Say It Again

Chapter 19: Once Upon A Time

Hotch begins delivering the profile as soon as the door closes behind the stragglers from Disney's security team. "The unsub we're looking for is a white male between the ages of 30 and 40. He typically doesn't stand out enough to make people feel uncomfortable around him."

"Well, he doesn't stand out until he starts trying to talk to children," Gideon says. "Adults will notice that he's awkward around them, but to children, he can be almost charming. He probably relates to them and makes himself less threatening so they trust him more."

"This guy could be a Disney cast member, or at least someone with enough knowledge of the parks that they could take children from crowded areas and disappear quickly," Morgan adds as he leans against the desk behind him.

"Think about individuals that could have had access to all five of the abduction sites. Who would know each of these areas so well?" Reid sticks his hands in his pockets as he speaks, always a little shy in front of a crowd.

"Multiple parents of the abducted children mentioned seeing a man that fits a similar description. He has a scar on the right side of his chin and has light brown hair. We are interested in this individual, but it's imperative that we don't make him feel threatened," JJ's voice is confident and urgent, and I notice her eyes linger on mine for a second after she finishes.

"We need to work as quickly as possible to find Marilyn. Thank you for your attention," I finish the profile and turn back to my team. "Has Garcia found anyone that worked in all five locations yet?"

Hotch calls Garcia again, and she answers on the first ring as he puts her on speaker. "Hey, Hotch, so I looked at what you asked, and there was no cast member that worked all five gift shops or attractions on those days. I can do some digging to try to see if the guy with the chin scar works for Disney, but that's going to take a little bit of time."

"Alright thanks, Garcia. Call me if you find something," Hotch says, sighing.

"Over and out, sir," there's a click as Garcia hangs up.

We talk for another minute when the head of Disney's security rushes back into the room.

"Agent Hotchner, we found something," he says, panting slightly.

"Go on, what is it?" Hotch's voice is urgent as he sticks his phone back into his pocket.

"We had search dogs in some backstage areas, and they picked up Marilyn's scent. We found this," he holds up a teddy bear that I had seen in a couple recent pictures of the little girl.

"So it's definitely someone that works here, right? Who else would have access to the cast member areas?" I ask, looking around at the group.

"No one else would. If you're not in costume, you have to have your Disney ID with you," JJ says, and the security officer nods his agreement.

"Alright, well that narrows down our search a bit," Morgan says. "I'll update Garcia." He walks out of the room, already putting his phone up to his ear.

After we split up again, I sit inside the conference room at the table and look at the white board. We have to be missing something else.

...

Twenty minutes later, the door opens and I blink in surprise as I see JJ walk in, chewing on her lip.

"Hey," I say softly. I literally have no idea how to function around her anymore. Sometimes it seems like maybe we can be friends, but other times, if I even breathe, she completely shuts down.

"Hey, Emily," JJ says immediately, She sits down across from me at the table, but still won't look directly at me. She spreads a file out in front of her and begins scanning it.