:Chapter one:
Charles 'Charlie' Eppes Shook his head at the grade he had to put on one of his students test. He had given the pop quiz to find out what he needed to teach or re-enforce. The way it was looking he needed to go back to the beginning with three fourths of the class. To think that it had been nearly half of a semester and three fourths of his class would fail his class if he did not do something and do it fast, it was depressing. He couldn't fail that many kids, but he couldn't pass them at this point either. He would have to figure out what most of them had troubles with, stress it in class and make them study extra hard outside of class. His cell phone rang, he laid the red pen down and picked up the phone, it was Don Eppes, Charlie's FBI (Federal Bauru Investigator) brother….
---------------------------------------
Hours earlier across town…
Don Eppes' phone rang, he rolled over and looked at the clock, four in the morning. Two hours before he was supposed to be at work. He picked up the phone. "Eppes" he said into the mouthpiece of the phone.
"Eppes, get dressed. LAPD is asking for your help in an investigation." Director Steve White said. "It's The Confessor case. We're not aiding in the investigation, we're taking it over."
"Yes sir." He said. He wrote down the address that the director gave him and hung up. Time to start his day….
---------------------------------------
Don drove up to the crime scene twenty minutes later, still trying to wake up, he wished he had made time to get some coffee, but the director had been insistent that he get to the crime scene right away. He put the big black SUV in park and killed the engine. Glancing around at the area he picked up the folder from the seat next to him. It was the case file on The Confessor. He opened it up and scanned it quickly to refresh his memory. Even though the news media called the killer The Confessor, he thought liked the FBI profilers name better, The Cleanser, though he couldn't decide. It didn't really matter, but he did have to be up to date on the case. When he finished reading the file he closed it and carried it with him as he headed inside the crime scene. He was met by a LAPD detective. "Hi, you must be Special Agent Eppes." The man offered his hand, Don shook it and nodded his head. "I am Detective James Stewart with LAPD. I spoke with the director and he said that you will be taking the case over."
Don said, he pulled out a two pairs of latex gloves, handed one to the detective and put one on. "When your inside my crime scene, you wear gloves. Where is the primary scene?"
"In the bedroom. It's bad." The detective said as he took the gloves and slipped them on, not wanting to admit that he had been in the wrong not having them on. Don lead the way to the bedroom and stood in the doorway, he didn't want to interrupt the FBI crime scene techs, who always' beat him to any crime scene, no matter what time of day. The room was neat and organized, no sign of struggle. The teenage girl was laying on the bed, a single stab wound in the chest with the ivory handled knife still in it. The man was sitting in the chair across the room, a single stab wound in the chest with a matching ivory handled knife still in it. The only visible blood was on the wall where The Cleanser, or Confessor, had written 'I have freed and cleansed her" on the wall. He had seen worse crime scenes, this one was no different than the last one. It was sad that these girls were so smart in school, yet possibly really dumb in their social lives. "I told the director that I would be willing to work this case with you guys." Detective Stewart said.
"No, my orders are to take the case over, not work with you." Don replied as he turned away from the room to face the detective. "I'm sorry, but that's how it is." He looked beyond the detective to see his team step through the door.
