Chapter 28

Ms. Lindsay looked up from the desk as Charlie, Larry and Amita entered. "Dr. Eppes! It's nice to see you. How are you feeling?"

Charlie smiled, "Better, thanks. And thank you for being so kind to my father and brother. Are Mr. O'Connell and Mr. Reid still here?"

"No, they checked out a few minutes ago. Why? Are they friends of yours?"

"Not exactly. More like acquaintances."

The three professors went to their rooms, and Charlie took the longest, most relaxing shower he had taken in a long time. Besides finally feeling clean for the first time in days, he found the hot water soothed all his aches and pains. When he came out, toweling his hair, he heard his cell phone beep. A voice mail. He wrapped the towel around his waist and listened to the message. It was Don, telling him to call back as soon as possible. Charlie sat on the bed and dialed.

"Eppes," Don answered.

"Don, I just got your message. What's up?"

"You're not going to believe this, but I just heard from Colby. The Abu-Hassan family is totally off the hook. In fact, Ali Abu-Hassan is now officially a victim."

"Really? A victim of whom?"

"The translator. He's Iranian. His job was to disrupt the new Iraqi government from within. He already poisoned two other Iraqi officials. I don't know how he got through the NSA's security checks. You guys were his first known American victims."

"I'm honored," Charlie said wryly.

"Yeah, you should be. You are officially collateral damage, Buddy."

"Any word on how the other collateral victims are doing?"

"They're giving them all the bacteriophage treatment. So you're not only officially collateral damage, you're also officially a guinea pig."

"Too bad it didn't get there soon enough for Mason."

"Yeah." There was a long, awkward silence, then Don said, "But at least your friends in Iraq are cleared. That's good news, right?"

"Yeah. That's great. Thanks for letting me know." Charlie glanced at the alarm clock. "You must be near the airport."

"Yep. Almost there."

"Thanks again for coming, Don. It was great having you and Dad here."

"You're welcome. And we'll see you Sunday, right? I'll plan on picking you guys up at the airport, okay? Dad has your itinerary, right?"

"Yes, he does. I'll see you then. Tell Dad I said hi. And I really do love you both."

"I know. I love you too, Chuckie."

"Bye, Donald."

After Charlie had dried off and dressed, he rounded up Larry and Amita. He told them about Don's phone call.

"That's wonderful, Charlie," Amita said. "You and Don are solving crime on the other side of the world."

"Shall we go to the conference?" Charlie asked, picking up the prescription bottle from the night stand and putting it in his pocket. "It was convenient that there was a pharmacy on our way out. It saved us running all over town to get this filled."

"Charles, have you taken your antibiotic yet?"

"Not yet. It says to take it with food. I thought I'd take it during lunch." He grabbed his computer bag and checked its contents quickly. "I'm ready."

"Charles, perhaps we should drive over there."

"Nah. The walk will do me good. I'm actually feeling pretty well right now. And we can always call a taxi if I run out of steam."

Amita laughed. "Sounds fair to me. Larry, what do you think?"

"All right, but if Charles runs out of steam, I'm not carrying him."

Charlie had indeed begun to feel a little tired by the time they reached Fine Hall. A lecture was in progress, so they slipped quietly into three empty seats near the back of the auditorium. Charlie sighed and leaned back, eyes closed. Amita squeezed his arm and whispered. "You okay?"

Charlie nodded and murmured, "Just a little wiped out." After a few minutes, the lure of math perked him up again. He opened his eyes, sat up in his seat and started actively following the lecture, nodding at some points, and frowning at others. When the lecture finished, Charlie joined the crowd moving forward to engage the speaker in conversation.

"Eppsie!" Charlie turned to see Marshall Penfield approaching from the left at warp speed.

"Marshall! Good to see you again," he replied cautiously.

Penfield took Charlie by the shoulders and studied his face. "Are you all right, Charlie? You gave us quite a scare the other day. Are you feeling better?"

Charlie smiled and relaxed. "Yes, Marshall, I'm feeling a lot better today. Still a little bit under the weather, but I couldn't stay away from all this math."

"What was it? The flu?"

Charlie took a deep breath and released it slowly as he took Marshall aside. "It was anthrax," he said softly. "Something I ate when I was out of the country last week on a consulting gig."

"Oh, wow. Anybody else affected?"

Charlie nodded sadly. "Four others I know of. One dead, two in critical condition."

Penfield whistled softly. "Are you sure you're okay to do this? You were pretty seriously ill there."

"I'm fine, Marshall. Thanks."

"Listen, I don't want to pressure you in any way, so if you're not up to this, just tell me. Be honest. Dr. Langellan had to cancel for tomorrow, so there's a slot free. If you feel up to giving your presentation tomorrow..." Marshall let the question hang as he watched Charlie's face.

Charlie grinned. "I'd love to, Marshall. But you're going to have to be gentle with the sick guy, okay?"

"Eppsie, I'm always gentle with you! I'll make the announcement before the next speaker. That'll give your fan club a chance to make their plans."

"Fan club? Not hardly."

"Oh, I don't know, Charlie, I've been questioned about your condition by more than one of our female colleagues. They seemed quite concerned that they wouldn't have the opportunity to see you this week. Of course, none of them could hold a candle to the lovely Amita."

"Nobody could hold a candle to Amita. Did I mention that she and I are dating now?"

"Why, no, Eppsie, you didn't. Is she here? Perhaps I should have a talk with her."

Amita came up behind them and slipped her arm through Charlie's arm. "Have a talk with who?"

"Ah, with you. I hear you're dating this rascal now."

"Why, yes, I am," Amita gave Charlie a kiss on the cheek. "And very happily so. Why?"

"Oh, ah, no reason." Marshall blushed.

Charlie smiled at Amita. "I believe he was hoping to talk some sense into you."

"Who needs sense when I have you, Charlie?"

"I'm not sure how to take that..." Charlie said.

"I meant it in the nicest possible way. Let's go get some lunch," Amita said, taking a step toward the exit. "See you later, Marshall."