[CM] THE CASE

The most extreme hatreds often come from the deepest desires. - Socrates

The lights in the room were not turned on, and the girl put on her makeup by the faint light of the street lamp.She carefully selected the dress and stood by the window in her only pair of high heels.

She made sure the parents were asleep. They were tired and sleepy after a long day at work, and every day they made sure that the children would go to bed and go to bed.But just in case, she held her breath and listened for a while, but there was no movement.

The night was too quiet, as if the crisis had fallen asleep.

The girl flipped out the window confidently.It was her first time doing this kind of thing, but her sister had done it many times before, and she knew how to turn it over so as not to mess up her makeup.

She arrived at the appointed place early, and the street lights were like spotlights, illuminating the beauty of adolescence, like a dream.

Griffith woke up from the dream, it was only 02:30 in the morning.He clutched his forehead, tremblingly turned on the bedside lamp, and the soft yellow light lit up a corner of the room.

He wrapped himself in the quilt, pretending it was a warm hug.

His breathing was disordered and rapid, and the silent air seemed to hide the whispers of countless demons.

On the bedside is the hot milk that he specially left before going to bed. Because it is a thermos cup, it is still warm. Griffith opened the cup and blew softly.

Hugs and hot milk are James' methods, and Griffith, as a child raised by him, has naturally inherited these.

The house he rented was not big, but it had a comfortable double bed.But I don't know whether it's because Griffith sleeps more honestly or for other reasons. Half of the bed is clean and tidy, and the other half feels a little bit of life.And at this moment, Griffith huddled himself into a ball, occupying only a pitiful corner.

It was still dark outside the window, and Griffith nestled for a while, then lifted the covers and stood up.He was shivering in the cold in the rented house without heating in winter, but Griffith didn't care at all, and liked it a little bit.

Perhaps because of the proximity to death.

He opened the curtain, touched the cold glass with his fingertips, and pushed it away hard.

The sleeping city just crashed into the tiny room.Occasionally the sound of tires rolling on the asphalt road, the reluctant lover under the street lamp, a certain lamp that stays up all night, the homeless cat in the cardboard box...

Griffith stood as a statue, gazing at the city that wasn't lonely, as if it could comfort his lonely soul.

But how is it possible?

How could anyone share those screams and fears, evil and depravity with him?

Griffith's hot breath dissipated quickly, his legs were numb from the cold, his eyelids were struggling, but he refused to sleep.

He was afraid.

"Please, be nice to yourself," Griffith said to himself.So he moved his legs, returned to the warm bed, and took a book to read.

The window was left open, and the noise outside gave him the illusion of company.So it's cold, but no.

He just read the book until dawn.

Emily obviously didn't sleep well either, because she spilled coffee on her hands. Griffith silently handed her a tissue, and Morgan finally figured it out and put on a suit, seeing this scene as soon as he entered the office.

"Looks like someone had a bad weekend," the black man teased.

Emily was tidying up the table, when she heard this she rolled her eyes: "It's not...that's it."

"Just tell you not to go, I've been there." Morgan shook the coffee pot.

Griffith also took a sip of coffee, and quietly stuck out his tongue: "Where?"

Morgan and Emily looked at each other, and Qi Qi stared at Griffith with ambiguous eyes. Griffith's hair stood on end, and he left with a cup of coffee he didn't like.

Then he found a third companion who didn't sleep well - Spencer Reid.

Reid tore open the package of the third caramel, chewed the sticky carbs lazily, and generously asked Griffith if he wanted any, and threw him one after getting an affirmative answer.

"Haven't slept well these days?" Griffith asked, pointing to his eye sockets.

"Well," Reid replied slimyly, "my assessment report says everything is fine, don't worry."

Griffith was still watching him worriedly, and Reid pretended not to see.

"So," Griffith decided to change the subject, "do you know about Emily's date?" He pointed to Emily and Morgan who were talking in the tea room, and the lady looked so excited that she would pounce on Morgan for a kiss at any moment.

Reid took a look and shook his head: "I don't know, I don't even know Emily, actually."

