OK, so I've written notes to myself about this story…I've looked at them about 100 times, and I still don't think I grasp them 100%. No one can know what's going on, can you? I'm lost. Whatever. At the very end, I'm gonna do the whole "this is what happened" thing, just to wrap it up. I'm sure the characters are confused, too.

CHAPTER 8

"I just don't see why this isn't working," Angela said, examining a mass of computer chips and wires. Teeny tried to pay attention, but the more she said, the more it sounded like gibberish. "The thingy-ma-bob is connected to the what-cha-mac-all-it. The gobbledy-goop is working fine, and I can't see one problem with the Burt Reynolds. Why are you doing this to me?" she screamed at the device.

Valentine spoke slowly, choosing her words very carefully. "Perhaps you should consider…a second opinion?"

Angela turned around slowly to look at her apprentice. "I've had this machine for years."

"I know."

"For years, I have been the sole operator. I even named it. This is Francesca."

"I see."

She stood up, showing the height she had over Teeny. "Do you think I need a second opinion?"

Valentine wavered. "Uh…I'm gonna go see what Hodgins is doing." She practically sprinted out of the room, looking all around the Jeffersonian for Hodgins. Once she finally did, she was out of breath. "Omygod…Angela…has gone insane."

Hodgins laughed. "What are you talking about?"

"Her machine broke…she tried to fix it…" she shook her head, "now she's talking to it."

Hodgins smirked. "I think the Jeffersonian has gotten to your head."

"No, her head!"

He calmly but his hands on her shoulder. "Valentine. People who work here aren't…normal. You should know that. Zack works here. Sometimes, when us literal people get flustered, we talk to inanimate objects."

Teeny groaned. "But that's not normal."

Hodgins looked at her red eyes. "How long have you been awake?"

She checked her watch. "35 hours."

He patted her on the shoulder. "Go home. Sleep. I'll fix Angela's brain."

X+X+X+X+X+X

James and Laura Williams arrived at the J Edgar Hoover Building, unscratched but obviously shaken. Booth and Brennan had met them there to question them about the explosion, which the Williams had missed thanks to a late lunch.

"So are you sure you can't think of anyone who would want to hurt you, or benefit in any way from that happening?" Booth asked, nursing a bruised rib.

"Of course not," James said. "If we knew of anyone who wanted to kill us, we assure you Agent Booth, the authorities would be the first to know."

"Technically, you would be the first to know," Bones interjected.

Booth decided to move on. "Would either of you like to explain to me why the authorities were never informed of a ransom note?"

The Williams looked at each other. "We never got any ransom note," Laura said, confused.

"You're positive?" Booth asked. "Because a lot of times people don't tell police about ransom notes because what the kidnappers demand."

"That was a year ago, and it's quite apparent there's no hope in getting my daughter back," James said, his voice breaking at the end. "There was no note."

Booth nodded. "Okay. You two are free to go, I'm sure you have some phone calls to make."

The Williams left together, planning to tend to their now demolished house. Brennan turned to her partner. "You think they're telling the truth." It was less a question than a statement. "Which means Geoffrey Mansfield was lying."

"Which means we have to talk to him again."

Brennan's phone vibrated, and she read a text Angela sent her. "We have to go to the Jeffersonian first. Angela may have found something.

X+X+X+X+X+X

Valentine loved Dennis' bed. Hers was fine, but nothing special. Dennis' bed went above and beyond what could be considered special. Dennis was the last man she would expect to have such a luxurious taste in furniture, but every time she lay in his bed, it never ceased to amaze her. She fell asleep quickly, drowning in the immense fluff, with Dennis on his laptop next to her. Not much later, the doorbell rang, waking her from her sleep. She sat up next to Dennis as he got up to answer the door.

"Go back to sleep," he whispered, kissing her on the forehead. She began to comply, but as Dennis made his way down the creaky staircase, curiosity got the best of her. She silently got out from under the covers and crept to the bedroom door.

When Dennis opened the front door, the woman who stood on the other side was unfamiliar to Teeny, though she knew she had seen the eyes before. She took a few steps back, so as not to be seen "Can I help you?" Dennis asked, as clueless as Teeny.

