A/N: I feel bad that there has been such a long time between posts, so here's a second one to make up for it. They won't all come this fast.
As usual, I don't own Bones.
Mrs. Abernathy had been right about their entrance. The cafeteria was already full of people as they walked through the doors. Several people looked up, but the conversations did not die away as Booth expected. If anything, the noise in the cafeteria went up several decibels.
"Is this the entrance she expected?" Brennan asked Booth. "The way she made it sound, I thought there might be cheering or something."
But Booth was looking around the room, studying the people around him. He spotted the secretary, Cindy, moving from table to table. Wondering what gossip she was spreading, Booth watched her for a moment. If what his former teacher had said was true, it was possible she was gathering information as well. This would be a perfect opportunity to add to whatever secrets she was keeping.
Across the room was Laura Jones. She sat alone, arms crossed over her chest. Her body language made it very clear she wanted no one to join her. Booth would love to ask her why she even bothered coming.
Despite the fact there was a table clearly designated for Mrs. Abernathy, she led them to one in the middle of the room where several people already sat. The woman's face visibly brightened at their approach.
The same could not be said for Brennan's, however. It was clear from her quick perusal of the room that most of the adults there had at least one of her novels sitting in front of them. One man had a stack so high, only his cleanly shaved head was visible above them. If there had been a line, she might have mistaken the whole affair for one of her books signings.
"Booth," she whispered, pulling at his arm. "How many books are you going to expect me to sign?" Her voice was desperate.
Looking around, Booth understood his wife's concern. The number of books there would mean his wife would be signing her name for several hours after the luncheon ended. "Give me a second." Before they reached the table, Booth stopped Mrs. Abernathy. "I need a favor," he said, bending down to say something to her quietly.
She quickly nodded her agreement to whatever Booth suggested. "Let me introduce you to the table and I'll take care of it," she promised.
"Tina," the woman at the table said as she rose to give her a hug. "I had no idea you knew such famous people. You've been holding out on us all these years."
"Cindy doesn't know everything," Mrs. Abernathy said tartly. "Agent Booth and Dr. Brennan, this is Abby Johnson. She teaches math. And the gentleman next to her is her husband, Gabe. He teaches English."
"Dr. Brennan. Agent Booth," Abby greeted with a broad smile. "I'm so glad you could join us for Tina's retirement luncheon. I just wish it was under better circumstances," she said. "It's terrible how Mr. Stanton was killed like that."
With a brief wave, Mrs. Abernathy disappeared to take care of the task Booth had given her.
"Like how?" Brennan asked as she took a seat."We haven't established cause of death yet."
Abby's smile faltered slightly under the direct question. She looked to her husband who was more absorbed in his phone than his wife's conversation. "I heard his head was crushed like a melon."
"A melon is not the best representation of the human skull," Brennan said. A sharp squeeze to her leg stopped the next sentence before she could begin it.
"Where did you hear that information?" Booth asked. He was glad the squeeze had been enough to quiet Bones. He had no desire to know what the best representation of the human head was.
"From Laura," Abby said. She shot another glance at her husband, but he had yet to look up from his phone. "Laura told me after she saw the two of you at the lockers. I didn't tell anyone except Gabe," she quickly reassured them.
Booth had a feeling she was feeling guilty about telling at least ten other people after hearing the gossip herself.
"Did you like Mr. Stanton?" Brennan asked.
Abby shrugged. "He was the boss. But Laura? She seemed almost giddy when she was talking about what Jamie looked like in that locker." Brennan fought the urge to roll her eyes when Abby gave a shudder.
"Don't exaggerate, Abby," Mrs. Abernathy reprimanded as she returned to the table. She gave a nod to Booth to let him know everything was taken care of. "Laura's never gotten giddy over anything in her life."
"How about you, Gabe?" Booth asked, putting extra emphasis on the name in an attempt to get his attention. The man had yet to look up from the screen.
"What about me?" he asked, finally setting his phone down.
"How did you feel about Mr. Stanton?"
"I couldn't stand the guy," he admitted bluntly. "I should be right at the top of the suspect list."
