Disclaimer: The characters of Hannibal Lecter, Clarice Starling, Jack Crawford, Clint Pearsall and Paul Krendler do not belong to me, but to Thomas Harris. No copyright infringement intended. I won't make any money of it. Just borrowing them for a while. Lecter' s blue eyes belong to Anthony Hopkins, though (I'm not sure there's a copyright on this).


Chapter 15: Breaking in

Clarice woke up at seven. It was a long time she hadn't slept so well. She got dressed and silently entered the living room.

Hannibal Lecter was still sleeping. She leaned on the wall and looked at him in the morning light. His blanket had slipped on the floor and he was wearing nothing but a pair of boxer shorts. Clarice took a deep breath. He was gorgeous. Hadn't it been for the gray hairs on his chest, his body could have been the one of a forty years old man.

He moved slightly on the couch. Last thing Starling wanted was him to wake up and find her looking at him like she did. She moved to the kitchen and undertook to make some coffee.

She had been struggling for five minutes with the Italian coffee machine when she heard Lecter' s cell phone ring. One second later, she heard the noise of a big weight falling on the floor, and then he answered the phone. Clarice chuckled. She did not want to embarrass him, so she stayed in the kitchen.

He joined her twenty minutes later. He had taken a shower and shaved and seemed to have recover both his elegance and good mood.

" - Clarice ! I did not know you were up already. Did you sleep well ?
- Like a baby. And you ?
- Well enough. So, what would you like for breakfast ? John is going to join us.
- I ... I don't know. I usually don't ... What do you suggest ?"

Hannibal looked at he as a father reproving his child for a bad habit.

" - Clarice, you should take better care of yourself. Sit at the table.
- Yes, daddy." He laughed and started preparing the breakfast.
" - By the way, John knows me only as professor Neil Lanterbach. May I suggest you avoid calling me Dr Lecter when he's here.
- How do you suggest I call you, professor ?
- Well, I told him we were old friends. Maybe you could call me just Neil.
- All right, Neil."

He gave her a mischievous look.

" - What is it ?" she asked
" - Nothing.
- Come on.
- I was just wondering ... When the kid is not around ... I mean, now that we are kind of working together ...
- Are you going to tell me what you have in mind or will I have to torture you ?
- Please don't, special agent Starling. I will confess ... Perhaps you would accept to consider calling me just Hannibal.
- Umh. This is not gonna be easy."

The door bell rang at that moment. Hannibal looked through the kitchen window and identified his visitor.

" - It is John. Clarice, would you mind ?
- Of course."

She went to open the door. Clarice liked John at first sight. He was maybe twenty or twenty one, about 6 ft tall and almost skinny. His blond tangled hair was keeping falling down on his sparkling light blue eyes.

" - You must be Clarice ?
- And you are John. Come in, we were about to have breakfast.
- Why do you think I came ? I would not miss any occasion for one of Neil' s breakfasts !" He winked at her.

When they came back to the kitchen, the table had been dressed and was full of delicious looking dishes: fried bacon, scrambled eggs, pancakes, fresh fruits and two different kind of juice Lecter had apparently just pressed. They started eating joyfully.

As the conversation went on, Clarice understood what Lecter had meant about John. "I think you will like him, Clarice" . The young man was full of enthusiasm about his future mission as law enforcing officer. The respect that was in his eyes each time he looked at Lecter did not escape Clarice. " In some ways, he reminds me of you the first time we met ".

They finished their breakfast discussing John' s nightly activities. Malcolm had come back home alone at three in the morning, after having spent part of the night at the Cat' s Cradle with his friends. He would probably not get out before noon. John left to go back to his room on the campus and get some sleep. Lecter and Starling prepared for another long day of staking out.


They had been following Malcolm Van Basten whole day and Clarice was starting loosing hope that anything interesting would happen. They were currently in Absom street and he was apparently heading to Tammy' s parents house. Then unexpectedly he parked his car in front of an old gray building.

Lecter drove beyond and only found a parking space two blocks away. From where they had stopped, they could not see Malcolm. They went out of the car and approached on foot. They saw the young man enter the building.

" - What's that ?" Clarice asked.
- A gym.
- Does he work out often ?
- It is the first time I see him go there.
- Do you think ...
- Could be. It is the only unusual place he's been in the last three days. I think it is worth giving it a try."

Lecter took his cell phone and called John. He explained the situation and asked him to join them to take over the shadowing. They started waiting in front of a jewelry shop window. Hannibal took Clarice' s arm and pointed at the bracelets in the window. They just looked like a normal couple on Easter shopping campaign. Clarice smiled.

They saw John arrive but did not make any sign to him. Neither did he make his presence noticeable. After about twenty minutes, Van Basten went out of the gym and slipped into his car. John followed him as planned. Clarice and Hannibal let them go away and headed towards the building. They passed it and turn in a little lane at the corner.

" - It closes in half an hour" Hannibal started.
" - I've seen. We cannot break in by the front door, there are too many people in the street.
- Umh." Lecter looked up the building. " I think I could open one of these windows quite easily. Then I could open the door for you.
- Dr Lecter, I don't really like the idea of ...
- If you have any suggestion, Clarice, I am quite open."

