"Hey guys, I might have found out what really drove Schultzbach's killer to snap. I dug a little deeper into Meeks' history and uncovered his psychological evaluations from prison—it's bad. Really bad," Garcia's voice came through Jack's phone.
"How bad?" Rossi leaned closer to the phone, his tone serious.
Garcia sighed, sounding sympathetic. "Well, while it's no excuse for his crimes, he did have a horrific childhood with a cruel stepfather. According to his sessions with the prison psychologist, Meeks was forced to wear his soiled underwear on his head in front of others whenever he wet the bed—he was only six years old."
"So, he wasn't just bullied in high school. The abuse started long before that. He carried this pent-up resentment his entire life, and eventually, his mind couldn't handle it anymore," Hotch stated, offering a clinical analysis of the case.
"Exactly," Garcia confirmed. "The prison psychiatrist even said Meeks was a ticking time bomb. Here's a direct quote: 'Meeks harbors deep-seated anger and trauma. He shows signs of severe instability and poses a potential threat upon release.'"
Reid frowned in disbelief. "Then how the hell did he get parole?"
Jack let out a bitter chuckle. "Simple. The prison was overcrowded. They needed to release lower-risk inmates, and some judge probably rubber-stamped the paperwork without even reading the psychological report."
Jack picked up Schultzbach's phone from the table, plugged it in, and scanned through the call history. He found the most recent missed call and read the number aloud to Garcia.
Moments later, she replied, "Well, Jack, you might be onto something. That number belongs to the prison psychologist who assessed Meeks."
Reid's eyes widened with realization. "So Schultzbach must have noticed something was off about Meeks while mentoring him. He likely contacted the psychologist to verify the risk, which in turn frightened Meeks. Fearing he'd be sent back to prison, Meeks killed Schultzbach to silence him and then spiraled out of control."
Rossi clenched his jaw, his face dark with anger. "So, because of a clerical oversight, four innocent women and a retired FBI agent—who was still serving his community—lost their lives?"
"There will be accountability for this," Hotch growled. "I'll make sure that detail is emphasized in my report."
Jack smirked and offered a suggestion. "You could also make a few calls to Schultzbach's old colleagues. I'm sure they'd love to hear about this."
Rossi gave him a pointed look but said nothing. Jack knew he was stirring the pot, but after dealing with the case's tragic outcome, he felt justified in fanning the flames. Judges might have special privileges in the U.S., but a group of retired FBI agents could still make life difficult for someone who let a dangerous man like Meeks slip through the cracks.
With the case temporarily wrapped up, Jack and JJ booked a flight back to New York for the day after tomorrow. They intended to take a day off to recover, especially since flights were fully booked, and they didn't want to scramble for last-minute seats on a red-eye flight.
However, their plans were interrupted early the next morning by a call from Jubal. A notorious drug lord had escaped from Allenwood Federal Prison in Pennsylvania just an hour earlier, and the fugitive task force was being called into action immediately.
Due to the three-hour time difference, it was already 10 a.m. in New York, though it was only 7 a.m. in L.A. Jack sighed and contacted Hotch, borrowing BAU's Gulfstream jet for the trip to Pennsylvania.
"Here's the file Jubal sent over. The fugitive's name is Maldonado. Does it ring any bells?" JJ handed Jack a freshly printed stack of documents.
Jack noticed the DEA logo on the first page and shook his head. "Never heard of him."
Though he'd researched various Mexican drug lords during previous operations, there were simply too many to remember. Even among high-ranking figures, there were hundreds, if not thousands.
"This is his third prison break. The first two were in Mexico, but this is his first escape from a U.S. federal facility," JJ explained.
She kicked off her high heels, stretched her long legs across the seats, and yawned. Jack glanced at her with amusement before pulling her legs onto his lap and gently massaging her calves and feet. "Black stockings and heels look great, but they're brutal to wear all day. I don't know how you girls do it."
JJ rolled her eyes and gave him a playful nudge. "Behave yourself."
Jack grinned and flipped through the case file. "So, Maldonado is part of the Zapotec Cartel leadership. His main product is fentanyl, and he was captured after brutally killing a DEA undercover agent in Monterrey. How... familiar."
He scanned further down the file. "He was previously held at a high-security prison in Florida. Why was he transferred to Allenwood?"
"DEA wanted to interrogate him there," JJ replied, shifting comfortably in her seat.
Jack raised an eyebrow. "They interrogated him at a medium-security facility instead of a high-security one? That's a hell of a choice."
"Apparently, one of the guards helped him escape. They had a helicopter waiting," JJ continued, flexing her toes through her stockings. "They blew up the boiler room, causing the prison to go on lockdown. During the chaos, the corrupted guard shot his colleague in the watchtower, then cut through the perimeter fence to reach the yard. He and Maldonado boarded the helicopter and vanished."
Jack blinked, stunned. "This sounds like something straight out of a Hollywood movie. That's not a plan you throw together with just one inside man. This was a high-level operation, perfectly coordinated down to the second."
(End of Chapter)
[Get +20 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Mutter"]
[Every 100 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]