My Life Had Stood
Chapter 45: Unraveling the Truth 1
-"Hello? Garcia..."-
"Yeah?" Garcia cleared her throat as she answered Hotch's call, trying to hide the fact that she was still upset. Actually she was distraught, and her eyes and cheeks were moist, her nose stuffed. All which was heard in her less than cheery voice.
-"...are you all right?" Hotch asked, immediately concerned.-
"You were right." Garcia replied, sighing sadly and defeated. She swallowed, staring at her computer screen, her eyes red-rimmed and blurry. "Dr. Connell did take Alsie from the Reids and give her to the Crawfords."
-"...You found a money trail?" Hotch asked after a second, his initial purpose for calling the tech analyst set aside.-
"No. The Crawfords didn't buy Alsie. Connell gave her to them." Garcia took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes with a tissue, her voice bitter. More so when she said the name Connell. She swallowed and took in a deep breath, continuing before Hotch could ask her to elaborate. "Before I looked into the financial trail, I took a closer look at the birth records of both mothers. The hospital scanned the originals in when they started digitalizing their records. Both showed clear evidence of being altered. Someone did try to fix that later on by uploading clean copies, but didn't do a good job of hiding the original scans."
-"Garcia?" Hotch prompted, concerned when the normally bubbly woman sniffled and cleared her throat again. He started to ask in what way were they altered, but the tech analyst answered before he finished.-
"The birth weight on both records were altered, with the weight of the Crawfords' baby suddenly shrinking by 3.7 pounds while the Reids' daughter's increased by the same amount." Garcia took a breath, shaking her head. "One guess to whose handwriting matched those edits."
-"Tobias Connell's." Hotch sighed, feeling as bitter as the tech analyst. "...How did the Crawfords pay him?"-
"They didn't. Connell didn't receive anything from the Crawfords. Nothing. Nada." Garcia reiterated, her answer confusing Hotch. "His colleague, and Mrs. Crawford's obstetrician, Vernon Wilheim, did avoid a major malpractice lawsuit though. Apparently Dr. Wilheim had a bad habit of coming into work drunk or high, which he apparently was both the day Leah Crawford came in to give birth." She shook her head, angry at the inept doctor, who thankfully had been fired not long after. "He botched it. He didn't even realize when it was clear the baby was breach or that Mrs. Crawford, who was only fifteen at the time, had too small of a cervix to safely deliver her baby."
Garcia paused, taking a deep breath to avoid cursing out the doctor who clearly should never have gotten a medical license. Or should've had it revoked long before.
"Before you ask, sir, none of this was kept in the medical files for the Crawfords, but an unnamed party did issue a complaint about the incident with human resources, which a copy was kept in the personnel files. Stopped Dr. Wilheim from being hired anywhere else."
-"..." Hotch mulled this over. "How did Connell get involved? If he wasn't the Crawfords' doctor and he didn't get money for the switch..."-
"That's where it gets a bit murky. But I think I know why. Vincent Crawford worked as an intern at the same hospital Connell worked at in '79. Same one James was born at." Garcia grimaced, letting her words sink in. Not that Hotch needed the pause, quickly understanding what the woman was driving at. "Mr. Crawford was studying obstetrics, and Connell was the doctor he was interning under."
-"Vincent Crawford knew what Tobias Connell had done, and he used the knowledge to blackmail Connell years later when his wife lost their baby." Hotch sighed, shaking his head as he thought. His eyes narrowed and then widened, an idea occurring to him. That had to be why Somerfield had gone to Nevada! He'd been trying to find the Crawfords and the child they'd taken, to use as leverage. The Reids' daughter... Hotch glowered.-
"Sir..."
-"Garcia, give this information to Rossi and the others right away. They need to know. Somerfield's going to try to make a deal, by giving up the names of those victims we haven't found. Let's make sure he has one less name to use as leverage." Hotch ordered, to which the tech analyst agreed, though not before a short lived protest.-
"All right." Garcia mumbled to herself after the call ended, briefly wondering how she would tell the others. How they would react. Her stomach sank as she thought about Spencer and what this information meant for him, and for Alsie. It took a few moments before she got herself up and exiting the room.
