(The Past in the Present)

A/N: Remember this story is AU.

I don't really own Bones.

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The shock of finding Ethan Sawyer's body weighed heavily on Brennan's mind. If she hadn't got him involved in trying to prove that Christopher Pelant had found a way to outsmart the monitoring company he would have been safe and alive. Now he was dead and after examining his body, she knew he had died a gruesome death. The way he died was a message to her and Brennan knew it. First Hodgins and now Ethan, who will be next?

She hadn't told Booth about consulting with Ethan, but after his death, she had no choice. Once Booth heard about Ethan's involvement he became concerned. "Bones, the guy was a paranoid schizophrenic, what do you think a defense lawyer would do with that information?"

"It would be bad of course, but I had no intention of using him in a trial." Brennan sighed. "I was hoping he'd find a way to prove that Pelant had found a way to evade his ankle monitor, he would have told me and I would have brought the proof to Caroline . . . now he's dead. He didn't get a chance to finish his work."

"Yeah and we have to tell Caroline about this." Not sure what Caroline was going to think of this information, Booth just hoped the prosceutor would see the big picture. It was bad enough that Pelant was trying to get released from home confinement, now they had to deal with another murder connected to him and his ankle monitor was still his alibi.

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For Booth, the hits kept coming. There was a video available that showed Ethan ranting at Brennan during one of her visits claiming that her child, Christine was a demon and the child needed to be killed. Brennan had sat there looking at her friend while he raved about Christine and had not responded in anyway. Booth wasn't sure why she hadn't left, but she appeared to be calm and interested in what the demented man had to say. Once Ethan had wound down and was calmer, she had stood up and walked over to the door, silent and unafraid. Once she was gone, Ethan had bowed his head and cried.

When looking through video of the institute where Ethan Sawyer had been confined, they found footage of Brennan leaving that institute by the front door the evening before Ethan died. She swore that she had not been there on that day, but had actually visited him two weeks prior to that time. She knew the timestamp on the security footage was false, but she knew it would be hard to prove it. Somehow, Christopher Pelant had altered the timestamp and was setting Brennan up to appear to be the murderer of Ethan Sawyer.

Appalled, Angela downloaded the video and tried to find out how the video had been manipulated, but she wasn't sure her computer skills would be enough to undo the damage Pelant had caused. That worried her. She needed to protect Brennan from that mad man, but she was up against someone who had mad skills when it came to computers. She was good, very good, but she didn't know if she was good enough.

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The FBI didn't have a choice, Dr. Temperance Brennan was a suspect in Ethan Sawyer's murder and they would have to investigate. Special Agent Hayes Flynn was assigned the case and even though he considered himself a friend of Seeley Booth, he wouldn't allow personal relationships to interfere in his investigation. He was determined to do his job and if it turned out that Temperance Brennan had murdered Ethan Sawyer then she would be prosecuted. He needed to protect the FBI's reputation and he would do it professionally and thoroughly.

Flynn had studied the surveillance tapes of entrances and exits of the institute where Ethan Sawyer had been locked away and he'd talked to the nurses and doctors that worked there. He watched the tape of Ethan Sawyer making wild threats about Christine Brennan and studied Dr. Brennan's behavior. It seemed odd that she hadn't reacted, but he didn't really know her that well except by reputation. Most of the agents at the FBI hated to work with her since she was unforgiving when it came to mistakes made in the field. She was unrelenting when it came to proper procedure when examining bodies at crime scenes and was abusive if agents didn't do their jobs according to her standards. The only ones willing to work with her were Seeley Booth, Charlie Burns and Morris Harris and that was because they only cared about results.

He interviewed all three agents and came away with the idea that Temperance Brennan was a very rational, logical scientist and personally he felt that she might be capable of murder if it was to protect her child or her partner. She had killed to protect Agent Booth in the past, so he could see that she could do it again if she felt it was necessary.

Standing in the yard of the Brennan/Booth home, Flynn studied the neighborhood and found it quiet and peaceful. Road traffic was light and the neighborhood seemed to be abandoned during the day because most of the home owners were away at their jobs and their children were at school. I wouldn't mind living in a place like this. It's nice.

Moving to the door, he knocked to see if anyone was home. Soon the door was opened and Mrs. Patricia Moore, Christine's baby sitter answered the door. "Yes?"

His credentials in his hand, Flynn smiled. "May I come in?"

"No, you may not." Mrs. Moore folded her arms across her breasts. "I don't know you and Agent Booth wouldn't like strangers in his house. If you have a warrant, I will comply, but only if you have a warrant."

Surprised, Flynn stared at the babysitter for a moment. "My credentials aren't enough? . . . Alright, I don't have a warrant, but I am investigating a murder and I would think that would garner some amount of cooperation."

"I'll cooperate if I can, but no murder has been committed on this property and Agent Booth and Dr. Brennan aren't here therefore I see no reason for you to come in. I'm responsible for the safety of the child that's living here. Like I said, I don't know you."

