Chapter 180: The Truth Revealed, the Breaking Defense, A Best Friend Knocks on the Door Late at Night
"Why are you stressing about 'these past few days'?"
Angela asked curiously.
"I don't know."
Dr. Bones, snapping out of her unconscious state, smoothed her furrowed brows and slowly opened her eyes.
"You didn't ask?"
Angela exclaimed in surprise.
As a scientist, her best friend was known for her meticulousness and straightforwardness, always asking directly about things she didn't understand.
"I didn't have the energy to ask,"
Dr. Bones shook her head.
"Wow,"
Angela said, instantly excited, with a playful smile. "You didn't have the time or energy to ask afterward?"
"He just left afterward,"
Dr. Bones recalled her hazy state at the time, both visually and mentally.
"What?"
Angela exclaimed indignantly. "How could he be like that? Even if you scientists were doing an experiment, wouldn't you always review the process and results together afterward?"
Most women needed some warmth and affection afterward, and this act of leaving immediately infuriated Angela.
"It's quite normal,"
Dr. Bones said calmly. "I originally thought it was just two scientists collaborating on an experiment, but it's actually a top scientist and a lab assistant. When you think about it that way, it makes sense, doesn't it?"
"..."
Angela was speechless.
Although she wasn't a scientist, she had spent so much time in the lab that she understood the relationship between scientists and assistants.
The assistants did the prep work, watched the scientists perform during the experiment, and occasionally exclaimed "Amazing!" Afterward, they compiled the results and cleaned the lab.
Based on her best friend's description, to some extent, the dynamic of a top scientist and an assistant working together on a scientific experiment perfectly fit Chuck and her best friend's encounter.
"Oh, here comes the poor guy,"
Angela noticed a figure out of the corner of her eye, and a knowing smile immediately crossed her face.
Dr. Bones followed her gaze and saw Agent Booth stride over, pulling a document from his pocket and showing it to them. "See? A search warrant!"
"I'll notify Chuck immediately!"
Dr. Bones immediately pulled out her phone and called Chuck.
"Chuck?"
Agent Booth keenly noticed the change in how she addressed him.
"Yeah~"
Angela said with a half-smile. "Like I said, sweetie and Dr. Wolfe have too many similarities, and with fate on their side, they collaborated on a scientific experiment last night."
"What?!"
Agent Booth couldn't help but raise his voice, then looked at Dr. Bones with a dark expression. "I just casually mentioned adult films from the Valley, and you made a huge deal out of it. But you and that guy hooked up as soon as you met. Now who looks like the actress in those Valley films?"
"Hey!"
Angela was dissatisfied when she heard this and spoke up for her best friend. "I said they have fate on their side, and they're scientists. Unlike ordinary men and women, they strictly followed scientific experimental procedures.
In fact, the preparation process last night was more rigorous than the entire process of an ordinary couple dating for several months. It's not at all what you imagine, where hormones take over and they go straight to bed. If you knew the details, you would understand that Bones is really a reserved and proper woman. Because any other woman would have given up long ago when faced with such demanding preparation requirements."
"Why did you have to explain to him?"
Dr. Bones looked at her best friend in confusion.
"I'm defending your honor..."
Angela said reflexively, then realized what was happening and shrugged at Agent Booth. "Uh, well, I don't need to explain anymore. For more details, you can look forward to Bones' next book."
"..."
Agent Booth's jaw twitched.
Initially, he had some reservations about Dr. Bones's tendency to write about her personal life in her books. After all, there were some private matters he didn't want exposed.
But when he discovered that his portrayal in the books was positive and attractive, he somewhat appreciated Dr. Bones's straightforward approach of writing about everything.
But now, he didn't like it at all.
He had a premonition of how unfavorable the next book would be to his character, and he could already feel it deeply because of his immersion in the role.
"Let's go!"
Dr. Bones put away her phone and looked at Agent Booth. "Chuck's already there."
Agent Booth had no choice but to put away the search warrant and follow Dr. Bones out of the lab, heading to the home of Thompson, Senator Bethlehem's aide.
Although Thompson was startled by Chuck's visit to the Capitol, after two years, he'd assumed he'd already cleaned up any evidence. Even though he was being targeted, he didn't know how to react, and could only anxiously hope Chuck wouldn't uncover anything.
