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Emily and JJ made their way hurriedly back to the main office where a television was switched to the news channel all day. The latter barked at the young officer holding the remote, startling him. "Turn the volume up now!" The young man fumbled with the remote as he blasted the television to its full volume, just in time to catch the Washington Mayor stepping onto the podium to give her statement.
In a sharply cut blazer and pencil skirt, the tight face of Yvette Morton stared straight into the eye of the camera. "People of Washington, I stand here today not as your mayor, but as a mother who loves her daughter. Three nights ago, my daughter, Patricia Morton, was abducted from a party at Wilson High School, and she has not been seen since." She took a deep breath as the cameras flashed eagerly, wanting to capture the vulnerable image of a powerful politician begging for her daughter's safe return.
"The police have determined that she is a victim of a serial killer who has killed four girls in the span of more than a year. Now I don't know who this killer is, nor do I know what he or she hopes to gain by murdering all these innocent women." A steely look entered her eyes and she straightened, anger and the promise of retribution radiating from her, and some of the officers who had gathered to watch the press conference flinched. "My daughter is a good, kind and innocent girl, who has done nothing wrong, and I can promise you this; justice will be dealt for all the girls you have harmed, and as a mother I swear to you, I will hunt you down if you even hurt a hair on my daughter. I will take any questions that you may have now."
The media leapt into a furor and reporters began shouting questions at the mayor. JJ sighed, a heavy weight settling on her shoulders as she motioned at the young officer, "Turn it off, thank you."
Emily looked concernedly at her, suddenly feeling dread pool at the pit of her stomach. "JJ, why do I get the feeling that the mayor might have just signed her daughter's death warrant?" The blonde shook her head and they headed back to the table they had previously occupied, "That's because I'm pretty sure she just did. She publically threatened the UnSub with a show of political power Em, and any chances we've had at finding Patricia Morton were just seriously cut down. I hate to say this, but if we don't find anything soon, we might be expecting another body."
Emily bit her lip and sighed, spying Hotch entering the station with Chief Bors. "Hotch is here, we better tell him what's going on." The women greeted the men with grim smiles and Hotch grimaced, "I'm assuming you watched the press conference?" JJ frowned and shook her head, "I'm sorry sir, I had no idea the mayor was going to go to the media. I just called her yesterday to remind her that it would be wise to stay low for the moment but she just…" She sighed, "I'm really sorry Hotch. And the thing is Sam Carlton most likely isn't our guy; the real killer is still out there."
He shook his head and squeezed her shoulder a bit, "It's not your fault JJ; no one could have predicted what the mayor was going to do. You did the best we could." Chief Bors cleared his throat and brought everyone's attention on him, "I'm guessing this isn't good." Emily crossed her arms, "She publically antagonized the UnSub, almost challenging him to hurt her daughter. Do we know if the UnSub knew Patricia's the mayor's daughter when he abducted her?"
Hotch placed his hands on his hips, mouth a thin, grim line. "We have to assume he did know, but even if he didn't know that before, he knows it now." Bors ran a hand over his tired face, "But wouldn't that be a good thing? I mean, like you said, he could get angry and kill Patricia, but say he knows now that she's the mayor's daughter; wouldn't that be a deterrent for killing her? He'd be dealt a heavier punishment than if he didn't kill Patricia, so why take the risk?"
"We have to hope that knowing Patricia's real identity will stop him from killing her. But for now we have to find that killer; fast." Hotch turned towards Emily, "Reid and Dave not back yet?" She shook her head, "They called a little while ago, said they found one suspect but the other wasn't at school, but they have an idea where he might be. If the suspects and the two boys who were with Sam Carlton the night Patricia was abducted are the same people, then Derek might have the names. Do you want Reid and Rossi to come back here now?" "No, get the name of the suspects and Chief Bors, see if you can bring the first suspect in for questioning. Prentiss, I want you to get Garcia do a background check for the two suspects; one of them has to be our UnSub. JJ, run damage control. See if the other news channels and newspapers are willing to hold off from running the story; there's a chance the UnSub didn't manage to catch the press conference just now." Hotch rapidly shot off orders, aware that even more so than before, their time, and Patricia Morton's was running out fast.
Derek came over just as the two women headed off with their designated tasks, with Emily pausing to get the names from Derek. "What'd I miss?" Hotch glanced at him somberly, "The mayor just had a press conference and pretty much issued a challenge to him. Things aren't looking too good for Patricia." Derek winced, "Damn! We're running out of time Hotch, Sam Carlton isn't our UnSub and I'm pretty sure he has no idea who killed the girls." Bors grunted and straightened a little, "Guess we better get moving then. What are the names of the suspects, Agent Morgan?" The dark skinned man listed the names off for the officer who left, whistling sharply for Detective Bart and another female officer to follow him.
Emily dialed Penelope's number, her grim mood lifted somewhat by the bubbly greeting the blonde shot over the phone. "Penelope Garcia, Goddess of All Things Technological and Awesome speaking." "Hey Garcia, I need you to run two names for me; Hank Howards and Keith Barnes, both are students at Wilson High." The sound of rapid keystrokes filled the line before the technical analyst spoke up, "Right, sent their files over to your PDAs and here's the gist of it. Hank Howards, 18 years old, is the star quarterback at Wilson High. The guy is clean; no juvenile records, no restraining orders, no drug history; nothing. He has one sister, Calleigh Howards, and they both live with their aunt, Lisa Monet, after their mother, Carrie Howards nee Monet died when Hank was 14."
