A/N: Continuation of 1x07 A Man on Death Row
TRIGGER WARNING: UNDERAGE S*X, MURDER, ASSAULT, DEATH ROW
Claire looked up at her office door to see Booth standing there, he smiled as he walked in. "I heard that you were being the ice queen on Amy." Claire shrugged, "She was trying to disrespect me and her whole 'I'm-now-better-than-you' attitude was getting on my nerves."
"And this is why I call you Cee, short for Icy."
"Don't call me that, and stop talking with Kenny. That nickname is dumb."
Booth chuckled and took a seat, "So you put her in her place?"
"Naturally."
"Cee, you're my favorite prosecutor."
"Ex-prosecutor." Claire corrected and Booth smiled, "Still, you're still my favorite and that's not just because you're the best. Thank you, for trying to stop them." Claire blinked at him and shrugged, "So how did your boss take it that Brennan and Ms. Morton want to recheck the remains?"
Booth shook his head, "He's not taking it to well, best we don't talk about it." Claire put down her book, "That bad?"
"He told me if Bones shoots someone again, he hopes it's me."
"That could be counted as a threat."
Booth smiled at her and sighed, "This isn't looking good, is it?" Claire shrugged, "Do you want me to be honest?" Booth chuckled at this, "It's never stopped you before."
"I think with the evidence that we might potentially find, Epps will be let go." Claire answered and Booth frowned, "Based on the fact that there were loose ends?" Claire hummed and picked up her book again, "That, and also due to the fact that he wasn't given a fair trial. Do I believe that he's guilty? Yes I do, but you cannot argue that everything was fair towards Epps. The judge disregarded a piece of evidence that should've been looked at, but because everyone had already assumed Epps was guilty they didn't let it be seen or analyzed."
"So he would've been let free."
"No, I'm just saying that there are parts of his trial that were biased which is why this new evidence that we're finding may let him be set free." Claire replied and she flipped to the next page, "Have the parents been informed?"
Booth sighed and rubbed his face, "Yeah, you can imagine how that went."
"I can't."
"You're a real comedian Cee." Booth stated and she looked up from her book, "I'm a forensic psychologist and pathologist." Booth leaned back in his chair and smiled, "It was a joke Cee, it's me trying to lighten the mood." Claire went back to her book when there was a knock at her door, she looked up and Brennan standing there, "April Wright's body just arrived."
Claire nodded and stood up, she looked at Booth. "Are you going to stay?" Booth nodded his head, "I need to go grab something from my car, I need to talk to you about something private too."
"You haven't done that already?"
"You're hilarious." Booth answered and walked out with them, he didn't once look at Brennan and waited for her where no one else was. Brennan sighed and looked at Claire, "Is he angry?"
"Frustrated, we're about to let a man he put away go free." Claire answered as she walked over to him, "What is it?" Booth sighed and put his hands in his pockets, "That pubic hair, I think it's from the family's lawyer." Claire frowned at this, "You think their lawyer had sex with a 17 year old girl?" Booth gave a nod, "Yeah, I do. And that makes him look like a suspect." Claire hummed at this and shrugged, "Well, if you still have the hair then bring him into your station. Go all FBI on him or whatever it is you do." Booth smiled at this and shook his head, "You really are a comedian, I already did that after getting chewed out by my boss. I even got to search him, I'll be back."
Claire watched him leave before she went and swiped her badge, she walked to the body and Morton was looking away from the body. "You could go stay in my office if you'd like." Morton cleared her throat and shook her head, "No, I want to hear the verdict."
"Oh God."
They all looked up to the rafters to see Angela's date there, Claire had already forgotten his name. Angela rushed to get closer, "Don't look sweetie-"
"You're not an artist, you're a freak. You're all freaks!" The guy walked away and Claire put on her gloves, "Well he's not so prince charming himself, is he?" Angela's tensed shoulders relaxed and she turned to smile at her, "Was that a joke?"
