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Morgan knocked on the door while Mara looked around, examining the property. "Mr. Roycewood, we're with the FBI. We'd like to ask you a few questions. We're going door to door."
He pulled the door closer to him body as Mara sent Morgan a look. "Do you mind if we come in?"
He didn't answer, becoming antsy. Mara took a step forward and tried to meet his eyes. "How many children do you have? And where are they now?"
"Mr. Roycewood?" Morgan asked as he didn't answer, scared at the officials standing at the door.
"I'm sorry?" He finally spoke.
"I said, you've got a lot of land here," Mara said. "And a houseful of kids."
"Yes, I do." He agreed.
"It's awfully quiet," Morgan said. "Are they out?"
"My wife took them out." He replied.
"At the winter festival?" Mara asked. The UnSub's eyes widened just a little and he knew they were onto him.
"Winter festival?"
"In Ashburn."
"No," the UnSub replied. "Uh, but that's a wonderful idea. I'll mention that to my wife. Might be nice for the kids."
"When is your wife going to be back?"
"She's got the kids out on a field trip," he answered as Mara raised her eyebrows. "No, I don't know when she'll be back. I can, uh, get her back here."
Mara met his eyes and she felt sick. The things he did to those kids and he sat here and talked to them like he was just a normal person.
"I need to step outside," Mara said, stepping off the porch. "Excuse me."
"Why don't you go on ahead and make that phone call?" Morgan said to their UnSub before following Mara down to the street.
Mara dialed Hotch's number. "We are at twenty-one fifty Mosley Lane. Only the husband is here. Roger Roycewood."
"Wife and kids?" Hotch asked.
"Yeah," Mara replied. "Out."
"He matches the profile?"
"So does the property," Mara replied. "It's isolated. You can't see it from the street. They have extra locks on the door. There's a minivan in the driveway and a photo of a boy who looks a lot like Charlie."
"Is he onto you?"
"Without a doubt."
"We're on our way." Hotch said, gesturing for the other agents to get ready to leave.
"Search warrant?" Mara asked.
"Yes," Hotch answered. "And dogs."
She got off the phone with Hotch and Morgan's eyes met hers. "What's wrong?"
"Just..ready to get this guy and go home," she said. "That sick bastard looked us in the eyes like he's innocent."
"Voicemail again," Roycewood said from the porch. "I suppose y'all can come back later."
"I think we both know that's not going to happen." Morgan said.
Hotch came with a warrant, dogs, and forty agents. They searched the ground but couldn't find the kids. Garcia found that the wife has a funeral home in Leesburg and Hotch and Morgan went there while they dug up the roses to find any bodies.
They have a crematorium.
Mara went back to the office, Reid was pacing the conference room, waiting for a call that they saved the kids.
JJ was comforting the families, the ones that were scared their kid wasn't coming home tonight.
Reid grabbed Mara and pulled her to the lobby with the families, approaching Sarah Hillridge. "They found the kids."
"How are you doing?" Mara asked Sarah.
"I've waited eight years," she answered. "What is he doesn't know me?"
Mara comforted the woman while Reid set a hand on Mara's back. "How long have you been doing his, Dr. Reid? In your experience, what normally happens?"
"Charlie was eight when he was taken, which means developmentally, he was in middle childhood," Reid explained. "He had a stronger sense of right and wrong and a growing understanding of his place in the world. Mentally, he had the ability to talk about his thoughts and feelings, while have less focus on himself and more concern for others."
"So you think he's gonna be okay?" Sarah asked.
"With a mother like you who did all this, I do," Reid nodded, as Mara smiled gently. "I'm a doctor. I put my faith in facts and statistical probabilities, but today, four kids are going home with their families, all because you believed your son was alive. That's as close to a miracle as I've ever seen."
Four kids stepped off the elevator, going to their families while the other broke down in sobs. The team watched while Sarah stepped forward and hugged her son, the one she never stopped looking for.
Mara and Reid stood in the conference room and watched parents bond with their children. Sarah came in and thanked everyone for help finding her son.
"Why do you do it?" Sarah asked as Mara intertwined her fingers with Reid's, watching Charlie hug his father.
