CHAPTER 2

Brennan looked up from the skeleton she was examining. Booth had just come into the lab, swiping his card and striding in with his usual brisk stride. He flashed his best charm smile and she put her head back down, focusing once more on the bones.

"Hey, Bones, what have you found out about the vic? Cause of death?" He stopped next to her and leaned over, trying to see what she was looking at so intently. Brennan tried to ignore the effect his nearness was having on her pulse and respiration. Stick to the case, Brennan, she scolded herself.

"Victim is an Asian female, 25 to 30 years old, 5 foot 2 inches tall, cause of death apprears to be 2 stab wounds to the abdominal area. It would have been a slow, painful death." She kept her voice even and didn't look up at him. It was easier if she didn't look at him.

"Hodgins, what have you learned from the dirt gathered from the scene?"

"How many times do I have to tell you not to call it dirt? Dirt is a meaningless term. There are so many different components dirt can be made up of--" he broke off his tirade at Booth's glare and decided not to push his luck. "The particulates found in the folds of the victims clothes indicate she was not killed in the warehouse. She was dragged through sand made up of silica and--"

Booth interrupted "Cut to the chase, Hodgins, have you pinpointed where she was killed based on the particulates?" He had neither the patience nor the time to listen to a long winded explanation that he probably wouldn't understand anyway.

Hodgins took it in stride. "There's a playground about a mile and a half from the abandoned warehouse where she was found. I examined a sample of the sand from the playground and it's a match to the particulates found on the body. There's a forensics team there right now looking for evidence of the primary crime scene, but it's unlikely they're going to find anything. Kids playing there every day keep the sand pretty stirred up. Based on the bug activity and advanced decomposition of the body, Dr Brennan and I think she's been dead 3 weeks."

"Do we have an ID yet?" he asked Brennan, who still hadn't looked up from her bones. How long can she go without looking at me? he wondered irritably.

Angela spoke up from the computer she was sitting at. "I'm putting in the skull and tissue markers right now, the Angelator should have something for us any minute." She smiled at Booth reassuringly. He knew he had an ally there. Something on the computer screen caught Angela's attention. "Here we go. Kyung Kim, 28 years old, from Korea, in this country 4 years, married to Sun Jin Kim, 36 years old, one child, a boy, 2 years old. They live near that playground."

Booth was impressed. "You people are brilliant! Got their address? Good! C'mon, Bones, we need to go talk to the frantic husband, see what we can learn." He grabbed her arm and started pulling her away.

"But I still haven't determined what she was stabbed with!" Brennan DID NOT want to be alone with him in his car. She just didn't think she could handle it yet.

"Zach can work on that while we're gone. C'mon, you always want to be involved in the field work. Let's go." His tone told her he wasn't going to put up with any excuses.

"Fine!" She gave Zach some last minute instructions as she pulled off her gloves, removed her lab coat and slipped on her sweater. All the while Booth stood there, impatient to be off. He was careful not to touch her on the way to his vehicle. He could sense it wouldn't take much to set her off.

Brennan seemed mesmerized by the passing scenery. Booth glanced at her several times, racking his brain for something to say. Funny, that usually wasn't a problem with her. They had a half hour drive ahead of them and he didn't want to spend it in silence, so he gave it a shot.

"Listen, Bones, let me do the talking when we get to the Kim's house, okay?"

Brennan's defenses flared up at that. "Why? Afraid I'm going to say something wrong?" Her tone was frostier than she had intended. Damn, he could get her mad faster than anyone else she knew.

"Nooo--well, yeah, you know, you don't always stop to think how someone might take things. You're too blunt sometimes." Booth glanced over to find her glaring at him. Good, at least she was looking at him, even if she did look like she wanted to hit him. He barely managed to hide a smile. He loved it when she got all fired up.

"I can't help it if people can't handle the truth. I don't understand why they want it sugar coated. Isn't it better to know the facts than to have them handed to you, homogenized? Couching them in polite terms doesn't change them, it just hides them. Give me blunt honesty any time over that!" Her frustration was obvious in the frown between her brows.

"Bones, people don't want-or need-to know all the gory details about the murder of their loved one. It just makes it that much more immediate and...horrifyingly real. Trust me, it's better my way, okay?" He looked over at her and caught the thoughtful look on her face. It was obvious she really didn't get why it should be that way, but it seemed she was willing to trust his judgment.

Brennan sighed and shook her head, "Whatever you say, Booth." Her gaze returned to the window and Booth could tell there was no point in trying to continue the conversation. Some things were just beyond her comprehension.

Back in the car following the interview with Mr. Kim, Booth could almost hear the wheels turning in Brennan's mind. He decided to head her off.

"He doesn't know anything about what happened to his wife and child," he stated. He was concentrating on merging into traffic, but he still caught her disbelieving look.

"How do you know? I suppose that's your 'gut' telling you that. What happened to 'the spouse is always the prime suspect'?"

Booth sighed in frustration. When was she going to learn to trust his 'gut'? "The fact that he didn't report them missing even though five hundred dollars were being drawn from their account every day. But more importantly, the man broke down completely when we told him she was dead and we found no sign of his son. You'd have to be a first class actor to carry that off." His mouth was grim as he thought about the poor man's grief. He didn't even want to think how he would feel if Parker went missing.

"He thought she had taken their son and left them because they were having marital problems. But she didn't take anything. That should have struck him as odd, don't you think? I mean, running away with a 2 year old, you would think she would have taken some toys, clothes, those kinds of things."

"He figured she knew that would look odd since they were just going to the park. It's the withdrawals that would have made me wonder. Five hundred once in awhile, fine. But every day? Why would she need to draw that much every day? The daily limit for ATM withdrawals on their account was five hundred. No way to take more than that without going into the bank. The killer wouldn't do that. I need to get the bank records, find out where the withdrawals were made, see if I can track the killer's trail. But where's the boy?" His heart squeezed when he thought of the boy. Parker...stop it, Booth, don't let this get personal. Work the case. Put your heart in a box.

Brennan pulled out the picture Mr. Kim had given them. Cute little boy. Some monster had him. She was determined to help Booth find him. Right now the thing hanging between them seemed petty. It would still be there when they'd solved the case. She'd deal with it then.

Booth glanced over at Bones and saw the determination in her gaze. "Don't worry, Bones. We'll find him. And we'll make the basard who took him pay for what he's done."

Brennan couldn't help the smile that teased her lips. "I'm sure we will. Together." Booth smiled grimly and focused once more on the road.