"We all eat lies when our hearts are hungry"
-Ash-

Over at Quantico, the rest of the team wonders exactly who the new girl is as she heads into Hotch's office.

Meanwhile, Maya and Derek were a few feet away at Derek's desk. Maya was standing up against it while Derek stood in front of her, his arms resting in her waist. Maya's hands stayed on Derek's shoulders as she gazed into his eyes, admiring the view and a smile growing on her lips.

Derek slowly leans in and places his lips on Maya's and Maya returns the gesture back by moving her lips in rhythm with his. "They're like that high school couple who can't keep their hands off of each other" Garcia says as her and the team start to watch the happy couple from a distance. JJ rests her hands in the pockets of her jacket as she refuses to look at the two of them.

"Gross, right?" JJ questions jokingly while Rossi shrugs his shoulders.

"I was waiting for the moment" Rossi declares while the team continues to watch Maya and Derek intensely. "They're staring... again" Maya says softly, gently swaying her now dark brown hair out of her face before her nose brushes up against Derek's smoothly, causing chills to run through both of their bodies.

"I don't mind" Derek shrugs before he leans in for another kiss before Hotch exits his office with the new girl standing behind him.

"Conference room" Hotch voices and the new girl begins to follow him which makes everyone look around at each other. Did she get the job?

The team meets up in the conference room and sees the new girl sitting down in one of the seats. "Everyone, this is SSA Kate Callahan. She'll be joining the team" Hotch introduces and Maya puts on a friendly face and leans over the table, shaking Kate's hand, congratulating Kate and introducing herself before taking a seat next to Derek who also introduces himself just like the rest of the team.

Now, it was time for the breakdown of the new case about The Mad Butcher of Bakersfield, who has left another human body part that have not been identified. "Quite the imagery. What's he trying to say?" Kate wonders, looking through the crime scene photos.

"Could be how he sees himself" Maya declares. "It could also be a simple forensic countermeasure. He dumps the torso after getting rid of all the pieces that can identify his victims" JJ adds, stating her point.

They know the unsub needs privacy and he likes the thrill of the cutting because the ME reports says that victims were alive before the cutting even started. If he likes the torture, then he needs a secluded place to perform that torture.

Hotch has Garcia look for any suppliers in Bakersfield and the team gathers their things to get to the plane.

______

On the plane, there's more talk about Torsos, and how much trouble the team is having identifying. Where is the unsub finding victims who can disappear without being noticed?

Also, while the first victim was male, and not sexually assaulted, the rest were female, and were sexually assaulted, leading to the killer leaving DNA all over the corpses.

_____

Now in Bakersfield, Maya and Kate exit the SUV and proceed to the crime scene. "I've read about you, you know?" Kate questions and Maya knits her eyebrows in question. "Really? Like- things about me or the things I've been through?" Maya questions to which Kate shrugs.

"Both. You're really bad ass if you ask me" Kate compliments and Maya gives it back.

"You led the Ludwig investigation in upstate New York" Maya informs and Kate hums as she nods her head. "You do your homework". "Actually, Garcia does her homework" Maya corrects as her and Kate maneuver underneath the caution tape.

The two of them step into the abandoned building, taking in the site.

"So, do you and Morgan like date?" Kate asks, looking around the broken building. "Uh... yeah. Yeah, we do" Maya says, the words being slightly hesitant since this is the first real relationship she's ever had with someone and its still kind of new but they're official. No denying that.

"Cute" Kate says slightly nudging Maya's shoulder before she takes a look at the crime scene.

"All the dump sites are pretty isolated, but this one takes the cake" Kate voices, changing the subject. "I agree. He could've buried the torso or even keeps but look. He laid her right here" Maya says as she looks down at the spot the torso was laying, remembering it from the photos she saw.

"Remorse?" Kate wonders.

"I don't know. He tortures them for 48 hours, feels bad afterward, and then lays them to rest. Doesn't sound like a sadist to me" Maya explains to which Kate agrees. "Not just that. He's compulsive. He can't shut it off. He's counting down the hours until his next kill. So..." Kate trials off as she looks down at the crime scene, "What does he do to pass the time?"