She thought for a moment. The only right thing to do would have been to call the police and get a warrant. But then she would have to explain what she was doing there while she was supposed to be on sick leave. Moreover, the police intervention were generally not discreet and the 'club' would probably be alerted and would stop everything. Last thing was that she was not sure at all there was something to find inside. "OK, we're gonna have a look first." He nodded. "Wait for me here. I have a few things to take in the car. I won't be long". He left her alone in the lane.

When he came back, he carried a little plastic bag. He took two pairs of glove from it and handed one of them to Clarice.

" - I know they are not your size, but it is all I have.
- Do you always travel with your equipment, Dr Lecter ?" He grinned.
" - A man in my position should rather be prepared to anything, Clarice."

They waited for the gym to close, and then another fifteen minutes. Hannibal put the little bag in his jacket pocket and started climbing on the building facade. Clarice admired the agility with which he did so. In less then two minutes he was on the second floor, and it took him only thirty seconds to get inside. She left her position and approached the front door. When she heard it crack slightly, she slipped herself inside the building. He locked the door behind her.

" - And now, what do we do ?" she asked.
" - I gave it a thought. Why use a gym ? Where could someone conceal something personal in a gym ?
- The lockers.
- Umh. I think we should start with them."

They went upstairs to the lockers room. They first had a look at the names on each of the lockers but did not find the one of Malcolm, nor the names of his friends.

" - Well, it looks like we will have to check them all." Lecter said.
" - I'm not gonna ask if your abilities extend to the opening of the locks.
- I suggest we divide the work: I open the lockers and you check them. Would that do ?
- All right. Let's get on with it."

Lecter approached the first set of lockers and started playing with the little lock. It took him about ten seconds to get rid of it. "I believe we should add 'professional thief' to your case file description, doctor" Clarice said. He smiled and grappled with the second locker.

Clarice started searching the already opened lockers. Tennis shoes, dirty sport clothes, a bottle of water which seemed to have been there for months. The odor was not exactly pleasant and she appreciated having gloves.

A little routine settled in: Hannibal was opening the lockers one after the other and Clarice was searching them. Actually, he was opening them faster than she could inspect them. She was looking in her ninth locker when she saw Hannibal freeze. He instructed her to stay silent and listened. She hadn't heard anything and was wondering what he was doing. She was about to ask him when he suddenly rush to her and put his hand on her mouth. He showed her the corner of the room and she understood he wanted her to hide behind a raw of lockers. She complied. He quickly closed the lockers that were still opened, switched off the light and joined her in hiding.

It was then she heard the sound of footsteps in the stairs behind them. They both remained still in the dark. A man opened the door and switched on the light. He quietly went to one of the locker Hannibal had previously opened.

Clarice tensed up, hoping the man would not notice the lock had been opened. If she was caught breaking in the Gym with Hannibal Lecter, there would be for sure a lot of explanation to give and she could consider herself lucky if she could find a job as a doorkeeper after that.

Lecter put his arm around her waist and pressed her body against his. She was so close she could feel his heartbeat. It was steady. There was not an ounce of tension in him. She leaned back on him and relaxed a bit.

The man closed the locker and went to the office at the other end of the room, unaware of their presence. As she was about to exit from hiding, Lecter blocked her. "Don't move." he whispered. "Everything is gonna be fine, Clarice." She looked at him.

" - But ...
- We have to finish this."

The door opened again. Lecter pushed her quickly behind the cupboards and shielded her with his body.

The man walked through the lockers room and disappeared. They stayed in the same position and in complete silence for another minute, until they heard the front door of the gym slam. Then Hannibal Lecter slowly pulled back and let her free.

" Let's go back to work." he said. Clarice took a deep breath and started again searching the lockers he was opening.

They worked fast and in silence. Clarice was inspecting her sixteenth locker when she finally got it.

" Dr Lecter !" He turned back to her. " I think we've got what we're looking for. He moved to her and examined the large yellow envelope she had in her hands. He had a look inside the locker: there was a bunch of other envelopes same size and color, but nothing else. Clarice was about to open it, but he put his and on her arm to stop her.

" - Wait.
- What ?
- Do you intent to take these now ?
- I can't. They would loose any legal value if I did.
- That's what I though. Come with me."

She followed him out of the room and in the corridor. They entered the men' s bathroom. He went to one of the basin and turned the hot water tap. After a while, mist started coming up and he hold the envelope above it. The water was not hot enough and it took half an hour before they were able to open it.

Hannibal took a white sheet of paper from it and handed it to Clarice. "After you, my dear." She took the paper and started reading, Lecter' s looking over her shoulder:

"
Victim name: William Lazenby

Victim details: Forty two years old, 6 ft 2, 200 lb, working out addict, excellent health conditions.

Location: Victim's house, 21 Mountain avenue, Clearfountain, VA

Weapon: Saber.

Date: Sunday, April 24th.
"

" - Sunday." he said. " That gives us at least thirty six hours to do something.
- Yes, but do what ?
- First, let's get out of here. Then, I would suggest we pay a little visit to the potential victim, and ensure he does not end as number nine on the daffodil killer' s list."

They put the envelope back into its locker and left the gym by the front door. When they got to the car, Lecter called John and informed him they would have to leave town for a couple of days. His instructions were clear: continue to follow Van Basten as long as he remained in Morgantown and call Lecter as soon as he would leave the city. But under no circumstances try to intervene.

Hannibal started the car and took the direction of the interstate.


To be continued ... Thanks for reading. Reviews welcome.
Absolut