Chapter 2

Seaside Christian School

March 13

10:45 am

The blue rental car pulled up to the school. Mulder pulled into a parking spot labeled "Visitors Only" and parked the car. He looked over at Scully who was "resting her eyes" and touched her cheek. She jerked and opened her eyes. Mulder shot her a small smile.

"So much for just resting your eyes, huh, Scully?"

"Shut-up Mulder. I wouldn't be so tired, you know, if you hadn't insisted on me doing the autopsy on Thomas Kilpatrick this morning. I haven't even eaten yet. I'm tired, I'm hungry and I'm cranky." She shot him a glare as best as she could noticing that he was still smiling.

"Well maybe I can remedy something." He leered.

"Oh really, and what is that?" She asked looking him in the eyes.

Mulder reached behind him into the back seat and pulled a white paper bag into the front seat.

"While I was on my way to pick you up at the morgue, I got you something. Go ahead, open it." He handed her the bag.

She opened it and pulled out a Styrofoam box. As she opened it, she could smell a wonderful smell and her stomach grumbled in response.

Inside the box was a croissant with cheese and ham in the middle.

"Oh...oh yea this is good." She moaned a little as she took her first bite and Mulder's smile widened.

"Well now you'll just be tired and cranky. Hurry up, we have to go meet with the principal."

"Shut up, Mulder, I'm enjoying my breakfast." She smiled and finished off the croissant with a huge bite. She took a napkin out of the bag and wiped her mouth.

"O.K., I'm ready. Lets go." She said. She could already feel her crankiness waning.

They both got out of the car and walked up the stairs to the school. Scully took notice of the large windows and vine covered walls. It didn't look any different from any other school on the outside. In fact the campus was very beautiful.

"Nice campus, huh?" Mulder remarked and Scully was once again astounded at how he seemed to think the same thing she did. A smile formed on her lips as she thought this. Wouldn't Mulder think it was spooky.

As they walked inside the door a large black man walked up to them. He was dressed in blue slacks and a white shirt with a badge hanging from the front pocket.

"How may I help you?" He asked and smiled down at Scully and tipped his head in a friendly gesture. Ah, the good 'ole Southern charm. Scully could see this foreboding looking man was very nice but she could bet that he could be mean if need be.

"Yes, hi. We're agents Scully and Mulder from the FBI. We'd like to speak with the principal please." They flashed their badges at the an ad noticed his smile fade a bit.

"FBI? What are ya'll here for? None of my kids did anything wrong did they?" He asked.

"Your kids?" Scully raised her eyebrow.

"Oh yes ma'am, all these kids here, I call 'em mine. I know all 328 of 'em. It makes me feel better knowing them so I can protect 'em, you know? Which one did something?"

Scully smiled at the man and shook her head.

"We can't really say anything right now. We would like to see the principal though."

"Yes ma'am. I'll take you to her office." He turned and started walking down the brightly lit hallway. They followed, looking around at all the crucifixes and paintings of Biblical characters and such. The inside of the school was just as beautiful as the outside was.

Black and white checkered floors, tan wall made to look marbled and a huge fountain in the middle of the hallway where two flights of stairs curved up towards the glass domed ceiling. It looked more like a palace than a school.

The guard turned to the left as they reached the fountain and walked through a swinging door into another hallway. The floor turned from hard tile to a lush blue carpet and the walls became a stark white with a few paintings of the ocean on it. He brought them to another door and knocked. Scully looked at the name plate and read the name in gold lettering, Connie Wolf. She heard a muffled "Come on in" and the guard pushed the door opened. The older lady smiled and stood up from behind her desk. She looked to be in her 60's but Scully thought she was probably older.

"Hello, Joe, who have you brought me?" The principal asked and looked over at the agents.

"They're FBI agents, Ms. Wolf, come to talk to you 'bout something." He said and turned away and made his way out the door, closing it behind him.

The woman looked at the agents for a long while and gestured for them to sit. Mulder and Scully took their seats in front of the desk as the woman sat down in her seat.

"We're agents Mulder and Scully and we would like to talk to you about a student that attends school here." Mulder said and flashed his badge.

