Chapter 7-A Possible Suspect
Penelope Garcia's fingers flew over her keyboard as she continued tracking Aaron Hotchner's movements and phone calls. So far she didn't find anything unusual in her late boss's movements even after hacking into the GPS in his Bureau-issued SUV and his personal vehicle. But she did find something in the phone records which worried her. It worried her because she and the others were familiar with the person whose phone number had shown up repeatedly for weeks up to the day before Hotch died.
She remembered when the team had gone out for drinks after a difficult case. They were all starting to unwind, when a woman whose name they learned was Beth Clemmons, had shown up unexpectedly, and invited herself to join them. She sat next to Hotch who didn't seem too pleased to see the woman, but introduced her to the others. When asked how and from where she met Hotch, Beth explained she had met him in a bar a few weeks ago where he sat alone having a drink. She sensed the man's sadness and that he could use a friend. So she sat with him and the two talked. She further explained that after a few drinks, he told her about his wife leaving taking their son, and he hoped to get them back. She felt sorry for the man, and bought him dinner, after which Hotch escorted her home. But she explained he had had too much to drink, and tried coaxing him into staying the night, but Hotch refused and went home alone.
From what Garcia recalled, none of the team liked this woman. They all suspected their boss having too much to drink was not the only reason she wanted Hotch to spend the night. She was possessive of Hotch even though he had made it clear he was not interested in a relationship with her. She acted as though he was her boyfriend despite knowing he was a married man. But she seemed determined to be with him, and didn't care that he was married. To the team she appeared to be stalking their Unit Chief, but Hotch believed she would eventually get the message, give up, and move on with her life. In tracking Hotch's movements, Garcia discovered Beth had moved to Virginia before Hotch and Haley separated. And she had been in Virginia at the time of the Unit Chief's death.
As far as Garcia was concerned, this woman had either seen or met Hotch somewhere before she 'met' him in a bar weeks ago as she claimed. To Garcia, Beth's sole purpose for moving to Virginia was to stalk Hotch. She dug up everything she could on Beth Clemmons, and made sure she printed it out to show the others when they met later. To Garcia, they now had a possible suspect. "You bitch," Garcia told herself, "Hotch told you he wasn't interested in you so you killed him because you couldn't have him. You will rue the day you messed with our family."
Garcia didn't feel comfortable digging into Hotch's private life and personal business, but realized it had to be done. The belief was that somewhere out there was the person or persons who killed him. That was how she discovered Beth Clemmons; right now their only suspect as they were still investigating the names in the ledger. And that knowledge overrode any guilt she may have felt.
She found despite her concentration, that her mind wandered to a few hours earlier to Hotch's funeral. She slid a hand under the frame of her glasses and wiped at a tear that began to fall. Garcia had worked for Hotch since 2005, and couldn't see herself working for anybody else. But she couldn't abandon her family either. Hotch would be disappointed if she left the family because of his death, but she believed he would understand if she did. But now was not the time to make that decision. Now was the time to find out who killed Aaron Hotchner. She wiped her cheeks again.
Garcia hid her file folder beneath a stack of folders given her by team B. Erin Strauss was snooping around, so she had to be on alert. She could not be caught researching Hotch's background. It was then she heard the door opening behind her, and quickly switched her screen to something about a case team B wanted researched.
Garcia looked around to see Strauss walk into her lair with the look of a hungry predator, and close the door. "Ma'am? Is there something I can do for you?" Garcia asked.
Strauss feigned a concerned smile. "I just wanted to see how you were doing since the funeral earlier, Miss Garcia." She moved aside the file folders needing to be researched, and sat on the edge of the table, her eyes focused on Garcia. What Agent Hotchner ever saw in this woman I'll never understand. She's not FBI material. Those clothes. That hair. "So, how are you doing?"
Garcia shrugged and looked up at the older woman. "I'm okay, I guess. I mean, I miss Hotch, and I still can't believe he's really gone. He was a great boss to work for."
"Of course," Strauss smiled, patting Garcia's shoulder. She sensed the older woman was on a fishing expedition looking for dirt on Hotch. "Tell me, was Agent Hotchner oh, how should I phrase it…under stress recently?"
"No more than usual, ma'am."
"Let me rephrase my question then. Was Agent Hotchner acting oddly of late? Secretive perhaps?"
"Secretive?"
