(After 'The Change in the Game)

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I don't own Bones.

Oooooooooooooooooo

While Booth was waiting for the autopsy report and the identification of the victim at Rock Creek Park. Sheriff Guzzardo was having success on their case in Garret County. One of my deputies checked with a pawn shop in Meyersdale, Pennsylvania. Someone came into their shop and pawned Willie Autrey's camera and chess set. Lucky for us, the store owner has a camera in the shop and it records transactions. They've been robbed a couple of times. I asked for a copy of any video they had of the guy that sold Wille's property and they sent it to me. I had a deputy go through the footage, found the seller and we know who it is. I've brought him in and he's in our jail right now. Do you want to be here when I interview him? I can wait.

"Thanks Sheriff, I would like to be there." Booth checked his watch. "Give me four hours I should be there."

No problem. He's not going anywhere.

The call ended Booth called Brennan. "Hey, Sheriff Guzzardo has picked up a suspect for the Autrey case. Do you want to ride up with me to Garret County?"

Thank you, but I'm helping Cam with the autopsy of the victim found at Rock Creek Park. I would like to go with you, but I think I will be of better use here at this time.

Slightly disappointed, Booth accepted Brennan's decision. "That's okay, I'll take Lester with me. I'll call you when I find out if we have the murderer of Willie Autrey. I don't plan to stay in Garrett County. I'll be back tonight."

Alright. I'll see you tonight.

Ooooooooooooooooo

Once Booth, Lester and Sheriff Guzzardo were in the interview room, Collin Perkins was brought into the room and shown a chair at the table. The Sheriff and Booth sat on the opposite side of the table while Lester stood next to the door.

Settled on his chair, Collin swallowed and folded his arms tightly against his chest. "Why am I here? I haven't done anything."

His face quiet and unemotional, Sheriff Guzzardo picked up a remote and turned on the television located in the corner of the room. Once it was on, he started the DVD waiting to be played. While the transaction at the pawnshop played out, all three members of law enforcement watched Collin closely. What they saw was a man who was now trembling with fear.

"I . . . I found that stuff . . . yeah, in the woods. I found that stuff." Collin was afraid. He had thought that leaving Maryland and selling the camera and checkers case in another state would protect him. He didn't think the Sheriff in Garret County could investigate in another state.

Leaning forward on the table, Guzzardo clasped his hands together and shook his head. "While you were enjoying our hospitality, I got a warrant to search your trailer. We found Willie Autrey's book bag in your living room. We also found his cigar box filled with his money. All $432."

"I found that stuff in the woods too. The book bag was sitting on a tree stump, I didn't see anyone and I took it." Collin was tempted to get up and try to run for it, but he knew that he'd be stopped before he got out of the room let alone the building. "I don't know any Willie Autrey."

His patience fast disappearing, Guzzardo shook his head. "The cigar box and the book bag has Willie Autrey's blood on it . . . you shot him with an arrow and instead of getting him some help, you pulled out the arrow, took the boy's book bag and left him to die."

Horrified, Collin stood up and felt the hands of the man standing near the door pressing on his shoulders to sit back down. "No, no, you can't prove that. I found the bag. That's all."

With a nod from the Sheriff's head, Booth leaned down and picked up a plastic bag lying near his feet which held an arrow. "The arrowhead has been tested for blood. You wiped it with bleach, but that didn't really hide the blood . . . You see, chlorine bleach won't destroy DNA and this arrow tested positive for human blood. The blood is being analyzed right now to see if it matches the DNA of a boy murdered in the woods in Savage River State Park."

"Murdered!" Croaking out the word, Collin felt sick. "Murder, I didn't murder anyone. I . . . I just found the bag and the arrow isn't mine. I found that too."

"Stop." Booth had had enough. "When you were booked, your fingerprints were taken. They match the fingerprints found on the arrow and on the bow found in your bedroom. The deputies who searched your trailer found some hunting boots with blood on them. They're being processed right now, but I'm sure we're going to find that the blood belongs to Willie Autrey."

Close to panic, Collin started to shake his head. "No! . . . no, no, no I didn't kill him, it was an accident. I was shooting at a deer and he got in the way. I . . . he was dead and I pulled out my arrow so I wouldn't get into trouble and I kept his bag so the animals wouldn't get it. I didn't murder anyone. I'm not a bad man. I'm a good man."

