Disclaimer: I do not own Bones, unfortunate but true.
A/N: Thank you all for sticking with this story and reviewing, I love hearing what you think! Please continue to review, and if you have any thought don't hesitate to add them to your reviews, diff perspectives are always welcome and loved.
Thank you Nele for Betaing!!
Chapter 7
Brennan stood in front of the remains for hours, looking through every crevice, every tiny crack for particulates, for anything that could help. The tiniest grain of 'dirt', the most microscopic bit. She was determined to find it. She knew if she just concentrated long enough, hard enough, she could find it.
Booth had come to stand and watch her an hour ago. He stood with a forlorn expression. She had only slept two hours since finding out from Sweets about Zach. She didn't look like she would be persuaded to take another nap anytime soon, so he settled for bringing her a cup of coffee.
She flashed him a halfhearted smile at his offering and took a large drink. The lack of sleep was having a debilitating effect on her body, she couldn't keep warm and her eyelids kept trying to close. Her determination, however, to get Zach freed as soon as humanly possible wouldn't allow her to break. The hot liquid burned down her throat, warming her all over. She had never been so thankful for the dark substance as she was now.
A sigh escaped her lips and she went back to the remains, her eyes red and puffy from lack of sleep. She jumped suddenly to attention however, as she eyed the left ribs, right where the dagger had plunged through. Realization hit her and she swirled around to face Booth for a moment, her face showing relief and hope. She had found something. She wasn't certain if it would exonerate Zach, but she was willing to look into it.
She made her way abruptly off the platform, Booth tagging along at her heels. Entering Angela's office, her excitement for her find prevented her from tactfully waking the artist sleeping on the couch, as she said loudly ."Angela! Angela, I need you to run a simulation for me, Angela!"
Angela shot up into a sitting position at the sound of Brennan's voice. She looked from Brennan's excited face to Booth's confused one. "What?" She said softly, her voice still laden with sleep.
"The Angelator, I need a simulation run. It could prove…" She stopped herself there, not wanting to give away her hope so quickly. She didn't want them to get their hopes up as well. Not to mention, realize how emotional she had become over this particular case, "I just need for you to run a simulation, please?"
Angela realized as she began to wake what this must be about. 'Zach' and at the look in her friend's eye, she couldn't hesitate to oblige. She was on her feet and heading over to the Angelator, both Brennan and Booth in tow. "Okay, tell me the specs."
As Brennan began telling her the specs and the angle of the knife that had gone into the body, Angela quickly typed the information into the computer. Brennan had told her an abundance of information that Booth hadn't caught all of, however he watched the simulation when it was completed in a state of awe. Brennan had definitely found something pertinent.
Booth watched as the simulation showed a figure, the same height or higher than the victim, stabbing him. The angle the knife had gone into the body showed that the person had to be at least as tall as the victim himself. He let out a sigh of relief. She had found evidentiary proof that Zach hadn't been the one to commit the actual murder. Zach was at least a full foot shorter than the victim. There was no way he was the person who had plunged the knife into him.
Booth and Brennan locked eyes and as she saw the acknowledgement pass over his eyes, she couldn't help it, she launched herself at him to pull him into a hug as tears prickled the corners of her eyes. A smile now on her face as she released him, she turned to Angela. "Save that to the hard drive, as well as a portable zip drive. I'll need it in the morning." A grin flashed over her features for a second. "Oh and Ange, you might want to actually wake Hodgins up to tell him this one. It's worth celebrating."
She then turned to face Booth as Angela began saving the information. "So, now what do we do? We have the proof he couldn't have been the killer, but it's not that easy is it?"
Booth saw the flicker of pain flash over her face and wished he had something better to tell her. "No… It's not gonna be that easy, we still need to come up with why he said he did it, even though he didn't. Not to mention he helped Gormagon get the silver skeleton back, blew up a portion of the lab… I'm not sure how the Jeffersonian is going to take this news, but I'd be willing to bet they'll try to sue him and he'll never work here again." He paused looking at her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Look, I'm sorry Bones, it's just that corporations take that kind of thing pretty seriously."
"Yeah, I know." Her voice had that tone he hated, the sad little girl voice. The one she always had when remembering her past, only now she was associating it with her present and he hated it. He wished he could spare her the pain she was feeling, but knew there was nothing he could really do other than what he was already doing; Trying to give her support, "I'll talk to Jack, see what he thinks. He's got some say in the Jeffersonian."
