"Cameras at that gas station grabbed a visual of the car. Olds mobile, mid-eighties, partial plate only" Nellis explained back at the station.
"Anything on the driver?" Hotch asked as he and Lilith were putting out pictures of the 9 suspects.
"It was fuzzy" Nellis said.
"Well, then I guess it's gonna be up to her" Lilith said as JJ lead Carrie into the station.
"She up for it?" Hotch asked concerned.
"I don't know" Lilith said honestly before walking over to Carrie and leading her to the table of the suspects photos.
"This one" Carrie said pointing to a photo.
"Are you sure?" Lilith asked softly and Carrie nodded.
"Ok, that's an Ervin Robles. Last known is 39 hill street" Morgan explained.
"That's downtown" Nellis explained.
"Employed by the Denver city pound. Let's go" Hotch said as Lilith grabbed her vest and walked over to Carrie.
"Your parents would be really proud of you" Lilith said to her.
"It's too late to be a good daughter now" Carrie cried.
"Oh, that's not true" Lilith said worried about Carrie.
"I was horrible to them. And now they're gone. Why did they do it? I mean, there has to be a reason, right?" Carrie asked desperately.
"Oh, you'll drive yourself crazy trying to figure out the reason" Lilith said.
"I go crazy every time I close my eyes" Carrie admitted and Lilith bit her lip because she knew that feeling well.
"It may have something to do with what happened to them when they were younger" Lilith explained softly while JJ watched them talk.
"Like what, they were abused or something?" Carrie asked confused.
"There's a good chance" Lilith explained nodding slightly.
"Are there any happy families?" Carrie asked teary-eyed but Lilith could say anything helpful because her family was far from happy. She left Carrie with JJ and accompanied Hotch to Ervin's work.
"Excuse me, sir. I'm Agent Hotchner with the FBI. This is Agent Fallon. We're looking for Ervin Robles" Hotch asked the manager.
"Ervin's off till the weekend" The manager explained.
"Do you have any idea where we might find him?" Hotch asked.
"You might want to try his apartment" He explained.
"We've been there. It's abandoned. Where do you send his checks?" Lilith asked.
"He picks them up. What's this about?" The manager asked worried.
"We'd just like to talk to him" Hotch lied.
"Who can we talk to that actually knows him?" Lilith asked quickly.
"Well, nobody, really. He comes in, does his job, and leaves. Real quiet. Efficient, though" His manager explained.
"Doing what?" Hotch asked.
"Well, actual title's animal care technician, but, really, he's kind of the on-site Kevorkian" He explained making Hotch and Lilith share a look.
"We need you to call him" Hotch said firmly while Lilith called the rest of the team.
"Supervisor left a message for Ervin to come in right away. Work emergency" Hotch explained to Reid as he arrived.
"He also said a man stopped by yesterday, got into a heated argument with Ervin" Lilith explained.
"The description sounded a lot like the one Carrie gave" Hotch added.
"The partner... Did he say what they were fighting about?" Reid asked.
"He couldn't hear it" Lilith explained dismissively.
"We need a name on this guy" Hotch stated.
"Well, until we find Ervin, there's only one person that can tell us that" Reid explained.
"The foster mom" Lilith agreed.
"I've noticed a change in you lately" Hotch commented as Lilith and Hotch drove to the foster family's house. Lilith shrugged.
"I'm happy. I'm not getting as many nightmares, things are going really well with Reid…" Lilith started to say before trailing of remembering Hotch and Haley were split up.
"Sorry" Lilith muttered but Hotch shook his head.
"No, don't be. I'm happy that things are so good for you. You deserve it" Hotch said honestly before they got out of the car and walked over to the foster house.
…
"My god. Ervin? Well, I mean, he had behavior problems. They all do. But nothing we couldn't handle" The foster mother, Mrs. Manwaring said to Hotch and Lilith.
