Here's the next chapter! Time for a sibling reunion!
"Um, t-thanks for that sir. H-He's a jerk that comes in a lot. Never saw him be that forward before though." Aria stammered as she rubbed the back of her head. She didn't know how to introduce herself to him. Should she tell him her adopted or biological last name? Does he know she's his sister? She decided to not talk to him out of fear of being rejected. "I guess I should get going. Um, good luck with the case, Dr. Reid."
"And how do you know who I am, Aria?" Reid asked with a serious, but curious look. Aria froze and tried to stutter out an excuse, but Reid put up a hand with a small smile. "I suggest not lying to me. It's my job to be able to read people. I guess I should ask you a better question than my previous one. Tell me, do you know who I really am?"
"You're Dr. Spencer Reid…my biological older brother." She whispered with a smile. Reid grinned, not remembering when the last time he felt so happy was. Meanwhile, the team was watching them from a distance. Relief flooded through all of them as the two smiled happily. Aria looked like she wanted to hug him, but Reid apparently told her something that surprised her. "The killer would actually go after me to hurt you guys?"
"Yeah, but after the case we can catch up on the past 19 years. However, we do need to interview you to help us get a better understanding of what's going on." Reid explained. He didn't want to risk the unsub hurting Aria because of him, so he instructed her to keep it a secret. Reid and Aria walked back to the team. "Aria, this is SSA Hotchner, JJ, Morgan, Rossi, and Prentiss."
"Nice to meet you, Aria. We're going to ask you some questions. We all know that you're Reid's little sister, but the unsub cannot know about this. During the interview, don't look at Reid unless he's the one asking the question. It's important that it remains professional." Hotchner ordered as he and the team shook her hand. Aria nodded and her expression turned serious. "We've been getting several people talking about a threatening letter your boss, Rodney Hamley, received."
"Yeah I heard about the letter, but he didn't let any of the workers read it. Why? Didn't he give it to you? It'd probably help with the case." Aria answered with a frown. She thought that Rodney was smarter than that. Why would he withhold evidence from the police? "I think he's back in his office right now if you want to talk to him."
"Morgan, Rossi, and Prentiss, you three go to Rodney's office and get that letter. We'll get a search warrant if need be. Also question him on why he didn't inform us in the first place. Morgan, call Garcia and tell her to find anything she can on Rodney." Hotchner instructed. The three agents walked off, leaving Aria with Hotchner, JJ, and Reid. "We think that the unsub may be jealous of the performers, specifically the singers, here. He's a college student, possibly in the music department at Princeton. He probably didn't get a job as a performer, so he may work as something else here."
"That doesn't make sense, though. Rodney isn't picky about who works where. Anyone's allowed to perform, even if they're not good. Usually only those who are serious about performing continue, which ends up with most of our performers being good." Aria explained. She had to admit, the fact that the unsub could be mad specifically at the singers was scary. That meant she could easily become a target.
"Okay how about this. Just…close your eyes and think about the different workers here. Start from the top of the list. There's Rodney, your boss. Continue on down. Think of everyone you know who works there. Does anyone stand out as physically strong? Is there anyone who shows resentment towards the musicians or John Heart?" Reid instructed. Aria followed his instructions, trying to remember anything that may be helpful.
Meanwhile, Morgan, Rossi, and Prentiss walked into Rodney's office. The man was working on schedules for the next few weeks. The office was simple. It had a desk with a computer on it. There was a filing cabinet on the far corner of the room. There was a window on the left side of the room covered with blinds. There were no pictures or anything else suggesting he had any family.
"Rodney Hamley, why the hell have you been withholding information from us?" Morgan demanded angrily. Rodney looked briefly at the agents before somehow shoving through them into the club. They chased him down as he continued to run for the exit. Apparently Aria and the rest of the team had noticed because as soon as Rodney began to run by, Aria swung her leg out and knocked the man to the floor. The entire room went silent as Morgan pulled the man up. "Why did you hide the threatening letter from us, huh? And why did you run?"
"L-Look, I'll explain, okay? It's not what you think! I know the guy who wrote it, he wouldn't hurt anyone!" Rodney pleaded as he was taken out of the club. Aria shifted uncomfortably when she realized all eyes were on her and the BAU. Morgan dragged Rodney outside and put him in the cop car. He walked back in after the officer had driven away, only to see everyone starting to leave aside from the team and Aria.
