Ghosts • Aaron Hotchner

Chapter Eight

Fallon was just about to take a hot bath on her day off when she got a call from Hotch telling her to get to Quantico immediately. She sighed and let the water drain, changed into black dress pants, a light blue shirt, and a black blazer before hopping into her car and going on her way.

She walked in just as everyone else was walking out, so she greeted them and joined the group. Emily filled her in on the car ride over to their location, and soon they were all walking into the mall, ready to find the missing girl that they were being brought in to help find.

"Jim," Hotch said, regarding the man in front of them, as the team walked through the doors.

"We've been in lockdown for almost twenty minutes," Jim said as he handed Hotch a walkie talkie. "My team's already in motion."

"Another female, same age, same time of day, taken from essentially the same location," Emily rattled off, all of them hoping that Katie Jacobs didn't end up like the girl taken last week.

"What makes you sure Katie Jacobs is still in the building?" Morgan asked Jim.

"The mall's got cameras installed at every entrance and exit. Surveillance video confirms Katie entering the building, but no sign of her leaving. Security paged her over the intercom and their initial sweep came up empty," Jim responded.

"Whoever killed Jessica Davis last week left that mall with her because he wanted time with his victim in privacy," Spencer told them.

"Assuming it's the same offender, he wouldn't stray from his M.O., he wouldn't leave here without his victim," Hotch commented.

"So if Katie's still under this roof, so is her abductor," Fallon concluded.

"Garcia, report to the mall's security office. Reid and Morgan, I want you to find the head of security. We need all data from every search team," Hotch told the two and then he looked at Emily and I. "You guys start with Katie's parents." They nodded and then the two of them headed off with JJ to find Katie's parents.

***

"Katie was last seen by her cousin in the arcade about twenty five minutes ago," one of Jim's team members tells the three of them as she took them to Katie's parents. "She was wearing jeans, a green shirt, gray sneaker, and ponytails."

"Registered offenders within a forty five mile radius," a police officer said as he came up and handed Fallon a list of names of sex offenders.

"Okay run this against current and former employees as well," Fallon told him. He nodded as she handed him the list back and then they were off again.

"Ms. Jacob's phone had Katie's picture on it," Jim's team member from before told them as she came back to their spot after leaving the three agents a few minutes before. Fallon really did need to learn her name, but right now she had other priorities. The officers had copies in her hands, and each agent took a picture of Katie. "Mall security helped us make copies."

"Okay we need to get one of these to every search team, every officer, every patron. Potential witnesses need to know who we're looking for too," Emily told her.

"The problem is, our unsub could be any one of them," Fallon said to her colleagues as the three of them surveyed the masses of people milling about around them. 

"There's her parents," JJ said, nodding towards a distressed looking blonde woman and a brunette man who didn't look much better. The three approached them, and Katie's parents were soon joined with whom they assumed where Katie's aunt and uncle. "Hi, we're agents Jareau, Shepherd, and Prentiss with the BAU, you must be Katie's aunt and uncle, this can't be easy. We're here to walk you through this."