This hasn't been beta'd as I'm getting little time to write at present. We're currently landscaping the garden, and I'm spending a good deal of free time doing that, as well as all the usual chores and marking – of which there is an enormous amount at this time of year. I can't promise an update this week. There may be one on Wednesday, depending what I have to do tomorrow and Tuesday night, and then there will be one on Sunday. Regular reviewers will get a little HP scene in the next few days that is unconnected to this story.

I apologise for going off my usual routine of posting. I would rather write than do anything else, but time is not in plentiful supply at the moment. I haven't got round to review replies, so I'd just like to say thank you now to everyone – they are the reason I keep writing this fic and spend any time I can on it!

Apologies for any mistakes in here -

"Where the Blue of the Night

"It is always darkest just before the Day dawneth."

- Thomas Fuller

Chapter Twenty

November 7th

The morning had arrive wrapped in a crisply cold blanket; grazes of white frost lingered on the ground and on exposed tree branches. The cars would need scraping before they could drive away, and their interiors would be as a cold as the outside. It was beautiful around the safe house; its stillness and quiet setting it far apart from the everyday hustle and noise of the city, or even the small nearby towns.

But something else lingered there, hidden away behind the thick clusters of forestry. Something that prevented the place from soothing as it should. JJ felt as if something else was there with them, something besides the wild life and birds that lingered. The silence was too quiet, the house too sheltered, and she was strangely discomforted by the solace that the house brought. Besides, they were all becoming restless, like trapped animals. There was no easy solution; no way out lighting up in front of them, and all they could do was take sensible steps to drawing out their UnSub, while trying to find the missing boy.

She'd had nightmares, unsettling visions that had woken her and sent her downstairs in the middle of the early hours of the morning, when everything was frozen still with sleep. She'd dreamt of Alfie Fletcher, of finding his corpse, in a thicket just metres from where she slept. She'd not been able to get back to sleep and had sat listening to the grandfather clock tick rhythmically, the only sound fracturing the night.

"You ready to go, JJ?" Reid said, appearing as if a magic trick had just taken place.

She nodded, looking out of the window. "I don't suppose Rossi's de-iced the car?"

"I think that's our job," he said, with a wry smile. "I suppose we could just turn on the engine and leave it running for ten minutes while we have a coffee. It's not like it's going to get stolen out here."

"Sounds like a plan," she said. "I'll make the coffee." She flicked her hair over her shoulder as she strode off towards the kettle. The long kitchen had become the meeting place of choice for the team, Agent Boyd and his two men preferring to use the small sitting room on the other side of the building. It was if they were somewhat in denial, and sitting together would tip them out of that state.

Reid gave her a resigned look and pulled his scarf around his neck a second time. She couldn't help but smile.

They'd gone through two coffees and the car had no ice left on it at all by the time Rossi emerged, Hotch by his side. Both looked serious, an expression that hadn't differed much since they'd returned from Utah.

"How's Emily, Hotch?" JJ said during what seemed to be a lull in their discussion.

"She's okay," he said. "She woke up briefly and took some painkillers, and then went back to sleep. I've heard from the hospital this morning and Morgan's had a restless night. They're going to keep him in for at least another night. He's taken a nasty blow to the head and it's going to take another twenty four hours at least before they'll be happy to discharge him."

"Is he able to talk about what happened?" JJ said, rebuttoning her coat as Rossi looked anxious to leave.

"So-so," Hotch said. "He's going to be interviewed by Agent Rose later and then probably again when he returns here – or hopefully home. You should head off. The meeting's scheduled for ten thirty with the Moores and it's a good ninety minute drive away."

They were silent as they left; no banter or jovial comments as there usually were, and JJ felt the atmosphere pinching at nerves. The car was warm inside, and she directed the heater towards her, knowing Reid would be huddled into his coat in the back. He would forget the temperature and focus on the scenery outside, as was his way, analysing distances and the elements that made this area unique.

"Strauss has been moved to a safe house," Rossi said, after he had driven about five miles and skidded once as they approached lights. "She went reluctantly, but because the UnSub knows her address it's considered too much of a risk her being there."

"Has there been any more communication from him?" Reid said. JJ could see him in the mirror, looking at the fields and farmland they were passing.

"Nothing. We've decided that Garcia will reactivate her work email account in order to check some documents that have been sent to her regarding the tapping of cell phones. Hopefully, it'll draw him out online," Rossi said. He looked tired, and JJ wondered how much sleep they'd averaged. She doubted it was more than five hours. Not enough to deal with what they were facing.

"She's the most likely one to break the wall of silence that's around us," Reid said. "But he may still figure that it's a set up."

