FREAKING OUT ? ? spencer reid

XXXIV

"How did you help her, Sam?" Reid leaned forward, resting his interlocked fingers against the edge of the table.

Sam closed his eyes, letting out a deep breath as he nodded to himself. It was obvious now that he'd just been a victim this whole time. He didn't want to kill anyone; what he wanted was to protect his sister. A sister who was now a potential unsub.

I bit my lip and stepped towards the door, giving it a quick knock before pushing it open and peeking inside. The three of them looked over at me, which made my stomach turn anxiously. I wasn't all that familiar with questioning protocol so part of me wondered if jumping in without warning was a mistake. "Can I, uh, talk to Reid?"

Reid looked over at JJ who nodded her head. After that he stood up, smoothing out the fabric of his tie as he pushed his chair back in and met me outside the door. He closed it behind him and leaned against it, crossing his arms over his chest. "What's up?"

"He didn't do it, did he?" I asked.

He let out a sigh. "It definitely seems like he's telling the truth. His mannerisms check out. He's giving full, well recounted details, he's maintaining proper eye contact."

"He's also calmed down given the situation," I added.

"I know the profile clearly pointed to a male unsub, but if Tammy manipulated her brother into helping, the original profile makes more sense."

"What do you mean?"

"Tammy wanted to punish Leeman for abandoning her," Reid responded. "I'm aware that that the details of this and Regan's case are different, but the motive is still exactly the same. Tammy wanted Leeman to suffer just like Brian Cowie and Robert Alman did."

I nodded my head, taking a quick sip of coffee before looking over at JJ who was listening to Sam talk. "If Sam is being framed for this he probably did something to make Tammy angry," I retorted.

"I'm gonna head back in there and ask him about it. Go find Morgan and talk to him and Garcia about Sam and Regan's letters." As he reached for the door I grabbed his hand, watching as he turned to raise his brow in my direction.

"Thanks for talking to Hotch." I smiled.

He smiled back, pressing a quick kiss on my forehead before retreating back into the room.

I took another sip of coffee and walked out into the hall. After a couple of minutes of wandering around I finally found Morgan tucked away in the corner by the kitchenette. He was pouring himself a cup of much needed energy, his phone tucked carefully between the edge of his face and his shoulder. When he noticed me coming he dropped the coffee pot and peeled the phone away from his cheek before moving it between us and throwing it on speaker. "Hey Garcia, I got Isla here too," he stated.

Garcia huffed loudly, causing both Morgan and I to exchange uncomfortable stares as we sipped our coffee in silence. "Even though I'm still mad about being the last to know about my future god child, for the sake of the case I'll push my emotions aside," she rattled.

I held back a small chuckle and took another sip, watching as Morgan rolled his eyes. "Are you able to see if Tammy had any contact with Regan?"

Garcia fell silent as she typed, her fingers moving speedily across the tops of the keys as she looked through the information on her screen. As she did, Morgan raised his brow.

"We think Sam is potentially innocent," I replied.

"We do?" Morgan looked surprised.

I nodded. "When he told JJ and Reid about the night Leeman was killed he sounded like he was telling the truth."