Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds or the characters. Some "guest stars" are based on or named after people in my life while others are totally made up, as are some places and events.

Chapter 15

"Hello!" Penelope said when one of her computers rang an alert as soon as she booted them up.

"What, Baby?" Derek asked. He was searching for something in his bag before taking off for the day.

"I flagged our Jane Doe so if someone matching her description shows up on any missing person database I'd know right away. I even added Canada's lists since we're not far away from the border," Penelope explained.

"You found her?" Derek walked over quickly, reading over her shoulder. He grabbed Penelope's phone and clicked Hotch's speed dial.

"Garcia?" Hotch greeted.

"Hey, Hotch, it's Morgan. You're on speaker. Garcia found something. Looks like someone's finally missing our latest victim," Derek said.

"Who is she, Garcia? Was she just reported missing?

Penelope's hands flew as she clicked away on her keyboard and a report and picture popped up on the screen. "Her name is Stephanie McGuire and she is a nature and wildlife photographer-slash-writer for a magazine out of California. Her editor reported her missing when she failed to make a deadline and never called him. Actually, she was reported missing late last night."

"Are you sure it's her?"

"Stand by... Yeah. I just pulled up her social media accounts." She clicked on and blew up a picture of her tattoo and pulled up the picture of Jane Doe's tattoo next to it. "I just sent you some pictures. The tattoos match."

"Thanks, Garcia."

Hotch had just finished talking to Stephanie's boyfriend several hours later. He had explained that it wasn't unusual for Stephanie to go several days without calling. She often stayed where she was shooting, afraid to miss a moment, and a lot of the places she went didn't have cell reception. She was responsible and almost never missed a deadline and if she did she always called and explained why. He was worried and twenty-four hours past her deadline he filed the missing persons report. His alibi checked out and his obvious grief eliminated him as a suspect fairly quickly.

The sheriff walked in and approached the two agents. "Got another one," he sighed. "She washed up near Michiana, which is some 250 miles south, less than a mile from the Michigan-Indiana border."

"Were they missing a toe?" Derek asked. The sheriff nodded.

Derek was just about to reply when his phone rang.

"Hey, Baby Girl," he greeted.

"Bad news, Chocolate Drop. Another body has washed up on one of Michigan's beaches," she sighed.

"I know. The sheriff just told us. What can you tell us about her?"

"She's blonde, early-to-mid-thirties, no ID, looks to have been in the water at least twenty-four hours. Still running prints but if she's like the others, she won't be in the system... what the...?" she trailed off as another alert popped up. "Damn. There's another one. Opposite side of the state, near the border to Indiana"

"I'm putting you on speaker." Derek hit the button on his phone. "There's two new bodies, is that right?"

"Yes. The one I was talking about was found at Sterling State Park on Lake Erie. The second one was found on the beach of Michiana on Lake Michigan."

"That's the one the sheriff was telling us about," Derek sighed.

"Dave, you, Kate, and Reid go to Sterling State Park. Morgan, JJ, and I will go to Michiana. Garcia, stay here. Hopefully we'll be back tonight or early tomorrow," Hotch ordered.

"Ten-Forty, Bossman," Penelope replied.

"I don't like it," Derek grumbled as he knelt down next to the body.

"What's that?" JJ asked as she studied the Michiana shoreline.

"This whole thing. Why did he go way out of his comfort zone this time? And twice on the same day, on opposite sides of the state."

"Maybe he felt we were close to catching him," Hotch suggested.

"Maybe." Derek didn't sound enthusiastic about the idea.

"We're minutes from the border. Maybe he's trying to throw us off-track and have us thinking he's traveling around," JJ frowned.

"Garcia," Hotch greeted as she called him a few hours later.

"Hey, I got everyone here. This is getting weirder and weirder. The woman found in Michiana is in the system."

"Wow, that was fast," Derek replied.

"Can't take the credit for this, Dreamy D. It's easy to match prints when the victim is a state employee. Her name is Gayle Iffert and she is in fact a Department of Natural Resources officer and her current post is Sterling State Park."

"Was she supposed to be working yesterday and today?" Reid asked.

"Yes, according to her supervisor. Based on the ME's preliminary report she would have been on duty when she was killed."

"Any word on our other victim?" Rossi asked.

"Not a peep, Sir. I'm still spelunking away."

"Thanks, Garcia," Hotch said and she disconnected. He still had Rossi, Reid, and Kate on the line.

"So, he took Officer Iffert from Sterling and dumped her across the state to Michiana then took the other victim and dumped her in Sterling," Kate mused.

"Why would he take a DNR officer?" Morgan demanded as he paced. "He's careful. So far none of his victims have been in the system and are found before they are reported as missing. Why change that now?"

"Maybe he didn't have a choice," Hotch suggested.

"Maybe she witnessed him dumping the other victim at Sterling, then brought her here to throw us off the track."

"There are houses up and down this whole beach," JJ added. "The town itself is not big. Someone would have noticed a stranger dumping a body on their shore. Beach overcrowding isn't going to be an issue this late into the year."

"Yes, but fall is one of the best times for fishing," Reid said as he stared back and forth at two blown-up maps, one of the state's Lake Michigan coast and the other a picture of its Lake Erie coast. "The fish feel the water cooling and instinctively start eating more in preparation for winter."

"So it's not unusual to see boats all over the lake," Rossi grumbled.

"I bet he started out here, at Warren Dunes State Park," Reid said and drew a line in red ink from Michiana to Warren Dunes. "If the boat traveled an average of forty miles per hour he could get there and back in under an hour."

