A/N: Sorry for the delay! Here is the next chapter! I am hoping to have another one up tonight. Thank you to Bellabun, icydragon14, bb-4ever and SnoopGirl69 for your fabulous reviews!
"Lespedeza virginica." Hodgins shouted, rushing towards the centre of the platform.
"Calm down Hodgins." Cam said. "What did you find?"
"Virginia bush clover on Max." Hodgins replied.
"Okay…." Cam said.
"If he was stabbed in jail, why would he have clover from Virginia on him?" Brennan said, coming up on to the platform.
"Exactly." Hodgins replied.
"We need to determine exactly when he was moved." Brennan noted.
"And whether it was before or after he died." Zach stated. "Although before is the more reasonable assumption."
"Definitely." Hodgins said. "The particulates of the clover were embedded into his remains, which indicates that he was killed in a grassy field, not a jail cell."
"Why would they pull him out of jail and go kill him in Virginia and then deposit him back in the jail cell?" Cam asked.
"Unless he never made it to the jail cell in the first place." Hodgins noted.
"Here." Angela said, coming up to them. "I have the faces done."
"Let me see." Brennan gestured to the stack of papers in Angela's hand.
"Bren, I…" Angela started.
"Let me see." She said firmly.
Angela handed her the pictures slowly. She flipped through them, the faces of Delaney, McVicar, Norris and finally her mom and dad flashing before her.
"Good Ange." She said quietly.
"Have you talked to Russ?" Angela blurted out.
"I don't think that's relevant to the…" she started.
"You should talk to him." Angela said firmly, cutting her off.
"Talk to who?" Booth asked, making his way up to the platform.
"Nothing." She said. "Here are the pictures."
Booth flicked through them, pausing on the pictures of her mom and dad. She looked so alike her mother, but her fire and spirit definitely came from Max.
"Good Angela." He said. "Have we got anything else?"
"Hodgins found bush clover on Max." she replied. "He was killed in Virginia."
"Here's what I think." Booth said. "Willie spots your dad in Fairfax and goes to kill him. Corrupt FBI agent tells him to do it his way and instead Willie calls in the anonymous tip, letting the FBI know where your dad is. Max is arrested, we interrogate him and then he is lead away to prison. But in actual fact, he is led right back to Willie in Virginia. Why? Because the FBI agent promised Willie that he could kill your father as a reward. FBI guy bribes the warden and the prison guards to make up a story about your dad being stabbed in his cell."
"Jeez." Hodgins said, shaking his head.
"Yeah." Booth replied grimly. "This means that whoever the corrupt FBI agent is, he's at the top. A regular FBI agent wouldn't have the power to bribe a warden. Hodgins, can you narrow down this clover thing to a specific area in Virginia?"
"No man, Lespedeza virginica grows everywhere down there." Hodgins said. "But I can look again."
"Okay well we will start with Fairfax and go from there. See if the locals have anything to say." Booth said.
"Are we leaving right now?" she asked.
"Sooner is better than later. We will have to swing by our apartments to get our overnight stuff." He replied.
She nodded and headed towards her office to get her things.
"We will keep looking for evidence." Cam stated.
"Okay. And Angela?" he said, turning towards her. "Can you look in on Russ when I'm gone. I know he's not your favourite but…"
"Yeah, sure." Angela replied.
"And I've got Cullen trying to figure out about Pete Norris and whether he really was an FBI agent and… dammit!" He exclaimed, whipping out his cellphone. "I was supposed to meet Orville this afternoon."
"Orville?" Brennan asked, returning with her things.
"My lawyer." He said, waiting for the receptionist to pick up. "Um, hi this is Seeley Booth, I had an appointment with Orville this afternoon about my custody case. Yes, unfortunately I can't make it. Oh. Okay then, bye."
"Ready to go?" he asked her. She nodded and followed him out of the Jeffersonian and to his car.
Uncomfortable was not a strong enough word to describe the tension that was in the car as they drove over to his place. Neither of them said a word or dared to look at each other. When they reached his apartment she hesitated, unsure about whether she wanted to go upstairs and see Russ again. Not to mention being in Booth's apartment again. She sighed and exited the car, following Booth upstairs.
Booth opened the door and found Russ sitting on the couch, drinking a beer and watching the hockey game.
"Hey." Booth said, causing Russ to look up. "I'm just going to go get my stuff." He said to her, making his way to the bedroom.
She was frozen at the door, unsure of what to say. The last time she was here, she fled from the fort that him and Parker had built. Fled from the idea of family.
"Hi." She said softly.
"Hi." He answered, shifting his gaze back to the tv.
She moved towards him and sat down on the couch beside him.
"I'm sorry." Russ said suddenly. She turned to look at him and saw tears in his eyes. "I know it's not your fault, you are trying to find the truth and I can't….I can't even help you."
"It's okay." She replied.
"No it's not." He said sharply. "I'm your brother. I am supposed to help you, protect you. But I was never any good at that was I?"
"Yes you were." She said softly. "Remember when that kid Ricky stole my doll? You got it back for me."
He let out a short laugh. "That's true. You were only six though."
"I still remember." She replied. "And I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have gotten mad, I just…"
"I get why you were." He said. "I said some things I shouldn't have…"
"Me too." She said. "I didn't mean to….I mean there are going to be things that I am still going to have a hard time with. I mean you lied to me Russ, I trusted you and you lied. But I shouldn't have said those things when we were questioning you."
"Why don't we just say it was both our faults?" Russ said, giving a small smile.
She smiled back. "Okay."
"I miss them." He said quietly, so quietly she could barely hear him.
She reached out and placed her hand on top of his.
"Me too." She choked out. "Me too."