Author's Note: Thank ya'll so much for reading! I'm trying to update as fast as I can. I appreciate everyone's feedback. Thank you for reviewing! I appreciate it so much, and it helps me out a great deal!
I do not own AlphaVax or its SARS Vaccine, I'm just borrowing them real quick, and however the characters there are mine.
Special thanks to Bloodsuckers37 for reading and helping me fix the numerous mistakes.
Stephanie519-I know how u feel, it's hard to find time to write when babysitting
SEAL2FBI-Clue is my favorite game; nobody likes to play it with me anymore since I kept winning
Patty-I have a notebook that keeps everything straight
TriGemini-…..
Clue
Chapter IV- Miss Scarlet
3:26 AM Eppes Residence
A loud ringing noise echoed throughout Don's old room. Don automatically grabbed for his cell phone and looked at the screen to see Terry's name up on the caller ID.
"Eppes," Don said sleepily
"Don, its Terry."
"What happened?" Don replied looking at the clock on the table.
"There's been another homicide."
Not again. "Another one? Which one is it?" Don asked getting out of bed.
"This one's Miss Scarlet."
Don went to the closet and found a grey suit that he had left there.
"Where?"
"The Blakley Mansion."
Don thought for a second before realizing that a murder took place in the home of one of the wealthiest people in LA.
"Give me 20 minutes," Don mumbled before hanging up.
Don got dressed and went downstairs, where he found Charlie working at the table.
"Hey," Don said ruffling Charlie's hair. "What are you doing up?"
"This case," Charlie replied while searching through the notebooks strewn about the table.
Don went into the kitchen and fixed himself a cup of coffee and sat at the table with Charlie.
"Charlie, I didn't mean 'stay up all night' when I said hurry."
"I know. It's, I just don't want to loose my train of thought. How's your back this morning?"
"A little stiff, but I'll live," Don got in before taking a long sip of his coffee.
"Don, why are you involved in this case?" Charlie prodded.
"It's serial killings."
"I know that, by why were you there for the first murder?"
"I was specifically asked for," Don replied, purposefully being vague.
Don saw Terry pull into the driveway and met her at the door.
"Hey Charlie," Terry said coming through the door.
"Hey," Charlie replied without looking up from his papers.
"Can I get you a cup of coffee before we leave?" Don offered Terry.
"I'm good, thanks."
Don was getting his coat when Charlie walked up to him.
"Hey Don," Charlie said anxiously crossing his arms.
"Yeah?"
"Be careful out there."
"Thanks buddy, I will. You take care of dad, and go back to bed," Don ordered opening the door. "Tell dad that I should be back for dinner."
"Okay."
Don squeezed Charlie's shoulder before leaving.
4:24 AM Blakley Manor
The mansion was buzzing with people, and the lawn outside the gates was swarming with news crews and their equipment.
Terry parked the Suburban across the street. Don and Terry put their jackets on to hide their weapons as a media mob flocked to them and followed as the agents walked to the front door.
David was at the front door waiting for them keeping silent until they were safely away from the prying ears outside.
"Sorry I had to wake you up," David declared leading the agents to the ballroom.
"Its okay," Don said ducking under the crime scene tape put across the door. "Who was it?"
"Cathryn," David answered handing Don and Terry rubber gloves.
The agents walked over to the body that was being photographed. The photographer left when the agents approached the body. The body was positioned with the legs bent, one arm above the head which was turned. The card and note were still on the woman's chest, right where the killer had left them.
"This looks like it has been staged," Terry said walking around the body. "There's no way that this is the way she fell, it looks unnatural."
Don slowly bent down to the body, ignoring the throbbing coming from his back. He put on a glove and retrieved the note, which read 'Getting warmer'. Don handed Terry the note after reading it.
Don slowly got up and walked around the room, surveying its grandeur.
"Who found her and what was she doing here?" Terry asked walking over to the stereo.
"Her fiancé found her and said that when she couldn't sleep she would come down here. He thinks that she was practicing dancing for their upcoming wedding."
"That would explain the music in the stereo," Terry replied turning to Don.
"Alright, let's get her fiancé to the office so we can talk," Don said exiting the ballroom.
5:02 AM FBI LA Field Office
"Sorry to bring you down here this early Mr.…" David said looking through a file on the table.
"Finch, Thomas Finch."
The brown haired man was nervous, with tear tracks down his cheeks. His perfectly shaped blue eyes stood out against his tan skin.