Maya puts on a thinking face and wonders what would a sadist do to occupy themselves until their next kill... "He obsesses" Maya states as her and Kate's head turn to face each other's.

"He's not disposing them-". "He's displaying them" Maya finishes, knowing her and Kate are on the right track. Maya pulls out her phone, calling Hotch and suggest setting up surveillance around the crime scenes because it's possible the unsub will revisit the other dump sites.

______

Later, Penelope tracks down everyone ordering preservative silica in Bakersfield. They single out those sending it to private homes, but since all of those men are married with families, they narrow it down further to people with detached garages since there aren't many basements in California. She then finds two houses and both of them belonged to married men with children.

Hotch volunteers Kate and Maya to team up once again and go interview one of the men at one of the houses Garcia has found. Before Maya leaves with Kate, Reid stops her in her tracks, gently grabbing her by the arm. "Before you go, um, I wanted to ask you something" Reid states, looking hesitant to ask the question.

Maya chuckles softly, eagerly waiting for Reid to ask the question.

"Reid, what's up?" Maya asks, starting to get worried. "Um, has Natalie called you or texted you recently?" Reid asks and Maya's lip slightly twitches into a smile, but she keeps her composure. "I mean, I talked to her like 2 days ago. She's doing good" Maya says, trying to give Reid the best answer she can.

"Has she said anything about me?" Reid asks and Maya slightly tilts her head to the side.

"No" Maya answers blandly before noticing Reid let out a sad sigh. "If you want to talk to her... just call her" Maya urges and Reid nervously scratched the back of his neck. "What do I say?" Reid asks and Maya's jaw or practically drops.

"You literally correct people for a living. You always know what to say" Maya states, realizing that Reid could be nervous because he likes Natalie, and he just doesn't want to say the wrong thing that could make her see him as unappealing.

"All I'm saying is... be yourself. You're smart, funny and not bad to the female eye" Maya shrugs, making Reid smile as she pats him on the shoulder friendly before she leaves and catches up with Kate.

_____

Kate and Maya arrive at one of the houses and ring the doorbell, waiting for someone to answer the door. When someone does, they see a man with dirty blonde hair that's done nicely, a buttoned-up shirt tucked into his tan pants while wearing fancy dress shoes.

"Oh, what can I do for you officers?" The man asks and Maya reveals her badge while Kate does the same.

"Agents, actually. I'm Regan. That's Callahan" Maya introduces while the man in the doorway widens his eyes slightly in shock. "Well, you must've worked really hard for that badge" The man states and Kate nods in agreement, "We all did."

"You buy large quantities of preservatives" Maya states, not asking. "Are you asking or telling?" The man asks, sweat practically beaming from his forehead. "I don't know. How about you let us take a look at your supply" Kate states, her and Maya having the same demanding energy.

"Why? Is there something that's tainted?" The man asks and Maya shakes her head, "Is it a threat to me and my family?" He asks again and Maya sighs, shaking her head.

"Then, I'm sorry, no. It's my property and for you to come into my home, you're going to need a search warrant" The man states, concluding his sentence as if he has the upper hand. "Hm, you are so right" Maya states, biting the inside of her cheek, knowing the man is hiding something.

"Well, I have to help my son with his homework" The man says before he slowly backs out of the doorway and closes the door in Maya and Kate's face. "When we arrest that guy, do you mind if I do the honors?" Kate asks and Maya scoffs as she and Kate walk down the steps, back to the SUV.

"Fight for it?" Maya questions jokingly as she and Kate enter the car, Maya in the driver's seat.

_____

Once the FBI have left, the man who Maya and Kate were ready to interview puts the leg into his car and drives out into the middle of nowhere. Naturally the FBI was following him. Maya knocks on the driver's window twice, now wearing an FBI vest and a gun in her other hand.

"Remember what you said about that warrant?" Maya asks before Kate arrives at the other window, a gun pointing straight towards him.

"This is private property, so we have probable cause to search your vehicle" Kate states while JJ, Hotch and Derek stand behind the car. "Get out the car" Hotch voices demandingly, making the man raise his hands up in surrender.

