AN: This was a strange chapter for me to write. It just seemed necessary. I may have to think about the next chapter for a day or two.

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Chapter 9 – Hasty Conclusions

As they re-entered the Georgetown neighborhood where Elizabeth Marks now resided, Booth's suspicions were raised. "You know Bones, this is quite a step up from the Alexandria neighborhood we visited this morning. Mrs. Marks has done very well for herself in her husband's absence."

"So what you are trying to say is that Mrs. Marks, a woman we have never met, deliberately locked her husband and son in an industrial freezer and hauled them out to the woods so that she could live in a better neighborhood." He hated it when she filled in the blanks of his reasoning in order to illustrate how foolish he sounded.

"We have been over this time and time again, everything has the potential to be a clue and I was just making an observation."

"In that case, I would have to agree that this area and these homes definitely represent a higher socio-economic status."

"You think?!" He rolled his eyes and pulled the SUV into the driveway.

They were greeted at the door by the same young women from the day before. She recognized them and invited them into the entry hall while she disappeared to inform her employer of their presence. Booth let out a long whistle as they gazed upon the elaborate staircase and crystal chandelier. He looked at Bones raising his eyebrows as if to reinforce his suspicions, but she just turned around gazing at the adjoining rooms. The woman returned quickly and led them to a room she referred to as the library.

Mrs. Elizabeth Marks and her husband, Dr. Steven Marks, were seated on a sofa in the middle of the expansive room. They stood to greet their guests with inquisitive looks on their faces. They resumed their positions of the sofa offering the facing chairs to Booth and Brennan. The servant returned with a tea service and set it in on the table between them. Mr. Marks immediately began adjusting the cups and saucers on the tray before allowing his wife to pour; he spoke first, "What is this all about, Agent Booth?"

Booth focused all of his attention onto Richard Barton's wife. "Mrs. Marks I am sorry to inform you that we have discovered the remains of your former husband and son in Western Virginia." He stated in a calm steady voice anxiously waiting for her reaction.

There was almost no reaction from the stoic woman. "Remains?" She quietly inquired.

Brennan spoke up, "Yes, we identified your husband from his military dental records. They were discovered …" Booth interrupted her, "We are very sorry for your loss but the identification has been authenticated by DNA evidence." He gave Bones a sideways glance warning her not to divulge too much information too quickly.

"When they disappeared, I thought that Richard had simply taken Adam and left me." She stated matter-of-factly.

"The evidence suggests that they are the victims of a homicide, ma'am. They have been dead for eight years."

"Really, who would want to kill them?"

"Well, I was hoping that you could help me answer that question, Mrs. Marks." He was starting to feel disdain for the woman. She didn't register any emotion. She didn't seem to care at all. Even if she and her husband had marital problems, he had a hard time believing that she wouldn't react to the death of her own son. What was wrong with her? Or, did she already know that they were dead?

"I am afraid that I haven't a clue as to what may have happened to them Agent Booth. They went to the Park to play one Saturday afternoon and just never returned."

"Did they drive to the park that day?"

"No, we lived close-by. I believe they walked. It is possible that Adam was on a bicycle."

"They certainly would not get far without transportation."

"I just assumed that they took the Metro to Reagan Airport."

"Did the police check his financial transactions at the time?"

"I am not sure."

"Did you have reason to believe that he wanted to leave you?"

"Our marriage was strained but adequate. I wasn't particularly surprised. The thought of Richard leaving with Adam just seemed like the most logical conclusion at the time. I didn't have any reason to believe that foul play was involved. Frankly, I am a little shocked by your evidence." If she was shocked, then she sure hid it well. She had barely moved since they entered the room. Her face held the same stony expression. Booth was momentarily at a loss on how to proceed and decided to shift gears.

"Dr. Marks, did you know your wife's first husband?"

The man seemed a bit startled to suddenly be included in the conversation. "Why yes, we were all friends since high school."

"May I ask what you do for a living sir? We visited the Alexandria neighborhood earlier today and this is certainly a nicer area of DC. This house is very impressive."

"Thank you, Agent Booth." He was obviously proud of their residence. "We live here because I like to be close to the University. I have doctorates in physics and engineering. I teach and do research at Georgetown University."

"Is there anything that either of you can tell me that might help us figure out what happened to Richard and Adam?"

The couple looked at each other for a second without expression. They faced Booth and shook their heads in unison.

"Well, I thank you for your time." Booth said standing and motioning for Bones to do the same. "If you think of anything that may help us with the investigation, please give us a call."

"We will handle the burial arrangements, of course." Mrs. Marks commented.

"We will let you know when we are finished with the remains." Brennan answered.

The couple led Booth and Brennan to the front door. "Please keep us informed of the investigation, Agent Booth." Dr. Marks said as he shut the door.

They stood there looking at the closed door for almost a full minute before turning and heading back to the SUV. Once they were inside, Booth could hardly contain himself. "Well, that was weird. They really gave me the creeps."

"Why?" Bones inquired.

"How can you ask that? They were unbelievably cold, especially Mrs. Marks. I don't think she changed facial expressions at all when I told her about her son. She did not seem to care one way or the other."

"That is incredibly unfair Booth. She has had a long time to deal with their loss. Besides, she may be releasing all of her emotions right now."

"I am sorry, but she did not seem to care that they were gone. Charlie should have the entire police report together by now. Let's head back to my office and take a look. She appears very suspicious to me."

"You mean that because she chose not to show you any emotion, then she must be responsible for killing her husband and son?" He could tell that Bones was getting agitated, but he wasn't sure why.

"Are you mad, Bones?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact I am. You are making wild accusations without a shred of actual evidence. Just because that woman did not react the way you expected or wished her to react, you are willing to think her capable of a double homicide. We need to return to the evidence. I realize that there is very little evidence at this point, but we need to rely on what we know not what we feel."

"You see—this is exactly why I don't always share my opinions with you Bones. You are too quick to judge."

"You are the one judging here, not me"

"Well, I am making judgments about Mrs. Marks, but you are making judgments about me."

"It is always about you, isn't it? What you think—what you feel—what you decide is the best course of action—when you decide to reveal information—when you decide … um … whatever you decide. You know I am not sure why you even bother to have me collect evidence at all"

"Wow Bones, that came from nowhere. What are you talking about?"

"Don't call me Bones! I am talking about you and your irrational opinions. I am talking about you and your holier than thou accusations. I am talking about you not giving anyone a chance to express themselves the way they need to express themselves. You know what, I am now done talking about you—drop me at the lab."

He was speechless. He wasn't completely sure what she was talking about or why she was so upset. In fact, he could not recall ever seeing her this angry except, perhaps, when she slugged him in the jaw and barged into his bathroom. He knew better than to try and speak with her now. She needed to get back to the house of reason and she obviously needed to be far away from him. He continued driving afraid to even glance at her side of the car. They rode all the way back to the Jeffersonian in a very uncomfortable silence.

When he pulled up to drop her off, she quickly got out of the car turned toward him and stated in a cold, emotionless tone, "When you are ready to accept that everyone is not as emotionally charged as you are and when you are ready to discuss evidence, you can find me in the lab." She slammed the door and stormed up the stairs without looking back.

As he drove back to his own office, he kept thinking about what she said and how she said it. She was acting uncharacteristically emotional while telling him to stop acting emotional. She was truly angry with him. He couldn't believe the way she had lashed out at him. She is never shy about pointing out his inadequacies, but she never yelled at him like that before. There had to be more going on here but he couldn't figure it out. He didn't know if he was angry, scared, or incredibly attracted to her, but he suspected that it was all of the above.