A/N: This is my first Bones story that's really based on a case idea. Hopefully it will be done in 5 or 6 chapters. Please, please read and then review so I know what you think. Your reviews always make me smile, and they usually put me in the mood to write more often. Seriously, not even warm chocolate chip cookies make me quite as happy as the cute little emails FanFiction sends me when I get a review. You can be the cause of all this happiness, for the low low price of 5 minutes of your time! [Disclaimer: All I own is a little notebook full of my ideas. Fox owns Bones, Booth, and the hearts of millions of fans.]

The Man Behind the Curtain

Chapter 1

Maria rapped on the door of the apartment politely. She heard no answer from the other side. She knocked again, but still no answer came. For the third time this month, she reached up to the top of the doorframe for the key and let herself in. The owner had been working so many extra hours that he was seldom home anymore when she came to do the cleaning.

As soon as she entered the living room the stench hit her. Maria rolled her eyes. He must have left the milk out again. She left her cleaning supplies on the table in the hall and wandered to the kitchen to seek the source of the odor. Aside from the pile of dishes in the sink, everything seemed in order.

Maria continued her search in the bedroom. The smell seemed stronger here than in the other rooms. She knelt beside the mattress. She pulled up the untidy bed covers, peering into the darkness below, but she could only see a few dust bunnies. She stood up, stretching her sore back, and sniffed attentively. She followed the smell to the bathroom door.

She pushed the door open hesitantly. The dreadful stink hit Maria again, and she gagged slightly. She crossed to the shower. As she pulled back the curtain, the sight that met her eyes was even more horrific than the smell. She let out a piercing scream.

"What have you got for me?" Cam asked, pulling on her gloves as she walked into the room.

"Dead guy, found in the shower by the maid this morning," Booth updated her, pointing to the tub. "Hopefully you can tell us more than Bones could."

"I told you, Booth, there's too much flesh for me," Brennan protested.

"Male. I'd guess early thirties," Cam began.

"I knew that," Brennan interrupted. "Also, there's no clothing visible on the remains."

"So, what?" Booth asked. "There are never any clothes left by the time you get to them."

"But with this limited decomposition –" Brennan began to explain.

"It probably means he wasn't wearing any clothing when he was killed," Cam finished.

"Precisely," Brennan agreed.

"And judging by the blood splatters all over the wall –" Cam gestured at the crimson streaks that contrasted with the stark white tiles. "I'm going to say that he was killed in the shower."

"Like in Psycho?" Booth asked, glancing behind his shoulder nervously.

"There's no evidence to suggest that the killer was insane, Booth." Brennan looked confusedly between him and Cam.

"It's a movie, Bones," Booth clarified.

"A fairly well-known horror movie from 1960, directed by Alfred Hitchcock. There's a classic scene where a woman is killed in the shower," Cam explained.

"You know they used chocolate syrup for the blood?" Booth shuddered. "I couldn't eat ice cream for a month."

"Back to the case at hand," Brennan said loudly.

"I can't learn much more here. Let's take him back to the lab," Cam directed.

"What's going on?" Angela asked as she swiped her security card, and then climbed the stairs to the forensic platform. Brennan, Cam, and Fisher were clustered around the corpse on the table.

"Another day, another victim in another gruesome murder," Fisher sighed.

"I don't know if I have seen enough evidence to characterize the murder as gruesome yet Mr. Fisher," Brennan commented, without ceasing her examination of the victim's sternum.

"Well, it looks to me like the man was stabbed in the heart and chest area four times. That qualifies as gruesome in my book," Cam declared.

"Damage to the sternum and ribs support that assessment of the cause of death," Brennan agreed.

"Angela, could you get working on the ID?" Cam requested, handing her a folder of x-ray films. "It's most likely the owner of the apartment, but I'd like to verify that."

"Sure, it should be pretty simple to match dental records," Angela confirmed, heading for her office.

"Good morning, everyone," Hodgins called, bounding up to the platform. "Angela." His eyes followed her as she descended the steps. She gave him a vaguely disapproving glance.

"No morning is ever good from my point of view," Fisher called back woefully.

"Your morning is way better than this guy's." Cam indicated the body on the table.

"Fisher, you are an amusing man, my friend," Hodgins laughed.

"What are you so chipper about today?" Cam inquired, looking curiously at Hodgins.

"I don't know. It's just a wonderful day to work with bugs and slime," Hodgins smiled.

"If you are so anxious to get to work, Dr. Hodgins, you could begin by finding a precise time of death," Brennan instructed.

"Booth talked with the maid who found the body; she said it couldn't have been there more than a week," Cam added.

"Wow, that is an interesting strain of mildew," Hodgins exclaimed, as he examined the underside of the victim's arm. "I'm sure that will tell us something." He began collecting the sample.

"At least you have something to work with," Fisher said, moping.

"I've told you before and I'll tell you again: you can clean the bones when I'm finished with the flesh," Cam declared.

"Come on, Squint Squad," Booth said agitatedly, as he entered the lab. "I need something to go on here."

"Angela is working on the ID right now, Booth," Brennan replied. "Hodgins is attempting to pinpoint the time of death."

"Well, Bones, you and I have to head over to Sweets' office soon," Booth continued.

"Go ahead," Cam instructed. "We'll have plenty of information when you get back. And this way, Dr. Brennan, you'll have something to do besides hover over me while I examine the flesh."

"Great, grab your coat, Bones," Booth said cheerfully, although Bones scowled at Cam mutinously.

"Wait just a minute before you go," Angela called, rushing towards the door. "I've got the ID."

"Is the victim the owner of the apartment?" Brennan asked, flipping open the file Angela handed her.

"Yep. His name is Mark Larson," she added.

"Where do I know that name from?" Cam asked, pulling her hands out of the victim's intestines.

"He's a TV screenwriter," Booth noted, peering at the folder over Brennan's shoulder.

"Oh yeah," Hodgins concurred, looking up from his jar of mildew. "For one of those detective shows."

"That's it!" Cam said exultantly. "I think the show's called Heart and Mind or something. Have you ever seen it?"

"I rarely watch television; I find it a waste of time," Brennan replied.

"I watch it sometimes," Angela answered. "When I need a good cry. It's got some intense emotional drama."

"My life does not need any more drama," Fisher added.

"Speaking of drama," Cam began, "don't you and Dr. Brennan have an appointment to get to, Booth?"

"Right, Bones, let's get going," Booth said. "We'll talk to Sweets, then we can bring in some suspects."