Chapter 4
PRESENT
Booth was pulled from his thought as he heard Tom's voice.
"So we'll see if Brennan found anything more and then we'll visit the family. That sounds like the best thing to do."
"Yeah." His phone rang. "Booth."
"Booth, Hodgins was able to pull particles of dihydrogen monoxide-"
"Bones." He said cutting her off. "English." He said putting the phone on speaker.
"Before we cleaned the bones, Hodgins swabbed the edges and was able to pull-"
"It's water and pine sap. Whatever the weapon is embedded sap from a pine tree into the wound."
"We'll be back at the lab in a bit, let me know if you get the weapon." He hung up and looked at Tom. "You have anyone who could poke around the park?"
"I could call one of the detectives I work with but what are they looking for?"
"Anything that has blood near it."
"You want them to search the entire park for some sign of blood?"
"Yeah."
"Seeley, that's asking the impossible. The case was handed over we have nothing to do with it other than me making sure you are getting answers. There's no way I can get them to search an entire park, let alone ask one person to do it." Booth paused thinking.
"Fine, let's go."
"Go? Go where?" Booth walked out making Tom follow. "Seeley, where are we going?"
"The lab. My team can do it. Just thought we could avoid taking them away from home. Come on."
Booth walked into the lab with Tom following. He walked towards the bone room to find Brennan still looking over the remains as she rested her gloved hands on the table in front of her and placed weight on them as she bent forward slightly.
"Could you find anything?" Tom asked quickly as he walked into the room to stand across the table from Brennan.
"What's wrong, Bones?" Booth asked before Brennan could respond to Tom. Booth walked closer to her as she tried to stand up straight to act like there was nothing wrong. "Bones."
"I'm fine, Booth." She said before she went back to leaning on the table as nonchalantly as possible.
"Bones." He said again before he reached out putting a hand on her lower back and the other on her upper arm as she shook her head. "You don't lean on tables and you haven't started spouting your squint talk or ignoring us. What's wrong?" She took a small breath as they locked eyes.
"It's nothing Booth." He looked at her as he moved his hand down to rest on her swollen belly. "Just a little kicking."
"Come on, let's go sit down."
"I have work to do."
"Like you're getting anything done with the baby kicking as had as she can." Brennan sighed before pulling her gloves off and letting Booth lead her to her office with Tom following behind them slightly confused. Brennan and Booth sat down onto the couch as he put his hand back on her belly and gave a small smile feeling his little girl kicking and moving.
"I'm fine Booth." Brennan said making Booth smirk and nod.
"I know, Bones. You know I worry."
"For no apparent reason." She told him as a smile crept across his face.
"Just relax for a little bit before you go back to the bone room."
"I know, Booth. What did you find out about the victim?"
"Only a little more from the missing persons report, But it's not much. We have to go talk to the family. And we're going to need to look at the park. Apparently we have no help there."
"You want Hodgins to take a look around the area that the body was found?" Booth nodded. "Booth the body was found a week ago and from the rate of decomposition it appears the remains have been out there for several days before that. The likely hood that there would still be blood evidence is very slim."
"Could you guys find something?"
"Between Hodgins, myself and several interns, we should be able to find something for you. I need to get back to the bone room." She pushed herself from the couch. "Tell Hodgins to gather several interns and talk to Cam. For some reason she feels that everything needs to go through her and it's becoming worse as time passes."
"I'll talk to her. Don't worry about Cam, you find out what the weapon was and what happened." She nodded and left as Tom followed Booth into Cam's office. "Cam."
"Yeah?" She asked not looking away from her computer screen.
"I need Hodgins, Bones and a few of the interns." She turned to look at him as he stopped beside her desk. "Apparently they can't spare anyone to look around up there and you know how Bones is with the FBI techs."
"So you want to take a bunch of people from the lab and stop work here to do your little trip?" She looked at him as he shrugged. "We do have work other than murders to do here."
"I know that Camille, I'm only asking for them for two days at most."
"Fine." Booth smiled and turned. "And Seeley." Booth turned back to look at him. "Don't call me Camille."
