"I'll handle it once we get there," Hotchner replied with a grim expression.
Jiejie continued with the case briefing. "The suspect usually targets individuals who live alone or in two-person households, breaking in while the victims are asleep. The murder weapon is typically something found in the victim's home."
"Multiple blunt force trauma to the head," Reid read aloud from the autopsy report.
"After killing the victims, he robs them of their valuables. This isn't unusual in nighttime murders, but what's different here is that after the killings, the suspect sits down at the victims' dining table to have a meal.
"Most of the DNA evidence comes from the leftovers and the utensils he used," Jiejie said, playing a series of photos showing dining rooms and kitchens from the crime scenes.
"He eats quite thoroughly—it doesn't seem like it's just some ritualistic behavior. So, is he killing for the sake of robbery, or is the robbery an afterthought?" Jack chimed in, leaning his chin on his hand and sounding lethargic. Lately, he had been juggling two older women, both insistent on a honeymoon, while also being occupied with repairing the grape arbor in his backyard. It was exhausting.
According to Zoe, she was preparing to run for a Senate seat in three years. By 2024, 33 seats in the U.S. Senate would be up for reelection (the Senate rotates a third of its seats every six years, at least in theory).
The long-dormant Anderson family seemed to have reached a consensus to push Zoe, their rising star, as a dark horse candidate for a Senate seat they hadn't held for decades.
Though Jack wasn't well-versed in federal politics, even he knew how significant a Senate seat was. In his previous life, Obama had run for president after becoming a senator.
In other words, if he stretched his imagination a little, Jack could potentially become the man behind the future president of the country.
Alright, maybe that was a bit far-fetched, but at least it was theoretically possible. After all, as a regular guy, he'd occasionally fantasized about sitting in that Oval Office and enjoying presidential privileges.
Strictly speaking, if that dream ever came true, he would feel more accomplished than Bill Clinton. After all, while both would sit at the same desk, the positions of the president and the intern might switch.
While Jack might not end up as an intern, if there were ever a female president, he wouldn't mind transferring from the FBI to the Secret Service to serve as her personal bodyguard. After all, he did have some connections there.
Jack Reacher's older brother, Joe Reacher, worked for the Secret Service. Nowadays, the Secret Service had two main responsibilities: handling counterfeit currency and financial fraud, and protecting the president and their family.
Of course, all of this was just some fantasy Jack indulged in during private moments with the two older women in his life. At present, Jack was still just a small-time FBI agent, one who was still upset over losing his Ford F150, which had been destroyed in the line of duty.
"The suspect's primary motive seems to be killing. Crime scene investigations show he lingers for several hours after the murders, eating the victims' food, wearing their clothes, using their bathrooms, and even sleeping in their beds," Jiejie added, sneaking a glance at Jack. She wasn't sure what he'd been up to lately, but it couldn't have been anything good. Even Garcia had complained that the Jack-branded snacks in the big fridge had been getting scarcer.
On Jack's desk sat a coin jar. Whenever someone swore or made a mistake, they had to toss in a dollar as punishment. Whenever the jar was nearly full, Jack would use the money to buy ingredients and make a bunch of desserts and snacks to fill the office fridge, or sometimes organize a team dinner after a case.
Of course, most of the time, the jar only covered a small portion of the costs. The bulk of the expenses came from Rossi footing the bill or Hotchner securing small bonuses under mysterious and quirky justifications.
"It's like Goldilocks turned into a serial killer," Emily remarked, rolling her eyes.
Goldilocks and the Three Bears was a well-known fairy tale about a little girl who wandered into the house of three bears, eating their food and sleeping in their beds.
"No witnesses have spotted any unfamiliar vehicles. No fingerprints were left behind. There were no gunshots, and not even signs of a struggle. The suspect is experienced. I think we should look into his criminal record," Reid said, scribbling notes in his small notebook.
"Let's get packed and ready to head out," Hotchner instructed.
"The suspect will continue to kill until we stop him," he added.
---
In some ways, Jiejie had unfairly blamed Jack. While he had been busy for a while, the past few days had mostly been spent fussing over his new car.
His Ford F150 had essentially been lost in the line of duty, and the higher-ups were likely to compensate him—most likely in the form of a bonus. However, the bureaucratic process would probably take some time.
So lately, Jack had been dragging John and Tim along to car dealerships, looking to buy a new pickup truck.
When it came to classic American pickups, the big three were Dodge's RAM, Chevrolet's Silverado, and Ford's F-Series. Of course, trucks like the Toyota Tundra, which John drove, also sold well in the U.S.
Rossi had even suggested assigning Jack a Suburban to get it over with. With the increasing number of cases in California, the BAU team really should have two assigned vehicles by now.
However, Jack made it clear that while he didn't mind being the driver, having his own vehicle assigned was a bit much. After all, the FBI almost always used Suburbans on assignments, and Jack was getting sick of driving them.
In the end, it was the Wolfe brothers who, while buying a car for themselves, picked one up for Jack as well—a heavily modified version of Dodge's "T-Rex" pickup truck made by Hennessey and dubbed "Mammoth."
At first, Jack thought it was a joke. When did the French winemakers start making American pickups?
But after looking it up, he realized that the similarity in names was just a coincidence. Hennessey was a car tuning company similar to Shelby, known for creating custom vehicles. Their most famous work was the speed king, the Hennessey Venom GT.
The Mammoth was equipped with a 6.2-liter supercharged V8 engine, delivering 1,026 horsepower and 1,313 Nm of torque. It could accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.2 seconds and had a top speed of 320 km/h.
The Wolfe brothers had ordered three of them, and one was gifted to Jack as an early year-end bonus.
The jet-black truck was absolutely imposing, and Jack fell in love with it instantly. He immediately ordered a custom PIT bumper for it.
If this truck ever got wrecked, Jack would be devastated. He didn't care about the global limited edition, but the price of the Mammoth was enough to buy him six Ford F150s.
So, when he finally rolled up in it, even Rossi and Hotchner couldn't hide their envy. The only one unfazed was Reid, who only ever got envious when he saw Jack's Millennium Falcon model in his study.
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