"What do you have in this suitcase?" Temperance asked, annoyed, as she dragged her partner's suitcase down the corridor to his apartment.
The suitcase seemed to weigh a ton and Temperance wondered how many objects her partner could have stolen from a hospital. She had witnessed, numerous times, his tendency of taking things out of hotel rooms and Temperance wondered if he was crazy enough to take things from a hospital as well.
"Clothes. Souvenirs. Bandages. Pills." Ryan replied as he slowly followed behind her.
"What kind of souvenirs?"
Ryan ignored her as they came to a stop in front of his door.
"I'm so happy to finally be out of that hell hole." Ryan went out, attempting in vain to unlock the door.
"I think they're happy too." Temperance said as she snatched the keys from his hands.
Ryan glared at her. She ignored him.
"You can be pretty grumpy when you're sick."
The door unlocked, she pushed it open and grunted softly as she lifted the heavy suitcase and dragged it inside the apartment.
"Home sweet home." Ryan sighed as he stepped inside his apartment. "You know, I'm sure I'll get better even quicker here than I would have done in that building they call a hospital."
"Will you stop complaining?" Temperance replied. "And where would you want me to set this?"
"In my room, please."
Ryan watched as his partner disappeared down the hallway and opened the door to his bedroom. Slowly, he then made his way to the couch and sat down uncomfortably on it, grunting in pain as he did so. He was sore everywhere. Every muscle seemed to protest in unison every time he moved.
The cast on his legs banged loudly on the coffee table as Ryan rested both feet onto it. Pathetically, he tried to reach for the remote beside his foot before collapsing back against the couch.
"What are you doing?" Temperance asked, catching him at his fifth attempt.
"I want to watch some TV." Ryan replied, sheepishly. "But the remote is too far away."
Temperance rolled her eyes and chuckled before grabbing the remote and throwing it to him. Catching it with one hand, Ryan turned on the television.
"At least your accident hasn't damaged your reflexes." Temperance noted as she sat down beside him.
Silence quickly fell upon the room as the pair began to watch the news. But after a few minutes silence, Ryan turned to his partner.
"Why are you here?"
Temperance looked at him and frowned.
"I drove you home from the hospital."
"No, I know that. I meant, what are you still doing here?"
Turning back to the TV, Temperance sighed. Taking this as a hint that something was bothering her, Ryan turned off the television.
"What's the matter?"
"Nothing."
Ryan's eyebrows shot upwards.
"Temperance, I know you. I know when something is troubling you."
Temperance remained silent.
"It's that case, isn't it?"
She nodded.
"It's still not solved?"
Temperance shook her head.
"We're going around in circles. It's been three weeks since we've found the bones in the Robertson's basement and we still don't have a single clue as to whom killed these victims. Booth is frustrated and it's taking a tole on our marriage."
Ryan nodded.
"The only suspect we have is a ghost."
"A ghost?" Ryan asked, surprised and slightly confused.
A smile tugged at Temperance's lips as the ridiculous idea of a ghost committing murder started to sink in.
"Yes, a ghost. This man called Cameron Brown whom we found out Friday morning died in 1982 also lived at 53 Maple Street."
"And he would be committing murder why?"
"He was apparently sentenced to jail for the murder of his daughter, Emily Brown. He always claimed he was innocent and he ended up committing suicide in 1982. He hung himself in his cell during the night. There was no suicide note, no nothing. The guards found him the next morning, rigid as a post, hanging from the ceiling."
"How did Booth come to the conclusion that Brown was killing from beyond the grave?"
"He didn't." Temperance replied. "A fifteen-year-old girl came to us, saying she had information on the case we were working on. She told us she spoke to Cameron Brown through a Ouija board and that he told her he killed his daughter."
"A Ouija board?"
"Yes."
Ryan chuckled. Temperance frowned.
"Why are you laughing?"
"I'm sorry Tempe but that's just the most ridiculous story I have ever heard."
