Rossi was waiting for him down at the car. Quickly, Reid headed back to the conference area to grab his belongings, not wanting to stray too far from his phone. He'd almost forgotten Alexa was still there until he walked back in.
"Hey," She said, standing up. "I wasn't aware our conversation was over. Is everything alright, you left kind of sudden."
"I apologize, I do that when my mind gets focused on something." Reid said, hurrying into the room. His bag was slouched in his chair, his cell right before it on the table. He immediately grabbed it, checking to see he had no calls. Nothing from Riley yet.
"You… seem a little distracted." She mentioned, getting to her feet. She was almost too afraid to ask, not sure if the answer would please her or hurt her. "Did you… find something?"
He should keep her knowledge to a minimum. She was much more involved right now than she should be, but she'd come this far… she deserved to know the truth. She was strong, he knew she could handle it.
Looking up, he said carefully, "We may have a suspect."
"Oh, God," She squeaked, covering her mouth. A million thoughts flooded through her head, knowing how close they might be to finding her son. Dead or alive, she had to bring him home, but if Reid were right… she might hold him in her arms again very soon.
"Do you know where he has Peter?" She muttered in a shaking breath as she pulled her hand away.
"We don't even know if this is the right guy. We're going to speak to a family member, who might get a clue to where he is or where he kept his victims. There's no guarantee we're on the right track, but it's the only lead we have. It's better than doing nothing at all, looking for something better." He explained.
Alexa was close to breaking down into tears again. She'd been searching and trying for weeks and was down to her last hope. If Spencer couldn't find her son, no one could. This had to turn up something… she couldn't walk away empty handed.
"Alexa," Reid urged, walking over. She looked ready to collapse and he gently guided her back into her chair. "It won't do any good if you get upset. If this doesn't turn up anything, we'll find something else. There's always a clue, always an answer, and I always find it." Sitting beside her, his hand rested gently on her shoulder, making her meet his eyes. "I promise you, no matter what it takes… I will not give up until I find Peter."
She believed him. So many people told her the last two months that they would find her son no matter what, but none of them had come through. None of them cared beyond what they were required to… except for Spencer. He really did care about her son. She could see that from the very beginning, even when he looked at her with such hatred. Nobody cared like him.
"I'll let you know as soon as I find anything valuable. For now, I know it's hard, but try not to think about it. Spend time with your girls, are they still here?"
Alexa nodded, "One of the officers put a movie on for them in the captain's lounge. I'll go join them."
Reid smiled kindly, standing up. "That's a good idea." With that, he hurried to grab his things. Rossi was no doubt out front by now. "It's a lot better than sitting around here all day. Go for a walk, get some fresh air. Your family is finally giving you a break, don't waste it. I'll be back soon."
"I hope you find something." She said as she got up, too.
He gave her crooked, doubtful smile. He, too, hoped they found something… anything.
Spring Valley was only about ten minutes away. The neighborhood was quiet, no surprise for this time of day. Rossi pulled into the driveway of a modest house, parking right behind a blue station wagon. Someone was home, at least.
He and Reid got out of the car, eyeing the house carefully before they got out. It looked so normal, a place no one would suspect a killer might live. Sometimes, those were the most dangerous of places.
Reid lifted the strap of his bag over his shoulder and followed Rossi up the steps to the door. The older man rang the doorbell, waiting on the covered porch.
"Looks like it might rain." Rossi mentioned.
"If it does, it won't last long, and it will cool off the air for a little bit." Reid mentioned. "The worst time to be here is during the monsoon season, where it rains for days on end. There are flash floods and severe hail storms-" Suddenly, Reid stopped and looked to Rossi significantly. "You didn't really want to talk about the weather, did you?"
"No, I was really just making chit chat." He replied kindly. "Just trying to take your mind off things."
It would take a lot more than discussions about Vegas's meteorological conditions to get his mind off anything that was troubling him. His thoughts were settling and starting to fester in his mind. Every time he looked at the situation, it just seemed worse.
Rossi rang the doorbell a second time, and at that saw through the curtains a light come on somewhere in the back of the house. "So, are you going to see your mom while you're here?"
"Definitely," Reid nodded. "I was planning to stop by as soon as the case is over, but I might wait now until Riley's a little more stable."
"Assuming everything goes well, are you going to tell her she's going to be a grandma?" He wondered.