0
Spencer crossed his arms, staring across the park. His red-rimmed, brown eyes studied the foliage and the colorful blossoming shrubs. It was a small park, located adjacent to the hospital, and with enough paved paths to be safe for any patient there to stroll. He watched a few walk by, smiling at them politely as they passed.
"It'll get better." One of them said as he passed by in a wheelchair, apparently mistaking Spencer for a visitor from the hospital who had received terrible news. In a way, Spencer had and so he didn't correct the patient, just swallowed and nodded. Remaining silent until the stranger carried on down the path.
"Alsie..." Spencer trembled, staring down into a small fountain located not far from the sidewalk. He stared at his reflection and inhaled forlornly, trying to keep his sadness inside. The corner of his lip twitched as he suddenly thought of the Greek myth about Narcissus, his brow furrowing.
Narcissus had become enraptured by his reflection, thinking it was a nymph. And, in a strange, distorted way, so had Spencer. He had wanted so much to find someone who understood him and who he could relate to his whole life, and after losing Maeve he'd thought he'd never find anyone like that again. Ever.
So when he met Alsie and it became clearer and clearer how much they were alike, he couldn't help thinking that maybe he'd have another chance. A chance to once again have someone who understood him, who simply got him, and who he didn't need to constantly try to figure out or interpret. It had blinded him to the clues his subconscious had sent him, the hope that Alsie and he...
He closed his eyes, squeezing out a few lingering tears, before turning away from the fountain. He wiped his eyes and cleared his throat, reminding himself that he'd stormed away from Hotch and his father. Without explaining why to either, though he honestly didn't care what his father thought.
The bastard hadn't had the decency to warn him he had a sister, not even as an adult. Though given his - their - father had thought Alsie - Elsie - was dead, it wasn't an unreasonable thing to hide the fact. But the older man should've came forward sooner with the truth, the very moment William started to doubt Al-Elsie was dead, he should've called.
Spencer had a hard time believing that William may have just started to doubt Al...his sister's death. Not when the folder containing Elsie's files or whatnot was so much fuller than he remembered it. It was evident that his - their - father had added files about Al-Elsie in them through the years. If he'd believed her to be dead the whole time, why had he added more papers? There should've been nothing to add!
Spencer cleared his throat again when his phone beeped, indicating a text message. Taking in a breath and grimacing, he took it out, wondering whether it'd be his father or Hotch.
His eyebrows narrowed when he saw it wasn't from either of them, but rather from Cam Fitzgerald. His surprise at receiving a text from SSA Fitzgerald, distracted him from the situation with Alsie and their connection.
-Hi. Can we speak? There's something I could use your help with. A case that just came to my team. Call whenever it's convenient.-
Spencer read the text message twice, confused. If Fitzgerald wanted help on a case, then he'd expect her to call Rossi or Hotch. Not text him. He scowled, though more from confusion than frustration.
Shrugging, he dialed her number, secretly thankful for the respite, no matter how brief or unexpected.
0
"Garcia, what?" Morgan repeated, his eyes wide in disbelief. Same as JJ, Lewis, and Rossi's. Though Rossi had a slightly less surprised expression and more of a furious one.
"Alsie was one of the children Connell switched." Garcia reiterated, taking in a deep breath to remain calm. "She...the Crawfords weren't her birth family, but rather the family Connell gave her to after tak...taking her from her real parents, Diana and William Reid..."
"No. You can't mean..." JJ shook her head, horrified and unbelieving. "Alsie and Spence...?"
"Baby girl, they can't be...it can't..." Morgan shook his head too, though he knew by the way Garcia's eyes were reddened and cheeks wet that the tech analyst wasn't lying or playing a practical joke.
