Chapter Text
Ryland didn't know how long he sat on that curb for, he just knew it had been long enough for the wind to start breaking through the fabric of his coat.
He lingered around the bright yellow tape that yelled "caution" all across the front of the school, his students and other children forced to gather in the blocked off streets in confusion. They held the straps of their backpacks, stumbled around to find friends, collected themselves into groups to all find courage to ask the cops what was going on.
Ryland knew what had happened.
An abduction of a student-teacher, right in front of the school when she tried to walk inside that morning.
Ryland didn't know how he should feel, but he knew what he already felt; true despair and discomfort. It was bad enough it was a student-teacher, and what if the person were to come back? For who? A child?
Ryland had thrown his bike to the side, his bag sat next to it. He messed with his glasses, trying to find ways to clean them and continue to observe. He was assuming the school was going to be on lock down until the administration figured something out, and they were probably going to start asking questions, too.
He couldn't help but tremble. His nerves were getting to him. If he were brave enough, he'd walk on over and demand to know what had happened, who called, if they were checking the cameras out front. But all Ryland could muster up was getting up from his spot on the ground and getting just a tad closer to the scene.
There was nothing to really be seen, no signs of blood, or anything being left behind–the person had been thorough, that's for sure, or the amount of force this person used was enough to persuade without much struggle. Ryland tried to peek behind cops and investigators alike, but again, not much was out there. He was wondering what they were seeing to be so congregated.
A man in a carefully fitted black suit stopped him before he got too close.
"Excuse me, sir, you have to back away," he ordered, and Ryland forced himself away sheepishly, mentally berating himself for being so nosy.
"Oh, I'm sorry," he mumbled, "I'm just... I'm a teacher here. I just wanted to know what was going on just in case the students ask later?"
"The school is gonna be canceled, don't worry about it."
Ryland swallowed hard, blinking away any facial expression that could've shown his disappointment. That didn't work, had it?
But the man spoke again.
"What's your name?"
Ryland looked back over and cleared his throat, holding out a hand for the man to shake.
"Ryland Grace- Dr. Ryland Grace."
The man seemed impressed, or maybe just amused at the thought of Ryland trying to impress him, "Agent Jack Crawford. I'm from the behavioral science unit. What does the doctor in your name come from, Dr. Grace?"
Ryland felt a quirk of a smile on his face, bouncing on his heel more excitedly. It helped distract him from the grim spirit of the school, "Molecular biology. I used to work more in academia before this whole school teacher gig."
Crawford seemed to nod in respect back, "What made that happen?"
"What?" Ryland responded.
"What made you twist specialties? From scientist to middle school teacher, it's very hasty."
Ryland really didn't want to say it was because of a paper he wrote, calling a colleague a "staggering waste of carbon," so simply... he lied.
"Oh, you know... stress."
"And middle schoolers give you less stress?" Crawford chuckled a little. He probably had needed the conversation, too.
Ryland laughs nervously and just nods. He fiddles with his glasses, opening them and closing them to his liking. His smile is gone once it feels quieter again, and he just sighs.
"Do you think she's gonna be okay?" Ryland asks, pointing over at where everybody was huddled, and Crawford picks up on the worry.
"We can't be sure. Abduction can be for many reasons. I'm sure you're aware of most."
Ryland nods, looking over his shoulder at all the children. They seemed to be watching him talk to Agent Crawford, just as curious as him, maybe twice as scared. But he knew kids feared differently than adults.
"Did you know Ms. Martin personally?" Crawford asks more suddenly, and Ryland hums.
He'd talked to her enough. She'd been so kind, she would've made a great teacher.
No... she will be a great teacher. Ryland was already thinking about it like she was doomed, hopeless. He tried to fix his head before he tried speaking further.
"She'd help me a lot. She helped everybody a lot. Real smart. I remember she talked about how she had wished to be a scientist, too, and I told her it's never too late." Ryland says. There's a pause, "I hope it still isn't too late."
Crawford doesn't comfort immediately, just acknowledges with another nod. He then speaks again.
"Do you see her often in the workplace? Like now, in the morning?"
