TITLE: V IS FOR VICIOUS
AUTHOR: DONNILEE
E-MAIL: DONNILEE@SNET.NET
RATING: NC-17
SPOILERS: Little ones - Fire, FTF.
SUMMARY: In the middle of a murder investigation, our
duo realizes life is too short and finally give in to
temptation.
DISCLAIMER: The characters of Dana Scully, Fox Mulder,
Walter Skinner and the Gunmen belong to Chris Carter, Ten
Thirteen Productions and Fox Broadcasting. They would all
have more active sex lives if I owned them!
DICTIONARY WORD
WEBSTER'S NINTH NEW COLLEGIATE DICTIONARY
vi-cious \ 'vish-es\ adj. [ME, fr. MR vicieus, fr. L
vitiosus-full of faults, corrupt, fr. vitium vice] (14c) 1
: having the nature of quality of vice or immorality :
DEPRAVED 2 : DEFECTIVE, FAULTY; also : INVALID 3 : IMPURE,
NOXIOUS 4 a : dangerously aggressive : SAVAGE b :
marked by violence or ferocity : FIERCE 5 :
MALICIOUS, SPITEFUL <^gossip> 6 : worsened by internal
causes that reciprocally augment each other -- vi-cious-ly, adv. -- vi-cious-ness, n.
INTRODUCTION (PG-13)
WILSON'S RIDING STABLE
ROUTE 118
LITCHFIELD, CT
5:00 PM - March 5, Monday
We approached the scene at the farm. Several uniforms from
the local police were standing in a semi circle around the
corpse, probably obliterating any trace evidence. I
pointed to the ground where there were large double wheel
impressions in the ground. Mulder nodded.
Mulder and I both flashed our badges. "Special Agents Dana
Scully and Fox Mulder," I announced. "Who was first on the
scene?"
A man in his fifties with graying hair and a few extra
pounds around the middle stepped forward and stuck out of
hand, waving the other three away from the corpse. "Agent
Mulder, good of you to come so quickly. This is weirder
than shit."
Slightly miffed that he had shook Mulder's hand and was
ignoring me as if I wasn't there and hadn't been the one to
ask the question; I asked, "Weirder than shit? Is that
your official description, Officer? ..."
"Huh? Oh sorry, Lieutenant Socks, State Troop L." He had
the red flush of high blood pressure across his cheeks and
the tiny broken capillaries on his nose that usually
signified a heavy drinker.
"As in stinky?" Mulder quipped. The overweight officer
belly laughed as if it was the funniest thing he'd ever
heard.
"Well, I don't know if 'weirder than shit' will go in my
report, but ..." he responded finally.
"Why not?" I asked. "It goes in his all the time," I
deadpanned, pointing over my shoulder at Mulder as I knelt
down next to the corpse.
"Hey, little lady, careful there, maybe your partner should
take a look first."
I turned to give him my death glare. I was pleasantly
surprised when Mulder immediately rushed into the rift. "
Lieutenant Socks, was it?"
The man nodded. "My partner is not only a Special Agent
and an equal partner in the X-Files, she's a licensed M.D.
and one of the finest forensic pathologists ever to come
out of Quantico. This part, corpses, is her area of
expertise, so I would like to suggest that you give her
some respect. She can be awfully prickly when dismissed
out of hand."
The man pursed his lips but said nothing. Mulder pasted
his most innocent look on his face, circled the corpse to
the opposite side but declined to kneel down. I snapped on
some latex gloves and pulled the sheet off the torso. I
used a small stick nearby to carefully lift the blood
soaked shirt away from the chest cavity. A sucking chest
wound was visible, or what would have been one earlier.
Now it was turning black with dried blood. I glanced at
the Officer in time to see him grimace and turn away.
'No stomach? Huh, pal?' I looked up at Mulder who was
smirking away. Loud enough to be sure the Officer heard
him, who had taken a few steps back, Mulder asked, "What
have we got, partner?"
I smiled a thank you at him and he nodded, almost
imperceptibly. "One shot to the heart, close range."
I hunched closer and peered down the lifted shirt.
I shifted the shirt, not wanting to take it off, but wanted
to look further down. "It doesn't look like any other
organs were damaged... wait a minute." I paused, seeing a
blackened mark on the waist band of his jeans which were
unbuttoned and unzipped.
I lowered the shirt and carefully pulled the tails of the
brown flannel shirt out of the way. I flipped the sheet
completely off the body. The jeans were pulled down below
the groin. The flaps of the shirt had been covering it.
"What is it Scully?" Mulder asked.
I looked up and inclined my head toward the crotch as I
held up the tails of the shirt. Mulder shouted, "Oh
Christ!" I heard the Officer behind me gag and stagger a
few steps back. Mulder swallowed and looked again, not
thrilled, but knowing he should. "God, Scully, that had to
hurt."
I nodded unsympathetically, morbidly finding humor in this
situation. The man's penis was severed from his body. His
scrotum had been sliced open, and his testicles removed.
"He would have bled out here too, that's for sure. Hard to
tell which wound was delivered first without tests. I need
to get this body to the morgue. I'll do an autopsy first
thing in the morning. That's a surgical cut, Mulder."
Mulder motioned to the Lieutenant. He warily approached.
I grinned and pulled the sheet back into place, not wanting
to appear totally unsympathetic to his sick stomach.
Mulder spoke up, "Lieutenant, have the paramedics get over
and load up the body. Take it to the morgue. Where's the
closest one?"
"New Milford, I think, about 30 minutes up Route 202."
Mulder nodded. "O.K., take it there then, put it on ice
and tell them that no one is to touch it until Agent Scully
arrives in the morning. Did the other victim have his
genitals ... defaced?"
"Uh, no, not that I know of. I didn't see him, but that's
not in the report. Officer Sclapone investigated that
one."
Mulder nodded, "O.K., get this man to the morgue. And have
forensics out here to take a cast of those tire tracks.
Maybe we'll get lucky and they will be unique."
"You got it." He trotted away, seemingly happy to have
something to do.
I looked up at Mulder, putting a hand on the small of my
back. He extended a hand and I ripped off the latex before
taking it. I shivered slightly at the warmth of his hand
as it engulfed mine as he tugged me to my feet. He smiled
and then knelt down, looking at the ground around the
corpse, waiting for the paramedics. "Look like anything
you've seen before, Mulder?"
He shook his head. "Not exactly. I've seen organ's torn
out or removed, but usually they were removed by animals or
by hands, not with surgical precision. Fortunately, I've
never had the pleasure of investigating any missing
genitalia cases.
"Today's your lucky day."
He grunted and stood as we made room for the paramedics. A
young Trooper, holding his hat in his hands, and obviously
way out of his depth approached. "Uh, agents, I was told
to help you out if you was to need anything."
I grinned as he smiled at me shyly. I looked at Mulder and
found him glaring at the young man. He was probably 25
years old, blonde hair and blue eyes. He was well built
but rather short, probably only 5' 9". I smiled
at him and shook his hand. Good heavens, he blushed!
I chuckled to myself, knowing he wouldn't appreciate it.
"Agent Scully. And this is my partner, Agent Mulder."
This officer stuck out his hand to Mulder as well. "Hi,
I'm Clancy Severn. Can I do anything for you two?"
Mulder spoke up. "I'd like to look in the barn."
He nodded and waved to us to follow. We entered a well lit
barn with 10 stalls lining each side, about every other one
housing a horse. I asked, "How much do you know about
horses, Officer Severn?"
"Quite a bit actually, what would you like to know?"
"Well, the man out there was an employee here, right? He
wasn't the owner."
"That's right."
"Did you know him personally?"
"No, but there's a gal who works here, takes people out on
trail rides. Her name is Marguerite Wilson. She isn't
here right now but lives right in town. I'll give you her
address. We already called to say we'd be stopping by to
ask some questions."
"Good. So she can give us some information on the victim."
"Headley Stores, yeah. I guess she must have known him
pretty good. I mean they've worked together here for
ages."
Mulder asked, "Who's the owner?"
"Lee Wilson."
"Ahh, so Marguerite is his wife?"
"Daughter."
"Oh."
We peered into each stall. They were clean with shavings
on the floor. We entered the tack room and I was assaulted
by the smell of leather and Neets Foot Oil. Nothing seemed
out of place or disturbed, but then again, I didn't know
what a tack room generally looked like.
"Well, nothing looks out of place in here."
Mulder glanced around. "Nope."
Officer Severn said, "We called Marguerite. She said
Headley usually closed up about 4:30 after getting the
horses in and fed. He would normally be leaving about now,
a little after five. He came in around 7:00 AM, but then
left around 2:00 and returned around 4:00 to bring the
horses in from the paddock and bed them down."
Mulder nodded. "So we are working on a fairly short time
frame here, say a half an hour between his arrival and his
attack."
"Looks that way," the young officer shrugged. "That mean
anything to you?"
I spoke up. "Well, it indicates that whoever assaulted Mr.
Stores knew his schedule. Probably staked the place out or
is a known acquaintance that would know his schedule. We
are going to want a list of family members, known
acquaintances, and the like."
"I'll get right on that. Marguerite can probably help some
with that."
"What about the missing horse?"
"We don't have a clue how that figures in. It wasn't one
of the regular trail horses that they own here though. It
was a brood mare, high class, apparently. Some richies in
Litchfield had bought her and asked Marguerite to board her
until she foaled."
"Why bring her here?" I asked.
He smiled at me. "Because of Headley, of course."
"What was so special about Headley?"
"He is ... was one of the finest vets in the area. Second
only to Lee Wilson, but Wilson is an old man now, doesn't
see to many horsey patients. Doesn't have the strength for
delivering a foal anymore."
"So officer," Mulder asked, "do you think this was a
straight murder, or did the expensive horse have something
to do with it?"
The young officer looked at the ground. "To be honest, I
don't know, but my gut tells me a little of both."
Mulder nodded.
Officer Severn continued. "These horse people can be
weird. And it's a real competitive business. Not the
riding stable, but the race horses."
"Race horses?" I asked.
"Yeah, the father of that foal was a race horse, a
champion. If they are healthy, those foals are worth a lot
of money."
"How much money, ball park?" I asked.
He grinned. "Million dollars."
"A million dollars!" I exclaimed.
He nodded sagely. "Yeah, and isn't money and greed a
universal motivator for murder?"
Mulder sighed. "So you think someone was maybe trying to
snatch the horse and Headley stumbled into it?"
"Maybe, but that doesn't make sense. If they cased the
place, why not come during the hours when they knew no one
was usually here?"
"Good point," Mulder conceded. The officer smiled at the
little bit of praise.
"What about the first victim?" Mulder asked.
"At the morgue, waiting for you."
"No, I mean where was he found?" he asked. We already knew
that. I guess Mulder was just asking to see if the Officer
would give the same answer. I wondered why.
"Oh, out in the woods on one of the bridal paths. He was a
runner. Name of Olson Parks." I shook my head to myself,
not seeing any connection yet.
"Shot in the heart also?" I asked.
The officer nodded. "That's what they tell me. But his
'little bits' were intact as far as I know."
Mulder laughed, "Little bits? Wasn't very impressive,
huh?"
The officer laughed then. "Just a turn of phrase, Agent.
I wasn't there."
Mulder chuckled.
I nodded. "Let's go Mulder. I don't think there's
anything here."
"Me neither. Oh, Officer Severn?" he asked.
"Yeah?"
"I know it's a long shot, but Andy Griffith out there
didn't check for any foot prints in the dirt before the
four of you ran circles around that body?"
He grinned sheepishly. "I doubt it, but you could ask
him."
Mulder sighed loudly. "That's what I thought. Have
someone put up some crime-scene tape around the body area
and then have everyone stay the hell away from it."
"Yes, sir."
We walked out of the barn and headed for the car. "You
were a little harsh, there, Mulder, don't you think?"
He looked down at me innocently. "I don't know, Scully. I
just hate incompetence. I mean, the basics of a crime
scene, don't fuck with the trace evidence."
"I know, Mulder, but this is a small town. How many
murders do you suppose they get out here anyway? They
never have to deal with this stuff. And Lieutenant Stinky
Socks over there probably hasn't been in Evidence 101 in 20
years."
Mulder threw his head back and laughed, graciously opening
the car door for me and nodding his head for me to get in.
I raised an eyebrow at his chivalry. He merely smiled and
said, "Get in, Scully. Let's get some dinner. You're
going to have a long day tomorrow in the autopsy bay."
I nodded and slid into the car, curiously unruffled by his
gentlemanly behavior. Somehow, Mulder could pull off being
a gentleman without being condescending. Plus, he'd scored
major points with me earlier by deferring to me in front of
Lt. Socks. I loved it when he did things like that. Made
me feel like an equal partner. But it also let me know how
much he respected me.
We rode in silence for several minutes. We were only about
ten minutes from our hotel. Unbelievably, since there was
little to choose from around here, we had been booked in
the Litchfield Inn. It was a very nice place with steep
white pillars flanking the front entrance. It boasted a
large
dining room, a bar, a ballroom for various large functions
and very, very nice rooms. They started at $150.00 per
night. The Bureau was going to have a cow when they got
this expense report.
PART 1 (R)
THE LITCHFIELD INN
ROUTE 202
LITCHFIELD, CT
6:30 PM
I, however was in my glory. I told Mulder I wanted a
shower and change of clothes before dinner so we returned
to our adjoining rooms. I could taste the dust from the
horse stable in my mouth. I was sure my hair was
covered in it and I wasn't entirely sure that we both
didn't smell like horses. Not a bad smell outside, but
definitely less than fine inside a fine hotel.
I stepped out of the shower and pulled out some dark gray
slacks and a loose white blouse to wear to dinner. Simple
but elegant. I slipped into my black pumps and combed my
hair. I was deciding whether to blow dry it or not when I
heard a knock on the adjoining door. "Come in."
Mulder stepped into the room, having changed into dark
charcoal slacks and a black silk shirt with two buttons
undone and the shirt sleeves rolled up. His hair was still
damp from the shower and he had polished his wing
tips, repairing them from their encounter with the barn
yard.
The small lamp on the beside cast his face in shadow. I
gasped at his appearance. I was struck suddenly with how
unbelievably attractive my partner was. Not that I didn't
know this already, but sometimes, it just ... struck me ...
without warning. This was one of those times. When this
happened, I was unable to ignore or deny my attraction. I
always tried to hide it. I think I was successful most of
the time.
He looked at me, his head tilted slightly to one side.
"Almost ready to go?"
"Yeah!" Shit, I sounded out of breath. He smiled wide and
I turned away to hide my blush. "I was trying to decide
whether or not to blow dry my hair."
"Leave it."
I turned to look at him, hearing the roughened tone of his
voice. It was soft, but rough. He met my gaze and said,
"It's beautiful when you let it wave up."
I sucked in my breath trying to think of an appropriate
response. I was supposed to say something here right?
Mulder didn't give me compliments like this, ever. What
the
hell was going on?
"Mulder?"
"The correct response is, 'Thank you, Mulder.'"
I chuckled in embarrassment. "Thank you, Mulder."
He grinned. "You're welcome. I called downstairs to check
on the tie requirement and they said it was unnecessary.
But do you think I should wear one?"
"Depends, what did you bring along with you?"
He grinned. "Well, there's the snoopy tie. I also brought
along a dark blue and white striped one, and then I think I
threw in the one with little green men on it, or was it the
one with the flying pigs?"
I laughed. "Forget it, go sans the tie. We want to relax
anyway, right?"
"I do."
"Let's go then." I ran my hands through my still damp
hair, a little self conscious about it.
"Leave it, Scully, it looks fine, trust me."
I shook my head at him and followed him out the door. His
hand immediately went to the small of my back. It was a
familiar gesture that you would think I would be used to by
now. And most of the time I was. But there were times,
like now, when we were 'off-duty' so to speak and
we were dressed down from our normal FBI G-man and G-woman
attire that it felt so ... warm and intimate to have him
touch me in any way. I suppressed the shiver that wanted
to creep down my spine as the warmth of his hand made its
way through my thin, cotton blouse.
We waited a few seconds for the elevator and dropped the
one floor to the street level. He steered me to the dining
room and stopped before the Hostess who had her nose buried
in the reservation book. She looked up and beamed at
Mulder, fluttering her lashes slightly. God, I hated these
vapid women who drooled over my partner all the time. It
really got annoying sometimes.
"Oh, I'm sorry. How can I help you, sir?" she purred.
Mulder gave her his mega-watt smile.
"Mulder, table for two, please."
She looked at her roster and ran her finger down the list,
furrowing her pretty, little brow, tucking a died platinum
lock of hair behind her Elven ears. She looked up saying,
"Oh, here you are, table 8."
Mulder glanced at me and I mimed sticking my finger down my
throat. He barked out a chuff of laughter and followed her
across the dining room after gallantly holding out his arm.
I placed my hand on it and followed him, quite enjoying the
playful mood he seemed to be in. Usually, the start of a
case would drop him into his brooding, introspective mode
as he dropped into his investigative role.
"Why are you in such a good mood?" I whispered as we
crossed the large dining room.
He smiled down at me. "I'm not entitled?"
"No, I'm thrilled, I'm just wondering why?"
"I'm in a nice hotel with a nice restaurant about to have
dinner with a beautiful woman. What's not to be happy
about?"
"Mulder!" I was shocked again. What was with all the
compliments? He was treating me like a ... woman ... like
a ... date. What the hell?
He grinned at my shocked expression and I realized he was
probably just trying to get a rise out of me and I was
feeding right into it. I shook myself mentally and decided
not to read into it and just enjoy the banter for once.
We finally arrived on the far side of dining room and the
hostess with the mostest indicated a table one row away
from the wall.
I looked at her and asked, "Oh, I was hoping to be near the
wall, perhaps in the corner over there?"
She furrowed her brow. Mulder gave me an amused look as if
to ask, 'what are you up to?'
"Umm," the hostess mumbled as she looked at her hand held
roster. "I guess so, I don't think that one is taken."
She looked up and beamed again at Mulder, looking at him
over my head.
I said, "Perfect, we want to be private. Thanks so much."
I spun on my heel and headed for the corner table, Mulder
close on my heels. The girl followed us and almost but not
quite, dropped the menus on the table.
A curt, "There you go." And she spun and headed back to
her post. Mulder was grinning from ear to ear.
"What was that all about, Scully?"
"What was what all about?" I asked innocently. Two could
play at this game.
"Oh, you are enjoying yourself now, aren't you?" he asked
facetiously, a grin on his face. "I get it. But why were
you bothered by her?"
Before I thought about it I blurted out, "Other than the
fact that she's eyeing you like you were a chocolate sundae
with a cherry on top?"
He laughed now and his eyes twinkled as he gazed at me.
"Jealous, Scully?" he asked smoothly.
"No, of course not, I just get irritated with vapid, flirty
women."
"Try it sometime, you might like it."
"What? Being vapid? Not my style."
"No flirting, having fun."
My smile faded. "What do you mean by that?"
His smile faded too. "Nothing, Scully, sorry. I didn't
mean that the way it sounded."
"What? You think I don't know how to flirt? You think I
don't know how to have fun? Or that I don't enjoy my
femininity?"
"Scully! Whoa! Whoa! Calm down. What's the matter with
you? All I meant was you don't ever flirt with ME."
I deflated, realizing that I was totally overreacting.
Why? I sighed deeply. "Forget it, Mulder. I was trying
to have fun and it took a wrong turn somewhere. I didn't
mean to ..."
"Didn't mean to, what?"
"I don't know." I picked up a menu and buried my nose in
it. "Let's decide what to order before the waitress
comes."
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see him looking at me
curiously, a serious look on his face. I had piqued his
curiosity. Outbursts like that were not common for me and
he figured it indicated something deeper was wrong when it
wasn't. Or was it?
"Look at your menu, Mulder," I instructed without lifting
my eyes from mine.
He sighed and picked it up, scanning it briefly and setting
it down. I looked up. "You decided that fast?"
"Yup. I already pretty much knew what I wanted unless
something on the special list caught my eyes, but it
didn't."
"What are you getting?"
"The Surf 'n Turf."
I scanned once more, deciding to go for broke. "I'm going
to have the lobster."
His eyebrows rose. "Going for the gusto, eh, Scully?" He
was trying to revive our earlier light mood. I decided the
least I could do was make an equal effort.
"Mmm, I haven't had lobster in a long time. I'm a sea
girl, remember? I love all kinds of shell fish. All that
warm, gooey butter, I can't wait!"
He chuckled but then froze as I licked my lips playfully.
I stopped, realizing what I had done could have been taken
as a flirt. The corners of his mouth twitched but he
didn't say anything for a moment. Then he said, "I think
I'm going to enjoy watching you eat it. Do you use your
hands?"
I just looked at him. "Some, some nut cracker, some hands,
depends on the piece of meat you are trying to handle."
He chuckled again. "Oh, you are getting good at this,
Scully."
"Getting good?"
He nodded a conciliatory nod. "You ARE good."
"What, Mulder? No witty come back?" I teased.
"Wait, partner, just you wait."
We ordered our food and Mulder ordered a bottle of white
wine to go with it. There was a piano player in the corner
playing jazzy tunes at a reasonable level. The atmosphere
was relaxed and rather swank and I sighed, enjoying myself.
