Morgan pulled the Suburban to a stop against the curb, throwing it into park as the rest of the team climbed out. The original crime scene tape still surrounded the house and Detective Winchester lifted it as he walked towards them. He didn't react to the crowd of reporters jostling with the street's residents for a better view. With a nod of greeting, he motioned the agents around behind the group, towards the back of the house. Even from the yard it was obvious that some serious damage had been done. The three windows along the side of the house had been broken from the inside and the glass crunched underfoot as they walked. The sliding back door hung off its hinges and Winchester motioned to it,
"We think they kicked this in to get inside."
Emily was the first to step across the threshold. She moved slowly across the kitchen as the others filed in behind her. It was impossible to take in everything at once. The entire place was destroyed. It was obvious that whoever had been here had taken their time. Every cupboard was open and the contents littered the floorboards. Shards of broken plates and glasses lay amongst bent and twisted cutlery. Cereal and crushed biscuits were some of the more identifiable food that had been thrown everywhere. The fridge door stood open, a slimy mixture of juice and milk running down the sides to the floor. Leftover Chinese had been smeared across the front and along the benches. The first police on the scene had turned the tap off, but it was plain to see it had been left running for the majority of the night. Water marks were clearly visible on the wooden shelves below the sink and puddles remained on the ground.
Without a word, Emily moved past the broken table in the dining area, carefully stepping over an upturned potted plant, into the living room. Like the kitchen, every window was smashed from the inside. The couches had been slashed, the tattered pieces of fabric hanging listlessly from the once regal back and arms. Emily swallowed heavily, the couch was a gift to Allie from their grandmother in her will. She herself, had received the matching chairs. Allie had often joked that the couch was lonely and she was going to make the sacrifice and move to DC so the set could be together. Emily always laughed it off, she would never encourage Allie to give up her life here, but secretly hoped that now she had graduated, Allie would come to live with her. Under the circumstances she guessed that was more than likely going to happen now. Not exactly the way it used to play out in her mind.
Drawing herself back to reality, Emily tuned into the conversation taking place behind her.
"It has to be our unsub." Morgan insisted, "Who else would come in here and cause this much damage?"
"Kids?" Winchester suggested with a shrug, "Crime scene tape tends to be a pretty strong magnet and this place was all over the news yesterday."
"Not likely." Hotch said. "Kids would have broken a few windows but not every single one."
"Whoever did this was here for a long time." Morgan looked around as he spoke, moving towards the centre of the room where Emily stood. "I would say he broke the windows last. Neighbours would have noticed so much glass breaking. He trashed the inside first, probably starting in the kitchen and moving through the house, finishing in the bedrooms."
"Then he would have retraced his steps back down to here, breaking the windows." Emily nodded motioning to displaced patches of debris near the walls, "You can see where he had to walk across his handywork."
"What was the damage like in the bedrooms?" Reid asked, finally finishing his close examination of the kitchen and heading past the team for the stairs.
"I haven't been up there myself, but my deputies said it was a must see."
Frowning at his words, Emily fell into step behind Reid, climbing the stairs two at a time. He hesitated at the top of the staircase, unsure of the room layout and she strode past him, leading the way along the short hallway. The bedroom door on the left was wide open, showing the destroyed room. Even the mattress had been thrown from the bed and ripped to shreds. Morgan and Hotch went in, scanning the room for anything that might give them a clue. The familiar door on Emily's right was shut. With a deep breath and her heart in her throat she gently turned the handle and swung the door open. She froze, allowing Reid to step past her and inside first. Not a thing was out of place. In fact, knowing her sister's distinct lack of tidiness, Emily knew it had been cleaned since she'd been in here previously. Then, the bedsheets had been thrown back, the duvet balled up on the floor from when Allie had gotten up to investigate the strange noises. Now it was made with hospital precision, each corner tucked in perfectly and Allie's small assortment of cushions and stuffed animals sat neatly against the pillows. Emily's stomach lurched at the thought of someone touching them. The toys weren't simply a girly collection, they all held some meaning; purchased by to commemorate an important event or gifted by someone special. Without thinking, Emily reached for the small patchwork bear at the front of the row.
With uncharacteristically fast reflexes Reid grabbed her wrist, "Don't touch anything."
