Thank you to everyone who reads, reviews, and adds this story to their favorites and alerts. You all own my heart! I am so sorry this chapter took so long to post. I actually had it done two days after I posted the last one, but then got mildly obsessive over Dolls of the Night and there went my focus on anything else. ADHD for the fail.
Anonymous – Thanks for the review! I appreciate that you took the time to do that even though you don't have an account on the site. You are simply awesome. I see where you're going with that whole "new team member" thing, and I am right there with you. What is up with Reid being uncharacteristic of himself around her? It irks me, which is why when I decided to add JJ to this story. I wanted to make sure he could have a little crush but still act like himself, and JJ is a big part of balancing that out. I am working really hard on getting their relationship right and keeping that balance, so your review is very encouraging and well appreciated!
Sue1313 – Thank you for the review! I am so glad you're enjoying it, and thank you so much for reading!
danicalif80 – Thanks for the review! I literally just pictured Reid as a knight in polyester armor. I am telling you, you are the funniest thing since very large men have found ways to fall haphazardly time and time again and on reality shows.
Chapter 9
The Nightmare of Kimberly Morgan
It seemed to JJ that as quickly Reid's phone call had started, it was over. She stayed a few paces behind him, where she felt she belonged currently. Even still, she heard him say hello, give no time for Police Chief Cauruthers to answer back, and spouted off the basics of what he had told her; that the report was false and it was arson. Whatever happened after his mouth had stopped, she wasn't sure, but it was seconds later when he hung up the phone. He stopped just long enough, possibly out of shock, to holster his phone, at which time she caught up with him.
"That was fast. What did Police Chief Cauruthers have to say?" As soon as she was by his side, Reid started walking again. He instantly started walking quickly; too quickly for JJ. She struggled to keep up with him, doing the much chagrinned waddling motion she had been accused of. She felt like a penguin, and it wasn't her day.
"He was just getting ready to call me. He needs us to come into the station immediately." He was a man on a mission, with not a plan. JJ didn't know what suddenly lit such a fire under his butt, but he was slightly terrifying, the stance he took and the way he held himself becoming somewhat intimidating. It wasn't a good look for such a slender man.
She didn't even know who he was anymore, because if you would have told a year ago that she would find herself intimidated by Reid, she would have laughed herself into a coughing fit. It just wasn't him. He was the sweetest soul, and he had his moments, everyone did, but he never showed this kind of pure strength and anger. Something was setting him off, and she wasn't convinced it was just this case.
"Is everything okay?" She was forced to call after him, having fallen several paces behind as he took the steps to the station two at time.
It must be nice to have long legs and not feel like the distant third cousin twice removed of a penguin. He was the skinniest man in the world and needed to eat more, and she barely thought he understood just what it was like to carry a few extra pounds, even if it was from another person growing inside of you. She was lucky she could take the stairs one at time in her state without needing a nap. She was tempted to take the steps under her rear end and just wait for him there, but she pushed on.
"I don't know." In another very un-Reid like move, he opened the door, didn't look back at her, and went straight into the station. Normally, although Reid was never socially aware, he would have still taken care of her. It was part of him. It said a lot that he never even bothered to help her up the stairs. His mind was elsewhere for more reasons than she could comprehend.
By the time JJ made it up the stairs, into the station, and back to Police Chief Cauruthers' office where she knew he and Reid would be, the door had already been shut. Not only that, but when she tried to open it, she had been locked out. She knocked, frustrated. Reid knew she was behind him. What was his problem? Since when had Reid ever been this self absorbed? It took a few seconds, but finally the door flung open, him on the other side of it.
"Thanks for waiting for me and not forgetting about me. That was good of you." The last thing she wanted to do was give Reid attitude and a chance to snap, but she had just about had it with his behavior, and it was harder to hide with her pregnancy hormones in full swing. She took a seat next to Reid, resisting a further argument for the time being.
"Sorry. You were walking too slow, and every second counts when someone is missing. You know that." Again, taking no responsibility for himself or seeing anyone else's side of things, Reid shot his mouth off at her. He was short and didn't raise his voice, but she still didn't appreciate it. She didn't know what to make of his startling behavior. By the look on his face, neither did the police chief, and she sincerely did not want a repeat of this morning.
"Reid, I'm pregnant. I can't walk faster, and I could have used some help up those stairs." Feeling her own blood boiling inside of her pregnant body, her hormones wanting to allow her to lash out at him and justify it, she stopped herself. It just simply would never be who she was. "You know what, you're right. Let's just talk about what brings us back here."
"I waited for you, and as I was just waiting to tell the both of you, I've heard back from the Chief of Police in Vail about our ABP." It was clear to JJ that the police chief was trying to douse the flames in the room by letting her know he had waited for her. He didn't know what to make of Reid either at the moment, but he was silently siding with the ever so pregnant lady who had been nothing but kind to him.