When the food came, Mulder insisted on helping me tie my
lobster bib. This time when his fingers brushed the back
of my neck there was no hiding the shiver. He stopped
after tying it. Then his hands slid down my neck to brush
both my shoulders before he righted himself in his chair
from his bent over position. I swear he did it on purpose.
I decided to pretend I didn't notice the lingering touch.
We ate with gusto, Mulder laughing as I struggled
periodically with a particularly tough piece of shell. I
broke one leg and squirted lobster juice across the table
hitting him in the cheek. He had squealed in mock
indignation all the while swallowing his laughter. I
couldn't remember the last time we had just relaxed and had
such fun.
I don't even know how it happened but I looked up two hours
later, dessert and coffee later, and realized I was flushed
with good food and wine and had been flirting with my
partner. He was holding his wine glass by the stem,
peering at me over the rim. A lock of his chestnut hair
fell across his forehead. The ambient lighting made his
eyes look very green. He slowly licked his lips and took
another sip of his wine. Several couples were out on the
tiny dance floor in the center of the dining room. Mulder
glanced at them and then back at me.
He grinned. I opened my mouth to protest, knowing what he
was going to ask. "Wanna dance, Scully?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because, we're ..."
"Having a good time?"
"We're on a case!"
"Not right now, we aren't. Not until 8:00 tomorrow
morning."
I couldn't tell him the real reason I didn't want to dance.
I didn't want to be that close to him. He was having a
weird effect on me tonight and I felt unusually vulnerable.
But my protests were weak. He was my partner, for Christ's
sake. And we were having such a good time. I didn't want
to be the party pooper. His comment about my never having
fun and flirting had hurt more than I was willing to admit.
I'd set out to prove him wrong. I wanted him to see that I
could be fun and 'play' with the best of them.
The unfortunate side effect of that was that I had to drop
the professionalism that always guarded me against his
charms. He smiled sadly, taking my silence for a negative
answer and said softly, "If you don't want to, that's O.K.
I just thought it would be nice."
He looked down at the table. "O.K., Mulder."
His head jerked up. "What?"
I stood up. "Let's dance." I knew I was in dangerous
territory here, but my reasons for saying 'No' seemed
distant and confused. He took my hand and I immediately
started having second thoughts. Warmth flooded up my arm
as he stood and tugged me gently to step in front of him.
One hand on my back again, he led me onto the floor. A new
song was just starting up, an instrumental I didn't
recognize but with a slow easy beat.
Mulder deftly slid an arm around my waist and caught up my
hand in the other raising it up to his chest. He began
rock to the beat and soon he was swaying back and forth and
around with me clasped tightly to his torso. He was a good
dancer and easy to follow and I found myself relaxing into
his guided steps. I was overcome by a feeling of slight
giddiness and leaned my head back, smiling up at him.
"What?" he asked softly.
"Nothing. You're a good dancer."
He smiled a little wider. "Surprised? Yeah, this is
nice."
"What?"
"Dancing with you." He pulled me against him a little
tighter and said, "Feels good."
What did he mean by that? I was no longer smiling but
unable to take my eyes off him. He was staring deep into
my eyes and I felt a tingle go through my body, a wave of
heat. It made me nervous but slightly excited at the same
time.
"Mulder?" I asked quietly.
"God, Scully, you are so beautiful," he murmured. And his
head dropped to the side as he buried his nose in my hair.
I shuddered and tried to pull away. This was not good.
This was dangerous. What the hell was happening here?
My attempts to back away only prompted him to hold me
tighter, the hand holding mine against his chest moving to
back of my neck. His fingertips played with the stray
hairs at the nape of my neck. It was a warm tickle
that caused another shiver. "Mulder, please!" I
whispered, sounding desperate even to myself. I twisted in
his arms. He lifted his head, loosening his hold, a
shocked look on his face.
He took a deep breath, his eyes darting over my shoulder
and back to my face. "I'm sorry, Scully."
Just then the song ended and he dropped his arms abruptly
and turned away from me. He looked over his shoulder
waving toward the table. "Sorry," he muttered again and
walked away. I had to hurry to catch up as he strode to
the table as though his ass were on fire.
"Mulder!" I said in a frantic voice, trying to keep my
volume down and not attract attention. He stopped and spun
around just as I reached the table.
We both froze and stared at each other. All the fun was
gone now ... again. We'd dipped our toes over an invisible
line and it had made us both nervous. "I'm sorry, Mulder,
I didn't mean to panic."
He swallowed and waved at my chair. He pulled it out and I
sat as he scooted me back under the table and then sat in
his chair. He leaned his elbows on the table, lacing his
fingers together. He was staring at his hands. I glanced
down to see his legs bobbing nervously under the table.
It was unlike Mulder to have a nervous mannerism like that.
Something was going on.
"What happened out there, Mulder?"
"I don't know," he whispered, glancing at me and back at
his hands.
"I think you do."
He sighed. "Maybe, but you probably don't want to hear
it."
We sat in silence for several moments. Did I want to hear
it? I wasn't sure. What I did know was that I didn't like
this tension between us and it was partially if not all my
fault. I'd freaked out just because he said it felt good
to dance with me and said I was beautiful.
And he'd touched my neck, playing with my hair. That had
felt better than it should have. I didn't want to cop
right now to how his words and actions had made me feel.
Mulder thought I was beautiful. Jesus, when did that
happen?
How did that make me feel? Nervous for sure. Scared as
hell, not that I'd ever tell him that. And, shit. If I
was honest, it titillated me. He licked his lips and kept
looking at his hands. His knuckles were white with the
pressure of squeezing them together.
I laid my hands over his clenched, laced fingers. He
gasped but loosened his grip on himself. "Mulder, what's
wrong?"
"Nothing."
"Oh come on, you can't even look at me! I'm sorry, Mulder.
You just startled me. You never say things like that to
me, and I ... it took me by surprise and I didn't know how
to react and I ..."
"Freaked out," he said softly.
"Yeah, a little, but I'm O.K. now. I'm sorry. It has
nothing to do with you. It's me." Why was I comforting
him? He was the one that had made me feel uncomfortable.
"This time it had everything to do with me."
"What?"
"It's not you, Scully. You're a beautiful, funny, sensual
woman and if any other man had held you out there you
wouldn't have freaked out. But you did, because it was
... me."
He looked so sad and dejected. I didn't know what to say.
Beautiful, funny and ... sensual? Good lord, why was he
suddenly spewing these words at me? They threw me
completely off balance. He never said things like this and
now they were pouring out of his mouth all in the course of
one evening.
He was probably right. I hadn't been with anyone in a long
time, but I knew how to be with a man. I knew how act on a
date. I knew how to enjoy dancing. It was just that
dancing could be so intimate and I wasn't used to being
that close to Mulder, to touching him that way. And let's
face it. Again, if I was honest, other men wouldn't have
effected me that way. He did.
"Mulder, look at me."
He did, tentatively. "You're right. I wouldn't have
freaked out if it was someone else."
He face twisted into a grimace and the corners of his mouth
turned down. My God, was he trying not to cry? "Mulder,
you're taking this the wrong way."
He blinked rapidly, still frowning but didn't look away.
"I wouldn't have reacted that way because ... because
someone else wouldn't ... effect me the way you do."
He continued to stare at me, shaking his head slightly,
indicating he didn't understand. I squeezed his balled up
fingers under mine and he flattened his hands onto the
table. "Mulder, it felt just as good to me to be held as
it did to you to be holding."
His frown dissipated but he didn't say anything. His mouth
dropped open slightly and he licked his bottom lip again.
I repeated, "Mulder, you don't usually ... say things like
that. And you've never touched me that way. You touched
my hair and the nape of my neck and it ... it felt ... it
was ... intimate."
"I know, I ... don't know why I did. I just ... I feel
different tonight."
"Different?"
"I don't know what I'm talking about," he said in a self
deprecating tone.
I chuckled. "Let's pay the bill and get out of here.
We'll go upstairs and talk some more, O.K.? It's early."
He nodded and flagged the waitress. He yanked a MasterCard
out of his wallet and handed it to her. We sat in silence
until she returned. He quickly signed the slip and we
stood. I stepped in front of him out of habit. His hand
touched my low-back but then pulled back. I turned and
looked at him. He was hesitating. Oh God, had I upset him
that much by pulling away. Probably. I knew how sensitive
he was.
I tried to smile gently, not sure if I'd pulled it off. He
gently laid his hand back on the small of my back. He
flashed me a nervous smile and started to lead me to the
elevator. We entered it and there were others in there so
he dropped his hand. My back felt cold in its absence and
I straightened my spine.
The doors opened and we all piled off. Mulder followed me
to my door. He quipped, "My place or yours," but it fell
flat.
I smiled at the door, not daring to look at him and simply
unlocked my door. He followed me inside, turning to chain
lock the door. I sat on the bed and leaned back on my
hands. He looked around and then decided to sit on the
lone chair that was near the tiny table in the corner.
"Mulder," I said. He looked up.
I patted the bed. "Sit here."
He nodded, but looked unsure and came and sat gingerly on
the edge of the bed. He turned slightly, pulling his long
leg up onto the bed with a bent knee and turning to face
me.
We looked at each other in silence again and then he hung
his head. I didn't know what was going on. I did but I
didn't. I had no idea what to say, so I decided I should
ask him.
"Mulder, what's going on?"
He looked up at me. "I'm not sure," he replied.
"Why are you nervous around me all of a sudden?"
He chuckled mirthlessly. "You don't know?"
"No."
He sighed. "I tried to pay you a compliment. I was having
fun. I thought we were having fun, being friends. I felt
so close to you down there for a few moments and then ...
you pulled away ... you freaked out, Scully. Not badly,
but enough and it ... hurt. I'm not sure why." He paused.
"That's not true, I know why. So now I'm afraid to ... do
anything to make you pull away more."
"Because it hurts you when I do."
"Yes."
"Why?"
He smiled then a sad smile. "You really don't get it, do
you?"
He was staring at me again. I shook my head. "Then
there's nothing else for me to say."
He stood up and headed for the connecting door. "Mulder!"
He didn't stop. I leaped up off the bed and nearly
shouted. "Damn it, Mulder, don't you walk away from me!"
He stopped and turned around but said nothing. I realized
I was panting and took a deep breath, trying to calm down.
I stomped my foot and realized how silly that must have
looked, especially after I saw the flash of amusement cross
his face. "Please talk to me, Mulder," I said through
clenched teeth.
I was mortified to find that I felt like crying and I
didn't want him to leave. And now he was the one pulling
away and I realized ... it HURT!"
Jesus!
He watched my face and must have seen something because he
slowly approached me. He took my hand and led me back
around to the side of the bed and coaxed me to sit down.
He sat as before, turned sideways, only closer this time.
I whispered, swallowing the lump in my throat. "Why do I
feel like ... if I let you walk out of here, things will be
awkward between us for days to come?"
"Because they probably would be," he answered, very calmly.
"Why?"
"Because all of a sudden I don't know how to act around
you."
"Why?"
"Any other question in your repertoire, Scully?"
I smiled and turned to look at him. "What really happened
down there, Mulder? Be honest with me. And don't give me
any bullshit about being too sensitive. What you did
was different, out of character."
He asked, "You sure you want to know? You sure you want me
to be honest about this?"
I nodded, rather jerkily but I managed. "O.K.," he said
slowly. "Actually, it wasn't out of character at all for
me. It's exactly how I always act when I'm with a woman I
care about. How I usually act around you or force myself
to act around you is distinctly out of character. What
happened down there was I was having such a good time and
was so relaxed that I let my guard down. I forgot that I'm
not supposed to touch Dana Scully. I forgot that I'm not
supposed to see my partner as a beautiful, desirable woman.
I forgot ... that I'm not supposed to ..."
"Not supposed to what, Mulder?"
He looked at me for a few seconds, his lip curling up.
Then he bit his lower lip and looked down. "What, Mulder?"
I whispered again, encouraging him. My heart was beating
fast and I wasn't sure if I was hearing correctly.
He looked up at me again and locked his gaze with mine.
His voice was raspy and gruff with desire and it made me
shiver. "I forgot I'm not supposed to want you."
My mouth dropped open on what I'm sure was one of my more
shocked expressions. Mulder wanted me? WHAT? How did we
go from friends having a nice time to this?
"Mu...Mulder?"
His hand raised slowly and slipped behind my neck. He slid
his body in close and I gasped, feeling panic start to take
a hold of me. He bent his head and his hot breath
cascaded down my neck. His words rumbled into my ear and
set up a humming vibration in my body. "Do you ever
feel it, Scully? This thing between us. That vibration
that sometimes flows between us and makes my body hum.
It's there. I can feel it. I feel it all the time, and I
pretend ... I pretend I don't feel it because I'm not
SUPPOSED to feel it. But I do."
"Feel what?"
He paused. "And on those rare occasions when I can hold
you, I CAN'T PRETEND I DON'T FEEL IT." His words were
forceful but still quiet.
My eyelids drooped closed and my head fell to my shoulder,
in an unconscious action to dislodge his hand from my neck.
It didn't work. His other hand came down to rest on my
hip. I felt his lips brush across the skin below my ear
and over my jaw.
I should stop him! Damn it, I should stop him. What the
hell is he doing? What is he talking about? I shouldn't
be doing this. He shouldn't be doing this! "Fee...Feel
what?" I asked again meekly. His thumb swept my bottom lip
and I made an embarrassing squeaking noise in the back of
my throat.
"This," he said sharply.
Oh my God - Fox Mulder is kissing me. His lips warm and
soft, swept over mine, brooking no argument as his tongue
swept over my teeth pushing it's way gently inside. I
gasped and he plunged inside, rolling his tongue around
mine and retreating to suck on my lips. I heard a whimper
and realized a second later that it was me.
What the hell? He pulled me close and deepened the kiss.
I moaned and felt my head spin as waves of pleasure rippled
through my torso. My hands came up instinctively and
clutched his biceps for support. I don't remember leaning
down, I don't remember being pushed. But the next thing I
knew, I was flat on my back on the bed and Mulder was
leaning over me, his hands in my hair and kissing me with a
hunger and passion I had never imagined.
I gave up and started kissing him back. There was no
denying it now.
Minutes, hours, I have no idea. Some time later, he
finally broke the kiss when the need for air became
paramount. We were both panting. He stared at me. He
asked, his voice gruff, "Did you feel it that time,
Scully?"
This entire situation struck my hysterically funny all of a
sudden. I knew it was the panic and the acknowledgement
and the confusion all mixed together. But I began to
laugh. I belly laughed, feeling tension flow out of
my body and the arousal abate somewhat. He was smiling
wide at me, and then began to laugh at the sight of me
laughing. Before we were through, we were both sucking
wind and wiping tears from our face with the sleeves of our
shirts.
We finally quieted and he smiled softly at me. He leaned
in and gave me a quick, hard kiss on the lips. And said,
"That's what was happening."
He stood. "Get some sleep, Scully. I hope you won't hold
it against me."
With that, he turned and went to his door. He opened it
and stepped through. He turned around and fixed his eyes
on my face again. I was levering up on my elbows. He
said, "You're the most beautiful woman in the world to me,
Scully, inside and out. And you know what? I'm tired of
all the bullshit. I'm tired of pretending. So I'm not
going to anymore." He paused. "That was my serve, Scully.
You're turn to lob."
He flashed another smile, that one looking quite self
satisfied and he closed the door softly behind him. I
flopped back down on the bed and groaned. What the hell
just happened? My body was buzzing with arousal and I was
still breathing deeply. My mouth was suddenly dry as a
bone. I heaved myself up and headed for the bathroom to
get a drink of water. Maybe a cold shower too.
Fox Mulder had just kissed me like I'd never been kissed,
and made me feel sensations I'd never felt. Oh God, get a
grip. What now?
PART 2 (PG-13)
MARGUERITE WILSON'S HOUSE
MAPLE STREET
LITCHFIELD, CT
8:20 AM - MARCH 6, TUESDAY
How I'd managed to summon up the restraint to pull away
from her, I will never know. I could have kept going. I
know that. She wouldn't have stopped me. She had given in
to the "thing" between us at last. She'd returned my kiss
and it had felt like heaven.
But what of tomorrow? I could hear all the justifications
flying out of her mouth. I had too much to drink with
dinner. We have to go back to the way things were or it
will ruin our working relationship. We were relaxed and had
our guard down. I need time to think. I could hear them
all. And being relatively paranoid, I was sure that
somehow, if I were to stay, she would regret it tomorrow.
If we were ever to be together, she would have to come to
me. She would have to approach me free of reservations,
accepting of our fate, of her own free will ... hopefully
sober. Because drunk or not, if she responded to me again,
I didn't know if I would be able to push her away a second
time. Something in the back of my mind had told me it was
time to declare myself. It was time to drop the mask. This
might be the end of us, but if something didn't happen
soon, it was going to be the end of us anyway, because I
couldn't stand the tension anymore. I wanted her too much
to hide it anymore. That was the bottom line.
I had seen something in her eyes when I turned to leave
that first time. A desperation that I had never seen
before. She was panicking over the fact that I was walking
away. I was the one pulling away now, and I'd seen her
recognize the hurt, and then identify with mine of earlier.
I'd watched the realization paint a picture across her
face. So when she asked me not to go, I couldn't continue
to hurt her the way she had hurt me.
Two wrongs don't make a right. Even I know that. But now
what? Here I am pacing my room, walking funny because I am
so aroused I can't think straight. I need to lay down and
do something about the third leg that has appeared on my
body. Because it's obvious that after ten minutes of nearly
painful pacing and thinking, I thought, 'This isn't going
to go away.'
I'd already taken a shower, but maybe I should take another
one. Lord knows had I started to sweat in there. Plus, I
know Scully would be less likely to hear me if I jerked off
in the shower than if I just laid down on my bed.
XXXXXXXXXX
Scully grabbed a ride to the morgue with Officer Severn
early the next morning. I wasn't thrilled with the idea as
I'd seen the way he looked at Scully the day before.
Something was bothering me about him but I couldn't put my
finger on it. And it had nothing to do with the way he eyed
Scully. At least I didn't think it did. But I needed to
make my way to Marguerite Wilson's place and pin her with
some tough questions.
Hopefully, our encounter last night would prevent Scully
from doing anything stupid like accepting to go out on a
date with that school boy. I drove our rental car down the
two lane state road, thinking that the country side here
was really nice. I was back in full G-man regalia, wearing
a dark gray suit, blue shirt and navy silk tie, black
trench coat and Ray bans. Figured I may as well look the
part. Sometimes in these small towns, they were
underexposed enough to be impressed with that shit. Then
again, you didn't want to come off arrogant.
I was a hypocrite too, because I was not above flirting
with a female witness to get what I wanted. But I certainly
didn't do it when Scully was with me, so maybe this would
be best after all. She would be in the autopsy bay for two
hours at least on each autopsy. I didn't expect to catch up
to her until 1:00 or 2:00 this afternoon.
I glanced at the sign and made the turn onto Maple Street,
squinting to see the numbers on the mailboxes. I really
needed new glasses. Then I realized I had my sun glasses on
and not my 'scripts. I pulled off the suns and fumbled with
the eye glasses in my pocket. Definitely not as cool, but
much more handy. I could see now! Fancy that!
I saw the bright green 436 painted on the black mailbox and
swung easily into the wide driveway. I guessed I was only
about a mile from the riding stable. She lived conveniently
close, but then again, she would. I wondered if she lived
with daddy, a/k/a owner, or if he squatted elsewhere. We
had yet to meet up with him either. He, Mr. Lee Wilson, was
on the top of my 'most want to meet' list right then.
The jarring sensation of my partner going soft in my arms
and vibrating under my kiss last night kept whirling
through my head. My crotch was standing at attention again.
I shook my head. I had to get my head back where it
belonged. It wouldn't do to walk in here sporting wood. I
took a few deep breaths, thought about the dead body I'd
seen yesterday and that pretty much took care of any
remaining upstanding problems below my belt.
I slid out of the car and stretched, looking around the
yard.
The lawn was neat and mowed, the leaves raked. A small
cement stoop led up o the front door. There was a light
over the door which was not burning now at 8:30 AM. I
knocked sharply three times and waited. No one appeared for
a few seconds but then I heard shuffling behind the door.
"Who's there?" A rough male voice sounded through the door.
"Special Agent Fox Mulder with the FBI! I'm here to see
Marguerite Wilson."
The door cracked open and an elderly man peeked his head
around the end of the door. I flashed my badge and he
squinted for several long moments at it and then pulled the
door back. He was in flannel pajamas with teddy bears on
them and a long, ratty looking, red striped bathrobe that
had seen better days. His feet were bare on the plain wood
floor. He was going bald on the top, but the rest of his
gray hair was probably normally combed straight back, but
now was doing a willow tree impression around his liver
spotted skull.
I smiled easily at him as I slipped past him through the
door. "Mr. Lee Wilson, I presume?" I asked, sticking my
hand out.
"Yeah, that would be me," he replied. Then he bellowed,
'MARGGGIIIEEE!"
"Coming!" she shouted from somewhere down a hallway off to
my left.
A tall woman, probably 5' 9" rounded the corner wearing
fawn colored riding breeches and tall leather riding boots
with a gold buckle. Her white shirt appeared to be some
sort of thick gauze with an open collar. It was unbuttoned
enough so I could see the top of her generous cleavage. The
breeches hugged her like a second skin. her legs were long
and slender, but she had no hips to speak of.
