Chapter Eleven
Reid's mind had shifted into overdrive as his geographical profile narrowed, face fixed in concentration as he correlated the new data with the established profile, placing particular emphasis on heavily wooded areas on the outskirts of the city. if Garner was truly hiding the children in the woods and visiting the site hours later with his son, he would want to pick a location just far enough that his ritual would not be interrupted by any familiar faces. After a few seconds, Reid was able to confidently circle a large, elongated strip of land northeast of downtown Philadelphia.
"Hotch!" The youngest member of the team called out, quickly realizing that he was alone in the observation room. He rushed out into the bullpen and found their leader finishing a quiet conversation with the Chief of Police that ended when Hotch caught him out of the corner of his eye.
"Reid, what do you have?"
"Pennypack Park. It's 1,600 acres in Northeast Philadelphia, it's thirty-four miles from the Garners' house."
The older man nodded.
"What made you choose this location?" he asked, not questioning Reid's judgement, but needing to be sold on the location before he advised the Chief to send the calvary out into the woods. Reid paused
"He's going to be overly-cautious. It's 1,600 acres, most of which is left untouched by visitors. He's keeping them in the park- I'm sure of it."Hotch arched an inquisitive eyebrow, not needing to verbalize the question on his mind.
"Seventy-five percent sure," the genius qualified, eliciting a chuckle from his superior.
"It makes sense...and it's our best lead yet. I'm going to go tell the Chief- you round up the team and work on assignments for the search. We'll let local PD keep Garner in their custody."
There was no way the BAU was going to stay behind in the admittedly widespread search for the two missing girls.
Reid rode with JJ and Rossi to begin the canvass of the park, followed by the calvary of Philadelphia policemen with the search dogs. There was a tense silence in the air, not broken until the three agents stepped out of the SUV and began giving the orders to the local force.
Spencer couldn't help but notice how the usually strong, composed blonde was struggling to hide he panic in her eyes. The cases with kids were hard for everybody, but hardest on the young mother. He wished he could say something to make it better, that some statistic could ease the pain she was feeling, but they all knew the odds-more than likely, at least one of the children wouldn't be alive when they found them.
Calling out desperately into the thick woods, Spencer led a group of officers West of their 'base camp'. JJ and her group fanned out in the opposite direction, and Rossi marched straight ahead with his group.
Emily, Hotch, Kent, and Morgan were driving further north to begin the search at the other end of the park. The search dogs' handlers carried pieces of Lily and Jenna's clothing in order to track their scent even in the vast array of smells distracting them in the park.
Minutes passed like hours as the tall doctor trudged through the brush following the dogs, hoping that they weren't too late.
At three o'clock, after searching for two hours, Reid's phone rang and he immediately flipped it up to his ear.
"Hotch, did you find something?"
Their leader replied, voice rushed, breathing heavily as though he were running.
"The dogs have something, we're following it now. Call the others."
Reid's phone call made Prentiss and Morgan turn an immediate one-eighty. The agents and their search group made a bee-line toward where they knew Hotch and Kent had been searching. It was no wonder that bastard had escaped detection; they had traveled deep into the forest where few, if any, park attendees dared to venture. They almost got lost more than once, relying on the search dogs' barks to guide them to where the other agents had stopped.
A small, underground wooden shelter disguised by greenery blended into the hillside and they almost passed it, if it weren't for the dogs. Hotch made quick work of the hatch and rushed inside. What he saw was a gruesome picture: a small, blonde-haired girl was bound and gagged, covered in dirt, curled up in the corner. When she heard him enter, her bloodshot eyes blinked open in terror.
Though she initially struggled, once Agent Kent had her wrapped tightly in her arms, she calmed down enough to confirm that it was Jenna David. Kristina's heart was lodged in her throat as she realized that Lily Sampson was not as lucky as Jenna had been.
The dogs found her body a few hundred feet from the shelter. When JJ arrived, Emily and Spencer pulled her aside and filled her in on what happened.
It was a bittersweet trek back to civilization with Jenna safely clinging to Kristina and refusing to be separated from the doting brunette.
This was the hardest part of their job- sending one family's spirits soaring with the return of their daughter, but having to break another family's heart. JJ handled both like a champ. Jenna finally loosened her grip on Kristina when she saw her mother walk through the door at the station.
No one said a word on the flight back to Quantico.
Kristina walked out to her car, the ache still in her chest from the look on Jenna David's face before she wrapped her arms around the frightened 9-year-old. She was unsure of how to feel in that moment. Relief seemed to be a selfish emotion when all three families were forever going to be changed by Aaron Garner's actions. The Davids would try to recover from the kidnapping, but Kristina had seen far too many families crumble after tragic events like this. The Sampsons lost their daughter, and Grady Garner lost his father. Would any of them ever be okay again?
The brunette didn't even notice Derek Morgan following after her until he tapped her on the shoulder.
"What, Morgan?" she sighed, wheeling around to face him.
He had both hands in his pockets.
