counting stars | criminal minds [discontinued]

2 7 | G O N E

y'all said you wanted trauma, so here she is

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"don't call her a victim"

"Briefing room. Now," JJ said, rushing through the bullpen with her arm full of folders.

"C'mon, it's almost the weekend," Derek said, groaning and sharing a tired look with Prentiss.

"Now!" JJ said again, this time raising her voice. She didn't give them a second look as she burst into Hotch's office to get him and Rossi.

Everyone filed into the briefing room and took a seat at the table. They watched as JJ hurried to pass out the files.

"What's the emergency, JJ?" Rossi asked, picking up his file.

"Ashley Wilson, Martha Bishop, and Sasha McCall have all been found dead in Manhattan in the last three weeks." As JJ named the girls off, she clicked the remote in her hand and their pictures appeared on the screen.

The room fell silent. It was clear why JJ had them meet right away. The resemblance to all the victims was undeniable, and unfortunately, Florence fit the profile to a T. They were all young girls in their late teens or twenties, but the important part was the hair. Each girl was a brunette but parts of their hair were dyed bright pink — one girl had streaks all throughout and the other two had the bottom dyed exactly like Florence.

"Each girl was taken on a Friday and then their bodies turned up the following Monday night."

"Florence is in Manhattan," Garcia said in a weak voice. "Oh my god."

Florence had agreed last minute to join her old roommate in New York for the week. They had tickets to a few Broadway shows and planned to get a lot of sightseeing in. She had been quite excited about it and the chance to maybe reconnect with her roommate.

Reid frowned as he looked through the file. "It seems that all of this is happening in the same twenty-mile radius. They go missing and are found in the same city, meaning that the unsub could live in the area."

"All the victims were found dressed in nightgowns. The only physical marks are around their wrists, which looks like it could be from chains," Rossi said, flipping to the images from the dumpsites. "It's odd. He cut off the parts of their hair that are dyed pink."

"Maybe that's his trophy," Prentiss suggested. "Look at how the bodies were placed. Their hair is brushed. He put makeup on them and dressed them up. They were all laid neatly with their hands crossed over their chest. It suggests there's some remorse."

"Asphyxiation is the cause of death. It's possible he chose this method in order to preserve how they look," Reid added.

"Guys, why is no one talking about the huge elephant in the room?" Garcia asked, worry creeping up on her. "Today is Friday, Florence is in the area where the girls were taken, and she fits the unsub's type exactly."