Chapter 4
Don stopped at the house shortly after one o'clock with two white takeout bags in hand. It was his way of saying "thank you." Granted, it was a cheap way but still it showed that he remembered how much Charlie loved "Sammi G's" famous subs.
Along with the takeout; he also had news on the Salazar case that he wanted to share with Charlie.
The two men sat across from each other at the dining room table; with napkins, plastic utensils, and 5 packets of mayonnaise between them.
"So I wanted to fill you in on what's going on in the Salazar case." Don announced as he grabbed three packets of mayo.
Charlie quickly claimed the last two packets. You didn't have to come all the way over here. A call would have been…"
"I figured we could talk over lunch." Don said as he threw a couple napkins in his brother's direction.
"Hey, I appreciate the gesture." Charlie feigned great interest in his roast beef sub. "What's up," he asked. Normally, he'd be all over the tasty treat, but today he just wasn't feeling it. However, seeing how his busy brother had gone out of his way to pick it up; Charlie was going to eat as much as he could.
"About thirty-five minutes after you left, we received an anonymous tip…"
"Actually," Charlie announced just as he was about to take a bite out of his sub. "There's really no such thing as an anonymous tip anymore; you remember that program I ran for…"
"Charlie, can I finish." The amused older man asked.
"Oh yeah. Sorry." Charlie apologized. He took a healthy sized bite out of the sandwich still in his hands.
"So anyway, a tip came in that we'll classify as anonymous for now (Don grinned at his brother) during which the caller stated that word on the street is that Samuel Salazar murdered his wife because she wanted out of his Meth empire and that he had two of his inner circle bury the body.
"We already theorized that scenario." Charlie put down the remaining portion of his meal. He cracked open his bottle of water and took a sip.
"Correct. The caller also said that Debra Salazar's uncle put a number on Samuel Salazar's head. The number is high enough that anyone with a firearm would be tempted to go looking for our guy." Don explained. He noticed that his brother appeared to have lost interest in the remaining half of his food.
Don added, "I'm sure right about now Salazar's wishing he had stayed locked up all nice and safe instead of taking a walk with his high-priced legal team.
"Is he still sticking to his story that his wife left him to run off with someone she met online." Charlie asked.
Don nodded in the affirmative as he munched on a slice of pickle.
"Except it's kind of hard to run off to meet your soul mate if you put your purse and car keys in a plastic trash bag and then buried it deep in a dumpster three blocks from your house." Don noted.
"If Samuel Salazar gets taken out and the recovery team comes up empty; the odds of finding Debra Salazar's body will lower significantly." Charlie explained. He went silent for a minute. "Unless you know we find this anonymous (Charlie used air quotes) caller and.."
"One problem at a time," Don stated to his overachieving sibling. "As far as we know for now old Sammi's still breathing and the recovery teams has just started the search at The Peak. We're just going to have to wait and see how it all plays out."
"Do you think they'll be able to find her?" Charlie inquired. He had done the best he could in the amount of time that he could spare.
"I don't know Charlie. I'm hoping." Don answered honestly. "So are you done?" He pointed to the leftover food in front of Charlie.
"Yeah. Sorry. I had a bagel and coffee at Starbucks." Charlie lied.
"Next time I'll call." Don offhandedly remarked as he started packing up the leftover trash.
"Well, sure. Calling would save you time." Charlie stated. He tried not to sound disappointed.
Don stopped stuffing items in one of the takeout bags. He looked at his younger brother like he had two heads.
"I meant I'll call ahead and see if you're hungry before I pick something up." Don stated.
"Oh. Right," Charlie replied. He tried not to look embarrassed and failed.
"This was just a no biggie thank you lunch. When you get back we'll do a nice 3-course sit down dinner." Don said as he gathered up napkins. "And these will be cloth."
"No rain checks." Charlie stated.
"No rain checks." Don agreed. "No excuses."
He headed for the kitchen and dumped everything in the trash. He returned to the dining room to find his brother still seated at the table; staring off into space. Don could not help but think that his brother did not look like someone hours away from a dream vacation.
Then he noticed his brother's phone open on the table.
"Dad?" Don cautiously asked. He took up a post behind the chair that Alan Eppes has always claimed.
"Yeah, called from the middle of the cereal aisle in Whole Foods to inform me that I have an appointment with some Dr. Zonies at 4:30." Charlie replied. He stared at the phone as if it were an evil offering. "Because it's not like I don't have other things to do… like pack."
