Alex quickly returned the books into the box and then headed back downstairs.
She arrived in the room just as Reid put her mug down on the table. "Oh, while I'm in New York tomorrow, I thought I might stop and visit with Sondra. I'm sure Charles has been on her mind lately, even more than usual since his birthday was just last week."
"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. I wish I were going with you."
"Thank you so much for coming to visit," Sondra said as she walked into the kitchen.
"Charles' birthday is always hard for Spencer, as I'm sure it is for you. I just wanted you to know that we are thinking of you and here if you need anything," Alex said.
"I appreciate that. You both have been good friends."
Alex turned and stepped toward the refrigerator. In the center of the freezer was a lone postcard. "Wow, who is sending you a postcard from the Matterhorn?"
"Oh, a girl friend of mine," Sondra said as she turned to face the sink. "She sends me them from when she travels."
"May I?" Alex asked as she went to pick it up.
"Of course."
Alex looked at the professional picture of the mountain on the front then flipped it over to see only the words "Wish you were here" written on the back. "She doesn't sign them?"
Sondra turned back around and turned on the water in the sink, soaking the dishes. "Oh, that's because I know they're from her."
"Of course, that makes sense," Alex said as she returned the card.
"Well, I am sorry to take off so quickly, but this was only a day trip, and my flight will leave soon," Alex said.
The two women embraced and said their goodbyes.
Alex walked into her house, kicking the entryway rug as she entered. She left her briefcase at the door then fixed the rug. She walked over and joined Reid, who was already on the couch, reviewing the same information he was the day before.
"Any headway on the mysterious sender?" she asked.
"We have made a lot of progress in the individual cases in who the victims were and how they were murdered but nothing to give more reasoning into their connection that this person sees, but we don't." He put down the paperwork and looked at her. "So, how was your trip? How is Sondra?"
"Spencer, I need to tell you something," Alex said abruptly.
"What is it?"
"You're going to think I'm crazy," she said, shaking her head.
"I can tell something is bothering you, what is it?"
"Okay, but let me get it all out. I want you to understand where I'm coming from."
"Sure." Reid sat upright on the sofa, looking at her, giving her all his focus.
"I think I know who sent you the envelope—"
"Who?" Reid asked.
Alex sighed, then held up her finger, motioning him to stop. "At first, I wasn't sure, felt like just a lot of coincidence, but the more I look at all the pieces, the more obvious it is."
"For instance?"
"Okay, Scott Lang," she said as she picked up the envelope. "That's the name of Ant-Man, the comic book character. And this address, did you look up what it is?"
"Yes, it's a Chinese restaurant."
"Yes, off of Mission and 18th in San Francisco. I have been there several times… with Charles."
"What? So, a comic book character name and a restaurant makes you think this is somehow connected to Charles?"
"I think it is Charles," she said carefully.
"What are you talking about? Do you honestly believe he's been alive all this time?"
"I know it sounds crazy, but I feel like he might be. That's why I went to see Sondra."
"Please don't tell me you brought up the idea with her," Reid said.
"No, of course not. But I just had to see how she was… for myself. And I must admit, I feel even more certain now," she said in a solemn tone.
"Why do you say that?"
"She had a postcard on her fridge. It was the only thing there. It was dead center like it was on display. It was from Zurich and mailed a couple of weeks ago. It only said, 'Wish you were here,' there was no signature. Who sends things like that? When I asked her about it, she gave me some story, that it was from her friend. But Spencer, she couldn't even look at me when she was saying that. It was like she would know that she was lying to me. If he is alive, she knows it."
"Zurich? Switzerland would be the last place Charles would want to be," Reid said.
Alex stared at him and raised her eyebrow. "Exactly."
Reid held his hands up in front of him. "Okay, let's slow down for a minute. Hypothetically let's just say that Charles is alive and has been hiding out for the past few years. Why would he be sending me something like this?"
"Maybe it's connected to why he's hiding in the first place," Alex proposed.
Reid stood up. "We need to get to Garcia."
Garcia stepped off the elevator to see Reid standing in the foyer waiting for her. "I don't like being called late at night and being told that I need to come in. What's wrong? Was there a break in the case?"
"We just need some information," Alex said as she walked from the bullpen with a fresh cup of coffee in her hand.
"Alex, hey," Garcia said as her eyes lit up. "Wait, does that mean that the CIA is in on this too?"
"It's more that we might have a connection to this case, but we want to rule it out," Reid said.
"Connection? What kind of connection?" Garcia questioned.
"Come on, we will tell you all about it," Alex said.
The trio settled themselves in Garcia's office, and Alex explained her suspicions to Garcia.