"Lightening the mood." Claire quoted Booth from before as she looked at the body, Zach brought the machine with the magnifier to zoom in on her wrist. "The left triquetral." Brennan grabbed tweezers to take out what was causing the shadows on the x-ray, she looked at it before looking back at Zach. "It's a match, do you concur?" Zach nodded, "I concur."
Brennan moved the camera around to get a better view, "We've got several pieces of foreign material lodged in the bone." Hodgins looked at the screen, "It's the same stuff we found in the shard." Angela looked over at him, "Which is consistent with the arm being dragged through the gravel after the attack." Claire looked down at the remain, "Which is consistent with our theory that April Wright wasn't killed in the place the prosecution claimed."
Footsteps caught their attention and it was Booth, he had a bag in his hand. "I got a warrant to search the guys house who slept with April the night she was murdered." Brennan looked back at him, "And what'd you find?"
"Underwear, can you run a comparison on the hair?"
Zach and Hodgins looked at each other before playing rock-paper-scissors, Zach lost and sighed. "I'll do it." Booth handed him the evidence bag and looked down at the remains, "This is April Wright?" Claire gave a nod and Brennon pushed the camera near the skull, "She wasn't killed where she was found." Booth frowned at this, "Then where was she murdered?" Brennan brought his attention to the screen, "We've got microscopic particles beaten into the skull," She looked back at Hodgins, "Is there an ID on these?"
Hodgins shook his head, "Nothing in the autopsy report." Zach looked up from where he was looking at the evidence with a microscope, "It's a visual match." Brennan looked over at Angela, "Will you backstop him on that?" Angela walked over to Zach and Claire looked over at Amy, "Ms. Morton, you look ill." Amy wasn't looking over at them, "Sorry I just- I can't." Booth looked over at her, "It's okay, things can get pretty disgusting around here." Claire looked over at Angela when she looked up from the microscope, "Do you concur?"
Angela gave a nod, "I concur with Zach's findings, we have a visual match on the pubic hair." Booth sighed at this, "I don't think a visual will stop an execution." Amy composed herself, "We need DNA to be sure." Brennan nodded and looked back them, "Amy's right, this evidence isn't enough to stop the execution." Claire frowned at this and crossed her arms, "Since when were we trying to do that?"
"From the beginning."
"No, we were doing a favor for Agent Booth to tie up loose ends and doubts." Claire told her, "Besides this isn't enough evidence to get him off of death row, if you wanted that then you'll have to find conclusive evidence to prove there's a different killer out there." Amy looked over at Booth, "If you tell the judge that you've changed your mind, that Howards Epps is innocent, then he'll sign off on it." Brennan looked over at him, "Have you changed your mind?" Booth wasn't looking at them, he was looking at Claire. "Cee?" Claire shook her head, "I believe he's guilty, I have doubts that the trial was fair and what the full truth is, but there's no doubt in my mind that he did this."
Amy looked over at her, "Why can't you just admit that you're wrong? Do you have an issue with owning that?" Claire raised an eyebrow, "I don't, prove me wrong and I will Ms. Morton. You've always been incapable of that yourself though, always the one with the last word even if it costs you your pride for being wrong and idiotic." Hodgins laughed at that and coughed, "Sorry." Booth tapped his foot before sighing, "Let's go see the judge, I have my doubts that he should be executed....I still think he's guilty though, but I have to be sure." Claire didn't stop him as he left with Amy and Brennan, she ruffled her hair. Angela walked over to her, "You okay?" Claire looked over at her, "We made a mistake, this is why I don't do favors for anyone."
We're letting a guilty man free.
"Why're you so sure that Epps is guilty?" Hodgins asked and Claire stared down at April's remains again, "Because this young girl died too young, and if you're really innocent you don't wait until you're almost on death row to fight to prove it. Even if no one will hear you out, even if it'll just lead you to the same place, you fight with everything you've got to prove that you didn't do this because you're innocent and you want to avenge the death of an innocent life. Howard Epps waited until he was almost going to die to fight, that's not the sign of innocence. That's the sign of a man who knows what he did, and is just waiting to destroy the family once again. To relive that day over again, and he's making them relive it too." Claire walked back to her office and shut the door, she knew in her gut that Epps was guilty.