"Oh, everyday. We always met up in the teachers lounge. We're the first ones to arrive, usually. We talk over some coffee and help her with lesson plans when she needs it," Ryland says, "looks like she came extra early today though."
Crawford raises a brow, "Earlier today?"
Ryland nods, "I left at the same time I always do, and if she was here before me, she came early."
Crawford stares at him for a bit too long. Ryland shrinks into himself underneath his intense stare, looking around and really wondering is he looking at me or is something distracting him?
"Dr. Grace, would you mind if I talk to you off the side for a moment?"
Ryland's eyes widened, "Am I in trouble?" He really hopes he isn't a suspect. Oh Gosh, he wouldn't be able to handle that.
"No, no. Not in trouble. I just think you would be valuable to me."
Ryland blinks and watches as Crawford lifts up the tape for Ryland to walk under. He hesitates, looking around in a self-conscious manner before following through. He swore he could hear the whispers of students behind him.
Crawford leads him over to a small area near the scene, but no closer than 12 feet. Ryland had been wrong, too, there was something that the investigators were looking at; some speckled blood on the ground with what looked like to be a cosmetic of some sort? Ryland couldn't tell, even when he put his glasses back on.
Crawford then called somebody over.
This man, however, looked a bit more disheveled than Crawford. He had on a suit, sure, but instead of a nice white button up underneath, he had a flannel with the first buttoned loose and his tie unraveling. His facial hair was scruffy, like his curly hair. He had these thin-framed black glasses that reflected Ryland's golden framed ones. Ryland couldn't help but tilt his head at the man.
"Ryland, this is Special Agent Will Graham. If you don't mind, we would like to ask some questions." Crawford says, offering a greeting hand over at Will before dropping it back down to his side.
Will was looking down, or more just off to the side. His eyes looked a bit glazed, like he wasn't fully paying attention, or maybe paying attention too much and his brain was hyperactive.
Ryland held a hand out, "Dr. Ryland Grace," Ryland greets with a small smile, but Will doesn't quite reciprocate it. Instead, his hands twist so his fingers are interlocked behind his back. Ryland lowers his hand awkwardly.
Crawford nods, "Will, you have the floor."
Will listened this time, just barely letting his eyes flicker up at Ryland.
"How well did you know Cameron Martin?" He asked, his voice just as gruff as his appearance. Ryland couldn't tell if he was maybe a newbie, or if this was just how he acted.
"Uhm... fairly well, I'd say. I know where she goes to school. I know what she wants to do for a living. I'd say we were friends. I used to give her advice all the time" Ryland clarifies, having to repeat what he told Crawford. Internally, his insides were all tangled. He'd never thought he'd be instigated at his place of work.
Will looks back over at the concrete, his mind seemingly wandering, maybe piecing together what they know.
"How was her relationship with the teacher she was shadowing?"
Ryland lit up, "Mr. Chilton? They were great together. Chilton never really gets along with many people, so I was great to see."
Will and Crawford make eye contact, and Ryland panics a little, "He's gonna be a suspect, isn't he?"
Crawford raises a hand, "We're not sure. But we need something from nothing.
Will speaks up then, "We have something, Jack. We know that she was abducted right here, right in the front. We've had multiple abductions as of recently. There's... a pattern."
"And I need somebody to figure out this pattern before this person gets close to another girl." Crawford says, but his voice is much more firm. It makes Ryland flinch, Will doesn't even react.
Will's jaw tenses, and he eyes the front door of the school for a moment.
Abruptly, he leaves, and Crawford's own eyes trail him intently. Will's walk is brisk as he makes it to the front, taking off his glasses and stuffing them into his pocket, and for a while, he's still. Very still.
Ryland senses something is happening, shifts foot to foot before asking, "what's he doing?"
Crawford lifts a finger to shush him, and Ryland bows his head in apology. He continues to watch Will with renowned interest.
It was kind of frightening, how still he was. He almost seemed like a frightened animal with the way he looked in that moment. Was he calculating something? He must've figured something out that others wouldn't have. This was probably one of Crawford's best, nothing like a newbie.
Will then turned, speed walking all the way back before speaking again, his voice low, but Ryland heard it clearly, "The person took her when she was already inside, not out. It was a staff member."
