4.
"So you don't think the boyfriend did it?" Angela asked as the team was assembled in Angela's office.
Booth was about to speak but the very awake and alert Sweets cut in.
"He seemed to emanate a very genuine concern and sadness for Susan Kingsley." Sweets said and Booth wondered how he picked that up in his sleep.
"What about this son of theirs Alex Garcia?" Cam asked.
Again Sweets started to talk before Booth could. "I've interviewed him before unrelated to this case. It's not easy to locate him until late at night. We can track him down then but my guess is he's not knowledgeable about his parents." Sweets was talking fast which he hoped they would think was normal and his heart was racing. He had tucked his hands at his side so they didn't notice how jittery the uppers had made his hands.
Booth nodded impressed that Sweets was back on board. Sweets noticed and was glad he was able to please Booth. A passing thought asked him at what cost but Sweets chose to ignore it.
"So they have a kid together and then give him up for adoption?" Angela asked. "Still doesn't explain how he ended up dead in the back of her car."
"Well Alex Garcia doesn't have any adoption records." Hodgins said. "So what did Susan do with the baby? And who can we ask?"
Booth sighed, "Both her parents are dead."
"What about the friend's mom?" Sweets asked grasping at what they read in the file.
"We can try it." Booth said.
"I would like to rexamine Mr. Medinez's bones. Now that they have been more thoroughly leaned I was to take another look, something seems out of place." Brennan suggested.
"Let's go." He directed at the young psychologist. He was taking him along this time.
"Look Booth, I'm sorry what I said before. I don't have any intentions of leaving the bureau. Sometimes I just get, I don't know." Sweets said in the car ride.
Booth noticed Sweets had a hard time sitting still. His foot tapped and so Sweets fingers were keeping a quick tap on his own knee. It was distracting, and a little concerning, it reminded him of a little of junkie though not quite as bad. Sweets caught Booth's glance and balled up his hand to try and get them to relax when he unballed them.
"It's okay Sweets, I'm glad you're not leaving. I know the work can seem unrewarding at times but it's worth it. And you're a valuable part of that." Booth said but wasn't sure how much Sweets had noticed since he was busy eying another pharmacy.
"You need something else?" Booth asked with a mixture of surprise and concern. Sweets noticed.
"No, no, I'm fine." He instead would have to concentrate on keeping his nerves calm which meant that the conversation had to stop.
"Marlene Parks?" Booth asked as the woman answered the door again.
"Agent Booth, did you have any news?" She asked.
"Not exactly, but I do have a few more questions I'm hoping you might be able to help me with."
"Come in." She said and Booth introduced Sweets. They sat in her living room and Booth noticed Sweets knee bouncing again. Sweets put his palm over it to try and calm the twitch.
"I'm sorry to bother you again Mrs. Parks, but do you know if your daughter Mary Parks knew anything about her friend Susan having a baby?"
Marlene sighed and Booth was relieved that she had.
"No one was supposed to know." She began. "Mary knew, Mary noticed everything about Susan and vice versa. They were good friends, inseparable and always looked out for each other. Susan was the one who encouraged Mary to put in all those college applications when her father didn't help. When Susan found out she was pregnant she came to Mary. I overheard the conversation and pretended to not be involved at first. But Mary was so worried for Susan."
Booth admired the friendship between the women. He wondered if he was not paying that kind of attention to Sweets. If something was wrong with Booth, Sweets would have been persistent about it Booth knew. He was pulled from his thoughts as the interview continued.
"What was the relationship between Susan and the father?" Sweets asked.
"There wasn't one. He forced himself on her one night at the country club. Susan came over after it had happened. She didn't want to tell anyone. She was afraid John would break up with her. She was over here a few months later when she found out the even worse news." The elderly woman explained. "I would have said something before but it was all said and done before that accident. And for so long no one was supposed to know. By the time of graduation Susan was back with John and they were so happy and ready to head off to college, so was Mary. Then they were gone."
"So Susan left to have the baby and came back later?" Booth asked.
"No, they all said she went away but she was at home. Mary went over and saw her all the time but it was all extremely hush hush." The woman explained.
"What happened with the baby?" Sweets asked.
