Chapter Thirteen
"All the forensics is back on the case in Charlottesville," Hotch waited while J.J. distributed the forensics reports to the agents sitting around the conference room round table. "Hair samples on victims from Palmyra, skin samples from a victim in Gordonsville, and more skin samples from one of the victims on Elle's farm in Louisa. All from the same unsub. It's conclusive."
"But we have no match on the unsub," said Prentiss.
"No, no matches in any database."
"But we know it's the same killer, and that could be a lot of information," observed Reid as he skimmed the details of the report, "The skin was found under the nails of three different victims in two different locations. They were fighting for their lives."
"This has to be a man, for there to have been a close physical struggle so many times, where he overpowered the victims," Morgan looked up at the others.
"He has to be a big man, and strong," added Rossi.
"Most likely fairly young too," Reid chimed in.
Prentiss reviewed, "The common denominators are that all are under 25, all came from the Richmond area, all worked in some capacity with horses both there and in the new location."
"We need to go to Richmond and poke around," said Hotch. "This is a quiet week so far, I need two of you to go down there and see what you can learn. Morgan, take Reid and do some digging."
Hotch watched Morgan exhale quietly and look at Reid across the table. Reid glanced at him and down again, avoiding eye contact. Going to Richmond for the day would be good for them, thought Hotch. They would have to hash it out, get through it, and stop this hostility. Hotch didn't know what the problem between the two of them was, but he was running out of patience. It was hurting team morale, and it was going to have to end.
~~/~~
Elle watched Emilio drive up the lane. He had shown himself to be a good worker, and his presence had not only eased the work burden she felt after the murders, but he had added some life around the place. Esteban had hit it off with him quickly, taking him under his wing like a son. She had nearly forgotten the vision she had the first day he came. She didn't trust it anyway; she had had such visions from childhood, and sometimes they never made sense - that was just the nature of it.
Everything had been calm and easy around the farm, and she was feeling more energy. Reid had been absent for two and a half weeks now. He had called twice, saying that the caseload was keeping him away, apologizing. But a part of her wondered if he was tired of it all - tired of trying to act like he was happy about it. She would rather he stay away if he couldn't accept the reality that she was going to have his baby. She didn't need the negativity. She had come to a time in her life where everything was so good, so right, like the pieces were finally starting to fit. She didn't need Reid to screw with her mind, or with her child's either.
She knew that Reid's own father had left when he was very young. After that he had nothing to do with the boy or his mother. Elle knew that this was the example that Reid had of fatherhood. She wasn't sure how one could acquire a different mindset after having such a role model and then having no other, really. Irresponsible fatherhood was all Reid ever knew.
Except maybe Gideon: Gideon had treated Reid like a son, constantly guiding and mentoring. It had been pretty annoying to the rest of the team at the time - to watch Gideon take the time and energy to hold Reid's hand, but they hadn't heard Reid's story yet then. Only Gideon knew the gaps that had to be filled in Reid's lack of positive guidance . And then, he had left Reid too without a goodbye. When she had heard, she had scarcely been able to believe it. Gideon had been a calm in the storm for all of them, but most especially their youngest. Reid had told her about how it had happened - how one day Gideon was just gone, and Reid had gone to his cabin to find a note - and the lease to the cabin, for Reid. Gideon, who had been the rock, was in the end the most breakable.
Poor Reid. She couldn't hate him for being confused; he couldn't learn to be what he never saw modeled. The fact that he had tried to be there for her was already touching. But she was going to have to draw some boundaries or he would hurt her. She couldn't expect too much from him. And she couldn't afford to make mistakes herself; she had someone else's welfare to think about now.
Emilio came into the barn lugging two large canisters of equine supplements. "Senora, I found us a better supplier for the hay. Less expensive. I hear the quality is good, but I will go on Saturday to check it."
"That would be great. Good work. You didn't have to shop around - I could do that." She smiled at him as she leaned against an open stall, holding a rake.
