Missing – Chapter 3
A/N: 'Ello mates. Midterms are over. I think chapter 4 is going to be a bit longer… heh. Much thanks to Jenn for beta-ing this chapter for me, and for teaching me the hidden wonders of MS Word.
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Her arm darted out from underneath the covers the instant her cell phone started ringing. She knocked her hand on the bedside table several times and cursed. "Brennan," she mumbled, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She glanced over at Angela, who was lying on her stomach and peering at her with one eye.
"Morning. It's Falcon. I'm sorry I woke you up…"
Brennan propped herself up on one elbow and looked at the radio alarm clock on the other bedside table. It was almost half past five in the morning. "No, don't apologize. What did the FBI lab find?"
"They found a blood splatter pattern on the front of the shirt, but that's about it. The photos of the splatter Dr. Hodgins sent us match the pattern on the shirt. The FBI lab couldn't find anything else, but your team might be able to. They're still working on the rest of the blood in the house. They know to send you whatever you need. I'll be heading over to Ms. Stinson's after three, if you're interested. I have to update her on the case." Falcon said.
"Um," she started, trying to take in all the information. "Yeah, that would be great. I'll meet you at Rebecca's at three." Her eyes darted to her best friend again, who had her whole head turned towards her now, and was mouthing 'crime scene' over and over. "Right, Agent Falcon, is it okay for me and some of my team members to re-visit the crime scene today?"
There was a pause before he answered. "Yeah, if you think you guys can find any more clues." Another pause. "Did you find any more clues?"
"We have a hypothesis regarding the kitchen scenario, but I don't want to jump to conclusions until we find more evidence to support it." Angela was nodding her head in approval.
"Right. Well, you're part of the investigation team, so you do have some authority, but I would like to be informed of any new results you and your team find…" Falcon sounded a bit peeved.
"Yes, of course, I agree completely. We have to keep the communication lines open, and that's why I'm informing you that my team might have found something," she explained. "But like I said, I don't want to jump to conclusions yet. We'll probably have more information by the time I meet you at Rebecca's." Angela rolled her eyes and snuggled with her pillow.
"Great. I didn't mean to sound like I was attacking you by the way. It's— " Falcon started. Brennan could hear the sincere apology in his voice and smiled.
"No, it's fine. So the pictures have been e-mailed to the Jeffersonian?"
"Uh, no. Actually, the t-shirt itself should be arriving sometime before nine, that way you can check it out for yourself. Just keep me updated, okay? I'll see you later."
"Yeah, of course," Brennan said before hanging up. She fluffed her pillow up and settled back.
"So Falcon was trying to man-power-trip you, huh?" Angela asked, her voice muffled.
"Mm-hmm." She was staring at the smooth white ceiling, her mind whirring and creating a to-do list. "Ang?"
"Yeah?"
"The blood pattern matches the pattern Hodgins and Zack created."
Angela propped herself up on her elbows. "So, Parker was there when Booth got shot. Oh my God, does Rebecca know?"
Brennan shrugged. "I don't know. I don't think so. I think that's part of the reason why Falcon's going over to Rebecca's today. Ang, they're sending us Parker's shirt for further examination, so I need you and Hodgins to be at the lab before nine," she said while dialling Zack's number. "I'll need Zack with me until I go to Rebecca's. Do you think—Hi Zack, I'll be at your place in an hour. We're going back to Booth's, so be ready." She hung up before Zack could protest. Turning back to Angela, she continued, "Do you think you can drive me home?"
What else could Angela say? The sleepy woman nodded and stumbled out of bed for a quick shower in a daze. Brennan watched her go and a sense of loss and confusion settled in her heart. She was scared out of her wits, and was grateful Angela had invited her over for the night. She felt like it was all on her to solve Booth's disappearance, and the pressure was driving her nuts. Usually she liked the pressure, but usually she didn't know the victim. She took a deep breath and exhaled it shakily before getting out of bed. She had to focus; Booth's life was at stake.
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"Are you all right?" Zack, her intelligent grad student and assistant, asked. Brennan looked over and gave him a quick smile before opening her car door. They were at Seeley Booth's place of residence; crime scene. Whatever.
Except for the police tape blocking the front door, everything still looked the same. And that gave here a sense of reassurance for some reason. She took out the key that she had used last night and let herself and Zack in. It looked exactly like she had found it last night, but creepier, if that was possible. The rising sun was shining through the windows, and it bathed everything in white light.
She walked into the kitchen, Zack following close behind her with their equipment. The wall they were supposed to look at was on the right. Ignoring the fact that this was most likely Booth's blood, she took in the big picture. How Angela even saw a pattern to begin with was amazing. All she could see were smears.
"Okay, so we're looking for a bullet or shards of a bullet, correct?" Zack asked, handing his teacher a pair of latex gloves whilst putting on a pair himself. He started taking out evidence bags and tweezers.
"Yes. Check the walls, the floor, and the broken furniture." Brennan felt silly saying that, seeing as that was pretty much the whole kitchen, but Zack was pretty literal, so… "But try not to disturb the crime scene too much," she added as an afterthought. "Thank you, Zack."
The brown haired man looked up only for a second before going back to rummaging. "For what? You do know that we care about Booth, too, right? Throughout the year, we've gotten to know him, and he's gotten to know us. He might not like admitting it, but deep inside, he's a 'squint' too. You shouldn't be too hard on yourself, Dr. Brennan. Share the burden." He looked up again to give her a nod.
Brennan smiled to herself as she began to work, musing over Zack's advice quietly.