"We've got to start trying something. Unfortunately, there are too many people who fit the profile that are based at Quantico – we need something more concrete than what we have already to identify him," Rossi said. The car fell silent once more. If he went to ground, they could face weeks or even months contained in the safe house. It wasn't something she wanted to contemplate.

It took less than Hotch's prediction to reach the station to where John and Martha Moore had been brought. A quick exchange as Rossi parked determined the tack they would take with the couple; JJ and Rossi interviewing them first, then switching with Reid if need be. John Price was being brought over a little later, once they had finished with the Moores, although no one thought for one minute that he would have had the capabilities to abduct any of the children.

Martha Moore was small and slightly rounded. She had large cheeks that were too made up, and eyes that sparkled even in the dull light of the police station. She looked worried, and was clinging to her husband as if he was a life raft in a flood. John Moore looked younger than his wife, his face neatly sculpted with prominent cheekbones and a distinguished air about him. JJ would never have put them together – Martha was not the trophy wife she could imagine a man like him seeking, but then she could have been being presumptuous.

"Why are we here?" Martha Moore said. "The detective who came to collect us this morning couldn't explain anything, he just said it was something to do with the FBI and that you'd explain when you got here. We haven't done anything, and we don't know anything – and I do have a job to do you know..." she eventually ran out of steam. JJ gave her a soft smile, feeling pity for her. They had been brought to the station with no explanation, except that they were needed urgently, and once there, they had been left to their own devices.

"Mrs Moore," JJ said. "We will explain everything. Can we get you a cup of coffee or water?" She noticed that no drinks had been brought for them, the local police not being interested in two people that they had nothing to do with.

"No," Mrs Moore said. "I just want to get out of here and back to my class. I'm an elementary school teacher and my children will be wondering where I am."

There was a turn of phrase that caught JJ's attention; 'my children'. Martha Moore had never had any children. The medical records Kevin had uncovered had shown that she had been left infertile at the age of twenty, when an emergency hysterectomy had meant she'd never conceive a child of her own. It was understandable that she'd choose a career where she'd have a responsibility to children, although if her husband did turn out to be their UnSub in the Alfie Fletcher case, then JJ could see disastrous repercussions for her.

"That's fine, Mrs Moore," Rossi said, sitting down at the table, facing the couple who were still holding hands. "We believe you may have been witnesses to someone who has been taking an unhealthy interest in children in your local area, and we need to know if you can help us."

"Couldn't you have just come to our home for that?" John Moore said. "This morning has been traumatic for Martha. If this is something routine..."

Rossi shook his head. "No, it isn't routine. A young boy has been abducted and we are trying to chase up leads as to where he may be being held. Your names were given to us as people who are often visitors to the park nearby and we wondered if you'd seen anything suspicious."

Mr Moore looked at them, his mouth slightly agape, as if something had just clicked inside his head. "Why couldn't we have been told this by the police officer who picked us up?"

"Because they don't know anything about it," JJ said, unsure if she liked Mr Moore any more than she had done when she first saw him. "This is a case where only the people who need to know are informed."

"Oh." Mr Moore looked a little deflated, as if he could really have an argument. "Do we know the child who has been taken?"

"Possibly," JJ said. "His name's Alfie Fletcher. He regularly goes to the park that you and your wife visit. Are you aware of him?"

JJ saw Mrs Moore glance at her husband, as if waiting for permission to speak.

"I know an Alfie," Mr Moore said. "We walk past this boy's house from time to time, depending which way we walk into the park, and which park we go to. He's a little tinker – curious and happy. Martha walks an elderly neighbour's dog from time to time to help out, and Alfie was always keen to stroke him. I don't know his surname though."

He was too open, JJ knew automatically. There was no reason why he should admit to knowing where Alfie lived, especially if he was the UnSub. Mr Moore hadn't come across as being particularly intelligent so far, and they knew that whoever was responsible for Alfie's disappearance would have to have a bit more. "How old is he?"

Mr Moore shrugged at looked at his wife. "I'm useless with kids' ages. All I could say would be that he looked just about old enough to start school. Martha will have more of an idea."

"He's around three and a half, so no, John, he wouldn't be old enough yet. He's a nice kid – are you sure he's missing?" Martha Moore said, beginning to look bereft.

Rossi confirmed the address with them, leaving saddened expressions on both of the couple's faces. "We need to know if you've seen anyone suspicious hanging around the park, or Alfie's house," Rossi said. "Anything at all could be of use."

"There's been an odd looking man lurking about," Martha Moore said. "I'd see him keeping to the outside of the children's play area, just watching. I did wonder whether I should mention it at the local police station, but I thought I was just imagining things. He was there on the day I took my class to the playground to study forces, gravity and such."

"You never mentioned him before," John Moore said, the lines on his brow creasing as he frowned. "Why didn't you?"

Mrs Moore shrugged. "I guess I didn't want to make a fuss. Did you never notice him, John?"

