I don't own anything CM related.

Chapter 3

Stepping out of the SUV, Prentiss and Morgan surveyed their surroundings at Ben Brenman Park, the latest dumpsite. The dog park was similar to the other two. Not too crowded or empty with dog owners walking their pets. Plenty of trees providing shades and areas of rest.

"The bench is pretty far from the parking lot." Morgan noted once they reached the bench that seated the latest crime scene. Blood stains were the only remnants of the brutal crime.

"Either the unsub was very fit or he had a partner." Prentiss added. Her cell began to ring and she answered it with "Garcia, you're on speaker."

"We've got some news." Garcia began. "Hotch and Rossi interviewed the victims' family and friends and found out that in each pair, one victim was dog-sitting. The owners who they were dog-sitting for all lived near the dog parks."

"Did they find the dogs?"

"No. It seems that they disappeared as well."

"Garcia, what kinds of dogs were they?" Morgan interjected. Loud barks from three unattended dogs attracted his attention. Their leashes were collectively tied around a tree. None of them wore dog tags.

"A corgi, golden retriever, and husky."

The two agents exchanged a look before jogging over to the dogs. Morgan was able to placate the dogs, easing the barking. He petted the dogs while his eyes darted around, scanning for anyone that appeared suspicious.

"Well, we found the dogs." Prentiss said. "He might've been here just before us. Or he's watching us right now."

"Prentiss, look at this." Morgan called. He pointed to a set of footprints in the dirt behind the tree. He looked at it with a puzzled expression. The footsteps were large and elongated at the tip. "Are those clown shoes?"

Leaning down, Prentiss snapped a picture and sent it to Garcia. "Got it, Garcia?"

"Of course, pumpkin. I'll run a recognition search on it for deets. Oh, boss man also said that he'll meet you two back at the popo station. There's been another murder about half an hour ago." Garcia's voice dropped. "He went to the crime scene."

"Alright. Thanks." The call ended with a click.

"What do we do with the dogs?" Morgan asked. He untied the leashes and was surprised at the obedience of the dogs. They remained where they were without any urging. They were well-trained.

Prentiss looked at the dogs, petting the golden retriever. "I guess we take them back to the station as well. Not sure how we're going to get them into the SUV though."

"I got this. Clooney used to hate going in the car, but I got him used to it." Morgan grinned. "Be prepared to be amazed."

"Did you know McDonald's sells more than seventy-five hamburgers every second?" Reid asked while munching on a fry. "The only place that is more than one hundred miles from the chain restaurant is a barren plain in South Dakota."

"Good thing that we're not in South Dakota." Jane replied, chomping down on a burger. "Aren't you hungry?" She gestured to his tray that only contained medium-sized fries, an apple pie, and a drink.

Reid shrugged. He still felt indisposed due his headache, but he didn't want to reveal that fact. "I watched this documentary recently about how McDonalds is one of the leading causes to obesity in America. I didn't want to contribute to that factor."

"Did you just call me fat?" Jane smiled teasingly as bubblegum colored patches materialized on Reid's cheeks.

"N-no, of course not. You're fine." He stuttered. "I was just stating my reason. I wasn't implying anything." He blushed a deeper shade as he realized what he said. Not knowing what else to say, he took a nervous sip from his drink.

"I'm kidding." She stared at him while she ate the remainders of her fries. She found his awkwardness and embarrassment endearing.

Flush fading, Reid regained his composure. His cell phone began to ring. He answered it, thankful for the caller that saved him from further embarrassing himself. "Hotch."

"Another murder occurred about half an hour ago." Hotch's stern voice stated. "I need you to come down to the crime scene. The address is already sent to your phone."

Reid glanced at Jane, recalling how Hotch acknowledged her earlier. "What about Agent Foss?"

"Bring her here as well. Get here as soon as possible." Hotch ended the call without another word.

"What's up?" Jane inquired, eyebrow raised. She took the last sips of her drink. "Duty calls?"

"Apparently so. Hotch wants you to go with me to the latest crime scene." Reid loaded trash onto the trays.

Her expression became perplexed. "But I'm currently on a case." She picked up the trays and dumped its contents in a trash can.

He waited for her before exiting the restaurant, heading towards the car. "I'm sure he'll inform you of the details when we get there. I think it might have something to do with your job transfer."

"Huh... We might turn out to be co-workers."

"How did this happen?" Hotch demanded. He and Rossi stood in the kitchen of the only lead they had in the case.

The only lead, Zoe Wright, lied on the marble floor before the agents. Her limbs were sprawled haphazardly, resembling a doll that a child tossed aside. Located at where her heart normally would've been was a blotchy gaping hole. Almost peeking out of the hole was a clutter of muscle, tissue, and ribs. The heart was nowhere to be found.

