Chapter Twelve

Reid intercepted Palmer at the gate. Immediately she saw the look in his eyes and knew that he had not slept well. Reid commonly had dark circles around his eyes, but today they were worse. His eyelids looked slightly heavier. It was a shared issue at this point, as her sleep had been disrupted by his late night call. It worried her even more when the call was dropped. Convincing JJ that she was alright and trying to sleep did her no good. She tossed and turned all night, wondering what was bothering him. Those terrified late night calls had been happening so much, it should become normal by now, but it was just making her more and more worried. An added fear was the urgency in his manner. He reached to take her arm and lead her away from the others. Hotch didn't miss the motion, stepping forward to stop Reid, but Morgan threw out his arm. The look in his eyes asked Hotch to stop. Hotch paused, watching as Reid pulled Palmer around the corner of a nearby building. Perhaps it was for the best. The sooner they made up, the better.

"You gunna let them go like that?" Sheriff West asked, hooking his thumbs in his belt loops and looking at Hotch with careful questioning eyes.

"They need to reconcile before they'll work like the team I know they can be. They won't do anything inappropriate, I can assure you of that. We should get to headquarters, there's a lot of work to be done." Hotch explained, glancing at the spot the pair disappeared before heading off in the other directions. The Sheriff waited, watching the building as well, until the rest of the group was gone, then turned on his heels to follow them.

"Spencer? Are you okay?" Riley whispered harshly, wincing at his hand around her wrist. Behind the building he turned to her and pulled her close to him. For a long time Riley had been aware of Reid's strength, but the force in which he held her crushed the breath out of her at first.

At first Riley wasn't sure what was going on. How had he gone from giving her the cold shoulder, to burying his face in her neck, holding her tightly against him? It took only a moment to accept it, she wrapped her arms around him and closed her eyes tight, taking in his warmth. "I'm so sorry." He whispered. Riley didn't speak back, she just held on tighter. It was almost over. They still had a lot to talk about, but his actions proved to her that he was really trying.

"Excuse me." A small voice broke the couple apart in an instant. A small girl, maybe six years old, was peeking around the corner, her face red and eyes averted as if she had seen them doing something scandalous. Riley's face flushed, realizing the girl probably did think they were being inappropriate, but the child said nothing about it. Instead she said something they weren't expecting. "I believe I can help you." Her eyes darted around behind her, obviously nervous that someone was watching. Reid knelt down and motioned her to come over. The child hesitated, her dark eyes fixed on Riley as if she was a dog that might bite.

"My name is Spencer. This is Riley." Reid said, taking Riley by the hand be pulling her down to his level. "She's not bad. Really. She's very nice and she won't hurt you okay?" He explained, keeping his voice sweet and reassuring. That was his way. Though lacking in muscle, Reid had an ability most others didn't. He could sooth just about anyone into trusting him. It worked on the child as well. The girl took one last peek over her shoulder before she joined them. "What's your name?"

"Elizabeth." The child answered, wringing her mittened hands.

"Nice to meet you Elizabeth. Can you tell me...do you know what happened here the other night?" Reid prodded gently.

Elizabeth took a deep breath, it seemed her eyes were welling up with tears and she hadn't even started telling her tale yet. "Yes." She answered shakily. "I saw the fires. I heard…." She gulped, refusing to finish the sentence. In Reid's head he heard the screams of Riley from his dream and knew Elizabeth might have heard the same. Just in the real world, not a dream. "Mother made me come away from the window. She told me that Adam climbed a tree and he told Bartholomew things he should not know. Mother said that these things would cause heresy and damn us all to hell."

"Wait, they climbed a tree?" Riley asked, recalling the tree she had visited just the day before.

"Yes. There is a game. The boys play it sometimes. It is to be kept a secret, but the adults heard them speak of it."

"What kind of game is it Elizabeth?" Reid questioned.

"The boys climb the tree. The tallest tree, far into the woods. If one makes it to the top, they must look to the outside. It is a test of bravery. We are told looking beyond the wall will change our lives. End them. To look over...only the bravest do. Sometimes they tell the others. Most are to afraid to listen." Elizabeth hung her head. She was one of those that was too afraid. The poor child was so young, and yet the fears of her people has been deeply engrained in her. "I am sorry, I need to go." Without another word, Elizabeth disappeared around the corner of the building, leaving Reid and Riley crouched in the snow.

