A/N: Here we are children. At the almost end. You find out 'who dunnit' in this chapter. And there are only two more chapters to go. Just to tie up all the loss ends. So as promised, there's a little more romance between now and the end of Chapter 12...I'm just not gonna tell you where.

"I told you everything I know," Robin Lowery told the partners. "A man was at the chicken coop."

"Yes, we remember," Seeley said. "But we have a few problems with your statement."

"Oh?"

"The night you claimed to see a man near the coop," Tempe began. "Was a new moon. How did you see anything from where you said you were standing?" Lowery looked up at Tempe with wide eyes.

"I'm sure you're mistaken, dear," the older woman said.

"We checked, Ms. Lowery," Seeley said. "Our facts are correct." Lowery closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Ok," she said, opening her eyes. "I did see a man by the chicken coop, just not when I said. It was a little early in the day."

"Why lie about the time?" Seeley asked.

"Because I was taking a smoke break and I'm suppose to be quitting."

"Can you tell us anything about the man you saw?" Lowery nodded.

"He walked with a slight limp," she told them. "And he had dark hair. I'm afraid that's all." Seeley thanked her, and he and Tempe walked away.

"The man in the woods today walked funny," Tempe said, as they left the cabin.

"Yeah, it would appear we saw our Chicken Coop Man today."

"Should we go talk to Chuck Matthias now?"

"That's where we're heading," Seeley said. "But something just doesn't feel right."

"What?"

"I'm not sure," he answered with a shake of his head. "That man in the woods. I know him, I just can't place him." Tempe reached over, took his hand and gave it a squeeze.

"You'll get it," she told him. "When you're not thinking about it, it'll come to you." Seeley smiled over at her to show his thanks.

"Rose Smith," Seeley said, looking at Chuck Matthias' back. He saw the man's shoulders go stiff and he turned around slowly.

"Excuse me?"

"We know that you pay her to wash your clothes. What we don't know is why you lied to us." Matthias' eyes darted around the room and then settled on Seeley.

"Yeah, sorry about that," he said. "But, um, I can't tell you the truth."

"And why is that?" Tempe asked. Matthias took a deep breath.

"Because Jill Geddings is my cousin," he said.

"What's that got to do with anything?" Seeley asked. "After all, you did accuse her of having the diamond." Matthias ran a hand through his hair.

"I know, I know, but I never thought you would figure out that I lied."

"So, Ms. Geddings doesn't have the diamond?" Matthias shook his head no. "Then who does?"

"I don't know." Tempe looked Matthias up and down.

"So you sent us on a wild goose chase," she said. "Gee thanks." With that, she turned on her heels and walked out. Seeley raised an eyebrow at Mathias and then followed his partner out.

"What's up with you?" he asked, catching up to Tempe.

"What's up? What's up is that we've been going around in a circle and we're no closer to finding that stupid diamond."

"How, don't lose hope," Seeley said. "Finding out people lied is part of the job. Guess you could say 'that's how the cookie crumbles'."

"How can you be so calm?" she asked. Seeley shrugged.

"Because we're close, Tempe."

"We are?" she asked, coming to a stop.

"Yup," he said with a smile. "We know that Geddings doesn't have the diamond, but a man with a weird accent and a limp does."

"And who would that be?" Seeley was about to answer when Angela and Jack ran up to them.

"Did you two hear?" Angela asked.

"Heard what?" Tempe asked.

"Jimmy and his team solved their case." Tempe and Seeley looked at each other.

"Seeley, I'm sorry," Tempe said. Seeley dropped his eyes and walked away from his group.

"Should we go after him?" Jack asked.

"You two wait here," Tempe said, and followed after her partner and friend. "Seeley," she said quietly, coming up beside him. She placed a hand on his shoulder. "You okay?" Seeley was focused on something out in the woods and Tempe didn't push. They stood for a few minutes in silence. Finally Seeley turned to look at her.

"Come on," he said and walked past her.

"Where are we going?" Tempe asked, hurrying to catch him.

"We still have a case to solve," Seeley called to her. "And we have somebody to go talk too."

Seeley flashed his badge to the 'security' guard. "Hey, Avins," Seeley said. "I need to sign in my partner." The old man nodded and pulled out a clipboard.

"Just fill in her name." Seeley took the board and signed Tempe in. He handed the board back to Avins, and was handed a guest badge. Tempe clipped the badge on and followed Seeley through the halls.

"Why are we here?" she asked. Seeley stopped in front of a closed door and knocked before he answered.

"Here to find the diamond," he said. A voice called out and Seeley opened the door.

"Ah, Booth, what can I do for you?" Agent Wenslow asked.

"Agent Wenslow, this is my partner, Temperance Brennan." The agent nodded his hello and then turned his attention back to Seeley. "We're here for the diamond." Tempe cut her eyes to look at her partner, but didn't say anything.

"The diamond?" Wenslow asked, and Tempe heard the underlying accent. Suddenly she understood.

"The diamond that you have," Seeley said. Wenslow leaned back in his chair with a smile. His fingers interlocked and his hands behind his head.

"So how did you figure it out?" he asked.

"It took a while, but then things started coming into play," Seeley said. "Once we found out that the man who had the diamond had a weird accent, I began to think about you. I'm not sure how long you've lived around here, but one can still hear your Texas accent in some of your words."

"Very good, Booth. What else?"

"Well," Seeley started. "I've never seen you stand, but I remember that the first time I was in your office I saw a cane in the corner. Tempe and I saw a man in the woods, who had a limp." Wenslow gave a slow, approving nod.

"Very good you two," he said with a smile.

Surprise!

A shout out to Goldie. Thanks for everything.

TBC...