From The 40, One "Mary Richards, 16, was abducted on her way home from marching band rehearsal at Henryville High School on the 21st of this month. This is the seventh in a line of similar disappearances; all in the last two months." Garcia says, placing the overwhelming stack of files in the middle of the circular table. She flipped her blond hair over her shoulder and took her seat. "What makes these abductions similar?" Hotch asked, appraising the massive piles of paper he knew he was going to have to end up navigating through eventually. Emily stood to take over for the time being, "All of these girls were taken from the Clark County School District - population 7500. There's no way this is coincidence. They are all between the ages of fifteen and eighteen, and they were all members of their respective School's marching band. According to their parents, try were all abducted on the way home from rehearsal as well." "We believe the UnSub would be a person all of these girls knew well. Perhaps they all accepted a ride home from him. Furthermore, we believe the UnSub is a man between the ages of twenty and twenty five; probably someone who graduated from one of the schools in the District." "And the other girls who were abducted; what were their names?" the Communication Liaison, JJ asked, as she hurriedly jotted notes. Emily took out a folder of her own and pulled out a page with seven pictures on it with a painfully long list of names below, "Jordyn Schaeffer from Henryville High School; Kaitlyn Maloney from Silver Creek High School; Elizabeth Dickson from Henryville High School; Kayla Bagshaw from Silver Creek; Rachel Dixon from Silver Creek, and Ale Shields from Borden High School." she placed the page in the middle of the table on top of the files, displaying the girls' photographs to the five agents sitting around the table. "Are there physical similarities between the girls?" Derek Morgan, the Special Victims agent asked. "They're all honors students, but there is literally not a single similarity between any of these girls." JJ chided, "This guys has taken an Asian girl, a Black girl, White girls, even a Croatian foreign exchange student." "They're all very pretty." Morgan observed, "He could've been someone all of the girls found attractive. This could've been a hate crime. It could've been some sort of revenge scheme." "Alright," JJ silenced the group, collecting up the files, "Derek, make a call to the West Clark PD. Let them know we're on our way. See if they can get in touch with any family members or friends who knew the girls well. We'll be boarding the plane in twenty minutes." "Yes, ma'am." he murmured, as the rest of the team went about their business, trying to prepare themselves for the sticky job ahead. It was always difficult having to work on cases involving children. No one ever seemed to enjoy it, because 9 times out of 10, they got there too late. • Once safely in the plane, Reid began scanning through one of the top-most files. Jordyn Schaeffer. She seemed so familiar. He knew what it was almost immediately. He saw himself in her. Jordyn was an advanced student, far surpassing even the second-best student in her year. She had above-par grades on everything except History; just like Reid had growing up. Then he came to the darker part of the profile. Her father had abandoned her mother with two children when she was nineteen. Jordyn was the eldest, only three years old at the time of her father's departure. When her mother remarried some years later when Jordyn was fourteen, it was clear in her profile as well as her step-father's that he had begun to molest both her and her twelve year old sister. The idea physically sickened Spencer. Looking at her picture once more, he saw an innocent face, and coffee colored dough eyes that sparkled in the light. She had braces, but it only enhanced her youthful radiance. He kept sweeping back over the dog tags around her neck, though. "You okay, Spence?" JJ asked, dragging him from his reverie, "Do you have a profile you'd care to share?" "Not yet," he admitted, "but I was wondering- what if the girls didn't know who was after them? What if the UnSub used some sort of a date rape drug?" "It's a possibility, but it's more likely that he is simply someone that all of the girls knew and trusted." "Think about it, though, JJ. These girls grew up in these small towns. They only had around 2200 people in each. A stranger would stick out like a soar thumb. So he offered them a ride home. The girls all accepted a ride, thinking that he was probably a friend of Mom and Dad's, but he took them into the woods, where no one could hear them scream." Everyone sat in