Crying Lighting (Hotch x Reader)// ✔

18. Soft Currents

Summary:

A murder in a yacht, a sudden confrontation, and the truth starting to unravel - all in the span of 24 hours.

Notes:

Hey im back :)))
thnx for the patience guyss 💕
Back with a v long one, and yes murder is back on the menu!!

(NO EDITING bcs we die like men - no seriously i wrote this in a hurry and didnt check it at all im sorryy. if you see anything weird just close an eye and the writing will be digestible lmao)

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"How long will this take, Garcia?"

It's the third time Hotch repeats that question in the span of time he's been in her office. This time, Garcia glares at him over her cheetah-print glasses, before she continues typing more aggressively. He watches her do her magic in mock patience, but curiosity has gotten to him more than he can admit aloud.

As soon as he'd received that text message from her stating she'd identified the remaining three men – he'd been at home, making his ritualistic coffee before leaving, and he'd dropped everything, hurrying to his car – his mind had been racing. It is even now, as he watches Garcia type away, trying to restructure the information she'd found.

"Jerry Maltese" she says, and the first guy's photo pops up on the screen above her – and Hotch moves to see his face, scouring his brain in the meantime trying to remember if he'd seen the man around at the Clover event or at the racetracks.

"We have our second guy – Patrick Baker – a real hoot, this one."

Another guy appears on the screen, and his photo is from a driving license document, and he has a permit for every single vehicle type.

"Guess if you're rich might as well, right?" Garcia says, smirking at Hotch, who doesn't react at all.

"And the third is the one who I couldn't find much about – Faye Watson. He's been very much under the radar – luckily though he was a big rugby player in high school so it took me forever to find a photo to match his."

Hotch looks at the three men's photos side by side, and then back to the other screen where Garcia had scanned the photo he'd found at your house.

"Where are they residing?" he asks.

"Oh, right" she pulls up their home ownership documents and sales records, together with a small map she'd hashed out of every man on the photo – all spread around Washington.

"They're in Seattle apart from Maltese who's been –in jail for the last 2 years."

Seems to be the pattern – Hotch realizes. First, that first guy who'd been questioned for a plausible link with the drug cartels and then this one for -

"What for?" Hotch asks.

But Garcia doesn't need a cue as she draws up the prison records in the big screen. Jerry Maltese has a 5 years sentence for tax fraud – Hotch reads.

"Okay, Garcia. Could you compile everything you found on these men?"

She nods, "already doing it as we speak."

A message pops up on her screen and Garcia reads it with a small smile. Which reminds him –

"Did you get in touch-"

"Yes" she cuts him off, "we came up with a new account which wouldn't get linked directly to her – I made sure it's untraceable and anonymous. So, she paid the sum without it being redirected to her. She just confirmed the payment."