Her hair was long, thick and brown and bound into a perfect
braid which she wore hanging over one shoulder and down her
ribcage. Her skin was that ruddy brown that occurred from
long hours in the sun.
Her eyes were a odd color, light brown, almost gold and
blended with her tan face slightly to create a disconcerted
look, as though she was never really looking directly AT
anything. I stuck out my hand and introduced myself.
"Special Agent Fox Mulder. The locals told me that you
would expect me?" She didn't look like she'd expected me
and she didn't look like she was happy about my arrival.
She looked me up and down, taking in my outfit and
was obviously not impressed, not intimidated but not put
off by it either.
"What can I do for you?"
"Well, I'd like to ask you a few questions."
"About what?"
About what?! She was kidding, right? "Headley Stores,
Olson Parks, and the riding stable in general. Can you
spare me a few moments? I won't take much of your time."
She sighed deeply and said, "Sure, I don't have much of a
choice now, do I?"
I smiled what I hoped was an apologetic smile and shrugged,
"No, not really. You could throw me out. But then I'd have
to get a court order or a warrant for questioning, which
would piss me off and then you'd get mad and then we'd
still have to talk only you'd probably have to go down to
the State Police barracks, ..."
"I get the point," she said, cutting me off neatly, but
then her lips turned up into a smile. She motioned towards
a doorway and I followed her into a brightly lit kitchen
and sat on a stool she indicated at a breakfast bar. "I
need to grab some breakfast while we talk if you don't
mind."
"Go right ahead." She began frying eggs and said, "So,
what do you want to ask me?"
"How long did Headley Stores work for the stable?"
"About eight years."
"You knew him well?" She turned suddenly and glared at the
old man who had appeared in the doorway. I hadn't even
heard him approach. He slowly backed away and disappeared
from my line of sight.
Interesting. I wondered who was in charge around here? She
looked at me and said softly, "Maybe we should wait until I
finish eating. Then we could take a walk outside. What do
you say?"
I looked at her for a moment and she nodded her head
towards the doorway. 'Ahh, so she didn't want the old man
overhearing what she had to say. This was even more
interesting. I nodded my understanding.
"Coffee?" she asked.
"Please, I'd love some. Only had one cup this morning.
That's not enough to even get me into 2nd gear."
She chuckled and poured out coffee from a pot into a
generous mug and plunked it on the counter, waving casually
at the cream and sugar off to the side. They looked like
remnants from a greasy spoon diner, but I indulged anyway.
She finished her breakfast while I asked her mundane
questions about the area and what there was to see. Turns
out there was a Fair going on one town over in a town
called Harwington. I was hoping I would have time to take
Scully. We'd never been to a Fair together.
She had visibly relaxed in the wake of our mundane talk.
She seemed like a normal woman, other than the fact that
she was probably about my age and not married. But then,
neither were Scully or I. Just thinking the word 'married'
in the same sentence with Scully gave me a little pang. Did
I want that some day? Not the time to ponder it.
I followed her outside the house and we circled around to
the back and headed for a large pasture. I looked over my
shoulder to see the old man watching us out of the window.
He was dressed now in a flannel shirt and dungarees.
Curious, what was the old man so uptight about?
"So," I began, after we were a distance from the house.
"So," she replied, grabbing a tall stalk of grass and
popping it in her mouth. Somehow it looked natural there.
She was a handsome woman. The kind of woman that used to
turn my head. I noticed now that we were out in the light
that her brunette hair was streaked with lighter ash blonde
strands, probably also from the sun. She was tall and big
busted. I found it curious that she did absolutely nothing
for me. She was looking at me like she liked what she saw.
I shook myself mentally. Scully was the only woman who did
anything for me anymore. The rest were just ... people.
Scully was my touchstone, my center.
"I need to ask some hard questions." She nodded.
"How well did you know Headley Stokes?"
"Very well."
"Nice person?"
"I thought so."
"You said that like you know of others with differing
opinions."
"My father."
My ears perked up. "What about your father? Didn't like
Headley much?"
"Oh, he liked him just fine, up until about a six months
ago."
"What happened six months ago?"
"I started ... dating him for lack of a better term. It was
weird. We'd been working side by side at this stable for
close to eight years. We were friends, the closest. Then,
something happened. One day, I just started looking at him
differently. I can't explain it."
"I think I understand."
It must have been something in the tone of my voice,
because she swung her head around to look at my face. "You
have a lady friend?"
I nodded, "Not in the traditional sense, but yes."
She chuckled. "Define 'non-traditional' sense."
I didn't know how much to tell her. "I'm supposed to be the
one asking the questions."
She smiled again, giving me a look that let me know that
she was fully aware of my evasive tactic. She nodded,
accepting it.
"So, your father didn't like that Headley put the make on
you."
"Put the make on me? I haven't heard that expression in
years!" I smiled.
She continued, "No, he didn't. You see, my mom died when I
was seven years old. Dad opened this stable when I was
about eight. I've been riding since then, giving lessons,
trail rides. It has been just me and him all these years.
I've dated, but never got serious with anyone."
"Never got serious in all this time?" She looked at me and
was almost staggered by the look of sadness in her eyes.
"Not until recently."
"What are you not telling me?" I asked gently.
"Nothing. I'm not sure it's really hit me yet that he's
gone."
I nodded. "Did you know the other victim? Olson Parks?"
"Yes, he was a customer. He came here quite often. He was a
runner and we gave him permission to jog on the bridle
paths. It was a quiet place for him and he didn't have to
worry about running on the road with all the traffic and
all."
"Did you date him?"
Her head whipped around to look at me again and I saw a
spark of something. Anger, maybe? Fear? I just wasn't sure.
"Why?" she asked.
"I'm just gathering information, trying to establish a
connection between the two victims. At this point, there
doesn't seem to be one, except that the two men were killed
one week apart, both at your riding stable. Little odd,
don't you think?"
"Yeah." Her voice was far away and breathy. She was tearing
up now. I didn't like it. I wasn't sure what the hell was
going on here. "I have to tell you, I'm really shook by
this whole thing. I'm scared. And I don't know what to
think." She looked at the sky, then at the ground under her
feet as we continued to walk slowly across the field.
She paused then sighed loudly. "I've never been a very
'social' person. I'm a horse person." She said this as
though it explained everything. "Truth be told, I like
animals way better than people."
I chuckled. "I know the feeling. But then there are those
very few people who ... are something special."
She smiled sadly. "Exactly, and Headley was one of them. I
went on only three dates with Olson, but there was just
nothing there. By mutual agreement, we decided to be
friends. Headley though ... was different.
"We'd known each other a long time. We just sort of drifted
into the intimacy part. It's the first really healthy
relationship I've ever had. I'd been in love with him for
a long time, but was afraid to let it show, you know?
Then he gave me a hint that he felt the same way. I was
so thrilled. I thought I'd finally found someone I could
spend my life with and now he's gone.
"I'll tell you something, Agent Mulder. I screwed up. I
let fear hold me back. I wish I'd told Headley how I felt
years ago. I'd been in love with him for a couple of
years. Now I think of all the time we wasted. God! What
a waste."
Her eyes became watery but the tears didn't fall. She
blinked rapidly and then said, "The others, they were not
healthy."
"How were the others unhealthy?"
She grimaced. "I was lonely, needy, went to them for the
wrong reasons."
"Those being?"
"They asked."
I chuckled. "That's hard to believe. You're a good
looking woman, Marguerite, I don't see why you would have
trouble getting dates." Little compliments never hurt, I
thought.
She beamed at me. "Thanks, but my father scared most of
them off."
"Why?"
"He's a miserable old man. Don't get me wrong, I love him.
He raised me all by himself and I never wanted for
everything. But ..."
"But?"
"He was always a little over protective, and frankly, I'm
all he has. I think he's afraid of being alone. He's
afraid if I found a man, that I would leave him."
"Wouldn't you?"
"No. I would never leave him. I might move out of the
house, but I wouldn't move far away. I couldn't. My life
in that stable anyway, and I get it all when he dies. Its
worth quite a bit of money now."
I nodded. "Something's bothering me."
"What's that?"
"You dated both these men."
She stopped walking abruptly and turned to face me. "I'm
not a suspect, am I?"
"No, but it's the only connection other than the stable
that I've seen so far."
"What are you thinking?"
"I'm wondering if whoever killed these men did it out of
jealousy."
She threw back her head and laughed. "No one's ever been
jealous of me Agent Mulder."
"You'd be surprised. Ever turn anybody down who asked you
out?"
Her smile faded and she swallowed. She opened her mouth as
if to say something and then shut it. "No."
I looked at her and knew she was lying, or hiding
something. "Marguerite, you're not a very good liar," I
stated in a matter of fact tone.
"I'm telling the truth. Other than Olson, and he's a
victim, I've never turned anybody down."
"Anybody you know that liked you but never asked you out,
maybe too shy?"
"Not that I know of."
"Do you know Officer Severn?"
"Yes, why?"
"How do you know him?"
"He comes and rides regularly on the trails. Good rider,
excellent actually."
"He ever ask you out?" I asked.
She chortled. "No."
"Did he know Headley?"
She scrunched her brow. "Yeah, they were friends. Talked
horses all the time. Why?"
"No reason, just verifying some things. I need to know
what everyone's relationship is to everyone else. It helps
to make connections. Did he call to ask you about
Headley's schedule at the stable?"
"No, he knows it by heart. He wouldn't need to ask. He's
been coming to the stable for almost a year."
We stood in silence
for a moment and she turned and we
headed back toward the house. "Your father is a vet, isn't
he?"
"Yes, what's that got to do with it?"
"Headley had his ... uh, testicles ... cut out."
"And?"
"They weren't torn out or pulled out, they were CUT out,
with something very sharp ... like a scalpel."
She stopped walking again. "Are you insinuating that my
father did this?" The corners of her mouth twitched.
"No, but he would have those types of surgical tools,
right?" Could Wilson overpower a man the size of Headley
Stores? I couldn't see it.
"Yes."
"And are they in a place where someone could easily access
them?"
Her mouth dropped open slightly. "Yes, I guess they are.
They are in his office in the house in a cabinet. I don't
think it's locked. We never had any children in the house
so it wasn't necessary to lock things up."
I nodded. "I'm wondering if I could see them."
She nodded. "Sure."
We returned to the house and went in through the back door
into the kitchen. I followed her out into a hallway and
down another hall that led down the back of the house. It
ended in a door that she opened and I stepped in behind
her. The room was large with a couple of big windows.
There was a metal examining table, much like an autopsy
table in the middle of the room. The walls were lined with
cabinets, some with windows, some without. She went to a
cabinet that sat on the floor with double doors. She
opened it and waved me forward. I stepped around the open
door and looked inside. There were four shelves, all
neatly lined with scalpels, clamps, butterflies, sponges,
gauze pads, rolls of sutures, and all the various
accessories for surgery.
I turned to her. "Does anything look like it's been
disturbed?"
"No."
"Did Headley have similar tools?"
"Yes."
"Here?"
"No, he kept his in the small examining room in the barn.
He has a surgery bay at the stable that both he and my
father used. Neither one of them had a need for it too
much anymore."
"I'd like to take these."
"Why?"
"I'd like to check them for fingerprints." She scrunched
her brow. "Someone could have used them and put them
back," I added.
She nodded. "O.K., and reached for the first row of
instruments."
"No." I reached out and captured her wrist firmly. She
looked at me with a puzzled expression.
"Don't touch them. I'll send someone over to bag them up,
someone from forensics."
She nodded. "In the meantime, don't touch anything in here
and don't let your father touch anything."
"His prints may be on here. Will that incriminate him?"
"No, I expect his to be on there. I'm looking to see if
anyone else's prints are on any of these sharp cutting
instruments."
She nodded. "O.K., I'll talk to my father."
We walked back into the kitchen and she offered me more
coffee. "No thanks."
"Is there anything else? I really need to be getting to
the stable."
"No, unless you want to tell me what you were hiding from
me before?"
She stiffened from head to toe and shook her head curtly in
the negative. "I'm not hiding anything. I'm being
perfectly forthcoming and cooperative with you."
I held up my hands in surrender. "O.K., O.K." I pulled a
card out of my wallet. "If you think of anything that
might help, no matter how small, call me or my partner,
Agent Scully. By the way, my partner is a woman and a
doctor herself. So if there's something you would rather
discuss with a woman, feel free to call her."
She nodded, and her expression softened. A strange haunted
look came into her eyes. "I'll let myself out. Let your
father know that we may want to talk to him later, but for
now, I think you've answered all my questions."
"Agent Mulder?"
"Yeah?"
"Your lady friend ... are you intimately involved?"
I hesitated. "Why?" There was only silence. "Not yet," I
answered. I didn't really know why I answered.
"Don't be the fool that I was, Agent Mulder. Life is too
short. Don't wait out of fear or insecurity. I'm just
realizing how short life can be. I wish I'd been honest
with Headley a lot sooner. We might have had a lot more
time together."
I nodded. "I'll keep that in mind."
I walked back out to the car, contemplating Marguerite
Wilson. There was something ... off about her and I wasn't
sure what. Although if she truly wasn't a 'social' person
and had little experience with men, then that could explain
it. But I didn't think so. It was just a vibe that told
me that she was scared of something that had nothing to do
with these murders. I wanted to know what that was. But I
wouldn't find out by frightening her myself, or pushing the
issue. Maybe I would send Scully back to talk to her.
I got in the car and headed to the stable. I wanted to
look around unhindered by the Mayberry crew and see if
anything caught my eye.
PART 3 (PG-13)
LITCHFIELD COUNTY MORGUE
NEW MILFORD HOSPITAL
NEW MILFORD, CT
1:00 PM
I was exhausted. My feet hurt and my back ached. My eyes
were dry and burning. I finished scrubbing my hands and
changed into blue jeans and a brown blouse shirt for my
trip to the stable. I pulled out my cell phone as I headed
outside.
Officer Severn waved to me. He was waiting as promised. I
slipped into the passenger seat and he slipped behind the
driver's seat of his cruiser, firing up the engine. The
phone rang three times.
[Mulder.]
"Mulder, it's me."
[Oh, hey, Scully, what's up? All done out there?]
"Yes. We have to wait for the toxicology report,
otherwise, they're done."
[Find anything interesting?]
"Some things. Look, I'll write up my report at the room
later, but I wanted to go out to the stable again and look
around, before we go talking to relatives and acquaintances
of the victims."
[That's where I am.]
"At the stable?"
[Yeah, I met with Ms. Wilson this morning. Something funny
there, but I'll explain it when you get here if you are
coming out. What are you doing? Taking a cab?]
I laughed. "Cab? Out here? I don't even think they know
what they are. Officer Severn picked me up and he's giving
me a ride out."
[Officer Severn again huh?]
Was that a note of disgust in his voice? "Yeah, he's been
real sweet."
[I'll bet. Did he hit on you yet? He will.]
"Mulder!"
[Forget it, Scully.]
I didn't want to say much with Officer Severn sitting in
the car next to me. "I know what you're thinking, Mulder
and you're wrong."
[Am I?]
"Yes, where I'm concerned anyway, there is nothing to worry
about."
[Sorry, Scully. I have no right.]
"Yes you do."
[I do?]
"Yeah," I said gently.
I heard him hum. [See you in a little while then?]
"You bet, twenty minutes or so."
[O.K., see you then.]
He ended the connection and I hung up. Officer Severn
glanced at me and asked, "You're partner upset with me?"
"Why would you say that?"
"He didn't seem to like me."
"Oh, it's not you. He's a little strange, especially when
he's in his investigative mode. He's very good at what he
does and he's a little impatient with people who aren't as
smart as he is."
"And he's pretty smart, huh?"
"He's a genius."
Officer Severn snorted. "That you're personal opinion?"
He almost sounded sarcastic and I had a weird sense of
foreboding all of a sudden. I shook it off.
I grinned at him. "Both my personal opinion and a proven
fact. He's a doctor of psychology, graduated from Oxford
with honors, and he literally has a genius I.Q. He's a top
criminal profiler. Considered one of the best."
"Oh, that is impressive."
"Not everyone thinks so."
"I do. I have a brother who's got a thinker like that.
Always made me feel inferior."
"Mulder isn't like that. He tries very hard not to flaunt
it. But his mind can make leaps that the rest of us can't
make."
"He doesn't make you feel inferior? My brother used to
talk down to me all the time. Made me feel like an idiot.
I hated that. He was smart but he knew it too, you know?"
"No, Mulder doesn't do that. If I feel inferior, I brought
it on myself. I know I'm intelligent."
"Obviously, you don't get to be a doctor and an FBI Agent
by being dumb."
I chuckled. "Thanks."
"I know it's even harder for a woman."
I smiled at him then. He really was a nice kid. "Thanks
again. My partner knows that too. He also knows that I'm
a little sensitive about being judged because of my gender.
He respects me, and I appreciate that."
"I heard him put the Lieutenant in his place yesterday when
you arrived."
I chuckled. "He can be very sweet that way."
"I like strong women myself. I was laughing at your
partner's comments, silently of course, I have to work for
the Lieutenant so laughing out loud would be a serious
CLM."
"CLM?"
"Career Limiting Move."
We laughed together then. "That's good, I'll have to
remember that one."
He grinned. "So why do I get the feeling that if I asked
you out to dinner, I wouldn't get a positive response."
My smile faded and I shook my head. "No, I'm afraid you
wouldn't."
"I thought so. You're pretty taken with your partner,
aren't you?"
I sighed. "We're just friends."
"I don't believe you. I was looking. Men tend to notice
the competition. I saw the way he looked at you. And the
way he glared at me."
I grinned and laid my head back on the headrest. "What are
you talking about?"
"He noticed me too, didn't he? Like I noticed him?"
I turned my head to look at him without raising it off the
headrest. "Yeah, I guess he did."
"He knew without even asking that I took one look at you
and was ... attracted to you, taken with you. So is he.
If you're just friends, it's on you. He wants you as more
than a friend. Trust me, guys know these things."
I blushed now. Damn my lily white skin. For God sakes, he
was just a kid! Then I remembered how much I hated it when
I was 25 years old and was called a kid. He was a man,
regardless of his age in comparison to mine. I had 12
years on him. But it felt good to have someone young and
handsome find me attractive. I would be lying if I said
differently.
"I'm flattered," I said quietly.
But I knew in my heart, that Mulder was the only man for
me. And now, he'd made it very clear that he wanted me
too. That thought churned up a new nest of butterflies in
my stomach and I mentally shook myself. Not the time to be
thinking about that.
This guy didn't need to know how I felt about Mulder. I
was getting uncomfortable with the personal nature of this
conversation.
"Agent Scully?"
"Yes?"
"Life's too short, I always say. You have to grab
happiness where you can. Do whatever you have to in order
to get it, regardless of the costs. Any of us could be
gone tomorrow."
I remained silent, not sure how to respond.
We pulled into the driveway of the stable and my eyes found
Mulder immediately. It was like the man had a magnet on
his forehead. I always knew whenever he was within 50 feet
of me. The Officer slid to a smooth stop and killed the
engine. We both exited the car and he whispered to me over
the hood. "Psst, Agent Scully. He's a lucky guy."
I turned to look at him, shaking my head in a slightly
exasperated fashion. He graced me with a dazzling
smile, "Go get him!"
I threw back my head and laughed, shaking my head. If it
made it easier for him to blame it on Mulder, then so be
it. He was accepting his non-chances with grace and humor.
Mulder strode toward us with a semi-scowl on his face and
Officer Severn just smiled even wider, raising one eyebrow.
I had to stifle my laughter at his using my patented
eyebrow move.
Mulder reached me and stopped only when he was invading my
space and towering over me. "Hey, partner."
"Hey, Mulder. Find anything?"
"Maybe, why don't we take a walk and you can tell me about
the autopsies."
I turned to Severn. "Thanks, Clancy."
Officer Severn waved and said, "Good bye, Agent Scully. It
was a pleasure. Call me if you need anything. I'm only a
phone call away."
Mulder scowled and I smiled. "I will, thanks."
He slipped back into the car and shut the door, the engine
roaring to life. We stepped back as he pulled a wide U-
turn and headed out of the driveway. I turned to find
Mulder staring down at me. He wasn't frowning but he
wasn't smiling either. "Clancy now, is it?" he mumbled.
"You're on a first name basis?"
"Oh, wipe that hurt look off your face right now."
He opened his mouth and then closed it again, his eyes
darting out to the horizon and back to me. "So, what'd you
find?"
He was changing the subject. "Mulder."
"What?" He sounded irritated.
"Are you angry with me?"
"No."
"Then why the puss?"
"Puss?"
"Yeah, the sour puss?"
He sighed. "Sorry, Scully. I'm being a jerk and I know
it. Just let it go, O.K.?"
"No."
"No?"
"No, Mulder. You're upset because I was laughing with the
Officer, right?"
He swallowed and looked at the ground. "I shouldn't be."
"No, you shouldn't be, is right."
"I'm sorry, Scully."
"Stop apologizing, it's starting to annoy me."
He clucked his tongue. "What do you want me say?"
"Nothing."
He looked at me and nodded. "O.K." He sounded curt.
"Mulder, do you want to know what I was laughing about?"
He shook his head. "Not really."
I laughed then. This was so ridiculous! "Mulder, Officer
Severn over there figured out that I was 'taken' with my
partner. Told me you were a lucky guy and when we exited
the car he said, 'Go get him.'"
