Chapter 28
Wednesday
5:52 PM
Booth sat on the uncomfortable, bright orange plastic chair, drumming his fingers on the table. He was alone in the large room and knew that the only reason he was being allowed in there was because he was a federal agent. Visiting hours at the jail had ended hours before. As soon as he had gotten off the plane in Washington, Booth had stopped to talk to the police officer who arrested Jared before he went to the prison. Not only did he want to get all of the evidence against his brother first, but he also wanted his brother to sit in jail and sweat it out. Booth hadn't told Jared that he had changed his mind and that he was coming. If it wasn't for Brennan, he wouldn't have changed his mind at all. He would have left it up to the law and order system that he trusted in so much to determine Jared's fate.
The steel door leading to the visitor room was opened. Jared shuffled in wearing an orange jumpsuit, his hands bound with handcuffs. He had two male corrections officers on either side, leading him to the chair opposite Booth. Jared smiled when he saw his brother.
"I didn't think you were coming," Jared said as he was forced into the chair. The two officers stepped back, standing against the walls nearby.
"I wouldn't be here if it weren't for Bones."
"How is Temperance?" Jared asked.
"She's doing fine."
"And the baby?"
"If you wanted to know about my wife and my child, you could have picked up the phone, Jared. You didn't have to get arrested and make me fly across the country leaving my pregnant wife home alone."
"Well, I guess I should say thank you then."
"Yeah, you should."
"If you didn't want to come, Seeley, you shouldn't have come."
"Fine." Booth stood up, obviously aggravated. "Then I'll walk out of here and go back home to my wife and leave you here to serve life prison. Or better yet, Washington does have the death penalty doesn't it?"
"Alright, I'm sorry." Jared hung his head and sighed. "You're my brother. Who else was I supposed to call? What else was I supposed to do?"
"Why don't you start by telling me what happened."
"I know you, Seeley, you already talked to the cops. You know what happened. You've got the evidence."
"I want to hear it from you. Let's start with what you're doing in Seattle in the first place."
Jared looked down at his cuffed hands, which were resting on the table. "There's this girl." Booth rolled his eyes, but chose not to say anything. "We met when I was in India. She's originally from Seattle so I came here with her."
"When was this?"
"A month ago? Maybe three weeks."
"How long did you know her before you decided to move across the country with her?"
"Is that really relevant?"
"Do you want my help or not?"
"Ten days," Jared admitted.
"You knew a girl for ten days and you moved in with her?"
"Don't judge me, Seeley. How long did it take you to get Temperance into bed with you?"
Booth clenched his teeth. "Watch it."
"All I'm saying is, unlike you, I'm not waiting years to be with the woman I love."
Booth scoffed. "Love? You think you really love this girl?"
"Are you going to let me talk or are you going to continue to judge me?"
"Fine. Go ahead."
"So, we came back to Seattle, starting living together. Things were going really well. She said she was a law student, top of her class. She's smart, beautiful, but with expensive taste. So, I start buying her things. You know, jewelry, clothes, a car."
"You bought her a car?"
"It was a present because I thought she passed her bar exam. Of course, I eventually found out that she wasn't a law student at all and that all that time I thought she was studying, she was two-timing me."
"How'd you find out?"
"I read some of her text messages. I found out that she's got another apartment, another guy, a whole other life. She wasn't a law student. Her job is getting guys to fall for her and getting what she wants from them."
"Let me guess, this other guy's name is Peter Kelly," Booth said, remembering the victim's name from the police report.
"Yeah. Two days after I find out that she's with him, I find out this guy's name from an e-mail. I track him down at their apartment and we argue. I throw some punches and I left."
"According to two of the neighbors who heard the whole thing, sounds like it was more than a few punches."
"Fine, I was a little rough on him, but that was it. I left him very much alive. I'm not stupid, Seeley."
Booth chose not to comment. "Then what did you do?"
"I left. I went back to my place and packed up my things and left."
"What about the girl?"
"She split. No idea where she is."
"Well, Peter Kelly was found dead in Anderson state park. One shot through the heart. Bullet went right through and out the other side. He wasn't killed there. He was killed somewhere else and dumped there."
"It wasn't me, Seeley."
"The bullet hasn't been found yet so ballistics can't be done, but they can tell that the bullet was from a small handgun. You have a 22 registered to you."
"It wasn't my gun."
"I'm not saying that it was. I'm just telling you the evidence they have against you. They found the victim's blood in the front seat of your car."
"That's because we fought. I had his blood on my hands, Seeley. Let me ask you this. If you were going to dispose of a body, would you put it in the front seat?"
"I'm not the bad guy, Jared. You have to remember that. I'm telling you what the police see. Right now they've got a motive, witnesses who heard you two arguing, and DNA evidence in your car. It's not looking good."
"Well, can't Temperance and her lab buddies do some fancy test or something and prove my innocence?"