"Got one" Kate says referring the leg that's laying right in the passenger seat. Maya opens the driver side door, allowing the man, who the team thinks is the unsub, to slowly get out. Maya leans into the car, popping the truck.

Maya walks past the man, going to the trunk, while Hotch places handcuffs on him. "You can't go back there!" He shouts but Maya proceeds, her, JJ, Kate and Derek stand in unison, looking down in the trunk.

"Hotch..." Derek trials off, shocked at the sight. "We got two more legs back here" Maya says in utter disgust as she shakes her head disappointingly.

"Is my wife here?" Jack, the man who the FBI thinks is the unsub, asks. "Yes" Maya answers honestly before taking a seat in front of Jack. "Are you enjoying this?" He asks again and Maya forms a smile on her face and shrugs her shoulders.

"I do love to arrest sadist and cause them fear" Maya voices truthfully while narrowing her eyes at Jack.

"You should just be a hit man" Jack scoffs and Maya chuckles at his statement. "I was. Been there, did that" Maya states effortlessly, watching as Jack harshly swallows a large lump down his throat. "Why do you hate women?" Kate asks as she stands up against the wall behind Maya.

"I don't hate women" Jack states, a little taken back by her question.

"Oh, okay. So... you just hold onto their limbs because you love them. Totally understand" Maya says sarcastically, not believing the man for a bit but when she watches his body language, she can tell he's holding something back and he's definitely a sicko but, is he the one they're looking for?

Jack then claims that he didn't do any of the recent murders. He just purchased the limbs from a creep online. A man from a chatroom who will get you whatever you want, including a woman's leg.

Meanwhile, JJ talks to Jack's wife, who explains that she knew about his severed leg fetish, because she once caught him rubbing up against a legless mannequin in a store she worked at. But she just let it slide, because it's too difficult to break up a relationship over weird sexual fetishes.

Now it's time for more profiling. The team goes back to the assumption that the killer, who is not Jack, is a creepy loser that can't approach women, so now he's raping and murdering them. He seeks out solitude because he was probably raised in an abusive home and is still looking for refuge. He's a loner but he's a smart one and also deranged like most sadists are.

_____

The team goes through a list of people who might have knowledge about how to remove body parts like, morticians, doctors and the like. The second they hear that there's a doctor of anatomy who fits all of their skills set but none of their psychological criteria, the team is ready to knock on his door, but Maya is worried they will knock on the wrong door and just give the real unsub more time to kill another victim.

"This guy doesn't even fit the profile and we're ready to arrest him? It's too easy and these cases never are" Maya voices, not ready to tear down some doctors' door down.

"We could've profiled it wrong. This guy has the same set of skills that would allow him to commit the crimes we're investigating" Hotch declares and Maya knits her eyebrows in confusion.

"That's all you have. Half the people in the world fit that description, you going to tear down their door too?" Maya asks and Hotch seems a little taken back. "I don't understand why you're fighting me on this" Hotch voices.

"I don't understand why you, a very smart man, is ready to go to someone's house despite not knowing anything about this man besides his occupation. That's not how we deal with these cases" Maya says, shrugging her shoulders, not feeling bad for defending her opinion.

"I'm going to go to a judge and ask for a warrant. You can either join us or not, frankly, I don't really care" Hotch states as he turns his back to Maya, ready to walk away. Maya scoffs and looks to Derek who rubs his forehead stressfully. "No judge is going to approve of a warrant when he has no information" Maya states, looking to Derek, as the team slowly and hesitantly starts to gather their things.

"Am I the bad guy here?" Maya asks and Derek stands up immediately, walking towards her and placing his hands on her shoulders comfortingly. "No, no. You know Hotch. When he gets a hunch, it's kind of hard to talk him out of it" Derek says and Maya sighs before she walks past him, ready to get this search over with.

_____

Searching the house that belongs to Dylan Myers, they find a bunch of sketchbooks of the crime scenes, but the house is empty. Maya looks down at the sketches, shining her light on them. Maya shakes her head in disbelief and looks over to Hotch who enters the room, looking at the sketches as well. He was right and she was wrong.

"Sometimes you got to look at the case differently, Regan. Not every case will be the same" Hotch says as he walks past her, analyzing the sketch books. Maya sighs defeatedly and harshly places her gun in her holster.

