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Title: Road Trip
Author: Pattie
Rated: PG-13 for descriptive dialogue.
Category: SA, MA, Casefile.
Timeframe: Season 7.
Feedback: patfiler2016@outlook.com
Author's Note: Special thanks to Fiona for the
pic that inspired this story. The photo was
fantastic!
Archive: Gossamer. Anyone else, please use your
internet and fandom manners and ask.
Disclaimer: Chris Carter, 1013 Productions and Fox
Studios own the original characters. I just play
with them, and return them healthy and clean.
J. EDGAR HOOVER BUILDING
WASHINGTON DC
OFFICE OF THE X-FILES
9:15 AM
It had been one of those mornings. Traffic snags
and construction had conspired to make Dana Scully
late for work. She ran into the office like a
bat out of hell.
"Sorry I'm late, Mulder. It's a mess out there!
They decided to pave almost every street I use to
get here!"
"Hey, I had the same problem, Scully. Forget it.
I want you to check this out." Mulder handed
his partner a folder.
"It says here there were 15 roadside slayings of
teenage girls in Butte, Montana. This is an X-File?"
Mulder had been loading the slide projector. He
flicked the light off. "No, but this is apparently
a series of murders committed by someone out of
state, so the local authorities passed this on to me.
All these young women were residents of Butte." Faces
of teenagers flashed onto the wall. "Someone in their
P.D. remembered I was with Violent Crimes before
getting into the X-Files, and passed it on to us."
"Any theories as to motive, Mulder?" Scully had
turned her head from the slides. She hated to have
to see their once animated faces. They were someone's
children, and they had been savagely taken away
forever.
"Only that it appears to have been done by someone
who makes a habit of picking teenage girls from that
area, and that he is extremely dangerous. All of the
girls were found on lesser travelled back roads."
"I'd say extremely hateful. So, when do we leave?"
BUTTE, MONTANA
NEXT DAY
9:00 AM
The meeting of the night previous was useful in giving
the agents a good idea of what had been happening on
the roads of Montana. So, that morning Mulder and Scully
met with the Butte Police once more to familiarize
themselves with the evidence that had been gleaned
after the victims had been discovered.
The deputy Police Chief had a special interest in this
investigation. His niece had been one of the victims.
"Deputy Sorenson, I'm sorry to have to ask you these
questions... "
"That's all right, Agent Mulder. Even the worst case
we see never really prepares us for anything like this.
Mae was my brother's only daughter. He's taking this
pretty badly."
"We understand, Sir. Would you mind if Agent Scully
examined the most recent victims at the morgue? She's
a doctor."
"No, actually I think we could use another point of
view. I think you'll need this, Agent Mulder." The
Deputy gave him a road map. "I've marked every
backroad and put a red circle to indicate where the
slayings took place. This guy definitely hated the
highway."
"Thanks. Scully, I'll drive you to the morgue, then
see if our rental is up to snuff for this. Thanks,
Deputy Sorenson."
"Anything to stop this vicious pattern," the man
replied.
BUTTE CITY MORGUE,
10:52 AM
Scully, fully gowned and masked, was busily examining
some the victims, and was assisted by the Coroner.
"Well, if we only have five bodies here, I suppose that's
enough to determine modus operandi. Brittany Taylor, age
15 years, ligature marks on neck indicate possiblity of
death by strangulation. Several bruises on upper arms
indicating she was either restrained or held brutally.
Evidence on admission indicated no sexual assault.
Packet of hair not identical to that of victim sent for
analysis... "
"Dr. Scully?" A thin, middle-aged man, somewhat more
reminiscent of a kindly country doctor rather than a
medical examiner was watching her work. He marvelled
at her seeming emotional restraint.
"Yes, Doctor Marks, what is it?"
"I can't help but notice your composure through all of
this."
"Believe me, doctor, I am finding it quite difficult to
keep my feelings at bay. When did you say the hair
analysis would be in?"
"Oh, about another day or so, along with the others. I
can get them to put this on priority. Are you ready for
your second exam? The family hopes to have her ready
for the funeral as soon as possible. It's been five
days."
"Yes, I'm done with Brittany Taylor, as a matter of
fact. We often forget they have names and not case
numbers." Scully drew in a deep breath. "They all had
family and friends, and a future shot to hell. Sometimes,
I hate this job. Let's get going on the next girl."
Mulder had been busying himself with the road map, to see
if there was any pattern in mileage, distance between
points where the young women were found. He drew lines
from one dot to another, and another, and another. They
all seemed to be places the killer had chosen at random.
He drove to two areas, then returned to check in with
Scully at their motel.
SCULLY'S MOTEL ROOM
6:00 PM
As he entered Scully's room, he noticed she seemed to have
been crying. "Scully? You all right?"