Mulder's eyes widened and a smile crept over his face.
"Really?"
"Really. No stop this jealousy nonsense and let's get to
work."
"O.K., partner, you first."
"O.K. Well, the testicles were surgically removed. Good
job too but not the cause the death. The obvious bullet
wound was the cause of death."
"Was he dead when he was cut open?"
"Probably not, although he was probably unconscious.
There were indications that drugs were in the system.
We'll have to wait for the toxicology screen before we know
for sure. The first victim had his 'little bits' in tact,
as you know, Headley Stores did not, indicating that the
killer had more animosity towards Headley than towards
Olson."
Mulder scrunched his brow. "What is it?"
"I spoke to Marguerite earlier. She's a little strange, a
loner, not much of a social butterfly. She'd dated Olson
about three times she said but there was nothing there and
they mutually decided to be friends."
"Are you telling me that this is a connection."
"It might be. She was seeing Headley Stores now. Just
recently. They'd worked together for eight years, become
friends and according to her, eased into the intimacy part
of their relationship about six months ago. She prefers
animals to humans but said Headley was 'different', that he
understood her and her life style."
"Hmm, interesting? So she had romantic contact with both
men."
"Yeah, but she didn't sleep with Olson."
"But she did with Headley."
"She didn't come right out and say that, but that was the
impression I got. And I also got the impression that she
isn't very experienced with men despite her ..."
"Despite her?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Despite her appearance."
"Which is?" I asked him, a slight tease in my voice.
"She's a ... good looking woman."
"How good looking?" Now who was being jealous, Dana?
He smiled at me. "Very good looking for a woman of 40, but
not anywhere near as sexy as you."
I coughed and nearly choked on my own saliva. "Mulder!"
He chuckled. "Let's walk."
We walked side by side, arms brushing as we circled the
paddocks, casually eyeing the horses. "She said her old
man was very protective and always liked Headley until they
became an item."
"Do you see him as a suspect?"
"Maybe, but I met him. He's got to be 70 if he's a day.
He's not feeble, but I don't see him taking down a man 6'2"
and 200 lbs."
"Unless he was drugged," I suggested.
"Possible, I didn't think of that. But, ... I don't think
so."
A Chevy, John Deer green, pick up truck with dual wheels
came bouncing up the drive and came to a stop in front of
the main barn. A woman in tight breaches and a gauze shirt
swung out of the cab and headed around to the rear of the
truck, dropping the tailgate.
I raised an eyebrow in question. Mulder nodded. "That's
her."
I watched her silently for several moments as she threw two
large bails of hay onto the ground and slammed the tailgate
shut. She proceeded to pick up one bail in each hand by
the twine binding them and march into the barn. "Christ,
who is she, Amazon woman?"
Mulder laughed. "She's in good shape."
I scowled. He chuckled again, irritating me even more.
"Not my type, Scully."
"Doesn't matter."
He smiled and tilted my chin up with two fingers on my
chin. "I think it does matter, just like the attention
that young handsome officer paid to you mattered to me.
And it's O.K. I'm flattered."
I pulled my chin away from him. "She is your type,
Mulder."
"How's that?"
"Tall, brunette, big boobs, long legs."
He laughed outright now. "Given this some thought,
Scully?"
I felt the heat creep up my neck. "Not really, it's
obvious."
"Wrong."
"Right! Mulder, every woman you've ever been with was tall
and brunette."
"Not by choice."
"What do you mean?"
"Coincidence."
"Yeah, right."
"Scully, nobody's turned my head but you in a long time."
I turned to meet his eyes then and they bored into me.
"What's happening with us, Mulder?"
He smiled gently. "Something wonderful, I hope. Something
I think should have happened a long time ago."
"Which is?" I cursed the breathy quality of my voice.
"We're heading into the final frontier."
I chortled. "Space?"
He laughed but then sobered. "No, intimacy," he said with
a perfectly straight face.
I swallowed hard. "Mulder, we're supposed to be working."
"Oh yeah," he said casually.
I chuckled. "So what's wrong with Marguerite?" I asked,
changing the subject.
"I'm not sure. She acted funny around the old man. Asked
me to walk outside with her when she realized he was
listening to our conversation. And I felt like she was not
telling me something at one point. I sensed that she was
scared."
"Interesting. But two men have been murdered on her
property. That would scare me. What about Mr. Wilson?"
"He has an office in the house. I called and sent a
forensics team over to confiscate all his surgical knives
and such."
"What are you thinking?"
"That maybe we'll get lucky and find a print."
"Besides the old man's?"
"Yeah, worth a shot. She said Headley kept a similar set
here, so I told the forensic person to come here afterwards
and get the tools from here also. Maybe we'll get lucky."
"We're never that lucky."
He sighed. "Did we get results on the tire tracks?"
"Yeah, I got a call from the lab while I was in the autopsy
bay. Tires are used on dual wheel pick up trucks, usually
ones with a gooseneck trailer hitch."
Mulder pointed to the truck that Marguerite had arrived in.
"Like that?"
"Just like that."
"Damn, I was hoping it would be something different."
"We should have forensics look at the truck for trace
evidence anyway when they get here. Couldn't hurt."
"No, couldn't hurt."
"Any theories yet, Mulder?"
"No, but I think we need to talk to the owners of that
missing horse. Find out if they had any enemies or people
that were out to get them."
PART 4 (NC-17)
263 TORRINGTON ROAD
LITCHFIELD, CT
3:00 PM - MARCH 6, TUESDAY
Mr. And Mrs. Matthew and Isabella Martin were stuck up.
That was obvious from the minute we walked in the door.
They were defensive and snotty from the word 'go.' They
weren't uncooperative but seemed always to be looking down
their noses at us.
They owned the brood mare, Lucky's Charm, who was about to
foal an offspring from the stud, Crown Royale. Said foal
would be worth about $750,000, if it was healthy, which
they had every reason to believe it would be. They were in
it for the money and infinitely more upset about the loss
of the foal than the loss of Headley Stores.
They served tea and little sandwiches with the crusts cut
off while we talked. Having not had lunch, I wolfed down
several while Mulder abstained and continued to ask
questions.
He finally softened them up after asking if they'd ever
been to Martha's Vineyard and began to regale them with
stories of his childhood there. Upon realizing that Mulder
was an Oxford graduate and obviously came from money, their
attitude had done a 180 and suddenly they were answering
his questions with speed and detail. They even put forth
several theories and opinions on the people that worked at
Wilson's Riding Stable, including Marguerite, whom they
weren't especially fond of.
They respected her horsemanship but thought she was aloof
and weird. I found that ironic since aloof didn't begin to
describe these two. She was obviously of another 'class'
of people and therefore didn't warrant much of their
attention. And although Headley was 'beneath them' as
well, they were depending on him to deliver their foal
safely. They seemed more upset about the fact that he
wouldn't be able to do that now than they were that he was
dead. What were they going to do now?
I wanted to say, 'Who gives a shit? A man is dead.' But I
decided that wouldn't help right now and so let Mulder
handle this one. Even knowing he was playing a role I was
a little repulsed by his fake attitude of superiority.
We finally left and slid into the car about 5:00 PM. I was
good and ready to return to the hotel for a hot shower.
"So, what do you think, Scully?" he asked.
"I think they're snots, Mulder."
He laughed. "Indeed they are. But besides that?"
"I don't know."
"Are you upset with me?"
"No, it was just weird to see you behaving like that. You
slipped into that role pretty easily."
He eyed me curiously. "You do know I was acting, right?"
"Yes, it was still disconcerting."
"Why?"
"Reminded me of how different we are. How different our
upbringings were. I forget you come from money."
He was silent for a few minutes. "Sometimes I wish I
didn't."
I looked over at him and the frown on his face. "I know
that wasn't really you in there, Mulder."
He sighed. "Teena taught me well. All I had to do is
think of what my mother would say and the act came to me."
I reached over and squeezed his thigh, feeling sympathy for
him well up in me. I knew he didn't want my sympathy, so I
didn't say anything. His mother had been such an
unfeeling, cold bitch. Money or no, I had been loved and
had a warm mother who gave out hugs and kisses liberally.
Mulder had never known that. I felt a wash of sadness as I
realized that Mulder had never been really loved. His
parents hadn't really loved him the way a child should be
loved.
Phoebe had mind-fucked him with her head games, and Diana
had taken advantage of him and then left at the first
opportunity that didn't jive with maintaining a
relationship with him. The man had never had anyone love
him unconditionally. It was amazing he was as
compassionate and caring as he was. It was no wonder he
retreated into his mind and formed a hard candy shell over
his psyche. I had seen under the shell and knew there was
a passionate, loving soul in there just screaming to get
out. But he'd never been able to trust anyone with his
heart.
I could hurt him very easily. I realized that. I was
suddenly realizing that I could also bring him great joy.
That thought was especially titillating. Despite his
reservations, his past hurts and his reason to be gun shy,
he trusted me. He was willing to take a chance with me.
He was willing to risk his heart again, for me.
That was a humbling thought. I don't know, given the same
history, if I would be as brave. My heart swelled in my
chest as I realized how much courage it had taken for him
to talk to me, to kiss me and then to walk away.
He'd put the ball in my court. It was my move now and he
would wait. He would wait for me to come to him. Was I
ready? Could I handle an intimate relationship with
Mulder? God, we were so entangled as it was. Would there
be no breathing room were I to let him inside my heart, my
head?
Could I be everything that he needed me to be? A romantic
relationship with Mulder would be the challenge of a
lifetime. And I loved a challenge, God knows. But
challenges at work and challenges in my personal life were
two different things.
I sighed and closed my eyes, remembering the feel of his
lips on mine. They were soft, gentle, but firm enough to
convey need and desire. They weren't demanding, but they
were seeking, asking. I felt my chest flush hot, my
nipples harden and a tingle invade the juncture between my
thighs.
He was a good kisser. Oh man! Just thinking about it and
I was aroused. What would happen if I was to give in to
these purely primal urges that were invading my mind on a
daily basis now. He'd given me a taste of something
wonderful. It had made me disoriented and dizzy, excited
and scared. How brave was I?
I must have made some sort of sound because his voice
penetrated my contemplation of his kiss. He sounded
concerned. "Scully, are you all right. Do you feel sick?"
I opened my eyes. "Huh?"
"Do you feel sick? You moaned."
Oh God! I'd obviously moaned in arousal and he thought I
was sick! "Uh, my back hurts a bit."
He said, "I'll rub it for you when we get back to the
room."
"Mulder, I'm fine, I don't..."
"No buts, and you're not fine. You performed two autopsies
today. I'll bet your feet are killing you too."
I sighed. "Yeah, they are."
"I give a good foot massage."
"Do you now, Agent Mulder?" I teased.
He grinned. "Just you wait, Agent Scully. I have many
hidden talents."
I felt myself flush warm again. Oh god, what would it feel
like to have his hands on me? I suppressed a shiver,
knowing it would feel wonderful.
XXXXXXXXXX
LITCHFIELD INN
LITCHFIELD, CT
5:30 PM - MARCH 6 - TUESDAY
We both showered and I slipped into some clean cotton
underwear and threw my robe on. I was searching through my
suitcase for a tee shirt when I heard the knock on the
connecting door.
"Come in."
Mulder entered and shut the door behind him. He was
wearing a faded blue tee shirt that hugged his chest and
worn out black jeans. He was in his stocking feet and his
hair was still damp.
"Whatcha doin?" he asked.
"Looking for a shirt."
"Forget it. Lay down."
"What do mean, forget it?"
"I mean forget it. Just wear your robe, be comfy, lay
down."
I watched him warily as he stepped up to the bed and sat
down, cocking on hip on the edge and waving toward the bed.
He laughed suddenly. "God, Scully, you look like I'm Jack
the Ripper! Relax. This is all for you. Let me do
something nice for you for a change."
This was Mulder. He wouldn't do anything I didn't want him
to do. I knew that. The problem was that I wanted him to
do things that I probably shouldn't. And although I wanted
his touch, I was a little fearful of it. I knew it was
going to affect me and I wasn't sure I would be able to
hide it. Although I was dying for a back rub, I found
myself suddenly nervous.
I didn't have a voluptuous body. I had decent sized
breasts but they weren't the hooters I was used to seeing
on the woman that turned his head. I didn't have long legs
and I was pale skinned. I was suddenly very worried about
what he would think of my body. I needed to stop this!
What did it matter?
But it did. I tentatively made my way to the bed and
crawled up and laid back nervously. "Where do you want
me?"
He smiled softly, almost a tease but then looked like he
thought better of it. "There's fine. I'll start with the
foot massage, how's that?"
I nodded. He went on all fours and crawled to the foot of
the bed and knelt there. He raised one foot and placed it
on his thigh. His big warm hands wrapped around my foot
from either side and squeezed. I moaned, feeling the rush
of blood that flooded my foot when he released his grip.
He grinned. "Wow, you were easy to please."
I made as if to kick him and he laughed. His thumbs began
long sure strokes over my heel and instep. I bit my lip to
keep the sounds in. The room was silent but for my
breathing. He whispered, "You don't have to be silent,
Scully."
I knew that, but somehow I didn't want to sound like I was
enjoying it too much. Why not? I let the moans come as he
massaged each tendon on top of my foot and rubbed each toe.
His hands were like magic and I could feel the tension
draining out of me. He startled me when he lifted my foot
and placed a soft kiss on the ball below my toes and then
lowered it to the bed. I gasped and looked at him. He
seemed to ignore my reaction and picked up the other foot,
repeating the slow procedure of massaging every tiny muscle
in my foot. This time, I let the sounds come.
By the time he was through I was moaning loudly and
gasping, "Oh God, Mulder," as he continued his assault on
my sore and tired foot."
Finally, he stopped, kissing this foot and placing it down
on the bedspread. I opened my eyes and realized my legs
were spread on either side of his knees. His eyes caught
me and I froze. He was breathing shallow and staring at my
face. I was suddenly very self conscious and tried to put
my legs together. He graciously tipped his legs to the
side and let me close my legs. Could he see my underwear
before? I was torn between being grateful I had them on
and wishing I'd worn something sexier than white cotton
Haynes Her Way.
He cleared his throat. "Turn onto your stomach, Scully."
I felt like a deer in headlights. His eyes were nearly
black, his lids hooded and lazy. His voice was
unmistakably deeper and gruffer than I'd ever heard it.
Was he aroused? I thought he was and a tiny thrill raced
through me. He ignored it and didn't mention it so neither
did I. I rolled over onto my stomach and then remembered
that I didn't have a shirt on.
"Mulder, I don't have a ..."
My words broke off as I felt him straddle my rear end and
his large hands come down on my neck. I groaned as he
began to work the cords of muscle down the sides of my
neck. I tipped my forehead into the pillow and
concentrated on breathing. Oh it felt so good. He slowly
moved down, pushing the collar of my robe ahead of his
hands as he slowly worked the muscles of first one shoulder
and then the other.
I felt him shift down so that he was straddling my thighs.
He hadn't put any weight on me. He didn't hesitate and he
didn't ask, he merely reached up, grasped the collar of my
robe and slid it down over my biceps. One hand followed
and the other tugged the sleeve of my robe off my arm. He
repeated the process with the other arm. Then he slid it
down to bunch around my waist.
I felt the cool air hit my back and I tensed. I was now
bare from the waist up and I took a deep breath. I brought
my arms down to my sides, making sure the side of my
breasts were covered where they squished into the mattress.
I cleared my throat. Should I ask for a shirt? How would
he massage me with a shirt on? He could rub through the
shirt, couldn't he?
"Muld..."
His hands came down on my rib cage and I shivered as he
gently drew them up my sides. I squeaked in surprise and
then moaned again as he began to make long strokes up first
one side of my spine and then the other. He concentrated
on the area between my shoulder blades, working all my
trigger points. Then he slid backwards a little more on my
legs. I felt confined and made to move my legs a bit and
gasped when my leg fell into the juncture of his thighs
just as he leaned forward.
The jeans he was wearing were soft and well worn. They
weren't new, stiff denim. I could clearly feel his
erection pressing into the back of my calf muscle. The
heat of it was seeping right through his jeans. At the
second of contact, he moaned. A low, loud, drawn out moan
from the back of his throat and his hands froze on my lower
back. Oh shit, he was so excited. He was so hard. I
didn't have to wonder now. This was exciting him. My
breasts felt heavy and we both breathed heavily for a few
seconds as if afraid to move. Finally he croaked out, "I'm
sorry, Scully. It doesn't mean I'm going to do anything
about it."
My next question was stupid and obvious but my brain seemed
to have gone on 'Pause.' "This is arousing you?" Was that
my voice, low and ragged?
He chuckled low. "How could it not, Scully?"
"It's just my back," I quipped, trying to sound light and
failing miserably.
"I know. It's YOUR back, YOUR creamy, silky smooth skin."
I didn't know what to say. "I'm pale." Oh brilliant,
Dana, I thought.
"You're beautiful," he whispered. Another few seconds went
by and then he asked, "Do you want me to stop?"
I didn't even think and blurted out a little too quickly,
"No!"
He chuckled and began to stroke my back again, this time
concentrating on my low back. He shifted his erection off
my leg and I was grateful. The warmth was invading my
skin. His hands were making my skin tingle where ever he
touched. I seemed to be super sensitive, like my skin was
raw and electrified.
I felt his hands slip under my stomach and I blurted,
"Mulder, what are you doing?"
Instead of answering, he grasped the loosely tied strip of
material holding my robe closed and pulled it apart.
Without asking, he lifted up onto his knees and pulled it
off. I came up on my elbows, gasping. "Mulder!"
"Shhh, relax. You know I won't do anything you don't want
me to do."
I took a shaky breath and retreated into the mattress, my
arms out at my sides, my hands by my head on the pillow,
clenching the material. To my embarrassment, I felt myself
start to tremble. I felt so exposed. He leaned over me on
all fours and I whimpered, feeling the heat of his body
blanket my back. He leaned down into my ear. "Don't be
frightened of me Scully," he whispered.
I shivered at the feel of his hot breath on the shell of my
ears. My ears were really sensitive. He had no way of
knowing that, though. He spoke again. "I would never hurt
you. And I would never take advantage of you. I just want
to make you feel good. Can I keep doing that?"
He waited patiently while I tried to think. But I
couldn't, not with his body hovering over me like that.
Finally, he sighed and sat back on his haunches. He picked
up the robe and tossed it next to my head. "Put it back
on, Scully."
He was upset. I realized my non response was probably
making him think I didn't want to continue. If I stopped
him, was I saying I didn't trust him not to put the moves
on me? Just a few minutes ago, I was afraid I wouldn't
look good enough for him. Which was it? What the hell did
I want? I realized I needed to make a decision and I
needed to make it fast.
I remembered the officer's words, 'Life is too short, I
always say.' He was right about that. Mulder could be
dead tomorrow and I would have to live with the fact that I
never told him how I felt. I felt his weight shift on the
bed and knew he was going to get off. I sharp dart of
panic went through me. It wasn't what I wanted.
"No!" I said quickly. He froze.
"Scully, look, this is obviously making you uncomfortable.
This is obviously too much for you. I'll just go back to
my room now."
"No!" I felt his weight shift again and he laid on his
side next to me, facing me. He didn't look down at my now
naked torso pressed into the mattress. He took in my
hunched posture as I tried to hide my breasts from him. He
smiled gently.
"What do you want, Scully?"
I met his eyes and they were so sad and full of longing I
thought it might make me cry. I blinked rapidly and took a
deep breath. I wanted him. God, how I wanted him and the
look on his face told me that he wanted me just as much,
probably more. He had been such a gentleman about this.
He hadn't touched me inappropriately. He really had been
just trying to make me feel better and I was acting like a
ninny. It wasn't his fault that it turned him on.
If I was honest, I was thrilled that it had turned him on.
What the hell was I afraid of? I continued to hold his
gaze as I raised up on my elbows. He eyes flicked to my
chest and back to my face. I smiled, not daring to look
down although I knew the view I was giving him. He
breathing was suddenly quickening.
I slowly but deliberately lifted my arm and flipped over
onto my back. My nipples hardened instantly in the cool
air and I watched him gasp, his eyes trekking between my
breasts and my face. "Scully?"
Oh God, that voice. "Are you going to massage the front
too, Mulder?"
He smiled a nervous smile and scooted closer to me. He
raised up to sit on one hip. His hand reached over and
landed on my belly, searing me through with its heat. I
inhaled deeply feeling the warmth spread out in waves from
his hand. He moved slowly and swung his leg over to
straddle my front. I had been teasing but he did exactly
what I asked. He massaged my shoulders, and down each arm.
He ran his thumbs between every rib. I was panting lightly
when he pulled the edges of my panties down just enough to
see my hip bones. His thumbs rubbed circles over them and
I felt a hot gush of warmth in my crotch.
I moaned without warning. "Oh God, Mulder."
He stopped and looked at me, blinking slowly. "Scully, I
have to stop ... touching you, or I'm not ... going to be
able ... to stop ... touching you."
But his thumbs didn't stop their circular motion on my hip
bones. Darts of excitement were shooting into my womb.
His voice was a ragged whisper, "Tell me to stop, Scully."
His hands ran up around my waist and continued to climb. I
couldn't say a word. I didn't want him to stop. Screw it.
I didn't want him to stop, ever. I wanted him too much.
