Chapter 19
Hotch was still inside the Marfax Lumber office talking to the manager. Connors and Blake stood outside waiting for him to return. "How are you doing so far?" Blake asked. "Is it bad to say that I'm really enjoying myself?" She smiled. Blake gave a smile back and shook her head. "Not at all. You're taking to all this really well. I know it can be a little overwhelming at times." Connors shrugged and said, "Well there aren't any bullets flying yet so I guess I'm still in the shallow end of all this." She looked back up, squinting at the sun in her eyes. Blake replied. "Don't worry, you will get a taste of action eventually. But that's just a tiny part. The real work is here. Interviewing, crime scenes, pouring over paperwork. That's what makes the real difference here. That's the work that saves lives. But, I'm not worried about you. You're quick with paperwork if your papers are any indication, and you soak up more than any other student I've ever had, even if you don't always speak up." Blake gives a gentle push of her shoulder.
Hotch exited the dingy trailer and shared what he had discovered. Connors phone began to ring and she looked to see that it was Garcia. "Hello?" She asked more then said. "Hellooooo my precious bruised little babe!" Charolette raised her eyes in surprise at this unexpected burst of energy ringing in her ears. Hotch caught her surprise. "Is that Garcia? Put her on speaker." She obediently obliged and Garcia's warm chiming voice rang out through her phone. She informed the agent of Eli Grohl. "I'll check it out." Blake said and began to walk away. Hotch thanked Garcia and Connors ended the call. Hotch's steely gaze landed directly on her and she adjusted her weight uncomfortably. Thankfully an officer approached. Another man with the same build had gone missing. Hotch looked at Connors and back to the officer. "Tell us what you know."
Connors climbed into the passengers seat of the black SUV as Hotch sat down in the drivers seat. After ten minutes of uncomfortable silence, Hotch broke it. "The point of working with a team is to share information and ideas. You don't seem to be very comfortable doing that." Her eyes widened at the observation. "What makes you say that sir?" Hotch's eyes never left the road. "Ever since the initial briefing you have been taking notes on a small notepad. You asked a few questions in the briefing but that seems to be the most you have had to say this entire case. If you have thoughts or ideas, you need to share them with your team. If you don't have faith in your own ideas, you don't need to be out here." Her cheeks shot red and she could feel the tingles of fresh sweat against the back of her neck.
She pulled out her notebook and began to flip through the pages. "Don't read me your notes. Tell me what you think about this case. What ideas have we not explored?" She steeled her breath. "We need to look closer at the reservation." Hotch quickly let out a "why." As a command more then a question. "Eco warriors don't make sense. If this was a protest then hiding the body parts doesn't make sense." She said. "Only one of the bodies was found on native land. And Garcia said she couldn't find any native rituals involving the marks on the back." "Exactly. Either the body was dumped there as a counter measure, the killer is native, or the killer wants us tho think the killer is native. We also need to take a closer look at the solonoid poisoning. It's a very specific MO."
The air was still for a moment. Finally Hotch replied. "Good. Now you're thinking like a profiler."
