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CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE: HIVE MIND ( original )
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"GRENFELL, ARIZONA," JORDAN ANNOUNCED the latest place in need of the team's help. She stood beside the large monitor screen, clutching the remote to her stomach out of habit. With several pairs of eyes on her, waiting, she took a moment to remember what she wanted to say. "Four bodies have been found in shallow graves across the county."
"Bodies?" Dallis frowned.
"Women," Todd corrected herself as she fumbled for the right button on the remote. The faces of four women appeared on the screen. "Jenna Thompson, thirty-five; Mary-Jane Cyrus, thirty-eight; Laura Doherty, thirty-three. Our latest victim is Jessica Aveyard, thirty-seven. Each has been cut open from breastbone to pelvis."
Well, that was a new one. Dallis grimaced at the detailed images that popped up beside each of their respective smiling faces. Precise cuts parted the skin like curtains, revealing the decomposing insides of each woman. In death, their eyelids were shut, shielding them from the horror that had been inflicted on their bodies.
"When was Jessica found?" Emily asked, toying with the red pen she gripped in her hand.
"Late yesterday afternoon," said Todd. "Post-mortem indicates she was killed the same day."
"And when was she reported missing?" Hotch peered up at her.
"Only a few hours before hikers found her. She didn't come home from Pilates on Friday morning. Her worried husband contacted authorities."
So Jessica Aveyard disappeared on Friday, then was reported missing and found dead just over twenty-four hours later. As Dallis flicked through the files in front of her, she found similar stories for each of the other victims.
Jenna Thompson was abducted down a quiet side street, her groceries scattered in the open trunk of her car. She was found two days later. Mary-Jane Cyrus had to leave work early to collect her sick son from school. Her body was dumped the next morning. Laura Doherty was rostered for the closing shift at the local veterinary clinic. The following morning, her boss found everything unlocked and Laura's hatchback was abandoned in the parking lot, doors open, the battery drained from where the car had been left idling overnight. By nightfall, they found her in a shallow grave. Each case was concluded almost as soon as a missing person's report was filed.
"He's not keeping them for long," Dallis noted. "Is there any connection between them?"
"Not that I've been able to find so far," Garcia, who Hotch had called in with her trusty laptop, shook her head. Dangling from each of her earlobes were earrings in the shape of carrots. "But they would have known of each other. Jenna Thompson and Mary-Jane Cyrus' children attend Grenfell Elementary together but Jenna's twin daughters are in the third grade and Marina's son has only just started kindergarten."
