July 5th, 7:00 PM
The lab was in full investigative swing as interns ran in all directions. Between the evidence at the scene, and the activity in the Jeffersonian's garage lab where Antonia's car was being held, there was not a moment of rest.
Temperance stepped off the platform where they were working with blood samples and other pieces of evidence and she moved swiftly toward the garage. She had been working non-stop since the crime scene and had barely said anything other than typical lab demands. Her mind was dizzy with anxiety as she heard a voice piercing through the lab that made her turn quickly. She could have sworn it was Antonia, and she immediately felt guilty when she realized that it was Grace's voice. She kept walking toward the garage.
"Mom! Slow down!" Grace said, catching up with her mother. She moved to touch her shoulder and was immediately grabbed in a forceful hug. "Mom." She whispered against her mother's neck, tamping down the tears that she had been holding back as she felt her mother pull from her and take her face in her hands. "We haven't found anything yet, not in DC anyway." She said, watching the disappointment and pain in her mother's eyes. Temperance wiped the tear from her daughter's eye, and dropped her hands, swallowing hard. Grace watched for a moment as she looked toward the door she was heading toward and then back to her.
"Where is Dad?" She asked, noting that the one person that she expected to be here was conspicuously absent.
"He and Aiden are running checks with Ace." She whispered. "Following up on the boy's statements, doing a more thorough search on the facial recognition database from Melody's sketches. They still haven't found the car, there's been no ransom, no word, nothing." Temperance said, her voice wavering slightly as she watched Grace's expression soften. "I just don't understand what they want from her. What could a six year old deaf girl hold that was important enough to kill for?" Temperance asked, trying to find some semblance of logic in the situation.
"People do stupid things for stupid reasons, Mom." She sighed. "Where were you going when I came in?" Grace asked, nodding toward the garage.
"Oh." Temperance said, glancing to the doorway, and then back to Grace. "Mr. Morris seems to have found a few things he would like me to look at in the car."
"Any fingerprints?" Grace asked, watching Temperance shake her head.
"No fingerprints, they must have been wearing gloves, but the blood in the vehicle was not Antonia's or Melody's. One of the kidnappers must have cut himself when he was cutting her out of her seatbelt." She said, nodding toward the garage, Temperance reached into her lab coat pocket and handed a pair of latex gloves to Grace, and they walked through the door to the garage together.
As soon as she stepped into the room, Charlie came toward her with a clipboard. "Doctor Brennan." He smiled softly, taking care not to reveal a trace of pity in his expression. He knew that such a move would not be helpful in her concentration. He watched Grace's expression when she saw the wreckage, her face a bit more pale, and her lip slipped into her mouth.
"What do we have, Mr. Morris?" She asked, straightening, she nodded toward Grace. "I believe you're familiar with my youngest daughter, Grace."
"Officer Booth." He nodded politely, watching as Grace smiled back to him politely. "Doctor Brennan, I understand that there are findings that are more significant than others, so please bear with me on this." He said, watching her eyebrow lift, he knew that he needed to get on with it. "It appears that Antonia was bracing for impact, and it's possible she did it far in advance of the actual crash." He said, watching a flash of confusion across Temperance's face.
"Excuse me?" She asked, watching the scientist carefully, she crossed her arms over her chest.
"Let me show you." He said, walking her over to a table, the seatbelts from the SUV were laid out on the table. He lifted the strap into his hand and showed her the length of belt. "See, a person of Antonia's size and weight would have used approximately this much belt around their waist." He said, showing Temperance a specific amount of belt. "Antonia appeared, and we're not sure how or why, to have pulled the belt from her waist, and pulled it up, possibly to her shoulder. Giving her no lap belt, but double the shoulder strap strength. When she was cut from the car, you'll note that they had to go through two of the straps in order to cut her out of the vehicle." He said, watching as Temperance looked over the straps carefully."
"Why would she do that?" Grace asked, looking between Charlie and her mother.
