Disclaimer: I own nothing regarding GWTW

Author's Notes: Thank you for all the reviews and feedback.

Chapter Eight

After Scarlett joined Rhett in his office he handed her a sheet of paper. She scanned over it. She said, "You think she was killed by a blow to her head with a sledgehammer?"

"No, I do not. Continue reading."

"The bones show she was knifed several times."

"Yes, the sledgehammer was used to destroy her face so she could not be identified, but this person didn't know that I could put her skull back together. I was lucky that the killer had put the tarp down before he started destroying the victim's face. It meant all the pieces were in the tarp. With the skull intact Miguel was able to give her back her face."

"That is a nice way to put it."

"I guess. Her fingertips were cut off…"

"You can tell that how?"

"Nicks to the flanges, finger bones."

"Go on."

"He removed her clothes, wrapped her in plastic,…"

"The plastic was probably already there. This was pre-planned."

"He wrapped her in plastic sheeting then chicken wire. Weight her down and hoped she never rose to the surface."

"Very good work. Thanks."

Scarlett turned to leave. As she did Rhett said, "Where are you going?"

"To get a warrant to search a basement."

"You are going to search the senator's home?"

"No, the aide, Ken Thompson."

"He was her boyfriend."

Scarlett stopped and turned around. She said, "Come on and ride with me. I will explain everything."

Once Rhett and Scarlett got to the Bronco, he reached in the backseat and emptied out a shopping bag. He noticed there were some feminine hygiene products in the bag. As he was putting the coffee cups in the bag, he said, "Between eighteen-fifty-four and nineteen fifteen there were twenty patents filed for menstrual hygiene products. Some of these patents included the first menstrual cup, rubber underwear, and Lister's towels. The first menstrual cups were made were often made of aluminum or hard rubber."

With a smile Scarlett said, "Sounds painful."

"I suppose it was. Women also had menstrual dresses that they wore around the house. They had stains on the back of them. Most of those twenty patents didn't go anywhere mainly because of women's embarrassment in regard to the product."

"What are Lister's Towels?"

"The first sanitary pads. They were introduced in eighteen ninety-six. They were probably the first disposable pads. They were made out of cotton and gauze."

"What did they use before?"

"Rags which they had to wash out after using them."

"I'm glad we are no longer embarrassed about that subject."

"Me too. Let me throw this away."

"Sure."

Scarlett was beginning to enjoy this idiosyncrasy of Rhett's. She was finding out lots of trivia information. It was like having Google in the passenger seat. The only problem was that one couldn't change sites. One got what one got. It reminded her of the old car Pa had bought her when she turned sixteen. It was so old it was a standard. It had no air conditioning. It only had AM radio and it only picked up like two or three stations. It was a POS, but it was transportation. It had to be repaired monthly. She had learned to do minor repairs with Pa's help. She smiled at the memory. Pa had bought her a new car when she graduated from high school. The POS had been passed down to Jen then. Jen was two years younger than her, so the timing was perfect. Jen had refused to drive the car. She would rather beg rides from her friends than be seen in that car. When she had graduated from high school, Pa had refused to buy her a new car. He had said, 'You didn't appreciate the last car I got for you, why should I spend more money on you that you won't appreciate.' Scarlett wondered what had happened to that car. She smiled again as she thought about all the fun Melly and she had traveling the roads in the car.

Once Rhett was back in the Bronco, Scarlett drove out of the parking lot. As she was driving, she said, "Ken Thompson was never the boyfriend. He was just the cover."

"Oh."

"Even if the senator was the one who wanted Cleo killed, he would not do the dirty work. Ken would. Therefore, I will get a warrant to search his basement."

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"Sure. You can be my back-up."

"Alright."

"Do you know how to fire a gun?"

"Just the basics. Point and shoot."

"I will teach you to shoot."

Rhett who had no desire to learn how to shoot a gun, said, "That would be great."

After Scarlett and Rhett got the warrant they went to Ken's home, they knocked, but nobody answered. Scarlett said, "Do you hear someone calling for help?"

"No."

Pointedly Scarlett said, "Dr. Butler, are you sure you don't hear someone calling for help?"

Rhett snapped to what Scarlett was really asking him and said, "I sure do."

As Scarlett got ready to kick the door in, Rhett said, "Allow me."

After a couple of forceful kicks the lock broke. Scarlett said, "I smell smoke. Go get the fire extinguisher from my truck. Hurry!"

With gun drawn, Scarlett went down the stairs to the basement. She found what she suspected she would find. Ken trying to destroy evidence. She screamed out, "FBI. Stop. You are under arrest for the murder of Cleo Eller."

Ken charged Scarlett and she shot him in the shoulder, but he kept coming. Rhett came down the stairs in a hurry after hearing the gunshot. He sprayed Ken in the chest with the fire extinguisher. It was enough to push the man backwards. He landed on his back on the floor.

Rhett rushed over with the fire extinguisher and put out the fire. Ken had started a fire to burn up any evidence in his basement which included Mr. Eller's Bronze Star. Cleo had worn it all the time for good luck.

