"Thanks." Spencer mumbles as Penelope gets him a chair and he sits down, his crutches leaning against him.
"Does it hurt?" She asks.
"It really only hurts when I think about it, which is pretty much all the time." Spencer says. He opens a tin and finds cookies, going to grab one.
"No, no, no." The blonde stops him. "Get away, you. These are for Hotch."
"I get shot in the leg and I don't get any cookies." Spencer complains as Penelope shuts the tin.
"Give him a cookie." Bedelia tells the blonde.
"I made them. I get to decide who eats them -- and that's neither of you." Penelope says.
"You know he's gonna hate the attention." Spencer says.
"It's cookies, not cake." Penelope says, putting a bowl of suckers on top of the tin and Spencer takes one.
"He's probably gonna pretend like nothing happened, anyway." Spencer says.
"Well, it doesn't mean we have to." Penelope says.
"I think maybe we should." Spencer says, putting the lollipop in his mouth. Penelope shakes her head. Bedelia grabs a sucker and unwraps it.
"I don't roll that way." She says.
"You know, I've been thinking about it." Spencer says. "The entire time I've known Hotch, I don't think I've ever seen him blink."
"I know. It's weird." Penelope says.
"Ugh." Bedelia mutters.
"Classic alpha male behavior." Spencer says.
"Do you think he stared down Foyet?" Penelope asks.
"Maybe. It could be what saved his life."
"Do you think he stared the whole time, like with each stab?" Penelope asks, making a stabbing motion.
"I have no idea." Spencer says.
"Is he okay?" Penelope asks.
"I wouldn't be, but... I'm a blinker." Spencer says as the door opens.
"There you guys are." JJ walks in. "Grab your go bags."
"What's going on?" Spencer asks.
"Turn on the news." JJ says.
"Which one?" Penelope asks.
"Doesn't matter." JJ says and Penelope turns the news on.
"Just after 8:00 this morning, 40 year old Darrin Call, a lifelong resident of Louisville, assaulted customers at the pharmacy on the corner of Main and Truxton Avenues. Eyewitnesses saw him walking east on Main Street minutes after the attack. He has not been seen since then."
"We're going to Louisville." JJ tells Spencer and Bedelia.
"Lifelong dream." Bedelia huffs, waiting for Spencer to get up before following him out of the room.
"You know... you really don't have to stay glued to my side. I'm not that bad." Spencer says. "Plus, you've already spent the past month fretting over me."
"So?" Bedelia asks.
"You spend more time at my apartment than yours." Spencer points out.
"And I repeat, so?" She asks again.
Spencer sighs, staring at her, realizing she won't be backing down anytime soon.
"I appreciate it." He tells her in a soft voice.
"You're welcome." Bedelia grins and Spencer's lips quirk up in both fondness and amusement.
+++
"So our point person in Louisville is Lieutenant Kevin Mitchell." JJ says as they sit on the jet. They all turn as Hotch and Emily get on the plane.
"Good morning." Hotch greets.
"Good to see you." Rossi says.
"You, too." Hotch says.
"You look well, sir." Penelope smiles.
"Thank you." Hotch tells her. "How long do you have that?" He asks Spencer.
"I'm not really sure. Welcome back." Spencer says.
"Thank you. Any other attacks?" He asks.
"Um, no, not yet." JJ says.
"Call's proven hard to track. He's never had a driver's license, so he's most likely still on foot." Spencer says.
"Or public transportation." JJ says.
"He's not gonna take the bus. His face is everywhere." Bedelia says.
"Has anyone found a stressor?" Hotch asks.
"He just lost his job. He's worked at a factory since 1990." Penelope informs. "Made appliances since forever and not a single promotion."
"That's a long time to be bitter." Derek says.
"Or he doesn't care." Spencer says.
"Not if he's got a family to feed." JJ says.
"Actually, he's of the hermit variety. As far as I can tell, he's got no one. No wife, no kids, no parents." Penelope says.
"Nothing to live for." Derek says.
"So why hasn't he killed himself yet?" Hotch asks. "Sprees usually end in suicide. If he's got nothing to live for, why hasn't he ended it?"