Don was left wondering "is he talking to me or the phone?"
"So I shouldn't go with - he means well or it's just dad being dad?" Don tried joking his sibling out of a rapidly approaching dark mood.
"Please don't." The young man protested.
Don wanted to help but this thing was between Charlie and Alan. It didn't help that his brother looked miserable.
"Hey," Don said carefully. "You said it yourself, "it's a work in progress"
"More like one step forward and two steps back." Charlie complained. He reached for his phone and held it in the palm of his hand.
For a brief moment, Don thought his pissed off sibling might hurl the small device. He relaxed when Charlie shoved the phone in the back pocket of his jeans.
"Look just go today. He'll be appeased and you can go away and not be inundated with phone calls." Don stated. "It's a win–win."
"Why should I even have to care about giving him a win." Charlie looked at his brother for affirmation.
"You don't have to, Charlie, but it makes living under the same roof with Dad a hell of a lot easier." Don commented. He had done is own fair share of trade offs during the time Charlie was attending Princeton. Those years were not all fun and games for Don.
Charlie conceded, "I'll go, but as Dylan wrote, "changes they are a coming."
"Dad's still grooving to Dylan?" The image left Don smiling.
Charlie gave his a brother an "are you kidding me look."
"Ever try putting together a multi-topic presentation while "Leopard-Skin Pillbox Hat" is loudly playing in the kitchen." Charlie questioned his brother.
"No, but I once made out to "Lay Lady Lay." I was a freshman. She was a senior." Don said straight faced.
Charlie wanted to hang on to his anger and he would have, except he made the mistake of looking at his older brother who now had a goofy grin on his face.
"Never tell me what room or on what piece of furniture." Charlie warned his smirking sibling.
"Okay," Don agreed, "But you'll be shocked at who…"
Charlie held out a hand.
"Fine. Your loss," Don replied humorously.
"I'll survive." Charlie answered seriously.
"Okay, look I have to go back. If you want I can stop back and give you a ride." Don offered. "David's always on my case to delegate so I'll let him hold down the fort."
Charlie was momentarily left speechless. He did not think that the word delegate was even in his ultra control-freak brother's vocabulary.
"Sure, yeah." Charlie stammered. "That would be great." He gave his brother a grateful smile.
"Okay. You said 4:30. I'll be back here around 3:45." Don gave a semi wave and headed towards the door.
"Thanks for the offer." Charlie called out as he headed into the kitchen.
"It's a ride Charlie. I'm not offering you one of my kidneys," Don called out from the front door. He left the house to the sound of his brother laughing in the kitchen.
"Mission accomplished," Don thought to himself. He walked out of the house.
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Alan Eppes returned from his grocery run at 3:05. He hit heavy construction traffic on the way home. He was pretty sure his carton of Rocky Road ice cream had melted. The trip itself proved non-productive since the store was out most of the sale items that Alan had wanted to purchase.
He felt bad for having told the hapless customer service representative, "When was the last time you chowed down on a rain check coupon?"
Alan was in a very bad mood when he pulled into the driveway.
The harried man struggled up the pathway with two heavy canvas bags in each hand. Charlie's car was in the driveway, so his youngest son had to be somewhere in the house.
Once Alan banged his way inside the house; he called out for Charlie, stood in the foyer, and waited. No answer. "Typical," Alan griped.
He proceeded to bang his way into the kitchen.
After he put away the last grocery item, Alan walked over to the dishwasher.
He cracked the door open and found that it still contained dirty dishes. There was a soap pod in the dispenser, but that did little to appease the angry man. Charlie had promised to turn it on. Alan slammed the door shut and hit the start button.
"Seriously," Alan complained aloud, "you can count to infinity and beyond but remembering to run the dishwasher is a task too hard to comprehend."
Charlie came in from the garage just in time to hear his father's remark. He had a pair of expensive headphones around his neck.
"I was coming in to turn it on." Charlie walked tentatively around his father and over to the dishwasher. He opened the door, placed the drinking glass he had in his hand in the top tray, and reprogrammed the machine.
"Honestly Charlie," Alan all but whined. He made a great production of folding the four cloth bags that he had used to haul in a week's worth of groceries.
"I was going to start it after I made lunch. Then Don came over with takeout and…"
"You forgot." Alan interrupted.
Charlie ignored the snarky comment.
"I didn't hear you come in. Otherwise, I would have helped with the bags." Charlie stated as his father disappeared into the laundry room.
