TRACK MARKS
Chapter 1
Getting Started

"Evil requires the sanction of the victim." – Ayn Rand

The case started normally enough with photographs of beaten and killed victims passed around the round table.

Normal for the BAU that is. There was nothing normal in what this UnSub did to his victims.

'He takes trophies. Items of jewellery are missing from three of the four men. That's not to say that the fourth victim wasn't wearing any. All the men had been out late and were returning home alone. They were snatched from the roadside and killed and dumped a week later with rubbish.' Jordan showed the team pictures of the body dumps. It literally looked as if they had been dropped onto piles of bagged rubbish. 'No effort at concealment, no posing of the bodies. It looks as if they were just thrown from a vehicle. All were found in the mornings by workers from the shops behind which the bodies were dumped.'

'Any witnesses or trace evidence?' Morgan asked.

'Fibres on the bodies and under the fingernails is all the trace.' Jordan said. 'CSU think they may be able to identify the vehicle from the carpet fibres, but that is only if the victim picked up the trace from the vehicle. If they were killed elsewhere and the vehicle only used to transport the bodies, then that will be a no hoper.'

'Any sexual element?' Morgan asked.

'The third and fourth victims, Alan Carter and James Drury both appear to have been raped by a man. all were raped by a woman.'

'So there's escalation there. And now we have a fifth victim...' he consulted his file, 'Charles Elston.'

'COD?' Emily asked, looking through the papers she had in front of her.

'There are no weapon marks, all appear to have died from drug overdoses, although the drug has yet to be identified. There were marks on their wrists as if they had been restrained.'

'Were the victims users?' Hotch asked.

'The families say no. But the track marks were all new – less than a week old.'

'How far apart were the victims taken?' Reid said without looking up. Hotch watched him carefully. He seemed nervous.

'Each victim was taken on the same day that the previous victim was killed.'

'So what do we have?' Emily asked.

'Nothing other than what I've told you.' Jordan said. 'Except that the man Charles Elston went missing yesterday when victim number four was thrown out.'

'Then we need to get out there.' Hotch said. 'Wheels up in thirty.'

The team got up to leave, collect their go-bags and make their way to the jet. Hotch called Reid back.

'Are you going to be ok with this, Spencer?'

Reid looked at Hotch in surprise. 'Sure I'll be fine.' he said. Deep in his heart he was happy that his friend thought it necessary to ask.

-0-0-0-

It was an hour on the jet, and the team took the time to review what they had.

Four male victims, possibly five, between twenty five and forty five, all dead of a drug overdose. Escalation from kidnapping rape and murder to male rape in the last two known victims. Bodies dumped haphazardly with garbage probably from a vehicle. Trophies taken in at least three of the cases. Hotch flicked through the photo's. Although the oldest was over forty, he looked younger in the photograph. All had been married or in a relationship, but that was to be expected.

He put the pictures down. He was always concerned about jumping to conclusions before the facts. He decided to rest a little before they arrived. They needed to see crime scenes and talk to witnesses first. He turned the pictures face down on the table and closed his eyes.

Reid was devouring a paper with the uninspiring title of "Concerning the Drugs on the Streets and Their Relationship to Local Crime." Hotch smiled inwardly to himself. By the end of this flight there would be little that Reid did not know about street drugs and crime.

He felt uneasy though. It was rare for serial killers to target men. He had a feeling that this was not going to be a straight forward case. He wondered if the UnSubs could be a couple.

He was also a little concerned about Reid. He had been off the Dilaudad now for at least a year. He was going to have to watch his youngest team member closely. This case could bring back some memories rather best forgotten.

-0-0-0-

They were met by the Captain of the precinct where the men had been killed. Hotch introduced his team, and sent Reid and Todd to the precinct HQ to set up and start the geo-profile. He went with Morgan to the dump sites and snatch scenes and Dave took Emily to talk to the families and friends of the latest victim.

They were riding against the clock with this one. This man was probably still alive.

The bodies had been dumped in alleyways behind restaurants where there was a lot of garbage. It sent a shiver through Hotch to think these UnSubs (since it was likely that there were at least two to be able to overpower a man) thought so little of their victims. He stooped down amongst the bags and saw indifference, not hatred.

'These are random attacks, Hotch.' Morgan said. 'Each abducted with a purpose in mind, and once the purpose is accomplished, the victims mean nothing.'

Hotch stood up again.

'And there's a sexual element to be considered.' he said.

Morgan nodded thoughtfully. 'That could be that the opportunity arose rather than escalation.'

'We need to know whether they were killed in the vehicle they were dumped from, or if the time was spent elsewhere.' Hotch said as they made their way back to the car.

'I'll get onto CSU.' Morgan answered, getting out his phone.

-0-0-0-

Back at the precinct, Hotch was surprised and pleased with the room they had been given to work in. They were clearly welcome here, which was unusual to say the least. He called his team together and began collating facts.