The team continues to search the apartment but doesn't find any clues about where the killer might be. The team tries to figure out why the killer has so many family photos everywhere, when they profiled him as an extreme introvert.

"It doesn't make sense. In all these photos, he's surrounded by friends and family. That doesn't scream loner to me" Maya declares as she flips through some of the photos she found lying in the apartment.

"It doesn't fit the profile" Maya concludes, look to Kate and JJ who look to each other, wondering if they got the wrong guy... again.

_____

Later, the team gets info that there's been dust found in places of the apartment and it doesn't look like anyone has been living here for weeks. "Then why was rent paid?" JJ wonders as Hotch enters the room. "Everything in the unsubs behavior points to an extreme introvert. But this guy has a lot of family photos" Kate informs, showing Hotch some of the pictures.

"And look... he has a fondness for the Myers family crest. Even has a tattoo" Maya states as she hands the photo to Hotch who looks at it curiously.

"What?" Maya questions before Hotch pulls up a photo of the first crime scene photo of a torso and it looks just like the torso from the other picture with the same tattoo on his heart just more mutilated, but you can tell they're from the same body.

"Still think we caught the right guy?" Maya asks, locking eyes with Hotch before Rossi speaks.

"It's not a coincidence that the marks that could identify him are mutilated" Rossi voices. "Which means Dylan Myers isn't the unsub," Maya starts off as she holds up the photo of him and looks back to the first crime scene photo, "he's the first victim" Maya concludes, looking around at the team before Hotch shuts off his phone.

The team calls Derek and Reid who are at the station and proceed to break down the case over the phone. The REAL unsub didn't frame the victim. He just used the guy's apartment for a while after killing him. To frame someone, you need to lead cops to him, and there was no reason for the team to kick this door down, nor any reason for him to think they ever would.

The team then wonders if Dylan Myers ever dated anyone and that's when they add Garcia to the call.

She looks through his call log and finds a young woman named Christine Locke, who he called several times. Turns out, Christine is actually missing and when Garcia sends a photo over to the team, they realize that she looks like that second victim. Garcia checks, and she'd filed a restraining order against Steven Perkett.

Garcia sends them the killer's address, which is a slaughterhouse at the edge of town, where he's from.

_____

Over at the slaughterhouse, the victim tricks the killer into taking her for a walk, then headbutts him and runs off. The victim runs out into the road and makes it to the team, who secure her and then charge into the slaughterhouse to find the killer. Inside, they discover her arm, which is in the process of being preserved by the killer.

Maya keeps her gun raised and in her hand as she inspects the room. Hotch spilts up the group, sending Kate and Maya together and him and JJ going together. Kate and Maya proceed to the front, shining their flashlights in front and around them to make sure they see the killer coming.

Maya and Kate find a barn and slowly enter it, finding a truck with the door open.

Kate checks the truck while Maya checks the corners and empty areas. She hears a loud grunt and something or someone drop to the floor. She rushes back to Kate and sees the killer has gotten ahold of her and Maya waste no time and fires a shot, shooting the killer right in the head and watches as his body drops to the ground next to Kate.

"Nice shot" Kate says breathlessly as Maya bends down, gently helping her to her feet. Maya smiles at her compliment and calls in for a medic to come pick up the body just as JJ and Hotch arrive.

_____

On the plane ride back home, Kate, Maya, Derek, and JJ do some chatting about their various injuries, which leads to a mention of the time Derek got thrown out a window. "Me and JJ, tortured last year. Great times" Maya says as JJ and her nod in unison.

"I was also shot right in the stomach... more than once" Maya states as Kate raises her eyebrows in shock.

"And you still look that good" Kate compliments and Maya shrugs knowingly before they burst out into laughter. "Welcome to the team, Callahan" Derek welcomes as he nudges Kate's arm, causing her to wince in pain.

Meanwhile, Maya turns her head and looks to Hotch who seats alone, reading some case files. They lock eyes and both give each other a friendly, apologetic nod before returning to their previous activity...

Case Closed.

"Everything we hear IS an opinion, not a fact.
Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth."
-Marcus Aurelius-