I still don't own them, although I've asked nicely lots of times. And I'm still not making any money out of this.

I'm doing a lot more writing again suddenly. What do you know - must be another assignment due ;-)

Chapter 22

Booth leant back in his chair, pulling Brennan back with him and squeezing her shoulders gently. He looked at her, smoothing her hair back from her face. "Any suggestions?"

"That depends on whether it was someone who knew them or whether they just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. It looks increasingly like they were just unlucky, so it has to be someone they met on their way through the place." She stuck out her bottom lip in the way that made Booth melt. He imagined himself nibbling at that lip, and then...

He hurriedly pulled his thoughts back to the case. Work now, play later. He grinned to himself at that thought. "We know that Ryan and Jason Swift stayed at the motel. We need to check whether Matt and Wayne Garrison also stayed there." He looked at his watch. "Damn. Far too late to check up in the motel register tonight. I'll have to give the local lab a ring in the morning."

"They might have used some other local resources," Brennan said thoughtfully.

He glanced at her. "What are you thinking?"

She said nothing, but worked busily on her laptop for a few minutes. Sally the waitress came up to them. "Could I get either of you folks more coffee?"

Brennan looked up at her, and angled her computer round. "Sally, could you do something for us please? Could you take a look at these photos, see if you've seen any of these people before?"

Booth peered over her shoulder. She had taken the photos on file of the three victims plus Ryan Swift, and arranged them in a collage onscreen.

Sally studied the faces closely for a minute or two, then nodded, as if satisfied.

"Yes, I've seen all of them, I think. Those – it was a long time ago." She indicated the Swifts. "I remember the kid ran all round the place, was really rude, and his dad just sat there and let him do it."

She touched the faces of Matt and Wayne Garrison. "Those I've seen more recently, a few months ago." She nodded, as if satisfied. "The man was real mean to the boy, I saw. Poor kid was scared of him. Didn't dare do anything, he was so scared of being told off. I thought at the time how different he was to that other kid."

"Where were they staying?" Booth asked her, feeling a strange excitement in the pit of his stomach. All his nerves were tingling, telling him that his could be the breakthrough they needed.

"At the motel, Charlie's place, just overnight I think. I remember feeling sorry for Charlie, with the kids around."

"Why?" Brennan asked the question before Booth could get it out.

"Well, Charlie misses his own boy so much still."

Booth could feel Brennan stiffen beside him. "Why does he miss him?"

"Well," Sally sank down in the seat opposite the pair, and leant forward as if imparting a big secret. "Charlie got divorced around three years ago, and his wife wouldn't let him see his son. It darn near broke his heart."

Now it was Booth's turn to stiffen. "Do you know why she stopped him seeing his son?" he asked.

Sally shrugged. "I'm not sure. Some legal stuff about an injunction, and she said she was scared Charlie would hurt him. That's all nonsense, though. Charlie wouldn't hurt a fly. Mind, he was pretty mad when the lawyer told him he had to stay away."

Booth frowned. Something was nagging at him, something he'd forgotten. He thought back to the conversations he'd had with Charlie, and remembered the photo of a young boy on the wall in the motel office. "He told me he took his son on holiday every year," he said.

Sally looked surprised. "As far as I know, Charlie hasn't seen the boy for over two years," she assured him.

Booth looked at Brennan, and he saw in her eyes the same doubts he felt. "I think our friend Charlie needs to answer a few more questions," he said.

"So what's going on?" Sally looked from one to the other, a quizzical smile on her face.

Booth showed her his badge. "We're here to investigate the bodies found on the building site," he explained.

Sally's face grew rounder with shock. "Bodies? Here? But nothing like that happens here! I wondered why there were so many police cars on the site the past few days."

Brennan leant forward. "You haven't heard any rumours about what happened?" she questioned.

Sally shook her head. "Not a word."

"Okay, Sally, you've been a great help," Booth told her, and the waitress looked disappointed, but left the table and hurried over to where a man was impatiently waving his hand at her.

Brennan absently closed down the files on her laptop and shut the screen down. "Charlie seemed to know exactly why we're here," she said thoughtfully. "He made a few comments about what a tragedy, and he seemed to know that bodies were found."

Booth stood up. "I really want to talk to Charlie," he said firmly.

Sally came back to them. "Are you going back to the motel?" she asked.

Booth nodded, and Sally held out her hand. In it was a small blue car. "Could you take that with you please?" she said. "It belongs to the boy and his father who were in here earlier, they left it on the table. They're staying at the motel tonight then moving on tomorrow, and I'd hate the boy to be upset he lost his car. He seemed miserable anyway, most of the time they were here."

Brennan looked at Booth, whose gut was now definitely doing a merry dance of delight. He held out his hand and took the car. "I'll see he gets it," he assured her grimly.

Brennan finished packing her laptop back into its bag and stood up. "Let's go," she said. "The motel and Charlie seem to be pretty important right now."

Sally looked like she did not understand. "Charlie puts a lot of work into that motel," she told them. "He had the whole place renovated, just six months ago. New carpets, new furnishings, everything. It's all he has, since his wife left."

"But he said he's having it renovated now," Booth said in surprise.

"Maybe he just didn't want us there," said Brennan slowly. "Maybe it's more than being upset because you questioned him and took his book away."

"What color was the carpet before it was renovated?" Booth asked, thinking of the green carpet in the room he had occupied.

"Blue," Sally answered without hesitation. "I really liked the blue, it was a rich color, but Charlie said it looked too cold, and had them all replaced with green."

The facts were beginning to fall into place. Booth thought about the scene in the diner earlier, when the boy and his father had hurried away from them, despite his reassurances. "That father – he seemed really nervous about me being a cop," he reminded Brennan. "I really think the motel should be our next port of call."

They thanked Sally and left, almost breaking into a jog on the way back to the motel.

Please let me know what you think so far. Have you figured out the bad guy? Come on, it's easy now ;-)