Here is Chapter 3 just as I promised.
Title: The Body in the Story
Summary: Some stories are worth repeating and some people are just worth talking to again...
Rating: T
Genre: Drama/Romance/Mystery/Tragedy
Characters: Temperance "Bones" Brennan, Seeley Booth, Camille "Cam" Saroyan, Tim "Sully" Sullivan, Angela Montenegro, Jack Hodgins, Zach Addy, and Sam Cullen
Other People: Raycheil Alai Raines, Colby John Raines, Geoffrey Tim Jakes, Autumn Joyce Sparks, Gregory Alan Collins, Dakota James Jones, and Shelbey Alaina Jones
Pairings: Booth/Brennan, Ange/Jack, Cam/Sully and family relationships
Jeffersonian; Washington, DC
Tim Sullivan hadn't really expected a call from Brennan. Or Cam, for that matter. Yet his mind was bent on pining for her ever since they split. Her being Temperance Brennan. No matter, though. He knew that to her, work was always first. So he didn't spend his time wondering if she would end up with Seeley Booth or not. Because that was not pining nor any of his business.
Yet since both she and Booth were in Pennsylvania, it hadn't come to a surprise for Sully that the Jeffersonian team needed another set of hands. It was the least he could do to help...that and getting his mind cleared of things.
He took a righ down the hall leading to Cam's office and stopped at her doorway, leaning his head in. "You rang for me?"
Cam looked up. "Oh, hi. Yes I did," she got up from her desk and walked past Sully, heading to where Angela would be sitting at her computer, reconstructing.
"Okay," Sully made a face, following her. "Want to tell me what's going on?"
"You know that Booth and Brennan are in Pennsylvania," Cam said.
Sully nodded. Of course he was. How could he not? "Yes. But I have a feeling that's not why you called me here. To discuss that, I mean."
"We have a case and we need some extra help."
As he'd thought. "With you so far," Sully dug his hands in his pants' pockets.
"The victim is a school teacher. Somewhere from twenty to thirty. Angela's working on that right now."
They both took a left down another hall. "Name or haven't you gotten that yet?"
"Raycheil Raines," Cam said. "Brennan asid it sounded familiar."
"To her or the whole team?"
"Her," Angela quipped as the two walked into the room. The artist sat at a computer, working her magic at reconstructing with her special computer program.
"Any idea how?"
"Nope," Angela hit a key on her keyboard. "I got a face. Name's right and all."
Cam and Sully stood behind Angela as she enlarged her data. The woman had bright blue eyes, long, red hair, fair skin, and a nice smile. It matched the photo identically to Angela's drawing.
"She's twenty-six," Angela said, "and she had just moved to Philly after her husband and she married." She hit a key and brought up a photo of a man with short cropped black hair and green eyes.
"'Colby Raines. Stockbroker'," Sully read. "How long have they been married?"
Angela looked. "Two years exactly before she died. Why?"
"No reason. What's, uh, her family line?"
"Just a husband and rich father," Cam said. "Geoffrey Jakes owns one of the largest business industries in Philidelphia."
Sully nodded and bit his bottom lip. "Huh. Did you send this to Booth and Brennan?"
"Getting on that now," Angela said.
Cam looked at the agent. "Why?"
"Because if Brennan's right and she does have an itching feeling about Mrs. Raines, then I want to know," Sully told her.
Cam looked at him still confused and Angela did the same. "Why?" the artist asked. "Do you have an itch, too?"
Sully looked at the two women briefly, then bit his thumb. "No. But if she does, it has to be something good."
Philidelphia, Pennsylvania; Marriott Hotel
"Bones!" Booth called from the other side of the bathroom door. "Angela sent you files!" He stared at the message blared on his partner's laptop.
Brennan opened the door, sweeping her wet hair up into a ponytail. She'd just gotten out of the shower and had never felt more awake. She sat on her hotel bed and set the laptop in front of her. Booth sat next to her.
She double clicked on the flie, bringing up every information and photo Angela had shown to Sully and Cam moments before. "Write these down," she told Booth, pointing to the names and addresses of the people.
Booth grabbed his pen out of his blazer jacket and a nearby pad. "On it, Bones, relax."
"Can we talk to them now?"