He removed his hat and wiped at his brow. "I know, forgive me. But this man I knew in Richmond. He is a good man, he will be fair."
"It's fine, Emilio. I appreciate your taking the initiative to shop around. Go see him Saturday then. Why don't you take the afternoon off now, to make up for your time on Saturday." Elle walked away and turned back into the stall in which she was raking. But she soon felt Emilio's presence behind her. He stood at the door of the stall, his hat still in his hands.
"Yes, Emilio?"
"Uh, Senora, it's true that Dr. Ellington is coming soon?" He looked down at his hat, turning it in his hands. Elle wondered what on earth he was nervous about.
"Yes, he'll be here this afternoon. Why?"
"Senor Reid, he told me to be here with you if Dr. Ellington comes."
Elle stood and looked at him. She took a deep breath, and let it go, breathing out her anger. "Sen . . Dr. Reid doesn't run this farm. I do."
"Yes Ma'am," Emilio said quietly. "But Dr. Reid said you would say this. I am still to stay with you. It's okay Senora, I don't mind. I have some work to do - I seen some thistle taking hold in the north pasture." Before she could protest, he quietly walked away from the stall door and out of the barn.
"Dammit Reid," she swore. She didn't like his talking to Emilio behind her back, insinuating that she couldn't protect herself to her own employee. She determined that she would give him a piece of her mind when and if he finally showed up.
Meanwhile, she had Brad to deal with, and that was increasingly difficult too. He went out of his way to insult her, intimidate her, dropping hints that she needed him around full time. Why had she started anything with him anyway? He was attractive, to be sure, in that swaggering macho way he had. He could be funny, interesting. But as she got to know him she found out he couldn't be kind without it being condescending somehow, as if it were always connected with his calling attention to it. As if kindness were always a favor he was doing, and she always had a feeling he would eventually call on her payment for it. She knew, that when she had ended up in bed with Reid, it was because of his kindness. Reid had a wonderfully genuine, innocent quality that had always drawn her. With Brad messing with her mind, Reid's presence had been such a relief, and a temptation.
Now Reid was right, Brad did make her nervous and she hated it every time she had to call his office for help, every time he made a visit. She tried to make it about the horse, while he fought her every minute to make it about her, and her supposed inadequacies.
The funny part was, Brad hadn't guessed that Reid was the father. He had been distantly, somewhat coldly polite to Reid the few times they had met. Elle got a feeling that Brad thought any man without considerable brawn wasn't a man at all. He probably saw Reid as a kid, inconsequential. It made her laugh. After all, as she had told Brad, Reid was ten times the man Brad could ever be. And Brad behaved even now as if he assumed that he himself was truly the father, as if it were incomprehensible that another man had been desired above himself.
Just lately, she had begun to be uncomfortable enough around Brad that she carried a gun whenever she worked in the barn. Since the murders, she had kept her gun nearby at night as well. As ridiculous as it was, it made her calmer. After Brad had hit her, everything had changed. He had stepped up his game to wear her down, and she had stepped up her game to protect herself. It was crazy that she had to walk around her own barn with a gun because there wasn't any veterinarian available for miles that would treat her with some respect. Why couldn't the men in her life just be a little less controlling? It was infuriating.
She wheeled the cart of clean straw into the stall and dumped it onto the floor. As she spread it around with the rake, she had to admit to herself that she was glad Reid had instructed Emilio to stick around when Brad was visiting. But she certainly didn't have to tell Reid that.
~~/~~
"So you want to start with feed stores?" Reid had tried to make small talk during the drive all the way from Quantico, and for the most part Morgan had reciprocated. But the tension still remained in the air between them, and after an hour of riding it was giving Reid a headache.
"How about breeders?" Morgan suggested.
"Yeah, that would be good. There are probably a lot of them though."
