ONE AN AX TO GRIND

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Dear Dr. Reid,

     Shit, I never thought I'd need to contact you. My uncle told me a lot about you, most of the time I didn't think they were true. The genius he knew when they were teenagers that grew up to be an FBI agent. It sounded fake. It still does. Right now I really need it to be true.

Everything was foggy as Teddy's vision was dotted with shaky black spots as he came to. Where was he? He didn't recognize his surroundings, not at first. Then, his memory began to return. Two beers, James and him reminiscing, James, where was James? How had Teddy passed out? He only had one beer and being 6'5" he was no lightweight. James, maybe, but not Teddy. Looking around his vision began to clear as he recognized the trees around him. They must have travelled further into the wood in James's backyard than he thought, they usually walked and talked but there wasn't any sign of civilization in sight. Out of the corner of his eye, something wooden sticking out of the grass caught his attention.

     Teddy's gotten himself in some serious shit, but I know it's not his fault. Teddy would never do something like this. You grew up with him, you know he'd never hurt a fly. 

Pushing himself off of the ground, he stumbled over to the piece of wood, his vision becoming blurry as standing seemed to take a lot out of him. Walking over, he saw that it wasn't a piece of wood. It was an ax. The metal end was embedded in the back of a figure who had now turned blue, eyes glazed over.

"J-Jameson?" Teddy breathed out, not wanting to believe the sight in front of his eyes. This couldn't be happening, he had to still be asleep. This was a nightmare. Teddy, wake up. Wake up. He didn't want to touch him, but he has to know for sure. Reaching his hand down, he grip's the body's chin and turns the face. Gasping with horror, Teddy collapses to the ground, scrambling away until his back rests against a nearby tree.

     My name is Tensley. Tensley Baldwin. You went to high school with my uncle, I'm sure you remember him. He said you two were close. I found the address for your Quantico headquarters on Google so I really hope this finds you.

"9-1-1, what's your emergency?" the dispatcher asked as Teddy ran through the trees until he had gotten service. He left markers as he went so he could get back to Jameson. Jameson. Dead in the middle of the forest. Teddy's own waking nightmare.

"I need help, someone murdered my friend, please!" Teddy gasped, his voice ragged as the words felt alien leaving his mouth. This wasn't happening, this couldn't be happening.

"Are you in immediate danger, sir?"

"I-I don't think so, no," Teddy observed, wondering if the killer was still in the woods. How had they gotten into the woods in the first place? Yeah, the woods lead up to Jameson's backyard with no fence to border it off, but they had been deep into the trees. Had Teddy been too drunk to remember? How much had he drank?

The dispatcher responded again, "Can you tell me what happened? What is the name of the diseased? Can I get your name and location?"

So many questions to add to the ones already racing through his mind at rapid speed as he began to see the break in the trees. Wren, he had to get to Wren she had to know. "I-I don't remember a thing. I must have blacked out. Uh, James. Jameson Wallace. I'm at 214 Bronward Road in Winter Park. Please get here."

My uncle is not a killer. You guys do this shit for a living, I know you'll tell me what I already know.

"Sir, do you mind recounting the events of last night, the 24th of August, for us?" the police officer asked with a pessimistic sigh as Teddy shivered in the cold interrogation room. He didn't know why he was here. Couldn't they have taken his statement at the scene?

"Uh, Jameson and I had plans. His wife, Wren was making dinner and him and I were boozing in the backyard, talking about old times. We uh, we all went to high school together back in Vegas. I moved out here a few years ago to take care of my niece, down in Grand Junction."

The police officer didn't look impressed, but his expression seemed to stay fairly neutral. "Grand Junction, that's quite the drive. Were you planning staying the night?"

"Considering I was drinking, yes. My niece was staying the night at a friends and I was going to be staying in their guest bedroom."

"What's the last thing you remember?" The next question came so quickly, Teddy had hardly finished his sentence. Were they trying to rattle him? Everything about this felt wrong.

Teddy avoiding the question, his mind elsewhere. "Uh, where's Wren? Can I speak to Wren? She doesn't drink, she'll remember more than me."

"So, you were blacked out?"

"No, no," Teddy backtracked, "I had only had about two bears last I remember. We were talking about high school and... marriage. Jameson asked me if I had a man back home, I-I said no, not yet."

The police officer didn't bat an eye except for the heavy sigh, "All right. That's the last thing you remember?"

"Yes."

"Then you woke up the next morning and found Mr. Wallace with an ax in his back. Dead," the police officer asked but it came out as more of a statement. Like he already had his mind made up about the story.

Teddy nodded, "Yes, that's right. Then, I left the woods to get service and called 9-1-1."

"How did you end up in the middle of the woods?"

"I—"

"Don't remember?" the man finished with an unimpressed feeling. Teddy had a a bad feeling about all of this. He should be taking care of Wren and Tensley right now, not in the middle of a police interrogation. "Anything happen between you and Mr. Wallace in the last month? Any contact that could be seen as unusual."

"We..." Teddy hesitated, but he knew it was too late. "He drove to Grand Junction about three days ago and we got into a fight. But things were clear, that's why we got together in the first place to put it all behind us."

Please, Dr. Reid, clear my uncle's name.

"Theodore Baldwin, I'm afraid you are under the arrest for the murder of James Baldwin based on this interrogation and a witness statement from one Wren Romily-Wallace," the police officer walked around the table and kicked the chair out from under Teddy, forcing him to stand as he pulled at the man's arms.

"Wait! What?" Teddy exclaimed. When? "No, you've got it all wrong! We were friends! I'd never hurt him, not in a million years! Someone murdered him in cold blood!"

"You have the right to remain silent—"

The rest became a blur as Teddy's mind was racing. Handcuffs were placed around his wrist as he was all but parades around the precinct to be processed. This wasn't real, this couldn't be happening. Someone had killed Jameson Wallace and Teddy knew it wasn't him. Yes, he blacked out, but that didn't make him a killed. He didn't even have a chance to explain. How could he go to jail for this?"

     Please let this reach you. I'm begging you, Dr. Reid.

Signed,
Tensley Baldwin

ahhh first chapter! I'm so excited for this story you guys have no idea! Not every chapter is gonna be formatted this way, the letter only has a part in this chapter hence why I split it up this way! The majority of the story will likely switch between Teddy's POV and Tensley's!