Thank you for reviewing my story. I appreciate it.

I don't own Bones, not even a little bit.

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As the afternoon wore on, the temperature got hotter and hotter. Booth returned to the hotel for a short time to cool off in the air conditioned room and to retrieve a hat. Brennan had brought one with her when she'd left the hotel room earlier that morning and had stayed at the Cajun Dome parking lot trying to interview more of the people on their list along with Aubrey.

After drinking a bottle of water while standing in front of the air conditioner, Booth felt better. Once he was cooled off, he sat down at the small table in the corner of the room and called Angela Montenegro. "Booth, I was just going to call you."

Surprised, Booth cracked open another bottle of water. "Really? What's up?"

"Have you had a chance to talk to Peter Anderson yet?"

"Nah, he isn't here yet." Sipping some of the cold water, Booth stared at the curtains rippling from the air blasting from the air conditioner. "He should be here soon if he's going to come at all. Joe says most of the competitors show up early so they aren't tired during the competition, unless they're locals and he isn't local."

"Yeah, he's from Shreveport. That's where Jason Wu was from. Peter reported Jason missing to the police about two weeks after Jason's mother did. I checked with the Shreveport Police and they said that Peter hadn't heard from his friend since the competition in Houston and when he couldn't contact him he called the police in Houston and then Shreveport. He insisted that the police check it out because Jason would never just disappear without telling him he was going somewhere."

"That's interesting . . . I wonder why he didn't call Jason's mother."

"I don't know. I just thought I'd let you know that Peter Anderson seemed to have some kind of relationship with Jason Wu. It's weird since he threatened Jason and was kicked out of a competition in Houston for it. The same competition that Jason disappeared from. If he killed Jason I don't think he'd report him missing would he?"

Thinking about it, Booth responded, "He might have been covering up for himself. It's hard to say. I'm definitely going to talk to him as soon as I can. Thanks Angela." Ending the call, Booth finished drinking the second bottle of water, paid a visit to the bathroom and left.

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"I must be getting old." His handkerchief a sodden mess in his hand, Booth jammed it in his pants pocket. "I used to be able to handle heat better than this . . . I served in Iraq and Afghanistan for God's sake not to mention a few other hot places." Disgusted, Booth shifted his hat to make sure it was totally covering the top of his head.

Brennan commiserated with him. "Your body's ability to regulate your body temperature starts to decline as you get older. It's not unexpected."

Annoyed, Booth shifted eyes gaze from Joe's barbeque grills to Brennan. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Pleased that she was able to confirm what Booth had suspected, she reminded him, "Make sure you drink plenty of water."

Holding up his bottle of water, Booth assured her. "Oh I am. Believe me . . . I wish Peter Anderson would show up. I need to talk to him."

"You know I thought there would be a lot of eating going on, but so far all I see is hard work." Chewing on a bacon sandwich Carla had given him, Aubrey watched Joe wipe down his already gleaming equipment. "A man could starve at one of these things if they're a competitor." His coke almost done, Aubrey contemplated getting another one plus the brownie Carla had promised him when she gave him the sandwich.

Joe was in the process of making sure his grills were ready to use when he looked up and spotted Peter Anderson walking towards them. "Buck . . . Wanda here comes Peter."

Turning, Booth noticed a man of short stature approaching Joe's tent. The man was of slight build, about fifty years of age, with short gray hair and a mustache to match.

Unaware that he was a person of interest, Peter stopped just inside the tent and looked around with a hopeful look on his face. "Hey Joe, I've looked around . . . Jason didn't show up did he?"

Slowly shaking his head, Joe leaned against one of his gleaming grills. "I haven't seen Jason since Houston, Peter. He's still missing isn't he?"

His hands jammed in his short's pockets, Peter looked so sad. "Yeah . . . I was hoping he'd just show up . . . I . . . I finally contacted his mother last night and I asked about him. I didn't want to call her since she doesn't like me too much, but . . . I shouldn't have done it. She cried and cried . . . I just don't get it . . . He just disappeared and no one has seen him since last August and you know he loved his mother and he would never just walk away from her. It's not like him and the barbeque competitions . . . he was starting to win pretty regularly. That sauce of his was almost unbeatable . . . Something happened to him and the cops aren't even trying to find him . . . I don't get it."

Stepping forward, Booth offered his hand, "My name is Buck . . . My wife and I are filling in for Bobby Curry and his wife this time. They couldn't make it so we're helping Joe and Carla . . . You say someone is missing and the police aren't looking into it?

After he shook Booth's hand, Peter crossed his arms against his chest. "I don't think they are. Jason was at a competition in Houston last August. He and I are close friends . . . we went to school together . . . we got into a fight and . . . I made a few threats and I was told I had to leave. I was mad enough that I did. I didn't know Jason was missing until I went to his apartment a week after the competition. I went by a few times afterward and he was never there and then I got worried. He wouldn't answer his phone and after awhile I quit trying to call. I finally drove over to where he works and they said that they had talked to his mother and she said he didn't come back from Houston. I finally called the police and they said he'd already been reported missing by his mother . . . Then that's it . . . I called the cops a few more times, but I was told they were looking into it and they'd call me when they found out where he was, but they didn't. Something terrible happened to Jason I just know it."

"You said that you had a fight with Jason?" Booth hoped that Peter would keep talking.

Slowly nodding his head, Peter glanced down the row of RVs and tents until his eyes rested on the RV belonging to Marsha Spell. "Jason has been seeing Marsha off and on during the competitions. That's okay, he's not married and she's not seeing anyone, but I wanted him to break it off with her." Lowering his voice, Peter shifted his gaze back towards Joe and then Booth. "She and Jason got into a huge fight in Houston and she broke two of his fingers on his left hand and she gave him a black eye. She said he was flirting with Tiffany Price and she didn't like it. I told Jason the woman was dangerous and he told me he loved her and to leave him alone. He said she just has a temper and what she did was an accident . . . I started calling him names and then he started calling me names and I . . . I threatened to beat some sense into him and it sounded bad because we were yelling and I was told to leave and I did. When he didn't show up at home and during the winter when he didn't come back, I thought maybe he just moved to where Marsha lives, maybe they decided to live together and since Marsha hated James' Mom well . . . I know he loves his mother and none of it makes sense, but he has to be somewhere . . . Anyway, I just checked with Marsha and she says she hasn't seen James since Houston and she's pissed at him. I don't know . . . maybe she's covering up something and . . . well, I'm afraid that Marsha did something to Jason, but I don't have any proof. If Jason was okay he'd at least call his mother."

Pulling Booth over to the side away from Peter, Joe whispered to the agent. "Marsha has hurt other people before. She broke Ricardo Perrault's left hand last year just before they broke up. She has an evil temper . . . she scares the hell out of Carla . . . and me if you want to know the truth."

Booth turned to face Marsha Spell's RV. "I think I better go talk to Marsha Spell."

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I hope this is still interesting.