Hotch and Rossi walked up to Reid and Morgan, who were setting up all the collected information onto the whiteboards.
"Hey," Reid greeted, "did Veronica remember anything?"
"She said that they were supposed to have dinner after the debate was scheduled to end at ten, but Evelyn never arrived at the debate. So somewhere beforehand the unsub was able to abduct her without raising suspicion." Hotch summarized.
"Are you ready to give the profile?" He asked.
"Almost," Morgan replied, "but we figured that Emily and Joshua would be back for this."
"You're right; they should be back by now." Hotch said as he looked at his watch.
"They could be taking it slow. The gated community that Mrs. Daniels lives in is up on the hill, and the only way to get up there is through one of the seven winding back roads. And with the cold temperatures and gusting winds, they could take up to ninety minutes to get back, assuming that they just finished speaking to her and are now leaving." Reid stated. They nodded in understanding and prepared to give the profile without them. As the night sky outside grew darker, they waited for everyone to file in and began.
"We believe our unsub is a white male in his mid to late thirties. He likes to hold his victims for long periods of time before disposing of them, and takes time in making sure that they are properly weighed down." Hotch started. "He believes that women should only be in care giving roles like that of a housewife or mother."
Rossi added, "In order to hold these women for a long period he would need a secluded area; likely somewhere up along the hills near the reservoir. Dragging over one hundred pounds of dead weight would be very difficult. He most likely drives a dark colored pickup truck; something that is not uncommon and wouldn't be strange to see around the area. He also has training in the field; we believe he either is or was in some type of law enforcement. He's smart and knows how to cover his tracks." Rossi then passed it on to Morgan.
"The extreme violence he exerts on these women tells us that he's a sexual sadist, and that they're a surrogate for someone who hurt him; most likely a wife or mother. They may have left for their career, which is where his resentment for strong women started." To this Reid added,
"Up to this point he has been careful not to leave behind any evidence at any of the scenes, which means he is meticulous and focuses on every detail. Everything has to be perfect for this unsub. They also want recognition for their acts. Which is why he sent the package to us, and a letter to the local news stations. He is a skilled liar and is rather charming, which is how he lured his victims. It's likely that if you ask his neighbors or friends about his misogynistic attitude, they would be completely shocked. They would not believe that this person is capable of doing something like this."
One of the officers raised his hand, and Reid gestured for him to speak.
"Why is he cutting out their uterus? What does that mean?"
"His fixation on the womb, combined with the level of torture he exerts on the victims, means he doesn't believe these women are capable of performing their 'rightful duties'. He believes he is punishing them for not remaining in their proper place." Reid paused, allowing Hotch to take it. The female officers in the room squirmed in fury. Each one imagined what they would do to this son of a bitch if they were the one to take him down.
"Since he just got rid of his last victim, he is now on the hunt for the next. And with the level of torture he used on Evelyn Gifford, along with the shorter time span he held her for, means that he's devolving. He could already have his next victim, which means we have to find him now. Thank you." As the officers stood from their seats, the group came back together and began to talk.
"Do you think we'll find him before then?" Morgan asked. None of them were really sure if they would catch him before he took another woman.
"We gave them the profile. Now we have to hope that we'll catch him in time."
Reid stopped to think, triggered by Hotch's words. He rushed over to one of the officers' desks and began thumbing through the drawers. Hotch and Morgan followed him, wondering what he was figuring out.
"What is it, Reid?"
"Something Officer Perry said. He said 'I wonder if we'll catch this guy in time, or if he'll just keep alluding us forever.'"
"So, that just means he's as frustrated as every other officer in this station." Morgan said.
"No, he said it almost like he admired the unsub." Reid finally found what he was looking for in Officer Perry's desk drawer. He pulled out a framed picture of himself and his ex wife on their wedding day. Her side of the glass was smashed in as though the picture had been punched repeatedly, and her face had been inked out.
"You were right about the unsub possibly having training in the field. He's a cop." Morgan said, shocked by this terrifying revelation.
