Disclaimer: I own nothing regarding GWTW

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

Chapter Ten

As Emily followed Rhett to the break room, she didn't think he was really unhappy about being loaned out to the FBI. She knew when a man was interested in a woman and Dr. Butler was definitely interested in Agent O'Hara. That fact had surprised Emily. Up until he had shown a marked interest in Agent O'Hara, she had thought of him as asexual. She knew he was a man, but she had never gotten any sexual vibes off of him. Not just for her, but for any woman or man.

Dr. Goodman walked into the break room. He said, "These are invitations to a banquet."

Rhett said, "You call a special meeting to invite us to a party."

"Don't think of it as an invitation, consider it a summons. It is for the donors. In fact, these are our biggest donors the Cantilever Group."

Jack said, "Meet and greet, press the flesh, butt-kissing."

"I don't like it any more than you do, but these people fund our research, and all they want in return is to rub elbows with a scientist every once in a while."

"Can't make it."

Rhett said, "I attend enough of those events. Surely, I have met my quota."

Miguel said, "I have a date that night."

"You don't even know when it is."

"Well, I have a date every night."

Emily held up her hand, Dan said, "Yes, Ms. Addy?"

"What kind of food will there be?"

"When I said you should think of this invitation as a summons, I understated. It is a subpoena. A grand jury subpoena. Ignore it at your own peril."

Rhett said, "You are not going to fire us if we don't go."

"No, I will not fire you, but I can move your parking spot to Lot M. Enjoy the shuttle ride."

"The shuttle smells like feet."

"That is true."

Rhett said, "I know when I'm beat. I'm in."

Miguel said, "What the hell. It's a party."

Emily said, "Do I have to wear a dress and heels?"

"Formal wear."

"I have arranged for a limo to pick us up from here."

Hodgins said, "Not me." As Dan stared at Jack, he continued, "I'm not afraid of parking or feet."

Emily said, "Wait…. We carpool. You suffer, I suffer. You can't just think of yourself."

Dan said, "Repercussions and consequences. Dr. Hodgins, I'm your boss and you will go to this banquet." Dr. Goodman turned and walked out of the room.

Jack did not reply. He just scowled at Dan's back as the man left the break room.

Scarlett hated informing someone that their loved one was dead. It never got easier, but it had to be done. She knocked on the door of the Sanders' home. The door was quickly opened. Mrs. Sanders said, "Have you found Charlie?"

"Mrs. Sanders, let's sit down in your living room."

Once the women were settled, Scarlett said, "Yes, we have found Charlie. We found him in the woods behind North Star Mall. I'm sorry, Mrs. Sanders, but Charlie is dead."

"He's dead?!"

"Yes, ma'am."

"No! No! No! You are a liar."

"No, ma'am, unfortunately I'm not. I know this is the worst time of your life, but I have to ask you some questions. I will give you a minute to collect yourself."

"Of course. Give me a minute."

"Take your time."

"Let me wash my face."

"Of course."

While Mrs. Sanders was out of the living room, Scarlett got up and studied the pictures. There were lots of pictures of her and Charlie. It was plain to see that Margaret loved her son. It was also plain to see that Charlie wasn't her natural son. Admittedly, Wade had mostly looked like Cade, but the little boy had still had a couple of her features. There was a picture of Margaret and a man. Scarlett supposed that was supposed to be Charlie's father, but he didn't look anything like the boy either. Scarlett didn't care for now. If it didn't have anything to do with the investigation, she would let Margaret keep her secrets.

After Mrs. Sanders returned to the living room, she said, "Let's get it over with. How did he die?"

"He died as a result of blunt trauma to the chest."

"So, he was murdered?"

Margaret's voice caught on the last word, but she stared straight at Scarlett. There were tears in the woman's eyes, but she was going to get through this interview for Charlie's sake.

Scarlett had majored in Psychology and Sociology. She used all that training to be a good interviewer.

Scarlett could probably match Dr. Butler with stories of people and their idiosyncrasies, but she had enough social awareness not to do that sort of thing. She wasn't sure if Dr. Butler didn't have enough awareness, or he just didn't care. He wanted to share the information. She was coming down on the side of he wasn't aware.

"Yes, ma'am. Tell me what happened. It was the day before yesterday, right?"

"Yes. I have two foster children. Two brothers Sean and David Cook. David is older and offered to take the younger boys to the park. Sean and David returned from the park without Charlie. They said he ran away, and they couldn't find him. After looking for him for thirty minutes, they came home and told me. I called the police."

"I would like to talk to the boys."

"Sure. Let me go get them. They are in their room. I need to tell them about Charlie."

"I will introduce myself and I will tell them about Charlie."

"Thank you. Go ahead. First door on the right."

Scarlett had wanted to give the boys the news about Charlie because she wanted to judge their reaction. She walked up the stairs. It was an expensive house. Mrs. Sanders got her money from somewhere. Scarlett wondered where. That was something she was going to have to follow up on.

Scarlett reached the first door on the right, and she knocked. She heard a muffled, "Come in."

She opened the door and saw a pre-teen boy and a boy of probably eight or nine. She saw they were playing a video game. She said, "Pause your game. I need your undivided attention."

"Yes, ma'am"

"I'm Special Agent Scarlett O'Hara with the FBI."

