TITLE: V IS FOR VICIOUS AUTHOR: DONNILEE E-MAIL: DONNILEE@SNET.NET PART 5 (NC-17) LITCHFIELD INN DINING ROOM 7:30 PM - MARCH 6 - TUESDAY Dinner proceeded and as usual, we couldn't keep our minds off a case for long. Out of the blue while we were sipping coffee and relaxing at the table, Mulder asked, "So what's with Officer Severn?" "Nice guy, why?" "Something's bothering me." "What?" "When we asked if he knew the victim, he said he didn't but Marguerite knew him and could fill us in." "So what, Mulder?" "Then when we asked why folks would bring a mare to the stable, he said because Headley was the best vet around." "That doesn't mean anything. You could know of someone's reputation and not know them personally." "True, but later, Scully, when I was talking to Marguerite, she said that Severn was a regular customer for trail rides and that he and Headley were tight friends." "Hmmm. Well, maybe he misunderstood your question or simply didn't want to be associated with the victim." "He also said he had called Marguerite and she'd told him Headley's schedule. Marguerite says he never called. He knew Headley's schedule by heart as he had been coming there for nearly a year." "Still, not conclusive. He is a rookie. He may be afraid details like that will point to him." "Or he lied deliberately and accidentally contradicted himself." I sighed loudly. "Why would he lie deliberately?" "Because he didn't want to get caught. Wanted to lead us to Marguerite and her old man." "Caught at what? Being a friend to the victim?" "Being caught as the killer." "WHAT? Are you crazy, Mulder? He's a cop!" "A lying cop." "I think you're stretching." "I don't. I'm not saying it's him, but it's enough of a discrepancy to look into, don't you think?" I sighed again. I knew what this was really about. "This doesn't have anything to do with the fact that he asked me out, does it?" His jaw dropped. "I didn't know he did," he replied softly. I gave him the eyebrow, but his expression didn't change. "Yeah, he asked me what his chances were for taking me out to dinner." Silence. "I told him not good. He guessed that I had a thing for you. I told him we were just friends. He mentioned that he saw you 'sizing up the competition' and 'giving him the evil eye.'" Mulder asked, "Just friends? You told him we were just friends?" He sounded so hurt. "Oh, come on, Mulder! It was before all of this happened between us and even if it wasn't, I probably would have given him the same answer. We don't need people knowing that we are involved." "Are you ashamed?" "Hell no! Mulder, for Christ's sake, stop being so insecure. If people find out, fine, but we don't need to advertise it is all I'm saying." He took a deep breath. "You're right. I'm just relieved that you turned him down." I was trying to remember our conversation when something suddenly occurred to me. "He did say something a little strange. Not strange, but just out of context to tell me something personal. I didn't think anything of it at the time. I mentioned how bright you were, a genius." "So? Uh, thanks, don't spread that around, will you?" he quipped cockily. I smiled at him. "He asked me if you ever made me feel inferior and went on to say that he had a brother that made him feel inferior because he was so smart. Rubbed it in all the time." "Interesting." "Don't go reading into it. Probably just sibling rivalry, but I thought I would mention it." "I don't like this, Scully. I have a funny feeling." "Uh, oh. You and your funny feelings," I teased. He smiled and we chuckled together. It felt good. Then he looked at me seriously. "Can we agree to keep our eye on him, Scully? That's all I'm asking. Pay attention for any inconsistencies." "Yes, I suppose so, but I think you're barking up the wrong tree." He added, "Good. I also want to ask someone to bring us out to the site where the first victim was found." "Good idea. Andy and Barney may have missed something." He laughed at my joke and we headed back to the room. XXXXXXXXXX WILSON'S RIDING STABLE ROUTE 118 LITCHFIELD, CT 9:00 AM - MARCH 7 - WEDNESDAY I decided to call Officer Severn and casually asked if he could meet us in the morning and bring us to the first crime scene. He readily agreed and we set a time to meet. I wanted to keep an eye on this guy. Something wasn't right. Then again, I wondered if it wasn't good old testosterone speaking. After hearing that he'd asked Scully out, I liked him even less than when we had started. We drove in Officer Severn's cruiser out into the field as far as we could go and then got out to walk the trails on foot. He looked at us, "You sure you don't want to ride, would make this a lot easier." "We're sure," we said in unison and then grinned at each other. He shrugged and began leading the way down a bridal path into the woods. I quickly decided I was going to have to invest in some bug spray for the rest of this investigation. We had both worn casual clothes in deference to our little nature hike. Scully looked like a little girl in her blue jeans and big gray sweatshirt. Her trench coat nearly swallowed her. Her make-up and hair was perfect as usual, but she looked so different than when buttoned up in her official G-woman suits. I was used to standing next to her in heels which gave her a good three inches. Now she was wearing sneakers and I was struck by the difference in our sizes that I didn't usually take time to notice. Officer Severn was the sole of solicitousness with Scully, holding tree branches aside and telling her to watch her step whenever a big bad tree limb interfered with the path. If he only knew how capable she was, he wouldn't have bothered. Then again, she was smiling and I had to wonder if she didn't want that kind of consideration after all. I was always afraid she would see it as patronizing. Then again, she worked with me, not with Officer Severn and that made a difference too. After a half mile or so on the winding path, she looked up into the trees and did stumble over a branch at her feet as she wasn't looking. My reflexes kicked in and I swooped down on her, catching her up around the waist and lifting her right off the ground. She grunted then whooped as I twirled her around and sat her back down on her feet. She was smiling up at me and our eyes locked. A sizzle of tension ran between us and I slowly lowered her to the ground, never losing eye contact. I dropped a chaste peck on her forehead and murmured, "Be careful, Scully. No casualties, today, huh?" She lowered her head, obviously a little embarrassed by my display of affection. I looked up and ahead of us to find Severn waiting and glaring at me. His expression vanished as I turned to him but I caught it. "You, O.K., folks?" he asked. "Just fine," Scully replied. "Let's keep going. How much further?" "Just a couple hundred yards." I couldn't resist. "And how do know that exactly?" Scully gave me a disgusted look and Severn spun around to look me in the face. "What do you mean?" "How do you know where the body was?" He hesitated. "You didn't investigate this one, right?" He nodded. "I uh, read the police report that Lt. Socks filled out. It was fairly thorough." "Oh, just curious," I said as casually as I could. Lt. Socks hadn't investigated Olson Parks either. I watched his body language and I had put him on alert. If he was hiding nothing, I wouldn't have affected him. But I did. He was wary now, casting furtive glances over his shoulder and wondering what I was thinking. We came to a clearing of sorts where the path widened and there was crime scene tape strung around the trees that circled the area like sentinels. We walked the perimeter and then ducked under the tape. Scully and I took opposite directions and then made our way carefully to the center of the circular area. I turned to look at Severn and Scully bent down, pulling a latex glove out of her pocket. He was peering into the trees and I returned my attention to Scully. "Mulder, what's that?" She pointed to the ground. I couldn't see anything and so I squatted next to her. There was a small metallic object shaped vaguely like a boom-a-rang. She picked it up so we could get a better look. She squinted at it, pointing to the tabs on the sides. It was bent slightly out of shape. "It's a boot tip," I replied. "A boot tip?" "Yeah, there's probably an official name for it. But, you know, it's one of those silver things you put on the tips of your cowboy boots to keep the toe from getting scuffed." "Oh." She pulled a baggy out of her trench coat and plopped it in, sealing it up. "I'll have the lab run it for prints. Our victim was a jogger. I saw him and his personal effects. He was wearing Nike running shoes and sweats." "Think this belongs to our killer?" "Could be, or could just be someone lost a boot tip while riding. God knows how many people travel these bridal paths in a week. And they probably all wear cowboy boots." "This one hasn't been used since the murder." "Yeah, but it was before." "What are the chances of it being lost right here where the body was found." She pressed her lips together. This was a sign that she did not want to debate the issue any longer. I nodded in silent agreement. We were just speculating. I raised my head and asked. "So what type of cowboy boots would these fit ..." Officer Severn was nowhere to be seen. "Scully?" She looked up and we began scanning the clearing and into the trees. "Where the hell did he go?" she asked. I shrugged and then shouted. "Hey, Severn! Where you get off to? We have a question!" Silence. "Clancy!" Scully shouted. "Where'd you go?" A second or two later, we heard the crunch of a dead branch and both drew our weapons and stood back to back. Scully mumbled, "What the hell? What direction did that come from?" "I don't know," I replied softly. "Am I spooked for no reason?" She sighed. "I don't know, but so am I." "I don't like this." "Neither do I," she replied. Just then we heard the sounds of someone hurrying through the woods off to our left. "It's moving away from us, Scully." "Should we follow?" "I don't know." "I vote yes," she said. "I vote no." "Why?" "Something's wrong here." The sounds ceased as abruptly as they began. "I put Severn on edge with my question about how he knew where the body was found. He hesitated too long before saying he read it in the police report. He was lying." "Oh Mulder, you