Threat or Tribute?

Maggie Connelly receives a strange package from an unknown sender. Is this all that's needed to find a killer?

NAME: MARGARET CONNELLY

AGE: 28

OCCUPATION: CRIME NOVELIST

 

When Maggie arrived home from the grocery store, she found a manila envelope on her front porch. She went inside and set down the bags she was carrying before going back out to pick up the envelope. The only thing written on the envelope was “Maggie Connelly.” No address or return label so she figured it must have been hand delivered, which made her a little uneasy.

            Maggie made sure to lock the door behind her and set the envelope on her coffee table so she could look at it after she put away her groceries. Once everything was put away and organized to her liking, she sat down on the couch and carefully opened the envelope.

            Maggie pulled out eight pictures and what seemed to be a letter. She examined each picture. They seemed to be pictures of dead women. Maggie couldn’t tell the manner of death by just the pictures so she turned to the letter hoping it would maybe explain. She scanned through the letter and again that uneasy feeling returned. The letter didn’t specify how the women died, but it explained how they were taken: Home invasion in early morning or late night and with a chloroform towel pressed against their faces. Creative, Maggie thought sarcastically.

            Maggie has gotten packages like this before. People find real life murders and send them to her in hopes that she can find a story in it. The letter said that all the women were abducted from Virginia and Maryland; the two states surrounding Washington, D. C. This made it a little more interesting. Maggie figured she’d do some research in the morning.

 

In the afternoon the next day after Maggie got home from lunch with a friend, she started looking into the abductions and murders that had been sent to her. She searched many different phrases to try to find any information, but couldn’t find anything about any serial killers that worked in two separate states at the same time, especially those specific states.

            Maggie reached forward and picked up one of the pictures. It made her sad when she thought about the poor girl in the picture, all the pictures, at that. But, Maggie tried very hard to not let it bother her. She turned the picture over and found a name written on the back. “Well, that makes it easier,” she said aloud.

            Maggie typed the name in the search engine. She found an article about the woman being found on the side of the road in Virginia. Maggie read the article and realized that the woman had been found just two days ago. Red flag number one. Maggie picked up another picture and typed in the name that was written on the back. She found an article about how the woman had been abducted. No body had been found. She did this again and again with all the other names. All the same: abduction and no body. They had all been taken within the last 5 months. Red flag number two.

            Maggie looked at her search history and reread the names of the woman and that’s when she found red flag number three. “Oh my God,” she said with her eyes opening wide. Maggie checked the time on her phone and figured it was too late to make a visit to anyone that could help.

            Maggie made sure all her doors and windows were securely locked, just as a precaution.

 

NAME: DR. NATHANIEL DAVIS

AGE: 35

OCCUPATION: FBI BAU SPECIAL AGENT

 

“Davis,” Agent Times said, “why do you keep checking your phone?”

            “What? Oh, no reason,” Davis responded trying to hide his embarrassment.

            “He’s waiting for his girlfriend to text him back,” Agent Porter said with a smile.

            Dr. Davis and most of his team were sitting in the headquarters of the BAU. They didn’t have a current case to be working on so they were all just sitting around. 

            “I don’t have a girlfriend,” Davis said in complete seriousness.

            Porter laughed. “Well, not yet you don’t.  But, the constant texting with Maggie Connelly is getting you pretty close, especially since you normally don’t text anyone.” She spun slightly in her chair and took a sip of water.

            “She is just a friend,” Davis said.

            “Sure she is, hotshot,” Times said as he got up from his desk to go get coffee.

            Davis set his phone facing down on his desk and started to shift through some papers to occupy his time. Davis heard Agent Monroe get up to leave the room to answer a phone call. He hoped that it was about a case.

            When the boredom was just about to take complete hold of his life, Davis heard heels clicking on the ground and a familiar voice say, “For the FBI, your security here sucks.” Davis looked up to see Maggie Connelly smiling at him. He then noticed the manila envelope she was holding. “Hi, Dr. Nate,” Maggie said in a flirtatious voice.

            Davis smiled awkwardly and said, “Hello, Maggie.”

            “Dear, lord,” Times said not so much under his breath and into his coffee cup.

            Monroe reentered the room as she hung up the phone. “Just my husband,” she said like she knew what her team was thinking. “No case.”

            “Well, that’s good,” Maggie said, “because I happen to have one for you.” She waved the envelope around as proof. “Gather the rest of the team.” Maggie headed off like she knew where she was going. Davis knew she didn’t, so he quietly guided her to the room where cases are presented.

