"So all you know is that Diana Reid is missing?" Prentiss asks incredulously.
Brown nods slowly. "Well, we kinda' just got the tip that she's missing."
When Brown turns to answers Gideon's question, Prentiss rolls her eyes. WOW, THIS IS GONNA' BE GREAT FUN! she thinks. Prentiss can tell this guy is incompetent and she has NO IDEA why this man is the police chief. Patience is not her strong suit and now she is having to use it; oh, goody. Then she remembers something crucial.
"Uh, guys?" she says and Hotch and Gideon turn towards her to listen. "Didn't the letter say only Reid and the team are supposed to work this case?"
"Well, we need to get as much help as we can," Gideon states matter-o'-factly.
"Yeah, but what if he finds out that we've asked for help and does something drastic?"
Hotch nods. "You're right. Damn. Alright, Brown. This is a touchy subject so try to interfere as little as possible."
"Why?"
"It's a long, messed-up story."
How true that statement is.
Just then, Prentiss' phone rings. "Oh, one sec. Hello? You found it? Okay, we'll be right over." Prentiss hangs up. "They found the place. Let's head out."
"Smitty's Bakery. This is it."
Reid, J.J., and Morgan stand in front of a small bakery with a blue and white awning.
"You sure?" Morgan asks Reid.
"Am I ever not?" Reid replies with a slight smile, trying to lighten the mood.
"Ah, shut up, Smart Ass," Morgan laughs and the trio head into the bakery.
The team is hit by an intense smell of cinnamon and they see the bakery is crammed with bustling people.
"Oi!" a chubby man from behind the counter calls out when sees Reid. "Is that you, Spencer?"
"Hey, Fredrick," Reid nods to the man. "How are you?"
"Not bad. Busy as usual," Fredrick says.
"That's because you're the best baker in Nevada," Reid smiles.
"Oh, are you trying to compliment your way into some free muffins?" Fredrick laughs.
"Could be," Reid replies. "But, I'm here with the BAU. My, uh, mom's been, um, abducted."
Fredrick's eyes widen. "Oh my! I'm so sorry, Spencer! What can I do?"
"Has anyone dropped off a letter or something like that recently? It's probably blue," Morgan tells the baker.
"In fact," Fredrick says, stroking his beard in deep thought, "yes, I did have a gentleman come in here and drop something off. I think it was an envelope. Let me get it. Lisa, man the counter," he tells a young girl standing behind the counter.
"We should call the rest of the team and get them down here," Morgan says and whips out his phone to do so.
"Whatever we find in the envelope, we have to keep calm, okay, guys?" J.J. says, trying to make it seem like she's talking to Morgan AND Reid when it's obvious she's only talking to the youngest BAU team member.
"What do you think we're going to find?" Reid asks, a terrible sense of fear washing over him.
Before J.J. can respond, Fredrick returns with the tell-tale blue envelope.
Reid hurriedly tears open the envelope (with gloves on, mind you) while Morgan asks, "Did you see who gave you the envelope? What he looked like or what he wore?"
"I know he had longish, black hair, but I couldn't see what his face looked like because he had a hat shielding it. He was wearing a red baseball jersey with the number 21 on it. I don't know what team it was, though," Fredrick says in one long breath.
"G-Guys?" Reid stutters as he finishes reading the long letter in a few seconds.
"What is it?" J.J. asks timidly, nervous for what Reid's found.
"He sent a letter all right with the blue ink and everything, but he sent something along with it, too," Reid says slowly. "This."
He holds up a piece of a peach-colored fabric. "It's from my mom's favorite bathrobe."
J.J. exhales a big breath of air and Morgan rubs a hand down his face. "Oh, God. Well, what does the letter say?"
"This: 'You've found out my secret, my lil' buddy. Second clue: I'm in a dark place,'" Reid starts. "Now here's the poem: 'Everyone is welcome to walk through the door, it really doesn't matter if you're rich or poor; There are books in boxes and books on shelves, they're free for you to borrow, so help yourselves.'"
"It's talking about a library," J.J. says. "But which one? There's a ton."
"The Cloverfield Library," Reid states abruptly.
"How you know?" Morgan asks.
"I know why he's picking these places," Reid says. "It's where my worst memories occurred."
"If you don't mind me asking, what happened here?" Morgan asks.
Reid takes a deep breath. "Well," he begins shakily, "when I was little we used to come here all the time. I would always get cinnamon rolls because they're my favorite. ...We came here after my dad left us. My mom took me here to try to and cheer me up but it didn't work. I remember feeling just so...SO sad that day and I thought the reason that he left us was because I wasn't good enough to be his son or something. I never wanted to feel like that again, but coming here makes me feel exactly like that."
J.J. and Morgan look with sad looks on their faces at their young friend.
"Geez, I'm, uh, really, sorry," Morgan says sorrowfully.
"It's not your fault, Morgan, but it IS this 'Little Boy Blue''s fault that I have to remember this place," Reid says with an acidity in his voice that could burn a hole through metal.
"Don't worry, Spence," J.J. smiles brightly, but her eyes hold a deep sadness at all Reid has gone through.
Being captured, drugged, and tortured by Tobias Hankel, becoming addicted to duladid, the whole Riley Jenkins debacle, and now this. What next? If they don't get Diana back, God forbid, Reid will snap.
And that would NOT be good.
"How can I NOT worry?" Reid asks incredulously, starting to pace. "This is my MOTHER we're talking about. My SCHIZOPHRENIC mother. What if she h-has a hallucination or something? Sh-She could start to have a seizure too o-o-or something! Or die! Wh-What if she dies? Oh G-"
"Reid!" Morgan shouts as he places his hands on Reid's trembling shoulders. "Snap out of it! Take a deep breath and calm down!"
Reid takes a shaky breath and tries to calm himself. After he's not as freaked out, he says, "Okay, I'm good. Sorry. This is just really hard. I don't know if I'm strong eno-"
"Don't you say that!" J.J. says sternly, more so than she wanted. "You are strong! I know that for a fact! You've been through so much and you're going to get through this, too!" Her voice lightens. "You will, Spence."
Reid smiles at J.J. "Thanks, J.J. Let's get going to the library, then. We can tell Rossi, Prentiss, and Hotch to meet us there."
"Let's head out, then" Morgan says. He lets J.J. head out the door before pulling back Reid. "Hey, Reid," Morgan says, "is there something else on your mind besides your mom being kidnapped? I mean specifically."
Reid sighs. "Yes. I.. I understand what she's going through. I know what's going through her mind. She's freaking out."
Morgan puts a hand on the youngest BAU member's shoulder. "All we can do is try to find her, alright?"
Reid nods and starts to walk out with Morgan.
"And Kid," Morgan says, "when we find the son of a bitch who did this, I'll make him pay. You can be 100% sure of that."
"I'll gladly join you," Reid says with a hardness to his voice Morgan's never heard and he isn't sure if he likes it. "Now, let's go."