The Bone Artist
Chapter One
ELM377 & Interest Me
The man sat on a bench as his dog loped about. He smiled. His dog's ears flapped like wings in flight. Buddy spotted a squirrel and went on the hunt. His melodious hound voice yelled up the tree as the squirrel looked down and laughed.
The man tucked his hands in his pockets and read the tombstones. The most recent death he found was in 1845, and he looked to see if he could spot a newer plot. Buddy's large paws crunched leaves as he frolicked.
His dog ran to a pile of leaves that had gathered in the hollow of an ancient tree. He buried his nose in them and howled. The man's attention snapped to Buddy, as the dog pawed at the leaves and exposed the hollow. Buddy ran to his master, and back to the tree.
The man followed his dog but didn't see what was upsetting him. He knelt, and looked into the hollow. Wind cut his ears and turned them red. The man found a pile of thin branches still clinging to leaves.
Buddy pawed at his owner, and nudged him with his nose. He worked his head under the man's arm and rested his chin his on owner's leg. The man rubbed his head.
"Okay Buddy. I'm looking. I don't see anything."
The man leaned into the tree and nudged the dead pile of wood. Something landed on the pile. Buddy whined. The man yelped and fell backward.
He jumped up, and tripped on his dog. Buddy shivered and pressed against him. The man stuck his head back into the tree's hollow. The pile of branches was a human skeleton that now cradled its own skull.
"The bones appear to have been set in this position after the flesh decomposed," Brennan said as she investigated the remains with a flashlight.
Booth scribbled in his notebook.
"How do you know they didn't just die in the tree?"
"Because this skeleton was wired together and posed. The head detached when the witness disturbed the remains, but otherwise this is an expert job."
"There is such a thing as an expert skeleton wirer?" Booth asked.
"This is a Caucasian female between 30 and 40. She hasn't given birth. She is wearing a wedding ring."
"What?"
"Whoever put her here must have slipped the ring on."
"How did this, whoever she is, become a pile of bones?"
"She appears to have decomposed naturally. Hodgins can check for particulates and insect activity."
"You know, that's something that just creeps me out. Insect activity. I mean, where does Hodgins get his data?"
"Body farms, of course."
"Body farms?"
"Yes. Research facilities that expose dead bodies to different environments, such as shallow graves, or under water, and study decomposition and record the data."
"Where do they get the bodies?"
"Mostly donation."
"Donation? Where do you find someone crazy enough to donate his body to a body farm? That's just…" Booth shook the chills from his back.
"I intend to donate my body to one in Texas. I already have the paperwork submitted."
"I brought this on myself. New subject. What do you mean the bones were posed?"
"She is sitting in a yoga position called lotus. You know, legs crossed. Like in meditation."
"Hey, this reminds me of that guy we found just before your dad's trial. Remember, Caroline wouldn't let you work on the case with me?"
Brennan laughed.
"The one you thought had been rolled up in a rug. Maybe there is a connection. We could question that killer."
"Yeah, well, no we can't."
"Why not?"
"Let's get these remains back to the Jeffersonian. Are you finished here?"
"I am. Why can't we ask the killer Booth?"
"Because, we didn't catch the killer."
"I told you, you wouldn't solve the case without me"
Booth turned his back and walked away before she finished speaking.