"Rossi and I just came from our Section Chief's office," Hotch told the team after they had assembled in the conference room. "It seems she has reservations concerning of our current investigation."
"Hotch, we have at least 15 women missing, possibly more," Morgan pointed out. "Just because they are spread out across the country doesn't mean they aren't connected. The MO is the same for all of them."
"Is this because we haven't found any bodies?" JJ asked. "Because, we have had cases in the past where the body was missing and we still were able to locate and provide enough evidence to convict the perp."
"The lack of bodies is just part of it," Rossi commented. "There is the fact that we are still working to tie all the abductions together."
"Well, I have been checking on the Bellingham, Washington, cases and I think I may have something," Garcia announced.
"Okay?" Blake was interested.
"I was checking into the women abducted in Bellingham," Garcia began as she put a group of three pictures up on the flat screen. "Again, we have one professional, in this case a Marketing Manager (MBA), one skilled worker, an accounting clerk, and one unskilled worker, a farmwife. It was while I was looking at the picture of our accounting clerk, Laurie Myers, that I noticed it."
Reid got out of his seat and walked closer to peer at the picture. "She's standing in front of a bookcase," he observed.
"YES!" Garcia cheered. "This picture was taken for the local paper because she volunteered at a local literacy program."
"She helped teach adults to read?" Blake asked.
"And, that brought her into contact with books, books, and more books," Garcia pointed out. "That's when I went back to check on some of our other abductees."
"Edie Warner had cookbooks stacked on her kitchen table," Reid remembered.
"And, Aimee Fox read everything that came her way," Morgan filled in.
"Plus, Carole Sheldon had arranged for a donation of children's books," Blake pointed out.
"Garcia, did you find out where all these books came from?" Rossi inquired.
"Inquiring minds want to know," Garcia informed him. "And, while I may not have found out the exact source of everyone's personal reading material, I have located a coincidence. And, I know none of you like coincidences."
"And, that is?" Hotch was getting impatient.
"Books Galore!" Garcia announced. "The mega bookstore chain. They opened a new store in each of the cities where women went missing, at around the same time they disappeared."
"They opened a store out in Reston, Virginia, about two years ago," Reid remembered.
"And, that is when three women from that area went missing," JJ filled in.
"Garcia, we need you to check the employees at each store," Hotch began his instructions. "We need to know if any of them have a background that would suggest they are capable of abducting these women."
"Already done," Garcia told him gleefully. "And, you are going to love this one!"
"Garcia!" Morgan wanted to cut to the chase.
"Okay, okay – I just thought you might want to take a break and laud my brilliance," Garcia told him.
"Consider yourself lauded," Rossi told her. "Now?"
"Okay, there is one employee who stands out, and here she is," Garcia put a picture on the flat screen. "Meet Sharon Taggart. She actually works for the corporate office of Books Galore and her main responsibility is overseeing the set-up and stocking of new stores. She travels to each new location to oversee the receiving of the books and the stocking of the shelves. She then remains at the location through the first two to three weeks of operation to help the manager determine stocking levels."
"Where is she now?" JJ inquired.
"That's the unfortunate part," Garcia reported. "Approximately one week ago she sent in her letter of resignation and disappeared. No one has heard from her since. And, as far as I can determine, she has gone completely off the grid."