"Well, the address is right. And they were the only DeArman in the book," Scully said as she felt the car come to a gentle stop. Mulder was still keeping her in the dark, but she was starting to get a pretty clear picture of what was going on. They had gone back and searched the main floor of Jackson's house. In the process they found a videotape labeled Jessica DeArman in a drawer with what appeared to be receipts.
She was starting to get scared.
"What was it Robert said about this girl? She was 'weird'?" Mulder said.
"I think the term he used was a little less flattering." They had opted to ask Robert over David because of his emotional state. As it turned out she was in Robert's grade, and in Mr. Nicolas's Algebra class.
"Well, the house looks normal enough," Mulder said, though he was sure where her "weirdness" came from, and it was not her house. He knocked on the door, and a middle-aged man peeked out cautiously. "FBI," Mulder said, showing his badge. "May we step inside?"
"Uhh, sure," the man said, holding the door open as politely and nervously as most would. "How can I help you?"
"Does a Jessica DeArman live in this residence?" Scully asked. Mulder glanced at her suddenly, surprised that she was asking the questions.
"Yes, ma'am. She's my daughter," he said, sighing a little worried sigh.
"Would you mind if we asked her a few questions?" Mulder asked, taking over the investigation.
"What's going on?"
"She did not do anything wrong, Mr. DeArman. We're investigating one of her teachers, and we think she might be able to give us some information on him," Scully jumped in. She shot Mulder a glance telling him not to try to keep her back, and he gave her one that told her he was not happy she was figuring it all out. Whether he was worried, angry, or disappointed, she could not tell.
"Well…" Mr. DeArman said slowly, "Follow me." He led them down a narrow hallway to a door. He knocked on it softly. "Jessie, there are some people here who want to talk to you."
"Who?"
"Say they're with the FBI."
She did not answer. "Go on in," the man said, holding the door open. "These last few months she hasn't been very talkative; you'll have to forgive her. Her mother and I think it's just that stage of growing up she's going through."
"If you do not mind, we would like to speak to her alone," Mulder said, reinforcing his poker face.
"Uhh… Okay. Sure, whatever you say," the man said, taking a step back.
Scully shut the door as she followed Mulder into the room. Sitting on the bed was a pitiful looking thing, skinny and pale, her unwashed brown hair uncombed and pressed against her head. She had her nose buried in an Algebra book while her hand moved silently over a piece of paper, adding and figuring mechanically.
"Jessica DeArman?" Scully said slowly.
The girl nodded.
"Can we ask you a few questions? My name is Fox Mulder. I'm an agent with the FBI, and this is my partner Dana Scully."
"I guess," she said.
Mulder sat down slowly next to the girl, letting his eyes land on her paper for only an instant. There was nothing there, but she was still aimlessly moving her pencil over it, as if she wanted something to come out, but nothing would.
"Jessica," Mulder said softly, "do you know a Mr. Nicolas?"
The blood left her face, but she nodded slightly.
"Did he ever say or do anything to you that made you uncomfortable?"
She said nothing.
"Did he?" Mulder pressed.
"Look, why are you asking me all these questions?" she suddenly snapped at him.
"Because we're worried that he may hurt somebody," Scully said, again stepping into the game.
"He," Jessica said, biting her lip, "he… I'm not supposed to talk about it, okay?" Her eyes looked up at Scully, wet with tears.
Mulder looked up at his partner as well. She had a worried look on her face. To anyone else it would not have looked worried, but Mulder had long since learned to recognize the "brave face" she put on so often.
"He made you do things, didn't he? Things that made you embarrassed or ashamed," Mulder said, trying his best not to push too hard yet still get the answers he needed.
She nodded. "Yes."
"He videotaped you, getting it all on film, didn't he?"
Again she nodded.
"Jessica, where did he make you do these things?" Mulder asked.
"In his…" she started, breaking down into tears over memories she had tried so hard to keep pushed away. "In his basement."
"What, Mulder, were you hoping to accomplish by that?" Scully said accusingly. Tired from the flight, frustrated that her partner was not telling her things that she needed to know, and scared to death for David she was quick to jump on Mulder about his measures. "If it was a witness you were after, we already have one in David," Scully said as Mulder opened the car door. "I don't think we should be going around upsetting people when it is of this nature unless we have to."
Mulder sat down in his seat, placing his head in his hand. "I was hoping to find his base of operations. Usually he does the videos away from his home in an abandoned warehouse or somewhere of the like. It's not like him to film them in his residence."
