CHAPTER 11:

After some time, Mary reluctantly pulled back from Brennan. "Thank you" she whispered. "I am sorry... but ... these are things I tried to forget. Of course it is not possible, but... it's easier to try to feel nothing."

Brennan nodded. She understood all too well.

Booth cleared his throat. "Would you tell us how and why you became Mary White and what you know about the death of your father."

"Sure... Although I doubt you will be able to catch the man that really is behind all that: Andrea Garibaldi." She said and sat down. Booth breathed out audibly and when he saw Brennan's confused look, he explained "Big Mafia boss, Bones. Known to be very cruel."

"That he is." Mary stated, then she rose again. "Excuse my manners. Can I offer you something to drink? I must warn you, it may take some time to explain everything."

"Water, please" Brennan said and Booth nodded.

A few minutes later, Mary White or Maria DiBianco was sitting in front of them, clutching her glass tightly and told them her story.

"It all began 25 years ago. My mother's name was Alessandra Rota. She was distantly related to the clan of Cuginis, you may have heard of them." She looked at Brennan and Booth which exchanged a meaningful look "We had a brief encounter." Brennan said with a wry smile. Mary nodded and went on with her story.

"My grandfather more or less sold my mother to Andrea Garibaldi. He said she had to marry him in order to make sure that the bonds between the families are renewed. You know one big, happy family. Ha!" Mary snorted.

"My mother did not want to marry a man she first did not know and later when she knew him, she did not like him at all. But she did not dare to disobey my grandfather either. So she talked him into a promise. The promise that she first would be able to get to know him before marrying him right away. She moved in with him... well he forced her to do so. Andrea Garibaldi wanted my mother, she was beautiful, you must know.

She spent some months in his house where he raped her repeatedly. Of course he did not call it that... he told her she has to co-operate an learn how to become a good and obedient Mafia-wife. She nearly gave in, he nearly broke her will, but then something happened.

My father, Marco DiBianco, was working for Andrea Garibaldi... he only did small, less important jobs... criminal, yes, but nothing that really harmed anyone.

He came to Andrea's house and he did something very stupid. He fell in love with my mother... they set eye on each other and were lost... my father had told me the story. Just like Romeo and Juliet they were not allowed to be together. You can't simply take the fiancée of a Mafia boss.

It was a torture for both of them. Two months later my mother managed to run away. She dyed her hair and changed her whole appearance... her clothes... everything. Then she came to my father's apartment one day – secretly of course. They lived together for some time and when she got pregnant they secretly married. Nobody knew about it, my mother had to hide most of the time, but they were happy with each other.

When I was born it was of course harder for them to hide, but somehow they managed to do it for nearly five years. My mother and I, we were Dad's secret. He never told anybody about us, but then one day a friend of him came to our apartment without calling first. Normally he visited others in order to make sure that nobody learned that he had a wife and daughter.

His colleague – G – was also working for the Mafia... there was not enough time for us to hide anywhere and G recognised my mother – despite her attempts to change her whole appearance there was one thing that gave her away immediately: me. Because I look exactly like her, except of my eyes... she had blue eyes... similar to yours." Mary nodded towards Brennan.

"Sorry to interrupt you, but... who is G?" Booth asked.

"Oh... G ... Gianluigi Conta. He never liked his name, so everybody called him G. Well... G knew who we are, but he was a good man, he swore to never tell anybody. But my father had recognised how dangerous our situation was. Besides, with me growing older and going to school and everything... it would have been impossible to keep me a secret. So he did something that was very hard for him... and for us. He sent us away. To Washington. G helped him to get fake identities for us. They kept my given name so that I would not say something wrong and mother was a bit sentimental with choosing White as our surname, but it worked... for more then ten years we lived in Washington without anybody knowing our true identities. I did not even know myself...

Father could not come to us, but we received and sent messages via G... My mum had told me that my father was working somewhere abroad and he could not come to visit us. That's how I grew up.

A few days before my sixteenth birthday, when I came home from school I heard my mother screaming in the kitchen. I wanted to help her, but then I heard her scream again and it was... it was... the kind of scream you hear when someone dies. I knew I could not help her, so I hid. God... I... I was so scared.

