Well, I've finally gotten myself together enough to post the next chapter of this fic! I hope you all enjoy it and thank you for your patience!

I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. Ed's probably grateful I don't.

Jean Havoc

"Thank you for being so patient, Lieutenant Havoc." He followed the sergeant into the hospital. The nurses and doctors stopped and stared at him when he passed them through the hall. "Dr. Lewis has had a rough time. He's the only coroner in the city, and this is the busiest he's been in his entire career."

He tuned the officer out as he was led to the stairwell at the end of the hall. They descended the steps to the basement. He was grateful for his uniform jacket as they approached the morgue. The air in the hallway would've chilled him to the bone, otherwise. The walls were stark white, the only color coming from the dull gray door. He put his hand on the doorknob but didn't turn it when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"I understand you want answers, and I'm sure General Grumman has been on your case about getting answers, but please go easy on Dr. Lewis. His daughter was the killers' first victim, and no one else would volunteer to come out here and do the autopsy."

His chest tightened.

He had to perform the autopsy on his own daughter?

"Of course," he said, turning the knob and entering the morgue.

Dr. Lewis glanced up before he covered a body and rolled it back into the mortuary rack. He pulled off his gloves before heading over to the lone desk in the room, scribbling something on a stack of papers.

"It's good to see you again, Sergeant Giles. Thank you for being so patient with me." He approached the two officers and extended a hand out to Jean. "You must be Lieutenant Havoc."

Jean shook his hand.

"It's nice to meet you, doctor. I'm sorry we have to—"

"Oh, no need to apologize. The military has an investigation to do. I want to help in any way I can."

He dropped the pen and turned to face the officers. Jean whipped out his own pen and notebook.

"I'm sure you've heard that the latest victim survived." Dr. Lewis nodded. "After we interviewed him, we determined the killer is using chloroform to sedate his victims. Would you know any place around here that would manufacture…."

Jean trailed off when Dr. Lewis immediately opened his bottom desk drawer. He rummaged around until he found a folder. He opened it and flipped through a couple of the pages, circling some of their contents.

"I don't know of any place around here you could get chloroform, but you could easily make it. Here are the order forms I fill out to order the chemicals I need for my tests. I've circled what the killers would need to buy. I hope this helps."

He closed the folder and held it out. Jean took it and flipped through the pages, noting the names of the labs on the order forms. He simply nodded and held out his hand. Dr. Lewis furrowed his eyebrows but shook his hand anyway.

"We won't take up any more of your time, Dr. Lewis. This will help us more than you know."

The sergeant's eyebrows furrowed as well, but he still followed Jean out of the morgue. Neither spoke until they'd made it back down the hall and into the stairwell.

"Lieutenant, didn't you have a few more questions—"

"Yes, but we need to get to the labs and get a list of customers now. Dr. Lewis said 'killers.' The military hasn't released that information to the public yet, and none of the nursing staff was in the room when I interviewed Edward Mason."

The sergeant gripped his shoulders and spun him around.

"Are you really saying Dr. Lewis murdered his own daughter?"

Jean sighed and shook his head.

"No, but we need to get our hands on these customer lists. He absolutely knows more than he's letting on. He might've known there was more than one killer before the military ever did. There has to be a reason he never came forward with more information, so I wasn't going to waste any more time asking questions we wouldn't get answers to."

He spun back around, yanking his shoulders out of the sergeant's grip and heading further up the stairs.

Riza Hawkeye

She stopped at the doors to the library, balanced her tray in one hand, and rubbed her eyes, willing herself to be more alert. She opened them, and Lynn grinned at her the second she stepped foot inside.

"I'm so glad you could join me, Riza!" She grabbed a small bag and left her desk. She motioned for her to follow. They wove through a couple of the aisles before reaching the door at the back of the library. Lynn grabbed a book before she opened the door. Right after Riza stepped through, she set the book down before the door shut, propping it open. "This door is always locked from the outside. I remember my first day here and I locked myself out here twice!"

Riza laughed. She closed her eyes as the chilly breeze whipped around her. Her classes had worked out in the gymnasium today, so she hadn't even had the chance to step outside since she arrived that morning. She followed Lynn, and they didn't stop until the shadow of the building ended and the sun shined along the ledge lining the sidewalk.

