My daughter is not the only girl to have gone missing in this county, and for her case to be labeled cold, Amara said. Weve conjured up a list of ten missing women who have either been declared cold cases or are on their way to becoming declared cold. The women who have gone missing are Meghan Salinger, Amanda Smith, Megan Osterlin, Clara Jones, Paris Connor, Linda Phillips, Delilah Roberts, Brianna Wilcox, and the last two are sisters: London and Paris Knight.

There was a short silence in the room as the team took this in. Nicky didnt know what to make of thisbut she had a feeling where it was going.

"That's... a long list," Ken said.

"They all went missing within the last three years," Amara said. Like my daughter was missing."

The senator walked over to the whiteboard at the front of the room. She picked up a marker and started writing.

She faced the room. "The work isn't over. There are still so many missing girls," Amara said, her voice grave and sad. Based on recent intelligence weve gathered, we think there could be hope that some of these women are alive.

Nicky's mouth went dry. We're back on this.

"Ill keep this simple and get to the point. I want you to form a new task force," Amara said, her voice low and serious. "I want you to go over these cases and try to find clues. Anything that will help us find out what happened to these women."

Nicky's heart hammered in her chest. After all her doubts yesterdaythe doubts that still lingered in her mindshe was being given a task far greater than even the Masie Gregory case.

"This is a special mission that I'm organizing with Mr. Franco here," Amara said. "The first woman we are looking into is Meghan Salinger, as we think she's the most likely to be alive--although if our intelligence is correct, she may not have much time left." Amara's eyes hardened on Nicky. "And Agent Lyons, I want you to lead it. I read about your past... and I think you're the perfect person for this job."

Nicky couldn't believe what she was hearing. She'd never been put in charge of an entire mission like this before. And it was so close. So personal.

She thought of Masie's dead body in her arms. She thought of Rosie, still lost out there after all these years.

Nicky's job at the BAU made her a specialist in understanding the motivations and patterns of killers, kidnappers, and other violent criminals, and her speciality was a focus on missing girls. But she typically tackled one girl at a time. Sometimes she could save them. Sometimes she couldn't. It came with the territory.