Charlie wasn't sure what he expected Fred Agincourt to look like, but it certainly wasn't this. The man who met the three of them in the principal's office was tall and movie star handsome. He smiled in greeting, and yet still conveyed a grim seriousness appropriate to the discussion of murder. "Agent," he said as he extended his hand to Liz. "I was shocked to hear about poor Ellen. Please, tell me what I can do to help your investigation."

"Mr. Agincourt," Liz said, "I'm Special Agent Warner. This is Special Agent Granger. And this is Dr. Eppes, one of our consultants. He's just here to observe."

Agincourt's brow furrowed. "Observe? I don't understand."

"Let's have a seat." When they were seated, Liz continued. "Dr. Eppes is consulting with us on a case that Ellen Davis was involved in."

Agincourt nodded. "The stolen painting from the Norton Simon Museum, right?" He glanced at Charlie. "Dr. Eppes? Charles Eppes, the mathematician, right?"

"Right," Charlie said.

"Well, this is an unexpected honor, Dr. Eppes. Math is my first love, actually. I try to keep up to date on your work. It's unfortunate that you're wasting your considerable talents working with law enforcement."

Charlie smiled. "I don't consider it a waste of my talents. But we're not here to discuss my extracurricular activities." He turned to Liz, "Agent Warner."

"Thanks, Dr. Eppes. Mr. Agincourt, how well did you know Ellen Davis?"

"Please, call me Fred. Ellen and I worked together here, and she assisted me with an after school group I started a few years ago."

"What group was that?"

"We call it Career Kids. It's kind of like Junior Achievement. We teach the kids about different career opportunities and eventually we'll have them start a small business of their own. I am of the belief that the majority of people fall into a career with little or no advance planning. I want to help these kids take some control over their lives."

"Sounds like an interesting program. How do the kids respond?"

Agincourt chuckled. "The same way kids respond when you try to teach them anything. They wiggle and squirm and keep watching the clock. So I decided to make it a little more interesting for them. We started bringing in speakers, and I've created some real life business problems for them to solve."

"And you got Ellen Davis to help you keep the kids in line?"

"I see someone's been talking to my coworkers. I have a reputation for being a bit lenient with the kids. Some of the other teachers with after school programs were complaining about the noise."

Liz nodded and opened her notepad. "Mr. Agincourt, do you know a Ted Moresby?"

"Moresby?" Agincourt gnawed his lip as he gazed up at the ceiling. "Moresby? I don't believe so. In what context? If I may ask."

"He was a student here a few years back."

"In my class? I don't remember him. How many years ago?"

"It's not important," Liz said. "Did you and Ellen Davis get along well?"

"Yes, we did, as a matter of fact. Ellen was a sweet girl. I can't think of anybody who disliked her. They said her body was found in a fast food place parking lot. Is it possible it was just a mugging that went bad?"

"Anything's possible. How long have you known her?"

"I believe it's been five years. But she only started working with the Career Kids this semester."

"Do you know her husband?"

"I've met him at faculty events, but I don't really know him. They were a cute couple."

"How close are you to your brother?"

"Frank? We're twins. You can't get much closer than that."

"Is he involved in the Career Kids group?"

"Not really. He teaches high school, and he has his own commitments over there."

"Not really?" Liz asked. "'Not really' is the next best thing to 'yes.'"

"All right. He helps, but not officially. Why?"

"What does he do for the group?"

Agincourt shrugged. "He and I brainstorm ideas. He also seems to have established a good relationship with a couple of the more difficult kids. He's really good with kids."

"I'll need the names of the kids in the group, Mr. Agincourt," Liz said.

For the first time, Agincourt seemed shaken. "I don't think I should do that unless you have a warrant, Agent. In fact," he glanced at his watch, "I really need to get back to my class. Perhaps we can pick this up again after I've consulted with my lawyer." He stood and walked to the door.

"Mr. Agincourt," Liz said, standing.

"Are you arresting me, Agent Warner?"

"I wasn't planning on it. Why? Should I?"

Agincourt snorted and left the room.

Colby turned to Liz. "Well that went well."

"Actually, it did," Liz said. "We know both brothers are involved in this Career Kids group. We know ol' Fred here doesn't want us to know the kids' names."

Charlie shook his head. "He could just be worried about the kids' privacy rights. The courts have been pretty strict about privacy, especially for children."

"Understandably so," Liz said. "But I think we have enough to get our warrant."

"I hope so," Colby said. "Of course, we still have one more Agincourt we can talk to."

