Everyone sat around the round table, except Rossi, and looked ahead at JJ as she stood next to the TV screen.
"23-year-old female found in a forest outside Seattle, Washington." JJ almost introduced her. "She was shot three times and prior to that she was raped multiple times on multiple occasions over a short period of time. She was found last night, dead 22 hours." Pictures of the girl and her body popped up on the screen as the team swiped through on their iPads.
"He'll be here soon, " Hotch reassured, "besides, he's well versed with this killer."
Spencer furrowed his brow, scrutinizing the picture in his hand. "Is this a tattoo in her back?"
"It's his signature, a heart burned between her shoulder-blades." Hotch answered solemnly.
Spencer's head shot up. "You think this is the Super-Killers?"
"I'm afraid so." Hotch almost apologized.
Morgan and Emily shared confused expressions.
"Super-Killers?" Emily questioned.
"About eight years ago," Spencer began, "three men began abducting young brunette women in the southern California are. They would keep them for about four days and over that span, at least in the case of Anastasia Williams, each raped the victim at least once a day, if not more. After those four days were up they would get another girl and then kill the last, execution style."
"Anastasia Williams, who is she?" Morgan asked.
"This," Rossi said from the doorway, "is Ana Williams."
He walked in and a young girl walked in. Her shoulders were squared, her face set, as if she was preparing for an attack. Even so, she glided in, her strawberry-blonde hair splaying out behind her.
"The one that got away." She stated simply.
Everyone was quiet, as they stared at her.
"Thank you very much for helping us on this case, Ana. The information you provide us with could save a life or more, but you can back out at any time." Hotchner paused. "Before we start, are you sure you want to do this?"
She swallowed hard, then she spoke with decisive certainty. "All that is necessary for the Triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."
Hotch looked as if he was going to protest but only nodded curtly.
There was another long, pregnant pause then Rossi pulled out a chair and offered her to sit. Ana accepted and he took a seat next to her.
"Their latest victim," JJ continued, "was Elena Smith, disappeared two nights ago from the parking lot of where she worked. The next afternoon their prior kidnapped kidnapped victim was found."
"The woods she was found in, how close was the nearest house?" Spencer asked.
"Pretty far, far enough that no one heard the shots." JJ answered.
"Then who found her?" Morgan questioned.
"Lost hunters, it's near a major deer hunting ground, they tried to look for somewhere with less people and stumbled on her."
Emily squinted at a picture on her tablet. "What are all these cuts on her lower legs?"
"We think she ran through the woods, away from her attackers." JJ responded.
"She escaped?" Spencer seemed skeptical.
"No." Ana answered vehemently.
Everyone looked at her questioningly, most having forgotten she was there.
She took a deep breath. "When they had me I was kept in a cage at all times, blindfolded. At least one checked on me about every hour. When they…" She paused, working up the courage to continue. "Took me out one would take me to a baren room and it would be locked from the outside. When he was done he had to call out to get one of the other guys to open the door."
Immediately Hotch said, "these guys were carefull before, after Ana got away they're not going to let it happen again." At that he stood up. "Wheels up in 30," and walked out of the room.
Everyone nodded and disperced.
On the plane, Rossi sat next to Ana in the four seater and Reid sat across from her.
From next to Spencer, Morgan asked, "if you don't mind me asking, given those conditions, how did you manage to escape?"
"Morg-" Rossi began scolding quietly, but he was interrupted by Ana holding her hand up.
"There were three of them, one, the leader, was nasty and rough, but there was another who was sweet and gentle, you know, as sweet and gentle as a rapist could be, after…he-he would apologize, he was the one who brought me food and water."
She paused. "One day they all left for awhile, longer than normal, and came back with another girl. I knew they were going to kill me, it's what happened with the girl before me. The leader, he-he made me kneel with my back to him. Then a gunshot went off but it didn't hit me and I heard the nice one scream 'go' and I just ran like hell.
