Smitten

Chapter 21

"Anyone at cycling, maybe? Anyone who she mentioned started acting differently? Maybe an alum of GW she had difficulties interacting with?" JJ asks.

"Maybe. I really don't know." Emily says. Derek moves to call Penelope.

"Anything?!" Penelope asks.

"Not yet, mama. Find anything on Eliza's credit cards?" Derek asks.

"No, sugar."

"What about her cell?"

"No chance of that," JJ says, holding up Eliza's phone.

"Ok, never mind on the phone; we just found it here. I want you to look into any alumni of GW who've commented negatively on Eliza's social media or on anything mentioning her in the press. Cross reference that with anyone who's experienced a recent stressor—divorce, loss of a loved one, loss of a job. We're exploring alums who maybe resent her. Have the campus send you security footage across the entire campus, too. See if it matches with anything outside the apartment building."

"Checking alums as we speak," Penelope says as she types rapidly. "Nothing."

"What about Juilliard grads?" Emily asks.

Penelope types as they wait. "Nothing. I'm sorry."

"It's alright, mama." Derek says, hanging up the phone and checking the time. 9:15. "Hotch should be finished any minute now. I don't know—"

"Derek." JJ interrupts, looking toward the door and seeing Dave with Aaron, fresh off the triathlon path.

"What do we have?" Aaron asks frantically. Before they can respond, Derek's phone rings.

"Hey mama; you're on speaker with the whole crew."

"Ok, GW security found two folks posted outside opposite ends of the hooding ceremony building Wednesday night. A man and a woman. Looks like the woman had a long-range camera with her, too. I'm running facial recognition and sent the footage to be blown up further, too."

"Any idea what she was taking pictures of?" Spencer asks.

"Let me see, let me see...Oh God. I see her taking a picture just as Eliza and Hotch enter the building."

"A pair?" JJ asks. "What would—"

"Wait wait wait, I see the woman has a tattoo. Looks like some...sort of four-leaf clover? Gonna work on this."

"Hit us back when you find something." Derek says.

"Get her back, please." Penelope says before hanging up.

"Aaron, do you know anyone Eliza knows with that kind of tattoo?" Dave asks. Aaron walks out into the hall. "Aaron?"

Aaron re-enters the penthouse. "The shoes."

"What shoes?" Emily asks.

"Her cycling shoes are out here. She must have thrown them out here for us to find." He replies as he dials Penelope.

"Sir?" Penelope asks.

"Garcia, I need you to run class rosters from Eliza's SoulCycle studio from the past six months. Look for someone named Madison in the same classes with Eliza."

"Where are you going with this?" Dave asks.

"One of Eliza's friends at class...she called me Agent a few weeks ago. I never told her I was FBI," Aaron says.

"Her place was bugged; she could've heard that way," Derek says.

"Then she would've heard that I basically called her obnoxious...that plus us showing up to class together could've been the final straw," Aaron says, worry ever growing in his eyes.

"Bingo!" Penelope shouts from the speakerphone. "I have a Madison Walsh in most of the classes with Eliza and...oh my God, facial recognition is back. She's the woman with the zoom lens at GW."

"Do you have a result for the man yet?" Aaron asks.

"Just about...oh Jesus. It's—it's Sam McCarthy."

"Her ex?" Aaron asks.

"Yes."

"Any location coming from their cell phones?"

"Gonna take me a minute to triangulate, but they communicated with each other religiously, and they also have a shared number in common."

"Any info on that contact?" Emily asks.

"One second...yes, someone named Ian Doyle."

"Did you say Ian Doyle?!" Emily asks, shocked.

"You know him?" Dave asks.

"We need to get to the BAU." Emily says firmly.