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𝑷 𝑶 𝑽
❝ 𝚠𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚖, 𝚐𝚠𝚎𝚗 ❞

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ㅤ"𝐍𝐀𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐘 𝐁𝐎𝐘𝐒," Emily commented as she looked through the two suspects' files. Gwen hummed in agreement as she read through her own copy.

"Shoplifting, vandalism, burned a house down," she listed.

"Abandoned building. Fireworks."

"Assault charges were dropped last summer," Derek noted.

"They bring out the worst in each other, that's for damn sure," Gwen sighed, looking up from the files to look at each boy. She shook her head at them; she knew for a fact that they really did do something to that young girl. But they seem to be not guilty of doing anything. She tilted her head in thought. "If only I could bite them."

"While we'd appreciate a truth serum, how you administer it is not exactly legal," Hotch deadpanned at her, his expression unmoving, signature frown still etched on his face even as he joked. Then he turned to the other two. "Ready?"

When the two nodded, Gwen said, "Game on."

She smirked a little as she moved closer to the two-way mirror to carefully observe Derek and Syd.

"What's up?" Derek asked Syd, who only leaned back and relaxed against his chair.

"What's up?"

"Not at all disturbed," Gwen raised her eyebrows. Hotch hummed in agreement beside her, crossing his arms. "He really does think he can get away with it."

"My name's Derek Morgan. I'm with the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit," Derek introduced. He then gestured to Syd's wrist. "What did you do?"

"Oh, I had this, uh, before Friday night," Syd nonchalantly told him as he examined his injury.

"That's not what I asked you."

"But I know what you're thinking," Syd smirked.

"I highly doubt that." Then he looked at the files. "Wow, division one lacrosse player. Obviously left-handed."

"Broke it in three places," Syd bragged.

"Ooh, that sucks," Derek empathized, and Syd himself couldn't help but shrug like it's no big deal; he really couldn't help himself from being a 'man'. "I bet you're a force. Too bad you didn't dominate the way they hoped, though." At this, Syd's expression darkened. "Why not? I mean, what happened? Were you still hung up on the Chapel Hill rejection? I mean, especially after you told everybody that you were gonna go." Derek gave a pitiful look. "I mean, damn, that's gotta sting a little bit. What's the deal?"

Syd let go of all friend pretenses. "Isn't that all in your little file?"

Derek's lips quirked a little. "Well, let's see." He began reading through it, almost mockingly. "My...little file says...you cheated on your SATs and you had your girlfriend take them for you." Syd grinned a little. "That's another hard lesson isn't it? You can't trust anybody to keep their mouth shut." Derek regarded him for a second and asked, "Why haven't you lawyered up?"

Syd leaned forward. "I haven't done anything wrong."

"You know...I think in some way he's telling the truth," Gwen shrugged. "I mean, it's been what, sixty or so hours? I mean, the story's sticking. No changes whatsoever, like you said. But I think it's more than that."

Hotch looked at her. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, what if they really didn't do...anything?" Gwen tried to explain. "And that's what they're guilty of. Maybe...maybe they didn't kill her. But what if they did something that could've, but didn't do it? I don't know if I'm making sense but it's the only explanation I could come up with. That they really are telling the truth."

Hotch narrowed his eyes a little as he mulled over her words, before facing Syd again. "If you're right, that could be why they haven't lawyered up. It's because they're not guilty of what we're accusing them."

"So, I see you have a boat." Emily looked down at her files. "Single outboard motor, two-stroke engine. Is it fast?"

"Yeah," James replied. "Twenty-five...thirty."

Emily nodded at him before looking at the files again. "So, when did your family move here?"

"I don't know."

Emily frowned. "Grade school? Middle school?"

"Fifth grade."

"So you were...ten," Emily calculated. "That's the year you met Syd."

"How does any of this have to do anything with that girl?"

"He's prepared to answer all the questions about Kate," Gwen kissed her teeth.

"Yet he never mentions her by name," Hotch said, leaning forward to rest his hands on the table.

"Why not?" The detective asked.

"He's distancing himself," Gwen told him. By this point, she had removed her suit jacket and had hung it on the back of the only chair in the room. She crossed her arms as she sat cross-legged on the table.

Hotch nodded at her words. "Depersonalizing the victim."

"You wanna talk about Kate?"

"I didn't know her."

"You brought her up," Emily pointed out. Almost immediately, James became visibly stiff, even cracking his neck.

"See the way he shifted his weight and cracked his neck?" Hotch asked rhetorically. "His behavior was consistent until Kate was mentioned."

