A/N: As birthday gift to myself I give you a present as well. A long chapter. But it comes with a small price. The church angle comes to a sermon. I warn all those who might not want to read such a thing. To all others...enjoy.


Prentiss and Reid arrived at the church only to find they weren't the only ones there. "Great," she muttered, unbuckling her seat beat. "Wednesday services."

Reid had already climbed out of the vehicle and donned his ever present satchel. "Come in, Emily. It'll be good for your soul."

"Spencer, my soul's just fine, thank you."

"Think of it as research then."

The duo walked in with the flow of church members and made the unconscious decision to sit on the back pew, people-watching as they waited for the sermon to start.

There was a group of children all sitting quietly but every so often a foot would kick out. Prentiss laughed as she pointed them out to Reid. "Seems they don't want to be here."

"Well, that was a ridiculous understatement. Children's attention spans do not take the adult need to 'hurry and wait' into account. Now, the teenagers..." They both located the smattering of boys and girls and immediately started to mentally profile them.

Prentiss smiled. "Body Language 101, Spencer," she said to pass the time. "Go."

He looked at her slightly surprised then went along with the impulse. "The blond male standing and facing towards us. He's the lead of the group- he commands attention and lets off an aura of confidence. See the steeping of the fingers? It shows he's aware of his position and enjoys it. His jacket and build suggests he plays some kind of sport- I would say varsity football."

"Age?"

He watched his prey for a moment. "I'd say senior 17, 18. Any younger and he wouldn't elude such power." He looked at her. "Your turn."

"Right, my turn." She peered over to the group to pick her mark. "Brunette sitting closest to Jock."

Reid cracked a smile. "Who said he was French?"

Prentiss snorted. "Mark the calendar. Dr. Reid made a funny."

"The brunette?" he prompted.

"She is an insecure introvert. She uses her glasses as a shield to hide her from the others although she hates wearing them. By her tilted head towards Jock she is interested in him. However, every time he talks to her she answers by fidgeting with her hands and playing with her hair. The others will only start taking her seriously when she does herself."

The congregation snarled to find their seats as the organ music played. The choir director led the congregation into several hymns which made Emily snicker at Reid's lip-syncing. She nudged him. "Go ahead and sing."

"I don't know them."

She raised an eyebrow. "You didn't go to church when you were younger?"

He leaned in to be heard and to not interrupt. His mouth ended up near her ear. "When I was younger my mother was of the opinion that any religious houses offered brain-washing techniques. She compensated by making sure I received readings of the Lord's Word."

She turned her head slightly but turned back because of the proximity of their faces. "Lord's Word?" she asked.

"King James Bible, Apocryphia, Tanakh, Vulgate."

She did look at him then. "You read the bible in Latin?"

"Yep."

"Impressive."

The hymns over, the pastor Allen Lewis walked to the podium. "Greetings, fellow worshippers. I've got a special sermon prepared here tonight. We will start in 2 Thessalonians 2:8. 'And then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie'." He paused and took a drink from some water on his pulpit.

"In these verses we see how Satan is constantly trying to trick us into believing his 'signs and lying wonders' so that he can convince man to follow him down his deceitful path. And man can be deceived into believing his lies and false miracles. Let us now turn to Exodus 7:9 to see an example of the devil performing such a miracle to try to attract followers of God."

Emily leaned into the attentive Reid. "Seems like church hasn't really changed that much in all the years since I attended one."

He glanced down as her. "I find the experience highly interesting so far."

Lewis continued. "You might be asking yourself how, as a Christian, can you be sure who is performing for you. Well, 1 Thessalonians 5:21 tells us, 'Prove all things, hold fast that which is good'. Satan's miracles are glorifying men, not God. They do not agree with God's nature, His gifts, or His word. 'But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith'.

"One of the biggest mistakes we as Christians can make is accepting something too quickly as God's work because we are afraid of angering Him with our testing and questions. Our Father is of a loving and patient nature. The Lord welcomes out honest questions as long as we are not rebelliously demanding or putting Him on trial but coming to Him with a humble and sincere heart.

"Remember John 16:13 'Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak; and he will show you things to come'."

When service was over Prentiss and Reid stood and walked against the flowing crowd to wait in a short line to talk to Allen Lewis.

A few minutes later the two partners were in front of the pastor. He beamed as he clasped Prentiss' hand with both of his. "Welcome to Fountain Spirit! What kind of questions can I answer for you tonight, Mr. and Mrs....?"

Prentiss casually glanced around them to ascertain no parishioners could hear their conversation before addressing Lewis. "I'm Agent Prentiss. This is Agent Reid. We'd like to ask you a few questions."

He looked taken aback so Reid quickly added, "We're investigating the murders of Wanda Sims, Marcella James, and Vanessa Roper."

He immediately nodded. "Yes, horrible isn't it." He swept his hand in front of him. "Come join me in my office."

Prentiss reached out her arm to stop him. "Actually, Mr. Lewis, we were hoping to talk out here."

"We'd prefer no one realize the FBI is here yet," Reid told him.

Lewis blinked. "You mean...you think... you think there is a killer among us? In my church?"

Reid nodded. "There is a significant possibility a parishioner is the person we want for questioning."

Lewis denied it. "I know my church. I don't believe anyone could be capable of such a heinous crime."

Prentiss looked to Reid to counter that statement. He did not disappoint. "Your sermon tonight was based on the truth of Satan's wonder and signs. While this case is certainly not in the category of a 'miracle' the Bible shows many instances where Lucifer lies to get what he thinks he wants or deserves. Wouldn't you consider your biased judgment working to his advantage?"

Lewis thought for a moment then sighed. "Perhaps you are right, my son. How may I be of help?"

"Did you know the victims?" Emily asked first off.

"Not well," Lewis answered. "None had been coming to Fountain Spirit for very long."

She frowned slightly. "You didn't find that odd that three new members ended up dead?"

He shrugged, sadly. "I am from a huge urban city. Unfortunately, murder no longer shocks me."

"Is there anything that stands out about the women?" Reid asked him. "Maybe someone watching anyone closer than usual? Paying a lot of attention to them?"

"If so I didn't notice it. I make it a priority to introduce myself personally to each new member. Each of the women did say they were married but that their husbands were often away and they felt draw to the church to fill a void."

"Why THIS church?" Prentiss asked.

"I find that many people are drawn to non-domination churches," Lewis told her. "Most know they are God's children but are not receptive to the sometimes strict roles of the other sects."

After several more questions in which the answer wasn't helpful for their analysis the pair decided they had done all they could there. Reid waited until they were outside before saying to Prentiss, "So, it seems our UNSUB is meeting them here."

"Or urging them to join," she added, "to satisfy his religious tendencies."

They got into the SUV. "Can we get some food?" he asked her. "I'm starving."

She glanced at him. "You look tired, too."

"I like to make a sincere effort to see my mom on her birthday. But I am tired." To prove his point he dozed off while Emily drove towards the hotel and food.

She pulled into a small diner and gently shook him awake. "Food," she said softly as he turned a wide eyed confused stare at her.

He rubbed his eyes as she turned to exit the vehicle. "You know, despite the apparent roadblock. I think the key is in that church."

Prentiss sighed. "Yeah, we just have to find what it is."

"Yeah."