Part One;

The Unthinkable

Teddy sat at his desk alone. His coffee cup sat empty, the file before him was now worn and stained from multiple all-nighters.

“Why are you so difficult?” he quipped at the folder. He studied a picture of the most recent victim, her mangled hair clung to her fear-frozen face. He recalled a witness report describing the unsub; Ebony hair, and indigo eyes. He shuffled through numerous blurry photographs from security tapes of this alleged man with the ebony hair.

“Why is this all so familiar, but so distant” Then a thought slid through his mind.

“No, haha” he shook his head smiling.

“Definitely not” He chuckled at the thought, running a hand over his close shaven beard. Andras wouldn’t kill anyone… would he?

Prudence then entered the room with a pot of fresh coffee, the smell of it wafting through the room.

“Want me to top you off?” she asked knowingly.

“Yes ma’am” he replied, his smile wide and inviting. She tilted the pot over his mug, the warm liquid settling in a dark pool in the cup.

“So, how's the sleuthing coming along?” she questioned.

“Could be better,” He said, taking a sip.

“And Andras?” she said slyly.

The sound of his name made Teddy’s heart skip a beat.

“G-Great”

Part Two;

Dearest (TRIGGER WARNING;BLOOD AND TERROR)

“I didn’t do anything wrong!”

“Shut up, slut” The man was, again, on his mission to carve out this poor woman’s entrails, but she kept squirming.

“STOOOOOOOPPPP!” She wailed in agony as the sharp scalpel dug into her side, pools of blood formed on her abdomen. She hung, writhing in pain; her face wrenched into a fear-bent grimace. She soon passed out from shock, giving out one last whine as he plunged an ice pick into her trachea. He then resumed sawing off her arms with delicacy.

“There you go dearest”He smirked.

“Now you can rest”

This time there were no witnesses to tell the tails of the woman’s demise. This was good for him, nobody to get in his way. But how to send a message to the sweet detective?

A letter would be romantic… could he possibly risk an encounter? Maybe a meeting to finally put that bastard in his place. The detective was smart, but not that smart. Yes, this was the plan, but he would wait. He had more time to spare after all.

Part Three;

Lonely London Town

The dull gray walls welcomed Andras home with an uneasy stillness. The quiet one bedroom flat was extremely small and old fashioned. He had but one sofa, old and made up of a musty green felt material. The carpet had been stripped out the previous year, leaving a dusty concrete for flooring.

“I’m home” Andras said, knowing nobody would respond. He set an old sturdy kettle on the electric stove to boil. He then fished out a tea bag from a metal clasped jar, setting it in a beige ceramic mug. Earl gray, that was his favorite. A troubled whine arose from the pot. He picked it up from the grate, pouring a generous amount of water in his cup. The beverage steamed, and Andras took a sip thoughtfully.

“At least there's tea” he settled down on the sofa, the scratchy material tugging at his stringy sweater. A buzz came from his pocket; he slipped out his phone answering.

“Hello?” he said blankly.

“Hey, Andras?” Teddy’s sweet baritone voice tinged with a smile.

“Yessir, what can I do ya for?” Andras felt his own lips tug to a smile.

“Ya left yer man purse at me flat” He said curtly

“Ah, i’m sorry. Want me to come get it?”

“No, I’ll bring it to yer place; can you text me your address?”

“London is hours away from Salisbury”

“Vise versa, plus I want to see yer place” He responded with a reverent tone.

“It’s not much to look at, but knock yourself out” This made Teddy chuckle on the other end.

“Alright, see you in an hour or so”

The thought of Teddy seeing his bare home was intimidating, but he had an hour to spruce it up a bit. He left his flat for a stroll over to the local florist on the corner of his street. He had a bouquet of pink and yellow petunias arranged in a vase for the coffee table, also purchasing a bottle of migraine pills on his way back.

“Just in case”

When he got back, he realised that his tea had been left in omission. He placed the cup in the sink to wash later.

“No time for tea” he said to himself.

Just then a rapping at the door caused him to let out a quiet shout.

“Open up, it’s the police” Teddy’s muffled voice came from the exterior.

He pried the door open slowly, stepping aside.

“Howdy lad” he said cheerfully, he held Andras’s satchel in his left hand. His smile warmed his heart, he couldn’t help smiling back.

“Nice flat you’ve got here”

“It’s prehistoric”

“I see that” He replied, eyeing the cracked concrete floors.