"And?" Reid's hands came up, moving in a circular motion, as if he were trying to pull the information out of the police chief. He couldn't find out why he was called in here fast enough and hated that he had to wait for JJ to hear the news. Waiting any longer was unacceptable.
"They've positively identified Melinda." There was a reason that Police Chief Cauruthers was holding back being forthcoming with the information. JJ caught it, but Reid didn't, his relief being a bit premature, opening up a doorway for him to be let down later.
"That's good. We now know it was definitely her I talked to. She was alive and breathing. She survived the fire." When there was no change in facial expression, and Police Chief Cauruthers' face stayed rigid, mixed with JJ not seeming to share the same sentiment that Reid had, he finally caught on. "What? That is good, isn't it?"
"Yes and no." Police Chief Cauruthers turned from the pair, pulling some papers off of the filing cabinet behind his desk. He then laid them face down in front of him. From her years as the team liaison, JJ knew this was bad.
"Is she still alive?" JJ had expected Reid's voice to come across as frustrated and uncooperative, desperate even. Instead, his breath hitched in his throat, and he barely got it out at a whisper. He, too, was finding the severity of the situation too much to handle.
JJ reached over, placing her hand in his. At first he pulled away, convinced she was going to shove it on her stomach to get back at him for walking away from her so fast and leaving her outside of the station alone, but he soon realized her touch was too gentle. She wasn't going to do that. She just wanted to soothe her friend and prepare him for what they were going to hear next.
"They don't know. As far as we know, she could be out there and completely fine, but that wasn't the case when they had last seen her." You could hear both JJ and Reid breathe out. JJ was still taking deep breathes, trying to calm her baby down. It was like since she knew that something was wrong, and even if just by her own tension alone, her baby did, too. She hadn't wanted to expose her newborn-to-be to this so early in life, but it looked like the universe had other plans.
"What do you mean 'that wasn't he case when they had last seen her?' When did they last see her? What was wrong with her? Where did she go?" Just like that, Reid was amped up again, talking quickly, aggressively, almost begging for information.
JJ had also never seen him quite this frightened. Reid was nosy by nature. His genius dictated to him that he was allowed to look at anything at anytime, because he knew more than most others. He hadn't even reached for the papers that were lying on the desk just a foot and a half away, not once. She didn't know if she wanted to be aware of the emotions going through his body that would cause him to skip doing that, but the feeling coming from his hand was electric, but more like a fence, not a feeling. He was trembling a little and trying hard to cover it up.
"They don't know." Stopping to take his own deep breath, Police Chief Cauruthers lifted up a corner of one of the papers he had placed on his desk before speaking again. "Dr. Reid, I have to warn you that what I'm about to tell you is going to be incredibly difficult to hear for someone who is a friend to her. It was difficult for me to hear, and I didn't know her all that well. I would prefer if you would take a moment to prepare yourself for what I have to say."
"I'm in the FBI. I deal with some of the sickest minds in the country. I think I can handle this." Mentally, Reid brought himself back to a place where he could puff himself out and hide behind his intellect, always knowing more than everyone else and overly confident, even if it wasn't who he really was. It was who he had to be to get through everything going on in his life right now.
"All right, but I had to warn you anyway. It wouldn't be right if I didn't. An off duty police officer picked Melinda up about ten miles outside of Vail in an unmarked car the morning after the fire. She stood out to him because...Dr. Reid, this isn't going to be easy to hear." Reid shook his head violently, not wanting to hear anymore of what was trying to be sold to him. With his guard up, he built fences that would late structure walls around the awful truth.
"She would have never gotten into a car with a police officer. It couldn't have been her." He knew whatever Police Chief Cauruthers had to say was going to crush him, so he made the decision to not believe him. He had a logical reason to back it up, but something in his gut told him she did get in that car.
"She's been positively identified, Dr. Reid. The police officer was on his way home from his shift at the Vail PD. There had been a car accident the night of his shift, and his uniform was heavily soiled, so he was wearing civilian clothing and driving his own car when he picked her up. He said he didn't identify himself as a police officer until he turned her over to the emergency room at the hospital. She accepted his ride, and then got in the back of the car and didn't say anything, so he didn't say anything back. He could tell that something horrific had happened to her and was afraid she would become frightened or run if he identified himself as law enforcement, being as he didn't know the circumstances surrounding her current state, so he made a judgement call. He gave his name and number to pass along to you in the event that you would want to talk to him." Without being asked for it, the phone number was handed to Reid.