"That I wasn't exactly sure, I don't think even Susan knew. Her parents took her to a hospital up north a week before she was due and they didn't come back with the baby. I presumed that someone had adopted it."
"With no records, it must not have been an entirely legal adoption." Booth mused. "Well, I want to thank you for your time again."
"The night of the party, did Susan come and pick up Mary?" Sweets asked.
"Yes, Mary's parents had more money so she had her own car. She took Mary everywhere."
"How did she seem when she got here?"
"Happy, they were excited to go to the party."
Sweets nodded and Booth looked at him quizzically.
They stood up to leave.
"Yes, thank you Mrs. Parks. I know this is hard to think back to all of this again. But while it doesn't seem like it today, there will be a feeling of closure soon. And with you helping us, it will help a lot of other people heal as well." Sweets said and Booth beamed. This is the Sweets he needed on the first visit, on any visit. "Do you have a restroom I might use?" Sweets asked and Booth was puzzled. He'd never asked to use a restroom of an interviewee, that seemed tacky, that's was gas stations were for.
The older lady pointed in the direction and Booth now found himself wondering what to talk to the woman about in his absence.
"Do you have an old year book or anything of Mary's?" He asked.
Sweets tried to casually walk to the restroom though he was sure his heart was going to beat out of his chest. After he closed the door he frantically searched the medicine cabinet. He wasn't for sure he was having a heart attack but it felt damn near close. He was sure now he'd taken too many uppers. He finally located what he was looking for and popped a few. He felt bad but he took the old lady's bottle and left the restroom.
Booth was taking a book from the lady when Sweets came out trying to breath steadily. He was feeling a bout of vomit rise but he swallowed it back down. Even the crackers from the pharmacy stop earlier were apparently too much for him.
"Ready?" Sweets asked anxious to leave with his stolen medications. He idly wondered if this was getting worse if he were now stealing prescriptions from the elderly to hide whatever was going on with him from Booth. The psychologist in him chastised him while the rest of him told that guy to shut up.
"Well since we're out of other leads, ready to go and see Alex Garcia?" Booth asked as the shut the door and Sweets was sure he was going to pass out, throw up, and have a heart attack. In what order he wasn't sure.
"This the right area?" Booth asked and the very pale Sweets nodded. Booth didn't so much notice the color gone from Sweets face as night had now fallen. It had been a long day of driving and questioning and Sweets was near literally a dead man on his feet.
Sweets caught the door as he stepped out needing time to steady himself on unsure feet. He reached in and popped another upper while Booth wasn't looking so he could make it thru the next few minutes.
They walked up to a garage that was surely more a chop shop. A man in his fifties stepped forward from the raised garage door while several others inside stopped. Booth looked to Sweets who nodded that was indeed Alex Garcia.
"What do you want here again, back for more?" He taunted to Sweets who looked away. Booth narrowed his eyes at what had happened last time. He was gaining suspicion it wasn't the mere questioning session that Sweets suggested.
"Look pal, we're just here with a few questions about your dad." Booth said feeling the need to step forward and keep Sweets a little farther away.
"My parents, I ain't got no parents. I got dropped off at an orphanage fifty years ago. No one wanted to adopt a little kid like me, wasn't the right color." He spat with obvious anger and part of him didn't blame him for that. Alex more strongly resembled the photos of the father than Susan. Which Booth pondered may have been a reason to leave the child at the orphanage.
"So you never met your real parents?" Booth asked again.
"No, why, they millionaires or something?" Alex asked and Booth rolled his eyes.
"No, they're dead. They've been dead about fifty years." Booth said and saw this lead was getting them nowhere and they were out of options for suspects.
"Well thanks for nothing man." Alex said irritated again.
Sweets was perking up as the drugs were starting to take effect. "Mr. Garcia it's possible that even though you did not start well in life that things do not have to end that way." Sweets said but his words did not have the same effect they had on Mrs. Parks.
Alex moved swiftly throwing Sweets up against the garage wall. While holding him in place with one hand he delivered a swift and hard upper cut to Sweets ribs, again. Sweets too slow and tired to react merely stayed in place and began to fold over. Booth was there before Garcia could deliver a second blow.