"Man, I just don't know where to begin with this. What's the connection? I mean, we are thinking horses, but what if it's something else?"
"Like what?"
"I don't know."
Hotch was right. Passing the day together broke the ice between the two former friends. Having a common task allowed each to enjoy the other's company without having to enter dangerous conversational territory. When late afternoon came, the ride home together didn't seem such a frightening prospect.
They had climbed into the car after the last interview at a breeding farm, and Morgan had turned the ignition key to fire the engine, when the owner of the farm ran out to stop them.
"Hey," Morgan greeted her as he rolled down the window.
"I just thought of something," the woman said. She reset her hat on her head, thinking. "You're talking maybe ten years ago, but there was a breeder here who isn't now. He gave a lot of riding lessons to kids and teenagers. Some of those kids were pretty serious horsepeople. Some went on to study, some went to work on farms. Does that mean anything?"
Morgan thought about taking out his notebook, but then remembered that Reid's mind was all they needed to remember details of the conversation. He glanced at Reid and back at the breeder. "You said this was ten years ago, Ma'am?"
"Well, about that. Maybe twelve."
"Do you recall his name?"
"Yeah, Charles Reilly. His farm was north of town about twelve miles. He bred Tennessee Walkers. Taught riding, jumping. He was a decent rider too."
"Thank you, Ma'am, you've been very helpful."
Suddenly Reid leaned toward Morgan to make eye contact with the woman, "Uh, do you remember why he left?"
"Sure do. He had a daughter that had an accident and died. Things took a bad turn after that. I don't remember a lot about it. His wife left him, and he sold the place and left."
"Is his wife still around?" asked Reid.
"She lives in Ashland; she grew up there. Her name is Mayford. . .Sarah."
"Ma'am," said Morgan, handing her his notebook and a pencil. "This is very important. I need you to write down the names of every kid you can remember who took a lesson there."
~~/~~
"So why did you ask for names? We don't even know if this is the right trail," Reid fell into step beside Morgan as they walked up to the house at 265 Spruce Street, where Sarah Mayford was living.
"Had a feeling, that's all. Better than to have to ask for the names later," said Morgan.
Ashford was just outside of Richmond, right on the way back to Quantico. Reid had already phoned Sarah and warned her of their visit. She had been reticent on the phone, and when she opened the door, there was no warmth in her greeting.
"You might as well come in," she said.
Reid raised an eyebrow briefly to Morgan, and they entered.
They had barely sat down when Sarah said, "I suppose this is something about Charlie?"
"Actually, Ma'am it is. We are wondering if you can tell us more about what happened after your daughter's death," said Reid.
"We appreciate that this is an uncomfortable subject for you to revisit," Morgan rushed to soothe her, "but it might be very important for an investigation."
"Well, I can't imagine how," Sarah said, looking from Reid to Morgan. "That was nine years ago. I haven't seen Charlie since. I don't know what I could tell you."
"He, uh, taught riding . . ." Reid began.
"Yes, he did. He was a good rider too. And the kids liked him."
"And he stopped and left?" prompted Morgan.
"He didn't want to be around them anymore."
"Be around who?"
Sarah smirked, and waited several seconds to collect her thoughts. "Those kids. Some of them were there when she had the accident." She tilted her chin up and her jaw quivered. "Charlie thought they caused it, you know."
"What happened to her Ms. Mayford?" Reid asked quietly.
"She fell out of a barn window, broke her neck. It was a party. Drinkin'." She looked at Morgan, "But my girl wasn't drinkin'. Coroner said so."
"And your husband didn't think it was an accident?"
"No, he didn't. He got real mad about it, but the police said it was an accident and there was nothing they could do unless some kid said otherwise, which they never did."
Reid looked at Morgan, knowing they had what they needed. "Your husband . . . Charlie changed after that?"
Sarah shrugged, "I couldn't live with him anymore. It was all he thought about. He wouldn't let go of it."
"Ma'am, where is Charlie now?"
