Freddie threw her bag on the ground in her room. The contents of the bag had no worth to worry about; after all wads of cellophane to puff it up was relatively cheap. A simple but worthwhile trick.

She kept her momentum while she swiftly landed on her chair, making it roll towards her desk. With a singular movement, she pulled out her spy pen and plugged it into the charging port. A beep and flashing red light brought it back to life. She just had to wait fifteen minutes before she could transcribe the most interesting conversation that it had stored on there.

Freddie leant back on her chair with hands firmly placed behind her head. Lips began to tug into a smug grin.

"I cannot believe I pulled that off. God, those two are so stupid!" She pushed her chair away from the desk while swivelling to face the door. She hopped up and walked to her old CD player sitting next to her bed. The old thing was the most unusual item in the room. Everything else was up-to-date modern tech from the newest Apple computer to the Smart TV that hung precariously from the wall. It turns out that keeping your mouth shut about your father having sex with a soon-to-be-mayor is a lucrative business. Well, a little more worthwhile than blogging the exposé about how Mr Mayor enjoys long walks on the beach, dogs, and being a submissive fuck-toy with large men with whips.

This stereo, however, from her grandmother. It was her favourite thing to play with on weekend visits to the country. Freddie was only seven when Grandmama died from terminal cancer. In her will, Grandmother Lounds gave her this player as a reminder of her. This was a treasure beyond any fancy techno-toy.

Freddie hit play. With a whirl of the already-inserted disk, the sweet sounds of Foreigner.

Standing in the rain, with his head hung low

Couldn't get a ticket, it was a sold-out show

Heard the roar of the crowd, he could picture the scene

Put his ear to the wall, then like a distant scream…

She began to dance to the music resounding in the room.

"AND BE A JUKEBOX HERO, GOT STARS IN HIS EYES…!" She belted out, playing an air guitar in the process.

For the next few minutes, Freddie let herself free to be herself. She knew what people thought of her: the annoying bother sticking her nose into other people's business. What she was, was annoying bother sticking her nose into other people's business who loved rock and roll.

The pen flashed green indicating the obvious. Freddie turned off the music and pounced to her desk. She quickly booted up her computer. While waiting for password confirmation, Freddie yanked out the pen and set it up. She was eager to listen to the recording but had to wait until she could write up a transcript of the conversation. Lucky for her, the expensive computer that her father brought had no qualms about speedily booting up.

XXX

TRANSCRIPT 512:

Information provided by B. Katz and W. Graham concerning recent Chesapeake High Murders.

B.K: Ok, no one is here. Tell me what's going on.

W.G: Before I tell you anything, you need to promise me something.

B.K: Of course!

W.G: Please do not overreact when I tell you everything.

B.K (scoffs): When have I ever overreacted about anything? C'mon tell me? Is it embarrassing?

W.G: Uhh, well uh…I suppose so. You see, I might have lied to your Dad

B.K: About what?

W.G: You see, the thing is…I did tell Hannibal about what happened with Mr Hanson and Mason. I told him perhaps everything that has happened.

B.K: .WHAT!

W.G: Shhh, I told you to not overreact.

B.K (louder): I AM NOT OVERREACTING; I AM REACTING THE PERFECT AMOUNT! God, Will, why, why…?

W.G: I dunno. I thought it wasn't important…

B.K: Will, are you hearing yourself! We want him convicted, you fucking idiot, not protect him. (Gasp) You are protecting him!

W.G: I'm not

B.K: Stop lying! You are protecting him! Why? Have you fallen madly in love with him!

W.G: I…

B.K: Oh my God! Will, you have a crush on Hannibal!

W.G: No I don't

B.K: Yes you do…

W.G: Do not!

B.K: Ffs, you are! Is this some weird brainwashing experiment? Or Stockholm Syndrome?

W.G: I am not in love with Hannibal!

B.K: You obviously are! Why the hell else would you lie? Jesus Christ, Will, you've gotta snap out of it. I have dealt with your shit since day one, and you do me dirty like this. Ugh! I'm gonna stop you right there before you lie to me again. I'm so mad that I am going to slap you across the face if another syllable leaves your mouth.

W.G: It was a lapse of judgement ok. I wasn't thinking straight.

B.K: Yes, you weren't thinking straight, you were thinking gay.

A sound that sounds like a slap

B.K: that is for talking again! Anyway, that is her house up ahead. You do not tell anyone besides my father about this miscommunication, because you bet your sweet ass that after this…

Recording is cut off. Battery presumably died.

XXX

Hannibal did not acknowledge the stares from the remaining students. Their stares of admiration never bothered him before, so their stares of judgement will not bother him now. The girls, in particular, turned their noses up at him. This was all for show: girls had an unsaid rule that they had to display solidarity for their gender, while at the same time gossiping behind the subjects back. However, he had not the time nor the interest to think about it; he had to speak to Will.

He scanned the students as they marched on to their homerooms. He caught a flash of brown curly hair heading to the fire escape. He was about to follow when someone skidded in front of him.

Beverly looked up at him with puffy red eyes and tear-stained cheeks. Her bag was limply falling off of her shoulder.

