Understanding A Killer

Suspicion

The cold wind stung Eliana's cheeks as she walked onto a long, frozen beach. She put her hands in her pockets, trying to keep warm, and hurried towards the the police line she spotted in the distance. Her collegues were already there, probably finished most of the job, but she was terribly late. She felt Jack's angry gaze as she approached the crime scene but pretended not to notice him.

The crime scene was a monumental thing, for sure. It consisted of a pile of bodies, stacked together like a totem pole. Some were already completely rotten with only the body at the top being freshly killed. 

Eliana looked for Will, but couldn't find him, so she went to Beverly, the second closest person to her.

Beverly gave her a disappointed look like the rest of the team. "Hello. You're unusually late. What were you doing?"

"I'm sorry." - Eliana apologized, "I was studying."

"You have exams coming up?"

"Yeah... There's one very important exam."

"Well, good luck. You do look like you haven't been sleeping." - Beverly scanned Eliana's face, "Both you and Will are strange today."

"How's he strange? Where is he, anyway?" - Eliana's eyes searched for Will one more time.

"He was here. And then left without a word." - Beverly shrugged.

"Really? That is strange..." - Eliana got lost in thought as Beverly took pictures of the bodies. "Hey, Beverly."

"Yeah?" - Beverly turned around.

"Do you think intuition is important in an investigation?"

"If it's your intuition, then yes. If anyone has a good intuituon, it's you."

Eliana nodded, her gaze on the floor as her mind was running wild. She was interrupted by Jack's lecture about being on time and focusing on the case. The guru was angry, which would've bothered her if she was in a normal state of mind, but she couldn't focus on anything but her own personal investigation. If her intuition was to be trusted, there was something really wrong with Hannibal Lecter.

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Looking into Hannibal Lecter was a real challenge. His past was a mysery, and he covered his tracks wherever he went. Eliana was able to find out he used to be a surgeon, his main hobbies involved art, particularly classical music, and he spent way too much time with Abigail Hobbs. So, logically, the next step was to investigate Abigail.

Eliana sat in her car in front of the psychiatric hospital, looking through her notes. Between 2007 and 2011, on the weekends, Hannibal Lecter worked with a colleague in a clinic in Pipestone.

*knock knock*

The sound interfered with Eliana's reading. She looked up to see Freddie Lounds's face staring from the other side of the window.

She got out, greeting the reporter unpleasantly.

"What business do you have sneaking around here?" - Freddie questioned suspiciously.

"I could ask the same." - Eliana anwsered shortly .

"Well, I'm doing it with much more transparency. I actually talked to the person I'm here for."

"For your book, right? That could damage the girl much more than my sneaking."

"You know I actually have good intentions." - Freddie tried a half-truth.

"Do you really believe Abigail is innocent? That you're not telling a killer's lies?"

"It doesn't matter to me. It's your job to find out the truth, not mine." - Freddie smirked.

"You're right, Miss Lounds. It is."

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An anonymous caller told the police about a body buried in the woods. The body was frozen, but was easily indentified as the missing Nick Boyle. Jack wanted to bring in Abigail Hobbs, suspecting her of the murder. Hannibal and Alana strongly advised against that, but Jack couldn't be convinced.

Abigail came in, somehow even skinnier than before. Her hands trembled rhythmically as she tried to avoid the observer's gazes. There was one gaze that just wouldn't leave her alone, and it came from Eliana. She glared at her with fury, not wanting to avert her eyes for a moment. It made her shake even more, her body desperately trying to tell her to run. She let out a tear as Jack removed the black bag to reveal Nick's decomposed body. She stood in front of the man she killed, having to confront her worst fears at last.

She followed Hannibal's instructions and lied skillfully, denying any connection to Nick Boyle's murder. She almost broke down as Jack asked where she was going while sneaking out, but Hannibal's firm composure calmed her down. Will's tired eyes were the only kind eyes on her, as he was the only one in the room that believed her.

Abigail escaped to the bathroom as soon as the questioning finished, wanting to rinse her face and hands. She closed her eyes and splashed her face desperately in an attempt to wash away her crimes. When she lifted her head, she was once again met with furious eyes.

Eliana stood there washing her hands, not even looking at Abigail, but Abigail could feel the danger coming her way. She debated wether she should speak, not sure wether words or silence were more dangerous.

"What do you want from me?" - Abigail's voice trembled.

"Me? Nothing. Your actions spoke much louder than words." - Eliana looked straight in her eyes.

"You know something, don't you?" - Abigail took a small step back.

"And what am I supposed to know? That you killed Nick Boyle?"

"I told you I didn't."

"Oh, you did. But someone helped you, right?" - Eliana spoke in a low voice, "Who was it? The copycat killer? How do you know him?"

"I d-don't. How would I know him?"

"Because he called you. And helped you hide Nicolas's body. I just wanna know... How exactly Hannibal Lecter is involved."

"You're just bluffing. You have no proof." - Abigail shook her head in desperation.

"No proof? How do you think they found the body?" - Eliana whispered, not breaking eye contact.

"You were the one that called the police?!"

"Maybe. I just want you to know... If you speak a word of this to Hannibal Lecter, Jack's gonna see some real proof." - Eliana threatened and watched Abigail run from the bathroom.

Now that she was finally alone, she took a deep breath to calm her shaking fist. She didn't want to scare Abigail, but needed her reaction. Now that she saw it, something came to mind. She always assumed there to be a third party, someone who knocked out Hannibal and Alana back when Nick disappeared. But what if there was no third party, but the foul play came from Hannibal himself?

Except from the fact that Abigail had killed Nick and someone helped her with it, all she had were assumptions. Still, there was something missing. A piece that would make it all come together.

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Author's note: I think I gave Eliana enough hints, so it's time for her to put them together ;) hope you enjoy the chapter!