Original story by CSM'sWife, adapted by ToonedInUK
Disclaimer: Neither myself or CSM'sWife own "The X-Files" or any of the characters (Fox Mulder, A.D.
Skinner, Dana Scully A.D. Skinner's secretary, Samantha Mulder, Duane Barry
etc.) - they are the property of CC and 1013 Productions. I do not own
"Profiler" or any of the characters (Bailey Malone, Samantha Waters, John
Grant, Grace, George Fraele etc.), they are the property of the NBC network and the creators.
Any other characters are the property of either myself or Michelle.
No real life people have been written into this story, any likeness to a
person (by name or otherwise) or event is completely unintended.
Motel room 18
Maryland
Annapolis
March 25th
07:00 a.m.
John Grant woke up with a start as his alarm made itself heard. He immediately went over to his laptop to check for any new mail - namely from Mulder. There was nothing, so he got dressed and was about to leave the room when his computer buzzed at him. He crossed the dirty carpet and looked at the screen. He smiled with anticipation, and the piece of mail:
"From: Fox_Mulder@fbi.gov
Hi. I looked through the stuff you sent me, but I haven't come up with anything as yet - I need to go to the crime scenes. First stop: New Jersey! I'll let you know what happens tomorrow.
F. Mulder"
Grant was not particularly pleased with this development - Malone would have to find out about the extra help that they were getting. On the other hand, he might be grateful for the assistance. He decided to reply.
"To: Fox_Mulder@fbi.gov
Wait, I may be able to get you officially involved - I just have to get it cleared with Bailey. I'll let you know within the hour. AD Skinner is your superior, right?
John."
Apartment #42
Washington DC
08:10 a.m.
Mulder had been waiting for Grant's reply, and got exactly what he wanted - he was never going to go to the other crime scenes, that was just a ploy to get Grant to get him officially involved.
"From: John_Grant@vctf.gov
OK Mulder, you're in - catch the next flight you can to Annapolis, and let me know what time you'll arrive. I'll meet you at the airport and show you to the motel that we are all staying in.
John."
Mulder had already packed and booked the flight, so he replied instantly.
Annapolis Airport
Maryland
12:37 p.m.
Grant sat on one of the uncomfortable red plastic seats and waited for Mulder. He wasn't due before one o'clock, but Grant had nothing else to do at that time. He checked his watch again - 12:39 p.m. Time seemed to be dragging, and he was becoming more impatient by the second. Finally it got to 13:00 p.m., and the plane was due. He rose from his seat and crossed over to the terminal where Mulder was supposedly going to emerge from. Mulder was the last person off the plane, and half-smiled in apology when he saw the annoyance in Grant's eyes. He went to grab his suitcase from the carousel and then had to wade through the crowd of people towards his friend.
"Hey Mulder."
"Hi. What say we dump my bags and then go straight on to the crime scene?"
"Sounds good, but I need to get a coffee on the way." They stayed in a comfortable silence all the way to the motel, where Mulder dumped his bags in room 21.
Annapolis
Maryland
Crime Scene
13:46 p.m.
Malone and Waters were waiting at the side of the road for them. Mulder didn't hesitate before getting out of the car.
"Mulder, you know Bailey Malone." Waters said. Malone approached Mulder for a handshake.
"Sorry about that 'Spooky' comment." Malone said sincerely.
"So, where's Mr. Zammit?" Mulder asked by way of acceptance.
"Over there." Malone pointed due east of their position. They shuffled over to where a few people were milling about, discussing the scene. A woman looked up and opened her mouth to say something, but quickly shut it again as soon as she saw Mulder.
"Mulder, this is Grace, the M.E., and this is Agent George Fraele." Waters paused the introductions for them to shake hands. "Grace, George, this is Special Agent Fox Mulder."
"Grace, anything come up whilst we were waiting?" Grant asked.
"No." she replied half-heartedly.
"So where do go from?" Grant asked.
"I don't know, maybe we should ask our new arrival." Malone indicated in Mulder's direction.
"Well, it would help if he was still with us." Fraele said as-a-matter-of-factly. Malone looked around for him, but couldn't locate the missing Agent.
"I'll try to find him." Waters offered.
As she walked away, Grant decided to quickly warn the others "A word of warning to you all, whatever happens, don't mention his partner - I'm sure you all know who she is."
"You mean Dana Scully? The centre of conversation all of last week?" Fraele asked.
"Yeah."
"Bailey, you were going to say something?" Grace prompted.
"Uh yes, Agent Mulder is here to assist with this case - has a higher solvency rate than all of us put together, even Sam. He may be able to give us something we missed."
Waters walked in the direction of the park bench, where she expected to find him. He was kneeling to the left of the concrete slabs under the bench.
"Mulder, what are you doing?"
He stood quickly. "Uh, I thought I saw something, but it turned out to be nothing. What do you suppose the positioning of the bodies meant?"
"I'm not sure right now, but it's most likely that he simply didn't want the body being found immediately." She replied as she sat on the grass opposite the bench. Mulder joined her.
"I don't see it that way. To me, this whole case revolves around showing emotion. The arm over the face suggests to me either weariness or extreme pain. The latter is most likely. The name on the chest shows the devotion of the man to the woman, almost like a tattoo. Lastly, the stab wound through the heart shows how the men were feeling - heart broken." They both sat there staring into space for a few seconds before Mulder turned his head and said, "Of course, I could be wrong." At that moment, they were approached by the other members of the VCTF.
"Sam. Mulder." Fraele said to catch their attention. They both got up and brushed themselves off.
"Any developments? You were both gone for a while." Malone asked.
"Not really, I was just telling Sam my thoughts on the case." Mulder then repeated what he had told Waters and there were nods of agreement throughout the group.
Motel
Annapolis
Maryland
17:09 p.m.
"He's hiding something." Waters told Grant as they headed off towards their respective rooms. Grant turned to face her.
"What do you mean? You think Mulder's withholding evidence?"
"Yes. He put something in his pocket as soon as he noticed I was there!"
"Maybe we should go to talk to him."
"No. If it means something, he'll tell us." Waters said decisively before turning away and advancing toward her room.
Room 21
Mulder had only just got back to his room from the coffee shop when he dug into his left trouser pocket for the small lump of silver that he had deposited earlier at the crime scene. He walked over to the bed and opened his suitcase and removed the photos of the previous crime scenes and his magnifying glass. He set them on the bed, and sat in front them, looking closely at each one using the magnifier in the same vicinity that he found the ring. Surely enough, in each one a small trinket was left by the bench. They could have been the missing wedding and engagement rings.