"She was alive and breathing when Garcia phoned earlier." Rossi said. "The unsub must've been stalking her. Question is, did he intercept the call or was it just a coincidence?"

At that moment Reid and Jane crossed the threshold of the home and made their way into the kitchen. Reid stared at the corpse, his countenance scrunching up in pain and remorse.

"Did I cause this?" Reid whispered. The tone of his voice stressed as his headaches increased in volumes. "I should've had someone escort to her to the station. I didn't think she would be a target... I didn't think."

"None of us did." Rossi patted Reid on the shoulder. "We all assumed that he abducted another woman with Martin." He guided the younger agent to the living room, following a bloodied pair of elongated footsteps.

Hotch turned to Jane and nodded for her to follow him into the hallway. "I'm SSA Hotchner, unit chief of the BAU. I spoke to your supervisor this morning," he began. "Your relocation has been approved. You'll be working in Quantico. But since you're already here, your supervisor thought it would be best if you work on this case with us for experience."

"I'm not sure what to say," Jane stammered. "Thank you for the opportunity, sir. I won't let you down." Internally she wanted to hop around and pound her fist into the air with glee, but she knew that this wasn't the appropriate time.

Nodding once again, Hotch led the way to the living room. "This is SSA Rossi," he introduced. "Rossi, this is Agent Foss."

"Pleased to be working with you, sir." Jane shook Rossi's extended hand.

"And you already know Dr. Reid."

Upon hearing the discussion and the mention of his name, Reid looked up from the bookshelf he was examining. He cleared his throat, attempting to ease the embarrassing memory from before. "Yes, Garcia introduced us." He paused before gesturing to a lone bloodstained book on the shelf. "I think I found something."

The others huddled around him to see. Nailed to the bookshelf was a stainless note containing cut-out letters from various magazines that spelt out a message. The message read: 'I stole your heart'.

"It seems like a pun," Reid said. "Regarding the victim's stolen heart."

Remembering similar words repeated to her at the circus the night before, Jane gulped. "I'm not sure if it's a coincidence, but someone said this to me yesterday at the circus." She turned to Reid. "Remember that purple haired guy who showed up after we stepped out of the haunted house? He asked, 'Did he steal your heart?'"

Reid met her gaze with a look of bemusement. "I can't seem to remember his face. That's strange, especially with my eidetic memory. I can remember every detail of that moment except his face. It's as if it's blurred away by something."

"It's like that for me too."

"Now that you mention it, don't these footsteps look like they belong to clown shoes?" Rossi observed.

Reid spoke, "We need to go back to the station. We need to see if Prentiss, Morgan, or Garcia had their memories altered in any way."

"Talk dirty to me." Garcia sang over the speaker phone.

"Sure, but I don't know if you'll like it." Jane replied, earning a couple chuckles from the agents around her. The entire team, with the exception of Garcia, stood in the station's conference room.

"Jane! What are you doing here, darling?"

"Job transfer."

Garcia giggled. "You're going to be working with us? This is going to be so fun! I'm going to spoil you silly with cookies when you get back."

"Garcia," Hotch interjected.

"Sorry, sir, just got sidetracked." She cleared her throat. "What is it that my superheroes need?"

"This is kind of strange," Reid began. "But did your memories of the circus get altered? I think we may have all been subjected to rapid induction."

"Of course. The circus is known for hypnotizing their audiences at the end of each show." Garcia said as she pulled up the circus' website. She paused. "The recognition search came in. Footprints from both crime scenes are definitely from size ten clown shoes."

"So we have a killer clown going around?" Morgan asked, arms crossed.

"It's more than that." Reid added. "It would explain the change in M.O. If the unsub is from the circus then he might have partners. They could be taking turns killing."

"You and Jane might be targets." Prentiss commented. "We don't know if the unsub knew that Jane was a federal agent when he sought her out."

"Neither of us have dogs. It is highly unlikely that they knew. All prior victims were ordinary citizens. They wouldn't challenge a federal agent like that; it would compromise their plan."

Clearing his throat, Rossi spoke. "I'm sorry to say, but we need more evidence. We can't storm in based on shoe sizes and testimonies from agents that were hypnotized. Showing up could also frighten the unsub away."

"Jane and I could infiltrate the circus. If we were designated targets, they'd welcome us with open arms."

"Reid," Hotch reprimanded. "That's too dangerous."

"Um, guys," Garcia interrupted, nervousness evident in her voice. "The circus is holding auditions for a job position. They're looking for a magician and an assistant."

I hope that the details of the murders/investigation aren't too boring. There should be more action and Reid teasing in the next chapter. Please review.