"You are a girl."

"Last time I checked I was. Who are you?"

The older boy said, "I'm David and" while pointing at the younger boy continued, "He is Sean."

"There is no easy way for me to say this, but we found Charlie's body yesterday."

Scarlett paused there to let her words sink in. Finally, David said in a voice filled with emotion, "Charlie is dead."

"Yes."

Scarlett looked at the boys. They were both crying, but Sean looked guilty. David was working hard to get his emotions under control. He had been in the system a long time. Rule number one – Don't show any emotion. Sean had heard about that rule also because he was trying hard to stop crying, also.

Scarlett said, "So, tell me what happened the day before yesterday?"

David said, "We walked to the park and played for about an hour. Then I was ready to go. That is when I realized that Charlie was not around."

"Where did he go?"

"I don't know."

"One minute he was there and the next minute he was gone."

"What is your girlfriend's name?"

"How did you know I had a girlfriend?"

"Your mother told me."

"She isn't my mother. She is my foster mother, and we call her Margaret."

"Good enough. Margaret told me."

"How did she know?"

"I don't know, but mothers even foster mothers have a way of knowing everything. I remember one time I was sneaking out of the house when I was thirteen and there at the end of the driveway was my mother in her bathrobe and slippers tapping her foot. She nailed my window shut."

Scarlett smiled after she finished talking. She was recalling the memory. She had been grounded for a month. She had spent the month figuring out how to get the nails out of her window. She had. With a scowl she remembered how Jen had told their parents on her. Pa had nailed the window shut from the outside. She wasn't sneaking out that window again.

Both of the boys smiled at her story. She casually said, "You never did say what your girlfriend's name was?"

Sean had recovered enough to join the conversation. He said, "Leila."

"What I don't understand is how you got a message to Leila to meet you at the park?"

"How did you know?"

"I do work for the FBI." When there was silence, Scarlett looked at David and said, "Well?"

David said, "She lives a couple of blocks over. I ran over there and told her we were going to the park."

"How did you get out of the house?"

David pointed at the window and said, "The same way you did, through that window."

"Let's hope Margaret doesn't find out and nail your window shut." Scarlett turned to Sean and said, "I suppose you were supposed to run interference if Margaret came looking for him."

Sean nodded his head.

Scarlett stood up and looked at Sean. She said, "Do you know who took Charlie?"

Rapidly, too quickly, Sean said, "No!"

"Okay. Let me go find Charlie's abuser and killer." Scarlett paused at the door and said, "How long have you been in foster care?"

David said, "Five years."

"How long have you been with Margaret?"

"A year."

"Thanks for your help. Now I know who the killer is."

Scarlett noticed the look of panic that flashed across Sean's face. Yes, indeed. He knew more than he was willing to share. She didn't know the man's name, but she knew what he was. A sexual predator. Someone who lived on this block. That was the only way he could get away with it. He had to be part of the community.

Scarlett spoke to Margaret and said, "I will be back as soon as I know something."

"Thank you, Agent O'Hara."

Scarlett got in the Bronco and headed to the Jeffersonian to find out what Buttercup had found out. She hoped something. She needed a break on this case.

Rhett walked into his lab, and he said, "What have we learned from the body at this stage of decomposition?"

"Green stick fractures on ribs four, five, six, and seven in two places on both sides. The sternum is snapped transversely from the tip to the xyphoid."

"What does that indicate?"

"The victim's chest was struck by a heavy, blunt object."

"One last thing you need to do, smell the victim's breath and tell me what you smell under the decomposition."

Emily bent down and smelt in the victim's mouth. She said, "There is a chemical. I would guess Chloroform."

"Ms. Addy, we don't guess. Take samples from the mouth, jaw, sinuses, and what is left of the esophagus."

As Rhett turned to leave the room, Emily said, "How can you be so cold and uncaring? You know what the mother is going through."

Rhett turned around and for a minute Emily was sure she was going to be fired. Rhett then smiled a sad smile. He said, "I see I have been the subject of breakroom gossip. Let me be sure you got all the facts correct. My little girl was kidnapped and in the process of the kidnapping she died. It later came out that the perpetrator gave her too much chloroform. They found her body about ten yards from one of the roads out of the subdivision. Now, let me ask you, Ms. Addy, do you think it would have done my little girl any good if the doctor performing her autopsy had broken down in tears and cried her eyes out. No, it would not have. The greatest good she could do at that moment was get every scrap of evidence that was needed to find the man, who was responsible for Bonnie's death. The evidence that was needed to put that man behind bars forever. Ms. Addy, that is what we must do. Put our heart on the shelves. When you get home, have a glass of wine. If you are so inclined, cry your eyes out, but here in the lab there is no room for emotions. Do you understand?"

Emily squared her shoulders and said, "Yes, I do." Rhett turned to walk out of the room. She said, "Where is the perpetrator now, Dr. Butler?"

"He was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole. Just exactly what I wanted."

"You didn't want him to be executed?"

"No, I want him to live the rest of his life in prison in general population."

"I guess you don't believe in the death penalty."

"I believe in it, Ms. Addy, but a quick and clean death was too good for the man."

"I guess I understand. You wanted him to suffer."

"Not my finest moment, but yes, I did. I still do."