Upon their arrival, the weather was awful. Cold, but not enough to snow, the rain was icy, beginning to slick up the roads. The team gathered at the airport, bags in hand, gearing up with a game plan.
"Okay, everybody," Hotch said as everyone gathered around. "Morgan, you and Prentiss go to the Engles' home and talk to the family, the rest of us will head to the police station."
"Actually, Hotch… I'd rather go to the Engles'… if you don't mind."
Everyone's attention turned to him. Hotch looked severe at his words. "Reid, I thought this wasn't going to be a problem."
"It's not a problem!" He urged. "I can handle this, I just… I think my expertise might better serve the profile if I meet the family."
Hotch still looked angry, but Rossi intervened. "That's not a bad idea. You go with Prentiss, Reid. Morgan's with us."
Now, with everyone in agreement, they began to go their separate ways. Morgan and Emily glanced at each other in silent agreement. There was more to this than Reid was letting on.
The two made it to their assigned SUV and climbed in. Pulling out into the hazardous weather, the windshields hummed ferociously. The only sound in the car, it was worse than a ticking clock, counting down the limited amount of time Reid had to stall the inevitable. He focused on the freezing rain, trying to ease his rapid heartbeat.
"Reid," Emily asked, breaking the silence. "Why didn't you want to go to the precinct?"
"I already told you," he answered.
She glanced at him, flipping on her turn signal. "Reid, be honest. Weren't you the one who said we were your family?"
She was right, and he had been neglecting them lately, drawing into himself. He took a deep breath. "Why do you think?" he asked rhetorically.
"If you don't want to see her, then why did you come?"
"Em, I do want to see her. You have no idea how much I want to see her. I just… it's only been a few hours since I found out I'm going to see her. I just… I wanted a little extra time to get used to the idea. I don't want to be a wreck in front of her."
She glanced at him again as they waited at an intersection. Her expression was one of sympathy, seeming to understand. "She really had a hold on you, huh?"
He chose not to answer. Simply, Reid sat back in his seat, waiting for the light to turn green.
Meanwhile the rest of the team arrived at the precinct. As usual, the arrival of the FBI unveiled the territorial feelings among the officers. Local law enforcement never responded well to the interference of the FBI, like it was a message to the rest of the world that they couldn't handle their job.
Still, they were used to it by now. A young rookie lead them through the precinct to the conference room. Inside was a mess; complete chaos. Messy files combined with empty coffee cups and food containers littered the entire table. The bulletin board was scattered with evidence, but it looked more a third graders sick collage than any help to the case.
Inside stood two detectives: a man in his late thirties and a young woman no older than 26. Both stood in the middle of what appeared to be a concentrated discussion. They stopped as the agents entered; the woman rolled her eyes at their arrival.
The man, however, seemed pleased. "You must be the BAU," he said, smiling. "I'm so glad to have you here, Detective Logan Levinson,"
"SSA Aaron Hotchner," Hotch said, clasping his offered hand. "These are SSA Derek Morgan, SSA David Rossi, and Agent Jennifer Jareau. We also have two fellow agents already with the Engles family. They'll be here later."
"Wonderful," Detective Levinson replied. "I can't tell you how relieved we are to have you here."
Her back turned to them, they heard the woman give a quick, sarcastic laugh. Levinson glared at her for a moment. "This ray of sunshine is my partner, Detective Leona Novak." He turned to her, speaking like a father patronizing his five-year-old. "Leona, say hello to the nice agents."
She turned, scowling slightly. "Hello. Glad you could make it."
"We're happy to assist you." Rossi said. "Please understand, this is still your case. We're just here for support."
"Right, it's our case until you catch the guy. Once you snag him, you'll be sure to claim the credit."
"That's not how it works, Detective." Hotch assured. "Shall we get started?"
"Where's the other one?" Novak asked, turning back to the board. "It's bad enough we have to bring in federal help, but we also have to have her. Who also happens to be federal, might I add."
"Dr. Parker," Levinson enlightened, "will be in shortly. She had an emergency call to return. Dr. Parker is our resident psychiatrist, you'll like her."
"We're actually familiar with her," Hotch stated as they all sat around the messy table.
"Of course," Novak said, still not sitting down.
"Leona," Levinson urged, trying to get her to see reason.
"Come on, Logan, do you really think that's a coincidence? They're all feds; of course they all know each other."
"That's right, Detective," a voice said in the doorway. "The government just brought us in to keep an eye on you. That's what you want to hear, isn't it?"