Then he learned that his former girlfriend's body had been found, which further unnerved him. He felt uneasy and unsure what to do.
His boss, Senator Bethlehem, had also noticed something, but hadn't asked a single question, pretending to be oblivious.
Finally, what was inevitable had arrived, and it had happened so quickly.
He had been somewhat relieved to see the FBI agent who'd previously been in charge of the case, figuring there wouldn't be any problems. After all, nothing had been found two years ago, let alone now.
But when Chuck showed up, his heart sank.
"Where did you strike Coriole Eller on the head?"
Chuck asked calmly.
Thompson tried to remain calm, but the thought of the uncanny stories he'd heard about Chuck only made him increasingly nervous.
"Here!"
Chuck signaled the FBI agents, who had already begun a comprehensive search, to prioritize a corner of the basement.
Thompson wasn't a psychopath, nor was he a seasoned politician. Chuck could read everything from his subtle expressions.
"No blood."
After identifying the location and shining a UV light, surprisingly, there was no blood. The searchers looked up.
"He must have cleaned up the blood."
Dr. Bones continued, "Collect the diatomaceous earth from these areas and compare it with the diatomaceous earth particles in Coriole's skull fracture. The absence of bloodstains proves this is the crime scene."
Thompson's face suddenly changed.
Although he had carefully planned everything, he only knew to clean up the bloodstains afterward. He had no idea that besides bloodstains, there were other things that could prove Coriole died here.
"I told you, everywhere you go, you leave traces."
Chuck looked at him. "Now tell me, was Senator Bethlehem involved?"
As soon as these words came out, everyone paused what they were doing and looked over.
Whether Senator Bethlehem was involved or not would be the difference between an ordinary murder case and a murder that shocked the nation.
Thompson's face was pale and his eyes were hesitant.
"Don't try to lie,"
Chuck warned. "You can't fool me."
"No,"
Thompson struggled for a long time, finally exhaling.
Everyone turned to Chuck again.
They couldn't discern the truth from Thompson's words alone, but they trusted Chuck's judgment.
"It's true,"
Chuck nodded.
He also saw that Thompson had been struggling with whether to drag Senator Bethlehem into the case, muddying the waters and potentially escaping guilt.
But there were pros and cons to this approach.
The pros were that if the Senator took action to avoid scandal, the case might be buried.
For Thompson, the cons were that it could backfire, and he might even "commit suicide" in jail before his trial.
If any ordinary detective had been assigned this case, he would have chosen to implicate the Senator without hesitation. But Detective Chuck's performance had truly alarmed him. He doubted that even if the Senator took action, the case would be closed.
In the end, he vaguely felt that confessing was the best option, avoiding the possibility of fatally offending the Senator without any positive impact on his own outcome.
Agent Booth's frown relaxed.
Good, it's not the senator!
"Not the senator?"
Dr. Bones was stunned. "But Coriole was pregnant. What was his motive for killing Coriole?"
"You tell her."
Chuck looked at Thompson and ordered.
"The child is indeed the senator's."
Thompson said with a pale face. "She wanted to use this to become the senator's wife. I advised her that if the matter of the child was exposed, there would be no senator, and naturally no senator's wife, but she refused to listen. I could only do what I had to do."
"That's it?"
Dr. Bones was even more puzzled. "Just for that, you killed your pregnant girlfriend? And you made a careful plan and struck her head dozens of times with a sledgehammer? Why?"
"What do you know!"
Thompson suddenly broke down in the face of Dr. Bones's questioning. "How can you Ivy League graduates understand our struggles!!! I was born into an ordinary family. My family had no connections or resources. I worked hard to go to college, but I couldn't get into a top school. I did everything I could to get into politics, wanting to rise up and become someone important. I sacrificed so much to get my current position!
And what about Coriole? Her father is a colonel in the military. She easily got into a prestigious university. She partied and coasted through college. After graduation, she had nothing substantial to offer, but she easily got the position of senator's aide, the same position I worked countless times harder to achieve. And then she, who was supposedly in love with me, got involved with the senator!
I could tolerate all of that. I actively provided them with opportunities, pretended not to know and even participated when the senator wanted me to... Because I knew what I wanted and why I was willing to sacrifice everything for this goal!
