03E03 - Scared to Death

The BAU are still reeling from Gideon's disappearance, he who has clandestinely tendered his resignation. Hotch admits to the team that he too is confused despite having known Gideon the longest. And Reid is the most affected since Gideon's goodbye note was addressed solely to him. Regardless of Gideon, the BAU are still together as a unit - Strauss did not disband the unit - and have work to do. Their latest case takes them to Portland, Oregon, where four bodies are found in a mass grave. Each victim was tortured prior to death, but there are no signs of sexual assault. Since they had no defensive wounds, the victims probably knew and trusted the unsub. Some of the victims were never reported missing since the unsub took on the victim's electronic identity and sent electronic messages as the victim to family and friends. These facts mean the unsub has personal knowledge of his victims. The common thread between the four victims is that they had all recently moved to Portland from elsewhere, leading to the thought that they were met by the unsub in the natural course of relocation. After a fifth victim is found, Reid finds another connection: each death is associated with a different anxiety disorder. They have to discover how the unsub lures his victims to their death in such a trusted manner. After the case has concluded, Hotch admits to Morgan why he has been more anxious than usual.