Criminal Minds by Max Allan Collins Read Free Book Online

catch him.’’
    They all rose except Rossi, who lingered. He sat staring at the last photo.
    ‘‘Damn,’’ he said, and then he laughed, once, harshly.
    They all turned to him, with Morgan halfway out the door.
    ‘‘It’s a serial killer greatest hits album,’’ Rossi said. ‘‘By a goddamn cover band.’’

Chapter Two

July 28 Chicago, Illinois
    D erek Morgan kept his eyes closed, not letting anyone know he was awake yet. They were still in the air, somewhere over the Midwest. Around him, the others were chatting quietly or working on their laptops. Always a hundred-and-ten-percent effort kind of guy, Morgan had not outslept his fellow teammates due to exhaustion or indolence. He just knew that this would be the last chance to really rest until they brought this killer to ground.
    Morgan had spent part of the hour before they left calling his mother to tell her that he would be coming home on a case, promising he’d find time to see her—he just didn’t know when. His mother had just been happy to hear his voice. ‘‘Whenever you have time, son,’’ she had said. ‘‘I know how demanding your work is. I’m proud of you!’’
    Anyone who encountered the BAU team would soon identify Morgan as the resident tough guy. Nonetheless, Morgan still phoned his mother every Sunday. Family remained important to him, and that was no axiom: his had been a close, tightly knit family. That the BAU was going to Chicago to help families that weren’t that much different from his own was not lost on him. The two young women found in Lakewood Forest Preserve could have been his own sisters but for the age difference.
    Someone plopped onto the seat next to him, but Morgan forced himself to not move or open his eyes.
    ‘‘You really think,’’ Prentiss said, ‘‘pretending to be asleep is going to fool a profiler.’’
    Smiling, Morgan said, ‘‘Maybe you’re not that good.’’
    She ignored that. ‘‘Hotchner asked me to brief you about what we’re doing when we hit the ground.’’
    ‘‘Don’t say, ‘hit the ground’ in midair. It’s bad luck.’’
    ‘‘After we land ,’’ she corrected herself. ‘‘I never would have pegged you as the fear-of-flying type.’’
    ‘‘More fear of dying.’’
    ‘‘That, either, frankly. You might as well open your eyes. We’re having a conversation, you know.’’
    His eyes came reluctantly open. ‘‘Is that what this is?’’
    ‘‘Seems to be. When we land, Hotch says he wants the two of us to take the Chinatown crime scene. He thinks you’re the only one who knows the city well enough to find it without help.’’
    ‘‘Not a problem,’’ Morgan said with a yawn, then rubbed his face with one hand and sat up a little straighter. ‘‘How long?’’
    ‘‘Till we hit the ground?’’
    He grinned at her. ‘‘You’re evil.’’
    ‘‘I like to think of it as ‘wicked.’ We land in about half an hour.’’
    Morgan glanced around the plane. ‘‘What are everybody else’s assignments?’’
    ‘‘Rossi and Reid will go to the first scene—Chicago Heights—using Tovar as a guide, though Rossi’s a Chicago boy himself. Meanwhile, Lorenzon will accompany Hotchner and JJ to talk to the Wauconda PD, and then they will visit that crime scene.’’
    He grunted. ‘‘Something, isn’t it?’’
    ‘‘What is?’’
    "A killer hiding inside the MOs of other killers."
    ‘‘It’s a variation on an old theme, Morgan.’’
    Morgan nodded. ‘‘Hiding in plain sight.’’
    Nearly an hour later, the team was loading up three black Chevy Tahoes provided by the Chicago FBI field office. The heat was even more oppressive than usual, the humidity so high it couldn’t have been much harder to breathe if they’d been under Lake Michigan.
    Having walked out with two carry-ons and loaded them into the Tahoe, Morgan found himself dripping sweat. Once their gear was stored and their weapons ready, the vehicles took off in three different