My Life Had Stood
Chapter 33: Then I Remember Not
Spencer stared down at Alsie, who slept soundly in the hospital bed. Shortly after Rossi had attempted to head to another hospital, one without an emotional stressor for the petite woman, Alsie had started to hyperventilate and then passed out. Forcing them to bring her into the first hospital anyway.
His soft eyes studied her sleeping face, so calm now. And peaceful.
"Reid?" Rossi approached, having just finished updating the rest of the team on what had happened. That things were all right. Spencer barely glanced at Rossi.
"You should have those scratches looked at and cleaned to decrease risk of infection." Spencer said, referencing the scratches Shelly had left on Rossi's cheek. "The amount of germs found under the average person's fingernails are..."
"Don't worry, one of the nurses already cleaned them. It hurt like hell." Rossi replied, adding that he refused a bandage since it would just make it seem more serious than it was.
"Not serious? Shelly clawed your face and then called your son the devil spawn..." Spencer said, turning to the older man. It was clear what the thirty-three year old currently felt about Alsie's friend, his face an open book. "On top of that she attacked Alsie, who trusts her...I...that...bitch..."
"It's fine, Spencer." Rossi interrupted, understanding what the younger agent was feeling. "Alsie's fine, the doctor said it was just an acute panic attack, coupled with the physical effects of her migraine, that made her pass out. She'll be fine with rest."
"...yeah." Spencer conceded, grimacing sadly as he gazed over Alsie again. "But...why...? I've seen Shelly and Alsie interact before, and Shelly didn't have any problem with Alsie then..." He paused, remembering the book store. Next recalling the first time he met Shelly years ago. The blonde had seemed normal on both occasions. "Why attack Alsie now?"
Rossi sighed. "...it's probably the article that was written about James. It detailed his crimes. Shelly likely read it, and for some reason, in all probability a personal one, she attacked Alsie since she couldn't get at James..."
Spencer grimaced and turned back to the older agent.
"Believe me, kid, I'm just as pissed off as you, at her." Rossi continued. "The only reason I'm not showing it is because Shelly's the one in the ICU, not Alsie."
"..." Spencer mulled over that tidbit of information, his lips somewhere between a frown and mirthless smile. It was true, Alsie was in much better condition than Shelly, but he still found it difficult to not be angry at the blonde. "I..."
"I'm sorry." Rossi said suddenly, his gaze shifting from Spencer to Alsie. The younger man stared at the senior agent, brow furrowed. "I promised to make sure Allison was safe earlier. I should've stood with her longer, rather than leave after dropping her off at her apartment."
"Rossi..." Spencer hesitated, suddenly feeling guilty. Minutes after they'd brought Alsie into the emergency room and before it was clear that she'd be fine, he had snapped at Rossi. He'd accused the older man of failing his promise to keep Alsie safe. "None of this was your fault. It's Shelly's."
Rossi was about to amend Spencer's statement, that it was James' fault as well, but held his tongue. He quickly realized that saying it was his son's fault was simply a way to bring blame back to himself. It was defeatist, and stemmed from the guilt he still felt at what happened with James. That he hadn't been able to protect his son.
Spencer gave an unsure smile and turned back to Alsie. He quietly sat down in the chair next to her bed, his soft brown eyes roaming over her sleeping face.
"The both of you are quite alike." Rossi commented, his thoughts returning to what he saw of Alsie's apartment. The vast amount and types of books that she had, had made him think of the younger man. "It's no wonder you like each other."
"...hm?" Spencer jerked his head back at the comment. His face had the same expression he got whenever he was lost in thought, only this time he seemed perfectly aware of his surroundings. He studied Rossi a moment, before gazing back at Alsie. "...yeah."
"Reid?" Rossi crocked an eyebrow at the younger agent's strange reaction. It was like Spencer's genius brain was moving much slower or through a heavy fog.
