CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: SOCIOPATHIC TENDENCIES !

4x21
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CASEY WILLOWS HAD ARRIVED AT THE MURPHY RESIDENCE WITH MORGAN, ROSSI AND EMILY AFTER A CHILD ABDUCTION CASE. They knew the odds. Prentiss and Casey were in charge of helping the family and updating them on the case as it continued while Morgan and Rossi examined the home with other detectives while Hotch, JJ and Reid were back over at the station.

     Both Prentiss and Casey entered the Murphy home. Mr. and Mrs. Murphy, along with the oldest son, Danny, had obviously been in the grief. Mrs. Murphy and her son sat on the couch while Mr. Murphy walked over to Prentiss and Casey. "Dan Murphy." He introduced, holding his hand out.

    "I'm Agent Emily Prentiss, this is my colleague and the bureau's intern, Miss Casey Willows." Casey shook Dan's hand next. "May we ask you some questions?" Emily asked.

    Casey turned her attention over to Mrs. Murphy who had taken some pills. Mr. Murphy saw what his wife had done and sighed, "I think so. Come in." Dan led the two women to their seats in front of the couch. "Thank you all for speaking with us. I cannot stress enough how much time is of the essence here. Abductions from the home are rare, and that allows us to narrow down the suspect pool even more." Emily explained.

    "What makes them unusual?" Dan asked. "Well, abductions typically are about timing and opportunity. Child walks home alone or gets separated at a shopping center, that sort of situation. This is a sophisticated high-risk crime — a child getting abducted from the home, it's what makes this crime unusual." Casey explained.

     "Whoever did this has good social skills. They're highly-functioning, and they have a steady job. He wouldn't look out of place to you and you wouldn't be alarmed if your children were talking to him. So he may be wearing a uniform, like a deliveryman or a mail carrier. Have you noticed anyone hanging around the neighborhood, talking with children?" Emily questioned.

      "Nothing comes to mind." Dan told. "No. Oh-- I don't know." Mrs. Murphy looked deep in thought. "Mrs. Murphy? Do you want to take a break?" Emily asked. "I think I need to-- need to lie down." Mrs. Murphy told. Dan nodded, "Yeah." Mrs. Murphy stood up. "Sorry." Emily shook her head. "No, it's okay."

        Mrs. Murphy walked away and Emily looked up at Mr. Murphy. "Are you able to continue?" She asked. Mr. Murphy nodded, "Sure."

       Emily looked at Casey to speak next and Casey looked over at the Murphys' oldest son, Danny. "Danny, you and Kyle, you always walk to and from the bus stop together, right?" Casey began. Danny nods, "Yeah."

       "Have any strangers tried to talk to you or your brother recently?" Casey asked. "The bus driver asks us questions sometimes. I don't know." Casey writes notes in her notepad.

      "What time of day do the boys usually play outside?" Emily asks Mr. Murphy. "Well, they both have practice after school. But lately, Kyle's been into video games, and Danny loves building model airplanes." Mr. Murphy explains.

       Emily nods, "Okay, that actually tells us a lot." She goes into her bag and looks for a notepad. "Uh, I am going to need you to make a list of everyone who's been in or around your home in the past 6 months. Whoever took Kyle has probably been in this house before. He watched the family routine. He knew exactly where everyone slept. And he got Kyle out without anyone seeing or hearing anything." Emily explained.

      Tears welled up in Mr. Murphy's eyes. "Dad..." Casey looks over at Danny, their son. "Yeah?" Mr. Murphy looks over at his son. "Can I go play now?" Mr. Murphy nodded at his son. "You can go to the family room. I'll be there soon." Danny walks away, leaving only Casey, Prentiss and Mr. Murphy in the room.

     "He doesn't really understand what's going on." Mr. Murphy tells the women. "That's probably for the best." Casey nods. "Mr. Murphy, we are going to do everything we can to find Kyle." Emily assures and Mr. Murphy nods, "Thank you."

Morgan, Rossi, Prentiss and Willows had all been called back to the station because the rest of the team had gotten a short list of who might've taken Kyle. As soon as they entered the station, they got right to it. "We've narrowed the list to five men." Hotch told. "Already?" Detective Lancaster, who had been close to the Murphy family, had decided to be a part of this case.

