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I don't own Bones.
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The next couple of days proved to be fairly quiet. Caroline had talked to the President of Flaxco and asked her to have her employee, Andrew Rankin return home as soon as possible. Caroline wanted to avoid going through the extradition process. If she could find a way to get him to come home voluntarily then she could have the FBI pick him up at the airport when he arrived.
The President of the company, Janet Howard, cooperated and had Andrew's boss contact him and inform him that he needed to return home for an important meeting that was to take place in a few days. Giving Caroline the itinerary for Andrew's flight, Caroline turned that information over to Booth.
The day before Andrew Rankin was due to arrive back in D.C. Booth had Lester drive him over to the Jeffersonian. Booth had arranged to have a meeting with Brennan, Brian, Cam, himself and Lester.
Walking into Brennan's office, Booth found Brennan talking on the phone. Walking over to the couch, Booth sat down and pulled his poker chip out of his pocket. Rubbing his thumb across the chip, Booth watched Brennan frown. He loved to distract her while she was on the phone, so when he was sure she was looking at him, Booth smiled and winked at her. Brennan, seeing the wink, smiled and then glanced down at her desk to keep Booth's distractions to a minimum.
Brian, carrying a cup of strong black coffee, walked into Brennan's office with Cam. They were talking about the victim, Ryan Darouse. Brian had determined that Ryan had one sister living in Baltimore and he planned to contact her as soon as Andrew Rankin was arrested for murder. Brian wanted to make sure that Andrew was safely in American jurisdiction before the press found out about Ryan Darouse's body being found.
Lester, standing next to the couch, watched everyone else. He was interested in the case Brian and Brennan were working on and was eager to find out how they were going to handle the arrest of Andrew Rankin.
Ending her call, Brennan asked Brian, "Have you confirmed when Andrew Rankin will arrive tomorrow?"
Brian, sipping his coffee, lowered his cup and replied, "Yes. His flight will be here tomorrow at around 1:30 p.m. I plan to be there to make the arrest."
Determined to be part of the arrest as well, Brennan announced to the room, "I will be there also."
Shaking his head, Brian asked her, "Why? I'm just going to take the guy in to custody, read him his rights, take him to the Hoover and see if I can make the guy confess. If he won't it won't really matter. It's just for form. I still have him for murder. Robin told me where the knife was hidden and I recovered it this morning. Hodgins is looking it over right now. Cam says that the knife has Robin and Andrew's finger prints on the handle. It's being tested for Ryan's DNA."
Booth appreciated the speed the case was being worked. He leaned forward and commented, "Yeah, but it would really help if we could get the guy to confess to the murder. I know that's what Caroline is hoping for . . . that Rankin will fold and spill his guts. Right now it could turn into a he says she says case. We can still go after him for selling corporate secrets to a foreign agent and that's good for a nice long prison sentence, but I want the guy to pay for Ryan Darouse's murder."
Shrugging his shoulders, Brian glanced at Booth and then Brennan. "Look, it's a simple arrest. You don't have to waste your valuable time to be there. I'm just saying, let me wait for the guy, I'll arrest him and then when I get him to the Hoover, I'll call you and you can come over if you want to be part of the interview. Your time is too valuable to be wasted just sitting around an airport, Dr. Brennan."
Booth knew that Brennan had a busy schedule so he urged her to listen to Brian. "He's got you there, Bones. You were just telling me last night that you'd like to spend more time going over the bones of Sheila Price. Take advantage of Brian's offer and let him call you when he's ready for the interview."
Pursing her lips, Brennan considered it and found it reasonable. "Alright. As long as I'm called though. I do want to be part of the interview."
Using his best charm smile, Brian assured Brennan, "You bet Doc. I'll call you as soon as I have Andrew Rankin in the interview room."
Irriatated, Brennan reminded Brian, "Don't call me Doc. I am Dr. Brennan."
Amused, Brian nodded his head. "Sure Dr. Brennan."
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Lester and Booth had returned to the Hoover after the meeting at the Jeffersonian and spent the rest of the day on the phone trying to track down the movements of State Police Special Agent Jeffrey Combs around the time that Sheila Price had been reported missing and during the estimated time that her body was placed in the Shenandoah National Forest. It was slow methodical work, but slowly a timeline was built around the movements of Jeffrey Combs.
Booth had been so engrossed in what he was doing that it took a phone call from Brennan to remind him that he wasn't supposed to be over doing it. At 8:12 p.m., Booth ended his call with Brennan and told Lester it was time to go home.
Walking out to the parking garage, Booth saw a man leaning against Lester's truck. As Booth and Lester got closer, Booth realized that he was looking at State Police Special Agent Jeffrey Combs, currently on paid leave while the FBI and the Virginia State Police investigated the murder of Sheila Price.
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