Everyone was well aware of the ticking clock they were fighting against and even when they all regathered at the station-house and reported their findings, not much happened, except for JJ and Emily, along with Derek being told by Hotch to look for Jacoby and talk to him, and also to talk to his parents about the situation because nobody had had a chance to do that yet.
Unfortunately, Jacoby remained in the wind, so they went to the place where Atticus and Ingrid Fitzgerald lived, hoping for more hopeful results. The residence wasn't at all they were expecting.
"Seriously?" Derek looked from the address that Penelope had jotted down on the Post-It Note in his hand to the building in his hand. "The elder Fitzgeralds live here? Did Sasha mention this?"
JJ shook her head. "No, but then again, she's known this family since she was twelve and has grown up with them, so she probably doesn't think anything of it by now."
Beside JJ, Emily whined, "I'm cold, and the baby won't stop kicking me! Can we please go in?"
Chuckling, they approached the front entrance of the building, and the doorman immediately opened the door for them.
When they were inside, it took their eyes a moment to adjust, but even still, it took a moment for them to all process what they were looking at.
"So this is The Plaza Hotel." Derek remarked.
Indeed, he and his friends had found themselves in the historic, legendary Plaza Hotel of New York City. For the Fitzgeralds to live here, that immediately suggested money, and lots of it.
Seeing that even Emily was getting lost in the wonder and grandeur, JJ rolled her eyes. "Come on, you two. I'll do the talking."
She led the way to the reception desk, and the woman behind it, young, and looking fresh out of college, gave them a friendly smile as they walked up to her.
"Hello, and welcome to The Plaza Hotel. My name is Alyssa; how may I help you?"
"We are Supervisory Special Agents Jennifer Jareau, Emily Prentiss, and Derek Morgan." JJ said of herself and her companions as they showed her their credentials before pocketing them. "It's of utmost urgency that we talk to Atticus and Ingrid Fitzgerald. Are they home?"
Alyssa opened her mouth and then promptly shut it again. She was a new hire, but was also just about to end her overnight shift. She'd never had the FBI come calling before, and had no idea if there was a contingency plan for it.
Luckily, Alyssa rescued from having to answer because her manager appeared from a room behind the desk and spoke to the visitors.
"Are you the FBI agents?" she asked.
"Yes." JJ nodded and quickly made the introductions again. "Are you the manager?"
The other woman gave a nod. "I'm Amanda Harrison, and I just got a call from Missus Fitzgerald to be expecting you."
Emily grew taken aback. "How did she know?"
"Miss Sokoloff called ahead and told her." Amanda came out from behind the desk and motioned for them to follow her to the elevators. "Come this way."
When they were at the elevators, Amanda pressed the 'up' button on the nearest panel and turned to the JJ and her posse.
"I heard about what happened to Polly." she said softly, looking truly sad. "She visits often and knows a lot of the staff. I wish you the best of luck with finding her."
"Thank you." JJ replied.
At that moment, the elevator door opened, and Amanda gave them some parting words as they boarded. "Press the button marked 'P.' The Fitzgeralds live in the penthouses, and you'll know which is theirs because there is a sign on the door that says their last name on it."
The lift doors closed on the agents' very surprised faces.
The Fitzgeralds' place was practically a palace, complete with a maid, who, after taking their coats to hang up in the front hall closet, showed them into a sitting room.
"Did either of you profile this?" Derek asked the others quickly.
"The answer is no, same as it was outside, although back at Sasha's place, we saw a picture of a summer home that was grand, but it didn't raise any flags that would have pointed in the direction of The Plaza!"
JJ said all of that very quickly and quietly because she didn't want their hosts to overhear them, and no sooner had she finished than the two people in question entered.
While the Fitzgeralds were both dressed in clothes that looked both casual and expensive, they turned out to be very normal people. After JJ explained what she and the others had come calling about, Ingrid and Atticus were very cooperative.
"This penthouse is mine." Ingrid said by way of explanation, wanting to just get it out of the way. "I inherited it, a fortune, and vast amount of extra money and assets from my grandmother after she passed away when I was twenty-one and engaged to Atticus."
"The rest of the family is very normal on both sides." Atticus added. "We also have a lot of grandchildren because all of our children except for Jacoby have children of their own, and everyone lives in the city. We see Polly and Luna the most because we babysit them when Sasha and Sloan work late, or when Sasha works late and drops them off here for Sloan to look after. Ingrid also likes to borrow Polly and Luna for photography photoshoots because the girls both love it."
"When was the last time you saw Polly?" JJ asked.
"We actually saw both of them the night and day before Sloan proposed to Sasha because they stayed the night."
"Work matters?"
"Yes, and Sasha prefers to have them here overnight because we live close to where she works and she doesn't like to have the girls at her apartment overnight if she isn't there." Atticus told her. "Polly even left a toy here by mistake."
"How long did you have the kids?" Derek wanted to know.
Atticus turned to his wife. "Do you remember? I was at work when they arrived."
Ingrid thought about it before she gave Derek an answer. "Sasha dropped Polly and Luna off at two on Saturday, and we spent the rest of the day in Central Park, doing a photoshoot. We got home just before six, and Atticus came home not long after. We stayed in for the rest of the night, and Sasha collected them at ten on Sunday morning, after she got off work."
JJ spoke to Ingrid. "Missus Fitzgerald, when you and the girls were in the park, did you notice anything or anyone unusual?"