"Registered sex offender, Hugh Rollins, 43, lived in Camden County his whole life, in and out of foster care since he was a toddler and acquired quite the nice rap sheet." Reid explained.

"What's his connection to the victims?" Morgan asked. "Two years ago, he got a steady job installing TVs." JJ answered. "Have any of the families purchased a new TV?" Emily asked. "The first two did," JJ said. "Garcia found something else. Rollins had no cell or bank activity on the days the boys were abducted."

"We haven't been able to connect Rollins to Kyle yet." Hotch told. "So, what, we're gonna wait for more evidence?" Casey asked. "No, there isn't time. We have sufficient probable cause." Hotch told. "Let's go pick him up." Rossi said.

So, Rossi, Prentiss, Morgan and Casey, along with a couple of police officers and Detective Lancaster had gone to Hugh Rollins' home.

      Morgan, Prentiss, Willows and Lancaster approached the home with their guns steady in their hands. Rossi had checked his truck. Emily banged on the door. "Hugh Rollins, FBI!" When there was no answer, the team backed up and Morgan kicked the door in.

     They search around the home and Casey checks rooms before shouting: "Clear!" The house had been all clear. Rossi had told them that the truck was clear and Emily had found child pornography on the computer. "Probably helps him sleep better at night." Morgan told. "Anything that connects him to the three boys?" Casey asked. "Nothing yet." Prentiss shook her head.

      "Wait a minute." Morgan grabs a black bag and checks it, walking over to Prentiss. "What? What is it?" She asked. Morgan pulled out a stuffed animal of a giraffe. "Souvenirs." He told. "There's no sign of him." Lancaster says. "I'm gonna check out back." Casey nods, "I'll come with."

       Casey follows the man outside for backup and sees the man's head peeking through a car window. "Hey!" Casey yelled and without thought, pulled the trigger, along with Lancaster. "Stop!" Rollins began to run. "I said stop!"

       Casey was about to pull the trigger again when Morgan had come around and pushed her hand down. "What are you doing?" He questioned. "He's getting away!" Casey yelled. "He knows where the kid is. Stand down!" Morgan ordered. "Son of a bitch!" Lancaster yelled.

       Morgan had chased Rollins and successfully gotten to him in time. Rollins was put in handcuffs and in the back of a police car. Casey had sat on the porch. Obviously what she had done was stupid but how the hell was she supposed to stop Rollins? That was all she could think of. She wasn't gonna kill him, she just wanted to scare him so he couldn't get away.

       "What the hell was that about?" Casey looked up and saw Morgan approaching her and so she stood up so she wouldn't feel small. "I thought he was gonna get away. I wasn't thinking." She stated.
"You're damn right you weren't." Morgan scolded. "I know. It was stupid." Casey said. "What if you'd killed him? He's the only one who knows where Kyle is." Morgan was talking to Casey like a child.

       "I know, but I wasn't gonna shoot him. I just wanted to scare him. Obviously, it was a mistake to do that." Casey told. "Mistakes get people killed." Morgan stated. "Don't you think I know that?" Casey snapped and she looked down when she saw the look that Morgan gave her.

       Casey took a deep breath and calmed herself down. She knew that she definitely could've gotten herself in trouble with this. The only reason she did what she did was that she was still on edge about Foyet escaping. It had been on her mind for about a month now. But she needed to shake that edge off and needed to keep going with her job.

      "You were way too close, Willows." Morgan told. Casey sighed, "I'm not gonna sit still and I'm not gonna stop until we find this boy. I'm gonna do my damn job and I will prove it." She told. Morgan nodded. He knew that Casey was still on edge, mostly because he was on edge, too. Everyone was. "I won't make another mistake like this again." She stated, standing up straight.

        "I'm still gonna need to tell Hotch." Morgan said. Casey nods, "I know." Rossi and Emily both approach the two. "Kyle's not here." Rossi said. "And if he isn't on this property..." Emily says. "He's already in the woods." Rossi finishes.

        "So, Rollins goes to the trouble of breaking into the Murphys' house." Emily says. "It's a big risk to take Kyle." Rossi tells. "Then he only keeps him for a few hours. This just doesn't make sense." Emily told. "Maybe he saw the news, panicked. We need to search the woods."