"Don't call me Seeley." He said as he left, Tom still following silently.
"You don't like when people call you by your name?" Tom asked as they started towards the bone room.
"Not really, only a few people do and they are people who have known me for years like Cam or are family like Jared or Pops." Booth walked in as Brennan sighed looking down at the remains. "Bones, we got two days at most. Tom call you're guys and get things arranged for the scene." Tom nodded and walked into the hallway when Booth walked closer to Brennan.
"Hodgins is getting things worked out with Angela and Michael and then he will be ready." She paused and leaned forward to look at the bones closer. "There's no kerf marks on the wound tract and there's nothing suggesting any known weapon."
"It's unique."
"Yes." She straightened and looked at him. "I don't know if I'll be able to find out what was used." She said frustrated as she pulled her gloves off. Booth shook his head.
"You'll figure it out, Bones. You always do." He smirked seeing a smile cross her face.
"I know, Booth. I've never been this confused before." Tom walked in and saw Booth nod as he looked down at the remains with her. "There's nothing to indicate any weapon but we know she died from multiple stab wounds."
"Could Angela make a reconstruction of it?" Brennan looked at him as he smirked. "I'm smarter than I look." She smiled as she turned and hurried down the hall and Booth turned to look at Tom. "What they say?"
"They still have it marked off until this is solved and they will be waiting for us tomorrow." Booth nodded as he pulled his phone and started dialing. "Who are you calling?"
"I'm calling in a favor. There's a shrink we work with, Sweets. I'm going to see if he can help out." Booth put the phone to his ear. "Yeah, Sweets I need you to do something for me... Yeah, it's pretty important..."
Brennan stood with the others on the platform talking about the case. They would usually have much more than they had come up with and it's was beginning to frustrate them. Hodgins was going through his list of what he found, pulling the charts up on the screen as Cam, Angela, Brennan and Tom stood listening.
"There was nothing on the clothing, nothing in the wound track except the sap."
"There were no marks or anything to compare to the database." Angela added.
"We have to be missing something. There has to be something we have over looked on the remains that would lead us to our conclusion of the murder weapon." Brennan said almost glaring at the pictures of the remains at the scene. She glanced away as the lab doors opened and had to do a second look as the other's mouths dropped open. They all went running towards the three who just walked in leaving Tom to follow confused. "Zack." Brennan said with a smile before hugging him, moving off and letting the other hug him.
"Thought you might need an extra squint." Booth smirked as she gave him a bright smile.
"Agent Booth told me about the case on the way here. He also told me about the problems that have arisen." Zack said.
"Yeah, no one can figure this out. There's no evidence tying to anything or anyone." Angela told him as he nodded.
"May I look at the results you have gathered?"
"Yes, of course." Cam said as she led the team back to the platform leaving Tom, Booth and Sweets in their place.
"Who's that?" Tom asked.
"That is Zack. He was Dr. Brennan's assistant before he got pulled into a case and was sent to a mental hospital."
"She seems really happy."
"Yeah, well Zack and Bones were pretty close. She still goes and visits him when she can. He's the only one who makes sense to her and can make sense of her." Booth said.
"Besides you?"
"To a point." Booth said before walking up and swiping his badge to join the others.
"What's wrong?" Tom asked Sweets.
"Zack is only allowed out to help with this case and then he has to go back. It will hurt Dr. Brennan when he has to go back and Agent Booth knows that."
"She has to know he has to go back."
"She does, on some level of understanding, but their relationship was somewhat of an older sister and younger brother relationship. She took care of him and taught him everything, and she's still hurting from losing him the first time. He broke out and helped with a case not long after that and when he had to go back she was hurt and it will be the same when he has to go back this time."
"Then why do this?"
"Because they need help and the only person who is as good as Dr. Brennan and is smart enough to really keep up with all of them is Zack." Sweets and Tom looked up as Brennan still had her arm wrapped around Zack's as they all spoke.
"She acts like he's some lover or something." Sweets laughed making Tom look at him. "Seeley doesn't seem affected by the way she acts with him."
