Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.


Rossi walked into Hotch's office, and Hotch looked up from his paperwork.

"You got a second?" he asked after rapping his knuckles on the edge of the doorframe.

"Yeah, what is it?" Hotch asked.

"A case just came in," Rossi informed him.

"I'll be right there," he told Rossi, standing. Rossi shook his head.

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you. It's on Commack, Long Island."

"That's your hometown," Hotch observed, brow furrowing slightly.

"Yeah… and if it's okay, I'd rather stay behind."

"Why?" Hoch asked, wondering if there was something he needed to know.

"That was a different life, one I left thirty years ago. I'm in no hurry to go back." He explained, and Hotch nodded in understanding.

"Well, any other day I'd tell you to stay, but I just became aware of this…" He handed Rossi a folder. Rossi looked at it, and nodded, handing it back.

"What have we got?" Hotch asked as he and Rossi entered the conference room, where the rest of the team was already waiting. JJ stood to present the case.

"Ben Vanderwaal was found dead in his home in Commack, Long Island last night. He was shot at close range last night once in the heart, once in the head, 22. caliber shell." The rest of the team followed along on their tablets.

"They found hair and blood traces from Vanderwaal's wife Heather." Morgan read off the screen, and JJ nodded.

"But not Heather?" Rossi asked.

"No, she is still missing and presumed dead. The caliber and placement of the bullets match that of two previous victims. The first, Rita Haslat, she went missing eight months ago from her home in New Jersey. Four weeks later, she was found in a trash bin."

"She went from that to this in under three weeks?" Prentiss asked doubtfully. "She's totally emaciated."

"Ligature marks on her wrists and ankles indicate that she was constrained," Reid observed.

"One in the heart, one in the head- just like Vanderwaal." Morgan said.

"Sounds more like an execution." Hotch said grimly.

"Then why cut off Vanderwaal's hands post-mortem?" Reid questioned.

"What about the third victim?" Rossi asked.

"Bill Levington," JJ said. "His appearance was… clearly altered."

"His genitals were missing," Prentiss said, frowning.

"Thought the method of mutilation is different in each crime, clearly there's a signature. The question is, what?" Hotch said. "Wheels up in twenty."

"What's this?" Reid asked, reaching out to grab the folder that was tossed in front of him with the arm that wasn't in a sling.

"You told me you were clear to fly. You lied." Hotch told him, giving his younger colleague a look that dared him to argue.

"Naughty boy," Prentiss said with a shake of her head.

"Uh, no, I didn't." Reid floundered for an excuse. "I am a doctor, so technically it wasn't a lie."

"Yeah, what was it then?" Garcia asked from the doorway.

"Um… a second opinion?" He said innocently.

"Huh. You're my bitch now." She said. Morgan laughed as he went to gather his things and Reid resigned himself to his fate.

The team had briefly discussed the case on the jet, and were now setting up in town. Prentiss and Hotch had gone to the crime scene, while JJ had gone straight to the station. Morgan and Rossi had gone to the coroner.

"There was no sign of forced entry." The lead detective was telling them as they entered the house.

"It says in the file that Heather Vanderwaal has a daughter. Where is she?" Prentiss asked. She moved to San Diego to live with her real father." The detective said. "Ben and Heather Vanderwaal have only been married for a few years."

"So Heather came in, dropped her shopping bags, cell phone, and keys, but not her coat. She turns on the lights but they don't work." Hotch said, walking toward the room where Mr. Vanderwaal was killed.

"Because the phone and electricity were cut." The detective said.

"Something in this room caught her attention." Prentiss said, looking around. Hotch walked further into the room and looked down at the pool of blood on the floor. The markings looked like…

"What is it?" The detective asked.

"The marks in the blood look like a camera tripod." Hotch pointed. Upon the Detectives confused and slightly disgusted look, Prentiss explained.

"Killers, especially sexual sadists like to document their kills."

"But sexual sadist torture their victims while they're still alive." Hotch said as a phone rang.

"Oh, excuse me." The detective said, taking the call. When he returned, he looked between the agents. "Heather Vanderwaal was just found. Alive."

Reid and Garcia sat in her office, researching and digging up dirt on the Vanderwaals.

"Do you ever feel… creepy, when digging up the victim past like this?" Reid asked. She turned to look at him.

"All the time." She said, amazed that she wasn't the only one. "Morgan always tells me I'm being ridiculous."

"Seriously? Well, he's obviously never tried it." Reid muttered. Just then, there was a knock at her office door, and Garcia opened the door to reveal Lila.

"Lila!" Reid said, lighting up like a Christmas tree upon seeing his best friend. She smiled back as she stepped in.

"It's so cute when you guys do that." Garcia squealed, and Reid frowned.

"Do what?" He asked.

"When you see each other and get all excited even though you no doubt saw each other this morning." She said, and Reid's brow scrunched up slightly. Well, yeah. She was the best, how could he not be happy to see her?

"I brought takeout." She said, holding up the bags of food. Reid hadn't noticed how late it had gotten. Was it noon already? "And yes, you will be eating." She said, raising an eyebrow at Reid. He resisted the urge to groan. He could only pray that she and Garcia never teamed up.

They were on the phone with JJ, who was interviewing the widow.

"Garcia," They heard her say on the other end of the phone. Reid picked up one of Garcia's toys and started playing with it. She quickly reached over and plucked it out of his hand, making Lila snort.

"We've been getting to know Heather Vanderwaal, I can't tell you her favorite Beatle, but I can tell you that she was living la Vida unhappy."

"What did you find?" She asked.

"Her ex-husband took her daughter, Allison, out of school midterm. After that, Heather cut a check for $5,000 to a place called Lewis, Bell, and Peters six days ago." Reid explained.

"A law firm?"

"Family law," Garcia corrected, taking one of her trolls from Reid again.

"Thanks," JJ said, and hung up. She looked back to the woman she was interviewing.

"Mrs. Vanderwaal… at mid-term you took your daughter, Allison, out of school?"

"Yes, I did." The woman said, nodding.

"After that, you filed for divorce from Ben," JJ said. "This man left you alive for a reason, and I need to know if these two things are connected."


A/N: Hey, all! I pretty much stole this whole chapter from the show, so sorry. I feel like I want to start a collection of one-shots in this Super BAU 'verse, some scenes that don't really fit into this story very well. Maybe take some requests or something? I'm not sure, its just an idea. On another note, I WILL NOT be pairing Lila and Reid in this story! Sorry to those of you that ship them, but its a no-go for me. As always, thank you to all who have read, reviewed, followed, or faved and I hope you enjoyed!