For A Good Cause
A/N; Thanks to all the wonderful reviews. I have to admit, doing a chaptered story worried me. I wasn't sure I could keep your interest. Hopefully, you'll all stay with me a little longer.
Quick note to Rhapsodista - yes, these fund raisers do exist. I know from personal experience. But they are more like Don's explanation in this chapter, or the "prisoners" are held in a school instead of the police station. And to ALEO – yes, the victims of this type of fund raiser are usually aware of the impending arrest and handcuffs are NEVER used. But when have the Eppes boys done anything the normal way?
Once again, thank you for the reviews – now on with the angst.
Chapter two
Don placed another stack of case files on the long table. The pile threatened to teeter over into the one sitting next to it, but he caught the errant folders and straightened them out.
Charlie had been complaining about the way data was stored in the FBI database, so he had developed a new streamline method of data entry that would save hours of cross referencing information during an investigation. The problem was, all of the old data had to be re-entered into the new software.
During a rare week of low case loads, Don's team had been assigned the job of pulling all the old files and sorting out the relative information to be given to data entry.
Megan Reeves had taken a few days off. Her and Larry Fleinhardt were taking a small road trip up the coast to a small bed and breakfast in southern Oregon. Don, David and Colby kept busy all morning, working their way through hundreds of case files. They were looking forward to an actual lunch break, something they didn't always find time for when they were involved in a case. Don had had a few fleeting moments, during the morning, when his brother's "arrest" crossed his mind and he would grin, his eyes crinkling slightly at the corners. Not really finding anything humorous about the tedious paperwork, David and Colby finally asked him what was so funny and he told them about the fund raiser.
"There has to be a special category under Karma for having your kid brother arrested." Colby said dryly.
Don's grin was bursting with satisfaction and his eyes crinkled. "Yeah, tell me about it."
"How angry is he going to be?" David asked.
"I think he will probably be pissed off, but he's actually a good sport and when he finds out it's for a good cause, he'll calm down."
Colby pulled a new case file from the stack in front of him and said; "Reeves and Fleinhardt are going to miss all the fun. Megan should have picked another weekend to use her wild card and drag him out of the monastery for that run up the coast."
"Yeah," Don agreed. "I think they could have had some fun with this, too. And Dad is in St. Louis, at a convention with his book club. I think even he would see the humor in having Charlie arrested and cuffed in front of his students."
"So, you going down to bail him out?" David smiled.
Don shook his head. "Nope. I figured I'd let Millie and Amita handle that. Millie said they'll announce it at school and she is sure some of the students will participate, as well. I think it's best if I don't get within firing range, if you know what I mean. He's already called me twice, and I let it go to voice mail. But, later, if you guys want to . . ."
"It might be kind of cool to see the famous Professor Eppes behind bars." Colby smiled.
"Nah, he won't be behind bars." Don said. " Years ago, when I was in New Mexico, some of my agents donated money to the Albuquerque PD and had me arrested for their annual fund raiser. After they hauled me down to the station, I spent 2 hours sitting in an air conditioned lounge with the day shift, drinking coffee, eating doughnuts and swapping stories until Kim Hall and some friends bailed me out." He smiled, a knowing grin and added. "The only hardship for Charlie will be there isn't any chalk boards at the station."
Don closed up the file he was working on and added. "I figured I'd take him out tonight for a couple of beers. Kiss up a little. You know how he can get. I don't want him to freak out and call Dad."
"That's for sure." David laughed. " Alan won't leave you boys alone again if you don't play nice."
They all smiled at that thought, then returned to their work.
When Don's cell rang just before lunch, he reached for it and glanced at the ID. Mildred Finch. Probably telling him Charlie is out of "jail" and still mad at him. "Hey, Millie."
Millie's voice was sharp and precise, not laced with the humor he expected. "Don. You had better come to the police station. There's something wrong."
He tensed, his senses tingling, but he kept his voice calm, almost casual. "What's up? Charlie freaking out on you?"
"Don. He's not here. They can't find him."
That was the last thing he expected and he almost laughed. "What do you mean they can't find him?"
David and Colby looked up and watched him as he listened to Millie again.
"They have looked everywhere."
"Well, then, someone has already bailed him out."
"No. They are keeping records of the donations, you know, for the IRS and they don't show anyone bailing him out."
"Maybe he bailed himself out." Don offered.
"They would have a record of that, too, Don, and there just isn't anything."
"Did you try calling him?"
"That just it. They made him put all his belongings in a box when they booked him, just like real, you know, and the box is still here, with his wallet and cell phone."
Both of them were silent for a few seconds. Don didn't want to jump to conclusions and let his big brother instincts take control, but Millie sounded so distraught.
" I don't know, Don. I feel like... something isn't right, you know?"
Don nodded, knowing she couldn't hear it, but it gave him a few seconds to get his emotions in check. Before he spoke again, he sighed and dragged his fingers down the sides of his mouth in frustration.
"Alright. Listen, I'll be right there." He looked at his watch. "Give me fifteen minutes." Then, as an afterthought, he added, "Hey, Millie, don't worry. it'll be alright. It's Charlie, you know."
He snapped the phone closed and reached for his suit jacket hanging over the back of his chair. "I have to go. Seems like the LAPD has misplaced my brother. You guys want to come?"
Colby moved forward to stand beside him, obviously ready to go, but David held back. "You guys go on. I'll hold the fort down here. I've seen Charlie mad before. It's not a pretty sight."
"Suit yourself." Don shrugged, then pointed to the table and said; "See what you can do with those files while we're gone." As he and Colby headed for the elevators, Don was speed dialing Lt. Gary Walker.