Emily scrolled through the file Garcia just sent her, eyes scanning for any inconsistencies in the boy's life. "What about Barnes?" A few more keystrokes and Garcia's voice spewed the information as quickly as she could. "Keith Barnes, 17 years old, was on the Wilson High football team but got kicked out after he started failing classes last year." Garcia whistled as she read through his rap sheet, "For a 17 year old, this kid has some major issues. He has a juvie record as long as about my arm; let's see, charged for petty thieving at the age of 14, a B&E that same year, and before he transferred to Wilson High at the age of 16, he was kicked out from Anacostia High School. At 16, he was in juvenile custody for drug possession but was later released on bail. His parents divorced when he was 12 and he's lived with his mother since."
Emily nodded, even though she knew Garcia couldn't see it. "Thanks Pen, I'll call you when we have something else." "Take care sweet cheeks. Garcia out."
The brunette moved towards where Hotch and Derek were going through Sam Carlton's interview as she passed JJ who was on the phone, furiously speaking to representatives of the media. "Hey, Garcia sent us the files on the two suspects; they're about as different as night and day. Hank Howards seems to be a model students and upstanding member of society with no criminal records whatsoever, but Keith Barnes has been accumulating quite the rap sheet since he was 14."
JJ joined them then, snapping her phone shut. "Most of the major newspapers and news channels agreed to hold the news off for 6 hours, and after that they're breaking their silence." The blonde huffed, "We don't have much time here."
Hotch hesitated for a moment before gesturing for them to sit down. "Let's take another look at the victims again; there could be something we missed in the process. We'll start with Selina Camden." The four agents sat at the table, rifling through notebooks and files to bring out everything they had on the girls. Emily read the details for Selina's abduction and murder aloud. "Ok, victim number 1, Selina Camden, 18 years old. Attended Wilson High as a student and head cheerleader before she was abducted and murdered. She was last seen on June 26, 2012 at an after party for a football match between Wilson High and Anacostia High. Her friend, Cynthia Nelson reported seeing her leave alone, but stated that she could have been going to meet someone."
"Victim number 2, Angelina Gothman, 17 years old. She was a student and cheerleader at Coolidge High and had a history of drugs and being a problem student." JJ peered at the file before her, "She was last seen on January 30, 2013 at an after party for a football match between Wilson High and Coolidge High. She was also seen leaving with three boys matching the descriptions of our suspects." Derek tapped his pen rhythmically, "Carrie White, 17 as well, was victim number 3. Student and cheerleader at Dunbar High, and like Angelina was a problem student who was using as well. Last seen on April 15, 2013, again at an after party for the football match between Wilson High and Dunbar High. No one saw when she left the party and she was only reported missing after 3 days."
Hotch frowned as the smiling face of Mary Mitchell stared up at him. "Victim number 4 was Mary Mitchell, age 18. She was head cheerleader at Archbishop Carroll High School, a private high school in proximity with all the other schools. Her friends last saw her on May 30, 2013 when they were at the after party for the friendly match between Wilson High's soccer team and that of Archbishop Carroll High." "Victim number 5, Patricia Morton, age 18 and head cheerleader at Emerson Preparatory School." Dave entered the conversation as he and Reid joined the rest of the team. Reid recited the remaining facts easily, "Disappeared from Wilson High 3 nights ago with Hank Howards, Keith Barnes and Sam Carlton."
Emily leaned back into her chair, "So basically, these girls have nothing else in common other than the fact that their schools interacted with that of the UnSub and they were all cheerleaders. They were also from affluent families, but we don't know yet how that plays into the UnSub's method of choosing his victims." Derek shook his head, "We can't even tie the other two suspects to the murders; only Angelina and Patricia have been seen leaving with boys whose descriptions match those of Howards and Barnes."
Reid steepled his fingers together, "I don't think the UnSub stalks these girls; despite his specific preferential type he chooses whoever catches his eye. These girls have nothing in common except their outward appearances, but they must have done the same thing to make them targets in the UnSub's eyes."
Rossi nodded, "We find the trigger, we find out why he takes them."
"Did you find the second suspect?" Hotch turned towards Reid and Rossi, the wheels in his head turning furiously to find the connection between the girls. Reid shook his head as he tucked a strand of hair behind his ear, "We didn't find Hank Howards but we go ahold of his aunt whom he's been staying with. She said she'll call to let us know where he is in a moment."
JJ bit her lip; something just didn't sit right with her. "Hey you guys, Cynthia Nelson said something about not everyone liking Selina, said she had something of a mean streak. And wasn't there some altercation between Angelina Gothman and another student?" Reid nodded, mind flashing to grasp hold of that particular memory. "Yeah, eye witnesses said that she had a fight with one of the newer cheerleaders from her school and she slapped the girl." Hotch leaned forward, "Mrs. Holden, Carrie's teacher said the same thing about Carrie. Apparently students didn't really like her despite her popularity and that she was somewhat of a bully, but never physically aggressive."
"That can't be a coincidence; do you think that's part of why the UnSub chose them as victims?" Emily looked up to take in the concerned frowns adorning her team mates' faces. Rossi shrugged, "It's something we'll need to look into. Right now, it's the only possible connection between the girls that they might have in common. Hotch, I think we need to talk to the friends and teachers again; I'm thinking they might have left some things out."