Hotch pulled his phone out and hit speed dial. "You have reached the temporary office of the FBI's Baroness of Badassery-ness. State your business Bossman o'mine," Penelope greeted.

"Hey, Garcia. Does Michigan keep a record of those who keep boat slips at the state parks?"

"Err... Let's see... Yes sir, they do... and yikes! That's a hella long list."

"Filter out non-residents. Start with citizens of Traverse City with slips at either Warren Dunes or Sterling and work your way out. Then find out if those people have pulled their boats in for the season."

"This is going to take awhile but fret not my friends. Garcie out."

Derek sat down heavily in a chair. "Maybe it's a copycat."

"But the press hasn't been notified of the signature," Hotch replied.

Derek was dozing in his motel room. He had just got done Skyping with Penelope and he made her sign off when she spent more time yawning than talking. It was the first night in weeks he was alone and he missed her. For the first time in his life he felt like he could grow old with somebody. He knew that he had always been holding out for Penelope. Every girl he'd dated, slept with, hell... even looked at he would compare to her. The reveal of their hidden past was liberating in me ways than one and he felt like he could finally express his true feelings for her.

Even though he knew she was safe and there was no way Montgomery and Ford could know where they were, he still didn't like leaving her alone. He always believed in instincts. He'd interviewed so many perps, witnesses, and victims to not believe in them. He thought about how uneasy she felt when she left their motel room. It had rubbed off on him and he had spent more time looking over his shoulder than he ever had before.

He sat up in bed suddenly. Why did the UNSUB hunt so far from his comfort zone? They had asked this question over and over all day. It was glaringly obvious now. The two bodies so far apart meant that the team would have to split up to profile the crime scenes before the natural elements compromised any possible evidence further. The team divided up and left their one unarmed agent alone in the middle of the UNSUB's comfort zone.

Derek was out of the bed in a flash. He stuffed his keys, knife, wallet, and credentials into his pockets before strapping on his gun and holster. He grabbed his phone and go-bag, glad he'd been so eager to Skype with his Baby Girl that he hadn't bothered unpacking anything or even changing clothes when they had finally called it a night. He hit Hotch's corresponding speed dial number as he hurried from the room.

By the time he was done explaining his theory to his boss, Derek had already reached their fleet of government-issued SUVs and was inputting his destination into the GPS. He thought about calling or texting Penelope while he was speeding away but he didn't want to to scare or worry her. He turned on the siren and pressed the gas pedal down further. I'll text her when I'm close so she won't be scared out of her sleep when I knock, he decided.

"Where were you all day and night?" Freddy whined as Buddy walked into the house.

"I found someone," Buddy shrugged.

"WHAT?" Freddy roared. "You found someone... a doll... and played with her without me?!"

"Freddy, listen to me," Buddy gulped as his brother stalked closer to him. "I had to."

"Aghhh!" Freddy roared and started throwing random objects against the walls.

"Fred, stop it!" Buddy grabbed a heavy glass paperweight out of his brother's hand before he could throw it.

"No! You promised... you promised that you wouldn't leave me out ever again! You lied to me!" Freddy started to cry as his anger dissipated into hurt. He sank to the floor and buried his face in his knees.

"Do you want the FBI lady or not?" Buddy shouted back.

Freddy looked up from his position on the floor. "You know I do," he sniffed.

"Her friends are gone."

"Huh?"

"I went far away and got rid of the dolls I found. The FBI people went there and left the one you like here."

"You did that for me?" Freddy smiled slightly.

"Of course. I knew they would go away for the night to see the dolls. I knew that was the only way to get her by herself. I know you wanted her so bad." Buddy smiled back.

"How are we going to get her?" Freddy asked excitedly.

Penelope was restless. She missed sleeping next to Derek and couldn't shut her mind off. The case was going nowhere and she was over it. She wasn't a profiler but she could tell the case was getting to her team of superheroes as well.

She was sound asleep when a loud ringing sound filled the room. Fire alarm, she thought as she quickly donned her house shoes and robe. She peaked out of her door and saw several people leaving their rooms. She grabbed her purse and checked to see if her keycard was there before evacuating.

The fire trucks arrived just as Penelope exited the building. She shivered in the cool air and checked her phone: 2:12am. Way too late to call her Hot Stuff. She sat on the ground against a tree and waited impatiently for the fire department to to give the all-clear. She played a game on her tablet while she waited and was exhausted forty-five minutes later when the fire chief announced that it was a false alarm. She rose from her position on the ground but froze when she felt a hand on her arm. She slowly turned and saw a man holding her purse. He smiled as he held it out for her. "Don't forget your bag, ma'am," he said. She could tell he was mildly mentally challenged.

"Thank you," she said and took back her purse. The man nodded and ran off into the hotel.

She walked with the last group of guests into the hotel and put the bar guard in place before removing her robe and shoes. She sighed when she got under the warm covers. Her eyelids began to droop and she was asleep in a minute.

The feel of a hand over mouth woke her up instantly. The urge to fight back was quelled when she felt the blade of a knife at her throat. "Scream and I'll cut you," a vaguely-familiar voice whispered in her ear. He shoved her over on her stomach and pushed the blanket and sheet away. She gasped and whipped her head around when her phone chimed its text tone.

A/N: Woke up this morning sick as a dog. Instead of going to the American Ninja Warrior filming like I wanted I'm stuck in bed sipping chicken broth and tea and writing more than I have in the past month. At least y'all can reap the benefits of my misery. Enjoy!

XOXO,

Pita(slept 14 hours and still exhausted)Cake