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Chapter 10
Trista drove along in the van she purchased just prior to her arrival at Dr. Brennans apartment. She managed to talk the guy down from two thousand to nine hundred. If there was one thing she was good at, it was wheeling and dealing.
It was a plain white utility van, and she'd purchased a mattress and fitted it in the back for her trip to Minnesota with her precious cargo.
Upon her arrival to DC, she immediately took a cab to the nearest car lot, got the van, then went to a mattress discount store and got the mattress. Good thing they had a sizable nest egg set aside for their acquisition of a baby.
She of course had called Doug, and gave him a different story to what she was up to, but he'd be so thrilled when she finally brought their new baby home. She'd have a hard time explaining why she was gone for so long, but Dougie was a pushover for her, and would give her anything she wanted.
It was helpful that she'd gone to school to be a RN prior to meeting and marrying Dougie. She had Temperance fully sedated and catherized in the back. That should keep her unconscious until she got to Minnesota. Just in case though, she had her hands in cuffs behind her back, and her mouth taped. So far, she hadn't regained consciousness from the blow to the head, but she was careful to make sure she did not have a concussion.
The sedatives that she gave her were similar to the sedatives given to expectant mothers in the hospitals she'd worked in just out of college, so she knew that her baby would be okay.
She estimated that if she drove non stop, allowing only for brief restroom breaks, she should be back in Minnesota in 36 hours. The arrangements were all still in place, thanks to the Doctor herself, who never bothered to cancel her reservations for the secluded cabin in Brainerd, Minnesota. All she had to do was keep Temperance well fed until the baby was born, take the baby, and dispose of the biological mother.
No one would think to look here, and while it was true she was famous, she done enough research to know that her parents disappeared when she was young, so perhaps the authorities would think that this was somehow connected to that case. She could hope anyway. A thought suddenly occurred to her. She'd call the local press in DC and leak the news that Dr. Temperance Brennan, world renowned forensic anthropologist was missing. That should muddy the waters nicely.
Nothing pointed to her or Dougie, so she felt it was a fool proof plan. She switched on the vans radio, and popped in an old Elvis Presley cassette, and his warm voice filled the vehicle. He was singing "Fool Such As I" one of her favorites. She sung along with the song lustily as she drove.
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Temperance almost felt like she was floating on a raft in a river, moving along, a jolt here or there.
Far off in a distance, it seemed she heard singing, but she couldn't be sure. She tried to open her eyes, so she could see where she was, but couldn't.
Her body felt heavy, she was so tired. She felt as though she were forgetting something, but finally let go and succumb to sleep.
FBI Agent Seeley Booth frowned, hanging up the phone. He'd tried to get a hold of Bones 3 times in the last 2 hours, and was not getting a response from her cell phone or from her home. He'd even tried her office at the Jeffersonian. He sat there a moment considering his options. Glancing downward, he still had quite a bit of work to do, and he had a meeting he had to attend before he left for the day also. Yet he couldn't help but feel something was up. Standing abruptly, he decided to swing by her place just to ease his own mind.
He repeatedly caught himself speeding, and forced himself to slow down. It's probably nothing. I'm probably just having a hard time concentrating because of her being pregnant. That's all it is. Yet he was still grinding his teeth, probably wearing away years of enamel as he drove.
What normally was a 10 minute drive turned out to be a 6 minute drive. He pulled into the lot, and spotted her small silver sports car immediately. He let out a pent up sigh of relief, and smiled to himself. She was here. She must have fallen asleep, or was engrossed in writing. Authors did that right? Got so engrossed they didn't hear the phone? Yeah. She was good at focusing on the task at hand, so she probably tuned the outside world out, like she did in the lab.
Okay, so why can't I calm down? He wondered as he parked and jogged up to the building.
He made it up the stairs in record time, and was standing before her door, and reached down and turned the knob, it turned easily and the door swung inward with no hesitation.
He had to talk to her about locking her door. While it was true, she could kick ass with the best of them, being pregnant may hinder that skill. Plus, a gun will win against a fist or kick any day of the week. Classical music filled the apartment, invoking a soothing environment in which to work that he knew she loved.
