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Chapter 10

Just as Daniel and Kate were about to separate for lunch, Kate felt her phone vibrating. Taking it out of her pocket, she looked at the lit screen.

"Well," Kate announced, after reading the text, "Looks like someone is ready to talk."

That got Daniel's attention, "President Newsom?"

Kate shook her head.

"College financier Allen Packwood?" he guessed again.

Kate once more shook her head.

"Hmmm," Daniel pondered, " It couldn't be coroner Zachary Brent, because we just left him, so, who's left?"

"Our distraught department secretary, Myra Tinsley," answered Kate as she looked at him hesitantly,"I know I was to drop you off at the university, but would you consider joining me for the questioning of Miss Tinsley?"

Although her tone was casual, she held her breath as she watched Daniel.

Daniel hesitated, knowing he cared about this case far more than he should. Studying Kate intently, he realized that the more cases he worked with her, the more attached he was becoming to her. Up until this point Daniel had managed his own life so carefully, so efficiently, despite his condition. Life hadn't been perfect, but it was acceptable for him. Brooding was a normal mood for him.

Then Kate re-entered his life and suddenly, his world was infused with joy and wonderment.

So why had he turned down a lunch with her? Right now, all he could think about was being near to her. Heat climbed over his face at the memory of her soft, feminine hand caressing his bristled jaw.

"Interrogation beats having lunch by myself, any day." he grinned as Kate breathed freely once more.

As Kate drove herself and Daniel to the faculty cafeteria, she updated him as to what she had found out about Wesley Nash. Apparently, back in Vegas, Wesley Nash was a real card shark and had been banned from several casinos. Therefore, it could be assumed that Wesley Nash may have taken advantage of his poker buddies with his professional knowledge of cards.

Kate had just finished her explanation when they arrived at their destination.

The faculty cafeteria did not have the usual eggshell- painted walls and cheap plastic furniture that one would expect from a staff dining place. Instead, with its neon lights and cushioned booths, this on-campus cafeteria looked more like a bar at happy hour, except it was brighter and had a long display of food underneath its sneeze-guard glass.

Spotting Myra Tinsley seated off to the side by herself reading a book, Daniel and Kate approached her.

"Myra?" Daniel's voice was pleasant as he greeted her.

Myra looked up from her intense reading, re-adjusting her glasses at the same time, "Daniel? How nice to see you." She turned to Kate, "Agent Moretti, thank you for coming, too...please, go in line and get some food first before you sit down."

It was long past noon, and the cafeteria line was not long. Daniel and Kate proceeded quickly down the line, sliding their food tray down the meandering sideboard, trying to decide what to eat.

Daniel noted Kate reaching for the huge roast beef sandwich platter which included chips.

"The sandwich alone could be your total caloric and fat intake for the entire day," Daniel pointed out, as he looked around for something healthy to eat.

Kate gave Daniel a neutral look.

"You're right, Daniel" she agreed,"I better grab a vegetable to balance it out." Kate then grabbed the pumpkin pie, "Thanks for the unnecessary input, by the way."

The ends of Daniel's mouth curved into a smile, "You do realize that desserts is stressed spelled backwards, don't you?"

"I live on stress, so you've just made me want the pie more," Kate claimed, as she watched Daniel reach for a vegetarian sandwich and a small salad.

"You've got enough greenery on your tray, Daniel?" she asked sarcastically.

"Just call me a nutritional overachiever," he responded solemnly.

Now it was Kate's turn to smile.

After purchasing their food, they brought their trays back over to Myra, who immediately put her book away. Pleased, Myra was not used to other people wanting to spend their lunch with her.

""Ms. Tinsley," Kate began, "I assume you called us with information regarding Wesley Nash."

At the mention of Nash's name, Kate noticed how Myra's bottom lip slightly trembled.

"Oh, well...I actually didn't know him very well," Myra said slowly.

Kate tilted her head, "What, then, is it you wanted to tell us?"

Myra bit her lip in deep contemplation before she looked back at Daniel and Kate, "Maybe I shouldn't say anything."

Daniel knew he had to be careful with someone as emotionally fragile as Myra, "We're not accusing you of anything. We know that the department secretary is the person who is the glue holding together all the other departments. Just tell us what you think may be important to our investigation."

Knowing that she was the 'glue' seemed to relax her. She leaned in as if she were telling a secret, "It's about the weekly poker games." Her eyes looked back as she whispered.

"Go on Myra," Daniel gave her an encouraging nod.

Myra swallowed nervously, "I don't know if this will help…but...all I know is that mornings after poker night, I could always tell when President Newsom had lost because he would be in a bad mood the entire day. And…and lately he was always in a bad mood every time he played poker the others."

"Thereby implying that he lost many times," Kate stated the obvious, "Did he ever talk about the amount of his losses?" Kate asked.

"No, not really," said Myra, as she looked down, "although at times he would vaguely say something like he and Zachary Brent made it possible to pay Wesley's monthly rent ...in a joking way, of course."

So the president and coroner were the losers, with possibly President Newsom being the bigger loser of the two.

"Anything else?" Kate asked.

Myra began twisting the edge of her napkin, "You...you don't think President Newsom is involved in Wesley Nash's murder, do you?"

"If not," Daniel stated, "This will help the FBI in eliminating him as a suspect."

Myra looked at Daniel and then at Kate who nodded in agreement.

It's just..." Myra began slowly, "the other day, President Newsom asked for the keys to get into Wesley's on-campus house."

Daniel and Kate exchanged glances.

"Did he say why?" Kate asked.