Charlie imagined locking his father in the laundry room.
When Alan came out of the room, he saw that his son was smiling. He was not amused.
"I called for you." Alan snapped "I suppose you had these things on (he flipped the dangling headphones).
Charlie, not a fan of having his space invaded, took a step backward.
"I'll empty it when it's finished running." Charlie offered.
Alan dismissed the peace offering with a loud "hmpf".
Charlie realized in that moment that he should have paid the extra money, put up with the long lines, and headed to Cabo on Saturday.
"Empty it after you come back from being checked out by a real doctor." Alan stated.
"Checked out by a real doctor," Charlie Eppes parroted. He did not even try to hide his annoyance.
Alan should have just let the discussion die, but knowing when to keep his mouth shut has always been the older man's downfall.
"Are you aware that your insurance company sent you to a doctor who graduated in the middle of his medical school class. Or that he went to a medical school located in the Virgin Islands?" Alan asked. He stood with his hands on his hips. It was an authoritative stance that Alan knew pushed every one of his son's buttons.
"You googled my doctor?" Charlie loudly questioned his father. He needed to walk away. "I'm going upstairs."
"I always research any medical professional I have an appointment to see; it's the responsible thing to do." Alan felt it necessary to point out.
Charlie always saw red whenever his father inserted the words "responsible" or "responsibility" into a conversation.
Seeing nothing but red, Charlie hit back.
"Don's driving me to the appointment." Charlie announced. He tried to walk past his father in order to make a dramatic exit.
Alan, however, was having none of it. He blocked his son's path.
"I told you when I called that I'd take you." A displeased Alan stated. "You were only able to get in to see Dr. Zonies today because…"
"Of your connections. Yes, I know." Charlie sarcastically replied.
"Don't try to antagonize me Charlie." Alan warned.
The two men stared at each other.
Don stopped in the middle of the dining room. "Crap," he muttered. If he had not promised to pick his brother up; he would have turned around and beat a hasty retreat. The continued silence coming from the kitchen had Don making a half turn.
"I'll be upstairs until Don gets here," Charlie gruffly announced.
He banged through the kitchen door. Charlie flew past Don in a blur of angry energy.
"Don't think for one minute that you can just dismiss me." Alan called after his fleeing son.
The second bang came from Alan as he also came barreling out of the kitchen. The swinging door had not seen this much activity since, as a newly minted teenager, Don felt the need to butt heads with everyone in the house over just about everything.
Charlie took the steps two at a time; anger fueled his climb.
Alan glanced off Don's shoulder. After spinning, Don found himself facing the swinging door.
A fast moving Alan threw a "Sorry" over his shoulder on his way to the foyer.
Don recovered his balance, dropped his head in defeat, and followed the two combatants.
"You and I are not done by a long shot!" Alan angrily yelled up the staircase.
A door slammed shut. The sound echoed throughout the house.
"Very mature." Alan bellowed. It was solely for the benefit of the upstairs door slammer.
"What am I missing?" Don wondered aloud. "He's going for the second opinion. Why are you jumping down his throat?" The statement did not go over well.
"Listen," Alan faced his oldest son. "I did not enjoy badgering the hell out of your brother."
"I think Charlie might debate that!" Don replied. He needed to stick up for Charlie. The remark earned Don the original Eppes dark stare.
"Your brother's upset because "HE NEEDED A SECOND OPINION AND I MADE IT HAPPEN." Alan said loud enough for the occupant on the second floor to over hear.
Don glanced over his father's shoulder and spotted a picture of his mother. He didn't need to earn a degree in psychology to understand why in times of illness, his father obsessed over the importance of getting a second opinion.
The sound of drawers being roughly opened and closed floated down to the first floor.
Alan grabbed onto the banister and started up the staircase.
"I'll go." Don offered.
"Thanks Donnie," A grateful (and relieved) Alan Eppes replied.
If given the choice Don would have preferred climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro in flip-flops then having to go into an enclosed space with a venting Charlie Eppes. It always struck Don as comical how people viewed his brother like he was some sort of living, breathing sweet-tempered, doe-eyed Disney character. When in reality; Charlie possessed a deadly skill for verbal evisceration.
When Don reached the second floor landing: he squared his shoulders and headed down the hallway.
He knocked on his brother's bedroom door. When he did not get a response Don knocked harder the second time.
"I'm coming in." He loudly announced before turning the doorknob.