"Cause he isn't finished yet." Spencer says. "We know he has displaced anger. He took it out on the first victim."
"Well, the stock boy represents someone. We need to know who." Hotch says. "Is he military?"
"Negative." Penelope answers.
"Well, he's lashing out for a reason. This guy's got anger, endless targets, and a gun, and he's just getting started." Hotch says.
+++
"May 1, 1975, a 6 year old Darrin Call was found roaming in the middle of nowhere and was picked up and was in state care for the first few months." Penelope says.
"Did he tell the cops what happened?" JJ asks.
"No. Because he didn't talk, not for over a year, and once he started talking, he only knew his life as Darrin Call." Penelope says.
"That's awful." JJ says.
"So is this. Little Darrin was never claimed." Penelope says.
"Maybe he wasn't from the area. There wasn't a thriving missing children's network in 1975." JJ says.
+++
"Call is wearing Cipolla's clothing." Emily states as the rest of the team get back.
"You think he's lucid?" Spencer asks.
"No, most likely he's just freaked out." Emily says.
"Either way, we should update the public." Derek says.
"You should be there, too." JJ tells Mitchell who nods.
"What is this?" He asks, looking at the board.
"Call's timeline." JJ informs.
"He left Louisville?" Mitchell asks.
"Three times. Always came back to the same 10 block radius." JJ says.
"Why?" Mitchell asks.
"Uh, victims are often drawn to the scene of their first trauma. Part of him wanted to escape, the other part probably struggled to find answers." Spencer says.
"Was he hospitalized?" Mitchell asks.
"Uh, 1985 for two years." JJ says.
"Yeah, and again in '95 for a few months, both at the state facility in Fayette County." Penelope adds.
"You know he doesn't drive. You think he'd walk all the way out there?" Mitchell asks.
"He's desperate. He'll find a way." Rossi says.
"Well, then I'll tell the sheriff in Fayette." Mitchell says, walking off.
"When did he start the prescriptions, Garcia?" Hotch asks.
"In 1977, and it looks like he tried them all. I've got a list. Alphabetically, alprazolam, clonazepam, diazepam--"
"Just send it." Hotch tells her.
"Yes, sir."
"His doctor weaned him off the prescription for a reason. Now, that's a big risk, so the reward must have been greater." Derek says.
"He needs the truth." Emily says.
"He took his file." Rossi says. "He's got some answers."
"And a head start." Spencer says.
"Well, we need to catch up." Hotch says.
~ ~ ~
"Records from child services has him extremely physically abused. No signs of sexual assault." JJ says.
"That's a miracle." Penelope says.
"Either way, the trauma was debilitating." Spencer says.
"Was he running from an abusive home or an abduction?" Rossi asks.
"Wouldn't there be a paper trail if it were a kidnapping?" Mitchell asks.
"Garcia, look for unsolved missing children's cases from the 1970s." Hotch tells her.
"Now, there was a case in Hollow Creek. Kids were dead, though. Found them in pieces." Mitchell says.
"When was this?" Hotch asks.
"'75." Mitchell says. "Nobody talks about it cause they never found the guy. You think Call walked away from that?"
"It's possible." Hotch says. "Garcia, send me everything."
"Done." She says.
"Can you find the case file?" Hotch asks.
"I'll do what I can." Mitchell says.
+++
"Is there a suspect list?" JJ asks as Mitchell carries over two boxes.
"It's in here somewhere." Mitchell says.
"He was known as the Hollow Creek Killer. Three bodies were found, some never identified." Spencer says, having the laptop in front of him.
"Oh, God, he used lime to dispose--" JJ says.
"There's a survivor." Spencer says.
"Call?" Rossi asks.
"No, a 12 year old boy named Tommy Phillips. Parents said he'd been missing for 2 weeks, came back a different kid." Spencer says.
"Of course he did." Rossi says.
"Let's see, the family left Louisville after Tommy told police where to find the bodies." Spencer says. "He also said the suspect was a white man in his 30s and drove a red pickup truck."
"We need to find Tommy." Hotch says, calling Penelope.
"He'd be 46 now. His parents probably changed his name and got as far away as possible." Rossi says.