And my gut has never failed me.
___
The judge didn't sign off to stay the execution, this whole thing was a mess in her opinion. She had tried taking a nap, but that had led to dreams she wish she'd forget. Claire was working on a file when a knock was at her door. "Yes?" Claire didn't look up and footsteps neared her desk, a hand took the pen out of her hand and she looked up at Kenny. He smiled down at her and placed a cup of coffee down, "I know you've been having some issues."
"Please stop conversing with Agent Booth."
"Actually he didn't tell me anything." Kenny told her and she raised an eyebrow, "Then how do you know I'm having issues?" Kenny sat down and patted her head, "Call it a hunch, a brotherly hunch that I know when my baby sister hates everyone and the world." Claire rolled her eyes as she picked up the coffee, "I don't hate the world and everyone." Kenny hummed at this, "But?" Claire sipped the coffee, it was flavored with vanilla. "I hate everyone and the world."
Kenny chuckled at this and leaned on his hand, "What's eating you, Cee?" Claire didn't bother to correct him this time, "A man is on death row, and Ms. Morton thinks he's innocent. She's grasping at straws, and now they're trying to get him off." Kenny shrugged and sat back in his chair, "And you disagree?"
"I know he's guilty, I just know." Claire told him and Kenny looked over at her, "And I believe you, but you're thinking too much like a prosecutor. Maybe that's why this case is eating at you, because you're not looking at it like a squint. Cee, you said a bad prosecutor's someone who's biased." Claire frowned at him, "I'm not biased, I read over the case file and how the trial went. Was it unfair? Yes, but just because there are doubts within the evidence doesn't make him less guilty. Honestly, from the file alone it feels like Epps had a possessive behavior towards April and was basically stalking her. These are high warning signs, and I won't stand and go along with setting a murderer of a 17 year old girl free."
Kenny nodded slowly at her logic, "Well, if everyone else is against you, what will you do?" Claire sipped her coffee and stared at the files in front of her, "I'm doing a favor for Agent Booth, so I'll stick to my words. His favor consisted of me helping tie up some loose ends, so be it. If it gets Epps off of death row, then that's the consequence of those who tried to take on more than they could chew. Something that they should've left alone, curiosity always kills the cat." Another knock was heard and it was Zach this time, "Dr. Brennan has returned, Hodgins has some new findings as well."
Claire stood up and took off her glasses, she rubbed her eyes. "Ken, dinner tonight with mama?" Kenny walked behind her as they exited her office, "Sure, let me know when to come pick you up." Claire bid her brother goodbye before heading up to the observation deck with the others, Hodgins was showing the shards he got out of the skull. "These are slivers of metal found on the skull." Zach gave a nod, "Probably from the tire iron."
Brennan pointed at the screen, "Is that blood?" Hodgins shook his head, "It's silt, I'm breaking it down. It contains traces of two chemicals."
"Anthracene and fluoranthene." Claire filled in and Angela looked down at her tablet, "I've scanned in all the x-rays and built a 3-D model, Troy would've liked that." Claire looked over at her, "Who?" Angela just smiled at her, "Never mind, the bastard."
Oh, prince charming dude.
Brennan tapped on the keyboard to switch to another picture, "I found some more material in the fractures along the sagittal suture." Hodgins frowned once the picture was zoomed in on, "That's pollen." Claire tilted her head, "Can we get this blown up?" Angela nodded, "Yeah, I'll get it on the Angelator."
