The SUV turns onto the main road and the two agents settle into their seats. An Interstate 35 road sign passes as Reid looks out the passenger side window. A mix of feelings swirls around within this young agent. Relief to have found them a safe place to go, but also anxiety worrying about whether this place is safe enough.
"Hotch? Do you think this is far enough away for them to be safe?" Reid asks timidly, keeping his gaze out the window to his side.
"If I'm being completely honest with you, Reid." He glances over at his companion. "I think that no matter how far we sent them, if Elizabeth and Mr. Hill are involved, the place doesn't matter. We could send them to the other side of the world and Elizabeth probably has the contacts to find them there. I think it's less about how far away we send the kids, and more about how fast we can find the criminals."
Reid sighs looking down at his feet, "I don't know how much time that gives us to find them…we really don't know what He's fully capable of."
"Now what kind of attitude is that? Would you want Riley hearing you talk like that?" Hotch gives a small smile.
With a small chuckle himself, Reid responds, "She'd probably punch me in the arm and tell me to shut up."
"Exactly. Why don't you call Morgan and see what he and Prentiss found out? Maybe we can get some new info."
Reid nods and pulls his phone out to dials his friend. "Hey, we just dropped Riley and Wren off. What did you and Emily find?"
A series of "mmhmms" follows before, " So you're there now?"
A pause.
"Hotch and I can stop by and relieve you guys."
A shorter pause.
"Yeah, yeah, no problem. See you soon." He lays the phone down and turns to Hotch with new vigor. "They're thinking they might try to snatch the kids from the foster home. There's no doubt they know where it is; Elizabeth took Wren from there or at least knew where to find him months ago. Morgan and Emily are there now keeping an eye on it. I told him we can stop by and relieve them to go eat before other agents get the go ahead to do the stake out."
Hotch nods in agreement and the two make the 20-minute drive back to the city; following the path they just came from.
They pull up alongside the sidewalk on the opposite side of the street from the house. Hotch turns the car off and gets out to go talk to Morgan and Prentiss before they leave, while Reid looks out at the house from his seat. The house that Riley has never had anything good to say about. The house that Riley returned with bumps and cuts just hours before. A simple house with nothing really going for it; painted a peeling white with a wooden porch and bland windows. It was all so ordinary and dull. Reid narrows his eyes at it as he imagines what's gone on in there. I know Riley can be difficult and stubborn, but never to the point of abuse and neglect. I wonder what goes on in there…
Hotch opens the door, snapping Reid from his thoughts. "Morgan and Prentiss are going to grab dinner and bring it back to the station. It could be a long night."
Reid murmurs a response and continues to stare at the house. As if his staring will help bring all the answers to his questions about this foster home.
"What are you thinking, Reid?"
"Aren't you wondering what happened in that house earlier? Why Riley came out with a cut limp and bump on the head?"
"I mean of course I am, but she wouldn't tell us. I figure if she's in real trouble, she'd tell us."
"The problem is, I think she has told me. Not in so many words, but in her actions and behaviors. She's constantly staying at my house, like every night. She carries her clothes around with her on a daily basis. I don't think she spends any time here…And she said earlier on the phone that her and Wren were going to get something to eat after her appointment tonight. You don't do that if you have a meal at home with a family waiting for you."
Hotch nods. "Alright, what do you want to do?"
"I just want to check the place out. She's lived here for how long and we've never seen more than the exterior? And she doesn't talk about anything or anyone other than Wren. I don't even know if anyone from here came to visit her in the hospital all those months she was there."
"We did."
"That's only helping my point."
"How do we make this relate to helping us catch Elizabeth and Hill?"
"Why don't we ask if anyone in there has seen anyone matching their descriptions around here? I just…have this feeling I need to know the environment she's been in since coming here a year ago."
Hotch lets out a sigh. "Alright, let's go." Reid lets a small smile drift across his face as the pair exit the vehicle and cross the street.
They walk down the uneven sidewalk Riley has journeyed on too many times, then up onto the small ram-shackle porch, and finally across to the simple wooden door, covered in chipping white paint. Hotchner knocks, sending a few paint chips to the ground. Scuffling can be heard behind the door, as if small feet were retreating away. Hotchner knocks again, a little louder this time.
A loud, "Who's at the door?" can be heard from within the house. Louder, heavier steps sound as if they're coming closer. As they approach, another, "Hey! Who's knockin at this hour?" A quiet, more timid voice answers, "I don't know. I…" The child is cut off by the louder, "Whatever. You're useless. I'll get it myself."
A series of increasingly loud footsteps stop and the door swinges open. A large woman stands in the doorway; illuminated by the light behind her, she appears a shadow figure until the agents' eyes adjust. She wears a faded dress with various stains discoloring the body. Her dark curly hair, though short, looks unkept and greasy.
"What do you want at this hour?" She demands, avoiding any pleasantries. The stench of alcohol hits their noses as her words hit their ears.
"Sorry for the late visit ma'am, but I'm Agent Hotchner and this is Dr. Reid. We're with the FBI." Hotch shows his badge before he continues. "We have a few questions for you. Have you or anyone in the home seen anyone suspicious around your property within the last day or so?"
