Disclaimer: See my profile!

/\/\/\/\

'Weird, Alaska'

Chapter Thirteen

/\/\/\/\

"Not one?" Morgan asked.

"Not a single one," Reid answered. "I've checked every name I was given from Sheriff Reischl's time in Australia and Korea, and none of them live there now."

"How about other family members?"

Even though he was speaking to Morgan on the phone and not face to face, Reid still shook his head. "None that I have found so far." He heard Morgan sigh. "That doesn't mean the theory is wrong, it just means we haven't found the right connection yet."

"Or it could mean Boulder has no connection to the case, but Australia and Korea do. Which would mean Christina Belkas being from Boulder doesn't mean anything in particular." Morgan sighed again. "Okay kid. I'm waiting to hear from Hotch. I won't be back until tomorrow. We'll let you know what they found out."

Reid disconnected and slid the phone into its holder on his belt. He sat on the edge of the table and made a face as he looked at his two maps covered with push pins. "What's all that Agent Reid?"

Reid turned around to see Deputy Talbot standing in the doorway. "The red pins represent the hometowns of all the names of the people who served with Sheriff Reischl, and the other colors represent where they live now."

"Oh." Talbot walked over and looked at the United States map. "I see a pin in Barrow." He laughed.

"What's so funny?" Reid asked.

Talbot pointed at the map. "That's Larry, that friend of Jacob's who hates 'Thirty Days of Night' because some people think Barrow is full of vampires."

Reid nodded. "That is who the pin is for. I had forgotten he told us that story."

Talbot chuckled. "Has Jacob gone home?"

Reid shook his head. "Not yet. He went to check on a vandalism report at a hunter's cabin. He told me I better not still be here working when he gets back."

"That sounds like something he would say. I have to get going. I just came by to leave a package on Jacob's desk he asked me to pick up in Healy. I'll see you tomorrow. Have a good night."

"Good night," Reid responded as the deputy headed out the door. After he was gone Reid sat looking at the map for a few more minutes before picking up his jacket and putting it on. He wasn't going to get anything more out of the maps tonight by staring at them, he decided. He yawned briefly before picking up his messenger bag and heading out the door. He dutifully locked the front door of the office behind him as Jacob had requested before heading over to the lodge.

/\

Reid was startled awake by a loud noise. He sat up and looked around him and then at the alarm clock near his bed. Six am.? He heard the noise again and climbed out of bed and walked over to the window. He looked out but was unable to see anything. He heard the noise a third time and decided it sounded like some sort of generator trying to start up; but he couldn't tell for certain what direction it was coming from. Within a couple of minutes he saw Jacob heading down the street with a determined stride. Curious as to what was going on Reid grabbed some clothes and headed for the bathroom.

When Reid walked into the lobby a little while later the racket had ceased. Lloyd, who was behind the front desk, spotted him. "Noise wake you up Agent Reid?"

"Well...yes. I came down to find out what it was."

Lloyd shrugged. "My guess is it was Emmett. Jacob went over to check. Damn relatives moaned and groaned til I called Jacob this morning. Not like they're paying customers taking up my damn rooms," he grumbled. He made a face. "Here comes one of them now."

Reid shook his head and walked outside. He decided to head in the direction he had seen Sheriff Reischl walking in. After a few minutes he came around the corner of a building and spotted him a few yards ahead talking to a middle-aged man dressed in a flannel shirt and Dickies. As he moved a little closer he could make out what they were saying.

"Damn it Emmett! I was up half the night investigating vandalism reports, and this morning I have half the town calling me before six am. Complaining about the noise you're making!"

"You should have never given people your home number Sheriff."

"That's not funny Emmett!"

"Come on Jacob! I'm just testing my generators!"

"At 5:45 in the morning?"

Emmett shrugged. "It's as good of a time as any."

"The hell it is!"

"Ah come on Jacob! What are you worried about those whiny people for anyway?"

"Emmett, they live here the same as you do."

"They complain too much."

"Remember you said that the next time you come to me and complain that Joel's diesel truck is making too much noise."

"Humph!" Emmett grumbled as he folded his arms in front of his chest.

