Disclaimer: Bones and all the characters therein are owned by FOX, Hart Hanson and Kathy Reichs.
Chapter 1: Turmeric – The spice of life
Turmeric ("Haridra" in Sanskrit), has been long used in traditional Indian and Chinese medicine. The herb is said to serve as an anti-inflammatory agent, a remedy for digestive disorders, liver problems and as an effective treatment for skin diseases and wound healing. In India, turmeric with fresh cream is widely used to achieve a glowing skin and to reduce facial hair. According to Ayurveda, turmeric is "spice of life" and "internal healer". It is one of the most common spices used in Indian cooking which gives the Indian Curry the trademark golden coloring. In most South East Asian cultures, turmeric is considered to be auspicious and is often recognized as a symbol of prosperity. In some Indian cultures, turmeric also marks as a symbol of beginning of a new life when turmeric powder is applied on palms of a bride as a mark of change in her status from being single to married.
Turmeric. He had learned that turmeric is the mother of all spices from its medicinal values in traditional Asian medicine, especially Indian. But to him, turmeric was perfection, absolution and salvation. He moved around the house with the grace of a cat, even though the apartment was not his own. He took a fresh rhizome of turmeric and started grinding in the mortar and pestle that he had packed in his bag. He hummed an old tune as he walked towards the bathroom to check her. The first time he saw her, he knew in an instant that he had met his turmeric; and her name was Cindy. Her golden tresses had reminded him the first time he dipped his hand in a bowl of turmeric paste; warm, smooth and soothing as if it relieved him from some pain. Her eyes bore the darkest shade of green, like pure jade, had mesmerized him in fraction of a second. That was when he had decided that he had to have her. Like the spices he loved to collect, she was something that he had to have in his collection. But turmeric wasn't something that you could store in a glass jar forever. The rhizomes can be planted anytime after it has been separated from the plant and still expect it to grow. Turmeric belongs to mother earth; and so did she. She was neck deep in water, eyes closed, in the bath that he had prepared for her. The ingredients that had gone to her bath were natural; he had made sure of that. There was sacred Thai Basil, extract of Rose, fresh leaves from lemon tree and a dash of eucalyptus oil. He smiled fondly at her and retraced his steps back to the living room. He had gently massaged her with sesame seed oil to relieve her of any stress before putting her in the bath. He thought it was rather unfortunate that she was not alive to enjoy to all this. Earlier that day, he had explained to her very clearly why he was doing this, why it was necessary for her to go back to earth. But his patience had thinned when she started screaming for help and clawing at him. It had taken him only a moment to snap her neck. He had carefully cradled her in his arms for couple of hours as if she was his lover and cried silently for putting her back to earth. Losing spices always made him melancholic. He shrugged and continued to grind turmeric paste and humming old tune. He was going to apply the paste on her body before he returned her back to the soil; and that thought alone put him in a very good mood.
Three weeks later:
She had to admit that the gesture was very sweet. Brennan had found an herbal plant in a small earthen pot sitting innocently on her table. The smell from the plant was heavenly as she took a whiff of air experimentally. A card was stuck to the plant which read, "It reminded me of you…" in a hurried but familiar scrawl. She placed the card on her desk and ran her hands on the plant. She looked up when she heard a knock on the door. It was Angela.
"The remains have arrived. Zack is currently conducting preliminary examination. What is that?" She asked pointing to the plant. Angela was surprised to see her friend in a relatively unguarded state. Brennan was always poised, stoic and simply did not dwell on something as mundane as a plant.
"This is a gift from Booth. It's thyme." Brennan gave a small smile.
"Did it come with a note?" Brennan handed the note to Angela and waited for her reaction. Oddly, Angela was thoughtful. She had expected expressions of delight about Booth's gesture or some sexual innuendos. She buttoned up her lab coat and was about to leave office when Angela's voice stopped her.
"It's a really thoughtful gift you know. Booth certainly knows how to pick gifts for you."
"What do you mean?"
"Do you know the significance of Thyme?" Angela asked her as they started walking towards the lab.
"It's a common ingredient in European cuisine isn't it?" She swiped her card to enter the platform towards the examination table, Angela closely following.
"Ancient Egyptians used thyme in embalming because of its anti-microbial properties and its clean and fresh herbal smell. Greeks believed that thyme represented courage. Women in medieval period gave gifts which included thyme sprigs to their knights as it was believed that it would give courage to the bearer." Brennan knew all of this, of course. She had clearly not expected Angela to know this. Hodgins had rubbed off on her best friend.
"So?" She started examining the decomposed remains and started mentally cataloguing the facts. Zack started to say something to her when Angela beat him to it.
"It kind of sums of what you and Booth represent, you working on remains and he representing courage in this society; as I said, very thoughtful of Booth." Brennan loved her best friend. But at times like these, when Angela was being annoyingly insightful, made her extremely uncomfortable.
"Dr. Brennan, I have finished the preliminary examination of the remains. The victim most definitely died of cervical fracture. Apart from that, no damages are seen on the bones." She was thankful for Zack's interruption. With Cam and Hodgins entering the lab, it could have become very embarrassing for her. She put on her gloves and started on examining the remains which sent Angela a clear message that the discussion was over.