"...I...Alsie..." Spencer mumbled, his furrowed eyes moving from Alsie's face to her arms and then back to her face. The look on his face was strange, it was almost like he was seeing Alsie for the first time. Or realizing something significant about her. The next moment he shook his head, dispelling whatever thoughts had overtaken him. "Yes. Um...no, we're not...maybe...I..."
Rossi's eyebrows rose, and he was about to comment on Spencer's uncertainty, when his cell phone rang. He answered it after glancing at the number displayed and noticing it was from Hotch. He barely greeted the other man when Hotch cut in.
-"Dave, you and Reid are still with Schmidt, right? Is it possible to ask her some questions?" Hotch asked, without preamble.-
"...Not really." Rossi replied, glancing back at the sleeping brunette. He had habitually moved slowly away from the bed to avoid potentially waking Alsie. "She's currently resting in the hospital..."
-"...what happened exactly?" Hotch replied after a pause. "Your text only mentioned that the incident was under control and that Schmidt was all right."-
"It's complicated." Rossi said cryptically, not wanting to go into detail until he could question the petite woman. "What is it, Aaron? Why do you want to question Schmidt? Did Garcia find out something about her daughter?" Rossi said the last sentence only after making sure he was out of earshot and that Alsie was still asleep.
-"...Yes. But that's not what this is about. Not completely." Hotch answered, his 'yes' hesitant. He continued by explaining that Garcia had discovered a photograph of a woman who matched the sketch of their unsub. "The unsub's name is Voigt. Shelly Voigt, and apparently she's Schmidt's cousin..."-
"What?" Rossi gaped, his eyes widening as he stared at Alsie's hospital bed. "You mean she's the one with the tetrodotoxin...? She..." The senior agent let out a curse followed by a small prayer. This new info made him realize how serious the incident that occurred between the two women had been. It could easily have ended differently.
-"Dave? What is it? Was Voigt with Schmidt?"-
Rossi took a calming breath and started to explain what had happened. Spencer however, having quietly noted the change in Rossi's demeanor as he spoke with Hotch, had approached. Close enough that he heard the elder agent mention the poison, his brain connecting the dots even before Rossi explained things to Hotch.
Spencer's first reaction was to turn back to Alsie, terrified. It quickly faded as he realized that if the small woman had been injected with tetrodotoxin, she'd have likely succumbed to it already. His fear rekindled as he considered the possibility of the poison having entered Alsie via a different way, one that was slower. There had been a struggle...
"Reid...?"
Spencer suddenly turned back to Rossi, his eyes locked on the scratches on the other man's cheek. Despite the low likelihood of Shelly's nails having contact with the poison, especially since quite some time had passed without Rossi exhibiting any symptoms of tetrodotoxin poisoning, he was still fearful.
"You really should have the doctor check that again, Rossi." Spencer said, next bombarding the other agent with questions about possible symptoms. His worry obvious in his tone and body language.
"I'm fine." Rossi replied, shaking his head at all the symptoms Spencer listed. This prompted Hotch to ask if something was wrong, to which the senior agent briefly explained that he had been scratched by Shelly earlier. Hotch's response was the same as Spencer's, that it was better to be cautious since tetrodotoxin was more lethal than cyanide. "Look, Hotch, I'm fine. So is Alsie. The only one not all right is Shelly, and she's in the ICU..."
Rossi paused, recalling the blonde's condition. According to the doctor he spoke to about Shelly, the woman's wounds had stopped bleeding but she had developed respiratory issues.
Spencer caught the look on Rossi's face and quickly left the room to talk to both Alsie's doctor and also Shelly's. His concern geared more toward the former.
Rossi finished up his conversation with Hotch, forgetting until he'd already hung up that Hotch had mentioned that Garcia had found out information on Alsie's daughter. He was considering redialing Hotch to ask about the child when Alsie's doctor entered the room, having been informed by Spencer of her possible contact with the poison.