        Morgan had brought the souvenirs in and it was confirmed, Rollins had killed two of the previous kids but there was no evidence of Rollins taking Kyle. Rossi had decided to go back to the Murphy household and Hotch had ordered Reid and Casey to go with him since they both had fresh eyes. Morgan had told Hotch about what happened at Rollins' place and Hotch had ordered Casey to stay at first but he knew she wasn't gonna just sit around and wait. He knew she needed to do something.

        Casey puts her gloves on as her, Reid and Rossi go up the staircase of the Murphy home. "If he came in through the basement, this would have been his second flight of stairs." Rossi stated. "So Kyle's is the first room he comes to." Reid told.

       The three enter quite a messy room, it was more messier than the inside of Casey's bag. "This wasn't a quiet struggle. He probably knocked Kyle unconscious." Reid stated. "Then carried him back downstairs." Casey nods. Reid nudges his head towards another door. "What's through there?" He asks. "Danny's room." Casey informed.

       The three cut through to a bathroom that was connected to the two rooms and now, they were in Danny's room. "It's interesting," Reid said. "Another few feet and he would have found Danny. Danny's far more age appropriate for Rollins' preference. He's closer to the first two victims than Kyle is."

       "If he'd been stalking these families, he would have known that." Rossi told. "It's weird." Reid said, walking towards the bunk-bed. "What, a neat 9-year-old?" Casey asked. "Well, that, and most kids either pick a top or a bottom bunk. Both beds are slept in. The top bunk blocks the view of the stars, and there's nothing decorative down here." Reid said, looking at the bottom bunk.

        "It's Danny's room. He probably sleeps up top." Rossi said. Reid checks the covers. "Somebody wet the bed. You know, maybe Danny started in the bottom bunk, wet the bed, and then moved up top?" Casey furrowed her brows and knelt beside Reid, focusing on the stuffed animal and storybook on the bed. "This is Kyle's." She said, looking over at Reid, who had confused glance on his face.

       Reid looked over a noticed a pair of pajama pants on the floor and checked the tag on them. "It's size six. Kyle slept in here last night." Casey furrowed her eyebrows and looked over at Rossi. "If he didn't sleep in his room, why was it destroyed then?" Casey asked. "To make it look like the other crime scenes." Rossi answered.

       The three had gone back to the station and found out that Kyle's body had been found in the woods. Rollins had definitely killed the first two victims but he didn't kill Kyle. Casey sat beside Reid as Hotch had come back from the interrogation room.

      "I just talked to Rollins," Hotch said as he came back. "He said he dumped Kyle's body in the river. He's clearly lying. He doesn't have any connection to that boy." He explained.

       "The disposal of Kyle's body is very different from the other two. He was gently placed on the ground, neatly laid to rest with his hands by his sides. Rollins discarded these two boys like trash." Emily stated.

        Reid spoke up next. "We think Kyle may not have slept in his room last night." Hotch looked over. "Where do you think he was?"

         "I think in his brother's room. Danny has bunk beds. Both bunks were slept in, and whoever slept in the bottom one wet the bed and left Kyle's bear." Reid explained. "So do we think someone destroyed Kyle's room to make it look like he was abducted like the other two victims?" Morgan asks.

        Hotch had looked around and took a brief pause and saw as some officers were passing by when he quietly asked: "Who else knows the details of all three cases?" He asked.

        "Lancaster." Casey stated.

        "Morgan, call Garcia and see what she can find out about Lancaster that we don't already know. Reid, Willows and Prentiss, watch the video of the press conference. See if you can find anything." Casey nods, looking at Reid and Prentiss.

         "Want me to talk to Rollins again?" Rossi asks and Hotch nods, "Yes." He looks around once more. "And I don't have to remind anybody where we are. Please be discreet."

          "Got it, boss." Casey nodded.

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         After watching the video of the press conference multiple times, Prentiss and Casey had gone back to the Murphy home to tell them about Rollins. They were invited back in. "I appreciate you coming by. But Bill was already here. He told us about Kyle." Dan told.

"That's not why we're here, Mr. Murphy. We need to talk." Emily told, placing her bag down. "Well, can it wait? You know, Danny's not taking the news too well." Dan told and Casey looks in the living room and sees that the oldest son has tears running down his face but he's not full-on crying a waterfall as he was expected to, but maybe he was taking this a different way.

