Disclaimer: See chapter one

A/N Thank you so much for all your feedback. I'm sorry for the long wait. I hope you like this chapter. And sorry for any mistakes.
EDITED: 7/2019
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Chapter Nine

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3:27 P.M. Tuesday

FBI headquarters

Booth sat back in his chair and stretched, trying to work out his cramped muscles. He and Kory had gone to Booth's office to look into Kory's hunch. They had been looking through file after file and making phone calls for the past few hours trying to find some sort of connection between the two cases. They had found some similarities but nothing solid. Despite the lack of hard evidence, Booth was becoming more and more convinced that this kidnapper was the one who had abducted Bones.

Kory heaved a tired sigh, then pushed away from Booths' desk to stand up and go to the break room for more coffee, "so what do all these women, including Brennan, have in common?"

Booth handed the young agent his mug when she held up her coffee cup, silently asking if he wanted a refill too. "Other than the fact that they all look alike, are between the age of twenty-eight and thirty-two, and are tall, not much."

Kory left to get the coffee but was back the office. She sat back down in her chair then handed Booth his coffee, and picked up her note pad, "Well, let's go over what we know so far and maybe we will find something new, get a better idea of what we need to look for."

"OK, Jennifer Murphy, Linda Prat, and Brennan were all set up and trapped. Murphy had her gas tank siphon so she would run out on her way home from work, the kidnapper followed her until she stopped then took her. Prat was coming out of a salon when she was somehow lured into the ally, then disappeared."

"As for Brennan, when she found that there was a motorbike parked her spot, she was forced to park far from the museum and security cameras. The bike, by the way, had been stolen the night before from two blocks away, and had been wiped clean." Kory then added, "Jodee Write and Cyndie Winger were taken the way they were because the opportunity presented itself, but I have a feeling that if he had, had to wait much longer to kidnap them he would have set traps for Write and Winger as well."

Feeling the need to move Booth stood up and started to pace, "Then at three of the abductions witnesses said there was a dark green or black late-model four-door sedan leaving the scene."

"Didn't one of the witnesses say it was an Oldsmobile?"

"Yeah, but, you know this doesn't help us connect this case to Brennan's, 'cause no one saw anything when she was taken," Booth said, feeling a little frustrated. Kory was about to point out another thing on their list when there was a knock on the open door, "Booth, Penning wants as to meet him in the bullpen," Allee said as soon as he had Booth's attention.

"I'll be there in a minute. Hey, Isaac did the lab call?"

"Yeah, but only to tell us they're backed up and we won't get results till late tonight or tomorrow."

Booth gave a disgusted look, "Thanks anyway, for the update."

"Sure, see you in a few," Allee said to Booth and started to leave, but before he did, he smiled and nodded his head to Kory, who was quietly putting all the files back in their box, she smiled and waved at him. Booth was about to introduce the two when he looked up to see Isaac roll his eyes and laugh at Kory, just as she stuck her tongue out at Allee. Booth had missed whatever had prompted this little exchange.

After Allee left Booth said, "I take it you already know Isaac."

"Oh yeah, for years in fact, but it's a long story. Remind me to tell you sometime," she picked up the now full file box and headed out of Booths' office.

Booth waited for her to step through the door before he locked up his office, "I'm going to talk to Penning about all this, and since this was your hunch I'd like you to come with me."

"Ok, just let me put these files away."

"No, bring them with you. He'll need to see them," Kory nodded then followed Booth to the bullpen.

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3:48 P.M. Tuesday

Location: Unknown

Temperance stopped yet again to rest, the burst of adrenalin she had, had when she found Jodee and Linda, had long since worn off. Temperance let go of Linda's arm and sat at the base of a nearby tree. She shivered, it had started to sprinkle a few minutes ago and though it was a little chilly out she, seemed to be the only one who was affected by it. Temperance feared the infection she had been fighting had finally started to set in.

Jodee came and kneeled in front of Brennan she touched her hand to Temperance's forehead. Jodee frowned, "You're really warm, how are you feeling?"

Temperance gave her a wan smile and struggled to stand up. Jodee grabbed Brennan's bag and handed it to Linda then helped her up. "Maybe we should just rest here for a while."

Linda tensed and became antsy at hearing Jodee's suggestion, but said nothing. She looked at Temperance with pleading eyes, silently asking her to say no, so they could keep moving.

