"Penelope."

Erin was crying the next time she called. Penelope quickly muted the song she was listening to, and focused in on the woman. "What's wrong, honey bunch?"

"He, he knows. He knows about the cellphone, told me so this morning. He wanted me to call, to contact you." There was a deep hurt in her voice, and Penelope wondered what had happened to her in the time since they had last spoken. "He wants me to tell you what he did to me, what he'll continue to do to me until he kills me."

Her voice broke and Penelope longed to hug Erin, to hold her close and tell her that she would protect her no matter what. "What does he want you to tell me?" she asked, dreading what she would hear next.

"I'm so cold now, I think he keeps me in the coldest part of the basement. He tore my clothes off me last night, made me sleep nude, with no blanket or anything. I don't think Davie will want me anymore, not after this morning."

"Did he rape you, honey?" Penelope's eyes teared up and she absently rubbed her hand over her stomach in an effort to self-soothe. "Erin?"

"Yes," she whispered. "He whistled as he did it."

"Did you recognize the tune?"

"It wasn't a tune, it sounded more like a bird."

For some reason this detail caused Penelope to pause, but she didn't want to voice her suspicions to Erin, just in case he was listening in on their conversation. "Oh, my sweet Erin. When I find you, I am going to love on you so much, if you let me. I promise that David will want you, he loves you and only you. And I love you, too. Every time you call, I am going to speak those words of love into your ear, okay?"

"All right." Erin sighed deeply. "I can hear his footsteps outside my room. I have to go now. Thank you for loving me."

"You're welcome. Call back as soon as you can." The line went dead, and Penelope burst into tears, burying her face in her hands. Her phone rang once more, and she picked it up, knowing that it wouldn't be Erin, and that she wouldn't be able to hide the fact that she was upset. "Hello?"

"Garcia? What's wrong? Did you get another call?"

There was something soothing about Blake's voice, and she nodded a little. "Yes. He, he raped her, Alex. He violated her, made her feel like Rossi won't love her now. I promised to tell her how much we love her every time she can call, but is that going to be enough?"

"I know that you will make certain that it is, dear. Are you up to doing a few searches for me, though? I need some information."

She tried to pull herself together as she rolled over to her computer screens. "Sure, ask away." As Blake rattled off a few search parameters, Penelope got in the zone of work, quickly finding out what the team needed for the case. "Alex?"

"Yes, Penelope?"

"Tell Rossi that he is loved beyond words. Please?"

"I will do that." They hung up, and Penelope stood, going over to her couch and curling up, resting her head on the pillow.

"The whistling sounded like a bird. Curtis had a personal vendetta against Erin. Who else might have a personal vendetta against her? There's only one person I know that whistled like a bird, but he is so far removed from us now. Isn't he?"

She stared at the ceiling as she spoke to herself, trying to talk her brain out of jumping to the conclusion that somehow Jason Gideon was involved. After all, it was coincidence that Erin had mentioned the sound of birdsong. It had to be.

Bolting up, she hurried over to her computer and began an in depth search for Gideon. She had done much the same, after he had left them all those years ago, and turned up nothing at the time. While her computers ran that search, she looked up his son's number. It was still in her database of contacts, and she pulled out her personal cellphone to call him.

His phone rang three times before he picked up. "Hello?"

"Hi, this is Penelope Garcia. I used to work with your father at the FBI."

She heard the low groan of displeasure that the man tried to mask before he answered her, and she frowned. "How can I help you?"

"I was hoping to get ahold of your father. See, Dr. Reid has been having a rough time of things lately, and I thought it would be nice if I could hook him up with his old mentor once more. I know that it would cheer him up."

"I haven't heard from my father in four years."

"Stephen, please. Anything you can give me to go on would be appreciated. Do you have a more current phone number or address for him?"

He sighed again in frustration, but Penelope also heard him get up and move around the room he was in. "Give me a few moments."

"Of course, take your time."

She listened to the rustling of papers and crossed her toes as she picked up a pen to write with. "Here, this is the most current number that I have for him, 540-555-6294. If that doesn't work, I have nothing else for you. And if you do get ahold of him, tell him that his grandchildren miss him, but he's never to contact us again. I've told them that he's dead."

"Oh, okay. Um, thanks and have a good day?"

"You, too, Penelope."

She pulled up her trusty database of phone numbers and plugged in Gideon's number, coming up with a location. "Belspring," she whispered, calling up her map program and looking at the terrain of the area. It was perfect for keeping someone hidden, what with the mountains and forests. It was the perfect place for Gideon, far away from technology and everything he hated about the modern world. But did that really make him partners with Curtis?

Sighing, she pushed away from her desk and made her way over to her sofa, pulling out her personal cell phone and calling Blake. "Yeah, Garcia?"

"Are you somewhere where we can talk?"

"Give me one second." She listened to her walk around, and then heard a door close. "All right, I'm alone right now. What is up?"

"I think Gideon has Erin. Tell me I am wrong, and that I am jumping to conclusions here. That my brain is creating patterns where there are none."

"First, breathe in deeply, and try to calm down." Penelope did as told, feeling a bit calmer. "Now, tell me why you think Gideon might be behind this."

"Something that Erin mentioned. He was whistling like a bird when he raped her. Gideon loved birds, he was obsessed with them. So, I called his son, looking for a phone number or address for him. The number he gave is for Belspring, Virginia. Looking at the map, it's a great place for keeping someone captive. Very secluded, by a forest and mountains. But that could just be coincidence, right? Please, tell me I'm wrong."

There was a long pause, and Penelope felt her heart sink. "I want you to do some more digging in that direction, Penelope. That is too coincidental for comfort."

"I will, Alex. Stay safe out there."

"You, too." They hung up, and Penelope sighed, feeling crushed at the very real possibility that they would have to chase after a former friend.