"You were friends with him when he was younger, and I imagine he acted out when the girl he was... extremely close with, acted like that with another guy."
"It depends; sometimes he was mad sometimes he was in detention for a month for sending the kid to the hospital, the hospital part was usually reserved for the guy flirting with his girlfriend." Sweets looked at him a second before glancing at Booth with a small smile
"Well I can guarantee you Zack and Dr. Brennan had no sexual relationship. Booth is not threatened by Zack, he knows her close relationship with Zack and he understands the need for her to be close to him when he is brought back."
"He sounds so grown up." Tom smirked before they saw Booth and Brennan walking towards the bone room with Zack, Brennan still smiling. "She really is happy."
"She has her little brother back." Sweets said before walking over, swiping his badge and joining the others as tom walked off towards the bone room. "So that's Booth's friend?" He asked the three still on the platform.
"Yeah, they were best friends back in high school." Cam said. "Booth told me that they used to talk a few years after they graduated and he left for the army but they stopped not long after he was sent overseas."
"They didn't tell him about them?" Sweets looked at the others. "He doesn't seem like he knows that they are together and the baby is Booth's he thinks they are just really close."
"You didn't say anything did you?"
"No, I told Booth when they first told everyone that I wouldn't say a word to anyone who didn't already know. I just played it by what he has in his head as they are extremely close."
Tom walked into the bone room and saw Booth standing at the foot of the table as Zack and Brennan looked over the remains. Brennan smiled seeing Zack pull on a pair of gloves with some difficulty, he was regaining most of his movements but some would never return. He stopped beside Booth and watched as the two went through on a scientific story of the remains.
"It appears you are correct this is very difficult and frustrating." Zack said once they were done.
"The x-rays show many fractures over the entire skeleton." Brennan said turning around the pull the x-rays up onto the screen as they both took their gloves off. "They were all made around time of death but again I am unable to discern what could have caused such damage."
"I will look over your finding and see what I am able to discern." Brennan nodded before putting the remote back onto the side table.
"Bones, we should start getting everything together to leave in the morning." Booth said making her look at him.
"Yes, of course." She looked back at Zack. "I will expect to have your report as soon as you are able. I will call with what we discover tomorrow."
"Yes, Dr. Brennan." Zack gave a small smile before they hugged again.
"It is good to have you back in the lab again Zack." He nodded before she turned to leave with Booth beside her and Tom slightly behind them as they left the bone room and walked into her office.
"Bones." Booth said once they were in the office. "You know this is only temporary. As soon as this case is over he has to go back, it's a miracle Sweets and I were able to talk a judge into letting him come with us to help out." Brennan paused picking up files and looked at him sadly.
"Yes, I know. It would be wonderful if he were able to stay and work the cases like he used to but because of the charges... I understand this is merely a temporary situation that will be terminated when the case has been solved." Booth saw her look back down at the files before taking a deep breath and looking back at him. "I believe I know who we should bring with us to the scene."
"Who did you pick?" He walked closer and Tom walked around to stand on the other side of the desk and look at the files, still staying silent and just observing how the two worked.
"Wendell, Clark, Fisher, Daisy and Aristoo. They are my top interns."
"Okay, I'll tell Cam, you go see if you can help Zack a bit before we go." Brennan nodded and left as Booth picked up the files and looked at Tom. "You're awfully quiet."
"Yeah, well I'm just watching the work of the FBI." Tom told him as he followed booth from the office
"Uh huh."
"Sweets told me that Brennan and that Zack guy are pretty close." Booth looked at him. "They seem really close." Booth smirked.
"It's not what you're thinking. Trust me; I've worked with her for almost seven years and in that time I've known all her boyfriends. Zack was not one of them."
"You knew all her boyfriends?" Tom asked shocked.
"We were partners." Booth shrugged as he found Cam in Hodgins' Ookie room. "Hey Cam. Bones picked the interns she wants." He handed her the files to go through quickly before nodding.
"How is she? I mean I know she doesn't like having Zack with her and the having to go back, and with her pregnancy..." Cam asked.
"She's fine, don't worry. You know Bones, she can handle things. Let's just get this stuff worked out." Everyone nodded and started talking about the case.