"It's so quiet," Riza muttered, setting her tray down on the ledge.

"That's why I come out here. It's nice getting some fresh air without running into the other staff."

Her eyebrows furrowed.

"Have you ever eaten in the teacher's lounge?"

Lynn shook her head.

"I did my first day, but I couldn't again. Everyone is so nice, but…I just…."

"Don't fit in?" Riza ventured.

Lynn pushed her glasses up and smiled.

"Exactly. I saw in the newspaper that the academy was looking for a school librarian a few years ago. The opening was there for weeks. I didn't think they would even consider someone like me. They usually only hire former students, and my family never could've sent me to a school like this. Although, I suppose it doesn't matter. Your son is the first student I've had even step into the library in months. If no one else was willing to apply, I guess they didn't have another choice." She looked down at her sandwich. "He's brilliant, but I'm sure you already knew that. Every teacher he has always says so when they come into the library. I don't think any student at the academy has ever stumped them with questions, but Ed certainly has."

Riza grinned.

"That sounds like Ed."

"Is he going to the dance?" Riza perked up as Lynn took a bite of her sandwich. "I can hear the chatter in the hallways. I think he's caught the eye of every girl in school—"

"What dance?"

Lynn finished chewing and swallowed.

"The academy has a formal dance every semester. All the donors pitch in for dinner for all the staff and students. There's an orchestra, and the students usually dance the rest of the night. One of the donors comes in and holds dance lessons during gym class the day before."

Riza's eyebrows rose.

"When's the dance?"

"Next Friday evening. Did Principal Meron not tell you?" Riza shook her head. "I guess they might not be making quite as big of a fuss this year with everything…I mean I'm just glad they haven't canceled it yet, and I sincerely hope they don't. Some might disagree, but the students absolutely love it, and I think it would do them some good to have a sense of normalcy for an evening."

Riza looked down at her tray.

"Of course."

"Mrs. Wendell and I were invited to go to dinner with some of the donors Saturday night. Principal Meron said we could ask another teacher to come with us. Would you like to—"

"I would love to!" Riza interrupted, shooting Lynn a smile. "I haven't had the chance to meet any of them yet. They must be some incredible people to be willing to invest so much into the students' education."

Lynn beamed at her even brighter than yesterday and grabbed her hand.

"I know the donors can be a bit intimidating, but don't worry! We'll stick together!"

Riza's hand tightened around Lynn's.

And maybe I'll get an idea why the staff has been so uncooperative with the military.

Edward Elric

His heart sank as he trudged past the library and toward the front of the school. The chatter in the hallway grew quieter by the second. As soon as the bell rang, the halls were silent. It was almost unsettling to hear his footsteps echoing in the lobby as he approached the front offices. He opened the door, and the secretary at the nearest desk greeted him with a blinding smile.

"Good afternoon, Edward! Ms. Watson's expecting you." She jerked her head toward the door just beyond the desks. "Take a left at the end of the hall. Her office is the third door on the right."

"Thank you."

He headed through the door into the hallway he'd just been in the previous day. His eyes immediately locked on the plaque in front of the office at the end of the hall. Unlike yesterday, he couldn't hear any yelling beyond the closed door as he approached. He just saw the silhouette of Principal Meron pacing back and forth. He veered to the left, and the third door on the right was already open. He closed his eyes and rubbed a hand down his face.

This has to be the dumbest—

"You must be Edward Mason!" He looked up to see a woman with long, brown hair tied into a ponytail going over her shoulder peeked out into the doorway. She motioned for him to enter. After only a moment of hesitation, he walked into the office. It was dim, the only sources of light coming from the small lamp on Ms. Watson's desk and a slightly bigger lamp the couch and plush chair on the far wall. "Please take a seat wherever would make you most comfortable!"

He made his way over to the couch and sat down. He shifted a bit, surprised that the piece of furniture was much more comfortable than it looked. He settled in and let his head rest on the back of the couch. His eyelids started to droop.

Maybe this isn't so bad, after all.

"So how are you adjusting to Henthorn Academy?"

