Criminal Minds

Previously on "Criminal Minds"...

You're not going down?

I have to go up, actually.

Oh, right, you're meeting with Barnes.

Should I be worried?

Not as long as I'm in charge.

Good evening, Agent Jareau.

Assistant Director Barnes.

I'm sorry for the sudden urgency

in having to meet tonight.

However, effective immediately,

SSA Emily Prentiss will be placed on administrative leave

pending an internal review.

If you wouldn't mind leaving your cell phone out here,

we can talk in my office.

My apologies for the cloak-and-dagger routine with the email.

I needed a reason to bring you in

that would ensure a certain confidentiality.

What do you mean, Agent Prentiss

has been placed on administrative leave?

I've been looking over your work,

and I think you're doing an excellent job.

Why do you think the brass didn't give you a shot

at unit chief when Agent Hotchner elected to leave?

Prentiss was the natural choice.

She had seniority.

You're aware this month marks the one-year anniversary

of Agent Reid's arrest in Mexico?

I was aware that was coming up, yes.

When something like this happens,

it's standard operating procedure

for the director to initiate an internal audit.

I've been asked to go over the BAU's caseload

to make sure that you're following protocol.

We work by the book, always.

Then this should be a fairly painless process.

Of course.

As team leader, Agent Prentiss will need

to give a full account of the BAU's actions.

That's why effective immediately,

you will be the acting head of the Behavioral Analysis Unit.

I...

Pending further review, you and your team

will remain on active duty.

Agent Jareau, as a courtesy,

I chose to inform you first.

I'll be speaking with Agent Prentiss in the morning,

so I'd appreciate it if you'd keep this between us

until you hear from me.

Emily?

Hey, I was hoping we were gonna get the night off,

but we've just pulled another case.

I know it's been a long week, but I need you back here.

- Are you still in... - Emily,

something's going on.

Thank you all for getting back here so quickly.

I got a call from Chief Wheeler

at the New Orleans Police Department.

They've requested our help. Garcia, go ahead.

The big easy has its own big bad operating in its midst.

Earlier today, police uncovered a mass grave

inside a vandalized crypt.

Tremé cemetery.

10 bodies in total were discovered

by the groundskeeper this afternoon.

Yeah. The bodies were buried and burned

inside the secluded tomb that had been pried open.

They are believed to have been placed there in the last few weeks.

The tomb was off-limits due to some maintenance being done.

Looks like local PD is still working on IDing the victims.

Has a cause of death been determined?

No. But the coroner did reveal this one super icky detail...

All of the bodies had been drained of their blood.

Let's make sure to check on that first thing.

Tremé cemetery's an active site.

It's famous. It's the oldest cemetery in the city.

Home to Marie Laveau,

the voodoo queen of New Orleans,

known for her powers of clairvoyance, healing, and intimidation.

Legend has it she once helped free a man

accused of murder by praying for 72 hours straight

with 3 hot peppers in her mouth.

Voodoo queen. I mean, is that what this is?

Some kind of ritualistic killing?

I see these Xs here.

They're used to denote the grave of a powerful voodoo practitioner.

Markings like this aren't uncommon in these parts.

These look like they've been here for a while.

Could be the reason our unsub chose this particular crypt

to do his bidding.

New Orleans PD wants us there ASAP.

There is one more thing. I won't be coming along.

JJ will be acting as unit chief in my absence.

I have a meeting with Assistant Director Barnes tomorrow morning.

It's short notice, but as far as I understand,

it's just a standard administrative review,

so I'm sure everything will be fine.

Ok. Um, wheels up in 30.

*CRIMINAL MINDS* Season 13 Episode 14 Title: "Miasma"

"My wound is geography."

It is also my anchorage, my port of call."

Pat Conroy.

First Barnes pulls you in for a late-night meeting,

then Prentiss.

And it feels like something's going on.

Yeah, and why all the urgency?

I mean, it couldn't have waited till we all got back?

Something must have triggered an internal review.

It's me.

It's been almost a year since my arrest in Mexico.

It's just an annual review,

standard operating procedure.

Matt, you worked with Barnes on your last assignment.

How much trouble are we in?

I mean, I hate to say it,

but this is the exact same thing

she did with the IRT, before disbanding the unit.

She started with the head of the team,

then she worked her way down.

She tried to pit us against each other.

Barnes' reputation precedes her.

She's climbed the ranks well.

Well, clearly she's good at her job.

We're better.

And we haven't done anything wrong.

We can't worry about this right now

because we have a case. People need our help.

So, let's get started with victimology.

5 of the 10 victims have been identified.

These 3... Jason Chamers, Lindsay Montoya,

and Gary Keulchy... were homeless.

And these two... Sonequa Fox and Daniel Rikers...

were working professionals.

And Mr. Rikers and Ms. Fox were

both reported missing a week and a half ago.

That's correct. They both left their homes in mid-city

and never returned.

And the 3 homeless victims were last seen

in a shelter near the French quarter?

Yes. We periodically check the nightly roll calls

when we find a body.

They were most likely panhandling in the area.

Our unsub crossed racial and gender lines.

And he's mobile.

You know, realistically, it's likely each victim

was abducted, killed, and disposed of individually.

We need to see what the M.E. can tell us

about the timeline of the murders.

We'd expect an unsub like this

to start with high-risk victims like the homeless

and then move on to low-risk victims

like Sonequa and Daniel,

but until we ID the remaining victims,

it's really hard to draw any conclusions.

So he'd need somewhere to hold them

and do his bloodletting business

before bringing them back to the crypt.

I've already started a geo-profile, but the more we can learn

about the victims' last moments, the more accurate it'll be.

Good. Garcia can help with that, too.

Excuse me, sir.

Found another burned body.

This time in a crypt in Tremé cemetery number two.

- Just one? - Yeah.

And the crypt wasn't nearly as secluded.

We've disrupted his routine.

Another tomb, but now he's improvising.

Dave, head to the M.E.

Spence, Tara, why don't you guys stick around here,

help with the identification efforts?

Matt and Luke, you're with me.

Let's head to this latest crime scene.

I want to reiterate that this conversation is on the record.

Today is February 1, 2018.

This is Assistant Director Linda Barnes

sitting with Unit Chief Emily Prentiss.

Now, Agent Prentiss, do you know why you're here today?

I do not.

Agent Jareau didn't call you?

No.

We're not off to a very good start, are we?

I've asked you one question, and you've lied to me.

Shall we try that again? Did Agent Jareau call you?

No, Agent Jareau did not call me.

I called her to let her know we had another case.

She informed me that she had spoken with you,

but she did not disclose what was said.

Agent Jareau isn't in any trouble.

I expected she'd call you.

As I'm sure you're aware, it is the one-year anniversary

of Agent Reid's arrest in Mexico

following a high-speed chase with the local authorities.

Your team traveled down to conduct your own investigation

into the incident

and, per your case report,

transfer him to a federal facility in the U.S.

I went through your findings

and subsequent months-long investigation.

The thing is, once I started to dig, I couldn't stop.

What I found, Agent Prentiss,