"No. I'm sorry. We need to talk right now." Emily said and Mrs. Murphy had looked over from the couch. Emily took a deep breath. "Hugh Rollins didn't kill your son."

Mr. Murphy looked as if he didn't believe it. "If Rollins didn't kill Kyle, who did?" He questioned. Prentiss and Casey exchange a look. "You tell me." Emily said. Mrs. Murphy began to stand ups "Someone broke into my house and took my boy. When I woke up, he was gone." Dan told.

"Who did this, Dan?" Emily questioned.
"I don't know!" Dan shouted. "My little boy is dead and you have a suspect in custody. Isn't that good enough?" Mrs. Murphy approaches her husband and grabs onto his hand, as a way to tell him to calm down. Then, that's when it hit Casey and when she looked at Emily, she had the same look on her face.

"You've been holding hands since I first saw you." Emily stated. "Well... what's wrong with that?" Dan questions.

"When couples lose a child, the grief is overwhelming. They often blame each other and they drift apart. That's what happened to the Seagers, but... you two are different. It's--it's like you're protecting each other." Casey explained, furrowing her eyebrows.

"So... I'm going to ask you again... what happened last night?" Emily questioned. "Did you or Sarah, did you get upset with Kyle?"
"No!"
"Was there an accident?"
"No!"
"Then, what are you hiding?"

Casey looked over at Mrs. Murphy and took it upon herself and grabbed Emily's laptop out of her bag and played the press conference video on the laptop and the part where Mrs. Murphy had been talking. "'My name is Sarah Murphy, and I'm Kyle's mom.'" Casey rewinded and play the part over and over as it got Mrs. Murphy's attention.

Mrs. Murphy looked at the girl and begged, "Please, stop." Emily looked at the woman. "You are Kyle's mom, Sarah. Just tell me what happened to him." There were tears streaming down Mr. and Mrs. Murphy's faces and Mrs. Murphy shook her head. "Did one of you kill Kyle?"

         After no response, Emily thought it would be best to bring the family back to the station. They had been in a room and Hotch had walked in the break the news. "Detective Lancaster just confessed." He informed.

        The Murphy couple blinked and Casey looked over at her boss. Mr. Murphy looked at Hotch. "I need to see him." He told. "First, we need you to confirm the timeline again. We'll compare it to Lancaster's statement. From both of you." Hotch said looking at both Mr. and Mrs. Murphy.

       "What about Danny?" Mrs. Murphy asked. "He doesn't need to hear any more of this. Willows, do you mind?" Casey shook her head. "I've got him." Before Casey decided that her full-time career would be in the FBI, she used to be a babysitter. She used to help babysit her neighbor's children and got a lot of money from it. It would probably also explain why she didn't want kids as she grew older.

       Hotch had brought Mr. and Mrs. Murphy in a separate room connected to the room that Casey and Danny were in. Casey closed the door behind them. "Hey, Danny, look, they're just right here." Casey lifted the blinds so that Danny could have a clear view of his parents. "You see them?" Danny nods. "Okay."

       Casey seats herself down in front of the boy. "Can I have a snack?" Danny asked and Casey nods, "Yeah, sure." She lifts herself up and looks through the cabinet and grabs a drink and bag of pretzels for the boy.

        Danny drank from his soda and then looked at the woman in front of him. "You, uh, got any games here?" He asked and Casey shook her head. "I don't think so." She stated. "Can I watch cartoons?" Danny asked next and Casey nodded, "Sure, yeah. Let's see if we can find some." Casey stood up and grabbed the remote.

       The first thing that popped up had been the press conference video and Casey's instinct was to change it at first but she watched Danny's behavior on the screen but stopped once she saw Danny hitting the bag with his fists after he couldn't open it.

       "Hey, hey! Stop, stop, stop! Hey!" Casey got Danny to stop hitting the bag. "I can open it for you, okay? Here." Casey opens up the bag for Danny and hands it back to him. "There, it's open."

        Danny grabs a pretzel and eats one. Casey then sits in front of Danny in her spot. "Do you, um, get mad like that a lot?" She asks the boy. "My mom says I have a bad temper." Danny admits. "Yeah, I got one of those, too. I'm a pretty impatient person." Casey stated.