"I have a few theories, but none of which I'd be comfortable positing without an examination of Antonia herself. Also…" He said, walking toward the car. "You'll note that the damage to the front of the vehicle primarily occurs on the passenger quarter of the car. Melody was secured in her car seat behind Antonia, and Antonia braced herself for impact with a double shoulder strap. Now it's just possible that she was just defensively driving, and ensuring that she was securely in her seat, but…"
"The tire treads behind the hedges seemed intentional." Temperance said, looking at the collection of photographs of the scene that were across the table. "There was no rubber on the pavement. She drove behind those hedges purposely."
"Do you think she hit the tree on purpose?" Grace asked, looking to her mother as Temperance worked through the entire scenario in her head.
"No." She shook her head. "But she knew it was a possibility. Based on where the suspect's tire tracks came through, and the damage on the back driver panel of the vehicle, it was clear that the impact of that is what pushed her into the tree."
"But why the double shoulder strap?" Grace asked. "I don't understand."
Temperance stared at the photos before her, rubbing the strap in her hand for a moment as she analyzed the photos, blocking all sounds from her mind. She pictured her daughter's motives, reasoning, and logic. She could see her in her minds eye, struggling with the seatbelt, desperate to protect herself, desperate to protect Melody.
"Why was the glove compartment open?" She asked, tapping on the photo.
"It appears the suspects were looking for something." He said, swallowing hard. "Oh, that brings me to something else." He said, walking toward the vehicle. He walked up to the front passenger side, where the door had been removed, and pointed at the carpet just below the seat.
"I don't know what was located here in the vehicle, but it appears that there was a box, a metal box possibly, like a cash drawer type thing."
"A gun safe." Grace said under her breath.
"What?" Temperance asked, looking toward Grace. "Antonia didn't own a firearm, Grace."
"Oompa did." Grace said softly. "He kept the safe in the back of his closet. Toni got all of Oompa's things. Maybe she was worried about what dad said, about the suspects. Maybe she had the gun in the car for protection."
"No." Temperance said, shaking her head. "This is all conjecture. Stop. You don't know what was located here, you can't just make assumptions."
"Go to her apartment and see if Oompa's safe is there, Mom. If it's not, that's what was there. It's the right size and shape. They took Ant, they took Melody, and they have Oompa's gun." Grace said, the fear and anxiety in her voice was strong.
"Doctor Brennan?" Emma said from the doorway, Temperance lifted her eyes to her intern curiously. "Agent Booth is on the phone, says it's urgent."
"Thank you." She said. "I'll be right there." She glanced to Grace and pointed her finger as if she were going to say something more, but couldn't find the words. "Go home to Jack, Grace." She said, the pain in her voice was evident. "We'll deal with the evidence we find as we see fit." She said, and simply walked out of the room quickly. She reached her office and grabbed her phone, closing the door behind her. She lifted the receiver to her ear and sighed. "Brennan." She snapped.
"Bones, hey." Booth said, his voice was calm. His voice was a little too calm. "Aiden and I are on our way to Shenandoah. They think they found the car."
"They think they found the car? Who found the car? Just the car? Did they find Antonia? Booth? Did they find the girls? Are they there?"
"Bones." Booth said softly. "Listen to me."
"What?" She said, sitting in her chair slowly, she glanced toward the door as it opened slowly, and Ace stepped inside, followed by Grace, with Hodgins and Angela right behind her. "Booth, what the hell is going on?"
"The cops that found the car said there were two gunshot victims in the trunk. Bones, we have no idea if this is a lead or not. Ace should be on his way to wait with you."
"He's here." She whimpered, accepting his arms around her as she buried her head in his shoulder. "Are they…"
"Last I heard they are in serious condition on their way to a nearby hospital. I will let you know as soon as I know, as soon as I see her." Booth said, his voice so calm that it was nearly unsettling.
"Aiden is with you?" Temperance whispered.
"He's here, he's holding himself together pretty well. Bones, I will call you the second that I know something. The second, you got it?"
"Okay." She whispered as she dropped the phone, having no strength to find its place, as she wrapped her arms around Ace tightly, and immediately began to sob.