Chapter 8

Booth walks into the lab and sees Zack and Hodgins waiting patiently against a table. They walk over to him and Hodgins grumbles "You were supposed to be here an hour ago."

Zack looks at Booth worriedly. "Do you know where Dr Brennan is yet?"

Booth shakes his head, "Where's Angela?"

"Right behind you sweetie...sorry I'm late, yummy Brian was filling me in."

The guys cross their arms over their chests and wait for an explanation as Angela approaches.

"Brian said that he went to Tempe's at around 2am...dropped off the pizza, she paid cash and he left."

Booth rubbed his brow in frustration "That's what took you an hour and a half to find out?"

Angela sighed..."He said he heard a voice in the apartment, a male voice...said she didn't want to chat like normal...it was his last delivery and then he went home."

Booth handed Brennan's broken necklace to Zack..."I need prints from this...Angela, I want you to stay here with Zack until I call..."

Booth starts to head to the exit and Hodgins feeling left out says "What about me?"

"You are coming with me Hodgins, grab something to read, you might get bored"

Booth exits and Hodgins turns to the other two..."Great, why do I have to go with FBIdiot?"

They roll their eyes and watch him disappear through the exit after Booth.

Booth pulls up outside of an apartment complex...Hodgins lets out a sigh and looks at him in question.

"What are we doing here?"

Booth smiles at him..."You ever have a hunch Hodgins?"

"Yeah once...I had a hunch that I wasn't gonna like you...I was right"

Booth tries his best to look hurt..."You don't have to like me, just remember that we both care for Bones...and that for once this isn't about how either of us feels..It's all about her."

Hodgins nods.."So this hunch?"

Booth nods and motions towards the apartment building. "We were at Dr Brennan's apartment, the last person to see her before she vanished was the pizza delivery driver...Brian Wilson.."

"The guy that Angela went to see? The one who knew nothing?"

Booth clicks his fingers..."That's right...she said that he didn't know anything...it's funny really, coz no matter how damned hard I looked, I couldn't see a pizza box anywhere...the garbage hadn't been collected and nothing in the dumpster...That, my friend, is what took me over an hour..."

Hodgins folds his arms..."It took you an hour to check a dumpster...she lives in a big building...You are trying to say that there were no pizza boxes in that dumpster at all?

Booth gives Hodgins' shoulder an ecstatic pat..."Hodgins you are getting the hang of this detective thing."

Hodgins smiles proudly. Booth puts his sunglasses on..."You were right, that didn't take me an hour, I ordered Pizza from Joe's...I waited to see how long it would take to be delivered and then I matched the pizza box against those in the dumpster...none matched."

Hodgins nods as the pieces begin to fall into place. "Why didn't you tell Angela?"

"Because I want our friend Brian to be ignorant until we know where he is holding Bones..."

Hodgins nods and looks ahead at the building. "What if he isn't holding her anywhere..."

"He is"

"That's not what I meant."

Booth looks at Hodgins, his eyes hidden by the shades of his glasses. "Hodgins I don't wanna think about that right now...I want you to call me as soon as he leaves that building, there is a picture in the folder in the glove compartment...Don't let him see you, we need to do this right, with any luck he'll lead us straight to her."

"Why do I feel like I should be saluting you?" Booth gives him a look and Hodgins sighs "I know, I'll do it. Where are you going?"

"I've got a friend who is gonna dust the apartment, I need to prove that Brian was actually inside the apartment...We found Bones' necklace broken in her room...Had to touch something in there."

"Why didn't you get Zack to do that?"

"The necklace is the only piece of hard evidence that we have, I need the best for that. I'm sure even the FBI can handle a dusting job."

Hodgins looks skeptical and chuffs.

Back at the lab Angela and Zack are looking under the microscope at the necklace...Zack smiles "Eureka"

Angela chuckles "Eureka?"

Zack looks at her uncomfortably..."Yes, it means that I have found something that I was looking for."

"Yes Zack, I think it means the same thing now that it meant in 1960...Print it off and scan the databases, see if we have a match...for anyone other than Tempe obviously."