Reid didn't answer right away. The reason being he didn't know what to say. He hadn't thought about having a family for very long, and he had no idea how his mother would react to that, especially since she despised the woman he married.
"I don't know," Reid shook his head. "It might be wiser to wait until Riley's closer to term or even after the birth. She doesn't deal well with long term things, she's more of a day by day person."
"What about your dad?" He questioned. "I'm sure he could handle the news a lot better."
"Yeah," Reid said softly. "I think he'd be really excited to be a grandfather."
He sounded sincere, but something about his expression told a different story. Eyeing him carefully, Rossi said, "I thought you were getting along with your dad. Are you not talking to him anymore?"
"No, I am." Reid said, glancing over. "I talk to him every couple of weeks, I was going to call him when the case was over, see if he wanted to meet Riley and me for lunch. I'll probably tell him about the baby then… if there's anything to tell."
"That's not the only thing that's bothering you." He pointed out.
Before Rossi could interrogate the poor boy further, the door opened, revealing a woman about 30-years-old. Seeing the men, she heaved a sigh and said, with great determination, "We don't have your cat."
Both men looked at each other, bewildered. "Uh…" Rossi began. "We're not looking for a cat. Are you Bethany Rochester?"
"Yes, I am," She answered, starting to get nervous.
Both Reid and Rossi removed their badges, flashing them before the young woman. "Ma'am, I'm SSA David Rossi, this is Dr. Spencer Reid. We'd like to talk to you about your brother, Walter."
"Wallie?" She asked. "Uh… well, he's not here right now, but he should be back soon."
"So you have seen him today?" Reid asked, despondent.
"Yes," She answered. "He was here for breakfast and then he took my twin daughter's to their friend's house for a birthday party. He hasn't come back yet, but that's not unusual."
Reid made a mental note on the mention of twin daughters. As he said before, taking a girl would ruin his illusion. As far as the theory was concerned, those girls were perfectly safe.
"May we come in?" Rossi questioned. "It's important we speak to you about some things your brother might be involved in."
She was nervous and puzzled, but stepped aside to let them enter. "Come in."
Both agents stepped in carefully, immediately coming into a cozy living room. There was a fireplace with a mantle decorated in photographs and family mementos. That was Reid's first stop, knowing he could learn about this family quicker than what Mrs. Rochester could tell them."
"Can I get you some coffee?" She asked. "Something to eat or drink?"
"No, we're fine. Thank you." Rossi said as he took a seat in one of the armchairs facing the sofa.
Mrs. Rochester watched Reid carefully, immediately bothered by this inquisitive young man who looked much too smart for his own good. Without a word to him, she stepped over to one of the night stands, picking up a white monitor. "I should warn you, my toddler has a cold. He's down for his nap now, but he's been waking up crying a lot."
"It's not a problem, this shouldn't take long." Rossi insisted. "How long have you lived here?"
"Almost three years." She answered. "My husband and I bought it together, but he didn't live here very long."
Reid was looking at two framed pictures, side by side. One was of a Bethany Rochester and a man about the same age in wedding attire, beaming brightly as they held each other. It was their wedding day, Reid knew. He and Riley had several pictures similar to this, remembering one of the happiest days of their life. Beside that photo was another of the same man, only he was alone, looking very solemn and dignified, dressed in formal attire specific to the army.
"This is your husband?" Reid asked, indicating the military photo.
"Yes, that's Gregory." She answered.
"He died in Iraq, correct?" He questioned, looking over to her.
She paused for a moment, not exactly sure how this young boy could know that when she'd never seen him in her life. "Yes, a little over a year ago. We bought this house just before he went on tour, right after our youngest was born."
"How was he killed, if you don't mind my asking." Reid wondered.
"No, I'm not ashamed of what happened." She said. "He was a trauma surgeon. A soldier came in with a grenade in his leg that went off before they could remove it. Funny… I had so many people preparing me on how to deal with him when he came home, to help him through the post-traumatic stress… no one prepared me on how to deal with your husband's actual death."
"I'm very sorry for your loss." Reid said sympathetically. "But it was his death that allowed you to bring Walter into your home, correct?"
Mrs. Rochester was stunned for a moment, eyeing Reid suspiciously. "Yes. Not that Wallie and Gregory didn't get along, we just wanted to have a life to ourselves. Give our kids a stable environment and Wallie isn't exactly… stable."
