~Chapter 5 ~

Some hours later, the sun having risen and rose up into the sky at last, Aubry Fullerton had headed out early from her home to head to a local Cajun seafood restaurant. She was pulling the lunch shift but as the manager she had to get to work earlier than normal to make sure everything was set up properly and cleaned.

She had been working furiously for the past few hours preparing her reports from the previous day's work.

With some of her chores behind her, she headed out the back door of the restaurant to take out the garbage. Aubry had just placed the garbage in the dumpster hidden in a fenced in area when a sound behind her drew her attention.

A man rushed her and, before she could scream, had grabbed her and pressed a white cloth to her mouth. She fought furiously, scratching at his arms and trying to kick him.

However, the chloroform still worked its charms sucking her under despite her vain efforts to fight off the feeling.

Morgan and Rossi were going over the report that had finally come in from the coroner.

"Seems the C.O.D. was the blows to the head. Apparently, there had been three or four distinct blows to the back of her head. The first blow would have done the job so the rest was overkill. The hairs in the wound proves the blows were landed before the unsub chopped her hair off," Morgan cited from the report.

"But the cuts on her scalp seem to be from an old style razor blade. This guy really is old school," Morgan commented.

"What seems odd to me is that in all of the autopsies we've seen on this case that none of the women had any marks showing they were tied up at all. Either he is using some other means to restrain them or he's keeping them drugged enough so he doesn't have to restrain them."

"Either way, he is being extremely careful. There are no prints on their bodies anywhere. Not even a stray hair."

"His movements are precise enough it makes me wonder about his educational training," Rossi muttered.

Catherine had headed out into the squad room to fix herself a cup of coffee. She yawned halting her efforts to add sugar to her cup. An act she rarely did but the lack of sleep and early hours made it necessary.

"Ah, the profiler's breakfast," Reid's voice sounded just over her shoulder.

She chuckled as she finished stirring her coffee and glanced over to Reid.

"Yes well, figured why not. At this rate, this'll be my lunch too," Catherine replied as she sipped on her tepid coffee.

"We might have to do something about that. At the very least we could see about putting in an order when the police send a runner out to get their lunches. I'll buy of course," he smiled kindly.

Catherine grinned back to him. "Might just take you up on that offer, Spencer. You know Spence…I'll have to take you out sometime. I believe by the last tally it was my turn to pick a place to hang out at and discuss our current reads."

"I believe you're right. We should make plans for that."

She nodded in response. Then, the conversation she had last night with J.J. and Penelope.

Reid noted her eyes had gone distant meaning she was deep in thought.

"What is it?" he asked concerned.

Catherine refocused her eyes on Reid. The words were starting to form on her lips when the noise level in the station rose sharply drawing their attention. She set down her cup of coffee and hurried over with Reid close behind to the first officer.

The rest of the team emerged from the meeting area to see what was going on.

"What's happened?" Catherine asked when she finally got the officer's attention.

"Seems this guy decided not to wait. Another woman matching the description of the other women has been abducted from outside of her workplace approximately 45 minutes ago," he quickly told Catherine before following his partner.

She looked to Reid and then hurried over to Hotchner.

"The unsub struck again. A woman was just taken," Reid quickly stated as they drew close enough.

"To the vehicles. We have a chance to catch this guy. Get on the phone to Garcia and see where she is with that list," Hotch commanded to J.J.

J.J. handed the keys of the SUV to Catherine who looked up to Reid with a grin, "Looks like I'll be driving then."

Reid smirked as they hurried after the other members of the team.

Within the hour, a swarm of police vehicles along with the two black SUV's of the B.A.U. had converged outside the restaurant that was officially in the Bedford city limits.

Hotch led his team inside to meet with the officers and police chief that were taking a statement from the employees of the establishment.

Chief Landry looked over as they approached.

"Looks like you're guy struck again. The woman's name is Aubry Fullerton, age 37. She's the manager here and had taken the garbage out back and when she didn't return they went to look for her and discovered she was missing but her vehicle was still here," the chief explained. "We have to tred careful here. The local Chief is feeling feisty about this crime on his turf."

"What is her description?" Rossi asked.

"Well, seems this time your boy got lucky. According to her coworkers, she's a natural red head with blue eyes."

"Is she engaged or married?" Morgan questioned.

