Disclaimer: See chapter one.

Author's Note(s): Good afternoon, all. Thank you for reading thus far and I extend my eternal gratitude to SLITH, MDarKSpIrIt, bumblebee917 (Hehe Emily isn't blind), smokeylove, paradisebeach, didi2909 and irismoon for taking the time to review :). Anywho, hope you like this next chapter.

Danse Macabre
Chapter 2

"A Satanist, hmm? How very exciting," said Doctor Miller enthusiastically.

"Exciting isn't exactly the word I would use," said Hotch darkly.

"No, perhaps not," agreed Miller solemnly.

"I still don't see why you couldn't have just read this in the reports," said Reid in an annoyed tone, shifting in his seat to a more comfortable position. He had obviously resigned himself to the fact that they probably weren't getting out of that office for quite a while, and Hotch reluctantly thought to himself that the boy was probably right.

The psychiatrist cocked his head to one side and regarded Reid closely, "Don't you?"

Reid looked away uncomfortably and the psychiatrist seemed satisfied, much to Hotch's annoyance.

"So you briefed your team, Agent Jareau, and then you hopped on your airplane to your final destination?" said Miller, moving his attention back to JJ, who Hotch thought looked even less like she wanted to be there than anybody else in the room, including Reid.

"No," said JJ shortly, "There was nowhere to land so we had to go to the nearest airstrip, which was more than two hundred miles away, and then drive the rest of the distance."

"Oh dear, that can't have been pleasant," remarked Miller, "Especially after a long flight."

No, it certainly had not been, but Hotch wasn't about the say that to this man, and neither apparently were the rest of his team. When Garcia had told them that the village they were going to was in the middle of nowhere, Hotch hadn't really thought much of it. That was until he actually arrived there anyway. It was literally hundreds of miles away from civilisation, and even if you were patient enough to drive all that way to get somewhere, there were large forests and even a mountain surrounding the area. A person really had to know where they were going if they wanted to get through the thick greenery and across to the other side. It had been the very definition of the word isolated. Something which had proved to be rather a mammoth problem while they were there.

After a short pause, Miller surveyed everyone in the room once again. He didn't seem at all put out by their lack of response. If anything it only served to intensify the perpetual look of sardonic amusement he wore.

"What did you talk about? In that cars that is," said Doctor Miller finally.

Everyone looked up with a mildly baffled look on their face.

"I fail to see how that is relevant," said Hotch, glad that his voice could still remain completely neutral.

"I'm just interested," said Miller, resting his fingers against the edge of his desk, "Who did you drive, Agent Hotchner? And who went in the car with your escort?"

Neither wanting to confirm or deny Miller's assumption that he himself had driven the car for reasons that were unknown to him, Hotch simply said, "Agent's Morgan and Prentiss rode with the deputy sheriff."

Much to Hotch's annoyance, Miller again nodded his head as thought he had thoroughly expected this piece of information. He then turned to Emily, who had thus far been staring at the wooden walking stick that rested between her fingers. Hotch felt a pang of sadness at the sight of his relatively young co-worker holding something that would usually be associated with the elderly, he hid his feelings well though.

"Agent Prentiss, you've been awfully quiet so far," said Miller mildly, "What were you doing on your lengthy drive to Augusta Falls?"

"I was reading," replied Emily, raising her eyes to meet the doctors.

"I see," said Miller with a head bob, "What were you reading?"

It took a moment for Emily to answer. Hotch could tell that she was resisting the urge to tell Miller that she had been reading a book in that sarcastic tone she usually reserved for such stupid questions.

"Slaughterhouse-Five," said Emily finally.

A small smile quirked the psychiatrists lip, a move that did not go unnoticed by Emily judging by the way her eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

"I see. Do you enjoy science fiction books?" asked Miller, amusement evident in his voice.

"No I don't. That's why I read them," said Emily caustically. Hotch would have smirked at this had he been able to muster up the energy.

Millers smile never faltered, "Okay then, why don't you tell me what happened when you arrived."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

By the time they finally arrived at their destination, it was pushing five pm. It had been a long and exhausting journey and the rain clouds that rolled over head were making it very dark. They all exited their respective vehicles and were greeted by the town's sheriff outside the tiny police station.

"Hi there, folks," he said, moving forward to shake Hotch's hand. Hotch's well seasoned mind quickly registered the fatigued look on the man's face and the dark circles around his eyes.

"Good evening, I'm Special Agent Hotchner, and these are Special Agents Jareau, Morgan, Reid and Prentiss," said Hotch, nodding in the direction to each of his team members as he said their name.

"I'm Sheriff Thorn, but you can call me Steven. I'm so grateful to you guys for coming out here. I know it's a fair trek," said the sheriff wearily.

