Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds

Thank you to everyone who has been reading this story! I'm enjoying writing it so much! Thank you for your continued encouragement and feedback, its always appreciated! Let me know if you enjoy this chapter! Next chapter will be up in a few days.

As Morgan and Hotch were walking up to the front porch of the crime scene, Morgan's phone started to ring.

"Baby girl, we just got here, we don't have anything…"

"I know who the victim is. My biggest fear was that one of the two women we didn't get a call back from would be the next victim. I checked the list of no show's with the address you were headed to. Denise Moore, she was just 25 years old."

"Garcia, let me call you back. We just walked in."

"She knows the ID of our victim, doesn't she?" Hotch asked without looking at him.

Just then their phones vibrated, signaling a new message. No doubt, Garcia had sent them the information on their victim.

As the two of them walked through the door, the first change in MO was evident.

Derek looked at the splintered door frame. "This was not an invited guest. The door was broken down."

Hotch was already kneeling down in front of the victim when Derek came up from behind.

"Morgan, wait, you don't need to…"

Derek didn't understand why Hotch was standing in front of the body in an attempt to block him from seeing it. Understanding dawned as Hotch moved out of the way.

Derek's eyes widened and a knot formed in his stomach. He thought he was going to be sick. The blonde hair in a side braid, high heels, and pink tinted cat-eye glasses.

Morgan turned from the woman, willing himself not to pass out. She looked just like Penelope. Had they not just dropped her off at the precinct, he would have sworn it was her.

"Morgan, do you need a minute?"

He waved Hotch away, "No, I'm fine. It just shocked me. I mean, the resemblance is uncanny."

Hotch shook his head. "Look at the injuries, Morgan. The stab wounds are the same, but they're so deep there are scratch marks on the wood floor beneath her. And her neck, those were made by large hands."

Morgan looked at her disheveled appearance. She had bruises on her arms and legs, and her clothes were torn. He stood up and walked away from the girl willing himself to take deep breaths to keep from feeling lightheaded. "I think our victim may have been sexually assaulted. We'll need the medical examiner to confirm."

Hotch looked at Morgan. "There's no doubt in my mind that this murder was committed by a different unsub than the others, but I'm leaning more toward this being an accomplice than a copycat. None of the specifics of the case have been released to the public. Only the unsub and law enforcement would know the positions of the stab wounds and strangulation."

All Morgan could see was blood, everywhere. This was a murder of passion, and rage. A murder committed by a large and controlling man. Something caught his eye that he had missed before. Just inches away from the victim's body, amidst the pools of blood, was a footprint.

"Hotch, do you see that?"

"Let me get a picture of it, we need to send it to Garcia and see if she can get anything from it faster than the forensics team can." Hotch answered.

Morgan just looked back at him, hoping that his unspoken request would be heard. He never shied from calling her, but right now he couldn't do it.

Hotch took the picture and called Penelope with the information.

Penelope answered before the end of the first ring. "Sir, is Derek okay, did something happen?"

"Is there any reason why he wouldn't be okay?" Hotch asked.

She calmed her breathing. "No sir, its just that when the team is at a crime scene Derek is usually the one who calls me, and it usually isn't a good sign when he doesn't."

Hotch smiled in sadness of how right she was. He willed himself not to let on as to the severity of the murder.

"It's a tough crime scene Garcia, we can give you more details as we get them. Right now I need you to put this print into your database. I want to know size, brand, origin, whatever you've got."

"Yes, sir. I'll call you when I find something."

Hotch turned back to the scene to find Morgan looking anywhere but at the victim. He looked up as Hotch stepped closer to him.

"She's safe isn't she?" Derek questioned with a note of fear in his voice.

"We have no reason to believe this unsub is targeting anyone from the team or law enforcement. All evidence points to a personal attack on the women of this support group who share commonalities. Garcia is in the middle of a police precinct. When not with them, she's with us. If you ask me, she couldn't be in better hands."

Penelope entered the print into the FBI's database and waited to see if a match was found. Less than a minute later the computer search gave them the answers they were seeking. Garcia quickly dialed Morgan's number. After three rings he picked up.

"Hey mama, tell me you got some answers for us." His sentiment was forced, but she was just happy to hear his voice.

"Handsome, you're in luck. Our shoe-print belongs to a large male with a solid foundation. Size 13, Twin Gore canvas deck shoes, no arch. I don't know if you are familiar with this type of shoe, but…"

Derek cut her off, "We're looking for a former prison inmate."

Penelope smiled. "You got it, hot stuff. I narrowed it down to 12 facilities within a 5 state radius that specifically issue these shoes."

