Psychopathy

Chapter 49- Anniversary

Isabel watched as the red clouds passed overhead, the only way she had to tell that time was passing anymore. It was doing strange things to her mind, not being able to tell how much time had passed. Every minute seemed to blur into the next, and it was as if an eternity had passed since she had been dragged to hell. The devil said that she would be his for all of eternity. Well, from her perspective, she'd already been there for an eternity. She'd served her time, done her sentence. It was just about time for her to leave that place.

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"I'm really sorry about not getting your calls, Dr. Reid. I hope you understand. From the multiple messages you left with Kylee, it sounds rather urgent," Teresa explained, and Reid nodded as he filled in another note in the file he was working on. After the discovery that Ty Byrne was the partner of James Bunder, Reid had called Teresa immediately to get her perspective. Her phone had gone straight to voicemail, and out of panic, he had called the daycare itself.

Kylee, the one triplet he had never actually seen, had been the one to answer the call. She'd explained that the reason he hadn't been able to get a hold of Teresa was because she wasn't even there. Just the day before Ciara dropped that bombshell, Teresa had gone on vacation. She'd been nervous to go on one when the last time had resulted in Ria's severe neglect. But the triplets had convinced her to go, and she'd taken Ria on a month-long trip around the country. Janet had taken Teresa's spot in the baby room and Nonna had volunteered to do Janet's job.

The triplets had even forced Teresa to leave her cell phone behind so she wouldn't be disturbed and hadn't let Teresa give them any of the numbers of the hotels she was staying at. Until she got back from vacation, there was no way to reach her. So Reid told Kylee to have Teresa call him as soon as she got back. He wasn't sure if she planned it or not, but she'd gotten back just that day. Was it coincidence or was it staged that she would come back from vacation on that specific day? After all, it was an emotional day for everyone.

It was the second anniversary of Ciara's disappearance.

"Well, I hope the vacation was worth it," Reid said, actually meaning it. While he would have loved to have gotten answers from Teresa sooner, outside of launching a full-scale manhunt, there was nothing he could have done. All he could have done was wait for Teresa to come back, and that was what he did.

"You know, I thought it would have been more relaxing, but it turns out that hauling a three-year-old on a cross-country road trip is not very relaxing at all. There were times I thought I would seriously pull my hair out," Teresa responded with a laugh. "So, what's going on? What's so urgent?"

"I can't tell you over the phone," Reid told her, and Teresa sucked in a breath.

"Last time I heard that, it was when y'all thought Ciara was dead. Is that...?"

"No, no. As far as we're aware, Ciara is still alive. We've just gotten a new development in the case, and I can't discuss it with you over the phone. I need to tell you in person. Can we meet up?" Reid asked, and Teresa hummed in thought.

"Well, normally, I would be working, but the triplets and Nonna insisted that I take a few days off to recover from our long journey. Ria and I are at the library right now, and later, I'm thinking I might take her to the children's museum. But if it's important, I think we can drop those," Teresa answered.

"Sounds like you aren't doing much recovering," Reid noticed.

"Yeah, well, it's hard to have a quiet day off at home when your home is also your job. During the day, we go out and take time for ourselves. Overnight children are on divert to the triplets so at least we have the nights to ourselves. Anyway, when and where do you want to meet?" Teresa asked, and it was Reid's turn to think.