[CM] THE CASE

The life of the dead is always placed in the memory of the living. — Cicero

JJ hung up the phone and described the new missing person to Gideon: "The girl's name is Ally Hadley, and her mother said she said she was going to sleep over at a friend's house tonight, but her friend said there was no such thing. She never did, she... ..."

"...is a nice girl," Gideon said.

"Yeah, nice girl, 15 years old, African American, likes to sing." JJ sighed.

This is simply a new victim.

Gideon rubbed between his brows.

At this moment, Reid suddenly broke into the office.Before he could catch his breath, the words came out of his throat: "I found a witness, a girl who saw the news. She said that a man came to her about a month ago, saying that he worked for a record company .She'll be here soon."

JJ immediately picked up the phone: "I'll call them back."

So far in the middle of the night, their high-profile case finally showed a little under the layers of camouflage.

The girl fit the victim profile, with large bright eyes.In the face of FBI agents, she was also calm and calm, and said unhurriedly: "It was after the choir practice that he found me outside the church. The black man claimed to be the director of a certain record company. He came to this place. The church in the district is looking for talented singers." She smiled a bit, appearing a little sarcastic: "He also said that I have a good voice and wanted to record me."

Gideon asked, "How did you answer him?"

"I told him I wasn't interested. He gave me a business card and told me to call him if I changed my mind. It didn't even have a company name on it, just his name and phone number." She sneered. If it's fake, who would be fooled?"

Morgan bowed his head, and Gideon made no comment. "Do you still have that business card?"

The girl's eyes wandered for a moment: "I don't need to keep it."

Morgan glanced back at Gideon.

"why?"

"I know him."

Outside the glass, Hotch raised his eyebrows.

Garcia had nothing to do in the office—yes, yes, even though her colleagues were too busy, she still had to do nothing in the computer room.As long as they didn't call in, there was only so much she could do.

That's why when the phone rang, she was so excited that she threw the pen out - the one that was uniformly distributed in the office simply lowered her aesthetic level.

"I'm beginning to think you've forgotten me."

"Then we need you now more than ever, Genius," Morgan said.

"Oh~" Garcia said in a melting tone, "it's like pouring honey into my ears, honey. Say it!"

"Okay, here's the thing - this guy was a freelance composer playing keyboards for a girls' middle school musical. We got in touch with the school and they gave me a name: Terrance Wakeland."

Garcia entered the name into the query system.

"In central New York City, including Westchester County," the Enter key confirmed, "the computer says there are three."

"He probably works in a recording studio or a record company," Reid added on the sidelines.

"Okay... I cross-checked it with the IRS records... Found it, left at the A&L studio in Vernon Hills just outside the Bronx, seems to have gone bankrupt a few months ago."

Morgan tilted his head to look at Reid, who nodded at him.

"But he's still there as a security guard," Garcia said.

"Thank you, honey, you are the best." Morgan reached out to hang up the phone, "Let's go."

A black car parked in front of the A&L recording studio.

"Here we go," the man said. "Lucky for you, Ally, the studio happens to be empty tonight."

Ally smiled at him primly.

"I'll take you back before your mother finds out, don't worry. Get out of the car." The man said softly, and opened the car door first. Ally followed him out of the car and watched him open the door of the recording studio and pull the electric switch familiarly.

The recording studio in front of him was exactly the same as what Ally imagined and saw on TV, no, maybe even better.Bright rooms, carpeted floors, soundproof walls, and, of course, awesome recording equipment.

All of Ally's embarrassment turned into surprise, and she even let out a small exclamation.

The voice was sweet and lovely, like a juicy green apple.The man rubbed his hands impatiently behind her.

"Would you like to try it?" he asked, leading Ally to sit in front of the microphone. Ally rubbed the corner of her skirt and stammered, "Uh... now? I... I'm still a little... um... not ready..."

"It's okay." The man smiled inclusively. "Everyone is like this at the beginning. You can sing whatever you like, and I will listen outside. Don't be nervous, this place belongs to you all night."

Ally sits down.The stool was a bit high, she couldn't step on the floor, and her dangling calves dangled back and forth, giving off a naughty girlish air, full of youthful sweetness.

The man took a deep breath, as if the air was filled with the intoxicating body fragrance of a girl.

"Then I'm next door," he said. "Take your time, we have a lot of time."

The man left the room and Ally blew into the microphone.She didn't know if she could be heard, because the glass in the recording studio was one-way, and she couldn't see the man's reaction.But he probably gave her the thumbs up, like in the TV series.

very nice.