don't really think ... " She let her sentence drift off as her eyes got wide. "Could this boot tip belong to him? And he saw us find it and so he ..." She was whispering now. "He said he read Lt. Sock's report, but he wasn't the investigating officer on Parks. It was some guy named Sclapone." "Shit, I didn't catch that. You think he's bolted?" "Didn't know what to do so he pulled a disappearing act? Maybe. But that doesn't sound right either. Unless that boot tip is his." I walked to the edge of the path and pulled a log out some from the tree line so we could sit on it. It wasn't huge but it would do. We both holstered our weapons, trying to decide what to do. She asked, "So now what?" "Let me think." She was obediently silent as I mulled over this situation. Why would he take off without saying anything? How did he do it so silently. There was dirt, rocks, leaves and branches all over the place to make noise. About 20 paces into the woods, a small flock of birds was disturbed and took to the skies squawking their displeasure. We looked at each other and stood at the same time. We both drew our weapons again and began walking slowly toward the tree line, facing each other. We had just entered the tree line when a shot rang out. We both instinctively ducked as bark flew off the tree next to my head. "Christ!" I exclaimed. "It came from that way," I said, pointing back the way we had come. We crossed the clearing and entered the woods at a run. I was outdistancing Scully and slowed so she could catch up. Neither of us was that fleet footed on this terrain. "Shit!" "What?" she asked, sounding slightly out of breath. She was winded more from adrenaline than running, I thought. "I don't know which way to go!" I sounded exasperated even to myself. "I think we should go back to the stable and call for some back up. We don't know these woods. We could get lost and then what?" I sighed heavily. "Somebody just took a shot at us, Scully! He's going to get away and I'd bet dollars to donuts it was Severn!" "We don't know that!" "Who else totes a gun around in the woods?" "A killer." "Exactly." "No! I mean criminals often return to the scene of the crime. If he saw us here digging it could have made him nervous. He's bound to make a mistake." "Or we could." "Exactly." "You're right, Scully it isn't worth the risk. He has to return to the barracks at some point. We bide our time. If it's someone else that just took a pot shot at us, then we can get a search going of the woods with people who know the area." "Marguerite for one." I nodded, and took her hand, leading her back into the clearing and heading back down the bridal path. We holstered our weapons again. We were both alert as we made our way as quickly as possible through the sometimes awkward turns in the path. "Scully, did you notice what Severn was wearing on his feet?" "No, did you?" "No, I don't generally look at guy's feet. Cops usually wear those black, polished shoes with the thick soles." "Someone must know." We were both tired when we reached the stable. I called Lt. Socks and then Marguerite, asking her to come to the stable. She said she was on her way anyway. When the Lieutenant arrived we told him our story and he seemed incredulous. "I don't like what your insinuating." I took a deep breath and tried to keep my aggravation out of my voice. "Look Lieutenant, I'm not necessarily insinuating anything, but that's what happened. Severn is missing." "Someone could have grabbed him. He may be the next victim. It could be somebody killing off all the people associated with the stable." Scully raised an eyebrow. "How is Severn associated with the stable?" she asked. He grunted. "He rides a lot." "So we heard. Then why did he tell me he didn't know Headley?" The Lieutenant's jaw dropped. "He did?" Scully nodded. I think she was shook up more than she wanted to admit and was beginning to come over to my way of thinking. I just had a gut feeling about this guy, Severn. My gut got me into trouble but it was rarely wrong. Usually I would have not thought twice about charging into those woods after whoever took a shot at me. But I had Scully now and this thing between us was so new. I knew I shouldn't be thinking about that right now, but I didn't want one of us to get killed over something stupid like my bad judgment and have this thing end before it had even begun. "Well," I said. "Something's not right. Either Severn was snatched and we are going to need to look for two people or he wasn't and we need to look for him. Either way." The Officer nodded and strode to his car to use the radio. "What do you think, Scully?" "I just don't know, Mulder. If he was snatched, wouldn't we have heard some kind of struggle?" "That's what I was thinking. But Andy over here, doesn't want to hear it." The corners of her lips twitched at my Mayberry reference again. We had yet to tell the Lieutenant about the boot tip. We said we'd been bagging a metallic object, but I had intentionally not said what it was. He came back to us saying, "O.K., I got eight officers on the way. We'll fan out and search. We'll wait for Marguerite. She can get us started and tell us which bridal paths are open. We'll probably start with the ones that aren't." "Sounds good," I replied. Scully surprised me then, "Lieutenant, do you know what kind of shoes Clancy Severn wears?" "Why?" "Do you?" "Did you see foot prints up there. There were dozens of people all over that clearing." "I know," I mumbled. She shot me a dirty look. Scully gave him the 'don't piss me off' look. "Just answer the question. Do you or do you not know?" He sighed. She pushed. Does he wear standard issue black shoes like you do?" she asked, looking at his feet. He pulled up his pants by the belt as they sagged dangerously close to lemming off his hips. "He never wears shoes, only cowboy boots with a heel. Says low shoes hurt his feet cause he's been wearing boots all his life. Folks around here don't care, so I never got strict about the dress code as long as the officers wear their uniforms." "I see, thank you." "Is that significant?" he asked Scully. "Could be. Maybe not. I don't know yet." We exchanged a meaningful look. "What?" he asked. "There's more, isn't there?" I looked at Scully, shrugging. I was telling her that it was up to her whether he told him or not. I was leaving the decision up to her. Ms. Full Disclosure herself surprised me when she said, "No, no more, except the mystery of where Severn got to." She readjusted her weapon in the back of her pants and turned away, heading for the barn. "Scully?" "I have to make a phone call," she said over her shoulder. "I'll be right back." I wondered who she had to call, but decided it could wait till later. I needed to keep the Lieutenant busy till reinforcements arrived. XXXXXXXXXX WILSON'S RIDING STABLE ROUTE 118 LITCHFIELD, CT 6:00 PM - MARCH 7 - WEDNESDAY The search was an enormous waste of time. Bridal paths and woods were combed and nothing was found. We were all dirty and exhausted by the time we made our way back to the stable. I slid behind the wheel and we drove in silence back to the hotel. Lt. Socks had told the barracks to inform him if Severn turned up there. As of now, 6:00 PM, he hadn't shown. The silence continued as we made our way back up to our rooms. XXXXXXXXXX THE LITCHFIELD INN LITCHFIELD, CT 6:30 PM - MARCH 7 - WEDNESDAY I followed her into hers and said, "Look Scully, we're exhausted, we both need a shower and some sleep. You probably want to be left alone so I'll just grab a shower and hit the sack." She peered at me curiously and a smile spread across her face. "You can be a real wing nut, sometimes, you know that?" "Hey!" I exclaimed with mock indignation. She laughed. "I do want a shower and sleep. However, the last thing I want is to be left alone." "Oh. Well, um, then you want to shower and meet back here after?" She grinned. "No, I want you to order room service for us and then I want you to join me in the shower." I felt my heart rate accelerate and my mouth go dry. Christ. Just the suggestion of taking a shower with Scully and my body was going on hyper alert. "Yes, ma'am," I drawled. She chuckled and headed for the bathroom. After ordering room service to be delivered in an hour, I shucked my clothes off and ventured naked into the bathroom. I stood and watched her through the opaque curtain. Her shadow moved with a sensual grace. She had no idea how beautiful she was. I wanted to finish this case. But I also wanted to be with her. And although being home would cause it's own complications, I was anxious about things changing once we were back on our home turf. I hoped not. I wanted to make love to her in her own bed and fuck her silly on my couch. I shook my head to rid it of these thoughts. She wanted to be with me and I should be happy for that. She was exhausted. She probably didn't want sex, just company. I hoped she would let me sleep with her in her bed. I cleared my throat to announce my presence and she said, "Are you going to stand there staring all day or are you going to get in here?" I chuckled as I realized she'd known I was there the whole time. I stepped gingerly into the shower around the curtain and caught my breath. I'd seen her naked yesterday, but it was shock all over again. The warm water was cascading over her chest, parting into two tiny rivers around her perky nipples. Her hair was slicked back and her face was flushed with heat. I just stood for a minute and gazed at her. My dick hardened slightly just looking at her. "Your turn," she said softly and maneuvered me under the spray. I washed my hair and was tipping my head back to rinse it out when I felt her soapy hands make contact with my chest. I sucked him my breath and finished rinsing as her hands began to wash my chest, not missing a spot. I decided to return the favor and we carefully washed each other. I was considering whether I could talk her into sex in the shower when the water began to run cold. I shut it off quickly and we piled out. I took great pleasure in drying her carefully, dragging the fluffy white towel over her damp skin and watching her grow aroused from my touch, even through the towel. I couldn't believe I affected her this way. It was a heady feeling. I ignored my raging hard on and dried myself quickly while she ran a brush through her wet hair. When she