 

NAME: MARGARET CONNELLY

Maggie felt confident as she said, “Gather the team,” and made her way to the room where the cases are presented. Slowly, Agents Porter, Times, Monroe, George, Reynolds, and Davis sat down around the oval table, along with a red haired woman Maggie didn’t know who was later introduced to her as Phoebe Barton. Maggie stood in front of them clutching the envelope tightly.

            “What’s this about, Miss Connelly?” Agent Reynolds asked.

            “Well,” Maggie said, “I have a case for you all.” She held up the envelope. “Two days ago, this was dropped off on my front porch.” Maggie opened the envelope and pulled out each picture one by one setting them on the table in front of her. “It contained these eight picture of women who have been abducted and murdered. At first, since I have gotten packages like this before, I didn’t question it. That is until I did some research. Only one of these women’s bodies have been found and that was three days ago. The rest are still missing.” Maggie took out the articles she printed about each woman and put them on the table as well.

            “I’m sorry to say that pictures and articles don’t prove that there is a case here, Maggie,” Agent George said.

            “I’ve also received this letter.” Maggie pulled the letter out of the now empty envelope. She set both down on the table. “Oh, and I forgot to tell you all the real kicker: all of the victim’s names are Maggie.”

            The team in front of her began to look more intently at the material that Maggie had place on the table. Davis picked up the letter and quickly read it over. “My question is,” he said thoughtfully, “whether this is meant as a threat towards you, or a tribute.”

            Agent Reynolds stood up. “We can talk about that in the car.” He turned toward Agent George. “Henry, you, Porter, and Times go to where Maggie Strain’s body was found.”

 

NAME: ALEX REYNOLDS

AGE: 49

OCCUPATION: FBI BAU SPECIAL AGENT; BAU UNIT CHIEF

 

“Henry, you, Porter, and Times go to where Maggie Strain’s body was found,” Reynolds directed. He looked to Davis and said, “You, Monroe and I will go and speak to families of both Maggie Strain and the other missing women. We can hit some of the police stations where the girls went missing, also.” Reynolds then told Barton, “Look and see if you can find anything to connect these women to each other besides first names.” Barton nodded and headed off to her office. Finally, Reynolds directed his gaze toward Maggie. “Miss Connelly, stay here. That is the only way I can guarantee your protection for now.” Maggie sat down in one of the chairs around the table.

            “Let’s go,” Reynolds said. He left the room with Davis and Monroe following him.

            When they got into the SUV, Agent Monroe asked, “How long should we wait before alerting the media?”

            “We should find out all that we can before we do. We could cause a large panic because these abductions are taking place in multiple states,” Reynolds said. They were silent for the rest of the ride to Arlington. Eventually, Reynolds turned into the parking lot of the station.

            The team of three strode into the headquarters and Reynold explained the case and introduced Monroe and Davis to the police chief. “This has happened across state borders so the case is federal,” he said when the chief was about to protest the FBI’s involvement in the Maggie Strain case. “Other girls from other states have been suspected to be taken by the same unsub. We need all the information you’ve got about Maggie Strain. We have other agents at her drop sight right now.”

The chief reluctantly brought out Maggie Strain’s case file and a box of evidence. The three looked through what they had been given. A question came to Reynolds mind when he looked at information on the victim’s schooling. “Davis, what college did Maggie attend?”

Davis gave him a quizzical look. “My Maggie?... I mean Maggie Connelly?”

“Yes.”

“Georgetown. Why?” Davis asked.

“Because I just found a connection besides the name,” Reynolds explained. “Maggie Connelly and Maggie Strain are the same age so they probably graduated in the same class. Monroe, you’re only two years older than them, does Maggie Strain look familiar to you? You would have been at Georgetown the same time.”

Monroe took the picture and looked at it. She shook her head, “I don’t recognize her. That shouldn’t be a surprise though, there’s over 17,000 students that go there. I will try to see if I know any of the other girls or if there are any other Maggies with brown hair that are the same age that may be at risk.” Monroe left the room to make some calls.

“I’m going to call Maggie and see if she knows any of these girls from school. It’s a possibility that she didn’t recognize them or their names out of context,” Davis said as he dialed Maggie’s number. He said, “Hello,” when Maggie answered.

 

NAME: DR. NATHANIAL DAVIS

 

When Maggie answered, Davis explained to her what they had found. He asked if she knew any of the victims from school.   

            “I’ll look at the names and some decent pictures of them, but I probably won’t. You said they were my age? They wouldn’t have been in my graduating class. I graduated high school in three years so I would have been a year ahead of them,” Maggie said over the phone.