"A tree?" Reid asked, standing. "I wonder if she was talking about the same tree the men cut down yesterday? Let me see those pictures."

Riley was already ahead of him, scrolling through to find the first picture of the tree. "That thing was huge. I don't recall seeing a tree that big in my life. It's possible the tree was tall enough that anyone who climbed it could look over."

"That's what started all of this. Those boys climbed the tree and told the other kids about what they saw. They opened their eyes to the outside world and were severely punished for it." Reid said quietly, thinking of those young boys and their innocent mistake.

"They burned children alive….Spencer we have to get proof on them. What are we going to do?"

"First we need to tell Hotch what Elizabeth told us. I bet that boy that we found in the torture chamber was one of the ones that heard what Adam was saying about the outside. If that's true, he's all we have to prove anything."

"But if he's brainwashed too, which I'm sure he is, he might not tell us anything out of fear."

"He might not. But there's one thing that he has that most of the other kids here are lacking. The knowledge that a big open world is out there and if he tells us what happened to him, he can be free of all of this." Riley didn't look convinced. Reid rubbed her arm gently. "We'll get them Riley. Trust me."

There was no arguing with that. All Riley could do was nod, take a deep breath, and follow him to headquarters. Snow crunched under their boots as they crossed the compound, a few of the men quoted prayers and crossed themselves as Riley passed. To say she hated this place would have been an understatement. Her dislike only grew every time she realized she wouldn't be allowed inside the house the team was using. An old man turned her away at the door, but Hotch intervened.

"Have you found anything out?" He asked.

"We need to talk. In private." Palmer stated, side eying the old man, It would be unwise to let the townsfolk know that they had new leads. For Elizabeth's sake if for nothing else. Hotch nodded in agreement, gathered the men, and the group headed to the church. JJ closed the door hard behind them, shoving her hands back under her arms for warmth.

"Why aren't those braziers lit?" Hotch asked.

JJ and Palmer passed glances at each other, shifting their positions nervously. They hadn't told Hotch their working conditions at all but there was no choice but to explain it now. "They refuse to light them." Palmer said, trying to wave it off nonchalantly. Anger flashed in their section chief's eyes, he stepped toward the door. He simply couldn't believe that two of his agents had been treated so poorly. "Hotch please..." Palmer stepped up to the larger man, blocking his path.

"Why didn't you tell me about this? You two could have succumbed to hypothermia in this weather." He said.

"Calm down Agent, we still need these people to cooperate." Sheriff West said, but Hotch wasn't having any of that. He asked his team a direct question and he expected an answer.

"Because we didn't want to slow down the investigation. Complaining about wok conditions would have just put additional strain on our relationship with the locals. And now we're treading even thinner ice." JJ answered from behind him.

Hotch sighed in irritation. There was nothing to be done about it. They were right. "Alright. But anymore of this, and you tell me." He demanded of the women. They nodded agreement and he continued. "Did find anything in those pictures that might help us wrap this up?"

"Yes and no. We had a hard time with it last night, but this morning we got a lead." Palmer explained, letting Reid take the rest of the explanation.

"A little girl approached us this morning and said that she could help us. Apparently there is a game that the local boys play where they climb the tallest tree in the forest and look over the wall. She said that a boy named Adam looked over and told some other children what he saw. Bartholomew, Adam, and one other boy were caught talking about it and that is why they were charged with heresy and burned at the stake. I'm sure the boy that we found in the torture chamber must know something too or they wouldn't have kept him alive."

"He might know who else spoke to Adam." Rossie offered. "You said before that during the Inquisition, people were tortured in order to give up the names of other heretics. If the other two boys didn't talk, but this other kid did, they might have kept him to get more names out of him."

"Then we should assume he's already given up a name or they would have killed him when they killed the other two." Morgan said, crossing his arms over his chest. Even after all this time in the BAU, it was still hard for him to take people killing innocent children.

"We have to talk to the boy. But how do we get to him without people being suspicious?" JJ asked, hoping for an answer from her team. However, no one spoke. The boy would be guarded for sure, especially with the BAU still within the compound.

"You can not." A voice made the group jump and turn around. A boy, about the same age as Elizabeth, had been hiding between the pews.

"When did he come in?" Morgan asked quietly.

