start a riot, criminal minds [ 3 ]

031. hell's kitchen

"Tara's giving expert testimony, Rossi's visiting Reid today, so it's just gonna be us." Emily says, walking in. "You guys remember her?" She shows a photo of a teenage girl on the screen.

"It's Katie Hammond." Stephen says. "15. Went missing in Manhattan about a week ago."

"Close. It was 5 days ago to be exact." Emily says. "Today she turned 16."

"Her parents must be a wreck." JJ says.

"Yeah, she was supposed to meet her friends, she never showed up." Luke says.

"Yeah. This is the last image we have of her." Penelope says, playing a video that surveillance caught. Katie gets out of a cab and starts to walk off, but turns back and tries to wave the cab down.

"Oh, that's right. She left her cell phone in the cab." Luke says.

"And went off into the night without a lifeline." JJ says. "How did she disappear? There is cameras everywhere in the city."

"Look, she just-- she vanishes." Penelope says.

"Well, did we check subway cams, tunnels, bridge tolls?" JJ asks.

"There's no sign of her on any bus or train." Penelope says. "Without a vehicle lead, they don't have much to go on."

"And now that they've cleared their initial suspect, we're back at square one." Luke says.

"Not exactly. Her victimology matches two cold cases -- Shelley Gallagher and Lisa Dewald." Emily says. "Both were abducted within a 5 block radius."

"They could all be sisters." JJ says, noticing how alike the three look. "Why did the cases go cold?"

"It's unclear." Emily says.

"I hate to ask, but if it's the same offender, what makes you think Katie's still alive?" Stephen asks.

"Because he held on to them for a week before killing them." Emily says. "But Katie's only been missing for 5 days. So if there is a connection, we still have a chance. C.O.D. is cranial blunt force trauma, but premortem he drained 3 liters of blood."

"Whether it's for consumption or collection, this unsub's got a ritualistic behavior." JJ says.

"A bizarre one at that." Stephen says.

"We find out why he's doing it, we'll find him." Emily says. "Wheels up in 20."

+++

"Hal Clayton. Thanks for coming." The detective says.

"Of course. These are SSAs Alvez, Reid, Jareau, and Walker." Emily informs.

"Pleasure. Katie's parents are on their way." Hal says.

"Do they know your theory?" Emily asks.

"No, and I want to keep it that way." Hal says. "If they saw what's on these boards, they'd never sleep again. Similarities are obvious -- age, coloring, vanished off the streets. But the difference is a big one. The first two vics were runaways, addicts. Turned tricks. Classic street life. Nobody out there looking for them."

"Explains why the cases went cold." Luke says.

"We usually see an offender build up to taking somebody like Katie." Emily says. "My guess is he's done this a few times that we don't know about. We should pull all missing persons who match that physical description."

"Those are Katie's parents." Hal nods to the two who walk up to the desk.

"Do you mind if I speak to them?" JJ asks.