“What about the street cameras?” Brook asked as she set her coffee cup down in exchange for her stylus. She entered a note beneath several others that she’d jotted down this morning. “Was there anyone waiting for her outside? Maybe someone motioned for her to join them, and she thought that she could return for her drink order after speaking with them.”
“Nothing that I could find, but Little T is going to take another look at the footage later this morning,” Bit replied, garnering a nod from Sylvie.
“You said that the Mr. Capshaw reported her missing, but he was out of town.”
“Jenny’s employer called Ian when she was three hours late,” Sylvie shared as she motioned for Bit to pass the tin of cookies that he’d set in the middle of the table. She grabbed one while answering. “He was listed as her emergency contact. Those at the dental office tried calling Jenny for those three hours, but when they couldn’t reach her, they became worried. Ian Capshaw then called his mother, who went over to the house. By that afternoon, he’d placed a call to the police, informing them that he was in the process of driving home from Philadelphia. I have a meeting with him this afternoon.”
“Bit, please tell me that you can connect these victims,” Brook said as she observed Kate checking her phone again. “Same high school? College? Gym? Grocery store? Anything.”
“Horton and Rhimesdidhave relatives in the same nursing home, but the sign-in sheets that were attached to Agent Parker’s files showed that Rhimes never went to visit her great uncle. Ever. Now, that doesn’t mean the facility is that strict when it comes to logging in visitors, but it appears that the two weren’t close at all.“ Bit picked up the remote from the table and pointed it toward the monitor. Brook turned her chair halfway to get a better visual. “I was able to pinpoint random facts that I’m not even sure play a part in the case. All the victims either lived or worked in the city. Jean Goldwyn and Felicia Rhimes used the same dry cleaners. Heather Krinsky and Debbie Horton would sometimes eat lunch at the same restaurant. I’m still getting hits off my programs, so I’ll make sure that you are all updated as they come through.”
“Would you please obtain a list of male individuals who were convicted of crimes within three months of Heather Krinsky’s disappearance? See if that list matches a male subject who has been recently paroled,” Brook requested as she used the stylus to finally upload her profile. She then stood from her chair. Fastening her suit jacket, she paused momentarily to give time for the file to display on the monitor. She pressed the screen with her finger and then widened the document so that they could read the bullet points. “I spent most of the night poring over the case files that Agent Parker put together on the victims. First thing this morning, I was able to draft a profile on the limited information that he’d gathered during the initial investigation. There were technically no crime scenes, there are no bodies, and there are no gravesites. The only thing that we have to go on are the weeks leading up to the victims’ disappearances and their bloody handprints that they left at the very place they were last seen.”
Brook gave everyone a moment to peruse through the bullet points that she’d made sure were at the top of her profile. She’d designed her own template based on what she believed were the most imperative details regarding their unsub.
“I agree with Sinnett that we are looking for a Caucasian male in his late twenties to early thirties. I also agree that he is methodical. He never varies from his process. He stalks his victims for weeks before abducting them from plain sight, most likely using their daily routines to his advantage. The victims are forced to cut themselves before leaving their bloody handprint at the last place they were seen alive, which to me tells us that he experiences empathy with the families. It’s his way of letting them know that their loved ones are gone.”
“Are you saying that Agent Parker was right?” Sylvie asked as she reached for another cookie. “That returning to the abduction site was not a sexual experience for the unsub?”
“Yes. Sinnett gives weight to the handprint, but in a completely different manner,” Brook explained as she pushed aside her document on the screen. She then brought up Jenny Capshaw’s bloody handprint. With another swipe of the monitor, she was able to bring up the missing person’s report on Grace Willow. “I believe the stalking aspect of the investigation will lead us to the unsub. Jenny Capshaw’s husband and family mentioned that she’d suspected she was being followed by someone. Grace Willow called the police when there was evidence that she was being stalked by a male subject. No description of the unsub was ever given, but that call was placed two and a half weeksbeforeher disappearance.”