"He's mentally disturbed?" Rossi alleged.
Immediately, Mrs. Rochester turned to him, "Please don't misunderstand, Wallie isn't dangerous. He's caring and kind, he'd never hurt anyone. You have the wrong idea about him, just like everyone else."
"Most people suffering from mental illnesses are nonviolent." Reid answered. "Although they can get violent if they feel threatened. Is this him?" He pointed to another picture, knowing at once it matched the boy from the printout.
"Yes, that was his senior photo." She answered. "He never went to college. He tried to live on his own for a while but, even with Gregory and me paying his way, he just kept struggling. He never took his meds, never showed up for therapy, he'd disappear for months at a time… when my husband died, I needed extra help. Wallie's great with the kids and this way I could keep an eye on him, it just made sense."
Reid had seen enough of the photos, walking over to officially join the conversation, sitting beside Mrs. Rochester on the sofa. "You still call him Wallie."
"He likes Wallie, that's all he's ever been known as." She answered. "In his mind, he's kind of like a child. Sometimes, he's a little more lucid and acts like a young adult. He can drive and function like an adult wood, but his personality and interests mimick kids more than people his own age. That's fine, it's like having a live in babysitter."
"He's Wallie," Reid said, glancing at his partner for a moment. "So… I take it his brother Willard was called Willie?"
Stunned, Mrs. Rochester eyed Reid with shock. She turned to Rossi a moment, trying to find the right words to respond to this. "How did you know he had a twin brother?"
"Because he's the reason we're here." Rossi explained. "Wallie's mental disorder stems from the trauma and shock of losing his twin, correct?"
"That's what the doctors believe." She answered, looking between the two, disturbed by all this. "I don't understand, why would this be of any interest to you?"
"I know this is difficult, Mrs. Rochester, but… we need to know how your brother died." Reid carefully requested.
She hesitated a moment. They could tell she wanted to ask them to leave. Truthfully, if she did, they'd have no choice but to go. They had no legal reason to be here. "He drowned. It was an accident."
"We know that." Rossi answered. He met Reid's eyes, both immediately registering it was a drowning. "Can you tell us what happened? Specifically."
"I'm not sure that's any of your business." She snapped.
Reid urged her forward. "It's imperative, Mrs. Rochester."
"I'm not telling you anything until you tell me what this has to do with my little brother." She yelled with determination.
Rossi would rather they keep the truth from her. If she knew everything, she might be prone to lie and without real evidence, they might not be able to connect Walter to the murders, let alone find what he did with his last victim. But without her cooperation, they might never find him.
"We have reason to believe your brother Walter is involved with the kidnappings of several young boys over the last year." He informed.
She rolled her eyes and let out a laugh. "That's ridiculous. Wallie couldn't hurt a fly. He still cries when he scrapes his knee. He's still afraid of the dark."
"Please, Mrs. Rochester," Reid beseeched upon her. "I realize you want to protect both your living brother and the memory of your late one, but we need to know the truth. Perhaps you're right, Wallie may not be involved at all, but we can't know that until we know more."
Speech failed her a moment as she considered this. She wanted to order them out, but Reid had a way of appealing to people. Looking over, meeting his comforting hazel eyes, she said, "You're wrong about him."
"Then prove it to us." Rossi said. "Is Wallie responsible for his twin's death?"
"No!" She cried, looking with disgust at both the men.
"How can you be sure?" Rossi questioned.
At that, she gave an answer neither had suspected. "Because Willie's death was my fault!"
A tense silence filled the room. Reid met Rossi's gaze, both mentally trying to debate how to go about this. "How is that so?" Asked Reid.
"I didn't mean for it to happen." She muttered with remorse and sadness, hanging her head a bit. "I was a teenager, I was self-centered and narrow minded… I know I should have been watching them."
Rossi pressed. "What happened exactly?"
She did not want to have this conversation. Not now, not ever, but she had to do it to prove her brother's innocence. "There's one thing you have to know about my parents. There were only two things they cared about. Money and themselves, in that order. They didn't have much time for me and my brothers. We were raised by nannies and servants… really, all we had was each other."
Reid couldn't help but ignore the similarities between the Lovejoys and the Hillman children. Bethany Rochester continued. "I was alright, I could handle being ignored. I learned how to deal with it young, but the boys were much more fragile than me… so I looked after them. I gave them the maternal affection they needed… it's probably why Wallie responds best to me now.
