I have so many parts to read, and I haven't done much writing myself! Note to self: don't give up the day job to concentrate on writing, because you only write well against a very short deadline and/or lots of other pressures.

Here's the next part, and now colds etc are over, and in knowledge of the fact I'm going away in a couple of weeks, I'll try to update this one more often and get it out of the way so I can move on to the next story.

Brennan worked on the new body for most of the day, in one way or another. After carefully recovering it, bone by bone, from the grave in which it lay a few yards away from the site of the other bodies, she had it transported to the city morgue where she could do a preliminary look. Laying it out on a lab table, she had studied the decaying body very carefully, looking for signs of damage. It was badly decomposed, but showed little sign of injury other than a skull fracture.

She was unable to do much more herself, and after having a full set of X-rays taken, she had the remains shipped back to the lab for a more thorough investigation. Zack would be able to remove the remaining flesh from the bones and do a full study; her student was starting to prove his considerable ability in such matters. Hodgins would be able to analyze the soil samples she had carefully preserved and give an accurate time of death. Angela would do her usual task of working with the skull and dental records to make an identification. DNA samples would be run, but would only be useful if a potential match could be found. Either way, the squints at the Jeffersonian could all do their part to investigate the body itself, while she and Booth remained on scene for local enquiries.

One of the regular morgue workers had brought her a sandwich at around lunchtime, then scurried away quickly, apparently in awe of her concentration on her work, but by the time Booth returned and found her studying her notes she was starting to feel hungry. She looked up as he walked into the small office she had borrowed, and he smiled at her cheerily. She stood up and walked round the desk, leaning against it, as he moved forward to kiss her. She wrapped her arms round his neck, marveling at how good it was to see him again after just a few hours apart. How could she have imagined that they could go on just as partners?

"Worked out whodunit yet?" He broke away from her at last and lounged comfortably in the chair in front of her desk, stretching his legs out in front of him.

She shook her head. "I know how he was killed though, and when."

She picked up an X-ray that she had been studying and showed him, holding it up against the window. "He died of a head injury. Here, you can see the line of the blow. He was hit with a wooden implement. Splinters were found in the surrounding flesh."

"Baseball bat?" Booth peered closely at the fracture line.

"No, it had a sharp, square edge." Brennan looked around her. "Something like a chair leg, or table leg. Hodgins should be able to give us more details about the wood, and Zack should be able to give us a better idea of the size of weapon. I estimate he's been dead around six months, which would put his death at around the same time as the second boy. That's only approximate, of course. We need the full lab reports to be precise. The body reached them an hour ago, so they're working on it right now."

"Identity?"

"Not yet. They've taken DNA samples, and we're just waiting for the results. The team can do all the standard identification procedures in the lab. All we can do now is wait."

Booth brought her up to date with his investigations and the progress he had made.

"So that explains why Harvey has been so inefficient," she commented. "He's just trying to keep his wife and brother in law happy."

"Apparently he's a long way into debt," Booth agreed. "His only chance was to play along with his brother in law and smooth through the building work as quickly as possible."

"So he's not connected with the crimes themselves," Brennan mused thoughtfully.

"It wouldn't appear so, but of course there's the chance the brother in law is involved," Booth pointed out. "He sure seems in a hurry to get those houses built."

"That could be for purely financial reasons," she said.

"Or it could be because he wants those bodies buried under buildings as soon as possible."

"Unlikely. If it weren't for the building works, the bodies would not have been found."

Booth conceded with a nod and a smile. "So what happens now?"

"Now? It's getting late. I vote we sort out somewhere to stay the night, then get some food. I'm starving."

"Back to the motel?" Booth suggested. "It's the closest place to where the bodies were found."

Brennan agreed. "I'd like to take another close look around tomorrow," she answered. "There might be more to find. I was just focused on recovering the body today, but I want to take a look at the surrounding area in the morning."

They headed for Booth's car and drove back to the motel, but there they hit problems. "What do you mean, no?" Booth demanded.

Charlie shook his head. His previous friendly manner had disappeared completely, leaving him cold and hostile. "We have no available rooms," he repeated.

"Come on, Charlie, you've got plenty of empty rooms," Brennan said, but Charlie refused to budge.

"They're about to be renovated," he insisted. "There is no room available for either of you. I suggest you try the hotel, about three miles down the road."

Booth looked as though he was about to lose his temper with the motel owner, but Brennan put her hand on his arm. "It's all right, Booth," she soothed him. "We'll go to the hotel. It's no big deal."

Booth scowled. "He's got plenty of room," he complained. "He just doesn't want the law around him."

"People get uncomfortable around law enforcers, especially if they've been questioned," Brennan said. "Anthropologists have theorized..."

Booth interrupted her by kissing her, and she wriggled in protest, before surrendering to the steady pressure of his lips. By the time they pulled apart they had both forgotten momentarily what they had been doing. Charlie had disappeared into the back office, and they stood alone at the counter. Booth grumbled as they went back out, but Brennan pacified him by suggesting they head to the diner for a meal first. "I'm too hungry to go any further," she complained, and Booth nodded his agreement.

"The diner it is then," he said, and they walked round the corner, deliberately leaving their car on the parking lot in front of the motel office.

Reviews always welcome! This story is trying to set a balance between fluff and case, which at times is difficult to do.

I'm also conscious of just focusing on Booth and Brennan as characters. My next story will try involving all the squints.