Disclaimer: At the risk of repeating myself, guess what, I do not own Criminal Minds
A/N: Love all the reviews and PMs I get from you all. You're greeeaat!!
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Reid informed Lloyd, "We also have a warrant for the arrest of Daryl Kullman. We'll be putting out an APB. If you know where your client is, I strongly suggest you surrender him."
Lloyd Graham and Spencer Reid stood observing one another, Lloyd remembering he had used words to that effect at police headquarters. A slow grin came to his face, "Touché Spencer," he said. "I do not know the whereabouts of my client at this moment but should I be in contact with him I'll definitely counsel him to come in." Reid nodded and left the room to participate in the search.
The search yielded four knives that fit the general description of the murder weapon, three from the house and one from the garage. During the search, there was a commotion as Doug Kullman arrived home, summoned by a phone call from his wife. "What the hell is going on here Lloyd? How can you let them do this?" Kullman screamed at his lawyer.
"Doug, calm down; they have a warrant. There's nothing I can do. I'm here to make sure they take only what's specified in the warrant." Lloyd attempted to get the other man's temper under control.
"Lloyd, you can't believe what they're saying," The irate man paced back and forth in his foyer, breathing hard. Doug Kullman was an average 5'10" but tipped the scales at over three hundred pounds. He had a fringe of light brown hair with a few long strands that he combed over his balding pate. These strands now stuck to his crown from dampness as beads of sweat stood out on his head. His face flushed bright red. The blue shirt he wore was wet from perspiration under the armpits and on his back and the dark blue buttons appeared ready to pop at any moment. His navy pants sagged low in front to accommodate his oversized belly while the seams puckered, straining to contain the large man. "We've been friends for years. Our kids grew up together. We were in the PTA. We've sat beside each other in church and worked on charity fundraisers side by side for God's sake. How can you believe this?"
"Doug, I'm not saying I believe it, all I'm saying is that they have a warrant. I can't stop them from searching."
The team appeared in the foyer and Lloyd looked over what they had found and accepted a receipt for the knives. Doug Kullman was still fuming. "Haven't we been through enough? We lost our daughter and now you want to take our son away from us as well."
"Mr. Kullman, none of us wants to hurt you or your wife, but we have to go where the evidence leads," Hotch said.
"What evidence," Doug Kullman demanded. "What evidence do you have against my son?"
"I'm sorry Mr. Kullman, we're not at liberty to discuss that," Hotch replied. "Once we have Daryl in custody of course, your lawyer," he inclined his head toward Lloyd Graham, "Is well within his rights to file a writ of habeas corpus."
Lloyd looked to Hotch, then Spencer. Both stood resolute and his mouth curled slightly at the edges and he nodded. Hotch returned Lloyd's gesture and then looked back at the Kullmans. "I'm sorry for your loss."
The team left the Kullman home with Lloyd Graham close behind. Before reaching his vehicle, Lloyd turned to the team. "Spencer, I don't know whether to hope you're right or hope you're wrong. What I know about these people," he pointed back at the house, "Says to me you're wrong but I know my beloved daughter and her unwavering belief in you, tells me you could be right." He looked around the neighborhood and saw sturdy oak and elm trees, their leaves fluttering and rustling in the breeze, standing guard over neat modest homes with well maintained lawns, and continued, "Wrong or right, the backlash will affect this community for a long time. You'll go back to Quantico and we'll be left to deal with the aftermath. Just please be positive before you put us all through that."
"I'm sorry sir, I really am." Reid said, reaching up to tuck some stray hair behind his ear. "Do you think I wanted any of this? Do you think sometimes I don't feel cursed with this brain of mine that can remember every vapid fact it reads, every mundane snippet of information that no one is the least bit interested in until they need it. Do you think I wanted to look at those seven pictures and see, instead of seven classmates who would be missed, a killing spree? This is no picnic for me believe me. But knowing what I knew, I couldn't close my eyes to what I believed, and now know, to be the truth."
"Do you think I don't realize this community will be devastated by this, of course I do? But what should I have done, ignored what I saw while more people died? What if the next victim was Allie? How would you feel then?" He indicated the rest of the team as he spoke, "That's the important thing about what we do as opposed to other law enforcement officers. It's not so much catching a killer as much as it is catching him before he gets his next victim because with this type of killer, there's always another victim."
Lloyd nodded, sadly acknowledging the reality of Reid's words. He put a hand on Reid's shoulder, "I know you're a good man trying to do the right thing. It's not easy. I respect that." Nodding to the others, he turned and headed for his car.
"You okay man," Morgan asked as Reid stood looking after Allie's father.
"Yeah, let's get that APB out," he said, turning toward the SUV.
The team returned to the hospitality room after they made sure the APB was put out and had turned over the knives to the LPD forensics lab. When they entered the room they found Allie pacing anxiously. She hurried over to them. "Well," she asked, "Did you get him?"
"No," Hotch replied, "He wasn't at the Kullman home. We put out an APB."
"Your Dad was there though," Morgan supplied. "Marie Kullman called him as soon as we got there."
Allie's eyes opened wider, "Dad…Dad was there. What happened? Did something happen? Did he try to disrupt the search? What!" She looked at Reid.
"No, he didn't try to disrupt the search. We had a warrant; there wasn't anything he could do." Reid walked past her into the room.
Allie's eyes followed him as he went to the coffeemaker and poured a cup. She walked over to him. "He said something didn't he? What did he say?" Reid remained silent. "Honey, what did he say this time?" Finally she turned to the others, "Would somebody please tell me what he said?" She yelled loudly.
The team all looked at Reid and Rossi said, "I don't know about you guys but I'm kind of sick of this coffee and the donuts we're always eating. We should go to the restaurant for a proper cup of coffee and some lunch. He looked at Reid and Allie, "We'll save you seats." He abruptly left the room and the rest of the team followed.
Allie looked at Reid and he sighed and told her what her father had said. "Why do you look so upset? It doesn't sound too bad. He seems to think you're doing the right thing," she stated.
"I know I'm right and he respects that and I'm glad but he's right too. This is going to cause a lot of hard feelings in this community and there's nothing I can do to stop that." He looked down and his hair fell in his eyes. He pushed it back, adding. "You should have seen the Kulllmans. They were so angry that they've lost a daughter and now might lose their son. I felt sorry for them. And what about the other parents who thought their sons or daughters died in accidents. How will they feel knowing they were murdered? And your classmates, looking through the yearbook is going to take on a whole new meaning."
"You can't think about that. You have to think about the lives you're saving. What about the parents of his next victims? What about those parents? They'll love you."
She stood up and pulled him to his feet. "Let's go buster, time to get some lunch and if you're a good boy and eat all your lunch, you can have dessert up in our room. And I think you should have a nap before the banquet and dance…." She continued to babble as they headed down the hallway to the restaurant. Reid couldn't help but smile.