"Sydney Vetch?" The man nods. "I'm Derek Morgan, this is Dr. Spencer Reid with the FBI. We need- -"

Reid suddenly finds himself on his back, looking up at stars in the daytime sky with the taste of blood filling his mouth.

"YOU STUPID FUCK!" Vetch screams.

Morgan grabs the man and shoves him against the wall of the house. He pulls his cuffs and quickly secures him.

"CALM! DOWN!" he orders.

Vetch still struggles. "NO! That bastard wouldn't help my sister! He wouldn't HELP!"

"Your sister was murdered! The D.A.'s office fucked up the case NOT Dr. Reid!" Vetch continues to struggle and curse Reid. Morgan shakes his head. "You had your chance. Sydney Vetch, you are under arrest for assaulting a Federal Officer."

Morgan continues to recite the Miranda warning to Vetch as Reid slowly sits up. Vetch kicks out at him but Reid manages to roll out of the way. Morgan looks at the younger agent.

"Call for a black & white!"

Reid nods and calls the precinct to get a patrol car sent to the house. Ten minutes later Morgan is slamming the back door of the car and telling the cops to take Vetch in and process him for assault. He then goes to Reid, who has a handkerchief pressed to his face.

"Reid, you okay, man?"

"Been better," Reid mumbles. He pulls the cloth away. "Well?"

Morgan winces. "Damn. That lip looks bad. I think you need a couple stitches. Come on, I'll drive you to the ER. Hotch and Rossi can get started with Mr. Cool."

Reid manages a half-grin at the ironic name. "Right. I swear I never saw the hit coming, Morgan."

Morgan shakes his head. "Neither did I, Reid. Neither did I," he says remorsefully.

Thirty minutes later Hotch and Rossi step into an interrogation room with the fuming Sydney Vetch. Hotch glares at the man, an eyebrow raised.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't just stick your ass down in general lock-up for assaulting one of my agents, Corrections Officer?"

Vetch colours slightly, knowing what would happen if he is recognized by anyone in the holding cells. "I…I don't…fuck…this is about them murders in the papers, right?"

"Yes."

Vetch sighs and sits back. "My baby sister was all I had in the world. I tried to help her. I tried to keep her safe. I failed. But I believed in the system until it let me down. Her killer walked because of screw-ups, not because he was innocent or because the evidence wasn't there. Screw-ups. I thought you people could help us find what was missed." His face hardens, his fists clench. "Then I got that bastard Dr. Reid's letter. Spewing crap about double jeopardy and the fact that your unit helps find the bad guys, not convict them. For him to show up on my doorstep…he's fucking lucky all I did was hit him."

Hotch frowns. "Are you threatening him, Mr. Vetch?"

Vetch slowly raises his eyes to Hotch's. "I'm saying he walks in here, I'll fuck his ass up. But I'm also saying, I ain't the one killing them fucks. They might deserve it and the vigilante might deserve a medal, but it ain't me." He then looks down, shame colouring his cheeks for the first time. "Fuck…I didn't even have the guts to kill the asshole who killed my sister. Why the hell would I kill anyone else?"

Hotch and Rossi exchange a look. Though they hate to admit it, Vetch has a point. Unless, of course, he was building up the courage to kill the true object of his hatred. Hotch slowly sits down.

"Just the same, let's do this by the book."

He starts to interrogate the man about the murders, getting his alibi's for each of the murders. For two, his alibi is that he was working. The third he was at his favorite bar with a group of friends. All three are easily checked, especially the ones where he was working. Finally Hotch asks one last question.

"So if you didn't commit the murders, do you have any idea who might have?"

Vetch's eyes flicker ever so slightly. Rossi and Hotch both see it. "No…I got no idea," he finally answers.

"You're lying, Mr. Vetch. And if one more person dies because you lied you'll be charged as an accomplice," Hotch warns him.

Vetch stares Hotch in the eyes. "You'll have to fucking prove I knew. Good luck."

Hotch and Rossi walk out of the room. "He knows the killer. Or at least suspects," Hotch states.

"Yep. We need to search his house and find out who the friends, co-workers, and former inmates he worked with are," Rossi says.