"Reid, take Aria back to her dorm. The unsub might hurt her if she's left alone since she helped. Morgan, I want you and Rossi to go to the station and interrogate Rodney. The rest of us will search his office for the letter. Reid, after you drop off Aria, go to Rodney's house and talk to his wife and son. Garcia said something about having a family and I want to know why he doesn't have any proof of that in his office." Hotchner ordered. When Morgan and Rossi entered the station, there was already an officer in there interrogating him.
"He can't be the unsub, he doesn't fit the profile. I wonder why he looked so guilty. I'll go see if I can get anything out of him." Rossi commented as he turned to Morgan. Morgan nodded and watched as Rossi entered the interrogation room and sat down with a folder filled with info on Rodney. "Hmm, a wife and a son in college. Grew up in Princeton, has a stable job, loving family. You seem like a normal guy on paper, Rodney. What I want to know isn't in the file. I saw your office, if you have a loving family, why not have pictures of them?"
"I'm not much of a photo keeper. I say it just clutters up the room. What do you really want to ask me, or were you just trying to waste both of our time? There's a murderer out there after my employees, why aren't you trying to catch him?" Rodney answered flatly. Rossi narrowed his eyes and slammed his hands on the table. He leaned forward until he was face-to-face with Rodney.
"You're hiding something from us. You received a threatening letter just days before the first murder. It didn't scare you, obviously, so it wasn't directed at you or your business in general. So who was the threat to?" Rossi demanded. Surprisingly enough, Rodney didn't even flinch. "Who was the threat directed at, Rodney? They obviously aren't dead, otherwise you would've told me by now! For God's sake! Just tell us who so we can protect them!"
"It's none of your damn business because they wouldn't hurt anyone!" Rodney snapped. Elsewhere, Reid was just walking up to the steps of Rodney's house when he heard yelling inside. Hand instinctively on his gun, Reid knocked on the door. The yelling stopped and a woman, presumably Rodney's wife, swung open the door. Behind her was a man in his early 20s, most likely Rodney's son. Reid flashed them his FBI badge with a serious look.
"Mrs. Hamley? I'm Dr. Spencer Reid with the FBI. I have a few questions for you and your son about your husband, Rodney." Reid explained. Mrs. Hamley let him in and the three of them sat on the couch. "I'd like to know if you've heard of any threatening letters Rodney's received lately, or if he's been acting strange lately."
"Dad hasn't been round much, hell he spends more time at work than he does at home. Why? Does he have something to do with those college guys dying?" Dante Hamley grumbled. Mrs. Hamley paled and went rigid. Reid and Dante noticed and faced her in concern. "Mom? Did dad tell you anything about a letter or whatever?"
"He didn't tell me, but I found it in his desk in our room. I think it's still there." Mrs. Hamley whispered in shock. Reid followed her up the stairs and into the master bedroom. He glanced around the room briefly before he was handed the letter. Reid opened it as Mrs. Hamley rambled on about not being able to believe that Rodney had anything to do with it. "He blacked out most of it, including who sent the letter and why they wanted to hurt the poor girl and…Dr. Reid are you okay? You look pale."
"I need to go. Thank you for your help." Reid mumbled before running out of the house. He pulled out his phone and started typing in the number he needed. He felt the back of the letter and felt the imprints of the words black out. Luckily whoever wrote it used extreme force. They'd figure out what it says later. Finally Hotchner answered his phone. "Hotch, it's Aria. The unsub's main target is Aria."
"Reid, calm down. I can hear you panicking through the phone. Get back to Aria's dorm and try to get ahold of her. I'll call Morgan and Rossi." Hotchner ordered. Reid hung up and immediately called Aria as he drove quickly down the street. His breath hitched when she didn't answer. Reid called the security at the university so they'd open the dorm building for him. When he got in the building he pulled out his gun and ran up to the third floor and knocked on Aria's door.
"Aria! Tammy! FBI, open the door!" Reid yelled. Girls walked out of their rooms at the noise and watched as Reid kicked down the door. He flicked on the light and held up his gun. To his horror, Tammy was on the ground, bleeding from her head and unconscious. He ran over and checked for a pulse. He sighed in relief when he found one and yelled for someone to get an ambulance. The room wasn't in disarray, so it must've been a blitz attack. He couldn't find Aria anywhere and held back the tears threatening to flow. He called Hotchner with a trembling hand. "H-Hotch, the unsub has Aria."
*rubs hands together* And now for the fun part!
Well, until next time, dear readers! :)