Again, Ingrid thought about it, but this time, she came up short. "No. Everything was perfect and ordinary. I just remember thinking how Jacoby loved the park when he was little. What all did Sasha tell you about him, Agent Jareau?"
"Jail and why he went, his release, and that she really misses him. She also told about how the arrest made Polly devastated."
For good measure, Atticus chimed in, "She wouldn't even go near his room when she and Luna were here."
"When was the last time you saw Jacoby?" Derek asked him.
To that, Atticus didn't say anything, immediately shutting down as a dark, unreadable expression appeared on his face. Feeling saddened for her husband, Ingrid gave his hand a gentle squeeze before she answered the inquiry.
"It's been more than a week now, and we know he has access to his money because we've been monitoring his account and seeing that he's been spending, but we have no real idea where he is." Ingrid explained. "Even though he's turned into a wildcard now, we take some comfort in the fact that he's never been the kind to do drugs or intentionally hurt himself. He's also been very independent for his entire life because he's always been the lone wolf of our family. He knows how to look after himself."
"Has he run off before?"
"He's never been gone this long before, but yes, and he always comes back." Ingrid rubbed her temples, trying to stave off a headache. "He and Sloan still both live here, though, and Sloan has always been a good boy, but Jacoby seems to have just given up. At the moment, we're just waiting for him to come home and figure out why he left in the first place."
Suddenly, Atticus rose to his feet, having had enough and spoke directly to Derek. "Agent Morgan, how about I show you the toy that Polly left here?"
"Alright." Derek stood, too. "Let's go."
When they were gone, Ingrid sighed sadly. "I've given birth to seven children, and we've loved and raised them all. We've also practically fostered Sasha and Polly over the years, making that makes nine babies in total. Polly is a child yet, but the rest of our children except for Jacoby have entered the working world and excelled in their jobs."
JJ massaged the underside of her baby bump as she felt a tiny foot kick her. "And that last part upsets your husband, I take it?"
"For a variety of reasons, but yes."
Wanting to change the tune a little, Ingrid smiled at JJ and Emily as she noticed their baby bellies.
"Are you two married?"
Emily shook her head. "No, but it's definitely in our future. We're expecting three babies between us."
"Then if you haven't learned it yet, you'll learn it when you hold your children for the first time that no matter what happens, you'll do anything for them because they're yours. And yes, my Jacoby has fallen to the wayside, but Atticus is just taking it harder than I am."
Derek returned with Atticus at that point, but everything was finished, so JJ took the reigns again as Derek helped her and Emily up. Reaching into her shirt pocket, JJ extracted her business card and gave it to Ingrid.
"We're going to go now, but you and your husband have both been a huge help. If you need anything, please call me."
When JJ, Emily, and Derek were out in the elevator a few minutes later and heading back down to the first floor, Derek showed them the doll. It was made of cloth and wearing black shoes and a blue and black plaid dress. Its face featured blue eyes, a nose, pink lips, and blond hair. The toy was beautiful and looked like it had seen a lot of love of the years.
JJ examined it and then passed it to Emily, who asked, "What's the story here? It looks handmade."
"It is." Derek confirmed. "Sasha made it for Polly and gave it to her on the day she was born because she was so excited to be a big a sister."
"That's adorable."
"Polly's been sleeping with or near the doll every night since she was born."
"And that," Emily said, pocketing the doll. "Is even more adorable."
On the way back to the station-house, Derek noticed that the gas tank in their SUV was nearly on E, and grumbling about how the previous renters of the car had been irresponsible with not filling it up before they'd returned it, he drove them to the nearest gas station and pumped the tank. His bad mood was further sullied when he saw that the pay-at-the-pump feature was out of order and he had to pay inside at the register.
Meanwhile, JJ suddenly realized that she was in great need of having to relieve herself, so she left the car and entered the gas station to see about using the bathroom.
Emily stayed in the car.
Just as JJ exited the bathroom and returned the key to the cashier, sounds rent the air that made her heart stop and everyone else around her hit the deck: Derek's yells, a handful of gunshots, Emily's terrified screams, and the sound of the SUV racing away.
It all happened so fast that JJ didn't even process it until one of the customers, a teenage skater boy came running up to her, tugging on her hand.
"Lady, I saw everything, and I called the ambulance!"
"A-ambulance?"
The boy tugged at her hand again. "Your husband—he was shot!"
JJ knew immediately he meant Derek, but she didn't bother correcting him, instead following him to the throng of people outside to find her friend in the center, laying on the ground with his head propped up on someone's jacket that had been wadded up to make a temporary pillow.
She immediately knelt beside him, using a stack of paper towels from the squeegee station as a tourniquet for the wound he was bleeding from in his shoulder. He was also bleeding from a wound in his forehead that looked like the result of being pistol-whipped. It didn't look as bad as the gunshot wound, but as JJ touched it gingerly, her fingers becoming sticky with her friend's blood, Derek hissed in pain. The sudden change in pressure kept him from slipping into unconsciousness.
"There you are, Derek." JJ breathed a sigh of relief when she saw him look around and register her. "You stay awake, okay? The ambulance will be here soon."
"Need… Penelope…" he rasped.
"I'll call her, don't worry." JJ reassured him. "Who did this to you?"
"J-Jacoby…"
Well, shit. JJ thought. Polly's gone yet, Emily's been abducted, and now Derek was just shot. Can this day get any worse?