011123581321345589144233377610987
Don was surprised to see a large group of students still waiting with Millie and Amita when he and Colby arrived. Walker was bent over a computer terminal, his brow furrowed, an angry expression etched on his face. But it was Amita's frightened eyes, as she watched the Lt., that made Don's stomach clench.
"Hey, Gary, what's going on?"
Walker looked up, but before he could say anything, Amita ran to Don. She clutched the front of his jacket, "Don, they sent Charlie to prison!"
For just an instant, Don resisted the urge to laugh out loud at the absurdity of the Los Angeles Police Department losing his brother and ...what was that Amita said? Prison? No, that didn't happen. His lips spread out in a grim smile. This had to be a joke. He looked around the room and finally let his eyes settle on Gary Walker. "Wait, I get it. Charlie got all of you to do this just to get back at me. That's what this is."
Even as Millie and Amita shook their heads and began to protest, Gary Walker took a few steps towards Don and thrust a computer print out in front of him. His grim expression made Don's heart miss a few beats.
"Transport records show Charles Eppeson being loaded on the prison bus this morning headed for the Mt. Preston Correctional Facility."
"Yeah, so." Don tried to reason. "Eppeson, not Eppes. Just a typo, Gary."
"Except I just checked Eppeson's cell, Don, and he's there, playing checkers with his cell mate."
Gary rubbed his hand across the top of his head and he faced a confused Don with an uncomfortable look of guilt and regret. He dreaded telling this man what he was afraid was true."Somehow, someway, somebody got Charles Eppes mixed up with Eppeson and put him on the bus instead."
Okay, this was no longer funny, Don thought. He had seen the inside of those prison buses before, had even made a few runs as a transport officer when he was in Fugitive Recovery. These were dangerous, convicted prisoners, handcuffed and shackled to the bus seats with leg restraints. The thought of Charlie being on the same bus, handcuffed himself, sitting next to one of these men made every big brother warning in Don's head go off like klaxons. If anything happened, Charlie would be virtually defenseless, not only against the other prisoners, but the guards themselves. These men were on high adrenaline alert, armed and ready to use whatever force was necessary to keep everyone under control.
"Gary, how the hell could something like this happen?"
"I don't know, Eppes, but I'm sure as hell going to find out."
That's all well and good, Don thought, but it doesn't help Charlie now.
"Can you call the bus back?" He could hear the desperation in his own voice.
Walker shook his head. "They left two hours ago. They're in the mountains. No signal. Won't be able to reach them for another couple of hours."
Don reached for another straw. "Okay, we need to call the prison and ..." Don stopped suddenly as a recent memory screamed in his head. "My God, Gary, did you say he was going to Mt. Preston?"
When Walker slowly nodded, Don felt the little control he was managing to cling to slip away.
Colby's voice trembled as he spoke what Don and Gary were thinking. "That's supermax security, man, for real hardcore prisoners."
This just keeps getting better and better, Don thought, rubbing his face. "We need to get in touch with the warden at Mt. Preston and..."
"Can't." Lt. Walker said grimly. "Tried already. There's a power outage, or something."
Don's stomach, which up to now had been churning and clenching in spasms worthy of the most intense ulcer, now dropped dramatically to his feet and he actually staggered backwards, as if he had been struck.
"There were some hard storms in the mountains last night, Eppes." Walker cautioned. " It could be as simple as that."
Don shook his head silently and Colby said, "A maximum security prison, with communications down is never simple, whatever the cause."
Don took a deep breath. Simple, he thought. Let's not jump to conclusions. Just keep it simple. All he had to do was go to the prison, explain the mix up, and take his brother home. He looked to Millie, who was standing beside Amita, holding the younger woman's hand. "Millie, Amita, take these students and go on back to CalSci. There's nothing you can do here. We'll let you know what's going on." When they nodded he turned to Walker. "Gary, keep trying to reach the bus or the warden. If you can get the bus to turn back, call my cell. If you get hold of someone at Mt. Preston, tell them what's happening and that Colby and I will be there in, what, five hours?"
Walker nodded, confirming Don's guess at the length of time needed to get there. "Don, you know they are not going to be able to just turn him over to you." Gary cautioned his friend once more. " There's going to be red tape and paperwork and ..."
Don stopped him with a cold, determined glare. "Charlie's not going to spend one night in that place." he growled.
He waited as Millie and Amita began to usher the students out of the room. He reached for Amita's hand as she passed, and squeezed it briefly, saying, without words, that everything would be alright. When they were gone he turned to Gary, worry and despair replacing his earlier determination. "Gary, if they think Charlie is this Charles Eppeson, what's going to happen? What's Eppeson convicted of?"
This, Walker thought, was going to be the hardest thing to tell Eppes. They all knew the hierarchy of prisons and they knew who was the lowest, most despised group in any facility. They also knew who received the worst treatment from other prisoners and guards as well. He knew this would hit Don harder than any of the other things that had happened this morning, because he would know without a doubt the danger Charlie would be in.
Gary Walker looked Don Eppes in the eye and said, "Charles Eppeson confessed to raping and murdering a 10 year old girl and dumping her body in a landfill."
Don was silent and Gary watched with concern as all the color left his face. Colby Granger hissed, "Shit" and reached out to his boss, gently placing a hand on his shoulder. Don remained silent.
His eyes were wide with fear and regret and he swallowed the heavy lump in his throat. This couldn't be happening. But, he knew it was. And he knew it was his fault. And he knew he had to find his brother, before it was too late. He turned abruptly and walked out the door, his hands clenched into fists at his side, Colby one step behind.
tbc
A/N; more angst on the way