He looked at it and considered making the call, but ultimately decided to hear the police chief out first. He was beginning to see that he could fully trust him, and he didn't have the energy to do what he normally did and question everything again, and then when that wasn't enough, question it all over. It was more work than he could handle right now, and he had to focus on questioning the information now being given to him, instead of taking a step backwards. That being said, he set it back down on the desk and stared at it for a few seconds. When he finally diverted his attention from it, JJ picked it up, stuffing it into her pocket to make sure that it wasn't left behind, because knowing Reid, he'd want it later.
"Why would he not identify himself? Cops always identify themselves, especially to get someone to trust them and get into their car with them. And why did she need to go to the emergency room? Was she badly burned? You need to be more specific. I can handle it." This, too, was a logical conclusion, however, the look on the police chief's face told him otherwise. He squeezed JJ's hand, maybe just a little too hard.
"Dr. Reid, when he found her walking down the road, she was wearing a white nightgown, no shoes, nothing underneath, and no purse or identification on her. All she had was her cell phone in her hands. It wasn't just that which caught his eye. She was bloody and covered in bruises and cuts. She had been badly beaten. He helped her into the back of his car, where she laid down and rested for the duration of the ride. She didn't say a word to him, and he didn't talk back to her. It was obvious to him that someone had beaten her, and he worried she had been threatened by whomever beat her that if she were to go to the cops, that person would kill her, so he just let her think he was a civilian until he could get her to the hospital, because it was of the utmost importance to get her help. He didn't even know how she was walking or conscious, and when I told the Chief of Police in Vail where she had walked from, he was also shocked. She was taken to a hospital in Vail for treatment." JJ shook her head and had to look away from the police chief. This was the kind of stuff she didn't miss hearing since she was forced out of the BAU, and the kind of stuff she never wanted to hear again. It made it even harder when it hit so close to him by personally affecting her friend.
"Then what? They just let her go? They had her, and she had been victimized. Why didn't they keep her there? Why didn't they ask if they could call someone for her? Why would they just let her go off by herself?" His reaction, the pain and pure upset in his voice, wasn't helping JJ to hold it together like she knew she had to. Maybe she had become soft in being away from the BAU and having more time with her family. Maybe she had forgotten how to hold it together.
"Dr. Reid, please slow down. I promise I'm going to answer all of your questions, but there's more you need to know about what happened to her. I want to be explicitly honest with you, if you can handle it." Everything in his voice said that he didn't want to tell Reid what he had to. It was part of the reason he kept stopping, checking in with Reid and allowing him time to digest what he had been told. They had barely scraped the specifics of this nightmare.
He would have been happy passing the details by, but he knew Reid would find out one way or another, and he promised to help Reid and be up front with him. He also knew any little detail could be the one thing that made Reid's mind click and solve the case. His first priority was Melinda, not Reid's feelings, but he still was kind to them. His job was not to break a federal agent.
"I can handle it. I already told you that. Keep talking." Speaking quickly, Reid brushed him off, wanting only to know as much as he could as quickly as it could be expelled from the police chief's mouth. Fear had already leapt in his throat, making it hard to swallow. He needed some answers.
"They did a rape kit on Melinda. It came back positive for rape, but they were unable to identify who did it. His DNA wasn't in any of the databases. She claimed it was domestic abuse, but wouldn't identify her attacker. The police questioned her, but that's all she would tell them. They were going to call the only contact in her cell phone, which was you, to alert them of the incident, but they couldn't. Since you were male and the only one in her phone, and they had yet to get a clear cut answer as to what happened other than her saying it was domestic, their hands were tied. If you were the attacker, it would only have allowed you to know she had gone to the police, and given the evidence they had, they had reason to suspect you, but couldn't pursue it further without her cooperation, as she said she didn't wish to press charges. She was released from the hospital in twenty four hours, and they took her to a local women's shelter, got her cleaned up and some new clothes. They were waiting until she felt safe, in hopes that she would talk to them and ultimately change her mind about prosecuting the person who had harmed her. She disappeared from the women's shelter the following Tuesday." Without hesitation, Reid reacted.
"That's the day she called me. Did she identify herself at all?" Reid pulled his hands from JJ's and they started moving rapidly. JJ knew this was his way of thinking, of connecting things. There were puzzle pieces falling together for him, as he tried to figure out how the day she disappeared from the shelter, and the day she called him connected. The call was simply her way of letting him know she was on her way to him.
"She said her name was Kimberly Morgan. And to answer your earlier question, she wasn't burned at all, nor were there signs of smoke inhalation. In fact, when I told the Chief of Police that she had been in a fire, he didn't know what to make of it. Whatever happened to her, it doesn't seem like she was present for the fire." This just sent Reid's brain into a further overload, while JJ rushed to question one thing at a time, starting with the first thing that threw her off, not wanting Reid to get too caught up in his head or upset.