            “You graduated high school a year early?” Davis asked slightly surprised.

            “Yeah… why? How early did you graduate, Nate?” Maggie asked.

            “Uh… we can talk about that later. I’ve got to go,” Davis hung up the phone. He had graduated high school at the age that most enter high school and he wasn’t going to tell that to Maggie over the phone.

            Davis walked back over to Reynolds and told him that Maggie was going to look at the names again.

NAME: HENREY GEORGE

AGE: 54

OCCUPATION: FBI BAU SPECIAL AGENT

 

“Why would the unsub dump the body here?” Agent George wondered aloud. George along with Agents Porter and Times were at the sight where Maggie Strain’s body was found. It was on the side of a highway outside of Arlington, Virginia. “He dumped the body near where he first took the woman. Will he do that with all the victims or will he leave them all around this area?”

            “I hate to say it,” Porter started, “but another body would help a lot with the unsub’s profile. Judging by the pictures that Maggie received, the women are all already dead, or pretty close to it. Another body is bound to turn up sooner or later.” She slowly circled the drop sight.

            “That’s true,” Times said, “but for now we should focus on this victim. Look at where she was placed: invisible to traffic except for the few second that a car passes right by her. It shows the unsub wants to remain hidden, but wants his victim to be found.”

            “Could that be a sign of remorse?” Porter asked as she crouched on the ground. “And strangulation, that’s a passionate kill, almost as though he cared for the woman."

            George shook his head. “She was face up and in dirty, torn clothing. The victim was in terrible condition when she was dumped here. There is no remorse in that. And as for the strangulation, I think there’s more than just passion behind it.”

            “It surprises me the way she was found,” Times said. “I mean, that letter made it seem like he wanted a great story to be told. The way he left her doesn’t exactly make a great story, at least in my opinion.”

            George knew he was right. He thought for a moment before saying, “But he’s not our story teller. Maggie Connelly is.”

 

NAME: MARGARET CONNELLY

 

Maggie didn’t know what to do to occupy her time at the BAU. Phoebe Barton let her poke around the internet a little, but she got bored with that quickly. It drove her crazy all day as she waited for the team to return. Knowing that she most likely helped the most she could was making her even more nervous. She had searched Facebook for any connections to the Maggies that were murdered. She tried not to let herself think about the fact that it was connected strongly to her. She found nothing. Maggie’s only personal connection to these woman was that they attended the same university at the same time. She didn’t know any of them. And they’re dead because of me, Maggie thought.

            “How are you doing, Maggie?” Phoebe asked when she brought Maggie a cup of coffee.

            “Well,” Maggie said, “besides the extreme guilt and mental torcher I’m putting myself through, I’m awesome.” Maggie shook her head. “Sorry. You were only being nice. Thank you for asking.”

            “It’s no problem,” Phoebe said as she pushed up her pink, studded glasses. “I understand that this is hard for you.”

            Tell me about it, Maggie thought.

           

When the team had all arrived back from their assigned locations, Agent Reynolds came to get Maggie. “You can go home now. We will have an officer stationed outside of your house, along with Davis who will be inside with you. Though, you may not be in any danger, we need to take every precaution.”

            Maggie agreed that this was best. She was relieved that she wouldn’t have to stay alone that night. The night before she had gotten barely any sleep because the fear that someone was watching her kept her up.

            Davis drove behind Maggie on her way home and followed her into her house. Maggie didn’t know what to do so she offered him a drink.

            “Oh, no thank you,” Davis said. They were both quiet for a moment before he said, “Just go about your normal, nightly routine. I’m not even here.”

            Maggie rolled her eye and said, “Yeah, okay.” Maggie pursed her lips. “I guess I’m just going to go to bed.”

            “Alright, good night,” Davis said. He sat down on the couch as Maggie entered her bedroom and shut the door.

            After Maggie got into her bed, she just lay there, staring at the ceiling. She tapped her fingers on her stomach. Maggie couldn’t help but glance over to the window in her room. A person could fit through there, she thought. Maggie directed her eyes back at the ceiling. Close your eyes and go to sleep. Close your eyes and go to sleep. She did as she told herself. Sleep did not come to her, though. Not long after she closed her eyes, Maggie heard a tapping on her window. Even though it was nothing, Maggie got out of bed quickly and made her way to the living room.

            When she opened her door, she found Nate awake and reading a book a page a second, it seemed. He turned when he heard her and asked, “Everything alright?”

            “Yeah,” Maggie said. “I’m just being extremely paranoid.”

