Chapter Four

Belle stared at him in horror. "What? Wha-what do you mean? How do you know it's me?"

"You're a perfect match for his victims, and you gave me the last clue." She stared at him confused until he supplied, "Intelligence. I was looking over the class schedules and transcripts earlier. All of the victims were 3.75 GPA's or higher." He turned back to the team. "Have Garcia run all the female student on campus against our victim's profile with the added filter of GPA, but I'm telling you, she's his target."

JJ shook her head but made the call.

Hotch looked at Reid. "What's the motive?"

"Ah, guys," JJ said, looking over at them. She hit the speakerphone on her cell.

"Hey, kiddies," Penelope Garcia's voice said, distorted somewhat over the line. "I just ran the student body against characteristics and…you may have to face the possibly that boy genius is right, yet again. The only person, who fits that description, and is not already dead, is one Isabelle Laurent."

All head swiveled to Belle, who was standing wide eyed, her hand covering her mouth. "But, why me?"

"Have you dated anyone on campus?" JJ asked, closing her phone. "Broken up with anyone recently?"

"No," Belle shook her head. "I'm double majoring in literature and music; I don't have time for stupid college boys."

Morgan added, "Did anyone pursue you? Ask you out? Try to be extra friendly? Show they liked you without saying it? Anything like that?"

Belle shrugged, beginning to pace. "A few guys, I guess. But none of them took my rejection that hard. They're all happily dating someone else, as far as I know."

"It could be intimacy seeking starker," Reid offered, helping Belle sit down at the nearest table, though she didn't seem to want to let go of his hand. "It could have started with him obsessing about her and devolved into a rejection stalker. He's killing all the women who remind him of her, before he gets to her."

"Does this mean I'm next?" Belle asked, her voice shaking ever so slightly.

No one spoke but their silence was deafening.

Suddenly, Belle shot up and moved across the room. In the far corner was a keyboard. It was one of the cheap ones that didn't really sound that much like a real piano, especially to a trained ear, but she sat down and turned it on anyway. She was playing rapidly before anyone had a real chance to register.

"Coping mechanism," Reid whispered, as he passed the team to sit as close as he dared to Belle.

The team called the dean and began rerunning everyone on campus again, comparing them all to the unsub's profile. They knew his target. Now, they just needed him.

Thirty minutes later, after a long time in silence, expect for Belle's frantic playing, JJ leaned over to the others. "What are we gonna do? Even knowing the target, we have no way of knowing who the unsub is. We need more information."

"Or to catch him in the act," Emily offered.

"He's the jealous type, right. Like the really jealous type," Belle said, slowly, only loud enough for Reid to hear.

He leaned forward some. "Yeah, the unsub sees himself in your life. Probably playing this big romantic role to you. But you never saw him like that so he took that as your rejection."

"So, if he saw me with someone else," she began.

"He would be forced to respond, in some way," Reid finished slowly. Only then did he notice the sudden silence, she had stopped playing.

She turned to face him. "I have an idea."

I'm going out of town so I won't be home (or around Interwebs) on Tueday so y'all get this chapter one day early. I will be home in time to update on Thursday.