"Okay, so the locals found Hotch's car sunk in a canal not far from the parking area we identified." Rossi was watching as Reid put another pin into the map.
"And, according to Morgan, the GPS had been disabled," Reid filled in the details. "So, whoever this is, they definitely know what they are doing."
"What did you and Garcia find going through the records?" Rossi asked.
"A lot of people undoubtedly have it out for Hotch," Reid replied. "He has helped put a very large number of criminals in jail. However, it appears that very few of them have the connections and/or the abilities to set something like this up. Garcia is currently checking on them and also on their relatives and associates."
"Smart move," Rossi agreed. "You never know who is going to be out seeking revenge."
"Forget revenge," Garcia charged into the room carrying her laptop. "I have found something really interesting."
She looked around. "Are Morgan and JJ back yet?" she asked.
"Not yet," Reid checked his watch. "They were going to make sure Hotch's car was taken directly to the FBI crime lab garage before changing their clothes and coming up here. It should be at least another fifteen minutes before we see them."
"I can wait," Garcia sat down at the table and double-checked her computer screen. "I can wait."
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
"Okay, Baby Girl, we got your text," Morgan declared as he and JJ joined the rest of the team in the conference room.
"You said you've found something interesting," JJ added hopefully as she shook the water out of her hair and took a seat.
"I most certainly have," Garcia told them as she turned to look at the flat screen where several pictures were displayed. "I realized that the most recent opportunity anyone had to target Hotch was during the case you just finished in Florida. So, I decided to start looking there. And, this is what I found."
JJ looked at the pictures. "That's a woman and two children," she observed. "How are they connected to our case in Florida?"
"They aren't," Garcia told her. "Actually, they live about 25 miles north of the area you were in, in St. Lucie County."
"Then how - ?" Morgan began.
"I would like you to meet Monica Taylor and her year old daughter Melody," Garcia interrupted him. "At first glance, they appear to be normal, well-adjusted people. However, Monica is a single mom and, when she didn't drop her daughter off at day care yesterday morning, the people there began checking."
"And – ?" Rossi was being patient.
"There was no sign of her or her daughter at their house," Garcia reported. "Her car was still there and there were no signs of a break-in. However, that's not the strangest part. Take a closer look at Monica."
Morgan and Reid both walked closer to the screen and began staring at it.
"OMG!" Morgan gasped.
"I don't know what that means," Reid said. "But if you are trying to say that she looks a lot like Hotch, I agree."
"She looks enough like him to be his sister," Rossi agreed. "And, you say that whoever this is, they took her kid too?"
"As well as this young man," Garcia focused on the second child. "This is two and a half year old Brice Williams and he was apparently abducted yesterday evening from the enclosed back yard of his home, which is also located in St. Lucie County. According to his parents, one minute he was out there playing and the next minute he was gone. A search of the neighborhood and surrounding area has turned up nothing."
"And, again, he resembles Hotch," Rossi was examining the picture.
"He looks more like him than Jack does," Reid observed thoughtfully.
"I would assume they live not far from the Taylor family," Morgan suggested.
"About three miles away," Garcia told him grimly.
"Is someone maybe trying to start a family?" JJ suggested.
"But, this was in Florida," Reid pointed out. "That would mean that Hotch was targeted while we were there and then whoever this is followed him back to Virginia just to grab him."
"Stranger things, Kid," Rossi observed sagely. "Stranger things – "
"Garcia," Morgan began.
"I'm already on it," Garcia assured him. "I'm checking all available footage from wherever Hotch went while you were in Florida, looking to see if I can spot someone who looks suspicious."
"Let me help you with that," Rossi offered. "I have a little more experience with spotting strangers on a train."
"Ah - Ha – An old movie reference," Garcia trilled. "I think we are on the right trail already."
"In the meantime, I'll contact the police departments who are handling both missing persons' cases," Morgan took out his cell phone. "Let's see if there is anything additional they can tell me."