 

NAME: DR. NATHANIEL DAVIS

 

Davis was reading The Art of War when Maggie walked into her living room. “Everything alright?” he asked feeling concerned about her.

            She gave him a bland smile. “Yeah. I’m just being extremely paranoid.” Maggie moved and sat down next to him on the couch, closer than an acquaintance would.  “I think I’ll hang out here with you for a while, if that’s okay.”

            “Yeah, of course. It’s your house. You can do whatever you want,” Davis said. He was hyperaware of how close she was to him.

            “So,” Maggie said, “exactly how old were you when you graduated from high school?”

            Davis told her with a meek smile. He wasn’t embarrassed, he just wasn’t one to brag knowingly.

            Davis and Maggie spoke for a while about many different topics that kept away from the possible threat against Maggie. Eventually, though there was still more to talk about, Maggie fell asleep on Davis’s shoulder. He wasn’t exactly sure what to do. Should I put my arm around her? Or would that be inappropriate? Davis finally decided that yes, he should put his arm around her and no, it wasn’t inappropriate. They were friends… maybe going towards something more. Davis got comfortable with Maggie’s body leaning on his and began to drift to sleep.

 

Hours later, Davis was awoken by a crashing sound in the kitchen. When he jolted, Maggie awoke as well. Davis stood up cautiously and drew his gun. “Stay here,” he told Maggie.

            Maggie replied to that with a simple, “No.”

            Davis knew he didn’t have time to fight her so he made his way to the kitchen carefully with Maggie’s fingers lightly touching his back. He searched the area quickly with his eyes and didn’t spot anyone. He turned to the right, gun still pointed in front of him. No one was to be found.             Davis noticed that Maggie’s fingers had left his back. Heavy breathing that did not belong to Maggie could be heard behind him. Davis slowly turn around. A large man with a black ski-mask over his face held Maggie tightly with his hand over her mouth. The other hand was being used to hold a gun to her temple.

            “Drop your weapon,” Davis said, pointing his own at the man.

            The man shook his head frantically. “No, no, no,” he said quickly. “You drop yours or I kill the b***h.”

            Davis held his hands in the air and slowly lowered his gun to the ground. As he was moving towards the ground, the large man let out a cry of pain. When Davis looked up, the man’s hand was away from Maggie and she had gotten away from him. The man then pointed his gun towards Davis and made a move to fire it. Before he had a chance, Davis fired his gun at the man’s leg. The man dropped the gun as his hands moved to his leg that was surely now in a lot of pain.

            “Maggie,” Davis said, “get the cuffs out of the front right pocket of my bag in the living room.” He kept his gun trained on the man who was crying out in pain.

            Did she bite him? Davis wondered.

            Maggie moved quickly and got Davis the handcuffs. Davis cuffed the man and brought him out the front door where the police man on duty was running towards the house because of the gun shot.

NAME: HENRY GEORGE

 

The call about the break in at Maggie Connelly’s house came to George at four o’clock in the morning. Davis had said on the phone he didn’t believe this man was their unsub, but they didn’t have a complete profile yet, so there was no way to be sure. George got dressed and drove to the police station closest to Maggie’s house.

            When he arrived, the suspect was sitting in the interrogation room looking extremely nervous. George turned to Agent Reynolds and asked, “What do we know about him?”

            Reynolds crossed his arms and said, “His name is Kyle Bulwer. Previous charges against him include breaking and entering and stalking.” Reynolds turned towards Kyle Bulwer and looked at him through the glass.

            George nodded and entered the interrogation room. He sat down across from Kyle and introduced himself. They went through the basics and eventually George asked, “Mr. Bulwer, do you mind telling me what exactly you were doing breaking into Miss Connelly’s private home in the middle of the night?”

            Kyle shifted in his seat and looked down at the table. “I just wanted to meet her,” he mumbled. 

            “And you thought that the method you chose was the best way to accomplish that?”

            He didn’t answer.

            George continued, “What purpose did threatening her life serve in your fantasy of meeting Miss Connelly?”

            Kyle refused to look up from the table. “I didn’t want it to go like that,” he said.

            “Is that what happened when you killed Maggie Strain? Did you not want that to go like it did either?”

            At that accusation, Kyle looked up from the table. “I didn’t kill anyone.”

            “Are you sure?” George got up from his chair and leaned toward Kyle with his hands pressed on the table. “You didn’t kill Maggie Strain and these seven other women?”

            “No!” Kyle said forcefully. “I didn’t do that!”