"Sorry." Emily shook her head, pulling her hand free, "I didn't mean to, it's just that bear. I bought it for her when our dad left." She explained, turning away from the memories to examine the rest of the room. Like the bed, it was all tidied. The clothes that had been covering the floor the previous day were all moved; hanging up in the closet as she soon found. She shuddered, vowing to buy her sister a whole new wardrobe. Allie would never want to touch these things again. Against the wall behind the door, the surface of the usually cluttered desk was clear; Allie's books lining the shelves neatly. Reid looked over her shoulder with a frown,
"Did Allie always organise her books by genre and then author and year within that?"
"No." Emily shook her head, "She usually kept them in whatever order she happened to put them on the shelf."
"Oh." Reid said, moving closer to read the titles. Emily turned away, walking over to the window – the only unbroken one in the house – and looked out onto the street below. The early morning cloud was lifting, giving way to a beautiful day. The sun seemed out of place in the circumstances. Was the weather supposed to be good when you were profiling the attempted murderer of your baby sister? Glancing down, Emily felt her lip curl at the sight of the crowd of onlookers. They were at every crime scene, but they'd never looked so much like vultures before. Did they have no empathy? How would they feel if it was their family so under the spotlight?
"Prentiss?" Hotch asked from the doorway, pulling her attention back into the room. "You ok?"
"Fine." Emily forced all expression from her face. "Are we done here?"
"I think you are. Why don't you head back to the hotel? You can stay with Allie, we're going to need JJ here to deal with that lot." He motioned to the reporters on the street.
"You don't need me here?"
"I think you could use the break. And you're not officially here, remember?"
"Right." Emily nodded, knowing better than to argue. "I'll send JJ back. Call me if anything comes up."
Hotch promised before turning to Reid, asking the young doctor to run him through what they'd found. Emily slipped from the room, pausing only when Morgan squeezed her shoulder as she passed him.
"Chin up kid." He said quietly, "We'll get the bastard."
The bed and breakfast was quiet, the midday sun streamed in the open windows creating patches of warm light throughout the room. Allie lay on the couch, her legs stretched into the closest patch. The tv was on and she was staring at it but taking nothing in. She had turned the volume down low enough that she could clearly hear JJ typing on her laptop in the dining room next door. On the screen, reality show contestants were stripping to their bathing suits and arguing over something, but Allie couldn't say what or even name the prize they were competing for. Her mind was drifting listlessly and every now and then she would jolt back to reality with no recollection of what she'd just been thinking. She supposed she was dozing. Her stomach grumbled; more a sound of defeat than demand. She couldn't think of the last meal she'd finished. Lunch and dinner at the police station had been takeouts but she'd spent more time pushing the food around the plastic plate than actually eating it.
A few years ago, Bree had talked her into taking a first aid course for extra credit at the university, so she knew everyone reacted to the shock of trauma in different ways. Apparently it was choosing to manifest itself in her as a complete lack of appetite. Usually she would have congratulated herself on her amazing willpower, but starving wasn't going to achieve anything. With a deep breath, she hauled herself upright. She thought her feet hit the ground lightly but heard JJ pause her tapping on the keyboard. Allie was grateful for the presence of the agent but couldn't help feeling like a charity case. What would happen if it took months to catch this guy? What if they never caught him, would the BAU babysit her forever? She doubted it and the thought of being alone and unprepared filled her with unspeakable terror.
Shaking the thoughts from her mind, she headed for the kitchen. Ice cream was her drug of choice when everything got overwhelming. While it was doubtful it would help her now, she was willing to try anything to keep her mind firmly in the present.
The sun had moved further around the house and only a muted light filtered through the kitchen window. Allie flicked the light on as she passed and the bare bulb stuttered into life. The shiny, stainless steel fridge/freezer was the only modern thing in the room. The owners had gone to great lengths to ensure the décor maintained the Victorian era feel the inn's name suggested, but certain allowances had been made; the fridge and the showers being the two most notable. Allie pulled the heavy door open and leaned forward to look inside. It was the most organised freezer she had ever seen. The bottom shelf was full of perfectly stacked meat, wrapped in brown paper and labelled with the type, cut and purchase date. Milk and ice cubes lined the shelf in the door and bags of vegetables and microwave meals sat above the meat. There wasn't a tub of ice cream to be found. With a sigh, Allie let the door swing itself shut and turned dejectedly towards the dining room. As she moved towards the double doors separating the rooms, she became aware that JJ was talking. Frowning she pushed the doors open and slipped into the room. The door clanged shut behind her and JJ and Emily looked up from the computer.
"Hey." Emily smiled, "How're you feeling this morning?"
