Note to the reader(s): I seem to ramble on and stick a lot of detail in places, so this is a long chapter, as will be the next. I have the entire story completed. I will post the last chapter later on, to give you a break from reading so much.
Chapter 5
Medico-Legal Lab
Jeffersonian Institute
5:39 pm
Identifying bodies had been slow. Every corpse took about an hour and a half, not counting the time it took Zach to strip the bones off of the "gooey graveyarders." Brennan shook her head at her thought. She had spent too much time around Hodgins and Zach to the point where she had begun to think like them. Only in her silent thoughts though. Work, on the other hand, was back with a vengeance at the Jeffersonian.
"I think when we said we wanted work, that meant only one or two bodies, Hodgins grumbled.
"Leave it to Brennan to be an overachiever," Angela smiled as she sketched.
Looking up from her work, Brennan leaned back, stretching her sore muscles. Booth appeared in the sliding doors, in a half jog, half sprint mode. His id card poked out from his teeth. Grabbing it from its spot, he swiped it in the card reader roughly and jogged up the stairs.
"Let's go, let's go, let's go," he said out of breath.
"Must be pretty important if you had to tell me three times," Brennan said, walking over to the X-ray on the large screen by the exam table.
"Hence the panting and sweating," Booth cried.
Brennan found it slightly amusing to watch his facial expressions and movements when he was slightly mad. But she hated to be on the receiving end of it. Seely Booth needed to learn patience though. He wasn't the only one in the world with a job to do.
"I know other things that cause panting and sweating," Angela said raising an eyebrow.
"We've got a lead on the whereabouts of Rolph!" Booth said with irritation dripping off of his every word.
"Why didn't you say so?" Brennan turned quickly. Within seconds, her lab coat was off and flung onto a nearby stool.
"What are we supposed to do with all of these bodies?" Angela frowned.
"Get Goodman to step in. He will understand," Brennan called out as she back stepped toward the exit. Booth tugged on her arm and they disappeared out the door.
"You know, I think he is beginning to be a bad influence on her," Angela sighed. Back to the drawing board.
15 minutes later
The sun lit up the sky, turning it brilliant shades of orange, pink, and purple. It was really beautiful, despite the fact that she was speeding toward the Myer's Residence. Brennan looked over to Booth. His face was tense, knuckles white gripping the steering wheel. The beauty of the day was nonexistent to him. Brennan found solace in the fact that she could still find breathtaking moments in the world.
Daylight was fading fast, threatening to consume the last remains of the light hours. Brennan's heart began to pound in her chest the closer they got to the home.
"I've called a task force to meet us there. We will probably be first on the scene," Booth said, breaking the silence.
"All that backup for one guy?"
"I think you and I both know how dangerous one person can be."
Brennan said nothing, drawing her arms into her chest. For every ounce of excitement she had about things like this, she was also afraid. The unknown always made her uneasy.
"Just stay in the car Bones," Booth ordered as they pulled up to the curb in front of the Myers home. "He may not even be here."
"Well if he was, he probably isn't anymore," Brennan complained, pointing to the flashing lights on the top of the blazer. The loud siren didn't make matters any better. Booth shut off the engine and turned to face her.
"Bones, Temperance. Please stay here." He brought his hand to hers. His skin burned against her own, and every vein felt as if it had liquid heat burning through it.
"Why?" she asked, nervous from his touch. Don't make it too obvious Tempe, she said to herself.
"I just have a bad feeling about this."
"We're in this together. I've got the information to pin these murders on Rolph and you get to arrest him."
Dentals had come back on 14 out of the 32 corpses they had pulled from shed. Michelle Fields had been one of them. Betty Page however, was still unaccounted for. By looking at death records, Page had been the first murder. Although not much for psychology, Brennan saw the benefits of profiling.
She had enough time to think about Rolph and to her, it seemed logical that he treasured his first kill, which is why Page's body had turned up in the shed.
He moved his hand from hers, placing it back on the wheel. Something in her felt empty, like a piece was missing. Not that she would dare tell Booth she missed his touch. Shifting her focus, she brought her mind back to the case.
Brennan knew he was trying to talk her out of going, but reasoning had little effect on her. Especially when he didn't make much of a case for himself. His eyes looked mysterious, yet sad in the growing darkness. No twinkle, no shine. Just a reminder of clouded and things hid deep inside.
"Just be careful," he told her. His fingers played with the buttons on his suit jacket, undoing each one from its proper hole. He undid the strap on his gun holster and withdrew his weapon, bringing it to rest at his side.
"Let's go," he said.
She got out of the car, rounding the right side to meet him in the front. The Myer's home was dark, no signs of life at all.
"It doesn't look like anyone is home," Brennan offered as she looked around. No neighbors were out in the yards either. The street was dead as well as the world surrounding it. Nothing made a sound. A chill ran down Brennan's body, but she shook it off.
Mere seconds after gathering her composure, Jacob Rolph burst from the home, stumbling around on the porch. He sniffed and moaned, wiping a hand across his face.
"Stop right there Mr. Rolph!" Booth yelled.
Rolph came out onto the porch and stood. Brennan could see the anger and despair in his once scared visage.
"I knew you would come!" he screamed. "I knew you'd get her to take them away from me!"
"You killed Betty Page and Michelle Fields, not to mention countless others. On top of that, you disturbed their graves and took them. You are a murderer and stealer Rolph," Booth said. If there was one thing Brennan had learned during her time with Booth, it was that serial killers rarely ever reasoned.
Rolph laughed hysterically after Booth's comment, wiping his face again. It was hard to see in the darkness, but Brennan noticed something about Rolph's form.
He moved his left side around freely, but kept his right side limp. His arm stayed tucked close to his side at an odd angle. Her eyes widened and she moved to Booth's side.
"He's standing odd," she whispered.
"What?" he spat to her.
"I think he has a gun Booth."
"I took them because they belonged to me! A police squad showed up and your pretty little anthropologist removed the bones," Rolph laughed.
"What Bones? Is that true?" Booth questioned.
Brennan stood dumbfounded. Her brain ran through the mass murders she had dealt with. Damn, too many to count, a plethora of skulls should did not remember.
"Let me refresh your failing memory. Twelve years ago, I watched a quite girlish form of you show up at the crime scene and dig up my bones. I remember exactly what you were wearing. Cute little black pants, blue blouse, hair lighting up in the sun and shimmering red as the sun hit it. Would you believe I got close enough to touch you?" he mocked.
Oh shit. The thought sideswiped her. She had been an anthropology student, still under her former professor Michael Stires. He was backup, but it was her case as a graduate worker. Karma or fate or whatever people believed in was sucking for her now.
"Once, I can overlook," Rolph said as he idled down the stairs, withdrawing his once concealed weapon.
"Stay right there Rolph! I will shoot you!" Booth yelled, pointing his own weapon at Rolph's chest. Brennan could feel him grow tense at her side. She backed away from him slowly, but Booth drew closer to Rolph.
Rolph didn't listen to Booth, just as Brennan knew he wouldn't.
"Once I can overlook," Rolph repeated. He brought his gun to rest on the pair. "But twice? Well that is just unforgivable."