Criminal Minds

Tom and Ellen Carroll are playing Frisbee in a park in St. Louis, Missouri, with their daughter discussing whether they want a second child. When the father goes after the girl and the Frisbee, the mother prepares the picnic. A stranger in distress rushes up to her saying his six-year-old daughter Molly is missing. Trusting the stranger, the mother helps him look for Molly and follows him into some bushes where he turns evil and punches her. She is dragged away into the underbrush.

Jay, a young boy of about 6, awakens up his mother – a prostitute – after feeding himself and his baby brother. The mother rushes off to work, where a hooded man follows her into an alley and shoots her.

Emily Prentiss enters Hotch's office, carrying a box. She states she is supposed to start today, but Hotch doesn't know what she's talking about. He leaves his office to discuss the matter with Gideon, asking, "Did you approve a transfer?" Gideon replies that he didn't, and Hotch answers, "She's got the paperwork to join the team." But she was not invited to join that morning's meeting.

They have a case: St. Louis has two serial killers. The first one takes his victims from public places and dumps them in the woods. The third murder was months ago and the suspect was dubbed the Mill Creek Killer. The second one kills only prostitutes. He's a serial shooter who calls himself the Hollow Man.

The Hollow Man sent a letter to a reporter, indicating he thinks he doesn't get the attention he deserves. There are now eight victims.

Apparently, the two killers are trying to outdo each other. Not unlike sibling rivalry, but they have been killing independently for years now. And with each kill they have learned something from each other. Reid explains to the team it is very rare to have two serial killers working in the same city. The Mill Creek Killer targets educated middle-woman. The Hollow Man kills prostitutes, yet he doesn't rape them and he doesn't seem to want to touch them.

The team interviews Tom Carroll's at his home to discuss his still-missing wife, who is very upset and doesn't know what to tell his daughter. The camera lingers on a picture of his wife that fades into the same face – the only part visible of her body, since the rest is hidden underneath a layer of leaves. She is dead and the Mill Creek Killer is paying her a visit. He talks to her, telling her he missed her. He puts lipstick on her lips and brushes her hair behind her ear and out of her face. Then he bends forward to kiss her.

Hotch and Reid visit the home of the murdered prostitute, where her mother is taking care of her kids, and she is hostile towards them despite Reid's efforts, and says, "Nobody cares. You wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for the others," meaning the higher ranked members of the community murdered by the Mill Creek Killer.

Hotch tells her part of a prostitute's job is to stay below the radar. No one notices they are missing, which is why no one is looking, it is not because they are less important.

JJ arrives at the police station in St. Louis and sees a lot of boxes with evidence and files on the Mill Creek Killer, but only one file for the Hollow Man. The agent explains there is not much evidence in those cases and no one is willing to talk. Jim Meyers, a journalist, brings the letter the Hollow Man had sent to him, he asks JJ if it is his fault the prostitute had been shot. He says he never knew he would become the target of a serial killer by writing about another one. JJ assures him the Hollow Man would have killed her anyway, and he should not feel guilty since it is not his fault. She also tells him he is not in danger and shouldn't worry about that as well. JJ tells the reporter not to write about the prostitutes, which will only satisfy the Hollow Man's need for attention, in which case he might vanish and they will never catch him. Meyers seems a little unsure but does as she says.

The team discusses the Ellen Carroll's body, which has been found in the forest. The lipstick had been applied recently and her hair was neat - all a ritual for the Mill Creek Killer - who wants to be alone with his victims. The fact they didn't notice anything like this on the previous victims was explained by the fact they found them much longer after they were murdered, and they found Ellen Carroll within 24 hours.

The Hollow Man sits in a cab, on the driver's side, reading the newspaper, obviously angry because nothing had been written about him although there is a big headline about the Mill Creek Killer on the front page. Two prostitutes walk by his cab, and one tells him they are off duty just like he is. He shoots both of them, and positions the newspaper with the headline visible in between the two bodies.

Meyers continues to question JJ, asking if all this they are doing is not merely guesswork. Reid analyzes the Hollow Man's handwriting: Pressure, slant, connections – all tell a little about his character. He used to have a pretty set modus operandi, but today he killed two women – he is getting unpredictable and dangerous. The Mill Creek Killer is different. His victims follow him willingly, in broad daylight. He appears harmless, and is most likely is quite handsome, with great social skills. Those who know him will be shocked to find out he is a killer. He abducts his victims and takes them to the woods. It is his ritual; he is driven by internal forces and has a sexual motive. On the other hand, the Hollow Man is driven by external pressure - he wants attention. The Mill Creek Killer is more predictable, but that doesn't mean he will be easier to catch.

