Chapter Two
Blood pooled along the cement cracks and bled its way down to the drain, joining the slaughtered animal blood. An agent was trying to collect samples of the blood before it drained away, or was contaminated.
Megan stepped over the carcass of a bull to the tag identifying human victim number 3, the shooter. Special Agent Marcus Field lay with a stunned look on what remained of his face. Megan had to avert her eyes. It had only been a couple of weeks since she'd stood with Marcus as they surveyed another murder scene; a drug deal gone sour. Suddenly every conversation they'd had, every facial expression she'd seen him make was buzzing around her head, being profiled with hindsight. Nothing, not a thing. Megan could not think of one warning sign that would suggest Marcus was capable of, or close to, this. Then again that last case had claimed more than its fair share of emotional casualties.
"What you got Liz?"
"Guys on the floor say his wife works here." Megan gave Liz a quizzical look. "In accounts."
"Oh yeah, what else do the guys on the floor say?"
David handed Megan a specimen bag containing a wedding ring. "This was found up there." David pointed to the office area situated above the slaughter floor. "It's Marcus'…" David swallowed, "Agent Fields."
Megan looked at the blood splattered ring that was inscribed with the word eternity. "Where's the wife now?"
"She's being notified." Liz responded before opening up her notepad and relaying her notes, the forced detachment evident in her voice. "The other two victims worked in accounts. There's no witnesses, the guy who found them reckons they always worked late on Fridays, hence why no one noticed anything till now, Monday."
"So what're we thinking? Maybe the wife is having an affair?" David added before turning around to stare at the lines of animal carcasses suspended and dripping. For a moment he considered becoming a vegetarian.
"Right, maybe. Combine that with that last case…" Megan was interrupted by her cell. She unclipped it with her gloved hand and flipped it open. "Reeves."
"You ever think about giving up meat?" David asked Liz while surveying the abattoir.
"I figure if I can stomach rotting human flesh, a steak isn't such a big deal." She looked at David, and clarified. "Yeah."
"What…Ok. No, I'll do it. Just. Guess it's my call now, right?"
David and Liz turned towards Megan. The last part of her conversation wasn't normal. Megan was good at hiding her emotions when needed, but for some reason, David could swear there was panic in her voice. Megan snapped her cell shut and looked at David, then Liz. Her eye contact with Liz was more intense, more uncomfortable.
"What? What is it?" David asked.
"It was." Megan didn't know how to word this, "I don't know just yet. Details were scatty."
"What details?" Liz was getting a bit frustrated, she was used to cutting to the chase and Megan was just not spitting this out. They'd finished surveying this scene, whatever it was they were clear to move on. Besides, Special Agent Marcus Field only brought back tender memories for her, memories of that last case.
"Don." Megan breathed out as though it was the hardest thing she ever had to do.
"Does he want us to meet him somewhere?" David was sort of relieved. The way Megan was acting it was like something bad was brewing. If Don was on another case then he could get out of this stinking abattoir at least. Yeah, definitely tofu tonight.
"No." Megan cleared her throat. "Don's vehicle has been found abandoned. On a remote desert road."
David stared back at Megan in shock but it was Liz who broke the silence, "And Don?"
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Charlie was batting away stares from agents who clearly recognised him but never knew him to be at the premises without Agent Eppes or one of his team. It made him uncomfortable and he just buried himself in more marking. A flick of the wrist showed the time. Don still wasn't in the office, nor answering his cell, and Charlie could only wait another hour before he had to be at CalSci.
Turning another paper over, Charlie scraped a big red C+ on the cover. Suddenly he noticed a change in the atmosphere. The area had quietened substantially. It was no longer a hive of shuffling feet and activity. Charlie stared up at the room and noticed agents standing and whispering. It was a little surreal. When a young assistant brushed past oblivious to the goings on Charlie grabbed her attention.
"Oh hey, sorry, do you know what's going on?"
The young girl looked at Charlie's badge and then stared at his face, a flicker of recognition dawning. She'd seen him around the place many a time, never realised he was a consultant. "I dunno, something about one of the agents I think. I never really get told much so…"
Charlie remembered the case that Don's team had set off to investigate this morning. He thought it strange that it took so long for word to get around back here, but then if these agents were anything like Don, information was lucky it ever made it around.