"Yes. As if he was hiding something from the rest of the team?"
"Like what?"
Strauss pursed her lips. "Something like somebody might be after him to do him harm perhaps? I wouldn't think he'd keep that from the team. Do you?"
Garcia was no fool. Even in death, the witch refused to leave her boss alone, and it made her angry. "I'm afraid I don't know what you mean, ma'am. Hotch never kept anything from the team."
Strauss folded her arms across her chest, exasperated. "Miss Garcia, I'm going to come straight to the point. I believe Agent Hotchner was involved in something illegal, and it got him killed. I also suspect his team covered for his illegal activities which makes all of you equally guilty in my eyes. And when I…"
"Excuse me ma'am…" Garcia straightened in her chair, wet eyes flashing dangerously. "…but you come into my office throwing around accusations about Hotch and the team with no proof of anything. And for your information, Hotch was a good man, and I resent you slandering him as you are. He's dead. Let him rest in peace."
"Miss Garcia," Strauss got to her feet and glared at Garcia who refused to back down or be intimidated. "How dare you speak to me in that tone of voice. I am your superior."
But Garcia would not be swayed. "Excuse me, ma'am. And I mean no disrespect. But you want me to help you discredit Agent Hotchner's memory and good name. And if you're expecting me to help you do that you are sadly mistaken. Hotch didn't do anything wrong. Now if you'll excuse me, I have work to do for team B." Garcia reached over and pulled her file folders close to her and opened the top one, indicating to Strauss that the conversation was finished.
Strauss glared at the tech analyst who began typing on her computer. "This isn't over, Miss Garcia," she hissed. "I will find out what Agent Hotchner was involved in that got him killed. And when I do, I promise you if any of his team has been covering for him, they will be punished to the fullest extent of the law. And as for you, I will deal with you after this investigation into Agent Hotchner's death is complete." That said, Strauss yanked open the door and stormed out, slamming the door shut behind her. Garcia jumped when the door slammed.
Garcia closed her eyes and let out a huge breath. Her shoulders sagged as she hung her head. She got up and locked her door before returning to her chair. Penelope grabbed her purse and rummaged through it until she found her jeweled cell phone. She scrolled down until she found the name she wanted. She pressed speed dial, put the phone to her ear, and waited as it rang.
"C'mon. C'mon. Pick up," she muttered. "Please pick up."
Garcia started to hang up when she heard a click on the other end.
"What's up sweetness?" asked a familiar voice.
"Derek, we have trouble," Penelope began to cry. "Strauss questioned me about Hotch and she wanted to know what he was involved in, and what were we covering up and then she threatened me and…."
"Whoa, whoa, baby girl. Slow down and take a deep breath." Garcia stopped talking, and took in and let out a deep breath. "Okay, now start again. What did Strauss do?"
"I was doing the research on Hotch like Rossi asked me to do. Don't worry, Strauss didn't catch me." She then repeated verbatim, her conversation with the Section Chief including her threat to Garcia. When she was finished, there was a few seconds of silence on the other end. "Derek? You still there?"
"Yeah. I'm still here, mama. I'll let Rossi know."
"You are forever my hero."
"Always, pretty mama. Listen, while I have you on the phone, have you had any luck tracking Hotch's phone calls and travels?"
"Now that you mention it, I did find something super-creepy." Garcia grabbed the file folder she hid beneath the others and opened it. "While I was checking through Hotch's phone records, I noticed a phone number that didn't look familiar so I ran it and it's for Beth Clemmons."
"Beth Clemmons? Wasn't she the one Hotch introduced us to that night we all went out for drinks while he and Haley were separated?"
"One and the same, my dark hero. Anyway, it looks like she called Hotch at least ten times a day both at work, and on his cell. He never called her. She always called him."
"From what I remember, she didn't take Hotch not wanting her very well," Morgan explained. "And that was despite the fact that we all let her know he was committed to working things out with his wife."
"And that's not all, stud muffin. I did some more digging and found out Beth moved to Virginia shortly before Hotch and Haley separated."
"Sounds to me like she lied about when she met Hotch." Morgan paused. "And if that's the case, she could have been stalking him."
"Oh My God. Do you think this Beth Clemmons killed Hotch?"
"I don't know, baby girl. But we should definitely have a talk with her. Send me her address."
