I wasn't going to update this yet, but the procrastinator in me who doesn't want to do her homework told me to. Sorry this is so short! I don't think this is as good as the first chapter. I'm much better with my own characters. Still, a review would make me so happy! They're so much more fun to look at than research papers!

Several hours after Cammi had made her awful discovery, the BAU team was en route to Pennsylvania, the site of the latest string of murders they would investigate. In fact, they hadn't even bothered going over the case in the war room, instead choosing to head straight to the jet.

"So, what are we looking at here?" Morgan asked.

"Over the last several weeks, there have been a series of break-ins in Sunset Falls, Pennsylvania," JJ explained to the team. "The police thought it was standard robbery, until the bodies started piling up."

"Has there been any sign of a pattern?" Prentiss asked.

"That's why they called us. During the last three break-ins, two families were murdered. A mother, father, son, and daughter."

"The stereotypical American family," Reid muttered darkly.

"What was taken?" Prentiss broke in.

"Standard stuff. Jewelry, wedding rings, anything that could be perceived as valuable," JJ replied, handing out a pile of folders detailing their case.

"Look at the mutilation done to these bodies," Reid said. "From the looks of it, the damage appears to have been done post mortem."

"What was the official cause of death?" Hotch inquired.

"The medical examiner is still determining that," JJ said. "He doesn't appear to discriminate. As you can see, one family is Hispanic, and the other one is white. Both are on totally different socioeconomic levels."

"Any connection between the victims?" Rossi asked.

"It's a small town," JJ sighed. "Everyone's connected in one way or another."

Prentiss stared at the pictures of the mutilated bodies on her lap. The parents appeared to have received the most damage, slashes of red disfiguring their bodies. The children's faces were blue, most likely strangled. As much as she might try, she couldn't pretend to understand a person willing to snuff the life of an innocent child. She sighed. Due to some inner instinct, she could always tell when a case would be bad. All of them were bad, of course, but she had a nagging feeling that this would affect her more than the others. Selfish as she may be thinking this, she couldn't help the thought that her team didn't deserve this. They had already come back from so much.

She watched Hotch stare for a moment at a picture of the six-year-old boy lying on his bed. Jack was almost exactly his age. She didn't want Hotch to go through the pain of another child case. They always affected him the most, even though he never admitted it.

The shrill beep of a cell phone drew her away from her thoughts. Prentiss watched as JJ stepped away to answer her phone. The call lasted only a few seconds. A few clipped sentences later, JJ returned to sit beside her, face pinched.

"What's wrong JJ?" she asked.

Sighing once again, JJ turned to face the team. "There's been another murder. Exact same victimology. The Carroways were found dead in their home this morning by a neighbor's runaway dog. The son was strangled, parents stabbed repeatedly."

Reid's eyebrows arched. "They don't have a daughter?"

"That's the problem." JJ's eyes closed. "They do. Cameron Carroway, a freshman at the local high school. She's nowhere to be found."

"He's resorted to kidnapping? That doesn't fit with his previous actions."

"Well, we haven't gone over much yet," Morgan pointed out. "These crimes have no pattern, except for the traditional family preference and how they die."

"He's fixated on America's idea of the perfect family," Prentiss pointed out, expanding on Reid's previous comment. "Maybe he's had trouble with that in the past? Perhaps had it and then lost it?"

"If Prentiss is right, then that could be the trigger," Hotch suggested. "But we can't assume anything until we get more information. Prentiss and I will go to the crime scene when we land. Reid, you work victimology. JJ and Rossi will go talk to the families of the other victims. It could be that they know the killer. Most importantly, we have to figure out where that little girl is."

I'll be going on vacation for the next two weeks, so in the high likelihood that I don't have internet access, this is the last update for awhile, unless I crank one out before Friday. Also, if something is off about someone's character or you have a suggestion, I'm open to anything, as long as you're kind. Really, I need help! Reviews are an author's best tool!