Chapter 4
Back in Idaho Springs, Saturday at 1:00 p.m. MST (3:00 p.m. EST)
Booth and Brennan sat in Beau Jo's, Idaho Springs' famous pizza restaurant, waiting for their order. A silence had fallen between them due to the fact that Brennan was engrossed in the file she held and occasionally writing notes. The small encounter earlier had been nerve racking for both of them and they both refused to talk about it.
"Do you two want refills?" Their waitress, Jane, asked them breaking the oppressive silence.
"I do. Uh what about you Bones?" Booth asked. She nodded absent-mindedly and he thanked the waitress. The FBI Agent was about to say something to his partner when her phone rang.
"Brennan." She answered.
"Hey Bren, it's Angela." Her friend's voice came over the phone.
"Hi Ange. Did Hodgins find anything in the dirt?" Brennan wondered.
"We've sifted through most of it but have come up empty." The forensic artist said.
"What about bug activity?" She wondered.
"About what you'd expect for the mountains; dead and frozen. However I was able to use the Angelator on those photos you sent me. I'm running the adjusted image through the missing persons database." Angela told her.
"All right. Give me a call when you get anything more." Brennan said.
"Listen, when are you going to send the body? Cam is chomping at the bit to take a look at it." The forensic artist wondered.
"She'll get it when I'm done with it. We're still trying to figure out the best way to ship it without it completely defrosting." The forensic anthropologist's tone was snappish.
"Are you ok? I know you have your issues with Cam but there's no need to be like that to me." Angela said.
"I'm sorry, I'm just tired and I still can't figure out how the body remained upright through all the snow and everything. Plus I almost fell and broke my leg today." Brennan told her.
"What?" Her friend asked.
"I have to go, I'll call you." Brennan hurriedly said and hung up the phone leaving Angela to wonder what was going on out in Colorado.
"Bones, we need to talk." Booth said as the waitress brought over their refills.
"Your pizza will be up in a minute." Jane told them. Booth smiled and then turned his attention back to Brennan.
"Booth, there's nothing to talk about. Deputy Brockman said that the area was full of old mine shafts. I should have been more careful. You were there and you saved me. What else is there to talk about?" She wondered. Booth just shook his head. Immediately Brennan regretted what she had said but it was too late to take it back. Jane brought out the pizza and set it down on the table.
"Here you go. Enjoy!" She smiled and walked away from the partners. They ate in silence. When they finished, Booth paid the bill and left a tip then they headed back to their hotel.
Brennan focused on the paperwork while Booth drove the short distance to their accommodations. When they arrived he shut the engine off and turned to her.
"Dr. Wyatt asked me whether or not I killed Epps or I wad just there when he died." The FBI Agent stopped.
"Booth you couldn't…" he cut her off.
"The fact is, I don't know. I don't know if I let him fall or if I just couldn't hold on. I had you in my hands this afternoon and that came back to me. I had to hold on, I couldn't let you fall. I…" This time Brennan interrupted him. She leaned across the seat and pressed her lips to his. When they separated, he smiled slightly.
"Booth, I have the utmost confidence in you. I knew that you wouldn't let me fall. You've always been there to stop me from falling and I couldn't consider myself your partner if I didn't do the same." She smiled. This time he leaned over and kissed her.
"Come on let's get inside before we freeze." He said. The two exited the rented SUV and walked into the hotel. Tim, the desk clerk, greeted them.
"We're expecting a foot of snow tonight. By tomorrow we should be full up with skiers." He said.
"Geez, does it ever get warm around here?" Booth asked.
"Only around late May til the beginning of October." Tim smiled.
"Great. I'll go thaw out in my room then." The FBI Agent said. Tim laughed and the partners headed up the stairs of the quaint little inn. Brennan kept repeating Booth's words in her head. Thaw out. Thaw out.
"We need to go to the morgue." She said.
"What are you thinking?" He asked.
"I think I know how the body was kept upright." Brennan told him. Quickly the two partners raced back down the stairs and headed to see Dr. Saunders.
"You think that he was frozen and then stuck in the ground?" The coroner wondered.
"That would explain why the drag mark pictures I looked at only had one wide swath. If the body was limp, it would have been hard to drag up the trail and then get it to stand up while burying it. This why our killer could drag the body on it's side and then he just planted it like you would a petunia." Brennan explained.
"Incredible. So we should check for freezer burn." Dr. Saunders said.
"Unfortunately with the bad mountain weather, it will be difficult to tell the difference between freezer burn and the damage done by the mountain. I'm thinking we should try to scrape under our victim's nails and see if he was alive when he was put in the freezer." The forensic anthropologist told him.
"All right, but how do you suggest pulling his fingers apart without breaking them off?" Booth asked.
"Well his left hand was already extended, that's how Leo got the fingerprints but his right hand is clenched as if he were holding something." Brennan said.
"I think we should use my heater gun A.K.A my receptionist's hair dryer." Saunders smiled.
"She keeps her hair dryer at work?" Brennan asked.
"You keep an extra set of clothes at the Jeffersonian." Her partner pointed out.
"We use it when the water pipes freeze." Leo told them.
"Kelly, where'd you put your hair dryer?" he called to the receptionist.
"I've got it Doc. Here you go." Kelly handed him the home appliance. Once it was plugged in, Dr. Saunders turned it on low and slowly began to free up the victim's fingers. Brennan carefully began to peel the thawing appendages back until she saw what was inside the clenched fist.
"What the hell is that?" Booth asked.
"It's a finger." Brennan's eyes went wide.
"Our vic isn't missing a finger." The G-man reminded her.
"I know; this must be the killer's finger." She said.
To Be Continued…