"I'll call Booth and Amy." Brennan told them and Claire followed after Angela, Zach walked next to her. "So what happens if we prove that Epps didn't do this?" Claire held back her sigh, "Then he walks away." Zach stopped in front of Angela's office, "Even if you know he's guilty?" Claire gave him a small smile, "Yes, Mr. Addy. It doesn't matter what I think, it matters what the judge thinks."
Booth and Amy arrived and Angela blew up the pollen, Hodgins had been typing away at her computer as well. "The pollen is from Spartina alterniflora, more commonly known as smooth cord grass." Amy looked confused, "I'm sorry, what does pollen tell us about April Wright's murder?"
"Angela?" Brennan looked at her and Angela nodded, she changed the picture being displayed to demonstrate how the murder occurred. "The murder weapon collected pollen from the surrounding flora. When she was struck, pollen from the murder weapon was deposited in April's skull." Hodgins motioned to the image, "Spartina alterniflora is only found along Chesapeake Bay." Zach nodded, "The pollen and silt both showed traces of complex chemicals." Booth frowned at this, "What does that mean."
Claire looked over at him, "That April Wright was killed in a marsh near a chemical plant." Amy's phone rang and she picked it up, she tensed before hanging up. "They've moved Howard to the imminent room." Angela looked confused, "What's that?" Booth didn't look away from the image being shown, "It's where he has his last meal and says goodbye to his family. We need the location of that marsh." He looked over at Claire and she gave him a look, "No."
"I didn't even say anything."
"You want me to go interrogate the lawyer who had sex with April Wright, no." Claire told him and Booth sighed, "Cee-"
"Favors for my current occupation, yes. Favors for my past occupation, no."
With that said, Claire left and went back towards her office. Was she being a bit petty? Yes, she knew she was, but she honestly couldn't care right now. If her opinion wasn't going to be heard after helping the best she could, then there was no need for her to help them. April Wright's file was still on her desk, she flipped to the photo and sighed. This girl deserved closure, but it felt like they were ripping apart family scars that should've been left alone.
That's why I left being a prosecutor.
Claire distracted herself with her work, at least she wanted to. Brennan walked into her office, "Dr. Kano, I want you to help us talk with Booth's boss about giving us the equipment we need for this case. We need to find the murder weapon." Claire looked up at her, "I'm busy." Brennan didn't give up, she sat down on the couch in her office. "Cee, you've always told me to not be emotional in cases. Why're you being emotional? Can we talk about this?"
Am I being emotional?
Claire shut the file in her hands, "I'm not being emotional, I'm being factual. Howard Epps has more evidence against him then doubts, and I don't doubt for a second that he's guilty. Even though his trial was unfair, I still believe he's guilty. That's not being emotional, that's me telling you the truth as someone who's been a prosecutor and has never lost a case." Brennan stared at her, "Okay, you're not being emotional. Tell me why this case bothers you then."
"It's not the case, it's all of you." Claire confessed before standing, "You're all asking for my help, yet take the answers you want without listening to what I have to say. I wish you luck with convincing Agent Booth's boss, try not to shoot anyone while there. Yes?" Claire patted her head, and left to go back to Angela's office. That way she wouldn't be forced to converse about things she found unnecessary. Angela didn't question why she was in her office, but she did try to lighten her mood. "Drinks later this week?"
"I don't think so, I'm gonna have to reschedule dinner with my brother and mom." Claire told her and Angela smiled, "Well, let me know if you change your plans." Claire nodded at her words, but she wasn't really listening.
I really don't like how this is going to go.
___
Brennan had called them, they got permission from Cullen to get a GPR and men out in the march for the tire iron. "We'll have a total of four devices, so we'll be able to cover a lot of ground." Brennan told them over the phone, they were currently on the observation deck and Angela was on the computer. They were trying to give them a better location, "I'm plugging in all the data from the area to get the location with the closest match." Hodgins leaned closer to the phone, "Given the chemicals in the soil and the pollen, I'd say we're looking for a spot near the Rock Hall processing plant."
"We'll have video relay when we get to the bay, and I need pictures of the type of grass we're looking for."