His fingers traced the sides of my breasts and I gasped.
Then they slid slowly over my flesh and gently tested the
weight and he squeezed gently. I moaned and reached up and
captured the back of his neck in my palm.
He looked into my eyes and I gently tugged him and he
slowly lowered his head. When he was an inch away I
whispered, "Kiss me like you did last night."
He hummed in the back of his throat and slanted his lips
over mine. We kissed softly for a few seconds but it was
soon not enough and his tongue asked entrance by stabbing
at my teeth. I let him in and his hands went to my hair,
his elbows taking his weight as he deepened the kiss. He
was still kneeling, keeping all his weight off me, his legs
straddling my thighs. I wanted to feel him and reached up
to run my hands along his sides.
I delighted in the shudder that went through him. He broke
the kiss panting. "Scully, what do you want? I'm ... I'm
too excited. I'm ..."
"Going to get undressed, I hope. I'm starting to feel this
is terribly unfair."
A grin that lit up the room spread over his face. He shook
his head slightly as if not sure he heard me right. I
giggled at his expression as his smile faded. "If I take
off my clothes ..."
"You won't be able to stop?"
He nodded. I took a deep breath and took the plunge. "I
don't want to stop."
"Oh God, Scully?"
"I want to do it."
"Do it?" He grinned.
My smile faded as the enormity of what I was doing
overwhelmed me for a second. No, I was not going to
chicken out. I was tired of depriving myself of this. I
was tired of depriving myself of him. He loved me, I loved
him. Screw our enemies, screw the Bureau, I was tired of
being frustrated and unhappy.
I smiled again. "Make love to me, Mulder."
His eyes closed and reopened. "Oh God, Scully."
"You said that already." He grinned and leaped off the
bed. I rolled onto my side, propping myself up on my elbow
and he ripped his tee shirt over his head.
"Slow," I said.
He nodded and reached for his waistband, slowly unbuttoning
and unzipping the fly. He slid them down slowly, pulling
first one leg and then the other off. He ripped of his
socks and stood up in nothing but blue boxer briefs. The
bulge in front was impressive and I couldn't wait to see
it. I felt another wash of excitement seeing how aroused
he was.
"All of it," I whispered.
He glanced at my panties. "What's good for the goose..."
He let the sentence trickle away.
I reached down and flopped onto my back, yanking my
underwear down and tossing them over the side of the bed.
I rolled back up onto my side and there he was. He was
standing very still, arms at his side, completely naked.
He was fucking gorgeous. His broad shoulders tapered down
to a lean waist line. His defined pecs and muscular
abdomen stood out under a light dusting of chestnut hair
that matched his head. I spotted a few gray hairs on his
breast bone. I followed the line of hair down where it
thickened slightly below his navel and emptied into an
unruly mass of pubic hair framing his erection.
It was standing tall and proud, bobbing slightly. I nearly
moaned at the sight of this evidence of his arousal, now
uncovered. He was pretty big, long and thick. That was
going to feel so good inside. His thighs were large from
running, but the muscles were elongated from swimming. His
skin was a golden brown, slightly whiter below the waist.
I motioned with my hand and he approached and straddled me
again as I rolled onto my back. His hands landed in mine
and he placed them at the sides of my head. He dipped down
and caught my lips, kissing me hungrily, but then he slowed
and began to savor every moment. I did the same. Our
hands explored each other's bodies.
I rolled him onto his stomach and explored his back,
placing kisses down his spine. I made him squeal when I
squeezed his ass with both hands. He hadn't been expecting
that.
I giggled and he chuckled at me. I murmured, "God, your
ass is gorgeous." He laughed louder at this and raised
said ass off the bed, bouncing me off him and grabbing me
as I fell. I squealed and we both laughed as he crawled
between my legs, nudging them open with his knees. He
grabbed my hands again, lacing our fingers and pinning them
to the bed. I mock struggled. In the process, I raised my
hips and brushed the length of his erection. We both
groaned and he let his weight fall onto me, pinning my hips
to the mattress with his own and gently grinding his
pulsing shaft against my center.
Our smiles faded and we stared at each other. "Last chance
to run screaming," he said.
I shook my head. He smiled. "Now?"
"Now," I whispered.
He reached down with one hand and cupped my bottom. I
raised my legs and wrapped them around his hips. I looked
down and caught my breath at the sight of him, huge and
hard, hanging between my legs. He watched too, as he
gently poked my entrance. I felt my wetness burst loose
and cover the end of his shaft. "Oh!" I blew out.
He took a deep breath and slowly pushed his way inside. I
could feel him pushing my walls aside. I was incredibly
wet. My walls parted like a wave as he slid inside. We
both groaned at the sensation. Near the end, he was
stretching me so taut. It was on the edge of unbearable
and I could feel the warm burn of muscles stretching. He
was staring at himself as he slipped inside.
I had never been this full!
"Aaaawwww, Scully. Aaaawww, oh this is so incredible," he
murmured.
He paused, sensing my mini distress and waited. I willed
myself to relax and blew out another breath. I nodded and
he flexed his hips, driving the last of himself inside and
pressing his sac against my ass. He was in so deep. We
both groaned. We stayed that way for a minute, humming at
the feel of penetration.
He finally moved his arms up to take his weight on his
elbows. He looked down one last time as if to confirm that
this was really happening. "So beautiful," he whispered,
and started to move.
I couldn't seem to prevent the mantra of "Oh, oh, oh," that
began to emerge with every deep, slow stroke.
I closed my eyes as the pleasure washed through me. My
walls loosened a bit and the feel of him, hot, hard and
huge, sliding in and out of me was exquisite. I'd
forgotten how divine this feeling was. He dipped his head
and took one of my breasts in his mouth. I shouted
"Mulder!" and arched my torso off the bed, pushing myself
into his warm, moist mouth.
It felt so good, tingles of arousal shooting from my breast
to my clit. I choked out. "Harder! Suck it ... harder!"
He moaned against me and I felt the vibrations wash through
my breast and into my womb. He began to suckle me harder.
As my groaning increased, so did his suction.
He was sucking ferociously, his back hunched over to reach.
My hands ran over his back, feeling his ropy muscles move
under his taut skin as he pumped himself in and out of me,
never losing his rhythm.
I felt my spine start to tingle and urged him on, my hands
on his ass, pulling him as deep as he could go. "Faster,
Mulder, harder!"
He released my breast with an audible pop and buried his
nose in my neck, sucking on the sensitive skin over my
pulse. I shouted as he began to pound into me, feeling him
push my walls aside over and over, the slight burn of
stretching escalating the sensation. "Oh, God, Mulder,
yes, right there, right there."
I didn't think he could hit me any harder, but he did. He
began to slam into me, my ass bouncing on the mattress from
the impact. His hands curled under my shoulders for
leverage and pulled down from the top with every lunge
inside me. My belly tightened with that exquisite cringing
sensation that happens just before an orgasm. "Little
more, little more,"
I panted. "Don't stop!"
I shrieked, "Ooohhhh yeah, Muullddeerr! Yes, Yes, Awww,
yeah!" as my climax hit with the force of lightening,
ripping through me from my core walls and spreading out
over my whole body. My scalp tingled and my nipples were
so hard they hurt as his chest hair scraped across them as
he continued to pound into me.
He shouted, "Oh God, Scully! Oh, oh, oh!"
"Let go!" I nearly shouted at him.
He shouted as he began to jerk his hips and empty into me.
I could feel the hot splash of his semen slam into my
cervix and I tightened my wall muscles as hard as I could.
"Scully! Oh God, Oh God, Sccuullee! Oh yeah! Oh Jesus!
Scuuulllyyy."
He quivered to a stop, his weight delicious as it pinned me
down. We were slick with sweat and panting. I was still
dizzy from my climax when he began placing quick, little
kisses all over my neck and collarbone. He slid his head
up my cheek and finally looked me in the eye. "Christ,
Scully. That was so good."
"Hmm, for me too."
"You are so beautiful."
"You too."
"I love you, Scully."
The silence reigned for a couple of seconds. I saw his
eyes close and knew I couldn't keep it from him anymore.
"I love you too, Mulder." It was a whisper, but it was
out.
His eyes snapped open and began to water. He sucked in a
deep breath. "Scully, oh God." He hugged me fiercely.
"You're saying that a lot lately."
He chuckled into my neck. "I can't believe this."
"It is a little unreal, isn't it?"
"A lot unreal."
"I was scared."
"Of me?"
"No, of me. Of how intensely I reacted to you, just your
kiss. It frightened me to think of how lost I was going to
be when you really touched me, or made love to me."
"And the verdict?"
"I was as stunned and lost as I thought I would be."
"And?"
"And it was O.K., because you were right there with me."
He nuzzled my hair. "Always, Scully. I'm just as lost as
you are, probably more."
"What now?"
"I don't know, but I know that I love you. And I know that
I'm not ever giving you up."
I chuckled as he rolled off me and pulled the blankets up.
I curled up to his side and put my head on his shoulder.
"That door swings both ways, Mulder."
"I'm all yours, Agent Scully. Have been for a long time."
I pondered that for a moment and then decided I wanted to
know. "How long?"
"What do you mean?"
"How long have you been 'all mine.'"
He peered down at me and I looked at him sheepishly. He
chuckled, "Ever since you were returned to me."
"From Antarctica?"
He chuckled again. "No, from Duanne Barry."
I gasped and looked up at him again. "You're kidding,
right?"
He didn't smile. "No, I'm not. When you were gone ...
that's when I realized I was in love with you."
My head spun a little with that knowledge. "So you've been
..."
"Waiting a long time," he finished for me. "In love with
you for a long time. What about you?"
I was trying to think of when I admitted that I was in love
with him. Frankly, it hadn't been too long ago. But if I
thought back to when the jealousies started, when the
possessive feelings started, that was a different story.
I'd been in love with him a long time, I realized. I just
hadn't identified what it was I was feeling. I had
disguised my feelings under the partner and friend
headings.
He said, "Don't worry about it, Scully. As long as you
love me now."
I realized I'd been silent a little too long. "No, I was
just trying to think and I can't pin point it. But its
been at least, ... three years."
He sighed and pulled me into a tighter embrace. "Why'd we
wait so long?" he asked.
"Fear, I guess. Plus, we both had stuff to resolve, work
out before we could give ourselves to each other freely."
"Is that why ... now? Because you can give yourself to me
freely?" he asked.
"I think so. I have no more hang ups about the Bureau and
my career, what my family thinks, what might have been had
I chose another path. Plus, Severn said life was too short
and we should grab happiness whenever we can, however we
can and he's right. Plus, you hit on me."
"Hey!" he exclaimed. Then he sighed deeply. "You still
have choices, Scully."
"No! I don't. That's the point. All roads lead to you,
Mulder. I wouldn't be happy anywhere else, don't you see?
I wouldn't be happy because you wouldn't be there with me."
He pulled me up onto his chest, captured my head in his
hands and brought me down for a bruising kiss. It was a
kiss of claiming, a kiss of affirmation and a kiss of
gratitude. I gave as good as I got. Finally we broke for
air and smiled at each other.
"I don't know how I got so lucky," he said.
"Ditto."
He smiled. "I love you, Scully."
"I love you too, Mulder."
He beamed at me. "Hungry?"
"Starved!"
He chuckled rolled me off him. "Let's go eat, then."
PART 5 (NC-17)
LITCHFIELD INN
DINING ROOM
7:30 PM - MARCH 6 - TUESDAY
Dinner proceeded and as usual, we couldn't keep our minds
off a case for long. Out of the blue while we were sipping
coffee and relaxing at the table, Mulder asked, "So what's
with Officer Severn?"
"Nice guy, why?"
"Something's bothering me."
"What?"
"When we asked if he knew the victim, he said he didn't but
Marguerite knew him and could fill us in."
"So what, Mulder?"
"Then when we asked why folks would bring a mare to the
stable, he said because Headley was the best vet around."
"That doesn't mean anything. You could know of someone's
reputation and not know them personally."
"True, but later, Scully, when I was talking to Marguerite,
she said that Severn was a regular customer for trail rides
and that he and Headley were tight friends."
"Hmmm. Well, maybe he misunderstood your question or
simply didn't want to be associated with the victim."
"He also said he had called Marguerite and she'd told him
Headley's schedule. Marguerite says he never called. He
knew Headley's schedule by heart as he had been coming
there for nearly a year."
"Still, not conclusive. He is a rookie. He may be afraid
details like that will point to him."
"Or he lied deliberately and accidentally contradicted
himself."
I sighed loudly. "Why would he lie deliberately?"
"Because he didn't want to get caught. Wanted to lead us
to Marguerite and her old man."
"Caught at what? Being a friend to the victim?"
"Being caught as the killer."
"WHAT? Are you crazy, Mulder? He's a cop!"
"A lying cop."
"I think you're stretching."
"I don't. I'm not saying it's him, but it's enough of a
discrepancy to look into, don't you think?"
I sighed again. I knew what this was really about. "This
doesn't have anything to do with the fact that he asked me
out, does it?"
His jaw dropped. "I didn't know he did," he replied
softly.
I gave him the eyebrow, but his expression didn't change.
"Yeah, he asked me what his chances were for taking me out
to dinner."
Silence. "I told him not good. He guessed that I had a
thing for you. I told him we were just friends. He
mentioned that he saw you 'sizing up the competition' and
'giving him the evil eye.'"
Mulder asked, "Just friends? You told him we were just
friends?" He sounded so hurt.
"Oh, come on, Mulder! It was before all of this happened
between us and even if it wasn't, I probably would have
given him the same answer. We don't need people knowing
that we are involved."
"Are you ashamed?"
"Hell no! Mulder, for Christ's sake, stop being so
insecure. If people find out, fine, but we don't need to
advertise it is all I'm saying."
He took a deep breath. "You're right. I'm just relieved
that you turned him down."
I was trying to remember our conversation when something
suddenly occurred to me. "He did say something a little
strange. Not strange, but just out of context to tell me
something personal. I didn't think anything of it at the
time. I mentioned how bright you were, a genius."
"So? Uh, thanks, don't spread that around, will you?" he
quipped cockily. I smiled at him.
"He asked me if you ever made me feel inferior and went on
to say that he had a brother that made him feel inferior
because he was so smart. Rubbed it in all the time."
"Interesting."
"Don't go reading into it. Probably just sibling rivalry,
but I thought I would mention it."
"I don't like this, Scully. I have a funny feeling."
"Uh, oh. You and your funny feelings," I teased. He
smiled and we chuckled together. It felt good.
Then he looked at me seriously. "Can we agree to keep our
eye on him, Scully? That's all I'm asking. Pay attention
for any inconsistencies."
"Yes, I suppose so, but I think you're barking up the wrong
tree."
He added, "Good. I also want to ask someone to bring us
out to the site where the first victim was found."
"Good idea. Andy and Barney may have missed something."
He laughed at my joke and we headed back to the room.
XXXXXXXXXX
WILSON'S RIDING STABLE
ROUTE 118
LITCHFIELD, CT
9:00 AM - MARCH 7 - WEDNESDAY
I decided to call Officer Severn and casually asked if he
could meet us in the morning and bring us to the first
crime scene. He readily agreed and we set a time to meet.
I wanted to keep an eye on this guy. Something wasn't
right. Then again, I wondered if it wasn't good old
testosterone speaking. After hearing that he'd asked
Scully out, I liked him even less than when we had started.
We drove in Officer Severn's cruiser out into the field as
far as we could go and then got out to walk the trails on
foot.
He looked at us, "You sure you don't want to ride, would
make this a lot easier."
"We're sure," we said in unison and then grinned at each
other. He shrugged and began leading the way down a bridal
path into the woods. I quickly decided I was going to have
to invest in some bug spray for the rest of this
investigation.
We had both worn casual clothes in deference to our little
nature hike. Scully looked like a little girl in her blue
jeans and big gray sweatshirt. Her trench coat nearly
swallowed her. Her make-up and hair was perfect as usual,
but she looked so different than when buttoned up in her
official G-woman suits.
I was used to standing next to her in heels which gave her
a good three inches. Now she was wearing sneakers and I
was struck by the difference in our sizes that I didn't
usually take time to notice.
Officer Severn was the sole of solicitousness with Scully,
holding tree branches aside and telling her to watch her
step whenever a big bad tree limb interfered with the path.
If he only knew how capable she was, he wouldn't have
bothered. Then again, she was smiling and I had to wonder
if she didn't want that kind of consideration after all. I
was always afraid she would see it as patronizing. Then
again, she worked with me, not with Officer Severn and that
made a difference too.
After a half mile or so on the winding path, she looked up
into the trees and did stumble over a branch at her feet as
she wasn't looking. My reflexes kicked in and I swooped
down on her, catching her up around the waist and lifting
her right off the ground. She grunted then whooped as I
twirled her around and sat her back down on her feet. She
was smiling up at me and our eyes locked. A sizzle of
tension ran between us and I slowly lowered her to the
ground, never losing eye contact.
I dropped a chaste peck on her forehead and murmured, "Be
careful, Scully. No casualties, today, huh?"
She lowered her head, obviously a little embarrassed by my
display of affection. I looked up and ahead of us to find
Severn waiting and glaring at me. His expression vanished
as I turned to him but I caught it. "You, O.K., folks?" he
asked.
"Just fine," Scully replied. "Let's keep going. How much
further?"
"Just a couple hundred yards."
I couldn't resist. "And how do know that exactly?"
Scully gave me a disgusted look and Severn spun around to
look me in the face. "What do you mean?"
"How do you know where the body was?"
He hesitated. "You didn't investigate this one, right?"
He nodded. "I uh, read the police report that Lt. Socks
filled out. It was fairly thorough."
"Oh, just curious," I said as casually as I could. Lt.
Socks hadn't investigated Olson Parks either. I watched
his body language and I had put him on alert. If he was
hiding nothing, I wouldn't have affected him. But I did.
He was wary now, casting furtive glances over his shoulder
and wondering what I was thinking.
We came to a clearing of sorts where the path widened and
there was crime scene tape strung around the trees that
circled the area like sentinels. We walked the perimeter
and then ducked under the tape.
Scully and I took opposite directions and then made our way
carefully to the center of the circular area. I turned to
look at Severn and Scully bent down, pulling a latex glove
out of her pocket. He was peering into the trees and I
returned my attention to Scully.
"Mulder, what's that?"
She pointed to the ground. I couldn't see anything and so
I squatted next to her. There was a small metallic object
shaped vaguely like a boom-a-rang. She picked it up so we
could get a better look. She squinted at it, pointing to
the tabs on the sides. It was bent slightly out of shape.
"It's a boot tip," I replied.
"A boot tip?"
"Yeah, there's probably an official name for it. But, you
know, it's one of those silver things you put on the tips
of your cowboy boots to keep the toe from getting scuffed."
"Oh." She pulled a baggy out of her trench coat and
plopped it in, sealing it up. "I'll have the lab run it
for prints. Our victim was a jogger. I saw him and his
personal effects. He was wearing Nike running shoes and
sweats."
"Think this belongs to our killer?"
"Could be, or could just be someone lost a boot tip while
riding. God knows how many people travel these bridal
paths in a week. And they probably all wear cowboy boots."
"This one hasn't been used since the murder."
"Yeah, but it was before."
"What are the chances of it being lost right here where the
body was found."
She pressed her lips together. This was a sign that she
did not want to debate the issue any longer. I nodded in
silent agreement. We were just speculating. I raised my
head and asked. "So what type of cowboy boots would these
fit ..."
Officer Severn was nowhere to be seen. "Scully?"
She looked up and we began scanning the clearing and into
the trees. "Where the hell did he go?" she asked.
I shrugged and then shouted. "Hey, Severn! Where you get
off to? We have a question!" Silence.
"Clancy!" Scully shouted. "Where'd you go?"
A second or two later, we heard the crunch of a dead branch
and both drew our weapons and stood back to back. Scully
mumbled, "What the hell? What direction did that come
from?"
"I don't know," I replied softly. "Am I spooked for no
reason?"
She sighed. "I don't know, but so am I."
"I don't like this."
"Neither do I," she replied. Just then we heard the sounds
of someone hurrying through the woods off to our left.
"It's moving away from us, Scully."
"Should we follow?"
"I don't know."
"I vote yes," she said.
"I vote no."
"Why?"
"Something's wrong here." The sounds ceased as abruptly as
they began. "I put Severn on edge with my question about
how he knew where the body was found. He hesitated too
long before saying he read it in the police report. He was
lying."
"Oh Mulder, you don't really think ... " She let her
sentence drift off as her eyes got wide. "Could this boot
tip belong to him? And he saw us find it and so he ..."
She was whispering now.
"He said he read Lt. Sock's report, but he wasn't the
investigating officer on Parks. It was some guy named
Sclapone."
"Shit, I didn't catch that. You think he's bolted?"
"Didn't know what to do so he pulled a disappearing act?
Maybe. But that doesn't sound right either. Unless that
boot tip is his." I walked to the edge of the path and
pulled a log out some from the tree line so we could sit on
it. It wasn't huge but it would do. We both holstered our
weapons, trying to decide what to do.
She asked, "So now what?"
"Let me think."
She was obediently silent as I mulled over this situation.
Why would he take off without saying anything? How did he
do it so silently. There was dirt, rocks, leaves and
branches all over the place to make noise.