When the cautious man walked into the room the first thing Don noticed was a travel bag on the bed. Lying haphazardly on top of the bag were a couple T-shirts, a black and a blue pair of cargo shorts, a pair of jeans, and lone pair of socks.
Don, grinned at his brother's packing attempt; traveling light would be an understatement. He walked around the bed to find Charlie sitting on the floor with his head resting up against the mattress.
"Hey," Don addressed the forlorn looking figure on the floor. "You're going to have to find a better hiding place. Dad's part tracker."
"Funny,"Charlie answered. "I was searching for a pair of sneakers."
Charlie had spotted one of his favorite white Nikes just under the bed. He had reached out to claim it.
He opened his eyes to find that he was sprawled out on the floor. Consciousness came only because someone had banged on his bedroom door.
It had slowly dawned on Charlie that he had blacked out.
"Charlie, are you okay?" Don asked. He had come in the room expecting his brother to be spitting fire not sitting on the floor looking forty shades of confused.
"Yeah," Charlie quickly answered. The subject matter needed to be changed. "What are you doing here already?"
Don leaned against a solidly built dresser. "I missed you." He announced as a matter-of-fact.
Charlie laughed at his older brother's lame attempt at humor.
Alan heard the sound of laughter and silently thanked his eldest son for the assist. The tired man headed back into the living room.
"We should get going." Don suggested. He held out a hand to help his brother up.
Charlie swatted the hand away, "Save it for when I really need it." He jokingly replied. He managed to get up by sheer will power. Once upright, Charlie made a motion for his waiting brother to go first.
Heading for the door, Don missed the moment a wobbly Charlie latched onto the bedpost to keep upright.
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At 3:45 p.m. Charlie sat in the SUV's passenger seat as Don drove him to his appointment. Something was wrong. Charlie could not pretend anymore. The last thing he wanted to hear when he got home was his father crowing "I told you so." Charlie hung his head. He knew his vacation plans were slipping away. Again.
"You okay?" Don questioned his oddly silent sibling.
"Could you please stop asking me that." Charlie asked as nicely as he could. However, it still came off sounding like he was itching for a fight.
Don decided to give his brother some space. He would wait for Charlie to initiate a conversation. It did not look to be any time soon; as his moody passenger now had his head up against the headrest, and his eyes were closed.
After a few blocks; the continued silence was getting to Don. Normally when seated in his SUV, Charlie would be yakking up a storm. Don couldn't believe that he actually missed the man's constant prattling.
"So where are you staying in Cabo?" Don decided to try and start up another conversation.
"The Cape." Charlie said. He conjured up a picture of the resort.
Don congratulated himself on actually getting an answer. He was on a roll. "A room with an ocean view?"
"Beachfront villa," Charlie answered. The picture in his head started to fade. Charlie decided that it would be really bad if he started crying right now; so he played along.
"A villa huh," Don replied. "I guess that means you get two chocolates on your pillow instead of one."
"Maybe, I don't know." Charlie quietly responded. The game was getting too hard.
Don slowed the SUV for a red light. He used the time to shoot a glance at his brother. He saw a kaleidoscope of emotions swirling in his brother's expressive eyes.
Charlie tried to swallow the lump that had formed in his throat.
"You ready to tell me what's going on?" Don patiently asked. He had not missed the fact that his brother had looked like he might cry less than a minute ago.
The cell phone that Don had laced in the center console sprang to life. It chirped and danced around the cup holder. The sound spooked both men.
The number displayed was all too familiar.
Charlie, without thinking, picked up the phone and ended the call.
"Hey!," Don yelled. He grabbed his phone just as the light turned green.
"It was just Dad." A unrepentant Charlie pointed out.
"Don't touch my phone," a deadly serious Don warned. He had expected an apology, but apparently his brother decided it was unwarranted.
The moment of closeness before the phone went off had evaporated. The two men sat in stony silence as the medical center came into sight.
Don pulled the weighty SUV into a turning lane and waited for the oncoming traffic to clear.
"Sorry," a subdued Charlie apologized.
"Okay." A calmer Don replied. He pulled the SUV into the medical center's parking lot, settled on the first available spot and killed the engine.
"You know we could just go to dinner." Charlie announced. He pointed to a restaurant adjacent to the complex. "Technically, we were here."
Don almost caved when Charlie shot him a woeful expression, but then adult reasoning took over. He said, "Look, this guy will probably give you a B12 shot and boom you're out of there."
