Chapter 7
FBI Interrogation, Saturday at 7:00 pm
Booth sat across from the man who had been pretending to be Greg Butter's brother. The sting had gone well and now he hoped the interrogation went just as smoothly. His brain was also tracking Charlie and the young agent's pursuit of Jay Moore out in Minnesota. The latest victim should be arriving later today. Still with all that going on, Booth turned his attention to the imposter across from him.
"So can you tell me why you were posing as Mr. Butter's brother? Was it to collect on his social security checks?" Booth asked the man.
"My name is Ted Butter. I am Greg's brother," the man didn't back down.
"According to Mr. Butter's file, the last of his family died when he wife passed away eight years after the loss of their son, Sam," Booth said. The man claiming to be Ted gave him a look.
"Listen, a team is searching your apartment. If there's anything you'd like to share before I send you down to booking, now would be the time," the G-man continued. Brennan and Sweets looked intently through the special glass window.
"Do you think he's lying?" The forensic anthropologist asked.
"As far as being Greg Butter's brother; yes. We already know the file states otherwise. My curiosity is piqued as to why continue the charade when Booth has proven, he isn't who he said he is," Sweets said.
"Maybe he's hiding something else. Giving an accomplice more time perhaps?" Brennan wondered.
"It's possible. The more he sticks to his story, the more we try to crack him instead of following other evidence but his behavior suggests that getting caught wasn't part of the plan," Sweets told her.
"They never plan to get caught," the world-renowned author pointed out.
"That's true but when committing fraud most criminals have a getaway plan or some way to go into hiding before they get caught. It seems Ted didn't think that far ahead," the young doctor explained.
"Which suggests he figured that no one would notice what he was doing," Brennan nodded.
"Exactly. Which means he either had got terrible luck and we happened upon his crime or he is our killer," Sweets nodded back. At this point, the door to the room opened and Cullen walked in.
"Here is our file on the so-called 'Ted Butter'," the Deputy Director said.
"So he is lying," Brennan knew it. Cullen gave a nod before entering the interrogation room.
"Why exactly is the FBI interested in fraud charges anyway?" 'Ted' wondered just as Cullen walked in.
"Because when it turns out you're not Ted Butter. In fact, your name is Todd Bartz. You falsified insurance records, your social security number, and your birthday. Why would you be looking to rip off Mr. Butter?" The Deputy Director wanted to know.
"We already know you don't have much of an imagination. Anything else you'd like to share?" Booth asked.
"You want to know my story?" Todd gave the two a look before continuing.
"Then I suggest you ask my lawyer," the conversation now dead in the water, Booth and Cullen left the room.
"What else is in his file?" The field agent wondered.
"Todd originally lived in Virginia. He went to the same high school as Greg Butter and they both served in Vietnam," Cullen gave some of the highlights.
"In the same unit?" Brennan asked.
"That I don't know and it wasn't exactly a small war," the Deputy Director told them as he handed over the file to Booth.
"It was the same unit, which makes sense since they were both drafted from Winchester, Virginia," he said.
"So there is the connection and it could explain the brother act. Todd feels as though he must take care of his buddy from the service since there is no one else to do it," Sweets spoke up.
"That makes sense but then why wouldn't just come out and say it?" Brennan asked.
"It doesn't work that way, Bones," Booth knew exactly what Todd was trying to do. In the service, you grew tight with your buddy. Everyone depended on their buddy to watch their backs and just because you weren't in the service anymore didn't mean you stopped looking out for your friend.
"Let me talk to him," Booth said and he quickly reentered the room.
"Corporal Bartz what is your relationship with Corporal Butter?" Bartz gave him a look.
"You answer a superior officer when they ask you a question soldier," Booth's tone was stern.
"I am his friend, sir," Todd replied.
"Then explain to me why you forged documents?" The former Army Ranger wanted to know.
"I reserved my right to council sir," Bartz told him. Booth nodded. He wouldn't budge, especially since he was looking at jail time.
"You served sir?" Todd asked.
"Army Rangers," the FBI agent smiled slightly.
"Then you understand why I did what I did. Someone had to look out for Greg," the former Army corporal said.
"I understand that. What do you know about his son?" Booth asked, changing the subject.
"They never found him. Greg started losing everything after Sam went missing. His wife, Connie, was a sweet lady but once the cancer got to her, she gave up," Todd answered.
"We found Sam at Antietam on Thursday. He'd been shot in the chest and buried back in eighty-one," the G-man told him. Bartz heaved a sigh.
"I knew you wouldn't find him alive after all this time. I guess it was wishful thinking," he said.
"Well we're trying to solve his murder. Can you think of anything that might help us? It could help with your fraud charges," Booth tried to get some information from him.
"Not sure how I could help. I lived in Hagerstown to stay with my parents and grandparents after the war. Greg moved his family up to Sharpsburg shortly thereafter. Greg didn't want to live in Winchester anymore. Too many people giving him flack about serving his country. Sharpsburg wasn't far from Hagerstown, so we stayed in touch but I wasn't in touch enough to know of any problems they were having. Although Greg did say something to me the other day which got me thinking about Sam. He said that the sheriff wasn't going to like it when he found out. Found out about what, I'm not sure. Heck, I don't even know if that has anything to do with what happened but I went home and started going through some of Greg's stuff, he'd given me for safe keeping. Anyway, I found this letter along with some dirt in an envelope, saying that if Greg ever thought of trespassing again, he wouldn't think twice of shooting him. Now I thought the dirt was odd but I remembered that Sam would sometimes go looking for Civil War artifacts for his dad as presents. Maybe whoever wrote the note thought that Sam was trespassing and caught him digging in their yard," Todd told the whole story.
"All right, we'll check on it and if it pans out I'll see what I can do for you," Booth gave a smile and left the interrogation room.
"So what next?" Brennan asked.
"We're heading back out to Sharpsburg. Someone out there knows what really happened," her partner replied.
To Be Continued…