About 20 paces into the woods, a small flock of birds was
disturbed and took to the skies squawking their
displeasure. We looked at each other and stood at the same
time. We both drew our weapons again and began walking
slowly toward the tree line, facing each other. We had
just entered the tree line when a shot rang out. We both
instinctively ducked as bark flew off the tree next to my
head.
"Christ!" I exclaimed. "It came from that way," I said,
pointing back the way we had come. We crossed the clearing
and entered the woods at a run. I was outdistancing Scully
and slowed so she could catch up. Neither of us was that
fleet footed on this terrain. "Shit!"
"What?" she asked, sounding slightly out of breath. She
was winded more from adrenaline than running, I thought.
"I don't know which way to go!" I sounded exasperated even
to myself.
"I think we should go back to the stable and call for some
back up. We don't know these woods. We could get lost and
then what?"
I sighed heavily. "Somebody just took a shot at us,
Scully! He's going to get away and I'd bet dollars to
donuts it was Severn!"
"We don't know that!"
"Who else totes a gun around in the woods?"
"A killer."
"Exactly."
"No! I mean criminals often return to the scene of the
crime. If he saw us here digging it could have made him
nervous. He's bound to make a mistake."
"Or we could."
"Exactly."
"You're right, Scully it isn't worth the risk. He has to
return to the barracks at some point. We bide our time.
If it's someone else that just took a pot shot at us, then
we can get a search going of the woods with people who know
the area."
"Marguerite for one."
I nodded, and took her hand, leading her back into the
clearing and heading back down the bridal path. We
holstered our weapons again. We were both alert as we made
our way as quickly as possible through the sometimes
awkward turns in the path.
"Scully, did you notice what Severn was wearing on his
feet?"
"No, did you?"
"No, I don't generally look at guy's feet. Cops usually
wear those black, polished shoes with the thick soles."
"Someone must know."
We were both tired when we reached the stable. I called
Lt. Socks and then Marguerite, asking her to come to the
stable. She said she was on her way anyway. When the
Lieutenant arrived we told him our story and he seemed
incredulous.
"I don't like what your insinuating."
I took a deep breath and tried to keep my aggravation out
of my voice. "Look Lieutenant, I'm not necessarily
insinuating anything, but that's what happened. Severn is
missing."
"Someone could have grabbed him. He may be the next
victim. It could be somebody killing off all the people
associated with the stable."
Scully raised an eyebrow. "How is Severn associated with
the stable?" she asked.
He grunted. "He rides a lot."
"So we heard. Then why did he tell me he didn't know
Headley?"
The Lieutenant's jaw dropped. "He did?"
Scully nodded. I think she was shook up more than she
wanted to admit and was beginning to come over to my way of
thinking. I just had a gut feeling about this guy, Severn.
My gut got me into trouble but it was rarely wrong.
Usually I would have not thought twice about charging into
those woods after whoever took a shot at me. But I had
Scully now and this thing between us was so new.
I knew I shouldn't be thinking about that right now, but I
didn't want one of us to get killed over something stupid
like my bad judgment and have this thing end before it had
even begun.
"Well," I said. "Something's not right. Either Severn was
snatched and we are going to need to look for two people or
he wasn't and we need to look for him. Either way."
The Officer nodded and strode to his car to use the radio.
"What do you think, Scully?"
"I just don't know, Mulder. If he was snatched, wouldn't
we have heard some kind of struggle?"
"That's what I was thinking. But Andy over here, doesn't
want to hear it."
The corners of her lips twitched at my Mayberry reference
again. We had yet to tell the Lieutenant about the boot
tip. We said we'd been bagging a metallic object, but I
had intentionally not said what it was. He came back to us
saying, "O.K., I got eight officers on the way. We'll fan
out and search. We'll wait for Marguerite. She can get us
started and tell us which bridal paths are open. We'll
probably start with the ones that aren't."
"Sounds good," I replied.
Scully surprised me then, "Lieutenant, do you know what
kind of shoes Clancy Severn wears?"
"Why?"
"Do you?"
"Did you see foot prints up there. There were dozens of
people all over that clearing."
"I know," I mumbled. She shot me a dirty look.
Scully gave him the 'don't piss me off' look. "Just answer
the question. Do you or do you not know?"
He sighed. She pushed. Does he wear standard issue black
shoes like you do?" she asked, looking at his feet.
He pulled up his pants by the belt as they sagged
dangerously close to lemming off his hips. "He never wears
shoes, only cowboy boots with a heel. Says low shoes hurt
his feet cause he's been wearing boots all his life. Folks
around here don't care, so I never got strict about the
dress code as long as the officers wear their uniforms."
"I see, thank you."
"Is that significant?" he asked Scully.
"Could be. Maybe not. I don't know yet." We exchanged a
meaningful look.
"What?" he asked. "There's more, isn't there?"
I looked at Scully, shrugging. I was telling her that it
was up to her whether he told him or not. I was leaving
the decision up to her. Ms. Full Disclosure herself
surprised me when she said, "No, no more, except the
mystery of where Severn got to."
She readjusted her weapon in the back of her pants and
turned away, heading for the barn. "Scully?"
"I have to make a phone call," she said over her shoulder.
"I'll be right back."
I wondered who she had to call, but decided it could wait
till later. I needed to keep the Lieutenant busy till
reinforcements arrived.
XXXXXXXXXX
WILSON'S RIDING STABLE
ROUTE 118
LITCHFIELD, CT
6:00 PM - MARCH 7 - WEDNESDAY
The search was an enormous waste of time. Bridal paths and
woods were combed and nothing was found. We were all dirty
and exhausted by the time we made our way back to the
stable. I slid behind the wheel and we drove in silence
back to the hotel.
Lt. Socks had told the barracks to inform him if Severn
turned up there. As of now, 6:00 PM, he hadn't shown. The
silence continued as we made our way back up to our rooms.
XXXXXXXXXX
THE LITCHFIELD INN
LITCHFIELD, CT
6:30 PM - MARCH 7 - WEDNESDAY
I followed her into hers and said, "Look Scully, we're
exhausted, we both need a shower and some sleep. You
probably want to be left alone so I'll just grab a shower
and hit the sack."
She peered at me curiously and a smile spread across her
face. "You can be a real wing nut, sometimes, you know
that?"
"Hey!" I exclaimed with mock indignation.
She laughed. "I do want a shower and sleep. However, the
last thing I want is to be left alone."
"Oh. Well, um, then you want to shower and meet back here
after?" She grinned.
"No, I want you to order room service for us and then I
want you to join me in the shower."
I felt my heart rate accelerate and my mouth go dry.
Christ. Just the suggestion of taking a shower with Scully
and my body was going on hyper alert. "Yes, ma'am," I
drawled.
She chuckled and headed for the bathroom. After ordering
room service to be delivered in an hour, I shucked my
clothes off and ventured naked into the bathroom. I stood
and watched her through the opaque curtain. Her shadow
moved with a sensual grace. She had no idea how beautiful
she was. I wanted to finish this case. But I also wanted
to be with her.
And although being home would cause it's own complications,
I was anxious about things changing once we were back on
our home turf. I hoped not. I wanted to make love to her
in her own bed and fuck her silly on my couch.
I shook my head to rid it of these thoughts. She wanted to
be with me and I should be happy for that. She was
exhausted. She probably didn't want sex, just company. I
hoped she would let me sleep with her in her bed.
I cleared my throat to announce my presence and she said,
"Are you going to stand there staring all day or are you
going to get in here?"
I chuckled as I realized she'd known I was there the whole
time. I stepped gingerly into the shower around the
curtain and caught my breath. I'd seen her naked
yesterday, but it was shock all over again. The warm water
was cascading over her chest, parting into two tiny rivers
around her perky nipples. Her hair was slicked back and
her face was flushed with heat. I just stood for a minute
and gazed at her. My dick hardened slightly just looking
at her.
"Your turn," she said softly and maneuvered me under the
spray. I washed my hair and was tipping my head back to
rinse it out when I felt her soapy hands make contact with
my chest. I sucked him my breath and finished rinsing as
her hands began to wash my chest, not missing a spot. I
decided to return the favor and we carefully washed each
other. I was considering whether I could talk her into sex
in the shower when the water began to run cold. I shut it
off quickly and we piled out.
I took great pleasure in drying her carefully, dragging the
fluffy white towel over her damp skin and watching her grow
aroused from my touch, even through the towel. I couldn't
believe I affected her this way. It was a heady feeling.
I ignored my raging hard on and dried myself quickly while
she ran a brush through her wet hair. When she was
finished, I scooped her up and carried her into the
bedroom. I expected a protest but none came.
The air in the room was cool and I felt her flesh and mine
goose bump with the chill. We slid quickly under the
covers and I moved to lie half on top of her, burying my
fingers in her hair and my nose in her neck. She sighed
and squirmed a bit.
"Warmer?" I mumbled.
"Um, hmm," was her only response. Her fingers began moving
over the muscles of my back, barely touching. It almost
tickled, but instead send shocks of tingling electricity
through my torso.
I moaned softly and her touch became more apparent as her
entire hands began to smooth their way up and down my back.
I felt my muscles ripple under her tiny, warm hands and was
helpless to stop it. She chuckled. "You feel so good,
Mulder."
"You too, I love your skin." I nuzzled her neck and kissed
her ear. She shivered and jostled me with her shoulder. I
looked at her face.
She said, "Kiss me, Mulder."
I felt a soft wave of dizziness and lowered my head to
hers. She wanted to be with me. I couldn't get over it.
Hearing her ask me for anything, even a kiss was like a
fantasy come true.
Other parts of my anatomy were screaming for more than a
kiss by the time she was through chewing on my lower lip
and sucking on my tongue. I rolled up to be completely on
top of her, taking my weight on my elbows and sliding
between her legs. They opened for me and I sank down, my
engorged cock coming in contact with her moist center. We
both groaned and kissed again. I broke the kiss and
whispered, "Are you too tired?"
"Too tired for what?" I detected the teasing tone of her
voice. Instead of answering, I nudged her core with the
tip of my penis and she let out a cute little grunt.
"Too tired to be jumped," I quipped.
She smiled and opened her eyes. "You're such a romantic,
Mulder, I don't know if I can stand it."
I chuckled and then let the smile slide off my face as I
watched her eyes. I was a little alarmed at the rough tone
of my voice when I spoke. "Then how do you feel about me
making love to you. I'll do all the work."
She grinned. "I don't think so," she said. I sighed and
lowered my head to her shoulder again, resigning myself to
the fact that I wasn't going to get to make love to her
tonight. At least she was here in my arms and showed no
signs of kicking me out.
Her lips brushed my ear and I cringed. "Don't do that
unless you mean it, Scully. No teasing."
She chuckled and then I felt my heart soar at her next
words, "No, I think I want to do the work. I want to be on
top."
I jerked my head up and looked at her. She broke out into
a peel of laughter. The look on my face must have
registered my surprise. She pushed on my shoulder and I
rolled willingly onto my back. She straddled me and began
kissing her way down my torso.
I was helpless to stop my hips from bucking into her face
as she took my shaft into her mouth. It felt so hot and
wet. Her talented little tongue was laving the underside
of my shaft as she pulled back and took me in over and
over.
Her hand grabbed the end of my shaft and she retreated to
the top, sucking hard on my head and swirling her tongue
over it. I groaned and felt a surge of tightening in my
balls. I pushed gently on her shoulder and she let go,
looking up at me. I moaned again just from the sight of
her there between my legs, my throbbing shaft still in her
tiny hand, her wet, shining red lips hovering over my cock.
She grinned. "Scully, no more, not unless you want to end
the evening that way."
She smiled and slid up my torso, straddling my hips. She
raised up on her knees and took me in hand, placing me at
her entrance. She rubbed back and forth, teasing me with
the warmth and wetness I knew was waiting for me. I
whispered, "Scully, I still can't believe this - you and
me."
She said one word, "Watch."
We both did watch as she lowered herself slowly down my
shaft. I grasped her hips to steady her so she could let
go of me and balance her palms on my shoulders. We both
moaned when I was embedded. She grunted. "So deep ... this
way."
I nodded and waited for her to set the pace. Just when I
thought I couldn't stand it anymore. She lifted herself
almost completely off and sunk back down harshly and
quickly. My hips thrust off the bed to meet her and she
shouted, "Awww."
She stopped again and I said, "Scully? Did I hurt you?"
"No! Yes, I mean, a little."
I held as still as I could. She opened her eyes and said,
"But it was a good hurt."
I couldn't help the chuckle that came out of me as relief
washed through me. I'd never forgive myself if I hurt her.
I had to remember how small she was. The tightness of her
core walls hugging my shaft should be a good enough
reminder, but like most men, I could get lost in the moment
very easily.
I reached up to toy with her breasts and delighted in the
mewling sounds of pleasure she made as I squeezed her
breasts and pinched her nipples. She began to rise and
fall at a more leisurely pace and we were both soon
breathing heavily.
It was heavenly. That was the only way to describe it.
She was so snug and I loved the feeling of actually pushing
inside her. Unlike with other women I'd been with, she was
tiny and it felt different. I felt like I was 'pushing' my
way inside. I could feel the resistance of her muscles
with every stroke and the sensations were exquisite.
I was surprised at a gush of warmth and a quiver around my
shaft as though a hundred tiny muscles were squeezing me
tight. Ripples of pleasure washed through me as she began
to lift herself quickly and impale herself harshly on my
cock. I was afraid of hurting her, but she was controlling
this show, and I supposed she would stop if it hurt.
She looked beautiful and I decided I should tell her. Her
comment about my lack of romance had hit home. I was going
to have do something about that soon. "Oh Scully, you feel
so good, so tight. Oh god, you're hot inside. You're so
beautiful, Scully." Her head was thrown back, her eyes
closed, her chest flushed pink. A fine sheen of sweat had
broken out on both our chests.
She hummed in the back of her throat and picked up her
pace. "Oh, oh, oh," was the only sound she made each time
she landed.
"Look at me, Scully."
Her eyes snapped open and locked with mine. She began
moaning and grinding her pubic bone into mine at the bottom
of every stroke. I reached between us to try and do that
for her. After a couple of misguided swipes, I found her
engorged, slick bud and pressed it firmly against my shaft,
rubbing back and forth as she began to rock wildly on me,
keeping me fully embedded.
"Yes, Yes, Mulder! Right there!"
I pressed harder and she broke. "Oh God, Mulder, yes! Oh
Jesus!" Her walls contracted around me in a series of
rippling grips and I couldn't hold back anymore. I began
thrusting up into her and holding her waist firmly. I
followed behind her feeling my balls clench and ache with
every ejaculation.
I shouted something like her name and deflated into a
boneless heap as I felt her land on my chest. She hummed
contentedly. Her words were slurred but she said, "Sooo
good, ... love ..."
She was out cold. I would have been quite proud of myself
if I hadn't known how exhausted she was before we began
this little adventure. I squirmed to get comfortable,
wrapping my arms around her waist and tucking her head
under my chin. I reached and pulled the covers over us
that had been kicked to the side in all the excitement.
I sighed. Scully blanket. Warm, sweaty, Scully blanket.
Yup. I could get used to this.
PART 6 (NC-17)
MARGUERITE WILSON'S HOUSE
MAPLE STREET
LITCHFIELD, CT
9:00 AM - MARCH 8 - THURSDAY
Morning came early and the hunt was back on. Scully and I
decided we could make ourselves useful in other ways. We
decided to pay another visit to Marguerite and her dad. It
was decided that she would talk to the old man, and I would
talk to Marguerite again.
XXXXXXXXXX
"Mr. Wilson, do you have any idea who might have done
this?" I asked.
He shook his head, looking at the floor, his bottom lip
protruded slightly with the slack wobble of the elderly.
He always looked like he was on the verge of drooling, but
it never quite got that far.
He scrunched his brow and I gave him a minute to collect
himself. Finally he said softly, "I don't know why anyone
would want to hurt Headley. He was a nice boy, and a
talented one too. He could handle those horses like it was
nobody's business. Best vet around."
"I was told you were the best vet around." That earned me
a raised head and a smile.
"Used to be, but Headley was better."
"Did you approve of his relationship with Marguerite?"
He scowled. "I had my doubts at first. My Margie isn't
the worldliest woman, you know? But I liked Headley. I
did warn her about him, not to be blinded by his attention.
I was worried that their relationship would interfere with
their working one, you know? But I was coming around.
They seemed to be handling it all right."
"What about Olson Parks?"
"What about him?"
"Did you know him?"
"Yeah, slightly. He came around on a few trail rides. He
was sweet on Margie but she said there was no spark there.
I think they remained friendly. We let him jog on the
bridal paths when we weren't open for business."
He chuckled, sounding ironic, "We all thought the bridal
paths were a SAFE place to run! Streets are dangerous,
even out here in the country. This way, he could run and
not worry about traffic. Safe! What a joke that turned
out to be huh?"
"Did either of those men have any friends that hung
around?"
"Not really, not that I recall."
"Did either of them mention to you any disagreements with
family members?"
"No." We were getting nowhere fast. I took a deep breath
and schooled my voice to calm.
"Mr. Headley, I'm looking for clues here. Anything you can
tell us might be helpful."
He looked away, looking I thought, rather guilty. What was
he hiding?
"Mr. Wilson?"
"Agent Scully, I'm going to tell you something. I hesitate
because it's just a gut feeling, you know? I have no
proof, not even a vague reason for feeling this way, but
..."
"But?"
"That young Officer, something's not right about him."
"Officer Severn?"
"Yeah, that's the one. When he first came around, he
introduced himself as Clancy. He's never asked Marguerite
out, but I've caught him staring at her quite a few times.
He was friendly with Headley and with Parks. They would
all hang out and drink beer after the work was done
sometimes."
"So what's not right about him?"
"Well, one day this gal pulled into the stable in a little
Geo Metro. One of those little fiberglass death traps.
You know the ones?"
I nodded. Just then Mulder and Marguerite joined us. He
looked up. I glanced at Mulder. "You should probably hear
this Mulder."
He nodded and they took seats on the sofa. I was sitting
on an ottoman, the old man was in his easy chair. "Well,
this gal jumped out the car and shouted to the officer who
was just then following me out to see who it was. We had
been in the barn."
He paused and closed his eyes as if trying to remember.
"She was a little blonde thing. She had a smirk on her
face. I could tell that the officer recognized her
immediately. He wasn't in uniform. He'd just finished
riding. He trotted to her, waving me back as if to say
he'd handle it."
"I didn't think much of it, but when I turned to go back in
the barn, I heard her say, "Well, Claude, of all the places
to find you. This isn't at all what I expected."
Mulder asked, "She called him Claude?"
"Yeah, so I made myself look busy raking up some extra hay
so I could try and listen. Could have just been a nick
name."
"But then he said, 'shut up you stupid bitch. How did you
find me anyway?'"
"She told him to get in the car and then I couldn't hear
anymore, so I went inside."
Marguerite said, "I think you're overactive imagination is
running away with you."
I cleared my throat. Mulder was raising his eyebrows at
me. I addressed Marguerite. "Maybe not. Officer Severn
is missing as you know."
"Yes, but I thought we were assuming he was snatched,
afraid he would turn up another victim. I've been worried
sick."
Mulder spoke up. "He was with us when he disappeared. He
never called out for help. He never made a sound, just
vanished while our backs were turned. We also found some
inconsistencies in his story. He told me he didn't know
the victims. Marguerite, you told me Headley and he were
friends."
Her mouth dropped open. "He said he didn't know him?"
"At first, then he told us those people brought their mare
here because he was the best vet in the county. It didn't
add up. He also told us that mare was worth a lot of money
as if Headley would have been killed over it. But then he
contradicted his own theory by saying that if someone was
casing the place, it would have been a hell of a lot easier
to snatch the mare when no one was there, after Headley
left at night."
I looked at Mulder. "So you're fairly certain that the
killer was after Headley and not the mare."
"Yes, because Olson Parks was the first victim and he
wasn't even at the stable per se, but out in the woods on
that path, and the mare wasn't taken or harmed then."
We all sat in silence for a few moments. I could almost
hear the gears turning in Mulder's head. Mr. Wilson must
have picked it up too, which was unusual. To most people,
that was his blank face. "What is it, Agent Mulder?" he
asked.
Mulder sighed heavily. "I hesitate to say anything before
I know more. I want to call D.C. and do a check on Clancy
boy, see if he's known or has an alias. Scully, can you go
the police department and see if they'll let you peek at
his personnel file?"
"I can try although we might need a warrant."
"I doubt it. You can sweet talk them." I made an
unladylike snort and Marguerite smiled.
She said, "Well, he's missing, so you would have a
legitimate reason to investigate him, he is a missing
person. And I would think the cops would want to do
everything they could to find one of their own."
"Good point," I conceded. "Well, it looks like we're done
here. Mulder?"
"Just one more question ... for both of you. It's out of
left field, but neither of you have any known enemies, do
you?"
Mr. Wilson looked at Marguerite and their eyes locked.
Marguerite swallowed heavily and then said, "Not really."
Mulder looked at her. "People's lives could be at stake,
you need to tell us anything you might think is
significant."
"Well, about a month ago, I started receiving crank calls."
"Crank calls?"
"Yeah, you know, guy breathing heavy, his voice all
garbled, asking me if I wanted to fuck." Mr. Wilson winced
at her use of the F word. "Sorry, Dad."
"S'Okay. If I answer, he hangs up," he added.