"No, we need to get going. I'll be fine," Linda relaxed and smiled her thanks to Brennan, she stepped forward and grabbed Temperance's arm giving her some support. Linda was finally starting to come out of her daze.

They had been walking for ten minutes, and the rain started to come down in earnest, when Tempe suddenly stopped and look around, "Oh this is just great!"

"What? What's the matter?" Jodee asked anxiously, as she tried to find what was wrong. Linda gripped Temperance's arm hard. She too was looking around for hidden dangers.

"It's OK. I just know this place," Temperance explained with an apologetic smile.

"Well, isn't that a good thing?" Jodee looked at her confused.

"I guess it could be. At least we can get out of this rain. I hid in a little niche halfway up that hill there," pointing to the area she was talking about.

Twenty minutes later all of them were safely tucked under blankets in Brennan's hideout, with Top Ramen cooking on a little Colman stove. All of them had taken off their soaked clothes and hung them up to dry. Tempe was really starting to feel sick, she knew she had a fever and her side was throbbing. On top of that, she was completely out aspirin. She had looked at the wound when she was getting out of her wet clothes, it had been red, swollen, and most definitely infected.

Jodee gave her and Linda bowls of Top Ramen. Temperance forced herself to eat her Ramen, then put her bowl and spoon with the rest of their things. Linda had finished her dinner and was now curled in a ball sleeping. Jodee was sitting next to Temperance, looking troubled. Brennan was not sure what to do or what to say so she just sat there.

Finally, Temperance asked, "are you OK?" not sure what else to say.

Jodee turned to Temperance, with tears in her eyes, "You know, this all seems like such a...I don't know . . . a nightmare I guess. Sometimes it just feels like it was all a really bad dream, and other times it's all too real. It just happened so fast. I was walking to the corner market a few blocks from my house one evening. He jumped out of a parked car and grabbed me that was the last thing I remember. The next thing I know I was in that cellar and Jenny was cleaning the cut on my forehead. It was so bad those first two weeks, he would, would . . . uh... every night. Then he brought Cyndie, then Linda." Jodee was shaking and silently crying.

Temperance wanted to comfort her but was unsure how to do that. She thought about what Jodee had just told her and was horrified, 'There had been two others. Where are they? Did we leave them behind? Are they somewhere else in the cabin I missed, or in one of the outbuildings? Or are they . . . ?' Temperance had stayed quite when Jodee had been talking before, knowing that Jodee needed to talk, to have someone just listen to her. But now she needed some answers. Temperance leaned over to Jodee and laid her hand on the women's shoulder, "What happened to the other two?" She asked softly.

Jodee took a deep breath and look away from Brennan, "Jenny's dead and I think Cyndie is too."

"What happened to them?"

"I had been there for almost three weeks. Cyndie was already there. One night he came down to get Jenny, he was dragging her up the stairs, she jerked away from him, and lost her balance. She fell down the stairs. I think she broke her neck. She was just laying there, he ran down to check on her, at first he was really upset, crying even, then he was mad, and then he just . . . just went still, no emotion at all, like someone had flipped a switch. Calmly he said 'what a waste, we could have been so good together.' And then he picked up her body and left. Cyndie was a mess after that she just lost it. She would just sit there and talk or sing to herself, curl up in a ball and cry for hours, then when Linda came she got so much worse, eventually, she stopped eating. After about three days or so of her not eating, he came down and stood in front of her for a really long time finally, he said in that same lifeless tone as before, 'what a waste, we could have been so good together.' Then he grabbed her, and took her upstairs, she didn't even fight him. I heard her scream when she was up there and I heard things fall and crash around up there, then there was nothing. I never saw her again," Jodee broke down in sobs, "you know the only thing then kept me going, the only thing that kept me sane, was the thought of my son, seeing him again, to hold him and tell him how much I love him."

Temperance ignored the biting pain in her side and scooted closer to Jodee and put a comforting arm around her. When Jodee had calmed down a bit Brenan asked, "how old is your son?"

Jodee wiped her eyes and snuffed a few times before she answered, "He'll be six next week," Jodee smiled, "he's growing up so fast."

Temperance wanted to keep Jodee's mind off of what she had been through, so she just kept asking about her son, her family, her life, anything and everything she could think of.

Tomorrow they could start new, hopefully, it will be a clear day and they will make it to that town. Temperance only hoped that she will be strong enough to make it.

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