"Kimberly Morgan? Are you sure they're positive it was the same girl and not a girl named Kimberly Morgan? That doesn't make any sense." Although JJ knew little about Melinda's past, she still didn't see a reason for giving a seemingly unrelated name. There was usually some obvious attachment, but she wasn't seeing it here and worried that the police chief was selling them false hope. She had to be sure, for her friend.
"It does, actually. She wouldn't have ever given the police her real name, and she couldn't get away with just giving them her first name like she had done with our team. She was sketchy about even talking to us after she saved my life, but she came around when Hotch assured her he had no interest in finding out about her past. She used to be a grifter who escaped foster care, and she wouldn't have taken the risk of them finding out who she really was, even though she's an adult now. She gave them a name she knew would make sense only to me, but that they couldn't trace back to her, because she knew I'd eventually end up looking for her if she didn't make it to me in a reasonable amount of time. Kimberly is the name of her cat. It's technically a stray and won't come into the bar, but she says it follows her down to the river and sits with her all the time. She named it after a singer from her favorite country band. And she and Morgan had a bit of a misunderstanding when they first met. He wouldn't let her call him by his first name at first, and she knew I'd remember that." What Reid was finding was hope in this, along with the pain and anger of what had happened to her. He was more sure now than ever that they had the right person, but he had to be positive. He didn't know if he could take the false hope.
"Sounds like she's gotten deeper and further with you than anyone else." Thinking aloud, JJ said something she shouldn't have. She was just amazed that he had let someone get to know him well enough to know and understand how he would think to identify someone if it ever came to that. With anyone else, the connection may not have clicked, but Melinda seemed to have an understanding of his mind.
"I told you on the plane, I don't want to talk to you about this. Can I see the papers on your desk?" Brushing JJ off, Reid reached for the papers, pointing, but not touching. JJ was surprised by the respect he seemed to be showing the police chief, when he was so unsure of him earlier.
"I'd rather you not. They're pictures of her when she was first admitted into the hospital, and they're incredibly graphic." Even though he knew Reid would still ask for them, if only for identification purposes, which is why he had requested the file on her be faxed over, he still wanted to warn him first. He didn't want anyone else to have to see them. They already made him sick to his stomach.
"I need to see them. I want to be sure it's her." Looking Police Chief Cauruthers in the eyes with no chance of backing down, Reid all but demanded the papers.
Without saying a word, Police Chief Cauruthers handed the papers over to him, still face down. Reid snatched them up, turning them over. From the angle he was holding them at, JJ wasn't able to see a thing, therefore unable to help in the identification from only the pictures she had seen of Melinda earlier. After studying them in a few moments in silence, Reid slammed the papers down on the desk.
"It's her." That quickly, he got out of his chair, leaving the room. It took JJ a few seconds to respond, but when she did, she shot out of her chair, too, intent on chasing him down. That's when she got her first glimpse of the pictures.
"Oh my God." Her hand came up over her mouth, not believing what she was seeing. "I don't... She didn't have any permanent injuries?"
"It's amazing, isn't it? They said she was fine. She didn't have so much as a concussion. She was just heavily cut and bruised. It looked a lot worse than it was." Reaching for the photos, Police Chief Cauruthers turned them back over again and removed them from his desk. He didn't want them anywhere near him. He didn't want to think of Melinda like that. "I'm sorry Dr. Reid had to see that. I tried to warn him."
"It's okay. He had to see them. I'm going to go find him and make sure he's okay. If you'll excuse me." Nearly disoriented, she walked out of the room, stopping as soon as she was outside the door. She looked left, then right, surveying the room for him. She started to walk forward, thinking he had gone outside, when another officer in the bullpen stopped her.
"He went into the bathroom." Thanking him, JJ headed back that way. She was two feet from the door when she heard him before she opened it. She knocked gently first, giving anyone else who may have been in there a chance to yell and stop her from coming in. When she didn't hear anything, she went in.
"Spence, it's just me. I wanted to make sure you were okay." She couldn't see him, as he was inside a stall, but she still knew he was sick. She didn't want to barge in on him, nor did she think she'd fit in the stall with him, so she just waited for a response. It took a few minutes for him to gather himself, but it came.
"I'm fine. Please leave." That's all he got out. JJ obeyed his orders, but still knew something was off. He had never been squeamish before.
Things like this didn't seem to phase him. This was just too out of character for her to now ignore. Even if it was his friend, his tendencies that leaned toward the autistic spectrum kept his mind from processing things this way. Now she knew she couldn't ignore his earlier actions and that she had to do something. Dismissing herself from the bathroom, she decided to go outside to make a phone call, but was stopped by the police chief when she went to pass his office.
