Flashback—
I reach my hand out for a handshake. Her hand is ice cold. "My name is Emily Prentiss; I'm here to ask you about a foster child of yours, Mason Smith." The lady puts her head in her hands, her shoulders shaking with silent sobs. Detective Derry takes over.
"It's okay, ma'am. Take your time." I stand up and follow the kids upstairs. I go to Molly.
"Hi, Molly. My name is Emily. I have some questions for you?" She nods. "Do you know about Mason, your brother?" She shakes her head and runs into the bathroom. I follow her, but she locks the door. I exhale and look for Liam. But Jessie catches my eye. She's staring at me, like she's looking into my soul. She's the youngest.
"Hi, my name is Emily. I'm the police." She nods. "Do you know Mason?" I show her a picture. She nods.
"Big brother." I smile.
"Do you know what happened to him?" She nods.
"It's a secret." The mother comes into the room.
"Come, Jessie, time to eat." She carries her downstairs. I go back downstairs to see everybody dining at the table, including Detective Derry.
"Come join us," the father pats the chair. Derry is already digging into what seems like bean soup and bread.
"I'm fine; actually, I'm not done questioning." The mother drops the bowl of salad.
"You're out of line! We would never hurt Mason!"
"Calm down, ma'am, these are routine questions." The man holds his wife and whispers in her ear.
"Fine, let's make this quick." Her mood switches completely from concerned and frustrated to agitated and anxious. A mother wouldn't act like this or at least a concerned one. Finally, she sits down and puts her cup of tea on the coaster.
"What happened the night Mason went missing?"
"I had just finished giving the girls a shower," she says.
"A shower? Isn't Molly nine?"
"She likes to take showers with her sister; didn't you take showers with your sister?" she says in a humble voice.
"I don't have a sister." I take a moment of silence. "Continue, ma'am."
She looks at me with pity. "I told them to get ready, and before you say anything, Jessie is brilliant for her age. She can already read and make her bowl of cereal." I smile as she continues. "I went to see if Liam and Mason were already asleep, and it seemed like they were. So I closed the door and went to sleep. I woke up, and I couldn't find him." She begins to shed tears.
"Why didn't you report him missing?"
"He tends to go for walks in the morning; he always comes back around ten," she says, fiddling with her cup of tea.
"So why did you guys leave and not wait for him?" I ask, trying to get to the point.
"Ma'am—I mean, Ms. Prentiss, you don't have children, do you?" I shake my head. "He knows our routine; if he wanted to come, he would've stayed." She takes a long pause before sobbing.
"It's okay, ma'am. That's it for now." I pat her back and go back to the table.
"I think we're all done here."
"Bye, Emily," Jessie remarks. I smile at her and grab Derry.
The car ride is silent; I can hear Derry trying to talk to me, but I need to focus. Why were her emotions so jumbled, like she didn't know what to express? And the kids, they knew more than they were letting on. The house must be at least 32 degrees, but the heat was in the parents' room when I went upstairs, not the children's.
Is this child abuse? Or maybe some ritual?
YOU ARE READING
the girl who lost things
Fanfictionjessie is trying to adapt to her life as a daughter of the bau after her mother gets a job there. She finally wants a normal life after everything that happened when she was younger. but, her secrets can only stay hidden for so long. this is a crimi...
