Cases to be Solved

The Cruel Reality - Part 1

The Cruel Reality - Part 1

I finally got my nerve back, so now I'm back to running at night and going home by myself and whatnot. Spencer and Derek keep an eye on me from time to time and check up on me at home. I'm glad though because Sarah recently got a job as a bartender at some club and so she works late into the night and it's a bit unnerving when I'm by myself in the apartment at night. Yeah, I know it's stupid for me to think that because I run at night but this is different. Running keeps my mind off of things like that, but just sitting in the living room and reading a book or watching TV is different. You hear things moving around outside and you get paranoid.

Of course, that's not what I'm doing right now. Right now, I'm out with Garcia, JJ, and Emily and we're doing some shopping. It's late in the afternoon and the sun is started to go down. My phone rang as we went into a diner to have some dinner. "Hello?"

"Is this Andrea Davis?"

"This is her, who is this?"

"My name is Mr. Dillon, Sarah's boss."

"Is she in some sort of trouble?" I asked worried.

"Well, she didn't show up for work."

"That's odd. When I got home, she was leaving for work. She even said so...."

"Well if you have any idea where she is, or who I can contact, please let me know." I frowned.

"I can't think of anywhere she could be at this time of day. Have you tried her cell?"

"Yes, but she won't pick up." JJ and Garcia looked at me worriedly.

"I'll try calling her and I'll call you back and tell you if I get a hold of her or not."

"I appreciate that." Then we hung up and I dialed Sarah's phone number.

"Wha'ts wrong?" Garcia asked.

"Sarah didn't show up at work." I said worriedly. It's unusual for her to not show up. She's always on time when we have something planned. Her phone went to voice mail and I tried it once more and got the same result. I called Mr. Dillon back and told him.

"Okay, well thank you for trying." Then he hung up. Does he really care if she's okay or not? I thought angrily.

"Maybe she has her phone on silent and she's at home?" JJ suggested.

"It's possible." I said sighing. We sat down and ate a little and then I rushed home. I was really worried about her. When I got home, I was disappointed to find that she wasn't home. I decided to wait until tomorrow to see if she'd come home later. So I stayed up as late as I could and she never came home. The next day, I walked into the FBI building tired and worried.

"Whoa, looks like you didn't get any sleep last night." Derek said smirking. I rolled my eyes.

"No, I didn't take anyone home with me last night."

"You sure?"

"Positive."

"Did she come home?" JJ asked. I shook my head sadly.

"No, I waited for her all night."  I said sighing. "I called the police and filed a missing person's report. They called me this morning and told me that they're making posters and stuff."

"Who's missing?" Spencer asked curiously as he walked in.

"Sarah, she didn't show up at her work last night and she hasn't come home. I've tried her cell phone so many times I got tired of counting." I sat down at my desk and put my head in my hands. "God I'm so tired..."

"Hey, they'll find her." Derek said rubbing my back. I sure hope so. I answered in my head.

"Everyone, it's time for the briefing." Hotch said walking in. We nodded and went into the briefing room. As I walked into the briefing room my eyes widened, the pictures of the women looked just like Sarah, the same colored eyes, the same blond hair, the same skin color, everything was the same.

"There has been a string of murderurs here." JJ started.

Getting jobs here was unusual but that didn't mean it never happened. 

"All females ranging from the ages of 20 to 25, around the height of 5' to 5'5, all of them have the same shade of eye color and hair, all work around the same area. Most are bartenders and waitresses. They were reported missing around a week before their homicide, then they were found raped and brutally cut and bruised in allies around the city." I felt myself go pale.

"So who's the latest victim?" I asked weakly.

"Jessica Hartley, age 23, was found in an alley way near a club, called The Club (A/N: original, I know :P),"

"Well that's original." Derek said rolling his eyes.

"Anyways," J.J. said giving him a pointed look. "She was last seen a week ago with her co-workers at her job, as a waitress, in the parking lot and getting into their cars. Police questioned them and all they saw was her getting into her car and leaving the parking lot." The Club, where had I heard- I gasped.

"What is it?" Rossi asked.

"The Club, that's where Sarah works."

"Didn't you say she went missing?" Spencer asked.

"Not helping, kid." Derek said shaking his head.

"Sorry."

"Andrea, is there a possibility that the Unsub has her?" Hotch asked.

"She didn't come home last night, she hasn't answered her phone, and her boss can't get ahold of her." I said frowning. "So yes, I think it's possible."

"And the Unsub did leave the latest victim in an alley by The Club." Spencer said.

"Still not helping Spence." I murmured.

"Sorry."

"So it looks like we have an Unsub in our own backyard." Derek muttered.

"Let's get to work." Hotch said. We all nodded and got to work. Derek and I went to the crime scene, Rossi and Spence went to go and talk to the family of the last victim, Garcia stayed behind to do her computer magic, and Hotch and J.J. went to go and talk to the press that were now swarming the entrance of the building. I hope we find Sarah in time. When Derek and I arrived, the owner, Mr. Dillon, greeted us looking relieved and said something about bad business and stuff like that. Not that I really cared.

"Well there are the obvious signs that she's been brutally murdered." Derek pointed.

"Thanks for the observation, Captain Obvious." I said rolling my eyes.

"Whoa." He said putting his hands up like he was giving up in defeat.

"Sorry..."

"Look, I know you're worried about Sarah but right now the only way we can help her is to figure who we're dealing with and get to know them." I nodded and sighed.

"Okay." He smiled and we got to work.

As I looked around the scene, my heart started beating faster. Sarah couldn't have been kidnapped by this guy, not her, this couldn't be happening. I closed my eyes and surfed through my mind, I saw all the pictures of the girls that had been murdered. The blood, their eyes wide with fear, their skin pale and their bodies rigid

Those images stayed with me through out the day, they made me nervous, something that wasn't good in this job.

+

"Andrea I need to talk to you" Hotch said, his face serious as always. He was standing at the doorway of his office.

I nodded and walked over to his office. Hotch had already walked inside. "What's wrong Hotch?" I asked.

"Since Sarah is now a poossible victim-"

"Don't call her a victim" I told him.

Hotch sighed "I'm going to have to take you off the case Andrea" he told me.

"What? No! You can't do that!" I exclaimed angrily.