"Calm down Aaron. Laurel and the baby are both fine." It was evening and Rossi was walking around the hospital waiting room while he talked on his cell phone with Hotch, who was with the team in Wisconsin working on a case.
"The doctor just wants to keep her overnight for observation," he patiently explained. "I'll be taking her home first thing tomorrow morning. And, in the meantime, Paige is staying with Garcia and Jack is staying with me. So, there is no need for you to fly back. Everything is under control."
"What about the Mercers' claims?" Hotch asked.
"I have Garcia checking into them," Rossi assured him. "However, both of the Mercers are adamant that their son Robert switched identities with his brother Bradley so that he could get that job on the North Slope of Alaska. It seems that the company wouldn't hire him originally because he had a criminal record, and Bradley didn't have one. I suspect there is some truth to the story. I can't imagine that either one of them is sophisticated enough to come up with something like that on their own. But, if Bradley is still alive, why hasn't he come forward before now? And, why does he have his parents doing this for him? From what I remember, we profiled him as an abusive bully and someone like that wouldn't pass up the opportunity to show off his ability to intimidate – Particularly when there is a federal agent involved."
"This entire situation poses a multitude of problems," Hotch observed. "Ones that Laurel doesn't need to have to deal with right now."
"Well, Jack and I are taking good care of her," Rossi assured the agent. "And, Jessica will be joining us when she gets back into town tomorrow. You know, Aaron, you should be proud of your son. He really stepped up and took responsibility for Laurel and her safety."
"You know I am, Dave," Hotch replied. "And, I also know that I don't tell him that often enough."
"A small reward might be in order," Rossi suggested slyly.
"You mean like a car?" Hotch's smile could be heard over the phone. "Actually, Dave, I'm one step ahead of you on that. Laurel is going to need a new vehicle; one that she can get the car seat in and out of easily, as well as having room to carry all the sports equipment for both the kids. I was thinking we could give her current car to Jack for his use."
"It is a safe, sensible car," Rossi observed. "Not exactly a teenaged boy's dream vehicle. However, it is a car that you can feel comfortable with knowing that he is driving Paige around in it."
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
"So, there is no way of knowing whose body was in that coffin that they brought back to Michigan." Garcia was on the phone with Rossi later that evening. "Laurel's brother, Joel, spoke with the funeral home and apparently the coffin was never opened when it arrived. All the paperwork was in order and the Mercers were adamant about having a quick burial, so the home just proceeded to make the necessary arrangements with the county cemetery."
"However," she continued. "The Anchorage police did take fingerprints from the body for identification purposes and I assume they are still on file up there. I don't suppose Laurel kept anything that might have Bradley's fingerprints on it – Did she?"
"The only thing she has of his is his death certificate," Rossi told the tech. "I already asked."
"What about Robert?" he asked. "Have you been able to find any trace of him? Or, rather, of his identity?"
"Not recently," was the report. "However, if whatever son it is that is missing has been living off the land in the state forest the way his parents claim, there might not be any trace of him. At least not electronically."
"I suppose that leaves exhumation," Rossi sighed. "And DNA tests on both the body and Paige. I really don't want to put them through that."
"Let me keep looking," Garcia offered. "I just might find something."