"Let me give Jones a call. He can get clearification from his boss. We should be good then," Booth grabbed his cell phone and got up.
Brennan stared long and hard at the photo of Raycheil Raines. "I can't place her face," she said quietly to herself.
"Hi, Jones, it's Booth. Listen we need to interrogate some possible..." Booth's voice faded as Brennan searched her mind. Slowly to herself, she said:
"'Raycheil would always be my family. She was the only one who would be around...the only one left...whether she needed me or I needed her...'"
"Alright, thanks," Booth hung up and looked at his partner. "What'd you say, Bones?"
Brennan shook her head. "Nothing. It's nothing."
"O...kay then. Well we're in. Let's go get us some answers," Booth grinned like a kid at Christmas and it made Brennan smile slightly.
She got up and grabbed her laptop, closing it and putting it into her bag. Shaking off the words--or at least trying to--she followed Booth to the SUV and got into the passenger side.
Booth looked at her for a moment. "You sure you don't have anything you need to say?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just drive," she gestured a hand out towards the road ahead.
Booth sighed, slipped his sunglasses on, then pulled out of the hotel parking lot. "You confound me, Temperance. You really do."
Philidelphia, Pennsylvania; Downtown Cop Station; Interrogation Room
Colby Raines was a man of virtues. He was a man who knew and talked business. The type of man Seeley Booth liked and considered a catch.
Inside the Interrogation Room, Brennan sat in a chair across from Colby Raines and Booth stood next to her, folder in hand. He slipped out the photo of Raycheil and slid it over to him.
Colby carefully picked it up and stared hard at the smiling, beautiful face of his dead wife.
"Mr. Raines, when was the last time you saw your wife?" Booth asked in his serious FBI tone that let known he meant business, yet softly just the same.
Laying the picture down on the table, Colby answered, "Yesterday morning. The last time I talked to her was that same afternoon. She--left for work. She was meeting Autumn--"
"Who, Mr. Raines?"
"Autumn Sparks. She works--worked--with Raycheil."
Booth nodded. "Go on."
"She never came home that night. She'd called me on her lunch break and told me she might be late," Colby shook his head. "I just assumed..."
Booth nodded in understanding. "Mrs. Raines, did Raycheil have any other significant family members?"
"Her father. They never talked. He left before her mother died of ovarian cancer. Raycheil was just eight," Colby responded. "He practically became alien to her."
"Anybody else?"
Colby thought deeply. "She had some cousin years back who was always with her after her mother died. Timothy. they hadn't talked in the past five or nine or so years. But I know that they had been really, really close."
Brennan wheeled ahead of Booth. "Is there a last name that goes with that?"
Colby shook his head. "She never told me. And if she did, I wouldn't remember it now. But I know that all she told me was that they used to be really close when his parents died and closer after her mother's death. She was the only remaining family member he had left."
Booth nodded. "Do you, by any chance, recognize Dr. Brennan, Mr. Raines?"
Colby looked at her and Brennan shot a quick, confused look at Booth. "I've read her books. Seen her pictures, so I guess that you could--"
"No, no, no," Booth shook his head and put a hand up. "I mean know her. Like personally. Have you ever seen her before? Around Raycheil or just seen her?"
Understanding where her partner was coming from, Temperance looked at Colby and smiled, hoping to get something. Maybe he would remember or recollect knowing her somehow. It would help.
"No," Colby shook his head after a moment of looking at her. "Not at all."
Brennan's smile faded and Booth bit his knuckle.
"Okay. Tell me, Colby, when and where can we find your wife's father?" Booth glanced very breifly at the file in his hand. "Geoffrey Jakes?"
Colby nodded to show that the information was right. "Just outside of Philly. Probably about three miles north." He paused. "I assure you, Agent Booth, he won't want to talk about Ray."
Ray. The name clicked something in Brennan's mind. She stored it away for after.
Booth nodded and made a show of a cocky side grin. "Oh, I'm sure he'll talk to us about something." He gathered back all the papers. "Just do us a favor, Mr. Raines."
Colby nodded. "Of course."
"Don't go anywhere anytime soon, okay?"
Brennan stood up and began to follow Booth out before Colby called out after her. "Wait...Dr. Brennan?"
Brennan turned around at the doorway in front of Booth. "Yes?"
