As the computer screen went blank, Sheriff Larkin knocked on the doorframe and then walked into the conference room.
"As much as I hate to interrupt you," he began. "I think you might be interested in this."
"What?" Hotch looked over at him.
"We just had a woman walk in who claims she was the victim of an attempted abduction last night," the sheriff explained. "Her story sounds like the abduction scenarios of both Lillian Williams and Ruth Snow."
"Where is she now?" Hotch asked.
"We put her in one of the interrogation rooms," the sheriff replied. "There is a female deputy with her."
"Okay," Hotch reached a decision. "Reid, you and Blake need to go back to the coroner's office and speak with the expert who is coming to look at the skeleton. Afterwards, you can go over to Washtenaw County and talk to their coroner regarding Jane Doe. Morgan, you and Rossi -"
"Hotch," Morgan interrupted. "If it's all the same to you, I would like to visit the scene of the second sighting, and possibly that of the first. There's something I want to check out."
"No problem," Hotch replied. "I assume Rossi will be joining you?"
"Of course!" Morgan smirked. "After all, we may run into the other 'celebrity' on this case!"
"Oh Just Great!" Rossi groaned as he stood up to leave.
"JJ, you're with me," Hotch concluded. "Let's see what this woman has to say about what happened to her last night. Then we can see about interviewing the husbands of the two victims."
"And, Sheriff," JJ spoke up. "You may want to alert your men to the possibility of another abduction. If the unsub failed with this one, he is probably out there right now looking for another victim."
"What can you tell us about this woman?" Hotch asked Sheriff Larkin as they walked down the hallway towards the interrogation room.
"So far, not much," was the reply. "When she started telling us her story, it sounded so much like the previous two abductions that I figured I had better get you involved before we went any further."
"I appreciate that," Hotch assured him.
When they reached the door of the interrogation room, Hotch stopped and turned to the sheriff. "I would like to suggest that Agent Jareau conduct the interview," he said. "The victim might feel more comfortable speaking with her."
"Okay by me," was the reply. "You people know more about things like this than I do."
"What is her name?" JJ asked. "And, is there anything you can tell me about her before I go in?"
"Alana Merriweather is the name she gave at the front desk," Sheriff Larkin told her. "Other than that, she appears to be sober and in her right mind."
"That's a start," JJ commented as she opened the door.
From behind the glass, Hotch and Sheriff Larkin saw a dark haired, slightly built woman in her mid-30's, sitting at the table talking quietly with the female deputy assigned to stay with her. Her hands appeared to be steady as she raised a bottle of water to take a drink.
"Ms. Merriweather?" JJ walked into the room. "I am Agent Jareau of the BAU, but you can call me JJ."
"The BAU?" the woman questioned.
"Behavior Analysis Unit of the FBI," JJ explained.
"Don't worry – Nothing's wrong," she hastily added as she noticed a look of panic on the woman's face. "It's just that your – Experience – Is similar to several others that have taken place recently and we are hoping we can get some information from you that will help us find the man responsible."
"Okay," Ms. Merriweather replied. "But I don't know what exactly I can tell you. It all happened so fast."
"Let's begin at the beginning," JJ suggested. "Where were you when you were attacked?"