safe inside, criminal minds [ 1 ]

021. boxed in

"Oh, my fighters of crime, I hate to call us all in on this eve of All Hallows Eves, but there are wicked things afoot." Penelope says. "Last Halloween, 11 year old Joshua Parker disappeared in San Diego."

The power goes out making Danielle flinch.

"Uh oh." Penelope says.

"Generator should kick in." Hotch says and a moment later it does.

"That was spooky." Spencer comments. "Joshua Parker -- that name isn't in any of our missing children case files. Why don't we know about him?"

"Chronic runaway and disciplinary problems." Hotch says. "San Diego P.D. never classified it as an abduction."

"This morning, Joshua turned up in a pumpkin patch 10 miles from where he was last seen." Penelope says.

"I know this case. Same thing happened in L.A. last year." Kate says.

"Yeah, that would be Tommy Wilcox, 10 years old. He was found at Venice Beach on October 30." Penelope says.

"He went missing the previous Halloween, too." Kate says.

"Yeah. And he died a few hours after they got him to the hospital." Penelope says.

"I thought they caught that guy." JJ says. "He had a bunch of stalker pics of the boy, didn't he?"

"Yeah, he confessed and pled guilty." Derek adds.

"Yes and yes. That would be Rodney Tanner, pedophile sex offender, all around icky person, currently residing at Chino state prison." Penelope says.

"So what do we have, a copycat or a coincidence?" Derek asks.

"We also need to consider the possibility of there being a partner." Spencer says.

"How's the Parker kid doing?" Rossi asks.

"He's physically stable, but he's vacillating between catatonic and completely freaked out." Penelope says.

"So I'm guessing he's not talking much." Danielle says.

"If the pattern holds, another boy will go missing tomorrow night." JJ says.

"And we're headed to San Diego to prevent that from happening." Hotch says. "Weather permitting, wheels up in 30."

+++

"Thank you for waiting." The doctor tells the three as she walks out of Joshua Parker's room. "Well, his physical prognosis is actually quite good. He's exhausted and slightly dehydrated, but somebody made sure he ate, maybe even gave him vitamin supplements."

"Were his muscles atrophied by any chance?" Spencer asks.

"Yes. Badly." The doctor says. "He's going to need physical therapy, but in time he should make a full recovery."

"What about splinters and puncture wounds? Any sign of those?" Spencer asks.

"Yes, both." The doctor says.

"When do you think he might be able to talk to us?" JJ asks.

"Uh, no time soon, I'm afraid. It's his mental state that concerns me. He's sedated now, but when he first came in, he was unable to communicate and extremely agitated." The doctor says.

"How so?" Spencer asks.

"He was violent, tried to escape several times, kept screaming, "Let me out, let me out." We restrained him and that only made things worse. I can't even imagine what he's been through." She says. "Excuse me for a moment?" JJ nods and the doctor walks off.