was finished, I scooped her up and carried her into the bedroom. I expected a protest but none came. The air in the room was cool and I felt her flesh and mine goose bump with the chill. We slid quickly under the covers and I moved to lie half on top of her, burying my fingers in her hair and my nose in her neck. She sighed and squirmed a bit. "Warmer?" I mumbled. "Um, hmm," was her only response. Her fingers began moving over the muscles of my back, barely touching. It almost tickled, but instead send shocks of tingling electricity through my torso. I moaned softly and her touch became more apparent as her entire hands began to smooth their way up and down my back. I felt my muscles ripple under her tiny, warm hands and was helpless to stop it. She chuckled. "You feel so good, Mulder." "You too, I love your skin." I nuzzled her neck and kissed her ear. She shivered and jostled me with her shoulder. I looked at her face. She said, "Kiss me, Mulder." I felt a soft wave of dizziness and lowered my head to hers. She wanted to be with me. I couldn't get over it. Hearing her ask me for anything, even a kiss was like a fantasy come true. Other parts of my anatomy were screaming for more than a kiss by the time she was through chewing on my lower lip and sucking on my tongue. I rolled up to be completely on top of her, taking my weight on my elbows and sliding between her legs. They opened for me and I sank down, my engorged cock coming in contact with her moist center. We both groaned and kissed again. I broke the kiss and whispered, "Are you too tired?" "Too tired for what?" I detected the teasing tone of her voice. Instead of answering, I nudged her core with the tip of my penis and she let out a cute little grunt. "Too tired to be jumped," I quipped. She smiled and opened her eyes. "You're such a romantic, Mulder, I don't know if I can stand it." I chuckled and then let the smile slide off my face as I watched her eyes. I was a little alarmed at the rough tone of my voice when I spoke. "Then how do you feel about me making love to you. I'll do all the work." She grinned. "I don't think so," she said. I sighed and lowered my head to her shoulder again, resigning myself to the fact that I wasn't going to get to make love to her tonight. At least she was here in my arms and showed no signs of kicking me out. Her lips brushed my ear and I cringed. "Don't do that unless you mean it, Scully. No teasing." She chuckled and then I felt my heart soar at her next words, "No, I think I want to do the work. I want to be on top." I jerked my head up and looked at her. She broke out into a peel of laughter. The look on my face must have registered my surprise. She pushed on my shoulder and I rolled willingly onto my back. She straddled me and began kissing her way down my torso. I was helpless to stop my hips from bucking into her face as she took my shaft into her mouth. It felt so hot and wet. Her talented little tongue was laving the underside of my shaft as she pulled back and took me in over and over. Her hand grabbed the end of my shaft and she retreated to the top, sucking hard on my head and swirling her tongue over it. I groaned and felt a surge of tightening in my balls. I pushed gently on her shoulder and she let go, looking up at me. I moaned again just from the sight of her there between my legs, my throbbing shaft still in her tiny hand, her wet, shining red lips hovering over my cock. She grinned. "Scully, no more, not unless you want to end the evening that way." She smiled and slid up my torso, straddling my hips. She raised up on her knees and took me in hand, placing me at her entrance. She rubbed back and forth, teasing me with the warmth and wetness I knew was waiting for me. I whispered, "Scully, I still can't believe this - you and me." She said one word, "Watch." We both did watch as she lowered herself slowly down my shaft. I grasped her hips to steady her so she could let go of me and balance her palms on my shoulders. We both moaned when I was embedded. She grunted. "So deep ... this way." I nodded and waited for her to set the pace. Just when I thought I couldn't stand it anymore. She lifted herself almost completely off and sunk back down harshly and quickly. My hips thrust off the bed to meet her and she shouted, "Awww." She stopped again and I said, "Scully? Did I hurt you?" "No! Yes, I mean, a little." I held as still as I could. She opened her eyes and said, "But it was a good hurt." I couldn't help the chuckle that came out of me as relief washed through me. I'd never forgive myself if I hurt her. I had to remember how small she was. The tightness of her core walls hugging my shaft should be a good enough reminder, but like most men, I could get lost in the moment very easily. I reached up to toy with her breasts and delighted in the mewling sounds of pleasure she made as I squeezed her breasts and pinched her nipples. She began to rise and fall at a more leisurely pace and we were both soon breathing heavily. It was heavenly. That was the only way to describe it. She was so snug and I loved the feeling of actually pushing inside her. Unlike with other women I'd been with, she was tiny and it felt different. I felt like I was 'pushing' my way inside. I could feel the resistance of her muscles with every stroke and the sensations were exquisite. I was surprised at a gush of warmth and a quiver around my shaft as though a hundred tiny muscles were squeezing me tight. Ripples of pleasure washed through me as she began to lift herself quickly and impale herself harshly on my cock. I was afraid of hurting her, but she was controlling this show, and I supposed she would stop if it hurt. She looked beautiful and I decided I should tell her. Her comment about my lack of romance had hit home. I was going to have do something about that soon. "Oh Scully, you feel so good, so tight. Oh god, you're hot inside. You're so beautiful, Scully." Her head was thrown back, her eyes closed, her chest flushed pink. A fine sheen of sweat had broken out on both our chests. She hummed in the back of her throat and picked up her pace. "Oh, oh, oh," was the only sound she made each time she landed. "Look at me, Scully." Her eyes snapped open and locked with mine. She began moaning and grinding her pubic bone into mine at the bottom of every stroke. I reached between us to try and do that for her. After a couple of misguided swipes, I found her engorged, slick bud and pressed it firmly against my shaft, rubbing back and forth as she began to rock wildly on me, keeping me fully embedded. "Yes, Yes, Mulder! Right there!" I pressed harder and she broke. "Oh God, Mulder, yes! Oh Jesus!" Her walls contracted around me in a series of rippling grips and I couldn't hold back anymore. I began thrusting up into her and holding her waist firmly. I followed behind her feeling my balls clench and ache with every ejaculation. I shouted something like her name and deflated into a boneless heap as I felt her land on my chest. She hummed contentedly. Her words were slurred but she said, "Sooo good, ... love ..." She was out cold. I would have been quite proud of myself if I hadn't known how exhausted she was before we began this little adventure. I squirmed to get comfortable, wrapping my arms around her waist and tucking her head under my chin. I reached and pulled the covers over us that had been kicked to the side in all the excitement. I sighed. Scully blanket. Warm, sweaty, Scully blanket. Yup. I could get used to this. PART 6 (NC-17) MARGUERITE WILSON'S HOUSE MAPLE STREET LITCHFIELD, CT 9:00 AM - MARCH 8 - THURSDAY Morning came early and the hunt was back on. Scully and I decided we could make ourselves useful in other ways. We decided to pay another visit to Marguerite and her dad. It was decided that she would talk to the old man, and I would talk to Marguerite again. XXXXXXXXXX "Mr. Wilson, do you have any idea who might have done this?" I asked. He shook his head, looking at the floor, his bottom lip protruded slightly with the slack wobble of the elderly. He always looked like he was on the verge of drooling, but it never quite got that far. He scrunched his brow and I gave him a minute to collect himself. Finally he said softly, "I don't know why anyone would want to hurt Headley. He was a nice boy, and a talented one too. He could handle those horses like it was nobody's business. Best vet around." "I was told you were the best vet around." That earned me a raised head and a smile. "Used to be, but Headley was better." "Did you approve of his relationship with Marguerite?" He scowled. "I had my doubts at first. My Margie isn't the worldliest woman, you know? But I liked Headley. I did warn her about him, not to be blinded by his attention. I was worried that their relationship would interfere with their working one, you know? But I was coming around. They seemed to be handling it all right." "What about Olson Parks?" "What about him?" "Did you know him?" "Yeah, slightly. He came around on a few trail rides. He was sweet on Margie but she said there was no spark there. I think they remained friendly. We let him jog on the bridal paths when we weren't open for business." He chuckled, sounding ironic, "We all thought the bridal paths were a SAFE place to run! Streets are dangerous, even out here in the country. This way, he could run and not worry about traffic. Safe! What a joke that turned out to be huh?" "Did either of those men have any friends that hung around?" "Not really, not that I recall." "Did either of them mention to you any disagreements with family members?" "No." We were getting nowhere fast. I took a deep breath and schooled my voice to calm. "Mr. Headley, I'm looking for clues here. Anything you can tell us might be helpful." He looked away, looking I thought, rather guilty. What was he hiding? "Mr. Wilson?" "Agent Scully, I'm going to tell you something. I hesitate because it's just a gut feeling, you know? I have no proof, not even a vague reason for feeling this way, but ..." "But?" "That young Officer, something's not right about him." "Officer Severn?" "Yeah, that's the one. When he first came around, he introduced himself as Clancy. He's never asked Marguerite out, but I've caught him staring at her quite a few times. He was friendly with Headley and with Parks. They would all hang out and drink beer after the work