TIPPING THE BALANCE
A/N: Originally, Agent Taylor was going to be in this story… But I just couldn't squeeze him in anywhere. Next time, I might have to throw him in a story. LOL. Anyway I hope the readers like it so far.
FALLS CHURCH COUNTY MORGUE, Vancouver
Scully thought back to doing her first autopsy as she did a quick external examination of Mr. and Mrs. Price. This was actually the first autopsy she had done since returning as an agent. The only marks on the feet were that of puncture wounds from the barbed hooks to keep the victims hung upside down. She looked in awe at how they were managed to be held up. Morbid fascination was what some would call it. :There was one cut straight from the naval to the base of the throat… And another deep cut from one end of the ribcage to the other forming a bloody cross. That in itself made her think twice, it was obvious that this had to be religious orientated. The precision of the cut had not hit any organs or even hit the ribcage. The cut going along the body went skillfully in between the third and fourth ribs.
Mulder walked in with the young Officer Preston in tow. Even though it was recommended to him that he stay outside he had wanted to come in and see every aspect of the case. Preston needed the experience but you should never teach a kid to swim by throwing them in the deep end.
"Find anything yet?" Mulder asked. She had completed the Y-incision as per the usual routine and was now beginning to weigh the organs.
"No." Scully said as she checked the weight. But everything was in the normal range so far. It seemed that the cause of death was not from any conventional means. But there was a large amount of blood loss. Even though there wasn't enough blood to support that at theory at the scene, "But what's this?"
Scully found something on the face of the victims and donned a headpiece that supported a magnifying glass. She began prodding around and found two needle type punctures going from the corner of each eye. She got the camera and tried to get a good close up shot of the marks.
"Well, uh umm that's well and good." Preston broke his silence, "I'm going to head off and fetch some lunch." He said suddenly, "Can I pick up anything from, I mean for any of you two?"
"Chips and a burger would be nice." Mulder answered. He was feeling really hungry actually.
"Caesar Salad for me." Scully looked up for a second to see him walking out the door, "So how's it working out for you two." She contained her smile well.
Mulder shrugged, "The kid wants to know everything." He said, "He wants a hand in everything… Scully…" Mulder said suddenly, "Do you think they sent him to work with us deliberately?"
Scully laughed, "Yeah sure Mulder. They just figured he needed to gain experience quickly… And what better way than giving him to two FBI agents and two former FBI agents."
Mulder mockingly frowned, "So you agree that they did it deliberately."
Vancouver PD, Falls Church
John uploaded the digi-pics onto the office laptop computer and went through them one by one while deleting the ones that hadn't come out good. He loved some parts about being a cop again but the thing he hated was organizing the files. Scully, Mulder and Preston were over at the morgue while he and Monica were stuck with the paperwork. John took a closer look.
"Careful John." Monica said behind him, "Don't sit too close."
"I think it's these damn contacts." John said wishing that he'd never gotten the cursed things, "They're making things kind of fuzzy."
"Where?" Monica asked and John pointed to some of the facial features, "Is it just this one?" She asked him.
"It's on most of them." John noted, "So it's not just me then."
"No…" Monica replied pointing to the screen just to make sure that they were looking at the same thing. The mouths of the victims seemed to be smudged to the point of almost looking closed. John looked at the camera lens carefully. There was only one logical explanation for this and that would be that the lens was smudged, "Seems pretty coincidental for a smudge John." Monica watched him look for the logical solution.
He checked the best looking photographs and made himself a hard copy to put together in the file, "I wonder how Fox and Dana are going with the Rook." John said as he waited.
Monica sighed and placed her hands on her hips in an impatient manner. She'd learn this pose from John himself. If he ever got frustrated or annoyed, his hands went straight for his hips.
"What?" John asked her.
"I didn't teach you to play chess so you can assign names of the pieces to others." She said trying to sound angry with him.
John actually hadn't realized that that's what he'd done, "Sorry you're right." He stated. Ever since they started work in Vancouver they'd attempted to learn off each other. John tried albeit unsuccessfully at times to be more sedate while Monica tried, unsuccessfully at times, to rely more on actual detective work than feelings. It was almost a game between them two.
