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Chapter Fourteen:
He didn't look pleased to see her. With red-rimmed eyes, unkempt hair, and a shadow of a facial hair, Reid never looked worse. This wasn't going to be a pleasant meeting.
"Why didn't you call me?" Wright asked.
"You have a kid," he said. "Scratch likes to go after families. My boss was forced into witness protection."
"I call bull on that idea," she said. "My kid was already threatened by the Irish mob and powder has been sent to my office."
"This is different," he said. "Much different."
"How did you end up with Fiona Duncan for an attorney? I could have found you a better one."
"I trust Emily Prentiss to have my best interests at heart," he said.
"Why not me?" she asked. "I would have taken off to defend you."
"I didn't want that," he said. "I want you to live your life without me. I may not get out of here."
"Don't say that," she said. "There's got to be something your team is digging up."
"You and I both know the perfect crime has been committed before."
"You can't give up hope."
"I am not even sure I didn't kill her," he said.
"Spencer, you're a good a person. You did not do this."
"You don't know me as well as you think."
Wright stared at him.
"Let me help you."
"Chloe, you've got a kid and a separate life. Forget about me."
"If roles were reversed, you'd be fighting for me."
"It doesn't matter. Let my team solve this. I don't want to see you again."
Wright stood up.
"Spencer Reid, you're as stubborn as a mule!" she declared.
"Scientifically, that means I'm very smart, as stubbornness is misconstrued as common sense among mules," he said.
Wright stormed at out as tears filled her eyes.
…
"Come on in," Darla said.
"Nice place," she said looking around.
"It isn't our old pad, but it works," she said and gestured to kitchen table. "Sit."
"So how do you feel about going to Mexico with me?" she asked as they sat down.
"Aren't we a little old to be going to Tijuana?"
"You know why I'm really asking."
"You want a murderer to go with you to go poking around for clues in Spencer's case."
"Your Spanish is better than mine too," Wright said.
"Not by much."
"Darla, I'm desperate. Ten prisoners were poisoned by a bad shipment of heroin. I am fairly certain Spencer is behind it and they're going to kill him as soon as they recover."
"Why do you keep sticking your neck out for him?"
"Because it's the right thing to do," she said. "And you know why else."
"I wouldn't mind hearing you say it."
"Don't push it," Wright said. "Are you going to help me or not?"
"A trip to the underbelly of Mexico could be fun. Amy watching Aria?"
"She's getting her fitted for an archery kit."
"That's funny, I'm in."
…
"So, you're putting all your eggs in this car?" Darla said as they arrived at the residence.
"It was an expensive truck with a full tank of gas," she said. "I want to see where this will lead."
They walked up to the ranch house with neat landscaping. Darla knocked.
"Who the F—k are you?" an older man dressed in plaid in Spanish said.
"Your truck was stolen," Darla said in Spanish. "Do you remember any suspicious figures around your home?"
"Screw you," he said and began to close the door.
Wright grabbed the door and Darla rushed in and grabbed him by the throat. She slammed him into a wall.
"We want the truth," Darla said. "We'd prefer the easy way, but if getting the truth means roughing you up, so be it."
"Fine," he said. "The bench said she'd come back and kill me if I told anyone the truth, but I'll take my chances."
"She?" Wright said.
"It was a woman who gave me ten thousand pesos to report my truck was stolen."
"Sketch her," Wright said pulling out a facial design program on her tablet she brought in her purse.
"If we find out you're lying," Darla said. "We'll come back."
"You American broads are crazy," he said shaking his head.
They then drove the man to the local police station. Wright negotiated with the town prosecutor to not file charges for reporting a false police report in exchange for his statement in the Reid case.
"You're a long way from your jurisdiction," the prosecutor said in English as he filled out the paperwork.
"This is a federal agent wrongly imprisoned," she said. "He deserves to be free."
"I sense there is more to the story, but I know better than to push."
"Gracias."
"De Nada," he said.
Darla was waiting for her.
"I only had to threaten one person on this trip."
"You sound disappointed."
"Maybe there's a second life for me outside the medical field," she said.
"No comment," Wright said.
…
"I think I can still see dust in your hair," the judge said.
"It doesn't matter how I look Your Honor," she said. "What is important is that I have evidence of who might be behind the murder of Nadine Ramos and framing of Spencer Reid."
The judge regarded the evidence.
"I can see why the team of FBI agents bypassed his lawyer to appeal to me," the Judge said thoughtfully. "Everything I've heard about you Ms. Wright has suggested you don't step out of line, ever. Why Spencer Reid?"
"He's the reason I got through law school. He tutored me for fun on the side. I owe him a debt as he never let me pay him."
The Judge stared at her.
"Try again."
"I'm in love with him," Wright said. "I have been in love with him since he saved my law degree from the verge of collapse. No one gets me better. He's my best friend. Things keep getting in the way, but that has never stopped me from loving him."
"Now that makes sense," she said with a smile. "I'll get him out as soon as I can."
Wright began to tear up.
"Thank you, Your Honor."
"I've done my part," she said. "It'll be up to you to nab him."
…
Life went on. Wright worked cases and Aria began preschool. She kept waiting for him to reach out to him. It might have been foolish to ignore the judge's "order," but she wanted to give Reid space. It would take time for him to recover from his time in prison. Wright didn't want to intrude.
He never did. With the exception of a few cards at holidays, he never reached out to her. Wright was afraid she had lost Reid for good.