"This seems unusual. I haven't seen any news about it today," Rossi said with some confusion as he checked the time—it was already noon.
"Everyone's talking about the winter storm lately," Jack said, scrolling through several major news websites.
Compared to the Midwest, which frequently experiences tornadoes, and the East Coast, which is often hit by hurricanes, California's weather is usually much calmer. However, with the rise of extreme weather in recent years, it hasn't been as peaceful.
"But it is strange. Normally, the media would be all over something like this by now," Jack added.
"There's something even stranger," JJ said as she pulled up photos of the victims. "The Cosenza family—Ron Cosenza, his wife, and their 10-year-old son—were all found dead in the master bedroom, each shot in the forehead. The gun, which belonged to the husband, was found at the scene. Police suspect he shot his family, set the house on fire, and then committed suicide.
"These are Kelly and Frank Fagan. Like the Cosenza family, they were found dead in their master bedroom, but their cause of death is suspected to be a gas leak explosion."
"A gas explosion?" Hotchner frowned as he studied the scene photos. He appeared to have fully recovered, and, thanks to the support of his family, had not shown any signs of PTSD, likely due to the fact that the perpetrator was already dead.
Reid also voiced his doubts. "That would require a significant gas leak."
"Why would the media miss a house explosion like this?" Rossi was still puzzled by the lack of coverage.
"I'll look into it. There might be something being covered up," Jack offered. Since Orange County was part of Greater Los Angeles, it was essentially his territory.
"So, why did the local police call us? Do these two families have any connection?" Emily asked, just as curious.
JJ looked a bit perplexed as well. "Garcia's preliminary investigation into both families' backgrounds didn't reveal much. Kelly Fagan was born in Germany, and Ron Cosenza was from Italy, but other than that, there's no apparent connection.
"However, the two crime scenes are only two miles apart, and the incidents occurred within an hour of each other. And keep in mind, this is Orange County."
Orange County wasn't just a tourist hotspot; it was a gathering place for the middle class and the wealthy, reputed to be one of the richest counties in the U.S. Its crime rate was generally low.
"The local police are worried that if both were arson-murder cases, it could be the work of the same killer," Reid said, understanding the concern.
"That would suggest that the arsonist might be part of an organized group, with a high level of planning and motivation," Reid continued.
"Let's get to it, then. There's supposed to be a storm in 72 hours, and the killer might strike again before then. Reid and JJ, check out the Cosenza house. Jack and Emily, head to the Fagan house. Rossi and I will go to the Orange County crime lab. Garcia will keep digging into the backgrounds of these two families," Hotchner instructed, eager to jump into the case. The team exchanged knowing smiles—Hotch had barely been involved in the last case, and it seemed he was itching to get back to work.
—
"This is interesting. I'm not a fire investigator, but even I can see something's off here," Jack said as he walked around the fire-damaged scene. He agreed with the Orange County police's suspicion that this might not have been a simple accident.
"The house has smoke detectors and even a sprinkler system. Except for the initial explosion, the fire didn't spread much. But the strange thing is that the kitchen's gas alarm didn't go off," Jack noted.
Emily focused on another detail. "This is one of the safest areas around Los Angeles. Why would a family need such an ugly iron door and such a high-end security system? What were they afraid of?"
Jack glanced at the information Garcia had sent him. "The wife was a financial advisor, and the husband was an IT specialist. They were a typical middle-class family."
"The front door lock is reinforced too. This house feels like a safe house," Emily remarked.
Jack shook his head. "I don't agree. This is an expensive neighborhood, and the house lacks the surveillance equipment a safe house would require. The security system is advanced but still just a regular consumer-grade one."
Emily shrugged. "Whatever the case, this family seems overly cautious. It looks like they were on guard against something."
Just then, Jack's phone rang. It was Reid and JJ calling from the other crime scene.
"How's it going on your end? There are a lot of suspicious things here. The fire at the Cosenza house started around 8 p.m. The master bedroom is on the second floor, but the wife was supposed to be downstairs helping their son with homework, and the husband should've just gotten home from work," Reid explained.
"That's odd," Jack replied, realizing a similar issue. "The Fagans weren't supposed to be home either. According to Garcia, they were scheduled to attend a dinner party last night."
Jack's phone buzzed again with another call, and he merged it into a three-way conversation. It was Hotchner and Rossi from the crime lab.
"The coroner found something. The Cosenza family was shot before the fire. No smoke was found in the husband's lungs," Hotch said.
"Could he have shot himself right after starting the fire?" Emily asked.
"Unlikely. The fire started in the bedroom. Even if he'd shot himself quickly, the coroner said there would've been some smoke in his airways," Hotch replied.
"Let's regroup and go over everything. This case seems much more complicated than it appears," Jack suggested.
The rain had been relentless lately. While it hadn't rained much today, the sky was still thick with clouds, making it dark unusually early. By the time the team returned to headquarters, it was just after 5 p.m., but the city was already lit up for the night.
Garcia was waiting for them in the conference room, laptop in hand.
Jack grabbed two boxes of pre-made "roujiamo" (Chinese-style sandwiches) from the fridge, heated them in the microwave, and placed them on the table along with some hot cocoa. Everyone settled in to discuss the case over the warm meal.
The room was filled with the aroma of the sandwiches and cocoa, lifting everyone's spirits despite the cold, dreary weather outside.
"Dear Jack, I don't know what we'd do without you," Garcia said, hugging him and planting a purple lipstick stain on his cheek.
Jack gave a wry smile, wiping the strange-colored lipstick off his face with a napkin while JJ looked on with an amused expression.
Once everyone had eaten, Hotch stood in front of the evidence board. "Neither family had any history of mental illness. Both were in good health, happy, and financially stable. According to their records, everything seemed perfectly normal—almost too perfect."
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