A/N: I'm too impatient for my own good. I just love getting your review and know the only way to keep them coming is to post new chapters. This one is nice and long. Hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bones. Wish I did. But I'd probably be happy if I got Seeley or Jack, even on loan. I'm not picky.
Chapter 4 The New Case (Monday morning)
Temperance Brenann Booth awoke in bed alone. Still, much better than sleeping in the office she thought, refreshed from the night, held close in Booth's arms. Her eyes were immediately drawn to their wedding picture hung prominantly above his dresser. She smiled, recalling the day when Russ walked her down the aisle to a waiting Booth. Angela stood as her Maid of Honor, Parker and Sam were the Best Men. But this picture was just her and Booth facing each other at the alter. He was flashing the ever present charm smile she returned a wide one of her own.
Moving to the bathroom, Temperance found a note on the mirror. B- Taking the boys to school and checking in with Cullem. I'll bring your car over before lunch. Love, B.
Downstairs Temperance found breakfast waiting on the table, still warm. She heated it briefly in the microwave and took the plate to her office. Booting up her computer she mentally reviewed the day's tasks. Check in with Angela. Finish my book. Hand off the completed case files to Booth. Scanning her desk she noticed he'd already picked up the files. And left another note. B- Don't work too hard (ha). I'll be home for lunch and we'll get you to the lab. Enjoy the quiet morning. Love, B.
If only he knew how much I missed the loud mornings and afternoons while the boys were camping. Booth was constantly chasing the kids around in their Spiderman pajamas, playing monster. Several afternoons she'd sit on the porch swing watching her boys toss a football back and forth, play catch, practice soccer drills. Temperance focused for a minute, trying to recall the first time she'd known they were her boys. Probably the first weekend Sam was here. It had rained so much and Booth was annoyed they couldn't ride bikes until things dried out. She smiled at the recollection, Temperance had stunned them all by declaring the rain could not stop her fun. She'd picked up a football and run outside barefoot, challenging them to a game in the pouring rain. We must have looked horrible all covered in mud. I can still see the leaves in Booth's hair. Probably because my illegal tackle put them there. But the memory of Sam and Parker's laughter was worth it all.
A familiar ring from her cell phone brought Temperance out of her daydream.
"Booth." She answered, waiting for the usual response. She was not disappointed.
"Temperance, we have a new case. I'm transporting the body back to the lab as we speak. Zack is finishing up at the scene and Hodgins will be there to give you a ride soon."
"Booth, what's going on? You left here," she checked her watch, "no more than an hour ago, how'd you get a case so quickly? Why is the body moving before I get to the site?" Her questions came as quickly as Booth's instructions had.
"I'll explain everything when I get back to the lab. Bones, I'm sorry I just don't want you out here." Her automatic defensive response was quelched by the genuine anguish in his voice.
"Okay, I'll see you soon. Love you."
"Love you back." He hung up and she swiveled aimlessly in her desk chair, wondering what was so special about this case. She knew the victim couldn't be anyone she knew, if so she wouldn't be on the case. So why did Booth insist on keeping her away from the site?
Temperance helped her best friend out of Hodgin's 'toy car,' as Booth called it, and into the house. After promises to stay put, keep her feet up and watch the boys after school Angela shooed them out and picked up the tv remote. The artist, clad in her most comfortable leggings and a bright maternity top that complemented her skin tone, curled her feet beneath her. "Thank you Booth. Thank you for bringing television back into her house." She said aloud to the empty room before settling in to watch the Price is Right.
In the car Hodgins quickly brought Temperance up to date on the new case. Skeletal remains found uncovered in the nearby Blue Ridge Mountains. Zack was in the lab late Sunday night when the call from the park rangers came in. The body was buried in the northern tip of the Shenandoah National Park, FBI territory. Zack had identified the body as a female, thirty to thiry-five years old, Caucasian.
Temperance nodded, recognizing the area. The previous fall Booth had arranged a private tour for the family at the Luray caverns nearby. She'd explained to the boys how the chemical reaction caused by the calcium carbonate and lime deposits formed stalactites and stalagmites. Booth took over the tour when they reached the nearby wax museum pointing out political and cultural figures. They'd sat, as a family, before the impressive recreation of Da Vinci's Last Supper. Temperance smiled at the memory.