"No idea, don't care."
~~/~~
Morgan and Reid had reviewed the day on the way back. The information gleaned about Charles Reilly looked promising. Reid called Garcia and asked her to trace the whereabouts of the man after he sold the farm outside Richmond. He gave her the names of the students on the notepad and asked her to compare them to the names of the murder victims. "This might be our unsub, Reid," enthused Morgan.
They were ten minutes from the BAU offices when Morgan brought it up. "So . . Elle is pregnant?"
"Yeah," Reid laughed softly, "She is."
"Wow, Kid. Didn't know you had it in you," teased Morgan.
You heard it from Ethan, Reid realized in the next breath. He didn't waste time. He said, "Uh . . it has been a little tough for Ethan."
"Yeah, he told me. It does change a lot of things I guess." Morgan knew he was being adventurous, but the mood in the car wasn't heavy, and being with Reid felt more comfortable than it had been in many weeks.
"I know," Reid watched the traffic out the window, "I know. But I told him it doesn't have to change anything with he and I. It doesn't. I'll just. . have a kid I guess." They were quiet for a time, and then Reid added, "Maybe someday the kid will come and visit me and Ethan on weekends," and he laughed to himself.
"Yeah, I guess so." Morgan had tried hard to accept that Ethan wanted to be with Reid, at least for the present. He couldn't argue that Ethan's feelings for Reid were deep - they pounded Morgan through the phone lines every time they spoke. Morgan held the private belief that in time those feelings would change, that Ethan would finally realize that life with Reid was never going to be enough. And meanwhile, Ethan had been instrumental in Morgan discovering a part of himself that needed uncovering. Morgan needed time to adjust to the idea that he had found more in the arms of a man, that he had in fifteen years of chasing women - it was a lot to digest and the time was good for him. He wasn't happy with the way things were exactly, but he was finding some way to be content for the present. After all, Ethan considered him a friend and confidant; they were in constant touch, getting to know one another well. And now, after today, Morgan's friendship with Reid would be back on track too.
"Hey Man," he said as he pulled into the parking garage at the BAU. "I'm glad you and Ethan are doing okay now. He's. . . he's a great guy."
"Yeah," Reid said cautiously as he got out of the car, and watched as Morgan clicked his keychain to lock the car, "I guess you two are good friends now."
Morgan stopped and looked at him across the car. "I hope that's cool."
"Uh, sure. You're my friend, he's my . . . well, why not? I guess you got to know each other pretty well when I was . . . you know, sick."
You can't even say it. He's your lover, and you can't even give him that. "Yeah, we did. We almost lost you, Kiddo. It was hard on both of us." They walked together toward the elevators.
"Uh, I understand," Reid tried to laugh casually, "You bonded."
Morgan stepped into the elevator behind Reid and pushed the second floor. "I'm sorry about, you know, when he visited. It was just that time. It never happened again."
Suddenly, Reid stepped forward and hit the stop button. He turned to stare into Morgan's eyes. "What did you say?"
Oh God. Morgan's mind was racing - why did he say it? He had been thinking that Ethan said he told Reid, didn't he? But no. He didn't tell Reid that it was Morgan himself. How could he have done this? How was he so stupid? He stared back at Reid, searching frantically for words.
But then he found himself against the cold steel of the wall. Reid - whom Morgan had never seen assault anyone, even when he should have - was leaning hard against him, hands gripping the collar of Morgan's jacket, hissing inches from his face, "What did you say to me?"
"Reid," Morgan unconsciously raised his arms to signal surrender, "I'm sorry, I thought you knew. It was once. Once."
Reid's eyes flitted quickly from one to the other of Morgan's eyes - flashing, intense, furious. He pushed Morgan again, bouncing him against the wall, and then he let go of him and turned to release the stop button. Before Morgan could gather his thoughts, the doors were open and Reid was striding away down the corridor.
~~/~~