Later I found out, that Garibaldi's men had found a letter of my mother in G's car. Garibaldi was furious... he told his men that if he could not have my mother, nobody could. They threatened to kill G's wife and children and so he gave us away. I can't really blame him for that, but still... my mother. She..." Mary sobbed again, but quickly regained control and continued.

Dad somehow escaped them. He found me... hiding in the park near our apartment. He told me who I was and well... how everything began. At first I did not believe him, but then he said "Look at me, Maria... you have my eyes, but your face is you mother's..." and then I knew it..."

She stopped and buried her face in her hands. "We had to get to know each other again. He found another apartment for us and he used a fake name. Mark Browder. It was good to have a father again, although I was not allowed to call him Dad. We had created a story that I was his niece... to explain the resemblance, you know. A heart-breaking story of my parents dying in a car-crash, when my mother visited my father abroad. The school believed it, everybody did."

She paused and after what seemed an eternity finally said: "And then, one day after a year living together he did not come home. I waited nearly two days until I reported him missing at the police…first I told them his fake name, but they found out something was wrong... so I told them his real name… I did not want to alert the police to us, but what else could I have done?... I...…. You know… but I somehow knew that he would not come back.. he would have left a message or something. So the only plausible explanation was, that he had met somebody who had recognised him and well….. Garibaldi killed him…… or the people he keeps for dirty work."

Tears streamed down her cheeks, but she did not even seem to notice them. "I miss him… and I miss my mother. They … died because they were in love… is that fair?…." She swallowed hard, then returned to her story.

"Well…… I did not dare to leave Washington or change my name… just in case… just in case the police found my dad and had to contact me… So I built my little fortress here…. Dad had some money and I knew where it was hidden…. That's how I bought this apartment. I do not earn too much money with my art, but on the other side I do not spend much money either…. Most of the time I stay at home…. The only friends I have are online." She shrugged. "That's it…. I told you everything I know."

Booth looked at his partner and was not surprised to see that her eyes glistered… she nearly cried too. "Thank you for telling us your story. I know it must be hard for you." Brennan managed to utter.

"You know? How could you possibly know how it feels like to loose both parents? To never know what happened to your father…. Not knowing…. Not knowing…. It's worse than knowing… I knew my mother was dead…. I could cry for her…. But I could never cry for my father…. Until today……. So how dare you telling me you know how I feel." Mary half-cried, half-shouted the words.

"Believe me…….. of all people in the world, Bones is the one who understands best how you feel." Booth softly said.

Brennan nodded. "My parents vanished when I was 15…. I never knew what happened until one year ago I identified my mothers body… My parents were criminals…. They even took on false identities too…… you see….. I do know how you feel." she murmured.

Mary's eyes widened hearing Brennan's words and so did Booth's. He had never heard her talk about her past that easily…. Maybe it was the company of somebody who had endured something similar that made it easier for her to talk about it.

"Miss White…" Booth started. "Mary… call me Mary." She interrupted.
"Okay, Mary, then. I wanted to ask if you know anything about a club called Lilac downtown?"

She shook her head. "No… I never heard of it… sorry….. WAIT…. It was in the news… you found a body there… you found HIM there … my father." Her voice traced off.

Booth nodded.

"Mary…. Do you… do you know what your father could have meant with this note?" Brennan showed her a copy of what Hodgins and Zach had restored.

She looked at it for some time, then she shook her head. "This is not my father's handwriting. And he would have never written something in Italian… he was very careful. Mark Browder did not speak Italian, you know."

Booth and Brennan nodded, but could not hide their surprise that the note had not been written by the victim…. 'Then it is a lead to our murderer.' Booth thought clenched his fists.
He imagined a 16 year old girl witnessing her mother being murdered and then losing her father…. He simply had to catch those batrds…. And if it meant to get on the wrong side of that Mafia boss.

He looked at Brennan and knew she was thinking of her past. 'How will I keep Bones out of that… I want her to be safe….' He wondered, but Mary White interrupted his thoughts: "When…. When can I bury him?" she asked.

"I promise to you that we will do whatever I can to find your father's murderer… but that means that you may have to wait with the funeral… It would endanger you too… The reporters may have heard of the Mafia connection by now…. " Booth assured her.

She nodded. "I can wait… I waited 6 years... and if you can get those batrds into jail, I would be more than grateful!"

They exchanged phone numbers, then Booth and Brennan left.