"We'll get that to you." Claire answered, she hadn't changed her mind about her conclusion on this case, but it was better to prove she was right with evidence then just her gut. They had a little over an hour left before the execution, they'd need to work fast if they wanted to beat the clock. Both Booth and Brennan made it to Chesapeake Bay with the equipment and extra hands, the video feed showed them the grassy area. Brennan's voice came over the video, "There are four areas that have Spartina alterniflora." Hodgins moved closer to the screen, "It's a muddy area and knee-high grass at most. Go back one screen."
Brennan did as he asked and Hodgins pointed to the screen, "There." Booth's voice came in this time, "That's just off that service road." Brennan looked over at the through the screen, "We'll call you back if we find anything."
"Be safe." Claire called out before the video ended, she sat down on a stool and Hodgins looked over at her. "You're gonna wait there?" Claire shrugged and fiddled with her bracelet, she wasn't having a good feeling on where this was all going. "I wanna hear what they find." Hodgins let it go after that and Angela went back to her office, only Zach stayed and she turned to glance at him. "Yes?" Zach sat down near her, "How do you know when someone's guilty?" Claire turned to fully face him, "Well, for some people they base it off evidence and I think the evidence against Epps is very compelling."
Zach nodded at this, "Is that all it takes? Is that why you're so sure?" Claire stared down at her bracelet and took in a deep breath, "A long time ago, I had a gut feeling about something. I didn't act on it, and because of that something bad and scary happened. I told myself that I'd never ignore another gut feeling, I won't let what happened in the past happen again. Yes, everyone is innocent until proven guilty. Howard Epps was proven guilty, no amount of doubt in the world will change that for me." Zach frowned at this, "And you have a gut feeling?"
Claire looked back up at him, "Yes, I do." Zach didn't say anything after this, he nodded again before leaving and Claire was glad he dropped it. She leaned on her hands and closed her eyes, she wouldn't actually sleep since she'd been having recurring nightmares again. The same dream every time, the last time she saw her sister.
It felt like forever before they finally got a call back, and Claire felt sick. They found two more victims, both approximated 17 to 25 years of age, and blunt force trauma was the cause of death. The victims were at least 5 years apart, and April fit right into the victim pool. Claire stared at the file on her desk of April's file and she couldn't take it, she put everything back in the file and put it at the edge of her desk where she wouldn't be able to see it. A knock at her door made her look up and it was Zach, he walked into her office and shut the door.
They stared at each other before he took a deep breath, "You've been-"
"If you say emotional, Mr. Addy, I will kick you out of my office."
"Guarded." Zach told her and frowned, "This case, it feels like you've been fighting for April more than anything. Can I ask you why?" Claire spun herself in her chair side to side, she took a deep breath and stood up. "I'm not going to explain anything, I'm going to say this once and I won't go into depth. That's the best you'll get, is that clear?" Zach nodded and Claire moved to stand in front of him and lean against her desk, she fidgeted with her bracelet. "I...had a sister."
It was silent and Zach stared at her, "Had." He echoed and she gave a nod, "Had." To confirm what she had said, what she hadn't admitted to someone other than her family or anyone who didn't know her past. Zach stared at her before slowly nodding, "Your gut feeling, it was about your sister." Claire neither confirmed nor denied that, and he continued talking. "Well Dr. Kano, I'm sorry that you now had a sister instead of have a sister."
Claire didn't know why that made something ache inside of her, that sentence was grammatically correct and it wasn't wrong. That didn't mean it got her less chocked up, but Claire had always been good at hiding her feelings and sorrow. "Thank Mr. Addy, that's very kind of you to say." Zach gave a small smile, "Dr. Brennan and Agent Booth will be back soon, they went to go see Epps after getting the execution stayed."
"I figured they would, those victims deserve closure as well." Claire went back to sit down at her desk, "Good for them, is that all Mr. Addy?"
"Would you like anything?"