"It's not a problem," said JJ from beside Hotch.

Steven Thorn smiled weakly at her before glancing at the rest of the team, obviously trying to memorise their faces and names. He was a man in his early forties and gave the impression of someone who had lost a lot of weight in a short amount of time. He then turned back to Hotch.

"Would you and your Agents like to go to your rooms now and rest for tomorrow?" he said, apparently taking in how tired the team were from all their travelling.

Thinking quickly, Hotch replied, "No, we'd like to go to the crime scene first."

The sheriff looked relieved and turned to his deputy, "Take the agent's bags to their rooms and then come and meet us, Dave."

"Sure thing, boss."

Dave the Deputy got back into his car and drove down the road.

"Okay then, well if you'll follow me please," said Thorn, and he then began strolling in a northern direction.

The team followed in relative silence. The 'town' was tiny. A white picket fence adorned each house and Hotch could see that they all also had their own little gardens. It's Stepford like qualities led Hotch to the conclusion that the occupants weren't exactly the door locking type. They had probably never had any safety related concerns before so it would have been easy for the unsub to break into any one of these houses without arousing anyone's suspicions. That would make it harder to tell whether the victims knew the unsub and let him or her in, or if it was an actual home invasion.

From behind him, Hotch could hear a muttered conversation between Morgan and Emily. Not loud enough for the Sheriff to hear, but loud enough for Hotch to pick up on it.

"This place gives me the creeps," said Emily.

"I know. I'm having Stepford Wives flashbacks," replied Morgan, and Hotch almost smiled as he recalled thinking the exact same thing when they had first arrived.

"You're a fan of The Stepford Wives then?" said Emily, amusement clear in her voice.

"No," retorted Morgan defensively, "I watched it with an ex and I wouldn't say no to Nicole Kidman so…"

"Ugh, really? I wouldn't have thought you'd go for the pale and interesting look," said JJ, who had apparently also been listening to the conversation.

"Hey, she has a hot body."

Hotch could practically feel the disgusted look that he knew JJ and Emily were sharing right now. He was actually grateful when he realised that they had arrived at the crime scene just so he could forestall the argument about sexism that he was sure would be coming if that conversation continued.

"Here we are," said Sheriff Thorn sadly, standing before a house that looked less like a crime scene than anywhere else Hotch had ever been. There was no police tape around, none of the parasitic media leaning over trying to get a look at the body, and outwardly there was nothing that distinguished it from every single other house within seeing distance.

They followed the sheriff into the house as he spoke about the people that lived there, his voice shook slightly which meant that he knew the victim, "Catherine Jacobs, her husband, Barry and their two kids Molly and Katie live here. A lovelier family I've never met in my life. They both help out at the church and the kids are really polite."

"Where are they now?" asked Reid.

"They are staying in one of the rooms at the B&B you'll be staying in. There are only four rooms in the place though so I'm afraid some of you will have to share. It's a small place though and we very rarely get visitors…" said the sheriff, looking at Hotch apologetically.

"That's not a problem," Hotch assured him.

The sheriff then paused outside the door that Hotch knew to be the crime scene.

"Um, I've already been in there for longer than I can stomach. Is it okay if I wait outside?" said Thorn, looking a little green.

"Of course," said JJ, patting him sympathetically on his shoulder on the way past.

The first thing that struck Hotch was the amount of blood. Everywhere. From the corner of his eye, he saw JJ turn a shade whiter. Morgan, Emily and Reid were in full profiler mode though.

"It looks like the pentagram was drawn in her blood and then she was placed there," said Reid thoughtfully.

"Meaning she wasn't killed in that exact spot," agreed Morgan, looking around the room for the most likely location. Hotch followed his example and looked too.

Something seemed to have caught Emily's eye, because she walked over to the other side of the room to where the oven sat, door slightly open. She took a plastic bag out of her pocket and wrapped it around her hand so as not to disturb any possible finger prints as she pulled it open.

"Look, there's blood on the inside of this door and muffins half cooked," she said in a carrying voice.

Hotch frowned, "So she was baking and then the unsub attacked her from behind."

"And then switched off the oven so it didn't set the house on fire?" said Emily with a faint trace of puzzlement in her voice.

"Well if the unsub is trying to send a clear message then he-"

"Or she," Reid interrupted.

"Or she," agreed Morgan, "Didn't want it to be destroyed by the house being set on fire."

"So the motive behind this crime isn't just Satanic sadism, it's to send a message," Hotch said quietly.

"What message?" said JJ, her eyes fixed on the dead woman lying in the middle of the floor.

Nobody had an answer for her. So instead Reid changed the subject.

"The lack of gender preferences makes it hard to tell if the unsub is male or female," he said musingly.