She was sitting on the bed trying to compose herself.
"Yeah... I, uh... I am. It's just... why young teenage girls,
with their whole lives ahead of them?"
Mulder handed her a box of tissues from the bedside table.
"That's what we're here to find out. Anything to report?"
"Only that, only that they were all strangled, and they had
been grabbed violently by the uppper arms. They... were
strangled with bare hands. We couldn't even get any prints,
Mulder. It was as if he was trying to twist their heads off."
The case was apparently upsetting Mulder as well. He drew a
deep breath. "I know. I hate this one. Today I went to a
couple of the places their bodies were found. There's a lot
of old copper mines around this area. The girls were all
dropped off at random, and there doesn't seem to be any
pattern."
"Just thrown away like used tissues, Mulder." She began
to cry again, and this time she couldn't stop. Mulder sat
and held her, rubbing her back. "Don't hold it in, Scully.
You're not the only one affected by all this. Fifteen is fifteen
too many. I got a call." It was best not to focus on the
victims at this time. He decided that was enough emotional
pain for now, for both of them.
"From who?"
"The hair samples they managed to get were, well, the two they
managed to get, were from the same person. Dark brown hair,
likely a Caucasian, and there were a few grey hairs that were
of the same texture. Did you turn your cell off or something?
Scully?"
"Yeah. I needed some time. Mulder, I know you must be tired
and hungry. I'm going to go straight to bed."
"I think you should eat something, Scully."
His partner nodded. She was trying to accept his comforting
gestures. It was still hard not to be a tough girl. "Okay."
"We can go over more of this when you're up to it, all right?"
"Maybe after I shower and eat we can discuss the case more. I
just want to get this creep and get out of here." She was
referring to a suspect as a "creep". Her disdain for the murderer
was quite obvious even if she hadn't called him that name.
"Yeah. I'll be back soon. Lock your door."
"I will." She stood and went to her overnight bag. "Mulder?"
"Yes."
"Thanks. I know this is rough on you, too."
"Relax and have a shower. I'll get something good." As he
closed the door, he, too, felt his eyes watering.
9:00 PM
Scully did feel more ready to work after a good Chinese
dinner, even if she had barely touched the food. "I guess
we should speak to some of the families as well. Let them
know that we're trying to pin down the killer."
"At this stage, I don't think they need us reminding them,
Scully. But I'd sure like it if we could bring them the
news that their girls' killer has been caught."
"You're right, I suppose. If I were one of the mothers, I
think I'd be ready to go look for whoever myself. What if
they have other daughters, Mulder? Will a sibling be
another body on the slab?"
"Well, so far they haven't had two girls from one family.
Even if they did, it would be a coincidence."
"There are no coincidences, Mulder. Everything has a purpose,
a reason. Every criminal has a motivation."
Mulder sighed and took the map out of his pocket. "I think
maybe we can put work aside until tomorroow, Scully. We're
both beat, and there's no sense trying to separate our
emotions from the case unless we've had a good night's
sleep."
"Still... "
"Scully," Mulder said as he stood, putting the map back into
his pocket, "We can go over our notes and this map in the
morning. We're both beat and definitely irrational. Let's
get our heads on straight before we mess up, okay?"
"I know," Scully whispered. "I think I wasted your money,
Mulder."
"Hey, you didn't. Have you noticed the little fridge in
the room?"
Scully glanced around the room. "No, I guess I was just
too upset. Good night, Mulder."
"I hope."
MULDER'S ROOM
NEXT DAY
9:00 AM
Scully opened Mulder's door, which had been unlocked much
earlier. She found Mulder sitting on the couch with that
map, tracing the backroads over and over with his eyes.
"Morning, Mulder." She walked over to the back of the sofa
and looked over his shoulder, her eyes noting the weariness
in his eyes, and his unshaven face.
"Morning," he echoed. He looked up from the map and rubbed
his eyelids. "Did you sleep well?"
"Yeah, I was pretty much out of it when you left. Did you
sleep at all, Mulder?"
"I have to confess, I was up all night. I just took time
to shower and change my clothes. After I had some coffee, I
tried to make sense of all this. Are you ready to go to the
backroads?"
"The backroads?"
"Yeah. I think there's something we aren't seeing on any map,
and we should find out quick, before another girl is killed.
See these roads, Scully?"
Scully leaned over her partner, and pointed to the map. "Isn't
that a lot of join the dots for nothing?"
"Well, no." Mulder couldn't help but notice the softness of his
partner's sweater. "Cashmere, Scully?"
"When I feel like it, yes. It's special. Now, can we try to
read this thing, try to make some sense out of all the spots
where the girls were left?"