"What was the position of the body?" Temperance refocused on the case before her.
Hodgins reluctantly relayed the details of how the body was found to the anthropologist. Buried face down in a shallow grave with her hands tied in front of her the victim had substantial head trama and appeared to have been covered with a shallow layer of dirt and leaves. The recent rains and heat had advanced decomposition rapidly.
"Zack's bringing back samples of particulates found on the body and, according to him, a mess of bugs to keep me busy." Hodgins finished as they pulled into the Jeffersonian parking lot.
"Victim was definitely killed somewhere else and dumped in the woods. Lack of blood splatter in the surrounding area and the missing pieces from the reconstructed skull indicated the killer moved the body shortly after death." Zack's monotone voice carried across the platform. He looked tired having only stopped working the case long enough to replace his mud stained and wet blue jumper for a clean lab coat.
"Are you sure you didn't miss some of the bones at the site?" Temperance asked as she examined the femer bone on the table.
"Bones!" She jumped at the sound of her husband's voice but shot him a quick smile as he scanned his key card and practically bounced up on the platform. "Of course the kid didn't miss anything. I was there when they finished processing the scene. Not a stone left uncovered." He sent her a familiar look and she caught his meaning.
"Sorry, Zack. Reflex. So, the victim was killed somewhere else, where?"
"Based on particulates found around the victims' patella I'd say indoors. In a room with shag carpeting. I'm working on the manufacturer and color now." Hodgins entered the platform tossing reports to Booth while listing the new facts for the doctors.
"How can there be carpet fragments? You saw the body, Zack, there was little left but the bones." Booth was pacing, motioning to the body as he spoke.
"Actually, there were bits of flesh remaining on the underside of the victim, where it was protected from the elements. Before he cleaned the bones, Zack was able to obtain tissue samples for DNA testing and pathology reports. Also, part of a finger was in tact, we may get a partial fingerprint." Temperance smiled triumpantly, enjoying their familiar tango to the truth.
"And," inserted Zack, "the damage to the right posterior femer indicate the victim was injured, her leg possibly broken before she sustained the blow to the head." He used his pen to point at the gaping hole in the skull.
"The carpet fragment could have been lodged in the wound when the body was transported. The polymer fibers take much longer to break down than flesh. But, we did find three distinct samples, each 4 microns in diameter indicating the body could have been wrapped in a carpet before disposed." Continued Hodgins, his blue eyes shining.
"So, what are we looking at people? A Caucasian woman between thirty and thirty-five killed with a blow to the head by?"
"Object unknown until we recover the missing pieces of the skull." Finished Temperance.
"Okay, unknown object, died on, near or was wrapped in a shag carpet and dumped in the woods, how long ago?" Booth turned to Hodgins.
"Based on the ratio of larvae—" a sharp look from Booth cut him off "ten to eleven days ago."
"Thank you. Now we have something to go on. I'll start sorting through missing persons reports as soon as, Cam, your artist gets me a sketch." The woman who'd been observing the exchange silently nodded and Booth left the platform, heading not for the exit, but for Temperance's private office.
She followed him, curious if he would assault her with kisses, pinning her against the closed door or be waiting on the couch for a recap of her day. Chances were 50/50 according to the doctor's recent experience. Instead, Temperance found him gathering her jacket and purse and handing them to her with a knowing look.
"I can't go yet, we're just getting started on the analysis of the victim's leg injury and the sketch should be ready soon." Her protests were silenced with a quick kiss.
Towering just inches above her face, Booth leaned in gently. "Don't forget about someone at home who is up past her bedtime." Temperance checked the clock and shot him a guilty smile, "I guess it's time to send Angela home. Let's go."
The Booths left the lab, waving to the working scientists as they walked arm in arm to their cars.
END Chapter
A/N: It's been a few years since I visited the sites described in this chapter. Can't be sure if the wax exhibit is the same but I'm pretty sure the caves haven't been redecorated. I'll just let you know right now, I love research. I had a blast imagining how this woman was killed and dumped and then finding out how to explain it to you all. More techno jumbo to come along with a little more of the Booth family home.