Author's Note- Did I make that last chapter too obvious? Maybe I did. I don't know. Anyway, here's the beginning of the end of the story! I can't say that I know how long this will actually go on.
I don't own Bones.
Now that I've gotten that out there, reviews would always be appreciated!
"If Ariella didn't do it, then who did?" Booth and Brennan were sitting with Angela back at their usual table in the Royal Diner, eating dinner.
"I have Mr. Abernathy examining the thread found in the victim's tissue," Brennan told both of them, neither of whom looked very enthusiastic.
"Bones, the poor boy's been looking at those threads for hours. Do you really think he's gonna find something new?"
"It can never hurt to re-examine the evidence."
"Did you let Ariella go?" Angela broke in, in an attempt to diffuse the fight.
"Not yet. We still need to deal with the hacking charges."
"I really think you should drop those. Not that I'm an expert in the field or anything, but it doesn't seem like she's malicious or about to do it again. The poor girl just wanted some information on the death of someone she cared about."
"Can we focus on the fact that we know have a killer we know nothing about running around out there?" Booth glared at Angela.
"Although I seriously doubt the killer is running at this moment, I do find it concerning that we have limited information about the killer." Brennan took a bite of salad, thinking for a moment.
"You do know something about the killer, though," Angela pointed out. "He or she had access to medieval weaponry, and used something red to strangle the victim. Maybe he or she worked at a Renaissance Fair."
"That is a possibility," Brennan acknowledged. "We do need to investigate the source of the weapons. In addition to Renaissance fairs, museums and private collectors are other potential sources of those weapons. We'll need to compile a list of all the collections of these weapons we can find."
When Brennan returned to the lab, she found Finn and Gloria standing over the remains. Today, Gloria was wearing black pants and a teal shirt, and Brennan was mildly relieved that her clothes was more….normal.
"I determined what the material of the thread was." Gloria didn't even offer an introduction, and again, Brennan felt the odd, unsettling feeling that Gloria had once given her before. "The threads are a common cotton found in mid-level quality clothing, but were dyed with a fairly uncommon dye. Because of the chemical composition of the dye, I was able to trace the manufacturer. The products are made in China but sold to only one chain of stores."
"Which chain?"
"It's called 'Harpers'. They sell vegan clothing. These fibers come from their pants, jackets, or shoes." She paused, but then continued. "However, they don't have an stores in the DC area, Maryland, or Virginia."
Brennan glanced at Finn, who nodded, and then turned back to Gloria. "How were you able to determine this?"
"Chemical analysis of the fibers. Analysis of the dye. The dye contains no artificial elements, chemicals, or animal byproducts, which makes it vegan. The number of places that sell vegan products is pretty minimal, so it's pretty easy to determine where the fibers came from."
"So our killer is a vegan who at one point lived in outside the District of Columbia or the surround area, and has access to medieval weaponry."
"Ma'am, if you don't mind me sayin', I think you should revisit the fingerprints. If you and Ms. Montenegro can find a new suspect, we can use Ms. Gerard's information to narrow down the field."
"I seriously doubt veganism is something Angela can search in a fingerprint database, Mr. Abernathy. However, I will have her run the print again now that you've given me new information." Brennan turned to leave, but something else occurred to her. "And Miss Gerard? Please try to inform me when you're not going to be here."
"Sweetie, you realize that I've already run this print and it got us nowhere?" Angela asked, running a hand through her hair. "I can try again, but I doubt we're gonna get much more then we did last time." She typed in the search for a second time, and set images dancing across the screen of the Angelatron, querying every possible database for potential fingerprint matches.
"Can you run a background check for me?" Brennan asked abruptly while they were watching Angelatron look for fingerprints. She wasn't sure where those words had come from, but she knew that if anyone could help her feel better about her new intern, it was Angela. "Can you search for Gloria Ashley Gerard?"
"Your new intern? Is something wrong?"
"I don't know. I should be able to figure this out, but something about her is bothering me."
"Well, the Jeffersonian should have already done a background check, but I can see if I can unearth anything else."
Unlike with Ariella Cole, the Angelatron took a long period of time to find even one document related to Gloria Gerard. When it did, both Brennan and Angela raised their eyebrows.
"This isn't even remotely helpful." It was a death certificate from three years previous. Angela frowned.
"There's nothing else? Can you run facial recognition?"
"Sure."
It only took a second for a result to be found on Gloria Ashley Gerard's face, but once Angela had one result, about ten more showed up. Some were mug shots, others were security camera feeds, all with the same face, but different hair and clothes. Angela clicked on a file that went with a mugshot, one featuring a girl with longer, dirty blonde hair.
"Kristina Fischer. Arrested at age fourteen for indecent exposure. She ripped off her pants in a public shopping mall. Later, she was diagnosed with schizophrenia, but escaped from the institution she was forcibly committed to."
Angela clicked on another mugshot. "Maura McCarty. Arrested for shoplifting. Fled before her trial after being bailed. And this is Zoe Bartlett. Same charges, same situation. And this," Angela pulled up another photo, "This is Ashley Gerard, and her GED certificate she got at age 15. And this is Gloria Gerard, your intern, who graduated with honors from Syracuse University, and started on a Master's Degree at George Mason University this year." There was a pause while they both contemplated what this all meant, and then Angela spoke.
"Your intern is a identity thief."