Hard to Love {A Hotchniss Story}

Chapter 11

Monica was taken to the station to be interrogated futher. "PG, I  need you." Emily said as she put it on speaker so everyone could hear  despite them not knowing exactly what she needed Penelope for. "Was  Monica Johnson ever pregnant?"

"In all appearances no, why do you think so?" Penelope asked as the sound of her typing could be heard.

"Something she said about a father's love for her daughter." Emily waited and soon she heard Penelope sigh.

"Bingo." She exclaimed. "She was pregnant twenty years ago, she had a  little baby girl. But she gave birth at home so that's why there's no  record of the girl anywhere, no vaccines, no ID, no nothing. As if she  wanted no trace of her daughter on this earth. But PG finds people with  even less."

"Is she still alive?" Emily asked but Penelope had no answer to that question yet. "Thanks PG."

"No worries my darling. PG out!"

"So I have a theory." Emily turned to face her team. "I think Monica  could've been sexually abused as a child or Stephen somehow managed to  convince her that this was normal. He started abusing their daughter and  when she was too old he killed her or she-"

"Or she could've killed herself." Spencer suggested and Emily  frowned, disliking the idea. "Think about it, there are kids who can't  endure that type of abuse for that long. She might've taken matters into  her own hands."

"All right. But she also could've ran away." Emily suggested. "And then he stopped for a while now he started again. He found the opportunities and took them."

"Where would he take Amber then? It's gotta be significant one way or  another." Derek crossed his arms over his chest as he thought about it  along with the team.

"Did he run away with her or is he going to end it all with her?"  David wondered thinking that ending it all was a possibility too. "Can't  be the lake, it is surrounded by officers now."

"Where would-" Spencer started but Emily's phone started ringing.

"Find anything?" She asked as she put Penelope on speaker.

"The daughter, Stacey, she killed herself on her sixteenth birthday. She hung herself in the forest." Penelope said in a voice that showed  sympathy to the girl.

"Where exactly in the forest?" Aaron asked and Penelope said she would text them the location before she ended the call. "Reid, Morgan and Dave, let's go. JJ and Prentiss, stay here, see if you can get more from Monica."

"We don't need more." Emily pointed out, she knew what he was doing. He wanted to keep her away from the unsub because it was her first day back in the field and because the case hit close to home. "We have to get Stephen."

"She's right Aaron." David didn't like the idea that he was sidelining Emily and JJ for Emily's sake. She was a big girl and he knew she could handle it.

"Prentiss and Reid, you're with me." Aaron said nothing else but that as they walked to the car. They received the coordinates but it was half an hour away, there was time to talk and Emily had a question.

"You wanted me to step back from this didn't you Sir?" Emily asked and by the look in Aaron's eyes she already knew. She didn't even need that look, but she wanted to talk to him about it. "I can handle it."

"I know you can." Aaron sighed. "Can we talk later?" He gave her a short look before he turned his attention to the road.

"Why?" Emily asked before she thought it twice and Spencer answered for Aaron.

"I think he'd rather you two were the only ones in the room when talking. But that's just an assumption, I could be wrong." Spencer said in his characteristic way.

"Hotch?" Emily asked and she saw a slight nod when she looked it him. She didn't ask anything else about it then.

After they arrived the went through the forest on all four sides trying to make sure they covered more area and see if they could find Stephen. They found the exact spot that Penelope had sent the coordinates for, but no one was there, near was a small cabin, it wasn't old, it must've been built by Stephen not too later after his daughter's death.

They entered the cabin and after they made sure no one was inside they had the time to look through his things. "Disgusting!" JJ exclaimed as she opened what seemed to be a book.

"What is it?" Derek asked as the team approached her. " 'My Little Babies by Stephen Johnson', he didn't."

"He did." Aaron sighed as he walked away. The so called book was actually handwritten by Stephen, it had pictures of every girl including his daughter and a few pages covered with detailed description on what he did with each girl.

"Guys, it's printed." Spencer pointed out. "He must've been here to take the original, there was nothing like this at his house. He can't be too far."

"Morgan, call Garcia." Aaron ordered. "Have her send us everything on him, vehicles, places, aliases, we need everything on him. JJ, you're not the Communications Liaison anymore, but I need you to talk to the press at the station, take Dave with you. Reid and Morgan, get in the car and start searching for him. Prentiss and I will do the same and Dave and JJ after you're done with the press will join us in case we don't find him."