Hello dear readers! I am so very sorry for the delay in updating! The past two weeks have been hell with getting ready for midterm exams and projects, but now all exams have been taken and all of my projects have been turned in! I had to suffer a few horrible days at work but now I am on Spring Break! WOOT! As an apology for my tardiness, here is the longest chapter yet!

Special thanks and cookies to Second Star On The Left and You Cant Rush Science for their reviews on the last chapter! And love to all those who put this little project of mine on their Fav or Alert lists!

My little brother is going to be home on leave from the Army next week so I'm going to try to at least update one more time before that happens because then my life is going to turn into one of those military family reunion videos where everyone is balling and hugging in the middle of the airport. :) I've got everything for the remainder of this case and the beginning of the next one mostly ready to go, so hopefully my updating will be speedy!

And I'm sure you are all sick of me going on and on so, here is chapter 4!

After successfully locating the break room, Rebecca got herself acquainted with the police department's coffee maker. After preparing herself a large, steaming mug of her favorite caffeinated beverage the brunette began making her way back to the conference room where Morgan and Reid were probably already discussing their theories on the case.

She blew on the liquid lightly before taking a rather large sip. She savored the coffee's warmth for a moment as it ran down her throat. A cup of coffee never failed to brighten her spirits. Maybe it was weird to enjoy a drink that much?

It probably was, she decided, but Rebecca came to the conclusion that she just didn't care.

She let her mind wandered back to the case; there were just so many unknowns that they needed to figure out. How was the unsub choosing his victims? How did he find them? The team still hadn't found a connection between Evelynn, Allison, Tanya, and Jessica. And if there were other victims before these four girls in Fort Worth, how were those girls connected to the later victims?

"Rebecca," came a male's voice from behind her. She recognized its owner before she even looked.

Sure enough, when she stopped to turn and look there was Hotch walking towards her; Gideon wasn't far behind him. They both looked slightly annoyed, meaning that their meeting with the Congressman had not gone well.

"Hey Hotch, Gideon," Rebecca greeted as she waited for them to catch up with her. "How was your meeting with the congressman?"

"He was your typical politician," Gideon replied, grimacing slightly. "More worried about his image than anything else."

"He sounds lovely," Rebecca murmured, mostly to her self, but she could tell by the small smirk that had appeared on Gideon's lips that he had heard her.

"Where is everyone?" Hotch asked as they stopped before her.

"We're set up in the conference room," Rebecca supplied, pointing in the direction of the room she had been headed to. "Garcia is sending us information she found on other possible victims."

"Good," Hotch said with a nod and he began moving toward the conference room. "Did you and Morgan find anything at Evelynn's home?"

Rebecca and Gideon followed after him. "A couple of things actually," the brunette informed him. "We think the unsub may be dying the victim's hair while he is still in their home with them."

Hotch glanced back at her," What makes you think that?"

"Red hair dye. We found it on the floor of Evelynn's bathroom."

"So he is spending a substantial amount of time in their homes," Hotch concluded.

"Some kind of compulsive ritual?' Gideon mused. "Otherwise why would he risk getting caught by Evelynn's roommate?"

"Maybe," Rebecca shrugged. "Making the victims over is obviously important to his routine."

Hotch nodded slightly and led the trio into the conference room, "What do we have so far Reid?" he asked the boy genius, who was currently making a note under Allison Saunders name.

"Not much," Reid said, turning to look at Hotch, Gideon, and Rebecca as they joined him and Morgan in the room. "Morgan just found in an interview transcript that Allison Sauders borrowed $1,500 from her employer about five weeks prior to her death."

"What did she borrow the money for?" Gideon asked as he moved closer to the board Reid was standing in front of.

"Her boss didn't ask, just said she was desperate for the money, so she lent it to her," Morgan interjected from his place at the table. "It could be entirely unrelated."

"Still worth looking into," Hotch said.

Reid spied Rebecca's mug of coffee as she took a seat across the table from Morgan.