Hotch spoke up, "Garcia, I want you to look for inmates who have been released in the last 4 weeks. I also want you to cross-reference that with prisoners serving time for crimes against women, specifically domestic violence that was racially motivated."

"I'll call you as soon as I have something."

"Penelope, be safe." Morgan said quickly.

Penelope heard him hang up. She was confused by his last comment. Something was going on with him. He sounded scared.

Rossi was observing one of the last interviews left when his phone started to ring.

"Hotch, I hope you and Morgan found something at the crime scene, because we're not getting much from the interviews."

"The crime scene was brutal. Other than the two stab wounds and strangulation, nothing from this murder fits the profile of the others. She was stabbed so hard there were scratches in the floor beneath her."

"Do you think this is an accomplice?" Rossi questioned.

"I'm sure of it. The details are too precise for it not to be. I'm having the crime scene photos sent over to the precinct for the team to look at once you're through with interviews. Rossi…I have to warn you, our victim bears a striking resemblance to Penelope. Derek is shaken up, to say the least. We did find a shoe print at the scene and Garcia is working to find us a match. You said you haven't gotten much from the women?"

Rossi sighed. "As far as interviews go, most of the women have great respect for Mara and Carla. They act like these women really helped them deal with the demons of their past. A few of them were on opposing sides and left the group not long after our victims. None seemed to distrust the leaders, just shook up as they know they're being targeted. We do have one small problem. Good ole Mr. Reitz started giving women permission to leave when their interviews were over. He told them that we had no warrants and couldn't keep them here"

Hotch answered, "Well, he's right that we don't have warrants for them, but this just made our job a lot harder. Anyone who is still at the college that you believe knows something or could have a vested interest in these crimes, bring back to the precinct. Call local PD and have them place units close to the homes of each of the group members. Especially any other no-shows. We'll meet you back at the station."

Morgan and Hotch were on their way back when Garcia called. "Tell me something good, Garcia."

"Well, darlin', I don't know how good this news will be. Using the parameters you gave me I was able to narrow the field to 15 inmates. That's right my loves, 15 men were released in the last 4 weeks who were imprisoned on charges relating to racially motivated domestic violence in various parts of the surrounding 5 states who just happen to fancy that beautiful prison issue footwear. As you know 15 is no good. I decided to look for connections between the inmates and our support group ladies and came up with zilch. So, in a last ditch effort I ran the inmates through ViCAP to see if any of their crimes matched our unsub's in any way, and I got a hit."

Penelope stopped as she saw the rest of the team making their way toward her. She waved them in and put Morgan and Hotch on speaker.

"Garcia, are you still there?" Hotch questioned.

"We just walked in." Emily spoke as she and the rest took a seat.

Penelope cleared her throat. "As I was saying, I found an inmate, Mr. Charles Pratt, 55 years old, released from Pontiac Correctional Center a little over 4 weeks ago after serving 23 years for the death of his wife Marilyn Lewis-Pratt. Here's where it gets icky. Marilyn was found in their home stabbed twice in the side and strangled. Charles claimed that he had come home from a night of drinking, heard someone in the bedroom upstairs, and thinking it was someone attempting to rob the place, killed them on the spot. Charles said that his wife was supposed to be at work, which is why he didn't realize it was her. Long story short, Charles was charged with manslaughter."

Morgan spoke up, "The MO is similar but what else do we have to connect him to the case?"

"It says here in the police reports that after they took Charles into custody and removed Marilyn's body from the home, they found a little girl hiding in a closet upstairs. Their daughter, 4 year old Mara Pratt, saw everything. She was taken away and placed in the custody of Charles' mother. I didn't find a match when I ran the women's names from the support group because the woman we're looking for changed her name. Mara Pratt took her mother's maiden name, Lewis, when she turned 18."

Reid questioned, "Why would a child who witnessed the death of her mother at the hands of her father lash out against women who reminded her of her mom? Wouldn't it make more sense if she were going after men who met the same similarities as her father?"

J.J. pondered, "She was only 4 years old. Maybe she didn't remember what she had seen, or had been manipulated by her grandmother into believing her father had somehow been unjustly punished."

Garcia jumped back in. "According to prison visitation records, Mara visited her dad once a week with her grandmother since she was a wee little thing. I'm going to guess she also had written contact with him."

Hotch interrupted them all. "J.J, I need you to notify the PD as to the identities of our two suspects. Garcia, I need an address for Mara Lewis, as well as Carla Brown. I want both locations searched as I'm sure Mara will be looking for a place to run. Reid and J.J., I want you at the Brown location. Morgan and I will take the Lewis location. Emily, and Rossi, I want you to stay here with Garcia. Help her search for any other locations frequented by our suspects. If we come up empty, I want some more options."

