Hello again, sweeties. Thank you all for your patience... I am still not back to my usual writing speed and to top it all off my computer freaked out yesterday... and the chapter I wrote was lost, so I had to write it again. I bet you can imagine that I swore like a sailor!

Thank you all for your reviews on the last chapter!

Enjoy!

Chapter 20:

Booth opened the door to the pathology, Angela trailing after him. "We have a suspect."

Cam's and Zach's eyes were immediately focussed on him. Dr. Saroyan bit her lip and carefully asked. "Who?"

Booth avoided her eyes and answered. "Marc Roberts." Cam's hand started to tremble and she quickly placed the scalpel she had been holding on the table. "Oh my God."

Angela frowned, not understanding what was transpiring before her eyes. "I really thought having a suspect was something positive."

"They were dating." Zach supplied helpfully and Cam briefly closed her eyes at his words.

"Shit. You and our suspect were dating?" Angela's eyes widened. "Hold on... the hot guy who picked you up here last friday?"

Cam nodded again, but did not elaborate the subject any further. She just looked at Booth and asked in a defeated voice: "What did they find out?"

"Marc Roberts lived in London for a year and there are four unsolved murders with very similar MO to our cases here... except he did not call himself the Collector that time, left no notes. The murders stopped when he moved back to the States. And started here only four weeks after his arrival. Scotland Yard is interested in him too after talking to the FBI. He is pretty rich, he owns three estates only in the DC area. One bigger than the other." Booth explained quickly.

They all listened thoughtfully and after a few moments Cam voiced what everyone was thinking: "Not enough for a warrant to search his estates or get a sample of his DNA for comparison"

Booth sighed. "Exactly. That's why you have to find out... something. Give me something to work with." His sounded was hopeless and flat... once again he was at the point of an investigation he hated the most: He had a suspect and his gut told him, it was the RIGHT one... but he had to sit and wait until the squints had found something to nail the bastard's ass with.

They all avoided looking at each other, avoided to see how hopeless everybody felt... until suddenly Angela's body went rigid. "Cam... my God, Cam... he picked you up here, right? He walked into the building!"

Cam frowned at her and simply nodded. "Tapes!" Angela yelled at her friends. "He has to be on the tapes... I can compare him to the man we have on the other tapes... if it is a match,... God, it has to be a match." She raced out of the room leaving three stunned and speechless people behind her.

After a short pause Booth cleared his throat and with a hoarse voice he said. "Let's hope she is able to get a match. But you still have to find whatever you can... the more evidence the better." He quickly left the room too, trying to catch up with Angela.

Zach looked at his boss and said: "It may be a good thing you dated him. Otherwise we would have never had access to a tape with him on it."

Cam's eyes widened a little and she let out a humourless laugh. "Every cloud has its silver lining." Upon seeing Zach's confused look she chuckled – really this time. "Figure of speech, Zach. It means that sometimes bad things bring something good along, it's just a matter of the perspective."

"Oh." Zach nodded. "I understand."

Cam gave him grin, thinking of how much he resembled Brennan in the 'social awkwardness department'. "Come on, Zach, let's give Booth something to work with." And both returned their attention to the body in front of them.

A muffled sound woke her from her feverish slumber... It was a woman, crying, yelling, screaming for mercy. Pulling herself up into a half-sitting position, Brennan needed a few moments to get her brain working. Then her hazy gaze fixed on the door of her cell and she recognised her surroundings. She just wished she wouldn't... With the recognition of her situation came the knowledge that it was hopeless and that she was going to die sooner or later. Sooner being the more appealing option to her.

She hoped her fever would blur her brain completely soon, so that in case the Collector came to her next, after torturing the poor woman who's pleas Brennan was able to hear through the heavy metal door, she would not feel the pain, would not understand what was going on.

She let out a humourless laugh, her hand rubbing her throbbing forehead. Hoping for a quick death was all that was left for her. How miserable was that?

What had happened to her strength, to not ever giving up?

A single tear escaped her eyes and she half-expected it to vaporise on the burning hot skin of her cheek, but it travelled down her face, leaving a salty wet trace on her dirty cheek. She touched the skin with her fingertips and that very moment she knew The Collector was very close to what not even the sudden disappearance of her parents so many years ago had done to her: Breaking her will.

So, again, I want to inform you... I already know I am EVIL, no need to repeat that ;) But I promise the next chapter will give us a HUGE step forward!!!

Please tell me what you think!!!