Don and Terry were standing with their arms crossed on the other side of the one-way mirror, studying the man.
"Sorry Mr. Finch. Now again, where were you when your fiancée was shot?"
"I was at work, I mean the ER."
"What were you doing at the ER?"
"I'm actually a surgeon. I had just got off a late shift; there was a motorcycle accident."
"Did you see anything out of the ordinary when you were at home or at work?"
"No," the man replied getting restless.
"Do you have any servants at the house?"
"Yes, we have 4 maids, 4 butlers, 3 groundskeepers, and a couple of cooks."
"Is there anyone else who would be at the house at night?"
"Yes, we have only one maid that stays at night and she went to visit her parents in Texas. She should be back in about a week."
"What did your fiancée do all day?"
"She works for a drug company, she is, I mean was a biochemist."
Don straightened and walked up closer to the glass when he heard that the late Cathryn Blakley was a biochemist, a job that could deal with sensitive material.
"What did your fiancée do there?" David asked leaning into the table.
"I'm not quite sure exactly, but she was working on a new drug, an SARS vaccine."
"Was your fiancé having any troubles at work? Any problems with co-workers?"
"No, I know she had a deadline coming, but she never said anything about having problems with anyone."
"What company did she work for?"
"It's called Alphavax."
"Thank you Dr. Finch, we'll let you know if we have any more questions," David said heading towards the door.
8:19 AM AlphaVax Research and Manufacturing
Don and Terry were waiting in the well furnished lobby for the man in charge of the division their latest victim worked in. Terry couldn't stop staring at Don's expression of hopelessness.
Don was relived when a well built man in an expensive suit approached them.
"I'm Robert Davis, head of Project 15-Alpha," the man said shaking the agents' hands.
"15-Alpha?" Terry asked looking confused.
"Yes, its research for a vaccine against SARS."
"Can you take us to where Cathryn Blakley worked?"
"I can take you to her office."
AlphaVax Office 128
Robert Davis stood in the doorway while the agents searched through the sparsely furnished office. There was a bookcase filled with books and a desk with a computer and several old magazines on it. By the lack of clutter, this office wasn't used much.
"Where does she actually work?" Don asked getting frustrated.
"This is her office," replied Davis.
"She doesn't work her very often."
"She works in the lab down the hall. You can't go in there, it's a clean room."
"I suggest you take us to her workspace," Don said forcefully.
"Right this way," Davis said heading out of the door.
The agents had to put on white coveralls and masks. The agents attracted the attention of everyone in the lab, who was also wearing the same white garb.
"These people are with the FBI, you are to give them your full cooperation," Davis said standing behind the agents in the same protective gear.
Terry and Don walked around the lab to their victim's work area in the back. The work bench was clean and organized. They searched the bench and only found a stack of papers with a bunch of numbers on them.
"You should take this to Charlie," Terry said looking through the papers.
"Yeah."
"Criminal investigation or not those papers cannot leave this room," Davis interjected.
"Okay," the agents replied knowing that they would have to find another way to get those papers.
The agents walked up to a young man who was sweating profusely, and his hands were shaking.
"Are you okay sir?" Terry asked looking into the man's eyes.
The man had his hand on an open container that had white powder in it. In a split second the contents of the container were thrown on the agents, and the guy ran to the emergency exit.
Davis ran to the wall and hit a big red button, sending the alarms shrieking throughout the building.
"Stay right there agents, a Decon team is on the way."
Don and Terry looked at each other, questioning what was happening.
"Sir, the powder was Sodium Bicarbonate," said a man who was holding the empty container.
"Is that good?" Don asked not moving.
"Yeah, it's just baking soda."
That was all the agents needed to hear and they were hot on the lab tech's trails. The tech didn't get far due to the lockdown, and the agents quickly caught up with him.
"Put your hands up!" Don yelled drawing his gun.
"Turn around and put your hands behind your back, palms up," Terry said cuffing the guy.
Don holstered his weapon and took the mask and coveralls off of the guys head.
The guy behind the mask was young guy, probably fresh out of college.
9:45 AM LA FBI Field Office
"Why did you run Mr.…?" Don said standing over the scared kid.
Terry could see the kid's bloodshot eyes from behind the one way mirror.
"Payne, David Payne."
"You wouldn't happen to be involved in Cathryn Blakley's murder?"
"Murder? I've been at the lab all night, I had the late shift. I didn't know anything happened to Cathryn."
