Palatial Intimacy

VII - The Deal

"Stay where you are. Both of you stay right where you are!" The orders rang harshly throughout the room, immediately jolting Will out of his groggy state. He looked around the room, watching a nurse frantically approach him and then slip off his helmet. Hannibal was kept in place, still hazy and half-asleep.

The nurse escorted him out of the room, and Will felt a large weight lift off of his shoulders. He'd done it. He'd found the answer, right there in Hannibal's mind, and now he was going to put the culprit in jail. The process had actually been a success. The LOOM worked, as much as Hannibal didn't want it to.

He was brought into the back room this time, behind the glass that allowed the observers to watch them both. Screens surrounded them on all sides, and the scientists were working to shut them off one by one. Will glanced at the screen that held Hannibal's brain waves; he wasn't knowledgeable enough to decipher what they meant, but it was interesting to get another perspective on his mind.

"We got him, Jack," Will blurted. "I saw something. I saw what he did to Miriam."

"Hold that thought." Jack took him by the sleeve and led him away from prying ears. They walked all the way to the end of the hallway, towards the men's room, and once they were inside Jack slumped against the wall.

"I saw a memory of him kidnapping Miriam. He snuck up behind her and strangled her unconscious, and—"

"I got a call from the lab while you were under, Will." Jack rubbed his temple. "They found skin cells all over Miriam's body and the crime scene. And they're a match to Chilton."

Stupefied, Will stammered out a few incomprehensible words before clearing his throat. "Hold on. Chilton? But I saw...he had a vivid flashback. A memory. He told me himself that it was a memory, and he tried to let me see only half of it. But I broke the rules somehow, and I was able to see the rest of it."

"You're not making sense. You're telling me he showed you this memory? Voluntarily?"

"He showed me the memory, yeah. He can access all of his memories behind these doors in his mind. He tried to act like he only remembered the first half of her visit to his office, and that the memory was over. But then I kept walking closer, and I was able to see the rest of it. He strangled her. He carried her away."

"She visited his office?" Jack swore. "That could be one of the last places she was seen. He knew she was missing, and he didn't say a word."

"Because he took her."

"Then explain Chilton's DNA. I would have believed it was Hannibal fifteen minutes ago, but now I'm not so sure."

"He could have easily planted that DNA."

"There was a whole lot of it. Natural skin deposits and cell shedding consistent with the recent handling of her body. It couldn't have been him just sprinkling some skin cells onto her."

"No, it couldn't, because he's smarter than that. Jack, I'm telling you, I saw him do this. I felt him do this. It was like I was inside his body, reliving every second. It was horrifyingly detailed."

"Will, I get it. I believe you. But we don't know for sure that this was a true memory. Were you able to speak with him at all after it happened?"

"No. We woke up right after." He remembered the look on Hannibal's face. "I just know he looked upset."

"Then we can't be sure that it was a true flashback. It could have been you projecting what you wanted to see. It could have been anything. And, if you consider a court hearing, LOOM evidence is still inadmissible. It's worse than a lie detector right now. Jury would much rather have DNA over something like this. All signs are pointing to Chilton."