My Guardian

Chapter 4

The day Lily told Derek about the missing kids at the shelter

When Lily told Derek and Hotch about Sarah Baker and Ben Thomas, that gave them another lead. The case had gone cold after they hit a wall after talking to the parents of Thomas Parker and Olivia Crest. It was getting grim and the parents were getting impatient with getting the killer. Knowing that Sarah and Ben had gone missing and they haven't found their bodies yet, which meant that they had a chance at saving these kids. It was also very concerning that Lily got that note. Derek read the note and it definitely wasn't a prank by some kids. It said:

My Dearest Lily,

I noticed you've been having some trouble with bullies. Don't worry, I'll protect you. No one can protect you like I can.

A Distant Admirer

Derek didn't like it one bit. He wondered if this was the same guy and if it was, this the first time he's reached out like this. According to the first two victims' parents, the kids didn't receive any notes from the unsub. But they were stalked. In addition to talking to Sarah Baker's and Ben Thomas' parents, they'll need to talk to the people in charge at the shelter, too. Derek finally felt like things were getting somewhere with this case. Hotch and Derek decided to question Sarah Baker's parents. They were obviously upset and worried about her. "When she ran away from home, we spent days looking for her. We even went to the police, but they said she'd come home when she felt like it." Sarah's father, Keith, said shaking his head. "She never came home."

"We have a source who claims they spoke to Sarah almost three weeks ago now." Hotch told them. "According to our source, Sarah went missing right around then."

"Oh my god," Sarah's mother, Faith, said breaking down into tears. "My baby..."

"I assure you we're looking for her." Hotch said as reassuring as he could. "Right now, we're trying to get as much information as we can about her."

"Before she ran away, did you notice anything strange? Like someone following her or a vehicle that's sat outside your house for a long amount of time?" Derek asked them.

"She used to take the bus the school and I'd wait for her at the bus stop." Faith said sniffling. "The last three times I picked her up, there was a car there that I didn't recognize."

"Do you remember what this car looked like? Maybe a license plate number?" Hotch asked her.

"Um, it was a windowless dark utility van. I'm sorry, I don't remember the plate number..." She said shaking her head.

"That's okay, you did great." Derek encouraged her. She nodded.

"Thank you for your time. We'll keep you updated." Hotch told them. The two nodded and left the room. "Let's find out what JJ and Rossi found with the Thomas'."

Lily's P.O.V

Mrs. Hoffman came to pick Ella and I up and that's when I remembered the note. "Mrs. Hoffman, do you mind stopping by the FBI headquarters first?" I asked her.

"Sure, why?" Mrs. Hoffman asked me.

"I found another note in my locker." I said frowning.

"Really?" Ella asked wide-eyed.

"Yeah. I need to give it to Derek as soon as possible." I said sighing.

"Okay, anywhere else?" She asked, kindly.

"No." I said shaking my head. "Thank you."