was done sometimes." "So what's not right about him?" "Well, one day this gal pulled into the stable in a little Geo Metro. One of those little fiberglass death traps. You know the ones?" I nodded. Just then Mulder and Marguerite joined us. He looked up. I glanced at Mulder. "You should probably hear this Mulder." He nodded and they took seats on the sofa. I was sitting on an ottoman, the old man was in his easy chair. "Well, this gal jumped out the car and shouted to the officer who was just then following me out to see who it was. We had been in the barn." He paused and closed his eyes as if trying to remember. "She was a little blonde thing. She had a smirk on her face. I could tell that the officer recognized her immediately. He wasn't in uniform. He'd just finished riding. He trotted to her, waving me back as if to say he'd handle it." "I didn't think much of it, but when I turned to go back in the barn, I heard her say, "Well, Claude, of all the places to find you. This isn't at all what I expected." Mulder asked, "She called him Claude?" "Yeah, so I made myself look busy raking up some extra hay so I could try and listen. Could have just been a nick name." "But then he said, 'shut up you stupid bitch. How did you find me anyway?'" "She told him to get in the car and then I couldn't hear anymore, so I went inside." Marguerite said, "I think you're overactive imagination is running away with you." I cleared my throat. Mulder was raising his eyebrows at me. I addressed Marguerite. "Maybe not. Officer Severn is missing as you know." "Yes, but I thought we were assuming he was snatched, afraid he would turn up another victim. I've been worried sick." Mulder spoke up. "He was with us when he disappeared. He never called out for help. He never made a sound, just vanished while our backs were turned. We also found some inconsistencies in his story. He told me he didn't know the victims. Marguerite, you told me Headley and he were friends." Her mouth dropped open. "He said he didn't know him?" "At first, then he told us those people brought their mare here because he was the best vet in the county. It didn't add up. He also told us that mare was worth a lot of money as if Headley would have been killed over it. But then he contradicted his own theory by saying that if someone was casing the place, it would have been a hell of a lot easier to snatch the mare when no one was there, after Headley left at night." I looked at Mulder. "So you're fairly certain that the killer was after Headley and not the mare." "Yes, because Olson Parks was the first victim and he wasn't even at the stable per se, but out in the woods on that path, and the mare wasn't taken or harmed then." We all sat in silence for a few moments. I could almost hear the gears turning in Mulder's head. Mr. Wilson must have picked it up too, which was unusual. To most people, that was his blank face. "What is it, Agent Mulder?" he asked. Mulder sighed heavily. "I hesitate to say anything before I know more. I want to call D.C. and do a check on Clancy boy, see if he's known or has an alias. Scully, can you go the police department and see if they'll let you peek at his personnel file?" "I can try although we might need a warrant." "I doubt it. You can sweet talk them." I made an unladylike snort and Marguerite smiled. She said, "Well, he's missing, so you would have a legitimate reason to investigate him, he is a missing person. And I would think the cops would want to do everything they could to find one of their own." "Good point," I conceded. "Well, it looks like we're done here. Mulder?" "Just one more question ... for both of you. It's out of left field, but neither of you have any known enemies, do you?" Mr. Wilson looked at Marguerite and their eyes locked. Marguerite swallowed heavily and then said, "Not really." Mulder looked at her. "People's lives could be at stake, you need to tell us anything you might think is significant." "Well, about a month ago, I started receiving crank calls." "Crank calls?" "Yeah, you know, guy breathing heavy, his voice all garbled, asking me if I wanted to fuck." Mr. Wilson winced at her use of the F word. "Sorry, Dad." "S'Okay. If I answer, he hangs up," he added. I asked, "How frequently?" "About twice a week, this last week it was three times." I looked at Mulder. Marguerite continued. "Sometimes he asks me if I'm naked, or what I'm wearing, all the usual juvenile shit. His voice is a little high pitched. I figured it was some kid out for jollies, calling the old maid, you know?" "Maybe, maybe not," I replied. Mulder addressed them both. "Look, we should have some lab results this afternoon on the instruments we took and then be able to return them to you, unless there was something on one of them. I want you two to stick together until this is over, travel together, lock the doors at night." They both nodded. "Let's go, Scully." XXXXXXXXXX LITCHFIELD INN LITCHFIELD, CT 3:30 PM - MARCH 9 - THURSDAY I hung up the phone and turned to Mulder. "Well, that's interesting." "What?" He looked up from the files in his lap. His glasses were perched on the end of his nose. His sleeves were rolled up and his shirt was half untucked. He'd slipped his shoes off and one leg was hitched up onto the bed. That stray lock of hair was falling across his forehead. He looked adorable. "Scully?" I shook my head. "Uh right." He chuckled and I blushed. "What were you looking at Scully?" he teased. "I was looking at you Agent Mulder." "Ah, were you now? See anything you like?" "Yes, I did." "And what would that be?" I just looked at him for a moment. He waited patiently, smiling. He was relaxed and it was nice to see. "God, you're sexy with those glasses on." He snorted out a bark of laughter and then grinned. "I did not know this little factoid. I'll have to wear them more often." "Please do." "Now, back to the matter at hand. What's the skinny?" "Well, once again, your instincts served you well. The police station file showed that Clancy transferred her from Pittsburgh. So I called the precinct where he used to work and asked them to fax over his records and a picture. Sergeant Weiss is sending it to my e-mail now. Says he left without notice, just called in one day and said he was moving and was sorry for the short notice." "Interesting." "It gets better." "How so?" "He has a brother named Claude, whom he had down as the beneficiary of his life insurance policy." "Oh, that is interesting." I sat down and booted up my lap top as I was talking. "Not only a brother, a twin brother." "Twin brother?" "Yup, not identical, but close." "My, my, you have been a busy girl, haven't you?" "Yes. So what did you find out? Or since Marguerite gave you a ride back here, were you just spending the day flirting?" He grinned. "I bought her lunch on the way back. It was nice of her to take me so you could have the car." "Yeah, she's a real sweetheart." "Do I detect a note of jealousy in your voice, Agent Scully?" I looked at him and smiled. "Who, me?" He just chuckled again and went back to looking at his files. But then he started filling me in. Seems Clancy hadn't come up on the FBI database, but Claude had. Although the twin thing had been overlooked, Claude had a record. It included breach of peace, aggravated assault, possession of a deadly weapon, third degree larceny, suspicion of arson, risk of injury to a minor, breaking and entering, ... and the beat goes on. I was whistling by the end of his dissertation. He went on to tell me that he'd served several short stints in jail in New York State and Pennsylvania, but never any lengthy hard time. Must have had a good lawyer. Brother Clancy was a cop with an exemplary record, commendations and the whole nine. I had found out that he was well liked and respected. I suddenly had a thought, like the proverbial light bulb going off. "Oh my God!" "What?" Mulder asked. "School records!" "School records? When you start making sense, Scully, I'll let you know," he deadpanned. I raised an eyebrow. "When he gave me the ride, remember? He said that he had a brother with a genius I.Q., who flaunted it and always made him feel inadequate." I saw the moment Mulder made the connection. "You're right, Scully. I'll bet we are looking for Claude, not Clancy. And I'll bet Clancy was the smart one, the cop. And I'd be willing to bet that the real Clancy is pushing up daisies." "Let's not jump to conclusions." "You're right. Get on the horn to Pittsburgh Police and have them dig up a parents address, and any school information. See if they have any missing person reports for a week prior or following Clancy's departure from the force there. See if Clancy had a girlfriend. Maybe we can visit the parents and find out if either of them had a girlfriend." Silence fell as he stared at me. "Anything else, Massa?" I asked. He blew air out of his pursed lips. "Sorry, Scully, I didn't mean to make that sound like a command." "I know, but you need to work on that. I know I'm the junior Agent here, but ..." "I'm sorry, Scully. Would you do those things? Please?" he asked quietly. He looked so chagrined. I pressed my lips together to suppress my amusement. "Yes, I will. But I'm your girlfriend now, Mulder, and there's some shit I won't put up with anymore." He looked blank for a second and then he smiled. "Girlfriend?" I chuckled. "Sounds lame, huh?" "No, it sounds divine." I held his gaze for a moment, stood up and walked over to place a light kiss on his lips. He was still smiling. "I love you, Scully." I beamed. God it felt good to hear that. And it felt good to hear it when we weren't in the throws of passion. Somehow it meant even more now. I hugged him and stood up briskly, knowing if I relaxed into his embrace, I wouldn't move for the rest of the afternoon. He looked disappointed, and I hid my grin as I headed for the bathroom. I thought I heard him mumble, "Girlfriend," under his breath. I emerged several minutes later after answering the call of nature and Mulder was standing in front of my lap top. He shouted, "Bingo!" "What?" I hurried over and sat down in front of him in the chair he was standing behind. There on the screen was a picture of Clancy Severn. The resemblance was remarkable, but there were differences. Mulder pointed out the first one, "I think Clancy had his nose broken at some point." Our Officer Severn did not have