Moonlight streamed through a small window in a dark room, a cool breeze rolling in through the opening. A few yards away a muscular man was staring absentminded at a TV. A young blonde woman was answering questions as a middle aged woman was being escorted away from the cameras.
"Charlotte has been missing for eighteen hours now, correct?" A man's voice questioned.
"She was last seen eighteen hours ago but she may have been abducted later than that. That's why we're appealing to anyone who heard or saw anything out of the ordinary last night" The woman answered coolly.
"Is this abduction connected to the murders of Emma Jones and Sarah Wright?" A woman called.
"We are looking into a connection but none have been yet"
"These abductions have been going on for six weeks now… Why is it the FBI have only just become involved?" Another woman asked followed by a few mumbles of agreement.
"As I said before, Emma Jones' and Sarah Wright's murders have not yet been connected to Charlotte Moore's abduction. We have simply been called in to help the local police department and bring peace to as many of the families involved as we can" The blonde paused to let the information sink in before leaning back. "That will be all for today. If anyone has information that could help our investigation we encourage them to call our hotline on-" The woman's voice left the room and the TV screen went blank.
The man heaved his body up, traipsed down a hallway and slowly opened a door. He peered inside and saw the girl was lying quite still on the bed. Her breathing was deep and slow, like she was sleeping. He moved closer to her, his finger running over the chain on one of her ankles. He brushed a few strands of hair out of her face and she stirred in her sleep.
"It's a shame I can't keep you for as long as the others, Charlotte" The man spoke softly as he ran a hand along the cuts and burns on her stomach. "If you'd tried a little harder it might have been worth the risk…" He trailed of slightly when her eyes fluttered open. "Be a good girl, now" He instructed as he reached for her throat, her eyes widening in fear.
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Emily's eyes glided through the text, her lips bitterly twisting into a smile. This girl might have had trouble at school but if she had been given a chance they would have realised she had a lot of potential. Reid glanced up from his paperwork and smiled weakly at Emily. "I can finish your paperwork if you want to do something else" He offered.
Emily shook her head and sighed. "It's just this girl… I know I shouldn't make things personal but it's hard not to" She explained with a hopeless look. "I mean, it's easy to see where the teachers went wrong. In the creative writing class she flourished but as soon as she was assigned something her confidence and talent collapsed" She added while holding up pieces of paper as evidence. "She never spoke up in class but clearly knew the answers in her written work. And, to top everything off, she never turned up to classes that was taught by a dominant personality"
"Fear of authority probably linked to deep seated insecurity and low self esteem" Reid said in a matter of fact way. "It's nothing we haven't seen before, Em" He added in a friendlier tone.
"I know…" The woman sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I can't explain it, it's just…" She let out a breath and shook the thoughts out of her head. "Never mind, I'm gonna get some coffee. Do you want any?"
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"This guy is like the creep of the century Jayj" Garcia commented as she typed more information into the computer. "I know that some guys like to kill people who are sad because they think they're helping but this guy doesn't even do that!"
"I know Garcia, that's why we need to catch him and the only way to do that is if you use your magic tech powers and find him for us" JJ said softly down the phone, the detective that was waiting impatiently a few feet away was setting her on edge.
Garcia paused; thought for a moment then nodded to herself and continued typing. "Alright, I went and looked into Emma and Sarah's social networking sights and it was super different compared to Harley's" She said, calling Charlotte by her preferred nickname. "Emma had the usual stuff a teenager has; pinterest, facebook, twitter, etc. She updated them quite a lot, from what I can tell"
"What about Sarah?" The blonde questioned.
"She had a facebook but she wasn't really on it that much…" Garcia explained while resuming her typing. "She would occasionally log on to talk to a couple people but that's about it"
"Alright, thanks Pen"
"It's nothing, just go find our girl" Garcia called, voicing everyone's feelings toward Harley, before hanging up the phone.
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Hotch placed one of the files that had been sent over of prospective UnSubs on a pile of others he'd read through and picked up another. Across the room Rossi had a file in his lap and was taking a sip of coffee. "I don't trust Harris" Hotch confessed, his eyes not leaving the page.
Rossi put his plastic coffee cup down and turned the page of the file. "Me neither. Something seems off with the whole station. I know some of them have reasons to not want the FBI here but you'd think the lead detective would be happy for the extra help"
Hotch thought for a moment then glanced up from his file. "Do you think one of them might have something to do with this case?"
"Almost all of them fit a general profile. A man of high power, physically fit with a grudge against the public. If anything, being a cop would just be what the guy needed to reel in the victims" Rossi explained thoughtfully.
"I'll get Garcia to have a look into some of the cops. Get the team into a private room as discreetly as you can, we'll need to be alone to do this"
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JJ brushed off another officer's request for a talk before slipping into a private room, casting a backward glance to make sure no one was too suspicious. The blinds were drawn and the team were gathered around a small table with Garcia on speaker phone.
"I've got six guys who fit the profile" Garcia stated in a low voice.
"Send the names and as much information you can find on them over to us" Hotch instructed before the phone call ended.
"No prizes for guessing one of the six will be Harris" Morgan said, his body language showing he was obviously aggravated.
"If the UnSub is a cop, how are we going to find out who it is? I've been hounded by almost every officer in the department today… I'm surprised we've all been left alone this long" JJ added with a disheartened look as she took a seat between Reid and Morgan.
"If Harris is on the list we'll have to investigate him first. If he's cleared from our checks then its one less thing to worry about" Hotch explained. "In the mean time we should get to work on the names" He added as a piece of paper churned out of the fax machine by the table. "Morgan and JJ- work on Officer Sinclair and Officer Smithson. Reid, Prentiss, Rossi and I will look into Harris. I know this is a tough case for you all but we need to be as impartial as we can… Let's get to work"
So, the nets might be tightening around the UnSub but he could be getting rid of Harley… Sounds like a lot of drama, huh? Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter and please review if you've got time!
