SSA Scottley - A collection - S.R.

Bloodline

Episode: 04x13

"Lily, you should do this alone." Hotch said, as they both arrived the hospital with Emily and Jordan.

"Okay." She nodded, before following a nurse toward Cate's room. She greeted the officer on the door, before he allowed her to entry. "Mr. Scheuren, hello." She greeted the father, extending a hand toward him, before smiling at the young girl on the bed. "I'm Agent Lillian Scottley from the FBI. I'd like permission to talk to your daughter."

The man nodded, but stood put.

"I'm sorry, I'd like to do it alone, if possible."

"Why?" He asked.

"I need to ask her certain questions and, sometimes, it's easier for a girl to answer those questions when there are no men present."

"I'm her father..."

"Daddy." Cate interrupted the man's speech. He looked down at her. "Please?"

"Alright, baby." He sighed, kissing her forehead. "I'd be right outside."

"Thank you." Lily nodded, as the man left with a nod. She sat down at the end of Cate's bed. "Hey, Cate." She smiled. "My name's Lillian, but you can call me Lily. I'm so sorry about your mom and stepdad. I'd like to ask you some questions so we can find out who did this. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, it's okay." She nodded.

"Good, now, come on... Come sit down with me."

Lily extended a hand toward Cate and the girl gripped it, before allowing Lily to place her on the chair in the middle of her room. She pulled up a chair for herself and sat in front of Cate.

"I'm going to do what's called a Cognitive Interview." She explained. "It's as much about the things you sensed as the things you saw."

"I'm scared." Cate admitted in a small voice.

"I know. That's okay." Lily assured. "I'm right here with you, I'm here all the way. Now, I need you to close your eyes..." She asked. Cate did. She nodded. "Okay... What is the first thing you remember?"

"It's cold." She started.

"You're outside? Who's there?"

"A man." She said, starting to get alarmed. "He told me to keep quiet."

"What is he doing?"

"He's holding my hand. It hurts! He's waiting for something."

"What does he look like?"

"I don't want to be here." She cried out.

"He can't hurt you, I promise. I'm right here."

"Tall, dark hair, old."

"Old?" Lily frowned. "Old like me?"

"Old like my dad." Cate shook her head, her eyes still tightly shut.

"Is someone else there?"

"Someone's coming! Lily! Lily! Help me! Lily, help me! He's opening the trunk! Lily!"

"Okay, it's okay... I'm right here." Lily cooed, reaching forward to stroke the girl's arms as she opened her eyes, tears falling down her cheeks. Cate looked up at her and gripped her hands. Lily squeezed Cate's hand slightly. "I promise you, he cannot hurt you. It's okay. It's okay. So he put you in the trunk of the car. How long were you in there?"

"I don't know." She said, closing her eyes once more, but keeping their hands together. "Not long. Ten minutes..."

"Was the ride bumpy or smooth?" Lily asked, her tone steady and soft, not to startle her.

"Smooth. I wanted to scream, but no sound would come out."

"It's okay... So the car stops and they open the trunk... What do you hear?"

"Wind. Wind on the trees."

"And what do you smell?"

"Cooking."

"Are you inside now?" Lily frowned.

"They've taken my shoes off."

"That's so you won't run." She explained. "I want you to look down at your feet and tell me what you're standing on."

"Carpet. I'm in a little room. With clothes and aluminum paper all around me."

"What else?"

"I... I hear bells."

"What kind of bells?"

"Small. Like a fairy. Every time they ring, the man says something to the boy."

"The boy? How old is he?"

"Nine. Almost then." She said, as if she'd heard him saying it before. "Her mom calls him puyule. His parents want me to play with him."

"His parents?"

"Lily, I don't wanna go. Don't! Don't make me go! Lily! Lily!"

"Shh... It's okay, I'm right here." She cooed again, when Cate's held in her hands tightened. "It's okay, it's okay... Cate, open your eyes." She asked, caressing the girl's hand. She smiled when Cate looked at her. "You did a really good job. Very good. I'm gonna leave now, okay? I'll send your dad in."

She pulled Cate up gently and placed her back in her bed. She caressed her hair out of her face and smiled.

"They won't hurt you anymore, I promise. You're safe, okay?"

"Thanks, Lily." Cate called, as she opened the door to leave.

As soon as the door was closed, Lily approached Mr. Scheuren, who was worriedly standing by the door. Emily and Hotch approached them as well.

"Mr. Scheuren, you have an incredibly strong little girl." She praised and he nodded, still distressed.

"Did he touch her?" He asked.

"No, no..." Lily shook her head. "Not in that way, no."

"Thank God..." He sighed, before turning to enter Cate's room again.

Lily turned to face Emily and Hotch.

"She was taken by a family." She said.

"A family?" Emily frowned.

"Parents and a boy about her age. They took her from her house, then to a car and to a trailer. A short ride into a road and then into a wooded area."

"Did she say anything else?" Hotch asked and Lily nodded.

"She said the mother called the boy puyule. It's a Romanian term of endearment."

"Get Rossi and Morgan to the closest Trailer Parks." Hotch said, grabbing a phone of his own and walking away in front of both ladies.

"What are we looking at here?" Emily asked, as she pulled out her phone to contact Morgan.

"I have no idea." Lily shook her head, with a sigh.

***

"The son's here." Emily whispered over at Lily as the younger woman waited with Kathy in the interrogation room.

As soon as the little boy stepped in his mother's view, the woman got up from her seat and walked toward him, talking to the boy through the grids that separated them both. Lily was on her side, as Hotch, Emily and Rossi stood by the boy.

"It's just you now..." She said. "You've gotta be strong. I love you, puyule..." She was willing herself not to cry. The boy just nodded. "Nu le spunelordesprefurititai."

Lily's eyes widened, as she pulled the woman away from her son.

"What did she tell him?" Rossi asked. "Lily!"

The younger woman pulled a sharp breath as she looked at the smirking woman in front of her. She turned around with a sigh, glancing at her expecting teammates and the also smirking young boy.

"Don't tell them about your brothers." She whispered, loud enough for them to hear though.

"How many brothers do you have?" Emily asked, but the only response she got was silence.