You and I (Don't Let Go) | Grey's Anatomy x Criminal Minds

Chapter Four

Spencer's night out was thankfully momentarily forgotten as Penelope introduced the case that dragged them in on their day off.

"Alright, my super special crime fighters. We have a time sensitive case today," she began, clicking a button on her remote to display a photo of a young girl on the screen. "This is thirteen year old Melanie Johnson. She was abducted out of her home in Provo, Utah three hours ago. Her parents, David and Belinda Johnson were found dead by Provo police, after they responded to a 911 call placed by Belinda."

"Belinda was able to call the police during the break-in?" Emily asked to clarify.

"Yup. According to the police, after the unsub broke into the home, he got into an altercation with David before the unsub shot him. While that was happening, Belinda locked herself and Melanie in the bathroom and called 911, but the unsub was able to break the door down before police were able to arrive. Belinda's body was found in the bathtub."

"Do we have the recording of the 911 call?" Hotch questioned.

Garcia confirmed that they did, but Hotch stood from the table before she could play it.

"This is a time sensitive case, we need to get to Provo as soon as possible. It's still early in the timeline, and the likelihood that Melanie Johnson is alive will only decrease as time goes on," he announced, "We'll have to listen to the tape on the plane. Wheels up in twenty, everyone."

He walked swiftly out of the room, followed by Rossi. The rest of the team packed up more slowly, knowing they all had go bags ready at their desks.

Derek came over and patted Spencer on the back, making the smaller man grunt. Morgan really didn't know his own strength.

"You might wanna tell your girl that a second date may have to wait. This is gonna be a rough one."

Spencer couldn't help but agree. Child abductions were hard on all of them.

"She's not my girl, Derek," he chose to respond instead.

Derek sent him a smirk, a little more subdued than the one this morning. "Yet. Not your girl yet."

Derek walked out, leaving Spencer alone. He smiled to himself. Yet. He liked the sound of that.

...

On the jet, Spencer and the team were able to listen to the 911 recording, and it was every bit as horrifying as they knew it would be.

Belinda had locked herself in the bathroom with her daughter, cradling her in her arms, and for a full four minutes, the two had to listen as the unsub brutally murdered David Johnson only one room away. I struck Spencer that even though the unsub had to have known Belinda would call 911, he still took the time he did to brutalize David when his goal was to kidnap Melanie.

The call ended when the unsub broke the door to the bathroom down. Belinda had tried her best to protect her daughter, but after holding them at gunpoint Belinda handed the phone over and the unsub hung up. Belinda Johnson was found dead in the bathtub, shot once execution style. It was in stark contrast to how her husband was murdered, beaten extensively before he was shot in the chest, leaving him to bleed out.

Spencer's heart clenched at the realization that Melanie likely would have seen her mother being shot. But already his head was spinning with theories, and it would be best to have them fleshed out before they landed, so the team began discussing.

"We should start looking into the father," Spencer started, gaining a few curious looks. "David's murder was personal, while Belinda's was quick and clean. The unsub spent more time on him than was smart, and based on the complete lack of forensic evidence, this unsub is no fool. Logically this means the abduction was only part of the motivation, perhaps even the secondary one."