            George sat back down and shuffled his papers. He asked Kyle Bulwer more questions, but by now he knew he wasn’t their unsub. The unsub they were looking for would be fully willing to brag about his murders. 

            When George was done conducting the interview, he let a policeman escort Kyle Bulwer out and to a holding cell. He wasn’t their unsub, but he still would be charged for breaking and entering and possibly stalking.

            When George walked into the room where Maggie and Davis were sitting, Maggie looked up at him with hopefully eyes. He shook his head. “Sorry, Maggie. He’s a creep, but he’s not our unsub.”

 

NAME: MARGARET CONNELLY

 

Maggie was very jittery when she was waiting for Agent George to come out of the interrogation room. Nate sat next to her and she waited. Maggie reached over and gripped his hand tight in an effort to calm herself down. It was five o’clock in the morning and she was wide awake, not something that usually happened with her.

Nate ran his thumb over hers and said, “Whether he is our unsub or not, we still caught a man who could have hurt you.”

Maggie just shrugged. Nate didn’t think this was the guy who sent her the package, and she agreed with him. Maggie Strain and presumably the other women had been strangled, why would he shoot her?

Maggie heard footsteps walk into the room where they were sitting and she looked up hopefully at Agent George. He shook his head and said, “Sorry, Maggie. He’s a creep, but he’s not our unsub.”

Maggie was disappointed, but she didn’t really expect that he would be. “I didn’t think so. Thanks, Henry.” He nodded and left the room.

Nate released Maggie’s hand and stood up. “Let’s get you home so you can change, if you want. Then I’ll need to take you to headquarters. Reynolds wants you to stay there with Barton again.”

 

NAME: PHOEBE BARTON

AGE: 37

OCCUPATION: FBI TECH ANALYST FOR THE BAU

 

“You are not ‘babysitting,’” Sam Times said to Phoebe Barton. “Maggie Connelly is a full grown woman.”

            Barton shrugged. “I understand that. And I also think she is very nice, and perfect for Davis by the way, but she gets in my way. I enjoy working alone in the dark of my office.” She touched her curled, red hair lightly.

            “And, hun, that worries me a little bit,” Times said. “But, Maggie will only be here for today. We will find somewhere else to keep her protected tomorrow, if need be.” He put his hand on Barton’s arm and said with fake sympathy, “You will get through this.”

            Barton smiled slightly and entered her office. Maggie was waiting in there, twisting the swivel chair back and forth slightly. “Hi, Phoebe. Can I play on the computer again?” She apparently saw this as babysitting as well.

            “Of course,” Phoebe said. She pointed her finger at Maggie and said, “Nothing inappropriate.”

            Maggie held her hands in the air in an “I surrender” position. “I wouldn’t dare,” she said.

 

 A few hours later, Barton got a call from Agent Times. “How can I help you, precious?”

            She could hear his smile through the phone. “I need you to find a list of people who purchased Maggie’s book Caught about five months ago in the D. C. area.”

            Barton blew out a puff of air. “That’s a lot of people, Sam. From what I understand, Miss Connelly’s books are pretty popular.” She turned and smiled at Maggie who had looked up at the sound of her name.

            “Okay,” Times said. “Limit it to males in their early thirties who would have purchased the book after five pm or on a weekend.”

            “You got it,” Barton said. “I’ll call you back when I have something.”

            Barton got to work. She managed to limit the list to about twenty men. She faxed it to the station the team was at and printed out a copy to show Maggie.

            Maggie looked over the names and shook her head. “I’m sorry. I don’t know any of these names.”

            “None of them sound like crazed fans to you?”

            “No,” Maggie said. “The only crazed fan that I can think of was a woman, and she just keyed my car… and I really don’t think she was a fan.”

            Barton said back in her chair feeling disappointed. How where they going to find this guy?

 

NAME: ALEX REYNOLDS

 

Reynolds and his team were at the station in Arlington when the call of another body came in. A young woman later identified as Maggie Hobbs had been found, strangled, on the side of a highway in Silver Spring, Maryland. Reynolds, Porter, and George made their way to the drop sight while Davis, Monroe, and Times went to the local police station.

            According to Porter and George, the sight looked very similar to where Maggie Strain’s body had been found, meaning the body was not visible until a car drove directly by it. With the body still at the location, the agent got to put more pieces together. Reynolds was amazed at the resemblance to Maggie Connelly.

            “Look at the dress she’s wearing,” Porter pointed out. “It’s not the same as the one in the photograph that Maggie was sent, but it is an exact copy of the one that Maggie Strain was found in.”