"Is he okay?" He had gotten up to see where JJ was headed, curious himself. His head was already poked out of the door and waiting once he figured out what was going on.
"He will be. I'm going to go outside and call our technical analyst and get her started on tracking down large kerosene purchases that were made in the county prior to the fire. If he comes out before I get back, will you tell him where I am?" With an affirmation nod from the police chief, she parted ways with the inside of the building, fully intent on sitting on the bench at the bottom of the stairs, just outside of the station. And when she realized she had to go back up the stairs after going down them, she decided to just sit on the top step and call it a day.
Holding the phone in her hand, she rang Garcia's number. She knew she shouldn't be abusing her this way, especially when she was on location of a Strauss appointed case, but Garcia wanted to help them, and they needed her. She was reminded of this when Garcia picked up the phone after the first ring.
"Wonder Woman for those who chose to believe mediocrity is only a glitch in their hardware. How can I amaze you with my mad skills?" Leave it to Garcia to give a classic greeting that can light up a room on even the darkest of days. Although she was far from in the mood, JJ had to admit that it did make her smile.
"Garcia, Reid and I need your help." She was as concise as she could be, knowing Garcia was hardly going to like her in a few minutes.
"What can I do for you, Sugar? I'm working on something for Hotch, two things, actually. We are so close to catching this icky pervert that I can nearly smell the scent of rotting humanity from here. But you don't want to hear about that. My fingers are ready and in cue for my two favorite young ones as soon as I'm finished." Looking behind her quickly, JJ made sure that Reid was nowhere in site before moving on with the conversation.
"No, Garcia, I need you to do something personal for me, off the grid and off the case, and I need you to make sure that no one else finds out about this, okay?" Quickly, JJ's voice changed. It become more mysterious and lower, her hand coming up over her phone so that even if Reid did come out, he wouldn't have a chance to see what she was talking about, and she'd hopefully hear him open the door and be able to cut herself off before he heard anything.
"JJ, what's wrong?" Suddenly, Garcia's voice changed, too. It went from her normal amount of perk, to the most serious and worried voice she could give. JJ glanced behind her one last time before talking quickly. She didn't know how much time she had.
"I don't know. Something's going on with Reid. He's moody; he yelled at me today. He's been mean. He intimidated a fire chief, if you can believe that. His behavior is erratic and unpredictable, and he's starting to really concern me. He's also not eating a lot, he won't drink coffee, and he was up and down all night in the bathroom, and now he's sick again. Maybe I'm overreacting on that part of things, because this is a tough case and this is his friend. Maybe it's just getting to him, but I need you to do me a favor that you're not going to like doing. It has to be done, though, because I need to know that Reid is okay." Resisting the urge to ask about the case, Garcia focused on what JJ was saying and that only, also worried about her little boy wonder.
"Hit me with it." Normally, Garcia would continue to type and talk, but this time she actually stopped, giving JJ her full attention. This sounded serious and not at all like what she had expected to hear when she spoke to JJ while she on this case.
"I need you to do some digging and find out if he's having any mental or medical problems; if he's been seeing anyone or has been prescribed any medication." For the third time, JJ glanced behind her, and then continued to talk fast. She could never be too sure that Reid wasn't behind her. She didn't want to set him off again.
"JJ, I...I can't do that. He's my friend, and I would feel skeevy digging through his personal life. If he wanted us to know this stuff, he'd tell us." Once, a few years back, Garcia was forced to dig through his life when it concerned finding out if his dad was a killer, but this was different. She couldn't just poke around in Reid's life without a case attached, could she?
"I know, I know, but something is really wrong with him, Garcia. I've tried to ignore it, but I can't anymore. Garcia, he scared me today. He actually scared me." Pulling her last and final card she had, the one that she knew would change Garcia's mind, JJ waited to hear what she needed to.
"Oh my. Okay. This is against my better judgement and all of my moral compasses, but I will do some digging. I can't promise I'll come up with anything. If he's seeing a doctor I should be able to get into his medical records with no problem, but if he's seeing a psychologist or some kind of mental health professional, those files are a little harder to access. A lot of offices don't keep computer files. Hopefully I can find out if he's a patient somewhere, but I can't even promise that. You're going to have to give me some time. I'm swamped as it is." Worked up, Garcia now knew, too, that something was wrong with Reid. Though not as well as JJ knew, it panicked her knowing he was even capable of scaring JJ. She would be up late tonight digging through is records if she was able to with the case at hand and if that's what it took.
"Garcia, it's okay. I understand. Take your time, just not too much time. Okay?" Not wanting to put more pressure on an already worked up Garcia than she already had, JJ took a step back to let Garcia know she, too, could breathe.
