Chapter 7

Liz, Colby and David were waiting anxiously as Don hung up. "Has he got anything yet?" Liz asked.

"Not really. He did suggest we try to convince at least one of them that he would be better off turning in the others. Have we come up with anything that we could use as a wedge?"

David scowled and nodded. "I do remember something." He picked up the interview transcripts and flipped through the pages. "Here. Avery Schaeffer is the one who said the stunt was stupid. Why don't we start with him?"

Don nodded. "Sounds good. David, come in with me. Bring the transcripts with you. Liz and Colby, I want you two observing."

Avery Schaeffer had slouched back in the chair, and appeared to be dozing. But he opened his eyes and stared as the agents entered the room. "Finally," he muttered. "I was beginning to think you guys forgot about me."

Don placed his palms on the table and leaned forward to gaze at Schaeffer. "No such luck. Too bad your buddy Zack didn't get you a lawyer too."

"Zack's got a lawyer?"

"Yep. A lawyer wearing a suit that costs more than I make in a month. I guess he's expecting you to get a legal aid lawyer, huh?"

David pulled one of the transcripts from the stack. "Didn't you say you guys were partners?"

"We are."

"I wonder if he's paying his hotshot lawyer out of the business funds."

Schaeffer snorted. "No way. The so-called business is broke. Unfortunately, the rest of us are not independently wealthy like Zack is. That's why we let him talk us into this idiotic scheme."

"And now it looks like he's going to let you three take the blame. I mean, there's no limit to what a good lawyer can do, and Zack's got one of the best."

David sat on the edge of the table. "Avery, what was the real reason for this stunt?"

Avery met David's gaze and smiled a lopsided smile. "We were exercising our Constitutionally guaranteed right of protest. We were protesting the economic racism of our European-centric culture."

David shook his head. "Man, how long did you guys rehearse that line?"

"Rehearse? We didn't need to rehearse. I'm telling you the truth."

Don said, "Let's forget that for now. You are aware that there are very serious charges pending against you, right?"

"Yeah. I've been read my rights and told what I'm being charged with. Why?"

"Well, your buddy Zack has got his lawyer watching out for his interests, and I can guarantee you that his lawyer will be urging him to blame this whole thing on the rest of you."

Avery leaned back, folding his arms across his chest. "You expect me to believe that? We've been buddies since we were kids. Zack isn't going to throw us under the bus."

"Then why didn't mister moneybags pony up for lawyers for the rest of you? Wake up and smell the coffee, Schaeffer. You guys are going to be cooling your heels in a federal pen while Zack is making millions writing his memoirs."

Avery sighed and rubbed his face. Don and David stood quietly. Finally, tired of the silence in the room, Avery leaned forward, elbows on the table. "Okay. What are you offering?"

Charlie finished the rest of the sushi, washing it down with cold coffee. He shuddered and tossed the cup into the trash. "That's nasty," he muttered. He rubbed his eyes and scowled at the blackboard. "Crap," he said, picking up an eraser and angrily wiping out what he'd just written. He glanced at his watch. It was after four in the morning. He dialed Don's cell number. It went to voicemail. "Don, I'm going home to catch a couple of hours of sleep. The numbers aren't making sense any more tonight. I'll call you first thing in the morning." He chuckled. "Unless you call this first thing in the morning. Goodnight."

He updated the files in his laptop, packed up, locked his office door and headed for his car. He was surprised to see that there was one other car in the lot. He glanced back at the building, and chuckled. There was at least one other professor burning the midnight oil. More power to him, he thought ruefully.

"Professor!" A soft voice startled him, and he turned.

"Greg? What are you doing here at this hour? Still having trouble with that problem?"

Greg shook his head as he approached. "Nope. My only problem is you."

"Me?" Charlie involuntarily took a step back, reaching for his cell phone.

"I really need you to stop your consulting."

A hand clamped down on Charlie's wrist, and a voice behind him said, "You don't need to call anybody, Professor. Greg just wants to have a polite conversation with you."

