Disclaimer: I own nothing regarding GWTW

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

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Beau Wilkes didn't like the changes in his life. His parents had gotten a divorce, and he didn't understand why. When he had asked his mom, all she had said was, "Your father and I don't love each other anymore, but we both still love you."

When Beau had asked his father, he had said, "We just can't get along anymore."

That was really strange to Beau because his parents had never fought. Although, his mother was always irritated when his father was around.

Beau had even asked his Aunt Scarlett and she said, "Your parents just don't want to live together anymore."

"Why?"

"They just don't."

Beau liked living in their house and the other kids in the neighborhood. He liked his new school also. All his friends from the neighborhood went to the same school he did.

One of his new friends had his own swimming pool. He had been asked to come over to swim often. His mother had even made arrangements for him to stay at Rene's house while she was at work all summer long. Beau knew his mom was paying Rene's mom. His mom had explained that Rene's mom was doing work, so she deserved to be paid.

Beau's mom was able to afford cable TV now and that was special. Although she only let him watch TV for one hour a day. She had just started paying Aunt Scarlett's bills. He had gotten some new clothes. Even a new bathing suit.

Beau didn't like the woman, Amy, his father was living with. She seemed angry all the time. She was always making comments to his father and his father would just sigh or say, "I'm doing the best I can." When he had called her Aunt Amy, she said, "Either call me Amy or Miss Morton. Not Aunt Amy. I am not your aunt."

Beau didn't call the man Aunt Scarlett was living with anything. His mom called him Rhett as did Aunt Scarlett, but he thought that would be disrespectful. He didn't want to call him Uncle Rhett and be told not to call him that. That had hurt when Amy had done that.

Beau did know that his mother like the man a lot. She was always saying, "I am so glad your Aunt Scarlett finally met a new man to be involved with. I never liked her being alone."

Beau knew that Aunt Scarlett had been married to his mother's brother, Charlie, but he had died in Iraq. He also knew that Aunt Scarlett's baby had died, but nobody talked about that.

Beau hoped he would get some answers someday.

Scarlett settled in to watch a new true crime show called America's Most Wanted. It was hosted by John Walsh. He certainly had done a lot for victims and missing children. Scarlett thought about John Walsh. Everyone knew his story. His son Adam had been kidnapped and murdered in July of eighty-one. John Walsh had turned the world upside down fighting for children. Up until then the parents of missing children were on their own. In eighty-four, Congress passed the Missing Children's Assistance Act. It created the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. The Code Adam program was developed and instituted across the nation. And so many more. She wondered how many people John Walsh had helped put behind bars. She googled it. It was one thousand, one hundred, and ninety criminals. She read that John and his wife, Reve, had three more children. She wondered if she could ever have more children. It didn't matter. She knew Rhett couldn't.

One of the criminals that was spotlighted was John List. The man had been on the run for almost eighteen years. He murdered his mother, his wife, and his three children then just sailed off into the sunset. She stared at the pictures of List and knew they would do no good what's so ever. They needed someone to age progress him and then create a bust.

Scarlett picked up her cell phone and called the number on the screen. She told the operator what they needed to do. The operator took her name and her office number. Scarlett had used her title because she had wanted to be taken seriously.

Scarlett watched TV for the rest of the evening then around ten took a shower and went to bed. She was reading when Rhett got home. She said, "Did you eat dinner?"

"Yes, Ms. Addy went and got us a couple of burgers from All Star Cafe."

"You ate fast food? Wait you voluntarily ate fast food."

"I was in the middle of my experiment and couldn't take the time to leave the building. All Star Café was the closest place, she could get food at. I didn't want her to have to walk very far. It isn't safe out there."

"You should get her some pepper spray."

"I should. Pepper spray…"

"Honey, you can tell me later. Get in the shower."

"I had to take Ms. Addy home. She carpools with Dr. Hodgins."

"Melly does too. She says there is absolutely no conversation between the three of them."

"What is strange about that?"

"Most people talk when they are in the car together."

"You mean that nonsense people spew out."

"Yes, Dear. It is called polite conversation."

Rhett had been taking off his clothes while they had been talking. With just his underwear on he headed to the bathroom while saying, "They would be much more polite to just be quiet."

Scarlett smiled and said to Rhett's back, "Yes, Dear."

The next morning, there was a message waiting for Scarlett from John Walsh. It was to the point. 'If you know someone who can make the bust, I can get the pictures to you.' He had left his office number but also his cellular number. She sighed. She would have to go talk to Miguel herself.

Scarlett went to the Jeffersonian. Thankfully, she had her badge that Rhett had gotten for her. She stopped by Rhett's lab first. When he saw her, he smiled and said, "Do you have a new case for us?"

"Sort of. I was watching America's Most Wanted last night."

"What is America's Most Wanted?"

"It is a show that features criminals and tries to bring them to justice."

"I guess people call in clues."

"Yes."

"Alright."

"They featured John List."

"Who?"

"John List. He is a man who killed his wife, his three children, and his mother eighteen years ago."

"How do they know he is guilty?"

"He left a written confession to explain why he had done it."

"Why did he do it?"

"He was an extremely religious man and he felt that his family members were straying from their faith. He believed that killing them would assure their souls a place in Heaven."

