The First Promise Pt. 1
Spencer
I arrived in Baltimore before ten, and met up with JJ at the police station.
"How's Carrie?" she asked as I walked in.
"She'll be fine. She told me Garcia was coming to take her to breakfast, so she didn't need a ride back here." I dropped my bag and walked over to the bulletin board. It chilled me to see Lacey's picture pinned up there with the other victims. I couldn't help but be reminded of her screams, mingled with Carrie's sobs on the way to the hospital.
JJ spoke and brought me back to the present. "Yeah, Garcia told me they would be back here by noon." She stood next to me and looked at the board.
"Hotch said she didn't last ten minutes after you got to the hospital." Her voice was lower, and cracked with emotion. I simply nodded in agreement. "Must have been hard on Carrie, being her first day."
"She was pretty heartbroken. Have you guys figured out how the UNSUB got Lacey into the wolf enclosure?" I steered the subject away from Carrie. I couldn't get her out of my head, and I was afraid to let something slip.
"We interviewed all of the zoo employees and witnesses yesterday. We got a few small leads, but nothing solid yet. We still don't have a profile."
I scanned the board, hoping some clue would jump out at me, but all I could do was imagine Carrie's face, smeared with blood and tears. Her pleading eyes. How could they just stand there?
"Spence, is everything ok? You're in dreamland again." JJ touched my shoulder. I cringed reflexively, a side effect of the drugs working their way out of my system.
"I'm sorry. I'm ok." I assured JJ. "Yesterday just really wore me down."
Hotch entered the room. "Reid, Morgan needs you at the zoo. JJ, you can go with him. Rossi and I are going to finish interviewing witnesses." He picked up a stack of files and left as quickly as he came.
"Well," JJ picked up her jacket, "I guess we'd better head to the zoo."
I followed her, picking my bag back up on my way out. My thoughts kept wandering back to Carrie's couch, her forehead resting against my chest, the apple scent of her hair.
Today would be a very long day.
Carrie
Penelope had called just as Spencer was leaving, saying that she was on her way to take me to breakfast. I was so glad she hadn't just shown up and surprised me.
"We'll get some pancakes in you and talk things out. You'll be able to tackle today's work better with a full stomach and a clear mind." She'd promised. I had to admit, pancakes sounded wonderful, since I hadn't eaten any supper the night before. A clear mind, however, seemed highly unlikely.
I dressed comfortably, in jeans and Converse. The rest of the team always dressed nicely for field work, but after losing a good pair of heels, tearing up my hose, and throwing away my skirt and blouse rather than trying to wash the blood out, I wasn't about to dress to the nines today.
As I pulled my Tennessee Titans hoodie over my head, I was instantly reminded of Lacey. Little Red Riding Hood, herself. I shuddered, and held back tears. I could not fall apart again if I wanted to stay on this team. Besides, I'd already cried enough the day before to last me all week at least, maybe all month.
While I waited for Penny, I curled up on the couch, hoping to catch some cartoons for a laugh before I had to face work again. Reaching for the remote, I noticed Spencer's watch on the coffee table.
"How does a genius with an eidetic memory forget his watch?" I chuckled to myself. Thinking of the arm that wore that watch, wrapped snugly around me as I drifted off to sleep, warmed me throughout. I slipped the watch in my pocket for safekeeping until I could give it back to Spencer.
I had the feeling that in a matter of a day and night, my life had gotten way more complicated than I'd ever imagined it would before I moved to Virginia. For a few hours though, after the tears had been cried and confessions had been made, things had been perfect. It was as if we had woven a protective cucoon around each other, and been insulated from the pain and loneliness of our lives until morning, and the call of duty.
The knock at my door pulled me from my daydream and I got up to leave. Before I even reached the door, the knock rang out again, more urgently.
"Penny, I'm coming!" I called out, grabbing my gun and credentials from the side table in the entryway.
I opened the door, and the last thing I saw when I looked up was the fist flying towards my face. I didn't even have time to react.
Spencer
Noon came and went, and I hadn't seen or heard from Penelope and Carrie. I was sure one of them would have at least texted to say they were on their way.
"Hey, JJ?" I called across the office, where we were analyzing the witness' written statements from the zoo.
"What's up Spence?" She called back, looking up from the file she was reading.
"Have you heard from Garcia or Carrie?" I tried not to sound as worried as I felt. I just had a gut instinct telling me that something was wrong.
"No, I figured Garcia would call Morgan on her way back." She went back to her file.
I reached across the desk for my phone, and dialed Morgan's number.
"Whatcha need, kid?" He answered, sounding busy.
"JJ and I haven't seen Garcia and Carrie back here yet. We were wondering if you had heard from Penelope."I could hear the panic rising in my own voice, and tried to swallow the lump rising in my throat.
"No, I haven't heard from her yet." I could hear him call out to Hotch and Rossi, "Hey, either of you heard from Pen or Carrie?" I couldn't hear their replies.
"No, kid, none of us have heard from either of them, and they should have been here by now. I'll try calling Pen." He hung up on me.
I dialed Carrie's personal cell number. She hadn't been issued a sat phone yet. After the fourth ring I was relieved to hear her voice.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Carrie it's Spencer." I tried not to let her hear the relief in my voice so she wouldn't know I'd been worried.
"Oh, hey!" she replied.
"Listen, are you guys on your way? We need-" she cut me off.
"Hold on, I can't hear you...Hello?"
"Hey, where are y-"
"Hello? I can't hear you!"
"Carrie-"
"I totally can't hear you! Oh wait, that's because I'm not here right now. Leave a message and I'll holler at you later!"
I couldn't speak at the tone. I closed the phone. The relief I had felt for those few seconds was immediately replaced with a feeling of dread.
"Was she getting bad reception?" JJ asked when I put down the phone.
"No, it was um, a prank voicemail message. It sounds like she's answering you...You know, I'm going to admit I'm a little worried. They should have been here by now. And since when does Pen not call Morgan at least every half hour?"
Just then Veronica entered the room. "Hey guys, this package just came for Aaron. Should I open it?" She shook the package like a child shakes a Christmas gift, trying to hear what's inside.
"I don't know, who is it from?" JJ chuckled.
"It doesn't say," Veronica pulled out her phone and hit the first speed dial button. "Honey, a package came here for you with no return address. Want me to open it and tell you what it is?" She paused, then turned on the speaker phone.
"JJ and Reid are here too babe," she added, before picking the package up from the table, where she had laid it.
"Just be careful," Hotch warned from the other end of the line. Veronica began gently removing the paper wrapper from the package with her fingernails.
My heart stopped when I saw what was in the package. JJ gasped, and Veronica took a step back and let it fall from her hands.
"What is it?" Hotch demanded.
"It's um, It's a Grimm Fairy Tales book," I replied, shaking. I took out a pair of latex gloves from my pocket, slipped them on and picked up the book. "It has a bookmark in it."
"What page is marked?" Hotch sounded urgent, as if he were thinking what I was thinking. I gently opened to the marked page, taking out the bookmark and briefly examining it.
"The bookmark is made out of hair. Looks like blonde and red hair braided together." Then it hit me as I looked down at the page.
"The bookmark was in 'Snow White and Rose Red.'"
"We'll be right there." Hotch didn't wait for us to respond before hanging up. Veronica's hands flew to cover her mouth and stifle the sobs she was trying to hold back.
I examined the braided strand of mixed hair more closely. The texture was silky and soft. Bringing it closer to my face and inhaling, I smelled apples.