"Bones?" he called out, taking a step, and glancing down. There was a heavy glass vase, and a pool of a floral arrangement on the floor around it. Instantly on guard, he loosened his gun, and approached the kitchen, where he spotted a glass of milk and a neat stack of Oreos. His heart sank. Oreos didn't sit around long when she was in the area, she had a huge addiction to them he'd noted.
"Bones, come on, answer me here, where are you Bones?" he called out again, a little louder this time, his voice shaking slightly, she was sleeping. That was it. Pregnant women got tired easily, right?
Her bedroom was clear, as was her bathroom. He approached her home office; the computer monitor glowed in the dim room. Quickly striding to the monitor to read what was on the screen, all that was there was the chapter she was currently working on for her new book.
He frowned; she hadn't saved her work, which suggested she was interrupted as she was working. Reholstering his gun, he stood there a moment and glanced around the room as if the answer was there somewhere.
What if she changed her mind and was going to do this adoption thing anyway? His mind raced at the possibility. No. No. We went over that. If he read her right, she seemed to be genuinely excited and happy about where they were at, after he'd eased her fears. That couldn't be it.
He paced around the small office, grasping at any reason she'd have to leave the apartment so abruptly. She couldn't have walked that far, not when she had her car, and she wouldn't have left her book unsaved like that either. Nor would she leave those flowers and vase on the floor. The only reasonable assumption was she was taken. But by whom? She hadn't mentioned being stalked, phone calls, or letters. He reached in his jacket and called 911.
He reported his findings to the 911 operator and was told a unit was on the way.
He walked out of the office, and back to the kitchen. He noticed her answering machine was blinking "1 message". Impulsively, he pushed the button to listen to it, thinking it may give some answers as to her where abouts.
"Temperance, this is your attorney, Curtis Walker, I wanted to let you know I cancelled the adoption proceedings as requested with my contact with Catholic Family Services, and am mailing you out all the pertinent information. Feel free to call me if you have any other questions or services I can provide you". The machine beeped and automatically rewound the message.
Okay, so she cancelled the adoption. That was good news. That eliminated that possibility. He turned as a pair of officers entered her apartment.
"Are you the one who reported a kidnapping?" the first officer asked him, pen and paper in hand
"Yes, the person missing is Dr. Temperance Brennan. She is pregnant" he ran his hands through his hair and sighed "I'm…I'm the father" he managed, and started to pace again and began to ramble "I called her this morning, you know to uh, check on her, she was fine. I tried calling a few hours later, no answer. Her computer on, file unsaved, cookies and milk here on the counter, like she was interrupted. Her car is still here too" he pointed out
"I see, and were the two of you fighting?" the second officer changed the subject, eyes suspicious
"What! No, of course not! Okay, look, I know the boyfriend or whatever the first likely suspect is, but that is not the case here alright?" he told them both firmly, hands on his hips, his stance aggressive.
"We understand sir; we are required to ask these questions though, okay, so just work with us here. So you were not fighting. What leads you to believe that she has been kidnapped?" the officer questioned, not looking up as he wrote some information down
"Alright look buddy. My name is Special Agent Seeley Booth with the FBI. I need you to do whatever it is you do to get a search going, or get whatever paperwork is needed done to transfer the case to the FBI, okay?" he said impatiently "We are loosing out on valuable time here" he added angrily
"I am sure you are aware Agent Booth that a missing person's case cannot be opened until after the person is missing over 24 hours, there is no evidence here of a kidnapping, no ransom note, or anything of the kind. I understand you are upset, we will do our best to see what we can find" the first officer said to him
He turned his back on the two officers and tried to maintain his somewhat calm façade. These guys were only doing their job. Beating the hell out of them wouldn't bring Bones home, although it would make him feel a lot better.
"Alright fine. Here is my card, my home and cell is on the back. Call me with anything you find okay?" he said in a resigned tone.
After the two officers left he stood there a moment uncertain what to do. He wasn't going to wait around 24 hours he knew that.
End chapter 10