Dear Bones,
We did it. We got Pelant!
Here's how it went down. I got a message from Zack's mental hospital yesterday, saying that Zack wanted to see me. I figured that meant he had deciphered Ethan's code, which would give us the information we needed to bring you and Christine home. It turned out I was only half right.
When I went to see Zack, he told me that he had broken the code. The message your buddy licked on the walls read: "The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken." Zack didn't know what it meant, but I realized that Ethan was quoting a Bible verse about the end of days. I was pissed that our most promising lead turned out to be useless. Why had I put so much faith in Ethan? He may have been a genius, but he was also a delusional schizophrenic who thought our beautiful baby girl was evil. If he had tried to hurt Christine, I would have killed him myself.
Zack apologized that he hadn't been more helpful. I told him it wasn't his fault; he had done what I asked him. "I shouldn't have gotten you involved in the first place," I said. "Pelant's already killed one genius working this case." As soon as the words left my mouth, I had an idea.
I filled out a form on the FBI's "highly secure" website, requesting agents to guard Zack's hospital because a patient there (I didn't give a name) was assisting an FBI investigation. I trusted that Pelant would be actively monitoring the FBI's internal correspondence, especially anything with my name on it. I hoped that he would read the form and do a search of the hospital's patients. Having read up on our case files, Pelant would recognize Zack's name and make the connection. Hopefully.
My plan worked. At about two o' clock this morning, Christopher "I'm too smart to get caught" Pelant managed to disable the security cameras in and around the hospital. He showed up in Zack's room with a homemade noose, apparently intending to make Zack's death look like a suicide. Except that Zack wasn't there; I'd had him transferred to another room.
Who was there, you ask? Me, Genny Shaw, and a few other agents you've met once or twice but probably don't remember. Within a couple seconds, Pelant had half a dozen guns pointed at him. I wish you could have seen his face, Bones. He looked both surprised and disgusted, as if he couldn't believe that I was the one who had tricked him.
"This isn't the end," he said as I handcuffed him. "I'll be free again in less than 24 hours."
"I wouldn't be so sure of that," I said.
Pelant laughed. "You're no match for me, Booth. We both know Dr. Brennan is the brains of your operation. Without her, you're nothing."
"Nothing but an FBI agent determined to get his family back…and I will."
"You must be missing them so much," he said with mock sympathy. "All those lonely days followed by lonelier nights. No one to cook and clean for you. No one to comfort you after your nightmares. No little baby to hold. No baby mama to screw…"
He went on and on. Even though I was surrounded by my co-workers, I barely stopped myself from kicking his ass again. "At least I have a woman who loves me. Tell me, Pelant: when a jury finds you guilty of three murders and you spend the rest of your life in jail, who's going to visit you?"
"You can't prove I killed anyone."
"Keep telling yourself that and you might believe it. But you're not the first psycho killer to underestimate Brennan's squints."
When we brought Pelant back to the FBI, he refused to say another word, which was fine with me. In the end, we didn't need him to confess. With Zack's help, Angela finally confirmed her theory that Pelant was using library books to get his computer programs out into the world. One of those programs had allowed Pelant to fool his electronic tracking system on the days of the murders. A different one had let him alter the timestamp on the security camera in Ethan's hospital. Every library book gave us another piece of the puzzle… and another nail in Pelant's coffin.
While your squints did their thing, Pelant's comment about my nightmares was bugging me. Was it just a lucky guess, or did he know somehow that I was waking up night after night in a cold sweat? I had the FBI techs sweep our bedroom for surveillance equipment, and they discovered there was a camera hidden in our alarm clock! (It actually wasn't our alarm clock, but a very convincing copy.) When our guys took it apart, they recovered a partial fingerprint. Of course it proved to be a match for Pelant.
We showed all this new evidence to MaryAlice Montgomery, the DA who had replaced Caroline on the case. She agreed to file charges against Pelant and drop the murder charge against you. I thanked her over and over again. She said no thanks were necessary, but she would accept an autographed copy of one of your books. Your fans are everywhere, Bones!
Soon after Montgomery's decision, Hacker called me into his office. Flynn was already there when I arrived. Hacker told us that the FBI would be holding a press conference in an hour. Flynn would announce that you were no longer a suspect in Ethan Sawyer's death because Pelant had been arrested for his murder and the murders of Inger Johannsen and Ezra Krane. Hacker wanted me at the conference to assure you that it wasn't a trap.
I asked Hacker if you would be facing charges for fleeing an arrest warrant. He laughed. "Are you kidding, Booth? The Brennanites would storm the Hoover if we even thought about pressing charges."
Once we left Hacker's office, Flynn apologized to me. He really thought you had killed Ethan because he threatened our daughter. Now that the evidence proved otherwise, he was happy to have the real killer in custody. I told Flynn I understood he was trying to do his job, but I won't forget the things he said about my family anytime soon. Feel free to name a murder victim after him in your next book.
The press conference starts in ten minutes. I pray you'll see it on TV, or hear about it ASAP. When the conference is over, I'm going to hit the toy store and buy our baby a bunch of welcome home presents. And I'll get her some new clothes; hopefully she hasn't grown too much while you were away. Then I'll stock up on diapers and organic wipes.
I should go grocery shopping too. I'll be honest with you, Bones. Since you've been gone, I've been living on frozen dinners and take-out. But don't worry. When you come home, the fridge will be filled with fruits and vegetables and other healthy stuff.
After I get all your favorite foods, I want to buy you something special, something to show you that I still love you and always will. Not lingerie, although you did look very hot in that thing I got you. I'm thinking something classier, like jewelry. I'd love to buy you an engagement ring, but I won't go down that road until you're ready. Maybe I'll find you a nice necklace instead.
The press conference is starting now, so I should stop writing and pay attention. You're about to get your life back, Bones! I'm about to get my family back! I can't wait to have you and Christine in my arms again.
Yours forever,
Booth
XXXXXXXXXX
Thanks again to all who have read and reviewed. Next up is an epilogue showing BB's reunion…assuming that you would be interested in such a thing.