Crawford is silent before he grabs Ryland's shoulders and leads him away from the scene.
"Thank you for your time, Dr. Grace."
Ryland starts protesting, but his body is giving in as he ducks underneath the caution tape again, "what's going on? Can you tell me what he saw? Please? Can I help at all? I'm sure I can-"
Crawford stands straight again, body tense–that was Ryland's sign to shut up. Will is standing right behind him and looking directly at him for the first time since Ryland had crossed the yellow boundary line.
"We'll follow up with you in a few days, maybe a few weeks. For now, you are not needed." Crawford murmurs carefully before he turns away and starts gathering up all his workers to go inside.
Ryland stood there for a long time.
No one told him to back away this time.
—
Ryland felt the days pass slowly. It was all he could think about, day and night. Watching the time tick down made him jittery, a feeling of unease he'd never thought he'd experience.
You know, you hear it on the news, and feel sympathy towards the people who feel it, maybe get the chills if it is particularly disturbing, but the school he worked at was linked to a crime. That wasn't just something you slept off.
One problem was that he thought he'd gotten someone in trouble; he hadn't meant to make Mr. Chilton out as a weirdo who liked student-teachers. He thought about how he worded it and he always groaned whenever it replayed. He hadn't heard from Mr. Chilton either since the last meeting a few weeks ago.
Another problem was that, after everything, every teacher was now a suspect. Every custodian, every employee that had ever had a key to access the school was now a suspect, which meant he was also a suspect. What if they somehow thought that him arriving at school early was suspicious? What if they took him into custody?
Now that… that really scared him.
It was a bit selfish, since he wasn't the only teacher that worked there. Ryland was sure every teacher was a bit ahead, including the person who'd done it.
Ryland sat at his desk after-school. He stared up at the planets that hung from his ceiling. They gave him solace and comfort. Something that he recognized. He had opened his notes and a stack of students’ work in front of him, checking things off with a blue marker (he always hated using red to correct mistakes.)
There was a knock at the door.
His eyes caught the shadow just outside before the door opened with a loud creak.
It was that special Agent again, Will Graham, was it?
Oh no.
“Knock, knock.” Ryland said, a small smile on his face, trying to break even and make him laugh a little.
Will didn't laugh. He stood next to the door and studied the room like something was going to happen. Ryland's smile faded and he swallowed harshly.
“Not coming to arrest me, are you?” Ryland asked, “not the first time cuffs have been offered-”
“Not… arresting you.” Will mumbled, walking down the aisle of tables to Ryland's desk. His eyes catch a specific diagram Ryland had of the solar system, his eyes lighting up with interest, “You have a lot of interest in space?”
“Science in general,” Ryland says, turning to the diagram with another small grin, “I have a doctorate in molecular biology, I'm not sure if your boss told you…”
“He told me.” Will says, and Ryland simply nods. “Not quite my boss.”
“Friendly colleagues?”
Will doesn't answer.
“... friends?”
“I came down to ask questions.” Will said, straightening up, fixing the glasses he adorned on his face. Ryland narrowed his eyes a little before speaking.
“Are those prescriptioned glasses?”
Will doesn't answer the question again, “Did you ever see Mr. Chilton and Ms. Martin engaging in an inappropriate relationship?”
Ryland was taken aback, “Woah, woah, woah-” he puts a hand up, “No. Mr. Chilton might be a bit of a bastard, but he'd never do that. He has a wife and everything.” Ryland paused again and panics more, “I mean- I know that doesn't exactly mean he wouldn't be unfaithful, but I highly doubt it from him.”
Will doesn't answer and sighs.
Ryland waits for another question, but nothing comes. There's just pure silence that floods the room. Ryland looks outside, pure gray clouds sporting potential rain later. He should probably get home soon, it's not good to bike in the rain.
He notices how Will is doggedly focused on that one diagram still…
It's not a good diagram by any means; the sun is in the middle, and it has metal pegs poking out of it with each other having a planet at the end of it wherever there's space. Each one is hand painted by himself. It's a diagram he made a while back just for the classroom.