the lump in the cartilage that this man had in the middle of his nose. I pointed to the screen, to the eye on the left. A moon shaped scar about an inch long, wound from the end of his eyebrow around the eye socket. It was small, but I was sure our guy didn't have that scar. I would have noticed. Mulder nodded. We need to get this over the barracks right away and let these people know that we are dealing with Claude. If this is Clancy, our guy is surely the brother, and he's taken on his identity. God knows why. But with his rap sheet, we're not dealing with a punk here. This guy is dangerous. And he has a service weapon on him." "Mulder, did that rap sheet say what the deadly weapon was that he was arrested for?" Mulder strode over to the bed and yanked up the sheet from the sea of paper spread out there. He turned slowly and looked at me. "A knife." XXXXXXXXXX WATER STREET APARTMENT TORRINGTON, CT OFFICER SEVERN'S APARTMENT 6:00 PM - MARCH 8 - THURSDAY After calling the barracks and e-mailing everything we had over to them, we ran out to a restaurant on the green in Litchfield called the West Side Grill. We ate a quick dinner and headed out to Torrington, the next town over to check out the Officer's apartment. The land lord was pathetically easy to get around when we flashed our badges. He figured we were friends of the nice "cop" that rented from him. I didn't imagine they saw too many feds around here. Scully headed right to the bedroom while I made a tour of the small kitchen and the bathroom. I was still in the bathroom when I heard her call me. "Mulder, come here." I rounded the corner of the bedroom door and looked at the bed where she was pointing. There was a black attaché case opened. It was filled with a piece of gray foam from which neat slices had been removed. In each spot was some sort of cutting device. Scalpels of several sizes, all the way up to a 6 inch hunting knife. "Where?" "Under the bed." I nodded and we headed for the closet. I yanked open the door. Rows of clothes hung neatly on the hangers, shoes arranged methodically in rows on the floor. The place was spotless. No pictures adorned the walls though and there were no nick knacks. Scully peered around my arm into the closet. I said, "Obsessive Compulsive much?" She chuckled. "My closet looks the same way, Mulder." "My point exactly." She slapped me with the flat of her hand on my stomach. I gasped in mock pain. She shook her head and walked away. Further searching turned up a draw full of unpaid bills and gambling markers. Seems Officer Severn was in hock to the bookies up to his ears. Enough motive to kill? Enough motive to steal a million dollar mare? We bagged up our discoveries and headed back into town. It was late but we decided to get into some warm clothes and go on a little Officer hunt. Bunches of police crashing through the woods and calling out for their fellow officer was not going to flush out this bird. Now they knew that he wasn't who he appeared to be, but they had already given him plenty of warning of their advance the day before. I didn't think he would be in the woods at this point. Lt. Socks had found the name of a horse auction place in New York State called Luther's. We called and found out that a man fitting his description had shown up there several days ago in the morning and put a pregnant mare on the block. She had sold for $600,000 to a Mr. And Mrs. Cannes of New York City, who kept a summer home in Brewster, New York. More leads to follow. I didn't want to leave the area just yet, so I asked the police to go gather up what they could from Luther's and the new owners of the mare. The mare was evidence and was hot, so to speak so we would be able to confiscate her. Maybe the Cannes and the owners could work out a deal. The horse wasn't my problem. A fugitive with $600,000 was my problem. We put out an APB on Claude Severn a/k/a Clancy Severn. In the meantime, the Pittsburgh police called with the names of the parents, Betty and Clancy, Sr. XXXXXXXXXX LITCHFIELD INN LITCHFIELD, CT 7:30 PM - MARCH 8 - THURSDAY I decided to let Scully make that call as we both know she was the more tactful of the two of us. She made small talk with them, which drove me nuts, but that's why I let her do it. She knew how to handle people like this and get information without pissing them off or insulting their offspring. She managed to find out that Clancy did have a girlfriend named Sandra Benson. It was obvious that the parents did not approve of her and thought she was just using Clancy. Said that she thought it was glamorous to date a cop. Betty indicated that she didn't think Sandra was too bright and couldn't figure out what Clancy had seen in her. She said Clancy had moved to San Diego. Left them a note and was gone about a year ago. They received letters periodically. Of Claude, they knew nothing and good riddance. The father pretty much said they were the classic case of good and evil twins. They had problems with Claude since he was boy and he just escalated the trouble he got into as the years rolled by. They hadn't heard from him in over a year and although Betty wished she knew if he was all right, the father couldn't have cared less. As far as they knew, Clancy was living in San Diego and working as a cop there. Further investigation revealed that there was no cop named Severn in the San Diego police department. There was however, a woman named Sandra Benson living in a modest home in a suburb nearby there. Some tactful questions and some creative snooping by a friend of Scully's in the Burbank field office revealed that the lady lived alone. When questioned, she said Clancy had left her. She worked as a waitress and there was some speculation as to how she was supporting her home. She said she rented from a real estate agency, but the agency revealed that they had sold her the house. Ocwen Bank had given her a mortgage with Clancy Severn as the co-signer, a cop from Pittsburgh, PA. Little did they know that Claude was probably the one that signed the papers. I was betting little blondie girl who visited the stable was Sandra Benson. And I bet she was working both twins, well, only one now. A background check on her turned up a couple of arrests for possession of marijuana and one arrest for solicitation. A cop and hooker. God Bless America. Back to the folks in Pittsburgh and Scully weaseled a conversation out of an officer who was his partner. According to him, Severn wasn't dating Benson, he was trying to straighten her out and get her off the street. Seems she was the kid sister of one, Lee Benson, who was a buddy that attended the academy with Severn. Pieces were beginning to fall into place. We checked and found out Clancy had a MasterCard, Visa, Discover, and even a Diners' Club card. Records showed vigorous activity in the last year and outstanding balances in the thousands. Seems Claude knew how to spend money but wasn't so good at paying it back. Now he was on the lamb. I wondered why he had hung out after selling the horse. Why didn't he just split? Did he want to keep an eye on the investigation? Could he be sick enough to commit two murders just to cover up the theft of a horse? All these questions remained unanswered for another day as we flitted from pillar to post, and conducted interviews and made phone calls to acquaintances. The vet surgical tools turned up nothing, no prints. If he'd used them, he wiped them clean of prints. Of course, now we had a case full of cutting tools, but they didn't have his prints either. However, knowing how anal and obsessive compulsive this guy was, he probably washed and buffed them carefully before putting them to bed in their little foam home inside the case. We were tired. The APB hadn't turned anything up yet. There were millions of places a guy like this could hide. We just had to wait for him to make a move. Scully and I fell into bed that night too tired to do anything but snuggle. But I was enjoying waking up next to her, finding her little derriere pressed into my lap. I was sleeping better and I knew it was because I didn't have to spend half my night worrying about whether she was all right or suffering from separation anxiety. Yes, I knew what my problem was! I understood obsession well. I was obsessed with Scully. But I hoped my obsession never turned to something sick and dangerous like this guy. I still didn't know how Marguerite figured into this, but there had to be a connection. Maybe I was barking up the wrong tree though. The fact that she dated both victims could be a coincidence. They could have been targets because of some other link to the stable besides her. I liked her. I didn't want to believe that she was involved. I finally shut my brain down and drifted off to sleep. XXXXXXXXXX LITCHFIELD INN LITCHFIELD, CT 6:00 AM - MARCH 9 - FRIDAY I woke up feeling extremely warm and cozy. I hummed and stretched my low back a bit from its stagnant position and immediately encountered the hard evidence of Mulder's morning woody. Hmmm. What to do? What to do? We were on the fifth day of this case, and we hadn't had the energy or the time to get it on in the last two. I realized that Mulder was probably going to be like a drug. Once you'd had him, you were going to need a daily fix. And I was going to jones when I didn't get it. He was still asleep but pulled me tighter against his chest in response to my squirming. I carefully slipped my panties off and kicked them to the foot of the bed under the covers. I reached back and ran my hands under the elastic waist of his boxer briefs. He sighed in his sleep and his grip loosened. I carefully eased onto my back and watched him sleep for a while. He was so boyish looking in sleep. The worry lines were gone from his forehead. I could see crow's feet around his eyes that weren't there seven years ago. I brushed hair off his forehead and he smacked his chops, bringing a soft smile to my face. Holy shit, I was so in love with this man. I moved away slightly and took my tee shirt off, tossing it over the side of the bed. I rolled back to face him and saw his eyes were open half way. He was watching me lazily from under his hooded eyelids, still heavy with sleep. The corners of his mouth turned up but he said nothing. He stared at me until I was slightly uncomfortable. "What?" I asked quietly. "You're so beautiful. I love