Will and Grace

Chapter 8

Will woke before Grace. He looked over at the bed next to his, Grace had fallen asleep sideways, probably while watching the TV. Colors and pictures still flashed across its screen.

Will pushed the covers off of himself, pressed his feet to the cold floor and quietly made his way to the bathroom.

Grace had been woken by a knock at the door, causing her to jerk from her dreams. She rose from her bed and went to the door.

Hannibal stood outside, already dressed, suit and tie, in a warm overcoat. Grace welcomed him in.

"Where is Will?" He asked, taking in the room. Take-out set on the table and cartoons played on the TV. It made him think of how when Grace was around Will, it brought out something out in Will, a child-like sense of wonder.

"He's in the bathroom, I think."

Hannibal brought his attention to Grace's face. Grace had circles around her eyes and appeared tired.

"How did you sleep?" He asked.

"Not the best." She laughed gently. "That's to be expected of a hard motel room mattress."

Hannibal smiled and nodded in agreement.

A door in the distance hinges squeaked as it opened. Will now dressed stepped out, Grace took that as her cue to go ahead and get ready.

Will sat down at the table, rubbing his eyes.

"Did you sleep well?" Hannibal asked.

"As well as can be expected."

A ringing filled the silence. Hannibal reached into his pocket and opened his cell phone.

"Hello?" Will watched as Hannibal listened to the caller on the other end. "Yes, we'll be there shortly."

Grace stepped out of the bathroom, sat at the end of the bed and proceeded to put her sneakers on. 

"Who was that?" 

"Jack, he seems to have found a lead already." Hannibal answered.

"That's good. We haven't any time to lose, let's go!" Grace ran for the door slipping on her coat as the others trailed behind her.

"She's excited." Will commented.

"She's doing her dream job." Hannibal smiled.

They piled into the rental car, Hannibal at the wheel, Will in the passenger seat, and Grace in the back.

The drive was quiet as the entered the downtown area. In the distance the could see Crawford standing outside the Police Department. They parked along the curb and all got out. 

"What did you find?" Will asked.

Crawford smiled. "A witness. A homeless man who witnessed one of the murders."

They stepped inside, walking past all the officers and random lawbreakers. Crawford stopped them outside a door, opening it and allowed them to go in first.

It was the observing area for the interrogation room.

Grace stepped close to the glass. "Why do you have a witness in interrogation?"

"We assume he's a drug addict." Crawford answered.

"You know what they say about assuming right, Jack?"

"Oh, and what's that?"

"When you assume it makes an ASS out of U and ME." She folded her arms. "Besides he's not a drug addict. He's a schizophrenic."

"How can you tell?" Hannibal turned to her.

"I just can." She looked back to Crawford. "Don't believe me go ask him a few questions."

"Okay, but what do I ask?"

"Ask him if he's been in any psychiatric facilities and if he says yes, ask him why." Hannibal looked through the glass and at the man, ready to observe.

They all stood in silence as Crawford enter the room and sat in the seat across from him.

"We just want to ask you a few questions before we get started on a statement."

"O-Okay, yeah."

"First off, were you ever institutionalize?"

"Once, but-"

"What for?"

The man fidgeted."I was put in because they think I'm a schizo. I- I'm not. I'm perfectly fine, I assure you. You know, I w- was a scholar once."

Grace muted the speaker. "I told you. Sometimes it's hard to differentiate between the two. Mentally ill people often get mistaken for drug addicts until they are properly evaluated."

Crawford came back to join them.

"I want him moved into a more comfortable atmosphere."

"I agree, putting him in there will leave him feeling as if he did something wrong." Hannibal spoke.

Jack phone sounded with a text tone, he checked it and headed for the door. "Alright, I'll have him moved before I take care of something, you three go ahead and interview him.

After he was moved, the trio stood outside the room debating who was to speak with the man.

"Hannibal should speak to him, after all, it is your expertise." Will commented.

"He's right, we need whatever info he has, and what better way than someone who's profession is to help the mentally ill."

"Alright, I will go first." Hannibal went to turn the doorknob before Grace placed a hand on his arm to stop him.

"Don't let him know you're a doctor, it may agitate him since he doesn't think anything is wrong with him."

Hannibal nodded in agreement before stepping into the room.

Authors note:

Sooooo this has been long-awaited and very delayed by me.

I'm super sorry about the wait and hope you enjoyed. 

This chapter is a bit of a filler, the next chapter hopefully won't be as short.