Mulder gatherd his thoughts. "All right. See that symbol on
the other side of that road? That's an old miner's house where
the Chinese would stay when they were looking for gold and copper.
They'd come over all the way from China because of these mines.
The house hasn't been lived in for twenty years, since the owners
packed up and moved off, leaving a small boy behind."
"What happened to him?"
"He was sent to a foster home, then put up for adoption. He went
to a couple in Kansas. He'd be about thirty years old. He was
abandoned when he was almost five."
"And this means what, Mulder?"
"I think we're about to find out."
Scully put her arm around his shoulder. "I know you don't like
where this is heading any more than I do, but we have a job to
do."
"I know. Uh, I already found out their names: Paul and Meredith
Phillips. They completely disappeared and it looks like they
don't want to be found. The young man, their boy, grew up and
became a metal worker at Bethlehem Steel. His name was Steven
Millbrook, and he cannot be located. Six months ago, he didn't
show up for work."
"And you think he's back here?"
"It makes sense, Scully. I think he has a definite hate for
women. The Police haven't clued in yet, and since they gave us
this case, I may as well tell you his mother tried to strangle
him at one time. At least, that's what he told his foster
mother."
Scully's face was ashen. "Oh, no. Look, I'm trying not to
feel empathy for the guy, but I do. I find it strange that I
do, too." She walked around Mulder's room shaking her head and
wishing to God she hadn't been there.
"Then, let's wrap this up, write our reports, and go home like
good FBI Agents. Then we can yell at the whole damn world
and cry for it."
"Let's Go. Wait, Mulder..."
"Shave. I know."
The backroads surrounding Butte were difficult to navigate at
times. Often, the roads were over mining tunnels some miners
had used to steal gold from other mines. This particular
backroad was worse than the others shown on the map.
"Did you know," Scully said, "That on this road seven girls were
left in various locations six years ago? I wonder if they're
related to this case."
"I think so, Scully. As a matter of fact, maybe Steven Millbrook
decided to change his pattern, vary things, after a while. We
should be at the Phillips house soon. You don't know what I want
to do to this guy but we have laws to uphold."
Scully managed a semi-smile. "I think I can picture a few
scenarios. All these girls were around fifteen or sixteen."
"Samantha didn't make it that far. That is why this case
bothers me so much, Scully. These girls weren't abducted for any
stupid agenda. They were brutally murdered. I found out that Mrs.
Phillips was only fifteen when she married Paul Phillips and had
Steven. I think I know why he's taken his abandonment out on girls
around that age. He's doing to them what his mother threatened to
do to him."
"He's killing Mom over and over again. She's not the one who's
suffering, and she will once the parents are found."
"I'm almost positive on my theory... There's the house."
Mulder stopped the car in a two century old house, with overgrown
trees and a long abandoned garden fence. When they had come out of the
car, Scully could feel the tension building in both of them. There was
some movement in a thicket and Mulder drew his gun. A possum sauntered
through the area and gave the pair no attention. "If we do find him
here, Scully, call the P.D. before we end up killing him. We all want
him alive."
His partner nodded. They slowly walked toward the house. Scully peered
through an old window and Mulder went around to the front door. Scully
moved toward Mulder, her gun at the ready. "Someone with hair matching
the colour of that found near the victims is in there, Mulder."
Mulder knocked on the door. "Federal Agents, Mr. Millbrook. We want
to talk to you!"
Scully called the Butte Police for back up.
The man actually came to the door. "If this is about my unemployment
running out..."
"No, Sir, it isn't. We'd like to talk to you about some... incidents.
Fox Mulder, FBI. This is my partner, Dana Scully."
"Female FBI Agents. That's a laugh. What next? A woman on the
moon?"
"Mr. Millbrook, we're here to talk about several teenagers who were
strangled and left on the... "
"I don't know nothin' about them girls... "
"Did you hear me say they were girls, Sir?" His snare worked.
Steven Millbrook pushed past Mulder and Scully, and as they
chased after him, two cruisers arrived with four police officers
circling him. He knew he was not going to get away this time, so
he put his hands up.
As the officers read him his rights, Mulder and Scully became
pleasantly relaxed.
"Mulder?"
"Yeah, Scully."
"We can tell those parents their daughters' killer will never
see the light of day, now."
Mulder grinned. "Yeah, that's a good thing. Then we'll be
writing the reports. I'm sure the police department has better
things to do than buy FBI Agents coffee. Let's get it all over
and done with. This whole case has sickened me."
"Good thing you had that road map, Mulder. Most men would rather
get lost before looking so thoroughly at a map."
"Well, I'm not most men, am I Scully?"
Scully smiled warmly. Finally, life was returning to both of their
hearts. "No, Mulder. You're not. That is one thing that pleases
me so much."
END
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