Disclaimer: Sorry. Don't own the show. Don't own the characters. I'm just borrowing them for a while.

Here's the next chapter! I promise the plot will move after this!

"Eppes."

"Hey Don," Charlie's voice punched through the speaker as a welcome distraction from the barking, ringing and shuffling that were always a part of Don's office, "Sorry I called so late… but there was this assignment I handed out a few weeks ago that some students were confused with and I've just been clarifying the same thing over and over for the last two hours… Anyway, I've looked at the file that you gave me this morning, and so far, I can't see anything else that might help your investigation. I'm taking it home tonight just to see if there's anything else to look at… but well, I can't really see anything that would lead you to the killers."

Don had to bite his lip to stop himself from sighing in frustration. It wasn't his fault that there weren't any leads on the case, but he still felt frustrated that even Charlie couldn't dig anything up. "That's alright." Don clicked the pen in his hand repeatedly with newly-found irritated energy, "Thanks for your help anyway."

"That's alright." There was a pause, "Look, I know you're really busy with this case… what with the high profile murders and all the public pressure to catch these guys. But well, Dad hasn't seen you in a while and he misses you around. I mean, he's tried to call you too but you're never at home. Anyway, Dad's making spaghetti tonight and he's wondering if you would be able to turn up to see him for just an hour or so…. Around seven?"

There was so much undisguised hope in Charlie's voice that Don couldn't help but feel bad that he hadn't contacted his father in more than a week. The case… well it was taking its toll on everyone. "Yeah… sure thing, Charlie. But I can't stay long. I promise I'll turn up by seven thirty though."

"Great!" his brother's enthusiasm was infectious, "Larry is coming over. I can ask him if he has anything to offer to your case… Oh, and by the way, Dad said for you to bring Terry. God knows she would need a break too after working for you… you slave driver."

Don chuckled, "I'll see if she can make it." He wondered if his father had any romantic intentions for him by bring Terry along for dinner. Alan Eppes' matchmaking efforts, although accepted by his sons as part of their father's ploy to receive grandchildren, weren't always welcome.

"All right. See you then!"

Don hung up and glanced over at his partner, who was scribbling something hastily on a piece of note paper. Terry paused and rubbed her eyes tiredly as she re-read what she had written. Don's eyebrows contracted a little with concern as he observed her stiff movements. Evidently she hadn't had a good night's sleep when she got home last night. Or rather, this morning.

Don looked up. The clock on the wall read five pm. He had about two hours to finish reading through the reports that he had received from David, who was still chasing empty leads in Washington. That should be enough. Then he could go to Charlie's place and talk over what he had found so far. If there was someone who could make something out of nothing in this case… that person would have to be Charlie.

Don looked over at Terry once again. He knew she was tough, but no one could go on without sleep for much longer than she was. It was physically impossible. But there was just something about Terry today… something that made her seem just a little distracted. That was uncommon. Terry was always the most focused person on the team. But today… there was something that was bothering her.

Maybe dinner cooked by Alan Eppes would be just the right medicine.

"Hey Terry…" Don got up from his desk and headed over to where she sat, her face partly obscured by blonde hair that had fallen out of her hurried ponytail, "Anything new turn up?"

Terry jumped a little when he put a hand on her arm. He apologized quickly, but couldn't help feeling worried about how tired she looked. "Nothing seems to be coming, Don." She said finally, picking up another piece of note paper, as she turned around to face him, "Sorry."

"You know, you should really get some rest." Don peered into her eyes for a moment to examine whether or not he should be this concerned, "You look exhausted, Terry… How about you come over to Charlie's place for dinner tonight at seven thirty? I think you could do with a break."

Terry brushed the stray hairs away from her eyes restlessly and sighed, looking over the piles of paper that littered her desk, "I don't know, Don…"

"We can work on the case there." Don added hastily, assuring her that he still had his priorities sorted out. For some reason, Don felt as though he hadn't spent much time with his partner outside the office recently. And he missed that. After work, it wasn't uncommon for them to have some coffee at the diner nearby just to relax and go over what had happened that day. After all, he had known Terry since Academy days, and he didn't want their friendship to deteriorate just because of a case that made them both exhausted and irritable. "I gave a file to Charlie to read through this morning, with a copy of all the information we had on this case. Funnily enough, the file wasn't very thick… Anyway, if you come over and have a meal we can work through whatever we have with Charlie and Larry. It might be of help to have fresh eyes on this case."

After a short pause, Terry smiled slightly in spite of her tiredness. "All right."

Don counted receiving the weary smile from Terry as a small triumph.

&&&&

It was already seven o' clock and Charlie was beginning to feel almost as frustrated with the case as Don and Terry were. Was it possible that there was just no connection between the three attorneys who were killed other than the fact that they all worked in the same building? It was uncanny. Who would go to such lengths to infiltrate a heavily guarded building and murder three men in the space of a week?