"I don't want to hear those generators start up again until after eight o'clock. Are we clear on that?" As Emmett opened his mouth to protest Jacob repeated, "Are we clear on that?"

"Yeah...okay," Emmett said, rolling his eyes.

"I swear to God Emmett I think you and Edith are in a competition to see who can annoy me the most."

Emmett snickered. "No way! I'm not delusional enough to think I'm thirty years younger, fifty pounds lighter and good looking to boot."

"Emmett, I'm warning you!"

"Yeah, yeah, okay! Eight o'clock! I get it!"

"Just be sure you do." As Emmett turned away Jacob turned round and spotted Reid standing a few yards away. "Out for a morning stroll Agent Reid?"

"Well, uh... No, not exactly. I heard a noise and saw you heading this way..."

Jacob sighed. "Come on, let's head for the Cafe."

The two men started walking back the way Reid had come. "Just out of curiosity," Reid began.

"Emmett builds custom engines. Aside from his deliberate attempts to annoy people, he uses two generators as a separate power source for his work."

"Oh, okay. I admit I was a little curious what he was up to."

"You mean aside from driving me crazy?"

"Uh...yes."

Jacob shook his head. "It seems like when half the people in town are not deliberately butting into everyone else's business, they're either annoying each other or complaining about one of their neighbors annoying them." He sighed. "That's life in a small town for you."

"How did the vandalism investigation go last night?"

Jacob shook his head. "This one was no bear, definitely a human."

"Was anything stolen, or just damaged?"

"Broken front window, damage to a small shed where they keep extra firewood, not much else and he couldn't find anything missing. The owner is actually from Wasilla. He came up to check on what needed to be done to get the cabin ready for the season. Otherwise he might not have spotted the damage until later in the year."

"Is this cabin isolated?"

Jacob shook his head as he pulled the front door of the Cafe open. "Not really. It's in the woods about two miles from town. I have some that are further out in my jurisdiction." As he slid into a booth he continued. "It's in a location you would only come across accidentally unless you knew it was there. You couldn't see it from the road; but on the other hand there is another cabin a few hundred yards away that can be seen through the trees."

"Was that one vandalized?"

"I checked it out and it doesn't appear to have been. I called the owner and let him know there had been some problems in the area; however he lives down in Oregon. I said there didn't appear to be any damage, but he's going to contact a friend who lives near Fairbanks to come and take a look and see if there is anything missing inside."

Both men looked up as Carla approached the table. "Good morning Agent Reid. I didn't expect to see you this early Jacob," she commented. "I thought you were up pretty late."

"I was. Emmett, however, was up early."

Carla tried to stifle a smile. "Oh yes, I heard the noise. Didn't know you went over there though."

"When one gets thirteen phone calls in the span of a couple minutes one has to go over there."

Carla chuckled. "Good old Emmett!" She took their order, poured some coffee for Reid and left the table still chuckling.

"What's the plan for today Agent Reid?"

"Garcia is trying to obtain local crime reports for when you were stationed in Korea. If she gets them I'll be looking over those."

Jacob shook his head as he watched Reid stir several spoons of sugar into his coffee. "Local crime reports?"

Reid nodded. "Yes. It occurred to me we could be looking for someone connected to you through the location but not the military itself."

Jacob set down the glass of orange juice he had been drinking. "Aside from some of the contractors there's no way we could possibly track all the civilians I came into contact with, especially when it comes to the local people."

"I realize that Sheriff. That's one reason I wanted to look at the crime reports."

"What am I not getting about why you want to do that?"

"Was there a criminal act you or someone you know witnessed? Did anyone in your unit commit a crime, even if it was a petty one? Were there any crimes committed against you? Were there any crimes committed on your base? Against your unit? Could anyone be holding a grudge..." Reid stopped talking when Jacob's eyes widened. "What is it?"

"Alfred Vallejo," Jacob answered.

"Who?"

"Alfred Vallejo."

"I don't remember seeing that name on the list."

Jacob stood up. "That's because he was a civilian." He waved at Carla. "Can you make our order to go? Agent Reid and I need to get to the office."

"Now? Jacob, its not even seven am!"

"Yes, now Carla! It's important!"

"Okay, hold on a minute."

/\/\/\/\