(Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or its characters)
Thanks for all your reviews. I'm enjoying writing this story.
I'm trying hard to get updates for my their stories out but I have assignments coming up... so I'm going to really try and get ahead, stay with me guys.
"So Ashley's mother died in a carbon manoxide leak?"
"That's what Garcia said." Morgan flipped through a file on the mother and shook his head. "The police found her body when the faulty boiler was reported and another resident was taken to hospital."
Hotch, who had been pouring himself a coffee, turned wearily to his small team camped around the hotel table. There were files and photos strewn across the table, and more still coming from the fax machine they had set up.
Their investigation wasn't 'official,' in fact, all four of them should have been back in Virginia, but Aaron was going to stick by Dave in this one. It had already been three days. They had to first wrap up some loose ends with the Vegas PD before they were asked for their opinions on an ongoing investigation. Strauss insisted if they were to stay on a 'personal agenda,' then they'd have to pay their way with the case. They gave a profile to the department before focusing back on Spencer Reid. By then it had already been days since Spencer had been returned.
"Okay," Aaron said, perching himself on the edge of the bed, opposite his agents. He thumped the lip of his mug and took a sip before continuing to say, "we've practically exhausted our research into Ashley. Give me a run down and we'll move on."
Dave glanced at Aaron. His expression was almost unreadable but Aaron could tell he was desperate.
"Alright," Morgan said, interrupting Dave and Aaron's mute exchange. "Ashley lived with her mum until she died, after she lived with her grandparents. She doesn't like to keep in one place, perhaps from childhood trauma... or to move forward with her life. She quit her job to travel and has done the same in the past. All her social media posts confirm this. I..." Morgan looked at Rossi as if looking for permission to give his opinion. "I don't like to say it but I think Spencer misunderstood."
"What's next?" Dave said, ignoring Morgan.
Emily quickly took over. "There's Diana Reid. She was an older mother, she had Spencer at forty-one. She was a paranoid schizophrenic-"
"Neighbours reported disturbances at the house and Diana was hospitalised on some occasions," Rossi said, filling in the essential information. Aaron nodded slowly and motioned for Emily to continue.
"She died last year of an over-dose of her medication. William made a statement that he came home from work to find her in their bed with..." Emily stopped and looked up at Aaron. He looked at Dave who was watching him.
"With Spencer holding onto her," he finished.
"Poor kid," muttered Morgan.
"What else did Reid say in his statement?"
"That he found two pots of her pills empty and he'd attempted resuscitation."
Aaron shook his head and took a deep gulp from his coffee. "Has William Reid got a record?"
Emily shook her head, her fingers toying with the edge of some paperwork.
"Dave..." Aaron looked seriously at Rossi who had his chin cupped in his hands.
"There's just something off," he muttered.
"Why are you so invested in this?" Emily said finally, giving up on the files before her.
Rossi looked up, his mouth twisting in a half-smile. "He's a good kid."
"And he's made a mistake."
"Well hold up, Prentiss. You should have seen how the kid was acting before he saw his dad. Yea, maybe the kid is wrong about Ashley but I'm with, Rossi, there's something off about the guy."
Emily turned to Morgan and raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you see his reaction when his dad hugged him?"
"He might have been reacting to his father's reaction," muttered Aaron and Morgan and Emily looked toward him.
Aaron turned to Dave instead. "Morgan, you and Dave will go talk to William Reid. I will decide what action to take from there."
"Mr. Reid?"
William looked between the agents, confusion on his face and a hint of nervousness betraying his eyes before he flashed a smile.
"How can I help you, agents?" he said after his pause.
"We wanted to ask you some more questions," Dave said. "If that's alright with you?" he added and William smiled more forcefully.
"Of course," he said, opening the door and motioning Derek and Dave inside. "Spencer's not here right now, he's staying with his aunt while I sort things out."
Morgan scowled as he followed Rossi inside. William shut the door behind them as Derek looked around suspiciously.
"You just got your son back? Why send him away so soon?" Derek said, pressing the conversation.
He glanced back at Reid who was glaring at his back.
"It's been hard on us both. I want to give him my full attention and right now that's difficult. What did you want to ask?"
William stepped in front of them into the front room and took a seat. Dave followed, sitting on the couch opposite while Morgan lingered in the hall, his eyes skimming past the basement door.
"It's about your daughter," Dave said and William's face became blank. He stared at Rossi for a moment.
"What do you want to know?"
"You don't sound too worried about her," said Morgan and William turned his head sharply toward him.
"And what's that supposed to mean? Is there something wrong with her?"
"You tell us," Morgan retorted and Rossi cleared his throat, looking sternly at Morgan when he glanced his way.
"We just want to know if you know where she is? Spencer was worried about her," Dave said and he watched William visibly relax.
He pursed his lips together and sighed. "Did he tell you she's missing?" William asked.
"Yes. Do you know where she is?" Dave asked in surprise.
William nodded. "She travels. She's a young adult now and she's always traveling." He paused, eying Morgan. "We... she doesn't get along with me. Her mother never liked me after the divorce and wouldn't allow me to visit long when Ashley was young and with Diana so ill I didn't have the capabilities or time to fight her on it."
"Does she travel with her mother?" Dave asked, already aware the answer was no.
"Her mother died in 2015. Ashley was travelling at the time."
Dave nodded, a sympathetic smile on his face.
"Anyway, as I was saying Ashley is traveling at the moment. I think she's somewhere in Spain."
"Spencer said she's been gone a month," said Morgan and William turned to glare at him.
