Chapter 7

The next morning, Will and Hannibal had only twenty minutes of time for themselves while Theresa was having a shower.

"This is dangerous," Will hissed into Hannibal's ears. They were standing in the kitchen next to thawing meat laid out on the kitchen counter. The prepared ones were still in the fridge.

"What is dangerous is the entire town spreading rumors that the police will pick up on. We have to make sure we are on good terms with everyone," Hannibal answered calmly. "You did not tell me about your injury. If anyone is putting our little operation in danger, it's you." Hannibal teased Will with his lips hovering over his. "Did it hurt?" he asked.

"I did not realize it until I was back here. I am afraid they match my DNA," Will responded truthfully.

"I am very proud of you for going through with everything."

"What else should I have done?"

"You could have refused to use the dogs."

Will hung his head. He felt ashamed for what he had done to the dogs.

Hannibal reached out and touched his chin and lifted it so that Will faced him. "The dogs won't be traumatized. They don't know that what they did was horrible. Dogs are ignorant." He now indeed bent a little forward and kissed Will.

Will did not respond to the kiss as he was preoccupied.

"We can move houses again if you want to," Hannibal said.

"I am worried about Theresa. She is a young girl."

"Your fatherly instinct striking again. Theresa is in her 30s. She will be able to handle herself."

"She is scarred for life."

"Aren't we all?"

"Oh my god, Hannibal, are you turned on?"

"By you? Always."

"By her pain."

"I do not take delight in other people's pain. But seeing you caring for other people who are not alright… why should that not turn me on?" Hannibal grabbed Will's behind and pressed him toward his boner.

"Hannibal Lecter, you–" Will tried to protest but he felt Hannibal's soft breath on his skin. He looked up into his eyes. The only true emotion they had ever shown were love for him. And sadness when he had disappointed him. Will sighed and glided down.

"Isn't that risky?" Hannibal laughed when Will pulled down the trousers and the tight underpants which Hannibal had been sleeping in.

"As long as we still hear the shower, we have time," Will said and began licking Hannibal's balls. Hannibal moaned in response. Will quickly worked his way up the shaft of the penis, intensively engulfing and wetting the skin. He did not need to work much for Hannibal to become more and more aroused. When Will finally took Hannibal's penis tip in and started licking and sucking, Hannibal could not hold back much longer. He came into Will's mouth. Will gulped a bit, and once Hannibal had finished, Will shot up and spat into the sink.

"Too much of me?" Hannibal asked and laughed while he was pulling his pants back up.

"When did the shower stop?" Will asked and opened the tap at the sink in panic to wipe away any traces of their lust.

Hannibal shrugged and kissed Will on his head. They heard the hair dryer turn on. They had time.

Hannibal started cutting the meat into smaller pieces while Will prepared more sauces into which to put the meat later on. Theresa came out of the bathroom and was finally wearing her own clothes again. When Will turned around he noticed that she had been crying again. He quickly cleaned his hands and offered her a hug. How could it be that he only had empathy with damaged people?

"You're preparing for later?" she asked. "Let me help."

"You could help by taking Chester out," Hannibal said.

"Cooking helps me calm down. I have always cooked for my…" Her voice got lost again. She stepped next to Hannibal, ready to assist.

Hannibal sighed. "You could help me cut these into slices," he said and pointed at Mr. Noakes' spleen. He put a knife in front of her but watched her in case she was suicidal. Theresa, however, did not react.

"These are elk's spleen, alligator lungs, ostrich kidneys, –"

"These are human organs," Theresa said. Her eyes were fixed on the pieces of meat.

Will, who had just been on the way to the shower, stopped and turned around.

"No, I can assure you they are not," Hannibal laughed. "A lot of animals have similar –"

"These are human organs," Theresa repeated.

"How do you know what human organs look like?" Will asked from behind her. He hoped that Hannibal would take the knife away that he had laid down in front of her.

Theresa hesitated. Will wanted to catch Hannibal's glance but his husband was fixated on the young woman.

"When my mum died," Theresa began. Tears started to roll down her face again. "We hid her body. My dad had me write a suicide note because our handwritings looked the same. While I was writing, he was taking every last bit of her body and cutting it into pieces. It filled our freezer and yet we had to eat a lot of meat that day. I refused but my dad force-fed me. I vomited it all out later that night." Her voice sounded monotone. She had never talked about it and now it felt good to have it off her chest. "The next two weeks we ate nothing but… but my mum…"

"What did you do with the bones?" Hannibal asked calmly.

"We drove to the forest here in the suburbs and buried them. Very close to the bridge over the lake. Then my dad decided to move here." Theresa started sobbing. Then she picked up the knife. Will became ready to jump at her if she would harm herself or attack Hannibal. Instead, Theresa started cutting the spleen in front of her into slices as Hannibal had told her to do. "Is this my dad?" she asked.

"This, yes."

"And Mr. Kale? Mr. Harris?"

"I prepared Mr. Kale's entrails yesterday. And Mr. Harris' heart. The rest is what you see here."

Theresa nodded, still sobbing, still cutting. "Why?"

"Mr. Greyson and Mr. Kale would recognize meat rarities. Who knows what they have hunted."

"What about Mr. Carrington?"

"I talked to his wife. They are local butchers, they have never slaughtered nor eaten anything that isn't held locally." Hannibal's voice was calm as if he was talking about the weather.

"Why Mr. Harris?"

"He saw us dumping Mr. Kale's body into the lake."

Theresa nodded. The tears were flowing heavier. "Why my dad?" Her voice was trembling now.

Hannibal hesitated, but he decided for the truth. "Two weeks ago, our car broke down and we had to push home in the middle of the night. We heard you… we heard him raping you when we passed by your house."

Theresa gave a little shriek. Her hands were trembling. "How would you want me to cut my father's heart?" she asked and took the corresponding piece from the counter and put it onto the cutting board in front of her.

Hannibal observed her for a few seconds, then he responded, "into small pieces, each three times three centimeters. I wanted to put them on skewers with kidney, plums, and apricot."

Theresa began cutting her father's heart.

"Theresa," Will began and came closer.

"I have nothing to lose," Theresa said. "If you want to kill me because I know your secret, you can do that. But I am very thankful for what you did. I just don't know what to do now."

"We told you, we will figure that out together," Will said.

"You two are the kindest persons I have ever met," Theresa sobbed. "Despite you murdering and eating people."

"We only eat the rude," Hannibal said satisfied and continued cutting Mr. Harris' lungs.

Will went to the bathroom for a shower. He still was not sure whether Hannibal would allow Theresa to survive the day.