"The trick to forgetting the big picture is to look at everything close-up."
~Chuck Paluhniuk (Lullaby)
Chapter Four: We're Wasting Time
Gus answered the door and ushered Booth and Brennan into the house. He quickly checked the perimeter before securing the door behind them.
"Mrs. Woods will be down in a minute." Gus went into the kitchen and returned with a file, "This is everything we have so far on the abduction, it's not much."
Booth leafed through the pages while Brennan looked over the pictures on the mantle. "They look happy." She commented absent-mindedly to the two men.
"By all accounts they are." Gus confirmed as he stepped closer to Brennan, "She's calling his mom now. She wanted to tell her what was going on before she heard about it on TV."
"You're the head of the Woods' protective detail?" Booth asked from the other side of the room.
Gus turned, "Yeah, have been for years."
"So, you just weren't put in charge of the investigation? You're a part of it?"
"That's one way to look at it."
"Huh…" Booth glanced back down at the papers in front of him and asked, "And why hasn't Charlie been questioned yet?"
Gus crossed his arms against his chest, "Because she doesn't need to be."
"In cases like this the spouse is always the primary suspect. You would know that if you Secret Service guys ever did more than try and stop a Nigerian prince from ripping of a grandmother in Florida over the internet."
"She is not a suspect."
Booth stepped toward him, "Why not?"
"She has an alibi."
"Who?"
"Me."
"This is getting better and better." Booth dropped the file onto the coffee table and shoved his hands into his pockets, "You know, I was wondering how a guy who's been around as long as you have ended up on a third-rate protective detail, guarding Tess here. I think you just answered my question, you either have a thing for her or with her."
Fighting the urge to jab and/or roundhouse the smirk off the other man's face, Gus lowered his voice, "And here I was under the impression that you knew Charlotte fairly well, at least better than most."
Booth nodded once, "What makes you think your impression is wrong, Mr. White?"
"Replay this conversation in your head and come to your own conclusions." Gus turned toward Brennan, "I'm going to go let her know you're here, excuse me."
"What the hell was that, Booth?" Brennan hissed as she watched her husband pick the file back up.
He glanced up over the edge of the folder and shrugged, "I don't like that guy."
She grabbed the file from his hands, "I don't see how your feelings about him affect this case. Starting off poorly with him will only make this more difficult."
Before Booth had the chance to respond, Charlotte entered the living room with Gus right behind her, "Sorry, to keep you waiting but I needed to call Clay's mom before they announce he's missing. And I'm sorry Gus dragged you guys into this."
"It's our job, we're happy to help." Booth flatly replied and Brennan couldn't tell who he was trying to convince, Charlotte or himself.
"We can talk in here." The group followed her into the kitchen, "Anyone want coffee?"
"No, we're fine."
Charlotte sat down with a deep sigh, "Then let's get started."
Booth took a seat across from her at the oblong table and noticed how tired she looked, "I'm sorry that you have to go through this, Charlie."
She glanced over at Gus and Brennan who had taken seats at the far end of the table, "Thanks, Seel."
"There are things I need to ask…"
"I understand. Ask away."
He looked down at his notepad, "When was the last time you saw Clayton?"
Charlotte looked over at Gus, who nodded ever-so-slightly, "Friday night, we were at a fundraiser for the Democratic party at the Air and Space museum and I wasn't feeling well and Clay needed to stay so Gus took me home around 9pm. Clay should have left at 11pm and been home by 11:30 but…."
"When did you realize he was missing?"
Again, she looked toward Gus for approval, the shift of her gaze didn't go unnoticed by Booth, "I woke about 3am and he wasn't in bed, I went downstairs and looked around, called his cell and when there was no answer, I called Gus."
"Is it unusual for you to lose contact with him?"
Charlotte glanced over to Gus once again before answering causing Booth to snap his fingers in her face, " Stop looking at him. I can't help you, I can't do my job if every time I ask you a question you're checking with him to make sure how to answer it!"
Charlotte closed her eyes and sunk back into her seat, "I'm sorry, I just…Gus is the only other person I've talked to in days. He's all I've got right now."
Brennan cleared her throat and stood, "Maybe it's best if Gus and I go in the other room. I should check in with the lab anyway."
"You ok with that, Charlie?" Gus asked, not moving a muscle until she answered.
She nodded, "It's ok."
Unsure if he was more or less comfortable alone with Charlotte, Booth asked again, "Is it unusual for you to lose contact with your husband."
Playing off his uncertainty, Charlotte stared at the table and shook her head, "Yes, very. I don't travel like I used to. I'm always wherever he is."
There was a part of Booth that took that as a dig but then quickly realized the last thing she was thinking of in that moment was her relationship with him, "Can you think of anyone who would want to hurt him?"
She ran a shaky hand through her red hair, "Plenty of people, you don't get to where Clay is and not have enemies, Seeley."
