(After 'The Secret in the Siege')
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"I've looked in the year books for the elementary and high schools that Christopher Pelant attended and he didn't go to school with anyone named Robert Hann." She knew those were dead ends, but she did have a lead that might pan out. "If there is a connection with Pelant it's not at those schools, but . . ."
"How about college?" Cam was hoping that Angela had found something there.
Flipping the page over in the folder, Angela nodded her head. "Pelant went to Stanford University. While he was there, there was a Robert Hann enrolled in the school. He was one year ahead of Pelant. He drowned in a swimming accident at the Avery Aquatic Center in his senior year. Robert was on the swim team. His broke his neck diving and he drowned. He was alone in the pool when it happened."
"That doesn't sound suspicious at all." Hodgins shook his head. "Pelant could have done that. He could have killed Robert Hann. We just need to know why."
"We need to find out if there is a connection between him and Pelant." Booth stared at the painting on the wall above Angela's desk. "We know Pelant killed his guidance counselor when he was 17 at his high school so he could use her position for a recommendation to get into Stanford. Maybe he needed something Robert Hann had and he killed him to get it. That seems the way he did things."
Now that they had the possible victim, Cam felt a little more positive. "Angela, I'd like you to continue to investigate Pelant's background and make sure this is the only Robert Hann connected to Pelant. We can investigate this Robert Hann, but we need to make sure we're not on a wild goose chase."
"I agree." Booth pulled his notebook from his jacket pocket, made a few notes then returned it to his pocket. "Good job Angela. I'm going to do some checking into Robert Hann's death, try to get a copy of his autopsy and send it to you Bones. I'll see if there was a police report filed about Robert's death, there should be one. If this is the right Robert Hann then it's up to us to see that he gets justice."
"I just hope this is the last of Pelant's victims." It made Hodgins hopeful that once this last case was solved, that would be the end of Pelant. He was tired of dealing with the serial killer and wanted him dead, buried and forgotten.
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He knew he was a little late for his meeting, but traffic had kept him from arriving on time. Entering Caroline's office, Booth noticed her pecking away on her keyboard and she seemed to be concentrating. "Sorry I'm late. There was a wreck and I had to work my way around it."
Closing her file, Caroline turned to look at Booth. "I suppose you heard the DOJ and the FBI have decided to close the Jason Lau case?" She saw him shake his head as he sat down. "Well, I guess I'm the bearer of bad news today. That letter Jason wrote did it. Claiming he didn't have help with Pelant's murder, well, Brad said we have more important cases to work on. Pelant is dead and so his killer."
"Tom Molner is going to be happy we're backing off." Booth didn't approve of the decision, but he didn't have the power to keep the case open, not if the DOJ and the FBI wasn't interested anymore.
"Sure he is, but that's besides the point." Caroline leaned on her desk. "Now, if in the future, you stumble across some evidence that proves that Jason Lau had accomplices then we'll reopen the case, but I don't think that's going to happen. Jason got rid of any evidence that proved he killed Pelant let alone had friends that helped him. All we have is the van he rented and a clump of Pelant's hair. You and I both know that wouldn't have been enough to convict Jason Lau. He burned down the cabin he used to torture Pelant, no one saw him kidnap Pelant and no one saw him deliver the body to the Lincoln Memorial. Your people didn't find any fingerprints at the electrical substation that proved anyone was there that didn't work there. Jason Lau and his friends were and are professional mercenaries. You worked for the CIA as a Ranger. I know you did a few things that were a little irregular and you were smart enough to not leave evidence behind." She saw her favorite agent flinch. "You did your job, Booth. You did what your government hired you to do . . . Jason Lau had the same training you did. He's dead and the case is closed."
Exhaling deeply, Booth knew that Caroline was right. "Well, that case may be closed, but me and my people are looking into Robert Hann's death, the man Jason Lau claimed that Pelant admitted that he'd killed. We have a possible victim and I'm waiting for a copy of the autopsy and the police report on the man's death to get back to me so I can look it over."
"Good, if you can find out Pelant really killed this Robert Hann we can close the Pelant case too." Caroline glanced at the clock on the wall near the door. "Two very dangerous men are dead and they can't kill anyone else. I'd rather have tried both of them for the crimes they'd committed, but this is the second best thing that could have happened. The taxpayers won't have to pay for their trials and since they're dead and buried they can't hurt anyone else."
