Here we go! Sorry for the excruiatingly long wait! Geez! I'd promise to be shorter next time, but I said that last time! A few people to thank: Luke, who helped me with computer stuff. He'll never read this story but I'm giving him a shout out anyway. Primarily to make Ehbee chuckle. Thanks to Flyers who helped me figure out a map of the U.S. And thanks to my beta Ana. Every comment she gives, makes this story better. So here we go! And thanks to everyone for their reviews!
"Alright, tell me you guys have more than I do." Booth said, swiping his card and making his way up to the platform.
"Possibly." Cam said.
"What's going on?" Brennan said, coming out of her office with Angela.
"Guys in cyber crime pulled the website apart. They traced the IP address to a domain website that hands them out like candy. Right now they are tracking down the domain owner. From there, they start searching each record for the person's credit card information. Then we can trace it to the killer. I've got a couple of guys tracing the credit card receipt from the hiking store as well. What about you guys?"
"Hodgins found a splinter on one of the bodies." Cam said.
"Which one?" Booth asked.
"One of the children." Hodgins replied, coming towards them. "It was miniscule but it was there. Lucky for us, it was a rare tree. Cotinus obovatus."
"Which means?" Booth asked.
"American Smoketree." Hodgins replied. "Very rare. Only found in a handful of states. I know it's not much, but it narrows it down."
"What states?"
"Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee and Alabama."
"Can we narrow it down more?" Booth asked.
"I can. But it's going to take me a while." Hodgins said.
"Work that angle." Booth stated. "What else?"
"I've explored the chat room website myself and I can't find much." Angela commented. "I started going through some of the cult files as well. But I don't know what I'm looking for."
"What about the tattoo?" Brennan asked.
"It's actually kind of common." Angela noted. "The eye symbol has been used throughout history. First, there was the eye of Horus, otherwise known as the eye of Ra. It was known as the all-seeing eye and was a symbol of protection and royal power."
"So this cult is using an eye from Egypt?"
"Not just from Egypt, Booth." Brennan pointed out. "Eye symbology is everywhere."
"Even on the dollar bill man." Hodgins piped up.
"Then of course, there's the evil eye. People believe that if someone gives them the evil eye, they will be cursed." Angela noted. "I think, personally, it's a little overdone. This cult doesn't have a lot of originality."
"Okay. Scan it and email it to me and I will give it to the guys at headquarters. See if we can cross-reference it with any cases in the past. What about the bodies?" Booth asked.
"There's not much." Cam admitted. "Despite the violence of the crimes, the killer was meticulous. There's not a shred of DNA on the body. Or any other type of evidence. "
"That's unusual." Brennan commented. "We always find something."
"This guy knows what he's doing." Booth said. "He's done this before, maybe in a professional setting. What time did you say that cult guy was getting here?"
"Within a couple of hours." She replied.
"Okay. Let's go over the bodies and what we know. Victim #1. Tawny Michaels. She was walking home from school and was snatched. Nobody saw anything. Found in a D.C. garbage dump. She was sexually assaulted."
"Post-mortem." Brennan interrupted.
"Like I could forget that part." Booth muttered. "The background check on the parents came back clean and they both had alibis. No suspects. Victim #2. Howard Walkerton. Found burnt to death at Breaks Interstate Park. Unlike Tawny, his body wasn't moved much. He was killed at the scene of the crime. He was however strung up with grappling hooks. He's got two missing kids; we haven't heard anything about them."
"Victim #3." Brennan continued. "Ryan Payne. Shot in the head and had his eyeballs removed by Imelda."
"Who has this crazy tattoo of a goat eye which is very cult-like." Booth said. "Victim #4." He paused, trying to form the words that were so difficult for him to conceive of. "Victims #4,5,6 and 7. Charlie Macnaw, his wife and two kids. Cut up and deposited on the FBI doorsteps."
"We are still trying to figure out what killed them." Cam noted. "We should get the test results in an hour."
"What do they have in common? They have to have something in common." Booth said.
"Not necessarily." Brennan pointed out. "Cults recruit from all different types of people in order to have well-rounded group."
"Good point." Cam noted.
"Dr. Brennan?" Zach asked, swivelling around in his seat by the computer. "Could I get your help?"
"What is it?"
"Tawny Michaels. I was looking at her body again and I think I found something. A bone dimple."
Brennan walked over to the screen, where Zach was displaying a portion of the skull.
"Magnify."
She tilted her head slightly as she looked at the enlarged image. "It's too even to be a bone dimple."
Zach nodded. "I concur."
"Match this with whatever weapons you can think of. Booth and I are going to meet with Dr. Rankman. Hopefully he'll have some more information."
"Good." Booth said, clasping his hands. "This is good."
"It is." Brennan said, firmly. "We're finally getting somewhere."
