Shorts

Te Duem Part 6

Continuation of Te Duem
Section of series spoilers enclosed in star symbols (*****)

Mulder pov

June 13th 1998, The Lone Gunmen headquarters, 1:27 p.m.

"Yeah, the owner of Harriet's School of Dance. No, 'Harriet' with only one t," Mulder instructed Byers.

Byers typed in the woman's first name, being careful to spell it correctly this time around. "Not many Harriets in Lansing, Michigan," he said. "Let's start with Harriet Alarie. . ."

Harriet Alarie proved to be the wrong Harriet. As did Harriet Baldwin, Carlisle, and Hiram, all the way through Harriet Munpher. A baker, a florist, a pet groomer, and even a construction worker. But no dance instructor as of yet. It had been nearly an hour, and Mulder was beginning to become frustrated.

"All right," Byers sighed, rubbing his eyes. "Let's give Harriet Schuster a try." He typed the name into the search engine, and Mulder watched the loading icon spin and spin. He crossed his fingers and held his breath as Byers scoped out page after page of Harriet Schuster.

"Let me guess," Scully groaned and crossed her arms, "nothing?"

Mulder scanned the screen. "She can't just - hang on, I think we've got something," he said, leaning closer to the screen. Sure enough, there it was: "Harriet Schuster, 42, dance instructor at Harriet's School of Dance, Lansing, Michigan."

Mulder jabbed a finger at the screen. "I think we've got her."

"But are we sure it's the same woman?" Langly inquired.

"That's what we need you to find out," Scully said with a sharp nod. "See what you can find."

Byers, Langly, and Frohike were suddenly all on their own computers, searching up anything they could find on Harriet Schuster. Mulder and Scully simply watched in amazement, ready to take notes.

"Harriet Schuster, originally Harriet Geiger, divorced her husband at age thirty-nine," Frohike blurted.

"I've got some spotty records of a Harriet Muller changing her last name to Schuster after a divorce. Don't know how truthful they are, but they've gotta mean something if they're on here," Langly stated, flipping his blond hair away. "Looks like she did it to hide from her parents, maybe."

"What do you mean?" Mulder asked, walking over to Langly and staring at his computer.

He pointed to something on the screen in such a small print that Mulder couldn't read it. "Harriet Muller changes last name to Schuster in an attempt to separate herself from a family that deeply disproves of a divorce," Langly read, his index finger trailing along the screen.

Mulder nodded, and the room fell into silence. He walked back over to where Scully stood and glanced at Byers's computer. This has to be her, Mulder thought to himself. But if it is. . .

"Could you excuse us for a moment?" he asked rather suddenly, clamping a hand around Scully's wrist and dragging her out of the room. He lead her into the next room over and let go.

"Mulder, what is this about?" she asked in a low voice.

He swallowed. "Do you remember when we were at that dance studio and I was sick?" he asked.

Scully wrinkled up her nose. "Unfortunately, I don't think I could forget."

"And do you remember the beaten up little girl who was brought in vomiting shortly after by her father?"