"Dennis," the woman said, holding his cheeks in her hands. "You look so much like your father. You probably don't remember me. You were so small when your father took you to work. But you loved it. I remember at lunchtime, he would take you to Geoffrey's classroom while we ate. You were such a curious little boy."

Dennis looked down at the small woman, familiarity slowly returning to him. "Mrs. Mansfield?" he asked cautiously. "What are you doing here?"

"I had to tell you," she said patting his head. "It not fair that you don't know the truth about your father."

"Tell me what?" he asked. "What about my father?"

Valentine silently stepped closer to the staircase, still unseen but cautioning not to be heard. She wasn't sure how Dennis would feel about her listening in.

"Geoffrey and Robert had needs. Needs your mother and I weren't always able to satisfy. But Amelia…" Lindsay's eyes flashed with anger, "she was always willing."

"Please," Dennis said, leading her to a chair, "I don't know what you're talking about. Who is Amelia?"

Mrs. Mansfield smiled and patted Dennis' arm. "Don't you worry, I took care of her. Your poor father was an unfortunate casualty."

Dennis shook his head, more confused than ever. "Took care of her? How—"

"But then Stephen—you remember Stephen, don't you? He was a few years younger than you were, but you might have played together. Stephen brought home a new girlfriend." She smiled again, this time with contempt. "I knew Geoffrey wasn't going to be able to stay away from her. You have to know, stopping the problem before it starts is sometimes the only way to do it."

"What are you saying?"

"I never meant for Stephen to get hurt. He really did love me," Lindsay said, a tear falling down her cheek. "He couldn't live with me in prison…"

Valentine listened to her confession with growing interest. She got her phone out of her pocket, ready to call the team at the Jeffersonian, when it began vibrating in her hand. She answered it quickly and quietly, seeing it was from Angela. "Big news," she said in a whisper.

"Bigger news," Angela said quickly. "Hodgins fixed my machine—"

"Because I'm a genius," he said from speakerphone.

Angela elbowed him in the ribs. "And I found that it was a woman who killed Amelia Jenson. Not just any woman, but one fitting the description of Lindsay Mansfield."

"I got a team on their way to the Mansfields' apartment with a warrant for her arrest," Booth said.

"That's all good and well," Teeny whispered, "but Lindsay Mansfield is here, bat shit crazy, and blabbing everything."

"Where 'here'?" Zack asked. "Dennis' house?"

"Zack, please—"

"My son's dead and it's my fault!" Mrs. Mansfield yelled from down the stairs. Teeny heard a gunshot and dropped the phone. She ran to the stairs to see Dennis cautiously circling Lindsay, as she held a gun towards him.

X+X+X+X+X+X

"Teeny?" Zack asked, still on speakerphone. "Teeny, are you there?" The others listened silently, and only heard faint voices coming from the speaker. "I have to go," Zack said, grabbing Hodgins' keys from the pocket of his lab coat.

Booth stood up to stop him, and grabbed the sleeve of his shirt. "Dennis was trained to handle situations like this, Valentine is fine."

"You can't be sure," Zack said, freeing himself from Booth's grasp. He was gone within seconds.

"What do we do now?" Brennan asked, as she stared at the doorway through which Zack left.

Booth sighed. "We follow him."

Booth, Brennan, Hodgins, and Angela arrived in the parking garage just in time to see Zack peel away at dangerous speeds in Hodgins' overtly expensive car.

"If he totals that thing, I'm never giving him a ride again," Jack said as Angela pulled him to her car. They followed the black SUV that took off just before them, dodging the afternoon traffic. The two cars pulled up to the curb in front of Dennis' house, where Zack was parked crudely on the lawn. They got out of their cars at the same time Zack did.

He ran through the open door to see the same standoff between Dennis and Lindsay that Teeny was watching from the top of the stairs. Lindsay turned away from Dennis to see what the commotion was. Dennis took the opportunity to pounce on her, but not before she let off one shot. Angela, Hodgins, Brennan, and Booth arrived inside just soon enough to see Zack collapse on the floor.

OK, that took way too long. But I made up for it, didn't I? Or did I…muahaha.

One more chapter.