Chapter 8

Back in Idaho Springs, Sunday at 3:00 p.m. MST (5:00 p.m. EST)

The police were still looking for Kelly Mitchell while Booth waited for the files being faxed over to the station. Brennan had walked back to the hotel to grab her files. There was something bothering her about the strange disappearance of Dr. Saunders' receptionist and a frozen man from Birmingham, Alabama. Was there a connection? What was Henry Wasmund doing all the way out here? Why did Dr. Saunders have to die? All these questions and the bodies weren't leading them anywhere. The possibility of Zach missing something wasn't that probable, he was a very capable forensic anthropologist. Still something was bothering her.

"Hi, Dr. Brennan. How's it going?" Tim, the desk clerk, asked as, she walked into the lobby of the hotel.

"Not too bad." She smiled and walked up the stairs that led to the landing and her room. The three-floor hotel was small and walking up the stairs was nice instead of having to ride the elevator. It seemed as if this small quaint place had its secrets.

Inserting the key into her door, she turned the key in the lock. The door opened, she walked inside and flicked on the light. Immediately she noticed that something was out of place. She had left her laptop case on the dresser with her laptop still in it. Now the laptop lay on the floor in pieces and the case lay discarded a few feet away from the broken computer. Her instincts told her to back out of the room and find Booth. She listened and carefully backed herself toward the door when suddenly the world went black.

FBI Special Agent Booth gathered the papers that were being faxed over the machine. Apparently the case file on Henry Wasmund was pretty long and some of it was for FBI personnel eyes only. This guy had either been doing a lot of dirty work or was constantly in the wrong place at the wrong time. There were five suspected murders, three break-ins, and at least ten items pilfered. However, the file on Kelly Mitchell was apparently non-existent. The agent at the Denver field office, Ian Just, said that he couldn't find anything on her and that he would call as soon as he did. His gut told him that something was up and he immediately made a call to Sam, his gopher back in D.C. Sam promised to call him as soon as he got something. His gut told him that in some strange way that everything was connected.

"Got all your paperwork?" Deputy Brockman asked.

"Yeah, I'm going over to the hotel. Call me if you get anything on Kelly Mitchell." Booth said.

"As soon as I know, you'll know." The sheriff's deputy smiled and walked back over to his desk. The whole encounter seemed harmless but something made Booth's gut do a flip-flop. There could be a dirty cop and that would explain why they were led in the wrong direction with Richard Kidd. Of course it was a real possibility that maybe Dr. Saunders wasn't all that he seemed to be either. His 'trust no one' feeling tugged at the back of his head. Brennan might be the only one who he could trust. Quickly, he grabbed his things and headed out to the rented SUV. He fired it up and drove it back down the street to the hotel. Then he parked it and went inside.

"Hey Agent Booth. Case going well?" Tim asked.

"Well I can't really discuss it. Deputy Brockman might be calling later so if you could get me when he does, I'd appreciate it." Booth said.

"Sure no problem." The desk clerk continued to smile as Booth turned and headed up the stairs. He stopped at Brennan's door and knocked on it. When she didn't answer, he called her name; still no response. The FBI Agent banged again on the door, louder than before. When no reply came, he pulled his Glock 22 from his shoulder holster and kicked the door in. Immediately, he saw his partner's limp body on the floor. He kneeled down and checked for a pulse. When he was satisfied that her pulse was strong enough, he made a sweep of the room and bathroom before tending to his partner.

"I need medical assistance at the Pine Tree Hotel room 204. Dr. Brennan has been attacked." Booth called Deputy Brockman.

"I'll send EMS over immediately." Marty told him and hung up. Booth carefully tried to wake his partner and she began to stir.

"Booth?" She asked almost too quiet for him to hear.

"It's all right. Help is on the way." He told her. Brennan blinked slowly and tried to sit up.

"I hardly think that's necessary. I just received a blow to my cranium, I'm not bleeding or anything." Her voice became stronger as Booth pulled her back against his chest.

"You need to get checked out. Besides it seems whoever was in your room did a number on your computer. Things are getting dangerous around here." The concern was evident in his voice.

"Nothing I can't handle." She smiled. The sound of footsteps on the stairs alerted them to the incoming assistance.

To Be Continued…