0
Greg Linnet smirked, his eyes cold as he glared down at the forty-something year old woman. Her arms were bound to a large pipe behind her with barbed wire and rope, and her legs were spread apart. Twenty pound weights were tied to her ankles, preventing movement more effectively than rope or duct tape.
"Heh." Linnet knelt down, an iron poker in his hand. The tip deliberately sharpened so as to cut into skin easily. He pushed the tip against the side of Leah's face, drawing in a breath of anticipation as the woman flinched and regained consciousness.
Her eyes widened at the room, filled with sharp and deadly instruments of torture, some downright horrifying. Others seemly innocuous. Leah cried out as Linnet slid the sharpened poker across her cheek, slicing through the skin. The phrase 'like a hot knife through butter' didn't come close to the ease with which he made the cut.
"Ahh!" Leah gasped, tears blurring her vision. Her cheek was quickly covered by blood, which dripped down onto her chest. She realized then that she'd been stripped, every article of clothing she'd been wearing had been removed. Instinctively she tried to close her legs, feeling exposed, but the weights tied to her ankles stopped her. She strained against them, but only succeeded in spraining one of her ankles. "Ah."
"Heh, heh." Linnet laughed dryly, his raspy voice stinking of liquor. "That's not going to work, love. But keep trying."
"What...please, why are you..." Leah swallowed, her eyes terrified. The man before her, even while kneeling, was menacing. The way he stared at her, his unblinking eyes roaming over her hungrily, sickened her. Her gut roiled at the thought of what he was going to do to her. "I...please let me go...I won't say anything..."
"Heh, heh. I can't get over how different you are." Linnet cupped Leah's bleeding cheek in his palm, drawing in an aroused breath as he felt the blood flowing over his fingers. The way Leah flinched in pain further increased his enjoyment. "...She never begged."
Leah closed her eyes, lips trembling. Her brain was overwhelmed from fear, and she couldn't understand what Linnet was talking about. All she knew was she had gone with him to ask about the girl she'd left with his grandparents. She'd hoped for answers, not...not whatever this was.
"Please, let me go. I..." Leah pleaded, only to have her words cut off by Linnet pulling suddenly on the leash end of the dog-choke collar placed around the woman's neck. It was the kind with metal barbs that dug into the skin when pulled. Leah desperately gulped for air, unable to breathe until he released his grip.
"That's no way to act, love." Linnet whispered, pressing his clothed body against her. He breathed in the scent of her hair, a scent mixed with that of blood and fear. "Your girl was much better behaved."
Leah's eyes, having been shut tight against the man and the room, jolted open at his taunt. She gaped at him in horror, sickened more than she'd ever been.
"You...to Leigh...? You did this...?" Leah stumbled over her words, realizing just how much she failed Leigh. And just how deviant this man - no, monster - was. "She was only eight...you..."
Linnet smirked, his face inches from Leah's. "That's funny, love. Considering that when you dropped her off with us, the poor thing was damn near comatose. Took her near a year to walk longer than a few steps without stumbling."
"You...you sick..." Leah attempted to yell at the man, the next moment faltering as she thought about how the child must have felt. She started sobbing, her stomach churning with guilt and regret.
"Heh." Linnet scoffed, about to cut Leah again with the poker, but stopped. The sound of a door handle being jiggled as though someone was trying to open a locked door broke through the cellar. Linnet quickly taped Leah's mouth shut, placed the poker on its mount among the other similar implements, and hurried to the door.
Leah lost sight of the man, but heard him ascending a flight of stairs before opening the door.
"Mon cheri. You're supposed to be asleep." Linnet said, his voice carrying well enough that Leah heard him. She couldn't however hear who he was talking to. "All right, all right. Come here."
Leah strained to hear more, but was left with silence as the door shut and the man walked off. She heard his heavy footsteps, and thought it strange that she didn't hear those of who he was with as well. The thought only lasted a moment before she started crying, her body cold and exhausted.