Hotch nods. "I'll get Garcia on the searches. You get with Ortiz to get a warrant to search his house. His threat against Reid should be enough to get it."

"Right."

Hotch looks down at his watch. "It's almost 4. Emily and JJ should be on their way back by now so they should be here by 6. As soon as you get the warrant, get Morgan to meet you at Vetch's house. If needed, I can pick up Reid from the hospital if he's not finished. We'll concentrate on the information from Garcia while you all see what Vetch's house tells us."

Rossi nods. "On it."

Rossi heads off to see Ortiz. Hotch calls Garcia and gets her working on dissecting Vetch's life. He then tries Emily but the call goes straight to voicemail.

"Guess you two are still in the middle of nowhere. We've got a hot lead but it's going to take plenty of eyes to get through what Garcia digs up. Unless something breaks, meet us here at the precinct."

He hangs up and starts to pace. For all they know the killer is ready to strike again. Perhaps has already struck again. What he does know without out doubt is people will continue to die if the vigilante is not stopped soon.

At 4:30 Reid gets out of the SUV as Rossi prepares to get in. The older agent winces.

"That looks painful."

Reid shrugs. "Numbed," he answers, wiping the drool that leaks out.

Rossi chuckles. "That's good. Hotch will fill you in on what's going on. Hope you feel better, kid."

Reid just nods and heads inside. Rossi gets in and starts to fill Morgan in on the parameters of the search warrant.

"Everything out in the open. No closed closets, no drawers, no electronics."

Morgan shakes his head. "That's fucking ridiculous. If he's emailing with this guy we'll never find the evidence we need!"

Rossi nods. "I know. But the judge was hesitant to give full access to someone he sees as being part of the system."

Morgan grunts. "More like he knew other C.O.'s would be pissed if he didn't do something to back one of them. Especially one who was already screwed by the same justice system he works for."

"That, too. Can you imagine the issues that could be caused if the corrections officers decided to get slow or lazy?"

Morgan just nods. He may understand the judge's reasoning but that doesn't mean he has to like it. They pull up to the house to find Ortiz already waiting for them. The three enter the house. It is a small home. Only 2 bedrooms, a living room and the kitchen. Another room had been turned into a man cave, complete with 52" flatscreen TV and surround sound. Morgan nods.

"Nice. I'll look around this room."

Rossi and Ortiz just chuckle. Ortiz walks into the master bedroom as Rossi opens the door to the other bedroom. He stops short: it is a shrine to Barbara Vetch. One wall is a filled with pictures of her throughout her life. The other three walls are dedicated to her murder and the botched case against her killer.

"Definite obsession," Rossi murmurs.

He starts to study the walls, looking for the most recent information. Is there something here that could show the stressor if he is the unsub? Or hidden in this information will they find leads to the real unsub?

With a shake of his head, Rossi starts to go through the layers of official reports, newspaper clippings and handwritten notes to see what he can find.

In the man cave, Morgan studies the names on the outside of each DVD case. He comes to one shelf where there are no names on the spines of the movies. He eases the batch out and starts to read the front cover. He rolls his eyes.

"Porn. Of course," he mumbles as he puts them back.

It doesn't take him long to clear the room to the parameters of the search warrant. He leaves the other two rooms to Ortiz and Rossi, making his way to the living room. He studies the family portraits on the walls. He thumbs through bills and paperwork sitting on the coffee table. He even flips through the newspapers stacked on the floor.

"Nothing. If he is working with the vigilante it's not out in the open."

Just to be thorough he goes into the kitchen and looks around. Still nothing. He goes to the bedrooms to see what Ortiz and Rossi have found.

"So, Ortiz, anything?"

Ortiz shakes his head. "Nothing. Checked this room and even his bathroom. He's about as boring as a guy can be."

"A guy with an obsession," Rossi corrects from the doorway. "Come with me."

Morgan and Ortiz follow him over to the other room. Morgan's eyes widen when he sees the scope of Vetch's obsession with his sister's case.

"Holy shit."

Rossi nods. "That about sums it up. But there is nothing here that suggests he knows who is committing the murders. Truth is I think he has a good idea who it is and part of him wishes he had the guts to do it himself. He just doesn't have it in him."