"Fair enough." Flynn smiled again. The lady appeared to be around 60 years of age, but she had a lot of spunk. Booth had picked the right baby sitter. "May I ask you some questions?"

Shrugging her shoulders, Mrs. Moore didn't see any harm in that. "I did say I'd cooperate, I just won't let you come in the house."

"What time did Dr. Brennan come home three days ago?" Flynn watched the baby sitter carefully.

"Agent Booth came home at around 5:15 in the evening which was a little early for him and I went home. I live across the street." Mrs. Moore pointed at her house. "I noticed Dr. Brennan's car in the driveway at around 8:30, so I'd say she was home before 8:30." That was a little late for Brennan unless she was working on a case, but the lady had no intention mentioning that little tidbit of news.

Flynn knew that Brennan had left the Lab at 5:35 that evening and that meant that she'd had plenty of time to lure Sawyer from the institute, kill him and return home. "So you have no idea where she was until she arrived home before 8:30?" He needed to know if she had communicated with Brennan during that time. "You didn't talk to her on the phone?"

"I did not . . . why don't you talk to that man that follows Dr. Brennan around?" Mrs. Moore smirked. "A man follows her around during the day in a black Ford Fusion. He's in his early thirties, African American, nice build so he must work out. He's usually dressed in a suit and keeps an eye on the house until someone else shows up in a Navy colored Mustang at night, around ten or so. That person is Caucasian, red hair or at least it looks red, but it is in the dark, so I could be wrong." She shrugged her shoulders. "I think there is someone else following Dr. Brennan earlier in the day since I've seen a black Honda follow here if she comes home at lunch time."

Surprised, Flynn stared at the babysitter for a moment and wondered what was going on. "How long as she been being followed?"

"I'm not sure. I think it started after their last barbecue . . . less than three weeks ago? More or less." Mrs. Moore sighed. "I know that one of her friends was kidnapped the day of the barbecue and after that I noticed the cars following Dr. Brennan around. I mentioned it to Agent Booth and he talked to the man in the black Ford. Agent Booth told me the next day not to worry about it so I haven't."

Intrigued, Flynn knew he needed to talk to Booth right away. "Thank you for the cooperation, Ma'am."

"You're welcome." Stepping back, she closed the door and locked it. Mrs. Moore still didn't trust the man that claimed to be an FBI Agent. He seemed a little shifty to her but his credentials looked real. She decided to call Agent Booth about the visit and let him know what was happening. "You can never be too careful."

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Booth was ready when the agent walked into his office. Staring at Flynn, he decided to let the investigator make the first move.

"Booth, I've just found out that Dr. Brennan is being followed around by three different men, every day. What's that about?" Flynn thought he'd catch Booth off guard but he was mistaken.

"Dr. Jack Hodgins was kidnapped three weeks ago by Christopher Pelant." Booth held up his right hand. "Don't bother telling me the ankle monitor says he was at home, that little shit was the one that kidnapped Hodgins. Jack was furious and just a little bit scared about what Pelant would do next, so he hired a security company to watch him, his wife Angela, Dr. Saroyan and Dr. Brennan. There are three member teams working on each detail."

Not sure he believed Booth, Flynn sat down on the chair near the door. "That's expensive. I didn't know scientists made a lot of money."

A slight sneer on his face, Booth leaned back against his chair. "Dr. Jack Hodgins is the owner of the Cantilever Group. He's the last Hodgins that I know of in that family and he's old money. Very old money. What he's spending on security is pocket change to him."

"I see." Flynn crossed his legs and placed his hands on his knees. "If Dr. Brennan is being followed then one of her body guards should be able to tell me where she was the night Ethan Sawyer was killed."

"Probably." His face expressionless, Booth cocked his head to the side. "Bones didn't kill anyone, Hayes. You go track down whoever Hodgins has following Bones around and you talk to him. Then come back here and apologize for the bullshit you're putting us through."

Amused, Flynn stood up and placed his hands on his hips. "I won't apologize for doing my job, Seeley. Dr. Brennan is a suspect, but I will talk to her body guard. You'll find out what I find out through proper channels, just like anyone else involved in a murder investigation."

"Except me and Bones aren't involved in Ethan Sawyer's murder." His eyes hooded, Booth stood up. He didn't want Agent Flynn looming over him. "We're investigating his murder and we will prove that Pelant did it."

"You know tilting at windmills can be unproductive." Moving over to the door, Flynn paused and looked back. "Unless you can prove the man knows how to get around his ankle monitor . . . you're wasting your time. Look for the real killer and quit obsessing over Pelant. It makes you look foolish."

"Fuck off." Booth had come to the end of his patience. Sitting down, he turned his attention to his PC and ignored Hayes until the man had left. Once he was alone in his office, he made a call to Jack Hodgins.

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