"Anyone specific jump out at you?"
"No, not off the top of my head. You should really talk to Gus about that stuff, he'd know better than anyone."
"Yeah, I'll get right on that…" Booth glanced down at his notes and then asked, "Do you know why Lou was in DC?"
"He lives here or he at least he did. After his wife died last year, he retired and moved down from New York to be closer to me."
"When was the last time you saw him?"
Charlotte glanced at the calendar over Booth's shoulder, "Wednesday night, he was here for dinner."
Booth jotted down the date in his notes, "He and Clayton get along?"
She nodded and twisted her wedding ring back and forth, "They did. Very well actually, played cards once a week…You know Lou was pretty much the only family I had, he even gave me away at our wedding."
"Did her mention anyone watching him or anything like that?"
"No, everyone loved Lou. He was just that kind of a man. Warm, congenial, passionate…"Charlotte trailed off when she felt her emotions begin to betray the cool façade she'd been trying to put forth.
"Yeah, I remember." Booth and Charlotte had had dinner with Lou and his wife back when they were dating and he couldn't see why anyone would be after a guy like Lou.
In the other room, Gus turned on the TV and waited for the president's press conference to start while Brennan checked in with the lab. When she hung up she took a seat on the couch next to him. He asked quietly, "Any news?"
She shook her head in defeat, "Not yet, they found cause of death. In non-technical language his neck was snapped. But no connection between the remains and the vehicle yet."
Gus nodded slowly, "That's what I was afraid of."
"If there's a link, we'll find it."
As the president sat down at his desk and prepared to address the nation, Booth ducked his head into the living room, "Mr. White? Can we talk?"
"Booth, his name is Gus." Brennan reminded him.
Gus held his hand up, "If it makes him feel better, he can call me whatever he wants."
With the men off in the corner speaking in hushed tones, Brennan wandered into the kitchen and found Charlotte sitting, staring into space. She took a seat next to her and gripped her hand, "Are you ok? Do you need anything?"
Charlotte snapped to attention and face the other woman, "My husband. For this to all be over…"
"That's understandable." Brennan noticed the absence of emotion on the other woman's face and asked, "Are you on medication?"
Charlotte's lip curled into a small smile, "Not right now, why?"
"You're very calm which is a good thing but abnormal given the current situation."
Charlotte glanced over at her, "Thank you?"
"It's a valuable skill to master. It's impressive." Brennan raised one shoulder, "I don't have the control over my emotions that I once I had and there are times I miss the ability to see the absolute logic of a situation."
"I'm not sure if this is control or numbness but I know that it's not absolutely anything but fuzzy."
"In the midst of traumatic events it's difficult to internally process things clearly, it's understandable." Brennan tried to think of advice that would help her and then it hit her. "Have you tried writing to organize your thoughts?"
"Not since the guys who are supposed to be taking care of things tried to convince me that Clay's dead. I'm not all that interested in transcribing that sensation."
"Booth?"
Charlotte nodded with pursed lips.
"What did he say?"
Charlotte clicked her tongue against her cheek did her best Booth impersonation, "I gotta say, Charlie…Best guess is, if these are both connected to you – outcomes the same for both of 'em and we know where Lou is."
Brennan's nostrils flared as she listened to Charlie's words, "Booth is wrong, Charlotte. He's wrong."
"It's ok. I mean, that would be my guess if I was able to…It makes sense."
"No, it doesn't. Lou Robertson was a retired newspaper editor in his late 60's with no family and no real material wealth to speak of." Brennan paused to slow her speech down, "Your husband, Clayton, is the definition of leverage. Even the most pedestrian, unintelligent abductors would recognize that. And so should Booth."
"Thank you, Temp-" She cut herself off and shook her head, "Is there another name that's less formal I can call you?"
"People call me Brennan or my friend Angela calls me Bren – either is fine."
Charlotte smiled, "Well, Bren. You just became my new best friend."
Brennan looked over at her, a little startled, "Why?"
"You are the only person I've talked to in two days who didn't make want to go stand in traffic at rush hour. It's refreshing."
She smiled in acknowledgement, "Oh. You're welcome but you shouldn't need to be refreshed." Brennan made a mental note to ask her husband why he said such things.
B&B
March 16, 2011. 4:23 AM: Sidewalk outside Cabina's Apartment, Washington, DC.
I watched her for nearly an hour, sitting on the fire escape. She was obviously troubled by something, I hate not knowing what goes on in her mind.
Troubles seemed to disappear once Cabina made his presence known and joined her out there, they talked briefly before she stood. As they headed back in, he gripped her wrist and pressed her against the iron stairs. I almost had to look away as he pulled her shirt over her head and forcefully seized her lips with his own.
I will not describe what took place next, that's not what this is about but I will say that a federal agent should know better than to have sex outdoors.
She deserves better than that.