"Isn't that your fourth cup today?" he asked the brunette curiously.

Rebecca glanced at the mug for a moment and shrugged lightly. "I think so," she agreed before taking another sip. "I think I can still manage another five or six before I start risking irregular heart beats."

Morgan raised an eyebrow, "Well, don't we have a high tolerance," he quipped.

Rebecca just suggestively wagged her own eyebrows in his direction and then turned to Reid with a grin, "Thanks for keeping the tally, Boy Wonder. Someone's got to keep track of my heart's risk of contracting prematurely, god knows I don't. I'd probably just keep drinking until it gave me a heart attack."

"Actually the risk of caffeine causing a heart attack is minimal without pre-existing heart conditions," Reid began. "Although caffeine does trick the pituitary gland into signaling the adrenal glands to produce adrenaline, so I suppose under the right conditions that -"

"Reid," Hotch interrupted what he assumed would have been a lengthy explanation from the young doctor.

"Right," Reid murmured. "Sorry."

"Did the congressman give you any useful information?" Morgan asked, leaning back in his chair and looking over in Hotch's direction.

"Only that he wants this situation resolved as soon as possible," Hotch replied, his expression growing somewhat bleak. "I got the impression from his behavior that he and his daughter aren't very close."

Rebecca frowned, "So basically dear old dad isn't going to helpful in finding his own daughter."

"Probably not," Hotch confirmed.

"We need to find out how the unsub picks these girls," Gideon stated from over by the whiteboard. "He studies their routines, it's not random. Some how these girls are connected."

"He has to be able to observe them," Morgan said. "He needs to see their physical appearance and decide if they match his preference."

"So, somewhere he can come into contact with women on a daily basis?" Rebecca offered.

"Maybe finding out why Allison Saunders borrowed that money might give us a clue," Reid suggested. "She worked at a daycare downtown; her boss said in the interview that she had been acting strange for a few weeks, but Allison never told her why."

Gideon took a look at the girl's file. "Her sister and brother in law live in Irving, that's only about a half hour from here, maybe they knew something about it."

Hotch was nodding in agreement when JJ came walking into the conference room.

"I got the information Garcia sent over about the other possible victims," she announced, holding up a stack of paper for the occupants of the room to see. "She found eight other woman that may be victims of our unsub. All in their mid-twenties, blue eyes. All of the cases are unsolved; oldest is from nine years ago."

The blonde held the stack out to Hotch, who took it and began flipping through its contents.

"Those are just summaries and a few reports," JJ continued. "I've already contacted the corresponding PDs and they are sending the actual files over."

"Excellent," Hotch said, before looking around at his team. "Rebecca, I want you to stay here with Reid and Gideon. The three of you should see if any of these other woman were killed by our unsub and if there is anyway to connect them to any of the more recent victims."

He handed the stack of paper to the brunette. "You can count on us," she said with a grin.

"Morgan why don't you and I see if we can pay a visit to Allison's sister," he continued. "Find out why Allison may have borrowed that money and if it has anything to do with her disappearance."

"Got it," Morgan nodded.

"JJ, see if you can help the others out and I need you to keep an eye on the congressman," Hotch said, turning to the blonde. "He is itching to have a press conference. Keep him and the media from getting too much information about the investigation."

"Sure," JJ agreed.

"He also mentioned that he was going to send one of his aids over to keep an eye on the FBI's progress. So keep on the look out for that." He added, before gesturing towards the door. "Morgan?"

The younger man nodded and got up from his chair. He moved around the table to follow Hotch, tugging on Rebecca's ponytail lightly on his way out.

The brunette threw him an annoyed look over her shoulder, to which he responded to with a playful grin as he walked out into the bustle of the police station.

Rebecca just rolled her eyes and began flipping through the papers in her hands briefly before she looked up at the whiteboard Reid had written all over. "I think we're going to need another board," she observed.


"Do you think the sister will be able to tell us anything that we can use to find Evelynn in time?" Morgan questioned Hotch as the pair made their out to the front of the police station, where on of the team's vehicles was parked.