"Bones deals with bones. But, I was able to pull some strings and have some samples sent to the Jeffersonian. From the bullet wound, Hodgins might be able to tell exactly what kind of gun it was, but until we can find out where Kelly was killed before he was dumped in the forest, we don't have much to go on."
"So what do I do?"
Booth shook his head. "Knowing the connections they think you have on the outside, they won't let you out on bail because they think you'll split. My suggestion is to be on your best behavior, don't say anything to anyone. I'm going to do everything I can, but you have to do exactly as I say from here on out."
"You're not in charge of me, Seeley. You can't tell me what to do."
"Oh yeah? I'm telling you, Jared, if you don't like it my way, then I'm out of here. I have much better things I could be doing than sitting in here with you. I am trying to save your ass. Do we have an understanding?" Jared nodded, knowing he had no other choice. "Good. Tomorrow I'm going to see if I can find the place where the victim was shot. I'm also going to see if I can get the local police to take me to the crime scene to see if I can find anything and to send pictures to the Jeffersonian. Hopefully that will give us something." Booth stood up. "Right now I'm going to my hotel to call my wife. I'll let you know as soon as I have anything."
"Thanks Seeley. Thanks for…coming."
"Thank Bones. We're done here."
The guards approached Jared immediately. They hoisted him to his feet and led him out of the room. Booth sat back down. He had been tough with Jared, but it was the only way he knew how to be. He couldn't coddle Jared like they were little kids anymore. Sooner or later, the man was going to have to grow up.
8:01 PM
Booth hungrily chomped down on his burger, taking a big bite. He was starving. The food on the airplane over had barely satisfied him. He devoured the fast food burger in just a few bites and washed it down with a long swig of cold beer. As he reached for a French fry, Booth grabbed his cell phone. He speed dialed Brennan's number. He had called her when he first landed, but she had been busy identifying the remains of a Jane Doe from ten years earlier. They had only spoken for a few minutes. After seeing his brother in shackles in prison, Booth needed to talk to her. Within two rings, she answered.
"Hello," she said.
"Hey."
"How was your trip?"
"Fine."
"That doesn't sound very convincing."
"Ok. How's this? The airplane food was terrible, there was a crying baby in the back of the plane, my brother is already pissing me off, my back hurts, and I hate being away from you," he admitted.
"That seems much more accurate."
"Now it's my turn to ask you something, Bones, and I want to remind you that you are a bad liar."
"I'm not a bad liar."
"Yes you are. Now, are you at work or are you at home? No lying."
"I've been home for hours, Booth."
"No lying," he reminded her.
"I just got home an hour ago."
He looked at the clock. "It's 11 o'clock there, Bones."
"I was working on something very important."
"Uh-huh. Did you at least eat?"
"Yes."
"Enough?"
"Yes, Booth. I'm not a child."
"I know, but you are carrying our child. I just worry about you."
"I'm more worried about you."
"Oh? Why's that?"
"Sweets says it can't be easy to see your bother in jail."
"You talked to Sweets?"
"He came by to give something to Cam. Angela told him about Jared."
"Ah…good old Angela."
"Angela's not old, Booth."
"I know she's not, Bones. It's an expression. Anyway, I'm ok, Bones. Really, I am. I sent some samples to the Jeffersonian. They should be there by tomorrow morning. No bones, though, sorry."
"I'll make sure that Cam and Hodgins test the samples first thing. Have you found anything yet?"
"All the evidence is circumstantial. I'm going to look for the location where the victim was shot. I think that's the only chance we've got of clearing Jared for this."
"Do you think he did it?"
Booth sighed. He hadn't stopped thinking about that very question since he left the jail. "No. I don't think he did it."
"I miss you," she said.
Booth smiled. He always enjoyed it when Brennan said things like she missed him. It reminded him that she loved him and needed him just as much as he loved and needed her.
"How's our baby doing?"
"Booth, it's not a baby."
"Do we really need to have this argument right now?"
"It's not an argument. It's simple scientific fact. Any first year medical student could tell you that, Booth."
"How is it possible that something that you can be so indifferent about something that is growing inside of you?"
"Did you know that fetuses match the definition of a parasite? It's remarkable the similarities."
"That's…great, Bones," Booth said sarcastically. "I should go. There are some things I want to go over."
"I am rather tired myself," Brennan admitted.
"Then you should get your sleep. I'll call you tomorrow. Goodnight, Bones."
"Goodnight, Booth."
"I love you."
"I love you, too."
Booth waited until he heard Brennan hang up the phone. He ate another French fry and thought about how much he would rather have been sitting in bed with Brennan than in a lonely hotel room by himself, trying to figure out how to prove his brother's innocence.
Author's Note: Well, I know this wasn't the most exciting chapter, but it had to get written. Thanks for reading!