"True," Liz said. "Of course, if Fred contacts Francis before we do, we don't stand much chance of meeting Francis without his lawyer." She led the way from the office and thanked the principal's secretary.

When they reached the car, Colby said, "So, Charlie, what did you think of Fred? I mean, as a teacher?"

"He seems like the real thing. He honestly seems to enjoy his students, and he is enthusiastic about this career thing. But I don't know if he's right about people falling into a career. I mean, my course was pretty much set for me from the time I was a preschooler."

Liz grinned as she pulled out of the parking lot. "You're an exceptional case, Charlie. And I mean that in the nicest possible way. Most of us go through years of schooling and several failed jobs before settling on the career we're going to live with. I mean, look at Don. He was a professional baseball player. I'm guessing he didn't spend a lot of time in advance placement math and science classes."

Charlie chuckled. "You're right there. Not that he was dumb, by any stretch of the imagination. He could have done the advanced work. He just wanted to concentrate on what he figured was going to be his career. How about you, Liz? What did you want to be when you grew up?"

"Both of you guys, if you breathe a word of this to anybody, I will take you down. Do you understand?"

"Yes, ma'am," both men said.

"I wanted to be a ballerina. Don't laugh!"

Charlie was quick to reply, "I wasn't laughing. Were you, Colby?"

"Not at all. Listen, Liz, you've got the build of a ballerina. Seriously."

"Okay. You guys are safe, for now."

"What changed your mind," Charlie asked.

Liz shrugged. "I wasn't enough of a girly girl, I guess. My instructor said I was talented, athletic, I could do all the moves, you know? But it was mechanical. There was no flow, no... poetry... in my movements. So I decided to go the way of sports. And when career day came along, there was this really cute FBI agent at their informational table, and the rest is history."

"So what Agincourt said makes sense to you."

"Yeah, it does. All right, Colby, now we need your deep, dark secret."

Colby laughed. "There's nothing deep and dark about me. I grew up wanting to be GI Joe. Then I found I was good at the investigation end of things, and here I am. GI Joe in a suit."

"This has been very interesting." Charlie tapped his temple. "I wonder how much of this is programmed into our brains from outside and how much is generated in here."

"Right now, we just need to know who's programming kids to steal," Liz said. "Save the rest for your cognition... cognitive..."

"Cognitive emergence," Charlie said, smiling. "One of these days, you'll pick up on my jargon just as I'm picking up on yours."

"Hell no," Colby muttered. "Who needs a GI Joe who talks like Einstein?"

--

David rubbed his eyes after he said goodbye to Liz. Now he had another item for his "to do" list – get a warrant. After he made the calls necessary to get that rolling, he went back to checking the background of Ted Moresby. Ted did indeed graduate the high school where Francis Agincourt taught. In fact, Francis was something of a mentor to him. Since Liz, Colby and Charlie were heading to see Francis, they could ask Francis about Ted while David asked Ted about Francis.

Learning the fine art of delegation under fire, David had called Jack Tollner of the art crimes unit and had him follow up on Ben's information about the Van Gogh. Jack promised to take over that aspect of the investigation, much to David's relief.

David picked up the phone and called dispatch and reached Ted Moresby. "Ted, this is David Sinclair on the sixth floor. Could you come up? I need some information for an investigation I'm working on."

"Uh, yeah, sure," Ted said. "Which case?"

David had been ready for that question. "Nothing big, really. I just needed some background on how you guys operate in dispatch, and I was told you would be the man to ask."

"Cool. I'd be happy to help you, Agent Sinclair. Give me two minutes to get someone to cover for me, and I'll be right up."

Possessing a suspicious nature had served David well over the years. Five minutes after he had hung up with Moresby, he received a call from the security guard at the front desk. "Agent Sinclair? You were right about Moresby. He was on the way out the front door. You want to come down and get him?"

A few minutes later, David brought his quarry into the conference room. "Have a seat. Would you like some coffee, Ted?"

"No thanks. I'm good. Now what is this really about, Agent Sinclair?" Moresby said, sinking into a chair across the table from David.

David paced. "Why don't you tell me why you felt the need to take off instead of coming up to see me?"

"Am I under arrest?"

David sat and leaned across the table. "If you'd like. How's accessory to attempted murder of a federal agent sound for starters?"

"What? Man, what the hell?"

"Do you know Francis Agincourt?"

"Mr. Agincourt? Yeah, he was one of my high school teachers. Why?"

"Are you still in contact with him?"

"Yeah, but the last I heard that wasn't against the law."

"It isn't. Why did you send our team to handle the theft at the Norton Simon Museum?"

"I... what makes you think it was me?"

