JJ had already anticipated how arduous the investigation would be for everyone; various forms of non-cooperation and closed doors were inevitable.
"Do you have his nearest address?" Rossi asked.
"Francis Goring has a house outside the city. Send the address imdiately. Wow, he even has a wife, but she doesn't live with him."
"Diana Goring, lives in Shelby, only a few hours' drive from Great Falls."
Rossi politely thanked her. "Thank you, Garcia. When you get back, have Jack bake two delicious pizzas for everyone."
Jack: "???"
"Notify the police to summon Francis's wife imdiately. Emily and I will visit his neighbors. Reid, you'll have to go to the local police station alone."
Rossi directly reassigned the tasks, and everyone prepared to get in the car and set off separately.
"Reid, do you still have the small cakes I put in the fridge this morning? I saw you stuff them all into your bag before we left." Jack suddenly asked.
Reid quickly clutched his bag, looking sowhat nervous. "There are two left. Emily and JJ each took one."
"Give one, I'll bake you a pineapple pizza when we get back."
Ignoring the deadly glare from the Italian man, Jack snatched a small cake from Reid and beckoned JJ to get in the car.
When Jack and JJ arrived at a small grocery store by the highway outside the city, the husband of Angela Miller, the fourth victim who had just disappeared that morning, along with their five- or six-year-old son, had just arrived, accompanied by local police.
"Angela Miller bought a lot of things and went back to her car first. Her husband took their son, Mike, to the restroom, and when they ca out, she was gone."
The middle-aged white police officer wearing a cowboy hat looked grim when he saw the two.
Jack and JJ had heard on their way there that the officer who had been hit by the grenade had just died in the ICU.
JJ greeted him, "I'm sorry about your colleague."
"He's a very experienced veteran policeman, he's been here for 15 years."
"But the people here can breathe a sigh of relief, that beast is finally dead."
The middle-aged white policeman took off his sunglasses, wiping sweat from his forehead, and sighed.
"Except for the Miller family, of course."
He looked at the helpless father and son beside the police car.
"JJ, you talk to Mr. Miller, I'll take the child aside."
The little boy was so well-behaved that it was heartbreaking; he stayed quietly by his father's side without crying or making a fuss. Jack offered him a small bribe to attract his attention and led him to the shade of a tree.
"Please describe what happened." JJ looked at the grieving father and husband.
Mr. Miller was young, barely in his early twenties, and judging from his attire, he ca from an ordinary working-class family. However, the clothes worn by him and his son were impeccably clean, a stark contrast to the dusty surroundings.
He didn't directly answer JJ's question, but instead asked, "The man who kidnapped my wife also kidnapped other won, right? He's a serial killer, which is why you're here."
"No, we're here to find your wife." JJ replied truthfully.
"Do you believe she's still alive?" The husband's expression was tense and apprehensive, clearly aware of the previous case.
JJ was montarily speechless, unsure whether to offer this family hope at this ti.
"Unless there's solid evidence, we'll assu she's still alive and investigate." she replied after a mont's thought.
"That's why we called the FBI." the middle-aged white officer said from the side.
"I believe that all morning, you've been replaying the scene of your last eting with her in your mind, constantly blaming yourself for letting this happen. Tell us every detail of these mories and scenes." JJ said gently, her words seemingly possessing a magical power that cald the man's anxious heart.
"Will you help find my mother?" Little Mike looked at Jack with innocent eyes, his childlike words causing Jack's heart to clench as if gripped tightly by invisible hands.
"I'll try my best" Jack replied, sowhat at a loss. The Miller father and son reminded him of the Lawson father and son he had t when he first joined the police force — the forr owners of the house he now lived in.
The scene before him was eerily similar. Back then, he had witnessed a broken family, and all he could do was lend a hand.
But now, with the Miller family, did he have a chance to prevent the tragedy from happening?
Jack felt lost; he didn't even know if Angela Miller was still alive.
Although he had altered the plot more than once, he hadn't watched many episodes of *Criminal Minds*. He had no recollection of this case and couldn't even determine whether it was part of the original story or sothing that had been created by this world.
Was this the psychological pressure the original protagonists had to endure? Jack felt a heavy weight in his heart.
After playing with little Mike for a while, and after JJ finished asking about the situation, Jack took his little hand and led him back to his father.
"Is there any noteworthy information?" Jack drove JJ to the police station to et Reid.
JJ shook her head. "This place is too remote. Mr. Miller didn't even see the killer. The grocery store's security caras only show the inside of the store."
"Even if they did get so footage, it wouldn't be of much use. We're looking for the missing victims. The killer is dead. Now we can only hope that Rossi and Hotchner have so leads."
Before she finished speaking, both of their phones rang simultaneously. Rossi and Hotchner called in separately.
Rossi and Emily, who had searched the killer's house, didn't find much. They found so old videotapes, but the killer, Francis Goring, hadn't lived there for a long ti.
Hotchner, however, had an unexpected breakthrough. He didn't find any useful clues at the scene of the explosion and went straight back to the police station, where he happened to run into Diana Goring, the killer's wife, who had been summoned by the police.
Diana Goring's appearance surprised him and Reid. Her features were very similar to those of the missing won, and she also had dark hair.
She admitted that the killer, Francis Goring, had abused her, in a very cruel and sadistic way, but several years ago, she had sought help from the militia and kicked him out of their ho.
But Diana Goring revealed a location: a small farm left to her by her parents, which she had been forced to give to her husband after their marriage.
"Let's go check it out."
Jack hung up the phone, jerked the steering wheel, and sped towards the address Hotchner had sent.
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