"According to a forensic anthropologist and a coroner who looked at the body, you shot the boy, pulled out the arrow while he was alive and walked away." Disgusted, Booth pounded his fist against the table top causing Collin to jump in his chair. "You murdered that young man. It wasn't an accident."

Terrified, Collin started to cry. "I really did shoot him by accident but when I got to him, the guy was bleeding out. Nothing I could have done would have saved him. I pulled out the arrow so I wouldn't get into trouble. He was going to die anyway."

Slowly shaking his head, the Sheriff leaned back against his chair and glared at the weeping suspect. "If you'd have left the arrow in his leg it would have acted like a tourniquet. You could have called for help and someone might have got to Willie in time and saved him, but we'll never know because you pulled out the arrow and walked away, robbing him while you were at it. This might not be first degree murder but it's second degree murder that's for sure. You may not have intentionally shot him, but you did intentionally pull the arrow out and walk away. You could have tried to save the boy, but you callously let him die without help."

Crying, Collin leaned his body forward and rested his forehead on the table. "I didn't want to get into trouble."

"Shit Collin, how did that work out for you?" Booth stood up. "We're done here, Sheriff. You can have jurisdiction. I think your County prosecutor has an open and shut case."

"I do too, Agent Booth." Sheriff Guzzardo stood up and walked over to the door. Once there, he opened the door and motioned for a deputy to enter the room. "Collin Perkins is going to be booked with second degree murder. Put him in a cell."

Sobbing, Collin was led out of the room and once he was gone, Booth turned to face the Sheriff. "I'm glad we could be of help Sheriff, but you closed the case."

"Thanks for your help, Agent Booth." Guzzardo ran his hand through his hair. "Ridiculous. People are such shits."

"Yep, they sure can be." Booth shook the Sheriff's hand and motioned for Lester to follow him. It was time to go home.

Oooooooooooooooo

Lester watched the scenery go by while Booth drove them back to the District. "The man was an idiot. There was no way he wasn't going to be caught eventually."

"Prisons are full of idiots." Booth was still disgusted with what Collin Perkins had done. "He could have tried to save that boy's life, but he decided to rob him and leave him there to die alone. Willie Autrey didn't get to do the things he wanted to do . . . treated like a child at home and disposable trash when he left . . . The boy never lived his life."

"Yeah." Lester sighed. "At least his family will know what happened to him."

Moving around a slow moving travel trailer, Booth returned to the right lane of the highway. "Yeah, it won't help that much, but at least they get closure."

"Yeah." Lester turned his head and watched two deer feeding on the side of road as they passed them. Surprised, he noticed that the deer didn't react and continued to nip at the long grass at their feet.

"How's Dr. Brennan doing?" Lester turned his head to see Booth's face. "It being her first pregnancy, I bet she's nervous."

Amused, Booth laughed. "Nervous? Nah, not Bones. She's pretty cool with what's going on. It takes a lot to shake her up and so far, she's pretty calm . . . I think she's going to handle this like she does everything else. Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead."

"Sounds like my wife. She was pretty cool about it too for the first few months, but boy was she touchy while she was in the last few months of her pregnancy." Lester laughed. "Once I was eating some corn chips while I was watching a game and she told me I was eating my chips too loudly . . . she was trying to pick a fight because her feet hurt and she was mad she was uncomfortable and I wasn't. . . Claire isn't normally like that, but boy when she was pregnant with our little girl . . . wow. Anyway, I'm glad Dr. Brennan is doing okay."

Even though he was already a father, Booth had been in the army during Rebecca's pregnancy and he had been away on missions more than he was around to help his ex-lover. "Um, okay." He hoped Brennan wouldn't be like Claire, but he thought it might be a good idea to be prepared. "I was five when my brother was born and Mom seemed to be calm around me." Booth also knew that his mother was careful around his father and she tried not to upset the bastard since you never knew how he'd react. He guessed his mother's example wasn't going to help him with Brennan. He was glad she was handling it so far, but he'd better prepare himself for a bumpy ride just in case her hormones took over.

Ooooooooooooooooooo

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