Understanding A Killer

The string shop

"Then... I won't go anywhere." - She blushed a little, "But what if I do end up becoming a killer?"

"If you do kill him, what do you plan on doing next?"

"I... Umm... Haven't thought about it much. But since I could be prosecuted, I did consider disappearing. I covered my tracks once, I can do it again."

"And let your 5 years of college go to waste?"

"I never really wanted to be an agent, anyway." - She anwsered sadly.

After looking for the animal a bit longer, it was time to return. Will prayed there really was one, the other option being that it was a hallucination. He tried to convince himself he wasn't going crazy, but the evident symptoms were catching up to him.

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Will went to Hannibal for the usual session, discussing the latest case and his declining sanity. Breaching the doctor-patient confidentiality, Hannibal gave off information about a man called Tobias, believing he could be the killer. Tobias was a young musician who owned a string shop. Apparently, he showed signs of being a psychopath, admitting murders to his friend Franklyn.

Based on this information, Will couldn't get an arrest warrant, but only unofficially interview Tobias. He called Eliana and gathered two cops to accompany them.

"He fits the profile perfectly. Be careful." - Will warned before entering.

It was a small shop with a vintage touch, very fitting for an instrument maker. String instruments and bows in all sizes were displayed in almost every part of the small room. The door made a faint ringing sound as Will opened the door, making the owner emerge from the back room.

"Hello." - Tobias greeted with a smile, his demeanor radiating confidence and professionality.

"Hello, Mr. Budge." - Will greeted back, "We're investigating a murder at the Baltimore concert hall."

"Oh, yes. I've heard of it. A fellow musician dying, what a shame."

"You happen to know anything about this murder?" - Will asked.

"Oh, no. I am but a simple craftsman and teacher." - He answered, the calmness in his voice not swaying one bit.

"You've got some interesting looking bows, Mr. Budge." - Eliana noticed, promptly studying the instruments, "Can I touch them?"

"I see you're a fellow instrument admirer." - Tobias smirked, "Go ahead. They are some high-quality products of mine."

Eliana picked up the bow, sliding her fingers across it. "It feels... Somehow different."

"I told you they were high-quality." - Tobias's smirk got wider as both Will and Eliana could feel danger coming from the man.

Will was about to ask another question, but was suddenly distracted by something not perceptible to others. He turned his head towards the door rashly, running outside without a word. Eliana debated wether she should follow him, worried about this unexplainable behaviour. On the other hand, she felt she shouldn't let Tobias out of her sight as his dangerous eyes kept getting wider. She decided she was too worried for Will not to go after him, so she signalled the two officers to wait a bit and hurried outside.

Will was about to walk into a busy road, not aware of speeding cars right in front of him. Just as he almost stepped in front of a car, Eliana grabbed his arm tightly, pulling him back to the sidewalk. He blinked twice, coming back to reality as her concerned face came into focus.

"What are you doing?!" - She yelled worriedly.

"I-I thought I heard something." - His voice shook.

"Dammit, Will! You're scaring me." - She tightened her grip on his arm, pulling him closer, "But Tobias feels too dangerous. Let's go back for now."

"You're right." - He agreed, "Let's go."

The door made the same ringing sound as before, and Will announced their return with a shy apology. The room was completely quiet with no response coming his way. "Officers?" - He called out nervously.

Again, no response.

"Will, there's something wrong." - Eliana warned, reaching for her gun.

Will followed the motion, stepping into the back room.

One of the officers laid on the floor with a metal bar sticking all the way though his neck. There was very little chance he was alive, but Eliana checked anyway while Will called for backup.

The silence got even more deadly as they got further and stepped inside a dark basement. The dim light revealed organs, most evidently human organs, with emphasis on guts that hung from the ceiling pipes. It was now obvious to Eliana why the bows felt so different, and this killer turned out to be much more dangerous than they could've imagined. Most probably, he was hiding somewhere near, the darkness being ultimately on his side.

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Author's note: This chapter got longer than I expected, so I decided to finish the plot in the next chapter. Hope you enjoyed :)