            “Hmm,” Reynolds said. “Look at the way the body is positioned. She wasn’t laid here, she was tossed, as though she meant nothing.” Reynolds and the two other agents observed more of the drop sight.

            After a while, George asked, “Do you think we have enough for a full profile on the unsub?”

            Reynolds nodded. “Yes. Henry, call Davis and tell him what we found so he can start to put the profile together. Tell him we’re on our way back to the station.”

NAME: DR. NATHANIEL DAVIS

 

Davis received a call from George telling him what they had observed at the drop sight. He started to piece together a profile and eventually came up with this:

            “He is a white male in his early thirties. He most likely has a nine to five weekday job, judging by the late night and early morning abductions. The unsub will seem quiet and non-threatening to the people he interacts with every day. Also, he will be a fan of Maggie Connelly’s books. If he does speak in a casual setting, it most likely will be about her books or something that is related. The abductions started about five months ago, when Maggie’s book Caught came out, which means that either something in the book was a stressor or that’s the first book of hers he read.” Davis told this to his team when they were all there at the police station. They agreed with him. Times went to call Barton and tell her what to search for.

            “She said it’s going to be a long list, but at least we’ll be getting somewhere,” Times said when he hung up the phone. The others agreed.

            When the list of names came in, along with a list of any criminal records and addresses, the team analyzed them to see if there could be any links that they could see from just that information. Porter called some of the police stations in the towns where the other Maggies were found to see if they had gotten any more information.

            “Oh, God,” Monroe said when she was looking at her phone. She looked up and said, “Someone leaked the information that these murders are connected to Maggie. I’ll need to take care of this.” She got up from the table and went to talk to the media.

            Davis looked at the list of names again. “Do you think Barton could try to link any of these names to someone who sent Maggie a fan e-mail?” He asked.

            Reynolds nodded. “Good idea. Call her.”

 

NAME: MARGARET CONNELLY

Maggie was looking through more articles on the missing women when Barton got a call from Davis. Her ears perked up when she heard his name.

            When Barton hung up she said to Maggie, “Sweetie, I’m going to look through your email account and see if any of these men ever sent you an email. Then I’m going to see if any of them went to Georgetown with you. Since you and all of the victims went there, there is a very strong chance that he did too.”

            “Oh,” Maggie said. “So you’re going to look stuff up about me?” Maggie felt a little uncomfortable with this.

            “Well, yes. We need to find this unsub.”

            “Alright. That’s fine, I guess. I mean, it’s not like you’re going to find anything bad.” Maggie let out a half-hearted laugh. Barton wasn’t going to find anything bad about her. Nothing embarrassing either, there were just some parts of her past that she would rather not have brought up.

            Unfortunately, Barton didn’t find anything.

            He’s never going to be caught, is he? Maggie asked herself.

           

Hours later, the team was still not back in Quantico so Barton told Maggie that she was going to take her home. A policeman would be stationed outside of her house, so she would be okay until Davis got there. Maggie was weary of being in her house by herself, but she told herself that she was safe. She would be fine.

            At about eleven o’clock, Maggie heard a knock on her door. She froze in place. “Who is it,” she called out.

            “It’s Nate,” he said through the door.

            Maggie let out the breath she was holding and opened the door and found not only Nate, but Agent Times there as well. “Two for the price of one,” she said. “Well, aren’t I lucky?”

            They both entered her house. “With last night’s break in,” Time said, “Reynolds figured that it would be safer to have both of us here.”

            Maggie nodded in agreement. “I think I’m going to go to bed,” she said. “Make yourselves comfortable. You can eat or drink anything out of the kitchen… within reason that is.”

She turned and entered her room closing the door behind her. And at that she entered into another sleepless night. Maggie kept glancing at that window. It had never, never bothered her before, but for some reason it now caused major panic. Maggie looked over at her clock. It was two minutes till one. She got up and went into her living room. Times was asleep, but Nate was awake and reading a different book than yesterday.

“What?” Maggie said in a whisper. “Did you already finish The Art of War?”

Davis was a little startled but recovered quickly. “Yes,” he said plainly. He shifted his body to face where she was standing behind the couch. “Having trouble sleeping again?”

Maggie scrunched her nose. “Yeah,” she said. She hesitated before asking, “Would it be weird if I asked you to stay in my room tonight?”

Davis got up from the couch. “No,” he said. “It would be weird if you asked Sam to stay in your room, but not me.” He smiled.

Maggie smiled back at him with relief.

