(A/N: Ok, its been a while since Unearthed, so I figured it was time to send the team out on another case. This chapter is kind of slow, but its mainly to set things up. Hope you enjoy. Many thanks to Leila Grant for all her amazing help.)

Chapter 1: Where to Start

"Because the lives of the wicked should be made brief. For the rest of us death will be a relief. We all deserve to die." Sweeney Todd

The plane was already on its way south when Garcia appeared on the computer screen.

"Greetings my lovelies," she said. "In Columbiana, Alabama a fisherman caught this creepy looking Bass in Lay Lake, a manmade inlet of the Coosa River. When he filleted said fishy he found this." The picture changed to a off-white bone caked in mud.

"It looks like a phalange," Reid said looking closer, "or a particularly long tarsal."

"That would be a finger," Garcia replied. "Confirmed human."

"Bass are extreme omnivores." Reid continued. "They're essentially freshwater sharks. Known to scavenge bodies left it the water. Were they able to find the rest?"

"They found more than that," Garcia said, "Divers found the remains of several bodies."

"Several," Morgan asked. "Exactly how many are we talking?"

"At least 23," Prentiss said looking over the photos, "If you count the skulls."

"You said this is an inlet of a river," Rossi asked.

"The Coosa," Garcia replied. "Formed by the joining of the Oostanaula and Etowah rivers, it runs from Rome, Georgia southwesterly to the Gulf of Mexico. Most of it is sectioned off with dams by the Alabama Power Company."

"There are dozens of tributaries in both Alabama and Georgia," Reid added. "Altogether its spans about 280 miles."

"How do we even know where to start?" Morgan asked. "Our kill sight could be anywhere northeast of Lay Lake."

"Not necessarily," Rossi said. "The bones collected here because of the dam. The water slows and larger objects are deposited there. There is another dam up river here at Lake Logan Martin," he said pointing at the map. "Our sight is somewhere between the Logan Martin dam and the Lay Lake dam."

"We're still looking at fifteen to twenty tributaries," Prentiss said, "30 miles of river."

"Then I'd say we have our work cut out for us," Rossi said.

The plane landed at a small airport about 10 miles outside of Columbiana. From the looks of it this airport couldn't handle anything much bigger than their jet.

Prentiss stifled a snicker as Morgan mumbled something about Mayberry.

A Columbiana sheriff's deputy with pair of SUV's waited for them.

"I'm Roland Jeffers," the deputy said.

"I'm Agent Jennifer Jareau," JJ said taking her usual lead. "This is our Unit Chief SSA Hotchner. And these are agents Rossi, Morgan, Prentiss, and Dr. Reid."

The deputy shook hands with each member in turn then looked towards the SUVs. 'The chief said to bring you into town and let you get settled into your motel, then bring you over to the station. I can take three of you with me in the lead car, and the other three can follow."

"Lead the way," Hotch said.

Deputy Jeffers cruised down the winding two-lane highway that led into Columbiana. Traffic lights and fast food restaurants gave way to stop signs and mom and pop stores. Residential homes were situated directly off the highway and large fields of crops or livestock became more frequent. As the team pulled up to their motel, they didn't hold high hopes for the place.

"I'm guessing they don't serve a continental breakfast," Rossi joked as retrieved his back from the trunk.

To their surprise, the team found the rooms clean and well cared for. Within fifteen minutes they'd checked in, dropped off their belongings, and headed for the police station.

The police station, it turned out was also the municipal court house, the fire station, and the town hall. The post office sat in a small building directly across the sqauare, and a church sat off to each side.

"What was that you said about Mayberry," Prentiss said.

"You're not kidding," Morgan replied.

"You'll be in here," Deputy Jeffers said directing them towards a door marked Court Room. "There isn't much room in the police station. We brought you in a phone line, some tables and this hub here connects to our DSL system."

"Thank you," JJ said. "If you would, please let Chief Vick know we've arrived."

Pictures of the recovered bones were posted on corkboard around the room, but that was the extent of the information.

"Where do we start," JJ asked Hotch, who was surveying the photos. "We don't have much to go on."

"We'll have to wait for forensic analysis of the bones," he replied. "Then we can check it against missing persons reports."

"Hurry up and wait," JJ said with a sigh.