Charlie took a deep breath. "Greg," he said, hoping his voice was steady, "you don't need to do this. I am increasing the time I spend with my students, and doing consulting work on my own time."

A look of pain mixed with fear crossed Greg's face. "You don't understand, Professor. I really need you to stop consulting."

"It's not going to happen," Charlie said softly.

Greg stepped forward, raising his left hand pleadingly. "I hate to do this."

Charlie didn't even see the punch coming until it smashed into his cheek. He stumbled and would have fallen except that strong hands behind him held him upright. The second punch doubled him over, driving the breath from his lungs. Another blow to the face and he felt himself dropping to the ground. He heard a car starting, but by the time his vision cleared, Greg and his accomplice were gone.

"Hey! What's going on here?"

Charlie pushed himself to his knees and focused on a security guard running toward him. Just a couple of minutes late, he thought. The guard crouched beside him. "Professor Eppes? What happened?"

"A couple of students... Greg Spencer. There was at least one other... but I didn't see him."

"You okay? You're bleeding." The guard took Charlie's chin and turned his face toward the light.

"I'm okay. Just a few bruises." Charlie put his hand on the guard's shoulder and slowly got to his feet. "I'm going to go home, if that's okay."

"I'll need to file a report."

"Do you need me here to do that?"

"Probably not. You should get checked out. Make sure you're okay."

"I'm fine. You want me to sign a release or something? I won't sue. I promise."

The guard grinned. "Okay. I guess I believe you. Let me walk you to your car, though."

"Thanks," Charlie said, bending to pick up his computer bag. He wiped his nose and grimaced. "I hope it's not broken."

The guard bit back a comment, but Charlie caught his expression. "You can say it."

"What? I wasn't going to say anything."

"Sure," Charlie said, pressing the button to unlock his car. He pulled out his wallet, and handed the guard a business card. "All my numbers are on there if you need to get in touch with me. And, thanks again."

"You're welcome. You sure you're okay?'

It took Charlie a few more minutes to convince the guard he was fine, but he was finally able to drive home. Thankfully, the porch light was the only light on when he pulled into the driveway. He entered the house as quietly as possible and walked stiffly up the stairs.

He dropped his bag off in his room and went to the bathroom. He winced as he caught sight of his reflection in the mirror. His left cheek was turning purple and there was a trail of dried blood from his nose, over his chin, and down onto his shirt. No wonder the guard hadn't wanted him to walk to his car alone. He didn't want to risk waking his father by running the shower, so he cleaned up the best he could with a washcloth. His shirt, along with the washcloth and towel, he dropped into the hamper.

He pressed his ear to the bathroom door. No creaking of footsteps. The coast was clear. He was in bed with the light off when he heard his father in the hallway. "Charlie?"

"Yeah, Dad. I'm sorry I woke you..." He pulled the blankets up so they'd cast a shadow over his face.

"Is everything okay?" Alan asked, opening the door.

"Fine. I got caught up working on a case for Don. I just need a couple hours of sleep before I get back to it."

"Yeah? Well, I'm glad to hear the slavedriver is giving you time to sleep. Is your alarm set, or do you want me to wake you up?"

"My alarm's set. Thanks, Dad. Goodnight."

"Good morning," Alan said, chuckling as he pulled the door shut.

Don was smiling as he left the interrogation room. David and Liz had gone to their desks to start following up on the information Schaeffer had given them. He pulled out his cell phone. He had felt it vibrate but had decided not to answer while things were going so well. He flipped the phone open and grinned at Colby. "Charlie left a voice mail. Maybe he's got something too."

He listened to the message and laughed as he closed the phone. "What a wimp. He was too tired to do any more. He just wanted to let me know he was going home to sleep for a couple of hours. He said the numbers weren't making any sense."

Colby raised his eyebrows. "If the numbers don't make sense for the Whiz Kid, the rest of us have no hope."

