UNDER REVISION Silence in the Scars (A Criminal Minds Story)

Chapter 7: Windsor Lane

UPDATED: 12/13/16

The night air had turned cool. Moonlight illuminated the group of FBI and local police that were spreading out across the deserted fields, surrounding a large dilapidated farmhouse. Flashlights shone dimly as they moved towards the building. The farmhouse looked like it hadn't been lived in years. Part of the roof looked like it had caved in and paint was peeling off the outside.

Reid and Morgan approached the front door with Riley and a small team of officers. There hadn't been enough time to wait for SWAT to arrive in Hill Lake. The rest of the BAU team and the police went around to the back of the house. Reid tried to turn the handle of the front door. It was locked. Morgan, as he always did when there was something in his way, kicked the door open.

The inside of the house was pitch black. The only source of light came from the moonlight streaming through the holes in the roof and the flashlight beams. There was a seat of stairs leading up to the second floor. Morgan glanced back at Reid. There was too much ground to cover and not enough people. Reid nodded and motioned that he would take the first floor. Morgan ascended the stairs with Riley and three of the policemen. Reid and the other three officers stayed on the first floor. The main room was clear, but there were two hallways splitting off. Reid and Officer Jackson took one hallway and the other two officers took the other hallway.

The house was silent except for the occasional creak of the floorboards under the feet of the officers moving around the different rooms. Flashlights shone over broken furniture and boxes, all of which had thick layers of dust over them. The amount of stuff in the building slowed down the clearing of the rooms. Reid and Officer Jackson were nearly done with their hallway. He could hear the faint sounds of people yelling "clear" throughout the building. There was a unexplainable prickle of unease that Reid couldn't shake.

Reid and Officer Jackson walked down the narrow hallway. At the end of the hallway there was a peeling white door. Reid and the officer crept towards it as quietly as the floor would allow. The light from their flashlights shone over a jumble of objects in the hallway. Reid kept his gun pointed ahead, just in case the UNSUB decided to make an appearance. They reached the door at the end of the hallway. Reid tried the door, it wouldn't budge. Officer Jackson put his shoulder into the door and it opened. He stumbled over the doorframe.

"It just leads outside," Officer Jackson said.

He and Reid exited the building. Scanning the surrounding area with their flashlights.

"There doesn't seem to be anything here," Reid said. Before he could turn around there was a noise.

"Reid!" Officer Jackson yelled. Before Reid could turn around, something heavy connected with the back of his head and he crumpled to the ground unconscious.

~

Less than twenty minutes later, the remaining members of the BAU team and police assembled by the cars outside the house. The search had been a frustrating dead-end search and had revealed no UNSUB and no girl.

"The UNSUB's must have left after making the call," Prentiss said.

"There was no sign of them ever even being here," Rossi said.

Derek joined them. He brows furrowed in worried. "Have you guys seen Reid?"

"No," Prentiss replied. "He was with you last I saw."

"We split up to cover more ground," Morgan said. He frowned and scanned the grounds again. "He should be back by now. Officer Jackson hasn't come back yet either."

There was commotion and several of the officers took off running towards the side of the house.

"What's going on?" Hotch asked Detective Riley.

"They found Officer Jackson," Riley said. "He's unconscious, but Officer Thompson said that he's breathing."

"Was Reid with him?" Hotch asked.

Riley shook his head. "No sign of your agent. Excuse me." He headed off towards the side of the house. JJ headed towards the other agents quickly. Her face was grim.

"Have you guys heard about Officer Jackson?" JJ asked.

"Riley filled us in," Hotch said. "There's no sign of Reid?"

JJ shook her head. "Officer Thompson found this pinned to Officer Jackson's vest." She handed Hotch an evidence bag which contained a note covered in thin, jerky handwriting.

"Stop hunting us and I'll let the Agent Spencer Reid go," Hotch read from the small scrap of paper. "Keep searching and he is dead. You have two days to give us your answer." Silence fell over the group of agents.

"Detective Riley knows what happened. He is organizing his men into search teams to check the surrounding area," JJ said.

The BAU team joined the search. They started searching the house again and spread out across the grounds and surrounding fields.

"Everyone spread out and search the grounds and the house," Hotch ordered. "There's a chance they could still be here." The team, other officers and S.W.A.T members spread out. The started searching the house and combing the grounds and field for any sign of Reid or the UNSUB, nobody saw the pair of tail lights speeding over the hill in the distance.

"Reid!" Voices rang out as the surrounding area was being searched. All too soon morning began to show peak out from behind the hill and the searchers hadn't been able to find the youngest agent.

"Hotch there's tire marks leading away from this spot here," Morgan said wearily from a little ways off the side of the house. JJ walked over to him, the lack of sleep etched in her face as she looked at the house from where he was.

"There's a door," she pushed away some of the vines that had taken root in the wall to reveal a small almost unnoticed door.

"So they waited here until what?" Prentiss asked pushing her hair back irritably.

"There was only one person," Morgan suggested. "The note looks hastily written."

"We have no suspects, "Hotch said frustratingly. "All we have is five dead girls and two days to find Reid." The team glanced at each other in surprise, Hotch rarely ever lost his temper in a case, even if it got personal. Before anyone could say anything Riley came running up to them excited and waving an evidence bag. Apparently lack of sleep and stress had no effective on him Prentiss thought glaring at him.

"I found this," he panted slightly out of breath and handing the bag to Rossi who was closest to him.

"It's a locket," he showed the rest of them the small, golden, heart shaped locket that was resting with its broken chain at the bottom of the bag.

"It opens," Prentiss commented seeing a hinge and clasp on it. Pulling on the blue crime scene gloves so as not to contaminate any evidence that might be on the smooth surface she took the bag from Rossi and pulled out the locket carefully. Opening it she saw one the right side there was a very tiny picture of a guy with long blond hair and a jock like air about him, on the other side was a quote, True Love Never Dies. Showing this all to the others.

"That was written on the first note with the flowers," Morgan said.

"Let's get the picture to Garcia," Hotch said running a hand threw his hair and suddenly looking ten years older. The team started to leave hesitating, hoping against hope that Reid would just suddenly appear out of the trees but Reid was already miles away.