timeless, spencer reid [ 1 ]

025. house on fire

"Are you sure?" JJ asks. "The M.E. hasn't even started yet."

"No, people in Royal take out ads. "Lordy, Lordy, look who's 40." "Ask Jane was she was doing at the American Legion on Friday night."" Penelope says.

"That's just wrong." Emily says.

"That's small town life for you. Your business is everybody's business." JJ gives an annoyed smile.

"There was a belly watch on Hilda." Penelope informs.

"Uh, what about Eric Gall?" JJ asks.

"Oh, Eric. He was a boozer." Penelope says. "He spent most of his time at Pop's Place. I've got a few drunk and disorderlies, but he seems harmless. And given the amount of rounds he bought, it's safe to say the whole town loved him."

Derek's phone rings.

"It's Hotch." He answers it. "Yeah, what's up?" "Mm-hmm." "Okay. I got it." He hangs up. "Okay, well, they managed to speak to the bartender. According to her, there was a guy there before the fire. He didn't speak to anybody and he kept switching seats. She didn't seem to recognize him."

"Okay, wait. So she knew the owner and the boozer, and the husband wouldn't have gotten up and changed seats." Emily says.

"If the bartender didn't recognize him, maybe he's just not from Royal." JJ says.

"That's not necessarily true. What if she knew him and she just didn't realize it?" Spencer asks.

"What, like a disguise?" JJ asks.

"The fire captain said the unsub knew the layout of the movie theater. He used that knowledge to light the fire." Spencer says. "But at the bar, the unsub kept changing his seats."

"Which would give him a better view of the entrances and exits." Bedelia says.

"So he was studying the layout." Derek says. "He wasn't familiar with the area."

"What if he grew up in Royal and he moved away?" Spencer asks. "Garcia, what year was that bar built?"

"Uh, the bar was built 5... 6 years ago." She answers. 

"And what about the movie theater?" Bedelia asks.

"The movie theater was built in the forties. It was a single screen, they divided it two years ago. Rec center was built in the late seventies."

"I'm gonna call Hotch." Derek says.

~ ~ ~

"Jason Elliott opened Pop's Place 6 years ago when he moved to Royal from Indianapolis." Penelope informs as Hotch and Rossi walk in.

"Why? Does he have friends or family here?" JJ asks.

"No, none that I could find." Penelope says.

"What about the bar? Did Jason buy it from someone, take over their business?" Derek asks.

"No. Jason started the bar himself." Penelope says. "He named it after his father, who, by the way, was his sole beneficiary."

"Makes sense. He was single." Emily says.

"Well, he was single, up until a couple days ago." Penelope says. "Because two days ago, Jason married... Tina Wheeler." She holds up a photo of the woman.

"The EMT?" Rossi asks.

"Yeah. I had checked her out originally as one of the first responders, but her work records looked squeaky clean, and so I let it go until I realized she'd married Jason, and then I did some more aggressive digging, which I should remind you you asked me to do, and it turns out that Tina's parents died in a fire when she was 5. After they died, her and her brother Tommy were sent to live with their grandparents in Royal."