"That is illogical. Murder is one of the ten commandments. The sixth to be exact. Thou shalt not kill."

"True, Honey."

"He has been on the run for eighteen years?"

"Yes."

"That is amazing."

"I don't think he is running anywhere. He has created a new life. He killed his family and so far, has gotten away with it. That isn't right."

"No, it isn't."

"I suggested to them that they get a bust made of Mr. List and show what he looks like now."

"Good idea."

"They accepted."

"They said if I can get the bust made, they will feature it."

"I guess you are here to get Miguel to create you another bust."

"Yes, Come with me."

"No. This was your idea. You are going to have to ask Miguel all on your own."

"At least, walk down there with me."

"It would be over there. His lab is on the same level as my lab."

"But we go downstairs."

"Then we go upstairs."

"Come with me."

Rhett smiled. He said, "Are you asking me for another favor?"

"No. I still haven't paid back the last favor."

"True." Rhett smiled and said, "Ms. Addy, I will be right back. Come along, Scarlett, I will go with you, but you have to do all the talking."

Scarlett and Rhett found Miguel in his office. He smiled when they walked in. He said, "Whatever you want the answer is no."

"Why?"

"The last favor took me forever to build."

"Because of the bust they were able to identify the man and return him to his family. That must make you feel good."

"What is it you want me to do?"

"Take photographs and age progress a man then build a bust."

"No."

"It would be featured on America's Most Wanted."

"No."

"You could get world recognition for your bust."

"I don't want world recognition for my bust. I want world recognition for my paintings."

"Maybe I could get you on the show."

"With my paintings behind me."

"I can try."

"Come back and see me when you arrange that."

"Goodbye Miguel. Come on Rhett."

"Goodbye."

"Yes, ma'am."

Two weeks later by hook and crook, Scarlett arranged for Miguel to be on the show while they were displaying the bust. The show was filmed in Los Angeles and AMW would take care of everything once Miguel got to Los Angeles.

Six weeks later Miguel had driven out to Los Angeles in Rhett's Boxster with the bust sitting in the passenger seat. He had borrowed Rhett's car because he didn't think his car, a ten-year-old Nissan Altima, would make it there and back. He was given a month leave from the Jeffersonian. Three months after Scarlett got Miguel the pictures, he and the bust were featured on AMW. Within a week, John List who had been living under the name Robert Peter 'Bob' Clark had been arrested in Midlothian, Virginia. A month later, Miguel Bender was working in set designs for one of the major studios in Hollywood.

Rhett and Scarlett flew out to LA to pick up the car. It was good. It gave the couple and Miguel a chance to say goodbye. Rhett and Scarlett had stayed at a hotel. She let Rhett and Miguel have supper alone at a restaurant in the city on their last night. As Rhett dropped Miguel off at his new one-bedroom apartment, he said, "I will always take you back in if you need a place to stay."

"Thanks, man, but you don't need me anymore."

"And if I do."

"Call me."

"Alright."

It took Scarlett and Rhett a week to get back to DC. They had stopped in Las Vegas, at the Grand Canyon, at the Petrified Forest, Albuquerque, Oklahoma City, Memphis, Knoxville, and finally home. They had travel part of the way on Route sixty-six. Rhett had shared the entire history of Route 66 with her including there once was a TV show featuring the route.

Scarlett had said, "You know about something on TV?"

Rhett had grinned at her and said, "The information was part of the article."

Rhett told Scarlett to order a couple of cans of pepper spray from Amazon. He would give one to Emily and she could have the other one. Scarlett smiled at him and order two cans of pepper spray. Scarlett would keep it in her truck. She didn't bother to tell him that she was a trained federal officer and carried a gun. He wanted to protect her, and she would let him think he was. She could use it to spray wild animals. Just like its original purpose.

When Scarlett had told Rhett she had ordered the items, he said, "In nineteen sixty, Pepper spray was invented to protect hikers from bears, mountain lions, and wolves. It was called bear spray. Women quickly figured out it could protect them from predators that were on two legs also."

Scarlett laughed. Rhett didn't know what he had said that she thought was funny, but he was going to enjoy her laughter. He continued, "A stronger version was created for police, but it ended up being a failure. First it didn't stop people that were high on drugs or alcohol and its ingredients could cause people's death."

"Is that the stuff called Mace?"

"Yes. Although Mace is a brand name. Mace was made from a chemical similar to tear gas while pepper spray is an irritant that uses oleoresin capsicum. The same thing that is in hot peppers. It has been found that it is much more effective on people under the influence of drugs and alcohol, and it is less likely to cause toxic harm to the user."

"But will it take down a bear?"

"I don't know about a bear, but certainly a wild dog. If you are attacked by a bear, you will just have to shoot it."

With a laugh, Scarlett said, "Okay."

"If you shot a bear, would you be on desk duty for two weeks while they investigated the shooting?"

Scarlett laughed and Rhett smiled. She said, "I don't know, but I'm not going to shoot a bear to find out."

Author's Notes: This case was about the true crimes of John List. He killed his wife, three children, and his mother. He then disappeared into the shadows. He stayed hidden for almost eighteen years. The artist that age progressed the photos and made the bust was Frank Bender. To honor Mr. Bender, I gave Miguel the last name Bender.