Masterpiece (Season 4, Episode 8)
Premise: A killer who has studied David Rossi’s books turns himself in and dares the BAU to find a kidnapped mother and four children before his deadlines run out.
- Air date
- Season/Episode
- Season 4, Episode 8
- Unsub
- Henry Grace, “Professor Rothchild” (Jason Alexander)
- Location
- Loretto, Virginia; Chester, Virginia
- Starring
- David Rossi (Joe Mantegna), Aaron “Hotch” Hotchner (Thomas Gibson), Derek Morgan (Shemar Moore), Spencer Reid (Matthew Gray Gubler), Emily Prentiss (Paget Brewster), Penelope Garcia (Kirsten Vangsness), Jordan Todd (Meta Golding), Kevin Lynch (Nicholas Brendon)
- Opening quote
- “Let us consider that we are all insane. It will explain us to each other. It will unriddle many riddles.” (Mark Twain, read by Rossi)
- Closing quote
- “Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression, and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.” (Martin Luther King Jr., read by Rossi)
- Guest stars
- Jason Alexander as Prof. Rothchild, Ali Landry as Kaylee Robinson, Paul Michael Glaser as Detective Garrity
- Director
- Paul Michael Glaser
- Writers
- Edward Allen Bernero
Summary
The Case
“Masterpiece” begins at a college recruiting talk in Fredericksburg, Virginia, where Reid and Rossi meet a fan who calls himself Professor Rothchild. He shows them doctored photos of seven women he says he killed and dissolved in acid, then warns that five more people will die in under nine hours. That morning Kaylee Robinson, who runs a daycare from her home in Loretto, Virginia, vanished with four children. Rothchild has read all of Rossi’s books, needles him about his intellect and waives a lawyer. Rossi insists on handling the interview himself, turning down Hotch’s idea of giving Reid a turn. Prentiss is brought in to test Rothchild, and the agents conclude he cannot face a woman as an equal and strikes from behind.
The rest of the team works backward from the killer to his victims. His prints are in no database, so he has never been arrested or licensed and likely lives on research grants; the gap between the abduction and his arrival at the talk puts his base within about two hours of Loretto. Rothchild then reveals the rule: one hostage dies every two hours. A web feed shows Kaylee and only three children in gas masks, positioned at precise distances. Garcia narrows missing brunettes to the seven, from Richmond, Dinwiddie, Gloucester Point and Saluda: one, one, two and three, the start of the Fibonacci sequence. Reid ties that to Rothchild’s counting tics and the golden-ratio pendant he wears, lays its spiral over a map and points to Chester, Virginia, and the team heads there.
Rothchild gloats that the house is a trap meant to kill Rossi’s five teammates, and calls to them seem to go unanswered. He then reveals himself as Henry Grace, brother of William Grace, the killer Rossi caught and called pure evil in his first book. Under suspicion after his brother’s arrest and left by his fiancée, Henry began killing and settled on revenge against Rossi, quoting Rossi’s own words on vengeance. Every word is recorded. Rossi had foreseen the trap, the team found the booby-trapped entry and acid tanks, and Kaylee and all four children are safe.
The Team
Jordan Todd, filling in as liaison, resents Morgan for taking over her first solo meeting with a detective seeking help on a girl’s murder. During the case Morgan tells her she is part of the team, and afterward he apologizes; she reminds him he still owes the detective a call.
The ending
Spoiler: Facing charges for the seven women on his taped confession, Henry goes for Rossi once his back is turned. Rossi stops him and promises to be at his execution with a message for his brother.
Why it stands out
- Jason Alexander guest-stars as Henry Grace; he returns later in the season to direct “Conflicted.”
- JJ’s maternity leave begins with this episode, matching A.J. Cook’s own leave after the birth of her son Mekhai on September 13, 2008.
- The episode’s director, Paul Michael Glaser, also plays Detective Garrity.