"Don!" David jogged toward them. "They just found Ellen Davis' body."

"The school teacher?"

"Yeah."

"Murder?"

"Definitely. Shot once in the back of the head. They found her next to her car behind a fast food place about half a mile from the museum. No sign of the painting or the wheelchair."

"Liz!" Don said, approaching her desk. She looked up. "What did you get from Ellen Davis' husband?"

"Not much. He said there was no way she was involved in something like this. But he hadn't seen her since she left for school in the morning. Unfortunately, when I pressed for more, he decided he really should talk to his lawyer before saying anything else."

"Okay. Well, now that she's turned up dead, let's bring him in and question him."

Liz glanced at her watch. "At this hour?"

"Why not? He should be notified of her death, right? We don't want him to hear about it on the news."

Liz sighed. "If he's just a grieving widower, this is really going to suck."

Don nodded. "Yeah. It is. But if he's a murderer, we have got to get him in here ASAP. If you don't want to handle it, I can send Colby and David."

"I'll handle it."

"David, you go with Liz. I'm going to try to call Charlie and let him know about this new development."

Liz smirked. "You're going to interrupt his nap?"

Don dialed. "Yeah. He tells me beauty sleep is a lost cause with him anyway." He listened as the call went straight to voice mail. "Tricky. He's turned off his phone. I guess he knew I'd be calling him." He glanced at his watch. It was almost five. "Listen, I'm going to stop by the house, wake up our favorite mathematician and get him back to work. I'll be back here by the time you return with Mr. Davis."

"You might want to take a shower and change your clothes while you're there."

"Liz! Are you saying I stink?"

"Never. Let's just say we'd all be a lot happier if you'd take my advice."

The fatigue hit Don somewhere on the way to Charlie's house. He briefly toyed with the idea of calling Liz and having her wait on arresting Davis, but knew that was a dumb idea. He pulled into the driveway and got out of the car, stretching his aching back.

The front door was unlocked, and Don could smell coffee. "Don?" Alan's voice came from the kitchen.

"Dad? What are you doing up so early?"

"I could ask you what you're doing up so late."

"I tried calling Charlie but he turned his phone off. Where is he?"

"I haven't seen or heard from him. I assume he's in bed. Where you should be."

"That's not gonna happen any time soon. We've got a high profile art theft case that just turned into murder. I'm hoping he's had enough sleep to be useful."

"Useful, huh? Does he know you think of him that way?"

Don sighed and rubbed his face. "Dad, Charlie knows I appreciate everything he does for us." I'm going to take a quick shower, then I'll try to wake up sleeping beauty."

When Don finished showering, he opened the hamper. But before he tossed his towel in, he noticed the bloody shirt. It was the same shirt Charlie had been wearing. He dressed quickly and hurried to Charlie's room. Charlie was sound asleep, snoring noisily. Don pulled the blanket down and grabbed Charlie's shoulder, "Charlie!"

He wasn't prepared for Charlie's reaction. His brother yelped, "No!" and pulled away.

"Charlie. Hey, Charlie. I'm sorry. Are you okay?" Don sat on the edge of Charlie's bed.

Charlie grimaced as he rubbed his eyes. A nasty purple bruise covered his left cheek, and his nose was swollen and bruised. He glared at Don. "Why'd you grab me like that?"

"Sorry. I saw your shirt in the hamper. I was worried. What happened?"

Charlie lay back down. "One of my students had an issue with how I spend my time."

"What?"

"He jumped me when I was leaving my office this morning. Listen, Don, this has nothing to do with the case, okay? A group of students filed a complaint, saying I was not spending enough time on my Cal Sci commitments. Millie investigated, and decided there was no basis for their complaint, so she dismissed it. One of the students decided to take matters into his own hands and tried to convince me to stop consulting for outside agencies."

"When did this happen? I mean the complaint?"

"Today."

Don nodded. "That explains a lot. Listen, Buddy, I'm sorry if I've pressured you..."

