Reid My Mind

34. One Call

window - joji

After I was back in my chair, alone for a while I settled down. After all, there was nothing left to do but think logically. Going crazy wouldn't get me anywhere.

I was probably right about the number of days. Even without the light, it made sense that the unsub visited once a day. Plus, circadian rhythms and all that. So it was still day three.

If I was wrong I'd find out soon enough.

There was still something nagging me. My stupid paint by number was still missing colors. I had thought I'd get the easy way out with my accidentally-smuggled-in phone. I guess now I'll have to do some actual profiling, I figured.

I was the fifth girl. What did I have in common with the other victims?

Alison Price. The hairdresser and new lawyer.

Maya Reyes. The chef.

Jennifer Nguyen. The engaged intern.

Eliza Lavigne. Eliza.

"What I wouldn't give for an evidence board," I muttered aloud to myself. Ooh! Talking to myself! That was a great sign.

In the face of my pitiful lack of supplies, I tried my best to imagine the headshots of the girls, side by side. I scoured my brain for details. All I knew was their ages, names, jobs, and faces. Data retrieval was Reid's thing, not mine. This was hopeless.

Reid would be so much better at this than I was. I blinked and my mental board was replaced with his earnest face. It had been less than a hundred hours since I'd seen him, but it felt like weeks. So far away. In more ways than one. He'd have figured it out already if he were strapped to the same chair I was. That's why he was Sherlock and I was Watson.

"Fuck off," I told fake Reid. He didn't budge. I could almost hear his voice, imagine him saying, "Don't give up, Maya. Focus."

"Fuck off," I told him again. His foggy face dissipated, but the voice was still there whispering in my ear as I ran through the victims' files over and over.

"Focus, Maya. What do they have in common?"

It didn't click into place so much as it settled.

Alison Price. Was I kidding myself or did she sort of look like me? Same hair. Same nose. Our eyes were different shapes but the resemblance was undeniable.

Maya Reyes. Well, that was my name.

Jennifer Nguyen. I'd bet anything that she was the girl I had thought of when I'd first heard the name, the one from my hometown.

Eliza Lavigne. My college friend. My friend. My emergency contact.

He'd shown up at my door. That wasn't pure chance, wasn't when he decided to take me. I was the plan all along.

Me. It was me. The paint by numbers was all filled in and the picture in front of me was my own face.

All those girls had been killed because of me. Their bodies flashed like slides in front of my mind's eye. Me.

I couldn't breathe. I couldn't breathe. My vision blurred.

"You're hyperventilating," Reid said calmly in my ear, "You need to breathe slowly."

"Fuck off!" I yelled, loud enough that I could hear the sound bounce back at me. It was enough to get me breathing at a normal pace again. Still, it was a few minutes before I could think.

Me. Alright. I could use that to my advantage. If I was going to die in this dank place, it wouldn't be without a fight.

One question still stuck in my mind. How did he know from where to abduct me? The answer to that uncertainty came much sooner. He had hacked my phone. That's how he knew when I was leaving; he had heard Max call me. That's how he'd shown up to deliver my pizza. When my phone spazzed out, that was probably him. For all I knew, maybe there was service in this area and he had just turned off my phone's ability to communicate.