"Okay. I will do my best." Although Garcia couldn't see her, she nodded in response anyway. She then looked behind her a fourth time and was relieved to see no Reid, yet worried that he was still sick.
"I know you will. And I know this is asking a lot, but I have one more thing to request from you. It's case related. I need you to track all sales of kerosene made in the county in the days proceeding the bar fire. From what I understand, there was a large amount of kerosene used, too much to be bought at one place without raising a red flag. See if you can find out who purchased kerosene from more than one place. Hopefully they left a paper trail." While she had her on the phone, JJ decided she would just make the request for Reid, since he seemingly had enough to deal with. That also covered her when Reid found out about her call to Garcia. This way, she had a legitimate reason for calling and didn't have to lie to Reid.
"That I can do, no problem. If that's all you need, I really have to go, my lovely. Hotch is calling, literally." With one last thing before she went, JJ spoke quick to keep Garcia from hanging up on her like she sometimes did when in a rush.
"That's all I need." Pausing, looking behind her for a potential Reid, JJ then spoke. "Garcia?"
"Yes?" In rushing her answer, she was subliminally rushing JJ. She didn't want to have to explain JJ's requests to Hotch since she knew technically she wasn't to be helping Reid and JJ, although she knew Hotch wouldn't mind it. It was Strauss she didn't want anyone to have to answer to. She was frightening.
"Please keep this between us, okay?" She barely got the okay out when Garcia responded.
"You got it." Just that quickly the line went dead. Sighing, JJ looked behind her one last time, but still saw no Reid. She began to get up when she realized there was one other thing she could do for him.
Pulling the crinkled up paper out of her pocket, she made a phone call to the police officer who had picked up Melinda. Although Reid had identified the girl as Melinda, she knew he'd eventually want to call the officer and follow up, because that's what he did. He had to be double sure of everything, so she did it for him, running over the story one more time and finding that it matched Police Chief Cauruthers' to a tee. She was just about to hang up when she heard the door open behind her and turned to find a fairly pale Reid standing there. She finished up her phone call, and then put her phone away, letting him know he had her full attention.
"Hey, Spence. Are you okay?" It was clear to her that he wasn't, though she doubted he'd admit it.
"I'm fine. I'm sorry you had to hear me do that." His eyes told her that he wasn't fine, and that he was suffering just standing there, feeling weak and exhausted. Whatever had left his system must have taken his attitude with it. Either that or he was now just too tired to fight.
"Don't worry about it. I did it enough for two people in the beginning of my pregnancy, not to mention I have Henry, and boys will be boys." Looking around, Reid gave a small nod, feeling awkward, the thought of being sick making him feel sick again. He tried to quickly change the subject.
"Police Chief Cauruthers told me you came out here to call Garcia?" At first, JJ panicked a little. She had betrayed him on the phone, and he was a genius profiler. What if she tried to tell him that she only called about the kerosene, and he knew better? She took a few deep breathes and tried to steady her voice. She had lied to him about bigger things before for her own well being, and the well being of the BAU.
"I wanted to get her started on tracking down kerosene purchases in the county. I also talked to the police officer who picked up Melinda. He told me the exact same story." He looked at her funny at first, and she had to look away from him, which was never a good sign to a profiler. Finally, he gave in, seeing no reason why JJ would lie to him.
"Oh. Thanks." If anything, Reid felt as if he had put her up to doing too much. He should have had to shoulder that responsibility, not her. In retrospect, it was better that he had not called the officer himself. It could have made him sick all over again.
"Try not to sound so excited that we're getting closer to finding your friend." If a facial expression could take on a life of it's own, becoming sarcastic and unimpressed, it's what Reid's had just done in less than a second. "Okay, it's not the time to joke. I get it. I know you're not feeling well, but do you think you can help me up? At first I felt like a penguin, but now feel like the beached whale that ate that penguin."
"You're not a beached whale, JJ. You're beautiful." Reaching down, Reid lent her his hand. She appreciated the help, but was sure to go easy on him, because he was a beanstalk as it was, and she was sure she far outweighed him with her pregnancy. The last thing she needed was to pull a sick person down the stairs. Once at eye level, she looked right at him, smiling. "What?"
"That's the Spence I know. I was beginning to wonder where he went. Come on, let's go inside and get you some water and a seat. You're not looking too good right now." Her goal was not to get him back inside around those pictures, but to instead let Police Chief Cauruthers know they were heading back to the bed and breakfast for the remainder of the day. As far as she could tell, they had done all they could today, and Reid's health was much more important. She just wanted to wrap things up first.
"Thanks. I tell you that you're beautiful, and I get a 'you're not looking too good right now.' That's...comforting." Smirking at him, JJ grabbed onto his arm. She did it in a way that allowed him to think she needed the support with being pregnant, but in truth, she was trying to support him, afraid his frail looking body wasn't going to make it the whole way to the back of the police station without help.