"Mulder," Scully said slowly as she shut herself in the car next to her partner, "I think it's time you told me everything you know about this case. No more secrets, no more half-truths. You know more about this case than you have told me, and I want to know what secrets you are hiding from me."
"Who said I was keeping secrets from you?" he replied, forcing a smile, vaguely wondering what the point of continuing the charade was.
"Mulder, who said that you could keep secrets from me? Now, something is bothering you about this case, and while I have my ideas, I want to hear it from your mouth."
"I know, I should have told you before, but I did not want to worry you anymore than I had to," he said in a slow sigh. "About ten years ago, before I ever found the X-Files, I worked a case involving a child pornographer by the name of Logan Jackson."
Scully nodded. She had figured that out for herself, but ever alert, something stuck out in her mind. "Mulder, you worked violent crimes back then. I thought we had an entire division devoted to sex crimes...unless…" She trailed off, and turned away, realization setting in. She thought of David, and she was not sure if she was crying or not, but she felt her partner's hand on her shoulder and it was not enough to give her strength back.
Mulder watched the back of Scully's head. "He has a pattern. In each city he stops at, he makes two videos: the first is purely sexually explicit, with no physical harm coming to the victim, or victims, beyond the sexual molestation and psychological scarring. The second is a snuff film." He watched Scully not move a muscle. "Most of his victims are between the ages of nine and fourteen-"
"Like David…." Scully muttered. "And Jessica was the first…"
"Yes," Mulder said, removing his hand from her shoulder and looking away. "He's insane and sometimes passive aggressive to complete irrationality, but he's also very brilliant. He has never been caught, and he's a master when it comes to making tranquilizers and other sleep-inducing substances. Most of the time, he'll try to befriend his intended victim, and then lure them into his 'projects' often threatening them or their families. If that does not work, he'll use more forceful ways."
"And now he's after David. Oh God, Mulder, I…." She looked like she wanted to cry, but stubborn, hard headed Scully refused to let it out.
Mulder glanced up at her, but quickly put his head back down. This was why he did not want to tell her. "At the time of the investigation, he had abducted a young girl by the name of Angela Shaffer. I swore what he had done to the others would not happen to her. I profiled him and tracked him down to an old warehouse, and…I was too late. Angela was dead, and Jackson got away-crossed borders-making sure I was powerless to stop him.
"I failed, Scully. I will never live that down."
"I'm sorry," she said as he looked at her sadly.
He smiled through wet eyes and put the car in motion. The Watsons' house was on the opposite side of town. When they arrived the sun was starting to set, casting a brilliant display of glamour, a last hoorah of the daylight before the darkness took over. "I think David needs somebody to talk to," Mulder said as he put the car in park.
"So do I, Mulder," Scully replied.
"You're better at it than I am," he said, turning to look at her.
"And where will you be?"
"I was going to head over to the police station to see if we can get an APB out for Logan Jackson."
Scully stepped out of the car and expected the headlights to blink out, but they did not. She strolled over to Mulder's side as he rolled down the window to hear her. "Aren't you coming inside for a little bit?"
"No, I-I'd rather get this out in a hurry. I don't want to waste anymore time catching the suspect. Don't worry; I'll wait until you get inside."
She walked up the concrete walk, giving a final glance at her partner before knocking on the door. It's guilt. He can't face David because somewhere he thinks that what David went through this afternoon is his fault. It's not. I know Mulder. He would have done everything in his power to catch Jackson, and if he did not then no one else could have either. The door opened, and an excited Robert greeted her…sort of. "Hey Matt, I was …oh. It's you." Scully watched his expression change to a disappointed frown. It was amusing to say the least. "If you're looking for David, he's not here."
"He's not?" she asked, her words rushed. "Where is he?"
"I don't know. He just walked out saying he had some thinking to do."
"Mulder!" Scully shouted, waving her arms and hopping off the front step. He was already backing out of the drive. "Mulder! Wait!"
"Well, don't say 'thank you'," Robert mumbled as he shut the door.
"What is it?" Mulder asked when she opened the passenger side door.
"David's not here."
"He's not? If he lays one finger on David, I'll kill that son of a - "
"Mulder, no. He just left on his own."
Mulder sighed with relief. "Do we need to go look for him?"
"I don't think so. How about if we drop you off at the police station and I go look for David? I have a hunch as to where he might be."