Disclaimer: I own nothing regarding GWTW
Author's Notes: Thank you for all the reviews and feedback.
Chapter Seven
The next morning Scarlett walked into Miguel's lab with a cup of coffee in her hand. Rhett said, "What is that?"
"It is a cup of coffee. For someone so brilliant, you can be pretty stupid sometimes."
In his haughtiest voice, Rhett said, "Liquids are not allowed in the labs."
"Not even coffee? How barbaric."
"Throw it away outside."
"Throw it away!? I just bought it. No!" Scarlett turned to the other man in the room and said, "Do you have an office I can leave it in?"
"Of course. I will put it in there for you."
In the tense silence neither Rhett nor Scarlett spoke. When Miguel came back, he said, "Since Rhett isn't going to introduce us, I am Miguel Bender."
"I am Scarlett O'Hara."
"Let me display the image I created. When I put in the parameters for a Caucasian female, this is what I get."
As Rhett and Scarlett stared at the holographic image, she said, "It isn't right."
"Exactly. When I put in the parameters for a Black female, this is what I get."
Scarlett said, "It still isn't right."
Rhett said, "Put in for a mixed race. Fifty-Fifty."
All three people stared at the image. Finally, Miguel said, "She looks familiar."
Scarlett said, "A little bit more black."
When the image was refreshed with the new data, Scarlett said, "I know who it is. Cleo Louise Eller. She was interning with Senator Bethlehem. She allegedly had an affair with him. She went missing in April of 2023. Last scene leaving her gym on K street at approximately nine P.M."
Miguel said, "Wow! Quite the memory you have there."
"I remember all my unsolved cases. This is my case. There were no leads. Nothing. She was her parents only child."
"At least, her parents will have closure now."
"I'm not very big on closure. I am going to have to break the news to her parents. Come on, Dr. Butler. I need you to explain all this to her parents. They will be in denial. They will say it is just conjecture on our part. Your job will be to convince them it is fact, not conjecture."
"Alright."
"Do you need to get anything from your lab?"
"No."
Scarlett turned to Miguel and said, "Can I have my coffee back?"
"Of course. Let me get it for you."
Miguel went to his office and grabbed Scarlett's Dutch Bros' cup. After he had handed it to her, she said, "Thank you." She turned to Rhett and said, "Let's go Dr. Butler."
"Certainly."
After Rhett and Scarlett had left the lab, Miguel was smiling. He had a feeling that Rhett was going to start living again. It was about time. Furthermore, she was perfect for him. She didn't treat him like he was anything special. Rhett needed to be brought down a peg or two.
Miguel picked up his office phone and called Rhett's lab. When Emily answered, he said, "Dr. Butler is going to be out of the building at least all morning."
Emily smiled and said, "Thank you, Miguel."
"You are welcome, Emily."
Emily and Miguel both knew that Rhett wasn't trying to be rude, he just didn't think about other people.
Scarlett and Rhett walked to the elevator. They didn't speak. When they got to the parking lot, Rhett said, "Let's take my car."
"No, I have all my stuff in my truck. Go ahead and get in. I have got to get something out of the back."
After Rhett had tossed the coffee cups in the backseat, he had gotten in. When Scarlett got in, she had a folder in her hand. She said, "Punch in 1479 Westburg in Google maps."
"I don't have Google maps."
"Everyone has Google maps."
"I have my locator turned off. It is how the government can track you."
"Another conspiracist."
"I will admit that a lot of conspiracy theories are just looney tunes, but some are not."
Scarlett plugged in the address and hooked it into the phone holder on the dash. She started the car and followed the directions out of the parking garage. She said, "Like what?"
"Like what what?"
"What is a conspiracy theory that you think is true?"
"That the government keeps tabs on its citizens."
"All of us?"
"No, just the ones they deem threatening."
"Like people they think are going to harm the government."
"Yes."
"Is this just a random arbitrary decision."
"No, but we have no idea what the criteria is. So, anyone of us could be being tracked."
Scarlett smiled. She said, "What did you do last night?"
"Why?"
"Just making conversation. It is what us earthlings do to pass the time. I don't know what they do on your planet."
Rhett ignored her comment. He had heard it before, and it made no sense to him. Did people really think he was from another planet. He said, "I read a book."
"What was the name of the book?"
"The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. It is actually a poem."
"Is it any good."
"I would say so. It has been around since seventeen ninety-eight."
"What's it about?"
"It is a narrative poem that describes an ancient mariner's experience aboard a ship after he kills an albatross."
"Go on."
"The bird was thought by the crew to bring them joy and good fortune. After he thoughtlessly kills the albatross, all aboard suffered. The other sailors hang the albatross on the mariner's neck as a punishment."
"Why did he kill the bird?"
"Because it was there."
"What is the point?"
"The point of the story is that all creatures are important to their creator. No matter how unattractive or lowly they are."
"I guess that is true."
"Except we don't have a creator."
"Why do you say that?"
"You are going to automatically tell me there is a God."
"No, I'm not. I believe in God, but I have my doubts if he exists. I do respect your right not to believe. A person either believes or they don't. There is no concrete evidence that proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that there is a God. That is what I am searching for right now, but I will continue to believe until someone shows me concrete evidence that there isn't a God. So again, I ask why do you say that?"
"I have never seen any evidence of a great power."
"We are at the Ellers. Let's go give Larry and Sharon the bad news."
"Alright. Did you call ahead?"
