Chapter Seven:

"Hey Scully," Mulder said as she arrived at the police station. She looked confident, but he recognised this as the mask she wore when she was worried, and wanted to appear confident. It probably worked on everyone but him.

She smiled, and he just smiled back, hiding the concern knowing that earlier he'd pissed her off by just thinking she couldn't handle the autopsies. He wasn't going to make the mistake of asking if she could handle this. He put his hand on the small of her back as he usually did, and led her into the interrogation room, and sat next to her, both across from the first suspect.

--

The men they talked to all seemed shocked, and stricken with grief on finding out about the deaths of their ex wives and their children. The men who were brought in, who hadn't lost their wives or children in the recent murders, seemed just as stricken at being accused.

Mulder exhausted, led Scully from the room. They were half way down the corridor, Scully slightly in front of him when Mulder noticed something strange.

"Hey, wait Scully…" She turned around to him, waiting for an explanation. She looked so tired, and he couldn't blame her for wanting to go home, he felt the same. "Your skirt… Was it always that colour?" She drew her eye brows together in annoyance.

"Mulder now isn't the time for games!"

"No, no, Scully wait! I'm serious." He caught up to her, and gently grabbed her elbow, turning her to him. She sighed exasperated, and looked down. After a few seconds of silence she looked up, confusion evident on her face.

"How the hell did that happen?" She paled. Her skirt seemed to have shortened itself so that it was above her knees, and it was a forest green now, not black. She inspected the top of the skirt, and then the hem. "I am certain I was wearing a black skirt. And it wasn't this short."

She looked up to see Mulder looking at someone over her shoulder. He was looking angry. "What?" She turned and caught an officer staring at her legs. "Ugh," she grabbed Mulder's arm and stalked out of the station and didn't stop until they reached the rental car.

"They're going to think we're nuts if we tell them one of the men we just interrogated did that." Mulder commented, pointing to her skirt.

"I can't figure it out; I don't know how someone shortened my skirt! Or changed the colour, it's impossible… It can't be the same skirt… I just don't…" she trailed off and looked into their distorted reflection in the car window.

"I think the officers thought you were mental in there," Mulder said with a smirk. "You looked like you were ready to strip the skirt right off. I'm pretty sure when-"

"Mulder, if you don't shut up I'm going to make you scream like a girl," Scully cut in.

"Uh oh, let's just go and get some dinner huh?" He tried making a peace offering.

"The way to a man's heart is through his stomach. Not a woman's." She said dryly. "Just take me back to the motel so I can – ugh!" She staggered and grabbed Mulder's arm for support. "What the hell?" she exclaimed, looking around for what ever it was had bowled into her.

"Did you trip?" Mulder questioned, following her eyes as she looked around. She crouched and looked under the car and then moved towards the nearest fence and looked into a yard, on not finding whatever it was she was looking for, she came back to him.

"Something bumped into my legs, making me fall. I didn't trip…" If it was anyone else, he would have laughed. But he could tell Scully was serious.

"Scully, get into the car," he demanded, going around to the drivers side. He had a bad feeling about this. If this was indeed someone like pusher at work, he needed to get her away from him straight away. Whoever it was seemed to enjoy playing with them, Scully especially. Scully sat in the passenger seat, looking as though the same thoughts were going through her mind.

"Mulder, Pusher had no other relatives. How could this possibly be the same thing?"

"I don't know. But I'm not risking it. It was one of those men today, they were all so goddamn convincing, I have no idea which one, but we're going to have to call Officer Clyde and see if he can do anything to bring them back in."

--

Scully sat on the bed and watched Mulder pace as far as the phones cord would allow him. She was beginning to feel dizzy. "Mulder, sit down."

"I've been on hold for five minutes Scully. This is important, he's going to get away, he's going to skip town!" Scully looked down at her skirt with a frown, Mulder was right. If they didn't do something, more innocent people could die.

"Mulder… Pusher couldn't shorten my skirt. He couldn't do that… He would make me do that. You didn't see me with a needle and thread taking the hem of my skirt up did you?"

"Well… No."

"Then there has to be some other explanation." Mulder looked at her, but didn't really see her, he was lost in thought. He hung up the phone and turned to face her. He looked like he was at a loss for words.