silence, "Well, thats a good point. We'll make sure to put that into consideration before we deliver the profile. Good work." JJ chided. "Hey, can I ask you something?" he inquired, grabbing her wrist to keep her from leaving him, "Do we know anything new about Jordyn Schaeffer?" "Why just her?" "I've got a good feeling about this one." he motioned to Jordyn's file, which he remained open on his lap. "We know that she was homecoming Princess last year. She's a sophomore and she plays Alto Saxophone in the School's marching band." He nodded, looking down at her pretty face once more. "Do you know what these dog tags were for?" Spencer asked, pointing to the loose chain dangling around her neck in the photo. "No idea." "Alright, thanks, JJ." "And Reid," she whirled back around, as if an idea had just caught her fancy, "Get some sleep please. We need you at your best when we land." • Emily's phone rang only moments after they had touched down at the port, "It's Henryville PD," she murmured under her breath to her colleagues who were gathered around, trying to sneak a listen, "You've got to be kidding me," she groaned, "Alright, we'll be there in twenty minutes." "What is it?" JJ asked, appraising her friend for all she was worth. "Another girl just went missing." she said, transferring her things into the backseat of the car that had been waiting for them. They didn't waste any time before taking off at full speed. • "What do we have one the latest victim?" Rossi asked, as they charged past the front desk of the Police station. "Are these all the men you have for this case?" Emily asked in shock, staring at the mere six men before her in brown and khaki uniforms. "These are the only men we have period. This is a small town, Detective. Things like this don't happen everyday." the Sheriff insisted. "Yes. Well, I'm Agent Jennifer Jareau. We spoke on the phone. " She shook hands with the beefy Henryville Sheriff, "Agents Rossi, Prentiss, Morgan, Dr. Reid, and our technical analyst Penelope Garcia." she pointed as she introduced the remainder of her team. "So what's the news on the latest abduction?" Morgan asked, interrupting the small talk that seemed to be getting them absolutely nowhere. "The most recent was about three hours ago. Same guy." The Sheriff outlined, running a hand over his crusty beard, "It was a sixteen year old girl walking home from marching band practice. Her name is Courtney Cummings. Her mother is out there." he nodded in the direction of the tattered old woman sitting in what appeared to be a reception area, "Leanne Cummings." "Mrs. Cummings," Emily extended a hand to the woman, "I'm Agent Prentiss. I'm with the FBI. Do you think you'd be up to answering a couple questions for me?" her tone implied that she wasn't asking as much as demanding, but the woman obliged, so there was no need for a fight to ensue. "Now, I know this is hard to think about, but we're there any enemies? Someone that Courtney was in instant competition with? It doesnt have to be a big thing. It could be a person who she auditioned against dugout a solo. Anything." "No, no one." the woman said with tears in her eyes. She looked as if she hadn't slept in days, "Everyone loved her. She was everyone's best friend. No one had a sore word to say to her." "Was there anyone- a man- who would hang around at practice. Anyone that would watch her in particular?" "No, no one. Absolutely not." "Mrs. Cummings; think really hard, please." "Well, there is her section director. He seems to take a particular interest in Courtney. He had a history of dating high school juniors and seniors, so naturally I tried to keep Courtney away from him as much as possible, but when it came to marching band, I just couldn't keep her away. She loves band. I couldn't do that to her." "Leeanne, I need the man's name." Emily asked, taking out her notepad to begin taking information. She looked up darkly, as if knowing the words by heart, "Jay Legler." "And where can I find Jay Legler?" she asked, scribbling notes hastily, "What's his address?" "He lives on College Street. It's right next to the school. He doesn't have a job besides band directing. He's there almost all day." she wiped away the years with the collar of her shirt, "You don't think he did it, do you?" Mrs. Cummings asked in sudden realization. "We don't know yet, but we'll get a search warrant and we will definitely check it out." Emily's smile was half-hearted, but it's seemed to give the older woman some comfort, so she went with it. She didn't waste any time in getting back to her team with the new information. "Alright, let's go," Hotch said. No; this was not going to be good. Child cases were never good.