Chapter 37

Ben toyed with the bandage on his hand, deep in thought. Finally, he looked at me. "I hadn't realized how much I'd hoped Damiano would still have the painting. It stands to reason that he would have sent it on to his employer immediately, but I was still hoping."

"Now we can place all our hopes in Charlie's program." I grinned at Charlie, "No pressure, of course."

"Compared to some of the cases Don's gotten me involved in, this one is a walk in the park," Charlie said. He turned to Amita. "I think we might as well wait until Don brings the folders over. Of course, it sounds like someone took the important pages..."

"Or the ones they thought were important," Amita said. " We might still find something worthwhile in the pages that are left."

"I'm surprised the Cheevers folder is missing," I said. "That's one of the ones I gave you. He's a fence, and not a high end one either. But he had connections in Boston and with the Crips. He was interviewd by that McLaren guy."

"The one who got canned, right?" Charlie asked. "Maybe we should ask Don to pull McLaren's file. He might have been involved in the original theft."

"True," Ben said. "There are so many people involved in the two cases. I'm glad your program is sorting them all out. Now, you mentioned that the petty thief, Terwilliger was connected with Seeloff, right? That seems odd, since he's out here and she was in Boston, doesn't it?"

"And," I added, "Terwilliger had a strong connection with Cheevers, whose folder is missing. Cheevers was Terwilliger's favorite fence."

A nurse entered the room, and said, "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I need to change Charlie's dressing and take his vitals. It'd be better if you folks went for a walk for a few minutes."

Amita saved what she was working on, and we decided to wander down to the lounge. "So, Amita," I said, "how long have you and Charlie known each other?"

"Let's see, he was my thesis adviser two years ago. He's great to work with. A little bossy at times, and he can be incredibly stubborn, but otherwise, a lot of fun. While you're here, you have to see him teach."

Alan agreed, "If, like me, you have no clue what these two are talking about when they talk math, you'd be best off attending one of his 'math for dummies' lectures."

I laughed. "They don't really call them that, do they?"

"No, no. That's my nickname for them. I think they're called 'Math for Non-Mathematicians.' Charlie can tell you if he has any scheduled this semester."

Amita shook her head. "Maybe not, Mr. Eppes. He doesn't always remember things like that. I'll email you a copy of his schedule when we go back to the room."

We found the lounge, sat for a few minutes, and then headed back to Charlie's room. The nurse had finished the gruesome work of changing the bandages, and was taking Charlie's temperature and blood pressure. "Just in time," she said. "We're just finishing up here."

Alan sat in the chair closest to Charlie, and asked, "How's he doing, Bethany?"

"His temperature is a little high, but not bad. The wound is healing just fine. No sign of infection. Charlie, you feel like having some jello?"

"Yes, thanks. These guys have been eating danishes and drinking coffee in front of me all day. I think they're just doing it because they know I can't have any."

"Well, it's up to the doctor, but I think you might be on a soft diet tonight and regualr food tomorrow," Bethany said. "I'll bring your jello."

"Why don't I come with you and get the jello," I offered. "You must have more than enough to do."

"Thanks, I certainly do," Bethany said.

I was walking back with a serving of red, when Don came down the hallway. "Hey, Maggie," he said. "Looks like they've got Charlie eating almost-real food."

"Yep. The nurse said he might be on soft foods tonight."

"I don't even want to think about what that could be," Don said, grinning. "Hey, everybody," he said as he entered the room. "Charlie, I brought more work, but only if you're up to it," he said, with a wary glance at Alan.

"Let him eat his jello first, Don," Alan warned.

"Hey, Dad," Charlie protested, "I can multitask, you know."

"I don't know, Chuck," Don said, "can you walk and chew gum at the same time?"

"Gum's disgusting," Charlie said. "But I can eat jello and look at those files at the same time. All right, Maggie! You brought red. My favorite flavor!"

Alan looked closely at Charlie's face. "You've been up for a long time, and you're starting to look tired, Charlie. Maybe after you eat, you should take a little rest."

Charlie smiled wearily at his dad. "I think you're right. How long were you guys planning on staying?"

"Until they kick me out," Alan said.

"Same here," Amita said.

"Until my phone rings," Don said with a wry grin.

Ben and I exchanged glances, and he said, "As long as you want us here, Charlie. Why?"

"Well, I thought you could look through the files, and see if anything jumps out at you. Amita knows the program better than I do at this point, so she could input anything you find that seems worthwhile." He paused to savor a spoonful of jello. "Red, the food of kings," he said. "Anyway, Amita, you can show Don what turned up in the last pass." He stopped to yawn, and continued, "And, Don, you could fill Amita in on anything you've learned about Emma and Farnsworth."

When Charlie yawned again, Alan said, "Okay, Charlie, finish eating that jello before you fall asleep in it."

Charlie ate two spoonfuls before he spoke again, "You don't have your camera, do you?" He explained, "When I was, what, a year and a half old, I feel asleep in my highchair with my face in my bowl of spaghetti. Mom and dad must have taken a hundred pictures, and Dad still loves to pull them out to embarrass me."

"Yeah," Don said, "with me it was the the picture in my Superman underoos."

"Well, you were wearing the underoos from the waist up," Charlie laughed. "From the waist down you were completely naked. And you had a pillowcase tied around your neck as a cape."

"What's the use of having kids if you can't embarrass the heck out of them?" Alan asked. "Now, Charlie, finish the jello and sleep."

Author's note: Sorry this one is so short. The embarrassing moments are courtesy of two of my own three kids.