"If they can give us some insight to what was going on in Allison's life before she disappeared, maybe it can help us find out how the unsub came in contact with her." Hotch replied, looking rather grim. "Hopefully, we can make a connection between the victims that leads us to the unsub before it's too late.'

Morgan walked up to the passenger side door. "They know the unsub somehow, they all met him at some point before he showed up on their doorstep." He explained, pulling the door open. "Where did they meet him that they trusted him enough to let him into their homes?"

"Maybe they didn't, maybe he used some kind of ruse to get inside." Hotch countered as he moved around the front of the SUV to get to the driver's side.

"Maybe," Morgan said as he slide into the passenger seat, waiting for Hotch to also take a seat inside the vehicle before he continued. "But from what her roommate told Rebecca and I, Evelynn seemed pretty cautious and careful about her security at home. I don't think she'd open the door to just anyone."

Hotch nodded, "That could be helpful if that's true. If all the girls met the unsub before he ever showed up at their homes it could make it easier to connect them to him." He started the vehicle and turned to look at Morgan. "Let's just hope what Allison's sister will be able to tell us can help us track him down."


Rebecca was looking up at the second white board the team had acquired for the conference room. They had now started the process of covering it with information on the eight possible victims. Eight other young woman from across the state of Texas that may have had their lives cut unbearably short by their unsub.

She sighed lightly, feeling torn. All of these cases were unsolved. If it turned out that these women had in fact been murdered by the unsub that knowledge would be able to at least bring some sort of closure to the victims' families; though it was hard to doom any of these young women to having been abducted and held captive by a serial killer.

The young brunette glanced to her right, where Gideon was standing at her side. He was also looking over the photos and information that had been put up on the board.

"Do you think he killed all of these women?" she asked the older profiler.

"No," Gideon said, glancing in her direction in return. "I think he may have killed some of these woman, but he isn't responsible for all of their deaths. Some of these cases don't fit his pattern."

Rebecca nodded her head in agreement and pointed to one of the photos posted on the board. "Right, like Sandy Klesmit. Her body was dumped in a high traffic public area, but she wasn't abducted from her home."

"Some of these woman were killed with too short of a time span between their deaths to have all been killed by our unsub," Reid spoke up from where he was seated at the table with JJ. "There wouldn't have been time for a cooling off period or for him to plan for a new victim."

"It's hard to determine who fits his pattern. Most of these woman haven't had their hair cut or dyed before they were killed." JJ observed.

"The most recent victim in this new group had her hair both cut and dyed, but she was killed on the other side of the state," Gideon pointed out. "Which is probably why a connection was never made between her and the victims here in Fort Worth."

"But that means his methods evolved," Rebecca said. "He now needs them to take on that look. What changed? Was he just not getting the thrill he needed from the kills before he started changing their appearance?"

"If that's the case, why would he start doing that?" JJ asked. "Who's appearance is he making them take on?"

"Someone who was important to the unsub," Gideon replied. "Someone who had a serious impact on making him who he is."

A knock on the door had the team members turning around and looking in its direction. Detective Woda was standing in the doorway with a uniformed officer waiting behind her. Both of them were holding a cardboard box.

"Howdy folks," the blonde detective greeted with a small smile. "I'm assuming these boxes from the Denton PD are for you." She moved into the room and set her box on top of the table.

"Yes, thank you," JJ said, also smiling. "It's the case information on one of our possible new victims."

The detective's face grew distressed, she and the officer stood at the table looking at the team. "You mean he may have killed more girls then the three here in Fort Worth?"

"Most likely," Reid answered. "The unsub is extremely organized, well practiced in his routine. He's probably had been killing for years before he ever showed up in Fort Worth."

The detective sighed, "So, what kind of guy are we looking for here?"

"White male, most likely in his late thirties to early forties. Intelligent, good people skills, but he is probably a bit of a loner." Rebecca began to describe.