Chief Landry frowned slightly. "What's that got to do with this?"

"Please answer the question, Chief Landry," Hotcher stated with a soothing tone.

She sighed, "Seems she was widowed. Her husband died some years ago. Cancer."

"Thank you, Chief Landry," Hotch replied as the Chief nodded and moved off to the next employee.

Hotch turned and looked to his team and motioned them outside of the madness that was brewing inside the restaurant.

Once outside, the team circled up.

"Now that this unsub has moved quickly and found what he was looking for our window to find her is getting smaller by the hour," he told them.

"If he only took her half an hour ago, it's unlikely that he knows for certain that she's a natural redhead," Rossi stated.

Morgan interjected with a question. "But how did he know about this woman at all?"

"Maybe…he's met this woman before… It would make sense that if he's eaten at this restaurant before that he might have seen this woman and when the last one didn't work out he remembered the woman he met here," Reid suggested.

At this point, Hotch's cell phone rang and, at seeing who was calling, he turned on the speaker. "Hotch," he briefly stated.

"Hello my darlings, I've been down the rabbit hole and back again in my search and come up with a match. Dr. Olivier Fredrickson, age 42. Lives in downtown Dallas and works as an English professor at the DallasCommunity College. And his realm of study was the Romantic Period writers.

"A few years back he lost his wife, Auria Fredrickson, to a fatal automobile accident on November 3rd while she was on her way to their anniversary dinner. She had red hair and blue eyes, age 37. They had been married 10 years. But here is the truly creepylishous fact, according to the information I gleaned from my search that she had a set route before her rendezvous.

"According to the officers that responded to the accident and traced her whereabouts found she had made a track from the post office where she mailed some letters, the dry cleaners to pick up her suit jacket, and finally the hair salon where she had gone to get her hair done before their dinner plans at a local seafood restaurant," Garcia quickly laid out for them.

Catherine looked shocked, "So the places these women were taken from weren't a coincidence. He found these women outside places similar to the places that his wife went to the night she was killed."

"Garcia, you do have a possible location for him?" Hotch asked.

"It has to be a place he has tons of privacy to keep these women where no one would notice his comings and goings," Morgan pointed out.

"Okay, a building with privacy….easily accessed…," Garcia spoke herself as she furiously typed at her keyboard. "Bingo. On the Dallas Community College Campus, they have been remodeling some of the older dorms on campus. The project have since been pushed back due to lack of funds. One in particular has a basement, it's held no residents over the past 5 years, and it's far enough off campus that no one would notice a thing. Sending the address to your PDA's…now."

"Good work, Garcia," Hotch congratulated her before hanging up. He looked over his shoulder and saw the police chief speaking with her officers.

"Chief Landry!" He called over to her.

She came over to see what he wanted. "Yeah?"

"We have a possible lead on a suspect and a location. We need to get you and your men over there as soon as possible. He could move at any moment," Hotch told her briefly.

"You got it," she hurried off to tell her officers as they scrambled for their vehicles.

Morgan looked to Catherine. "Toss me those keys, girlie. I'll get us there."

She pulled the keys out of her pocket and tossed them to Morgan before the two groups raced to their own vehicles, turned on their sirens and lights, and raced off for the location Garcia had given them.

The time it took to reach the college campus seemed like an eternity to Catherine even as they speed through the streets and skidded sharply around corners while the traffic parted for them in the wake of the police vehicles that were ahead of them.

She gripped the handle of the door hard on their multiple city flight with the local officers being called in Dallas to report the situation.

Her stomach lurched slightly as they skid to a halt outside the perimeter set by the police around the dilapidated college dorm.

Reid gave her a knowing smile and gently squeezed her hand before they both got out of the SUV before joining the rest of the team who had gathered around the two police chiefs.

"Look, we don't need all you people steppin' in on this case. This is for the Dallas PD to handle," stated the tall, male, and yet introduced police chief.

Hotch stepped forward with his commanding presence and flashed his badge.

"I'm Agent Aaron Hotchner of the BAU. We were called in on this case by Chief Landry concerning the disappearances of three women in the area and the death of two of them. The woman being held hostage inside that building is a resident of Bedford, TX. By law that make this a federal crime.

