Understanding A Killer

Dinner with music

It was the end of office hours for Hannibal, and the last patient of the day just finished his session. It was a short, chubby man with thick black hair. He had a big smile on his face as he walked out the door, his eyes shining with admiration.

"See you next week, Dr. Lecter." - He said as he put on his coat.

"See you, Franklyn." - Hannibal held the door open, turning to the girl who was sitting on the lobby couch, "I wasn't expecting you this late, Eliana."

"Well, would you be willing to see one more patient?" - She smiled awkwardly as she stood up.

"Of course, come in." - He showed her in, "So, what's so important it couldn't wait till the morning?"

She waited until the door was fully closed before speaking. "I told Will about my past." - She winced.

"Do you regret it?" - Hannibal's voice was as indifferent as ever.

"No... But I'm afraid he's disappointed in me. He'll never look at me the same again."

"Will cares about you. I'm sure he's glad you're not hiding the truth anymore." - He sat on the couch, crossing his legs.

Eliana followed the motion, sitting acoss him. "But I haven't told him everything." - She confessed in a shy voice.

"What haven't you told him?" - Hannibal raised an eyebrow.

"That... I recieved a phone call in the middle of the night. Which I think is from the killer. I think he's reaching out to me. Challenging me, even."

"And what did he say in this phone call?"

"Nothing... It was just a melody." - She sighed, "The one I played the night Rosie was murdered."

"And you're certain it's from the killer?"

"Who else would it be from?"

"It could be from anyone. A coincidence, a mistake..." - Hannibal assesed with a strange worry in his voice, "Or... It could've been just a dream. A nightmare."

"A dream?" - Eliana frowned, quickly opening her bag to look for her phone, "Look." - She held a phone screen in front of Hannibal's face, "21st of November, 3:25 AM. I did get a phone call. So it couldn't have been a dream. Besides, I can tell dreams and reality apart."

"I see. Have you tried tracking the number?"

"Yes... I told Beverly to track the number. Made up a story about some ex-boyfriend bothering me." - She dropped her head, "But she only found out it was classified as a spam number."

"So, you still can't be sure that melody really played. Have you been stressed lately?"

"I'd say I was. The Chesepeke Ripper's resurfaced." - Her face darkened, "That certainly hasn't been making me happy."

"Instead of chasing shadows and unknown numbers..." - He got up and walked to the piano, lifting the cover gently, "I think you should face your fears."

"What are you suggesting?" - She followed him to the piano.

"You ran away from that music piece. You ran from music itself, leaving your talents to wither away. Now it's haunting you. You're even hearing it as you sleep." - His lips formed in a faint smile, "Why not play it again, instead of running from it?"

Eliana looked him in disbelief, "You want...me to play violin again?"

"Yes. And I'm suggesting I can play with you. Accompany you on the piano." - His smile grew bigger in excitement.

"I-I don't think I can do it." - She shook her head.

"It would be better than any therapy I can offer." - He assured, "And I also have a perfect stage for us. I'm preparing dinner tomorrow for Will and Alana. You should join. And bring your violin."

"Okay...I'll think about it."

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Hannibal made the dinner party a real show as he cleanly cut different types of meat and seasoned them with all kinds of exotic sauces. He showed off his skills by cooking in front of his guests, the wonderful scent making them even more hungry. He enjoyed their looks of awe as he served the finished dishes in fancy arrangements. They looks of enjoyment after finishing the food always made him overjoyed, especially if the guests were important to him, like they were tonight.

"You outdid yourself tonight, Hannibal." - Alana exclaimed as she swallowed the last bite.

"It's my pleasure." - He smiled at her.

"It's so nice we can almost pretend one of the most vicious serial killers isn't running loose right now." - Will spoke, reffering to the latest murders with victims missing organs. His face was devoid of colour except for the bags under his eyes that turned a concerning shade of blue. The sickly look on his face was getting worse by the day, and the three people who shared the room noticed it better than anyone.

"Even the best agents have a right to relax sometimes." - Hannibal raised his glass filled with red wine, "To catching the Ripper." - He made a toast.

"To catching the Ripper." - Will smiled sourly as he joined the toast.

"This is some good wine." - Alana noted in amazement.

"All the best to my dear guests." - Hannibal smiled, "And for tonight, we don't have the usual dessert. We have someting special. A musical performance." - He looked at Eliana.

"Oh, really?" - Alana's face lit up.

"I guess so." - Eliana looked at Hannibal unsurely, "But I'm a little rusty."

"Don't worry. Even if you mess up, we won't notice." - Hannibal reassured, showing her at the piano.

She got her violin from the hallway and took out the score, showing it to Hannibal, "You know this piece?"

"Beethoven's D Major concerto. One of the most famous violin concertos. Of course I know it."

She nodded as she put the violin on her shoulder, playing a few notes to warm up. The sound of her own playing almost made her jump back. It's been way too long since she last heard that sound.

She signalled Hannibal to start and prepared to dive right back into the wonderful feeling of performing. She still had the piece memorized, not needing to look at the score. After only playing the first few rows, it was like she came back to that night. The red curtains opened to reveal the big orchestra stage and its main star in a long red dress. She could feel the thrill of other people depending on her, and the amazed looks that came from the audience. Their faces lit up in awe as they couldn't take their eyes off her. And there she was, the prodigy that was so good at her craft it made other violinists seep with jelaousy. 

She played well, not nearly as good as that night, but she still had it in her. Will and Alana were now fully immersed in the performance, just like her previous audience. Will, who usually avoided looking at people, couldn't stop admiring every move her petite fingers made as they traced the strings. Even the accompanist on the piano seemed to radiate excitement.

Clapping and complimenting emerged after they finished, and they continued the dinner night with a few more glasses of wine.

Alana decided to drive Will home as she noticed his tired expression, and Eliana offered to do the dishes with Hannibal. Finally being alone, they could adress the perormance properly.

"That was amazing, Eliana. You never should've stopped playing." - He spoke while he picked the plates off the table.

"Thank you." - She said shyly, "Maybe you were right. It made me think of something. I've been repressing some bad memories. In the process, I've represeed that whole period of my life."

"And you've now remembered something?" - He smirked.

"Not quite yet. But I'm thinking... That night may contain some clues about the killer."

"It could. But be careful while digging up repressed memories." - He warned, "They could be deceiving."

She smiled at him, wholeheartedly for the first time since they met. "Thank you, Hannibal. You've helped me so much."

"It's my pleasure. As much as seeing you play the violin tonight was." - He smiled back as the thrill of seeing what she'll do next filled his imagination.