Chapter 6

Thursday, 11.30 p.m.

"At what time approximately did you come home?" the police officer asked Theresa. The poor woman was draped in an aluminum blanket, sitting at the edge of an open ambulance. She stared on the street in front of her.

"Approximately half past ten," Hannibal helped out. He was standing next to the red-haired girl and had his hand on her shoulder. He felt her heart rate, he felt her trembling. "I wanted to bring Theresa to the house when we saw that the door was ajar. We entered and found… this," he added.

The police officer took notes on his note pad. "When did you leave for the teacher's conference?"

"It started right after school. I picked up Theresa this morning at around eight to give her a lift to the school."

"Do you do that often?"

"Mr. Fletcher used to give her a lift, but she had had to go by bike to a meeting point. We figured that it was more convenient that I picked her up because her house is on my way."

The police officer nodded and took more notes. "You live further down the road."

"Yes."

"Alone?"

"No. But I think my husband is already asleep. Otherwise he would have called me and asked me where I was." That was when Hannibal spotted him. "That's… at least what I had hoped. He's over there."

The police officer turned around and saw Will arriving with Mrs. Sarandon. Will was in his night clothes and walked right under the crime scene barrier. Another officer wanted to stop him, but Will said, "that's my husband" and pointed to Hannibal. The officer led him pass.

"What happened? Gilbert, are you alright?" He touched the cheek of Hannibal. "Mrs. Sarandon woke me with the doorbell. She said that something has happened and that she has spotted you talking to the police." He then turned to the young woman. "Theresa… what happened? Did someone break into your house?"

"It's a bit more than that," the police officer muttered and then added in a normal voice, "but this is still part of the investigation. So I would ask you to refrain from spreading rumors."

"These are the suburbs," Theresa murmured in a dreaded voice. It was the first time she spoke since she and Hannibal had found the body. "Everyone will know everything before the end of the night."

The police officer sighed. He was fully aware that something like this could not be kept a secret for long. When he looked around, he already saw a crowd gathering around the yellow tape barrier. Luckily, it was too late to make the morning papers.

"It appears that Mr. Noakes was murdered."

"Oh my god." Hannibal thought that Will was playing his role really well. "Murder?"

"There are no signs of a forced entry. Would your father have opened the door to strangers?" the officer asked Theresa.

Hannibal intervened before Theresa could speak, "we live in the suburbs, officer. There are no crimes here and no muggers. When someone rings our doorbell, we assume it to be a neighbor or maybe a stranger whose car has broken down along the road. We certainly don't expect to be robbed in our houses."

Theresa, who had gathered her courage to say something, closed her mouth again. Hannibal rubbed his hands over her shoulder in comfort. She did not seem to notice.

"I'll be a suspect," she suddenly said. Her voice was high-pitched and trembling.

"You're his closest relative," the police officer said. "But you have an alibi as far as I can tell. You should not worry."

"I had a motive," Theresa added, and the police officer got curious.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

Will wanted to say something, but Hannibal signaled him not to. No one should know that they knew Mr. Noakes' secret. And Hannibal was sure that Will had confronted him about it before his violent death.

"He was raping me," Theresa said after a while. It was the first time that silent tears ran over her face. Until now, she had only been in shock, unable to express her emotions. She probably did not even know what her emotions were – horror and sadness, or joy and relief? She probably felt bad at feeling relief. Her father would never hurt her again.

The police officer hesitated before writing down his notes. "How long?" he asked without looking at her. Will realized that he was beginning to feel uncomfortable.

"Since I was ten." Theresa's voice had become nothing more than a whisper. The police officer stared at her, then at Hannibal, then at Will. The couple pretended to be as shocked as he was.

"When was the last time he raped you?" the officer asked.

"Yesterday evening," Theresa answered.

"Would you be prepared to let a vaginal smear to be taken?"

Theresa nodded. The officer went around the ambulance and had a few words with one of the paramedics. They returned together.

"I would take you to hospital and check you through, okay?" the paramedic said. Theresa nodded but did not move.

"I will talk to my colleagues," the officer said. "Did anyone know about this, Ms. Noakes?"

Theresa shook her head.

"Can I accompany her?" Hannibal asked.

The paramedic looked at Theresa. "Is that okay for you? Once we have arrived at the hospital, we will get a female doctor to treat you."

"No, it's alright. Mr. Leuchtenberg can come with us," she said. Her voice sounded monotone and off. Hannibal helped her up and into the ambulance.

"I'll take the car to pick you up. Which hospital are you taking them?" Will asked.

"The central one," the paramedic said and closed the doors. Will caught a glimpse of Hannibal's eyes. The cannibal had put his entire arm around Theresa who had sunken into his shoulder. Will hoped that she would not suffer the same end as Abigail.

When he turned around, he saw that Mrs. Sarandon was standing very near to the barrier, only a few yards away from him. When Will was walking back to the crowd of bystanders, he heard her shrill voice, "did Mr. Noakes seriously rape that poor girl?" Her voice was loud enough for every neighbor around to hear it. Mrs. Sarandon also turned to the police officer, "did he sexually abuse her?"

Will's urge to "eat the rude", like Hannibal used to express it, grew in him. He just tried to walk through the crowd and get to his car, when suddenly Mrs. Carrington pushed herself through.

"Officer, officer," she shouted. Will stopped to listen. Mrs. Carrington was out of breath. She seemed to have run the entire way from her house near the forest. "I have tried to wake up my neighbor Mr. Greyson. But he did not open the door."

"It is the middle of the night, madam. He is probably asleep. Like all of you should also be."

"But he is an old man. I am worried. Would you mind looking with me?"

"No, madam. Please let your neighbor sleep in peace." The police officer sighed. "Give me his address and I will check on him in the morning."

Will continued walking away. For only one rapist they had wanted to punish, the death toll had accidentally increased tremendously since last night.