Booths Are Us
Chapter 9
Susan H.
The next morning Brennan studied Bobby Samson from the observation room. He sat with crossed arms. He seemed angry, but she still wondered how Sweets would read him. Foster entered the room.
"Good Morning Mr. Samson."
Bobby glared at Foster.
"Coffee?"
Bobby continued to glare.
Foster prepared his own coffee with cream and sugar and sat down across from Bobby.
"I'm Agent Foster. Do you know why you're here?"
"Yeah, the jerk."
"Do you mean the jerky?"
"No, I mean Eugene."
"Eugene Samson, your cousin?"
"Yep."
"So, what's the story with you two?" Foster sipped his coffee.
Bobby eyed the cup and said, "Can I have some coffee?"
"Sure, how do you like it?"
"Just black."
Foster poured the cup and set it in front of Bobby, and sat down and waited.
Brennan's phone buzzed and flashed Booth's name.
"Hi Booth."
"Good Morning Bones."
"You sound good."
"Thanks, I'm perking up some. So did Bobby accept the coffee?"
"How did you know?"
"I'm a special agent."
"You're a goof."
"Put me on speaker so I can listen in."
Brennan complied.
"So, should I continue to call you Mr. Samson, or do you prefer Bobby?"
Bobby sipped, "Bobby's good."
"So, you and Eugene didn't get along? I had a cousin like that. I still have scars from some of my fights with him. I was a bit of a wimp when I was a boy."
"No, it wasn't like that with me and Gene. We grew up best friends. Our fathers were brothers, and we were a very close family. Our dads started the jerky business together, and ran it for years."
"Sounds nice."
"It was, for as long as it lasted."
"So what happened?"
"When we were 15-years-old, my dad started having money troubles. I don't know what exactly happened, but judging from the whispered conversations, I'm sure my dad did something stupid. So, Gene's dad bought my dad's half of the business. It fixed the money trouble, and Dad became an employee of the business he started."
"That doesn't sound all bad."
"It wasn't. It was a good thing, but Dad was a good business man and he made some wise investments after that."
"Sounds even better."
"You would think, but dad really wanted back in the family business. Gene's dad wouldn't allow it."
"Ouch. I suppose that made your father angry."
"No, Dad wasn't like that. He was about keeping the peace. Dad always said his brother bailed him out when he was at his lowest point, and that he didn't begrudge his brother the business."
"Your dad was a good man"
"He was. He died, 10 years ago, of cancer when I was 21. Too young."
"I'm sorry."
"Gene's father died six months later in a hunting accident."
"A hunting accident?"
"Yeah, some people thought he missed his brother so much that he got careless on purpose. He laid a loaded rifle up against the wall and it fired. He was hit in the face."
"That's a tragic story. I'm sorry for you both. I was told that after your fathers' deaths, you inherited some money, and Eugene inherited the business. Is it true that you tried to buy into the business."
"Yeah, I tried. I wasn't surprised when Gene said no. It really had become his baby. I took a lesson from my dad, and just kept the peace. I had money, Gene let me work for him, and he paid me a salary that only a close family member would pay an employee. It wasn't a bad set up."
Bobby sipped his coffee. "That is really bad stuff," he said.
Foster sipped his and agreed. "But it does the trick. So you and Gene remained pretty close then?"
"Yeah, until we met Delilah. She was perfect. Affectionate, smart, beautiful, cutest accent you ever heard. I moved right in. I made her laugh, and teased and flirted with her. Then Eugene stepped in, and she never looked at me again. I had to watch as she just fell in love with him. They married. I was the best man. I tried so hard to do like my dad, and just keep the peace. She was so sweet though. Kindest woman you ever want to meet."
"So the girl came between you?"
"Isn't that always the way? I spent some years as the third wheel, but I really started hating Eugene. He had Delilah dress like some little country hick. She did it willingly enough. They said it was an image for the business. In all honesty, some of the outfits were real cute, but you know she has a master's degree in education. It seemed degrading to me."
"A master's in education? That's heavy."
"Yeah. She worked in the poor school systems of Appalachia. It was never about money, just how she could help. Eugene took her away from that, and in my opinion, removed a large chunk of what made her special. He turned her from an amazing, necessary person, into a mascot for his business. I would have moved anywhere for her. I would have bankrolled her plans for those children. I loved her. I didn't see her as a lump of clay to be molded. It's just Delilah's nature to make everyone in her presence as happy as possible. It was natural for her to change for him."
"Sounds like the hate grew."
"It did. I confronted him the morning he was leaving for his hunting trip. I really don't like to think about it. I punched him, I did. I thought I'd just feel better after that, but he punched back. That was like popping a cork on my rage."
"The forensics report showed cause of death as blunt force trauma to the head."
"I banged him on the head with the butt of his own shotgun. He fell down and never moved again. I really didn't mean to kill him. If I had followed my dad's example, it never would have happened."
"So you turned him into jerky?"
"Yeah, in the smoke house. I thought I'd dispose of him that way, and then knock the smoke house down."
"What were you going to do with the jerky?"
"I wasn't sure. I could have fed it to the wild animals, or thrown it in the dumpster. It would just look like a bad batch of jerky."
"You had no intention of packaging or selling it."
"No, never. That's why I was going to knock down the smoke house. I just felt like it was contaminated after I did what I did. You know, I miss him. I miss the three of us. I miss Delilah. She hates me, and she should. I let my father down."
"What about the hand, Bobby?"
"I drove his truck to his favorite hunting area. I left his hand. I thought maybe everyone would assume something happened out there, and his body would remain lost. I told some hunters my truck wouldn't start, and they rode me into town. I made my way home from there."
"Bobby, you know I have to charge you with murdering your cousin Eugene Samson. I think you'll have a lot of time to come to terms with what you did."
***
Brennan took the phone off speaker.
"Did you hear all that Booth?"
"Yeah. Did you ever hear an interrogation like that?"
"No, but I would have liked to have heard you do the interview."
"Are you giving me a ride home?"
"Of course, when are they releasing you?"
"I'll update you."
"Bye Booth."