"Did you know Ray...or something?"
Biting her lip, Temperance Brennan looked into the man's eyes and said as truthfully as she could, "I'm not sure." She looked at Booth, then walked past him almost in a run.
The FBI agent looked in her direction, then back at Colby. "Just stay close, deal?" He asked before accepting a nod from the man and shutting the door behind him.
"Bones!" He broke into a run after his partner. "Bones, woah, Temperance," he gently took her arm.
She stopped and turned around to look at him, her mouth in a tight line. Booth knew then taht this meant she was not okay and would lie about it most definitely.
"What was that all about back there, huh?"
"Nothing," Brennan turned, but Booth grabbed her arm again.
"Temperance. Something tells me that you know a whole lot more than you are willing to let out and tell me."
Brennan shook her head. "I don't, I swear, Seeley! But when he said 'Ray', it just clicked something in my mind that I couldn't comprehend or understand."
Booth nodded slowly. "Okay. Okay, I understand. But just try to ease up on it. don't think about it so much that it gets your stresses up."
"I wish I could just know how I--know," she sighed.
Booth put an arm around her shoulders and smiled warmly. "Don't worry, Bones," he began to walk out to the car with her right beside him. "You will."
Jeffersonian; Washington, DC
Cam jumped slightly when her desk phone rang. She held up a finger to Sully at the doorway and pressed the speaker button. "Hello."
"Hi, Cam, it's Brennan."
"Hey. Did you find out anything new that could help us along here?"
"Only that Raycheil Raines didn't get along with her father and she had a close cousin," Brennan pointed to the right for Booth to take his turn. "We're going to talk to Geoffrey Jakes right now."
Cam thought. "Do we have a link to the cousin?"
"No," Booth cut in. "All that was told to us was that his name was Timothy and he and Raycheil hadn't spoken in the last five or nine so years."
Sully cut in, planting his hands on Cam's desk. "No last name?"
"Not that Colby Raines knew. Raycheil never told him so he says."
Cam clicked her tongue. "I'll send Sully on a search for that. Do you think the father could help us out any?"
"We hope so," Brennan got hold of the phone again. "But Colby said he wasn't going to want to talk about her."
"Right," Cam nodded. "Mom was sick, he left before she died and Raycheil was left alone."
"With Timothy, Cam," Booth cut in. "Colby told us that after her mother died, Raycheil and Timothy pretty much lived together. Said he was like the big brother to her."
Sully clicked his tongue. "Then what happened those last five to ten years if they'd been so close?"
"That's what we're hoping to find out," Booth said.
Cam nodded. "Well good. We're going in the right direction. I'll have Hodgins call when he gets the test results from what you sent him, Dr. Brennan."
"Thanks, Cam," Brennan hung up.
Booth gave her a side look. "Still not, uh, good with Sully?"
"We have some--you know what? I know where you're going with that."
Booth gave her an incredulous look. "What! Bones--"
"No. I refuse to talk about my past relationships whether or not they be intimate. It's none of your business, I'm sorry."
Sighing deeply, Booth let it go. He didn't want to spark fireworks.
At the Jeffersonian, Sully looked at cam. "I'm gonna--go check out all the residents in Philly with the first name 'Timothy'."
Cam nodded and watched him leave. "Sully?"
"Yeah?" He stopped and poked his head back in.
"Are you and Dr. Brennan not on good terms?"
Sully shook his head and made a point to laugh. "I know what you mean by that and I'm perfectly fine. Thanks for the heads-up concern, though."
Cam smirked. "Sounds like you're afraid of something."
"No. Just taking it upon myself to live life like nothing went on." He paused. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a long-lost close cousin to locate." With that, Sully took off down the hall.
Cam just shook her head and went back to her computer, mumbling, "If only you knew how to let it go," she hit a key on her keyboard on "go" and shook her head again.
Sparks, she was sure, were going to fly. That is, if Brennan and Sully couldn't put up with the facts and if Booth kept his partner on a straight arrow path. Which, Cam was sure, would be no problem for the agent.
On the other hand...
No...it would be fine. The case would serve itself. And all would turn out right with the working place.
Definitely. Maybe. Yes, definitely maybe.
Ta-Da. Hope you liked it. And thanks for all the comments on my trip! I can't wait!
Jay
