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Mistaken Identity

The jet flew south at 32 thousand feet. They'd just burst up from the cloud cover when Rossi sat down next to Reid with a fresh up of coffee. He put a second cup in front of the younger profiler. "Cup of coffee for your thoughts?" He asked.

Emily, who sat across from Reid, facing him looked up expectantly. Hotch and Morgan sat across the aisle and they observed him too. "Why are you all staring at me?" He asked.

"You look like you're confused." Emily said.

"Thanks!"

"I think she means that you look like your trying to come to something." Rossi said. "We all know that look."

Reid rubbed the edge of his jaw with the knuckles of his right hand. "We've never seen a un-sub with this kind of signature. Why remove only the hearts?"

"He might be into cannibalism." Morgan said. "We've seen that."

"What about the rest of the body." Emily said. "If the un-sub's taking these men for cannibalism, I'd think he'd consume more than just the heart. "

"Native American tribes sometimes consumed the heart, brain or eyes of bears, mountain lions or other prey because they felt they could take on the qualities associated with them." Reid said.

"So what does this un-sub hope to gain from the hearts of his victims?" Rossi asked.

"Let's not assume anything until we know more." Hotch interjected.

"So all we can count on is that the un-sub is male, white and between the ages of twenty-five and thirty-five." Morgan said.

"I don't think it's a man." Reid said thoughtfully.

All of them turned their eyes on him. "Explain," Hotch said first.

Reid put his copy of the file down on the table. "Taking the heart could be something a woman would do. They aren't sexually assaulted and we know that these types of killings are all about the sex for men."

Emily smirked. "Yes Reid, we all know that about you big, strong, men."

"What about the torture and dismemberment?" Rossi added over his cup of steaming coffee. "I doubt a woman would do that to a man. It's too messy for a woman."

Emily nodded. "What woman would want to clean it up? What does she get from it all?"

Reid only shook his head. "I don't know… There's just something about it that bothers me."

The laptop sitting on the table between Rossi and Emily beeped. Garcia's face swam into view. Her brilliant red hair was in braids tied with yellow ribbons. Her red framed glasses, surrounded eyes that were friendly, but tinged with irritation and sadness.

"Can I just say that there are a lot of sick puppies out there?" She began.

"We know that mama…" Morgan said with a sigh. "What do you have for us?"

"I went through the lives of all the victims. I can't find anything that ties them together. They all worked in different professions. They lived in different neighborhoods, and went to different churches.

"I hear a 'but,' coming on." Morgan said his usual smile for her in full bloom.

"You're stepping on my lines sugar." She retorted.

"Sorry baby-girl."

She winked at him. "The 'but' coming up is that they're all single. They're all between the ages of twenty-five and thirty and they all grew up in North Carolina. That's it."

Morgan shook his head in mock disappointment. "Is that all sweetness?"

"I need more specifics if I'm going to dazzle you on this one." She complained reluctantly.

"What about medical doctors?" Hotch reminded her.

"Well sir I had to use unorthodox methods to get basic information. Everyone screams privacy in the medical profession without a warrant. I can tell you that none of the victims used the same insurance company." She said smugly, "I hacked in."

"Garcia…" Hotch interrupted.

"Don't worry boss, no one's the wiser." She assured him.

"He has to complain once in a while to maintain the illusion of plausible deniability." Rossi interjected.

Everyone smirked at Hotch who looked like he wanted to be mad at the statement, but he couldn't quite manage it.

"So what else did you find out?" Hotch asked her as he tried to ignore the rest of the team.

"I was about to tell you that they all saw different primary care providers."

"Send me a list. Morgan, I need you and Rossi to go to the dump sites." Hotch ordered. "Reid, you and Emily talk to the coroner. We need to find out more the torture inflicted on the victims. Look at the remains of the last victim. Find out if the dismemberment and the torture could be done by a woman." Hotch said his eyes on Reid.

"I'm going to talk to the families of the victims. Garcia… Were you able to set up things with Detective Docks?"

"He's ready and waiting for you sir."

"Thank you."

The screen of the laptop went black. The team went silent, each of them drawn down into their thoughts and preparing for the assignments to come.

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Hotch led the team into the bullpen at the police station. A very tall and muscular African American man confronted them as they entered the room. He reached out and shook Hotch's hand firmly. "I take it you're the BAU agents." He said in a soft southern accent that belied his huge size.

"Yes… I'm SSA Hotchner, Dr. Reid, SSAs Prentiss, Rossi, and Morgan."

He introduced them in turn.

"I'm glad you're here. I'm not ashamed to admit that this is baffling us." He led them to a small room just off the bullpen.

"This is our only conference room. Your Miss Garcia gave me a list of all your needs." He indicated the white board, two computers and a multi-line phone on a round table.

"Thank you… Have any of the families arrived?" Hotch asked.

"Yes," The big man gestured to another room down the hall. "The Davis's are here. They lived the closest to the precinct."

"Would you sit in on the interview?" Hotch asked. "I assume you've spoken with them. It might ease the way."

"Yeah… I'd like that." Docks agreed with a smile that lit up his face.

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The visitor area of the North Carolina State Office of Public health resembled a hospital waiting room, Reid thought. The walls, floors and furniture were designed to distract the public from the real reason for its purpose. Reid surveyed the light blue patterned chairs in the waiting area and the oak desk for the receptionist

Emily approached the receptionist who had just finished a tense phone call. The young blond woman glanced up at them, a practiced smile on her face, but Reid could see the day had taken its toll. He pretended not to notice her eyes straying to the clock that said 3:17 pm.

"I'm SSA Emily Prentiss from the BAU and this is Dr. Spencer Reid. Dr. Singh is waiting for us."

"Oh right, he said for you to go right down -"

She'd began rising from her chair when a small woman with grey streaked light brown hair slammed open the double door. "Where's Dr. Singh…" She demanded through tears. "I want to see my son now."

"Mrs. LaSalle, Dr. Singh will call you when your son can be released for burial. You have to let him do his job. He wants to take care of your son so the police can catch the killer."

The receptionist rounded her desk and put an arm around the distraught woman. "They won't tell me what happened to my baby or let me see him." Mrs. LaSalle sobbed. "I just want to tell him I love him. I need to know that it's really him. What if you made a mistake?"

"Mrs. LaSalle, your son knew you loved him. He'd want you to remember him the way he was." The receptionist patted the small woman's shoulder. "Why don't you sit down? The FBI is here to help find the person that killed your son. They need to speak to the doctor." She gestured to Emily and Reid.

Reid gave her a tiny wave. Emily began to say. "Mrs. LaSalle, we're very sorry for your loss -"

At the same time Emily spoke, the tiny woman's red and puffy eyes went wide and she screamed out a high breathless cry. "Carl… I knew they made a mistake. I knew you couldn't be dead!" She pulled out of the receptionist grasp took two steps to Reid and fainted dead away.

"Reid…" Emily said as the receptionist knelt over the unconscious women and began trying to revive her. "You certainly have a way with women."

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She finished the email and sent it off. The spirits had said that it was time to move forward with her next sacrifice. The time was getting short. If she wanted to see her beloved again, she would have to contact and take her next target.