Philophobia

Forty-Six; Clockwork

"Of course. I'll lead you to him," nodded the sheriff. He took them through the bullpen, leading them towards a back room. The room was small with a couch, and sitting chairs, as well as a coffee table, covered in paper and crayons. Sammy was sitting on the couch, rocking back and forth slightly as he drew.

"Hi, Sammy. I'm Dr. Spencer Reid." He kneeled down to Sammy's eye level. "What are you drawing?" Sammy didn't respond, just continued drawing. The sheriff reached out grabbing Sammy's shoulder. Sammy screamed in response, beginning to rock back and forth more violently. Sheriff Oliver took a step back.

"Some autistic children don't handle touch well," Eliza said cautiously. Sammy began to calm as the sheriff stepped away, his hand retracting to his side.

"It's possible that witnessing his parents' abduction pushed him into emotional overload and he shut down," Reid revealed. "Look at that." He gestured to the drawing Sammy was currently working on, a giant cluster of "L's" crowding the paper.

"Is he trying to tell us something?" Eliza asked softly. Reid moved across the room, using his long legs to step over the table. He sat on the corner so he was only a foot away from Sammy.

"Sammy. We're looking for your mom and your dad," Reid said gently. "Did "L" take them?" Sammy nodded, though only slightly. He brought the crayon in his hand up to eye level, repeating the motion of drawing an "L" as he did. Eliza touched Reid's shoulder, then stepped out of the room leaving Reid and Sammy alone. She looked over her shoulder at Reid through the glass as she typed Penelope Garcia's number into her phone.

"Hey, Garcia-"

"Hello, precious baby girl!" Garcia cheered.

"You sound like Morgan," Eliza teased.

"I talk like him sometimes when I miss him," Garcia said dreamily.

"Right, I need you to run a list of all known associates to the Sparks family, focusing on everyone whose first or last name begins with the letter 'L.'"

"Of course! Your intrepid hacker will send the information henceforth!" Eliza shook her head as Garcia hung up.

February 24th, 2010
2:31 pm
Glenridge Elementary School
Lafayette Parish, Lousiana

"We don't really have special resources to accommodate children like Sammy, so he's in with everybody else," revealed Ms. Rodgers. Eliza and Reid had gone to Sammy's school to talk with his teachers, and possibly find a way to get Sammy to communicate with them. For that reason, Miss. Rodgers was coming to the police station with them, but could only do so after the school had let out.

"Can he comprehend the material?" asked Eliza, the school's front doors closing behind her.

"Not everything. You know, I've done my best to research alternative teaching methods, but there's only so much I can do," Ms. Rodgers said.

"Children with autism normally think very logically. Their minds can pick up patterns that ours normally wouldn't recognize," Reid said.

"Yes, that's right. I've found that repetition and routine are the keys to getting through to him." Ms. Rodgers smiled slightly. Eliza stopped short, a pounding feeling cementing in her head. Reid noticed, and stopped walking.

"You know, that makes sense. Repetition forms patterns on the brain, and as those patterns reoccur, it forms a calming influence on the child," Reid said absentmindedly, looking at Eliza.

"Which would allow new information to be retained," Eliza stammered. "I'm sure Sammy's parents figured that out, too."

"His parents most likely kept him on a strict daily schedule." Reid continued to look at Eliza as she put a hand on her stomach, feeling a wave of nausea.