"Gabe," Abby hissed. "You shouldn't say things like that!"
"Why?" he snapped at his wife. "It's the truth. The man tried to overcompensate for his height by micromanaging everything that went on here." His face was quickly turning as red as his hair.
With a pat on her husband's arm, Abby gave the rest of the table an apologetic look. "Gabe's last evaluation wasn't that great," she explained softly. "There was a chance he was going to be moved to the middle school next year."
"If he's that bad, shouldn't he just be fired?" Brennan asked.
Mrs. Abernathy snorted back a laugh. She wondered what it would take to get Dr. Brennan to come to the next faculty meeting. Blunt comments like that would certainly make it more interesting.
Abby was saved from coming up to a reply to that question by the sound of someone tapping on a microphone.
"Welcome to the retirement luncheon," a deep voice greeted them.
"Mac Carter," Mrs. Abernathy whispered to Booth. "Got back from an education conference this morning. Flew out last Wednesday. Should be easy enough to check, but he's probably not your guy."
Booth nodded, relieved to have at least one person he'd met that day crossed off the list.
"As you know," Mac continued, "we only have one retiree this year, our art teacher, Tina Abernathy."
Mac was forced to pause as applause filled the room.
"Per her request, there will be no speeches or awards. At least for the moment. She would prefer all of the good stuff just be said to her at some point, and if it isn't good, she doesn't want to hear it." Several people in the room laughed. "She did, however, just make one request, and I feel it is an excellent idea.
"I see that a significant number of you have heard that Tina has two special guests with her today. Special Agent Seeley Booth of the FBI, a former student of Tina's, and his wife Dr. Temperance Brennan have joined us for lunch today. And based on the number of books I see, most of you were aware of that information."
Brennan shot Booth an annoyed look that he answered with a reassuring smile.
"Dr. Brennan has agreed to sign books for five people. In order to choose those people, Tina has suggested a random drawing. I'll put a bowl up on the table Tina was supposed to sit at, and if you want a chance to get your books signed, write your name on a slip of paper. We will draw the winners at the end of lunch."
There were several groans at the news, but no one argued. Brennan mouthed a thank you to both Booth and Mrs. Abernathy.
"Now, lunch is ready. Let Tina go first, then lets eat and get ready for several days of training." With a click, the microphone was turned off and set aside, allowing Mac to pretend he didn't hear the boos echoing throughout the room.
"He didn't say anything about Mr. Stanton," Brennan pointed out as their table stood to move toward the food.
"I'm glad," Booth admitted. "This investigation is going to be difficult enough as it is with everyone talking to everyone else."
"Just arrest me now," Gabe demanded. "Everyone thinks I probably did it anyway. They all know I hated the guy."
Her look horrified, Abby again tried to quiet her husband. "Stop saying that, Gabe!" Pulling him to the side, the pair began what looked like a heated discussion over in the corner. After a moment, they rejoined the line, Gabe continuing to mutter under his breath while filling a plate with food.
"Is he normally like this?" Booth asked Mrs. Abernathy quietly. The man seemed like he was one breath away from coming unhinged.
She shook her head. "I've never seen him like this. He's quick to react on the best of days, but this is extreme. But I doubt he did it. He's hated Stanton for months. I doubt he would have waited this long to kill him."
Considering her words, Booth watched Gabe for a moment before turning away. The man wasn't the first person to get a little strange when a murder happened nearby. Without more evidence, there wasn't much he could do for the moment.
"We need to get back to the lab," Brennan said quietly to Booth. "The sooner I can get to work on time and cause of death, the sooner we can figure out who the killer is."
"It's not our angry English teacher," Booth said.
"He certainly is making it sound like it is," Brennan argued. She'd been afraid there would be little for her to eat at this lunch, but she was pleased to see several choices that looked good. "He seems like he's angry enough."
"It's not him," Booth said again. "He's being ridiculous. Like a spoiled child who isn't getting what he wants."
"What does he hope to gain by claiming he's guilty?" Brennan asked curiously.
Booth scooped salad on to his plate. "That is something I plan on figuring out."