"The first couple, Fritz and Johanna Dietrich, from Germany, were found 25 days ago on Interstate 50, at the southernmost point of Lake Tahoe, beyond the state border and within California."
Hotchner read the data, and Reid placed a small red flag as a marker at the bottom of the map.
"The second couple, lissa and Tom Taylor, from Oregon, were found on Interstate 267 northeast of Lake Tahoe, not far from the interstate."
Reid placed a second small red flag in the upper right corner of the map.
"The third couple, Ian and Abby Corbin, from Arizona, had their accident on Interstate 395, directly east."
"The fourth couple, Jonathan and Rebecca Collins, from San Luis Obispo, were vacationing in Reno last weekend, reported missing a day later, and found four days ago on Interstate 206."
Reid solemnly placed the third and fourth flags.
"Excluding the two couples who died in traffic accidents and were ruled out, these four couples were all married. None of them booked hotels again in the area, and their last credit card transactions were at gas stations tens or even hundreds of kiloters away."
"There are no records or traceable clues. They're perfect victims. I don't understand why the killer would deliberately stage a traffic accident. He could have done a much better job of disposing of the bodies."
Reid took two steps back, resting his chin on his hand as he stared at the marked map, expressing his opinion with a puzzled expression.
"We'll find out why. Jack, Emily, and I will go check out the two nearest cri scenes. Reid, contact Garcia; we need the latest satellite maps. Have her try to get so from the NSA."
Rossi tightened his scarf and led the two outside.
JJ was going to convene all officers with Sheriff Bruner to reiterate confidentiality, and Hotchner volunteered to contact the victims' families, hoping to get more information from them.
When the group reunited, it was already past 9 p.m. At a restaurant not far from the police station, Jack wolfed down a black pepper steak and then ordered another.
Before the waitress brought the second steak, he took out four satellite maps and drew several circles on them.
"All four accidents occurred on the downhill curves of the highway. The killer chose excellent locations, all in blind spots. Heavy trucks or trailers, due to their imnse inertia, even if they slowed down to turn, wouldn't have been able to stop in ti after spotting the cars stopped in the middle of the road."
"The highway is surrounded by sparse firebreaks and so forest trails, easily accessible to SUVs or off-road vehicles," Emily continued. "We believe the killer, after setting everything up, waited by the roadside, watched the accidents happen, and then fled the scene."
"Although most of the tracks are covered by snow, Jack and I still found so tire tracks. Unfortunately, the most recent accident happened more than four days ago, making further tracking impossible."
Hotchner seed to have little appetite, frowning as he poked at the chicken salad in front of him with his fork. Clearly, contacting the victims' families wasn't an easy task.
"I t Abby Corbin's father. He ca to claim his daughter and son-in-law's bodies and ntioned a restaurant, Flo's Restaurant, which is said to be famous for its donuts."
"Is it possible they stayed nearby?" JJ asked.
Reid pulled out his phone, searched for the restaurant, found it, and imdiately called Garcia.
"I thought you'd forgotten . This is so hurtful."
Reid was completely unfazed by Garcia's over-the-top antics and went straight to the point, "Garcia, could you help check out the area around Flo's Restaurant in Sherwood?"
"Ah... just a mont, Sherwood is a beautiful town east of Lake Tahoe, near the state border, with over 300 hotels, motels, and resorts nearby." Garcia spoke with a quirky, almost mocking tone, like a travel agent.
Hotchner put down her fork and leaned closer to Reid's phone, which was on speakerphone, saying, "Garcia, send us a list of all the hotels and motels."
"Addresses and phone numbers? Sending it now, kind sir, is there anything else I can do?" Garcia asked expectantly.
"Nothing for now, thank you Garcia."
Garcia's cheerful farewell ca through the phone before Reid could hang up, "You're welco, my little fluffy cuties."
The two girls present exchanged a smile, while Hotchner's brow furrowed even deeper. "Rember to remind to get her a drug test later."
Jack took the second steak from the waitress, nodded politely to her, and turned back to explain with a smile.
"She probably ate all the sweets in the fridge while we were gone, and she's feeling guilty now," Rossi joked. "I thought only kids and Reid would get so excited after eating sweets."
The jokes eased the tension a little, but they still had to face the clue-less case.
"It's too cold, my old bones can't keep up. Tomorrow, Jack and Emily will go to Sherwood and see if anyone at that restaurant rembers the Corbins."
"Reid and I will et with the people at the cri lab tomorrow to see if they have any new leads. We need to narrow down the search area as much as possible. We have limited manpower and can't possibly search every corner of Sherwood."
"JJ and Hotchner will stay at the police station and wait for news. If possible, please ask Sheriff Bruner to organize as many people as possible. We need to prepare for the worst."
After hearing Rossi's arrangents, Jack was a little disappointed. He wanted to experience the famous CSI, but it seed he might not have the chance this ti.
The night passed uneventfully. The next day, everyone went their separate ways according to plan. Jack drove Emily to Flo's Restaurant, a place supposedly famous for its donuts.
They were lucky; the waitress actually rembered the Corbins, as Abby Corbin, who loved sweets, had eaten breakfast there for two consecutive days and tipped her $10 each ti.
Rossi and Reid's luck was mixed. The cri lab had confird that of the four couples, the husbands had all been bound and beaten, and died slightly before their wives.
All four wives showed signs of assault and prolonged abuse, but the killer had ticulously cleaned up afterward, and the cri scene investigators couldn't find any DNA residue.
However, the murder weapon was identified; comparing the fatal head wounds confird it was caused by an ordinary baseball bat.
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