DECEIT CHAPTER 2

"Did you get anything from those enhanced images?" An inquisitive voice said in the doorway of Charlie's office. "Charles…Charles…Professor Eppes!" "Huh wow, oh hi Larry. Sorry about that I didn't even hear you come in," Charlie said as he placed his ipod and earphones onto the desk in front of him.

"I can see that your quite busy here, don't let me bother you, I'm just here to observe.", Larry said walking over to the telescope sitting in the corner of the professors office. Just then Charlie turned his gaze towards his friend, "You know I can't work when you just sit here looking at me. Besides I know that you came in here for something, judging from that inquisitive little tone of yours."

Looking around the room Larry noticed all the coffee cups laying around Charlie's office. "I know neither one of us is really that organized Charles, but wow there sure a lot of coffee mugs laying around here, and besides you look exhausted." "Yeah, I know, I have been working like crazy for the past 48 hours on this case for Don."

"Can I ask what for?" Larry said, picking up a stress ball off of Charlie's desk. "Well, someone set off a small bomb in an office building." "Was there any particular significance to the location of the bomb?" "That's the thing, this is the 4th bombing we've had in the last week and half, and we think that they were all set off by the same person, judging by the casualties, the composition of the bomb, and this weird set of numbers written at each scene. I think I can conclude that it is an address of some sort, but we don't know if it's of one of the diseased, killed during the explosion or what because none of these addresses actually yield any places of living. But most puzzling of all is that they are all benign places. I don't think someone was trying to make a political statement or anything. Oh and someone who either works with our criminal or our criminal himself is always present when the bomb is detonated.

"Well how do you know that Charles?" "There are pictures taken exactly 10 minutes before and 10 minutes after the bombs are set off each with messages on the back left at the crime scene, and we have deduced from the handwriting that it is of the same person. Plus they were all signed "The Chameleon"."

" How many casualties have there been so far." " Well counting the one set off just a few days ago, 5. And it gets worse, every time our culprit strikes he takes out more people. He first started with cars, then homes, and now these small businesses." " 5, a very interesting number that is," Larry said, looking at the mathematician to see if he was picking up on what he was trying to say. "Well I suppose Larry, I mean it's prime, it's part of the Fibonacci sequence…..." "Exactly, you said that the killings kept growing in number every time he would strike." " My god Larry you are right," the professor said grabbing the case file Don had dropped off earlier in the week. "Look here, the first kill yielded one kill, and then two, three, and now five, which means next time we are in for 8 dead, and more than likely a larger bomb and a more public place."

"But how did our killer know how man people were going to be in one place at a specific time?" "He must have had some sort of knowledge of every person he killed, where they went at certain times, how many people they worked with, even how many people were in their home at any given hour of the day, so as to eliminate any unnecessary deaths and just target the victims."

" Our killer made sure to place the bomb in the exact point where as to maximize death and minimize the remains that would be left behind…meaning that he stalked the victims in their own work without them ever knowing who he was. Not only that, I think from all of this strategizing and hacking, I believe we are working with a knowledgeable killer."

Just then Michelle, an applied mathematician that often consulted with Charlie on cases such as these, walked in to see the two men knee deep in case files, notebooks, and chalkboards. "What is all this for, another one of Don's cases?"

"Yeah, we are dealing with a serial killer, who is killing seemingly unconnected people, all in very unconnected places. However, he is killing more and more as she goes, and just as Larry concluded, in the order of the Fibonacci sequence. And he is leaving these sets of numbers on the pictures he takes directly before and after the bomb went off."

"Have you deduced yet whether these numbers could possibly be coded and what they could possibly stand for?" she asked while strolling over to the pile of case files placed upon Charlie's unorganized desk. "I have checked these codes against all of my NSA records and own personal databank of codes that I just remember, but nope nothing. However, Larry and I both think that these may be addresses judging from the number of numbers written and the combinations that they form, but when we ran these addresses down no houses existed, just empty or vacant area."