"Wonderful," Charlie said sarcastically. He opened the SUV's door and reluctantly slid off the passenger seat.
Don doubted that his brother could move any slower without actually coming to a complete stop.
Once out of the SUV; Charlie looked toward the doctor's office and then back at Don.
"Did you want me to go in?" The surprised older man asked.
"What? God, no!" A flustered Charlie exclaimed. He quickly shut the heavy door.
Despite his brother's denial Don hurried to open his door. He had one foot on the ground when his cell phone came back to life. Don pulled his foot back in and slammed the driver's side door. The annoyed man lowered the SUV's tinted
passenger window. A nervous looking Charlie had taken up a post on the cement pathway that led up to Dr. Zonies' office.
Don barked into his cell phone, "Hang on David." He yelled out the passenger window, "Charlie, give me a minute." He held up one finger as a visual aid.
Charlie nodded.
Don listened intently as David divulged that the body of Debra Salazar had been located and that a warrant had been issued for the arrest of Samuel Salazar. Colby and Meghan were working on a lead.
On the sidewalk, Charlie watched the digital display on his watch counted off a minute. He looked into the SUV and saw that Don was still deep into his phone conversation.
Charlie turned and trudged his way up to the entrance of the Dr. Zonies office.
After ending his latest call, Don looked out the passenger window to find Charlie had left. He debated about going into the doctor's office, but decided it would be better to just sit and wait.
At 5:15, Charlie appeared. Wordlessly, he opened the passenger door, and climbed into the passenger seat.
Don waited for his brother to tell him how everything went. Charlie, however, remained mute.
"Charlie, look I'm sorry. I had four calls in a row all dealing with..."
"I didn't expect you to come in." Charlie said truthfully. Once Don picked up his phone, Charlie knew he was going to have to fly solo.
"It's not like I didn't try." A defensive Don responded.
"It's fine. I went. I'm back." Charlie said. He did not offer any other details.
"So, what did this doctor say he was going to do for you," An increasingly annoyed Don inquired. "Do we have to stop at a pharmacy? Or…"
"No, everything's taken care of." Charlie answered. The folded appointment card that Charlie held tightly in his fist made its way to the back pocket of his jeans when his brother's attention was momentarily diverted by an incoming text.
"You weren't in there that long." Don questioned as he replied to a new text.
"I was the last appointment." Charlie replied. He adjusted his seat belt and waited for his brother to finish typing. " Please tell me all those calls were not from dad." He exclaimed.
"No." The older man suppressed a smile. "They were all updates." Don slid his sunglasses down in order to see his brother better. "The Recovery Team located Debra Salazar's body. Charlie, you were right on the money."
"I'm glad they were able to find her," a relieved sounding Charlie replied. In truth, the mathematician was impressed by the outcome of his hurried work.
"David is on his way to inform her mother." Don said. "Meghan and Colby are following a lead on Samuel Salazar." You came through for her mother, her family and for me, Charlie."
"I'm glad it all worked out." Charlie said simply.
Don was expecting a little more enthusiasm. He figured that despite Charlie's denial his brother felt let down. Caught between a rock and a hard place, Don opted for avoidance and began backing the solidly built SUV out of an extremely tight parking space.
"I'll drop you off back at the house." Don watched as his brother shook his head. "Okay, where then?" Charlie's many moods were starting to drive Don nuts. "I'm heading to the office." He snapped. If his brother wanted to hang out there that was fine, but Don wasn't going to take the blame for the guy having to pack at midnight.
"I"ll go for the ride. There's a bookstore about a block from your office. It has a copy of a book that I have been looking for. I'll take a car service home." Charlie explained.
Don nodded as he drove toward the medical center's exit.
He did a quick check of the time. "You know it's going to be after 6 when we get to the office are you sure this bookstore will still be open?"
Charlie looked out the passenger window.
"They are staying open until I get there." the younger man responded.
Don made a right and the SUV was soon swallowed up by rush hour traffic.
"Perks of being the esteemed Professor Charles Eppes." Don joked. He was trying his best to lighten the mood inside the SUV.
Charlie turned from the window."I didn't ask them to stay open."
Don glanced over and was surprised to see that his brother actually looked upset.
"Charlie, I know you'd never pull rank. It was just a bad joke." Don could not win.
"Yeah. A bad joke." Charlie mumbled. He turned to look out the passenger window.
Don decided that until the unpredictable individual seated next to him wanted to talk; he would just keep his mouth shut.
It was a very quiet ride to the FBI building.