Booth pulled Garcia away and Sweets fell to the ground. Sweets couldn't stop the crackers from coming up this time.
Before Garcia could punch Booth, Booth had pulled his gun and Garcia put his hands up. Multiple members of the garage had come forward and Booth knew the value of losing the battle to win the war. He would retreat and come again with more arms another day.
"Sweets, let's go." Booth said walking up to his junior partner.
Sweets wiped his mouth with the back of his hand only to see a smear of blood. He quickly wiped it away before Booth could see and stood on unsteady feet. He walked to the car with Booth while the members followed slowly in tow. Sweets was partly glad Booth was so focused on the garage members to see Sweets continue to wipe away the blood.
They quickly got in the car and sped off. Once they were blocks away Booth finally took his eyes off the rear view mirror and let out a heavy sigh.
"You gonna tell me what happened last time?" Booth asked Sweets.
"I asked him some questions, he got mad, hit me in the side, pretty much like that but twice, told me if I can back he'd kill me and I left." Sweets said now feeling like his insides were on fire. He had no ability to lie, he was too exhausted. He thought about the time since last week when he had not eaten or slept in that time and been in constant pains and aches. He left that part out.
"Oh. Well, I appreciate you, you know, telling me." Booth said surprised Sweets wasn't lying anymore. "I can't believe you went there Sweets, that guy was pretty scary, even to me."
"What can I say, I'm a tough guy." Sweets said leaning his head against the head rest and closing his eyes.
Booth knew Sweets was being sarcastic but he stopped for a minute to think it really was true, more than Booth would outwardly give Sweets credit for. Sweets had a tough time growing up with child abuse Booth knew he only knew the tip of the ice berg of. He must have never had a good time in grade school, high school or college not having anything in common with classmates due to his young age, which pretty much transferred to his career at the F.B.I. where no one gave him much credit still from his age. Not even from those who were supposed to be his friends.
Booth felt bad about that when he realized how much crap they had given the psychologist over the years, always keeping him a little at arm's length when they knew full well he had no other family.
"Look Sweets…" Booth began but paused when Sweets groaned. "Sweets, you okay?"
"What?" Sweets asked bringing his swimming head back up. "Yeah, sorry, headache. Long day."
"Yeah." Booth said feeling guilty he was about to drop the subject, again. "Let's go home and get some rest, we can get on this tomorrow. It's late."
Sweets nodded but needed a distraction to stay awake. He saw the yearbook of Mary Parks on the floor and flipped it open. Sweets strained to read some of the handwritten notes in the book pages.
He paused while reading one of them.
"What is it?" Booth asked.
"I think I know what happened." Sweets said. "Let's go back to the lab."
"So what are we doing here at the car?" Booth asked as they had gathered around it.
"We knew that Susan had their baby, out of wedlock. We assumed that Carlos Medinez had no idea that Susan was pregnant. But then I found this in excerpt in Mary's yearbook." Sweets said picking it up to read. "Suzy, my friend and my savior. I owe you my future as I will go to college because of you. And to you I will be your savior, just because he knows he won't hurt you anymore. We'll be going off to a better life and together." Sweets put the yearbook down. "Now presumably she meant college and not the bottom of the lake, but she references 'just because he knows' so I think Carlos Medinez found out she had a baby."
"But that could have meant something else." Hodgins said.
"So what are you suggesting?" Cam asked.
"Hodgins said he found no other prints on the car besides that of the family correct?" Sweets asked.
"Yeah but a killer may have worn gloves." Hodgins said.
"What's your point kid?" Booth asked tired.
"When Susan came to pick up Mary Mrs. Parks said she was happy. I don't think she had any idea that body was in the trunk."
"The girls could have killed him." Angela said.
"Two girls each weighing in at what 110 pounds and five two?" Sweets asked. "Even drugged they couldn't get him in the car. Angela, can you pull up that one article around the time of the girl's deaths. I read it in one of the files."
Booth remembered Sweets flipping thru the files each time they were in the car but he didn't realized he had absorbed so much information.
"This one?" Angela asked holding up the tablet.
"Yeah, this caught my attention, see where Susan's dad comments on his daughter's disappearance?" Sweets said pointing a hand to it but drawing the shaking hand away quickly.
