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Summery: Scully & Mulder's pursuit of evil becomes more complicated when Scully begins to receive disturbing phone calls that just might be the key in solving the case. As always, please R&R.
"Better leave your stomachs at the door." A man by the name of Detective Peters said as he met Scully & Mulder at the threshold of a modest West Virginian apartment. Mulder & Scully couldn't completely hide their urge to recoil at the sight of the victim. "God." Scully whispered as she knelt down to take a closer look. "This man's face & scalp tissue have been completely removed. I'm going to have to get the body back to the lab for a full examination to be completely sure, but it looks like the muscle & vein structures are still intact." "What does that mean?" Detective Peters asked. "It means that our killer is very skilled & has probablyworked in a slaughter house or a packing plant for a good part of his life. A person doesn't get that good at striping meat from the bone over night." Mulder replied. "He could also be a fish cleaner because that looks like the work of a skinning knife." Scully interjected. "It sure does." Dectective Peters said, impressed. "I did a lot of fishing as a kid." Scully replied.
"Internal examination determines the victim to be male, aged twenty five to thirty five & that he was in good health at the time of the murder. Cranial examination determined that the actual cause of death was a single nine millimeter gunshot wound to the back of the head." Scully said into her tape recorder as her cell phone rang. "Mulder listen, the actual cause of death was a single gunshot wound, execution style, this individual is mutilating these people post mortem." She said, in her haste to relay the information, she hadn't checked the caller ID; there was a long pause before a voice answered, but it wasn't Mulder's; it was cold & hoarse. "You've impressed me, Agent Scully, you figured out the real cause of death sooner then I thought you would, but there is no time to rest now, another body waits. The address is 352 Pembroke Street. Oh, & dont go telling you're shrewd partner about us or the consequences will be dire." There was a click & the line went dead, she studied her phone as a feeling of uneasiness rose inside her; she nearly dropped it in fright when it rang again. "H-hello?" She answered; she was unable to keep the quiver out of her voice. "Scully, it's me; what's wrong? You sound upset." Relief washed over her at the sound of her partner's quiet, comforting voice. "I'm fine, I was just going to call you, the real cause of death was a gunshot wound, execution style, all the mutilation was done post mortem." "Good work, Scully, I'll put that in my profile before I release it to local law enforcement." "Mulder… I need you to meet me at 352 Pembroke Street as soon as you can." She said as she hung up before he could ask why.
"Scully, how did you know the next vic would be here?" Mulder asked, she was spared an answer by Detective Peters calling Mulder over to examine the body closer. "It's the same MO, right down to the gunshot wound in the back of the head. You're partner is really something else." He said. "Yeah." Mulder said distractedly as he looked over at her worriedly. "Scully, are you sure you're okay?" Mulder asked as they headed over to the coroner's office to perform the second autopsy. "I'm fine, Mulder, I just want to catch this guy." She replied flatly, her tone told Mulder not to press the issue further. "Well?" Mulder asked as he walked into the lab about an hour later. "Same injuries, the skinning was done post mortem, just like the other one." "I think he's taking the face & scalp as souvenirs, Scully. "You mean like 'Buffalo Bill' from Silence of the Lambs?" She said in an attempt at self-directed humor, Mulder stepped intimately close. "Yes, Clarice." He hissed into her ear, Scully rolled her eyes at him as she turned to roll the body back into the storage compartment. "It makes one wonder what he's doing with the skin, doesn't it?" Mulder said as she latched the door. "If it's all the same to you, I'd rather not know." Scully said flatly. "Scully are you sure you're all right? You've been looking awfully tired lately." He said as he gently tipped her chin so that her eyes met his. "It's just this case, I'm fine Mulder, I promise." She reassured him. "Still, I think that you should go home & get some rest." She nodded as she pulled her gloves off & left the lab, still, he couldnt shake the feeling of worry as he watched her go.
Scully was startled out of a deep sleep by the shrill voice of her home phone; she begrudgingly looked at the clock, which read just after one in the morning. "I'm going to kick his ass." She said irritably as picked it up. "Hello again, Agent Scully." The hoarse, cold, familiar voice said. "What do you want? How did you get my number?" She said, unable to keep the uneasiness out of her voice. She had been begun receiving the disturbing calls since they had taken the case but this was the first one she had recived at home. "Two more bodies will be found at two different addresses this time." "H-how will I know where to find them?" She asked. "You will know, I must confess that I have been watching you & that partner of yours… Mulder, is it? You two seem really close, closer then professionalism should allow. Too bad you can't tell him about us, I know that you want to so very badly, but you know what the consequences will be if you do." He said as he broke their connection. Scully sat up in bed, shaken & unable to get back to sleep, the very thought that he was watching her made her blood run cold in her veins.