waking up and finding you here." "I could get used to it myself," I replied. He smiled wider. "I especially like waking up and finding you here, NEKKED." I grinned now and scooted over to him, reaching for his boxers. He stopped me with a hand on my wrist and pulled them off himself. He wasn't fully erect but he was getting there. He coaxed me onto my stomach and straddled my legs slowly. He let his weight come down gently, supporting himself on his elbows. I felt his penis slip into the well between my butt cheeks and moaned softly. He hissed a little and I felt him harden against me. I loved that feeling. He whispered, "Oh, you feel so good, Scully. I'll never get enough of touching your skin." With that, he began kissing my neck and pressing his erection against me. One hand stole underneath, palm up and grasped my breast. I moaned as he began kneading it and felt my juncture grow moist. When he grabbed the nipple and pinched lightly with his fingers, I felt my nether lips grow swollen and tingle. I moaned again. He lowered his lips to my ear. "I love hearing your sounds and knowing I caused them." "Payback's going to be a bitch." I could feel his smile against my ear. "I'll look forward to it." He slid his arm down under my waist, and lifted just a bit, tilting my hips up. He teased my entrance with the tip of his cock. "Mmmm, you're really wet, Scully." I grunted as an answer. The arm under me moved and his hand slid down to tweak my clit. I bucked up a little and the head of his cock slipped inside. "Oh!" was all he said, but he didn't pull away. He repositioned himself more squarely, pulling his arm out. He pulled his knees up on the bed some and then pushed inside. We both groaned, still sleepy and fuzzy. He stroked into me slowly. His hips began to swivel a little and I raised up onto my elbows. He said, "Touch your breasts, Scully." I flushed. Touch myself, in front of him? "Mulder, I ..." "Shhh, just touch your breasts. Please." He sped up his strokes slightly and parked his chin on my shoulder. "Let me see." I knew my head must be the color of a tomato, but I brought one hand to my breast and squeezed it. His breath brushed my cheek as he said, "Ahhh, yeah." Encouraged, I grasped my nipple with my thumb and forefinger and began rolling it, pinching hard and feeling warmth wash through my torso. He gasped and whispered, "Oh God, Scully. You're pinching so hard. I'd be afraid to pinch that hard." I groaned and began pulling my nipple out as I twisted it. The more excited I got, the more numb my breasts were and I needed the added pressure to get stimulation. He groaned so low in the back of his throat that it gave me shivers. "Oh Scully, oh that turns me on. Keep touching yourself." His strokes sped up and became shorter. He kept his chin on my shoulder and his I knew his eyes were on my fingers as they abused my breast. He began grunting with every impact. Without warning, he put his mouth on my shoulder and bit down softly. It send me over the edge and I shuddered through the tremors originating in my womb and flowing out like a ripple in a pond. I felt my walls grasping him in a sort of slow motion flutter of release. "Mulder! Oh yeah, oh yeyeyesss!" He grunted and let go. "Scully! Oh Jesus, Ahh Christ, oh yeah!" He collapsed on top of me, panting on my shoulder. I mumbled, "We need to take a shower." "Mmm. Party pooper," he mumbled. I chuckled. "We can't stay here all day," I stated obviously. "You sure?" PART 7 (R) LITCHFIELD STATE POLICE BARRACKS TROOP L LITCHFIELD, CT 9:00 AM - MARCH 9 - FRIDAY We called the credit card agencies and asked to be notified of any use of the cards. A check of the airports, bus and train stations turned up nothing. Severn's cruiser was left at the stable the day he disappeared. Where ever he went to, it wasn't back to his car. Lt. Socks had taken it back tot he barracks. I nearly smacked my head in disgust when I realized that we hadn't even checked the cruiser. We went through the glove box and the trunk and found nothing. I noticed that the carpet was glued down on the edge and thought that was strange. There was supposed to be a tire in here. I was in the process of prying the edge up with my pocket knife. Scully was standing at my elbow scolding me. "Mulder, you are defacing State property. There is no reason to tear the car up. We've found nothing to indicate a further search ... " Her words cut off suddenly as I finally worked the corner free and ripped the carpet back. I looked at her, unable to hid my gloating smirk. There, where the spare tire should be were stacks of neatly arranged bundles of bills. "Wwhheeww," I whistled. "What do you think, Scully? I guess $600,000? You?" She sighed heavily. "Scully?" I asked again when I got no response. She gave me a dirty look, her lips pursed. "Sometimes, I hate it when you're right," she mumbled and turned to reenter the building. I laughed out loud now. I couldn't help it. Exasperated Scully was a cute Scully. However, I didn't think now was the time to point that out. We moved the cruiser to a remote section of the parking lot around in back of the building. Severn was going to want his cash eventually and come for it. Scully and I decided to come back after dark and stake it out. My cell phone rang and I answered it as we were heading to our car. "Mulder." [Agent Mulder, this Marguerite Wilson.] "Hello. What can I do for you?" [I just got another call.] "Another call?" [Crank call.] "Oh, tell me about it." I slid into the driver's seat and Scully piled in beside me, watching me with a quizzical expression on her face. [He sort of threatened me this time.] "Sort of threatened? What do you mean? What did he say?" She hesitated. "Would you feel more comfortable talking to my partner about this?" [Umm, yeah, I think so.] "O.K., hold on a sec." I covered the mouth piece. "It's Marguerite. She got another crank call. He threatened her. She'd rather tell you." I handed the phone to Scully. Her voice was instantly soothing and I felt a wave of affection for her. Scully was such a good woman, in every way. "Hi Marguerite. This is Dana Scully. Are you O.K.?" I should have asked her that first. But no, not me. I had blurted out questions. No wonder I made her uncomfortable. I really had to work on my people skills! Now I couldn't hear the other end of the conversation. But I saw Scully's mouth drop open. "Anything else?" she asked. Her face grew strained and then angry as her eyes squinted and her lips drew into a thin line. "O.K. Look, I'm going to send an officer over there to hang out at the house tonight, O.K.?" I could hear Marguerite's voice raised, but couldn't understand what she was saying. She was obviously upset though, probably getting a bit hysterical. I wasn't good with hysterical woman. That's one of the things I loved about Scully. She got upset, but I couldn't ever remember her being hysterical. "O.K. Try to clam down. Take a couple of deep breaths. Is your father there?" Pause. "Well, make sure he stays with you. If there are no female officers here, I'll come myself." Pause. "O.K., try not to worry. I know it's scary, but we'll look after you." Pause. "We don't know that yet. O.K., I'll be in touch." She hung up and pinched the bridge of her nose with one hand as she handed the phone back to me with the other. "Scully?" I asked softly. "Mulder, I feel so sorry for her. She is so frightened now." "What did the caller say?" "She said it started out like a usual call and she was about to hang up on him when he said that they were going to meet soon and she should be ready for him. And she should wear her green teddy to bed every night until he came for her." "Jesus." Now I was getting the picture. There were times when I was really glad I was a man. "That freaked her out. She claims that Headley was the only one that knew her nightly wardrobe. Not even her father knows what she wears to bed. She wears teddy camisoles." "What did she say to him? Anything?" I asked. "She asked how he knew she owned a green teddy and he just laughed at her. Then she said she panicked and said her father was there with her. He apparently laughed and said that her father would be easy to get rid of when the time came for them to have some time alone." "Oh Christ." Scully sighed again. "So now she fears her father will be hurt and this guy is coming to rape her or kill her. Her imagination's gone wild. She's sure it's the killer. Of course, our killer has only gone after men so far as we know." "So far as we know," I repeated. "Does she know we have nailed Severn as our main suspect?" "I don't know. I don't think so. She knows he's missing but doesn't want to believe it's him." "So now what, Scully?" "I have to go back inside and see if there's a female officer on the troop here. She doesn't want any strange men in the house, even if they are a cop and I can't blame her." She paused. "God, I'm tired." "Go ahead inside. I'll run down the street to that diner and get us some coffee, O.K.?" "Yeah, that sounds good." Another pause. "This case really sucks, Mulder!" "Yeah, it does." By the time I got back with the coffee she was waiting by the car talking to a tall blonde woman in uniform. They were laughing. I paused in my advance a moment to watch her. She was so beautiful, especially when she laughed. She turned and saw me, waving me over. I handed her the coffee and stuck out my hand to the female officer. "Fox Mulder." "Lisa Irving. Nice to meet you." "Likewise. Will you be going to the Wilson place?" "That's what your partner tells me. Boy, this is a strange one, huh?" Scully interjected. "Yeah, the problem is that this crank call stuff may not even be related." I looked at her. "You don't believe that, do you?" She sighed. "No, I think it is related but I don't necessarily want Marguerite to know that. She's worked up enough." Lisa responded, "Don't worry. I'll take care of her. Maybe I'll pose as her in the bedroom ad have her sleep with her father." "Kinky," I mumbled. Lisa grinned. Scully scowled. "Oops," I blurted out. "Bad joke." Then Scully laughed too. "Mulder, you're a sick man," she quipped. I grinned and motioned toward the car. "Let's go get some lunch." "You're on," she responded. She turned to Lisa. "I'll catch you later. You have our cell phone numbers, right?" Lisa patted her breast pocket and waved as she headed back into