Chapter 4

The Suspicion in the Squints

"Hey, babe, did you hear that our FBI liaison, Special Agent Asshole, has killed two people?"

Angela pierced her husband with a world-class glare.

"Not funny, Jack."

"I didn't say it was funny. Actually, I think it is pretty un-funny. Whatever they did to him over there, it messed him up pretty bad," Hodgins said as he snuck some coffee into his coffee mug, hoping that his caffeine deprived, hormone raging pregnant wife wouldn't kill him for having some when she couldn't.

They were upstairs, in the lab's "break room," having gotten here very early this morning because Angela couldn't sleep and because Brennan had called them, saying that Booth was currently in FBI custody. According to Brennan, he was being investigated for apparently having some kind of role in the deaths of the two latest victims that came into the Jeffersonian.

"Do you think he could have done it, Jack?" Angela asked him as she sat down at the table in the lounge and shoved two, day-old donuts in her mouth. Since he valued his life, Hodgins choose not to comment on that fact.

"Do I think he could have done it? Absolutely. You and I both saw him shoot those two cantaloupes with that old rifle straight through while they were moving and in a short period of time. Booth possesses the skills necessary to complete the shots that the FBI has described and in the manner they have described them happening. I'm just disappointed that they caught him so easily. You think he'd had learned something about how to get away with murder, hanging around here so much," he told her, truly believing what he said. But at the distraught look on her face, he decided that it might be appropriate to amend his statement.

"But do I think that he did it? No. My theory is that the Booth we all know and love was abducted by aliens while in Afghanistan and was replaced with the current douche bag-model we are dealing with right now. So, see, he couldn't have done it because he is in some alien space craft right now where they are conducting tests on whether or not his lack of chest hair means he is actually more highly evolved like he claims."

"Jack, if your next statement is 'the truth is out there,' I can't promise I won't get violent," Angela told him with another world-class glare. "But seriously, Jack, I'm so angry at him for being such a jerk to all of us, especially Bren, that I don't know if I even want to help him out. I could maybe forgive him for ditching out on our announcement but after he hit Brennan yesterday and gave her that black eye, I can't even look at him. And while I know that sounds really, really petty I can't help it. Unless he starts some serious apologizing, I don't really want to talk to him."

Hodgins came up behind her and rubbed her lower back, knowing that it helped when she started to feel stressed out.

"I feel the same way, Ange. Looks like he is finally showing some kinks in the FBI Standard Issue Body Armor your always talking about, huh?" he said softly.

"Kinks? More like huge, gaping cracks," Angela said under her breath. This whole situation along with the hormones racing through her from her pregnancy made everything completely overwhelming. She wanted to be the comforting shoulder that she normally was to Brennan, that she knew Brennan needed at this point, but she just couldn't do it. If Booth wanted to go play house with Hannah and leave them all behind, she wasn't going to stop him. She wasn't sure he was worth the effort.

"Just think of it as helping the victims find some justice, even if that justice points straight at Booth. You and I both know that Dr. B would want it that way; done by the book, exactly how it was done when her father was the one being investigated."

"Dr. Hodgins, you are exactly right," Cam told them as she too walked into the lounge, both mentally and physically exhausted. She had been with Caroline and Dr. Brennan at the Bureau last night, trying all night to see Booth and failing in their mission. According to Caroline, he was in it so deep that he was looking up at the center of the Earth. The only reason she and Dr. Brennan came back to the lab this morning was because Assistant Director Hacker told them in no uncertain terms that priority number one was the examination of the two victims currently on the forensic platform.

On the same forensic platform Dr. Brennan insisted in coming straight to when they walked into the lab this morning.

For what might have been the first time since working with him, she wished that Dr. Sweets was around. Instead, this just happened to be the one week that he and Daisy had decided to take a vacation together. And while she didn't miss Daisy's presence, she had an idea as to why Booth was acting the way he was but she needed it run it by him, their expert in psychology before she acted on it.

"Rough night, boss?" Hodgins asked with the usual mirth in his voice.

"Can it, Hodgins, or I'll tell Angela what is really in that mug you are holding," Cam countered, smirking when Hodgins turned as white as a sheet when Angela turned to him and grabbed his coffee mug.

"Jack, this had better be decaf…." she said warningly.

"So, any word from the Federal Bureau of Imagination?" Hodgins asked, desperately trying to get off this topic of conversation.

"So far, it is not looking very good for Booth. There are fifty witnesses, including Dr. Brennan and myself, who saw him beat the crap out of and threaten the second victim just hours before he was killed in a manner that only maybe two other people in the country are capable of besides Booth. So while there is not a shred of physical evidence that ties Booth to either of those two victims, Booth also has no alibi for the time this man was shot yesterday," Cam finished, rubbing a headache out of her temples that she had felt since last night.

"Then where was he yesterday afternoon? Didn't you try calling him?" Angela asked, suddenly concerned for her friend, at least the man she knew last year.

