Chapter 3

"Reid… Kid. Come on, you should sit down".

Reid could hear Morgan's voice in the far distance. He was feeling extremely light-headed yet his heart felt as if it weighed a ton and had fallen down into his stomach. He couldn't bring himself to say anything – he had nothing to say, and even if he did, he wasn't sure that the words would even come out at all. Reid was vaguely aware of being pushed down into a chair, and he continued to stare straight ahead, not comprehending anything that was being said around him.

Liv was gone. How the hell did this happen? She knew how to take care of herself, she should never have been in the way of any danger. What was happening?

Reid desperately tried to shake the dizziness that was enveloping him, and he felt a new hand lightly touch his shoulder. He snapped out of his reverie and realized JJ was standing there over him with a glass of water, holding it out for him to take. He shakily took a sip while she gently rubbed his back. Reid still couldn't find his voice, so he took the time to look around: John was standing right in front of him, looking about as worried as someone could possibly look. Morgan was crouched by Reid's left side, his concerned eyes never leaving Reid for a second. JJ had apparently been walking by when she realized there was clearly an issue between the three men and she had come over to help – she was leaning on his right side.

"Spence, you with us?" she asked lightly. After a few seconds, Reid was able to shift his eyes to meet hers. She, like the others, looked at him with nothing but worry on her face. Reid managed to nod slightly, and now that the daze was clearing, his mind started filling with a million questions. Before he had the chance to ask any, John cut in and began the story.

"Her coworkers got worried because Liv never showed up to work and she never misses work without calling out first. And when she didn't pick up, they called me, asking if I had talked to her at all. When I started to panic after not being able to reach her, one of her coworkers told me he would go over to the house and check things out. That's when he called the police because the back door had been pried open. He had knocked on the front door a few times, and the way that the house is set up, you can see the back door from through the window panes in the front. He could see that someone had clearly gotten in and he immediately called the police. He was afraid to actually go in himself. Then he called me, and I hopped on the first plane out of Connecticut and I came straight here. I got the call from the police on my way to confirm that someone had gotten in and that there was no sign of Liv." He sighed deeply, and finished with "but I knew I couldn't put off telling you and I also couldn't face going to the house without having someone there with me".

All Reid could manage to say after the story was, "How did this happen? Don't you guys have an alarm system? How the hell did he not trip it when he pried the damn door open? Why didn't anyone know what was happening until now? She could have been taken last night… That's way too long of a period of time for us to not know where she was." Reid could feel the panic and anger start to rise in his throat.

"Spencer, I don't know much more than you do right now. The police wouldn't tell me much over the phone. I'm headed over there right now, so come with me and I'm sure they'll have more answers for you."

"I don't know what we're waiting for then. We need to get over there right now", Reid said urgently. His headache was now in full force but he tried to push through it as he got up from the chair and followed his brother-in-law out the door of the Bureau.

It took them only ten minutes to reach the house. It was flooded with policemen, forensic technicians, and detectives. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Reid noted that it was a surprisingly heavy presence for one missing person. He appreciated it, but he was aware that his sister wasn't necessarily an important public figure or someone that would be missed easily.

"Thank you for getting here so quickly", the lead detective on the case was saying to John. Reid was busy looking around and had plenty on his mind at the time that the detective had introduced himself to the guys – Detective Lester?... Larry?... Reid couldn't even be bothered to listen to him when he was talking. His mind was running a million miles an hour, taking in all the surroundings – the back door that was pried open, the open bedroom door that led to the very place that his sister was taken.

"It was pretty nasty outside. It was the perfect cover for a break-in. Olivia probably never even heard him come in," the detective said.

"That doesn't make any sense. I know Liv, she would never go to sleep alone without the alarm on. She's not a paranoid person by any means, but she knows what kind of people are out there," John said. "I don't understand. I talked to her last night before she went to bed. How could this have happened. Spencer, isn't there anything you can do? What about your team, can't they help? I want the best people on this – we've got to find her," John looked pleadingly at Reid for the smallest piece of hope.

"I don't have any jurisdiction. We haven't been invited in", Reid said dejectedly.

"Actually, we have," a voice said behind him. Reid turned around to find JJ and the rest of the team behind her. "The Chief of Police spoke with me on the phone just seconds after you and John walked out the door. This is officially a federal case – Olivia is the fifth woman to go missing in six weeks."