"It's time to end this."
Lynn walked up from the holding cells, the kiss she gave Hotchner fading to the back of her mind as she focused on the thought of finding Kevin. Anthony Hollar would not take another one of her loved ones.
"Officer Nash, the Sheriff is at large," she started explaining the identity of the unsub to her coworkers in the station, releasing an APB to Leweys and the nearby towns to be on the lookout. Not that they assumed Hollar would leave Leweys- it had been his "hunting" grounds, his comfort zone for so long, he was sure to end the whole thing here in Leweys. But where would he take Kevin? And did Kevin even know that the Sheriff was dangerous? He could have gone willingly, thinking the Sheriff was enough protection against the unknown subject at the time.
"Garcia," Morgan held the phone in front of them on speaker, "does Anthony Hollar own any land or properties in the town?"
"Checking now... no he does not."
"No cabins? Hunting sheds? Storage units, RV's?-"
"Nope, just his home on 21 Willow Lane."
"We'll clear it, but I doubt he's going to hole up there."
"He might if he knew we weren't onto him."
Reid shook his head, "He must know from the police radio."
"You, Morgan, and Prentiss will clear it out. JJ, stay here in case we receive any leads or if he ends up returning for Paul. Rossi, Lynn, and I will patrol and look for any places he may have used to hide in town. It's time for us to move, the quicker we find Kevin, the greater chance he lives..." Hotchner paused and glanced at Lynn before continuing, "And no one goes in pairs of two. It won't keep him from wanting to perform his ritual, but it's better to throw him off somehow."
Lynn held her pistol in her holster, ready to kill him if need be, but finding him was going to be the problem.
They separated into their cars, each going in their own groups, but Lynn felt like Kevin and the Sheriff could have been anywhere in Leweys. They were surrounded by thick woods and sky-darkening mountains. He knew how to survive in the wilderness or at least subdue Kevin somewhere secluded.
She was wide-awake, though she had little sleep the past few days. The adrenaline and fear of another murder forced her to stay alert, though the air grew colder and the wind foretold of a storm coming. Just what they needed. A standard autumn mountain storm while they tried to catch the unsub on the run.
They drove down the main street, passing by one of the few patrol cars they had available to look for the Sheriff as well. The town looked emptier to her. People were going inside and staying inside, knowing that thunder would arrive soon over the storm-darkened streets of the town. Leaves blew around, making the diner seem like a relic from the past- which it was, but less lively.
No sign of foul play in the street, nothing of Kevin's or the Sheriff's out in the open.
"Is there any place that only local hunters know? Sheds, waypoints in the woods outside of town?" Rossi questioned her, bringing her back to the car ride.
"I know of one, but Mike would know most, if not all, of them. I'll contact him now," she dialed her Uncle, who was really her biological uncle after all, and asked him the same questions.
"Yes, but they are very out of the way, you won't reach them by car."
"Would you be able to guide us? Point them out on a map?"
"Yes, I'll go to the station right away."
She hung up and looked at Hotchner for guidance, "Is that good?"
"We can't search miles of terrain in a day- we'll pinpoint areas and possible shelters and eliminate them a few at a time."
Lynn furrowed her brow, but nodded, refraining from speaking her impatient thoughts. Kevin could be being tortured for all they knew- but Hotchner was right.
Rossi answered his phone.
"They searched his house- they're not there- but they did find something interesting. A huge collage of letters, pictures, drawings..."
"Take pictures and bring whatever you can back to the station for evidence. We'll meet you there, Mike is going to assist our search for known hunting shelters."
They returned to the station, and Reid's group started spreading out a wide collection of photos and other papers onto the table in front of them.
Most of the pictures were of Lynn, which no longer surprised her. Most were of her on duty, walking around the town in her uniform. One was her dropping Paul off at Kevin's, which made her blood boil. This monster knew her family- had known them for years without anyone knowing the evil he was capable of doing.
