"Hey, Baby Girl! I have two more people for you to check on," Morgan was standing in the parking lot next to the government SUV talking on his cell phone.
"Lay it on me, My Most Favorite Six Pack," Garcia replied. "Because, after I am done with them we are going to talk about two other people – and you know who they are!"
"The first ones' name is Sydney Masters, and she is a local," Morgan began.
"Please, don't tell me that there is yet another victim," Morgan could hear the computer keyboard again being overused.
"Not a victim, a 'person of interest'," he replied circumspectly as he glanced around the parking lot.
"Okay, this is going to take a minute," the tech warned him.
As he waited, Morgan noticed movement in the doorway of the community center and, lifting up his sunglasses, he squinted in that direction. He saw Emma walking through the door, holding hands with Gary and, as he continued watching, they stopped on the front sidewalk and Emma leaned forward and gave the pharmacist a kiss on the cheek. He said something to her, and they both laughed. She then gave him a second peck on the cheek, this time considerably closer to the corner of his mouth. Gary then began walking across the parking lot in Morgan's direction while Emma turned and went back inside the building.
"I am going to put you on 'Mute' for a moment here," Morgan spoke into the phone. "Just listen in and don't go anywhere!" He pushed the 'Mute' button and brought his sunglass back down to cover the top half of his face.
"Lunch over?" he questioned with a friendly smile when the pharmacist got within hearing range. He couldn't help but notice the huge grin on the other man's face, as well as the bounce in his step.
"Yeah – Time to get back to the pharmacy," was the reply. "I have a great tech, but she can only do so much without me, and she needs her lunch break, too.
"So, Emma told you all about us?" Morgan asked.
"Oh yes, Agent Morgan," Gary replied. "She was quite excited when we spoke last night. She said that she had worked with all of you previously on case in Las Vegas."
"She was very helpful," Morgan told him. "I don't know what we would have done without her."
"Well, she is a great girl," the pharmacist enthused. "Although, what she works with – Mother says it's not safe for a woman to be working with all those criminals and murderers and whatnot. And, I agree with her."
"Well, Emma doesn't exactly work with criminals," Morgan pointed out. "As I understand it, most of her patients are from law enforcement."
"Maybe so, but mother and I still doesn't feel comfortable with what Emma does," the pharmacist gave a slight shrug. "Although, Emma assures me that she is almost finished with that research project she has been working on at the University of Las Vegas and soon won't have to be running back and forth to there anymore."
"She is still working in Las Vegas?" Morgan questioned, surprised.
"Yes, she flies out there every couple of weeks," was the response. "She looks so cute pulling that little pink suitcase of hers through the airport terminal! Apparently, she still has a lot of her stuff in an apartment there that she has sublet to a friend and she is moving it out here a bit at a time."
"She still has her place in Las Vegas," Morgan said thoughtfully.
"Well, not for much longer I hope," was the cheerful response as Gary glanced at his watch. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I really need to get going."
"No problem – Have a great day," Morgan's response was perfunctory.
"Did you hear all that?" Morgan was back on the phone as soon as Gary was out of hearing.
"He calls Emma a 'girl' and thinks she is 'cute'? Who was that and how well does he actually know her?" Garcia demanded.
"That is Reid's competition," was the unhappy response. "And the second person you need to research."
"I talked to Emma earlier today and she never mentioned anything about a boyfriend," Garcia said thoughtfully. "Maybe he's not as big a threat as you think."
"More likely he is unaware of Reid and Emma's relationship and thinks he is the main player," Morgan suggested. "At any rate, Reid is my friend and I'm not comfortable with the situation."
"Okay - Unsub or no unsub, give me the name and he goes to the top of my list!" Garcia declared.
"Gary Mueller," was the reply.
"And, Garcia," Morgan hesitated before continuing. "I know that Emma is your friend and all, but could you kind of poke around and find out what she has been doing for the past six months?"
"Well - It is for a good cause," the tech agreed.