Charlie paced for a few minutes, willing his mind to come up with something that might help his brother. He looked over the victims' information once more.

James Well, forty-two- killed in his office at 12 pm (5th November) with a single gunshot wound to the right temple. Gun was a semi-automatic.

Henry Clear, forty five- killed in his office at 3pm (7th November) with a single gunshot wound to the right temple. Weapon used was a semi-automatic pistol.

Andrew Sienna, forty three- killed in his office at 2 pm (11th November) with a single gunshot wound to the right temple. Weapon used was a semi-automatic.

He sat down and studied the pages in his hands. Over and over again, Charlie read the words, in Terry's neat handwriting: No witnesses to the murder. Security cameras were tampered with. All members of security questioned and none have particular reason to kill any of the three victims.

There was a knock at the door, and Charlie looked up from the papers. The door swung open.

"Hello there, Charles." Larry took off his coat and slung it over one of the chairs in the basement, "Your father told me that you wanted to speak to me about something before dinner?"

"Yeah… thanks for dropping by, Larry." Charlie got up quickly and gathered some papers that were lying on the table, "Don is in the middle of this really high profile case that doesn't seem to have any leads or indications of the killer's identity. I've been sorting through this mess and so far I agree with them that there is nothing to work with… Anyway, I thought maybe you might be able to help. It doesn't have much to do with physics or anything… but you might just pick something up that we missed."

"Well, I'll see what I can do," Larry said, sitting down and taking some papers from Charlie, "You said this was a high profile case?" He inquired as he laid the pages in front of him to get a good view.

"Yes." Charlie picked up more of the pages that he had strewn amongst the unmarked test papers and research documents, "Three wealthy, well-known attorneys… all from the same firm although they didn't work directly with one another were murdered in their respective offices. Here."

Charlie handed the rest of the file to Larry and sat down opposite the socially-awkward physicist. He reached over the table to grab a mug of water, and taking a slow sip, proceeded to observe his friend flick through the same bits of information that he had looked over just minutes before.

"It's strange…" Charlie said, taking another mouthful of water, "But there just doesn't seem to be any mathematical link between the three victims even though the way they were killed is exactly the same. I was just starting to think that maybe…"

"Wait."

Larry had gone pale. He lay the victims' information down on the table in front of him and took a step back. Charlie got up and stepped around Larry's side to take a look at what he had found.

The pages showed the names of the victims and the accounts of the people who last saw them alive. Charlie knew that he had read through those papers over and over again, yet had found nothing. But Larry seemed to have realized something. His hands were shaking and his face had become an unnatural shade of white.

"Larry?" Charlie suddenly felt concerned, "Larry, are you alright?"

Larry ignored the question. "Call your brother, Charles. Tell him that there are going to be five more murders before this is all over."

&&&&

"You've been very quiet today, Terry." Don said, with his hands on the steering wheel. They were on the way to Charlie's house, with hope that they would get a little further in their investigations once the evening was over. "Are you feeling alright?"

His partner looked over at him questioningly, knowing him well enough to realize that he would be satisfied easily with an answer. He wanted to know what was going on. Her pulse rate sped up involuntarily as she contemplated whether or not to tell him about the note.

"I'm just really tired…" Terry answered truthfully, rubbing her eyes for the twentieth time that day. "I didn't get the best sleep last night, you know."

There was a pause. Ahead, the green light came on and Don put his foot on the accelerator. Terry leaned back against the seat.

"Is there… something bothering you? Other than the case I mean." Don pressed on, knowing that there had to be something else that was making her seem more detached.

Terry was silent. The letter that was slipped under her door was now sitting on Merrick's desk. She had told him about her suspicions that the letter was just a prank. However, Merrick appeared to be concerned. He wasn't sure that she should discard the note so readily. He would send it to be dusted for prints just to double check that it wasn't from some escaped felon or something.

"Terry?"

She took a deep breath. What the hell. It might be nothing after all. "When I got back to my apartment after work yesterday, I…"

Don's cell phone rang and she stopped. He pressed the button on his hands-free and glanced curiously at Terry before answering. "Eppes."

"Don!" Charlie's voice was both excited and anxious, "Don, you have to get here quick! Larry says he knows what the link is between the three murders. And there are going to be more…"

"Hey… hey slow down, buddy." Don gave Terry the look which said 'Something's up!' She sat up, interested. Don signaled left before continuing, "Are you saying that there are going to be more people dead… with connections to the dead attorneys?"

"Yes!" Don could hear his brother pacing around in the basement while talking, "Five more people are going to die. But these people aren't all attorneys. There's a doctor, a journalist, an engineer…"

"Hold on a second!" Don turned a corner, "I'm almost at your place, Charlie. Just tell me… what is it that connects all these people?"

There was the sound of paper shuffling. Then Charlie's voice sounded once more.

"Don… have you ever heard of Delta Blue?"

TBC