Charlie plumped himself back down in Don's chair and continued marking. His papers were so precariously stacked on Don's desk that the movement caused several of them to tumble to the ground. Charlie picked them up absently. Placing them back on Don's desk Charlie noticed Don had left a file open from the previous case. Thought that was closed. It was opened on the photo of one of the dead drug bosses; there had been two. His chest had been torn apart by the blast of a sawn-off shotgun and it wasn't pleasant. Charlie gulped and closed the folder. With his attention averted he didn't notice the stares that sheepishly were directed towards him. An even greater hush descended as the elevators dinged and Megan, David and Liz stormed through.
"I'll ring Larry, find out where Charlie is, David can you chase…" Megan stopped short as she saw Charlie sitting at Don's desk.
"Oh hey Megan, I wanted to wait for Don. He's late. You need help with this case?"
Megan was momentarily unable to speak. Liz stood still, white and surveyed the area. She noted people looking at her then quickly averting their gaze. Liz walked to her cubicle, placed her jacket over her chair and breathed in deeply. Deciding at the last minute that she couldn't do this, she marched off to the restroom.
"She OK? Did she know the agent?" Charlie asked as he packed up his papers into his knapsack., unwittingly taking some of the files from Don's desk with him.
"No, Charlie, actually yes, we all knew the agent. You may even remember him. It was Agent Field."
Charlie contemplated the man he'd met briefly three weeks ago. All he could picture was the bright smile he carried with him. It stuck in Charlie's mind because, despite all the ensuing carnage, Agent Field's 'niceness' and demeanour had been such a contrast to his own brother's. It gave Charlie hope that Don could do his job and be OK. And then Colby and Liz, well, things hadn't ended so well on that case in so many regards and Charlie was once again consumed with worry for his brother. "Agent Field? How many casualties is that case going to claim?"
Megan hoped that Agent Field was the end of it, but in her heart her fears for Don suggested that was wishful thinking. No one could have predicted the turns the last case took. Even Megan spent the odd moment wondering if something she had done could have prevented…Reeves, snap out of it, there's a job to do.
"Charlie, sit down."
"I'll go…" David motioned towards the women's bathroom. He meant to say, go help Liz but realized that was a bit tricky considering her destination. He shrugged and walked off in that direction anyway. What more could he say?
"What's going on?" A strange feeling descended on Charlie and he swallowed as he looked into Megan's face. He sunk down into Don's chair as Megan turned her back on him for a second to think.
"I didn't think I'd find you here, that's for sure." Charlie was about to interject when Megan held up her hand. "Sorry Charlie, there's no easy way to say this, you have clearance, you have the right to know and quite frankly I don't really know."
"Know what? Megan what the hell is going on?"
"Early this morning a highway patrol policeman was called to an abandoned car outside San Diego, in the desert. The car is Don's and that's all I know."
"What do you mean? Where's Don?"
"Charlie, we don't even know how long his vehicle has been there, let alone where your brother is at the moment. But we're sure as hell going to find out."
Charlie stared back at Megan in disbelief. "I haven't spoken to him in over a week. Megan…" His eyes pleading with Megan to tell him that Don was safe, that it was a mistake, the car wasn't Don's. "…Is there anything else?"
Megan didn't know what good it would do to tell Charlie about the blood until they knew if it was Don's or not.
"No. Nothing. Except I need to talk to Alan as soon as possible."
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"You don't have to." Alan remarked before biting into his sandwich.
"Are you kidding me, I've spent hours contemplating my navel over these past few months and while it is certainly enlightening and a worthwhile pursuit, I do feel that somehow the conditions aren't right for those feelings of abstraction to return. I don't think one can truly exist outside the body while habiting a physical form. So, in answer to your question Alan, I would love to take a few hours out of my contemplative day, to get my hands dirty and build some artificial intelligence with you."
Alan stared back at Larry and grinned. They were going to have fun. "Alrighty then. I just need to pick up the remaining parts from Professor Avery and then maybe you can come around tonight. Maybe even kick Charlie out of the garage for a change."
"Megan." Larry exclaimed as she saw Megan walk up to the cafeteria he and Alan were eating in on campus. Larry didn't notice Charlie just outside the cafeteria, slunk down against the door lintel, waiting with his head bowed. Alan did.
"What's wrong?" Alan looked at Megan and knew instantly this visit was intended for him, not Larry.
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Megan had driven both Alan and Charlie home. Larry had followed in Alan's car.
