My Life Had Stood

Chapter 55: Finding Jemma 6

D.C

Tara Lewis' eyes narrowed slightly at the scene greeting her, her approach having halted once she saw William Reid was alone. The man simply stood, staring out at the street thinking quietly.

"Mr. Reid...?" She stepped closer, her brow knit in confusion. Her profiler instincts had been sure that the man was going to go after Vincent Crawford, yet there was no sign of the other man. Though it was possible that Crawford had evaded William Reid's pursuit.

"..." William Reid rubbed his chin in thought before he finally turned toward the agent. He quickly dropped his hand, but not before Lewis noticed the bruising on his knuckles.

"...Where's Vincent Crawford?" Lewis asked upon sight of the deep purple discoloration. It was evident that the man had struck his fist against something, repeatedly. What that something was, was unknown, though Lewis feared it may have been Crawford. "Mr. Reid? Where...?"

"He's gone." William mumbled, his eyes still holding the faraway look of someone deep in thought. Mixed with it was regret, anger and something else that Lewis was unable to pinpoint. "...he managed to drive away before I could get to him. The man who took my daughter...who hurt Elsie, caused her...and I just let him get away..."

"Mr. Reid...William, I need you to tell me what happened." Lewis approached closer, wary about whether the man was being truthful, though everything about his body language and tone suggested he was. "What kind of car? Which way was he headed? Mr. Reid?"

"...is Elsie still safe at the hospital?" William Reid asked instead of replying to Lewis' questions. His tone and expression immediately warped with worry.

"She's fine. Dr. Freeman is with her, and so is hospital security. I've alerted the hospital to his identity so Vincent Crawford won't be able to get to her. He won't be able to get into the hospital."

William Reid started to reply, but hesitated. His eyes roamed over Lewis, considering her before he turned his gaze back across the street. He frowned, the strange but fierce gleam from seconds ago returned to his eyes. "He was driving a white sedan. But I couldn't get his license plate. Nor the make and model."

"All right." Lewis replied, gesturing for the man to follow her. "We should get back to the hospital and get your hand checked out. In the meantime I'll check with Garcia about vehicles registered to Crawford and see about issuing an APB."

William Reid simply nodded and followed the agent back to her car.

0

-flashback- 23 years ago-

"You did good, love. Just like that, just like I showed ya." Linnet crooned, his narrowed eyes following the small hands as they let go of the chain. He grinned and took the chain back, pulling it roughly across the room and with it, the woman who it was noosed around. "You learn quickly. I like that."

Linnet leered at Leigh coldly, watching as the girl stared quietly at the woman lying on the floor. The girl stared at the unresponsive woman, and then the chain, before settling back on the woman. Her small hands clenched and unclenched, as though she was trying to massage away a tenseness in them. Or perhaps trying to erase the feel of the chain she'd just held.

"..." The girl glanced down at her hands, at the same time backing up so that she was in a small corner of the basement. She leaned back against the concrete wall, her footing a bit wobbly though she managed to slowly lower herself without losing balance. She continued to stare at her hands, not budging nor saying anything.

"What are you? Lady Macbeth?" Linnet joked, his cold eyes staring at the girl with intrigue. He didn't wait more than a few seconds for a response, instead he turned his attention back to the unresponsive woman. He didn't need more than a glance to know she wasn't breathing.

"...how...how come it doesn't bother you?" The girl asked, her voice meeker and more exhausted than he'd ever heard it. Her round burnt umber eyes stared up at his, waiting for an answer.

Linnet chuckled, his tone mirthless when he replied. He knelt beside the unnamed, dead woman though his eyes remained on the child's. "Why should it? I didn't kill this one."

The girl flinched, tightening her hands into fists while also wrapping her arms around herself. She shivered and curled into a tighter ball against the basement corner.

Linnet simply laughed.

x

"It's all right. It's all right." Jolene Freeman spoke soothingly to Alsie as the thirty-three year old sat motionless on the hospital bed. Up until five minutes ago, the petite brunette had been pacing up and down the room, refusing to sit down. "Everything will be fine. Emmie..."

Alsie's glower shifted towards Jolene. She shook her head, but made no further reply. Her eyes shifted back to the space in front of her, though she wasn't looking at anything in the room.

"You're not Emmie?" Jolene spoke softly, her brow knitted as she observed the younger woman. Based on the body language and quietness she perceived when she entered the room she'd figured Alsie was Emmie. So the woman shaking her head, refuting her identity, confused Jolene. "Who...what is your name then?"

Jolene studied Alsie closely after asking the question, keen on figuring out what she was missing. If she wasn't speaking to Emmie, then who? Not Ana, that alter was the opposite of demure and would not be able to go long without diving into an x-rated conversation about men. Perhaps Alsie was simply Alsie at the moment, though the silence felt too extreme even for the normally demure brunette.