"He told me his wife left him; that would definitely be a trigger." Rossi said.
"Guys, Emily is with Officer Perry." Reid said, still shocked by his discovery.
"A strong, confident brunette who has a career. That fits his preference to a 'T'." Morgan said.
"But he's smart. Perry knows that if we figure out its him, he'd have no way to hold her. We know she's with him, and his home address is on file in the station records." Reid stated, hoping that would be the case.
"But he's devolving, which means he would be too desperate to try and be careful. As soon as he gets Emily alone, she's in danger." Hotch said.
"We need to tell her."
As Emily and Joshua were leaving the Daniels home, she couldn't help feeling that the last hour and a half had been a waste of time. She hadn't been able to provide any new information, and it seemed like they were just chasing their tails. As they walked back to the SUV, Emily noticed that the street light they'd parked next to had gone out. The darkness of the street was unsettling.
Her breath curled out of her lips in white plumes, the cold air making her cheeks turn pink. She suppressed a shiver as Joshua fell in step behind her. It was strangely quiet outside; not a cricket chirp or a bird call could be heard.
The sudden vibration from the phone in her pocket almost made her jump.
Calm yourself; it's just your phone.
She didn't even know why she was feeling so skittish. It's not like she was alone and unarmed. She had backup and a glock strapped to her belt. She was ready should anything happen. She looked down at her phone and saw the text that Morgan had sent her.
"Get back to the station now. Perry is the unsub."
She almost froze where she stood. She couldn't believe what she read. Joshua is the unsub? She was in danger; she knew she was his type and if he had the chance, he'd abduct her too. But she wasn't about to let that happen. She turned suddenly to face Joshua, making him almost crash into her.
"Oh! Sorry, Agent. I wasn't watching where I was going." He said. "What does the text say? Any new leads?" He asked, indicating her phone.
"Nothing yet," she lied, "just agent Morgan letting me know that the briefing started. Hey, you look pretty tired. Why don't you let me drive? It's a long way back and you could use some rest."
"That's alright, I'm sure I'll be fine." He responded.
"And I'm sure that I'd rather not crash on the way back to the station."
He hesitated, allowing Emily to speak again.
"Don't worry, I'm not that bad of a driver."
Joshua smiled and began to reach into his pocket for the keys, but then he just stopped.
He knew.
His whole demeanor changed from a calm, rational man to that of a bloodthirsty animal. His eyes were filled with malice as he smiled wickedly at her. Emily knew she was in danger; she had to get out now. He grabbed her by the arm and punched her hard. Her head flew back from the blow, and she could feel the blood beginning to drip from her nose. But she fought back, striking him with an uppercut to the jaw from her free elbow. She kicked him in the groin and then kneed him in the gut before she pulled out her gun. He fell to the ground, heaving for breath. She dialed Morgan's number, but he pounced on her, tackling her onto the thick grass lawn. Obviously he hadn't been as subdued as he'd pretended to be. Her gun flew into one of the overgrown bushes and out of sight. The wind was knocked out of her, and with him on top of her, she could barely breathe. She saw her phone dialing, and she could just barely hear Morgan answer.
"Emily? Emily are you there?"
He grinned at his new prize, socking her in the stomach a few times for good measure. She let out gasps of pain as the air was forced out of her again. She tried to struggle as he put her into handcuffs, but that only him angry. He slammed her head into the ground, each painful jolt making the world around her become more and more blurry. As everything grew dark, he leaned in close enough for her to feel his breath on her skin.
"Don't fight it. You know you want this." That made her struggle even more. He ran his fingers through her hair in a caress as he kissed her neck. She tried to pull away, but he wrapped his fingers around her brown hair, pulling it tight.
"Oh no. I don't think so." He slammed her head into the ground one last time. Everything faded to black. As she drifted out of consciousness, she could hear Derek's voice plain as day.
"Emily answer me! What's going on, are you safe? Where is Officer Perry? . . . Emily? . . . Emily!"