"Uh, what?" Allie shot an accusing look at JJ. She had sworn that last night's shameful episode would stay between the two of them. Well, three including Reid. Allie cringed inwardly, the shame clawing higher in her chest as she remembered how patient and gentle he had been with her. She made a mental note to apologise to him as JJ widened her eyes innocently and shook her head slightly behind Emily's back.
"I'm fine." Allie quickly plastered a smile across her face. She knew Emily wouldn't buy it, but 'hangover' wouldn't be her first guess of reasons.
"Good." Emily's smile was equally fake. She motioned to JJ who was packing the laptop and pile of folders into her bag, "JJ is leaving to meet up with the others so I'm going to stay with you."
"You don't have to." Allie blurted, misreading the subdued tone of her sister's voice as reluctance. "I'll be ok."
"I want to."
"Are you sure? Coz I-"
"I'm staying." Emily interrupted, her tone leaving no room for argument, "You're not staying here, or anywhere alone."
"Ok." Allie agreed, her shrug nonchalant while inside, her stomach unclenched just a little. "Thank you for staying this morning." She added to JJ as the latter lifted the heavy bag off the table and onto her shoulder.
"No problem. It was nice to have some peace and quiet to work in for a change." JJ smiled and with a nod to Emily, was gone.
"So," Emily walked around the table towards Allie, "what have you been doing all morning?"
"What's the house like?" Allie asked before Emily could distract her.
"Um." Emily hesitated and Allie knew then that she didn't want to hear it. JJ had been vague in her explanation but Allie had overheard enough of the phone calls that had been coming in near constantly to form a picture of a trashed house in her mind.
"Never mind." Allie shook her head as Emily opened her mouth to form very carefully considered words. "I don't want to know."
"Alright." Emily nodded, looking relieved, "Have you had lunch?"
"No, I want ice cream."
"For lunch?" Emily started to argue before deciding to go with it. She had been taking note of Allie's lack of appetite with growing concern. Ice cream might not have been as nutritious as she'd prefer but it was a step in the right direction.
"Yeah." Allie nodded. "Can we go for a walk and get some?"
"What's wrong with what's here?" Emily wasn't keen on leaving the relative safety of the B&B. While it was unlikely the unsub would try anything in broad daylight on a busy street, she wasn't willing to put anything past him until they knew more.
"There isn't any here." Allie read her sister's expression in a glance. "We'll be fine to go out. It's not far and I'm going crazy being stuck in here all day, it's boring and I need some air. My thoughts are really not a place I want to be in right now." She was getting close to begging and she didn't care. Now that the idea of leaving the inn, even if it was only to go 200 yards up the road, had occurred to her, she wasn't going to back down. "It'll be sweet, you're all kung-fu badass with your gun and my ability to scream really loudly is coming along in leaps and bounds."
The joke won Emily over. Seeing Allie animated for the first time since they'd arrived wasn't something she could say no to.
"Ok," She conceded, her tone becoming stern as she grabbed her jacket off the table and headed for the door, "but just there and straight back."
Smiling at the small victory, Allie stepped outside, breathing in the fresh air deeply. The chill burned her nostrils and she relished the feeling, hurrying down the steps to the driveway, careful to stick tightly to her sister's side.
The sunlight filtered through the leaves creating dappled yellow patches on the bark covered ground. Birds flittered in the branches overhead, oblivious to the beast below; he was no threat to them. He managed to blend into the small pockets of shadow, his dark jacket almost perfectly matching the tree he hid behind. A burned out cigarette rested between his lips. The ash hung percariously off the end but he was too distracted to flick it off. Between the thick branches, he had a reasonable view of the road, centring on The Oaks and right now his full attention was focussed on the two women emerging from the tree-lined drive. He recognised the younger girl instantly and rage flooded to every extremity of his body as he watched her chatting comfortably with the brunette agent. It was all her fault. If she'd just stayed asleep like she was meant to, he wouldn't be standing here. He would be sleeping through the night, not skulking in bushes, watching as the cocky FBI agents went through the motions of investigation. If that damn girl had just played the game, everything would be different. The night would have gone to plan and right now he would be preoccupied in an entirely different way. He would be happy and that stupid girl would be safe. Too bad she'd gotten up, tried to be the hero and ruined it all. Now he couldn't rest and she would have to pay.
Twigs snapped beneath his feet as he shifted through the garden to keep the pair in sight. They seemed too familiar to have just met. They were talking as though they had other sources of conversation than the situation that had brought them together. His eyed narrowed; had he unwittingly targeted the relation of a FBI agent? A light smile twisted his lips. This could not be more perfect.