And that's when she realized it, just how frail her friend was. In the frenzy of everything going on around them, she had barely taken the time to notice how his clothes were sagging on him. Maybe it was just her, as she hadn't seen him in awhile and no one else had mentioned it to her, but maybe it was also good she was here, because if it had happened gradually and no one had noticed, that still didn't mean nothing was wrong.
"Oh, Spence, just come on." The walk to the back of the police station was slow, mostly due to Reid, but JJ still allowed him to think it was her. When they made it to the police chief's office, the first thing JJ made sure he did was sit down before she launched her plan for the rest of the day.
"Police Chief Cauruthers, we wanted to thank you for keeping us up to date on the situation and for your immense cooperation. If there's nothing else, we're going to head back to the bed and breakfast. I need to lie down." Her eyes drifted toward Reid in a way that was only obvious to the person looking directly at her, letting the police chief know her concern for her friend. She wanted him to know that she didn't want Reid to know she wanted him to lie down.
"No. We have to stay here and work the case. If you need to go lie down, I'll take you to the bed and breakfast and then come back. There's so many questions that have been left unanswered. Who would do this to her? If she wasn't in the fire, what happened? Did someone beat her and leave her for dead, and then burn down the bar to make people think she died in the fire? If she wasn't in the bar during the fire, therefore not being present in her apartment, why was she wearing a nightgown?" Getting himself worked up again was exactly what JJ hadn't wanted to see him do. She was afraid that if his stomach was weak, he would get sick all over again. She looked at Police Chief Cauruthers for help.
"I want the answers to those questions just as much as you do, Dr. Reid, but I fear that no one has them but Melinda, and we're doing all we can to find her. There's nothing else we can do but what we're already doing, and that's waiting for information to come in on the controlled APB we sent out. Go back to the bed and breakfast, and I'll call you if and as soon as I hear anything." Reid's expression hadn't changed at just the simple answer, so the police chief went back in with a more complex one, hoping to convince him he wasn't needed here. JJ thanked him with her eyes. "Dr. Reid, you know as well as I do that the only other thing you could do is go around and question the residents of this town about what happened that night and hope someone saw something, but everyone knows the FBI is here, and no one in this town is particularly fond of the feds. You know that from your first trip here, and you were here to catch a serial killer posing danger to the residents, not question people about an incident that happened to someone who people here have treated quite unfairly. They won't change their minds about her now just because she's missing. If you start questioning the residents about her, you're going to be met with resistance, and they're going to think you're on a witch hunt. You could also talk to the wrong person and tip of the, what do you call them? The unsub? There's a lot of places to hide around here, and if the person gets out of town, you may never be able to track them down. That's why I'm trying to keep this as private as I can, even from my own officers. You never know who could be the one to send fear into the town, and once it's out there, it runs rampant. The best thing you can do is not tip anyone here off to your intentions or that you think someone in this town is guilty of a crime. Right now, we don't even know what all this person did and what we can charge them with. It's probably best if you leave town for the day and take the heat off of the residents so no one thinks you're out for blood. "
"That sounds reasonable. Besides, I think Fire Chief Hollis may be the only one who knows who did this. He wouldn't be trying so hard to cover up that this was an arson if there were more people who could accidentally let it slip. We're taking a risk with Fire Chief Hollis knowing we're going to be back to interview him tomorrow." Relieved, JJ reached down to help Reid up this time. He looked as if he was going to need it. With her hands barely in his, Police Chief Cauruthers interrupted them.
"I wanted to talk to you about that. I think it's best if you let me go and talk to him tomorrow by myself." The first time Reid had mentioned going to talk to Fire Chief Hollis on the phone, the police chief immediately knew that wouldn't work, but felt it best to talk to him in person to make him understand where he was coming from on this. There was more than one reason he wanted the pair to come into his office.
"With all due respect, we should be handling that. That's what we're here to do, question people and find out the truth. We want you with us to make him feel more comfortable, but this is technically a federal investigation, so I need to be the one doing the questioning." Reid hadn't yet got up, but stood firm on his stance from the chair. He was getting cranky again, something JJ was hoping he had gotten over, although she did see where he was coming from and felt this an odd request.
"I understand that, but... I feel like I'm betraying Fire Chief Hollis' confidence in telling you this, but you also have the right to know, to understand why I'm requesting to speak with him alone. A few weeks back, his son Brendon committed suicide. If you go back in to question him tomorrow, I fear it's not going to be something he's going to psychologically be able to handle. He's a good, honest man, but his priorities are a little off right now. If I go in as a friend, I'll get more out of him than you will as feds. As they say, you catch more flies with honey than vinegar." Thinking for a moment, JJ watched as Reid's brained seemed to scan over every single word openly that was said between he and Fire Chief Hollis. She was waiting for a backlash, but was surprised and at ease when she got the opposite.