Ryland nods at it, speaking much softer, “You can touch it. If it breaks, it is going to happen eventually.”
Will swivels his head briefly towards Ryland, then back. He reaches out and pokes it and watches it spin around.
Ryland stares, his eyes observing Will. He looks still as drawn apart as before, but there's something about him this time that Ryland couldn't put his finger on. Maybe they had him working hard, because he looks pretty exhausted, if you asked him.
“Are you by yourself?” Ryland asks.
Will shakes his head, “I'm with Jack. Crawford. He's… down the hall from here.”
“Interviewing Mr. Chilton, isn't he?”
Will goes silent, finally turning his body towards Ryland, “I was just observing the rooms. Talking to the teachers.”
Ryland shrugs, “I don't think you'll find anything here unless you plan on studying planets with me.”
Will forces his eyes on Ryland, and Ryland swallows. He stares back, and for some reason, Ryland doesn't like the look of his eyes. He turns away and tries to go back to his work. He circles an answer on a students worksheet, even though it's correct, just to do something with his hands. He could still feel Will's eyes on the back of his neck.
“Do I unnerve you, Dr. Grace?”
Ryland looked over his shoulder, and for once, Will was looking directly at him.
He didn't know why, but the words surprised him. Ryland felt called out. Like maybe he did something wrong.
"What?" He asked, needing Will to repeat himself.
Will was silent.
"Do I… creep you out?" Will spoke, a murmur almost unheard over ventilation in the room. "Do I distract you from your work by being here?”
Ryland blinks. No… it wasn't quite that. But he didn't say that. Or hint that. It wasn't the creeps he was getting by Will being around.
“No, no. Not at all,” he tries to soothe, “I get people who stay behind in the classroom all the time.”
Ryland was talking about students, not special agents that were investigating abduction, but the point stood.
Ryland points at an empty seat beside his desk, “You can sit down too, if you'd like. I'm not quite opposed to a bit of a watcher.”
Will follows Ryland's hand to the old plastic seat. His body doesn't follow though, instead, he walks over to the door of Ryland's classroom.
“Thank you for your time, Dr. Grace. I'll follow you up on anything we find.”
The door closed abruptly before he could ask more.
All of these investigators really liked to just not explain much further to him, did they? Ryland scratched his head with the tip of his pen. His body relaxes as he breathes deeper. He hadn't even realized how coiled up he was. Maybe he wore his expression too much and frightened Will. Honestly, they probably scared each other.
Ryland sighed, taking off his glasses and wiped them. He looked outside, the dark clouds had gotten closer. He needed to go home.
He got up, and packed everything up into his bag. He grabbed his bike helmet and made sure everything was safe in case rain did decide to downpour. Once everything was set, he grabbed his keys and locked his classroom door behind him.
Down the hall, he could see two figures chatting with a third; Will, Jack, and Mr. Chilton. He couldn't tell what was happening, but when he started to walk away, he saw that Will turned his head at him again.
Ryland waved.
No wave back.
And then he left.
And on the bike ride home, Ryland thought about it again.
Maybe Will was just one of the kids that just wanted to sit in his classroom for lunch? Maybe he just wanted to talk to someone. It's not that he's not used to people being a bit different. He's had hundreds of students, he's worked in multiple science fields, he's not inexperienced socially. But he couldn't tell why he was thinking about it so much.
Was he judging him? Ryland suddenly felt guilty. Ryland didn't mean to if he was, it happened randomly even when he tried to control it.
He rolled his bike up to his apartment.
The wind hadn't gotten any better since that day that Ms. Martin had gotten abducted. His coat only did so much.
His paranoia got to him; he checked over his shoulders as he locked his bike against its rack. When he went into his apartment, he made sure everything was locked tight, Ryland had to resist locking his bedroom door. He laid in bed, and he had a nightmare.
Ryland never really had nightmares.
But for once, he let himself just be irrationally afraid, even though he wasn't given much reason on why he should be.
In the nightmare, it played out what Ryland's own imagination had created of the abduction; being snatched up and dragged away.
And Will Graham so happened to be in it.
He couldn't tell what he was more afraid of; the kidnapping, or being caught for something he hadn't even done.