"Yes it seems our serial killer was able to stalk these people in their homes, work, and automobiles. We just don't know in what way or how, if at all these victims are connected." said Larry looking up at the young woman. "Have you gotten the information on our vics. and tried running it through your data mining algorithm yet Charlie?" Michelle said.

" I have, and it's funny that you should mention that because when I ran the identified victims through, other than being the same age and martial status nothing useful was in common with all of these people." "Nothing?", Michelle asked. "Nope, they all live in different parts of California, did not attend the same high school, do not buy the same things, and don't share any time of cell phone carriers, car insurance agents, nothing. Have you got any insight or ideas on all of this?"

"Michelle…Michelle..Mich." "Oh I'm sorry. What? No I mean I'll keep trying to think of some connection. I may be able to use probable game theory to analyze the risks involved in each one, in comparison with the casualties, times when they were killed, to try and give a possible MO and even judging from his past acts, where he may strike. But with just scattered data, I mean I can't promise anything."

" You know I never noticed this picture of you and Don here."

"Oh what," Charlie said, getting up from behind his desk. "Oh yes that picture; it was from Don's birthday two years ago."

" You know what? Seeing this picture, I really think I know this woman," Michelle said pointing to the blonde haired FBI agent sitting directly across from Don.

"Oh yeah, you mean Emma. She's a nice woman, helping us a lot too on this project; she's a bomb expert."

"Yeah I know who she is. I've met her when I visited the FBI office once when we were delivering those data results on that rape case a few months ago. That's when I first noticed her. I found it quite odd. It's like she may have recognized me from the way she looked into my eyes when I shook her hand, but after that she just avoided me the entire time I was in there."

"Yeah she can be like that at times. Just yesterday, my brother said how weird she was acting around Megan and Colby. According to him she never acts like that around him, only when he is not around. Who knows I think she is just shy when meeting new people?"

"But that's the thing, from the way she kept looking at me through the interrogation room, I could just tell in her mind that she was trying to remember who I was as well, and I had completely forgotten about it until I saw this picture of her here. You know what, I do remember, she used to be in my senior physics and b.c. calc classes. I was never that great of friends with her, but then again at that time I wasn't that great of friends with anyone because of my age."

"Yeah, trust me, I understand how that feels," the professor said to her with a little smile on his face.

"I mean I never knew her well, but those eyes, that face, that smile, and that long straight blonde hair. Except this girl was named Elizabeth, not Emma. That I do remember, and what else she was in our class only for 3 quarters, and then one day I walked in, took my seat in the back, as usual, and the professor got up and just told us that Elizabeth's father had been transferred to Pasadena and that she was moving out there. That was the last time I had ever seen her. I mean I didn't know her more than the occasional time we had to work in a group together, but gosh with that sure looks like her, but I mean like I said I barely knew her, I must be confusing her with someone else, I mean after all people's looks do drastically change over nearly 10 years." Michelle said with a bit of hesitance in her voice.

"Yes, indeed your right Michelle. The female encounters the most change from the age of 16 into her early twenties," Larry said. "Well of coarse, your telling a female about how her looks change, trust me I know," she said, sending a smile over to her friend.

"Well anyway," Charlie said " I am going to go call my brother and tell him about this killing pattern that we've deduced, oh and thank you Michelle for helping us out again, I know how busy you are with your dissertation and work with Dr. Madison."

" Sure I mean, whatever I can do to help. Like I said I can't promise anything with such scattered data such as this, but.."Just then Michelle's phone went off. It was Dr. Madison reminding her that she was supposed to meet with him ten minutes ago. " Oh, well I really need to go now, I am ten minutes late to my meeting, but hey I think he'll understand when I tell him I am trying to stop a killer right," Michelle said smiling back at Charlie and Larry, still with obvious curiosity in her eyes as to the similarities between the blonde FBI agent and Elizabeth.