Police in Los Angeles

Even the BAU team was horrified by what they were hearing. What kind of mental state could produce such words?

"Don't," Rossi tried to stop her, but it was too late. Cheryl had already pressed the button and loudly demanded, "What do you want?"

"What do I want?" The voice on the other end grew more twisted and frenzied. "I want you. I want both of you. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but one day, we will be together. You, me, and of course, Tracy."

Then the call ended abruptly, leaving everyone in silence.

"We need to talk," Rossi mouthed to the Davenport father and daughter, gesturing without speaking.

Back in the Davenport's backyard, Jack and Reid brought some chairs for everyone to sit.

Rossi started, "We can't let Cheryl talk to the kidnapper anymore."

"Why not?" Cheryl, having calmed down, sat beside her father and asked, puzzled.

'Reid, the human encyclopedia,' began his lecture. "Any direct communication with him will only satisfy his perverse psychology. Have you heard of De Clérambault's syndrome, or erotomania?"

Seeing the confusion on the father and daughter's faces, Jack recited his hard-earned knowledge from three months of intense study.

"A rare psychological disorder where the patient believes they are in a secret romantic relationship with another person, usually someone of higher social status."

"The patient might believe their delusional love interest is communicating their love through body language, furniture arrangement, and other seemingly unconscious actions (or through media if the person is a public figure), even including eye contact."

"The patient typically has little or no contact with the object of their delusion, only believing in a fictional relationship and progression."

Reid looked displeased that his lecture was interrupted, shooting Jack a silent, annoyed glance.

Jack smiled and gestured for Reid to continue.

"Did Tracy, before she was kidnapped, express affection for someone or take actions to break the current state of her romantic relationships on social media like Facebook?" Reid asked the Davenports.

Seeing Rossi's confused look, JJ quietly explained what Facebook was to him.

Evan Davenport also looked puzzled and glanced at his daughter, who responded.

"She was serious about that boy who was killed. They had been together for two years."

"Actually," Cheryl glanced at her father, "Tracy didn't want me to tell you, but she recently shared intimate photos with her boyfriend on Instagram and hinted at plans to get engaged after graduation."

After JJ quietly explained what Instagram was, the two older men sighed simultaneously.

Rossi spread his hands, "This could be the trigger for the kidnapper."

Reid nodded in agreement.

The Davenports didn't fully grasp the lengthy explanation from Jack.

Evan Davenport became agitated, "Are you saying we're dealing with a mentally ill person?"

Reid seemed to struggle with finding the right words to explain clearly. "A person with erotomania believes their love interest is constantly expressing love through expressions, movements, and eye contact, just as he said on the phone."

"So now, this kidnapper, in his delusion, believes that both Cheryl and Tracy have fallen in love with him. He is obsessively infatuated with them."

"So?" Evan Davenport waited for the conclusion.

"So he will stop at nothing to get Cheryl," Rossi's words sent chills down the father and daughter.

"Jack, did you get a look at the kidnapper's face?" Rossi turned to Jack.

Jack shook his head, "He was very cautious, wearing a mask and gloves. I couldn't even see his skin color. But he seemed wealthy, wearing custom-made leather shoes like yours."

"But you've narrowed it down, haven't you?" Rossi smiled mysteriously.

Jack returned the same smile, "So have you, or we wouldn't be having this conversation."

Seeing the two exchange cryptic smiles, the Davenports and JJ looked puzzled, while Reid seemed to ponder before realizing the truth.

"You mean he's one of us?"

Seeing the Davenports' horrified expressions, Jack corrected the misunderstanding in Reid's words. "Reid means the kidnapper is one of us in law enforcement. Otherwise, he wouldn't be so confident in attempting to kidnap Cheryl again."

"His ransom delivery method was too childish, inconsistent with his previous cautious and confident behavior in the kidnapping and phone calls. We suspected his target might be Cheryl before we set off."

"We even suspect he's installed listening devices here, which is why we're having this conversation here."

Hearing Jack's explanation, Reid raised a concern, "But the local FBI did an anti-bugging sweep when we arrived."

"Yes, they did, but then they brought in their recording equipment," Rossi's answer cleared up everyone's confusion.

"Then why didn't you arrest him on the spot and force him to reveal my daughter's whereabouts?" Evan Davenport angrily questioned.

Rossi calmly soothed him, "For Tracy's safety, we can only suspect. She might have been in the car at that time, or he could say nothing once arrested, letting his lawyer free him and losing our chance to find Tracy."

Reid continued with statistics, "New Haven has 700 agents, another 70 in the substation, and more from the New York office. Many have interacted with Evan Davenport, the federal prosecutor's administrative assistant, and had opportunities to plant listening devices."

"What do we do now? Just thinking about Tracy being in the hands of such a person..." Evan covered his face, sobbing. It was clear that the father had been overwhelmed by the barrage of information.

Rossi placed a hand on his shoulder and looked at Cheryl. "Next, I need you to trust me completely."

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