She and the Senator were just stepping stones for me, but before I could advance, she was going to pull the rug out from under me. Just because she was pregnant, she thought she and the Senator were truly in love and wanted to take it further? She was
truly foolish and naive. No matter how I tried to persuade her, she wouldn't listen, insisting on pursuing so-called true love. But I knew the Senator would never agree. This would only result in a huge scandal. Before I could move on from the Senator's office, I would never allow this to ruin all my previous efforts!"
Dr. Bones fell silent. Thompson, now emotionally broken, was overcome with rage and frustration. Although she couldn't fully relate, she understood why the first blow had killed Coriole, and why the skull examination revealed dozens of subsequent blows after death.
Clearly, he was venting his pent-up negative emotions.
Many of the FBI agents observing the scene also fell silent. While Dr. Bones lacked empathy, some of them suddenly felt a sense of identification.
It's simple!
Everyone struggles!
In a society steeped in class inequality, birth circumstances are the greatest advantage.
Aside from a handful of exceptionally talented individuals capable of forging their own path to greatness, the majority of humanity is ordinary.
And for most ordinary people, rising through social classes through effort alone is incredibly difficult.
Even if one is willing to sacrifice everything, it still depends on opportunity and luck.
Thompson, a graduate from a third-tier state university from a truly average family, had risen to the position of senator's aide in just a few years. He was undoubtedly talented, more impressive and promising than most of the FBI agents present, save for Agent Booth, who had family connections.
If he hadn't been caught, his future might have been a classic American success story about a self-made man.
But now, there were no what-ifs.
Dr. Bones couldn't help but glance at Chuck, but he remained impassive. After escorting Thompson away from the crime scene, she couldn't help but ask, "What do you think?"
"I'll just stand here and watch,"
Chuck said.
"...I mean, what do you think of what he said?"
Dr. Bones clarified.
"Not favorably,"
Chuck said calmly. "A person willing to compromise their integrity to this extent inherently represents unscrupulous selfishness. Letting him succeed would most likely be everyone else's nightmare."
Dr. Bones said quietly, "Angela said we'd get together tonight. Are you coming?"
"I don't drink,"
Chuck said without directly answering.
"I know."
Dr. Bones nodded. "It's mentioned in the notes on your health screening checklist that drinking isn't recommended."
"Maybe next time."
Chuck thought for a moment, then shook his head. "I have things to do."
He needed to report to Colonel Ted Eller and wrap things up, and his sister Haley was insisting he review the results of her recent training.
"Alright then,"
Dr. Bones said nothing more.
She was used to corpses that most people feared, the kind she could examine while eating lunch. But Thompson's raw confession after his emotional breakdown had a profound impact on her—behavior so beyond her comprehension that it left her mind unsettled.
Chuck said goodbye to Dr. Bones without mentioning any future experiments. He drove to Colonel Ted Eller's home and told him the whole story. Naturally, there were tears and anguish.
Colonel Ted Eller then realized that Chuck had been right. There was indeed a possibility that his daughter had made terrible choices.
If this wasn't his daughter, he'd almost feel she'd brought it on herself. Look at what she'd done!
If he were Thompson, he wouldn't have tolerated even a fraction of it.
But what filled him with frustration and heartache was that this was indeed his daughter!
Thinking of his military buddies, few seemed to have smooth sailing after returning home from deployment. Either they couldn't readjust to civilian life, or their families had troubles, their marriages broke down, or their children suffered tragic fates. Why was this the reality?
Chuck didn't stay long, nor did he explain the inevitable consequences to Colonel Ted Eller as he had with previous clients.
For him, the matter was concluded.
He drove to the McCallister residence to check on his sister Haley's training progress. At the insistence of his mother, he stayed for dinner that evening.
He left the McCallister residence while listening to the Director's repeated lamentations that this time it had nothing to do with the senator.
He returned to his hotel, packed up, and was preparing to drive back to New York overnight when he heard a knock on the door.
Chuck quietly approached the door, peered through the peephole, confirmed who it was, and then opened it.
"Hey, are you okay?"
Angela, who had obviously dressed up, with a slightly tipsy flush on her face, stood at the door and waved at Chuck with a faint smile.
Chuck said nothing and simply stepped aside. After Angela entered, he closed the door.
(End of Chapter)
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