"No, that would have just given them time to imagine the worst. We are just going to tell them the worst news they will ever receive in their entire life."
Scarlett rang the doorbell. After Sharon opened the door, she said, "Agent O'Hara, is there an update on Cleo."
"Would you get Mr. Eller and meet me in your living room?"
"Yes, of course."
Soon Sharon and Larry were sitting on the couch side by side. Scarlett said, "This is Rhett Butler. He works at the Jeffersonian. He is a forensic anthropologist. He is the best one in the nation."
Rhett was surprised at Scarlett's statement.
Sharon said, "What?
Larry said, "Forensic?"
"There is no easy way to say this, but we found a body and it has been identified as your daughter Cleo."
Larry said, "Let me see a picture of the body."
"This is going to be hard for you to hear, but you must listen to what I am saying. A body was found in the lake at Arlington National Park. It had been in the water for a long time. Most of the flesh had been destroyed."
Sharon said, "If all you have is a skeleton, how do you know it is Cleo?"
"Dr. Butler?"
Ten minutes later Rhett had explained anthropological markers and a whole lot more. At the end of the ten minutes, Mr. and Mrs. Eller had accepted that their daughter was dead.
Larry said, "Thank you for your explanation, Doctor." He looked and his wife then turned back to Rhett and said, "Is there anything we can get DNA from? We would like to run a DNA comparison just to rid ourselves of that last one percent."
"Yes, if you would come down to The Jeffersonian Institute, I will run the test myself."
"Thank you. Is tomorrow too soon."
"Not at all. Tomorrow morning at nine. Let's get all doubt erased."
Sharon said, "Did Cleo suffer?"
"No, ma'am. She never saw it coming."
Larry said, "Thank you. Let me see you out."
At the door, Larry said, "Are you going to go after the Senator now?"
Scarlett said, "I am going after the murderer. Senator Bethlehem may have done some sleazy things, but that doesn't mean he is a murderer. Dr. Butler and I are both adamant about following the evidence."
Rhett said, "See you in the morning."
After Scarlett and Rhett, drove away, she said, "You did really well at explaining everything to the parents."
"There were a couple of inaccuracies in what I told them, but they will never know. What they needed to understand was that I didn't guess. I followed sound logical protocols. If it is a woman, it is this. If it is a Caucasian, it is this. And so on and so forth."
"As I said good job, Buttercup."
"I don't like it when you call me that."
"I know."
Rhett scowled at Scarlett. The woman infuriated him to his last nerve, but she also fascinated him more than anyone had in a long time if at all.
Rhett said, "So you think I am the best forensic anthropologist in the nation."
"No, I just said that to impress the Ellers and make them want to believe you."
Rhett immediately lost his smugness.
Scarlett smiled at Rhett. She did think he was the best, but she would never tell him that. He needed to be brought down. She so loved to infuriate him because it was plain to see that everyone walked around him on tiptoes. Just because he was this hot shot forensic anthropologist. Well, she was a big shot FBI agent, and nobody walked around her on tiptoes.
Rhett asked Scarlett, "What did you do last night?"
Scarlett smiled and said, "Very well, done, Space man. Put your newfound knowledge in to use. I ran for ten miles on the treadmill then went and lifted some weights."
Rhett didn't know why Scarlett had called him 'Space man' so he ignored it and said, "Do you work out every night?"
"Not really. I lift weights and run three times a week. If I have had a particularly stressful day, I will run a couple of miles."
"Exercise is a great way to relieve stress."
"Yeah, it is just about the only way I have right now. I'm not seeing anyone."
Before he could stop himself, Rhett said, "What about your friend Ashley?"
With a little smile, Scarlett said, "No, Ashley only comes over when he can't help himself." Before Rhett could ask any questions, Scarlett asked him, "Are you seeing anyone?"
"No."
"I can fix you up with someone, if you want."
"I would not want that, thank you."
"Yeah, a girlfriend might get in your way of reading those ancient text."
"That is not all I read at night. I read forensic essays and anthropology journals."
Even Rhett could hear how pathetic what he said sounded. Scarlett said, "Sounds exciting."
Defensively Rhett said, "It is to me. What do you read?"
"I read case files."
"That is all?"
"No, I read the latest best sellers. You know books by Jonathon Kellerman, Lisa Gardner, or Dean Koontz."
"What about Stephen King?"
"Nah, I like Dean Koontz better."
"Did you enjoy Koontz' Odd series?"
"Yes, I did. And you?"
"Yes."
"I like to watch TV also."
"TV is nothing but mindless babbled produced to entertain the nincompoops."
Scarlett smiled and said, "If you say so."
Rhett and Scarlett were quiet the rest of the way back to the Institute. He had already said too much besides he couldn't think of anything to say that wasn't work related. She was quiet hoping he would say more. A lot of people can't stand there to be silence, so they fill it with their words. Dr. Butler did not.
A week later Rhett called Scarlett. When she answered he said, "I would like you to come back to the institute. I would like to go over my findings."
"Just send them to me in an email."
"I would like you to come down in case you have any questions."
"Alright, Buttercup. Give me an hour and I will be right down."
Scarlett got up and got dressed. Just the day before she had gotten an interview with the Senator and his aide. She had told them that Cleo Eller had been found. She questioned them, but their answers were not forthcoming of any information. She told them that as soon as the DNA results came back from the fetus, she would be back.
Yes, she had lied, but it was legal for a law officer to lie to a suspect. She wondered if it would spook either man.