The woman's eyes were still open. Her mouth hung open in a "oh" shape. Her arms were crossed against her body. She wore a blood red dress, but the large stain of blood from a large gash in her stomach was clearly visible.
"Her name is Hannah Lyon. She's twenty-five years old," Jack told Will. "We found her ID tucked in her hands."
"What did she do?" asked Will.
"She was a coffee barista. Started just over a year ago, right in Fredericksburg," Jack replied. "The other victims were a waitress and a grocery store cashier. There's usually nothing dangerous about those jobs."
Will nodded and glanced over her body. "How many bodies have they found total?"
"She's the third," Jack answered bitterly. "Local PD called us in before this guy gets any worse. Three women… and none of them had defensive wounds."
Will nodded.
Beverly interjected, "We waited until you got here to cut open the shirt. The other two had words carved into their chests. Looks like she has some too. Ready to see?"
Will nodded, and Beverly carefully cut into Hannah's shirt. The words CARO MIO BEN were etched across her chest.
"The others had the same words on their chests?" Will asked.
Jack nodded. "Yes. It means 'my most dear' in Italian… I remember that much from my NATO days in Italy…"
"It's a song."
Jack and Will turned. Dr. Hannibal Lecter stood a few feet away, wiping sweat off of his brow. He had no jacket, and the sleeves of his dress shirt were rolled up past his elbows.
"I apologize. I know I wasn't officially invited, but I needed a break from my office and wondered if I could help," he said with a small smile. "I hope that is okay and that I can help."
Jack nodded. "You said it's a song?"
Hannibal nodded. "Yes. It is the title of an Italian aria."
"What are the lyrics?" asked Will, glancing over Hannah's body again.
"Loosely translated, the first verse goes: 'My most dear, believe of me at least: Without you, the heart languishes.' The Italian word 'caro' refers to a man, and the song is traditionally sung by a woman," Hannibal explained.
"And he wants these women to sing it to him," he muttered.
Jack nodded for everyone to head out. "We'll give you some space."
Alone, Will glanced at Hannah's body as she stared up at him. He took off his glasses and shut his eyes. He inhaled and exhaled deeply three times and then opened his eyes again.
Her mouth sets itself correctly. Will carries her body backwards out of the forest to his home. He undoes the fancy dress and draws a knife across her stomach as the gash disappeared. He puts on other clothes, carries her back to her coffee shop, and holds a rag to her nose as she awakes. He releases her, she walks into the coffee shop, and he stands a few yards away.
Suddenly time froze for a split second, and then it began again.
"You serve me coffee every morning. I notice that you are attractive, charming. You are outgoing and kind to me, like you are to all customers. But it means more to me. I desperately want more from you, but I am paralyzed by fear whenever I try to speak to you. I try to move on and let you go, but I keep seeing you. You smile at me with that smile, and I cannot stand to see you without me anymore."
She exits the store, and he follows a few steps behind her. "I follow you. Harmless at first, but then there comes a point I cannot be without you." He steps beside her and grabs Hannah. She struggles and screams, but Will holds a cloth over her face. "I make sure you will not struggle and fight me." He carries her to his home. "I bring you home. I make sure your throat is spared, so you can sing and tell me how much you love me." He drags a knife across Hannah's stomach, and blood flows. "I dress so you so everyone will know how beautiful you are."
Will reaches down with both hands and holds her mouth. "I make sure you will always be able to sing." He cracks her jaw and sets it to an "oh" shape. He picks her up as if she were a child, carries her out to his car and drives to the forest. He carries her body to the site. "I lay you here, in peace. This is my – "
Will glanced down at Hannah's body, but instead he saw Alana Bloom's face staring up at him with blank eyes.
Gasping, Will crumbled and nearly fell. Hannibal was beside him instantly and helped him up. "Will… lean on me. You're okay."
Jack came up too. "Will! What happened? Are you – "
"I'm fine," Will said, holding his eyes shut. The world still seemed to be spinning, but he willed himself to stay steady.
"No, you're not, Will," Hannibal said. "Let's sit down." He helped Will sit. Will breathed deeply. "Has this ever happened before?" Will shook his head. "Then let me take you either to my office or your home."
"N-no, I'll be fine," Will said, trying to stand shakily.
"You're clearly not fine, Will," Jack interjected.
"I'll look after him for a bit. He'll report to you once he feels up to it," Hannibal assured Jack. Jack nodded. Hannibal helped Will to his car and held the door open for him. Will shut his eyes and breathed deeply. The spinning was subsiding, and it was being replaced with a sense of shame.
Hannibal sat in the driver's seat and fastened his seatbelt. "Would you prefer to go home or to my office?"
"Y-your office is fine," Will said, staring out the window and avoiding Hannibal's eyes. Hannibal nodded and drove. Neither spoke on the way. Will was fine enough to get out of the car by himself and walk into Hannibal's office.
They both sat in his office, Will on the couch and Hannibal in his chair. Will continued to avoid eye contact with him.
"So… what happened before you fell, Will?" Hannibal asked.
"I didn't actually – "
"Before you almost fell," Hannibal corrected, refusing to let the subject change.
"I… I had Hannah's body in my hands… I lay her on the ground, a-and… when I looked down at her again, I saw…" he swallowed hard, "I saw Dr. Bloom." He shut his eyes.
Hannibal considered this. "Do you feel Dr. Bloom betrayed you?"
Will shook his head fervently. "No! No, o-of course not. She would never… never betray me."
"You kissed her. You took a very large risk, and she ultimately rejected you. Isn't that what these women did, at least in our killer's eyes?"
Will shook his head. "N-no…. it's different. He had nothing, no relationship with them."
"All the more reason Dr. Bloom's rejection can be taken as betrayal. She knows you, and despite knowing you she turned you down."
Will frowned. "You said yourself you agreed with her turning me down, Dr. Lecter."
Hannibal nodded. "And I stand by that. But I won't pretend that cannot create a sense of hurt." After a pause, he asked, "Will, when was the last time you asked a woman out on a date?"
Will scoffed. "I… I'm not sure. I… I work a lot. I don't have time to date."
"Have you seen women you've been attracted to?"
Will's face flushed slightly. "I… I don't know. Why are you asking me? It doesn't – "
"You nearly fainted. Clearly it matters to you," Hannibal said. "Have you?" Averting his eyes, Will nodded. "And did you ever ask them out?" Will shook his head. "Why is that?"
"I-I'm always busy, like I said," Will answered sharply. "A-and I'm…" he inhaled sharply. "I'm broken. What can I possibly offer anyone?"
Hannibal sat silently for a moment. "And you don't want to break anyone else." Will nodded. Hannibal sighed softly. "Will… I'm going to speak as a friend, not as a therapist. You see some of the most horrible aspects of humanity. You deserve to know the most beautiful aspects as well. Having someone to remind you of the beauty in the world could help ground you."
"What about you, Dr. Lecter?" Will asked. "What do you have to ground you?"
Hannibal considered this. With a smile, he said, "My love for cooking and the arts. Beauty."
They sat quietly for a moment, and then Will asked, "How does the aria go, Dr. Lecter?"
"I should have the song here," Hannibal said, thumbing through his CDs. "Ah… here we are." He put on the CD and began the song.
A beautiful soprano voice rang:
Caro mio ben, credimi almen, senza di te, languice cor.
Il tuo fidel sospira ognor. Cessa, crudel, tanto rigor!
Caro mio ben, credimi almen. Senza di te, languice cor.
(My most dear, believe of me at least: without you the heart languishes.)
(Your faithful sighs evermore. Cease, cruel one, so much punishment.)
(My most dear, believe of me at least: without you the heart languishes.)