"Lets see what Dana has come up with." John said as he finished sticking the photographs into the folder. He could always fix it up later when they start getting the file together. John grabbed his jacket and put it on as he was on his way out
Outside Vancouver Coroner's Office
Everybody waited for Scully to come out with the base results of the autopsy. The blood work would take awhile longer to get the results. What they were after were the immediate results. To say that Mulder was in a rush to catch up was an understatement but decided to leave it until the time was appropriate. The thing that came up next was a brainstorming session when theories and thoughts were just put out there. Preston had a tough time trying to keep with the three and found himself feeling like the odd one out. He leaned up against the wall with eyes half closed, intently listening to each one speak.
"It's obviously religious motivated." Monica piped up first.
Mulder couldn't help but let out a little laugh. It had come forth before it was able to be stopped.
"What?" Monica blinked in a confused way.
"Nice to know certain things never change." Mulder didn't make eye contact but could imagine her giving him a stare.
"I have to agree." Doggett said interrupting the awkward moment. Mulder looked up and raised his eyebrows, asking a question without words, "What? Of course it looks religiously motivated."
"What do you think Officer Preston?" Mulder turned to the young team member.
"Me?" He looked shocked that he was asked for his opinion as if it were the first time somebody had ever asked what he thought, "The mark of the cross indicates that there was some sort of religious message." He waited to see what the reaction from the others would be.
Mulder just nodded giving him an affirmative reaction. There wasn't much other discussion until Doggett cut in, "What if it was made to look like religious murders? You know, to make us think that it was religious when in fact it had nothing to do with religion."
"That's plausible." Mulder narrowed his eyes, "But I find that unlikely."
"You're right Mulder." Doggett said, "Some things never change."
Scully came outside with a notebook in hand and began looking at it before satisfying the curiosity of the four person audience. First off, she had to put her notes into something resembling order, "As I had presumed, the cuts to the chest were not the cause of death. At the moment, the cause of death seems more likely to be blood loss." Scully watched them watch her, "The accountability for the blood loss is yet to be determined. Puncture wounds to the feet showed me that the bodies were hung up when they were still alive."
"Jesus!" It was Preston who reacted.
"Was the cuts on the front done post mortem?" Mulder asked.
"Judging by the lack of blood surrounding the cuts, they were either done postmortem or they were tended to after the act." Scully said, "But there was something interesting that popped up during the examination of the facial area…" Monica and Johns' eyes concentrated on her words, "There were minute puncture holes that started…" She motioned for Mulder to step closer, "They started from the corner of each eye." Scully used her finger to point to the spot. Mulder's eye closed in a reflexive defense mechanism before opening again. Even while Scully did this, his hazel eyes remained focus but every time her finger moved, his eyes repeated the routine, "They went from here in an angle that missed the eyeball but managed to sever the optic nerve which rendered the victims blind. Also, without a medical procedure, the vocal chord was removed which then rendered the victims mute."
Everyone stood with mouths wide open, it was Mulder who spoke first, "What about the ears?" Mulder asked.
"God Mulder." It suddenly dawned on Doggett where Mulder was taking this. Sure, it seemed that everything went with the saying, Hear no evil, speak no evil, and See no evil. But that was a long stretch even for him.
"There was nothing done to the ears." Scully said sighing. She knew how Mulder's mind worked and so did everybody else. Well almost everybody, "You have something to say Officer Preston." He looked like he wanted to say something.
"Huh?" He asked, "Um no." The last thing he wanted was to look like an inexperienced idiot in front of the others.
"Out with it." Scully said, making it almost sound like a superior order.
"I was uh just wondering." Preston stammered over his words. He couldn't believe with high level education but his communication skills seemed to have abandoned him at an inopportune time, "How would it be possible to remove the vocal chord without any evidence of procedure and wouldn't that require surgical knowledge to do so?"
"Well not necessarily knowledge of surgery." Scully said carefully as to not hurt what looked like his fragile pride, "You're on the right track though… But anybody with detailed knowledge of the human anatomy will know what to go for." She said.