"He's meticulous," Gideon continued. "Well organized. He kills because he derives some sort of satisfaction from it and while he didn't always change the victim's physical appearance it has now become almost a compulsion for him."

"So he needs them to look that way for him to get his thrill?" Woda asked.

"Not always, but now he does. Something changed," Rebecca said. "Maybe he wasn't get the pleasure from the murders that he was hoping for and he hoped changing their appearance would make that happen."

"The way the victims look is what he gets off on then?"

"Partially," Reid explained. "The kill itself is what gives him his satisfaction but the altering of the victim's hair color and style probably amplifies it. Like the unsub is modeling the victims to take the place of someone in his life."

"Right," Rebecca said. "And that part of his ritual is probably the most important thing to him now, it transforms the woman into who he wants to them to be."

Reid stood up suddenly and walked up to the board of the earlier victims. By the look that had spread across his face, his teammates knew he had just thought of something important.

"What is it Spence?" JJ asked, watching the young man stare at the board intently.

"What if she was his first victim?" He asked aloud.

"Who?" Woda questioned.

"Whoever the unsub is modeling these victims after," Reid went on. "His first kill, it was probably the most exciting. What if he's been spending all this time trying to get that feeling back."

"The first few victims don't have their hair changed, he doesn't start putting them in identical outfits until here in Fort Worth," Rebecca agreed. "He's trying to recreate that first murder because it was the one that gave him the greatest high."

Gideon nodded, "But he hasn't achieved it again yet. His cooling off periods are getting shorter." He explained. "He's getting more restless because he can't get it right."

"Then we need to find out who his first victim is right?" Woda asked looking between the team members. "That'll probably help lead us to him if we know where it all started?'

"Already on it," JJ said, picking up her cell phone and punching in Garcia's number.


Morgan and Hotch sat in Anita and Rodney Herbert's living room, looking across the coffee table at Allison Saunder's older sister and her husband.

"I told Allison that she was abandoning God's path," Anita said grimly. "I told her if she couldn't find her way back something bad would happen. I just didn't think she would be killed."

The petite brunette looked down at her lap as her husband placed a comforting arm around her shoulders.

"The two of us have been having a hard time adjusting to life without Allison," he explained. "It's been very hard for Anita."

"We are very sorry for your loss," Hotch said sincerely. "I know this may be hard but there is another girl missing who we think may have been abducted by the same man who took Allison. If you two could answer some questions for us, it might help us find the man who killed Allison before he has a chance to do it again."

"Of course," Rodney said with a nod.

"Were you and Allison close, Mrs. Herbert?" Morgan asked the brunette.

"Yes, of course we were," she choked out. "We were sisters."

"Did you know if anything may have been going on in her life before she was killed?" Morgan went on. "In an interview with the police, her employer said that she had been acting strange in the weeks that led up to her abduction, do you have any idea what might have been going on with her?"

Anita shook her head, "I talked to Allison the day before that maniac took her away, she was fine!"

"Her employer said that Allison borrowed $1,500 a few weeks before she was killed." Hotch said. "Do you know why she may have done that?"

"I don't know anything about that," Anita insisted. "My sister had been in trouble in the past, but she was trying to get better. I was hoping she'd realize that it was God's path that she needed to be on, that if she made amends with our lord she'd find peace. I don't think she'd be acting strangely and borrowing money from people she worked for, if she needed help she'd come to us or she'd turn to our church."

"When you say that Allison had been in trouble before, what do you mean?" Morgan questioned curiously.

Anita huffed, "Alcohol. Sex," She muttered. "Parading herself around like some sort of whore." The woman stiffen slightly and her eyes welled up with tears. "I don't know why you need to come into my home and bring all this back up."

"Mrs. Herbert, we aren't here to upset you," Hotch began. "We'd just like to understa-"

Anita stood abruptly, sending the pair of profilers a particularly angry looking glare. "There is nothing to understand, agents. I told my sister that losing her way would only bring her trouble and I was right. Excuse me."

The woman then fled from the living room and down the hall that led to the rear of the house.