"Garcia can find him." Hotch says.
"Don't get your hopes up." Rossi says.
"Garcia, I need everything you can find on a Tommy Phillips." He tells her.
"The victims had cuts." Spencer says.
"The stock boy's blade is what set him off in the pharmacy." JJ says. "If this is what Call's been running from, it's no wonder he's blocked it out."
"Since he's clean now, there's no medication to block his memories and he wants answers." Spencer says. "Where would he go?"
"To what he knows." Hotch says.
"He doesn't know anything." Mitchell says. "That's the problem."
"He's beginning to. 1975, Sterner Orphanage. It's where he became Darrin Call." Hotch says.
+++
Call went to the orphanage and ended up kidnapping a boy.
"So what do we know?" Hotch asks.
"There were only four suspects in the Hollow Creek case and they're all dead." Rossi says.
"The kids were taken in 1973, '74, and '75." Emily says.
"All on the way home from school." Spencer says.
"Different school districts." JJ says.
"He waited for them to be alone." Hotch says.
"That takes patience. He must have had time off in the afternoons." Bedelia says.
"He lived or worked near the schools." Hotch says.
"That's a lot of doors to knock on." Derek says.
"You think Call's gone back there?" Rossi asks.
"I think there's a good chance." Hotch says.
"I'll tell Mitchell." JJ leaves.
"Where's the secondary location?" Derek asks. "He needed seclusion to do what he did."
Hotch hits a button on the phone.
"Go ahead, Garcia. You're on speaker."
"I found Tommy. He goes by James Thomas Anderson now." Penelope says.
"Is he local?" Emily asks.
"One county over, address and bio are coming... now." Penelope says.
"Thanks, Garcia." Hotch says.
+++
"His own kid?" Rossi asks. "No wonder he was never claimed."
"How did the father explain his son just disappeared?" Spencer asks.
"Could have said he ran away." Derek says.
"The mother would have reported him missing." JJ says.
"Maybe he said the boy died." Emily says.
"She'd want a funeral." JJ says.
"What if there wasn't one?" Hotch asks. "Morgan, call Garcia. Ask her to check death records from 1969 to 1975."
"For who?" He asks, grabbing his phone.
"For the mother." Hotch says.
~ ~ ~
"Baby girl, I'm gonna put you on speaker." Derek tells Penelope. "Guys." He calls.
"Okay, so Doris Jarvis was married to Bill Jarvis. He owned a machine shop just outside the city." Penelope informs.
"That could be a secondary location." Spencer says.
"It closed in 1980. He hasn't done anything since. I guess he laid low. He had a red pickup until 1976 when he bought a black one." Penelope says. "I know that because that's what he was driving when he was arrested for DUIs. He was locked up from '77 to '80. And I'm sending his picture now."
The mugshot loads on the laptop.
"And that could certainly be Darrin Call's father." Emily says.
"Where's Jarvis now?" Hotch asks.
"In the same house. 1457 Hitchens Avenue." Penelope informs.
"Let's go." Hotch says, everybody but JJ and Spencer leaving.
+++
The cops and SWAT are also at the house.
"Hotch. Hotch. Hotch!" Bedelia hears Emily call. She, Derek, and Rossi look up to see Hotch going to the house without a vest on.
"What the hell is he doing?" Derek asks, trying to go.
"Let him go." Rossi holds him back.
"Rossi, I'm not letting him go in there solo." Derek says.
"We have to trust him." Rossi says as Derek finally stops struggling.
~ ~ ~
"You got the shot?" Mitchell asks through the ear piece.
"Negative."
After a moment, the door opens and the boy walks out.
"Bringing the boy in." Two of the SWAT members rush up and drag the boy to a safe zone.
"Let's get Hotch out of there." Emily says over the radio.
"That's his call." Rossi says.
They hear multiple gunshots and everybody runs to the house, being careful as they go in. Bedelia gets in, lowering her gun when she finds Hotch handcuffing Call.
"What happened?" Mitchell asks.
"I couldn't stop him." Hotch says before quickly walking out of the house, Emily following him.
"It's over." Rossi says.
"For now." Derek says.