I am so sorry it's taken so long for me to update. Blame it on school and the twenty papers I've had to write. Seriously, I have absolutely no time to do anything like this, but I'll do my best to make up for it. BTW I had a little bit of trouble with the Abby part of this, so if you could be so kind as to really look at that and give me suggestions, I would be eternally grateful.

Chapter 4

The BAU team followed Gibbs through NCIS headquarters and into the bullpen. Gibbs pointed to an empty desk. "Set up here," he said gruffly. He kept walking to the elevator on the other side of the bullpen. "Kate, get that stuff to Abby."

"Where're you goin', Boss?" Tony asked.

"Autopsy." Gibbs disappeared around the corner.

Kate gathered up the plaster casts of the shoe and tire prints and motioned to Reid and Morgan. Reid glanced at Hotch, and the older agent nodded for him to go. Reid and Morgan followed Kate out of the bullpen and into the elevator.

Hotch leaned on the desk and glanced at Tony. "How long until the autopsy's done?"

"Depends," Tony replied, leaning back in his chair.

"On what?"

"On what he finds." Tony tossed a paper clip in Elle's direction. "Might as well make yourself comfortable." He grinned.

Elle rolled her eyes.

Impatient, Hotch stood. "How do I get down to autopsy?"

Tony looked at him surprised. "Are you sure you want to go down there?"

Hotch just looked at him.

Tony shrugged. "Okay, don't say I didn't warn you." He pointed in the direction Gibbs had gone. "That way, down the elevator to the basement."

"I'm coming too," Gideon said as he stood up. He and Hotch hurried down the narrow aisle to the elevator.

Tony tossed another paper clip at Elle. "Looks like it's just you and me."

Elle ignored him and turned to her work.

"Aw, come on!" Tony stood and went over to Elle's desk. He put his hands on the desk and leaned down until his face was inches from hers. He grinned. "Profile for me."

Elle looked up and locked eyes with him. "What?"

"Oh, you know," he said, giving her his best smile. "You have to have a profile on this guy, right?"

Elle shifted in her seat, slightly uncomfortable with his proximity to her. "Maybe. It's unsubstantiated."

"Why don't you try it out on me? Maybe I can make a suggestion."

Suddenly Elle leaned forward until her face was less than six inches from his. She smiled at him, and his eyes showed exactly what he was thinking. "I have a suggestion."

"Yeah?" He leaned in a little. "What's that?"

"Why don't…" She was enjoying watching him get excited. "Why don't I head down to forensics and you go jump off one of the overpasses on the Beltway?" She put her hand on his chest and shoved. He stumbled backward and landed squarely on his backside.

Wincing in pain, Tony looked up at Elle, who grinned at him. He watched as she turned on her heel and headed for the elevator. "Feisty," he muttered. A slow grin spread over his face. "God, I love her!"

8888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888

The autopsy doors slid open with a whoosh that was becoming all too familiar to Gibbs. He glanced at the two nude bodies that Ducky had on his metal slabs and for the thousandth time he felt his stomach rise to his throat.

"Ah, Jethro," Ducky from the other side of the room where he was washing his hands. "I was wondering how long it would take you to get down here."

Gibbs smiled slightly. "Whaddya got for me, Duck?"

"Ah, it's a very puzzling case," Ducky began, but his story was interrupted by the sound of the autopsy doors opening. He turned to see Gideon and Hotch file into the room. "Agent Gideon, Agent Hotchner, you're just in time."

Gideon glanced at the bodies. "For what?" he asked, a small smile playing at the corner of his lips.

"Well, I was just about to tell Jethro here how our lovely young ladies died. You know, it reminds me of a case I read about in my medical journal. A young lady in India was found deep in the heart of the woods, and she'd been there for quite some time, and-"

"Ducky," Gibbs said softly, giving his friend a look. Hotch crossed his arms impatiently.

Ducky glared at Gibbs and moved toward his lighted board. "How did they die?" Hotch asked, following him.

"It's quite simple, really." Ducky pushed the buttons along the bottom of the board, and the room lit up in an eerie white glow. He pointed at the five x-rays that were mounted on the board, the outline of the five skulls glaring against the black background. "They were beaten to death."

"Beaten?" Gideon asked, moving closer.

"Yes, with some sort of blunt object, perhaps a stick or a baseball bat." He pointed at one of the pictures. "Each girl has a fracture on the left side of the skull, towards the back. This caused severe brain hemorrhage." He turned to face the agents. "The good news is that it was a quick death, very little pain other than the initial blow." He moved back to one of the metal slabs.

Gibbs followed him. "Sexual assault?"

