Z is for Zelotypia
Part Three of the Obsessed Series
It is strongly advised that you read "O is for Obsessed" and "Q is for Quidnuncs" or this story will make little sense. There's not much sense in here to begin with, so it needs all the help it can get.
Zelotypia: noun: jealousy; excessive zeal in carrying out a project
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, except for the villain of the piece, but you can have her if you want.
"We're gonna die," Special Agent Colby Granger said.
"You're the one who wanted to spy on Megan," Special Agent David Sinclair replied.
"That was spying on Megan," Colby griped. "It was your idea to spy on the boss."
"And you think that spying on Megan isn't dangerous?" David asked.
"Well, not this dangerous," Colby said. "Megan can only bruise us. Don can do much worse."
"Like?" David prodded.
"He could have Charlie give us a pop quiz," Colby said with a shudder.
David rolled his eyes. "Grow up, man," he said.
"Right now?" Colby said. "'Cause if you want me to start acting mature right now, the first thing on the list is going home."
David laughed. "Hey, I went along with your crazy scheme," he said.
He pulled into a parking space near Don's apartment building.
"This is where Don lives," Colby pointed out.
"Yep," David said. "I decided that our first move should be to find out where Don is."
"So, what do we do if Don's at home?" Colby asked.
"Um, ask him if he wants to go bowling," David said.
"Bowling?" Colby asked. "You believed Charlie when he said that Don loved to bowl?"
David shook his head. "Considering the expression on Don's face, I'm assuming that Charlie was making some obscure Eppes in-joke. However, we might be able to convince Don that we believed him."
"Really," Colby said sardonically. "I'm not holding my breath, here."
"Besides, if we actually do something with Don, we could make a case for us having spied on him all night."
Colby nodded. He didn't know who they'd be making the case to, but he decided there was no point in even trying to argue with David. Besides, bowling was fine with him. To be honest, anything other than dying was fine by him.
The bowling ploy turned out to be a moot point, because Don wasn't home.
"Now what?" David asked, running his hand over his shaven pate.
"Phone call," Colby said.
"Don't call Don," David protested.
"Who said anything about calling Don?" Colby asked. He punched in a speed dial. After a few moments, he said, "Hey, Charlie, do you know where Don is? No, no, there's nothing wrong."
"You have Charlie on speed dial?" David blurted.
Colby shrugged and held his hand out, palm up to indicate that it had seemed like a good idea at the time.
David grabbed the cell away from him. "Give me that before you give the man a heart attack," he said. He studied it for a moment, and then flicked on the speaker. "Charlie, no, nothing's going down. Colby and I just wanted to pull a prank on Don."
Colby's eyebrows went up.
"I take it he's not at work," Charlie said.
"Nah, he's not at his place, either," David said. "You have any idea where he might want to take his date?"
"Let me ask my Dad," Charlie said.
A few minutes later, Alan came online. "He likes Italian, if that helps any."
"Well, no," Colby said.
"Wait," Charlie said. "I've got an idea. He's been seeing that Assistant US Attorney."
"Nadine?" Alan asked.
"Dad, Nadine is so last month," Charlie said.
"What? Nobody tells me anything," sulked Alan.
David and Colby headed back for David's car, still listening.
"We should be able to calculate the possibilities," Charlie said. "Don will have picked Robin up at work. They probably intend to spend the night at her place."
"Oh? It's that serious?" Alan asked.
"I think," Charlie said. "That's the weak point… well, no. It's immaterial if he spends the night with her or not," Charlie said.
"It is?"
"Well, for the purposes of this calculation," Charlie said. "Either they're going to her place, or he's taking her to her place or she's going to meet him somewhere between where she works and her place."
David and Colby could hear Charlie typing information into his laptop.
"In any case," Charlie said, "What we want is an Italian restaurant somewhere on a direct line between Robin's office and her house."
"What if she has a favorite Mexican restaurant that she likes to frequent?" Alan asked.
"Well, then we're screwed," Charlie said. "I have to work with the data that I can access."
"Oh," Alan said. "Why not just call Don?"
"Well, if this were official, we would," David said.
"Or even if it was rational," Colby muttered.
"Charlie! Are you're helping these men play a prank on your brother?" Alan asked.
"Yes, why?" Charlie replied.
"Because that's not… wait a minute!" Colby could hear a frown in Alan's voice. "How do you know where this Robin…?"
"Robin Brooks," Colby supplied.
"How do you know where she lives?" Alan asked.
"Don had it written down in his desk," Charlie said. "Ha, here are three likely restaurants on the route from Robin's work to her home."
"He left her address lying around on his desk?" Alan asked.
"Well, not exactly," Charlie admitted. "He had it written on a scrap of paper that he had stuck in a dictionary that was in his bottom desk drawer under a stack of case files."
"Charlie!" Alan said, shocked.
"I needed a dictionary!" Charlie protested. "You know I can't spell."
Alan sighed. "I'm washing my hands of this," he said. "I hear nothing! I see nothing! I know nothing! I just hope you two clowns have a camera with you."
"Okay," Charlie said. "These are the three possibilities. Olive Garden, Wombi's and La Giaconda."
"Which is more likely?" Colby wondered.
"There's usually a long wait to be seated at Olive Garden," David said. "Don wouldn't want to risk getting called out without getting a chance to eat."
"Hm," Charlie said. "La Giaconda is on the pricey side," he said. "You're best bet is Wombi's."
"Okay, Charlie," Colby said. "If this works out, we owe you."
"For what?" Charlie asked. "You haven't talked to me all week."
Colby grinned and shut his phone. "We now have blackmail material on Professor Eppes," he said happily.
David looked at him strangely. "Why do you have Charlie on speed dial?" he asked.
Colby looked somber. "Well, if you really want me to come out of the closet… Charlie and I…"
David threatened to hit him. "Don't go there!"
Colby laughed.
David unlocked his side of the car and climbed in.
"C'mon, David, let me in!" Colby said. "At least drive me back to my car!"
"No, you're coming with me or you're walking," David said.
"Okay," Colby said. He held up his hands in surrender. "I confess. I couldn't figure out how to program my phone's speed dial, so Charlie demonstrated and used his number as an example. He didn't think to erase it and I don't know how.
David laughed and unlocked the passenger side door. "C'mon," he said. "Time to grab the tiger by the tail."
TBC