the station. XXXXXXXXXX MARGUERITE WILSON'S HOUSE MAPLE STREET LITCHFIELD, CT 11:00 PM - MARCH 9 - FRIDAY The room was pitch black. She felt exposed wearing nothing but a camisole and her panties. She pulled the covers up to her neck and reached under the pillow next to her and fondled the grip of her service revolver. It comforted her quite a bit. Her ears picked up every sound in the dark room. Crickets sang outside the window. Floor boards creaked as they settled in the old house. Silence for the last two hours and it was starting to drive her crazy. She wondered if this wasn't a big waste of time. If this was some kids fooling around, she was going to be pissed. Then again, if it wasn't, she wondered what the hell she was doing here. She'd never done anything like this before. She had no back up. Her cell phone lay under the pillow with her gun. She had programmed the Agent's number into the speed dial. A sudden loud creak in the floor boards broke her out of her thoughts. She went rigid and alert, her ears straining but heard nothing but silence again. After what seemed like an eternity, she let out the breath she was holding and relaxed back into the mattress. No sooner had she closed her eyes when she heard a blood curdling scream. Even months later, the details would be fuzzy. She rolled out of the bed, nearly falling as her toe caught on the bed spread. She would never remember grabbing both her gun and the cell phone, one in each hand as she rolled out of the bed. She found herself down the hallway not knowing how she got there. But she would remember arriving at the door to Lee Wilson's room and shouldering her way through it, suddenly realizing her hands were full. An odd second of stillness descended for several seconds where everyone was frozen. Mr. Wilson lay on the wood floor of his room, blood trickling from a blow to the temple. Marguerite Wilson was flat on her back, diagonally across the mattress, her hands grasping desperately at the arm that was laid across her throat. A man wearing a black ski mask was straddling her, his pants unzipped and his equipment hanging out. She didn't see the gun laying on the bed on the far side of Marguerite until the man grabbed it and swung his arm around to fire at her. She gave no thought to what she looked like, standing there in nothing but a camisole and panties, bare-legged and crouching in a firing stance. She didn't remember hitting the speed dial or dropping the phone to the floor but she must have. As the man's gun barrel came to bear on her chest she fired her own weapon at his shoulder and dove towards the foot of the bed. She did a perfect summersault and came up on her feet again. Her gun aimed at the body which had now toppled to the side and was reaching desperately for his fallen weapon. Marguerite Wilson let out another scream and scrambled off the bed to kneel next to her father, gathering his head into her lap. As Marguerite slithered off the bed, the man's weapon, identical to her own, fell to the floor and discharged. She jerked at the sound and heard the mirror to her left shatter. Then all was still but for the sound of heavy breathing from herself and the man laying on the bed, clutching his shoulder. A little late, Lisa remembered protocol. "Police, don't move, stay right where you are." The man made no attempt to move. She looked at Marguerite. "Marguerite, I need you to go to your room and get the handcuffs off the bedside table." Marguerite nodded furiously and pushed herself to her feet. She was shaky but bolted out of the room. Lisa kept her gun trained on the man, alert for any sign of movement. She was suddenly self-conscious about her lack of clothing but tried very hard to ignore it. Marguerite reappeared with the handcuffs and a pair of sweat pants. Lisa took the handcuffs and indicated with the barrel of her revolver that he should roll over. "Hands behind your back." He did and she quickly slid the cuff onto one arm. As she was reaching for the other arm, the injured one, the man swung his arm up, cuffing her in the chin with the hard metal cuff. She heard a crack and tears filled her eyes as pain exploded through her jaw. She screamed in pain and anger through clenched teeth, dropped her weapon and yanked his arms down, finally cuffing them together. He grunted in pain and she slid off the bed, taking her gun with her. She quickly stepped into the sweat pants. Just then she could hear a voice from across the room, [Officer Irving!] She realized it was coming from the phone on the floor. She picked it up and placed it to her ear. "Irving," she said in a shaky voice. Her hands were shaking and her heat beat hard against her rib cage. She took a deep breath trying to get control. [Officer Irving, this is Agent Scully. Are you all right?. We heard shots.] "I'm all right, but I'm going to have a shiner on my jaw. Send an ambulance would you - two of them actually. Lee Wilson is out cold from a blow to the head." [Who's the second one for?] "The perp. He's cuffed but I shot his shoulder out." [Is Marguerite all right?] "Yeah, she's shaken but not stirred. She'll be all right. She'll probably go to the hospital with her father." [We're on our way. Who's the perp?] "Hold on a sec," Lisa replied. She strode to the bed, taking a moment to realize how stupid it was that she hadn't removed his mask. She grabbed his mask roughly, yanking his hair in the process and he yelped as she pulled it free, his head flopping onto the bed into the pool of blood that was forming under him from his shoulder. Marguerite gasped. "Oh God, No! Oh Lord." Her voice was a whisper as she stared at the man on the bed. "How could you?" She collapsed next to her father on her knees. She smoothed his face with her hand and he mumbled, beginning to come around. [Lisa?] Agent Scully prompted. "It's your man, Agent Scully. It's your man." XXXXXXXXXX STATE POLICE BARRACKS TROOP L LITCHFIELD, CT 10:00 PM - MARCH 9 - FRIDAY We'd been sitting here for two hours. I'd downed three cups of coffee and was starting to feel sick. We were in an unlit portion of the back of the parking lot behind the barracks about 50 yards from Severn's cruiser. Mulder had pulled me to him and put his arm around my shoulders. I was sleepy and yawned, trying to stifle it behind my hand. "Sleep, Scully," he said softly. "No, I'm O.K." "Go ahead. I'm not tired yet. I'll wake you if I get tired." I nodded and snuggled my head into his shoulder. I felt his light chuckle. I must have dozed off because it seemed seconds later, Mulder was shaking me lightly awake. He was whispering, "Scully! Wake up. We have company!" I bolted upright and blinked rapidly, trying to focus on the car across the lot. Someone was approaching from the embankment behind the parking lot, swiveling their head from side to side. They increased their pace and crouched down as they approached the vehicle. I could see now as my eyes adjusted to the gloom that they were carrying a large canvas duffel bag. We opened the doors carefully, Mulder, hitting the switch to kill the dome light before it came on. The keys were not in the ignition, so there was no tell tale bells and whistles. We left the doors open and circled up the embankment to come down behind the cruiser. It was parked with its nose to us and we could see someone standing at the trunk. It definitely wasn't Severn. But a set of keys were produced and the trunk was popped open. The person was wearing a ski mask and looked around furtively as we hid ourselves behind the few trees lining the embankment. The sound of carpet being lifted away from tape we'd replaced the glue with was harsh in the silence of the night. We could hear the thunk of bundles of cash being grabbed up and dumped into the open duffel bag that lay on the ground at the person's feet. Mulder pointed right and indicated with hand signals that I should go left. I nodded and we crouched, drawing our weapons and quietly making our way out further and down, flanking the suspect. I was only a couple of steps from the pavement of the parking lot when I stepped on a twig and it snapped. The person whirled in my direction and I dropped into a squat, aiming my weapon. Mulder shouted, "FBI, FREEZE! HANDS IN THE AIR!" The person dropped the bundle of cash and raised their hands in the air. We approached warily, not knowing if they had a weapon. As I drew close, I could see that the person was tiny and dressed all in black. They suddenly ducked their hand into the trunk and came up with a pistol. I saw moonlight reflect off it in a flash and dropped to the ground and rolled. Two shots went off simultaneously. The body dropped to the ground on its knees and let out a shriek. A very ... feminine shriek! XXXXXXXXXX STATE POLICE BARRACKS TROOP L LITCHFIELD, CT 10:45 PM - MARCH 9 - FRIDAY Susan Benson was arrested and finger printed. A little good cop, bad cop and the story emerged. She had approached Clancy Severn at the prompting of his brother Claude. Claude hated his twin and knew that he had money in the bank and credit cards. Clancy had turned him down for a loan and he was pissed. Benson had been a part time hooker, but also Claude's sometime girlfriend. Clancy would give her money to help her get off the streets, or so he thought and she would pass it along to Claude to pay off his gambling debts. Unfortunately, Clancy followed her one night to her rendezvous with Claude and all hell broke loose. The two brothers got into a knock down, drag out fight at which point Benson had fled. The next day Claude had caught up with her on the street and told her that he had killed his brother and they had to get out of town. He had buried his brother in the woods out behind their parents house. Between the two of them and some shady friends they had faked some letters to the police department and the parents and fled to San Diego. There, Claude had assumed his brother's identity, co-signed a mortgage for the house. He did not feel comfortable in San Diego and felt he would be less visible in a small town police department. He had stolen his brother's credit cards and identifications which he had altered to show his own picture. He had come to Connecticut where he was isolated but close enough to keep an eye on his parents and make sure they didn't get too nosey. Every few months he sent her a letter from Clancy which she then