Wildest Dreams

Chapter 8

I watch through the glass as Hotch questions Wright. She does not look scared as she sits in the metal chair, but she is adamant she is not involved with the murders.

Hotch slides pictures of the victims across the table, but she refuses to look at them. The microphone picks up a quiet sniffle and upon closer inspection, she has started to cry.

"Why are you showing these to me?", she says between sobs.

"What? You can't stomach looking at your own victims?", Hotch asks.

"Why do you think I killed them? I-I loved them, each of them."

"You must fall in love quickly, then. As soon as the last one dies, you're onto the next."

Eleanor wipes her eyes, smearing runny mascara across her cheek.

"I have a lot of love to give, and it's not right to keep it to myself", she cries.

Hotch's jaw clenches as he pulls another folder from the floor. He opens it and flips through the pages; he pulls out a printed sheet of paper.

"This is a screenshot of your Instagram account. This picture was posted days after your last significant other's death. You don't seem very heartbroken to me."

Eleanor's chest heaves as she cries harder. She reaches out for the paper with shaky hands and he hands it to her. She looks at the picture closely and a watery smile plays on her lips.

"My boyfriend took this picture of me", she sniffles. "I'm wearing his jacket a-and I wanted to post it to remember him."

Hotch sighs and takes the picture back from her. He puts the files away and discards the folder underneath his chair. He pours himself a glass of water and then offers her one, which she gratefully accepts. She takes a couple of deep breaths before sipping the water to wash down her tears.

"I think I might know who did this", she says. Hotch folds his hands on the table and leans forward, interested in what she has to say. "Y/n Y/l/n. She has been my best friend since we were little, but I always got this feeling that she was jealous of me."

Y/n? Why does that sound familiar?

"Jealous? In what way?"

"She would always try to break my partners and me up and I could never figure out why. I thought she was jealous that I always have been in relationships, but I'm pretty sure she's in love with me. I've known her for so long and I could never believe she'd be capable of something like that, but the other day she sent me this."

Eleanor takes out her phone from her pocket and unlocks it. After a minute or two of scrolling, she hands the phone to Hotch for him to read.

"She said that she can't live without me, and the thought of me being with someone else and not spending time with her hurt. I tried to get her to explain it more, but she wouldn't. She only said that I need to break up with Betty and spend more time with her."

Hotch looks towards the glass and nods, signaling for me to call Garcia. The phone only rings twice before her sweet voice floods through the speakers.

"What can I do for you, Professor X?", she says teasingly.

"I need an address for Y/n Y/l/n. Wright said she threatened her and her partner shortly before her death."

"Okay, let's find her", she mumbles, mostly to herself. "Got it! She lives in a little blue house on 22 Cornelia Street."

"Thank you, Garcia", I say before hanging up with her.

I leave the small observation room and go into the main interrogation room. I hand Hotch the scrap of paper that I scribbled the address on and he thanks me.

"Get Morgan and Prentiss. The rest of you can stay here with Miss Wright."

I nod and as I turn to leave, I catch Eleanor's eyes and I feel my legs go numb. I shake away the feeling, figuring it's just my general anxiety about dealing with dead people.

"Morgan, Prentiss, Hotch wants you to go with him to this address", I say as I give them the paper.

Emily takes it from me and Morgan claps me on the shoulder, a concerned look on his face.

"Are you alright, kid?", he asks.

"Yeah, yeah", I scrub my hand down my face. "Just tired."

"There's a couch in the break room if you want to take a nap. It's not too uncomfortable", he smiles.

"Yeah, that actually sounds pretty good."

I take his advice and go into the break room and lay on the couch. If I lay on my back and keep my nose away from the musty fabric, it isn't too bad. Luckily, I am tired enough that I slip into sleep quickly.