The Chesapeake Ripper and The Baltimore Ripper

The Missing Evidence

"I can't..." I whispered to Will. The door suddenly creaked open, making me and Will both turn to our left to see Hannibal, standing at the door frame.
"May I speak to Grace alone?" Hannibal asked Will. Will nodded his head, glancing over at me as he got off the couch and left the room. Hannibal shut the door after him and slowly walked over to me, sitting down on the couch beside me. We both stared at each other and I wondered what he wanted to talk to me about. He searched his pocket and pulled out my pocket knife, without a word being said. My eyes widened and I snatched it out of his palm.
"You stole it from the evidence room?" I whispered to him, shocked.
"I also retrieved some evidence from Kolnas' case, we won't have anymore problems now" Hannibal whispered back to me, with a slight grin on his face. I hesitantly shook my head and gave him the knife back.
"I need it to seem like Gideon is responsible for a few murders to buy me more time" I reminded him.
"You told them all that he was accompanied, you were here with Will during the time I retrieved them. You have an alibi" Hannibal responded to me, with confidence. I hazily took the knife back and stuffed it into my coat pocket, wondering if it was a good idea to take it. I wrapped my arms around Hannibal and hugged him tightly, he had no idea how much this meant to me.
"Thank you" I whispered to him. He hugged me back and I yet again, felt safe in a serial killers arms.
"Shall we take you home? I feel that it is not right to keep you here after today's events" Hannibal asked me. I lightly giggled and nodded my head.

——— Graces Home ———

I sat on my bathroom floor while Hannibal was downstairs, cooking something. I stared in front of myself as I wondered what the hell was wrong with me. I thought of all the possibilities and all the outcomes I would do. I got onto my feet and searched through my bathroom cabinet, and pulled out a pregnancy test I bought not so long back, In case of something like this was to happen. If I was pregnant, I'd definitely have to abort it - it wouldn't be fair on the child with my life and I can't bare the idea of pregnancy. I sat down on my toilet seat as I read the instructions, a little worried.

I walked into the kitchen to see Hannibal frying something, with a kitchen towel over his shoulders. I sat down at my breakfast bar and rested my head on the counter. Hannibal quickly glanced over at me then looked back down at the pan.
"Have you taken any medication lately?" He asked me.
"No" I answered, truthfully. I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath, avoiding To crack in front of Hannibal.

Hannibal tapped my shoulder gently and I squinted open my eyes to see he presented something in front of me. I saw the selection of meats on it and raised an eyebrow at him.
"Animals meat" he assured me, seeing my face. I hesitantly picked up my fork and began to eat what he served me and it was delicious. His cooking reminded me of my mother's cooking and it was a nice memory refresher. Hannibal sat down beside me with his own plate and I glanced over at his plate to see he cooked himself different. I found it odd and I glanced up at him.
"How come you're not having the same Dish as me?" I asked him. He didn't bother looking up at me as he just stared down at his plate.
"Your meal holds more nutritional value for those who are sick" he informed me. I couldn't tell if he was lying, so I just had to trust him.

As we were eating, I checked the clock to see that the test would've came back with the results. If it was positive, I still wouldn't tell Hannibal. I'd imagine he'd become seriously clingy and protective, and also controlling. I adjusted my posture and thought of an excuse.
"Oh, excuse me. I need to get some paracetamol from the bathroom... cramps" I exclaimed to him, standing up and trying to be as neutral as possible - wasn't really an issue. Hannibal looked up at me and nodded his head at me. I gave him a thumbs up and rushed upstairs.

I opened up the bathroom door and I was so concerned to check the test, but I had to look at some point. I picked it up, looking around the room and not down at the test. I hesitantly looked down at it and it was....

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And it was negative. I let out a relieved sigh and fisted the air as a slight celebration, I was too into the moment that I didn't see Hannibal standing at the door frame.
"Is everything alright?" Hannibal asked me. I quickly hid the test behind my back and gave him a nod, trying to hold myself together. He definitely smelt something was off as he slowly approached me. He gently put his hands on my arm and gave me no choice but to show him what I was trying to hide, as he was pulling at my arm. I hesitantly showed him the test and he looked down at it to see it was negative - thank god.
"Why did you feel the need to take this?" Hannibal asked me.
"Because... I wanted to be sure" I whispered to him. He put the test in the bin and wrapped his arms around me. I hesitantly hugged him back.

——— three hours later ———

I yawned as I tried to find a comfy spot on my bed for the night, but ever since the conversation with Kolnas, it hasn't been easy to fall asleep. I just keep thinking about when Jack finds out Gideon was framed - because he will find out - then I keep thinking about Henry and also Grentz. I really do hope that I've bought myself enough time.

——— the next day ———

I shut the door behind myself as I carried Oscar in my arms. It was early morning and I had retrieved him from Hannibal's. I walked over to the living room and put Oscar down on the couch, to take off my shoes. Oscar made little baby noises and reached his arms out to me, making me smile. I sat down on the couch with him and rested him on my chest as I laid down. He laughed and touched my face, making me giggle.
"What do you wanna do today, huh little buddy?" I asked him. He had no clue what I said but found it amusing.

I suddenly felt cold, like someone watching us. It instantly made me uneasy and I sat up right, putting Oscar on my lap as I looked around... I'm not a paranoid being, but I had a gut feeling someone was angry and staring at me with malevolent eyes.