My Life Had Stood
Chapter 32: If Recollecting Were Forgetting
"No. No." Alsie pleaded with Spencer once she caught sight of the hospital. Her voice trembled and held an undercurrent of pain and frailty. She gripped the thin man's arm tighter, as though hoping that doing so would prevent them from bringing her inside.
"Alsie?" Spencer's eyes widened then narrowed from confusion. The small woman had known they were taking her to the hospital, and hadn't made any indication earlier that she didn't want to go.
"Allison?" Rossi turned around in the driver's seat, and looked at the shivering woman. Spencer was sitting back with her, being unable to separate her from himself the entire way there. "It's either the hospital or being brought straight in for questioning."
Rossi told Alsie, his gruff voice making it sound more threatening. Though it was only because he wanted to know more about her and his granddaughter that he voiced the ultimatum. Because of how upset she was, he knew questioning her right away about what happened with Shelly would be disastrous. Of course, he mentally sighed, so would questioning her about James and her child.
"It...it's not..." Alsie mumbled but then stopped, and instead renewed her pleading. Taking a steadying breath, she looked up at Spencer. Her large eyes pleaded with him. "Not...not here. Not...this...one. Please."
Spencer gazed down at Alsie, his mind racing the same as his heart. He felt her distress, and realized that she trusted him to understand it, as well as the reason for it.
Rossi's eyes widened, realization hitting him before it did Spencer.
"Is this...where you lost your daughter...?" Rossi asked, his stomach twisting at Alsie's immediate reaction. The petite woman gasped and gave her first audible sob since entering the SUV. She immediately after buried her face in Spencer's chest.
Rossi cursed, understanding Alsie's distress all too well. It had taken him years, after being told that his son had died shortly after birth, to be comfortable in the hospital where James was born. The memories had been painful, for him and Carolyn. Excruciating even.
"It's all right." Rossi spoke, attempting to reassure Alsie, who trembled against Spencer. Turning away from that hospital, he looked up where the next nearest one was, and started to head towards it.
0
"Hotch, a witness was able to give enough of a description this time to generate a sketch of the unsub." Morgan said after the other man entered the area of the station they'd set up at.
"All right, make sure it gets circulated among those investigating." Hotch answered, his eyes briefly scanning the area. In addition to Morgan, JJ and Lewis were also present. "Let's go over what we've discovered so far..."
"Wait, we're not going to wait for Reid?"
"He's with Rossi dealing with a situation that's cropped up." Hotch replied cryptically, not sure how much he should share with the rest of the team. He himself didn't know the whole situation since neither absent agent had called him with an update yet. A glance at the three other agents told him that his explanation hadn't sufficed.
"What sort of situation?" Lewis asked, while JJ piped up next wondering if they could help whatever the situation was.
"Does it have anything to do with that woman that was in Rossi's office this morning?" Morgan asked, his words causing JJ and Lewis to recall seeing the woman as well when they'd arrived at Quantico that morning. There hadn't, however, been enough time to speculate before starting on the current case.
Hotch paused, his eyes flitting between the three other agents. "Yes. It does. Now, back to..."
"Who is she? And what happened for Rossi and Reid to both be helping her?" JJ asked, about to add 'and not the team', when a realization hit her. Despite their youngest team member not mentioning anything about it during the last few months, each of them had suspected he might be seeing someone. "Is she the woman Reid's been seeing?"
Hotch didn't even need to answer, his lack of denial answered for him.
"She is." JJ voiced the unspoken reply, her happiness for Spencer quickly turning into concern. She shared a glance with Morgan before returning her gaze to Hotch. "If something's happened with her, why aren't we helping as well? After what happened with Maeve..." JJ broke off, unable to continue as she remembered that day, and how devastating it'd been.
"I agree, why aren't we all helping? Why just Rossi..."
"Because we don't know how much of an emergency it is and we have a case to work on." Hotch replied, immediately regretting his use of the word 'emergency.' It had made the concern in each of their faces increase dramatically. "...If they need help, they'll call. Until then, we work this case."
Morgan and JJ seemed about to protest, but were cut off by Lewis' question.
"If this woman is simply Reid's girlfriend, why did Rossi sit this case out first to help her?" Lewis met Hotch's eyes, waiting for an answer. As did JJ and Morgan. "That's why he wasn't on this case this morning, right?"
Hotch, realizing that it would not only be useless but also unfair to keep the information from the three agents, decided to reply truthfully.
"The woman in question, Allison Schmidt, knows Rossi's son James. According to what she told Reid, and Rossi today, she and James were dating until three years ago."
"What?" The three agents gaped, surprised by the revelation. After James' arrest, and finding out about Somerfield, they'd attempted to find out more about the thirty-seven year old's life, but had come up empty. Except for a few possible other victims. None of them had thought to look for any actual romantic relationships James may have had. They hadn't thought it likely, considering his crimes.
Before any of the three could insist again on aiding Rossi and Spencer, Hotch spoke. "Like I said, if Rossi or Reid need our help, they'll call. And we'll be there to help. Until then, we work on the case."
0
Leah Clemens sat on a bench across the street from the law-firm, her eyes searching the people entering and exiting the doors. She had tried finding the people she sought at the home they had so many years ago, only to find a different family currently lived there.
