Elijah Bishop.

I'd worked with him plenty ever since becoming Annie's tutor. We'd go to lunch and discuss various methods of teaching Annie. We tried our best to discover the method that worked for her. We weren't exactly friends, but we were definitely friendly. I had told him before that I wished Ben would just disappear forever, just drop off the face of the earth. That's why he tried to kill him. My mom must've interrupted and so he attacked her.

It made no sense to me. How could he kill anyone? He seemed like a sweetheart. He remembered little details I'd mentioned only once. I...I was beginning to trust him.

"Garcia, we need Bishop's address now," Hotch barked, "and the school he works at's number."

"Already sent to your phones," she replied, sounding slightly anxious. "He did call in sick to work, though." My blood chilled. Sick? Elijah never got sick. I'd teased him about it. If he called in sick....maybe he had another victim.

The BAU and the police were out the doors at the speed of light. Only JJ and a few patrolmen stayed behind. My stomach churned, watching them gear up. What if he resisted arrest? What if they shot him? He wasn't killing because he was evil. He was killing because he was sick.

"It will all be over soon," JJ assured us, placing a hand on Beth's knee. My heart plummeted to my feet. It will all be over soon. He didn't deserve to be put down. He needed psychological help. He didn't need to be killed, he needed to be saved.

Beth's phone buzzed. She picked up and instantly her face fell. Her eyes began to water. I figured it had something to do with Ben, so I massaged her shoulders. I wasn't really paying attention to her tearful whispers. I was too busy thinking about what would happen when they found Elijah.

"No," Beth sobbed. I frowned, watching her hang up the phone. She threw her arms around me and cried into my shoulder. My blood chilled. Had Ben died? No, he only sustained minor injuries. It was my mom who-

It was like the air was sucked from my lungs. I gripped Beth's shoulder and ripped her off me. I leaned in, looking deep into her red-rimmed eyes. She was shaking. She could barely breathe. It was like we were both having panic attacks.

"Who?" I managed to ask. Snot glistened at the bottom of her nostrils. Her chest heaved with every broken breath. She was devastated. No, it couldn't be. It wasn't possible.

Beth cupped my cheeks. "Mom...the surgery...they just couldn't save her."

Mom was dead.

*

I blacked out. The world faded away and I was lost in my thoughts until the doors banged open. Colors seeped back into my vision. My heart started beating again. My toes uncurled and my lungs filled with air. It was like the noise shocked me back to life.

I vaguely registered JJ approaching her team and explaining what happened. Spencer ripped off his bulletproof vest and ran over to me. He fell to his knees and pulled me into a hug. I took a deep breath, inhaling his musk of sweet coffee, sweat, and something that smelled kind of like leather. He kissed my neck, his strong hands gripping my torso. I tried to focus on him, to fight the dark vignette consuming my vision.

"I'm so sorry, Em," Spence murmured. "We couldn't find him."

I cleared my throat. "Even if you found him, it wouldn't've mattered. She...she was too far gone."

"She doesn't have to suffer anymore," Morgan said, approaching me. "I can't imagine how painful her brain tumor was. As awful as this was, at least it was like falling asleep for her." Beth scowled, but he was right. Beth never saw the look on Mom's face when she realized she'd forgotten who I was. The medicine, the symptoms...she was finally at peace.

"Our mother is dead," Beth hissed as she stood. "She's gone but my fucking cheater of a husband is still perfectly fine. It's not fair!" She stomped away, presumably to find and hug Ethan. He was being babysat by a police officer in the break room. JJ followed her, just in case. The rest of the team re-grouped to discuss where he could be.

I excused myself to go to the bathroom. I washed my face to clean off the tears. My phone beeped. I checked the screen. It was a reminder to meet Elijah for brunch to go over Annie's progress. I scoffed and opened my phone to delete the reminder. A giant red bubble blossomed over my messages app. I clicked in.

My blood curdled.

The text was from Peyton and consisted of only two sentences.

peyton

We're good to go for brunch. Hopefully, everything turns out OK w/ you.

I scrolled up in the conversation, wondering if my brain was fucking with me. There could be a thousand reasons why she sent that text. Or the one reason that made me want to scream. This was my fault, I realized, re-reading the text. I'd done this.

hey so my mom and ben were attacked by the killer and im a possible victim so i can't meet with elijah ????

peyton

Holy shit!! Is your mom OK?

yeah, she's in surgery. can you just call elijah for me and let him know we need to reschedule?

peyton

Actually, I can meet with him for you. Nothing's changed since you filled me in, right?

OMG THAT WOULD BE FANTASTIC

and nope nothing's changed

thanks peyton

peyton

No problem Em. I'll call Elijah now and let him know I'm coming instead.

ok sounds good

peyton

We're good to go for brunch. Hopefully, everything turns out OK w/ you.

I ran out of the bathroom. I felt like I was buzzing. All eyes turned to me as I announced, "I know where he is."

*

a/n: two chapters left...