As Hotchner speaks, Reid takes a peek into the house. He looks into what he assumes is a dining room as all that occupies the space is a simple wooden table with six chairs around it. Papers are skewed across the tabletop. Chairs are pushed out as if someone got up in a hurry and didn't bother pushing them back in. The walls are unnaturally bare; no pictures or decorations of any kind can be seen anywhere in the room. An archway leads into another room beyond this dining room, but it's dark. Reid can't make out anything in it. He tunes back into the conversation in front of him.
"Nope. I didn't see nobody and none of my kids said anything to me."
"Both are decently sized men; one is fairly muscular and about 5 foot 10, he has bright blond hair. The other is a little taller, medium build, and he would have been walking with a limp. Does this ring any bells?" Reid pushes.
"Still no. Have a good night now." She responds as she moves to shut the door.
Reid steps forward and places his hand on it, preventing it from closing. "Can you tell us anything about two of your wards, Riley Walker and Wren Hill?"
"Mm, you got any pictures? I got so many kids runnin' around here I can't keep names and faces straight." She shakes her head, looking like she didn't put an immense amount of effort into thinking.
Reid and Hotch exchange a curious look before Reid digs for his phone and swipes through his photos, looking for one with the two kids together. The woman taps her foot impatiently and lets out a deep, annoyed sigh as he does.
Reid pulls up one of his favorite pictures. He took this one himself just a week or two prior when the three of them went to the park together. Riley organized a picnic for the group and Reid snapped a good shot of the kids on the blanket, food set up and ready to eat. He smiles a little, reminiscing on how happy they all were this day. What a contrast to their circumstances now. He turns his phone to show the woman in front of him.
"Oh those two. They in some sort of trouble? I just knew it; they're the trouble making type. Kicked the girl out months ago and the boy earlier today actually."
"Kicked them out? What do you mean? For what?" Reid asks, concerned and confused.
"They ain't allowed to come back here, that's what I mean. I don't want that kind of trouble in my house. Can't quite remember why I kicked the girl out. Probably because she was gettin' lippy with me. Always using all these big words to try to mix my mind up and I had enough of it. Hadn't seen her in a while until she showed up here earlier and the boy was gonna leave with her. I said if he leaves with her, he's trouble too so he ain't welcome back here. He left with her so looks like I won't be seein' either of them again."
"I don't…I don't know if I understand. Clarify something for me here, please. Riley is what, like 14? And Wren is 8? If they're not allowed to come back here, where do you expect them to go? Why didn't you just file to transfer them somewhere else?" Reid rebuts.
"Don't know where they'll go and don't care. They didn't ask for a transfer so I don't file anything I don't need to."
"I…I…Let me get this straight," Reid starts. "I'm going to back up to the beginning. You kicked Riley out, because she argued with you?"
"Yessir." She responds, getting short with this interrogation. "Just the way she responded to me was insulting. She had no respect for the authority in this house and I couldn't take it any more. She had to go. I wasn't going to let her stay here and pollute the minds of my other children like the garbage that she is."
His eyebrows rise at her crass insult to Riley. "Wow, so you think she's the equivalent of garbage? So you kicked her out onto the street with the actual garbage. Huh."
"Yes. She insulted me and now she's not welcome back here. Simple as that. Now if we're done here, I'd like to get back to..." The woman works to close the door, but Reid pushes harder to keep it open.
"No we're actually not done here. I have to know, was she so insulting you decided to hit her too?" Reid asks, his voice acquiring an edge, his eyes taking on a stone hard glint. "Because when I disagree with someone, I usually talk it out with them and compromise. I don't slap them in the face. Especially not a little girl."
"I…she…." The woman stammers, mouth-hanging open, thrown for a loop by this accurate accusation. She wasn't prepared for this man to know so much about how she treats her children.
He sees her struggling to acknowledge and defend her actions, so he doesn't let up, "It's one thing to kick children out of a home, abandoning and endangering them, but it becomes even worse when you physically abuse them when they are here."
"Now hold on, I didn't say…" She tries to regain her footing in this conversation.
"No, you didn't have to say anything," his voice rising until it echoed throughout the house. His face growing red with anger and passion, "I saw what you did when she left here earlier. And I swear if you lay another hand on her…"
"Spencer." Hotchner cuts in sternly before he can finish his sentence.
The younger agent stops and takes a deep breath in and out and glances over at Hotch's stern face. Reid clears his throat, holds his head high, and looks the woman dead in the eye. "I just feel you should think about whether it's the children or the adult at fault here; who should really be considered garbage in this situation." He turns to leave as she's left standing in the doorway, mouth hanging slightly open; speechless.
Hotch follows Reid back down the uneven sidewalk, across the street, and back into the SUV. The two agents sit in silence for a moment.
After a solid minute of silence, Reid fidgeting with his fingers, speaks, "I wish I could tell you I'm sorry for how I acted, but I'm not. I'll take whatever punishment you see fit. I let personal feelings get in the way, but I won't apologize for what I said. She called Riley garbage, Hotch. She abuses and neglects those children. I couldn't just let her stand there feeling like she was right for everything she does."
Looking straight ahead, the boss responds, "I don't know what you're talking about, Reid. As far as I'm concerned, we left the house after the homeowner told us she hadn't seen anyone fitting the prisoners' descriptions around the property." He leans back in his seat, crosses his arms, and gazes out the side window.
A small smile spreads across Reid's face as he too settles into his seat to keep watch for the next few hours.