"Yeah, Pelant was escalating his crimes. What he did to Ethan Sawyer was awful enough then he killed Xavier Freeman and flayed his body." Booth shook his head. "God knows what he would have done next."
Caroline agreed with Booth. "Pelant was the most evil man I've ever had to deal with and I've had to deal with murderers like Howard Epps. The world is a better place without him."
"Yeah." Booth glanced at his watch. "I need to get back to the office. I have a meeting with the Deputy Director. I'll let Bones and Cam know the Lau case is closed." Standing he felt a little kink in his back but ignored it. "I'll keep you informed about the Robert Hann case."
"Alright." Before she let Booth go, she had one more thing to say. "Booth don't compare yourself with Jason Lau or those goons that work for Tom Molner. I saw you react when I talked about Jason Lau being a Ranger. What you did you did for your country. Tom Molner's people are paid mercenaries. They do what they do for money. They don't have any honor. You do. Do you understand?"
A slight smile on his face, Booth nodded his head. "Thanks, Caroline."
"No need to thank me for pointing out the truth." She turned to face her PC. "Now get out, Fairburn won't appreciate you being late for your meeting and I have work to do."
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Fairburn acknowledged Booth's entry into his office and pointed at the chair in front of his desk. "You've heard that the Jason Lau case is closed." He made that a statement not a question.
"Yes, Sir." Booth sat down. "I just had a meeting with Caroline Julian and she told me. I don't agree it should be closed, but it's not my decision to make."
The Deputy Director knew that Booth wasn't happy about the decision, but they needed to use their resources wisely. "If down the road, you find something that ties someone to Jason Lau and Pelant's murder we'll revisit the situation . . . Now, what about the name mentioned in Lau's letter, Robert Hann? If Pelant really did admit to murdering someone else, we should spend a little time looking into it."
"It's already being done, Sir." Booth smiled. "My team thinks they've found the possible victim. I've requested an autopsy report and a police report for Robert Hann, a student at Stanford who attended at the same time as Pelant did. The boy drowned after breaking his neck while diving into a pool. He was by himself at the time."
"Well, that doesn't sound suspicious does it?" Fairburn leaned back against his chair. "It sounds like someone may not have done a thorough investigation of this so called accident. If Robert Hann was killed by Pelant we'll have to prove it ourselves. If we can, we can give Hann's family a satisfactory explanation for his death and we'll close Pelant's file. Keep me up to date about this one. We'd all like to close Pelant's case as cleanly as possible."
Booth nodded his head. "I will. I plan to go on vacation in two weeks. The Robert Hann case will continue to be looked at by my team if we haven't closed it by then. The case is over 20 years old, so there's no rush to close it."
"Alright." He jotted down a quick note then looked at Booth. "Going anywhere special?"
Shrugging his shoulders, Booth shook his head. "Bones is looking into that. She's had a rough time with the Pelant thing. Her friend was brutally murdered and Pelant tried to set her up for the murder then Pelant left a flayed body in the house of our friends and well, she deserves to pick where we're going on vacation. I don't really care where we go as long as it's with my family. Parker will be here by then and he can go with us."
"I see." Fairburn smiled. "Well, I suppose Harris will be in charge of your department until you come back."
"Of course." Booth thought that comment odd, since Harris was his lieutenant.
Amused, Fairburn laughed. "I have a spot opening up in Indianapolis and I think I might see if Harris would be interested. He'd be Special Agent in Charge. I think he deserves the promotion."
Surprised, Booth nodded his head. "Harris is ready to move up. I'm surprised he's still working for me instead of being a supervisor somewhere else."
"Yeah, I've talked to the Director and we think he's what we're looking for." Fairburn still needed to talk to Harris, but he'd be surprised if the agent turned down the promotion.
"Well, I don't think you could do better." Booth had relied on Harris for a long time, but now it seemed he'd need to find a new lieutenant.
Checking his watch, Fairburn nodded his head. "I have a meeting in ten minutes."
Grateful that Fairburn had given him the heads up about Harris, Booth stood up. "I'll keep you informed about the Hann case."
Once he was out of the office, Booth made his way to his office and closed the door before he sat down behind his desk. His shoulders and neck felt tight but he was sure it was because he was tense. "I really need a vacation." He hated meetings and having two in less than two hours with people that had given him some unwelcome news had not helped.
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