"You better start giving me answers or this whole thing is going to fall on you," Don said getting in the kid's face.
"I didn't do it, I swear!"
"Then why did you run?" Don said backing away.
"I was nervous."
"Let's see how nervous you get when you're arrested for murder," Don said going through the door next to the mirror. "Drugs?"
"That would be my guess; a small Meth lab was found after we left."
"Do you think he's the killer?"
"No, it seems that he was scared of getting caught for the drugs."
Don rubbed his eyes in frustration and left.
1:39 PM LA FBI Field Office
The morning was crazy, with everyone in LA wanting to know what happened to one of its wealthiest people. The night maid had been flown in and questioned, who didn't reveal anything new.
"Charlie's here," David said watching Charlie get his pass.
"Good," Don said looking up from the computer screen.
Don went and met Charlie and the door and helped him carry papers that were getting ready to fall.
"Thanks," Charlie said putting his stuff down on a table in the conference room.
"Sorry I couldn't bring the file to you, as you can see it's been crazy around here."
"It's okay. Oh, I brought you a sandwich," Charlie said handing Don a sandwich.
"You are great!" Don said taking a big bite. "Where's the mustard?" Don said inspecting the bitten sandwich.
"Sorry, I forgot."
"Uh huh," Don said eating.
Charlie noticed that every time Don moved white powder fell. Charlie located the source of the powder to be Don's hair and clothes.
"Rough morning," Charlie said pointing to the powder at Don's feet.
"Yeah, a tech at AlphaVax got scared and threw baking soda all over Terry and me."
Charlie smiled and started unpacking his papers. Don sat down and ate his sandwich in peace.
Charlie and Don were going over the latest file when Terry came in.
"Hey Charlie," Terry beamed
"Hey," Charlie answered quickly before diving back into his math problems.
"Don, the profile is finished."
"Let's hear it," Don said leaning back in the chair.
"Young Caucasian male, probably early to mid twenties."
"Why so young?" Charlie asked.
"The game 'Clue' suggests juvenile behavior. He's still regressing on his childhood. This guy's probably intelligent, but it is all book smarts. He wants us to play the game, probably to figure out who hurt him, like in the game, you figure out who killed the guy who owns the house. Assuming that the car explosion is connected, he has some work with demolitions; if he's smart enough he could make his own batch of C-4. Somehow he knows you," Terry said motioning to Don.
"You?" Charlie said looking confused at Don.
"Yeah, this guy's been leaving notes."
Charlie rummaged through the box of files that Don gave him until he found the photos of the notes.
"Wh-Why didn't you say something?"
"Because I know how you reacted with the Charm School boys. Don't tell dad; let me take care of this, okay?"
Terry motioned for Don to follow her, and Don left Charlie with his mouth gaping open.
"You didn't tell your dad?"
"No."
"Don…"
"It's okay Terry."
7:56 PM LA FBI Field Office
"I don't get it," Charlie said standing in front of the white boards that had been brought.
"What do you mean you don't get it?" Don asked looking confused.
"I can't link them, the sites or the people. The only thing not random is their relationship to 'Clue'."
Charlie scribbled some more over the already full white boards.
"What do you mean?"
"Their only commonality is that they were killed by this guy. The victims range from the wealthy to middle class to a teacher's salary. All were killed in separate areas of town, so they probably never ran into each other."
"Right, a biochemist wouldn't have anything to do with a high school math teacher."
Charlie rubbed his temples in frustration and walked over to a board that had victim profiles on it.
"Wait, wait a second," Don said realizing something important.
"Yeah, what did the colonel do in the army?"
"He worked in cryptology. All of the victims have higher education in science or math. More specifically they would have to take lots of math."
"Right."
"That's got to be it!" Don said rushing out of the room to tell Terry.
8:56 PM 1 Day Later Unknown Residence
The small house was situated at the end of the cul-de-sac. The only light in the house was coming from the kitchen. A sliver-haired lady was in the medium sized kitchen standing over a boiling pot.
The dark figure crept up the lady, grabbing a candle stick holder that was on the kitchen island.
The old lady sensed someone behind her and turned around to face the figure. She let out a horrible shriek as the raised the candle stick holder hit its target.
The heavy object struck merciless and sent the old lady to the floor. The dark figure washed the grey matter and blood off of the object, and set it down next to the body. The figure also took out a small piece of paper and a game card and placed them on the woman's chest.
I hope you enjoyed! Sorry that this chapter was so long! More coming soon!
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