It was late in the afternoon when Booth dropped by the lab to get the results about their latest victim. As he swiped his access card, he could see the entire team listening in rapt attention to something Hodgins was saying. Before he could call out to get attention, Brennan spotted him.
"What do you have for me Bones?" He glanced at the remains once and looked at Brennan and nodded at her to go on.
"The victim is a female, between 25-28, weighing about 120 pounds. She had a fatal cervical fracture and perhaps she didn't even see it coming. Angela, after doing facial reconstruction, was able to ID the victim as Cindy Johnson." Angela handed him a sheet with the details of the victim. He took out his phone and gave the name and address of the victim to get her background. One he finished his call, Brennan looked at Hodgins and he understood that it was his cue to continue.
"I found large traces of Curcuma longa, or commonly known as turmeric, in the soil samples that I collected from the grave of this victim. There were no traces of any other chemicals. This victim was buried in a shallow grave of about half a foot below the ground which is kind of strange. I mean, the grave site is a camping area and there are some hiking trails around that site, so the possibility of finding this victim is very high."
"It could because the murderer wanted the victim to be found; maybe because he was in a hurry to finish the job." Booth countered. Hodgins simply shrugged and continued.
"The turmeric that I found in the soil samples has no additive or preservative which is surprising because most commercial grades, even those which boast being 100 natural, will have some amounts of it. So I am not able to narrow it down to a brand."
"Is it possible that it can be home grown or imported?" It was the first time Booth had seen turmeric at a crime scene. He had seen many strange things, but a spice was his first time.
"Turmeric when dried or if the unearthed turmeric is stored for some days, the color gets dimmed from bright golden to light yellow. Given the coloring of the turmeric I found in soil sample, I would say it was unearthed perhaps 3-4 weeks back. It would take some expertise, a good green house and constant maintenance to grow this tropical plant; not to mention that the plant needs substantial amounts of rainfall, good shade and very fertile and rich loamy soils…hang on a minute." He relooked at the computer to revalidate whatever he was going to say next. Booth was about to make a comment when his cell phone rang.
"Cindy was last seen by her neighbor three weeks ago when she was entering her apartment building. After that no seems to have had any contact with her. Cindy's employer called her when she missed her work for two days in a row and then one of her friends filed a missing complaint report. The local police did an investigation and all their leads led to a dead end. They checked her apartment and didn't find anything out of place; her purse, drivers license were at home and her car was at garage." He briefed the team after finishing his call. As an afterthought, he added, "What was she wearing when she died? Perhaps we could hazard a guess about what she could have been doing when she died." Booth looked at Brennan expectantly.
"Nothing. She was naked when she was buried. Even if she had preferred natural fibers, it will take more than three weeks to achieve complete decomposition. I found traces of it beneath her finger nails. Maybe it was applied on her body after she was dead." Booth whistled. The case was getting weirder and weirder.
"This is getting stranger by the minute." Hodgins muttered.
"Cindy was buried in black soil which is rich in humus and is uniform in texture. This type of soil is very specific in the region when the victim was buried and is very rare in this geographical condition. Also, that area gets decent amount of rainfall between spring and winter." Booth was lost.
"What are you getting at?"
"The site where the victim was buried is good for cultivating turmeric, if not perfect. It would also explain the shallow grave. Turmeric rhizomes are planted only several inches below the ground." There was a silence around the lab.
"The killer was up to something; something that is not at all normal. I have a bad feeling about this." Cam muttered grimly. Booth could simply nod his affirmation.
Booth was sprawled on Brennan's couch, tired and frustrated. They had interviewed Cindy's friends, colleagues and family. She was a very beautiful woman, full of life and got along with almost everyone. According to her friends, she was not seeing anyone but she had confided to one of her close friends that she felt as if she was being followed. After a while she had shrugged that feeling off as paranoia. Booth wasn't sure if that had been a very good idea. They had decided to scout the places that Cindy usually went and ask around. But that had to wait until the next day.
Booth walked into kitchen to see Brennan opening a bottle of wine.
"Did you like my gift?" Booth had his finger crossed behind him. He loved the fact that she was honest, but right now, he simply wanted to hear a positive response.
"I did, thanks Booth." She gave him a soft smile. He returned her smile and looked around her kitchen. At times he felt that her kitchen though very tidy and neat, was clinically bare. It lacked human touch. On a whim, he went to the living room, picked out a plain sheet of paper and drew a vertical line separating the sheet to two columns. He wrote – "10 professions that I am never going to pursue." He put their names under each column and wrote – "Professional clown" under his name. Satisfied with his work, he strolled back to her kitchen, stuck the paper on the refrigerator with a magnet and handed her the felt pen.
"Your turn." She sported a bemused expression looking at him and then at the paper on the door of her refrigerator. She idly wondered how she would have reacted if this scenario had taken place three years earlier. She would have gone on an anthropological reasoning about professions and the sorts or something equally academic. She took the pen from his hands and wrote – "Snake Charmer" under her name. He let out a bark of laughter and led her out of kitchen to get back at their work.
"I have a feeling that there are going to be more of these kinds of victims Bones." He knew that she would scoff at him for his irrational feeling. But she surprised him.
"Me too Booth."