The group turned around, pleased as they saw the familiar figure of their old friend. Riley had barely changed. Her hair had grown a bit, and she looked paler and a bit sleep deprived, but it was her. She smiled as she spotted the team. "I thought I heard some familiar voices."
The group got up to greet her. Hotch first, having known her the longest, kissed her cheek and gave her a big hug. J.J. hugged her as well, followed by friendly kisses from both Rossi and Morgan as Hotch had done. Surprised, she looked around, finding only Novak and Levinson. "Well, let's get started. If we're lucky, we'll narrow down some leads by lunch."
"Reid and Prentiss are speaking with the latest victim's family." J.J. explained. "They should be here in a couple of hours."
"Oh," she exclaimed. Apparently this news had been unexpected. "Well… let's get started anyway, we can fill them in when they get here. And they can fill us."
They each took their respected seats, Riley sitting next to Hotch. She focused her eyes on the closest file, trying to appear busy, secretly feeling her breakfast morph into butterflies.
When Reid and Emily arrived at the Engles home, they could deduce that Maria's disappearance had not remained a secret. Police vehicles and news vans mixed with cars up and down the street. Emily and Reid searched for almost fifteen minutes, eventually parking two blocks away, forcing them to endure the freezing rainfall.
They made their way towards the crowd surrounding the house. Considering the weather, the amount of people was astounding. If the Undertaker had wanted to be famous, he certainly got his wish. Using their badges to pass the police, they carefully climbed the many icy steps up to the front door. Emily knocked as Reid took a glance around the porch. It was unkempt, littered with dead leaves and a few children's toys which looked to have been abandoned in there places decades ago.
A woman answered the door, wearing a robe over her pajamas. "Yes?" she asked, sounding distraught and frightened.
"Mrs. Engles? We're with the FBI, Behavioral Analysis Unit." Emily said as both she and Reid held up their badges again. "We're investigating your daughter's disappearance."
"The FBI?" she asked, unsure.
"Ma'am, is it alright if we come in?" Reid asked. "It's pretty cold out here."
She glanced behind him, noticing the precipitation. She nodded, stepping aside to let them in.
The place was rather cold. Apparently, learning that her daughter had gone missing by an elusive serial killer caused such minor things to slip her mind. She wrapped her robe tighter around her. "I'll make some coffee," she said, stepping out of the room.
Emily and Reid removed their wet coats and hung them on a nearby rack. They moved into the sitting room, looking around. The place seemed to belong to a happy family, judging by the amount of photos around. Three boys and a girl. Maria seemed to be their only daughter.
About ten minutes later, Mrs. Engles returned with two mugs for the agents. Reid accepted his thankfully. "Please, sit," she said, sitting on one of the two parallel couches.
"We don't want to ruin your furniture," Emily said, "Our clothes are a little damp."
"My life is already ruined, Agent," Mrs. Engles said. "My daughter is dead. What do I care about my furniture."
"Your daughter was only taken last night. Odds are she's still alive." Reid explained.
Mrs. Engles turned and stared down Dr. Reid. "My daughter was taken by the Undertaker, Agent. I've followed this case for months." She paused, taking a deep breath, trying to remain calm. "I was fascinated by it, and never once did I even think to warn Maria. And now…" she covered her eyes, unable to continue.
"Is this Maria?" Emily asked, grabbing a framed photo of Maria's face. She was very pretty, with thin black hair and a bright smile and a pair of bright blue eyes. Around her neck was a silver necklace, a diamond encrusted M sparkled at the end.
Mrs. Engles nodded, taking the photo. "Yes. This was her last high school picture. She's a sophomore at Seattle U, studying to be a lawyer. She had hope of being the District Attorney one day. God she loves to argue… loved to argue."
Tears escaped from Mrs. Engles eyes as she stared at her daughter's picture. Reid left his search around the room and sat next to Emily across from the grieving mother.
"Mrs. Engles, we know this is difficult for you," Emily said. "but is there any information you can give us about Maria that could lead us to her disappearance."
She took a deep breath, attempting to stop the tears. "I'm not sure what I could tell you that could help."
"Did Maria often walk alone at night?" Reid asked.
She thought for a moment. "I don't know. Maria had a car, I can't imagine why she would need to walk alone. She had friends at school, a few in town that she knew from high school… come to think of it, Maria was almost never alone."
"Do you know where she might have been last night?" Reid inquired.
"It was Friday night, Agent, and Maria was a very sociable girl. What did you do when you were in college?"
"Ma'am, I was just hitting puberty when I was an undergrad; I don't think Maria and I would share any common interests."
Mrs. Engles looked confused and alarmed, as most did when it came to Spencer Reid.