 

NAME: DR. NATHANIEL DAVIS

 

When Davis woke up he was slightly confused as to where he was. It took a moment before he remembered that he was in Maggie’s room. Last night she had insisted that he lay on the bed with her. He had protested, but eventually they made a compromise where he would be on top of the sheets and she would be under them, since it was her bed. He looked over at her sleeping. She had an arm underneath her pillow and was facing him.

            Davis moved to get up from the bed, trying to not wake Maggie up, but he didn’t succeed. Maggie sat up and said, “Good morning, Doctor.” She stretched.

            “Good morning,” he said back. He didn’t know what to say next so he asked her, “Do you have coffee?”

            She smiled. “Of course. It’s in the cabinet above the coffee maker in the kitchen.” She got out of the bed. “I believe you’ll be able to find it. I’m going to take a shower. My hair feels like I dipped it in movie popcorn.”

            Davis wanted to tell her that he thought it looked nice, bedhead and all, but he refrained. He only nodded and said, “Alright.”

            Davis left her room and went into the kitchen. Times was in there already pouring himself a cup of coffee. He greeted Davis with a, “Well, good morning, hotshot.” He smirked.

            Davis rolled his eyes and went to pour coffee for himself. “You know nothing happened, Sam.”

            “Uh-huh. Sure.” Times grinned as he took a sip of his coffee. “So where is your girlfriend?”

            “She’s in the shower,” Davis responded. “And when did we go back to middle school?”

            Times rolled his eyes. “Did you even go to middle school?”

            Davis smiled in response.

            Times takes another sip of his coffee. “George called this morning. He said they found another body in Arlington. The body hasn’t been identified yet, but they think its Margaret Baker.”

            Davis took this news in. They were almost positive that all the girls taken by the unsub were already dead. He was just taking his time in dumping their bodies.

Nate glanced at his watch. Maggie had been in the shower a long time. He got up to go check on her. He knocked before entering her room. He looked around and didn’t see her. Davis couldn’t hear the shower running and the bathroom door was wide open. “Maggie?” he said. “Maggie, where are you?” No response. He ran to the bathroom to make sure she wasn’t in there. Empty. He was starting to panic. “Maggie?! Maggie!” He turned in circles before noticing the bedroom window was open. “Oh, no.”

Times ran into the room and said, “What is it, Nate. What’s wrong?”

Davis simply pointed to the open window.

Times ran over to it. “I can see a large footprint. Call Reynolds. Someone took Maggie.”

Davis did what he was told without thinking.

 

NAME: ALEX REYNOLDS

Reynolds was at the police station in Arlington when Davis’s call came in about Maggie. The entire team rushed to her home as soon as he called. When they arrived, Reynolds walked into Maggie’s house with Porter, George, and Monroe following close behind him.

            “The only thing we found was a men’s size eleven shoeprint in front of the window she was taken from,” Times said when they walked in. “Forensics is dusting for fingerprints on the outside of the window, but I think they’re coming up empty.”

            Reynolds looked to where Davis was sitting on the couch, clearly beside himself. Monroe sat down next to him and put a hand on his arm. “This isn’t your fault, Nate.”

            He shook his head. “I should have stayed in her bedroom.”

            Reynolds wasn’t about to why Davis was in Maggie’s bedroom to begin with. “We should search the house,” he said. “There could be something that we’re missing.”

            The team agreed and all but Davis started to carefully search her house. Reynolds entered the kitchen and went through a box on Maggie’s built-in desk. There were many letters in the box and Reynolds called Porter and George in so they could look at each one. Reynolds eventually came across a letter that was written in similar dialect to the letter that Maggie received in the package it was signed “M.L.” Then he found another, and another.

            “Have either of you found letters signed “M.L?” Porter asked.

            “I have three,” Reynolds told her.

            “I have two,” George said.

            “I’ve found five,” Porter said. “Whoever this ‘M.L. is, is our unsub.” Reynolds and George agreed.

            Reynolds found the paper with the names and looked through it and found two names: Mason Lewinski and Miles Lambert. Both white males in their early thirties, but Mason Lewinski had recently been arrested for robbing a drug store.

            “Miles Lambert is our unsub,” Reynold said standing up from the table. “Barton already has his address listed here. Let’s go.”

            Reynolds, followed by the rest of his team headed out to two SUVs. More agents would be meeting at the address. Reynolds hoped it wasn’t too late.

 

NAME: MARGARET CONNELLY

Maggie had gotten out of the shower and wrapped herself in the towel. She exited her bathroom and walked over to her closet to get clothes for the day. When she was grabbed from behind, she didn’t even have time to scream before a towel was pressed over her mouth. The next thing she knew, she was tied to a wooden chair in an empty room wearing a white sundress that was not her own. Maggie wouldn’t dare let herself think about how she had gotten into that dress.