"I know I shouldn't have given him the keys," Myra seemed to be mentally kicking herself, "but President Newsom said he had lent some books to Wesley, and he needed to get them before, well, before they got rid of Wesley's stuff, and I figured if they belonged to him, what would be the harm and all..."

Her voice trailed off.

Daniel leaned in, "Myra, you did nothing wrong, nothing, and we thank you for your help."

She nodded, looking pleased "I helped?"

Daniel smiled, "More than you'll ever know."

"Well, then," Myra said timidly, "if there's nothing else, I guess I better get back to my desk."

She started to get up.

"Wait, Ms. Tinsley, could I just ask one more thing?" Kate asked.

Myra stiffened a bit,"Yes?"

"It's sad what had happened to Wesley Nash," Kate commented, " and it's obvious that his death has had an effect on you. Were you two close?"

Sadness filled Myra's eyes, "It's not what you think. I mean, I've always liked him, you know?" she looked embarrassed at her own comment, "I don't know how to explain it...I mean... did either one of you ever experience liking someone but you weren't sure that person felt the same way?"

"Yes," Daniel and Kate said in unison as they quickly looked at each other in surprise.

Myra didn't appear to notice as she continued on, "I d-don't know what he thought of me, but I thought he was...wonderful. So smart, so worldly, you know?But he was always busy writing proposals, grants or whatever to care about a relationship, though I wished he would have noticed me"

Daniel purposely guffawed, "Believe me, Myra, you are someone worth noticing."

"Really?" her eyes were shining for a second and she looked her most attractive. Then she stood up, smiling gratefully, "I really must go, President Newsom is expecting me."

"Of course, Ms. Tinsley," Kate gave her an encouraging smile, "And thank you again for all your help."

After Myra had gone, Daniel and Kate looked down at their trays of food. Then they looked awkwardly at each other. Even though they were in a roomful of people, they realized they were alone at a table to themselves.

"Looks like we are having that lunch, after all.,'" Kate then paused, realizing that for some reason her words had caused a flush to rise from Daniel throat to his ears.

"Daniel, are you alright?"

"Kate, I suppose you think my reason for originally turning down lunch with you earlier was rather strange." Daniel's voice was slightly uneven.

He stared at her upturned face causing her heart to skip a beat.

"I-I…" her voice faltered as she looked down on her food, "I didn't take it personally."

But she did.

For a space of time she thought something would happen between them. She was recalling yesterday when he had saved her from the wayward skateboarder; the way he had held her so protectively in his arms. Sensations rushed throughout her body at the memory of his touch. How perfect and secure it felt to be held by him, to be enveloped by his body.

And she assumed that was why he seemed to be avoiding her. He didn't want to be involved with her, he was more interested in solving the case. Daniel had a very narrow way of thinking, so of course it was personal.

"So..." Daniel said, as he tasted his sandwich, "I'm glad Myra was forthcoming with you regarding Wesley Nash, but I'm surprised you could tell she was attracted to him, being that you had such little interaction with her. How did you know?

"Women can sense if another woman has a crush on someone," explained Kate, as a smile worked its way up to her eyes, "It's like there's a certain sparkle that comes to her eyes at the sound of the person's name or his very presence-"

Kate went still the minute she uttered the words, Had he noticed how she was looking at him just now? Not meeting Daniel's questioning gaze, she shakily reached for her water and took a big gulp, almost choking. It seemed every turn she made was a danger zone, all leading to thoughts of Daniel.

"Kate?" Daniel looked confused.

Change the subject, Kate thought.

"Daniel, you said you figured out the mystery of the carbon found in Wesley Nash's wound?"

He had to pause to think, the change in subject was so abrupt.

"I think so," Daniel explained, forking more of his salad, "I went back to that tragic day and mentally pictured everything in the faculty lounge, imagining anything that would require the use of carbon as one of its materials."

"And?"

"And," concluded Daniel, " I recalled the trophy shelf next to the refrigerator."

Kate gave him a questioning glance.

"Trophies? Aren't they usually made out of acrylic or plastic?" Kate asked, munching on a potato chip.

"The newer ones, yes, but not those trophies. Some of them are as old as the 70's; they're pretty obsolete now, " Daniel explained, "Anyway, back then, trophies were made out of metal." He then took another bite of his salad.

"But metal is not the same as carbon," Kate pointed out "so what do the metal trophies have to do with the carbon compound?"

"Back in the day, trophies were coated with carbon to protect them," Daniel said, finishing his sandwich, "so guess what could be the murder weapon?"

Kate smiled, "I love when a case starts coming together."

"Me, too," acknowledged Daniel, thinking her smile was infectious.

Feeling on safe ground once more, Kate shoved the plate of pumpkin pie between them, "Care to share with me?" she asked as she handed an unused fork to him, "They say sharing a piece of pie increases happiness."

Daniel returned her smile as he dug the fork into the slice of pie, thinking this was one of the best lunches he's ever had.

.

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Say...anyone ever go on the Perception Facebook? I recently won the two Perception crossword puzzle books! That's me they've congratulated on their FB page! Woot! Woot! I am so jazzed! *Happy Feet Dance*

I guess ALL PM outbox messages cannot be deleted now, but I will continue personally thanking readers this way because they deserve to be mentioned! Thanks to the following: JMC, DianaW, Broken-Rose-Thornesxoxo, RedHearts, PerceptionFan, OnlytheFacts, Katarina97, Ems724, Defender of the People1, Hawkfire28, QuestioningSilence, magicbanana123, Marilyn Lowell, Forthedefense, SallyT, EverydayisFun...and also thank you for all the people who've added this story to alerts and faves

(Dedicated to BRT and Alex for different reasons, but you each know why. *winks*)

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