With everyone suited up in their gear and wired, each headed to their perspective locations. As Garcia was looking up potential safe places for their suspects, a folder on the conference table caught her eye. She didn't remember seeing it there before. As soon as she opened it she wished she could take it back. Penelope stared into eyes that looked much like her own. A beautiful young woman, with soft blonde hair, was staring at her with a vacant and horrified expression. She had blood all over her, and bruises covered her body. What were the odds that a victim looked just like her? She traced her fingers over the glasses on the girls face as tears ran down her own. "I'm so sorry," she whispered.

That's when realization dawned on her. Derek not calling her at the crime scene, and then telling her to be safe. He was worried. For her.

Rossi turned to her. "Everything okay?"

She turned to him, face wet from the course of tears.

"I see you decided to take a look at our most recent victim?"

Rossi grabbed her shoulder, forcing her to face him.

"Look at me. You're safe. We're gonna catch this guy before he hurts another innocent woman, do you hear me?"

Garcia asked, "Is that why I'm here in the office and they're out in the field? Are they trying to protect me, or do they not think I'm capable of handling this case professionally?"

Rossi smiled, "Well if that's true, I guess that means they question mine and Emily's skills as well. If that sounds absurd, that's because it is. Hotch believes strongly in your newly acquired skills, but if he has you here that means that he believes you are a greater asset to the team where he put you."

He squeezed her shoulder with his hand. "Now let's see what we can find on these two."

Hotch's voice crackled across the wire. "I need your current locations. Morgan and I are about 12 minutes out."

J.J. answered. "We are 8 minutes away from the house. We've got a couple units a few minutes behind us for back up."

"Rossi, do we have any other locations we need to make a priority?"

"Hang tight, Garcia thinks she has something."

"Sir, I was looking up additional information on the family when I found a death certificate. Mara's grandmother died about 6 weeks ago. Looks like the home was left to her in the will. Maybe her death was a stressor, and what better place to hide out than a newly acquired piece of property?"

"Good work. Rossi, I want you to take Prentiss and Garcia with you and secure this location. I would say to wait until we check the others, but we don't have that kind of time."

"Understood. We're leaving now."

Garcia quickly put her vest on, and attached her holster to her side. This was real. Unlike all the times she had practiced before, this was different. This was her family. This was her life.

Prentiss and Rossi looked up at her as they walked to the SUV.

"Penelope, are you ready?" Emily asked softly.

"Lets do this." Penelope answered curtly.

Rossi nodded and the three took off toward their destination.

Morgan and Hotch arrived at the Lewis house a few minutes later. Hotch took the front and Morgan headed to the back.

Hotch looked through the windows and saw no movement.

"Mara Lewis, this is the FBI, We have you surrounded." His words were met with silence.

Hotch took his foot and busted down the door, pressing himself against the outside wall with his gun up in anticipation.

He quickly moved from the living room to the hallway. "Clear." He reported to Morgan.

Derek was making his way through the back of the house. The bedroom and kitchen were quiet too. "Clear."

They met back up in the hallway.

"No one's here." Hotch stated.

"Look around and see if there's any evidence of her communication with her father. It might tip us off to where they might be."

J.J.'s breathless voice came across the wire. "Hotch, there was no sign of Lewis or her father. But we have Carla in custody. We caught her packing her car and trying to leave. She ran when we cornered her. She's refusing to answer any questions, and keeps saying she knows nothing about Mara's involvement in the murders."

"Good work, J.J. We'll see you and Reid back at the precinct."

Hotch patched through to Rossi. "David, have you reached the location?"

"We just pulled up. Stay on the frequency, we're getting out now." Rossi spoke quietly.

"We have backup, they should be a couple minutes behind us."

Rossi approached the front door to find it unlocked. He slowly crept through the entryway. Prentiss and Garcia quickly went around the side and approached the back door. Emily headed through the back while Garcia directed her attention to the garage.

Rossi shouted, "Clear".

Prentiss made her way through the back rooms when she heard a shout in the backyard.

"FBI!"

Garcia's heart pounded in her chest when she saw Charles Pratt run from the garage to a van parked near the alley. He turned toward her and she saw it, a gun. He raised it at her as she shouted, "Drop your weapon!"

Morgan and Hotch were listening to every word as they quickly left the house and jumped in the SUV. They could hear Rossi and Prentiss clearing rooms, but not Garcia. She must not have been wearing a wire. Just then they heard a muffled shout. They must have found them.

Just then they heard something across the wire that they had not expected. A gun shot, followed by Prentiss yelling the one name they had hoped was not involved in the gun fire, "Garcia!"