"When I got outside I realized we were in a sequoia forest and ran for a bit, then hid in one of the knots. After a few hours of looking the two meaner ones stopped and went inside. By then it was almost morning and I ran until I got to a highway. I was lucky, the sweet one had mercy on me, I ran track." She sounded as if she was about to cry but she didn't.
Morgan turned to Rossi. "Did they ever find his body?"
Rossi shook his head. "We found the other girl the next day and they never took another girl again. Until now."
"Ana," Hotch said from the couch, "you said you woke up in a truck. Can you remember any traits of it, like the apulstry, the dashboard?"
Ana closed her eyes and thought for a minute. "The apolstry, it was tan, dirty, there was a rip in the back of the passenger seat. It was a Ford." She paused and thought some more, then opened her eyes. "I don't know if this helps or not but they were squabbling about which cassette to play."
"Did you see the outside?" Spencer interjected.
She shook her head. "They drugged me before they took me out."
"That's okay, how roomy was it? Like, sedan, sports, truck, SUV?"
She thought for a second. "SUV."
Spencer turned to Morgan. "Do you think you can get Garcia up?"
In a second her face was on the laptop on the table.
"Got something for me my lovelies?"
"Yeah, Garcia, can you pull up all vehicles registered in California before two-thousand-two." Spencer requested.
"Done. What next?"
"Now, can you narrow down the search to Ford SUV models, uh, the Explorer, Explorer Sport, Expedition, Excursion and the Escape."
There was a pause, then she look doubtfully to the camera. "Over a thousand hits."
Emily got up and walked over to the table. "He was spooked enough to stop killing, he was probably spooked enough to sell the car."
"Look for used ones sold after June fifth, two-thousand-two." Hotch ordered.
"Scanning for title transfers between June sixth and, let's say, August sixth." Clicking sounded in the background. Then she looked up with a more promising face. "Twenty hits. Sending now."
Rossi looked to Hotch. "We don't have time to talk to twenty people."
"I know." Hotch agreed. He turned to the screen. "Thank you Garcia."
She saluted him and closed the chat.
They all turned back to Ana.
"Can you tell us more about these men? The other two, how did they act?" Morgan asked gently.
"Well, there was kinda a discernible order. Like, there was the king douche bag, he ordered everyone around. Then there was the bishop douche bag, he only took orders from the king. Then there was the rook, he took orders from both." She equated her captors to chess pieces. "The king was really bossy he-he usually raped me more than once a day. He was really cautious, always made sure my blindfold was on. The bishop, he was more focused on the finite things. I remember when they went to take away the girl before me he had to insist multiple times that they lay down a tarp before putting her in the truck."
"I think it's safe to assume that the 'rook' is no longer part of the picture." Spencer interrupted.
"Why?" Ana seemed a little upset by this.
"When the lowest does something so crucially wrong like let a victim go, they're usually killed, probably very violently. The body is probably just hidden very well." Spencer explained.
Everyone else but Ana shot him a look. It was then that he looked at Ana and saw that she didn't like this news.
"I'm sorry." Was all Spencer said.
"Hey guys!" Garcia said excitedly from the laptop. When she had everyone's attention she went on. "So I cross checked the list I sent you with deaths around that time, no hits, but I did find that one Andrew Lancaster showed up at a southern Cali hospital nearly beaten to death."
Hotch stood up and took out his cell. "I'll call California state police, have them go pick him up."
"No rush," Garcia said sadly, "he's an amnesiac. Barely remembers who his mom is."
Everyone sighed.
"We should still try. She if they can fly him up or something. We need to talk to him" Rossi waged.
"On it."
"What about the parents, maybe they remember someone Andrew was very close to."
"Send us their numbers." demanded Rossi.
"They are on their way, over and out."
"JJ, when we touch tarmac I want you to contact the family, like Rossi said." Hotch told her. Then he turned to Morgan. "Morgan, you and Prentiss go to the dump site. Rossi and I will talk to Mr. and Mrs. Smith." He turned to Ana and his voice got a little gentler. "Ana, I want you to stay with Doctor Reid, try to tell him any location information you remember, this will help him build a geographical profile."
All present nodded.