Garcia sent the information. "I just sent you her home and work addresses."
"Thanks, mama. And don't worry about Strauss."
"Be careful, Derek. If the she-devil is our black widow, don't confront her alone."
Morgan chuckled. "I'll be careful." He disconnected the call.
Garcia let out a deep breath and resumed typing. "Okay Beth Clemmons, let's see what else I can find out about you."
Christopher Hayes chuckled while reading about the murder of Aaron Hotchner. Truthfully, he didn't give a damn about the death itself, but if the police had any suspects or clues as to who might have done the crime. He was relieved to read there were no suspects. As long as he stayed calm, nobody would ever suspect he had a hand in the murder of Aaron Hotchner. Reaching in his pocket, he pulled out his cell phone and scrolled down his list of contacts until he found her name. He pressed speed dial and put the phone to his ear as it rang.
"Hey, baby," he smiled when he heard her voice. He looked at the newspaper. "Yeah, I've been reading about Mr. FBI. Don't worry, sweetie. There's no way they can connect you, me, Jared or Michael to Hotchner's death. Planting the drugs and that other stuff will go a long way to making it look like he was dirty and paid the price for drug dealings. So don't worry. I want to see you to, but I don't think it's a good idea for us to be seen together right now. We can't afford to slip up now. Yeah, I miss you, too. I'll be in touch. Love you. Bye." After tucking the phone back in his pocket, Hayes picked up the newspaper and resumed reading.
Beth Clemmons hung up her phone after her caller had hung up on his end. She picked up the newspaper and stared at the story about Aaron Hotchner. She ground her lower jaw. You got just what you deserved, Aaron, she thought. All you had to do was love me instead of that stupid bitch you married, and you'd still be alive. But if I can't have you, I'm glad she can't either.
To say Beth was angry was an understatement; she was livid. She had given up her life in New York and moved to Virginia to be close to Aaron Hotchner just to have him reject her. And nobody said no to Beth Clemmons, not even Aaron Hotchner. She was use to getting what or who she wanted. And she wanted Aaron Hotchner the minute she saw him. She had fallen in love with the tall, handsome, serious, and brooding Unit Chief when he and his team were in New York working a case. And she hadn't even met the man. But despite that, she knew she had to make his acquaintance and make him fall in love with her. But she never got close enough to talk with him. So she did the next best thing; she researched Hotchner on the internet to learn everything about the man. But by the time she had completed her research, Hotchner and his team had solved the case, and were now enroute back to Quantico.
Determined not to let Hotchner get away, she quit her job at the local museum, packed her belongings, and moved to Manassas, Virginia. She found a spacious apartment and within a week got a job as curator in the local museum there. This way she would not only be close to Aaron Hotchner, but thirty-five minutes from Quantico. But being close wasn't good enough for Beth Clemmons. She wanted to share Aaron Hotchner's bed and be his lover. And to do that, she first had to meet him face-to-face. But first she had to do surveillance on him.
But she couldn't do it alone. So she asked her coworker and friend, Christopher Hayes, to help follow Hotchner. The man would do anything for her without question. But Hayes admitted the two of them wouldn't be able to do it alone. So Beth ordered Hayes to get whoever he needed for the job. So he hired two of his friends to help stalk the agent. After weeks of surveillance, and finding out Hotchner's wife had left him taking their son with her, Beth made her move. She showed up at the agent's favorite bar where she sat at a rear table and waited for the man to show.
Garcia cracked her knuckles after three hours on the computer without finding anything new on Clemmons. But she wouldn't give up now. After flexing her fingers, she resumed her research. But this time she thought she would try something different.
"Okay, missy, let's just see if you were stalking Hotch when he left the office," she said with eyes focused on her screen. After a few minutes, Garcia spotted what looked like Hotch's vehicle leaving the underground garage of the building. To be sure, Garcia froze the image and zoomed in close on the driver and saw that it was indeed Hotchner. She then unfroze the image and allowed it to go ahead until she noticed a small vehicle pull out a minute after Hotch's car. She followed both cars as they proceeded down the street, the smaller car keeping pace with Hotch's.
When both cars stopped at a stop light, Garcia froze the image. "Let's get a look at the driver," she added as she zoomed in as tight as she could on the driver. Anger crossed Penelope's face. "You bitch!"
The driver of the smaller car was unmistakably Beth Clemmons.
