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my story. I hope you like it – some obviously do, which makes me a
very happy camper! If anybody has corrections or suggestions to make,
don't hesitate to do so. I welcome any help I can get!
While
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taste yummy. And now: sit back, relax, enjoy the next chapter!
Zach was closely examining the body inch by inch with a magnifying glass.
"Dr. Brennan, I can't find any evidence for assault. The bones seem to be intact as far as I can see."
Temperance Brennan observed Zach's examination. She took a closer look at the body's jaw and larynx, but also couldn't find any abnormalities. She looked up to Zach.
"So, Dr. Addy, what do you suggest is the cause of death, considering what we found here so far?"
Zach reached to the victim's chest and pulled some tissue aside.
"Well, we see here that the victim's lung is pretty much collapsed. Even in this state of composition, I would assume that this indicates suffocation. As there doesn't seem to be any damage to the larynx and its adjoining areas, I would say the poor guy simply ran out of air. The box was not airtight, but he didn't have much space in there, and then probably being in the cargo compartment of an airplane, a couple of thousand feet above ground... doesn't really help you breath."
Brennan nodded. "He probably did suffocate, I agree. What else have we got? Any ID?"
Zach turned away from the bones to show her two petri dishes, which contained small particles.
"No ID. Only small stuff. Here is what I found under the victim's fingernails. I put it under the microscope. It's wood, probably from the box he was in – Hodgins still has to match it, though."
Brennan put the petri dish under the microscope to take a look at it.
"If it is the same wood, then that is even more proof that he was still alive when put in there. I guess he couldn't move in there, so when he ran out of air, he panicked and pressed his fingers into the wood."
Zach nodded and pointed towards a lab tray nearby.
"Here is what is left from his clothes. No labels in there. Looks like a cotton shirt and worn denim pants. The uneven seams are probably a sign of a cheap, low quality. Same for the shoes – probably cheap sneakers. Size 8."
"Did you find anything in the pockets?"
"Nothing except some lint. But the clothes are pretty much rotten, the pockets are bearing holes and anything that might have been in there could have easily fallen out." Zach shrugged.
Right that moment, Hodgins arrived. "Fallen out?" he asked. "Like, let's say... a photograph?"
He held something up with a pair of tweezers. It was a small photograph of a young woman. It was in a very bad shape, it had an even pattern of straight marks on its surface, probably from being folded.
Hodgins gave it to Brennan.
"I found it in one of the gaps between the wooden planks from the box. Almost missed it, it was folded into a neat little paper ball. The box, by the way, is a very simple wooden container. Bad quality. There's a small imprinting in Spanish on the side, probably some company who used that thing before." Jack looked over to the body.
"My guess is it comes somewhere from South America. Boxes like that are still used in some south American countries to transport goods. Finding it here, especially at the airport, means that someone may have used it on a cargo plane – which is pretty uncommon. Usually plastic or metal containers are used for air transportation."
Brennan still looked at the woman in the photograph. She looked beautiful. She turned the picture around. Someone had scribbled "Isa" on the back, with a small heart drawn at the side. Angela came up to her and looked over her shoulder. Zach tried to put two and two together.
"So, we have a box from south America, containing a body of a young male who was probably hidden in that box when he was still alive. No indication that someone killed him on purpose. Cheap clothing, no personal belongings except maybe this photograph of a woman." He sounded very rational.
Angela took the photo from Brennan's hands. She sighed.
"Oh guys, this is so sad. I can almost see it – a poor young fellow from a poor south American country with a plan of going somewhere else, where he can have a better life... Only thing he takes with him is the only photograph of his girl, hoping he will one day see her again. It is tragic!"
Hodgins put her arms around her. "You're such a romantic, Ange. You haven't lost touch to the real world, like genius boy here."
Zach looked offended. "I was merely sticking to the facts."
Brennan interrupted the two men. "Guys, let's get to the point. Zach, I want you to clean the bones so Angela can do a facial reconstruction. Angela, take the photograph and make a scan, so we have something we can work with within our database. Hodgins, when you're through with your workplace romance, maybe you could finish your work on that box. Find out which country it came from. What was in there. Match the particles Zach found under his fingernails to the wood."
She went to her office.
The three scientists got to their places quickly in order to fulfill their given tasks. Angela giggled quietly, while thinking of a new nickname for her best friend. Something like "General Brennan" came to her mind.