"Look, Kristina, we've all had a really emotional day," he began, "and i just wanted to let you know- what you told me, about Katie..."
"Morgan, I don't want to talk about it," Kristina groaned, fishing for her keys in her purse as they neared her car. Morgan slid between her and the driver's side door.
"Okay, fine, we won't talk about it. You're going to have to talk about it eventually, I guarantee you, if you pull a stunt like today in front of Hotch,"he warned.
Kristina was about to object, but Derek stopped her.
"I'm not going to tell him. I'm not going to tell secret is safe with me. Because I know what that's like. The guilt..."
She took a deep breath and calmed down, upon seeing the sincere look on his face.
"Look, I appreciate it. I don't need a pity party. I just want to do my job, catch the bad guy, and do it again tomorrow."
Derek smiled, glad that she was no longer putting up the impenetrable wall.
"Well, we don't have to go back 'til Monday."
"Thank God," she laughed, "we get to sleep in tomorrow."
Derek finally moved away from the door.
"Maybe we'll hang out this weekend. The team hasn't gone out for drinks in a while."
"Yeah, I could use a drink after the week I've had," Kristina nodded, slipping into her car and waving to the agent outside.
"Okay, goodnight Morgan," she smiled, and Derek waved back as she started the car and pulled out of her parking space. After a few minutes, Kristina hit number two on her speed dial.
Like clockwork, her best friend answered after one ring.
"Hey, Kricket, are you back yet? Wanna pick up some dinner?"
"Yeah, we just got back...listen, Frank, can you come over tonight?" she sighed, waiting at a stop light tapping her fingers on the steering wheel.
"Yeah, yeah, i can do that..." he paused. "are you okay?"
"I will be," she decided, "I just need my best friend."
"I'll leave right now," he stood, turning circles in his apartment."as soon as i find my keys."
"Garth, marriage is punishment for death in some countries!"
"Contract or no, I will not bow to any sponsor!"
"I once thought I had mono for an entire year. It turns out I was just really bored."
"She tested very high on the strokability scale!"
"It's like a new pair of underwear. At first it's constrictive, but after a while it becomes a part of you..."
"Oh, that was Garth, not Wayne...take a drink!"
Frank laughed, tipping back his whiskey in defeat as Kristina claimed the final victory in their Wayne's World drinking game. Always the gracious winner, the brunette finished the rest of her glass of red wine and set it on the counter with a decisive clink.
"That was fun."
"Only because you won," he muttered, "again."
The younger girl flashed a grin, then retreated to the kitchen to retrieve more wine, almost tripping into the wall of books dividing the two rooms.
"You're such a good sport, Frank," she teased, grabbing the bottle as her best friend replied.
"I try my best," he smirked, pouring himself more whiskey, finding a lull in the conversation he had been waiting for in the past hour. He knew he would have to broach the subject carefully, but now was the best time to bring it up, after giving her an ego boost and getting a few glasses of wine in her.
"So, Kricket, can I talk to you about something?"She was immediately suspicious of his tone of voice.
"What is it?"
"It's nothing bad," he assured her, "i promise. I just wanted to..." he paused, waiting for her to sit down.
Her eyebrow was arched as she waited for him to continue.
"Well, you know how you're at the BAU now..."
"yes..." she nodded, eyes locked on his.
"And you know how I was in academy with Emily Prentiss..."
Suddenly, it clicked in Kristina's brain.
"Are you asking my permission to ask Emily out?"
He exhaled a deep breath.
"Yeah, kinda."
"Frank, why are you asking my permission to date Emily?" she chuckled, plopping down on the couch next to her best friend.
He hesitated.
"Are you sure you don't-"
"No, Frank, I don't mind," she cut him off, pouring the wine into her glass.
"I think it's a good idea, even. you need more friends, Frank." she jabbed.
Frank studied her for a moment, trying to detect whether or not her approval was sincere. Satisfied, he took a swig of his drink.
"Good, because I already did."
"Frank!" Kristina swatted at his shoulder, sloshing the whiskey in his glass.
"Hey, watch it, pal," he warned, smiling as she rested her head on his shoulder."Do you wanna talk about the case today?"Kristina avoided the question by taking a sip of wine.
"I don't know if I'd call it a win," she admitted finally.
"What happened, Kricket? talk to me," he begged, hoping she wouldn't shut him out like she had after Nashville. He felt like he just got his best friend back, and didn't want to lose her to the job again.
She sighed.
"Two little girls were kidnapped. We could only save one. We were too late."
Frank wrapped his left arm around her shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze.
"Did you get the guy?"
"Yeah," she sighed again.
"Good."
"That little girl," Kristina shuddered, thinking of how Jenna would have to grow up with this, how she would have to live her life knowing that monster took her, how easily he could have killed her too. Her innocence, her childhood had been ripped from her, and it wasn't fair. At least the family could sleep tonight knowing that the man responsible would go to prison for a very, very long time. That would be enough, for now.