"What if Pearson promised to dump Jim Barrett?" Emily asked no one in particular. Rossi and Spencer had just gotten back from the bar, and Spencer almost immediately glued himself to Gwen's side, whose arms were crossed, holding her suit jacket. She greeted him with a nod before turning to focus on the discussion.

"And, what, Jim retaliated?" JJ frowned.

"I could work that theory."

"When do we get the results?" Hotch asked the detective who walked over to them.

"Any minute," the detective answered. "So, what if they didn't do it? Then we're back to nothing?"

"One of them knows where Kate is," Hotch told him while still reading the files.

"How can you be sure?"

"Because an innocent person doesn't sit quietly for three days," Gwen was the one who answered, shifting her weight to her other foot. Hotch finally looked up from the papers and nodded at her words while looking at the detective. "They get angry and defensive."

Derek quickly followed her train of thought. "These guys are going out of their way to appear calm and in control. They've got something to hide."

The detective placed his hands on his hips in frustration. "Then why take the polygraph?"

"'Cause they're stalling. Serial killers are kings of manipulation."

"Serial killers? Uh, there's only one potential victim."

"Serial killing is a qualitative characteristic," Hotch explained. "It's not just about numbers."

"They've assaulted at least one girl before," Derek continued. "It was only a matter of time before they did it again."

Then Emily spoke up. "Barrett's a perfect match for Pearson. His family uprooted from the city, forcing him to adapt to his new surroundings. He's eager to fit in and quick to follow."

"And Pearson's certainly got the dominant traits. He's loud, he's physical, he's smart, he's charismatic, and he's privileged."

Rossi nodded. "Sounds like a peach."

Hotch looked at Rossi. "You should talk to him."

"Love to."

As the detective led Rossi and to Syd, Hotch turned to JJ. "JJ, how are the Joyce's doing?"

"They lost their son three years ago," JJ informed them, turning to gaze at the husband and wife for a second. "If we can't find Kate..."

"If Kate knew these boys better than we thought, you might want to dig a little."

"Dig?"

"If the family thinks it could help, they may reveal something."

"I know, it's just...they shouldn't have to."

Gwen sighed as she watched JJ walk away. She ran a hand through her hair before turning to the remaining team members. "I'm gonna go and watch the interrogation."

As she walked away, she heard Derek say, "Hotch, we can't lose both of them at the same time."

They only had a few hours left, and nothing.

Gwen sat down on one of the chairs in the little makeshift conference room they were given. While the others watched the interrogation, and a few did the interrogating, she decided she wanted to be alone. The time crunch they were in was not good for her, and it's making her want to bite them more and more. So, she decided that it would be best to move away from the two suspects.

She knew something wasn't right, and she was hellbent on proving that her theory was right. That they really didn't do anything; instead, they did nothing. Quite possibly, the fact that they did nothing made them guilty. It was the one thing that they didn't do that could've led Kate to her demise.

Gwen sighed, pushing away her hair and tucking it behind her ears so she could scan the files without any distraction. She looked down at the papers that she decided to spread across the table so she can picture it all much clearly. She was getting frustrated, especially at the fact that they passed the polygraph and made everyone else just as frustrated as her.

But it did somewhat proved her theory.

She lifted up her left wrist, reaching for her hair tie when she realized it was nowhere to be found. She groaned a little and pulled all her hair away from her face as best as she could, when suddenly, it was being pulled into a ponytail.

She frowned before looking up, only for her expression to soften into one of tenderness and love when she realized that Spencer was tying her hair up for her, with the hair tie he'd been carrying for a while now in case she needed it. No words were exchanged at the two smiled at each other for a second, before Gwen focused back on the files, and Spencer focused back on tying her hair as neatly as possible.

As soon as Spencer finished, he sat down beside her, on her right, and sighed. "I don't understand how they passed the polygraphs. "

Gwen looked at him, pursing her lips a little as she reached out to play with his tie a little. He turned his chair so she could play with it easier. "I just...I really think they're telling the truth."

"You mean, you think they didn't have anything to do with this?"

"I didn't say that," she shook her head, scoffing a little. She continued to look down at his tie, lifting her left arm and placing her elbow on the table she could rest her head on it. "It's just...look, it's been bugging me all day. They've been here three days and their story remains solid. Don't you think there really is some truth in it?"

Spencer shrugged, mirroring her position by placing his right elbow onto the table and resting his head on it. "Rossi thinks they've fooled themselves into believing that they're telling the truth."

"Don't you think they'd be more...I don't know, in denial if they did?" She sighed. "It's why I keep thinking they must be telling the truth. Maybe they didn't really kill her? Instead they...left her to die?"

Spencer narrowed his eyes a little, tilting his head as he put her words into consideration. "You know what? I think you may be right."