Claire looked back at him and he shrugged, "You seem down, so I thought you'd like something." This did make her smile even if it was small, "I'll be fine, but you can take this file back to Agent Booth once he arrives." Zach nodded and took the file from her, she was glad he didn't ask any other questions or push for her to talk more after receiving his answer.
Maybe that's why I don't mind talking with him.
It wasn't long before another knock was heard at her door and she looked up to see both Booth and Brennan there, "Yes?" Booth walked in and sat down with Brennan not far behind, he smiled at her and she saw how tired he was. "Sorry for wasting your weekend." Claire hummed at this and shrugged, "Apology accepted, what did you learn?" Brennan sighed at this, "To not question you?"
"No, to not stick your noses in things that don't need to messed with." Claire clarified and Brennan smiled at this, "And that you're never wrong for a reason?" Claire nodded, "Well that's a given." Booth seemed to relax at their banter and Claire looked over at him, "Good work though, I agree with your choice." He frowned at this, "What do you mean?"
"Those victims deserved to be found and their families deserve closure, you were able to find the truth and give that to them. Good work, Agent Booth. While I stand by my words and decision that we should've never been involved with this case because we've caused April's family to relive the day that will haunt them for the rest of their lives, I must admit that this reason doesn't mean that the victims we've just uncovered deserve anything less than that as well. The families will finally know the truth that their daughters, wives, whoever these women were to their families, never made it home not because they didn't want to. They're going home now though, and that's what matters. The families get answers, so I do apologize if I've been difficult with this case. You made the right choice, you chose to let the victims rest in peace. I'm sure if ghost existed like that one professor tried convincing me that one lecture at the University I attended, she would understand and have no hate towards you."
Booth stared at her and if she didn't know better, she'd think his eyes looked a bit glazed over. "Thanks Cee, I really appreciate that." Claire tilted her head, "I'm just being truthful." Booth smiled at this, "I know, that's why it means a lot. Thank you." Claire nodded and Brennan smiled at her, "I told Booth that you weren't one to judge our decision to respect the doubt that was presented, even if it meant getting an outcome we wouldn't like. If we didn't, we could've sent an innocent man to death."
"He was guilty."
"Yes, I know." Brennan told her and sighed, "But we had to get rid of the doubt." That was something Claire couldn't argue with, so she nodded. "We did, and it's never easy to take away a life. Even if it's a criminal, and I can't shame you for your doubt in taking Epps life even if we disagreed about if he was guilty for a bit." Booth leaned back in his seat and sighed, "I could use some dinner, wanna go to Sid's?"
Claire shook her head, "I have work." Booth rolled his eyes and got up, he grabbed her pen from her. "You know what? I wasn't asking, I was saying we're going to eat." She frowned as he tugged her to stand and he did the same with Brennan, "It's on me, I wasted our weekend for this whole Epps thing. So, we're going to eat and forget about this whole thing. Okay? Okay." Brennan walked beside of her, "I did break his hand."
"Temper, you're really trying to get arrested."
"He touched me with his murderer hands and tried thanking me, Booth said it was self-defense and I could have his gun if I wanted." Brennan told her and Claire smiled at this, "You two are getting along well, that's good." Brennan shrugged at this, "We work together, we have to." Claire, again, couldn't argue with that. However, maybe it was just her who thought it, there seemed to be something more there.
Could just be in my head though.
___
Author's Note:
Hey! Guess who's back with this book? Just for a chapter though, it's still a bit hard to get this book off the ground cause of just personal issues and with me being in school. I really do enjoy this book and this show a lot, so I thought I'd come back even if it's just to finish up this chapter for a bit. It's a bit rushed since I'm in finals week, but I hope you still enjoy this book and this chapter. I'm gonna try and pick up this book a bit, but updates will still be really slow just like Change My Mind just due to school.
Thank you for your patience with everything, I greatly appreciate it :)
Don't forget to vote and comment if you enjoyed this chapter~
See you in the next update!