"Thanks for coming in, everyone." Hotchner said as he entered the room, settling himself in his seat. "Let's get started."
"Right." Garcia pressed the button on her remote. Driver's license photos of women appeared in rows and columns against the blue backdrop. "Six women in the last three weeks have gone missing in and around the Minneapolis area. All of the victims were upper class, or upper-middle class if you want to assume Midwestern modesty. In each case, the homes appear to have been untouched, although a few items were reported missing from each of them, and each time, the victim's bank card was used exactly once, before the abduction was reported."
"The abductions are reported at random times throughout the day." Spencer noted as he read through the file. "Garcia, when do local police believe the abductions took place?"
"They're unsure." Penelope explained, "To the best of anyone's knowledge, the women were all in their homes at the time of the abduction. Their cars were still in the driveway, leading Minneapolis PD to believe they were taken away in the suspect's car. In all cases, the husbands were at work and any hired help wasn't around."
"So they're familiar with him." Rossi said. "And he's familiar enough with the homes and routines that he would know when nobody else was around.
"But why the ATM withdrawals?" J.J asked. "I mean, if it was for the money, why not just rob the houses?"
"Stolen property needs to be fenced." Derek reasoned. "Maybe he thinks the cash withdrawals are safer."
"In this case, they certainly would appear to be." Garcia chimed in. "No fingerprints, fibers, anything from the homes or machines, and the cameras at all the ATMs used by the women only caught this:"
Garcia pressed a button on the remote and grainy security footage began playing on the screen. The black and white footage had poor contrast, and had been filmed on a time delay, making the movements of the subject stilted and disjointed. In the video, the view of an empty street was suddenly obscured by a dark, hooded figure. The person's head was down, remaining out of sight for the few frames the camera recorded of the transaction. In a single frame, the subject was gone, once again leaving the street quiet.
"Unfortunately, that's the best footage any of the cameras were able to capture." Garcia admitted disappointedly.
"Did any other businesses have security cameras that may have caught him?" Hotch asked.
"Local police are asking around, but apparently people in Minnesota still trust each other." Garcia answered. "Street view security cameras are thin on the ground."
"Six women in three weeks, but no bodies found." Spencer mused.
"Do we think he's keeping them?" J.J asked.
"No ransom calls to any of the husbands would indicate this guy has no interest in money, aside from whatever was pulled from the ATMs." Derek shook his head.
"How much was pulled out each time?" Rossi asked, tapping his pen against his fingertips.
"Waiting on local law enforcement, but I'll let you know as soon as I can." Garcia replied.
"Any connection between the women?" Spencer asked.
"Similar social circles, but nothing concrete yet." Penelope looked to the group for more ideas.
"Tell Minneapolis P.D we'll be there in a few hours." Hotch instructed Garcia. "Wheels up in thirty."
The cabin of the jet smelled of leather and recycled air. It was a smell that, at times, Spencer Reid wondered if he was too familiar with. He sat in one of the seats, staring absentmindedly out the window, the folder open in his lap. On the desk in front of him, his cell phone rang. He picked it up and read the ID, staring at it for a moment as if deciding what his next move would be, before silencing it and placing it back on the desk.
"You okay, kid?" Derek asked, looking up from his tablet, on which he had been reviewing the case.
"Yeah, fine." Reid nodded briskly.
Derek leaned back in his seat, running his fingers against his mouth as he narrowed his eyes at Reid. Spencer squirmed internally under his gaze, making a conscious effort not to fidget in his seat.
"It's Avery." Spencer confessed at length, glancing at the now silent phone.
"Everything alright?"
Spencer's mouth tightened and he glanced at the phone again, as though trying to order his thoughts.
"Alright, are we all here?" Hotch was the last onto the jet as the door closed. "Let's get going."
"Six women, all wealthy, all between the ages of 35 and 45. Three Caucasian, but two African American and one, Gao Andrews, is Hmong." Spencer began quickly, eagerly taking advantage of the opportunity to change the subject.
"So race is not important." Derek concluded.
"More like social status." J.J agreed. "Looks like all our women either married or inherited their wealth. So maybe the kidnappings have something to do with that?"
"You didn't earn it, so I'm going to take it from you?" Rossi tilted his head back and forth in thought. "Maybe, but why is he keeping them?"
"And why so many?" Derek asked. "How does one unsub control six victims?"
"Maybe he's not." said Reid. "No bodies have been found, which suggests they might still be alive... What if he's trafficking them?"
"Well, we know human trafficking is a huge problem, but not usually women of this lifestyle and social class." Derek sounded doubtful.
"Minneapolis PD has agreed to meet us at the airport and fill us in on some of the details missing from the folder." Hotchner assured. "Hopefully we'll have more then."
"Two things are clear, though." Rossi said. "This guy is organized, and this definitely not the start of his career."
"Six victims in three weeks, it won't be the end unless we find him, fast." Hotchner agreed.
