They walked into the police station. Lia Greer kept to the back of the group. She felt as nervous as she had on the first day she'd worked as a pharmacist. She felt jumpy as she noticed everyone was looking at them. The rest of the team seemed to ignore it, but she wished she was in the middle of the group so no one could see her.

JJ and Hotch led the group. A detective came over to them and said, "I'm glad you're here. This has really got us stumped. I'm detective Brad Hoskins." He was somewhere between thirty-five and forty. He had black circles under his eyes, and his clothes looked wrinkled, obviously he'd been working overtime on this case.

JJ smiled her most reassuring smile and said, "We're glad to help. I'm Jennifer Jareau, and these are agents Hotchner, Rossi, Prentiss, Morgan, Reid, and Greer. Do you have a room where we can set up?"

"Yes, right this way. The sooner you can start the better. This has really got the city freaked out," he replied, as he walked to an empty room.

They entered the room, and Hotch looked at all of them and said, "Morgan and Prentiss, go look at where the women were abducted. Rossi and Reid, go look at the dump sites, and take Greer with you. JJ and I will talk to the police force here."

Morgan and Prentiss talked to Det. Hoskins for a minute to get the addresses, and left.

Rossi looked at Reid and Greer and said, "I'll go get the addresses. I'll meet you outside."

Lia looked at Reid and raised an eyebrow. He shrugged and said, "let's go outside to the SUV." She followed him out the front door. They reached the vehicle, and Reid stopped and leaned against it. He started thinking about whether he should triangulate the dump sites or the abduction sites. It would be best to do both separately , and then also together. He had almost forgotten that Lia Greer was there when he heard her say, "Oh my stars and garters, look at that! That is beautiful! I think we're in for a storm tonight."

His first reaction was 'did she just use the Beast's favorite quote? She reads comic books?'

Then he looked up and had to agree with her. There were large thunderheads over the Rocky mountains, and it was certainly a beautiful sight. Before he could say anything back to her, Rossi walked up to them.

"Let's get going. We need to get all three sites looked at before it gets dark, "said Rossi.

They got in the SUV, Rossi driving, Reid in the passenger seat, and Greer in the seat just behind them. Rossi started talking without taking his eyes from the road. "What we'll be looking for is anything he might have left behind that will give us an idea of who he is. It could be as small as a cigarette butt, or as important as the murder weapon, if he was sloppy on the dump. Try to keep your eyes open for something that's out of place for the area we're in."

"Okay, how far out from the dump site should I concentrate on? How far do unsubs typically park from where they're dumping a body?" asked Greer.

"Good question." responded Rossi. "It will be close to the dump site, the further the vehicle from the dump site, the more likely someone will see something. An unsub who's been this successful will be smart enough to minimize the risks."

"I hate to sound wimpy, but are we going to have to go dumpster diving? Will we have to go through all the trash in the dumpster?," she asked.

"No, that's what the local police are for." answered Rossi. "We'll monitor what they find, but we won't have to do that ourselves."

"The dump sites themselves will tell us something about the unsub also," Reid added. "The more secluded the site, the more likely that he's not interested in trying to prove he's smarter than the police. Someone who's motive is to prove he can get away with it will try to make it as public as possible to show that he can. The more isolated his dump site, the more likely that he's trying to hide what he's done as completely as possible."

"This is more complicated than I had previously thought," admitted Greer.

"It's something you have to learn as you go," said Rossi, "The more you do this job, the easier it will be to analyze the unsub from the small clues that will give you insight into him."

They were just about to the first dump site, and no one said anything until they got there. They got out of the SUV. Lia looked around. The dumpster was in a secluded location. It was in an alley, with only one entrance. There were not any street lights nearby. It was in a residential neighborhood that wouldn't see a lot of traffic late at night. Rossi and Reid started inspecting the area, while Greer looked in the dumpster, and then underneath it.

"And what's the profile on a guy who dumps the body in a low-risk area, for a city, but leaves it where it would be noticed as soon as someone walked past it?" she wondered.

"It means he wants to be as safe as possible dumping a body in a city, but that he wants the body found soon afterward. It would have taken him minimal time to pop a trunk or rear door and throw the body in the dumpster, but the body would have been discovered within the next day. He's cautious, but he wants it known what he's done." Rossi answered. He looked around. "We've found all we're going to here, let's look at the other two sites."

They drove to the other sites, with little conversation during the ride. Lia was trying to apply what she'd learned at the academy to the case, while Rossi and Reid were concerned about how well the unsub had covered his tracks at the dump sites.

As they looked at the third site, Rossi shook his head. He grabbed his phone and dialed Morgan's number.

"Hey Rossi. What do you have for me?" answered Morgan.

"From what we've seen of the dump sites, he's completely in control when he dumps the bodies. If he made a mistake, it was when he kidnapped them, not when he dumped the bodies. If we find what we're looking for, it'll be on your end," said Rossi.

"Thanks, Rossi. We'll do what we can," Morgan replied, and then hung up.

"What is it?" asked Emily Prentiss.

"Rossi and Reid didn't find anything useful. Rossi thinks the unsub might have made a mistake when taking the victims, not when dumping them." answered Morgan, as he looked around the parking lot they were in. They had already looked at the first kidnapping site. The apartment complex had seemed safe enough for a single woman, but a number of the lights in the parking lot were burnt out. Where Joanne Higgins normally parked was under one of the burnt out lights. It would have been fairly easy for the unsub to overpower her. She had returned home from work at 3 AM, and she was a small woman, at 5'2" and 110 pounds.

The second site was much the same. An apartment complex with a lot of younger, single people. Erica Salyer worked at a restaurant, and normally worked until close. She wouldn't have gotten home before 2 AM. The last site followed the same pattern. Another apartment complex, and where Heather Jennings parked was fairly secluded.

"Damn, this guy is smart. None of these places are easily seen from the road, and he gets them late enough at night that nobody is awake to see it." Morgan took out his phone and hit a couple of buttons.

"Path to knowledge, your guide is speaking," said Garcia.

"Hey baby girl, got anything for us?" asked Morgan.

She sighed and replied, "I have looked and looked, and so far nothing connects these victims. They didn't know each other, they lived in different parts of town, one worked at a diner, one was a caterer, and one worked at a club. They don't even look the same. Heather Jennings had long blonde hair, Erica Salyer had short dark brown hair, and were both white. Joanne Higgins was African-American. Sorry, dear one, but nothing so far. But I will keep digging. Garcia out"

Morgan shook his head as he hung up the phone.

"She's got nothing, huh?" asked Prentiss.

"Nope." answered Morgan. He thought for a minute. "Let's go check out the victim's cars. Two of them still had their purses in the car, so maybe we'll find something useful there."

"Might as well, we're not doing any good here," Prentiss agreed.