Booth stood talking to Tom while Brennan wandered with Hodgins and her interns looking for any signs of blood.
"There's no way you're going to find anything." Tom said when Booth's phone rang.
"Booth... She left it in the car while they're crawling around... Yeah I'll let her know." He hung up putting his phone away and walked over to Brennan as she straightened taking a break. "Bones, Zack and Angela need you and Hodgins." She nodded
"Hodgins." She said making him look at her as she turned walking with Booth towards the SUV where Tom was still standing. Booth opened the back of the SUV as Brennan started up the computers.
"Hey." Angela said as the picture came up.
"What's up, Angie?" Hodgins asked as he rubbed his hands together to warm them after wandering in the early December air for the last five hours.
"Zack figured some stuff out." She moved to the side a bit letting Zack on the screen with Sweets standing in the background.
"Dr. Brennan I've been reviewing your findings along with the remains and the x-rays and I was able to make a connection with the amount and placement of the fractures through the entire skeleton." He pulled up an x-ray of the pelvis. "I was able to first see it here in the pelvis." Brennan bent forward looking at the x-ray.
"Oh." She said softly still looking at it closely.
"What?" Booth asked making Brennan straighten and glance at him.
"These fractures here are consistent with human verses vehicle."
"She was run over by a car?" Tom asked.
"Not just hit." Angela said as the picture went back to her and Zack. "I was able to input all of the fractures and between Zack and I, we were able to determine what fractures were caused by the car. I did a recreation." the picture changed to the recreation.
The group watched as a red figure portraying the victim was struck with a car. The victim landed on the ground hard and the vehicle drove over the victim turned around drove over her two more times before stopping.
"What about the stab wounds?" Brennan asked.
"We haven't been able to figure out if that was before or after the hit."
"It would have to be after, the track of each wound from the stabbing were fatal. There would be way for the victim to be standing to be hit."
"Okay..." Angela said pushing buttons.
"The next question is where she was run over." Tom said looking at the others.
"Based on what I was able to discover in the wound track it would be near pine trees but we've been all over these. The body may have been found here but this is not where she was killed." Hodgins said. "So we have to find another place with pines."
"Okay, after so after I input the information the victim would have had to have been run over close to the pine trees." Angela said as the reconstruction showed again.
The victim was standing and the vehicle hit her, knocking her into the air to hit the ground hard before the vehicle ran over the body several more times. Then a figure in yellow climbed from the vehicle and stabbed the victim.
"That doesn't explain how the sap became lodged in the wounds." Brennan said shaking her head. "And we still don't even know what the weapon was. Zack try to cast the wounds and try to reconstruct the weapon and let me know when you are finished."
"Yes, Dr. Brennan." Brennan looked at Booth.
"We need to find another patch of Pine trees, more than likely the trees will need to be up against the asphalt."
"Angela, can you pull up a map of this area?" Hodgins asked.
"The killer wouldn't have moved the body far, so it should be pretty close." Tom added as Booth nodded and watched the map move around.
"Okay, the closest area that fits your criteria is about 50 yards to your south." Angela told them.
"Thanks Ange." Brennan said before the computers turned off.
"I'll go talk to the family." Booth said.
"I'll go with you." Brennan said looking at Booth then to Hodgins. "Take the interns and see if you can find anything that can help." Hodgins nodded walking off to get the interns rounded up. "We should see if we can get anything from the parents that could lead us to why she was killed."
"Let's get going." Booth said as Tom nodded walking around to sit in the back seat; Brennan climbed into the front seat while Booth closed up the back and then climbed into the driver's seat. As he started to drive he reached leaned on the center consul bumping one of Brennan's hands before looking at her quickly. "Bones, you're freezing."
"I'm fine Booth. The cold air merely slowed circulation in my hands while I was working." Booth gave a small shake of his head as he turned the heater on high and put her hand in front of the vent making her give a small smile, looking out the window as they drove the rest of the way in silence.
A special thanks to Vandygirl for the review and the heads up on the mistake. Hope you continue to enjoy my work! Thanks again!