Prologue
"Say guys do you think you could identify how this person died through the pictures?" Booth asked as he showed the squint team a picture of a skeleton.
"Where's the body?" Zach frowned. "We'd be more accurate," he added.
"Well you're not getting the body. The FBI's confiscated it."
"Why?" Bones also frowned. More interested and confused than in the beginning.
"The possible murderer is the victim's father. On top of that he's a major detective. One we've been trying to bring down for months. This might just do the trick." Booth told them.
"How could anyone murder their own child?" Angela shook her head.
"Easy. Because people are capable of paretically anything," Zach shrugged. "Including abusing and killing their own flesh and blood."
"You sound like you speak from experience," Hodgins remarked slowly while staring at his best friend. Zach shrugged, clearly uncomfortable.
"I'm not dead am I?" He sanpped.
"No, but Hodgin's is right. The way you said it..." Cam's voice trailed off.
"I'm sorry to have brought it up," muttered Zach. He turned to face Booth. "I'll help," he added, causing Booth's eyes to widen in surprise.
"Um okay, thanks." Booth shrugged.
"Guys like him deserve to be behind bars," added Zach grimly.
"See again, right there!" Hodgins insisted. "You act like you've been through something like this before."
Zach gave him a very un Zach like look but it was enough to shut him up.
"I'll scan the picture," he said, snatching it from Booth's hand. He left them all looking a bit confused.
As soon as Zach left he was able to breathe again. He stared at the picture of the skeleton, his mind flashing back to the time when his life was a living hell.
His father loomed forward, the belt in his hand. Mr. Addy believed in firm discipline for all his kids. For his wife too. He also believed in forcing her to do her wifely obligations. Sometimes when one of the kids was in the same room. To teach them to fear him. Zach spent most of his time trying to stop his father from attacking his younger siblings. Which left him a prime suspect.
Zach winced as he touched his arm, remember the sound it made when his father snapped it. Sending him to the hospital.
"He fell down the stairs," his mother explained to his doctor. "You know how kids are."
He fell down the stairs. Apparently he fell down the stairs a lot. That wasn't the last time he was sent to the hospital. The old man also managed to break his foot and did much more worse things then that. Things that gave Zach nightmares for the longest time. And still did. Things that he'll never recover from. Things he couldn't tell anyone. Not even his closest friends. Why? He feared they wouldn't understand. How could anyone if he couldn't himself?