Chapter 6

Booth and Angela walk up to an apartment complex, Booth looks at a piece of paper in his hand and points to the building ahead..."It's that one."

"So the receptionist at your gym just gave you the address...no data protection, no client confidetiality breaches...how did you get it?"

"I asked nicely."

A man exits the building and Booth catches the door before it can close, he holds it open for Angela and she walks past him into the lobby. Booth puts the paper into his pocket and turns to her. "I want you to wait here for me."

"No way, I'm coming with you."

"Angela, I don't have time to argue with you, I need to do things by the book if we are going to find her...this isn't an official investigation and even if it was I am not authorized to take civilians with me on interrogations."

She looks at him skeptically..."Look Booth, since it is not an official investigation then there should be no problem with me coming up there with you to ask the guy if he has seen my friend. Besides, he might be a bit more forthcoming with the information if there is a female there too...you can come across as being quite threatening sometimes..."

"I do not!"

She raises an eyebrow, he sighs in exasperation. "Fine, but let me do the talking..."

"As long as you control your temper."

Booth spins on his heel and is about to say something...he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath..."Okay Angela, you are not helping."

They stride to the elevator and Booth hits the button.

Jack opens his apartment door and sees Booth and Angela on the other side. He smiles earnestly.

"Hey...can I help you?"

Booth rushes forward and pushes Jack into a wall..."Where is she?"

Confusion and fear shadow Jack's face, his eyes wildly darting around the room looking for an escape or weapon, Angela comes to his aid, placing a hand on Booth's arm she manages to calm him enough into letting Jack go.

"So much for not losing our temper."

Jack slinks into the corner. "Look man, I don't have much money but my wallet's in the lounge..."

Booth pulls his ID from his pocket and flips it open. "FBI. How about we have a little chat?"

Jack looks from the ID to Angela and then back to Booth. Angela smiles as sweetly as possible and gestures to the front room. "Why don't we take a seat sweetie?"

Jack looks up over his mug of tea. "I swear I don't know where she is. We talked a little and then she got a cab...I'm assuming she was going home."

Booth watches him suspiciously, "You were seen leaving the club with her, I have footage to prove that."

"Yeah that's right, we left at the exact same time, but like I said, she called a cab..."

"So you let a beautiful woman call a cab, you didn't invite her back to your apartment? Maybe convince her to take you home? I can have your apartment dusted for prints..."

Angela shakes her head and looks at Jack..."We just want to find our friend...We're getting worried. Did she say anything at all about where she was going?"

Jack shakes his head, "I'm really sorry...I don't know what more to say, I gave her my number but that was all, when we were in the club I kissed her..."

Booth's eyes darken; Jack looking at Angela misses the emotion. "She said that she wasn't looking for anything from me, I told her that when she wanted to let go of whatever it was that was making her so sad she should give me a call... Then she said that she had something she needed to do, something about not shutting someone out anymore"

Booth looks at Angela in question "You said she was happy and laughing when you left her with Romeo."

Angela shrugs "She was." They look at Jack in question.

"She was fine for an hour or so, then, I asked her about her week, she mentioned some guy, after that she seemed to want to leave."

Jack looks at his cell phone on the table and his face lights up. "She used my cell to call the cab...I haven't used it all weekend...you can check with the cab company."

Booth and Angela look at each other.

Outside Jack Thornton's Apartment Buildings

Booth holds his cell to his ear as Angela looks through the glove compartment for CDs.

"Okay, thanks." Booth slides his cell into his pocket. Angela looks at him questioningly, he seems lost in thought.

"What is it sweetie? You find out where she was going?"

"Yeah"

"So? Is it a secret?"

Booth looks at her in confusion..."She was dropped off at my apartment building around 1am."

Angela shakes her head and mirrors his confused face. "She didn't come up? Why would she come over and then decide not to come up...Something must have stopped her."

Booth looks down at his hands. "Something or someone..."

Angela waits for him to elaborate..."Booth?"

"Tessa was at my apartment that night...she left just before one am."

Angela bites her thumb and winces..."Tempe comes over to face her demons and have that talk that you both need to have, she sees Sexy leaving...gets the wrong idea and then decides not to come up...but then what happens?"

Booth jams his hand into the steering wheel making Angela start slightly. "Damnit, why did I let her come over? She came to pick up some stuff and then we got to talking..."

"I hate to ask Sweetie, but did you sleep with her?"

Booth looks hurt and Angela instantly regrets asking "No, I didn't...I told her about Bones...or more specifically about my feelings for Bones." He puts his head on his hands against the steering wheel. "What if she's hurt because of me?"

Angela puts a hand on his neck..."You know, maybe she's not hurt or in danger, maybe she got the wrong end of the stick about you and Sexy and went somewhere to lick her wounds...She was ready to let you in...She's a proud woman Booth, she hates to be wrong...I can imagine how it must have looked to her"

Booth sits up and turns the key in the ignition..."I hope to God you are right, I can fix a misunderstanding...but I can't fix anything that may have happened to her if she's in danger right now."

He pulls the car out of the complex, his eyes cloudy and his heart heavy.