"So what did you find out about Mr. and Mrs. Price?" Doggett asked Monica who'd spent most of the morning talking with the neighbors.
"There was nothing really about them." Monica thought back to when she had just went there to ask a couple of questions and ended up having to stay there for almost an hour drinking tea and eating biscuits just because the poor old lady was in shock over what had happened and that she was also lonely, "They volunteered at Drop-in centre as well as regularly took active roles in community fundraisers… They were always donating disused items to those in need."
"Bad things always happen to good people." Preston said, he had thought that he'd said it quietly, but that wasn't the case. Many times he had heard the old story when someone had died in such a bad way that the neighbor always piped up and said, 'They were such good people.' He always believed that that was always a case of never speak ill of the dead. But in this case it seemed to literally mean what it means.
DOGGETT RESIDENCE, FALLS CHURCH
John had the table set up for dinner that night. Scully and Mulder had retired to their hotel room to settle in for the first night. A promise had been made to catch up with each others' lives in the next couple of nights. John looked in the oven once the buzzer went off. He wasn't someone who's cooking deviated from the original recipe. Sometimes it didn't work out the best but more than often it worked out fine. Tonight's one was a beef lasagna. He sprinkled the grated cheese over the top before putting it back in the oven.
"Smells good." Monica said as she readjusted her robe.
"Thanks." John kept his eye plastered on the lasagna. Soon, the cheese will be melted and then ready to serve, "Feeling better?" John asked out of the blue.
She still looked somewhat pale, "Yeah I am." She answered. John studied her deep brown eyes but came to the conclusion that she was telling the truth, "I am. I really needed that hot shower." Monica repeated.
"Good." John said, "Hope you're hungry."
"Ravishing." Monica replied as he began serving up the meal.
The two enjoyed the dinner and some post-dinner entertainment. But soon, Monica had fallen asleep leaning against his body while on the couch. She looked to peaceful to disturb. Risking the chance of a stiff body the next morning, he decided to sleep on the couch to.
Mulder & Scully's Hotel Room
Since they had virtually come out and admitted they being a couple, it wasn't so much against the policy for them to share a hotel room. But they were under orders to not do anything that may reflect poorly on the FBI. Any of that would be committing an unforgivable sin.
"What are you thinking about?" Scully draped an arm around Mulder's exposed chest.
Mulder smiled as he faced the ceiling, "I was just thinking that we should get Officer Preston here taken off the case." It was true that they had only been working with him for the one day.
"What? Why?" Scully thought hard about the day trying to decipher the reasons for Mulder's conclusions, "Did he say something to you?"
"No." Mulder still looked at the ceiling as he answered, "But I don't think he can make it through this case."
Scully had thought the exact same thing… But she was more tactful than Mulder was that's for sure, "You can't do that Mulder. Getting him transferred when he's done nothing to warrant it will shatter his already fragile confidence."
Mulder faced her so she had picked up on that as well, "You got a point." He said in a beaten tone. For some reason he thought that Scully might've backed him on this but she had a valid point.
"But I think that if he wishes to be transferred it'll be best not to press for the reasons." Scully commented, "Stephen Preston probably just needs some breaking in." Mulder laughed, "What?" Scully asked, half sitting up.
"You make him sound like a horse." Mulder answered her still laughing, "All he needs is breaking in."
Vancouver Historical Records, Vancouver 9:05 am
Everyone was there except for Monica and they showed their ID to the person who worked in the Records department, "So where's Monica, John?" Scully noted her absence.
"She's taking a personal day." Doggett answered quiet methodically.
"Are things ok?" She questioned, "You look like you've spent all night on the couch." By the looks of it that was the case, he periodically cricked his neck and had developed dark rings beneath his eyes.
"Things are fine." He said.
Scully didn't press things any further. She was somewhat of an expert on "FINE" Since it was a line that she'd used so many times in her life. Usually when someone says 'Fine' it means that they're not, but they just wanted to be left alone. Too bad other people never saw it that way.
"So what are we doing here?" Preston couldn't figure out the reason why they were there. It seemed that he had become the driver and when Mulder wanted to see the historical records of Vancouver, it wasn't his position to question. He picked up his pace to match Mulder's.
