Sorry for the long wait, my surgery went well and I'm slowly recovering.

As for this chapter, sorry it's not the showdown with Tobias, but that'll be next chapter. I'm kind of struggling on where to go after this even with Tobias and I'll probably just end up calling it complete. I never intended to move past the six chapters this fic originally had, but I hope you've all enjoyed these additional chapters (and if not, well...).

Will grimaced as he took in the sight before him. The man's neck had been torn to shreds and the neck of a cello shoved down it to form a human cello. The very idea caused Will to shift uncomfortably, especially when he kept getting phantom smells of the red spruce that the neck was made of. He carefully walked around the human cello, avoiding the science team and the other officers taking pictures of the scene.

"Will?" Jack interrupted, waving his hand for Will to come closer. "I'm going to need you to work your magic on this one, get me as much information as you can."

Nodding his head, Will took a steadying breath and watched as everyone filed out of the area to let Will work in piece. When he was sure that he could do what he needed to do, he closed his eyes and let the pendulum swing.

Disgraceful. Absolutely disgraceful, a supposed master of his instrument. Not so. For if he was such a good player then he wouldn't have kept missing the notes. Too much staccato when the obvious choice should have been to add more legato. Ruined the song, soil the instrument. But there has to be at least one thing about you that is good. Yes, your own instrument.

It wasn't hard to corner the man, he was alone in a practice room, a place he should have been living in if he wanted to be half as good as he thought he was. A slip of piano wire around his neck was child's play to tear open, but only enough for bleeding out, he didn't want to lose a piece of his instrument.

And just like that Will let himself envision what the killer had done. From treating the vocal cords to carefully setting the man up. And then Will envisioned playing the man, and the deep and rich sound echoed throughout the auditorium. Will quickly drew himself away from the sight and shook his head to clear it of the killer's thoughts. Will had an idea on who this was, but he had to talk about it with Jack and the others, for now though, Will was going home.

~.~.~.~.~.~

Will waited patiently for Hannibal to come home after he had swung home and fed his dogs before taking them outside. Luckily since Will usually spent the night at his own house in Wolf Trap, the dogs weren't feeling neglected. Despite the brief respite from thoughts of the current case he was working on, Will still kept going back to his hunch. Which is why he needed to talk to Hannibal. It didn't help that Abigail and Marissa were with Alana going on a college tour, as the house was eerily silent. When Will finally heard the front door open he let out a pleased sigh.

"Hannibal, I'm in the living room," Will said, shifting himself so he could better face the entrance. Hannibal waltzed in with his usual grace, a smile tucked into the corner of his mouth when he saw Will. Will closed his eyes as Hannibal's lips brushed against his own.

"Hello, Will," Hannibal said, taking a seat beside him on the couch. "How are you?"

Will snorted and gave Hannibal a dry look. "It would have been better if your playmate hadn't decided to make organic instruments," Hannibal raised a delicate brow at the statement.

"Organic instruments?"

"A human cello to be precise."

Hannibal let out a noncommittal hum. "Did it work?"

Will gaped at Hannibal. "That is not the issue here."

"I was just curious, Will. Catgut is still used for many classical and baroque string players as they provide a richer sound than the steel or synthetic strings more commonly used today. I was just wondering if the vocal cords provided the same sound."

Will shot a glare at Hannibal. "Oh yeah it sounded wonderful especially with his larynx ripped open and the neck of a cello shoved down his throat." Will took a calming breath. "Hannibal, I have to tell Jack."

Hannibal didn't answer but reached his hand out to lay it on top of Will's. Will felt the tension in his shoulders leaving as his soulmate seemed to understand the severity of the situation.

"Will," Hannibal said softly. "I would be most appreciative if you'd wait just a bit longer to report Tobias."

Will felt all the released tension quickly return to his body. "What?"

"I wish to hear what other performances he has to play. If you-"

Will yanked his hand away from Hannibal's. "Are you asking me not to do my job?" Hannibal's silence answered the question for him. "Hannibal, I might say it's fine to keep up your hobby, but I also have a duty to follow here, soulmate or not."

"And yet you don't report the Chesapeake Ripper even though you know who lies behind the murder."

Clenching his teeth Will turned his gaze away from Hannibal. "You know why I can't do that," taking a calming breath, he turned back to Hannibal, "but I can save lives by telling Jack. Is it that important for you to play your games that you would jeopardize my job?"

"He will be caught in the end, it will likely be that he will only play one more song for us before that time."

"How many songs he plays isn't the issue here. What if he decides he wants to make one of us his final concerto?"

Hannibal let out a quiet chuckle and shot Will and amused glance. "Do you think that I couldn't take him down? Or that I would even let him get close to you?" Hannibal asked. Will didn't bother to answer the man and when he felt the gentle weight of Hannibal's hand between his shoulder blades, it felt a little like betrayal.

"I," Will started, clearing his throat and straightening his posture, "I need to go home, I'll see you later Hannibal."

Hannibal looked as if he wanted to say something, but calmly removed his hand from Will's back and let Will stand up. "Will, you know I cannot change my nature any more than you can change yours."

Will clenched his fist and nodded tersely. The quick kiss he gave Hannibal felt wrong on his mouth and he resisted the urge to scrub at his mouth. Hopefully this would all blow over and he and Hannibal would go back to how they usually were. But until then, Will was going to tell Jack and prayed that he was making the right decision.

~.~.~.~.~.~

"You have a lead?" Jack asked, his eyebrows raised and eyes hungry for information.

Will shrugged. "Call it a hunch," he said, picking at a loose thread on his sleeve.

"Your hunches are usually correct, Will."

"Anyway, when I went to the opera with Hannibal the other day there was a man there that seemed… off."

Jack gave him a dry look. "Off?"

"Think of a wolf in a sheep's clothing."

"Alright and is there any solid evidence that it's- who is this?"

"Tobias Budge, and no," Will realized his theory wouldn't stand up in court, but he was hoping Jack would be convinced enough to apply for a warrant. "He's a cello instructor and his the owner of Chordophone String Shop."

Jack let out a heavy sigh and scrubbed a hand down his face. "Will," he started.

"I know, Jack," Will said hurriedly, "I know that there isn't anything to go on besides my gut, but you have to trust me on this."

Jack inspected him for a moment before nodding his head once. "Fine, we can get a warrant."

Will felt his shoulders relax. "Thank you," Will said softly. "And I'll be going in fist by the way." Jack's head shot up and he looked ready to start berating Will. "No, it'd make sense, I can say that Hannibal's harpsichord needs tuning or something along those lines. If I play my cards right, he might give himself away."

"You think it'll be that easy?"

Will gave a humorless grin. "Pride will always be their undoing, Jack."

Will could only hope that it wouldn't be Hannibal's as well.

Thank you all for your support and thank you for reading! Leave a comment if you have time :)