BEAUTIFUL CRIME, nbc's hannibal

002. APÈRITIF PART TWO.

( season one, episode one. apèritif, part two. )

    "ELISE!" Mr. Nichols said in a panic.

    The siblings turned around, pushing Mr. Nichols away from the scene as quickly as they could.

    "We need you to leave the room," Noelle demanded. Mr. Nichols dropped the cat as he realized that his daughter hadn't been found alive.

    THE Graham siblings stared at Elise's body as Jack talked at them.

    "Take your time. When you're ready to talk, you talk. If you don't feel like it, you don't talk," Jack recapped. "We'll be downstairs. You let me know when you're ready for us to come in. Noelle, let's g-"

    "I want Noelle in the room," Will interrupted quickly, grabbing hold of his sister's arm.

    Jack gave him a puzzled look as Noelle sighed.

    "It makes him feel... Not safer, but more secure."

    Nodding, Jack exited the room as Will began to regress into his own world. Not even God knew what could have been going on in his mind at this moment.

    "You're Will Graham," Beverly said suddenly.

    Noelle snapped her head up and placed a hand on Will's arm.

    "You're not supposed to be in here," Will replied.

    "You wrote the standard monograph on time of death by insect activity," Beverly recalled. "I found antler velvet in two of the wounds. You, uh... not real FBI?"

    "I'm a... special investigator."

    Beverly raised her eyebrows. "Never been an FBI agent?"

    "Strict screening procedures," Noelle spoke up, Will nodding in affirmation.

    "Detects instability... You unstable?"

    Jack walked in and started scolding Beverly as if he were her father. "Now, you know you're not supposed to be in here."

    "I found antler velvet in two of the wounds, like she was gored. I was looking for velvet in the other wounds but I was interrupted," Beverly explained, gesturing to Will and Noelle, who had made their way over to a window.

    "Hold on, excuse me," Zeller interrupted. "Look, deer and elk pin their prey, okay? They put all their weight into their antlers and try to suffocate a victim. That's how they would kill, like, a fox or a coyote."

    "All right, Elise Nichols was strangled, suffocated. Her ribs are broken," Jack pointed out.

    "Antler velvet is rich in nutrients, it actually promotes healing," Noelle added softly. "He may have put it there on purpose."

    Jack gave her a look. "You think he was trying to heal her?"

    Will nodded. "He wanted to undo as much as he could-- given that he'd already killed her."

    "He put her back where he found her," Ivory Reeves observed.

    "Whatever he did to the others, he couldn't do it to her."

    "Is this his golden ticket?" Jack questioned.

    "No, no," Will whispered, glancing at Noelle.

    "It was an apology," She finished.

    It was silent for a moment as the five other agents in the room stared at the siblings.