| Thirty minutes later, Piper was changed and ready for school. As the doorbell rang, she placed a chocolate chip cookie into her mouth. She chewed it silently as she opened the front door. Erin stood outside, nibbling on a piece of toast. She stepped into Piper’s living room and noted Mulder and Scully’s luggage on the ground. “Guess you adopted a few new family members, huh?” Erin said. “What would they do without me?” Piper wondered. Erin rolled her eyes. “You ready?” She asked. “Just a sec.” Piper called as she raced into the other room. She grabbed her jacket as well as another cookie. As she put her jacket on, she held the cookie between her teeth. “Nutritious breakfast.” Erin commented. Piper nodded as she chewed and swallowed the cookie. “Are you going to tell Mulder and Scully where you’re going?” Erin asked as she opened the front door and stepped outside. “Hopefully they’ll be smart enough to realize I’m at school, or else they’re not very good FBI agents.” Piper said as she slammed the door behind her. * * * * Two hours later, Scully awoke lulled in the heat of the morning sun. She shaded her eyes as she got up. She walked over to the window and brought the blinds down with a crash. She turned and took in her surroundings. It wasn’t the first time she had stayed at Piper’s house but it was the first time that she had stayed in that particular room. Usually, she stayed in Suzanne’s room but sense she now lived at home, her room was her own. Scully was now staying in Piper’s parent’s room. Since their death, the room had become somewhat of a sanctuary to Piper, and Scully knew it. She was the first to stay in the room since her parent’s funeral. Scully had offered to sleep on the couch but Piper had responded that she couldn’t live in the past and that she must welcome the future with open eyes. In his own room, on the other side of the house, Mulder sat thinking about the case. His hair stuck out in about twenty different directions but he didn’t care. His thoughts were focused on Piper and her connection to the case. So many times he had thought Piper was the killer and once she was even sent to jail for suspicion of murder. Of course she was released but the case had never had a real ending. Mulder’s thoughts were shattered when he heard the sound of a shower running. He looked over at his clock and knew Suzanne must had already gone to work, so it had to be Scully. As minutes past, his thoughts went back to the case and cases previous that dealt with Piper and her interesting group of friends. Finally, he got up and through on a dark blue T-Shirt and matching Jeans. He ran a quick hand through his hair, hoping to help its monstrous form, but it didn’t. He sighed and exited his room, continued down the hall, and down the stairs. He walked into the kitchen and flicked on a nearby clock radio. Though not knowing what kind of station it was set on, he settled for it. He began searching through cupboards and closets for anything he could whip up for breakfast. A few minutes later he gave up finding anything to eat. “What are you doing?” Scully asked as Mulder turned around. Scully was in her usual business suit. Her hair was neatly dried and combed. “You know, that’s a good look for you, Scully. You should wear it more often.” Mulder joked. Scully ignored his comment. “What are you doing?” She repeated taking in the array of the kitchen. Pots and pans were lined up on the counters. Different foods were scattered around. “Trying to make breakfast.” Mulder answered as he looked around at the mess he had made. “For who? An army?” Scully paused and shook her head. “What are you listening to?” Mulder shrugged his shoulders. “Mulder, I think this is Britney Spears.” A little smile escaped her lips as is eyes grew wide. “Look, Mulder, I think I’ll skip breakfast. I’m going to go to the nearest crime lab and see if I can get anything off this chalk.” She picked up the evidence bag with the chalk enclosed as she spoke. “What am I going to do?” Mulder wondered. “My first guess would for you to turn off this awful music. Then clean up the mess you made before Piper gets home. And then I’d start on some paperwork.” Scully said as she headed out the door. Before she closed it completely, she poked her head back into the house. “Oh…and I’d go through the phone book and try to anyone with the initials PAI in Warwick. Have fun.” She said as she left. Mulder sighed and looked around. As much as he despised doing paperwork, he hated cleaning even more. He ignored the mess and walked into Piper’s living room. He located the yellow pages and began flipping through them. * * * * Later on that afternoon, Piper exited her school. She walked down a side street, taking a short cut to her house. She kicked a small pebble as she went. As she walked through a large pile of leaves, she felt something hard hit her foot. She looked down at her feet, but didn’t see anything but leaves. She slid her backpack off her back, dumping it on the sidewalk. She got down on her knees and began scattering around the leaves. She gasped as she saw what was staring up at her. She scrambled to her feet and began to run towards the school. * * * * Meanwhile, Mulder was seated at Piper’s computer. He rubbed his brow and took off his glasses. He laid them down on the table and buried his head in his hands. Paperwork was not only painstaking but it also gave him a headache. He looked over at the phone as it rang. He wondered whether he should pick it up, realizing that it was Piper’s house not his. He got up and walked over to Piper’s kitchen where her answering machine picked up. He listened to the computerized voice of the machine, waiting for the person to leave a message. “Mulder?” Scully said through the machine. “If you’re there, pick up.” Mulder quickly picked up the phone. “I’m here.” He said. “Where are you, Scully?” “I’m in my car coming back from the lab.” Scully answered. “But I’m stuck in traffic.” “What did you find?” “Well, the only fingerprints on the chalk were that of the victims. There were no other prints or any other evidence on the chalk.” “Except for why it was out in the middle of the day on the street.” Mulder joked. “Except for that.” “But it doesn’t make sense, Scully, why would the victim write PAI on the sidewalk?” “I don’t think she did.” “What do you mean?” Mulder questioned. “The fingerprint impressions on the chalk weren’t deep enough to show that the victims wrote with it. If she did touch it, she probably just randomly picked it up. The murderer most likely wore gloves while handling the chalk.” “So again, we’re back to square one.” “Well, what did you find?” Scully wondered hoping his findings had been more conclusive than hers. “There are four people in the phone book with the initials PAI. I called all of them. Each had an alibi except for one.” “What about the last one?” “Wasn’t home. Anyway, the first person I called was an elderly woman, who by the sound of her voice hasn’t walked in ten years, no matter get up and murder someone. The second was a college student. After telling me his entire schedule as an alibi for why he couldn’t have done it, I hung up on him.” “And the third?” Scully asked hoping her voice didn’t sound as pleading as she thought it did. “A single mother with six kids and two jobs who persisted to tell me how unfair the world is, so I hung up on her, too. Now, those were only the people listed in the phone book and in the city of Warwick.” “So…either we go through the entire population of Rhode Island or the greater part of Massachusetts or we’re back to nothing.” Scully said. Mulder was going to begin to speak when he heard a beep on the other line. “Hang on, Scully, I have another call.” Without waiting for a response, he pressed a button on the phone, connecting him to the other line. “Mulder.” He answered. “Mulder, it’s Piper.” Her voice sounded frantic. “What is it, Piper?” Mulder asked, knowing something was wrong. “Please come.” She begged. ”Where are you, Piper What happened?” “Someone’s dead…I’m…I’m at school. Please hurry.” Mulder called out her name as he heard the click of the phone. He swore under his breath and then remembered Scully was still on the other line. He connected back to her. “Scully, someone else is done.” Mulder informed. “What?” Scully asked sharply. “That was Piper on the other line. She came across another dead body. She sounds a little shaken.” “Where is she?” “She said she’s at school. I’m going down there right now.” “I’ll be down there as soon as I can find a break in traffic.” Scully said. |