Authoress Note: Welcome to Chapter 50 of Messed Up World. Thank you to those who have left reviews for this story. It really does mean a lot to me that you guys are enjoying this story. I hope that you guys will continue to enjoy this story. We have 16 chapters left after this chapter. I can't wait to show you guys what happens next after this story. A second update this week to keep going and make it worth while. Since next week is going to be hard for me to post. I'm going to try and post 2 chapters a week. Without further ado Chapter 50. ENJOY!
Chapter 50
Jack, Margarita, and Will sat in the FBI conference room with Jocelyn Madchen, the mother of Georgia.
"I was almost relieved when I got the phone call. I thought you found her and she was... would be at peace." Jocelyn winced at the admission that she had made.
Will blinked a few times as he looked at Mrs. Madchen. "You thought she might be dead?"
"Makes me sound like a horrible mother. I tried to be a good mom. I tried to do everything for her. Just don't want her to be in pain."
"No one is doubting your dedication to your daughter, Mrs. Madchen."
"How well did she know Beth LeBeau?" Jack questioned moving slightly in his seat looking at Mrs. Madchen.
"They were best friends. Went to school together before it was unsafe for Georgia to go to school. I don't think they talked in years." Mrs. Madchen said softly looking up at Jack, Will, and Margarita.
"When did you notice your daughter was struggling with mental illness?" Margarita questioned as she looked at Mrs. Madchen.
"When she was nine, she told me she was thinking about killing me and that she was already dead. Imagine staring into your little girl's eyes and knowing something... awful is evolving behind them."
"What sort of symptoms did she have?" Will questioned his brows furrowing slightly.
"Older she got, the worse they got. She had seizures, hallucinations, and psychotic depression. I was grateful when she was catatonic."
"Was she violent?" Jack questioned next knowing that they needed to figure out what was fully going on with Georgia so they could get to the bottom of everything.
"Sometimes. We took precautions, made plans. Georgia's little sister knew to lock herself in the car at the first sign of trouble."
"What did her doctors say?" Will questioned next knowing that they needed this information to figure out exactly what was going on with Georgia.
"Not much. She'd stay in the hospital for months at a time. A million dollars of blood tests and brain scans, all of them inconclusive."
Will reacted to that knowing how the poor girl was feeling and the frustration.
"I don't have a million dollars. I'm being sued by the hospitals and insurance companies, none of them could ever tell me what was wrong."
"You still don't know?"
"They would say it was this or that, but they were always guessing. I did my own research, wrote down every word all those doctors would say, all the different terminology. Learned a lot but mostly what I learned was how little is actually known about mental illness. All they really know is it's rarely about finding solutions. It's mostly about managing expectations."
Margarita pursed her lips together seeing that the weight of this wasn't a good thing. This was fairly hard to see how Will was reacting to what was being said.
HANNIBAL
Classical music played in the dining room with Hannibal, Dr. Sutcliffe, and Margarita considering the centerpiece of succulent ham that was still on the bone.
"The Jamon Iberico." Dr. Sutcliffe said, looking at it.
"There is no equivalent." Hannibal mused with a smile.
"Still love your rare treats, don't you, Hannibal? The more difficult and expensive to obtain the better."
"It's a distinction that adds an expectation of quality."
"Not always."
Hannibal cut into the meat. "For Iberico, only a few pigs are selected each year. Once chosen, they roam the fields of Western Spain, enjoying a diet of local acorns and roots which give the ham its distinct flavor. But is the pig, once fattened and slaughtered and air cured, superior to any other pig, or is it simply a matter of reputation preceding product?"
"Irrelevant. If the meat-eater believes it's superior, belief determines value."
"A case of psychology overriding neurology."
"A case of reputation being king, but referrals being better."
"Indeed."
"We know how Iberico chooses his pigs. How did you choose yours?"
Margarita looked up slowly, her brows furrowing slightly wondering where Dr. Sutcliffe was trying to get at.
"Are you referring to Will Graham?" Hannibal questioned as he looked over at Dr. Sutcliffe.
"You're fond of the rarefied. What makes him so rare?"
"Will Graham has a remarkably vivid imagination. Beautiful. Pure empathy. Nothing he can't understand and that terrifies him."
"So you set his mind on fire."
"Imagination is an interesting accelerant for a fever."
"How far is this going to go? Put out the fire or let him burn?"
"Will's my friend. We'll put out the fire. When it's necessary."
"He wants to have more tests."
"Now we've confirmed what it is. It'll be easier to hide from him." Hannibal said, smiling a sly smile.
Margarita gave her husband a look. She was thankful that her daughter was in bed and wouldn't hear her father talking like this because it would be bad to have her knowing what Hannibal was doing.
"I am surprised that you're willing to talk about this in front of your wife."
Hannibal looked over at his wife smiling softly.
"He knows not to hide anything from me." Margarita said as she grasped a glass of water that was in front of her. "I know of everything that he does and he knows what I do."
"And she won't mention it to her boss either." Hannibal pointed out as he put the food onto the plates slowly.
"Of course not. Do you really think that I want to lose my job Hannibal?" Margarita questioned as her brow raised looking at him.
"No, of course not."
HANNIBAL
Margarita laid in bed reading as Hannibal came into the room after checking on Mischa. "He's going to be your next victim isn't he?" She questioned as she continued to read the book that she had.
"You've guessed correctly." Hannibal mused as he changed his clothes.
Margarita let out a soft breath. "He did sound rather boastful. So did you. You want to keep everything hidden from Will, why?"
"I want to prove something."
Margarita let out a soft breath shaking her head lightly. "Try to not let it get out of hand."
Hannibal slowly came over to the bed. He rolled the blankets down on his side before slowly joining her in bed. "I won't. I'll be sure to put the fire out soon."
Margarita slowly closed her book with the bookmark in place. She put the book onto her nightstand. "I can only hope so."
Hannibal turned the light off and pulled her towards him.
Margarita turned slightly, turning into him cuddling up close to him. She let out a soft breath as she slowly closed her eyes.
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This is the end of Chapter 50. I hope that you guys enjoyed this chapter. I tried my best with trying to write this chapter out and make it good. Hopefully it turned out well. I can't wait to show you guys what comes in the next 16 chapters of this story. Please leave a review and let me know what you think. Reviews help me keep going when it comes to writing stories and keeping my muse going. I will try to update next week on Friday. Until next time.