"I don't understand," Garcia started. "Why didn't you just ask her if it was Charles that sent her the postcard?"
"Because what if he didn't?" Alex said. "What if it is from just a friend, and then I open this whole can of worms and get her hopes up?"
"Then there's the other scenario," Reid said.
"What's that?" Garcia asked.
"That she does know, and if we ask her about it, she will lie to us."
"Why would she do that?"
Alex placed her hand on Garcia's knee as she moved in closer. "Because she hasn't told us anything. We are being kept in the dark, and they have done that for a reason."
"What reason could there possibly be to keep something like that from your friends?" Garcia asked.
"That's what we don't know, but that's where you come in," Reid said.
"How can I help?"
Reid reached into his back pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper, opened it, and placed it on the table in front of Garcia. "Alex and I thought of as many people as we could that Charles had a major hand in arresting or putting out of business—"
"Pissed off," Alex interjected.
"What do you want me to do with this list?"
"Do your magic," Reid said. "Let's see where they are now. Are they incarcerated? Are they back in business? Are they holding grudges? Just any information that we can get, which would give us a lead… something to believe that Charles is hiding for a reason."
"Okay, that I can do," Garcia said. She slid herself up to her keyboard and turned on all her systems.
They worked together for several hours reviewing files, pored over information, and stared at monitors until their eyes hurt.
Alex leaned back in her chair and rubbed her eyes. "I'm getting ready to call it quits. We aren't any closer to finding any possible reason for Charles to be in hiding."
"Maybe we're going about it the wrong way," Reid said.
"What do you mean?" Garcia asked.
"We've been trying to find people who would be after Charles. Why don't we just look for Charles?" Reid suggested.
"I don't think a man who has been hiding from his family for the past few years is going to book hotel rooms under his own name," Garcia said.
"That's it! His name!" Alex said as she sat upright in her chair. "He used the name Scott Lang when sending the package to you. Penelope, look and see if anyone by that name has been in Zurich in the past month?"
"Okay, let me see," Garcia said as she typed frantically on her computer. "Uh, yes. Scott Lang used a credit card to stay at a resort in Zurich two weeks ago."
Alex turned to Reid. "Could I be right? Could Charles really be alive?"
"Let's not jump the gun right now. Garcia, can you look and see if that credit card was used anywhere else? Something that might tell us where he is now?"
"Okay, the only other purchase I show is a one-way flight from Heathrow to Geneva the week before," Garcia announced.
"England?" Alex questioned. "Anything else?"
"No, I'm sorry, it's a dead end."
"I feel like there is a piece I'm missing," Alex said.
"Maybe another name?" Garcia said.
"Wait, what was that name he always used when he went undercover?" Alex asked Reid. "Victor something."
"Victor. Victor Shade!" Reid replied.
"As in Vision?" Garcia asked. "Well, that would make sense, Scott Lang is Ant-Man! I should have figured that out."
"Don't worry about that now. Just check for Victor Shade in England," Reid said.
"Bingo!" Garcia called out. "I found Victor Shade! I found a car rental under his name the week before he flew out of Heathrow."
"This can't be a coincidence. We were meant to find this, right?" Alex turned to Reid. "This isn't just dumb luck; it can't be."
"Charles loved puzzles, codes, and secret messages," Reid said. "I can imagine if this was him, he wanted you to see the envelope and make the connection with the address. But where do we go from here?"
"I'm not sure. Let me think about it," Alex said as she stood up with her cup in her hand. "Let me go get a fresh cup."
Alex went out to the bullpen and poured herself some coffee. She added in the milk and stared at it until it changed into a light brown color.
"Alex? What are you doing here?"
She looked up to see Hotch staring at her.
Alex checked her watch to see that they had been there throughout the night. "Hi, Aaron. Spencer and I were just looking into something."
"Looking into what?" he asked.
"I might as well tell you," she said. "Can we go into your office?"
"Yes," he said as he allowed her ahead of him.
Alex seated herself across from him as he sat behind his desk. She started from the beginning and explained her suspicions and how they might be connected to their case.
"Well, that certainly would be something to consider… if it were true," Hotch said.
"If it were true?" Alex asked in a hostile tone.
"Please don't take it the wrong way. Alex, I believe you, I trust you, and I don't doubt your sincerity. However, you do understand how this sounds, and without some sort of proof of this connection, then I can't even consider it or mention it to the rest of the team."
"I understand your position. And believe me, I think I'm crazy for even humoring the idea that he is alive. But if he is, I need to know why, and I need to help him."
"We both do," Reid said as he stood in the doorway.
Alex turned to Reid. "I know what the next step is."
"What's that?"
"I'm going to England."