A/N: Wow! I update quickly! I haven't updated this quick since Turning Back Time. Anyway hope you enjoy this chapter. It's a bit short, sorry, but there wasn't else I could write.

Ryan smoothed his shirt where Booth had viciously grabbed him, wondering what exactly had possessed his colleague to act that way. He had known the man for a few years but he had never portrayed him as someone so violent. Ryan knew he ought to denonciate him to his boss, he also knew that he had asked for it and that Booth had had a reason to have acted the way he had. After, he had kissed his wife. Booth had every reason to be pissed off about that, especially if he had seen them. Ryan thought back to the kiss and couldn't help feeling hurt that his partner had pushed him away. She had only told him to take his stuff and get the hell out of her office. Ryan wondered if, on some level, she had actually liked it.

Looking at the clock, he realized that it was too early to go to bed even though he was really tired. He settled for watching TV in bed. Passing the light switch on his way, he turned off the lights in the living room and slowly made his way to his bedroom.

He flipped through all of the channels, finding nothing suiting his mood. None of the movies looked interesting and he wasn't in the mood to watch the lastest sitcom starting on TV that he had sworn he would watch.

He turned off the TV, five minutes later, and grabbed the book off his nightstand. Maybe reading would help pass the time. But after ten pages, he closed it and placed it back in its original spot.

He laid down on his back and stared at the ceiling. The apartment was so quiet when Christina and Brandon weren't around. His children had spent the entire month of July with him but he hadn't seen them ever since. His ex-wife had taken them to see their grandparents in Florida in August and she hadn't heard from her since school had started. He hadn't even spotted his son at St. Sebastian's when they had gone to visit. Ryan frowned. Had his ex-wife taken Brandon out of private school and sent him to a public school instead? He hardly doubt it but then again, with Isabel, you never knew. He'd call her in the morning. Today, he was in no mood for an argument.

Silence filled his ears as he listened to the ticking of the clock in his bedroom. The sound was captivating and he soon found himself feeling drowsy. A few tic-tocs later, his eyes were closing and he was sinking in a deep slumber.

The sound of his phone acted like a bolt of lightning hitting him as he sat up abruptly in bed. He looked at the time. Ten-thirty. Who could be calling him? Isabel? Brandon? Tempe?

He slipped out of his bed, rubbing the sleep from off his face. One look at the caller ID told him everything he needed to know. Unknown caller. He picked the phone.

"Hello?"

There was a few seconds of silence during which Ryan considered hanging up. But then a voice was heard.

"Agent Longström?"

It was a woman.

"Yes." Ryan replied, unsure.

"I was told I could remain anonymous."

Who told you that? He thought.

"Yes you can."

"I called the number right away but they told me you had already left."

Ryan was glad the woman could not see his expression. She would have seen that he thought she was crazy.

"Who told you that?"

"I heard you were the agent assigned to the Bradford case."

His attention was immediately grabbed. Who was this woman?

"The little girl..." The woman started. "I saw her in a store today."

Ryan's eyes grew wide in surprise. This woman had to be kidding. Melina wasn't alive. Or was she?

"Where? What store?"

The only response he got was the click that announced the disconnection.

Glares followed him all the way to Temperance's office but he couldn't care less. He needed to talk to his partner's about the previous night's call and get her opinion on what they should do. After all, it was their case and he wanted her opinion on the matter.

He was surprised to find her office empty. He glanced at his watch. Eight-thirty. She should have been here.

An enquiry to Dr. Goodman told him that Temperance was in autopsy room #2 analyzing remains the local police had brought in. Thanking the archeologist, Ryan jogged down the corridor leading to the autopsy rooms.

Just as the doctor had said, Temperance was hunched over a skeleton who Ryan thought looked hundred years old. He knocked softly on the window. Temperance looked up, an annoyed expression on her face. Ryan smiled weakly and motionned the door. Temperance told him to come in.

"Who are you working on?" he asked after closing the door behind him.

"I'm not sure yet. My first guess would be male, around mid-forties, but I still have a lot of analysis to do."

"Do you have time to talk?"

"About what?" Temperance replied, looking back down at the skeleton on her table. "How you kissed me yesterday? How my husband saw us? Or maybe you would want to talk about the fact that he actually called a divorce lawyer this morning?"

"You two are getting a divorce?"

The thought of it made him feel guilty. Of course he wanted his partner but he wasn't heartless. Ryan was more a man who wanted what he couldn't have. Temperance offered exactly just that.

"I guess so." She replied, shrugging, and omitting to tell him that she had had the idea in the first place.

"I'm sorry."

"Just don't do anything like that again."

Ryan nodded. He thought it was a fair deal.

"You wanted to talk?" Temperance asked, glancing briefly at his partner.

It was all back to business.

"Actually, I did. You see, I got a call last night from a woman who claimed to have seen Melina in a store yesterday. She didn't tell me which store or what her name was and God knows how she got my home phone number."

"Probably the same way Melina got my cellphone number."

Ryan frowned.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, confused.

Temperance turned to her partner, her face more serious than ever.

"Melina called me last night, around eight-thirty. I'm pretty sure she was crying. Either that or she was frightened to death. She begged me to help her but when I said her name, she hung up."

She could see that her partner was getting excited and she had to fight her urges to do the same thing. If Melina was alive, it would be a major breakthrough in the case and they would at least be able to bring back one of the children back to the Bradford's.

"Do you know why she hung up? Was there noises in the background?"

Temperance shook her head. She hadn't heard anything else besides Melina's voice. She told her partner so. This only seemed to confuse him even more.

"So? What are we going to do about this? We certainly can't talk to Allison again. She already told you everything she knew."

Temperance agreed.

"Talk to the dad again maybe? We haven't gotten his side of the story yet."

Ryan shook his head.

"He's still not back from his trip from out of town."

"Maybe you should go to him."

"Maybe I should."

"Do you know where he took off?"

"To see his father."

"I know that. I meant, do you know where his father lives?"

"South Carolina, I think."

Temperance nodded.

"Then what are you waiting for?"

The hallways were quiet as the little girl made her way to the bathroom. Her shoes made squeaking noise on the more-than-cleaned floors. She knew her teacher was angry with her. She hated it when a student disrupted her class to go to the bathroom. But she needed to get out of the class. The bathroom seemed like the best idea.

She pushed the door to the girl's bathroom and found it empty. She stood at the door, not knowing what else to do. She made her way to the sink. Turning the handles, warm water poured down the faucet and onto her hands. She could wash her hands. That would save her some time. She needed to find a way to get out of the school. She knew he was here and she knew that he knew. She was scared. More than scared, actually. She was traumatized.

The water drowned the soft noise of the door creaking open. She was too short to see in the mirror but she heard the steps. She turned around. He was there.

"I told you not to say anything."

His tone was aggressive and she backed up against the sink.

"I didn't."

She was lying. Of course she had talked. The weird lady had made her talk.

"Yes you did!"

The hand grabbing her was strong. She watched as the other hand disappeared into his pocket to come out a few seconds later. The sun reverbrated off the blade and she squinted. And as the knife plunged for the first time in her stomach, her heart wretching screams echoed off the walls of St. Sebastian's.

See you in the next chappie:-) Don't forget to review!