"Don't sound too surprised, Spencer Reid. I may not really be Finley, but my credentials are real," she joked.

He shook his head while chuckling at her. "I know, Miss Two PhD's. Psychology and anthropology, not what I expected."

"You should see Alina's credentials," Gwen laughed. "Anyway, what do we do now?"

"I think we should tell the others, but right now, I need to get back to Jimmy Barrett." His eyes held a certain twinkle every time he looked at her. A look full of love, adoration, warmth, hope...from time to time, lust. She was the one person that can bring out all of these emotions from deep inside him. "I love you."

She smiled, and though she couldn't see, she looked at him the same way he looked at her. "I love you too, Spencer Reid."

He finally stood up, toyed with the end of her ponytail a little. "Hey, I know this is your last case so you're feeling a bit of pressure, but you shouldn't. Just do what you always do. Follow your lead, Gwen."

"Thanks," she gave him a tight-lipped smile. "I'm gonna miss you, you know?"

"Like you said, you're on a break. I'll make sure we see each other as often as possible. Starting with..." he cleared his throat. "Do you wanna go on a date when we get back?"

She fought back a grin. "To where?"

He shrugged. "Wherever. Let's think of it when we get home. Right now," he looked around to make sure no one's looking, before leaning down to press a kiss to her nose. "We need to find Kate."

"Gotcha," Gwen finally grinned, looking up at him. "Go."

He waved at her, before finally walking away.

Gwen was watching him walk away with a dopey smile on her face when her attention was stolen away by the sound of her phone ringing. It was Natasha. She quickly answered it.

"Hey, Nat, what's up?"

"Hey, I was just calling to ask how you were doing," the redhead answered, with a slight edge to her tone.

Gwen frowned. "Nat, what's wrong?"

Natasha sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "We...Mila didn't want me to tell you, but...we found him, Gwen. We found him."

"Who?"

"Leonard Wagner."

Gwen immediately straightened, her back stiff. "Where?"

"I can't tell you that, Gwen."

"The hell you can't--"

"Look, Steve's...agreed," Natasha sighed, "to let you be the one to get him. But only, and I mean only, after you've been reevaluated. We need to make sure you won't do anything drastic, that you're still as good as you were before the incident. We have to follow protocol on this one."

"I...I can do that," she agreed. "When?"

"As soon as you get back from break. We're not in a rush. Surprisingly, Wagner's held a steady job for nearly two years. Posing as Thomas Bray, a high school biology teacher."

Gwen scoffed. "Seriously?"

"Seriously. I just...I had to let you know."

"Thanks, Nat."

"Kate's cellphone was left in the car, and then left in her room," Derek began. Everyone was standing around the large table they were loaned. After JJ had pointed out that tidbit about Kate's phone, everyone was beginning to realize that Gwen's hunch was right all along.

"How?" The detective asked.

"Gwen was right, most of the story was true," Hotch said. "That's why they never changed it."

"They did drop Kate off at the hotel, Pearson took Barrett home, just like they said. But then, because Barrett was rejected, he circled back to punish Kate," Emily explained to the detective, whose eyebrows were furrowed slightly in curiosity.

"Why would she let him in?"

"Because he had this," JJ told him, pulling their attention to her as she lifted up Kate's phone.

The detective shrugged. "No sign of struggle in the room."

"He lured her outside, maybe drugged her, took her to his boat," Gwen spelled out, but she had a very faraway look on her face even though she was very present in the conversation. Spencer frowned at this, placing a hand on the small of her back in reassurance, even though he didn't know what she needed it for.

"He was obsessed with the inlet," he spoke up, eyes still on her face. "He knew the traffic patterns there, when the fishermen were coming in, and tourist charters were going out."

"The blood from the catch attracts hundreds of sharks," the detective said, and instantly Gwen's eyes were on him, eyes wide in realization. "It's a feeding frenzy out there that time of night."

"Oh God," she gasped looking up at Spencer.

Emily quickly realized it too. "We asked him if he killed her, he didn't. Asked where her body is, he doesn't know."

"Technically, those aren't lies," Spencer stated.

"How can you prove this?" The detective looked up at Hotch.

Hotch met his eyes. "We'll get them to admit it."

author's note: two chapters and the epilogue left, my dudes :(

also are you guys interested in maybe a q&a type of thing? i'm pretty sure you guys have a lot of questions about pov so i was thinking of maybe publishing a separate chapter for that, after the epilogue. if so, let me know! i'll ask yall to send me the questions (if you have any) on the last chapter or the epilogue.

anyway, i hope you guys liked this! lmk if there are any spelling or grammatical mistakes!!