It shouldn't have been surprising, she, her first husband, and son had moved constantly over the years. It would've been really convenient if those she sought still lived in their first home.
She wondered if the father still worked at the same place. Part of her hoped so, since if he had switched to another job, she would be lost on how to find him. Though she had tried and tried, she could not quite remember their names. Not even the surname.
After she moved her family out of state, leaving the girl behind with distant relatives, she'd tried to forget everything about the other family. Their names, faces, everything that she'd fanatically learned in order to better avoid an accidental meeting, she'd forgot since leaving Nevada.
She sighed, throat parched. The sun was bright and she wondered how long she'd been sitting, time felt irrelevant to her just then. Her anxiety made it seem to move both slower and sporadic. There was nothing more Leah wanted to do than finally confess what she and her husband had done thirty-three years ago. To seek forgiveness from the family they'd hurt. At least that's what she felt last night and this morning.
'Maybe I should leave? He probably doesn't work here anymore...' Leah pulled in her lip, subconsciously wringing her hands in her lap. With each second that passed the fortitude she'd had when she first sat down diminished, replaced by a creeping anxiety.
She didn't have to do this, Leah told herself as the minutes passed, no one knew what she and Vincent did thirty-three years ago aside from Jeff. And he didn't even know her real maiden name, let alone the name of the family Leigh was taken from. She could simply leave and start over, with a new name. New identity and a new life.
Even as she thought that her eyes locked on a familiar face across the street.
She froze.
'Why is he here?!' Leah gasped to herself, her eyes saucers. She swallowed and stood up, her legs instinctively taking her in the opposite direction. Though she'd only met the man once, she understood that his presence here meant only trouble. She felt the same foreboding now as she had years ago.
"Hey!" Someone called out to her, and grabbed her arm as she hurried down the street. "...I thought I recognized you."
"No, you..." Leah started to speak before looking at the person who grabbed her arm. Her eyes widened from surprise as she recognized the face. Relief flooded her as well as renewed anticipation. "Oh! You don't know much I've wanted to speak to you. And your grandparents."
"Really?" The man replied, his countenance filled with curiosity. He clicked his tongue, appearing to try to think of a reason for Leah's words. The next moment one came to him. "Oh, you must want to know about that girl you left with us years ago. All right. I can do that. How about we grab something to eat and then talk."
Leah, relieved at escaping the eye of the person across the street, agreed to the invitation.
"You're Mrs. Crawford, right? Leah Crawford?" The man asked as he walked her to his car parked not that far down the street. "That's the name you gave my grandparents."
"...yes." Leah replied, hesitating only a second. She paused, trying to remember the man's name. It came to her after a few moments of chewing on her tongue. "Greg, right?"
"Yep, it is. Greg Linnet. Now, I know a real good place to eat. It just opened up a few years ago, so you wouldn't know it. But the food's cooked just right." Linnet said as he held the passenger side door opened for Leah. The melodious quality of his voice lulling the woman into a sense of security.
x
Somerfield squinted across the street at the woman as she got into the car of a man she seemed to know. He had been struck by the sight of her sitting on the bench, quickly realizing why she was there. And he'd felt unexpectedly lucky once he realized who she was.
She had dyed her hair and gained a few pounds, but otherwise she was the same woman he met years back when he first looked for the twin girl Connell had sold.
'I'm not going to lose you, Leah Crawford." Somerfield thought, taking note of the car's license plate.
"Dr. Somerfield?" Alvarez approached the wizened man, confused as to why the man had stopped to stare across the street. The two of them were just on their way to grab an early lunch before continuing their talk. The elder man, who had come to him weeks ago seeking legal advice, had insisted that this day's talk take place off premises.
"Sorry, I...I was just distracted." Somerfield turned back to the younger man. "I thought I recognized someone passing by, but I was mistaken. Anyway, let's go eat."
"All right." Alvarez said, though he continued to study Somerfield even as they started towards a neighborhood diner.
0
Garcia hammered away on her keyboard, delving for more information on Victor Cutler while also having her computer search through databases for anyone resembling her newly received sketch of the unsub.
"Come on..." She mumbled, her attention intent on her screens. Never before had she been as motivated to close a case as quickly as this one. Not because she cared more about this particular case, but rather because everything she'd learned over the past hour or so.
And especially after what Morgan had called to tell her about not quite twenty minutes ago. That an incident involving Alsie had occurred and that Rossi and Spencer were helping the petite woman.
Garcia had been about to blurt out what she'd discovered about Alsie's child, but Hotch had taken over the conversation. He had, once the others were out of earshot, told her he knew about Rossi asking her to look into Alsie and James' daughter, and that it was important to wait until after this case before informing the rest of the team. Otherwise it would cause a distraction that wouldn't help anyone.
Hotch further stated that Rossi had just moments before sent a text that everything was under control with the incident involving Alsie.
Hearing that last bit was what prompted Garcia to agree to hold back what she'd discovered about Alsie. At least until the end of their present case.
"Let's see..." Garcia mumbled, keen on finding out more on the second victim. Her eyes widened suddenly when one of her searches finally uncovered something. "My god..."