"Yeah, okay Bones." He said as he eyed her warily, not really sure if her breakthrough would be enough to convince her to rest. "Listen Bones, why don't I take you home to get a few hours sleep before we do anything more?" Seeing the protest in her eyes he continued. "Just listen ok? It's four AM right now, Caroline won't even be in the office until eight. If you go home, get some sleep, have a shower, and then come back in to talk to Caroline, you'll be able to present the evidence to her better than if you try doing it without any sleep. Not to mention that you'll be able to find whatever else she needs more easily if you've gotten some rest. It's been over two days and you've only gotten two hours sleep. You can't go on without it forever. You know as well as I do sleep is required."
Just then Angela came over to hand her the jump drive.
"Thanks Ange." She flashed a tired smile at her and turned back to Booth. "Fine, I'll sleep, but you have to make sure I am up and on my way to the Hoover by seven thirty, so I can meet with Caroline first thing, deal?" She looked him in the eye, making sure his sincerity was present when he replied.
"Deal Bones. Now let's go." He used the arm he had around her to guide her towards the door. "Bye Ange. We'll see you in the morning, probably around nine. I'm thinking our meeting with Caroline will take at least an hour. Get some sleep." He flashed her a quick smile and they were out the door, heading towards the SUV, then her apartment.
Their meeting with Caroline had gone about as Booth had expected. She liked the crime fighting duo, she had said, but if they wanted to get Zach out, they had to have a lot more than one shred of evidence. No matter how factual and damning for the prosecution's case it was. She was helpful however, giving them a list of things they would need for the best possible outcome.
1. A psychological profile on Zach's past and present state of mind, Detailing why he said he had killed a man when he had not.
2. A release waving his responsibility in the explosion that he had created at the Jeffersonian. Stating that they would not press charges. (If they could get it.)
3. Zach's own revised statement.
4. Find the real killer.
Number four she said, while it was the most important, was not necessary to get Zach release.
Brennan however was determined to go through the evidence she had, to find out who had really killed the man regardless. She would have to pull the file to check Gormagon's stats to see if it was possible that he himself had done it or if there was another apprentice they should be looking for.
Brennan began to formulate her own to do list in her head as they walked into the Jeffersonian only to find everyone, being Cam, Hodgins, Vincent, Angela, and Sweets, gathered on the platform, eagerly watching them enter. They walked up to the platform and Brennan glanced at Booth quickly, seeking support from his gaze before she turned to the rest of the group and began to speak.
"Okay, Sweets we are going to need you to meet with Zach and work up a psychological profile on him. Caroline says that we need documentation of his past and current states of mind, including why he lied. Not to mention why he blew up a portion of the Jeffersonian and helped Gormagon to steal the silver skeleton." She then turned her attention to Hodgins and Cam. "I'm going to need you two to work whatever possible," She glanced at Booth before she made her next statement as it had been what he said in the car. " 'Magic' you can with the board of trustees. We need written confirmation that Zach will not be held accountable for his action regarding the explosion in the lab, and that they will not be pressing any charges. Also, this is not for the case, but a hopeful thought on my part."
Sweets eyes darted back to Brennan as she spoke, never had he heard the woman verbalize anything about hope, let alone her own. This was obviously far more emotional for her than he originally thought.
"But I would like to know if they would consider hiring him back if we do get this mess cleared. I would be willing to take full responsibility for him."
As she paused the entire platform of people was looking at her in awe with the exception of Hodgins. He had the largest grin he could possibly manage on his face. "You won't be alone Dr. B, I'll tell them I will take partial responsibility as well. If the boy blows anything else up, I'll just buy it."
She smiled gratefully at him as she gently shook her head. "Thank you Jack." She then looked towards Booth. "You and I will need to go down and get a revised statement from Zach, as Caroline requested." Then turning to Vincent. "Mr. Nigel-Murray I need you to pull the old Gormagon file and work with Angela to determine if Gormagon, the man Booth shot, was possibly the killer of this man." She gestured at the remains lying between them all. "Or if we need to continue looking for another killer."
They all nodded at her statements and then set off in different directions to go about doing as they were asked. Determination was coursing through the air like electricity. Everyone felt the strong pull and desire to get this particular case completed, but no one more than her. A slight nod in appreciation as she watched her team go and she was off with Booth to determine the best way to question Zach and retrieve his statement after Sweets had met with him. He talked her into going to the diner to discuss it, as she had eaten almost as little as she had slept in the last few days. They headed off; thankful they were at least making progress.
