Bloodlust: A Hannibal AU

Chapter Three

Beatrice stood outside the mahogany door. Cautiously, she brought her hand up to knock. It had been a week since she had seen Will, and she her lack of a breakthrough with the case left her frustrated. She needed a professional opinion.

Hannibal slid the door open with grace, and he stood there in the doorway, perfectly poised with a smile on his face. "Miss Carver, what a surprise."

"Good evening, Doctor Lecter. I hope I wasn't disturbing you." She briefly looked to her watch and noticed how late it was.

"Not at all. Please, come in." He stepped aside to let Beatrice through the threshold. She hesitated for only a moment, then entered with the envelope in hand. "I was about to finish my paperwork and head home for the evening."

"I'm sorry, Sir." Beatrice turned to Hannibal. His ears seemed to perk up being addressed in such a way. "I have a few things I'd like to ask, and I was hoping you could help with the strangulation case in the Appalachian trails." She handed him the envelope. "You've worked with psychos, I was hoping you could tell me what your theory is." Hannibal grabbed the envelope, brushing against Beatrice's hand as he did so. A tiny smirk hid on his curved lips. He flipped through the photos.

"And what is your theory, might I ask?" Hannibal sat in the leather chair and gestured for Beatrice to sit across from him.

"My best guess is male, mid to late 40s. I think he lures these younger men to the woods from dating apps, then after they've, well you know..." Beatrice was never this shy around the subject of sex. Why was she suddenly so flustered around this man?

"We are adults here, Miss Carver. You can say it." Hannibal let that smirk slip again.

"After they've...uh...made love," Beatrice stammered. Hannibal licked his bottom lip, then shifted slightly in his seat. "He kills them, and mutilates the body."

"Kills them how?"

"He strangles them, then systematically places cuts on his victim's body. Its like Will said, he was marking his territory." Trixie let a light laugh escape. "It's like when people have a hickey fetish, its to mark whats theirs." Hannibal lifted his chin exposing the muscles in his neck. Beatrice suddenly found herself wondering how he would taste.

"And what do you need my help with?" Hannibal questioned with a raise of his eyebrow.

"Why does he do it?" Beatrice ran a hand through her dark hair. "Why does he have to have sex with them beforehand? Why not just kill them right away? Why the strangulation first, why not cut first?" Hannibal sat calm in the chair, looking the detective up and down.

"You've already said why."

"What?" Beatrice sat confused. Some help he turned out to be. "What do you mean?"

"Think about what you said before. What does he do before strangling the victim?" Hannibal stood and approached Trixie's chair. She stood, too, then walked toward the large bookcases on the wall. She placed a hand on the rolling ladder, caressing it lightly.

"He fucks them." Beatrice said, then paused. "Make love," she whispered. "Love!" It was as if a lightbulb had turned on in her head. She spun around. Hannibal was only inches from her and she backed into the ladder on instinct. "He wants love." She whispered again.

"He doesn't simply want love, Miss Carver." Hannibal grew closer. "He craves it, like nicotine." Beatrice's mouth parted at the closeness of Hannibal Lecter. She could smell his soft colone wafting from his throat. Her mind drifted to Will and what he said about feeling the killer's craving. Ring, ring, ring.

Trixie was startled from the ladder, and hurried to pick up her phone. "Detective Carver...yes...another one?" She eyed Hannibal one last time before making a beeline to the door. She hung up the phone, and turned. "Thank you for your help, Doctor Lecter."

"Call me Hannibal." Beatrice nodded, then rushed out to her car.

---

By the time Trixie traversed down the trail to the crime scene, Jack Crawford had already arrived with Will Graham and the rest of the team. She went straight to Will. "I think you were right."

"I usually am." Will's voice was almost monotone, but he let a smirk slip through his people-hating facade.

"You said last time that you could feel his cravings." Will searched Trixie's face. He didn't remember saying that. "He craves love from these men." Jack approached the two.

"What do you mean?" Jack asked.

"The killer craves someone's love, and it has to be someone specific since all of these men have the same hair, eyes, build, age, everything." Beatrice grabbed onto Will's hand and squeezed it. "Go do your thing, we'll be here." Will did as he was told, and reiterated the same M.O. from the previous crime scenes. He pointed at a nearby tree indicating the bag was hid there. Beatrice saw the indention in the fallen leaves and mud. Will exited his trance with a gasp but was able to stay standing.

Beverly jogged toward the group of investigators, hanging up her phone as she did so. "Guys, we've got ID on all three victims. The first was a Jordan Smith, second was Jason Saunders, third was Jackson Sewers. Noticing a pattern?"

"J.S." Beatrice looked at Will, and an idea came to her. Will saw her staring.

"I don't know what your thinking, but I don't think I'll like it."

"Ever worn a blonde wig, Will?"

"Oh, no." Beverly giggled.

"Are you suggesting we use Will as bait?" Jack asked, he placed his hands on his hips, then smiled.

"He fits the profile perfectly, aside from the hair. A simple wig could fix that." Beatrice walked up to Will. "We know he uses a dating app to find these guys. We can fake a profile, use Will as the photos, and meet this guy in the woods. We'll have officers at the ready with you. As soon as we got him, we'll send them in, and we'll keep you safe."

Will breathed in. "Its starting to feel like you could convince me to do anything." He looked at his feet and chuckled. Trixie couldn't hide how that statement made her feel. Her heart skipped with excitement that Will seemed to be trusting her. She placed a hand on his shoulder and they exchanged a smile.