Don't Own
Please R&R
Enjoy!
…
"Here Baby," Derek said as he paced a cup of water on the table in front of her. They had relocated from Hotch's office to the conference room.
"Thanks Handsome" Penelope said without her usual playfulness.
Derek placed a hand on her shoulder "We'll figure this out" he whispered to her.
Penelope nodded, she knew if anyone one could figure it out, it would be her team but still she couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive.
Derek gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze before removing his hand and taking a seat next to her.
Rossi, Reid, Prentiss and J.J. were already sitting.
"Okay, first things first," Rossi stated "Have you noticed anything unusual around your apartment in the last few weeks Garcia?"
Penelope bit her lip "What kinds of things?"
"Have you found things moved, or misplaced," Rossi said "anything that seems out of the ordinary?"
Penelope shook her head "No, I haven't noticed anything like that. To be honest if I hadn't received the doll in the package, I probably wouldn't have realized she was missing."
Rossi frowned and Penelope felt useless.
"That's not necessarily true," Reid began "you might believe you wouldn't notice it but our subconscious picks up things like that, even if we're not completely sure ourselves, our subconscious can tell when things are out of place."
Penelope shrugged "I really don't remember anything being out of place."
"Baby Girl," Derek began and Penelope turned to look at him "are you sure there's nothing else? Really think about it. There's nothing else in or around your apartment that seemed out of place, something that shouldn't have been there, in the last few weeks."
Derek watched as Penelope's face scrunched up in thought, she was shaking her head negatively and her frustration was clear on her face. Then suddenly she stopped and her eyes, which she had previously closed, shot open.
"What is it?" Prentiss asked and the team seemed to lean closer to her.
"Last weekend," Penelope began "my elderly neighbor Mrs. Rookwood told me that she thought she had seen a man lurking around. I visit her every weekend since she doesn't have any family and I'm always afraid she's going to hurt herself. So I just check in on her and we have tea and talk. Everyone who lives in the apartment complex thinks she's half crazy, and she's suspicious of everything since she doesn't really have anything better to do, so I didn't think anything of it when she told me."
"That could be something" Reid stated.
Rossi nodded his agreement "Did she say anything else?"
"Uh…" Penelope said rubbing her hands together in her lap "She said that he wasn't tall but not short either, he had thinning blonde hair and was wearing big, thick glasses."
"Where did she see him?" Prentiss asked.
"She said she saw him out of the window in her back bedroom, in the alleyway behind the building…" Penelope trailed off and she bit her lip, a look of fear etched itself across her face.
Derek reached out a hand and placed it on her arm "What is it Baby Girl?" he asked.
Penelope turned to look at him and visibly swallowed "Mrs. Rookwood's apartment is right next to mine, she told me that she saw him trying to look into my back bedroom…I thought she was just being paranoid. I didn't actually listen to her."
Derek moved closed to her "It's okay Penelope, you didn't know but now we do, and now we can do something about it. Don't worry about it, I know it's scary but you're safe with us."
Penelope nodded, unconsciously shifting her body closer to Derek.
"Did she say anything else?" Prentiss asked "Why didn't she call the police if she saw someone looking into your bedroom?"
"She told me that she had just gone into her bedroom to get something off of her nightstand and when she looked up she saw him," Penelope explained "so she moved around the bed to get closer to the window but when she looked out again he was gone. She even said to me that maybe her imagination had been playing tricks on her."
"Well considering the fact that this unsub somehow got into your apartment, I think it's safe to say that it probably wasn't her imagination" Prentiss said.
"Let's not jump to conclusions," Rossi stated "but we won't rule that out."
"How's the profile going?" Hotch asked and everyone turned to see him standing in the doorway.
"We don't have much information yet," Rossi said "but we've definitely ruled out Garcia going back to her apartment."
Hotch nodded "Alight, well I was just on the phone with Strauss notifying her of this development and we've set up a safe house that you'll be staying in Garcia, just until we catch this guy."
Penelope found herself nodding "Of course," she stated "but um…can I go back to my apartment just to pick up some stuff first?"
Hotch looked reluctant and Penelope found herself crossing her fingers.
"Please Sir, I'll be in and out quicker than you can say relocation, I just don't want to be placed somewhere for who knows how long without any of my things" Penelope explained.
"We have to go there anyway Hotch," Derek said "to figure out how the unsub got in; we'll be there to protect her."
"Alright," Hotch finally agreed "but a quick in and out, I don't want to linger."
"Right" Derek agreed.
"Let's go then" Hotch said.
The team nodded and got up from their places at the table.
"I've had the package sent over to the lab, we'll know if there are any prints or evidence on it in a couple of hours" Hotch said as he walked out the door, the team following behind him. "I'll notify the agents that are putting together the safe house and tell them that we will be an hour or two, that will give them time to stalk the safe house with groceries and such…"
Penelope had been listening intently to what Hotch was saying as she and Derek, who were the last two to leave the room, followed the group. Penelope stopped in her tracks as a memory hit her "Groceries…" she half whispered to herself.
Derek who was by her side stopped and looked over at her "What was that sweetheart?" he asked.
"Groceries" Penelope said a little louder and the rest of the team stopped to turn back and look at her. "Oh my god Derek, groceries…" Penelope hissed frantically as she grabbed his arm.
"What?" Derek asked confused "What about groceries?"
Penelope was shaking her head and her hands were clenched into fists where she stood.
"Baby," Derek said soothingly, and when that didn't get her attention he stepped forward and placed his hands on both of her shoulders, he looked her in the eye and said gently "What is it?"
"A few nights ago," Penelope began shakily, not taking her eyes away from Derek's "I needed to get groceries but it was late…or rather early. It was the same day that you guys finished off that case in Seattle and I had pulled an all-nighter. I desperately wanted to just get home and go to bed but I knew if I fell asleep I probably wouldn't wake up before the grocery store near my house closed. So I went to the store first, I was so tired that I was barely aware of anything around me, but I did keep getting this feeling that someone was following me."
Penelope stopped to take a deep breath, her legs felt shaky and she was glad Derek was there, standing so close to her.
The entire team was watching her, waiting for her to continue.
"After I had paid for my groceries I walked outside and walked right into someone, I dropped one of my bags and all of its continents rolled out onto the sidewalk. I was flustered and went to pick them up but then there was this guy, apologizing and helping me pick up the bag of groceries. Afterwards he smiled and asked me if I'd like some help carrying my things to my car. I said it was okay but he insisted and I was too tired to argue so I just agreed. He helped me get everything to my car and then he smiled and patted my shoulder, he wished me a good day and then he was gone. He matches my neighbor's description exactly; he was a bit taller than me, rather lanky with short blonde thinning hair, blue eyes and thick, brown glasses."
Penelope felt like hitting herself "I didn't even think of the description Mrs. Rookwood gave me, god I'm so stupid!"
Derek shook his head, shooting a glance at the rest of the team before pulling Penelope close to him and whispering "You're not stupid Baby Girl, don't say that."
"So he's made contact already" Rossi stated. Prentiss, Reid, Hotch, and J.J. looked at him; they all knew the case had just gotten even more serious that it already had been.