I asked, "How frequently?"
"About twice a week, this last week it was three times."
I looked at Mulder. Marguerite continued. "Sometimes he
asks me if I'm naked, or what I'm wearing, all the usual
juvenile shit. His voice is a little high pitched. I
figured it was some kid out for jollies, calling the old
maid, you know?"
"Maybe, maybe not," I replied.
Mulder addressed them both. "Look, we should have some lab
results this afternoon on the instruments we took and then
be able to return them to you, unless there was something
on one of them. I want you two to stick together until
this is over, travel together, lock the doors at night."
They both nodded. "Let's go, Scully."
XXXXXXXXXX
LITCHFIELD INN
LITCHFIELD, CT
3:30 PM - MARCH 9 - THURSDAY
I hung up the phone and turned to Mulder. "Well, that's
interesting."
"What?" He looked up from the files in his lap. His
glasses were perched on the end of his nose. His sleeves
were rolled up and his shirt was half untucked. He'd
slipped his shoes off and one leg was hitched up onto the
bed. That stray lock of hair was falling across his
forehead. He looked adorable. "Scully?"
I shook my head. "Uh right." He chuckled and I blushed.
"What were you looking at Scully?" he teased.
"I was looking at you Agent Mulder."
"Ah, were you now? See anything you like?"
"Yes, I did."
"And what would that be?"
I just looked at him for a moment. He waited patiently,
smiling. He was relaxed and it was nice to see. "God,
you're sexy with those glasses on."
He snorted out a bark of laughter and then grinned. "I did
not know this little factoid. I'll have to wear them more
often."
"Please do."
"Now, back to the matter at hand. What's the skinny?"
"Well, once again, your instincts served you well. The
police station file showed that Clancy transferred her from
Pittsburgh. So I called the precinct where he used to work
and asked them to fax over his records and a picture.
Sergeant Weiss is sending it to my e-mail now. Says he
left without notice, just called in one day and said he was
moving and was sorry for the short notice."
"Interesting."
"It gets better."
"How so?"
"He has a brother named Claude, whom he had down as the
beneficiary of his life insurance policy."
"Oh, that is interesting."
I sat down and booted up my lap top as I was talking. "Not
only a brother, a twin brother."
"Twin brother?"
"Yup, not identical, but close."
"My, my, you have been a busy girl, haven't you?"
"Yes. So what did you find out? Or since Marguerite gave
you a ride back here, were you just spending the day
flirting?"
He grinned. "I bought her lunch on the way back. It was
nice of her to take me so you could have the car."
"Yeah, she's a real sweetheart."
"Do I detect a note of jealousy in your voice, Agent
Scully?"
I looked at him and smiled. "Who, me?"
He just chuckled again and went back to looking at his
files. But then he started filling me in.
Seems Clancy hadn't come up on the FBI database, but Claude
had. Although the twin thing had been overlooked, Claude
had a record. It included breach of peace, aggravated
assault, possession of a deadly weapon, third degree
larceny, suspicion of arson, risk of injury to a minor,
breaking and entering, ... and the beat goes on.
I was whistling by the end of his dissertation. He went on
to tell me that he'd served several short stints in jail in
New York State and Pennsylvania, but never any lengthy hard
time. Must have had a good lawyer. Brother Clancy was a
cop with an exemplary record, commendations and the whole
nine. I had found out that he was well liked and
respected. I suddenly had a thought, like the proverbial
light bulb going off. "Oh my God!"
"What?" Mulder asked.
"School records!"
"School records? When you start making sense, Scully, I'll
let you know," he deadpanned. I raised an eyebrow. "When
he gave me the ride, remember? He said that he had a
brother with a genius I.Q., who flaunted it and always made
him feel inadequate."
I saw the moment Mulder made the connection. "You're
right, Scully. I'll bet we are looking for Claude, not
Clancy. And I'll bet Clancy was the smart one, the cop.
And I'd be willing to bet that the real Clancy is pushing
up daisies."
"Let's not jump to conclusions."
"You're right. Get on the horn to Pittsburgh Police and
have them dig up a parents address, and any school
information. See if they have any missing person reports
for a week prior or following Clancy's departure from the
force there. See if Clancy had a girlfriend. Maybe we can
visit the parents and find out if either of them had a
girlfriend."
Silence fell as he stared at me. "Anything else, Massa?" I
asked. He blew air out of his pursed lips.
"Sorry, Scully, I didn't mean to make that sound like a
command."
"I know, but you need to work on that. I know I'm the
junior Agent here, but ..."
"I'm sorry, Scully. Would you do those things? Please?"
he asked quietly.
He looked so chagrined. I pressed my lips together to
suppress my amusement. "Yes, I will. But I'm your
girlfriend now, Mulder, and there's some shit I won't put
up with anymore."
He looked blank for a second and then he smiled.
"Girlfriend?"
I chuckled. "Sounds lame, huh?"
"No, it sounds divine."
I held his gaze for a moment, stood up and walked over to
place a light kiss on his lips. He was still smiling. "I
love you, Scully."
I beamed. God it felt good to hear that. And it felt good
to hear it when we weren't in the throws of passion.
Somehow it meant even more now. I hugged him and stood up
briskly, knowing if I relaxed into his embrace, I wouldn't
move for the rest of the afternoon. He looked
disappointed, and I hid my grin as I headed for the
bathroom. I thought I heard him mumble, "Girlfriend,"
under his breath.
I emerged several minutes later after answering the call of
nature and Mulder was standing in front of my lap top. He
shouted, "Bingo!"
"What?" I hurried over and sat down in front of him in the
chair he was standing behind. There on the screen was a
picture of Clancy Severn. The resemblance was remarkable,
but there were differences. Mulder pointed out the first
one, "I think Clancy had his nose broken at some point."
Our Officer Severn did not have the lump in the cartilage
that this man had in the middle of his nose. I pointed to
the screen, to the eye on the left. A moon shaped scar
about an inch long, wound from the end of his eyebrow
around the eye socket. It was small, but I was sure our
guy didn't have that scar. I would have noticed.
Mulder nodded. We need to get this over the barracks right
away and let these people know that we are dealing with
Claude. If this is Clancy, our guy is surely the brother,
and he's taken on his identity. God knows why. But with
his rap sheet, we're not dealing with a punk here. This
guy is dangerous. And he has a service weapon on him."
"Mulder, did that rap sheet say what the deadly weapon was
that he was arrested for?"
Mulder strode over to the bed and yanked up the sheet from
the sea of paper spread out there. He turned slowly and
looked at me. "A knife."
XXXXXXXXXX
WATER STREET APARTMENT
TORRINGTON, CT
OFFICER SEVERN'S APARTMENT
6:00 PM - MARCH 8 - THURSDAY
After calling the barracks and e-mailing everything we had
over to them, we ran out to a restaurant on the green in
Litchfield called the West Side Grill. We ate a quick
dinner and headed out to Torrington, the next town over to
check out the Officer's apartment.
The land lord was pathetically easy to get around when we
flashed our badges. He figured we were friends of the nice
"cop" that rented from him. I didn't imagine they saw too
many feds around here.
Scully headed right to the bedroom while I made a tour of
the small kitchen and the bathroom. I was still in the
bathroom when I heard her call me.
"Mulder, come here."
I rounded the corner of the bedroom door and looked at the
bed where she was pointing. There was a black attaché case
opened. It was filled with a piece of gray foam from which
neat slices had been removed. In each spot was some sort
of cutting device. Scalpels of several sizes, all the way
up to a 6 inch hunting knife. "Where?"
"Under the bed."
I nodded and we headed for the closet. I yanked open the
door. Rows of clothes hung neatly on the hangers, shoes
arranged methodically in rows on the floor. The place was
spotless. No pictures adorned the walls though and there
were no nick knacks. Scully peered around my arm into the
closet. I said, "Obsessive Compulsive much?"
She chuckled. "My closet looks the same way, Mulder."
"My point exactly."
She slapped me with the flat of her hand on my stomach. I
gasped in mock pain. She shook her head and walked away.
Further searching turned up a draw full of unpaid bills and
gambling markers. Seems Officer Severn was in hock to the
bookies up to his ears. Enough motive to kill? Enough
motive to steal a million dollar mare?
We bagged up our discoveries and headed back into town. It
was late but we decided to get into some warm clothes and
go on a little Officer hunt. Bunches of police crashing
through the woods and calling out for their fellow officer
was not going to flush out this bird. Now they knew that
he wasn't who he appeared to be, but they had already given
him plenty of warning of their advance the day before. I
didn't think he would be in the woods at this point.
Lt. Socks had found the name of a horse auction place in
New York State called Luther's. We called and found out
that a man fitting his description had shown up there
several days ago in the morning and put a pregnant mare on
the block. She had sold for $600,000 to a Mr. And Mrs.
Cannes of New York City, who kept a summer home in
Brewster, New York.
More leads to follow. I didn't want to leave the area just
yet, so I asked the police to go gather up what they could
from Luther's and the new owners of the mare. The mare was
evidence and was hot, so to speak so we would be able to
confiscate her. Maybe the Cannes and the owners could work
out a deal. The horse wasn't my problem. A fugitive with
$600,000 was my problem.
We put out an APB on Claude Severn a/k/a Clancy Severn. In
the meantime, the Pittsburgh police called with the names
of the parents, Betty and Clancy, Sr.
XXXXXXXXXX
LITCHFIELD INN
LITCHFIELD, CT
7:30 PM - MARCH 8 - THURSDAY
I decided to let Scully make that call as we both know she
was the more tactful of the two of us. She made small talk
with them, which drove me nuts, but that's why I let her do
it. She knew how to handle people like this and get
information without pissing them off or insulting their
offspring.
She managed to find out that Clancy did have a girlfriend
named Sandra Benson. It was obvious that the parents did
not approve of her and thought she was just using Clancy.
Said that she thought it was glamorous to date a cop.
Betty indicated that she didn't think Sandra was too bright
and couldn't figure out what Clancy had seen in her.
She said Clancy had moved to San Diego. Left them a note
and was gone about a year ago. They received letters
periodically. Of Claude, they knew nothing and good
riddance. The father pretty much said they were the
classic case of good and evil twins. They had problems
with Claude since he was boy and he just escalated the
trouble he got into as the years rolled by. They hadn't
heard from him in over a year and although Betty wished she
knew if he was all right, the father couldn't have cared
less.
As far as they knew, Clancy was living in San Diego and
working as a cop there. Further investigation revealed
that there was no cop named Severn in the San Diego police
department. There was however, a woman named Sandra Benson
living in a modest home in a suburb nearby there. Some
tactful questions and some creative snooping by a friend of
Scully's in the Burbank field office revealed that the lady
lived alone.
When questioned, she said Clancy had left her. She worked
as a waitress and there was some speculation as to how she
was supporting her home. She said she rented from a real
estate agency, but the agency revealed that they had sold
her the house. Ocwen Bank had given her a mortgage with
Clancy Severn as the co-signer, a cop from Pittsburgh, PA.
Little did they know that Claude was probably the one that
signed the papers. I was betting little blondie girl who
visited the stable was Sandra Benson. And I bet she was
working both twins, well, only one now.
A background check on her turned up a couple of arrests for
possession of marijuana and one arrest for solicitation. A
cop and hooker. God Bless America.
Back to the folks in Pittsburgh and Scully weaseled a
conversation out of an officer who was his partner.
According to him, Severn wasn't dating Benson, he was
trying to straighten her out and get her off the street.
Seems she was the kid sister of one, Lee Benson, who was a
buddy that attended the academy with Severn.
Pieces were beginning to fall into place. We checked and
found out Clancy had a MasterCard, Visa, Discover, and even
a Diners' Club card. Records showed vigorous activity in
the last year and outstanding balances in the thousands.
Seems Claude knew how to spend money but wasn't so good at
paying it back. Now he was on the lamb.
I wondered why he had hung out after selling the horse.
Why didn't he just split? Did he want to keep an eye on
the investigation? Could he be sick enough to commit two
murders just to cover up the theft of a horse? All these
questions remained unanswered for another day as we flitted
from pillar to post, and conducted interviews and made
phone calls to acquaintances.
The vet surgical tools turned up nothing, no prints. If
he'd used them, he wiped them clean of prints. Of course,
now we had a case full of cutting tools, but they didn't
have his prints either. However, knowing how anal and
obsessive compulsive this guy was, he probably washed and
buffed them carefully before putting them to bed in their
little foam home inside the case.
We were tired. The APB hadn't turned anything up yet.
There were millions of places a guy like this could hide.
We just had to wait for him to make a move.
Scully and I fell into bed that night too tired to do
anything but snuggle. But I was enjoying waking up next to
her, finding her little derriere pressed into my lap. I
was sleeping better and I knew it was because I didn't have
to spend half my night worrying about whether she was all
right or suffering from separation anxiety. Yes, I knew
what my problem was!
I understood obsession well. I was obsessed with Scully.
But I hoped my obsession never turned to something sick and
dangerous like this guy. I still didn't know how
Marguerite figured into this, but there had to be a
connection. Maybe I was barking up the wrong tree though.
The fact that she dated both victims could be a
coincidence. They could have been targets because of some
other link to the stable besides her. I liked her. I
didn't want to believe that she was involved.
I finally shut my brain down and drifted off to sleep.
XXXXXXXXXX
LITCHFIELD INN
LITCHFIELD, CT
6:00 AM - MARCH 9 - FRIDAY
I woke up feeling extremely warm and cozy. I hummed and
stretched my low back a bit from its stagnant position and
immediately encountered the hard evidence of Mulder's
morning woody. Hmmm. What to do? What to do?
We were on the fifth day of this case, and we hadn't had
the energy or the time to get it on in the last two. I
realized that Mulder was probably going to be like a drug.
Once you'd had him, you were going to need a daily fix.
And I was going to jones when I didn't get it.
He was still asleep but pulled me tighter against his chest
in response to my squirming. I carefully slipped my
panties off and kicked them to the foot of the bed under
the covers. I reached back and ran my hands under the
elastic waist of his boxer briefs. He sighed in his sleep
and his grip loosened. I carefully eased onto my back and
watched him sleep for a while.
He was so boyish looking in sleep. The worry lines were
gone from his forehead. I could see crow's feet around his
eyes that weren't there seven years ago. I brushed hair
off his forehead and he smacked his chops, bringing a soft
smile to my face.
Holy shit, I was so in love with this man. I moved away
slightly and took my tee shirt off, tossing it over the
side of the bed. I rolled back to face him and saw his
eyes were open half way. He was watching me lazily from
under his hooded eyelids, still heavy with sleep. The
corners of his mouth turned up but he said nothing. He
stared at me until I was slightly uncomfortable. "What?" I
asked quietly.
"You're so beautiful. I love waking up and finding you
here."
"I could get used to it myself," I replied.
He smiled wider. "I especially like waking up and finding
you here, NEKKED."
I grinned now and scooted over to him, reaching for his
boxers. He stopped me with a hand on my wrist and pulled
them off himself. He wasn't fully erect but he was getting
there. He coaxed me onto my stomach and straddled my legs
slowly. He let his weight come down gently, supporting
himself on his elbows.
I felt his penis slip into the well between my butt cheeks
and moaned softly. He hissed a little and I felt him
harden against me. I loved that feeling. He whispered,
"Oh, you feel so good, Scully. I'll never get enough of
touching your skin."
With that, he began kissing my neck and pressing his
erection against me. One hand stole underneath, palm up
and grasped my breast. I moaned as he began kneading it
and felt my juncture grow moist. When he grabbed the
nipple and pinched lightly with his fingers, I felt my
nether lips grow swollen and tingle. I moaned again. He
lowered his lips to my ear. "I love hearing your sounds
and knowing I caused them."
"Payback's going to be a bitch."
I could feel his smile against my ear. "I'll look forward
to it." He slid his arm down under my waist, and lifted
just a bit, tilting my hips up. He teased my entrance with
the tip of his cock. "Mmmm, you're really wet, Scully."
I grunted as an answer. The arm under me moved and his
hand slid down to tweak my clit. I bucked up a little and
the head of his cock slipped inside. "Oh!" was all he
said, but he didn't pull away. He repositioned himself
more squarely, pulling his arm out. He pulled his knees up
on the bed some and then pushed inside.
We both groaned, still sleepy and fuzzy. He stroked into
me slowly. His hips began to swivel a little and I raised
up onto my elbows. He said, "Touch your breasts, Scully."
I flushed. Touch myself, in front of him? "Mulder, I ..."
"Shhh, just touch your breasts. Please." He sped up his
strokes slightly and parked his chin on my shoulder. "Let
me see."
I knew my head must be the color of a tomato, but I brought
one hand to my breast and squeezed it. His breath brushed
my cheek as he said, "Ahhh, yeah."
Encouraged, I grasped my nipple with my thumb and
forefinger and began rolling it, pinching hard and feeling
warmth wash through my torso. He gasped and whispered, "Oh
God, Scully. You're pinching so hard. I'd be afraid to
pinch that hard."
I groaned and began pulling my nipple out as I twisted it.
The more excited I got, the more numb my breasts were and I
needed the added pressure to get stimulation. He groaned
so low in the back of his throat that it gave me shivers.
"Oh Scully, oh that turns me on. Keep touching yourself."
His strokes sped up and became shorter. He kept his chin
on my shoulder and his I knew his eyes were on my fingers
as they abused my breast. He began grunting with every
impact. Without warning, he put his mouth on my shoulder
and bit down softly.
It send me over the edge and I shuddered through the
tremors originating in my womb and flowing out like a
ripple
in a pond. I felt my walls grasping him in a sort of slow
motion flutter of release. "Mulder! Oh yeah, oh
yeyeyesss!"
He grunted and let go. "Scully! Oh Jesus, Ahh Christ, oh
yeah!" He collapsed on top of me, panting on my shoulder.
I mumbled, "We need to take a shower."
"Mmm. Party pooper," he mumbled.
I chuckled. "We can't stay here all day," I stated
obviously.
"You sure?"
PART 7 (R)
LITCHFIELD STATE POLICE BARRACKS
TROOP L
LITCHFIELD, CT
9:00 AM - MARCH 9 - FRIDAY
We called the credit card agencies and asked to be notified
of any use of the cards. A check of the airports, bus and
train stations turned up nothing. Severn's cruiser was
left at the stable the day he disappeared. Where ever he
went to, it wasn't back to his car. Lt. Socks had taken it
back tot he barracks. I nearly smacked my head in disgust
when I realized that we hadn't even checked the cruiser.
We went through the glove box and the trunk and found
nothing. I noticed that the carpet was glued down on the
edge and thought that was strange. There was supposed to
be a tire in here. I was in the process of prying the edge
up with my pocket knife. Scully was standing at my elbow
scolding me.
"Mulder, you are defacing State property. There is no
reason to tear the car up. We've found nothing to indicate
a further search ... "
Her words cut off suddenly as I finally worked the corner
free and ripped the carpet back. I looked at her, unable
to hid my gloating smirk. There, where the spare tire
should be were stacks of neatly arranged bundles of bills.
"Wwhheeww," I whistled. "What do you think, Scully? I
guess $600,000? You?"
She sighed heavily. "Scully?" I asked again when I got no
response.
She gave me a dirty look, her lips pursed. "Sometimes, I
hate it when you're right," she mumbled and turned to
reenter the building.
I laughed out loud now. I couldn't help it. Exasperated
Scully was a cute Scully. However, I didn't think now was
the time to point that out.
We moved the cruiser to a remote section of the parking lot
around in back of the building. Severn was going to want
his cash eventually and come for it. Scully and I decided
to come back after dark and stake it out.
My cell phone rang and I answered it as we were heading to
our car.
"Mulder."
[Agent Mulder, this Marguerite Wilson.]
"Hello. What can I do for you?"
[I just got another call.]
"Another call?"
[Crank call.]
"Oh, tell me about it." I slid into the driver's seat and
Scully piled in beside me, watching me with a quizzical
expression on her face.
[He sort of threatened me this time.]
"Sort of threatened? What do you mean? What did he say?"
She hesitated. "Would you feel more comfortable talking to
my partner about this?"
[Umm, yeah, I think so.]
"O.K., hold on a sec." I covered the mouth piece. "It's
Marguerite. She got another crank call. He threatened
her.
She'd rather tell you."
I handed the phone to Scully. Her voice was instantly
soothing and I felt a wave of affection for her. Scully
was such a good woman, in every way.
"Hi Marguerite. This is Dana Scully. Are you O.K.?"
I should have asked her that first. But no, not me. I had
blurted out questions. No wonder I made her uncomfortable.
I really had to work on my people skills! Now I couldn't
hear the other end of the conversation. But I saw Scully's
mouth drop open.
"Anything else?" she asked. Her face grew strained and
then angry as her eyes squinted and her lips drew into a
thin line.
"O.K. Look, I'm going to send an officer over there to
hang out at the house tonight, O.K.?"
I could hear Marguerite's voice raised, but couldn't
understand what she was saying. She was obviously upset
though, probably getting a bit hysterical. I wasn't good
with hysterical woman. That's one of the things I loved
about Scully. She got upset, but I couldn't ever remember
her being hysterical.
"O.K. Try to clam down. Take a couple of deep breaths.
Is your father there?"
Pause.
"Well, make sure he stays with you. If there are no female
officers here, I'll come myself."
Pause.
"O.K., try not to worry. I know it's scary, but we'll look
after you."