"And the lack of security in this place makes it hard to tell if the unsub was let in or came in without the victims knowing," added Morgan.

Taking one last look around the room, Hotch decided that there was no more they could learn. Besides, the sight of Catherine Jacobs, mother of two, was making him feel faintly ill. He motioned for the team to leave and they followed him without question out of the room and back out into the street, where Sheriff Thorn was waiting for them.

"Any ideas?" he asked hopefully upon seeing them.

"Nothing clearly defined yet," said JJ kindly, "We'd like to speak to the family of the victims and meet some of the people that live around here before we make any intuitive leaps."

The sheriff did a good job of hiding his disappointment at these words and actually managed a small smile and nod.

"Well you could go and talk to the husband now if you wanted, but his kids are probably in bed now so it might not be the best time," he then said in a worried voice.

"That's okay, Sheriff Thorn," said Hotch before JJ could answer, "We can wait until morning."

At that point, Deputy Dave pulled up in his car beside them. He rolled down the window of the worn looking SUV, "You folks done here now? The doctor has agreed to come and take the body now so he can do the autopsy."

"Doctor Brennan is a good man," added Thorn distractedly.

"Yes, thank you," said Hotch.

The deputy nodded and then drove off again, presumably to get the coroner.

"I'll take you to the B&B," said the sheriff, watching the deputy leave.

--

They had walked for another fifteen minutes before arriving outside a small pub turned B&B. At first JJ thought she'd be glad at the opportunity to stretch her legs after all that travelling, but she simply felt completely drained and had not enjoyed the speedy power walk at all. Everyone had walked in silence, lost in their own thoughts about the case.

As they arrived, they were greeted by a short, kindly man who had shown them to their rooms immediately and told them that he would have some dinner waiting for them in half an hour. JJ and Emily were sharing a room, as were Morgan and Reid. Hotch had naturally got the single room to himself.

The first thing JJ did when they arrived in their room was to go and have a shower. She wanted to wash away all traces of the day as soon as possible. She let out a sigh of relief as the hot water began to run down her back, but unfortunately, it didn't matter how hot she turned the water, she couldn't seem to rid herself of the peculiar feeling in her stomach. The sooner this case was over, the better.

Dinner was a quiet affair. They had been provided with some homemade shepherds pie that JJ had to admit was the best she'd ever eaten. Whoever had cooked this had some real kitchen related talent.

After they had finished, the team said their good nights to one another and then went to bed. JJ even managed to convince Emily to go to sleep and not read like she normally would. The light sometimes kept JJ awake and she was determined to get as much sleep as possible before tomorrow. But as she lay there in the darkness, JJ found that sleep was eluding her much like it had done on the plane.

"Hey, Emily," she whispered after a while.

"What?" Emily mumbled, her face buried in her pillow.

"Are you awake?" she only realised the redundancy of this question after the words had already escaped her lips.

"No."

"Oh. Right."

There was silence for a few moments. Then Emily sighed and rolled over so she was facing JJ.

"What's up, Jayj?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I don't know," JJ admitted, "I just have a bad feeling about this case."

"What kind of bad feeling?" said Emily, using her elbow to prop her head up slightly.

"I don't know," repeated JJ, "I just think that there is more to this than we've realised. We're so isolated out here…It could be dangerous."

Nodding, Emily seemed to think about this before saying, "Our cases are always potentially dangerous, JJ."

JJ suppressed a sigh. Emily obviously didn't understand what she was saying and JJ found that it rather annoyed her. She was suddenly struck with a flashback of when Reid had been kidnapped. She had asked Emily why none of what had happened out in the field bothered her. So once again, JJ decided to pose the same question she'd asked then. Maybe now that they were closer, the other woman might be more inclined to share.

"How come none of this stuff gets to you?" asked JJ.

By the narrowing of Emily's eyes, JJ guessed she had made the connection between that question and the first time she had been asked it too. So before Emily could answer in the same way as last time, JJ added, "And don't give me any of that crap about compartmentalisation."

"Then I'm afraid you're getting no answer at all," said Emily, suddenly sounding wide awake.

JJ sighed, "All right then. Good night, Emily."

A guilty look crossed Emily's face, "I'm sorry I'm not making you feel any better," she said, and she genuinely did sound sorry. So JJ decided to forgive her.

"It's okay," she said with a small smile, "I'm sure I'm just being paranoid. We should try and get some sleep now."

Emily nodded, "Good night, Jayj."

"Good night."

--

Author's Note(s): See, I told you I was going to write longer chapters :)

Anyway, I have a 2000 word practical report due in tomorrow morning that I've had for a month and still haven't started. So wish me luck.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter,
Rubiks :)