Ardelia of course had to be followed, but at least they allowed her the privacy of shopping on her own. She picked up the things she needed and at the front rack grabbed The Tattler. She paid for her things and walked back out to the two men waiting on her. One was polite and tried not to force things upon her, but the other really didn't care about her personal space. He often times rode with her in the same vehicle to go to places. She shoved The Tattler in her large purse. After going home the man tried to escort her in, and she ended up slamming the door in his face. She put her milk in the fridge and sat down to read the paper. She went to the personals and found the name A.A. Aaron.

A.A. Aaron

Trails can be a pesky thing when left behind. Best to spread your wings and fly.

Hannah

What? Trails, like the evidence. They are here for me, but we do need the evidence to disappear. I am sure more help will be sent later. Yeah, some way for me to contact her will be the next piece of information. Better just to wait until they make their next move. I will know then.

Back at Samuel's House

Clarice was outside admiring the garden. She was plotting their next move, and when would be the best time to do it. She sat outside on the table and waited for Hannibal to wake. Hannibal had never been much of an early riser. Her thoughts were disrupted by Samuel shutting the door and walking over to her. He took a seat opposite her and smiled.

"Good morning, Mrs. Lecter."

"Good morning, Sam. How are you doing?"

"Fine. Just fine."

Clarice watched him closely and finally decided to ask, "Sam, how exactly do you know Hannibal?"

"Ah yes, it is about time I told you. Hannibal thinks I give him too much glory when I tell it, but he deserves it. Now then it all started when he was working at the hospital. At the time he was my psychiatrist. He had just started out and at first I was skeptical of him. I thought he is just a beginner he can't do anything, but I warmed up to him soon enough. He had this presence about him that just demanded attention. My wife was pregnant at the time and I was going through some serious stress. It was our first child and I had lost my job. My wife doesn't work so it hit us kind of hard. We could barely afford to keep the house and I took out several loans. I needed an out, and so…I borrowed some money from people I probably shouldn't have. They weren't my main problem though, but they did try to make my life a living hell. I was due for an appointment with Hannibal that day. He was suppose to come over for a house visit. I was getting ready and by this time my wife had our baby, Joseph. He was 6 months at the time, and… thugs had broken in. We didn't have much, but they tied my wife down and me as well. Joseph kept on crying, and they threatened to kill him if he screamed too loud. They had taken my wife's ring and other valuables. It turns out that they worked for the men I had borrowed the money from. It was a scam they put up. You borrow money from them, and if you don't pay back quick enough, then they take whatever you have at the time. After they had destroyed our home, I heard a knock at the door. I just knew it was Hannibal. I thought to myself they will kill him as soon as they can. They untied me and quickly brought me to the door. They had a knife at my throat and told me to tell him everything is fine and to leave. Hannibal insisted he come in. So the man came up to the door and started to unlock it. As soon as he opened the door, Hannibal had caught me quite off guard," smiled Samuel.

"What happened?"

"He had a harpy in his hand and cut through the man's throat. He killed the other one that ran towards him with a butcher knife. He saved us that day. He untied us and called the police. That was when I first noticed that something was definitely different with him. That was the first glimpse I had at his darker side. He said he had heard the child screaming when he approached and saw the van out front. Like I said, I owe everything to Hannibal. He saved us all that day-"

"And like I told you, it was nothing. Those men were pathetic and you don't owe me anything," Hannibal interrupted. He made the both of them jump and they turned around to find him standing by the door.

"How long have you been there dear?"

"Long enough. Are you ready to go Clarice?" Hannibal smiled.

"Yeah." Clarice stood, thanked Samuel for his story, and went to Hannibal. She took his hand and they walked to the car. They drove up the dirt road and Samuel watched after the car until it disappeared. He smiled and pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. "Oh no, Hannibal," the piece of paper was a reward the FBI was offering to the whereabouts of Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling, "I owe you everything."

So please tell me what you think. Thank you all of my readers. I have appreciated all your comments and reviews. Please continue to review and comment.

Kanan