"I guess I'll have to agree with you, hearing the reasoning. Being the one who questioned him and seeing his explosive and emotionally unstable behavior, I'd have to say that it explains a lot from a profiler's point of view. It didn't make sense to me that he was becoming unglued over covering up a bar fire. I understood that he was trying to protect the people of his town, but his emotions seemed more personally based. You will call me as soon as you talk to him, though, and I promised him we wouldn't arrest him if he cooperated. If he doesn't, you have to or I will come into town and do it myself. That will be even worse on his emotional state." In his own way, this was Reid conceding, but he felt as if he still had to have some sort of control over the situation. Reid wasn't one to throw his weight around as a fed, but it seemed like he was doing nothing but. JJ just couldn't shake how odd that was for him and was surprised he was listening to reason.
"I understand, but if I go in as a friend, with him knowing that he has to deal with an arrest and the feds if he doesn't talk to me, I'm confident I'll get the information we need. Whomever questions him has to understand that his son was all he had, and I do. It's been difficult on the whole town. Brendon was a good kid. In fact, he may have been the only one I knew of in this town that was nice to Melinda." Police Chief Cauruthers put his head down for a moment, trying to let severity of the situation pass him by. He couldn't do it for too long, as he had to stay professional. The whole town had lost someone they truly cared for, and it was a damn shame. "Anyway, you two best be going before anyone suspects we're plotting against them. In a town this small, it's bound to happen. I'll call you if I hear anything."
"Thank you." This time, JJ didn't waste any time getting Reid out of the chair. She didn't want anything to be said that could cause him to become defensive or difficult again. Halfway out the door, JJ thought of something, turning for one last question. "Police Chief Cauruthers, do you know where we could pick up a humane trap on our way out of town?"
"I have one in the storage room. We're kind of a multi-faceted operation here. You do a little of everything." JJ moved out of the doorway, where Reid was already passed, allowing the police chief to pass them and lead them to the storage room, a set of keys in hand.
"Why do we need a humane trap?" As the police chief was playing with the key in the door, Reid became very ill looking again upon asking this question.
"For Kimberly. You said Melinda was feeding a stray, and it's probably been hungry since she's gone missing. The least we can do is try to catch her and have her for Melinda when we do find her. She'd probably like that. The cat was probably her friend, especially when no one else seemed to be." Unfortunately, that did everything but put Reid's mind at east.
"I don't...cat's don't like me." As hard as JJ fought to cover up her laughter, Police Chief Cauruthers decided not to bother. He hadn't meant to laugh at Reid, but it just came out. It was more of a giggle than anything else, fortunately, and it was hard to get angry at a grown man who giggled.
"Don't be such a baby. If she had been feeding it, and it's been following her around, the cat probably isn't too feral. If it is, we'll let it go. If it's not, I'll take care of it. You don't even have to touch it's furry little coat." JJ make little claws with her fingers, running them over Reid's arm merely to creep him out. He shivered beneath her fingers and moved away from her, giving her a dirty look.
"Here's the trap and here's some cat food. I've learned over the years that it's cheap and most anything will eat it. If you do catch her, you can get a regular cage to keep her in, some food, litter, and some bowls from the pet store in town." Reaching out and taking the cage in one hand and a small ziplock bag of cat food in the other, JJ could see Reid wasn't going to cooperate in catching this cat, even if it was for his friend.
"Thank you. We'll leave the cage over night and see if we have any luck. Either way, we'll have the cage back to you tomorrow." There was no sense in leaving the cage out for several days hoping to catch the cat. JJ knew it was most likely either long gone, or still came back nightly hoping for some food. One night should be sufficient, and she didn't want to tie up their cage for too long.
"Take your time and try to get some rest. There's nothing for you to worry. I've got it covered and will call you if necessary." With the last of the reassuring words Police Chief Cauruthers had to give, and Reid no longer seeming to be able to argue or fight the fact that they were leaving the station, JJ took that as her cue to make a quick exit.
Intertwining the arm which only carried the cat food with Reid's once again, JJ led him to the car, thankful that he seemed to buying the excuse that she needed to lie down. But with as pale as he was, and now the fact that he was noticeably shaking a little, weakened, she wondered if he was really buying it, or if he was just willing to buy it because that's what he needed to do to get back to the hotel and relax. When JJ had reached this town, she thought the worst thing she had to worry about was the outcome of a case involving a missing girl, how it would affect her friend, and the lack of cooperation from everyone in town. Now, she wondered if she shouldn't have been only worried about Reid.