"Hey, there," Beverly said. "I think we need to talk."

XXX

Suffice to say, Beverly was still pissed from the day before. Will's stupid infatuation could have been counted as an obstruction of justice. What the hell was going through his head, she could not say, but she knew it had to be resolved.

Maybe Will finally came to his senses which is why he made the right decision to actually go along with the original plan. He had asked her to become a distraction

And, trust me, I will become a huge distraction.

She spotted Hannibal walking with a very obvious purpose. It was up to her to stop him in his tracks.

"Hey, there," she said. "I think we need to talk."

Hannibal impatiently looked over her head and took a step past her. "Now is not the best time…"

Beverly pushed him back. "But you see, it is…Good morning, Councillor," she said as Dr du Maurier coolly walked by. She paid no mind to them; it seemed that there was something more important on her mind.

"Look here, Hannibal," she whispered furiously, "I am going to put this in the blatant of terms: you fucked Will up something major. I wanna know why."

"I do not know what you are talking about," he said calmly.

"Oh yes, you do. A week ago, my best friend was normal, or as normal as he can be, but now he is acting weird around me, disappearing on me, and lying to the fucking police!"

Beverly looked around to see some of the students staring at her. She took a deep breath.

"Let's go for a walk."

She dragged him in the opposite direction towards an empty classroom. Once they were in, she closed the door.

"Beverly, I know you think me of a monster of a kind. I assure you I am not doing anything. Will is nearly an adult, he can formulate his thoughts without you helping him."

This coolness that Hannibal exuded pissed her off even more.

"Hannibal, I know for a fact you didn't invite him to stay with you from the kindness of your heart. He literally accused you of eating people!"

Hannibal leant against the teacher's desk; arms crossed. He reminded her of her father when he was about to explode.

"Are you sure you are not projecting your insecurities of losing him onto me?"

"Since when were you, my psychiatrist? Is this a new persona that you decided to create for yourself?"

Hannibal shrugged. "I am saying that maybe because Will is not relying on you so much as before, you think you are going to lose him. He should be able to make his own decisions."

"BUT he is not making his own decisions. You gave him the choice to live with an abusive negligent father and a person who provides a clean room and a warm plate of food!"

"At least I did. If you were such a best friend, you would have done this years ago."

Hannibal saw the clenched fist and he saw the trembling arm, but he did not see the knee slamming itself on his groin.

His wind was knocked out of him. He clutched his penis when she stepped back. Beverly felt a sort of satisfaction boiling up in her. This was a long time coming.

"Listen up, Lector, I was once afraid of you, but this all shows that you are just an egotistical human being. You are up to something – something that I cannot put my finger on. But I will find out," she then bent down, "but if you are as innocent as you say, I'm sure you do not have to be worried about a single thing."

She stood up, shot him a patronising grin before she turned on her heel.

XXX

Freddie clapped her hands in glee. As the meme went, she came looking for copper but found gold. This meant that:

a) After the Debacle on Monday, Mr Hanson had a little tête-à-tête with Mason that did not end well with the latter. Or Mr Hanson for the fact.

b) Will told Hannibal about it, then lied to Detective Hanson about telling Hannibal.

c) That those two went to someone's house. A female to be specific. They don't go to anyone else's houses besides their own, so this must be case-specific.

d) And this is the most important…Will has a thing for Hannibal!

She physically could not ask for more, except for the name of the person they visited. But that would be easily found out.

The blog would be short and sweet. It would include the recording and the transcript, with a sensationalist headline featuring on everyone's phones. It shall be glorious!

With swift fingers, she splattered out text. Freddie did not need to proof-check it; no-one would be analysing spelling mistakes. As long as certain important words catch their eyes and that would be enough. Anyway, she is too good at this business by now to make silly mistakes.

"Ahhh here we go!" Freddie Lounds said as she pressed send. "Let the chaos begin!"

NOT ALL RELATIONSHIPS ARE AS STABLE AS THEY SEEM.

RECORDED CONFESSIONAL BRINGS NEW EVIDENCE TO THE MURDER OF MR HANSON TO LIGHT – PLUS MORE…

Tattletimers, there is no secret in this town that I can't find out. This piece of evidence that I unearthed is evidence to not only that but to a flood of surprising information.

Do not ask how I got it, for that is a journalist's secret, but the important thing is that I found it to spread to the rest of my faithful followers. I am a great believer that nothing should obstruct justice, unlike our favourite star of Tattletime, Will Graham.

"What has he done now?" I hear you all cry. Well, he has a terrible secret that he kept from the police. It was so bad he kept it from his only friend Beverly Katz.

This incredibly bad secret is this: Antler Boy is in love with our very own Hannibal.

You must think that I have finally lost my brain. "Freddie, he tried to get rid of him over a month ago, now he wants to bang him? You just grabbing for news."

My friends, here is a recording that I captured: (Link)

And those who are hard of hearing here is the transcript: (Link)

These messages also reveal a conversation taken between Mr Hanson and Mason Verger before Mr Hanson's death. If anyone has more information about it, do not hesitate to share it with me. Contact me here…