Pause.
"We don't know that yet. O.K., I'll be in touch."
She hung up and pinched the bridge of her nose with one
hand as she handed the phone back to me with the other.
"Scully?" I asked softly.
"Mulder, I feel so sorry for her. She is so frightened
now."
"What did the caller say?"
"She said it started out like a usual call and she was
about to hang up on him when he said that they were going
to meet soon and she should be ready for him. And she
should wear her green teddy to bed every night until he
came for her."
"Jesus." Now I was getting the picture. There were times
when I was really glad I was a man.
"That freaked her out. She claims that Headley was the
only one that knew her nightly wardrobe. Not even her
father knows what she wears to bed. She wears teddy
camisoles."
"What did she say to him? Anything?" I asked.
"She asked how he knew she owned a green teddy and he just
laughed at her. Then she said she panicked and said her
father was there with her. He apparently laughed and said
that her father would be easy to get rid of when the time
came for them to have some time alone."
"Oh Christ."
Scully sighed again. "So now she fears her father will be
hurt and this guy is coming to rape her or kill her. Her
imagination's gone wild. She's sure it's the killer. Of
course, our killer has only gone after men so far as we
know."
"So far as we know," I repeated. "Does she know we have
nailed Severn as our main suspect?"
"I don't know. I don't think so. She knows he's missing
but doesn't want to believe it's him."
"So now what, Scully?"
"I have to go back inside and see if there's a female
officer on the troop here. She doesn't want any strange
men in the house, even if they are a cop and I can't blame
her." She paused. "God, I'm tired."
"Go ahead inside. I'll run down the street to that diner
and get us some coffee, O.K.?"
"Yeah, that sounds good." Another pause. "This case
really sucks, Mulder!"
"Yeah, it does."
By the time I got back with the coffee she was waiting by
the car talking to a tall blonde woman in uniform. They
were laughing. I paused in my advance a moment to watch
her. She was so beautiful, especially when she laughed.
She turned and saw me, waving me over. I handed her the
coffee and stuck out my hand to the female officer. "Fox
Mulder."
"Lisa Irving. Nice to meet you."
"Likewise. Will you be going to the Wilson place?"
"That's what your partner tells me. Boy, this is a strange
one, huh?"
Scully interjected. "Yeah, the problem is that this crank
call stuff may not even be related."
I looked at her. "You don't believe that, do you?"
She sighed. "No, I think it is related but I don't
necessarily want Marguerite to know that. She's worked up
enough."
Lisa responded, "Don't worry. I'll take care of her.
Maybe I'll pose as her in the bedroom ad have her sleep
with her father."
"Kinky," I mumbled. Lisa grinned. Scully scowled.
"Oops," I blurted out. "Bad joke."
Then Scully laughed too. "Mulder, you're a sick man," she
quipped.
I grinned and motioned toward the car. "Let's go get some
lunch."
"You're on," she responded. She turned to Lisa. "I'll
catch you later. You have our cell phone numbers, right?"
Lisa patted her breast pocket and waved as she headed back
into the station.
XXXXXXXXXX
MARGUERITE WILSON'S HOUSE
MAPLE STREET
LITCHFIELD, CT
11:00 PM - MARCH 9 - FRIDAY
The room was pitch black. She felt exposed wearing nothing
but a camisole and her panties. She pulled the covers up
to her neck and reached under the pillow next to her and
fondled the grip of her service revolver. It comforted her
quite a bit.
Her ears picked up every sound in the dark room. Crickets
sang outside the window. Floor boards creaked as they
settled in the old house. Silence for the last two hours
and it was starting to drive her crazy.
She wondered if this wasn't a big waste of time. If this
was some kids fooling around, she was going to be pissed.
Then again, if it wasn't, she wondered what the hell she
was doing here. She'd never done anything like this
before. She had no back up. Her cell phone lay under the
pillow with her gun. She had programmed the Agent's number
into the speed dial.
A sudden loud creak in the floor boards broke her out of
her thoughts. She went rigid and alert, her ears straining
but heard nothing but silence again.
After what seemed like an eternity, she let out the breath
she was holding and relaxed back into the mattress. No
sooner had she closed her eyes when she heard a blood
curdling scream.
Even months later, the details would be fuzzy. She rolled
out of the bed, nearly falling as her toe caught on the
bed spread. She would never remember grabbing both her gun
and the cell phone, one in each hand as she rolled out of
the bed. She found herself down the hallway not knowing
how she got there.
But she would remember arriving at the door to Lee Wilson's
room and shouldering her way through it, suddenly realizing
her hands were full. An odd second of stillness descended
for several seconds where everyone was frozen.
Mr. Wilson lay on the wood floor of his room, blood
trickling from a blow to the temple. Marguerite Wilson was
flat on her back, diagonally across the mattress, her hands
grasping desperately at the arm that was laid across her
throat.
A man wearing a black ski mask was straddling her, his
pants unzipped and his equipment hanging out. She didn't
see the gun laying on the bed on the far side of Marguerite
until the man grabbed it and swung his arm around to fire
at her.
She gave no thought to what she looked like, standing there
in nothing but a camisole and panties, bare-legged and
crouching in a firing stance.
She didn't remember hitting the speed dial or dropping the
phone to the floor but she must have. As the man's gun
barrel came to bear on her chest she fired her own weapon
at his shoulder and dove towards the foot of the bed. She
did a perfect summersault and came up on her feet again.
Her gun aimed at the body which had now toppled to the side
and was reaching desperately for his fallen weapon.
Marguerite Wilson let out another scream and scrambled off
the bed to kneel next to her father, gathering his head
into her lap. As Marguerite slithered off the bed, the
man's weapon, identical to her own, fell to the floor and
discharged. She jerked at the sound and heard the mirror
to her left shatter.
Then all was still but for the sound of heavy breathing
from herself and the man laying on the bed, clutching his
shoulder.
A little late, Lisa remembered protocol. "Police, don't
move, stay right where you are."
The man made no attempt to move. She looked at Marguerite.
"Marguerite, I need you to go to your room and get the
handcuffs off the bedside table."
Marguerite nodded furiously and pushed herself to her feet.
She was shaky but bolted out of the room. Lisa kept her
gun trained on the man, alert for any sign of movement.
She was suddenly self-conscious about her lack of clothing
but tried very hard to ignore it. Marguerite reappeared
with the handcuffs and a pair of sweat pants.
Lisa took the handcuffs and indicated with the barrel of
her revolver that he should roll over. "Hands behind your
back." He did and she quickly slid the cuff onto one arm.
As she was reaching for the other arm, the injured one, the
man swung his arm up, cuffing her in the chin with the hard
metal cuff. She heard a crack and tears filled her eyes as
pain exploded through her jaw.
She screamed in pain and anger through clenched teeth,
dropped her weapon and yanked his arms down, finally
cuffing them together. He grunted in pain and she slid off
the bed, taking her gun with her. She quickly stepped into
the sweat pants.
Just then she could hear a voice from across the room,
[Officer Irving!] She realized it was coming from the
phone on the floor.
She picked it up and placed it to her ear. "Irving," she
said in a shaky voice. Her hands were shaking and her heat
beat hard against her rib cage. She took a deep breath
trying to get control.
[Officer Irving, this is Agent Scully. Are you all right?.
We heard shots.]
"I'm all right, but I'm going to have a shiner on my jaw.
Send an ambulance would you - two of them actually. Lee
Wilson is out cold from a blow to the head."
[Who's the second one for?]
"The perp. He's cuffed but I shot his shoulder out."
[Is Marguerite all right?]
"Yeah, she's shaken but not stirred. She'll be all right.
She'll probably go to the hospital with her father."
[We're on our way. Who's the perp?]
"Hold on a sec," Lisa replied. She strode to the bed,
taking a moment to realize how stupid it was that she
hadn't removed his mask.
She grabbed his mask roughly, yanking his hair in the
process and he yelped as she pulled it free, his head
flopping onto the bed into the pool of blood that was
forming under him from his shoulder.
Marguerite gasped. "Oh God, No! Oh Lord." Her voice was a
whisper as she stared at the man on the bed. "How could
you?"
She collapsed next to her father on her knees. She
smoothed his face with her hand and he mumbled, beginning
to come around.
[Lisa?] Agent Scully prompted.
"It's your man, Agent Scully. It's your man."
XXXXXXXXXX
STATE POLICE BARRACKS
TROOP L
LITCHFIELD, CT
10:00 PM - MARCH 9 - FRIDAY
We'd been sitting here for two hours. I'd downed three
cups of coffee and was starting to feel sick. We were in
an unlit portion of the back of the parking lot behind the
barracks about 50 yards from Severn's cruiser.
Mulder had pulled me to him and put his arm around my
shoulders. I was sleepy and yawned, trying to stifle it
behind my hand.
"Sleep, Scully," he said softly.
"No, I'm O.K."
"Go ahead. I'm not tired yet. I'll wake you if I get
tired."
I nodded and snuggled my head into his shoulder. I felt
his light chuckle. I must have dozed off because it seemed
seconds later, Mulder was shaking me lightly awake.
He was whispering, "Scully! Wake up. We have company!"
I bolted upright and blinked rapidly, trying to focus on
the car across the lot. Someone was approaching from the
embankment behind the parking lot, swiveling their head
from side to side.
They increased their pace and crouched down as they
approached the vehicle. I could see now as my eyes
adjusted to the gloom that they were carrying a large
canvas duffel bag. We opened the doors carefully, Mulder,
hitting the switch to kill the dome light before it came
on. The keys were not in the ignition, so there was no
tell tale bells and whistles. We left the doors open and
circled up the embankment to come down behind the cruiser.
It was parked with its nose to us and we could see someone
standing at the trunk.
It definitely wasn't Severn. But a set of keys were
produced and the trunk was popped open. The person was
wearing a ski mask and looked around furtively as we hid
ourselves behind the few trees lining the embankment. The
sound of carpet being lifted away from tape we'd replaced
the glue with was harsh in the silence of the night.
We could hear the thunk of bundles of cash being grabbed up
and dumped into the open duffel bag that lay on the ground
at the person's feet. Mulder pointed right and indicated
with hand signals that I should go left. I nodded and we
crouched, drawing our weapons and quietly making our way
out further and down, flanking the suspect.
I was only a couple of steps from the pavement of the
parking lot when I stepped on a twig and it snapped. The
person whirled in my direction and I dropped into a squat,
aiming my weapon. Mulder shouted, "FBI, FREEZE! HANDS IN
THE AIR!"
The person dropped the bundle of cash and raised their
hands in the air. We approached warily, not knowing if
they had a weapon. As I drew close, I could see that the
person was tiny and dressed all in black. They suddenly
ducked their hand into the trunk and came up with a pistol.
I saw moonlight reflect off it in a flash and dropped to
the ground and rolled. Two shots went off simultaneously.
The body dropped to the ground on its knees and let out a
shriek. A very ... feminine shriek!
XXXXXXXXXX
STATE POLICE BARRACKS
TROOP L
LITCHFIELD, CT
10:45 PM - MARCH 9 - FRIDAY
Susan Benson was arrested and finger printed. A little
good cop, bad cop and the story emerged. She had
approached Clancy Severn at the prompting of his brother
Claude. Claude hated his twin and knew that he had money
in the bank and credit cards.
Clancy had turned him down for a loan and he was pissed.
Benson had been a part time hooker, but also Claude's
sometime girlfriend. Clancy would give her money to help
her get off the streets, or so he thought and she would
pass it along to Claude to pay off his gambling debts.
Unfortunately, Clancy followed her one night to her
rendezvous with Claude and all hell broke loose. The two
brothers got into a knock down, drag out fight at which
point Benson had fled.
The next day Claude had caught up with her on the street
and told her that he had killed his brother and they had to
get out of town. He had buried his brother in the woods
out behind their parents house.
Between the two of them and some shady friends they had
faked some letters to the police department and the parents
and fled to San Diego.
There, Claude had assumed his brother's identity, co-signed
a mortgage for the house. He did not feel comfortable in
San Diego and felt he would be less visible in a small
town police department. He had stolen his brother's credit
cards and identifications which he had altered to show his
own picture.
He had come to Connecticut where he was isolated but close
enough to keep an eye on his parents and make sure they
didn't get too nosey. Every few months he sent her a
letter from Clancy which she then forwarded to the parents.
They were none the wiser, yet. It had been less than a
year.
Claude had stopped sending money for the mortgage payment
which had prompted her to come out here and confront him
several months ago. She threatened to expose him and he
promised to come up with enough money to keep her settled
for a while. They hatched the scheme to steal the mare and
sell it for money.
The problem was Claude was a sicko. Tell us something we
didn't know. He had some weird sexual preferences and
liked it rough, among other things. He liked to dominate
women. That didn't bother her much. She knew he was after
other women all the time but she didn't care. She was only
dealing with him for the money. He was an easy bribe. She
was the only one who knew his secret.
She went on to tell us that he thought entirely too much of
himself and would become enraged when a woman rejected him.
He had a thing against 'society bitches' or 'goody two
shoes' who thought they were too good for him. She'd
learned to just give in and let him get it over with.
Charming.
He had called her for help when he'd had to flee from the
authorities, he told her because 'they were on to him.' He
wanted her to retrieve the money while he took care of a
'goody two shoes' who was two good to look at him. He had
mentioned that he was going to make the guy who lorded his
relationship with her over him, pay for his arrogance. She
had no idea what that meant. Right.
In the middle of this interrogation and confession which
was being revealed in a trade for lighter charges or
larceny against Ms. Benson, my cell phone rang.
XXXXXXXXXX
Listening to the screaming and the shots being fired over
the phone was possibly more nerve racking than being in the
middle of a fire fight. At least then you know what is
happening.
We left Ms. Benson in the care of the Troopers and raced to
our car in route the Wilson residence. I was giving Mulder
a blow by blow as he raced down the street, his knuckles
white on the steering wheel.
We arrived a the Wilson house before the ambulances and hit
the front door at a dead run. I examined Marguerite and
Mr. Wilson after we got over being stunned by the sight of
Severn handcuffed in the middle of the bed in a pool of
blood.
His need to exact revenge on Marguerite for her inattention
had been his downfall. If he'd gone for the cash himself
or been more careful he could have slipped away with the
cash a week ago and we would have been on another goose
chase, following him around the country.
But arrogance on his part, worked in our favor. He was
conceited enough to stay around and monitor the
investigation. He was arrogant enough to think that he had
everything under control. He slipped up again by warning
Marguerite of his impending arrival. The temptation to
frighten and subdue her had been too much and he had given
us the opportunity to lay in wait for him.
It was a long night of bookings, interviewing, and
hospitals and phone calls. Severn was arrested for the
murder of Headley Stokes, Olson Parks and Clancy Severn.
In addition he was slapped with breaking and entering,
attempted rape, assault on an officer, grand theft of a
horse, obstructing a federal investigation and a myriad of
other lesser charges. But finally, everyone was tucked away
where they should be, except us.
Another vicious killer behind bars. Our job was done here,
I thought sarcastically. We staggered back to the Inn at
4:00 M and fell into a coma sleep without even bothering
with a shower.
EPILOGUE
LITCHFIELD INN
LITCHFIELD, CT
12:00 PM - MARCH 10 - SATURDAY
I slept like the dead and woke at noon to sun light
streaming in the window of our room. I pulled Scully
tighter to my chest and felt her butt come in contact with
my straining erection.
I moaned softly and felt her hair tickle my nose as I let
out my breath. She stirred in my arms and I flexed my hips
into the soft cushion of her derriere. She made a humming
sound in the back of her throat.
I was still half asleep but waking to my arousal. We had
fallen in bed naked. Her skin was like silk against my
dick. My hand wandered to her breast and squeezed her
weight gently. I didn't want to wake her if she was still
tired, but I wasn't willing to wait anymore. I was now
officially addicted to sex with Scully.
Her hand reached back and rubbed my flank. I knew then she
was awake. I kissed the nape of her neck and then latched
onto the tendon where her neck meets her shoulder. She
moaned softly and I surged to fully erect.
"Scully, I want you so bad."
She hummed and rasped out in a morning voice, "Again?"
"And again and again and again."
She giggled and pulled away. I grumbled in protest, but
she flipped onto her back and peered at me from under half
open lids. "You are so gorgeous," I whispered.
She smiled. I slid my hand from her breast down her
stomach and snaked a finger between her legs. She grunted
softly and opened her legs. Little moves like that made me
so aroused I felt dizzy. I loved to see and hear her
respond to me. It was a miracle I never intended to take
for granted.
I slipped a finger inside and gasped to find her moist and
hot. "Scully!"
"Hmm, wet already. Surprised?"
"Amazed," I murmured and bent down to kiss her slowly and
thoroughly. Her hand shot out and grabbed my dick and
squeezed firmly.
I groaned into her mouth. She began pumping me slowly,
squeezing me firmly and I shuddered. She smiled against my
lips, apparently enjoying my reaction.
I slid two fingers inside her and spread her wetness out
and up over her bundle of nerves. Her hips bucked slightly
off the mattress. I wanted to try every position known to
man with her, but I knew she was probably still half asleep
so I asked. "Can you sit up, Scully?"
She arched an eyebrow and nodded. I smiled and sat up,
scooting up against the headboard and kneeling. She
followed and straddled my lap. We kissed again as she
ground her crotch into my throbbing erection. I grasped
her hips and lifted. She perched on top of my shaft and I
looked down, marveling once again at the sight of myself
sliding inside her, between her narrow hips. "Awww,
Scully."
Her hands went to my shoulders for balance and she began
pumping herself up and down my shaft slowly. I captured
her nipple and sucked on the already hardened bud until she
was whimpering with pleasure. I couldn't get enough of
that sound. I wanted to make every time as good for her as
it was for me. I knew that was impossible, but it wouldn't
be for lack of trying.
My finger slid down into the crack of her ass and messaged
her anus. She groaned loudly and began impaling herself
faster. Ooo, I'd found something else she liked. I
wondered if she would ever let me in there. Just the
thought of it and I expanded inside her although I would
have thought it impossible to become any harder.
She grunted and panted, "So hard, you're so hard." She
sped up again and started grinding her pubic bone into mine
at the bottom of each thrust. I held her hips tighter and
began thrusting with her. Our pace increased until she was
slamming herself down on me.
I felt her walls fluttering around me. "Yeah, Scully,
that's it, come for me. You're close, I know your close,
come for me."
She sucked in a sudden harsh breath of surprise as I
pressed my finger inside her ass up to my second knuckle
and swirled it around. She screamed my name and began
convulsing tightly around my cock. I groaned loudly and
held myself embedded so I could feel every last spasm
around my aching flesh. "Mmuullddeerr! Ooohhhh!
Gooodddd! Ahhh, Jesus, Mulder!"
She was still quivering with aftershocks when I couldn't
hold it anymore and I shouted, pulling my finger out of her
and squeezing her hips tightly. I emptied into her feeling
hot cum surge through my cock and race into her quivering
tunnel.
She fell limp against my chest and we sat there still
joined for some time, catching our breath. My hands
soothed up and down her back until she lifted her head from
my shoulder and looked at me. She was wearing the lazy
smile of a sated woman and I smiled in response. "Mulder,
you're going to kill me," she murmured.
"I hope not, baby, because I'm not even near done with
you!"
She chuckled. "Baby?"
I shrugged sheepishly. She smiled again, all teeth. "Only
in bed or I may have to get rough with you."
"Oh yeah, get rough with me! Please!" I begged.
She swatted me playfully and I moved down to lay flat on
the bed. She went to roll off me and I held her there, my
arms around her waist.
Her head was tucked under my chin and I mumbled into her
hair. "I can't wait to get back to D.C."
"How come? You never want to go home."
"That was before."
"Before what?"
"Before US."
"Oh."
"I want to make love you to in your bed, on my couch, your
kitchen table ... "
"My kitchen table!"
I chuckled. "I want to christen every piece of furniture
in your apartment and mine!"
"Oh, I am in so much trouble. I've created a monster."
"Just a horny monster."
"Uugg!"
"Think you can keep up, Scully? I wouldn't want to tire
you out."
"Is that a challenge Agent Mulder?"
"I do believe it is, Agent Scully."
"I accept your challenge. I can keep up with you any day."
"Ahh, be careful little girl, you've haven't even begun to
scratch the surface of my sexual prowess."
"Think quite a lot of yourself, don't you?"
I laughed. "You inspire me."
"Is that so?"
"Just so my lady."
She giggled. "Oh and Mulder?"
"Mmm?"
"If you call me 'little girl' ever again, you can forget
getting any for at least a week!"
"Ouch! I'll definitely remember that!"
We lay in silence for a while just enjoying the intimacy of
laying with each other, our naked bodies pressed together.
I squeezed her tight and she squeezed me back.
I whispered to her, feeling overcome that we had come so
far in a week. I still wasn't sure something wasn't going
to end it all abruptly. "I love you, Scully."
"I love you too, Mulder." She paused. "Let's shower and
get out of here. We have a lot of work to do this
weekend."
"This case is over, Scully! We can finish the reports on
Monday!"
She laughed. "No silly. I mean we have lots of furniture
to christen and the sooner we get to it, the better!"
I laughed with her. "You're a wicked, wanton woman,
Scully."
"And you wouldn't want me any other way."
"You're right about that. Don't ever change. I love you
just the way your are."
THE END.