And then another woman, Meredith Dale – 25, goes missing. The case has the Mill Creek Killer's MO. Gideon believes the best chance of catching him will be to find her body (the time past suggests she is already dead) and the team sits tight waiting for him to come back. The vehicles on the roads in the woods are checked by the police. One cop actually stops the Mill Creek Killer and asks him to open the back of his van. He does, but it's all clean. "I went for a hike, boots are all I need."

Reid discovers the Mill Creek Killer dumps his victims at sites he knows will not be checked for at least three days (the ranger schedule rotates). So Morgan calls Garcia, who tells them there are six ranger districts and where he would have buried the current victim. Morgan thinks out loud. "So he has plenty of time to revisit her." Garcia quickly hangs up with a "No, I don't want to know that, bye."

Using a scent dog in the area determined to be the dump site, the police finds Meredith Dale's body. For a minute there is a small problem when the locals want to go over the area with a fine toothed comb, but Gideon quickly convinces them staying put and waiting until the Mill Creek Killer comes is the best chance of catching him. Except it is Meyers who comes to check on the body. He is innocent though – he knew where the body was because the Hollow Man had sent him another letter. And judging by the helicopters circling above he also called the news – he really wants attention and gets it. The next front page headline reads, Hollow Man Helps FBI find Miller Creek Killer Victim." Then the Mill Creek Killer makes a wrong move. He tries to get a woman to walk with him to his car "just around the corner" to try and get it started. When she refuses he starts to get violent, but when she starts screaming for help he runs off. She had a pretty good look at him and cooperates with the team/police and talks to a sketch artist.

The Hollow Man has caused the Mill Creek Killer to be stressed out now. He is behaving irrational and violent in public. Reid then discovers Hollow Man and the Mill Creek Killer have been talking to each other through the fied ads in the newspaper. They covered their tracks very well and used cash. Their nicknames are Holden and Sunny – two characters from Catcher in the Rye, a book about sociopaths.

Sunny is Hollow Man – he initiated contact, but he became jealous when the Mill Creek Killer got all the attention in the press when he got none. The team sets up another ambush for the Mill Creek Killer, but replaces the body of Meredith Dale with an agent. Reid then fabricates a message for the Mill Creek Killer, pretending to be from the Hollow Man, for the newspaper:

Dear Holden,
They say imitation is the highest form of flattery. Since you were almost in harm's way I thought I'd share some art, should make you feel better. Here is my gift to you.
Sunny.

The second ambush/stake out works. When the Mill Creek Killer arrives to check on the body, they capture him and take him in. As Gideon puts it, "One down, one to go."

In the FBI office, the Mill Creek Killer just smiles and sits there watching the team prepare for a press conference. JJ assures the rest this isn't her first "party" – she knows what to say.

Gideon interviews the Mill Creek Killer. He asks him is he is comfortable and takes his handcuffs off. The Miller Creek Killer claims innocence.

He says, "I don't know the Hollow Man, but if I did I'd say he sounds like an obsessed fan. The Mill Creek Killer is an artist." Gideon says, "But you responded to his ads." He replies, "He's got no imagination."
Gideon retorts, "But he's smart, he found the body." Mill Creek Killer comments, "Whoever taught him, taught him well."

But Gideon knows exactly how to get to him. As soon as he starts talking about how the Mill Creek Killer visited his victims over and over again, he gets pretty upset, and confesses. "I only killed them; you can never tell anyone that I went back!"

JJ's press conference is going well. She says the Mill Creek Killer is very intelligent and one of the most complex cases. That the BAU will want to study him. And they believe the shootings are unrelated, and the last two might even be the work of a copycat. The letters are probably a prank of some street thug – they lack elegance. Gideon summarizes it nicely, "We set the bait, let's see if he takes it."

And indeed he does. Hollow Man enters the FBI building, is stopped by security and is taken down.

Hollow Man exclaims, "Where is he, I want to see him! He told you to say those things about me, didn't he?"

When he spots him his attention shifts, his arm drops and Hotch takes him down as he continues talking/whining/not even really bragging about his kills. "I led you to him, what else do I have to do?"

On the jet home, JJ receives a fax of the front page of the newspaper from Meyers with the banner headline: "The Victims Are Remembered." Nothing is mentioned about the murderer, who was a nobody who wanted to be a somebody by killing people.

Back at Quantico, Emily Prentiss is waiting for Hotch and impresses him. "My parents did not pull any strings to get me here. I don't know how the paperwork got messed up, but I belong in this unit."