Don finished filling out his last report and triumphantly filed it away. He couldn't believe he'd actually caught up on all of his paperwork for the last two weeks. Now that he was done, he desperately wanted to get back out into the field and back to his old life. He sat back down at his desk and idly played with the Rubik's cube Charlie had left there during a prior visit. He thought about Charlie, and wondered if he was actually staying off the case as he'd requested. He hadn't seen the young genius in the office recently. Actually, he hadn't seen him since the motel visit six nights ago. He toyed with the idea of calling and checking in with him, but before he could do so, Megan and Colby came rushing into the office. "What's up?" he asked, noticing the excited looks on their faces.

"We've got a suspect for sending the letters!" Megan exclaimed breathlessly.

"Who?" Don asked as he tossed the forgotten cube to the side.

"Patrick Robert Davies," Megan informed him. "Your team was the one that helped get an arson conviction. He was released three weeks ago – time off for good behavior."

"Davies," Don mumbled, trying to recall the case. "Burned warehouses? Eventually set off a bomb in a construction zone at a new subdivision, right?"

"That's the one," Colby told him. "We had the lab compare the analysis of the bomb in your apartment to the one he set at the warehouse. Both were HMTD based explosives, a really easy to make home recipe. In both cases he remotely detonated the bombs using a cell phone as the trigger. And we tracked down his place of residence since his release – California City."

"That's where the last letter came from," Don thought aloud.

"Yeah," Megan smiled. "He's been sending the letters starting in LA and working his way closer to home. We've got a couple of agents on their way up there with his mug shot to see if anyone recognizes him."

"What about tracing the components of the bomb?"

"No way," Colby shook his head. "All the ingredients are common items- hydrogen peroxide, citric acid, and fuel tabs like the ones you take camping. No way to trace the individual components to any one location. If we can get a search warrant then we could check his house for those specific supplies."

"A judge is never going to give us a warrant based on the circumstantial evidence we've got."

"I know, Don," Megan agreed. "But if someone up there recognizes him, we're going to send some agents up there to keep him under surveillance. That way we can make sure he doesn't make any attempts on you, and keep an eye on him for anything he might slip up and reveal."

"I would love to lose the protection detail. And to see my family again." Don smiled. "This is great work, you guys. I really appreciate it. Thanks."

Colby shook his head. "Wait to thank us after we have this creep behind bars."

--

"This is the post office?" David asked in disbelief. "My bedroom is bigger than this."

"Hey," Colby chuckled. "Winchester's post office was half the size of this one."

"No wonder you were in such a hurry to leave after high school."

"Yeah," Colby smiled as he got out of the car. "But there is one good thing about small towns."

"What's that?" David asked as he led the way up the sidewalk.

"Everybody knows everybody else's business. If Davies has been here, they're going to remember him."

"I hope you're right." David entered the building and bypassed the line going straight to the counter, Colby trailing behind him. The sole clerk looked up from his customer with an annoyed expression until David flashed his badge. "FBI. We need to speak to all of your clerks about a letter mailed from here two days ago."

The clerk's expression changed from annoyed to over-eager as he heard the word FBI. He nervously laughed. "All of our clerks would be me and Daniel. He's on break in the back if you want to talk to him." He gestured at a door and pressed a buzzer to allow the agents in. "Keep going until you hit the back wall, then look to your right. That's the break area."

David nodded their thanks as he and Colby followed the directions. "Did you see the look on his face?" he whispered.

"Like I said – small town. A visit from the FBI will fuel the rumor mills for months." He stopped talking as they reached the back wall and turned right. He heard David choke back a snort as they took in the 'break area'. It consisted of one TV tray and a plastic lawn chair. A man they assumed was Daniel was eating a sandwich while watching a baseball game on a five inch black and white TV. He looked up as they entered. "Sorry fellas - this area is off limits to customers."

"FBI," Colby announced. "I'm Agent Granger and this is Agent Sinclair." David let Colby take the lead, figuring his small town background would be helpful.

His eyes lit up. "FBI? What are you doing in these parts?"

"We need to ask you about a letter that was mailed from here three days ago." Colby showed him an evidence bag containing the envelope mailed from California City. "Do you recognize this?"

Daniel looked at the letter and shrugged. "We may be small, but we still handle a lot of letters – too many to remember a particular one." He looked back up at Colby. "What's so important about this one?"

"That's classified." David almost choked at Colby's deadpan, and had to cover the grin on his face as Daniel nodded in awe. "I do have a picture I need you to take a look at. You mind?"

"Anything to help Uncle Sam." Colby handed him Patrick Robert Davies' mug shot. "Yeah, I remember him. He was in here, what... About three days ago? Yeah, he came in because he had a flat. He was yelling and swearing and making a big scene. I'll never forget his face." He quickly made the connection. "He mailed the letter?"

"That's what we're trying to find out."

"Sorry, I just remember the flat. He could've mailed something before then, I guess." He paused with a thoughtful expression. "Hey, can't you get DNA or fingerprints off the letter?"

"Damn CSI shows," David grumbled low enough that only Colby heard him.

"We tried, Daniel. Our perp is just too clever." Colby took the mug shot back and handed him a business card. 'That's my cell. Call me if you remember anything else about his visit here, or if he mails anything in the next few days, okay?"

"You bet."

Daniel switched places with Joe so that the agents could speak with him, too. He provided the same information as Daniel, and the agents left the office with very little to add to their case. They climbed into the car and Colby turned it on, letting the air conditioning cool off the interior. "Well, at least we know he's been in the post office here."

"But none of the clerks at the other offices remember seeing him," David countered.

"Those offices are in much larger towns. They wouldn't necessarily remember him. Heck, if it weren't for his flat tire, these guys wouldn't remember him either."

"True," David agreed. "I guess we should go visit the general store. See if they recognize him, too." Colby nodded and backed out onto the main street. As they drove toward the store, neither one of them noticed the small, inconspicuous gray sedan that left the parking lot across the street and followed them from a very safe distance.

--

She smiled at herself as she watched the FBI agents enter Bo's Bait and Supply. It was working! The agents were hot on the trail of an innocent – at least for this crime – man. She knew that careful research and planning always paid off, but she was still shocked that she hadn't hit any snags. She knew that Davies did frequent this store, and that the store owner disliked his loud rants about prices and selection. He would no doubt tell the FBI exactly what they were looking to hear – that Davies came in often and seemed to be up to no good. Armed with that information, they would soon turn their main focus on watching Davies, and ease their guard on Eppes.

She called her husband's throw away cell phone from her own and smiled as he answered. "It's working, sweetheart," she whispered happily.

"Good girl, Jackie. How much longer?"

"If all goes well, a couple of days. Maybe even tomorrow."

"Excellent," he crooned in her ear. "I miss you so much, darling. I can't wait until we can be together again."

"I know." She smiled a dark, malevolent smile. "And what better way to reunite than with the slow, painful death of Agent Eppes?"

She could hear the smile in his voice as he answered, "No better way at all."