“Then we start with the first victim,” Theo stated matter-of-factly. Everyone was aware of Brook’s approach to an investigation. “Grace Willow. Twenty-six years of age, blonde, brown eyes, and was employed fulltime at a daycare.”
“Wait,” Kate said with a frown as she waved her cell phone in her hand. She understood Brook’s decision not to be assigned with tasks on their current investigation, but it never hurt to have an extra set of eyes on the material. It was the reason that she’d been permitted in on the debriefings with the other team members. “We don’t know for sure if Grace Willow was the first victim.”
“You’re absolutely right,” Brook responded before pointing to the photograph on the screen. “Yet Grace Willow’s handprint was the only one leftinsidethe place of her abduction. Every other handprint was left outside. There are too many inconsistencies with Grace Willow’s case for usnotto consider her the first. Until it’s proven otherwise, we set everything else to the side and focus on her.”
The team understood that her directive wasn’t written in stone. While their interest would be directed toward Grace Willow, new leads and evidence could very well point them in a different direction. They would adapt to their procedures as the evidence presented itself.
“If you need one of my energy drinks, feel free, Boss.”
That was Bit’s way of asking if she’d gotten enough sleep last night.
She refused to respond, because they all knew the answer to that unspoken inquiry.
“Kate, do you have a question?” Brook asked as she reclaimed her seat. She’d noticed that the young woman wasn’t looking at her phone anymore. Instead, she was staring at the large monitor. “Your input is welcome.”
“I understand that the answers are usually found with the first victim, but Jenny Capshaw is still missing. Shouldn’t we be treating this like an active case? Shouldn’t we be focused on locating her before the unsub kills her?”
“Jenny Capshaw is already dead.”
It wasn’t Brook’s intention to come across callous to a victim’s plight. Kate would have no choice but to change her mindset. While Brook wouldn’t advise the young woman to lose her empathy, she would need to harden her outer shell.
“We could take the slim percentage chance and waste time, but look at the timeline for the past victims,” Brook instructed in a soft tone. “The statements collected from families and friends all point toward the unsub stalking his next victim within days. We would be doing Jenny a disservice by wasting time. Trust me, she wouldn’t want another woman to be in her position.”
Brook and the team spent the next thirty minutes combing over Grace Willow’s case. Once they had everything laid out on the murder board, they were able to separate paths of investigations that would hopefully lead them to one answer.
“Just to clarify, Theo will speak with Grace Willow’s husband and other family members. Sylvie, you will reinterview Willow’s friends and colleagues at the daycare. I want to round out the edges of my profile to see if I can narrow down the search parameters. It’s too broad for my liking. Bit, keep doing your magic with the search applications.”
“If we’re concentrating on Grace Willow, I’ll reach out to Agent Nelson for a search warrant to obtain old security footage of the daycare in the weeks leading up to her abduction,” Bit said as he picked up his energy drink and pushed back from the table. “If she was being stalked, there is a good possibility that the unsub was waiting for her outside of the daycare in one of the vehicles on numerous occasions.”
Brook was beyond pleased with Bit’s progress in his role. He’d begun thinking outside the box, and that was what was needed in cases like this one. The unsub stalked his victims for a reason, but Brook didn’t believe that it was simply to monitor their movements in search of an opportunity to take them. She got the sense there was something more to the unsub’s preparation. Clearly, something in the victims’ routine validated his perception of them.
“I’ll keep trying to reach Sinnett,” Theo stated as he picked up the protein shake that he’d been nursing throughout the meeting. “You’d think that he’d return my calls out of professional courtesy.”
Brook didn’t respond. At any moment, Kate was going to announce that she’d been accepted into the FBI Academy. From the way her left hand was raised with her fingers wide apart, her body language displayed disbelief. She was also holding her breath as she reread the email on her phone.
“I got in,” Kate finally whispered in shock. “I got in! I got in!”