forwarded to the parents. They were none the wiser, yet. It had been less than a year. Claude had stopped sending money for the mortgage payment which had prompted her to come out here and confront him several months ago. She threatened to expose him and he promised to come up with enough money to keep her settled for a while. They hatched the scheme to steal the mare and sell it for money. The problem was Claude was a sicko. Tell us something we didn't know. He had some weird sexual preferences and liked it rough, among other things. He liked to dominate women. That didn't bother her much. She knew he was after other women all the time but she didn't care. She was only dealing with him for the money. He was an easy bribe. She was the only one who knew his secret. She went on to tell us that he thought entirely too much of himself and would become enraged when a woman rejected him. He had a thing against 'society bitches' or 'goody two shoes' who thought they were too good for him. She'd learned to just give in and let him get it over with. Charming. He had called her for help when he'd had to flee from the authorities, he told her because 'they were on to him.' He wanted her to retrieve the money while he took care of a 'goody two shoes' who was two good to look at him. He had mentioned that he was going to make the guy who lorded his relationship with her over him, pay for his arrogance. She had no idea what that meant. Right. In the middle of this interrogation and confession which was being revealed in a trade for lighter charges or larceny against Ms. Benson, my cell phone rang. XXXXXXXXXX Listening to the screaming and the shots being fired over the phone was possibly more nerve racking than being in the middle of a fire fight. At least then you know what is happening. We left Ms. Benson in the care of the Troopers and raced to our car in route the Wilson residence. I was giving Mulder a blow by blow as he raced down the street, his knuckles white on the steering wheel. We arrived a the Wilson house before the ambulances and hit the front door at a dead run. I examined Marguerite and Mr. Wilson after we got over being stunned by the sight of Severn handcuffed in the middle of the bed in a pool of blood. His need to exact revenge on Marguerite for her inattention had been his downfall. If he'd gone for the cash himself or been more careful he could have slipped away with the cash a week ago and we would have been on another goose chase, following him around the country. But arrogance on his part, worked in our favor. He was conceited enough to stay around and monitor the investigation. He was arrogant enough to think that he had everything under control. He slipped up again by warning Marguerite of his impending arrival. The temptation to frighten and subdue her had been too much and he had given us the opportunity to lay in wait for him. It was a long night of bookings, interviewing, and hospitals and phone calls. Severn was arrested for the murder of Headley Stokes, Olson Parks and Clancy Severn. In addition he was slapped with breaking and entering, attempted rape, assault on an officer, grand theft of a horse, obstructing a federal investigation and a myriad of other lesser charges. But finally, everyone was tucked away where they should be, except us. Another vicious killer behind bars. Our job was done here, I thought sarcastically. We staggered back to the Inn at 4:00 M and fell into a coma sleep without even bothering with a shower. EPILOGUE LITCHFIELD INN LITCHFIELD, CT 12:00 PM - MARCH 10 - SATURDAY I slept like the dead and woke at noon to sun light streaming in the window of our room. I pulled Scully tighter to my chest and felt her butt come in contact with my straining erection. I moaned softly and felt her hair tickle my nose as I let out my breath. She stirred in my arms and I flexed my hips into the soft cushion of her derriere. She made a humming sound in the back of her throat. I was still half asleep but waking to my arousal. We had fallen in bed naked. Her skin was like silk against my dick. My hand wandered to her breast and squeezed her weight gently. I didn't want to wake her if she was still tired, but I wasn't willing to wait anymore. I was now officially addicted to sex with Scully. Her hand reached back and rubbed my flank. I knew then she was awake. I kissed the nape of her neck and then latched onto the tendon where her neck meets her shoulder. She moaned softly and I surged to fully erect. "Scully, I want you so bad." She hummed and rasped out in a morning voice, "Again?" "And again and again and again." She giggled and pulled away. I grumbled in protest, but she flipped onto her back and peered at me from under half open lids. "You are so gorgeous," I whispered. She smiled. I slid my hand from her breast down her stomach and snaked a finger between her legs. She grunted softly and opened her legs. Little moves like that made me so aroused I felt dizzy. I loved to see and hear her respond to me. It was a miracle I never intended to take for granted. I slipped a finger inside and gasped to find her moist and hot. "Scully!" "Hmm, wet already. Surprised?" "Amazed," I murmured and bent down to kiss her slowly and thoroughly. Her hand shot out and grabbed my dick and squeezed firmly. I groaned into her mouth. She began pumping me slowly, squeezing me firmly and I shuddered. She smiled against my lips, apparently enjoying my reaction. I slid two fingers inside her and spread her wetness out and up over her bundle of nerves. Her hips bucked slightly off the mattress. I wanted to try every position known to man with her, but I knew she was probably still half asleep so I asked. "Can you sit up, Scully?" She arched an eyebrow and nodded. I smiled and sat up, scooting up against the headboard and kneeling. She followed and straddled my lap. We kissed again as she ground her crotch into my throbbing erection. I grasped her hips and lifted. She perched on top of my shaft and I looked down, marveling once again at the sight of myself sliding inside her, between her narrow hips. "Awww, Scully." Her hands went to my shoulders for balance and she began pumping herself up and down my shaft slowly. I captured her nipple and sucked on the already hardened bud until she was whimpering with pleasure. I couldn't get enough of that sound. I wanted to make every time as good for her as it was for me. I knew that was impossible, but it wouldn't be for lack of trying. My finger slid down into the crack of her ass and messaged her anus. She groaned loudly and began impaling herself faster. Ooo, I'd found something else she liked. I wondered if she would ever let me in there. Just the thought of it and I expanded inside her although I would have thought it impossible to become any harder. She grunted and panted, "So hard, you're so hard." She sped up again and started grinding her pubic bone into mine at the bottom of each thrust. I held her hips tighter and began thrusting with her. Our pace increased until she was slamming herself down on me. I felt her walls fluttering around me. "Yeah, Scully, that's it, come for me. You're close, I know your close, come for me." She sucked in a sudden harsh breath of surprise as I pressed my finger inside her ass up to my second knuckle and swirled it around. She screamed my name and began convulsing tightly around my cock. I groaned loudly and held myself embedded so I could feel every last spasm around my aching flesh. "Mmuullddeerr! Ooohhhh! Gooodddd! Ahhh, Jesus, Mulder!" She was still quivering with aftershocks when I couldn't hold it anymore and I shouted, pulling my finger out of her and squeezing her hips tightly. I emptied into her feeling hot cum surge through my cock and race into her quivering tunnel. She fell limp against my chest and we sat there still joined for some time, catching our breath. My hands soothed up and down her back until she lifted her head from my shoulder and looked at me. She was wearing the lazy smile of a sated woman and I smiled in response. "Mulder, you're going to kill me," she murmured. "I hope not, baby, because I'm not even near done with you!" She chuckled. "Baby?" I shrugged sheepishly. She smiled again, all teeth. "Only in bed or I may have to get rough with you." "Oh yeah, get rough with me! Please!" I begged. She swatted me playfully and I moved down to lay flat on the bed. She went to roll off me and I held her there, my arms around her waist. Her head was tucked under my chin and I mumbled into her hair. "I can't wait to get back to D.C." "How come? You never want to go home." "That was before." "Before what?" "Before US." "Oh." "I want to make love you to in your bed, on my couch, your kitchen table ... " "My kitchen table!" I chuckled. "I want to christen every piece of furniture in your apartment and mine!" "Oh, I am in so much trouble. I've created a monster." "Just a horny monster." "Uugg!" "Think you can keep up, Scully? I wouldn't want to tire you out." "Is that a challenge Agent Mulder?" "I do believe it is, Agent Scully." "I accept your challenge. I can keep up with you any day." "Ahh, be careful little girl, you've haven't even begun to scratch the surface of my sexual prowess." "Think quite a lot of yourself, don't you?" I laughed. "You inspire me." "Is that so?" "Just so my lady." She giggled. "Oh and Mulder?" "Mmm?" "If you call me 'little girl' ever again, you can forget getting any for at least a week!" "Ouch! I'll definitely remember that!" We lay in silence for a while just enjoying the intimacy of laying with each other, our naked bodies pressed together. I squeezed her tight and she squeezed me back. I whispered to her, feeling overcome that we had come so far in a week. I still wasn't sure something wasn't going to end it all abruptly. "I love you, Scully." "I love you too, Mulder." She paused. "Let's shower and get out of here. We have a lot of work to do this weekend." "This case is over, Scully! We can finish the reports on Monday!" She laughed. "No silly. I mean we have lots of furniture to christen and the sooner we get to it, the better!" I laughed with her. "You're a wicked, wanton woman, Scully." "And you wouldn't want me any other way." "You're right about that. Don't ever change. I love you just the way your are." THE END. FOR OTHER STORIES BY ME, GO TO: http://www.angelfire.com/ak3/kimpa/dlfanfic.html