Morgan nods. "Based on what I'm seeing, I agree." He points. "I bet if we threaten to take all this down, destroy this room in an effort to see what he knows, he'll talk."

Rossi raises an eyebrow. "Good point. I hadn't thought of that."

Ortiz frowns. "Is that legal?"

Morgan nods. "Perfectly. This is all out in the open. I say we bag a few random pieces as evidence and bring it back to him. We put it in front of him with the promise to put the rest in little baggies and he will talk. This is his reason for living. He wouldn't be able to handle it if we potentially destroyed it."

"Good. Then let's do it," Ortiz says as he pulls several evidence bags out of his pocket.

At 5:45 Hotch watches through the two-way mirror as Morgan and Rossi sit down across from Sydney Vetch. Morgan clasps his hands over the folder in front of him.

"We searched your house, Mr. Vetch. I have a feeling you know far more about these vigilante killings than you're telling us." He taps the folder. "This is just a sampling of what we found that shows how deep your psychosis goes. When we finish getting it spread out in another room it will tell us why you're doing what you're doing."

Vetch had started to look uncomfortable. "What…what's in there?"

"I think you know, Mr. Vetch."

Morgan slowly opens the folder. Vetch immediately starts to get agitated when he sees the first evidence baggie.

"NO! No! You have no right!"

"A search warrant gave us the right. Currently 2 agents are pulling apart that room to figure out who you're going after next."

"IT'S NOT ME YOU INCOMPETENT ASSHOLES!" Vetch screams, trying to get his hands free of the ring they are secured to on the table.

Morgan leans towards him. "Then you better start telling me what you know about these killings. Otherwise…well, I'm sure only a few pieces will get destroyed or lost. You know how it can be with evidence."

Vetch had gotten redder and redder the more Morgan talked. His breathing is rapid. Too rapid. "NO! NO! NO! LEAVE…LEAVE MY….MY….my…m…"

His eyes roll back in his head and he passes out, falling from the chair, his hands still attached to the table uncomfortably. Rossi and Morgan race around the table to him, trying to get him in a less stressful position while they wait for the EMT's. Ortiz rushes in and frees the man from the table. They get him all the way onto the floor and his feet up. Rossi looks at Morgan.

"Well, I'd say that was less than successful."

Morgan just shakes his head. "Smart ass."

At 6:10 Morgan, Rossi and Hotch watch as Ortiz gets in the ambulance to ride to the hospital with Vetch.

"So now what?" Morgan asks.

"Let's go help Reid with the check of Vetch's life. The answer is either there or in his head. Right now his head isn't going to help us." He glances at his watch. "Either of you heard from JJ or Emily?"

"Not me," Rossi answers.

"Me neither."

"Okay. Go help Reid. I'll give them another call. Could be my message got lost if they were in an area with no signal."

As the other two go inside, Hotch dials Emily's number and again gets voicemail. He hangs up and tries JJ's number…also voicemail.

"JJ, we really need you two back here at the precinct. Give me a call with your ETA."

He hangs up and on a whim dials their personal numbers. Both of those also go to voicemail.

"Damn it." He then calls Garcia. "Garcia, have you heard from JJ or Emily?"

"No, sir."

"Track their phones."

"Yes, sir," Garcia says and rapidly starts typing. "They are…still in the middle of nowhere though not the same nowhere as where they went."

"You have coordinates?"

"Yes, sir."

"Send them to me. Could be Stiles' grandmother gave them another lead to check out. But if they aren't back here soon I want to know where to send the state police."

Garcia pauses. "You don't think…they aren't…I mean are they…"

"There's some bad storms right now. If they had trouble with the vehicle they may just be stranded. For now I'll believe they are just following a new lead."

"Right, sir. Let me know if I can do anything more."

"Shouldn't you be on your way home?"

"Have two searches nearly done and then I can go. I'm staying at Chateau Prentiss so I'm a bit closer if you need me."

"Good to know. Talk to you later, Garcia."

Hotch hangs up. He checks his text messages and sees the coordinates Garcia has sent. The female agents aren't too far from where they were headed so he's not overly concerned.

Yet.