Not to ntion the feelings of the parties involved, even the newly ford BAU mbers nearby were horrified. What kind of ntal state could produce such words?
"Stop!" Rossi tried to stop her, but Cheryl impulsively pressed the button and loudly questioned, "What exactly do you want?"
"What do I want?" The voice on the other end of the phone gradually beca more distorted and insane.
"I want you, I want both of you. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but one day, we will be together — you, , and of course, Tracy."
The phone was then hung up, and everyone present fell silent.
"We need to talk." Rossi pointed to the Davenport father and daughter, not uttering a sound, but simply mouthing the words.
Still in the backyard of the Davenport family, Jack and Reid moved so chairs for everyone to sit down.
Rossi spoke first, "We can't let Cheryl talk to the kidnappers anymore."
"Why not?" Cheryl's emotions had cald down. Sitting next to her father, she asked.
The human encyclopedia Reid began his lecture. "Any direct interaction you have with him will only satisfy his twisted psychology. Have you heard of de Clérambault's syndro? It's also known as delusional love disorder."
Seeing the confused looks on the father and daughter's faces, Jack beside him recited the results of his three months of intensive study.
"A rare ntal illness where the patient has the delusion that they are secretly in love with another person (usually of higher social status)."
"The patient may also believe that the object of their delusion is secretly conveying their affection through things like body posture, furniture arrangent, and other seemingly unconscious actions (or, if the object is a public figure, through the dia), even including eye contact."
"The object of the patient's delusion usually has very little or no contact with the patient; only the patient believes that there is a fictitious developnt and relationship between them."
Reid seed very unhappy that his science lecture had been interrupted, showing a displeased expression, but only dared to secretly glare at Jack as a silent protest.
Jack grinned, remained silent, and gestured for him to proceed.
"Before Tracy was kidnapped, did she express any affection for soone or do anything that would disrupt her current relationship on social dia?" Reid asked the Davenport father and daughter.
Seeing Rossi's blank look, JJ chuckled and quietly explained what social dia was to him.
Evan Davenport was equally confused, glanced at his daughter, and replied, "Her relationship with the murdered boy was probably serious, but they'd been together for two years."
"Well, actually," Cheryl glanced at her father, "Tracy didn't want to tell you, but she recently shared intimate photos with her boyfriend online, and hinted that they planned to get engaged after graduation."
After JJ quietly explained what that ant, the two older n sighed simultaneously.
Rossi sighed and shrugged, "That's probably the kidnapper's stress trigger."
Reid nodded in agreent.
The Davenport father and daughter clearly hadn't understood the aning of Jack's long string of terms.
Evan Davenport grew agitated. "Are you saying we're dealing with a ntal patient?"
Reid's expression froze, as if he'd been pondering for a long ti before finding the right words to explain.
"People with delusions of love believe that their beloved is subtly expressing their affection through expressions, actions, and eye contact, just like he said on the phone."
"Therefore, this kidnapper now believes, unilaterally, that Cheryl and Tracy are both in love with him, and he's hopelessly infatuated with them."
"So?" Evan Davenport awaited his conclusion.
"So he'll do anything, by any ans necessary, to get Cheryl." Rossi's words sent a chill down the spines of both father and daughter.
"Jack, did you see what the kidnapper looked like before?" Rossi turned to Jack.
Jack shook his head. "He was very alert, wearing a hood and gloves. I couldn't even see his skin color, but he must be affluent. He was wearing custom-made leather shoes, just like you."
"But you've already narrowed it down, haven't you?" Rossi gave a mysterious smile.
Jack returned the sa smile. "You are too, otherwise why would we be talking here?"
Seeing the two of them speaking in riddles, the Davenport father and daughter and JJ all looked puzzled. Only Reid fell into deep thought, then suddenly realized.
"You an, he's one of us?"
Seeing the Davenport father and daughter's shocked expressions, Jack pressed down on Reid's curly hair, correcting the ambiguity in his words.
"What Reid ans is that the kidnapper is one of our law enforcent officers, otherwise he wouldn't be so confident in trying to kidnap Cheryl again."
"His ransom paynt thod was too frivolous, completely inconsistent with his previous kidnapping thods and the cautious confidence he displayed on the phone. We suspected before we set off that his target might be Cheryl."
"We even suspect he's installed listening devices here, which is why we're talking here."
Listening to Jack's confident explanation, Reid raised his hand in a question, "But when Rossi and I got here, we saw them conduct a counter-surveillance search."
"Yes, the local FBI conducted a search, but then they brought their recording equipnt." Rossi's answer explained the doubts in everyone's minds.
"Then why didn't you just grab him on the spot and interrogate him about my daughter's whereabouts?" Evan Davenport angrily questioned.
Rossi calmly soothed him, "For Tracy's safety, we only suspect. It's possible Tracy was in the car at the ti, or that he wouldn't say a word after being arrested, letting his lawyer handle the situation and causing us to lose the opportunity to find Tracy."
Reid continued listing the data, "There are 700 agents in New Haven, another 70 in the precinct, and more from the New York office. Many of them know and have dealt with Evan Davenport, who is an administrative assistant at the U.S. Attorney's Office, and have the opportunity to plant listening devices in the recording equipnt."
"So what should we do now? Just thinking about Tracy being in the hands of these people makes …" Evan covered his face with his hands and sobbed. It was clear that this father had lost his ability to think after being bombarded with this series of information.
Rossi placed a hand on his shoulder, looking at Cheryl. "From now on, I need your absolute trust."
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