Hidden Family Secrets

Chapter 4: 2005

The black SUV pulled up against the curb outside a plain coloured two storey home with black shuttered windows and peeling grey paint on the front door. Emily hopped out of the vehicle and walked up to stand next to Morgan. She pointed at the at the ground the house was built on and squinted slightly.
“Hey, Morgan, look at that. There’s a basement down there. There’s a window that just clears the ground” she said, crouching down to get a better view.
Morgan copied her and stared straight where she was looking too. After a minute, he stood back up and strode purposely towards the front door. Hotch, Emily, Spencer and Gideon fell into step behind him. Usually Gideon would have issued warnings about barging in on an unsub this way, but this time he didn’t bother. It wasn’t someone else’s child in there today; it was Derek’s own daughter, whether she was adopted or not.
Morgan reached the door and rapped on it hard with his knuckles. His left hand was already gripping the butt of his Glock.
“Demetri Tomlin! FBI!” he shouted, dark eyes focused fiercely on the door in front of him.
A shuffling noise was heard within and then the door was opened, swung wide and they looked inside at the man standing on the other side of the threshold. He was white, that they could see, and had close cut dark greying hair and navy blue eyes. He looked so normal. But then, it was always the quiet, average ones you had to watch for.
“Can I help you, sir?” he asked calmly, a slight Russian accent lilting his words.
He quietly observed the blue vests and hand held Glocks, without making a single sound. Morgan narrowed his eyes at the man.
“Don’t call me “sir”, you murderer. Let me in, or I’ll break you down so that you have no choice” he said darkly.
Demetri raised his eyebrows, but stepped aside and allowed them entry without a fuss.
“I assure you, you’ll find nothing. I haven’t killed anybody and I haven’t kidnapped any children either” he said coolly, watching them with calm focus.
Hotch turned back to look at him as he walked farther into the hallway. He looked grim.
“He said nothing to you about kidnapping children” he said seriously.
Demetri swallowed and turned pale, but otherwise there was no change in his physical behaviour.
“Do you have a basement?” Gideon asked, tapping the wood floor with his foot, listening for hollow rings from below.
Demetri nodded, shrugging.
“Yes. So what?” he replied, still pale.
Gideon glanced at him.
“Well, where is it?”
Demetri shook his head.
“Why do you need to know that?” he asked instead.
Morgan came over to him and stood less than a foot away from him.
“Because you have my daughter and I want her back” he said, speaking through gritted teeth.
Hotch had a hand on his shoulder, but he shook him off, glaring down at the murderer before him.
Spencer and Emily both watched him carefully, concerned that he might snap and take the guy’s head off. He did neither, only stepped away and continued to search for an entry to the basement down underneath.
Demetri fidgeted nervously, his eyes continuously flicking over to the clock mounted on the wall over Spencer’s head. He looked back across the room at the man, knowing what he was looking at every few seconds.
“You worrying about the time?” Spencer asked quietly.
Morgan glanced at Demetri, then at the clock on the wall. A spasmodic movement tilted Demetri’s head in a forced nod. Morgan raised an eyebrow.
“Is it nearly time for you to kill my daughter?” he demanded, taking one threatening step closer.
Demetri shook his head that time.
“It’s nearly…” he began, but was stopped by the sound of a bell ringing in the room somewhere.
Morgan’s head whipped up, and he tried to locate the source of the sound.
“What is that? Where’s it coming from?” he almost shouted, to be heard over the resounding cacophany.
The bell rang again, sounding almost impatient. Demetri bolted, flying past Morgan and into the room beyond the wide entryway. The agents followed him at a run, aiming to find out where the child was. Where Demetri went, there she would certainly be. Morgan was right behind him when they reached a small door built into the side of the garage. Demetri shoved it open and clattered down a flight of stone stairs, descending into darkness. Morgan followed him again, knowing that Hotch and everyone else would be also behind him.
The lower they went, the lighter it became, which was odd. At last, Morgan broke into a medium sized room with a set of bunk beds and no extra furnishings. Demetri was huddled over a tray on the floor, muttering to himself something about the girl not eating her dinner. Hotch right on his heels, Morgan walked slowly in and circled the room, eventually his gaze coming to rest on the curled up bundle on the bottom bunk bed.
“Rosalie?” he said, kneeling down beside the bed.
The bundle shifted slightly and the blanket lifted to reveal a small face framed by long black hair, wide brown eyes staring out worriedly into his. A sniffle was heard loud and clear, and then Rosalie was in his arms. She wraapped her own skinny arms tightly around Morgan’s neck and squeezed, shedding the grubby blanket and moving onto her knees to better embrace her father. She buried her face in the side of his neck and he could feel hot tears branding his skin.
“I knew you would come get me” Rosalie murmured, hugging him even tighter.
Morgan stroked her long hair down her back, trying to ignore the greasy way it felt against his fingers. She hadn’t been able to wash for days.
“Of course, baby. I promised I would never let you down” Morgan replied, closing his eyes.
Rosalie smiled and blinked away the rest of her tears. Eventually, she pulled away from Morgan and peered over his shoulder at the other agents filling the room. It now seemed way too small. A pale skinned dark haired woman smiled at her and waved, while the lanky man beside her just looked a bit awkward. She smiled up at him to try make him feel better. An older, slightly balding man stood at the edge of the room, standing watch over the man who took her from school. He had unfathomable hawklike eyes and no smile. She liked him instantly, though she felt slight awe and fear punctuating the respect and liking she felt for him. And then, standing right behind her dad was Aaron. He appeared grim as always, but he had his eye on her, watching her carefully for signs of fatigue or early depression. She was unhurt. Rosalie slid over the edge of the bunk and walked past her dad, who stood up also, and went to stand in front of Aaron. She smiled shyly at him and held up her arms to him. She was small for her age, and so it was easy for him to bend at the knees and lift her up. She fit in his arms and wrapped hers round his neck, pressing her cheek to his left shoulder.
“Thank you” she whispered in his ear, after raising her head a fraction.
Aaron turned his head slightly to meet her steady gaze and nodded.
“You’re welcome, Rose” he said calmly.
She hugged him tight once more, kissed his cheek and squirmed down to the ground again. She reached for her dad’s hand and he squeezed her fingers, her palm tiny against his.
“Daddy, I want to go home” she said somberly, looking up at him.
He glanced down at her and gently pushed her fringe out of her eyes.
“You and me both, kid” he replied, sighing wearily.
He made sure that Hotch and Gideon had hold of Demetri, and then swung Rosalie into his arms once again. He held onto her tightly and wouldn’t let her have her own seat in the SUV on the way back home. He held her on his lap and asked Hotch to drive slow.
The minute Rosalie was through her own front door finally, she raced upstairs, and not a minute later, Morgan heard the water in the bathroom upstairs beat against the shower wall. He sat at the foot of the stairs and waited for her to come back down, her wet hair dripping down the back of her clean red Easter Bunny t-shirt. Rosalie smiled at him and crawled into his lap, resting her cheek against his beating heart. Five minutes after that, she was asleep.