Mrs. Webster showed them out the door a moment later. "You are going to catch this bastard, right?" She asked.
"We're going to try." Hotch said. "Thank you for everything, Ma'am."
Everyone went to get into the car. Before he got in, Reid went to speak quickly to her. "Miriam may have saved a woman's life. You should be very proud of her."
"We'll both do better once you catch him."
"Me, too." He said, opening the car door. "Thanks again."
Hotch started the car, making their way back to the B.A.U.
…
Now the clock was ticking. Each second wasted was a precious one. The ride back seemed to take hours. Reid immediately wanted to head to the diner and start searching, but it could take hours to try and track down the direction that way. They had the landmarks – the lake, the cemetery, the diner – it was all a matter of Garcia linking them together.
Thinking back, he felt a consciousness of longing. The same place he'd seen Riley for the first time. He wondered if Andrews had been watching them that day. His mind racing, Reid's heart beat grew faster. It couldn't be safe nor wise for his blood pressure to get this exerted after suffering such severe trauma, but considering his circumstances, he couldn't help it.
At long last, they made it back to the station and into the conference room. Rossi and Hotch went to track down the others, leaving J.J. and Reid alone.
"You look awful, Reid," J.J. said. "I think we should take you back to the hospital."
"Are you insane? When we're this close?"
"You need rest. We know where to find her now, isn't that enough?"
"Do you really think I can rest, just waiting for you to get to her?"
She looked almost angry at him, but instead, rolled her eyes. "You're going straight to bed as soon as we find her."
"Fine," Reid answered, knowing she was just concerned for him. He lightly touched his stomach, the Ibuprofen slowly wearing off. "J.J." he said, feeling the stitches through his shirt, his eyes focused on nothing.
"Yeah?"
"What if we can't get to her?"
"We know where to look now, we'll find her."
"Yeah, I didn't mean that, I mean… what if we don't find her in time?"
"You can't think like that." Sympathetically stroking his arm. "If you don't stay focused, you will lose her. We are so close, don't think about the ifs now."
Just then, the others minus Garcia walked in. "Alright," Hotch said, "Garcia's tracking down the location of the cabin. What did you guys find?"
"Absolutely nothing," Emily announced. "And by nothing, I mean…"
"Nothing," Morgan finished. "This guy barely has a paper trail. His parents are dead, he has no siblings, and as for friends and enemies, it's like he's been a loner since birth. No activities in school, no social groups, the most we could find were a few support groups he hosted in New York."
"Although, we think we may have found his stresser. Garcia managed to discover a former fiancée of his. They were engaged for years; why they never got married, we'll never know, but it turns out, she ended up leaving him for a patient. It was about a year ago."
"That could definitely fit the time frame. Riley's worked at the F.B.I. for at least a year, right?" J.J. inquired.
"Right," both Hotch and Reid said together at once. Both surprised, they glanced up at each other.
Their locked gaze was broken as Garcia rushed in. "I got it." She exclaimed. "I tracked down the graveyard that Miriam Webster tripped in. There are three along the highway near Lisa Marie's Diner. The most likely match is here," she inserted a pin on the map, everyone got up to get a better look. "It's about half a mile from a lake and it hasn't been open to burials since the early 20th century. Mostly, cops report finding teenagers using it for drinking, drugs, séances, other naughty activities. I researched a little further and it appears that while it was in operation, so was a church about five miles in the woods called Charlotte St. Claire, which closed down just before WWI. Now, it's occupied by the same people that dwell in the cemetery."
"That's it," Reid exclaimed. "She's got to be in that church. Miriam said she remembered graffiti on the walls. And Andrews could even have found some of his victims there."
The sun was beginning to set outside, and no one within this highly skilled team believed Riley would last another night. "J.J., call for backup to meet us there along with an ambulance. Morgan, Emily, and Reid, you're with me."
"And tell them to not use the sirens, just get there as fast as they can." Reid added.
"Don't use the sirens?" Rossi repeated.
"If he hears us coming, he'll kill her. He won't let anyone take her from him. We have to sneak up on him, it's her only chance."
And with that, the group of profilers rushed out of the room. By the time they returned, they would either be victorious or miserably defeated.
…
They passed the diner; its parking lot almost completely filled. Reid sat in the back seat with Emily. He watched as the sky turned darker and darker. No stars glowed over head. It was overcast.
They drove for another five minutes, approximately, before Hotch pulled onto the shoulder. He turned slowly, pulling into the woods.
"We can't drive too far in; we don't want to risk him seeing the headlights." He explained, going slowly.
Lowering their windows, the cold, frigid air whooshed in. The smell of fresh snow hung in the air. Another storm was heading in.
"It'll be hard to walk there in this snow. Especially if we can't use flashlights," Morgan stated.
"Just pray the next blizzard holds off until we're completely out of there." Hotch said.
"Look, that's got to be the lake there," Emily exclaimed. "We should stop here."
The others agreed. Hotch dimmed the headlights, giving them a soft glow, barely enough to give any help. Everyone got out of the car, not daring to slam their doors too hard.
"What's the plan?" Morgan asked, watching as Emily helped Reid slip on his vest.
"You and Prentiss better wait for the back up here. Reid and I will head up first, see if we can take Andrews."
"Why don't you get to the church and wait for the backup?"
"The less people there are walking outside, the less likely he'll hear us. If you hear gunshots, do not come after us unless we call you in."
Reluctantly, Emily and Morgan agreed. They didn't like this plan. But they didn't have to like this plan. Everyone there knew the odds of coming out alive after facing a maniac like this, and Riley's chances were even worse. With one last look at each other, the four parted ways. This was it.
Not long, the support from the headlights was gone and they were in the dark. Their best bet was a straight line. Once they came in contact with the firelight from the building, they could change their direction as needed. Reid's hand hung on his gun, ready to pull it out immediately.
"There," Hotch whispered, pointing further up to the hill, slightly northeast. Reid nodded, following Hotch's own actions, who already had his gun at the ready.
"I'll go through the front door," he whispered. "You find the backdoor or one on the side and try to sneak in. It might be easier to find Riley that way. If you can get her out, do it. Don't wait for me."
"We should stick together, what if Andrews sneaks up on you?"
"I'll distract him while you get her help."
"And if he kills you?"
"Then I guess you don't have to worry about your job anymore," Hotch explained.
With each nearing step, they became self conscious of the snow crunching under their feet. They tried to stifle the noise, but to them it was as loud as fire crackers; it seemed impossible that Andrews wouldn't hear them.
The plan commenced. Hotch poised himself at the front door, waiting for Reid to go around. It didn't take long to find a side door. The church was old. It seemed more like a former home than a place of worship. His gun up and ready, Reid pulled the door open. Since the place was so worn down, the door couldn't close properly. Andrews had no chance of locking anyone out.
Inside was dark and gloomy. He had to be on a different level than Miriam had described. Allowing his eyes to adjust to the dark, he searched anxiously. His breathing seemed louder than it had ever been. Blocking out the terror that Andrews was going to sneak up on him in the dark, he moved among the room.
Crossing into another, equally dark room, he finally located a set of stairs. A door at the top looked to stand ajar. He wished she knew he was coming; she just had to hang on a little longer. Reid took a deep breath. Gradually, he began up the steps. He kept his footsteps light, careful not to make a creak.