His eyes flew right back open, and he lifted his head. Ms. Watson swiveled in her chair to face him, a notebook on her lap and a pen in her hand. She winced. Ed rubbed the back of his neck.

"Uh—"

"I'm sorry. That was an insensitive question, all things considered."

"You could say that."

The two were silent, and Ms. Watson stared down at her notebook. He fought the urge to fidget under the awkwardness filling the room.

"Is…is there anything you'd like to talk about concerning Friday night?" Ms. Watson asked, finally breaking the silence.

"I've already talked about it as much as I wanted to when the military came to the hospital."

Ms. Watson sighed, shifting her gaze back down to her notebook. Ed's eyebrows furrowed.

She doesn't have any idea what to say, does she? Although, I would say this is definitely above her paygrade. I can't imagine how many students have been in here since the killings started.

"It's…weird," he admitted. Ms. Watson perked up instantly, pen at the ready. "Last week it seemed like some of the students were joking and not taking the situation seriously, but ever since I came to school Monday morning…."

"Everyone seems to take the fact that there's a killer on the loose a bit more seriously?" she finished.

He nodded.

"The classroom goes silent when I walk in. No one really talks to me aside from the people I sit with at lunch."

"Are your friends treating you differently?"

Friends? I guess you could call them that...

"N-not really. They're constantly talking about this dance that's coming up. I think they're trying to take my mind off things. Anya and Kenneth bring up how I should go with their group at least three times a day."

Ms. Watson chuckled and shook her head.

"Of course, those two would. I'm sure you know Anya's your class representative, so she's in charge of planning it, and I have no doubts her brother and sister are…." She trailed off and pressed her lips together. "I mean it's good those two have something to focus on. Some parents shelter their kids a little too much, which makes me understand how some don't truly grasp the reality of the situation. Others put an insane amount of pressure on their kids. That doesn't seem to be the worst thing for the time being, though. Some come to me think they could be next…."

Ed tuned her out as she rambled. He let his head fall against the back of the couch and closed his eyes.

Well, as long as I'm still alive, there hopefully won't be another victim.

Roy Mustang

He shut the front door and leaned back against it, dropping his briefcase by the staircase. Riza appeared at the top of the stairs and tip-toed her way down.

"Ed's asleep," she whispered. "He passed out the second we got home."

"I'm not surprised. It's been a hell of a week for the kid, and it's not even over yet."

He'd just pushed himself off the door when someone pounded on it from the outside. His shoulders sagged when he looked through the peephole and saw Jean on the other side. He opened the door.

"Havoc, what—"

Jean barged past them and further into the house.

"Have you checked the mail yet?"

Riza blinked at him.

"It's on the table—"

Jean didn't wait for her to finish. He headed straight to the kitchen, and Roy was right on his heels. He sorted through the few envelopes. He ran a hand through his hair.

"Have you gotten any strange letters? Any notes under the door?"

"Havoc, what's going?"

"Dr. Lewis knew there were two killers. His daughter was the first victim, but he never came forward with that information."

"You think the killers are threatening him?"

"I think it's a possibility. He's already lost one daughter. He had to perform the autopsy on her, too. He knows exactly what those bastards did to her. I think it's understandable he would do anything to protect his other kids, even if it meant withholding information from the military."

"Did he mention any strange letters?"

"Even if he got any, I don't think he would," Riza said, entering the kitchen. "The killers could've called, but no one aside from Principal Meron has called us the last couple days."

"I didn't ask, but I doubt he would've answered me truthfully anyway. I figured it might be a long shot, but—"

"Ed has classes with both Anya and Kenneth Lewis," Roy interrupted. "Dr. Lewis didn't even let his kids speak to the military, but they might be willing to talk to a fellow student, especially one that can understand them in a way the others can't."

Riza nodded.

"And I'm going to dinner with some of the academy's donors Saturday night."

He whipped around to face her, eyebrows raised.

"How—"

"Lynn invited me. Principal Meron has to be covering for them. Only someone with money like they have could persuade someone to not cooperate with the military."

Roy smiled.

Getting in with the donors didn't take near as much time as I thought.

"Then it's settled. Havoc, we'll need a microphone. Hopefully we'll be closer to finding our killers after Saturday night."