Scene 12: Interrogating Chad

[paladinsuitsyou]

Previously...

The former Pretentious Umlaut doesn't look nearly as relaxed as his one-time wife did, but then, Booth would be surprised if he did. Normal people - even normal people who are rich and famous - rarely feel comfortable in interrogation rooms. It's how things should be, in Booth's world. When they start looking relaxed, he starts thinking they've got something to hide.

It sounds counterintuitive, but it works for Booth.

"So, Mr. Witherspoon, what can you tell me about Trina Echolls' relationship with her stepmother?"

Why dodge the issue?

Comments

[dead_hooker_2]

Chad is one of very few celebrities who's never gotten arrested for drug possession, drunk driving, indecent exposure, or any other of a number of misdemeanors popular among Today's Youth. It's bad for his image.

"Uh - I mean, they didn't get always along," he says, scratching his head and trying not to think of the tabloid headlines that are bound to pop up after he's seen walking out of the police station. "But not in a dramatic way, or anything."

[dr_temperance]

"When two dominant females vie for supremacy within a family structure, there's bound to be conflict," Brennan says.

Anthropological inevitabilities and all.

"When you say 'not in a dramatic way' do you mean that you never saw it get physical? Or that their relationship was one of avoidance?"

[dead_hooker_2]

"- look, you've met Trina, right?"

Chad's smile is half-bemused, half-ruefully fond. "If she wants drama, there's gonna be drama. She puts effort into it, you know?"

He shrugs. "I'm not saying they always got along great, but I never saw her put that kinda effort into Lynn."

[paladinsuitsyou]

"So the situation was more tense than anything else, would you say?" Booth says, leaning his head into his hands.

[dead_hooker_2]

"I don't -"

Chad shakes his head, and looks over at Booth with the patently sincere eyes that netted him several million in sales on his first album.

"I'm sorry I can't really be helpful, Agent, but when Trina and I met up again, I hadn't seen her in years, and Mrs. Echolls was already presumed dead."

[paladinsuitsyou]

"Don't worry about it," Booth says, smiling easily. "I understand it's a tough spot to be in. We appreciate your help."

Booth lets the politeness sink in for a minute before asking, "What do you know about Ms. Echolls' financial situation?"

[dead_hooker_2]

"Uh - they were pretty well off, weren't they? I'm pretty sure Logan got most of it."


'Ms.' and 'Mrs.' sound very similar!

[dr_temperance]

"What Agent Booth is trying to say is, is Trina Echolls the sort of woman who would kill her stepmother in order to secure her own financial position?"

She's not sure that Chad Witherspoon is the sort of person who is going to respond well to subtle questioning.

"If not physically carrying out the act herself, then arranging her death?"

[dead_hooker_2]

"What?"

Chad sits up straighter, quite patently astounded. "No! What? How could you even say such a thing? You don't think I'd be in a committed relationship with a person I thought would do a thing like that, do you?"

Chad's mother would never allow it!

[dr_temperance]

"I really can't answer that. I've just met you," Brennan says, matter-of-factly.

The most ordinary of people can be involved in relationships with killers.

"The fact is that money is often a prime motivation when it comes to murder. And money was definitely a factor in how the Echolls family interacted with each other. If Trina thought that her step mother stood her way financially, the motive would be fairly clear cut."

[dead_hooker_2]

But everyone knows Chad! His name is a household word! His face has appeared on the cover of seven different magazines and at least twelve tabloids!

"Trina would never do that," Chad says firmly. "And anyways, while she's with me, she has everything she needs."

Come on, guys. Chad cooks for her.

[paladinsuitsyou]

"What Dr. Brennan means, Mr. Witherspoon, is that sometimes people get scared, and they panic. It's not rational, it's not smart, but sometimes it happens. So if Trina panicked, if something happened - well, it happens all the time, doesn't it?"

[dead_hooker_2]

"Uh," Chad says, after a moment, "Agent Booth? I work in Hollywood, and I don't talk about murder happening all the time. Even spur-of-the-moment crimes of passion."

[paladinsuitsyou]

"No, but in this case, we've got a murder on our hands. And the victim happens to be someone Trina didn't much care for. We're just trying to get all the information here."

He sounds very reasonable, doesn't he?

[dead_hooker_2]

"It'd be a real wacky coincidence if Trina had a history of violent crime. But she doesn't."

Another shake of his head. "I don't know much about it -" Except that episode of Law and Order he guest-starred on two years back, of course. "But I don't think you've got much of a case."

[paladinsuitsyou]

Booth shrugs. "You certainly haven't been much help. Neither has she. Like I said, I just want to get at the truth. If Trina's not guilty, why is she being so cadgey?"

[dead_hooker_2]

Chad blinks.

"Cagey how?"

[paladinsuitsyou]

"Avoiding the questions. Refusing to give answers to simple questions. Seriously frustrating, and not helping her look any more innocent."

Yeah, he sounds frustrated, doesn't he?

[dead_hooker_2]

"Agent Booth," Chad says, perfectly sincere, "if you can ask a simple question in your line of work and expect a simple answer, great. In ours? Not so much."

[paladinsuitsyou]

Booth raises an eyebrow. "I usually only get the less simple answers from people who are guilty of something, even if it's not the crime in question. So I'm wondering just what you mean, here."

[dead_hooker_2]

"Well, when a few hundred thousand people are ready to jump on any answer you give, publish it all over the internet and pick it apart - it's a little different from when you're in the private sphere, you know?"

[paladinsuitsyou]

"Makes sense," Booth says. "It just doesn't make my job any easier, you know? All I want is to figure out who killed Lynn Echolls and go back to D.C."

[dead_hooker_2]

"I understand that - and I know this can't be much more fun for you than it is for us."

Chad looks solemnly at Agent Booth. That patented sincerity is back.

"All I can tell you is, it wasn't me, and it wasn't Trina."

[paladinsuitsyou]

Booth nods. "Thank you for your time. You've been very helpful."

And it's true. Chad has been helpful. A clue to Trina's personality was more helpful than Chad can imagine.

[dr_temperance]

Once Chad has left (after politely shaking hands) Brennan looks quizzically at Booth.

"You look oddly pleased. Why is that?"

[paladinsuitsyou]

"He actually gave me an idea about why Trina Echolls is, well, Trina Echolls. That's more than anyone's given me so far. It's not much, but in a case like this, I'll take it."