The three men remained sitting in an awkward silence for a few moments before Rodney spoke up.

"You'll have to excuse Anita, this has been a very difficult time for her." He said softly, before glancing over his shoulder to the hallway where his wife had sped off to. When he was certain she was gone he turned back to Morgan and Hotch.

"I may know what was going on with Allison before she died," he said lowly, leaning forward slightly toward the agents and causing an air of secrecy to descend upon the room. "I know why she needed that money, because she asked me for it first."

"Go on," Hotch pressed, leaning forward as well.

"You can see how my wife is; she is very firm in her beliefs. Which is why I couldn't give Allison the money, Anita would have found out what it was for and she would have went ballistic."

The man sighed heavily, "Anita and Allison's parents died when they were young, they are the only family each other has so I couldn't let that happen."

"What was happening with Allison, Mr. Herbert?" Morgan asked softly.

"Allison needed that money because she was getting an abortion." He confessed, looking down at his hands. "She called me, explaining how she wasn't ready to be a mother. The father was no where to be found and she had made up her mind. She couldn't support a child. She asked if she could borrow the money but I couldn't lend it to her."

Rodney sighed again and fell silent for a few moments to collect his thoughts. When he was ready he looked back at Morgan and Hotch. "I wanted to give her the money, but if Anita found it she would have disowned Allison. I asked her if there was anyone else she could get the money from and she said she'd try her boss."

"So, her boss lent her the money and she went through with it," Morgan said. "Do you know where she went?"

Rodney nodded, "Yeah, she told me. I told her I'd go with her, but she said it'd be best if I stayed here with Anita. She went to the Woman's Free Health Clinic on Newberry Lane in Fort Worth."

"Did she say anything else about what happened?" Hotch asked.

Rodney shrugged, "Not really, I asked her how she was going to get home when she was drugged up but she said they offered transportation to patients. She was a mess for a few weeks but she seemed to be dealing with it alright."

"And your wife doesn't know about any of this?" Hotch went on, glancing toward the hallway that Anita still hadn't returned from.

"No," Rodney replied. "And if it's alright, I'd prefer to keep it that way."


"Garcia is going to run a nationwide search for our first victim," JJ explained after she got off the phone with the tech. "I told her to match the victim's appearance to how the others are made over to look and I told her to search starting ten years ago and then move backwards."

"Good," Gideon said from where he was standing and looking through one of the boxes that had been brought over from Denton. He pulled out a few of the crime scene photos from the dump site and flipped through them.

"This one was definitely our unsub," he stated. "Everything is identical except for the clothes."

"We still need to find out how he is finding all of our victims," Rebecca said. She looked over her shoulder at Gideon from in front of the board.

"We will," the older profiler said, going back to the photos.

"He's comfortable here," Rebecca went on, turning back to the map that she was watching Reid work on. "He has never killed this many victims in one place before."

"So he must be familiar with the area?" JJ asked.

Reid nodded his head, "Very familiar, if he is comfortable enough to stay here for this many murders." He stuck a pin into the map over West Odessa, where one of the girls they believed he had killed had been abducted from.

"Maybe he used to live here," Rebecca offered. "You know, before he lost it and started traveling around the state, killing women. Maybe he grew up here."

"It's possible," Reid agreed.

Rebecca went to the table where the files were laid out, she was picking up Tanya Williams' file when her phone began to ring.

"What's up Morgan," She asked, bringing the phone to her ear. She began flipping through the file in her hands. "Did Allison's family give you guys any leads?"

Morgan said something on the other line that made the brunette pause in her page skimming. "Wait, what did you say?"

Morgan repeated what he had said on the other line as the other occupants of the room turned to look at Rebecca.

"On Newberry Lane?" she tried to clarify, her face growing serious as Morgan confirmed what she had heard. "Morgan, Tanya Williams' boyfriend used to work there."


As always, constructive criticism is welcomed and let me know if there are any typos. A lack of sleep is making my brain work at sub par levels. :) -MissTofu