Chapter Ten:
A/n: Oh my god... I completely forgot I left you with such a cliff hanger. I'm ever-so-sorry!
"They're coming; apparently Robert was released about an hour ago. Terri pointed to the trap door and Booth growled like an animal.
"Why the hell was he realised, he attacked Ivory!" Tempe said angrily, eyeing the trapdoor.
"He came in just before you arrived, I didn't know – I swear." Terri said nervously. Tempe nodded curtly and before Booth could do anything she'd lifted the trap door and slid herself into the dark hole.
Temperance had slipped into the trap door without thinking. Darkness surrounded her, she waited for her eyes to adjust to the newly acquired darkness, but everything remained black. She took a few tentative steps, and heard a thud behind her.
"Temperance;" It was Booth, thank god.
"Here," She answered tersely and stretched her arms out she felt soil beneath her fingers as her hands hit the wall, and she lifted her arms above her head, and found if she was on her toes she could reach the wooden roof with her finger tips.
Light flooded the room. Momentarily blinding her, she staggered, grabbing the wall for support. She squeezed her eyes closed, then opened them slowly taking in her surroundings. The floor was hard packed soil, so were the walls. The room was bare apart from a strange wooden bench at the end of the room. She crept forwards, Booth close behind her, even though it was obvious there was no one in the room. It was in her nature to be cautious when in such small spaces with no weapons, and a serial killer on the loose.
"What the hell is that?" she asked pointing to a large striped insect on the side of the wooden bench. Booth came in closer to her for a better look.
"That's a Weta." Booth said taking a step back from the large insect. He watched as she leant forward scooping it into her hand. Surprisingly the insect stayed still in her hand, he could almost see it turning its head curiously in her direction; though that was probably his imagination.
"Put it down Bones." He said in shock. She had no idea whether that insect was dangerous or not, but she still picked it up! Plus it was huge, and ugly! He watched in horror as she put it up nearer the light and closer to her face.
"Isn't it beautiful…?" She asked in awe.
"You sound like Hodgins." Booth said grouchily and he began examining the bench. Bones put the insect in the corner and took another look at the table.
"Pine..."
"Do you smell bleach…?" Booth asked, and both looked at each other, the same thought running through their minds. At that moment back up arrived, and took a look around the room.
xx
By the time people had arrived to check for blood using the UV lights Temperance and Booth were back in the conference room. Tempe on the phone to Angela about the wood chip she'd taken from the bench and sent to her for analysis. Booth on the phone to Cullen trying to explain how he'd ended up on a case when he was taking 'vacation' and why did he end up taking 'vacation' where Bones was on a case? Both heaved sighs as they hung up, first Tempe, then Booth and gave each other tired looks.
"So much for 'we need your assistance for a few days' how longs it been now Booth?" She asked rubbing her eyes.
"A few days…" He answered, but he looked like he understood, it felt like it had been weeks not days. Temperance's phone rang once more and both she and Booth looked at it with disdain, neither wanting to do anything more with the case. It seemed they had hit yet another dead-end.
"Hello Officer Huatare." Booth watched Tempe's face go from weariness, to shock, to fear. "Thank you for calling." She hung up and looked at Booths eyes, emotion evident which wasn't something that usually happened to Tempe. She liked to think she was strong, and didn't need to show emotion.
"Rangi's 18 year old daughter went missing one week ago." Tempe said slowly, as if going over it in her mind. "He said it happened often, but they'd just gotten a call from her boyfriend demanding to know where she was. It seems… She's been missing since the day before yesterday." Booths eyes widened.
"You don't think…" Booth began. "Well we know why he was so distracted when he picked us up. His daughter was missing… Is missing…" Booth said, not wanting to follow on from his mistaken 'you don't think…' because that would just make everything more real.
Booth relayed the information to the officers present, and Temperance went down to view the forensics team at their work.
"Booth…" Temperance said, very shaken from what she'd seen under the conference centre. The forensics team seemed just as shaken as the clambered out after her.
"The bench is covered in blood, not one section of the top of that wood isn't covered in blood; or what we suppose… is blood." a young man on the forensics team, who Booth assumed was new shook his head. "Some could be body fluids, they could have been raped or-" another member of the team silenced him with a look and they left the building, it was only Temperance, Booth and Officer Ivory left. They all looked at each other, this case was a maze filled with dead ends.
