Chapter 4
The three agents made their way back to FBI headquarters in downtown Dallas, but soon found themselves stuck in the famous Dallas rush hour. It had been six hours since they landed, and one hour since they had talked to Jamie Hudson's family. Reid sat in the back looking over the notes from the Hudson murder, and Elle sat in the passenger seat looking over the notes from the MacPherson murder.
Hotch glanced at Elle. "What was that all about back there?"
Elle didn't look at him. "What was what all about?"
"You know. The 'I know what you're going through' thing."
Elle didn't answer.
"What, you don't trust us?"
That got Elle's attention. "You know that's not true."
"Then why won't you tell us? You've been so distracted through this whole case. Something's been bugging you, Elle, and I want to know what it is. Right, Reid?"
She looked back at him, and their eyes met. Reid cleared his throat. "Um, Elle… I know you don't want to tell us, but statistics show that if you tell people how you feel, it makes you feel better." Elle stared at him and he looked into her eyes. "You don't have to tell us… but we'll listen, if you do want."
Elle turned around and stared out the window.
Hotch might have had the sun in his eyes, but he could have sworn he saw her wipe a tear from her cheek.
"Okay," Elle sighed.
Reid leaned forward a little.
She wiped her eyes again. "I was sixteen. I had gone to a party down the street from my house." She paused to collect herself. Reid and Hotch watched her carefully. "It was a little after midnight. I was walking home from my friend's house, and I heard a noise behind me." The tears began flowing freely. "Next thing I knew, a man grabbed me from behind. He dragged me off into the woods along the sidewalk and held a knife to my throat." She glanced at Reid, who had a thin streak down his cheek. "He started pulling off my clothes and said that if I screamed, he'd kill me." Elle took a deep breath and looked into Hotch's eyes. "I've never told anyone. Not even my parents. Not until this case. And never again."
Hotch said nothing, just stared at the road in front of him. Reid wiped his eyes, grabbed Elle's hand, and held it tightly. To his surprise, she didn't pull away. Just held on.
------------------------------------------
The team met back at the FBI headquarters. Gideon tacked the pictures on the bulletin board. Hotch glanced at Elle. Her face was calm and collected for the first time since the case began.
"What do we know about this guy?" J.J. asked.
"He knew each of the victims," Morgan began. He stood and crossed to the bulletin board, stopping in front of it. "He watched them, he studied them. He knew their habits." Morgan turned to face the team. "He's motivated by control. He wants to control these girls."
"Michelle's friend Alexa told me that Michelle was enamored with him, that he wouldn't let her do anything with any other or her friends," Elle interjected.
Morgan nodded. "Sounds like he needed control over her."
"She also said that Michelle had just decided to break it off with him," Hotch said.
"For someone obsessed with complete control, it would have been the last straw," Elle said. "What better way to gain control than tie her up, have his way with her, and slowly slit her throat?"
Gideon nodded. He picked up one of the pictures off the table. "Look at the way these girls are positioned." He pointed to the picture.
"Yeah, it's disgusting," Elle said.
"Wait." Reid stood and grabbed the photo. "Jack."
Gideon nodded.
"Jack?" Morgan asked.
"Jack the Ripper. The famous London serial killer. Picked up prostitutes and slaughtered them, placing their bodies in the most degrading positions," Reid answered.
"So he's copying a serial killer from over a century ago?" Elle asked, incredulous.
"Not exactly." Gideon pointed to the photos. "Each girl is flat on her back, clothes missing, with her arms tied over her chest. He's not trying to degrade them."
"He's trying to exercise his control over them," Elle finished.
Gideon nodded.
Elle picked up one of the file folders. "Serial rapists know their victims' every movements. They watch them carefully, they study them. Everything is planned to the last detail. They often have difficult home lives, have been wronged by a woman in their past. Most of them think of the man has the one with the control in a relationship, and when the woman takes away that control, they can't handle it."
"All of our victims' friends said that each girl had just gotten out of a controlling relationship with an older man," Hotch interjected.
"Then that's who we're looking for," Reid said.
"And we'd better find him soon," said Gideon. "Because he's probably found himself someone else by now."