Her husband shook his head.

"No, I guess you wouldn't. I was more my senses that alerted me to him. I saw him walking down Alfie's road once when I was taking the dog for a walk after school was out for the day. I crossed over as I felt uncomfortable walking on the same side as him – the man not the dog. I'm sorry, I can't believe Alfie's gone missing..." her eyes brimmed with tears. John Moore put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him. For a moment, JJ saw genuine affection being exchanged between the two of them, Martha Moore excepting it almost needily.

"Mrs Moore," Rossi said, drawing back their attention. "You work as an elementary school teacher, is that correct?"

She nodded, looking as wide eyed as a bush baby.

"And Mr Moore – what is your occupation?"

"I'm a general handyman," he said. "Self-employed. That was how I met Martha – I did a couple of jobs for her and it went from there. Is there any possibility that Alfie's just with another relation, or something?" His tone was upset. "It seems so unreal that he would have gone missing."

"I'm afraid he is missing," Rossi said. "Whose dog is it you walk, Mrs Moore?"

"One of my neighbours, Mr Kelvin Buchanan's," she gave a watery smile. "Kelvin isn't as mobile as he used to be. He suffers from arthritis, so he can't always take the dog out."

"Martha's great with animals," John Moore said with obvious pride. "Animals and children always seem to adore her. She used to have a dog called Johnnie, believe it or not."

The smile she gave was weaker still, almost forced and JJ wondered what Rossi would be reading into that. "He was a good dog. Sadly he passed away just before I met John. Seemed a bit of a coincidence with the names and all," she said, glancing at the floor.

"Mrs Moore, can you give us some more details on this man you've seen in the park?" Rossi said. JJ was familiar with what he was trying to do. He was suspicious of what the woman had said, not believing her recount of seeing the man when no one else he and Reid had asked had done. The more questions and the rephrasing of them in different ways, interspersed with queries on different topics would show if she was lying or not, one way or the other.

She described him again, adding a little more detail, but without contradicting herself. JJ watched her husband who seemed to be listening with interest. It was strange that he had never seen this man, and definitely a cause for concern. Was Mrs Moore making it up in order to distract suspicion from her husband, or was John Moore simply not that bright?

"Have you ever heard of an Evangeline Dwyer, Amber Livesy or Matthew Horsfield?" Rossi said, acting a little nonchalant.

Mrs Moore shook her head, and JJ found it hard to believe her. She was a teacher; any child that went missing in a close enough area to her would warrant her attention.

"I remember Matthew Horsfield," Mr Moore said. "He was taken a few years ago, wasn't he?"

Rossi nodded, not giving any more details. They would expect the UnSub to know every detail about the discovery of the body; he would have followed it closely. "How about the other names?"

"Evangeline rings a bell now I think about it," Mrs Moore said. She checked her watched. "It's nearly morning recess – I'd really like to get back before lunch and it's nearly an hour's drive away. Are we able to go now?" She seemed a little petulant, almost sulky. "If you give me your details I'll have a real good think about the man in the park and anything odd I've seen. Then I'll let you know."

Rossi stood. They had no right to hold them there so they were free to go whenever they wanted. "That's fine. I'll speak with the officer in charge here and ask them to take you back. We may want to ask you for some more details, if that's okay?"

"That's fine, but make sure you ring first," Mrs Moore said. "My neighbour's been taken into hospital so I may be there in the evenings, or I may be in her house, trying to sort things out for her."

JJ nodded, trying to smile. Something was trying to tell her something. She just couldn't make sense of it yet.

"Hey," Hotch said as Emily opened her eyes, taking in the light. "How's your head?"

"Throbbing," Emily turned over, not quite feeling up to sitting. He'd brought coffee, by the smell of it, and she found that she was yearning for some.

"Emily," Hotch said, something inside her began to feel unsure. She recognised the tone. Not from him, but from other men. "I'm going to sleep in one of the single rooms for a couple of nights."

"Why?" she said, making herself sit up despite the dizziness.

"You need rest, and I'm going to be up working most of the night," he said, sounding firm.

"Why else?" she maintained her tone as normal, firm, confident, even though those attributes were sinking away from her ship.

"I think we need a little space," he said, not patronising her by pursuing the half lie. "I'm not saying I don't want us to carry on, but I think we need to regain some perspective."

Her heart hit stone. She nodded. It was understandable. She knew he would balk at some point; his behaviour was not unpredictable, but it still hurt. "Okay," she said. "But don't be distant with me."

"I'll try not to," he said, standing up and pulling away from the bed. She realised his cell was vibrating. He had a call. "It's Rossi. I suggest you have a drink, then try get some more rest."

He backed out of the room, leaving her feeling cold underneath the blankets.

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