"I think, I don't know. It's been a long time. Yeah it was Thursday, he cancelled a golf game."
"You saw him?"
"No, spoke. Are you telling me no one has seen him in…"
"No Alan, he was at work on Friday. David and I saw him then." Then to reassure Alan, "he was fine. His ID says he left the building at 9pm. We're just going through the CCTV to verify where he may have gone."
"Liz?" Alan knew that after what had happened Don had retreated into his shell. He knew it was unlikely he'd seen Liz, but he hoped. He also hoped his hand would stop shaking.
"She hasn't spoken to him since, well, you know."
"Yes. I do know."
"Look Alan, I need to head out to the scene so…"
"I'm coming with you." Charlie's voice faltered as he spoke.
"No Charlie, I can't let you."
"Megan, Charlie consults with you all the time. The one time..." Alan was finding this harder than he'd ever imagined, "…surely it would help to have someone who knows Don so well. Someone who can predict where he may be." Alan stared into Megan's eyes. "Let him use his genius to help his brother when he needs it most, otherwise what's the point?"
Megan weighed up the risks with the benefits of taking Charlie to what could be his brother's murder scene. In the end, neither side won, Megan simply felt compassion for Charlie and knew that he'd want to be there. Of course, Don would kill her if he found out. I hope.
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The vehicle was dusty, but other than that, nothing seemed out of place. The tracks indicated it had suddenly veered off the road. Keys were dangling from the ignition, which had apparently turned over until the gas ran out. The battery was dead. David looked at Megan. "I got nothing. If it weren't for that used coffee cup I'd swear Don had just cleaned it."
"Doesn't that strike you as odd?"
"Not really, I mean Don is methodical. He keeps a pretty tight ship. I've never known it to be messy." David looked across towards the patch of blood and tried to focus back on the case as though it were any other. As soon as he did he regretted it. Charlie stood rooted to the ground staring at the blood. "Really think this was a good idea?"
Megan looked up to where Charlie stood. "Yeah, I do. I think it'll help him process it if he has images to relate to. Besides, I haven't given up on Don yet, doubt you have, and I doubt Charlie has. If anyone can find him, we will."
"I guess, but y'know, Don really beat himself up after that last case. After what Agent Field did… I mean this past week, I don't think I've ever seen Don so bummed."
"Don's been through a lot worse and even though he doesn't necessarily deal with it the way I would, he does deal with it. Let's not forget Agent Field actually lost an agent in that case, and a good friend. We have a lot to be thankful that we're all still here."
"Except Don." Instantly David regretted pointing out the obvious on this occasion.
Megan walked across to Charlie and touched his arm gently. "C'mon Charlie, we're done here, let's go."
"It's not Don's."
Megan stared down at the small patch of dried blood that stained the brown earth. She wanted to believe Charlie and was dreading what forensics would tell her. "I hope so Charlie."
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The car ride back from the crime scene would have been excruciatingly silent if any of them had noticed. Everyone was processing the information. Megan was profiling Don quietly, considering if there were any signs of depression. David wondered how Charlie could be handling this so well. He thought about his own family and what this would do to them, if it was him. Would they care?
Charlie allowed the data and numbers to roll around in his head, discarding those he didn't like, collecting any that he could use to prove Don was alive and well and drinking a beer in the craftsman.
A rabbit suddenly jumped onto the road and Megan reflexively began to swerve before realising that was the last thing you should do on a dark desert road. They'd spent hours meticulously going over every detail at that scene and they'd come up with nothing. It was almost as if Don had never been there. Apart from the blood.
"I've never known Don not to fight for someone's life." The rabbit swerve had pulled Charlie out of his thoughts. His comment drew David and Megan back into the world of the SUV. "Why would he be so flippant with his own? Clearly he wouldn't. It can't be Don's blood. He's out there somewhere. If it was his blood, he'd be here, somewhere, and so would who did this to him. Dead."
Megan couldn't do it, she couldn't crush Charlie at this moment. There was no body, nothing concrete to contradict him, for all she knew, Charlie was right, but he seemed to be ignoring one avenue of thought – that Don didn't want to fight this one, maybe because he initiated it. She couldn't be so cruel as to remind Charlie of the amount of blame Don had heaped on himself this past week. Still, that was certainly not your typical crime scene. If Don had done this to himself, Charlie was right. There would be a body there. As it was this scene posed more questions than answers.