Will, the puppy – Chapter 8
Hannibal had been unable to sleep. That was definitely one off the longest nights of his life. So much had happened, so much had changed inside him and he was still getting used to it. He was sitting in the armchair on his bedroom, watching Will sleeping in his bed. The boy was fast asleep and his face looked very calm and his heart was filled with peace because the boy was at peace.
What could he have done anyway? How could he refuse the boy when the fate offered him like that? Hannibal was not the kind of person to believe in luck, fate, God or anything, but he felt that somehow he had to have done that, he had to have killed Webber. It was meant to be. He felt that fate had plotted for him to have left that Coffee Shop in that very moment and that Webber had been rude enough so Hannibal would choose him as his prey. Everything that had happened the night before had been plotted by some higher force for Hannibal to find and rescue Little Will, there was no other explanation to that. Will was destined to be his.
Hannibal smiled at the irony of the situation. He didn't know how he would manage it, but he'd find a way, he always did.
The psychiatrist stood up from his armchair and walked a few steps to the nightstand on the left side of the bed. He opened the top drawer and grabbed his Tablet trying to make no noise that could wake the little one, but Will shifted and rolled on the bed laying on his side, facing Hannibal. The boy was still asleep and the curls of his hair were covering his eyes. Hannibal reached out and brushed a strand of hair from his forehead. The boy shuddered instinctively, but still seemed lost in his sleep. Hannibal smiled and walked toward the armchair again, sitting with the tablet in hands.
He researched on several websites of missing persons, but found nothing. No child who had a picture on these websites looked like Will. Was it possible that nobody was looking for him? Will had said he did not remember since when he was with Webber, perhaps for too long. He first tried the official website of the FBI, but had no luck. Then he tried other less official websites.
There was a NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) in Louisiana which had a website that helped to find missing children even after the police have given up, focusing on cold cases. After a long search in this website Hannibal found a picture of a little boy with curly black hair and impossible blue eyes. There was no mistaking, that was Will. Hannibal could never mistake those eyes with the eyes of another child.
Will's name was actually David Adams. He had disappeared from the gates of his school when he was eight years old, in September 2003, in Louisiana. His parents had spared no effort to find him. They had made posters, rallies, advertisements, they had published it in newspapers and they also had participated in radio talk shows, but they never found the little one. In 2005, they had died in a car accident, and since then no one have looked for the child. David had been presumed dead. Webber could have kept Will prisoner his whole life if he wanted so.
Hannibal turned off his Tablet and placed on the table. He looked out the window, the sunlight was illuminating everything. He looked at his watch, it was 9 a.m, he had spent three hours researching in the internet. What would he do now? Will's parents were not alive and waiting for him. The boy had actually eighteen years old, but could not take care of himself broken the way he was. He could not take him to the police nor to the hospital as this would raise questions that Hannibal could not answer without bringing trouble for himself. Hannibal considered all these things and there was only one thing to do. Hannibal would keep the boy to himself.
He had already made his decision long before he find about Will's parents, but now he was sure that there would be no impediment. David was presumed dead, but he was not David anymore, he was Will, his Will. Hannibal would provide a new identity, a new life for the boy. Just like Webber had done, but Hannibal would not make the boy's life a living hell. No. Will's life would be full of affection going forward. He would make everything possible for the boy to be happy, he would make the kid forget the days of torture and despair.
When Will wakes up, it would be the first day of the rest of his life with Hannibal. A safe and happy life.