"She's been gone for half a year before. She quit her job to go on this one. Spencer he..." William sighed. "He never understands when she goes. He was like this the first she went for a few weeks. I didn't think he'd go all the way to you to find out though," William said and he chuckled, running a hand along the back of his neck.
Morgan glanced Rossi's way to see if the older agent was believing the story. Rossi's brows were creased thoughtfully.
"Maybe you should explain to him-"
"I do," said William, his arms raising in exasperation. He stopped when he saw the way Morgan's hand went to his belt. "I have," he continued, dropping his hands back in his lap. "Spencer is just too young to understand these things. He's a bit slower than other kids."
Morgan laughed. "Slow? Your son found his way to the FBI from here. Spencer is anything but slow."
William looked at Morgan, his eyes searching the agent's face. He started speaking slowly, "in some things he... he is totally rational but-" and William paused, leaning closer with an embarrassed look on his face. "Did you not see that he wears pull ups still?"
Dave was frowning then, his fist curling angrily.
"The kid struggles with these sort of things. So I'm sorry you've been misled. I will be talking to Spencer."
Despite Derek's obvious suspicion, he and Dave left without reprimanding William Reid.
They went back to the hotel where Emily was talking to Garcia on the phone while Aaron rifled through a file.
Aaron looked up as Dave and Derek walked in. He set down the file. "Did he tell you anything new?"
"Nothing we don't know," Morgan said with a huff. "He called the kid slow."
Emily glanced up, the phone still to her ear. Her jaw was set tightly.
"Well, with his profile that doesn't surprise me," Aaron said.
"Guys, I'll put Garcia on speaker. She wants to know everything," Emily said, taking the phone from her ear and pressing a button.
"Morgan?"
"I'm here baby-girl. Have you got anything new?"
"I found a few things. Ashley quit work just a little over five weeks a ago."
Rossi nodded. "Reid said she did. Left to go travelling."
"Put me on the computer. I need to see you guys."
Aaron reached over and swiped his finger over the keypad on the laptop. The screen came back to life and Garcia's face popped onto the screen before Aaron had a chance to open any programmes.
"Did you guys find out anything else? Anything we don't know?"
Rossi shook his head slowly and thoughtfully as he pried anything important Reid may have said from his memories.
Morgan, on the other hand, was glaring down at the floor. "If the kid was there we'd probably have found out more."
"He wasn't there?" Emily asked, frowning to herself.
Aaron looked up at Morgan.
"No he..." Morgan stopped. His eyes flew wide open suddenly and he rushed toward the laptop. "Baby girl, didn't you say that Spencer had no other family except his dad? Check to see if either of his parents had siblings."
"On it."
"Where's Spencer?"
Morgan turned to Aaron, a hand on his forehead. "William said he was with his aunt. He said he needed to sort some things out."
"An aunt?"
"Anything Garcia?"
Aaron looked over at Dave who had sat down, his hand running through his hair.
Garcia looked back up at the camera, her typing slowed for a moment. "Diana had a brother. He died a while ago. No sisters on either side. Anyone beyond that is dead."
"Wait," Emily said as Morgan reached for his gun and started toward the door. "Maybe William was talking about a family friend. We can't go head first into this."
Morgan laughed, his tense body relaxing a little. "You think William Reid has friends?"
"They may be Diana's friends."
Morgan shook his head then. "No, look, that kids in trouble, I just know it. Rossi knows too."
"She's right, Derek we can't just charge into this guns blazing. We need more proof."
Morgan turned toward his superior who was standing up from the bed, watching Derek with a frown.
"Come on, man. It's a kid. What if it was Jack?"
Hotch was stumped for a moment. What if it was Jack? He certainly wouldn't be hesitating. He opened his mouth but before he could argue Garcia cut in.
"I think... I might have some more evidence for you guys."
Morgan stared at Aaron for another few seconds, letting the thought of Jack sink into the unit chief's mind, before he turned his head to the laptop. "What is it, baby-girl?"
Dave raised his head up from his hands, his expression a little less defeated than it had been.
The sound of typing hummed in the room for a moment before Garcia was speaking again. "I've checked Ashley's social media and William's story checks out. She posted a picture to her Instagram just two days ago."
Dave let his head fall back into his hands.
"But... and I know this might be out of my jurisdiction, but I searched her GPS location through the phone she used to post and-"
"What? Is she close?"
"She's not in Spain is she?" said Hotch, holding his hand up to stop Morgan jumping to conclusions. Garcia shook her head.
"I tracked her phone to Las Vegas. It's at William Reid's house... i-it has been for weeks, each post is traceable back to that location since January 10th, which was two days before her 'trip.'"
Dave stared at Aaron as Garcia's words sunk in.
"How can we get a warrant?" he said after a long pause.
Morgan looked down at the laptop camera where Garcia had started typing.
"There's potentially a child in danger and a missing woman, we could convince the station..."
Morgan lost his words and he stared intensely at his hands.
Emily rolled her eyes and took out her phone. "I'll sought it out," she said, pressing the phone to her ear.
If Dave and Derek had stayed just ten minutes longer they may have heard the weak screams that would have sounded just beneath their feet. They may have heard a child's last desperate attempt at salvation.
But they didn't and Spencer, huddled up against the railing where his hands were unforgivingly chained, decided it might be better to find his mother rather than rely on his dad.
Spencer slumped a little, letting his shoulders bear his weight. If he closed his eyes he might be able to find his mum.
The next chapter will be solely on Spencer, and the four days he's spent in the basement while the team have been investigating.
Thanks for reading. Next chapter will be up next week.
See you soon.