"He claims he was at Arlington National Cemetery yesterday, at the grave of a Corporal Edward Parker, but he has nobody to corroborate his story. So, for now, Caroline is fighting to get him released with some sort of monitoring system so the FBI can track his every move."

"Is that even legal? He hasn't even been charged with anything yet!" Hodgins exclaimed, his absolute hatred for 'big brother' and injustices within the government overcoming his anger towards the man those injustices were aimed at.

Cam smiled slightly at his outburst, glad to see a spark of the Hodgins she knew. "The FBI doesn't want to take any chances with this one, Dr. Hodgins. These types of cases always cause mass panic and they think they have a viable suspect in custody. They are going to do everything possible to track him so if he does it again, they have more evidence to bring him in and convict him. And since the suspicion is against one of their own, you bet they are going to do whatever they have to to keep this contained, no matter whose civil rights they violate."

The three of them sat in silence for a moment, the trouble their friend was in hitting home for the first time since they found out about the news.

"Why aren't any of you working?" they heard from the floor of the Jeffersonian. Allowing a small smile to cross her face, Angela answered her friend quickly, knowing any delay would just cause the scientist more distress.

"We'll be down in a minute, Sweetie," she called back, already getting to her feet, a task that was easier said than done these days. There was no way she was going to be a roadblock in her friend's relentless pursuit of justice. And she knew with her best friend at stake, Brennan would not rest until she found something to either convict him or set him free.

Once they gathered on the platform, Angela could see the effect the accusations against Booth had on her. While her hair was perfectly tied up and make-up in place, the bags under her eyes told the real story about her numerous sleepless nights, and her black eye told a more sinister tale. Probably not the first night in recent memory that Booth's behavior has kept her up, Angela thought bitterly.

They all stood, looking at Brennan, as if facing off against each other. Angela hated this feeling; she hated getting the sense that the squint squad was fractured. Although if she were honest with herself, the squint squad had been fractured for some time now with Cam trying frantically to hold the group together, but when the center had fractured, it was hard to keep the outside perimeter intact. And as much as she thought her work was important to the whole, nobody ever had any doubt that Booth and Brennan were the center.

"Why aren't we working?" Brennan asked them when they got up to the platform. She couldn't understand why nobody was working as diligently on this case as she was. If she were not at the Bureau last night with Booth, she most certainly would have been here, working on the bones, trying to get them to speak to her. And while she didn't normally expect that from them in any other cases, this one was about one of their own.

"Dr. B, we were sleeping last night. It's something normal humans have to do so they can re-charge-oof!" he finished as both Angela and Cam proceeded to slap him, one in the arm and the other on the back of the head.

"Dr. Hodgins, don't make me duck tape your mouth closed, because I will do it," Cam threatened, wondering how on earth someone with his IQ could be so stupid.

"Listen, people, I know Booth has not been his normal self as of late but we are professionals who have a job to do okay? We have two victims on the platform, one of which still needs to be identified. So let's just focus on that right now and get to work," Cam told them, noticing Brennan's grateful expression at the way she took charge. While she had no doubt that Brennan was a better scientist than herself, she knew she far surpassed her when it came to the administrative aspects of her job. The rest of the squints nodded, with Hodgins and Angela going to heir respective offices while Brennan and Cam donned their lab coats and gloves and got to work.

It was mid-afternoon by the they took a break, setting up all the tests that would take a couple of hours to complete and Angela had put the dental records of their unidentified victim into the database to run through the system, hoping for a match.

Brennan plopped down onto her office couch, leaning her head against the back of the couch and letting out a deep sigh. She was exhausted. Not only had she been up all night worrying about Booth but also she had not been sleeping well lately either. Coming back from Maluku, she was sure of what her life would be: she would go back to a job she loved with people who stimulated her intellectually and she would go back to working with Booth, now open to the possibility of starting a personal relationship, never even considering that he had actually moved on. But he did and in a big way. So she was left mourning the loss of her best friend but also the possibility of finding the love that Booth had promised her she would find. Because deep down she knew that Booth was the only one who she might be able to open up her heart to.

The ringing of her phone woke her up and made her realize that she had indeed fallen asleep at some point. Disoriented, she scrambled for her phone, not remembering where she left it this morning. Unfortunately, just as she felt like she was close to finding it, the ringing stopped. Well, at least now she knew the general area her phone was in, she thought, continuing to look for the now silent phone.

"Dr. Brennan, I think you need to see this," she heard Cam call from the lab. Abandoning the search for her phone, she quickly went out to the lab, knowing Cam would not have called her if it weren't important. She went out to see that the rest of the team was already assembled with Angela sitting at the computer, typing away.

"What is going on?" she asked, buttoning her lab coat and stepping up to the platform.

"We found the identity of the first victim," Angela said, not looking up from the computer. "Her name is Karrina Adams, a Washington D.C. divorce lawyer, and her husband reported her missing six days ago. The dental records are a match and my composite matches the photo of her on file."