"Don. How I spend my time is my own choice."

"Dad seems awfully calm," Don said, chuckling.

"He doesn't know yet." Charlie smiled. "And now I've got you here to protect me from him."

"What do you think Dad's going to do to you?"

"Smother me with kindness?" He touched his cheek gingerly. "It's not as bad as it looks, but he's never going to believe that."

"I'm not sure I believe it." Don stood. "I'm going back to work. You get some sleep, Buddy."

Charlie sat up. "I'm awake now. I'll bet you came here with more data for me."

Don sighed. "Yeah, I did. But it can wait."

"Don. I'm just going to sit up wondering what it is you have for me. You might as well give it to me now."

"They found Ellen Davis' body. Liz and David are on the way to pick up her husband."

"He killed her?"

"We have no idea who killed her. But Liz wasn't able to get much out of him earlier, so this is a good reason to bring him in and put a little pressure on him."

"Obviously this changes everything. How was she killed? Where'd they find her body?'

Don filled Charlie in on the details as Charlie pulled out clothes to wear.

"Okay, Bro. Do I have time to take a quick shower?"

Don checked his watch. "Sure. I'll go down and have a cup of coffee with Dad. You want me to break the news to him so he doesn't flip out when he sees your face?"

"Sure. Knock yourself out," Charlie said as he headed to the bathroom.

"Don!" You ready for a cup of coffee?"

"Thanks, Dad. I need the caffeine."

"You need sleep," Alan said, handing Don a steaming cup. "But take this for now. Sounds like you woke up sleeping beauty."

"Yeah. Dad, there's something I've got to tell you before he comes downstairs. Charlie was attacked by one of his students on his way home last night. This morning. Whatever. His face is bruised, but he seems to be okay other than that."

"Oh my God, Don. Why didn't he tell me?"

"I think he was probably just too tired to deal with it."

Alan narrowed his eyes at his elder son. "What do you mean, 'deal with it?'"

Don took a sip of coffee. "I refuse to answer on the grounds it may tend to incriminate me."

"I do hope you are not implying that there is somehow something wrong with a man being concerned about the wellbeing of his sons."

"Not at all, Dad. Listen, Charlie called me and left a voice mail as he was leaving his office. He said he was so tired the numbers weren't making any sense. Then he was attacked after that. I think the only thing he wanted to deal with was his bed."

Alan chuckled. "Okay. You're off the hook. As long as you're waiting for Charlie, you want a bagel and a schmear?"

"Sounds great, Dad. Let me help." Don picked up his coffee and followed his father into the kitchen. Alan sliced and toasted the bagels and Don retrieved the cream cheese and a knife. "No lox?" he asked, looking in the refrigerator.

"The landlord hasn't done the shopping yet this week. You're lucky we have bagels."

By the time Charlie came downstairs, Don and Alan were seated, drinking coffee and eating bagels.

"Hey, Dad, Don," Charlie said. "That looks good."

"Help yourself," Alan said, "and before you ask, we're out of lox."

Charlie sat, and took the cup of coffee Alan held out for him. "Thanks."

Alan studied Charlie's face. "That looks painful," he said quietly. At Charlie's look of surprise, he added, "I'm trying not to overreact. Don tells me it's not as bad as it looks. And I must say, I hope he's right, because if it is as bad as it looks, I should be calling 911."

Charlie grinned. "Now that's more like what I was expecting. Seriously, though, it really isn't as bad as it looks."

"Have they caught the guy who did this to you?"

Charlie shrugged. "Not that I know of. But I gave campus security his name, so I don't think I'm in any danger."

Alan shook his head. "I assume you had no idea you were in any danger before this happened."

"Of course not."

"So I don't think I'll take any comfort in the fact that you don't believe you're in danger now." He shrugged. "Somebody has to worry about you two."

Don grinned and lifted his coffee cup in a toast. "And you're just the man to do it."