"I understand you must do your job and we want your help in dealing with this situation. I will gladly sit in with you and explain everything but we need to deal with the fact that right now that woman needs to be our first priority."

The new police chief considered his words for a few moments before nodding once.

"All right then. Chief Sumner at your service," he replied.

"Thank you Chief Sumner. May I ask what the current condition of the situation is?"

"Seems the man inside had all ready locked the barricaded the doors from the inside before we arrived on the scene. Once we got here and prepared to move in, he told us that fact and that if any man tried to enter the building he would kill the woman and then himself."

Hotch nodded as he looked up to the building and then to his team who had suited up with bullet proof armor on the way over. His gaze returned to the building.

"There has to be a way to talk to him," Hotch stated.

"Well, we tried to communicate with him but he told us he didn't want to hear from any man. Just wanted us to leave him and his wife alone."

Catherine glanced up to the building as a plan…both dangerous and stupid, blossomed into her mind. She thought it over and she saw no other way.

Quickly, she stepped forward. "Hotch. Would you say I've proven my ability to handle the situation to the best of my ability and followed your instructions to the letter?"

Hotch looked to Catherine. "What are you saying?"

She took a slow breath. "I don't see any way around this. Yes, there are other women out here but they are all police officers. They are going to try and talk to him from a stand point where he wouldn't respond well. I know how to talk to him. I'm a fellow English mind and a young woman. I know I'm not a profiler but that makes me an even better candidate to see if he'll talk to me."

Reid looked at her shocked. "No, you aren't going in there. You can't." He looked to Hotch. "Hotch, you can't let her do this."

"Look, I know I'm only a temporary member on this team. But you can fit me with a wire or some ear piece so you can hear what's going on and can talk to me and even a bullet proof vest," she added hastily to prove she was willing to do what it took.

Hotch looked to Catherine and nodded. "All right. But if I tell you to get out you do it."

"I promise," she replied seriously.

He nodded as he began to send her off with Morgan to fit her with the mic, earpiece, and bulletproof vest.

Reid followed quickly at her heels. "Catherine, this is dangerous. I don't want you to go in."

Catherine looked to Reid. "I know, Reid. But you're the genius here. Think about it. Is there any other way to get someone inside to talk to this guy and save his life?"

That thought halted Reid as Morgan finished with the mic and earpiece and began working to adjust a spare bullet proof vest to fit her smaller frame.

"See? You know I'm right. I can do this, Reid. You need to trust me."

"You're good," Morgan said drawing her attention. "Do you know how to use a gun?"

Catherine nodded. "I've got a permit and I visit the range three times a week."

He held out a small pistol in a holster.

"Attach this around your ankle and use it only if you have to," Morgan watched her carefully.

She looked at the gun and took a slow breath before taking it and looked at him in the eye. "I swear only to use it if my life is in danger."

He nodded before moving off to the others.

Catherine knelt down and lifted up her pants leg to strap the holster around her ankle. When she flipped the pants leg back over it, she thanked God that she had worn flared trousers today.

Slowly she rose and looked to Reid who had a lost look on his face. Carefully, she reached up and placed her hands on either side of his face.

"Reid, I swear, I'll come back," she promised.

He placed his hands over hers as if touching her for reassurance.

She softly smiled, "Come here you."

Without thinking, she pulled him towards her and kissed him gently but lovingly. After a moment or two, she slowly pulled away from him and looked into his shocked eyes.

"Now, you'll owe me…and you know I always collect," she gently but teasingly told him.

Reid smirked. "You're on, Catherine."

He finally released her hands and walked her back over to the other agents who were recovering from the interaction they had witnessed.

Hotch nodded to her with a stern expression. "Ready?" He held out a loud speaker to her.

She nodded and took it from him before moving so she could be seen by the unsub from the window the police had seen him in.

"Doctor Fredrickson. My name is Catherine Harmon. I want to come in and talk to you for a moment," she called out over the loudspeaker.

Slowly, his head could be seen looking out the window on the bottom floor. She waved to him so he could see who she was.

He yelled out the window, "You can come in. But only you! If anyone else comes in, she dies!"

"Agreed, Doctor Fredrickson," she replied before handing the loud speaker over to Hotch.

Slowly, she moved around the police vehicle they were using as a barrier and held up both hands as she headed towards the nearest door. Once she arrived, she heard him telling her to wait for his signal.

