TOO CLOSE TO HOME

Chapter 2

After parting company with Larry at the faculty building, Charlie retrieved his bike and quickly headed for home. In the years that he'd been at Calsci, first as a student and now as faculty, he had established a number of routes to get him to and from the campus, including shortcuts. One in particular was a narrow path that ran past a half acre of thick trees and brush just off the northern edge of the campus. Far from the illumination of the street lights, it was a route that the young man rarely took after nightfall.

Just as soon as he arrived home, Charlie headed straight for the work he'd reluctantly put aside the night before; the work of trying to find out the 'hot zone' for the Campus Killer, as the press had dubbed him. Opening up the notebook with the work he had done during his lunch hour, he began to painstakingly recheck each calculation.

Alan Eppes was in the kitchen fixing the evening meal. Hearing the door open, he spoke without looking. "The meat loaf will be done in half an hour so don't too engrossed in your work." Getting no response from his youngest son, he shook his head. Sometimes talking to Charlie was like talking to a brick wall when he was completely focused on some tricky problem.

Don parked his vehicle in the driveway and slowly got out. All afternoon he'd debated whether to tell Charlie that his school was a possible target. But having that information might help to calculate where the 'hot zone' was. But even if they located a place to start, there was the possibility the killer couldn't be identified by DNA before he claimed his next victim. It was a tough call but the need for information won out. It was not going to easy facing his younger brother.

Charlie was so engrossed in his work that he didn't hear the footsteps approaching him When he felt a hand on his shoulder he looked up startled and said, "Don, you know I don't like being snuck up on like that."

"Charlie, I think sometimes an invading army could surround this place and you wouldn't even notice unless they disturbed your work," Don replied. "Anyway, it got your attention."

"Have you got anything more for me to work with? Charlie asked his attention focused on Don.

"As a matter of fact, I do. We have been able to determine two possible places where the killer may strike next."

"Good. What are they?" Charlie asked, eagerly reaching for his pen and a blank sheet of paper.

"One is the Lindstrom Academy," Don replied. He paused for a moment. "The other is Calsci"

Charlie let the pen fall from his fingers as he stared at Don, a stunned look on his face. Calsci was his world; it was where he taught the concepts of higher mathematics to sometimes less than enthusiastic students, most of the people he knew were there. He didn't even want to imagine the possibility that one of his students could be the next victim.