The principal nodded her head and smiled another warm smile. Scully reached in her pocket and pulled out the picture of Mollie.

"This is Mollie O'Brien, she goes here correct? Scully asked as she handed her the picture.

"Oh yes." Ms. Wolf nodded. "She is such a sweet girl. So many hardships at such a young age. She is a senior here, and has been coming to this school since she was in second grade. What are you investigating her for? I can assure you this young woman wouldn't hurt a fly."

"We aren't exactly investigating her, per se, but we would like to speak with her, if at all possible." Mulder requested.

"Oh that's no problem. Let me just call Joe back in here and he'll go with you to get her. You can use the meeting room across the hall if you need to speak with her in private."

"Thank you Ms. Wolf. That would be helpful." Scully said and the woman nodded and reached for the phone. She pulled Mulder aside and he leaned down as she began whispering.

"Why don't I go with Joe to get Mollie, you see if you can get her school records, there might be something useful in them. Then I'll meet you in the room after I get her."

He nodded his acquiescence and opened the door ushering her out into the hallway as Joe came through the door.

"I'll take you to her classroom." He said and turned to walk down the hallway.

"Thank you Joe." Scully said and hurried to follow him.

Mr. Carrows Anatomy Class

11:00 am

Mollie listened intently to Mr. Carrows as he described the different lobes of the brain. She looked around at the other students and shook her head as she encountered several of them sleeping and a few passing notes.

She looked at Leila and stifled a laugh when she saw drool running from her mouth to the desk she had her head on. How could anyone be bored during this class? It's so interesting. A knock on the door brought her wandering mind back to the present and she watched as Mr. Carrows opened the door. Joe, the security guard, and a short redheaded woman in a business suit walked in.

A few boys turned their heads when the woman entered the room and they started to chatter and leer. Stupid hormonal boys. She looked back down at her Anatomy book and was reading a very interesting story about the different brain diseases when she heard Mr. Carrows say her name. She looked up and saw the woman walking to her. When she got to her desk she bent down.

"Hi there, my names Dana Scully, I'm with the FBI and I'd like for you to come with me and answer a few questions." The woman showed her her badge and motioned for her to follow. Mollie grabbed her books and bag and got up from the desk. A few people giggled and smirked as she walked past them. She looked back at Leila, but she was still sound asleep. Mr. Carrows walked over to her.

"Don't worry about making up the work. You were the only one listening anyway." He told her.

She smiled at him and nodded before she turned to the woman and followed her.

They walked down the stairs, the woman in front and Joe behind her. If she didn't know better, she would think she was being treated like a suspect in a murder. They made their way past the fountain and down the hallway to Ms. Wolf's office. The woman stopped as a very tall, handsome man walked out of the meeting room to their left. He smiled at the woman and then at Joe and put a hand on the office door to their left. He smiled at the woman and then at Joe and put a hand on the office door to keep it open and ushered the woman in with a hand on her back and then turned to Mollie.

"Why don't you come on in." He said and reached out motioning her to come in.

"O...O.K." Mollie stammered and walked in the room. The man shut the door behind her and motioned for her to sit down at the table. Mollie dropped her bag to the floor and put her textbook on the table and sat down in the chair he had indicated. She smoothed out her skirt and looked up at the FBI agents.

Meeting Room 1

11:05 am

Mulder studied the girl sitting in the vinyl chair on the other side of the table. She didn't look much like the girl from the picture anymore. Her hair was shorter, a little longer than shoulder length and it was straight. She had dark circles under her eyes which you could tell she had tried to cover up. Also, her skin was much paler, looking almost translucent, standing out from the dark red of her hair and the dull green of her eyes. She sat, her gaze transfixed on a spot on the table. Her hands were fidgeting, smoothing her skirt again and again. He looked over at Scully. She was standing next to the young girl, looking down at her, her brow crinkled. He could almost think that she was worried about her. Scully looked up at him and raised her eyebrow, a signal for him to start talking. He cleared his throat and looked back at the girl.

"I'm Agent Mulder. Can you answer some questions for us?" Mollie nodded, never taking her eyes off the table.

"Are you Mollie O'Brien?" He asked beginning the interrogation.