Ally closed her eyes and the melody returned to her mind.It was her soul, the only light in her fifteen years of life—

"Can we catch up?" Morgan asked from the passenger seat.

Hotch took the time to give him a look while driving, and the sharp siren was softened by the car glass, making it less harsh.

The officer shook his head in disappointment in the backseat.

No one knows whether he wants to express "don't know" or "can't".

Griffith was in the car behind them, Gideon was driving, Emily rested her forehead on one hand, rubbing it anxiously.

The two of them visited the family of the victim for a day, and they finally found the girl.It stands to reason that they should be very tired, but this fateful girl makes their adrenaline soar, and Griffith can hear the "thump, boom, boom" of his heartbeat.

Reid sat next to him, looking at his reflection in the car window.The light outside the window slid past those eyes at a high speed, but the light of the living could not leave a mark—because it was the world of the dead.

Ally's singing came to an end.The man's surprised voice came from the loudspeaker: "That's it, you sing very well! Sure enough, I saw you right. Wait a minute, I'll come out right away."

Ally smiled brightly.

The man walked in while applauding.

"You sing really well," he said.

Ally shrugged and said shyly, "I've never been in a real recording studio."

"Really? You're as comfortable as... singing in your bedroom. You have talent," the man said. "Oh, you must be thirsty? Want some water?"

Ally touched her neck subconsciously: "Well, of course."

He took a bottle of water from the mini-fridge and thoughtfully unscrewed the lid.

Ally took it and unscrewed it.

The NYPD police car roared into the urban area, and the middle-aged man in a nightgown rubbed his eyes and looked down from the window.

"What's the matter, husband?" The woman huddled under the blanket and yawned, "Oh, siren! Damn siren!"

"Did something happen?" He closed the curtains, walked back with his neck shrunk, "Go on to sleep, they will pass by in a while."

Morgan saw the roadblock in front of him clearly, and "tsk" impatiently: "I can't pass—is there a shortcut?"

"Not as far as I know." Hotch looked in the rearview mirror and turned the steering wheel to the right. "Let's get out."

"You have a lovely voice," the man said. "That voice, that unique, husky voice, is really rare."

"Really?" Ally swallowed, her vision was beginning to blur.The silhouette of the man is doubled, as if in an animation played frame by frame.

This is not right. Ally's spirit was revived, and her long-sleeping vigilance was suddenly awakened, and she broke out in a cold sweat, and she almost couldn't hold the mineral water bottle.

But it was too late.

"Are you okay?" The man gradually approached her, the distance was far smaller than the safe distance. Ally got off the stool, and gradually loosened his grip on the stool.

She could barely hold herself.

"It's so beautiful. You know what? That kind of beauty...is the kind of beauty that you can't allow it to be because it keeps reminding you...how ugly you are."

"I...I don't feel well." Ally stood up, trying to drop the water bottle.

The man clenched his fist and punched her in the face.

Ally staggered a step from his beating, she didn't know where the strength came from, turned around and kicked him hard, and ran away in a panic while the man was wailing.

When Hotch and Morgan made a detour to get to the recording studio, they found only an empty house.

"There are signs of a struggle here, they've been here, she's probably still alive, and fled nearby..." Hotch put away the gun, and Morgan brought a few CDs: "It's the voice, Hotch, his souvenir is the voice."

Hotch took a look, each disc was marked with the girl's name.

Ally stumbled down the street, muttering "help".The street policeman happened to see her and enthusiastically stepped forward to ask her if she needed help.

The man caught up.

"She's my cousin," the man said apologetically to the policeman. "Her parents have left the city, and I'll take care of her instead...Sorry, she's obviously taken drugs..."

The policeman was dubious about the man's explanation: "Hey, do you know him?"

Ally wanted to shake her head; but all she could do was shake her head.

The man grabbed her arm and forcefully brought her back.

And Hotch and Morgan finally arrived.

Ally was taken to the hospital and her mother, accompanied by JJ, was waiting at the hospital gate.

Gideon and his party collected evidence in the recording studio, and Terrance Wakeland was escorted back to the police station by Hotch and Morgan for interrogation.

When Emily walked out of the recording studio and handed over the evidence to CSI colleagues, a ray of sunlight pierced through the clouds and shone on her face——

Its daybreak.

The author has something to say: quietly come to ask for a leave of absence, at the end of the preparation period, stop updating for two weeks

good luck