Questions

Please let me know if you think I'm rambling now!

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Rossi looked round the table at his fellow profilers. Everyone had the same downbeat look. Even Garcia was struggling to lift them with her normal banter. It was rare they lost a case but right now they were in catch 22 and dreading making the next necessary decision.

"So" Hotch kicked things off, bringing the room to order just after 9 on Monday morning "ideas?"

"We have completely over looked Helen Fields the first to die of 'The Platinum Collection', maybe Garcia you could find out some more about her" Reid suggested.

"She committed suicide, how's that going to help?" Prentiss' mood hadn't got any better over the weekend.

"Maybe but she died two weeks before the first murder, what if her death was the stressor?" Reid replied, Rossi nodded the kid had a good point.

"Can you make that your priority today Garcia?" Hotch asked.

"Will do Sir. Can I add that I found out more about Emerson too as you requested? He was a hard guy to track down but I have forwarded all the additional information to you. He has a record as you'd expect but some of the files had been blocked. It appears he turned state witness in a large case involving a paedophile ring. That could make a lot of enemies but none of the women were involved in the case so maybe it's nothing." Garcia smiled weakly.

"Thank you Garcia, I don't know what we'd do without you, keep up the good work" Hotch could tell his team were starting to doubt themselves and he wanted to do everything he could to lift them. "So Reid and Garton if you two stay here today and work through the information Garcia has sent through. Rossi I'd like you to review the profile in light of any information we have received over the weekend. Morgan, Prentiss and I will go and talk to the surviving women again. JJ you can deal with the media questions that have come in other the weekend. Keep me informed of everything, no matter how small or insignificant it seems I want to know straight away; don't leave it to the next briefing, clear."

Everyone nodded as they made a move.

"Coffee?" Reid made his move directly to the nearest pot. Both Rossi and Garton nodded. Garton opened her laptop.

"I hate those bloody things." Rossi had moved round the table next to her "Nothing wrong with paper and pen" Garton couldn't help but smile at his comment. "How you holding out kid, you look knackered, sleeping?" Rossi had deliberately lowered his voice to a whisper so Reid wasn't party to their conversation.

"Are any of us sleeping?" Garton replied not wanting to get into this conversation right now.

"Some more than others I guess." Rossi picked up that his concern was not welcome right now and vowed to himself he would catch up with her soon and not let her avoid the questions he planned on asking her. Reid returned to the table with the coffees.

"So what has Garcia got for us?"

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Hotch was outside. He needed a break, Morgan, Prentiss and he had spent the morning going over and over the same ground with the remaining members of 'The Platinum Club'. No new evidence, no new leads, no change. As he stood on the porch staring into the distance he heard his phone ring.

"Hotchner"

"Hi Boss man, I have news for you. Looks like out little genius was on to something with Helen Fields. She has a child, a daughter who would be in her late 20s now." Garcia was sounding much livelier then she had at the morning's briefing which meant Hotch knew Garcia had something important.

"And?" he was impatient wanting the facts not the fluff; he could read the full details later.

"And Emerson was the father. Also Miss Zoe Fields has a very long record for prostitution, petty theft and is currently raking up a heap of medical bills, which have been made for in advance by Mummy." Hotch could feel a smile start to creep onto his face. They may just have discovered the missing jigsaw piece.

"Have I ever told you you're amazing at what you do?"

"Not that I'm aware of but I'm more than willing to here it now." Garcia's smile widened, she felt so isolated from the team when they were off like this and missed them all terribly.

"Well I just did good work" with which Hotch put down the phone and marched back into the house with a ream of new questions to ask.

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Rossi, Garton and Reid all sat round the table looking at each other. Garcia was a genius. She may not have membership to Mensa but in her high tech world she could do things others didn't even know were possible.

"Well done you" Rossi smiled as Garcia signed off "And you to Reid, that was a good call this morning." Rossi looked over to a confused looking Reid as Garton started reading through the files Garcia had downloaded to her laptop. "What's up?"

"I don't see how this helps. We're looking for a serial rapist."

"Keep thinking outside the box Reid" Rossi gave as a reply, he wasn't sure how this fitted in yet but it was the first new piece of new information they had had in days. Garton pushed her laptop away and smiled, genuinely for the first time in days.

"I think I have it."

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The buzz in the conference room was a world aware from the atmosphere they had shared that morning. There was a measurable tension in the air; if they got this right then they would be flying home in no time.

"OK, everyone up to date with the latest information that Garcia sent through" everyone nodded their reply. "Rossi what have you three come up with in relation to our current profile?"

"Well we have ripped it up and started again. We're not looking for one UnSub, we have a killing pair." Hotch moved forward in his sit interested in what they had to say. Reid stood moving over to a pre-arranged board.

"Zoe Fields, 27, daughter of Helen Fields and Samuel Emerson. Samuel Emerson was arrested alongside several prominent members of his last club for running a paedophile ring. One of the named victims was one Zoe Fields, his own 12 year old daughter. He acted as a witness and with a greatly reduced sentence was out within 5 years. Within days of being free he is found dead, apparent suicide, though no note. Helen Fields died in the exact same method of apparent suicide days after pre-paying for ARV treatment for Zoe, HIV antiviral drugs. Both of her parents died in identical ways shortly after having contact with Zoe for the first time in years."

"How does this give us a killing pair? And hating to state the obvious we are looking for a rapist here?" Morgan couldn't see where this was heading and he was desperate for a catch, they'd been sitting around too long on this case.

"As well as paying for Zoe's treatment payments have been made for Daniel Vaughn, another of Emerson's victims." Rossi took over from Reid "The two have spent most of their life together one way or another, you cross reference their records and they have been charged together time and time again."

"So how does this move from killing Emerson and Fields to the rest of the group" Prentiss was interested and wanted to know how this was going to pan out

"Those women were all mother figures to Zoe." Garton took her turn to brief the team "You've seen them together, they're like a pack. They know everything there is to know about each other. They are covering for each other. Each one of them denied knowing anything about what Emerson was up to, how did they not know? In Zoe's mind everyone of those women let her down just as much as her parents. They should have protected her not turned away as if nothing was happening."

"So how do we get them now that they have gone to ground?" Morgan really wanted this over with.

"We have to bait a trap" Rossi replied.