Besides, it didn't seem like shyness or reserve was stopping her patient from speaking.

"...Discharge me." Alsie demanded, her scowl once again directed at Jolene. "I'm here voluntarily, right? Then I can leave whenever I wish."

Jolene jerked her head back, the demand unexpected. Though the real shock was the matter-of-fact directness of it: through the years of treating Alsie, Jolene never heard this tone from the younger woman. Emmie and Ana had both at one point or another insisted on leaving an appointment abruptly: Emmie because something irritated her and Ana whenever she felt bored. But neither had used this tone.

"Alsie..." Jolene hesitated, before exhaling and giving a little shake of her head. "You're not exactly being kept here for psychiatric reasons but rather for medical observation. Your physician is waiting on tests to determine what made you lose your balance before..." She gestured to Alsie's bandaged wrist, suddenly faltering when the younger woman glanced at it with confusion. Her eyes widened slightly as she studied her patient's expression. "You...you're not 'Alsie', are you?"

"...if I'm free to leave..." Was all the petite brunette said before standing up and heading toward the door leading to the hall.

"Wait, you can't just..." Jolene grabbed Alsie's arm without thinking, her mind on everything agent Lewis had explained before leaving. That the man who'd stolen and hurt Alsie as a child had been seen in the hospital, and that man could be after her. Jolene swallowed when Alsie swiftly turned around and glared at her, the coldness in those burnt umber eyes intense.

The psychiatrist shivered beneath that gaze.

"Al..."

"Leigh."

"Wha..."

"Leigh." Alsie repeated, in a tone as cold as her stare. Unlike Emmie's anger filled glares, which were sharp but fiery, this one was frigid. It screamed less of rage and more of cold loathing mixed with indifference. "It is Leigh. And now, if you don't mind I'd like to walk around. Get some fresh air."

Alsie, or rather Leigh, pulled her arm from Jolene's grip. She barely made it to the room door before hospital security entered, having become alerted by the commotion. Leigh scowled coldly at the two men - one middle-aged and the other in his late twenties.

"Miss, you need to stay here." The first told her, his expression neutral aside from his eyes. Those studied her with an irritated gleam - he had heard about Alsie's altercation with a nurse before, and thought the same as the hospital staff that the woman belonged in the psych ward.

Leigh glanced over the two wordlessly, barely taking more than five seconds on either before turning around. Bypassing Dr. Freeman, she walked toward the windows and stopped half a foot from them.

"This'll do then." She said, folding her hands in front of her as she gazed out the windows. The first hints of coming dusk were just visible from her vantage point. "If none of you mind, I'd like to be left alone now."

"Al...Leigh, I'd like to talk with..." Jolene started to say.

"Not now. Later, perhaps. Right now, I'd like some time to myself. Wait outside if you'd like."

Jolene was about to protest but changed her mind, and instead did as her patient wished.

0

Las Vegas:

Linnet glared down at Alvarez, having pulled the man inside and tied his limbs. His thoughts were wild with whether or not anyone witnessed the altercation. The houses closest to his were unoccupied, but there was always the possibility of a homeless person or such using one of the houses.

"Damn it!" He growled, switching his attention to the sobs coming from the hall leading towards the cellar. Very briefly he glanced into the living room, where he'd left Jemma before answering the door. His eyes widened when he noticed she wasn't there.

'What? Where...?'

His eyes livid, he locked the door and headed toward the cellar. An idea had popped in his head as to where the curious three year old may have gone. The ghost of a smirk briefly passed his face as he recalled a memory of a similar situation, concerning Jemma's mother.

Leigh had been curious too, and once she recovered enough to walk around, the almost nine year old had wondered into the basement. His immediate thought, when he'd seen Leigh watching him with his victim at the time, was that he'd had to kill her. That there would be no way to keep the child silent otherwise.

That was until the girl had simply sat down on the stairs, not saying a word until he was done. Then she had spoke only to say she was hungry. It had been at that moment and the look in Leigh's eyes that Linnet realized the truth. That the girl pawned off onto his grandparents and then to him, had been abused not just physically but also sexually. Further, she viewed it as being normal, and he soon realized he didn't have to worry about her telling anyone.

Linnet smirked as he neared the basement, wondering how much Jemma would grow to be like her mother.

He froze at the sound of an engine approaching, and then that of car breaks being pressed. His eyes widened as he peeked out a side window.

"Shit." Linnet spat, scowling as he caught a glimpse of a black SUV. His eyes narrowed once the occupants exited their vehicle and he saw their vests. "...shit."