"Our parents spent most of their time working," She said. "My father was an investor, my mother was an executive at an advertisement firm. We didn't see them most of the weak, they barely took time to see us on holidays, it felt more like they were financial sponsors than parents. They showed us love by giving us things… we were strangers with the same last name, except for one week… one week when we were a family."
"When was that?" Reid questioned.
"In the summer, usually in July. We'd rent some cabins by the lake and our aunts and uncles and cousins would come up to join us. We'd all sit around the fire and roast marshmallows and tell ghost stories, it really brought us together… even with my parents fighting, it was nice. We liked it… until the last year we went. The year Willie drowned."
"It was accident, though. Like you said." Indicated Rossi, watching her with caution.
"I know I should have been paying better attention… but it was the only week I really got to be a kid. I felt like I had the responsibilities of motherhood thrust upon me since the boys were born. I was fifteen, the boys were six… I was on the shore with my cousins that day, we were all about the same age. We were in our swim suits and we wanted to swim to the island… it was this large patch of land about a quarter of a mile off shore. There was a little wind, so the water was choppy, but we'd all taken swim classes, we knew we could manage it… but the thing was… the boys had followed me down." She picked her head up, looking first to Rossi and then to Reid. "They were supposed to be with my mother. She promised she'd watch them so I could relax that day, she always broke her promises! Always!"
"Okay," Reid urged. He reached over and took her hand gently, giving her support to get through this. "We understand… what happened."
"They wanted to swim with us, too." She moaned. Tears were starting to fill her eyes as she relived this. "I yelled at them, I told them they were too little, they had to stay there, they weren't even dressed to swim… I knew I should have just stayed with them, or gotten one of the row boats and taken them over, but damnit I just wanted to go myself! I didn't want to look after them anymore. I ordered them to stay… and I thought they listened. I dove off the dock and me and my cousins swam to the island. It only took about ten minutes for us to get there. We explored the beach and the woods a bit… then we relaxed on the other side of the island, we had no idea… what was going on on shore.
"A few hours later, we swam back from the other side of the island, and then walked the shore around to get back to where we were, where the cabins were. I remember my father running at us… he grabbed my arm and slapped me, screaming to know where I was? I told him… he was furious with me… that's when he told me Willie was found in the water faced down… and Wallie was nowhere to be found."
She looked over to Reid, who's presence was more calming of the two. "They thought he was dead… they didn't find him for two days… they dragged the lake, they looked everywhere. until finally, they discovered him on the island. Cold and hungry and crying, telling them he was sorry, he didn't mean it." A tear fell down her cheek as she finished. "They tried to swim after us. By some miracle, Wallie managed to get across, but Willie got too far behind… he watched his brother sink under the water and his body come back up… he couldn't understand what happened to him… he hid on the island, just waiting for his brother to finish swimming across and find him. He had no concept of death… he didn't realize he watched his brother die."
"He still can't comprehend it." Rossi said, sitting up a bit.
"What do you mean?" Mrs. Rochester asked. "Why? What's been going on?"
Rossi cleared his throat before he asked, "You reported your brother missing recently, didn't you?"
"It was months ago. He went to bed one night and the next morning he was gone. I knew something was wrong because he always tells me he's going out. Never where or how long he'll be gone, but he tells me so I don't worry. Immediately, I called the police, I filed a report, they started an investigation, there was no sign of him… and then one day, about six weeks later, he just waltzed back in the door. Saying it was nothing. I was furious with him, but I put it behind me. Until it happened again a few weeks later. I filed the report again, the police searched everywhere, we even thought about getting you guys involved… and then he just came back. When it happened a third time, I decided to wait… see if the patterned repeated… and it did. He came back. So when he took off a fourth time, I knew everything would be alright." She gave a small smile. "He came home two weeks ago."
"Has he left since then?" Reid pondered. "Even if it was just for half a day?"
"Uh… yeah." She nodded, thinking. "But that's not uncommon, he's been doing that since high school. He'll take off for about 36 hours, then come home for a day or two, then take off again. He'll do that over and over again, and then he'll change his pattern and be home for weeks. When he's home, he's loving and a big help for me, when he goes off, it's like he's vanished from the face of the earth." She adjusted herself in her seat, looking directly to both men, trying to get her point across. "I don't question it because it's what's best for him. Wallie spent over a decade in therapy and this is the best he's ever gotten. He's been put on meds which I watch, he's relatively normal… this is the best we can hope for. If this is what he has to do to keep normal, I can live with that."
