The Element of Surprise

Birthright - Part 4

I am thoroughly against the idea of bringing Karen Foley to the barn the others found. Through the text message Hotch sent Rossi, he explained some of the details they found - chains dangling from the rafters, signs of struggle on the floor, and a chopping block with an axe, both covered in blood. It doesn't take a profiler to know that's where Robert took his victims and now, possibly, his son too. Yet, I'm surprised when she willingly agrees to come with with the condition that her son accompanies her.

Once we arrive at the farm, I remain in the car with Karen and Stephen while Rossi heads off to investigate the barn with the others. Through the window I spot Derek and Prentiss walking about the scene, Reid is there too, as well as Sheriff John. Fortunately, we can't see the chains or torture devices from where the car is parked.

The whole time, Karen remains quiet while her son holds her close. I can tell she's scared - no victim to such crimes deserve to be taken back to their place of origins. This will reopen so many wounds, bring back so many bad memories, which explains why I was reluctant to let her come along. If only we didn't need her to recognize the scene...

But as the team scopes the barn, I spot a familiar figure getting out a truck and crossing the grounds.

Oh hell no...

"I'll be right back," I tell Karen and Stephen. Getting out of the police vehicle, I march up to the person with my blood already boiling through my veins, "Ms Wilkinson?"

Stopping in her tracks, she turns to me and rests her hands on her waist, clearly annoyed, "My daughter-in-law called. What's going on here?"

"We're looking for Charlie," I quirk a brow, "You wanna know why?" She stares me down in challenge. My eye catches Rossi and Sheriff John approaching us and the former comes to stand beside me, joining my side in confronting the older woman. "You knew very well Charlie was an angry kid. What fifteen-year-old boy puts a cat in a bag and hits it against a tree? You saw the path he was going down, that's why you moved away from this place. You knew what happened here," I gesticulate at the barn.

"That's not true," she defends, but I don't let her continue. Oh no, I'm in attack mode and there's now stopping me now.

"You were afraid of the stock he came from. You thought if you just took him away from his father's home, you'd keep it all a big secret and everything will be okay."

"I protected him!" She fires back.

"But the problem is, Ms Wilkinson, a boy like Charlie with so much anger, so many questions, needs to know where he came from. He wouldn't quit until he knew. And then one day... he figured it out," I take a special kind of pleasure in the way her face falls. Checkmate, Mary. Only when she blinks first do I take a step back and steal a glance at Rossi. He looks at me with a smile I can't place. Pride maybe?

Feeling my cheeks heating up, I avert my gaze from his to asses the situation. Mary Wilkinson is utterly defeated while Sheriff John can only stare at her in disbelief. His face says it all - how could he have missed this? This is the case that broke him and all this time, the killer had been right under his nose, had been someone he once saw as a friend.

The older woman turns to the former sheriff and nearly begs, "I was over, John. You didn't have to worry about any other girls getting hurt. And I did not want my son to have the legacy that his father was a murderer."

But Sheriff Caulfield remains silent, still too shocked to even utter a word.

"Where's Charlie?" I ask straightforwardly.

Sighing in defeat, she replies, "I don't know." I quirk a brow and she quickly adds, "Honest. I don't know."

"Then where does Charlie go to be alone?" I'm way past taking anymore of her bullshit. She's the only one standing in the way of us catching our killer and rescuing those missing girls.