"I don't know. I didn't see him when I got here." JJ answered. "Hi there. I'm JJ. What's your name?" She eased toward the boy. It looked as if he wanted to take a step back, but he stood his ground. JJ saw the subtle shift and stopped advancing. "We're not going to hurt you."

"I am John." He hesitated. "He is my brother. I was the name he gave."

The team was shocked. This boy was so young. It was hard to imagine the kind of torture had to be endured to make him give up the name of his own brother. As terrible as it was, they now had a witness. They had their link, given he would talk.

"John, my team and I are here to help you. We know what happened a few days ago, but we need to know more. Who went into the woods that night to climb the tree?" JJ asked.

"Bartholomew set Adam to the game. My brother, Peter, followed them. Also the neighbors Isaak and Benjamin."

"Did all of them get caught talking about the outside?"

"No." John shook his head, his fingers fidgeting with the hem of his coat. "Adam, Bartholomew, and Peter did. Peter told me what happened. What Adam saw."

"John, I know this must seem very scary for you. I know you've been told a lot of things about the outside world that might not be true. But I promise you, if you tell us everything you know, we'll make sure no one hurts you okay?"

The boy was nervous. His eyes darted around as if someone might burst in any minute and drag him away. Through his fear he still put on a brave face and tried to answer the questions JJ asked of him. He nodded a little, ready to go on. Betrayal was not something he had to think about at this point. This was all about his brother and the fear of losing him to the flames.

"Why are you here John? Didn't Peter give your name?" JJ asked.

"They said I was too little to understand. I am to stay with the nuns until my soul is clear and they know I will not become a heretic." He explained softly.

"Who is 'they'? Do you know who does these things John?"

All the boy did was shake his head. They had gotten as much out of him as they could. Riley clenched her fist. She wasn't angry with the boy, just angry that they kept running into walls.

"That's ok. Thanks for helping us. If you remember anything else, just let us know ok?" JJ said.

John nodded and ran off to the side of the church, struggling to pull open the heavy wooden door there. Once it was closed, the team remained quiet, to be sure no one else was listening in.

"I don't get it." Morgan said, shaking his head. "If those boys were killed because they climbed that tree, why was the tree cut down while we're here? I mean, that looks bad on them. Would they really risk it?"

"They may not understand how suspicious that looks. We are dealing with pretty primitive people by today's standards. They don't know about law like we do." Rossi shrugged.

"I don't know. Primitive, maybe. But not stupid. When we were in the torture chamber, one of the men said they would pretend the boy fell from that tree." Riley said. "I think part of your theory works, they don't know how many red flags that throws up for us."

"By making up the story about him falling and cutting down the tree, they feel they are being represented as a community that cares for its youth. They want to keep one step ahead of us, but they don't realize we're trained to see thru these things." Reid elaborated. "To someone who has only been exposed to life within the walls, cutting down the tree is pretty clever."

"So what do we do now?" JJ crossed her arms over her chest. She hated getting to these tricky junctions, especially when children were involved. The agent thought of her child at home, and the one she was carrying and wondered how anyone could hurt a child like that.

"They'll be on their best behavior until we leave. We were lucky those kids even came to us with what they know, we won't be so lucky again. We'll have to leave and get Garcia to get us the warrants we need, as fast as she can manage." Hotch explained.

"We can use the house phone. My old house I mean. My brother lives there now, it shouldn't be a problem to call her from there." The Sheriff offered.

"Do we have that kind of time?" Morgan asked.

"We don't have much of a choice. We can't stay here forever and we're here under their good graces. They let us in without an actual warrant, so we can't just go snooping around in their private homes without a damn good reason." Rossi said. "Lucky for us, Palmer has already seen it with her own eyes. That should give a judge good enough reason to give us access to whatever we want. They won't let us stay much longer, and we have no other ways to get evidence."

"What about the boy they found down there? Will he be okay if he's left here?" JJ asked, her brow knitted with worry.

"We can't be sure. I don't want to risk him being put in danger, but I don't know what other options we have. We can't just take him without evidence of abuse. No one saw him tortured, without a warrant and us getting access to those chambers, there's no reason for anyone to believe he didn't just fall out of the tree." Hotch responded. It wasn't easy for him to make this call, but he really couldn't think of what else to do. With a heavy feeling, he led his team out of the church.

Before they exited, Palmer looked back over her shoulder at the massive, plain wooden cross that hung at the far end of the church and said a silent prayer for justice.