found his current address.



Inside Peter Redding's house, the agents find the bulletin board and calendar, detailing Redding's activities within the different support groups, and his victims' names. Prentiss finds a list of victims – Laurie Ann Morris is the last name and it hasn't been crossed off yet. Laurie Ann is attending a meeting, and rises to face her group, saying, "Hi, my name is Laurie Ann." Peter Redding sits in the audience, watching. Prentiss contact's Laurie Ann's husband, and the agents race off to the meeting, hoping to catch up with the woman before it is too late.



Peter approaches Laurie Ann in the parking lot where she has lit a cigarette. She tells him that she's trying to quit, but he suggests that she will know when it is the right time – he has noticed that she has good intuition. Peter walks off towards his car and Laure Ann crushes the cigarette under her shoe.



Hotchner and the team arrive at the front of the building and split up to search. When Laurie Ann gets to her car she notices that Peter is crouched beside his left front tire – it is flat. She pulls up beside him and rolls down her window. Peter tells her he will be fine, but she wants to help. The agents find that Laurie Ann was last seen going towards the parking lot with a man, and they move to close off the exits. She tells Peter to hop in the back seat. As the agents close in on her location, Peter leans over the seat and touches Laurie Ann's shoulder. He tells her that he can help her with the pain. Peter pulls out a gun and tells her that she just has to let go. "Is that what you did for all those people?" Laurie Ann asks. She hears the agents shouting her name, and sees them approaching through the dark parking lot. "You think you can help me?" she asks the killer. "You think you can help me?" She stomps on the accelerator, throwing Peter Redding against the back seat and her car hurtles through the parking lot as Prentiss and Rossi rush towards her. Aiming the car carefully, she slams head-first into a metal shed. Morgan pulls Peter Redding from the back seat and lays him on the ground, telling him that he just "took your last breath as a free man." "I did nothing wrong!" shouts Redding as he is being handcuffed.



Prentiss approaches Laurie Ann after the paramedics treat her minor injuries. "You're going to be okay," she assures the woman. "Am I?" Laurie Ann answers. Prentiss tells the grieving mother that her daughter is gone, but her son is still there, and she shouldn't miss him as well.



Back at the police station, Hotchner, Reid, Rossi confront Det. Baleman with the truth. Reid has read Paul's journal, and determined that Paul wasn't murdered. Paul's name did not appear anywhere in Peter Redding's home, unlike all of the other victims. Hotchner tells him that his brother did commit suicide. Det. Baleman thanks them for coming, but turns away, insisting that they are wrong.



Rossi asks Hotchner about his meeting with Jack as the agents head back to Quantico on the jet. Hotchner says that, when he told his son he wouldn't be around as much, Jack gave him a hug and told him it would be okay. Rossi says, "Smart kid. Like his dad."



Morgan asks Prentiss why she seemed so upset back at the Smoler home. Prentiss wonders sometimes if they are really doing anything to change things. Morgan admits that he has four properties because, whether he's kicking down doors or knocking down walls, they both make him feel like he's making a difference.

[recap written by Finnegan77]