"Considering the nature of this case and it's certain aspects… I want to see what kind of historical relevance if any there is about Winchester Way or where the other murders took place." Mulder started on the tangent without breaking stride, "Also to see if there were any cases or reports of these types of murders in history."
"What's the point of that?" Preston asked.
Mulder didn't know whether to be annoyed at him or be thankful that he had a fresh audience not only willing to listen, but eager to listen, "What do you mean?" He asked.
"About Winchester Way?" Preston prodded.
"Since the Cult-like circumstances surrounding the Prices." Mulder couldn't help but smile to himself, Monica would be having a field day listening to him talk like this. He accepted almost everything in his beliefs but had difficulties accepting Occult rationalities, "I think it'd be better to see if the land that Falls Church sits on, might have been used by something else."
"Like what?" Preston asked. Quite unsure how this Agent ever made it past the FBI's psych examination.
"Maybe satanic followers using it for sacrificial purposes. Old Indian burial grounds. Buried Cemeteries." Mulder was rattling off.
"Like Poltergeist?" Preston asked.
Mulder had found some old maps and documents and placed them messily on the table, "Yeah like Poltergeist." Mulder said with an annoyed tone, "But a more recent thing is the Amityville House."
"What the movie with Ryan Reynolds?"
Mulder rolled his eyes, "No… The one with James Brolin and Margot Kidder." He said referring to the original, "But anyway, the grounds where it stood, was used for Indian Rites and those rites actually spilled over and affected present time in a supernatural way. Due to people's lack of understanding everything went unsolved and weird stuff still happens with no rational explanation."
"Ok." Preston said as Mulder began referencing the maps with older maps.
The sound of a mobile phone ringing echoed through the historical library. It was giving the atmosphere a touch of modernization, "That's mine." Doggett said as reached in his pocket for the phone and checked the number that was calling him, "I have to take this." He left the area.
"Sure." Scully said.
"Agent Scully." Preston said as he continued to watch Mulder look through the maps and occasionally jotted down some notes, "Is there something wrong with him?"
Scully turned to face him, "What do you mean?" She asked.
"Well he's kinda acting a little weird." Preston observed, "He's going on about rituals, movies and graveyards. This case is extremely serious and your partner doesn't seem to be doing that."
Scully was about to scorn the young officer for even suggesting that Mulder didn't take any case seriously. But she could see why someone who didn't know him would see it that way, "He is taking it seriously." Scully said as she was approached Mulder, "He just likes to look at things from all angles."
Doggett came in and stood in between Scully and Preston… He put the phone back into his pocket, "Hashefoundanything?" He asked.
Scully looked at him and blinked, "What did you say?"
"I said, "Has he found anything?"" Doggett repeated what he had said. He rubbed his forehead with his fingers, "Well?"
"Right." Scully watched him closely, "Don't know yet. Are you alright? You look out on your feet."
"Sorry?" Doggett asked.
"You look dead on your feet." Scully said, "Are you alright?"
Before Doggett could respond Mulder had put all the maps away where he found them and approached, "There's not really a lot there." Mulder answered as if he was responding to an earlier question, "The area around Winchester Way area of Vancouver use to be a camper's ground. You know how people use just camp in the great outdoors. Kind of like a backpacker's hostel without the hostel."
"Sounds fun." Preston commented, "Anything else?"
"No… But the town of Falls Church was named after a renegade Christian church." Mulder answered, "A church that still believed in the ritualistic sacrifice of farm animals and also drinking 'The blood of Christ'."
"That's common knowledge Mulder." Doggett replied, "Though, those claims were never substantiated."
"Enough to get the church persecuted." Mulder corrected.
Mulder went to get the photocopy of the documents he had come across during his findings.
"Are you sure you're alright John?" Scully asked as she looked at his pale face and it didn't matter how much he tried to hide it, his breathing had become irregular.
"It's getting a bit stuffy in here." Doggett said as he adjusted the tie of his uniform, "I'm going to go out for some fresh air. Meet you lot outside."