Scarlett handcuffed Ken then called for backup and a crime scene team. After everyone had arrived and had been assigned tasks. She walked over to Rhett and said, "Thanks. You may have saved my life."

"No. Your second bullet would have taken him out."

"Thanks anyway. I must stay here until this is all over. Can you get a taxi back to the Jeffersonian?"

"Miguel is coming to pick me up."

"Alright then."

"If you get done in time, you could join me at Rosie's Café on Ave F for dinner. Just to let me know how it all turned out."

"I would like that. If I can't make it, I will call you."

"Great. I usually eat about six. I see Miguel. Until later."

"Yes, until later."

After Rhett got in Miguel's car and they had driven off, Miguel said, "Did you ask her out?"

"Not exactly. I asked her to join me for dinner to go over the details of the case."

"Welcome back to the land of the living."

Rhett just grinned. He felt like he was coming out of a deep freeze. He wasn't sure he wanted to return to the land of the living. Yet he knew he had to pursue Scarlett O'Hara.

Later that day around five o'clock, Scarlett called Melly. After Melly answered, Scarlett said, "I can't make it to supper. I must meet a colleague about this case we just closed."

"Is it Buttercup?"

"Yes, but I might have to call him Smokey the bear from now on."

"Huh?!"

"I will tell you more later."

"Good luck."

Melanie hung up the phone and said to Ashley, "That was Scarlett. She can't make it. She is having supper with a colleague."

"That's disappointing. I haven't seen her in so long."

"Yes, it is."

"I was looking forward to telling her about my latest case."

"Maybe later in this week."

"Maybe."

Melanie smiled. Ashley works so hard to make her think there was nothing between him and Scarlett. He would die if he ever found out his physical relationship with Scarlett had been her idea. Scarlett had complained about being horny and Melly said, "Have I got a deal for you?"

A few days later Scarlett had come on to Ashley and their affair had begun.

It was six-fifteen before Scarlett slipped into the booth. She was sitting across from Rhett. She looked at his plate. It was fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and green beans. She said, "That looks good. I think I will have that too."

"No, Rosie will bring you what you truly want for dinner."

"You're kidding, right."

"Not at all. I have been eating here for about eight years and she always knows what I am really hungry for. One time Miguel insisted on eating something else. He had heartburn for a week. He later told me that he was sure she had put something in his food so he would suffer. I told him it was probably those burritos he ate out of the back of a truck."

Scarlett looked at Rhett. He had actually smiled at the end. A woman bustled up with a plate of food in her hand. She set the food down in front of Scarlett and said, "This is what you need. Some comfort food. You have had a very bad day."

Scarlett looked at Rhett and he said, "I didn't say a word."

Rhett had lied. Not something he did very often. He had lied because he had wanted Rosie to pamper Scarlett. She had a very bad day, indeed. She had to shoot someone.

Scarlett then looked at her plate. There was pot roast, two orders of mashed potatoes, and a roll with butter melting in it. She smiled and said, "This is exactly what I need."

Rosie said, "Enjoy, Dear."

Scarlett said, "If I had a grandmother, that is how I imagine she would look."

"Me too."

"Sorry, I'm late. I stopped by and told the Ellers that we had a suspect in custody. They wanted to know if I thought Senator Bethlehem was involved. I told them that I didn't know. I also told them it was no longer my case."

"Why not?"

"I kicked it upstairs. It is going to be very tricky from here on out besides, I will be on desk duty for at least two weeks while they investigate the shooting."

"Why? You were defending yourself."

"It is standard operating procedure any time an agent fires their gun in the line of duty."

"Oh. What did you mean by it is going to be very tricky with Senator Bethlehem?"

"Because of whom he is the FBI has to tiptoe around him. He is the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee."

"That's not right."

"No, it isn't but someone with more rank than me will be interviewing the man. In truth the problem would be finding proof. The senator could have said to his aide, 'I wish this problem would go away.' Ken handled it from there. The senator didn't tell him to kill Cleo, but Ken understood his assignment. In those circumstances, Senator Bethlehem can say, 'I didn't mean for him to kill Cleo. This is awful.' No proof."

"You are right. No proof. What about if the aide turns on him?"

"Then it is the word of a murder against the word of a United States Senator. Even if it somehow got to court, who do you think the jury is going to believe."

"One never knows how the jury is going to react."

"Exactly. Let's not talk about that anymore. It is out of our control now."

"True."

The couple talked for another thirty minutes about other things. One of the things they talked about was exercise. Scarlett said, "What do you do to stay fit?"

"Pilates and Yoga."

"I have never known a man to do either Pilates or Yoga."

"Pilates was actually created by a man, Joseph Pilates. Pilates is particularly good for men because it trains a lot of different muscle groups, and research suggests that your endurance, flexibility, balance, and posture benefit greatly from doing Pilates. Yoga is known to reduce anxiety."

"What have you got to be anxious about?"

"You would be surprised Agent O'Hara."

Rosie came by and asked, "Do you want anything else?"

Rhett looked at Scarlett then at Rosie and said, "No, I think we are fine."

Rosie laid two bills on the table and walked away.

Scarlett looked at the two bills on the table and said, "It is time for me to get home."

"Me too."