"We can't," Rossi informed. "The reason your brother has been disappearing is because he's been kidnapping young boys."
"No!" She argued. "You have the wrong man, Wallie would never hurt anyone! He's not a pedophile, I would never let a man like that stay in the same home as my children."
"He's not abusing these boys, Mrs. Rochester." Reid explained, still clutching her hand. "Our theory is he's forcing them to relive Willie's death."
That couldn't be true. Bethany Rochester gaped at Reid a moment, appalled he would suspect such a thing from her loving brother. "You… you've got to be crazy." She answered. "Why would he do something like that?"
"Maybe after all this time, he's trying to make sense of it." Rossi answered. "A question we can only answer once we find your brother. We have to know where Walter is, immediately."
"If you're right, and he is the one hurting these boys," she said. "I'm not so sure taking him immediately is a good idea. He likes to do things his way, maybe if I talk to him, I can get him to bring himself in, admit to it on his own terms."
"With all do respect ma'am, even if we weren't in a pressing matter, we wouldn't allow that." Said Rossi. "We can't be sure you wouldn't help him get away to avoid being charged."
"Pressing matter?" She asked, startled. "You mean…"
"There's another boy missing," Reid explained. "And he might still be alive. We haven't found his body yet and each of the victims were found about 24 hours after their deaths. That's probably why Wallie's been vanishing for a day and a half lately… he's going to check if the boy's still alive."
"I don't understand," Mrs. Rochester exclaimed. "What is he doing to them? Where is he keeping them?"
"To know that, we have to find Wallie." Rossi insisted. "Do you know where he could be?"
She paused a moment. "He… he likes to walk around, that's the best I can tell you. He spends time at the libraries… if he hasn't taken off again, which wouldn't surprise me, it's been a day or two since he left." She gulped. "Oh God, he went to see that little boy, didn't he?"
Rossi wouldn't answer. "If he didn't leave, when would expect him home?"
"He's not going to leave without telling me." She informed. "Besides, he promise he'd pick up Hannah and Helen after their party, which is supposed to be over this afternoon. He was very keen on taking the girls, the house the party's at is right by Waterson Park. He loves the park. He likes to just watch the people. He smiles when he watches the little children play. It's calming to him."
"Waterson Park." Reid repeated. "That's pretty big. A lot of ground to cover."
"We'll canvas the area, search around for him." Rossi said as he stood. "We'd like you to stay here and wait for him, if he comes back," He handed her a business card from his pocket. "Give us a call and try to keep him from leaving."
"I will," She answered. "You're not going to hurt him, are you?"
"Not unless we have to." Reid informed. "And judging by what we know and what you've told us, Wallie doesn't seem like a violent person. We'll be in touch soon."
Mrs. Rochester nodded, watching as the two agents headed to the door, stepping out. She sat back down on the couch, staring down at Rossi's phone number in shock, unbelieving her gentle, innocent little brother could do such a terrible thing.
Stepping outside, a light drizzle had begun. Indeed, it cooled off the hot summer heat of the desert. Reid and Rossi hurried to the car, climbing in and buckling up, ready to get back on the road.
"He's not going to the parks to watch and relax." Rossi said as he started to back out. "He's hunting. He's looking for his next victim."
"He's going to see Peter every couple of days, approximately." Reid began. "Utah is about an hour away from here, judging on an amount of time he'd wish to spend with the boy, probably enough time to give him some food and look after him before he leaves again. Whether he's urging the boy to follow or the boy tries to follow himself is still yet to be proven, but it says the area where he stashes his victims can't be more than about four hours from his home."
"It's got to be hidden, though. A lot of people are vacationing this time of year, especially near water." Rossi said. "It's got to be a place tourists and campers won't access easily."
"And where would that be?" Reid wondered.
"Call Garcia, have her look into that camp ground the Lovejoys frequented all those summers. I wonder if the place is still in operation." Rossi said. "If it's run down or in disrepair, I think that's the perfect place to stash a victim."
Reid pulled out his phone, watching the spatter of rain fall on the windshield. There was something off about this though, he could feel it. Finding Lovejoy and tracking down Peter so quickly… it was starting to feel a little too easy.