Catherine stopped where she was as she heard the chains holding the doors shut clanging together. The silence settled in for a moment.

"Enter," she heard a male voice say.

She reached for the handle of the door and opened it slowly revealing her solitary self to Dr. Fredrickson. Carefully, she moved forward with both her hands up still as the door shut behind her.

Her eyes took in Fredrickson holding a woman tightly against his body with the straight razor to her throat that he'd used to hack Monica's hair off.

"Move over there," he ordered and motioned with a jerk of his head.

Silently, she obeyed and moved into the room leaving him between her and the exit. Then, she turned to look at him calmly with her hands still raised.

"May I lower my hands, Dr. Fredrickson?" she asked politely.

He nodded and Catherine lowered her hands.

"You're not a cop," he stated.

"No I'm not."

"Who are you then?"

"My name is Catherine Harmon. I'm a literature professor at the University of Virginia. I'm currently working on obtaining my Doctorate from the same university."

He looked confused. "Why is a literature professor in the middle of a police situation?"

"I was called in because of my background with literature and my previous experience with the B.A.U. team of the F.B.I."

"So you from the F.B.I.?"

"No sir. I met them when they were investigating a case in Arkansas. During that case, I helped them out and they ended up saving my life when the…bad guy tried to make me part of his game. I lost a few friends because of him."

"And now you're here…"

"As you say."

"I just want them to leave me and my wife alone," he spouted quickly.

Catherine glanced to the woman who was certainly scared but seemed rather contained considering. Then, she looked back to Fredrickson.

"Sir…I know you don't want to hurt her. You care about her don't you?"

Slowly, he nodded. "She's my whole world now."

"I can understand that. I can tell you care very deeply for her. I don't want anything to happen to her either."

"Then, you need to tell them to leave and she won't be harmed."

"Dr. Fredrickson, I understand you need to feel loved. You lost someone very near and dear to your heart. I couldn't imagine how hurt and lost you must have felt that day," she said very soothingly. Seeing he was listening intently to her and relaxing his grip, she plowed on. "Her name was Auria…right? And now, here we have Aubry. Aubry, who looks so much like her in every way. And you thought…just maybe you have found your second chance at happiness."

"I needed her," he quaked as his emotions began to spill out. "My wife was taken from me. But then…I saw Aubry at the restaurant."

"But Aubry here…she knows how you feel. Don't you Aubry?" Catherine nodded slowly to her.

"What? What is she talking about?" Fredrickson asked Aubry.

"My husband. He passed away some time ago. He had cancer," she told him. "He was my entire world."

He looked shocked as the blade began to lower from her neck.

Aubry slowly turned and looked to him. "I know what it's like to miss someone so badly you think you'll never feel ever again."

"Yes," he whispered softly. The blade utterly forgotten as that hand lowered.

Seeing her chance, Aubry pushed away from him and ran over towards Catherine.

"No!" he shouted as he raised the blade and ran towards them.

Catherine quickly reached down and pulled the gun from the holster on her ankle and fired up at him. The gun shot echoing in the empty space. She looked up from her crouched position in shock at Fredrickson who had stopped just a few steps from her. A red patch slowly blossomed across his dress shirt.

He dropped to his knees as he dropped the knife. His eyes looked to Catherine.

"I'm coming my love," he breathed softly before falling to the ground.

The blood pounded in Catherine's ears as she knelt in the suddenly quiet room, her arm still pointing the gun.

Suddenly, that silence was interrupted by the door being kicked in and the entire B.A.U. team, followed closely by the police, flooding into the room and taking everything in.

Catherine slowly set the gun on the ground and shakily rose to her feet.

The police quickly moved over to Aubry and wrapped a blanket about her shoulders. Aubry glanced to Catherine giving her a look of gratitude before being led from the room.

Hotch and the others slowly holstered their weapons as Catherine began to recover from the shock of her actions.

Reid hurried toward her and hugged her tightly. Her arms wrapped around his body without a thought and held him tightly.

"It's all right, Catherine. It's okay," Reid told her soothingly.

"You did well, Catherine. Know that I don't regret sending you in," Hotch informed her giving her the best compliment he could ever give anyone.

Catherine wordlessly nodded to him as she held onto Reid and the team slowly filed out of the room leaving the police to handle the body.