"I don't know much about it either," Griffith agreed. "But it still takes time, doesn't it? It took me a long time to get used to it."

Reid was noncommittal and snorted softly.

At this time, JJ came over and knocked on the table: "The conference room will be in 5 minutes, do you have any objections?"

Reid buried his head in his palms and let out a half-truth moan.

Griffith swore he saw JJ roll his eyes.

The big beauty rubbed Reid's hair: "Hey, it's the last case before the Christmas holiday, please cheer me on."

"Wow," Griffith wondered, "you really want to come on vacation?"

"Of course." JJ gave him a proud look of "don't look at who I am".

"What? You know?" Reid put his hand down, "JJ, you're not the first to notify me?"

"Why did I inform you first?" JJ spread his hands. "Griffith is much more reliable than you. Who told Frank that I like white chocolate last time? Huh?"

Griffith sneered. Frank is a technician in the office next door. He fell in love with JJ at first sight. He likes to give her gifts during the holidays. The latest one is white chocolate. It was an open secret in the office that JJ didn't like Frank, but it was a pity that Reid never paid attention to gossip, so he unceremoniously betrayed their beautiful press officer.

Reid knew he was wrong, and shut up angrily.

"That's enough, let's go to the meeting quickly. I still have some materials to prepare, let's go first." JJ patted Griffith on the shoulder and left.

Five minutes later, BAU gathered in the meeting room as scheduled, and Reid was eating his fourth candy.

"Sandra Davis, 16 years old." JJ explained, "This is a photo of her participating in the school's amateur singer competition a month ago."

On the screen, the African-American girl is wearing a pink skirt. The pixels are not good, and the angle is a bit off. The picture keeps shaking, which may be taken by hand.But none of this affected the girl who was intoxicated with music.

JJ called up the second photo: "This is her on-and-off boyfriend Ken Newcombe, both of whom were found dead in a park near the man's car in Groton."

"Groton, located in Westchester County, is an affluent, mostly white suburb of New York City. This is the third murder and is considered a hate crime."

"Hate crime?" Emily wondered.

JJ continued: "The first two victims were 15-year-old Keisha Andrews and 17-year-old Vickie Williams. They disappeared in Westchester County Center on the same night. Both bodies were found in the southern wooded area."

Reid rubbed his nose nervously.

Griffith held the autopsy report and read: "Dragged, beaten, strangled, painted on the face..." He paused, "Swastika."

In the photos of the scene, the girls had black crosses painted on their bloodless faces.

"What about the third one?" Morgan asked. "Are there any bodies?"

"No, but it's painted on the car." JJ said while calling out the photos.

This change surprised everyone.

"Because they were killed for different reasons?" Emily guessed.

"Maybe it's an escalation in crime," Morgan said.

"It could have been done by a different person," Reid interjected.

"This is not over yet." Hotch pointed out the key point. "Yesterday, African-American social activist Reverend Williams issued a statement, deciding to take this incident as a political incident and define it as racial discrimination in the community."

JJ turned on the video.That activist is blaming the police for inaction.

Gideon let out an exasperated breath.

"In response to this speech, a black boy was beaten up in the street yesterday." JJ grimaced. "The neo-Nazi group in Connecticut called the angry white people and claimed responsibility."

"Are there neo-Nazis in Connecticut?" Emily asked.

JJ shrugged: "The mayor of Groton called me anxiously this morning. He very much hopes to solve the crime before it escalates."

Reid glanced down at the photo, then quickly looked away.

Gideon listened, and finally asked his first question: "What's the population of Groton?"

"The total population is [-], and [-] percent are black." JJ replied.

"The mayor has reason to be concerned," Gideon said. "If this case is not solved quickly, it will turn into racial hatred in the community."

"Injury and conflict will escalate," Griffith said. "The third case of death is unknown?"

"Er, yes, Sandra Davis' death is unknown, while Ken Newcombe's was simple, one shot fatal."

"Griffith and Emily go to the medical examiner's office," Hotch ordered. "Airplane in 15 minutes, meeting adjourned."