Angela began to read the article out loud. "The wrong things happen to the wrong people. My daughter was perfect, an angel. I thought I had saved her this time. Huh, that is weird."
"I think that Medinez showed up at the house. He had found out that Susan had a baby, their baby and came to confront her about it but her dad came outside first. He probably put two and two together and figured out he was the father. I'm betting they got into it." Sweets said.
"Based on the photos, Susan's dad was a large man." Brennan suggested.
"He could have tried to blackmail the dad or expose the secret if he didn't give him money, we have evidence enough that if he were stealing money thru the traveler's checks he would be hitting a payload with that kind of thing." Hodgins suggested.
"So he shows up," Booth said thinking about it while in motion. "Dad comes out and wants to keep his daughter safe from this guy. They get into it, maybe over money and he ties him up and kills him?"
"Yeah but how does he tie him up and slit his throat?" Angela asked.
"Once the bones were thoroughly cleaned I was able to see that the wound while sharp had fracturing around it, as though it were crushed." Brennan explained.
"Exactly." Sweets said stepping closer to the back of the old car. "I think that the two men got into a fight and Medinez tripped and fell on the opened truck."
"What like this?" Hodgins asked reenacting it.
"Yeah put his hands were parallel to his neck since he trying to catch himself." Sweets explained and Hodgins moved his hands so that his neck was over the opening of the trunk over the closure and his hands parallel and over the opening.
"I think Susan's father then, in a fit of rage pulled the trunk lid down." Sweets said while lowering it but not enough to hit Hodgins.
"With that trunk being made of all metal it would have fractured both of his wrists and severed the artery. With the sharp edges of the trunk on these old cars it would have mimicked his throat and wrists being slit." Brennan observed looking at the car more closely. "We can compare this edge to the bones."
"So he pushed the body in the trunk and was going to dispose of it." Booth said.
"Until Susan came out and needed the car to leave for the party." Sweets said.
"She left with the body in the trunk, having no idea it was there." Booth said.
"The weight of the body in the drunk caused the car to bounce and the car tire to blow out." Hodgins said pointing to what was left of the rubber tire. All the others had been intact.
"And the car flipped and went in the lake." Cam said.
"And the father felt forever guilty but he couldn't really say anything." Angela said.
"Sad ending for everyone involved." Booth said. "Parents, Susan, Mary, John, even Alex."
"Everyone had their secrets." Angela observed.
Booth looked at Sweets in that moment but didn't want to say anything in front of the group.
"Let's go for a drink." He said. "It's late and this was a long day. Whaddya say?"
The group smiled and nodded, happy to close the case.
"Sweets, you in?" Booth asked as he hadn't nodded yet.
"Uh, sure." Sweets said.
Booth was glad because he was the reason Booth had suggested it, he hoped a drink might loosen the young man up enough to talk.
"Sweets, your car is still at the office, why don't you ride with me and Bones." Booth suggested and he nodded.
Booth noticed Sweets winced some when he walked and he figured it was part of the blow to the side he took earlier.
Sweets sat in the back seat and the late night and the long day made his eyes droopy. His body was finally stopping it's constant throb and he felt warm all over, and tired, very tired. He rested his head against the window again.
"Sweets, that was great work tonight." Booth said from the front seat. Brennan noticed his sudden compliment and realized they didn't mention that often.
"Yes, I don't think we would have figured it out without your…." She searched for the right word. "Insights." She nodded, she was pleased with that selection.
"Gives you plenty of reason to stick around right?" Booth asked but there was no response from the back seat. "Sweets?" He asked again but nothing.
"He must have fallen asleep again." Brennan suggested and they continued to the Four Fathers.
They arrived and Booth and Brennan got out to head in the bar but Sweets was still in the car. Booth went over to the door and opened it. Sweets didn't wake up, instead his limp body fell from the car and towards Booth. Booth had to move quickly from stopping him to fall to the ground. Sweets hadn't gotten his seat belt on so he was completely out of the car when Booth got a hold of him.
"Sweets, buddy, wake up." Booth said slapping his cheeks.
Greatly alarmed Brennan rushed over She put her fingers on Sweets neck.
"Booth, he's not breathing!" she shouted.