Temperance slapped him playfully the only part of his arm that wasn't covered in a white cast.
"Stop it. This is serious."
"Of course." Ryan replied, a smile tugging dangerously at his lips. "Listen. How about you fix up some food and we'll discuss this further over lunch?"
Temperance sighed.
"Fine." She said, as she got up. "What do you want in your sandwich?"
"You know," Ryan began, taking a bite out of the sandwich his partner had just brought him, "maybe you just need an outsider's point of view. Start from the beginning. Tell me about the victims."
Temperance took a sip from her water and set her glass back on the coffee table.
"All victims were nine years old at the time of their death. Each child has been murdered every eight years, for a time range of forty years. The first one was killed in 1982 and the last one just recently."
Ryan nodded.
"Mackenzie Robertson. Saw her story on the news. Go on."
"All victims died of similar causes such as trauma to the skull, strangulation and/or drowning. All of them lived on 53 Maple Street at the time of the murder. No other traces of anything were found on the bones. They were all clean."
"No dirt? No nothing?"
"Nothing. They were cleaner than the lab."
Ryan's hand stopped in mid-air.
"Was that supposed to be a joke?"
"I failed, didn't I?"
"Hey, can't blame you for trying."
Temperance rolled her eyes.
"Anyway, the bones were clean. Our new entomologist found no trace of any kind of residue, no dirt. The bones were found in a deep hole and it took me three hours to get them all back up. None of the bones were missing and apart from old injuries and the causes of death, they were all in pretty good shape."
"Where were the victims killed? Was that identified?"
Temperance's expression turned hesitant.
"I'll understand if you don't want to tell me."
"It's not that I don't want to tell you, Ryan. I'm just not sure if I can."
"Okay."
"They all died in mysterious circumstances. The first one was abducted during an earthquake, the second one was tripped down the stairs, the third one disappeared in broad daylight from her backyard, the fourth one was drowned in her bathtub and the fifth one pushed off a roof. No forced entry, no apparent signs of struggle on any of the victims."
"And what did the old reports say?"
"Nothing we couldn't figure out by ourselves. This case is just bizarre."
"I can see that."
"Booth has even agreed to have a psychic help us. Just shows how low we've gotten, can't even solve a mistake by ourselves without the help of a fraud."
Ryan chuckled.
"Aren't you being a little harsh?"
"Barely."
Silence fell once again over the room. The pair ate in silence as Ryan observed his friend. Over the last couple of years they had been working together, he had learned to read her. He could tell by her movements and her facial expressions practically what she was thinking. He knew instinctively when something was wrong, when she was angry, surprised, scared, sad and even happy. For years he had congratulated himself for knowing how to see through her. Not many people succeeded, he knew it, and for a while, he had doubted her own husband had been able to do so.
The telephone rang in the kitchen. Temperance turned her partner.
"Want me to get that?"
Ryan shook his head.
"I have an answering machine."
Temperance nodded.
"You haven't told me yet."
Temperance avoided his gaze.
"Told you what?"
"The real reason why you're confused."
"I'm not confused."
"Okay. Then what are you?"
"I'm nothing, Ryan."
One look at her partner told her that he didn't believe her. She sighed frustratedly.
"I feel like I'm missing something."
Ryan frowned.
"Have you ever had the feeling you were not seeing something that was there?"
"Not following you, Tempe."
Temperance got to her feet.
"No matter how many times I look at the remains, I can't seem to find what I'm missing. I can't put my finger on it but I'd bet my life there's something more these bones can tell me that my eyes aren't seeing."
"Maybe."
"I just don't know what it is."
Ryan shrugged. Setting his plate beside him, he grabbed the remote and turned on the television once more. Temperance, still lost in her thoughts, seemed oblivious to her surroundings.
"What could it be?"
Okay, here's where I want to hear your thoughts. Any idea what it is that Temperance is not seeing?