Attractive, successful women are being abducted and murdered in Denver, Colorado. Can the BAU team identify the Unsub before the death toll rises?
Denver, Colorado
A dull flickering light from an old light bulb hanging in the centre of the room did little to illuminate the small concrete bunker. Water dripped through cracks in the ceiling and pooled on the floor. In one corner was a young woman, barely conscious and weak from lack of sustenance. Her clothes were stained and torn, her skin scratched, bruised and streaked with dirt. Her long black hair was damp and tangled, hanging over her pale and bruised face. As the sound of footsteps drew closer, the rattle of chains filled the room as the woman cowered, wishing she could disappear into the wall. She knew what was coming. For three days she been tortured with the knowledge of how this would end. She had screamed, cried and prayed for rescue but in the back of her mind she knew there was no escape. In a matter of minutes her short life would come to an end and what terrified her the most was that she would never be able to tell those she was close to how she really felt about them. All the things she had put off doing or saying would remain undone and unsaid. She raised her head and looked across the room as a heavy concrete door opened slowly and the room was bathed in a bright light from the corridor outside. The woman squinted as the light hurt her sensitive eyes but she forced herself to look at her captor. He loomed before her, tall, strong and menacing. He didn't speak as he crossed the room to stand before her. In his hand he held the keys to the lock on her chains. For a moment she would be free but then everything would be over. She knew what would be done to her and while it terrified her to know how she would be found, she took solace in knowing that one way or another her suffering would end. It took everything she had to look her captor in the eyes as he leaned down and unlocked the chains around her wrists.
"It's time." He grunted.
BAU Headquarters
Quantico, Virginia
SSA Emily Prentiss strode out of the elevator into the squad room. She was a little pissed at being pulled away from what was a promising date but she knew the team would only be called in this late at night in an emergency. Wearing a strapless black dress with a figure hugging bodice and A-line skirt to her knees paired with a black shrug and heels, she felt a little self conscious but until she had a chance to change there wasn't anything she could do about it.
Given that it was eleven at night, the squad room was almost deserted and only a few oerhead lights were on. Across the floor she could see her boss, Aaron Hotchner, pacing in his office with his cell to his ear and David Rossi at his side. Turning her head she saw her friend and colleague, JJ, in the briefing room, her long blonde hair tied up in an impossibly neat ponytail. Emily wondered how a woman with a baby could always look so put together. Most mothers Emily encountered were always a little dishevelled. A loud chuckle caught her attention and she spotted the rest of the team gathered at Spencer Reid's desk. He was in his seat and Garcia and Morgan were standing with their backs to her laughing at something Reid must have just said.
"Hi Emily." Reid looked up as she approached and gave her a small smile. Morgan and Garcia both turned to greet her and their eyes widened.
"Hot mama." Garcia grinned. Emily became a little embarrassed and folded her arms protectively across her chest.
"Hey Prentiss." Morgan greeted her. She noticed how he looked her up and down as he spoke, the intensity of his eyes making her feel vulnerable. Morgan took in her dress, heels, lightly curled hair and how she was wearing more make-up than he had ever seen. "Hotch interrupt something when he called?" he probed, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.
"I was on a date." Emily replied with just a hint of embarrassment in her voice.
"With the computer guy?" Garcia asked. "How was it going? Is there love in the air?" she joked. In four years she had known Emily Prentiss, the agent had never been on more than a few dates with the same guy. Garcia figured it was probably a lot to do with the job as no-one seemed able to hold down a solid relationship in this line of work, well except for JJ maybe. But she also knew it was partly to do with Derek Morgan. Since Emily started in the team, Garcia as well as the others, had noticed the flirting between the two. And although Garcia didn't like to admit it, since she had been with Kevin Lynch, Morgan's affections had transferred somewhat to Emily. She had a feeling that deep down, Emily wasn't in a long term relationship because she was holding out for her chance with the handsome profiler.
"It was going fine." Emily told Garcia. "He's a nice guy."
"How'd you ditch him? The classic bathroom window escape or..." Morgan joked.
"Shut it." Emily punched him lightly on the arm, a small smile crossing her face. Morgan never missed an opportunity to mess with her but she didn't mind, it was always fun. However, before the banter could continue, Hotch called everyone to the briefing room and he looked serious.
"Come on Princess, we don't want to be late." Morgan chuckled as he picked up a cup of coffee from the table. He rarely called Emily by a nickname, not like he did with "Baby girl" and "Kid" but sometimes, when they were joking and flirting, 'Princess' just came out and the way she looked tonight, the name really suited her.
SSA Aaron Hotchner stood solemnly in the briefing room as the members of the BAU filtered past him and took a seat around the table. One eyebrow rose as he saw Emily come in dressed 'to kill'. It made sense to him now why she had sounded a little disappointed when he called. But a new case had come across JJ's desk just an hour before. It was an urgent plea for help from Denver Police in Colorado and Hotch knew the whole team was needed.
"Denver has asked for our help." He began. "Their Chief of Police believes they have a serial killer at work and having read through the case, I believe they do also." Hotch began. He moved to the front of the room by the video screen as JJ handed out copies of the file. "Over the past four weeks, the bodies of three women have been found near the I-25, just outside of Denver." When Hotch nodded her way, JJ clicked her remote and put up images of the crime scenes and identified victims.
"All three were in their early thirties, had successful careers and were single." JJ continued. As the images appeared on the screen Emily Prentiss stared at them and subconsciously licked her lips. Across from her, Derek Morgan flicked through the files and began to organise his thoughts about their Unsub.
"Clearly the Unsub has a type." Emily voiced. As she looked at the pictures there was a clear resemblance between them. Each had long black hair, dark eyes and fair skin. A tingle ran down her spine as she thought about how she too fitted this victimology.
"None of the women worked in the same field or appear to have any direct links to each other. One was an accountant, another a Brand Manager and the third was an attorney. They resided in different neighbourhoods, frequented different restaurants, stores and gyms." Hotch added. "Denver PD sent a list of missing persons and apart from these three victims, a fourth has been identified as a possible victim. Ellie Patrick is 32, brunette and an account manager for a marketing firm. She was last seen heading to her office parking lot three days ago. Based on the date of abduction and time of death from the other victims, Denver PD are expecting her body to be dumped somewhere along an eight mile stretch of the I-25 before dawn tomorrow."
"The Unsub abducts the victim on day one, keeps them three days and disposes of the body on day four?" Spencer Reid asked for confirmation.
"Correct. What we know from the autopsies of the first three victims is that they appear to be restrained with what is likely to be chains. Each victim was dehydrated and stomach contents showed no food had been consumed during their captivity." As Hotch talked, JJ flicked through autopsy photos showing the various injuries.
"Cause of death?" Morgan asked.
"Each victim had bruises and cuts consistent with being beaten during the course of their captivity but the coroner ruled cause of death as manual strangulation in each case." Hotch sighed. "Wheels up in 45 minutes. I'll meet you at the cars." He finished.
After Hotch left the room, JJ picked up her papers and the others got to their feet, filing out to get their bags for the trip. Garcia headed straight for her office to begin researching the victims so she was ready when the team needed her. As Emily brought up the rear she took a final glance at the monitor still showing the faces of the victims. She shuddered as an unsettling feeling about what was to come over the next few days washed over her.
This is my first case based story so I'd appreciate your comments and if its worth continuing