"And he hasn't been acting alone, Mrs. Manwaring. He's got a partner" Hotch said.
"Perhaps someone else who grew up in your care" Lilith added before a teenage boy walked into the room and over the fridge that Lilith noticed had a lock on it.
"Tyler, the adults are talking here" Mrs. Manwaring snapped.
"I just want some milk. Can you open the fridge?" Tyler asked politely.
"You know the rules" Mrs. Manwaring said as Lilith looked at the key around her neck.
"Lily… I'm hungry" Steve cried to a 9-year-old Lily. She shushed him softly before walking out of the locked bedroom where her parents kept the boys they kidnapped and over to her father, Justin.
"Daddy, Stevie is hungry and if he doesn't eat soon he will die" Lily said softly flinching when Justin's eyes locked onto hers. He stood up, towering over her to intimidate her as Lily cowered down slightly.
"Give him a piece of bread" Justin ordered.
"He will need more" Lily started to argue but was slapped across the face hard.
"Then give him your food if you are so worried about your precious brother but you aren't getting any more food if you do" Justin growled out before walking off leaving a stunned and scared girl on the floor with a busted lip.
"They'll eat you out of house and home if you let them" Mrs. Manwaring said snapping Lilith out of her memory. She blinked away her tears quickly before Hotch could notice.
"Is there anyone Ervin was especially close to?" Lilith said trying to forget her memory and stay neutral towards this woman.
"Someone he would have looked up to? Somebody who protected him?" Hotch added looking at Lilith worried for a second.
"Gary. We tried with him, but... He tested us" Mrs. Manwaring said sadly showing them a younger picture of Gary and Ervin.
"Have you kept in touch with him?" Hotch asked curiously.
"Oh, god, no. Gary left the day he turned 18, never looked back. Ervin was a mess when he got here. Got separated from a younger sister" Mrs. Manwaring explained.
"Where did she go?" Lilith asked.
"Nobody told me. Siblings get separated all the time. But they find new ones here" Mrs. Manwaring explained.
"Like Ervin found Gary?" Hotch asked and she nodded silently.
"What was the name of his sister, the one he was separated from?" Lilith asked curiously.
"Oh, let me think. He used to call her name out in the middle of the night, wake the whole house up. Hal, what was that girl's name Rosie, I think" Mrs. Manwaring said trying to think.
"Lucy?" Lilith offered and Mrs. Manwaring's eyes lit up with recognition.
"Yes! Lucy, Lucy, that was it" Mrs. Manwaring confirmed.
"Carrie said he called her Lucy" Lilith said to Hotch before his phone rang.
"Hotchner. Yeah, just leaving" Hotch said into the phone before hanging up.
"Ervin returned the call. He's on his way to work" Hotch explained to Lilith as they left the foster house.
"What happened back there?" Hotch asked as soon as they got in the car and started to drive to the local station where Morgan was taking Ervin.
"Just a flashback… Justin and Rosemary used to monitor the food of the boys... like Mrs. Manwaring was doing" Lilith explained softly and Hotch's eyes softened before they spent the rest of the trip in silence.
"You're not helping yourself if you don't talk to me" Morgan said to Ervin as Lilith and Hotch walked into the room as Morgan walked out of interrogation.
"He's giving me nothing. Do you want a crack at him?" Morgan asked Hotch.
"No. We can't keep going around like this" Hotch said with his arms folded.
"So, let him stew. Wear him down" Nellis suggested.
"We don't have time. We need him to find Gary" Morgan explained with a sigh.
"Kids who grew up like he did, they're incapable of forming attachments. It's not like we're gonna earn his trust" Lilith explained simply.
"Their whole M.O. was predicated on the union of their two personalities, and with Ervin out of the picture, there's no telling what Gary could do" Hotch added worried making Lilith look at Ervin with an idea. A bad idea.
"So, he won't talk to us. But maybe he'll talk to family" Lilith suggested hating the fact she had to do this.
…