The Criminal

It was just a normal day. I spent my morning watching Criminal Minds as there was a new episode that evening I was planning to watch. My phone started to buzz as they started their morning meeting in the show. It was my girlfriend, Mackenzie. I took my phone out of my pocket and clicked pick up.

“Hey babe, what’s up?” I answered.

“Hi babe, I’m just on my way to the cafe to meet Jen and I wanted to say hi.” Even though I couldn’t see her, I knew she had a beautiful smile on her face. My smile grew wide as well.

“Well it’s always great to hear your voice. I hope brunch goes well and you guys have great food.”

“Of course, Dana’s Coffee has the best biscuits and gravy!”

“Oh don’t I know it.” I chuckled. Just as I said that I got a knock at my door.

“Hey babe, call me when you can, someone just knocked on the door.”

“Alrighty, have fun I love you!”

“I love you more. Bye.” I hung up the phone and started for the door when I heard another knock, more aggressively, with a voice this time;

“Police! Open up!” Police? I thought. What the hell? I turned the door knob and slowly opened it to see a dozen police officers with guns pointed straight at my face. I threw my hands up to avoid being shot.

“Woah woah, you’ve got the wrong person I have no clue what’s going on.” The main police officer put his gun away and pulled out his handcuffs. My heart started to race. Is this really happening right now? Two seconds ago I was talking to Mack..what happened? Someone was framing me. They had to be, I didn’t do anything. They read me my rights and cuffed me.

“Christopher Hartley, you are under arrest for the kidnapping of Cameron Barrow. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say or do will be used in the court of law, you have the right to an attorney, if you cannot afford one, one will be appointed to you.” I was escorted out of my apartment building by thirteen police officers with all of my neighbors watching and judging.

As we pulled up to the station, I saw multiple protesters. They were screaming and holding signs saying, “MONSTER,” “GO TO HELL,” “JUSTICE FOR CAMERON!” Who the fuck is Cameron??” All I could think was, I’m in deep shit.

I sat in the interrogation room waiting for what felt like years. About an hour into my stay in the room, two officers walked in.

“Alright son, we can make this easy or we can make this difficult. Where’s Cameron?” My eyes were as wide as a deer in headlights.

“I absolutely hate to say this, sir, but I have no clue what you’re talking about. You definitely have the wrong guy.” I held my hands together and was shaking my legs. The police officer laughed and put his hands on the table to get a closer look at me. The second officer was just standing in the corner with his arms crossed. I was just watching this exact scene go down in a Criminal Minds episode and now I’m living it. As much as I thought it would be cool to be in a show like that, this was not the part I would want to be in.

“We have multiple witnesses who saw you with Cameron on the night she went missing. We have your fingerprints not only at the crime scene, but the box that was sent to her mother with her finger in it. How fucking sick can one be to do that. Where. Is. Cameron?” His teeth were gritted. Clearly this Cameron was important to the whole community. I had just moved into my apartment maybe three months before this all happened. I opened my mouth to talk when another officer walked in.

“I’ll take it from here boys.” He shoved his hands into his pockets. The officer that was in my face just glared at me and followed the other officer out. The new officer closed the door behind him and smiled.

“Hi Chris, I’m Agent Bohem with the FBI. How are you doing?” He walked up to me and pulled the other chair out and sat across from me. I just gave him a look up and down and didn’t say anything. “I heard that you’ve been confused since you got here. I just wanted to help clear some things up.” I was living Criminal Minds. Hotch just walked in and is using his nice guy technique to get something out of me.

“Yes, honest to God I have no clue what you guys are talking about. I just moved here in May, I don’t know any Cameron or really anyone out here. My girlfriend lived out here her whole life, I’m from California, man, I don’t know anything or anyone here.”

“I just want to say this isn’t helping your case. We have solid evidence that it was you at the scene of the crime.” He shrugged his shoulders and crossed his arms. As soon as he did that, I heard a beeping noise. I looked over to the camera in the corner and the red light blinked twice before it stopped. I looked back over to the FBI agent and saw him grinning even wider. My face grew even more confused.

“You see, Chris. I know you. I know who you are and what you do. I know you weren’t there during the kidnapping.” My heart stopped. I had never seen this guy before in my life, yet he knows exactly who I am.

“What’s going on? What do you mean you know me?” I started to shake my leg again and bite the inside of my cheek. This seemed so unreal. Then he said one word, one name.

“Mackenzie.” and I knew exactly who he was. My girlfriend’s ex who stalked her for years. I saved her from him so now I’m his number one target. There were never any reports made on him, he was not an FBI agent so how did he get in there? The only way to get to Mack is if I were to go away, and boy did he make sure of that. My body grew tense and my face heated up. I looked him dead in the eyes.

“You have no right to be here. You were specifically told to not be in contact or see Mackenzie at all.”

“I haven’t, just you. You’re all I need to get to her. All I had to do was fake a few FBI documents, break into your apartment and take any and all fingerprints and hairs, and find some poor defenseless little girl who would make a community go insane against the one person who knows jack shit about this town. It was perfect. New guy, bad past.” He smirked. “Your rap sheet is beautifully written by the way. Several accounts of domestic abuse against Mack, many public drunken nights, and a few thefts. I think I made you look real good. Or bad, I guess.” He laughed and I clenched my fists.

“Once I get out of here you are going straight to hell. You’re gonna be here in just a short time. You watch. Mackenzie will never ever go back to you whether your deranged mind says so or not. Do whatever you want to me but you will never have a chance to hurt Mackenzie ever again.”

“I think I will. See you in court.” He got up and walked out, slamming the door behind him. I was framed by a fool. And I wasn’t allowed any phone calls except to an attorney so I couldn’t call to warn Mack. My heart couldn’t stop racing. I was so incredibly worried.

It’s been two and a half months. They won’t retrial until next year. Mackenzie is the only thing holding me together. I have had zero contact with her because I am not allowed. He shouldn’t have put me here, because when, if, I get out, he’s a dead man. And that would be a good reason to come back.