The screen showed an African-American woman, most likely in her late-30's, wearing a business suit and smiling at the camera, looking like she did not have a care in the world. All in all, she perfectly matched the profile that they had drawn up during their initial examination. But as sad as she was for the family of this young victim, she was ecstatic at the same time. Surely, Booth would have no connection to this victim. Why would he have any dealings with a divorce lawyer when he wasn't even married? He could finally not be under suspicion anymore and they could go back to being partners again because even though it wasn't much, it was all she had left of him.

"Okay, let's notify Agent Perotta," Brennan said, walking off the platform again, back to the sanctuary of her office.

"Perotta?" Hodgins asked, looking to Cam for an explanation.

"Since Booth was considered a suspect in this case, the FBI assigned Perotta as our temporary liaison since she had success working with our eclectic bunch in the past," Cam said with a small smile as she left the platform, expecting a reply from their resident bug man.

"I prefer 'unique' thank you very much!" was the reply, eliciting an eye roll from his wife.

"Come on, bug man, you have particulates to identify," Angela told him, taking his hand and dragging him from the forensic platform.

"Hey, now that Booth is eliminated as a person of interest, Dr. B won't be such a slave driver. Let's go get some lunch instead," Hodgins told his wife, not taking 'no' for an answer and smiling as her laugh reached his ears.

Back in her office, Brennan was breathing easier, convinced of her partner's innocence. She had always known that he couldn't do this but it she also knew that from what they had learned about the shots, he was indeed one of the few people in the world that could. Should make it easy to find out who really did this, Brennan thought with satisfaction, logging on to check her emails before heading home for the day, exhausted beyond reason.

Her phone rang again and her frustration at not being able to find it earlier came back in full force. This time, however, she was successful in her quest and found her phone hiding in the pocket of her jacket that was currently hung up on the coat rack in the corner of her office.

"Brennan," she said not bothering looking at the screen to see whom it was, not wanting to miss the call again.

"Bones, it's me," was all he said. Brennan almost dropped the phone in surprise. She couldn't remember the last time he had called her without it being for a specific purpose.

"Booth, are you okay?" she asked immediately, concerned for his welfare.

"Are you busy right now? You weren't answering your phone."

"I was working most of the day and was away from my phone. Did the FBI finally release you?" she asked, just wanting to keep him talking.

"Yeah, they did, a couple of hours ago. But they are making me wear a piece of shit ankle monitor and I am suspended from all my duties until they do a full investigation. So since they took my car away, I took the Metro back to my place and have been doing some thinking since then." There was a pause over the line. "Bones, do you think we could meet somewhere and talk?"

Brennan stopped breathing for a moment, wondering if this was the same man she had worked with for the last several months.

"Will Hannah be coming too?" she asked before she could stop herself.

"No, Bones, Hannah is at work."

"Yeah, Booth, I could meet somewhere but I have work to finish up here first. Could we meet in an hour?" she asked, not really having any work to do but needing the time to compartmentalize everything she was feeling before going to see him.

"Sure, Bones. Want to meet at the reflecting pool, just like old times?"

She bit her lip and closed her eyes, not believing the emotions he brought up in her with one simple statement.

"Sounds good, Booth," she answered when she was sure her voice under control. She looked up at her monitor and saw the victim's profile and decided to ask one more thing before she hung up. "Hey, Booth, before you go, do you happen to know a Karrina Adams?" she asked, not really sure what inspired her to ask.

"The lawyer? Oh no, please don't tell me she is contacting you guys too."

Her heart stopped at his reply. "What do you mean?" she asked for clarification and feeling the need to pace.

"Karrina Adams is the lawyer Rebecca hired for the custody case she is filling in regards to Parker. Ever since I left for Afghanistan, Rebecca freaked out and is filling for sole custody. That lawyer she hired was asking around at the FBI, trying to find out about me before I found out and read her the riot act. Is she contacting you guys now for information about my character? Because she is not allowed to do that. I'm gonna call over there and let her know what she is doing is illegal."

"No, Booth, don't!" Brennan cried into the phone, wanting to stop her partner from doing anything stupid, well, more stupid than he had already done. "When was the last time you spoke with her?" she asked, desperately hoping there was another lawyer in the D.C area with the same name that was not dead.

"Probably about a week ago. Why, Bones? What's up?"

Brennan sat down on her couch, feeling extremely nauseous all the sudden. "No, it's nothing, Booth. I'll see you soon."

She hung up the phone and ran into Cam's office, startling her boss into almost falling out of her chair.

"Dr. Brennan, what's wrong? You look like you just saw a ghost," Cam asked, concerned that something could rattle Brennan this much.

"What? Dr. Saroyan, there are no such things as ghosts, the physics simply do not-"

"Brennan!" Cam interrupted, mentally berating herself for asking that. "What is it?"

"We have a problem. It seems Booth could still be a very viable suspect."