Our Darkest Hour: Part Two

                                    

                                          
Annie Danzi, thirty, was home alone with her young son when the unsub struck. He left the son alive and didn't harm him physically. The news is all over this even when you get to Annie's house. They're concerned that since this is the second home invasion since the blackouts started, it's connected to the homicides. JJ didn't confirm, obviously, but that's not going to stop them from speculating that it is.
You walk to the front door and sigh. Adam is waiting for you by the door while Matt is inside with Annie's son, Carter.
"This has all the same tricks as the last one."
"Was there forced entry?"
"No."
"Were there rolling blackouts last summer?"
"Just about every year. Crime always goes up when it gets hot and dark but nothing like this has ever happened."
"Hunting in the dark is definitely a part of his signature." Hotch takes out his phone and calls Pen. "Garcia. I need you to check if there were any clusters of home invasions in previous summers during rolling blackouts in California. Look statewide."
"He left a message this time."
You walk inside the bedroom and immediately look away from the bed. It's bloody and missing a body but you can see her as if she's real and right in front of you. On the wall written in her blood is "HELLO THER". Why he didn't finish the word 'there' is beyond you. You turn away from the bed only to come face to face with the unsub. You gasp and stare into his sickly green eyes that have loads of bags under them. Some parts of his face are blurry but he's a big son of a bitch.
"Are you okay?"
You blink once and the unsub is gone.
"Yeah," you whisper. "Do you think he's welcoming us?"
"Who knows? At least he's telling us more with each crime scene. He's uneducated, angry, and sadistic, and he trashes the place even though there's not much to steal. He chooses to hunt and kill in the dark. He doesn't want to be seen. Why?"
"Maybe he's ashamed of something?" Emily asks. She picks up the photos on the nightstand of Annie and her son. "He certainly didn't have to knock these over."
"He doesn't want eyes on him except for the child. He wanted him to see everything."
You look at the bed and wince when you see Annie is still there. You leave the bedroom and join Matt and Derek who are sitting with Carter in the kitchen. He's playing with something on the table, and you look over his shoulder to see a clay monster.
"What do you have there? Is that a robot?"
"It's a monster," he says in a quiet voice.
"Monster, huh? What's it doing?" Derek asks.
"It's protecting you, isn't it?"
"It's gonna make the man stay away."
"Did you happen to get a look at that man?--"
"Derek," you whisper but he ignores you.
"He moved me to the closet. My mom told me to close my eyes."
"Would you mind showing me how you did that?" Carter puts both hands over his eyes so they are completely covered. "That's good, kid. That's really, really good. So, you didn't see him at all?" He shakes his head. "Once that man left, what did you do? Did you get back under the bed?"
"I didn't want to leave her," he sniffles.
"Hey, Carter, do you have, like, a really cool backpack you could throw some things in to take over to your cousin's house?"