𝐋𝐀𝐁𝐘𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐇- spencer reid ✔️

𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓

𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐀 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐀 𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐁𝐋𝐄 𝐅𝐄𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆. She could feel it in her guts right down to her bones. The FBI had been here for two weeks, and if they were right, and her family was being terrorized, then why hadn't their culprit tried to make a move on them? Perhaps they were never really in danger in the first place, and their killer decided to take a long vacation after murdering three people. Or maybe they were waiting for the perfect time to strike. The security on both the Clairmont house and her Aunt Isa's house had been ironclad. No one went anywhere without an agent at their side, and no one came into the house without being double-checked first. Whoever was responsible was going to have to think of their next move, while waiting for the perfect time to strike.

She had hoped that this would all be resolved before the annual charity gala, but as the clock was ticking, she began to feel like maybe it wasn't such a good idea after all. But she couldn't back down now, not after all the work she put in to making sure that this thing was still happening.

The only good thing to come of this whole ordeal was the new company in the house. Despite the fact that Celia hadn't been thrilled about having FBI agents making themselves comfortable in their home, she couldn't deny that she'd gotten used to having them around. Morgan and Spencer were the ones who she'd seen the most, since Morgan went wherever Nate went, and Nate didn't seem to be going anywhere. He was home for most of the day, but he kept to himself and stayed mostly out of Celia's way. The presence of the FBI in the house had annoyed her at first, but now she would even go as far as to consider them acquaintances. Friends felt like an unfitting word to describe people who were helping you track down a murderer.

"Everything is on track, boss. I promise." Margot's face didn't show any signs of deception on her computer screen, but Celia couldn't help feeling reluctant. She was supposed to be back to work by now, but instead she was stuck on a leave of absence for the near future. Margot was more than happy to rise to the challenge, and Celia wasn't sure what she'd do without her holding down the fort. People already questioned her authority as it is, and if people heard that Celia had abandoned her post for two weeks straight, they would question her credibility. It was exhausting being a woman sometimes. "Which you would know if you read my daily email updates I've been sending you."

Margot had been pretty good at keeping Celia in the loop of things. She informed her of every decision that she made and ran every detail past Celia. It was nice to know that even though Margot was technically in charge, that she still respected Celia's input as the boss. "I've been reading them, I swear. I just-"

"Have a hard time giving up control," Margot finished for her. She knew Celia like the back of her hand, and she'd been there since the very beginning. It wasn't easy for Celia to put her lifelong work into the hands of someone else, no matter how much she trusted Margot. "I understand. I've been trying not to stress you out because I know you're dealing with a lot at home. I can handle everything here, but people are starting to ask questions, and I don't know what to tell them." She looked apprehensive, and Celia sighed. She knew the time would come where people would start questioning her absence, but she thought she had a bit more time to sort everything out before having to address it. People had known that her parents had died, but the extent of the details were kept from the press. That didn't stop people from jumping to their own conclusions, though.

"Tell them I'm working out of office," she told her. It wasn't a lie, but it also wasn't enough to prompt any kind of suspicion either. "And if they ask when I'm coming back, tell them soon. Be as vague as possible."

"You got it," she told her. "I've gotta make some phone calls, but I'll send you another email tonight to make sure we're still on track with everything." Margot tucked a curl behind her ear and jotted something down in her notepad, then closed it.