"Okay, I have a wild theory on the why not so much the how." Scully told him.

"I'm listening,"

"What if this father lost his wife and child a long time ago, see not all the men we interviewed had lost a wife and child recently."

"Yes…" He didn't seem to see where she was going with this.

"What if someone murdered his wife and child, and now he's somehow trying to right it by killing other single mothers and their child." She knew really, the man should be looking to get revenge on the murderer, but the file stated that the murderer had been shot while resisting arrest. He was dead.

"So, this guy, his wife left him, and took custody of his child. Then someone else murdered them both. Now in his twisted mind he thinks killing other single mothers and children will make everything right?"

"Exactly,"

"You don't usually theorize, but I suppose we're both a little desperate." He quickly flicked through all the files of the men they'd interviewed that day. All six of them, they still had two more to talk to the following day, but it seemed they wouldn't have to now.

"Matthew Peterson, ex-wife is Fiona," he handed her the file, but she shook her head. Matthew had been distraught at the station, and she was sure it was genuine, plus it didn't fit with the profile they were trying to test out.

"Hey Scully, listen to this… Trevor Cormac; lost his ex-wife and child to a homicide last year."

"In this town…?"

"No…"

"Why pick this town then?"

"It's his hometown." Mulder said with a grimace. "We need to find him…" Scully looked down at the photo, and felt the anger build up inside her. This man, who looked like your average person; short cropped black hair, blue eyes, nice smile, friendly attitude. He'd had them fooled… He'd even played with them, as if this was all a joke.

"I still think we need a how," Scully said looking away from the file and back to Mulder.

"I can't even come up with any crazy theory like I usually do." Mulder said.

"I noticed," Scully said quietly. They sat in silence, trying to figure out how to catch the guy before he did anything else. After a while, Scully again broke the silence. "Have you also noticed that we aren't getting anywhere with this guy by my methods – science; but we aren't getting anywhere by going into the paranormal either, or on any of your crazy – you have to admit they are crazy – theories."

"I agree, but how on earth could this be a typicalserial killer? How can he leave no forensic evidence…? It's basically impossible… Unless…" Mulder leapt to his feet. "What if he's not there at all? What if he just has to picture wherever his victim is for him to attack them?"

"Like in his mind…? Mulder… That's even crazier than usual."

"But it's our best theory yet,"

"Not necessarily the best, but surprisingly the most likely." Scully said.

She let him help her to her feet without thinking, and was about to follow him out when she remembered her skirt. "If we have to chase this guy, I'm not going to get anywhere in this skirt. You try calling Officer Clyde again while I change."

Mulder agreed and went into his own room. She left the door slightly open without him noticing, so that she could hear what he said.

"Can I speak to Officer Clyde?" "No, I really have to speak to him, it's important." "Thank you…"

There was a pause, and she quickly zipped up the fly of her pants and went into his room, not wanting to miss how Mulder explained to the officer what was going on.

The room was so silent Scully could hear most of what the officer said into the phone. "Lizzie – George – friends – missing…"

Mulder held the phone away from his ear as the officer kept yelling. He then hung up the phone after assuring the officer they'd help look for Lizzie.

"Seems Lizzie was really upset about George, and she's gone missing. He's worried the killer has taken her."

"He doesn't do that though," Scully said standing, feeling worry nibble at her. What if something had happened to Lizzie though? What if this killer decided he liked killing and would just kill at random?

They were almost to the door when Scully felt something literally pull her back to the bed she'd been sitting on. She let out a yelp of surprise, and Mulder turned around. She was again sitting on the bed, wide eyed in fear. "M-Mulder did you see that?"

"No… Are you coming? What's wrong?" He stood in the door way, eye brows drawn together in confusion. At any other time she'd have thought it looked cute. She attempted to stand, but it seemed her legs weren't going to move.

"I think, I think he has his next target." She tried to remain calm; maybe this guy wouldn't kill her… She felt fear rush through her veins though, and she panicked, attempting to move but only feeling her body ache in protest at the way she was fiercely trying to move her immobile muscles. Mulder rushed over and tried to help her up, but she still couldn't move.

"I have his address, I'll get him Scully," he looked almost as panicked as she felt; she went to open her mouth but found she couldn't. Obviously her eyes said it all, because Mulder literally ran from the room."

TBC