"Lucky guess. Confirmed by the dispatch records. Did Agincourt ask you to do that?"

"What? No! Why would he do something like that? Why would he care which team handles a case?" Ted stood and turned toward the door.

"Why were you running, Ted?"

"Running? I ... I had to get something from my car."

"You're not a very good liar, Ted. My team is on the way to talk to Agincourt now. I've asked them to mention your name to your old mentor. It'll be interesting to see what he has to say about your relationship. Sit down."

Ted returned to his seat. "Listen, I don't know what you think Mr. Agincourt is involved in, but whatever it is, I had nothing to do with it."

"You listen, Moresby. You're up to your eyeballs in theft, murder, assault and attempted murder. You can make things a whole lot easier on yourself if you tell me everything."

Ted shook his head. "Sorry. That's not going to happen." He stood again, and took a step toward the door. "Unless you're putting me under arrest, I'm leaving"

David sighed. "Ted Moresby, you have the right to remain silent..."

--

Liz showed her badge to the receptionist in the high school office. "I need to speak with Mr. Francis Agincourt."

The receptionist glanced nervously around. "He's in class now. I'm going to call the principal. She'll be able to help you."

Liz sighed and nodded. "All right. But make it quick, okay?"

The receptionist nodded as she picked up the phone. "Ms. Morrow. There are some people here to see Mr. Agincourt... They're law enforcement... FBI. All right." She hung up the phone. "Please follow me."

Sylvia Morrow looked up from her computer as they entered. "Officers, what is going on here? Why are you in my school asking to see one of my teachers."

Liz and Colby produced their badges. "I'm Special Agent Warner. This is Special Agent Granger and Dr. Eppes, one of our consultants. It is imperative that we speak with Francis Agincourt immediately."

"What is this about?"

"Immediately," Liz repeated softly.

Ms. Morrow pursed her lips and picked up the phone. "Cindy, please have Mr. Agincourt report to my office immediately... I know he's in class... So go down there yourself and babysit his class until he gets back." She hung up the phone. "He will be here as soon as possible. Now, please tell me what this is about."

"It's about murder, Ms. Morrow. That's all you need to know."

Francis Agincourt was slightly shorter than his brother. His hair was cut differently, and the suit he wore was a little less stylish than his brother's. But he had the same grim serious smile. Liz detected a touch of fear in that smile and wondered if Fred had managed to contact him. She showed him her badge. "Mr. Agincourt, I'm Special Agent Warner. This is Special Agent Granger and Dr. Eppes. We'd like to have a word with you..." she turned to Ms. Morrow, "... in private, please."

Ms. Morrow huffed and stood. "Of course, Special Agent. I'll wait for you in the hallway, if that's all right with you."

Liz smiled, "Of course. Thank you." Liz sat in the seat the principal had vacated, and waved for the others to find seats. "Now, Mr. Agincourt, we've just come from seeing your brother. I understand you've been helping him out with his Career Kids group."

"Why, yes, I have. We're both teachers. It makes sense, don't you think?"

"Of course. How long have you been teaching, Mr. Agincourt?"

"Fifteen years. Sometimes it seems like just yesterday. Other times it seems like it's been forever. Why?"

"You've influenced a lot of kids in those fifteen years."

Agincourt smiled, "Yes, I have. That's what makes it all worthwhile."

"Do you remember Ted Moresby?"

Agincourt's smile froze. "Yes."

"I understand you're still in contact with Ted. Were you aware he works for the FBI?"

"Of course. I maintain contact with a lot of my students. When Ted was a kid, I was able to help him with some problems he was having. Since he stayed in the area, we've kept in contact. Why? Is there a problem?"

"Why did you buy one hundred tickets for kids in wheelchairs to attend the art show at the Hammer?"

"Fred and I are both active in groups that help kids with disabilities. I am fortunate enough to have saved up some money over the years, and I thought it would be a nice thing to do. Why?"

"Do you follow the news at all, Mr. Agincourt?"

"When I have time. Why?"

"Surely you're aware of the previous two thefts involving children in wheelchairs."

Agincourt leaned back in his chair, arms folded across his chest. "So now we're going to further handicap these poor unfortunate children because two of them..."

"Three," Liz corrected coldly.

"Three of them have been used in the commission of a crime. Why aren't you trying to find the adults involved instead of harassing the children?"

"We have not harassed a single child, Mr. Agincourt. I want the names of the children you and your brother have mentored," she said the word as if it left a bad taste in her mouth.

"In a combined twenty-seven years of mentoring, we have worked with thousands of children."

"Then you'd better start working on that list."