Mike arrived and had large maps of the area surrounding the towns, most likely taken from the community center. With Reid's help, he started pointing out and highlighting areas he knew that either had sheds, cabins, and small camping sites used by the local hunters.
Hotch started to split up the groups again and Lynn looked over the maps silently, trying to decipher where the Sheriff may have taken Kevin. He had to know they were after him now. He was staying near Lewey's but needed a place where he could keep a man subdued and carry out his bloody deeds without interruption.
Houses were isolated. But human screams wouldn't go unnoticed in the large winding neighborhoods, no matter how many trees surrounded them.
"Lynn, are you able to come with us?" Hotchner brushed his hand on her arm, pulling her back into the search planning.
If they went together, anyone paired with her was at risk. She couldn't let the Sheriff have any chance of hurting someone else, no matter how small.
Shame overtook her, and she shook her head, "No. I can't," she felt tears well up and Hotchner nodded and turned back to his team to start the search.
She watched them leave, and though it was fine for her to stay hunkered at the police station so she wouldn't become a victim, she felt as though Hotchner had been disappointed in her- which stung, thinking that he saw her as weak.
Mike hugged her and went back to her maps and she watched Nash across the station, coloring in books with Paul.
There were almost a hundred pictures of herself including older ones of Jennifer and Daniel, and some were of her when she was still in high school. it had almost overwhelmed her at first, but it wasn't because she was scared that she stayed.
Some were from the days at the lake, eighteen years ago, and a memory unlocked within her mind.
The group had been partying, swimming and playing games with each other, and drinking illegally. They had brought two twelve-packs of beer and stayed up most of the night as they camped at the shoreline of the lake- and in the morning they had been approached by a ranger- but she remembered it was an officer now- a younger officer Hollar.
He had visited their campsite to kick them out in the morning, stating that it was time to check out. It must have been easy for him to pose as a ranger. They barely managed to hide all the beer cans before he could arrest them for underage alcohol consumption.
Lynn had forgotten all about that since Daniel's murder and Jen's disappearance completely over-shadowed anything that happened the days and even weeks beforehand.
Hollar knew they left the lake and returned to Lewey's that day. Yet he somehow brought Daniel and most likely Jennifer back to the lake a day after they returned to kill them there. Why not find and kill them in Leweys?
The lake was isolated, but it was an hour and a half away- a long drive with two hostages, even if they were drugged.
Lynn thought back to her parents, and Mike, and Harriet along with them- they had been close friends and had done similar dumb things when they were teens. It was why her own friend group had liked camping at the lake because her own parents had used it as their hangout spot. Maybe it was a special place for Anthony as well.
She stood up and approached Mike who was still pouring over the maps.
"How did Harriet and Hollar end up together?"
"It was so long ago and I was at college before she got sick... but she did send me letters every once in a while. So did your parents... "
"If I remember right, he was a little older than her, and she had been dating him for a few months. In the letter, she sent me her ring- our mother's ring- and told me she wouldn't need it anymore. She wrote about her finding out she had a small tumor that was growing and how she wanted to do something before she died. She wanted me to have it, though she almost threw it into the lake if I remember right."
He tapped the ring on his finger and held it up to see it gleam in under the fluorescent lights.
"I had to get it resized, but I still wear it now, though my wife is gone."
"You don't know how they met?"
"No, I never asked. She was done with him so I didn't feel a need to reopen her love life after she passed away. There might be some information in her journals- I keep them in my attic- should I get them?" He squinted at her and started to stand, but she waved him back down.
"No, I'll run over and get them, they need you here-"
"Are you sure? Isn't it dangerous to go out alone?" He looked up at her where she stood.
"It's fine Mike, I'm a deputy remember?" She patted the gun at her side and he shrugged as she walked out the door.
His story about the ring and the lake confirmed it. The lake must be where Harriet called off their engagement, it was where she and her friends had intersected with Hollar's twisted memories of Harriet. It had to be where he took Kevin.
It was time for her to return to the lake.