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PHOEBE SLUMPED INTO A CHAIR in the sweltering heat of the police station conference room. Apparently, the temperature was breaking all of the records in the county. Also, it appeared every air conditioner was broken or did nothing but suck in and expel hot air. What a fuckin' delight that is.
"What about Tony Canardo?" Spencer questioned and Phoebe shook her head.
"Morgan's still outside his house, waiting," Gideon responded just as an officer ducked his head inside the small doorframe.
"Excuse me, Agent Gideon, there's someone here to see you." Phoebe and Reid both craned their necks to look at who was requesting Gideon. A woman with cropped, blonde hair turned to face him, and Phoebe marvelled at the deep purple and pinks of the bruise that painted her right eye. Her lip was split, and a slow drip of blood was trickling out.
"Ms Canardo," They heard Gideon remark. "What happened?" The woman wrung her hands, clearly frantic with her recent experience.
"A-after you left, I got nervous, so I went to find Tony...and um, he knew something was up so I, um...I told him the truth you know, I told him the FBI was asking questions." Gideon guided her to a chair, and she sniffled nervously.
"So he hit you?" Elle said, and Phoebe appeared against the door.
"Well, I wasn't completely honest with you about Tony." She said, her voice wavering. "He fell off the wagon a while ago, and I...I was afraid to say something, you know? He's my husband and I didn't want him to go back to prison." Gideon nodded kindly, and the woman bowed her head, her tears dropping onto her blue top.
Something ticked over in Phoebe's brain as she listened to the woman. She sounded upset. Her injuries appeared genuine. So, what was it that made Phoebe not believe her? Keeping her thoughts to herself, she let her eyes drop to Ms Canardo's hand, spotting a remarkably familiar ring on her finger.
"Reid," she whispered, and he stood at her side. She gave him a gentle nudge with her elbow, pointing slightly to the ring. "Look familiar?" He nodded and stepped forward.
"Ms Canardo, is that ring new?" She cast her eyes to the ring and began twisting it around her finger. "Tony won some money playing poker and bought me this as a gift. Why?"
"It just looks a lot like Laura Clemenson's." He replied. This ensued tremors in the young woman's hands as she slipped the ring off her finger, and dropped it onto the desk. It clattered slightly, the diamond catching the light.
☆
"If we're gonna get anything out of Tony, we need to praise him," Hotch said as the team huddled around the small TV displaying a pixelated live video of Tony Canardo. Phoebe cocked her head to the side as she watched him looking around the room, a smirk spread across his mouth. "He's the dominant, and he thinks he deserves it."