Dave and Emily had visited Elston's family. They had been to a wedding that day, and Carol, the victim's wife, had been taken ill and had gone home early.

'When Charlie wasn't home the next day, I called the police.' she said. Emily had taken her hand.

'We are going to do everything we can to find your husband, Mrs Elston.' she had said, hoping that it would not be a body that they would be bringing home to her.

Aaron asked Reid if he had come up with anything.

'I think our UnSub or UnSubs are poachers. From the snatch pattern, it looks as if they come in from out of town, snatch their victims, and move on to another destination.' Reid said. 'The carpet fibres are from household carpet, so it seems as if our victims are being kept somewhere residential. The bodies are dumped back in this city at the same time, the next victim is snatched.'

'Pathology on the victims show they die shortly before being dumped, and they are kept alive for about a week.' Todd said.

'So we have five days to catch these poachers.' Aaron said. 'We will deliver a profile in the morning Jordan, arrange for a press conference at ten. I will field the questions. Maybe we can draw the UnSubs to us, make it easier for him, or her, to inject themselves into the investigation. Then everybody get some rest, meet back here at seven thirty and we'll get the profile together.'

The hotel they had booked into was only a block away, so they walked together along the deserted streets. Emily was discussing the case with Jordan and Dave. Hotch walked in silence listening to what was being said, ready to make mental notes of anything important that came out.

When they got to the hotel, they booked into their three twin rooms. Aaron was sharing with Dave.

'So what do you make of it, Dave?' Hotch asked, as Dave split a miniature of Bells into two glasses. He shot soda into his, Aaron took his neat.

'I think there's a woman here somewhere.' Dave said. 'A Folie á Deux.'

'Yes I was thinking that too – like the British Moors Murderers Brady and Hindley. Neither would probably become killers without the other's intervention.'

Hotch sipped his drink slowly as he thought.

'So we are looking for a couple, man and woman, the dominant one being the elder of the two.'

'Late twenties, early thirties most likely.' Dave said.

'Come from out of town, select and snatch their victim.....'

'And drive on to where ever they hold them, somewhere residential, but secluded so no one hears the screams of the victims.'

Dave sighed and finished his drink. 'It would be nice to visit a city one day and not have to track down a killer.'

Aaron agreed. 'Everywhere we go we leave tainted.' he said, taking another sip of the drink, and enjoying the burning as it slid down his throat.

Dave took his go-bag into the bathroom. Hotch took his pyjamas out of his and slowly finished his drink and Dave showered.

-0-0-0-

They local cops were eager to hear what the profilers had come up with. They listened as each team member delivered the information connected with their own area of expertise.

Hotch stepped forwards. 'This is the profile we have come up with so far.'

'We are looking at at least two UnSubs.' Dave said. 'Probably a man and a woman, the elder of the two being dominant. The dominant personality will be aged between twenty five and thirty five.'

Reid stepped forwards. 'They travel into your city in the vehicle in which they abduct the victims. It will likely be an old but well kept van. Nothing that will attract attention. They use this vehicle to convey the bodies to the dump sites.'

'They will be fit and healthy – abducting a man seems to be easy for them.' Morgan said. 'They take their chosen victim to a place out of town. Household carpet fibres were found on the victims bodies, and it is possible that they were kept in a house at some point, or wrapped in a carpet for transport.'

'The UnSubs do not use a weapon on the victims, but inject them with a drug. Keeping the victim subdued is not a problem for them.' Emily said. 'The last two were raped by a man. This could be a reward given by the more dominant partner to her protégé. This would indicate that the submissive partner is a man.'

Hotch stepped forwards again. 'Are there any questions?' he asked. One cop put her hand up.

'Could there be more than two..... erm..... UnSubs?'

'It is possible, but extremely rare outside of terrorist cells and gangs, and these cases don't point to that being so.' he answered. 'Anyone else?'

The room was silent.

'Ok thank you for your attention.' he turned away from the cops and addressed Jordan.

'Have you set up the press conference?'

She nodded, consulting her watch. 'Yes. Starts in thirty minutes.'

Hotch nodded, and gathered his notes off the table.

'After the press conference, I'd like Dave and Reid to visit the Carter family, and Emily and Morgan to go and chat with the Drurys. I'll take Todd to see the first two families,' he consulted the file, 'Wakeman and Harrisson.'

It was going to be a long day. Hotch led Jordan out to the front of the building where the press were already waiting for them.

-0-0-0-

Somewhere at the edge of the city in a little trailer, a man and a woman watched the press conference on TV.

'Hey they're good!' the man said, clearly impressed.

'Too damned good.' she answered. 'We might have to change cities.

'Oh but I like it here.' whined the man.

'Don't worry, my boy. I'll take care of you.' She smiled a sly smile at him. 'Would you like to play tonight?'