“Do you not ever have issues with it?” he asked, concerned.

“The oven catches on fire, the sinks flood, the walls are peeling… the couch smells like piss. But no, not really” Teddy smiled slightly at his humour.

“Why don’t you move?”

“Can’t afford it”

“Ah, sorry. Didn’t mean to be rude”

“No, you couldn’t have known” Andras gave him a reassuring smile.

“What about getting a flat-mate?” He suggested.

“I don’t have many friends I could room with, and I’m too scared to room with a stranger” He replied moving his bangs out of his face. Teddy frowned lightly, thinking something over.

“What about splitting rent with me?”

“Oh, no, I wouldn’t want to be a burd-”

“No, you would be helping. Ya’know, it's cheaper when its split”

“I’ll have to think about it…” He said hesitantly

“I get it, take your time. We did just meet after all, but I like you; So I want to help”

Andras lifted his head, surprised by the comment. Teddy’s eyes were gleaming and happy. He looked down at his feet, a smile approaching his lips.

“I’ll do it”

“That was fast”

“I trust you”

“That's a good start”

Andras now knew it… he was smitten. He couldn’t help it, Teddy was such a good guy, and that face; that stupid face.

Part Four;

The Big Guys

“Why are they here?” Teddy snarled at the three men in suits. FBI-

“ They might as well just give the case to a toddler.”

“Well, it's a big case. The senior director called them” Prudence replied, eyeing one of the agents. Her Auburn hair trailed down her back, some of it resting on her shoulders. She flashed a quick smile to a tall, broad, man with a blond crew cut and glassy green eyes. He turned away, unamused.

“Are you flirting with the enemy?!” Teddy snapped playfully.

“He’s not the enemy, he’s an angellll” she whined. Her gaze was now focused on him again, she stood defeated.

“Seems he’s not that interested” He chuckled.

“Ooo, but she is. Not in me” Prudence nudged toward a small-waisted woman with short brown hair and brown eyes. The woman was staring at him, her pink stained lips pursed into a sly smile. Teddy visibly rolled his eyes, brushing her off. She turned stiffly, angrily strutting to the elevator to the director’s office.

“Ooooh, that was cold” Prudence laughed lightheartedly. The blonde agent returned, greeting them both solemnly.

“Hello, I am agent Adam Bartlett. I’m assuming you are the revered detective Bailey?”

“Yep, this is my colleague, Dr. Prudence Snider”

“Ah, what kind of doctor are you Dr. Snider?” He inquired politely

“Psychological, I work with the department on serial killers” She replied pleasantly.

“Ah, impressive” He said, still with a stoic expression.

“I’m gonna go lead your colleagues up to my office” Teddy said, winking at Prudence. She gave a thankful smile as he strode to the small group of feds.

There were two women, another man and then agent Bartlett of course. The first woman was tall and quietly scrolling through her phone. She had dark skin with curly, thick hair; Her name was Abigail. The other was wide and pale with rosy cheeks and a friendly smile, her shoulder length brown hair clung to her cheeks. She was awfully pleasant and talkative, she said her name was Clem (short for Clementine). The man on the other hand, was similar to Bartlett in personality. He was shorter and had black slicked hair and icy blue eyes; he introduced himself as Lance. He led them to his office with ease, Clem talked all the way up. She gushed about her nine year old son, saying he had won a try in his rugby game.

“What a talented lil tyke you’ve got” Teddy said absently.

“I’m so proud of him, he wants to be an FBI agent like me” She said happily. Teddy smiled widely. He opened the door to his office, letting the agents in for his briefing. Agent Bartlett and Prudence soon followed.

Part Five;

Not-So-Solitary-Salisbury

The moving van sat motionless on glasshill street.

“God damn this” Teddy cursed under his breath. He had dropped a heavy box on his foot.

“Are you okay?” Andras snickered.

“Fine”

The two seemed to be in a cheery mood, despite the lengthy move. Andras was in a good mood, but he had an inkling of worry. Teddy was just trying to keep his mind off of the case.

Prudence had followed along and took some boxes in her own car, she proceeded to take some up to Teddy’s flat. They finished unpacking around two in the afternoon, resting on the couch.

“Thank you guys so much” Andras was snuggled under a blanket, resting his head on the arm of the couch.

“Anytime Andras,” Prudence replied cheerfully.

“Anyone want coffee?” Teddy stood up.

The two rose their hands quickly.