Reid was fuming. This guy was damn lucky that they were all strapped to tables because Reid was ready to strangle him. He had just watch this man burn Penelope's arm with a cigarette, and punch JJ in the face. He felt a sense of duty to protect them both in any way possible. Even if it meant getting himself hurt.
"You're a coward," he said.
Penelope looked at him with pure fear, and JJ looked like she was ready to slap him. The man smiled. He was amused.
"Really," he said," well, agent Reid if you really feel that way, then please, tell me why."
"I'm sure he didn't mean it," Penelope said.
This earned their captor's attention. He walked across the room to Garcia and stood over her, which caused her to shrink away from him. He could tell she was terrified, and he delighted in it. He placed a cold, calloused hand on her face.
"Penelope, my darling," he said," now, why would Dr. Reid say that, knowing the negative consequences that come with disrespecting me, if he didn't believe it to be so? I think you may want to leave the profiling to the profilers sweetheart."
"I don't know why he said it," Penelope said," just please don't hurt him."
"I'll make a deal with you," he said," I'm feeling rather merciful at the moment, so I won't hurt Dr. Reid."
Garcia breathed a sigh of relief.
"But," he continued," I will have to punish you in his place. Do you accept?"
Penelope paused for a moment. Fear filled her eyes.
"Penelope," Reid said," No. You don't have to do this. It's okay."
As soon as he said that, Garcia felt newfound courage. She couldn't live with herself if Reid was hurt because of her.
"Fine," she said," whatever you're going to do, do it to me."
"Dr. Reid," the man said," she's certainly ready to take the fall for you, but do you accept the deal?"
"No," Reid said quickly," if you're going to hurt someone, hurt me."
The man pulled out a knife from his desk and walked over to Reid. He cut off the sleeve on his right arm, and cut him once.
"Consider this your first, and only warning, Dr. Reid," he said," next time, I won't be so forgiving, and I may not ask if I can hurt Ms. Garcia."
Prentiss and Morgan went to the parking lot to see if anything had been left behind.
"Okay," Prentiss said," The van was in this parking space, so any evidence he left behind would have been in this area."
After a few minutes, they were ready to call it quits and head back upstairs. Prentiss noticed something next to Garcia's car. She bent down to pick it up and saw that it was a picture of the team in a bright pick frame. The faces of Reid, JJ, and Garcia were marked out.
"Did he steal this from her car?" Prentiss asked," or did take it from her desk?"
"Neither," Morgan said," he took it from her house. I've seen that picture in the same place in Garcia's house for the past three years. It can't be a coincidence that it suddenly ends up here the same day she goes missing. We should talk to Kevin, and see if anything seemed out of place when he was there. Let's check the other cars."
Derek checked Reid's car and found a leather-bound journal underneath. his car. He read the first page and understood what it was.
"A few years ago, what he had just started with the BAU, Reid asked me how I cope with the things we see," Morgan said," I asked Hotch and Gideon to help him out, and I guess he decided to keep a journal."
"So this guy found something so private, that we didn't even know about it, and left it here for us to find," Prentiss said," we should go check his house after we take a look at JJ's car."
Emily checked JJ's car and found a picture book underneath.
"It looks like something she'd read to Henry," she said.
She opened it up and saw a picture of Henry on a swing, with JJ and Will behind him. It looked like someone had taken the picture without them knowing.
"We need to talk to Will, and Kevin," Morgan said," and we need to search Reid's place. It's our best chance of finding something."
Hotch and Rossi went to Reid's apartment and tried to search it.
"Where do you think he would keep his journal?" Rossi asked.
"I don't know," Hotch said," until a few minutes ago, I didn't even know he kept a journal. Why?"
"If he was going to leave something, he'd probably leave it where he found the journal," Rossi answered," that's where he would have to pick up the journal.
"That's the thing," Hotch said," the journal was already dusted for prints, and they found nothing. He was wearing gloves when he came through here."
"It's not fingerprints I'm expecting to find," Rossi said," he went into their homes and took items that they cared about. He's been leaving us clues this whole time. This isn't a crime to him. It's a game."