"He has done it again," Voight says as he walks into the bullpen. He puts a picture of a girl up on the board. "This is Jessica, 27 years old. She has been missing since yesterday. She is five years older than the last girl he kidnapped." Voight puts up pictures of 4 other girls. "Every five years, this maniac kidnaps another girl. Every five years, the victim is five years older. The first girl was abducted when she was 7. She got released by the manic. There was no trace of him. The other girls didn't make it. It's possible that these girls all have something to do with the first girl, Emma. They all have similarities to her, even though they are older. We think that this man finds the right girl for five years. It has to be the right girl, which takes some time. He has a girl for a week before he dumps her. Every week it's the same week."
"Why haven't they caught him yet?" Kim asks.
"The man is smart. There is never any trace or connection to the girls. We never found DNA, fingerprints or whatever you can think of."
"How are we going to find Jessica then?" Adam asks.
"There is a witness who saw the girl getting abducted. She was smoking in the alley when Jessica walked there, and he snatched her off the streets. She was high, so she is not that credible, but it's the only thing we have so far. She also identified the victim. Kim, you try talking to her. The rest of you, try to see if there were any cameras on that block."
You walk up to the board and look at the little girl. It was like she was staring directly at you. Like she knew you were watching her. "Sarge, was this photo taken before or after she was abducted?" You ask, pointing to the picture of Emma.
"After, why?"
You turned back to the photo. "There is just something. The look in her eyes. It's like she isn't there. Is there any way we can get in contact with her?"
Voight shakes his head. "The parents took her out of Chicago. After she turned 8, there is no record of her."
"Isn't that weird?"
"The parents probably moved out of the country."
You nod. It still doesn't feel right. You sit down at your desk and pull up every file from the missing girls. You read everything and look at the evidence to see if there is any connection.
After a day of searching, you still didn't get that far. There was one camera on the street, but there was no sign of an abduction. Since you don't know what care the offender was driving in, there wasn't much to go on.
"It's still weird that someone can get away with so many abductions and murders and not get caught. And why did he let that first girl go? She must mean something to him," you say as you take another bite of your dinner.
"I don't know. It's weird. An offender can be smart, but this is next level," Jay answers. "The little girl looks somewhat familiar, though."
"You probably had seen her face before on the news or in a file."
"Probably."
After dinner, you tried to relax on the couch, but you couldn't take your mind off the case. Why did he let that first girl go? What was so special about her? You stood up from the couch in protest from, Jay.
"Where are you going?"
You walked to the bedroom, got your laptop and walked back. "I have to do some digging. This girl can't just disappear. She has to be somewhere. Even if it's under another name or something." You pulled up the file and put the picture in a search machine. It loaded all the articles or social media posts where that photo was posted.
"Alright, so what are you thinking?"
You scanned the articles. It was only news, and there was no social media post about her. "There are no social media posts with that photo, only news articles. The parents probably deleted all the pictures of their social media."
"Are there any other photos you can use?"
"Only one." You pulled up the picture. It was the school picture of the year she turned seven. She was smiling widely into the camera. It was like you were looking at another girl. She seemed so happy. You put the photo in the search machine, and you got two hits. One links you to a Facebook group that posted tips about the girl. The other one leads to a Facebook page of a woman. The profile picture was a family picture. You click on it and don't believe your eyes.
"Isn't that...?"
"My mom..."