She lifted her head and answered in the affirmative and Mulder picked up on a slight Irish lilt to her voice. Must be from living with an Irish parent because she had never lived in Ireland according to her files.

"Did you know Thomas Kilpatrick?"

Something flashed in her eyes but it was so quick he didn't realize what it was. Her eyes did, however, start to tear.

"Tommy? Why are you asking about him?" She struggled to keep from crying. Mulder got the impression that she didn't like to show her emotions much. Hmm...reminded him of someone he knew.

"Are you all right?" Scully asked her.

"I'm fine." She automatically responded .

Ah yes, someone he knew very well, he thought wryly.

"O.K." Scully looked at Mulder. She was going to talk now.

"Mollie, were investigating Tommy's murder. There doesn't seem to be any suspects and the cause of his death was pretty odd. Wouldn't you say?" Scully bent down next to Mollie. Mollie looked at Scully and her gaze traveled down until it rested on the gleaming gold cross hanging round her neck. Mollie's eyes widened as she recognized it as the cross from her dream.

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Scully noticed the girls eyes widen slightly as she looked at her cross. Scully reached up and grabbed it before standing up.

"I'm sorry for staring. That's a beautiful necklace. Where did it come from?" Mollie asked raising her eyes to Scully's

"My mother gave it to me." Scully smiled.

"It's really nice." Mollie turned her lips into a small smile.

"Ummm...back to what you were saying. How was the cause of death odd? I...I don't even know how he died." Mollie looked up at Scully's eyes.

The tears had returned. She had to tell her. She looked at Mulder and he nodded, sensing her need to tell this girl how her friend died.

"Well, it's really weird. I did the autopsy today so they could go ahead and cremate him. And what I found was just..." She trailed off and looked at Mollie. "It was as if someone melted him, from the inside out. Almost like a candle or something."

Mollie's brow knitted and her eyes took on a faraway look. Scully looked over at Mulder who was leaning against the white wall. He pushed off it and walked over to the table.

"Mollie we need you to tell us everything about the last time you saw Tommy and about the day you found him." He said.

Mollie never moved her eyes, almost like she was in a trance.

"You know he didn't want to be." She whispered.

"Didn't want to be what?" Scully asked.

"Cremated." She looked up and a tear escaped her eye. She quickly wiped it away with the back of her hand.

"He didn't?" Mulder asked.

"No his mother is making him be. You know its funny. They hadn't spoken in years and all the sudden she comes back after he dies and starts ordering people around. She never loved him, she was always embarrassed by him. She was rich and wanted him to be a lawyer or doctor but he wanted to play piano. When he chose to go against her and follow his dream, she disowned him. She kicked him out and moved down to Miami. He was sixteen so he couldn't get a great job but he started working at a restaurant near my house. That's where I met him." She took a deep breath.

"I was twelve and was a big tomboy so we started talking about sports and stuff. We became friends. He was the first person I ever opened up to. I knew that his mom left him but when he died I though she had a right to know, you know. So I tracked her down and she came up here. That's when she ordered him to be cremated." Mollie looked at the table. "We wanted to be buried together but now, we never will be." Tears rolled down her cheeks freely.

"You weren't just friends were you?" Scully asked looking down at Mollie. When Mollie looked up Scully continued.

"Were you lovers?"

Mollie blushed slightly but looked at Scully.

"Not in the way you're thinking of. But in every other way, yes. I was his first kiss and he was mine. He was my best friend, my confidant, my soul mate." Mollie looked over at Mulder.

"I know Soul mate sounds cheesy but he was mine. Have you ever had someone that you loved so much and just knew that you couldn't live without them?"

Mulder smiled and looked over at Scully then back at Mollie.

"Yea, I do. I know what you're talking about." He took a breath.

"Mollie, can you tell me why you were over at his house when you found him?"

Mollie looked down, gathering her thoughts, when they were interrupted by a knock at the door. Ms. Wolf peered in from the other side.

"I hate to interrupt, but Mollie, your dad's in the hospital. He's had another spell." Ms. Wolf said.

Mollies hand shot up to her mouth and a muffled "no" escaped.

Continued in Chapter 3