Pieces Of Me

Chapter 31

With her heart pounding nervously against her chest, Leah walked down the street in the center of town. She was scared, but she tried to hide it as good as possible. But it was harder than she had thought. What would happen if Owens would realize that there was the police and the FBI out there just waiting for him to show up?

Leah shook her head as to get rid of these thoughts and questions. She wanted to see that man in prison. Taking a deep breath, Leah continued her way; one of her hands was always holding her baby bump. She could feel Spencer's presence. She knew that he and the others were near, watching all her steps so they'd be able to react if something unexpected would happen.

Twenty minutes after Leah had kissed Spencer and left to walk down the street, she could recognize a person out of the corner of her eye. And she immediately knew it was him. Walter Owens. He wasn't just looking at her, he was staring at her. Leah swallowed and tried to ignore the goosebumps that had built on her arms.

And then, suddenly, everything happened extremely fast: FBI agents came running, joined by police men and faster than Owens could have escaped, he had handcuffs around his wrists.

Leah was heavily breathing and tried to calm down her heart that was beating way too fast in her chest. Spencer had hurried to her and now wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Are you okay?", he asked, a worried expression on his face. Leah just nodded. She was relieved but also excited now. They finally had him. Walter Owens would get finally arrested after all those years.

"Come on, let's go back home", Spencer murmured and pulled Leah out of her thoughts. "No, I...I want to go to the bureau. I need to hear what he has to say." Her voice was slightly shaking and for a moment Spencer hesitated. He was worried that stress of any kind wouldn't be good for her and the baby. But he also knew that she could be stubborn and that he wouldn't be able to change her mind. So, he brought her to one of the SUV's and they got driven back.

~

Leah was standing there in front of the glass and watched Hotch and Rossi leaning over a table. They were trying to get Walter Owens to speak since almost an hour now, but without success so far. A sigh escaped Leah's mouth. Although her feet and her back hurt, she refused to sit down or go and have a tea.

"Darling...do you really want to stay?" Spencer had joined her again after he had been gone for some minutes. Leah just nodded. She didn't feel like she could talk right now. There was a lump in her throat and her heart was beating so fast, that she was afraid it might just jump out of her chest sooner or later.

Spencer wrapped an arm around Leah and she leaned against his body. Impatience was starting to grow inside Leah. Owens had been sitting in this small room for over an hour now but he still hadn't talked. And it drove her insane. She finally needed some answers and didn't want to wait any longer!

"Why doesn't he talk?", she asked and took some deep breaths to calm down. "Some people that get arrested and interviewed think that it would help them if they'd just keep quiet. It seems like Owens thinks the same. But don't worry. Hotch and Rossi will get him to speak." Spencer squeezed Leah's shoulder.

"Why aren't you in there trying to make him speak?" She looked up at Spencer and saw a bitter smile form on his lips. "I wanted to. But Hotch didn't allow. He said that I might lose my temper in there and would forget how to be a professional as soon as I'd stand face to face with the man who was a danger for the most important person in my life", he explained quietly. Leah just nodded. Spencer was a calm man – most of the time. But she knew that he could freak out if something bad happened to the people he loved.

~

Time went slowly for everyone this evening. Owens refused to talk for hours and during that time Leah kept standing there, staring through the glass at the man who had murdered her parents. And then, after almost five hours, Hotch seemed to have enough of Owens' silence.

He leaned over the table and slammed his fist on the wood. "Man, if you don't finally tell us everything, I swear that you'll rot in the worst prison in the whole country!", he exclaimed. Seeking help, Owens glanced at Rossi but he just nodded. "You better start to talk", he simply said.

Walter Owens sighed. And then he finally said something: "Anthony and I were working in the same company."

"Yeah, we already know", Rossi hummed and folded his arms in front of his chest.

"There was a huge project that I really wanted to be responsible for. You know, I've been a nobody in that company. But then Anthony took it for himself right in front of me. I...I've had financial problems and I put all my hope into this project – which I couldn't do anymore because Anthony had grabbed it." Owens stopped and took a small break. But Rossi and Hotch just looked at him expectantly and waited for him to continue.

"I wanted to go at his house and talk to him; maybe he'd change his mind and he'd give me the project. He didn't want to hear anything about that. He said he'd need the money too." A short laugh escaped Owens' mouth as he spoke the last words. "He said he's got a family now and could need all the money he could get! As if he was the only man in the world who needed money!" Owens started to get angry. His face was a grimace and his eyes were focused on the wall opposite of him – right where Leah was standing behind the glass. She had wrapped her arms around her torso while she listened. Spencer's arm was still placed around her shoulder but he didn't dare to say anything.

"So, you want to tell us that you killed Anthony and Charlotte Monaghan because you couldn't do the project you wanted to do?", Hotch slowly asked unbelievingly. Owens just shrugged. "Yeah. I mean...I freaked out. I...don't know, I just couldn't see another way."

"You killed two people, you took two lifes, you took away a baby's parents and made her an orphan...and you don't even seem to regret it." Hotch summarized.

Owens nodded. He didn't seem to regret anything. He just seemed to be still angry, even after all these years. "Why didn't you kill the baby as well?", Hotch asked. Rossi shot a short glance at his boss and friend, but didn't say anything. He was curious as well. Why would someone kill the parents but didn't hurt the helpless baby in the crib?

"The baby cried after I've shot the Monaghans. I went to the crib and saw her small, red face and for a moment I thought about doing it, you know? I thought about killing her too. But she was just a baby. She wasn't dangerous to me. I couldn't do it. But I swore, I'd find her one day, when she's an adult, and then maybe I'd finish what I've began."

A devilish smile appeared on his lips as his eyes met Leah's behind the glass. He couldn't know that she was standing exactly there. It was just coincidence. But shivers ran down Leah's spine and she pressed a hand on her mouth. Tears were streaming down her face since Owens had started to talk. All that started to get too much for Leah.