Understanding A Killer

A small town never forgets

Snow fell down silently as Eliana drove through the narrow streets of her hometown. The town held so many beautiful memories, harshly reminding her of everything she could've had. She parked her car in front of her family house, breathing in the familiar air of what was once home. She stepped out and rang the doorbell uncomfortably, hating the feeling of being known.

An elegant, nicely dressed woman in her 50s opened the door. "Emily!" - She opened her mouth in shock, "What are you doing here? You didn't say you were coming!"

"Hi, mom. And... It's Eliana now." - Eliana gave her a small smile, "I'm sorry for not calling ahead."

"Well, you almost never call anyway. And you haven't been home in over a year." - Her mother spoke quickly in her usual manner, showing her inside and taking her jacket. "It's just unusual for you to come unannounced... Or come at all."

"I just need to check something out. I'll be staying for a few nights." - Eliana anwsered vaguely.

Her mother looked at her suspiciously. "I hope you're not doing something stupid. You know I don't like that you joined the academy. It's just a waste of your talent."

"You only ever saw one path for me." - Eliana sighed, showing no emotion, "And I would've gone through with it. But you know why I couldn't."

"I think you gave up too quickly." - She looked at her strictly, "But fine. What's done is done."

Eliana knew arguing with her mother was pointless, so she ignored all the snarky comments that came her way. Now that Eliana became a profiler, it was easier to understand her. Her mother was just an unfulfilled woman who couldn't realize her own dreams, so she projected them on her daughter. But still, she tried to give Eliana what she thought was best.

After eating breakfast and some small talk, careful to avoid any potential questions, Eliana excused herself to her room. Everything looked just the same as before, only the tidiness making it clear it was uninhabited. She took a glance at the window, thinking how the killer managed to get inside that night. It was on ground floor of the house, and it was quite wide, so it couldn't have been hard. The only strange thing is how she didn't hear anything.

She looked through the drawers and found some old pictures, as well as her old journal. It would be interesting to read through it, she thought.

"Sister!" - A teenage boy burst through the door, interrupting her train of thought, "What are you doing here?!"

"Hi, Evan." - She smiled, "I guess you could call it a suprise."

Evan was a sharp boy who noticed his surroundings well. Despite being 5 years apart, he got along nicely with his sister.

He closed the door of the room and sat on her bed, suspiciously scanning her face. "That's strange. You know, I understand what you're trying to do. You didn't join the FBI just because."

"Oh really, Mr. Detective?" - She laughed jokingly, "What is your theory?"

"You want to... Catch the real killer. To clear your name."

"That's an interesting observation. As a profiler, I'm proud of you." - She avoided anwsering, "Do they still... Call you names?"

"This is a small town. You can never outrun the gossip." - Evan's face saddened, "But I was never the real target. I just inherited your nicknames."

"Whatever they say, ignore them. You have your own life. But either way, I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault. There's nothing you could've done." - Evan tried to smile, "You know, I never once doubted you."

"Yeah. You were an exception." - She returned the smile, "Thank you for that."

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The rest of the day led her only toward dead ends. She found out the clinic Hannibal apparently worked at was permanently closed and his colleague was nowhere to be found. She spent the rest of the day surfing the web and reading through her journal.

The next day, she prepared to do a more thorough investigation. That, of course, included going to the orchestra. To delay going, she sat in her car deciding to read through the journal until the end.

"The performance went great tonight. But Rosie and me fought over something stupid again later. It ruined the whole night for me. I keep giving my best, but I can't say the same for her. I don't know where this is going.
But anyway, I managed to lose this journal when I was leaving. Some man found it and left it at the front gate. I hope he didn't read it. That would be embarassing." - One of the last entries read.

Right. A tall man found it and left it at the gate, but she never saw his face. He did say something, but she couldn't remember what. With a feeling of missing something, she put on a scarf and got out. Her phone started buzzing again and she took it out only to see Will's name on the screen again.

*3 missed calls from Will Graham*

She sighed sadly when it stopped ringing and put it back in her pocket.

The orchestra building came into view, making Eliana instinctively hide her face in the scarf. It was an old, imposable building that stood out from the rest of the town. It was next to the music school, a wide court connecting the two. Students, professors and musicians walked past, containing some old and new faces. She hoped they wouldn't notice her as she could never tell whether they made comments or she was just paranoid.

Coming inside, a variety of instrument sounds hit her that came from different rooms. It all mixed together into a messy melody that seemed so nostalgic right now.

She stopped at the beginning of the hall, asking the security guard if they kept old camera footage. Of course, it was already deleted long ago. She sighed in defeat, but remembered a person that could help. It was the lady that sold tickets to concerts and did other paperwork. Eliana remembered her being very talkative, oversharing at any given chance. Luckily, she was still working there.

"Oh, hello, Mrs. Owens." - Eliana greeted the lady at the front desk with a big smile. "I'm visiting my old school. Do you remember me?"

"Oh of course, Emily! How could I forget you?!" - Mrs. Owens was full of energy as usual, "How are you doing?"

"Great! You know, college and stuff has been busy."

"I'm glad you found the time to visit!" - Her eyes shined, "We've also been busier than ever with new projects."

"I'm glad to hear that. And well...since I'm already here can I ask you something?"

"Sure! Anything."

"I know you know a lot about this town. So... I was looking into this clinic...  I got a reccomendation from a friend." - She pulled up the front page of the clinic Hannibal worked at on the phone, showing it to Mrs. Owens. "But apparently it's closed. Do you know why?"

"Hmm." - Mrs. Owens thought for a moment. "Yes. Apparently it was very good. I remember it. It closed 2 years ago because the owner went missing. They said he ran away with his mistress."

"Oh, okay. That's a shame." - Eliana frowned, "And this other doctor that worked there?" - She scrolled to a picture of Hannibal on the page.

"Ah, I don't know about him. But he seems familiar." - She furrowed her eyebrows, trying to remember something. "Ah yes! He came here to concerts often. I remember he had a peculiar accent."

"Oh, really? He came here often? When exactly?" - Eliana raised her eyebrows.

"Yes. It's been years since he last came. Probably when you still played. But I have a good memory."

Huh. So Hannibal saw her before. There's no way he didn't. That just... Couldn't have been a coincidence.

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Author's note: I'm not really content with this chapter, but I need it to progress the plot. I refered to Eliana as 'Emily' since I did mention she changed her name. Also, it may seem finding the killer (Hannibal) was "too easy", but trust me, I'll make it make sense :) Hope you enjoy!