            Maggie struggled against the ropes that tied her to the arms and legs of the chair. They were tied tightly. This is going to harder than last time. Maggie squeezed her eyes shut and reopened them before thinking, Why the hell was there a last time?

            A door opened and an average height man walked into the room. He smiled and said, “Maggie, you’re awake.”

            She didn’t say anything at first but she couldn’t help asking, “Why did you take me?”     

            “It wasn’t the plan,” he shook his head rapidly. “I did this all for you,” he said angrily. “And you pay me back by getting the FBI involved? Why would you do that, Maggie? You’re ruining the story!” He was moving closer to her.

            “No,” Maggie said. “No, I’m not. Every story needs protagonists and antagonists. In order for me to have the whole story to write about, I needed the FBI to be involved otherwise the story would be one sided.” She hoped this would work. All she needed to do was talk like she was thankful for what he had done. This was going to be very difficult.

            “Oh,” he said. “Oh, I understand that.”

            “What’s your name?” Maggie asked.

            “Miles,” he said. He looked her in the eye and asked, “So you like what I did for you?

            Maggie had to hold back tears before saying, “Of course! I’m always looking for new ideas for my books. You’ve really helped me out, Miles.” She hated herself. She hated herself so much at this moment. She figured she’s try. “Do you think you could untie me?”

            “NO!” Miles shouted loudly.

            “Okay,” Maggie said. “Okay, I understand.” She pushed down all herself hate before saying, “I like the method of the kill. Strangulation shows passion. It’s a great character arch. So, do you have any other ideas for the book?”

            They continued to talk like this for a while. Maggie struggled to hold back her tears. She kept a calm face. Eventually Maggie said, “These ideas you’re giving me are great, but I’m afraid I’ll forget some of them. Can you write them down for me?”

            Miles nodded and got up to go get paper and a writing utensil. When he was gone, Maggie let the tears run down her face. She shook her head trying to get herself back together. Who knows what would happen if Miles found her in there like that.

            Maggie heard a bang come from outside the room. She figured Miles had dropped something. Then she heard rushed footsteps come towards the room she was in. Maggie quickly tried to whip away the tears on her shoulders. She faced away when he entered the room and said, “I was just thinking of a great ending.” She turned towards him and saw that it was not Miles. It was Agent Times. “Oh my God,” she said. Tears streamed down her face again.

            “You’re okay, Maggie,” Times said. “You’re okay.” He told her that they had caught Miles in the kitchen and that he was now in custody.

            Times helped Maggie get untied and then out of the chair. She pushed her still damp hair out of her face. “Is… is Nate…?”

            Times smiled. “He’s outside. Come on.”

He held out an arm and Maggie gladly took it. He led her out the front door. When Maggie saw Nate, she dropped her arm from Times’s and broke into a sprint towards him. Maggie wrapped her arms around him, almost knocking him over in the process, not that that would be new to them or anything. Maggie pressed her face into his chest, instantly feeling safe.

 

NAME: DR NATHANIEL DAVIS

On the car ride to Miles Lambert’s house, Davis couldn’t stop shaking his leg. He was so nervous about what they would find there. Maggie could be… No, he thought. No.

            His team made him wait outside when they went in, guns drawn. He couldn’t blame them. He was in no condition to face the man who took Maggie.

            When Davis saw Maggie running towards him, his body was filled with relief. She ran straight into his open arms. He hugged her tight, burying his face in her hair. After a long while, they pulled away from each slightly. They both still hand both hands on each other.

            “Maggie,” Davis started. “I am so, so sorry.”

            She shook her head. “Shut-up. It is not your fault.”

            They both looked at each other for a moment in silence. Davis took his arms away from her and said, “I guess I should see what’s happening with the case.”

            He turned away. He heard Maggie sigh and say, “Nate.”

            He turned back towards her. She just looked at him with a smiled almost on her face and exasperation in her eyes. That was all he needed. One hand moved to behind her neck and the other to her waist. He pulled her lips to his and kissed her with all the passion he could manage knowing his co-workers were watching.

            When he pulled away, Maggie looked up at him and said, “Finally.”

            Nate smiled down at her.

            The confirmation that his team was watching came when he heard Porter say, “Who knew all it would take to get them together was her getting abducted by a serial killer.”

Author's Note

Hey guys! This is the second story featuring Maggie Connelly, Nate Davis and the rest of the team.
I am totally open to constructive criticism. Let me know what you think!