       Casey then changes the subject after a pause. "Did you and Kyle play together?" She asks. "Only when I had to. He was always breaking my stuff." Danny tells. "Yeah, I never had any siblings, but I was the younger cousin in my family. I think it drove my cousin, Stephen, crazy." Casey told.

      "I'm not going to miss that." Danny told and Casey furrows her eyebrows at the boy. "He would always sleep in my room."

      "I heard Kyle liked your bunk beds." Casey said. "They weren't for him. They were for my friends. He was always wetting the bed like a baby." Danny said and looked as if he were remembering.

        "Is that why you didn't want to play with him? He was a baby, wasn't he?" Casey asked. "Yeah, but he thought he was big enough to play with me. Like today, he broke my model plane. It took me all week to make it." Danny told and Casey could tell that he was getting mad at the thought.

       "Today," Casey thought. Maybe she could gain information from Danny. "How did that happen?" Danny thought. "I woke up really early and wanted to finish it. I had it all set up in the basement." He told. "What time was that?" Danny told Casey that it had been early enough where his parents weren't even awake yet.

        He began to explain what had happened and what he did to Kyle. It unsettled Casey. This was sibling rivalry on a whole other level. "After you did that to Kyle, how did you feel?" Casey asked. "Like I'd get in trouble."

         No emotions. The fact that this boy had done this to his little brother... his parents were protecting him because they didn't want to lose him, too. And Lancaster knew, he was protecting the family. Casey began to talk to Danny more and how his temper affected things in his life and what he would do and did, Casey studied his behavior and it was clear to her that Danny was ill.

      It had been a couple of minutes when JJ had walked into the room with a file in her hands and Casey had read that it was Kyle Murphy's autopsy report and she felt sick to her stomach when she read what Danny had done to Kyle.

     Casey looked at the boy and then back at JJ. "Can you stay with him?" Casey asked and JJ nods, "Of course." Casey walks into the other room with Mr. and Mrs. Murphy and takes a deep breath. Her heart is in her hand and she sees Rossi in the room and hands him the file before walking towards Mr. and Mrs. Murphy.

      "Danny told me what he did to Kyle. Do you know what he did?" Casey asked and Mr. Murphy nodded, "Yes, we know." Casey looks at Rossi, who had finished reading the report.

      "Everything he did?" Casey asked and the Murphys look up in confusion yet eager to know. "Danny stuffed... plane parts down Kyle's throat." She informed.

      "What?" Mr. Murphy questioned. "He couldn't do that." Casey looks over at Mrs. Murphy. "You told Danny to watch his temper. What else did you worry about?" She questioned.

      Mrs. Murphy looked at the young woman in disbelief. "Danny said you had a puppy, but he died." Mrs. Murphy covers her mouth and more tears fall from her face.

      "Your son is ill, and he needs help. The truth is, the only thing Danny isn't capable of is remorse. He feels nothing. The son you were trying to protect... is a sociopath." Mr. and Mrs. Murphy look over at their son through the window and more tears fall. This family had fallen apart in just 24 hours and Casey felt terrible for this family.

       The jet ride home was quiet. Casey had been in her seat and she looked up and saw Reid, just reading a book. She turned back to the sky and Reid looked over at the girl. "You okay?" He spoke and Casey looked over and shrugged, "I guess."

       Reid paused where he was at in his book. "Do you want to talk about it?" He asked and Casey sighs, leaning forward in her seat. "Is it normal to be on-edge with this job?" She asked and Reid shrugs, "Pretty much."

        "What's on your mind?" Reid asks her and Casey sighs, "Foyet," She admits. "He's out there and we're just supposed to move on?" She questioned. "I know it's hard. But... sometimes, the only thing we can do is move on. Foyet is out there, yes, but... who knows? We'll catch him again." Reid assured. Casey nods, needing the mindset and that things were going to move slow but they would be close to something soon.

         No one knew what it was yet...

hey, lovelies!
i'm sorry things are moving so slow ahhhhh
things won't start picking up until like s6-s7 lmaooo
anyways
thank you for reading!
sorry that my updating schedule has been so wonky lately lol i usually update on weekends now lmao
sooooo
the next chapter is going to be an original that i can pretty stoked for yet it will be traumatic — just a fair warning ⚠️
next chapter episode is — hear no evil, see no evil
see you all soon! love you all 🤍
-mya <3