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Booth had spent some time at the airport, questioning the men who had found the body and talking to the airport staff about the cargo planes that using the airport on a regular basis. He had found out that there weren't that many flights from South- and Central America coming in. In the last couple of weeks, it had only been around twenty machines which had landed there, all with the correct paperwork and no problems at customs.
He asked the airport cargo manager for a list of companies who directly imported goods from south America. The list contained three well-known wholesale traders. Booth doubted that those had anything to to with smuggling people to the U.S., but as there were no other leads until the squints would inform him of their findings, he decided to pay the three companies a visit.
The first two companies didn't look suspicious to him at all. The managers were very supportive and let him check the reports on their recent cross-border transactions. Both of them supplied him with their phone numbers, should he have any further questions.
It was already afternoon and Booth was in the car on his way to the third address on the list, when his cell phone rang. Checking the display, he saw that it was Brennan.
"Bones?" he answered the phone.
"Yes, hi Booth."
"How are things going at the lab? What did you find out so far?"
"The victim obviously wasn't subject to an assault. He probably suffocated in that box. Angela's working on a facial reconstruction. So far we found out that the box probably came from South America. Jack's pretty sure that it's from El Salvador, judging by what he made out of the few Spanish word's we found. Oh, and there's a photograph."
"What kind of photograph? Where did you find it?"
"It was stuck between the wooden gaps of the box, folded neatly. Must have fallen out of the victim's pocket as he...well, decomposed. It's the picture of a woman. Probably Hispanic. Name might be "Isa", or "Isabel", as that's what it says on the back. "
"That's pretty good, Bones. I'm impressed."
"So how's your investigation going? When are you joining us at the lab?"
Booth pulled the car over in front of a large brick building.
"I'm actually almost done with checking some trading companies. One more to go, then I'll be there. "
"OK."
"Oh, and Bones?"
"Yes, Booth?"
"Grab yourself a coffee. Take a break. Relax for a while. We'll continue when I get there."
"Sure."
He just knew she was lying. He sighed.
When he entered the building, nothing appeared to be odd at first. He was greeted by a staff member, then introduced to the manager. It seemed to be one of those days where flashing an FBI badge really gained you some respect.
Again, he took a look at some lists and files. Nothing new. He turned to the manager.
"Excuse me Sir, but how often do you have business contacts to El Salvador?"
The manager gave him a puzzled look. "El Salvador? We don't do business there at all. You know, that country is still very poor, not really an ideal candidate for the import/export-business."
Booth nodded. The manager continued talking. "It's really a shame what the war did to those poor people over there. Lost even the little they had. Jose Dias, my accountant, fled the country with his family in the early nineties. He always says if he had stayed there, some of them probably would have starved, or been killed, or raped. You name it."
Booth listened closely. "Sir, would it be possible to speak to Mr. Dias?"
The manager shook his head. "I'm afraid he won't be in until tonight. He often works late, likes to have time for his family during the day. And for us, it's convenient, as he can work off what piles up during a busy day." He paused. "Why would you wanna talk to him, anyway? I mean, we have nothing to hide, he is a legal resident of the United States. I wouldn't employ anybody who was an illegal immigra..."
Booth cut him off. "No Sir, that's not what this is all about. It's just, the body we found might have been someone from El Salvador. And as I don't really know much about that country, I am interested in any general information your employee could provide me with. I never suspected any illegal activity in your company."
He managed to calm down the manager with those words. He left his phone number, so Jose Dias could call him up for an appointment later that day. After taking a final look at some business papers, but not finding anything peculiar, he left and made his way back to the lab.
The squints were already waiting for him. Angela waved at him with her sketchbook, while Zach started to babble about some DNA profiles they were able to create. Booth felt a little run over.
"Whoa, guys. Let me just get myself in here, would you. Where is Brennan?"
Hodgins walked over and pointed to her office. "She's in there, finishing the database research. We scanned the photograph in an attempt to maybe find something about this Isa-woman."
As he finished that sentence, Brennan already stepped out of her office. She looked very content. "Oh, hi Booth! Guys, you won't believe what I found..."
Awww...I am sorry, but I have to leave you with this little cliffie. I am not sure when I will be able to update, but I will do my very best to give you new chapters on a regular basis. And never forget: make me smile, push that little review button... ;o) (Come on guys, I even gave you muffins! And weren't those good?)