Chapter One

"What does it mean to feel emotion?" Asked Daniel Peirce as he stood in front of his morning class in the lecture hall he had become so familiar with over the years. "How do you know that you are feeling an emotion? Science tells us that emotion is nothing more than a electrochemical reaction in your mind, designed to make you achieve the goals that your DNA has hardwired into your brain."

Daniel moved slowly about the room, letting the silence charge the air before he began again. "Or are there emotions that you feel that have no foundation in instinct? Someone give me an emotion."

Several students raised their hands and Daniel pointed to a brunette in the second row. "Love?" She said questioningly. Daniel smiled a knowing smile at her simple answer.

"Love is destined to keep mates together to produce offspring and see that the child is protected until it is old enough to protect it's self. Come on people! This is the most basic of human instincts! Give me another one."

Daniel pointed at another student in the classroom, a man this time. "Happiness." Daniel smiled again, amused at his students lack of understanding of the subject.

"Happiness is simply a tool to get people to do what needs to be done. You feel happy when you eat, you-you feel happy when you do a good job, you feel happy when you accomplish something that needed to get done." Daniel glanced over at Lewicki in the corner who was looking down at his papers on the desk. "So how do you know that you are feeling love, or happiness, and if that emotion is a part of who you are? That is a question, for our next class on Monday."

Sighs and the occasional groan could be heard as the class gathered their things, and slowly ushered themselves out of the lecture hall. Daniel glanced over at Lewicki again as the student filed out. He was still looking at the papers on the desk with his jaw tightly clenched and his brow furrowed. Daniel sauntered over to his coat and briefcase and began to collect his things.

"You didn't say anything in class today Lewicki. Not even a sarcastic face." Daniel said as Lewicki began gather his papers and things as well. He said nothing, which confused Daniel. He'd never seen Lewicki so tight lipped and serious. Lewicki may be serious most of the time, but he always had a kindness and sincerity to his actions. Sometimes he was sarcastic and playful. Today, he was tense, hastily shoving his papers into his bag, and jamming his sleeves into his coat.

"Come on Doc, I'll go get you some tea and a crossword." Lewicki finally said as he began to walk out the door. Daniel, quite surprised by his actions, finished pulling his scarf through it's self, and followed him out the door.

Daniel had never seen Lewicki this way, and had never been very good at knowing when to quit. He just didn't know how to approach him. As they walked down the halls, he tried to formulate a way to approach him. As he was thinking he realized he was already at his favorite bench in the quad and Lewicki was on his way to get Daniel a tea.

"Lewicki needs to talk to someone Daniel. He's not going to open up unless you ask." Natalie said, sitting on the bench as Daniel sat down.

"You think I don't know that? I just don't know how I should approach him, or if I should approach him. I'm not his mother." Daniel said, pulling out his old tape player and headphones and selecting a suitable tape to play. Natalie gave him her usual reproachful smile.

"You are the only person Lewicki has here. He has no friends, no family here. You have a responsibility to him. He takes care of you Daniel, and now it's time for you to take care of him a little." She said, giving him a soft smile. Daniel knew she was right. He knew that he owed Lewicki more than just an assistant teacher position.

"Look I'll talk to him tonight. Will that make you happy?" Asked Daniel.

"Will what make me happy?" Said a familiar voice to Daniel's left. He jumped and spun around to find Kate Moretti standing above him with a quizzical smile. Daniel stood slowly, trying to come up with a suitable answer.

"Ah-I was just writing out loud. Next week's lecture." He hugged his briefcase to his chest, his usual defensive response, and Kate knew it.

"Well if you're busy I can just-"

"No! No, I mean..." He rocked back on his heals and gave her a sly look. "If you're...working on a case..." He left the statement open, and Kate was smart enough to see this.

"What, you don't think I'd come just to see you?" She crossed her arms and gave him a mocking smile, her eyes glinting with amusement. Daniel met her gaze and suddenly felt a little light headed. His stomach was doing little flips when he finally tore his eyes away, looking at the ground.

"You did come just to see me. About a case." His eyes flicked back up to her face as she gave a sigh that said lengths.

"Alright yes, there is a case and it's quite the conundrum." Kate gave in, sounding exasperated. "Night before last an apartment owner reported a murder in his building. The victim was Joycean Roan, a recovering addict and one of his tenants."

"I don't understand." Daniel said. "Why do you need my 'field of expertise'? And why is the FBI involved?" He asked her, his head tilting to the side slightly. Kate smiled in that perfect way of hers, like a hunter before the hunt.

"Because the body was never found, and Joycean had bipolar disorder."