timeless, spencer reid [ 1 ]

051. devil's night

"The cool thing about Halloween is that it's a uniquely American holiday." Spencer says as he, Bedelia, and Emily walk to the round table room. He takes the mask he's wearing off. "I mean, despite it's obvious origins in the Celtic festival of Samhain and the Christian All Saints Day, it really is a melting pot of various immigrants' traditions and beliefs."

"It became a little more commercialized in the 1950s with trick-or-treat, and today it rivals only Christmas in terms of popularity."

"All I asked was what he was doing this weekend." Emily says, sitting down.

"I'm toying the notion of either going to the Edgar Allan Poe shadow puppet theater or the reenactment of the 19th century Phantasmagoria."

"I don't want to know." Rossi says.

"Oh, yeah, you do. Phantasmagorias are these amazing pre-cinema projected ghost shows invented in France, where the showman attempted to spook the audience using science magic."

"I vote we do that one." Bedelia says. Spencer nods.

"Aww... your first little weird date." Emily teasingly gushes.

"It's not a date." The two deny.

"Guys, I wouldn't have to worry about losing my feminine curves if you all paid more attention to all the trees we're consuming around here." Penelope says, handing the files out before sitting down.

"When did you become an eco-freak?" Derek asks.

"Baby, I was born green." Penelope says.

"We're going to Detroit." Hotch states.

"What? It's Halloween weekend." Spencer protests.

"Arson investigators have noticed a 3 year trend in the days leading up to Halloween." Hotch says.

"Devil's Night." Spencer says.

"This unsub is killing only these three days out of the year." Hotch says.

"How's he doing it?" Rossi asks.

"He's burning his victims alive." Hotch states. "He's abducting seemingly random people and dumping their bodies in abandoned parts of town. He struck again last night."

"Yeah. Tony Terrell, 40. He lives in the suburbs, but he was found 20 miles away in the Rivertown district." Penelope states.

"He's attacking the city at its most vulnerable time." Rossi says.

"What does he do during the rest of the year?" Spencer asks.

"He's dormant." Rossi says.

"You know, arsonists are typically white males between 17 and 25 who can't stay away from fire." Spencer says.

"Yeah, they're addicted to it and there's no rehab." Derek says.

"And they target dwellings, not people." Spencer adds.

"So you're saying he burns his victims alive but he's not an arsonist?" Penelope asks.

"Fire is simply his weapon." Derek says.

"And Devil's Night gives him the perfect cover to kill." Spencer says.

"Then we've got 48 hours before he disappears again." Hotch says.

"Well, his last victim was athletic. He wouldn't be easy to subdue. The offender must be just as strong or might have an upper hand if he's younger." Derek says.

"Still, how does he transport his victims across the city and get them inside buildings without being noticed?" Bedelia questions.

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