the great war, spencer reid [ 2 ]

004. boxed in

"You get to see all the good movies." Bedelia tells her daughter. "Hocus Pocus, The Addams Family, the second Addams Family, all the good stuff. Which you'll be asleep for half of probably, but... you get it."

Theodora giggles as her mom sets her up on the couch, making sure her child's comfortable.

"Okay. I have her milk, our waters, and popcorn." Spencer walks in, carrying said four things.

"Sweet." Bedelia helps him set the stuff up.

Bedelia sits down and starts to put Hocus Pocus on as Spencer phone rings. He frowns when he sees the caller ID and answers, putting it on speaker.

"Hey, Garcia." He greets.

"Hi, boy wonder. We have a case." Penelope states.

"Nooo." Bedelia whines.

"Yep." Penelope counters. "I know you guys are probably cuddling that precious little girl of yours, but she'll have to cuddle with Ellie tonight."

"We'll be there as soon as we can." Spencer says.

"Bye." They hang up.

Bedelia slouches into the couch.

"It's her first Halloween." Bedelia says, tears pricking her eyes.

"I know." Spencer frowns.

Theodora is oblivious to their upset moods, too focused on her milk and playing with her feet.

"We can watch movies after we get back. Even if it's not Halloween anymore. Just make sure Ellie doesn't show her any of the movies so we still get that first time with her." Spencer says.

"Yeah, I guess." Bedelia mumbles.

"I hate it, too." Spencer says, kissing his wife on the head. "I'll call Ellie."

+++

"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.

"Uh oh." Penelope says.

"Generator should kick in." Hotch says and a moment later they do.

"That was spooky." Spencer comments. "Joshua Parker -- that name isn't in any of our missing children case files. What do you 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?" Bedelia asks.

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