*Thinking like a Killer*

(Amelia's P.O.V)

"Thanks for coming so soon!" A young man with sharp features and dark hair greeted as we entered the local police department. "I'm Detective Burchet." He held out a hand and we each took it in turn to introduce ourselves and shake it. Reid merely smiled and nodded.

"Where can we get set up?" Hotch asked, and Burchet directed us to a small conference room. A whiteboard covered in faint pen marks dominated most of the wall on one side of the room, and a table stretched the length of the space before us. I instantly settled into one of the chairs and pulled out the files.

The others left immediately to do their tasks, leaving Reid and I alone. "I guess I'll start with the geographical profiling," he mumbled as he bustled past me with a map in hand. He proceeded to pin it onto the wall and turned to me.

"Can you read out the locations of the dump sites and where they were taken, please."

I glanced up and nodded, beginning with Mary Halone. "Mary was dumped in the local playground and she was taken from the Benson's Shopping Mall in the city centre. Amy was dumped in the nearby Themepark, and again was snatched from the same shopping mall. Louise was again last seen at the shopping mall and dumped in the swimming pool, and the same goes for Elise, but she was found in the fairground."

As I spoke the details, Reid carefully marked their locations with red and blue pins.

"Right, so the shopping mall is the centre of operations, if you like. That's where they feel most comfortable when choosing and taking their next victim," Reid concluded, gesturing towards the map. There was a single red pin in the centre, and four other blue ones were spaced around it in a circle.

"So that means he most likely works in the mall. But how does he gain access to all those locations without being seen, and without breaking in?"

Reid frowned. "That I am not sure about."

There came a knock on the door, and a woman walked in with petite features and dark curly hair. Her probing gaze lingered on Reid longer than it should have as she offered his an attractive smile, and I coughed to gain her attention.

"Can we help you?" I gave her a tight smile and leaned back in my chair.

"Uh, well, I'm here to assist you in the current investigation. I'm Joanna Stapleton and I'm a-"

"We don't need any help, actually," I cut in, ignoring Reid's disapproving glare. "But thank you."

She looked slightly taken aback at my rudeness, and a slight flare of anger passed through her features. Her voice sounded strained as she spoke. "Okay, then. If you need anything, please ask."

Then she strode out of the room and Reid scowled at me. "Why so rude?"

I shrugged and continued to skim through the folders in my hand. I wasn't doing very well with the victimology side of it; I'd need more information on the women in order to discover any connections.

"Hey, Reid. I'm going to head over to the victim's houses. Will you be okay on your own?"

"Well, actually there isn't much else I can do here. Mind if I come with you?"

I shook my head, smiling as he slipped on his jacket, and we left the room. Joanna was lingering about the office, pretending to look important, and I saw her smile at Reid as we passed.

A pang of jealously made me grit my teeth.

"You want to drive?" I asked as we excited the building, and a look of sheer delight contorted Reid's face.

"Really?!"

I laughed softly, tossing him the keys. "Why not?"

He smiled sheepishly and unlocked the SUV. "The others don't let me drive that often."

I didn't bother asking why, and climbed into the passenger seat.

"I'm going to call Garcia and ask her to send us the shopping mall's security camera footage for when we get back."

Reid hummed and I dialled the number.

"You've reached the Queen of, well, everything, how can I help you?"

I chuckled at her quirky greeted and Reid rolled his eyes jokingly. "Hey Garcia. Agent Sheilds here. I was wondering if you'd be able to send the security footage from Benson's Shopping Mall to our laptops here in the station?"

"Okey-dokey, my fine princess. It'll be there straight away."

"Thanks Garcia. We'll check it when we get back."

"Mmhmm. Who you with?"

"Ah, you know. Just the doctor," I said with a wink in his direction. He blushed slightly.

"Morning, doctor. You take care of your patient, you understand? Garcia, out." Then the line went dead as she hung up.

"Man, she's crazy."

"That's Garcia for you," Spencer mumbled as he slammed to a halt at the traffic lights.

*I'm so sorry for the long delay. I haven't really found the time to write this and wasn't able to update, so here's a long-ish chapter to apologise. Hope you enjoyed it :)*