"Alsie is Reid's twin sister. There's evidence that Connell switched her with the Crawfords' baby." Garcia replied sadly, trying not to look as glum as she felt. "I didn't catch it sooner because the Crawfords waited a whole week before Connell gave them another baby. Alsie. And..." Her voice broke for a moment and she had to clear her throat before she could continue. "And Vincent Crawford didn't pay Connell for a baby, he blackmailed the doctor. So there wasn't a money trail to find."
"But, I...what about Reid? Does he know? And wouldn't his parents have said something...?" Lewis asked, her newness to the BAU family the only reason she wasn't as affected by the information as Morgan or JJ.
"I...I don't think his parents ever told him. I mean, he would've mentioned something to us about having a sister. If he knew."
"..." Rossi took in an angry breath, glowering. The sound drew the other BAU agents' attention to him.
"Rossi? What...?"
"This gives Somerfield and Connell even more of a motive to have taken Jemma." Was all he said before storming back toward the room where Somerfield was with his lawyer.
Once inside he scowled at Somerfield, fury beyond anything he felt pushing through every vein.
"Where's Jemma?" Rossi demanded, surprising both Somerfield and Sands.
"Who...? Agent, I don't know..."
"James and Alsie's daughter. Where is she?" Rossi reiterated, after realizing that the man likely wouldn't know the name Jemma's parents had picked out for her.
Somerfield shook his head, shocked enough by the agent's anger to drop his smugness. "Kenneth Connell didn't take James' child. He never got a chance, there was some accident..."
"Don't give me that. You and Connell had plenty of reason to be interested in Jemma. Enough that you'd risk anything to take her, even the life of her mother." Rossi growled, his dark eyes grown darker from anger. He nearly snarled when Somerfield once again denied the accusation. "Don't lie. You knew who her parents were, and you couldn't pass it up. To make Jemma one of your subjects...just like you did her parents."
"You've lost me." Somerfield started to say, his expression genuinely perplexed. "I...James was a...patient...of mine, but Alsie? Allison Schmidt? She wasn't...I have no connection to her...I..."
"Hm? No connection? Really? Maybe if I use the name given to her by the family, who Connell gave her to, you'll remember." Rossi growled, loathing on his face as he glared at the older man. "Adrienne Leigh Crawford."
Somerfield, in midst of protesting, froze. His mouth agape, his cheeks paling a shade and eyes widening. His shock authentic, enough that Rossi waited for his verbal response. "That...the woman James took to...Alsie...she's the one...? She's the Reids' daughter? She..."
Rossi watched the man blink, gaping at the agent then at the table, though not really seeing either. "...I'll ask one more time, where's Jemma? You and Connell are the only ones with motive to take her. A very strong motive, actually."
"No. No. We...I didn't know. I had no clue at all that Alsie was the child the Crawfords..." Somerfield puckered his lips, and gave an exasperated sound. He shook his head, then sighed. "Had I known who she was, I'd never have bothered going to Nevada. I would've came in here weeks ago."
"Really? And why should I believe that? Just because you say it doesn't mean it's true." Rossi said, eyes narrowed.
"Morland. Stop." Lucille Sands piped up, silencing the old man from saying anything more. "Don't say anything more."
Somerfield however glared back at the agent, not at all paying attention to his lawyer. "If Connell did take James' child, he didn't tell me. I assure you, if I did have, what was the name? Jemma. If I had her, do you really think I'd have lost control of James? Hm? Would he have given you my name, if I had his daughter?"
"MORLAND!" Lucille Sands hissed, her teal eyes nearly slits. She quickly turned to Rossi, to insist she be given more time with her client. A client that she suddenly started to regret accepting. "This interview is over now, SSA Rossi. So either charge my client or..."
Sands had barely said the first part of her ultimatum when the interview door opened, and in stepped JJ and Morgan.
"You bet your ass we're charging him." Morgan said, glowering at the two. "For illegal human experimentation and accessory to child trafficking, for starters."