Ducky shook his head. "No signs of any recent activity, so you can rule out a rapist. However, there is something very interesting."

"What's that?" Hotch asked, glancing at Gibbs. The NCIS agent had his arms crossed in front of his chest in an annoyed posture.

"Well, this young lady was killed two days ago, based on the rate of decomposition." Ducky motioned to the cadaver on the other slab. "That one was killed a week before that."

"You're sure?" Gideon asked. Gibbs glanced at him and shook his head. Bad idea, the agent's blue eyes said.

As if echoing Gibbs, the medical examiner gave Gideon a withering look. "Jane Doe number three was killed two weeks before that."

"What's the point behind this?" Hotch asked impatiently.

"My point, Agent Hotchner, is that each girl died exactly seven days apart."

Gibbs uncrossed his arms in surprise. He glanced over at Gideon, who was staring at the dead woman on the table. "What does that mean?"

Gideon didn't look up. "It means I'd better call Elle."

8888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888

Kate pulled Reid out of the elevator and tugged him down the hall toward Abby's lab. She pushed him against the wall and leaned in close to his face. Reid had a very confused look on his face. "Uh," he cleared his throat, "what exactly are you doing?"

"Before you meet Abby, there are a few things you need to know."

"Like what?"

Kate glanced around and lowered her voice. "Abby's a bit… different."

"Different?" He furrowed his brow. "How?"

Kate sighed and let go of him. "You'll find out." She turned on her heel and continued down the hall. Reid hurried after her.

The door to Abby's lab opened with a swish, much like Ducky's had done. Kate and Reid were nearly knocked off their feet with the number of decibels Abby's famous rock music was emitting. "What is that?" Reid shouted, his face inches from Kate's ear.

"Abby's music," she shouted back. "C'mon."

Abby Sciuto was standing with her back to them as they entered. Her eyes were covered with goggles, and she bounced to the rhythm of her music.

Kate glanced at Reid, whose face was contorted in pain. She laughed to herself. "Abby!" she shouted.

The Gothic forensic expert didn't turn around.

"Abby!" she shouted louder. She still didn't turn around.

Kate crossed the room and tapped Abby on the shoulder. Abby whipped around. "Kate!" she shouted and threw her arms around the surprised agent. "So good to see you!" Abby yelled over the music.

"Abby!" Kate shouted. Abby looked confused. Kate tapped her ear. "The music!" she yelled.

"Oh!" Abby grabbed her remote and pressed a button. The sounds of an electric guitar cut off immediately. "Sorry, my bad." Abby glanced at Reid, then looked back at Kate. "Who's the nerd?" she whispered.

Reid stuck out his hand. "Dr. Spencer Reid, with the BAU."

Abby took it. "Abby Sciuto. Nice to meet you." She turned to Kate. "He's not another assistant, is he?"

Kate laughed and shook her head. "Nope, he's a profiler. Got anything for us yet?"

Abby opened her mouth to answer, but was interrupted by some more swishing as Elle joined them. "Abby, this is Elle Greenaway with the BAU." Elle nodded at Abby.

"As I was about to say," Abby continued, giving Kate a dirty look, "I found some carpet fibers on the back of Jane Doe number 1's uniform."

"Carpet fibers in the middle of the woods?" Elle asked.

"Exactly. I'm scanning the others to see what they've got, but—"

"It's gonna take some time," Kate finished, sighing.

"We're on a time schedule with this unsub," Reid said, glancing at Elle. "He's psychopathic and he'll get the urge to kill again soon." Elle nodded affirmatively. "What about the footprint?"

Abby pushed herself over to another table. "Man's size ten, walks on his instep. Given the depth of the impression I'd say he's about six feet tall."

"That's it?" Kate asked, incredulous.

"Well, I'm sorry, guys, but you can't rush science." Abby pushed her chair back to one of her many devices. "I'm scanning the fiber through the databases to see if—"

Abby was once again interrupted as the doors opened again. Tony sidled up to Elle, as she rolled her eyes. "What is it with you?" she asked, annoyed.

"I'm like a bee," Tony replied. "I see something beautiful and I've just gotta go for it." Kate groaned, and he gave her a dirty look.

"As I was saying," Abby said, "I'm running it through the databases to see if I get a match for the manufacturer, then I can check it against military housing in the area."

Elle's cell phone rang, and she turned away.

"How much time will this take?" Kate asked.

"Anywhere from twelve to twenty-four hours," Reid replied.

Abby stared at him. "What are you, some kind of genius?"

Tony shook his head. "Better not ask, Abs."

Elle shut her phone and turned to them. "You've got five days. He'll kill again in five days."