Sometimes you do something, and you get screwed.
Sometimes it's the things you don't do, and you get screwed. ~Chuck Palahniuk

Chapter Seventeen: Shine a Light

"Alright, people!" Booth clapped his hands together, taking in the group settled around the den. "We need to go over all the information we have about the case and get it organized."

Penelope stood and shook her head. "I am going to go out and get some air, maybe walk the dog. You don't need me for this and I'm not feeling well."

"You're sick, Pen?" Sweets moved to stand next to her, looking concerned.

"No, no…probably just tired. I'm fine, Lance. You guys go ahead…catch the bad guy. I'll be out there." She said, pointing to the back yard.

"Okay, but if you start feeling sick, let me know." Sweets kissed her and smiled as she left the room.

Booth waited until Penelope had exited then began going over what they knew so far. "Okay then, according to this timeline we have, on Thursday, September 4th, Lou Robertson was killed, apparently the victim of an attempted but bungled abduction. Then, on Friday, September 5th, Clay and Charlie attended a Democratic fundraiser. Charlie was feeling ill, and left early accompanied by Agent Blanc. When the fundraiser wrapped up sometime around 11 PM, Clay was supposedly picked up by a driver from the Congressional pool, a driver we now know was Tucker. Tucker was given access to the car that picked up Clay by Clay's longtime aide Steven Kinser, who was under the impression that Charlie was going to be the target." He looked to Charlie, who was pale and quiet, trying not to let the dispassionate breakdown of her personal nightmare bother her.

Booth cleared his throat and continued. "Right. Clay was abducted on Friday night, and Charlie discovered he was missing when he never came to bed that night. The alarm was raised very early on Saturday the 6th after the Town Car Clay was riding in was found abandoned by the side of the road on K Street, Lou's body was discovered in his home shortly thereafter, and then we were brought in on the investigation on Monday the 8th."

Brennan stood next to her husband and took over the explanation. "On Monday, Cam and Hodgins began collecting forensic evidence from both Mr. Robertson's body and the Town Car. A link was established between the two when Hodgins discovered a dog hair, from the same animal, on Mr. Robertson's body and in the car itself. We also established that Lou was not killed intentionally, the injuries and x-rays showing that in the course of the abduction he fought back and died during that fight. That was also when Agent Blanc informed us of the fact that Charlotte had been receiving letters from a stalker for the last four years, written daily but delivered in bundles once a year."

Hodgins began breaking down the forensic evidence at that point, including how Tucker subdued Clay with the liquid stun gun and the evidence that led them to that conclusion. Finally, Gus explained how Charlie herself had figured out the significance of the references to Crimson and Clover in the letters and wrapped up the breakdown with the delivery of Clay's picture and the note, which finally identified the kidnapper/stalker as Tucker.

"So, now what do we do? Does Kinser know where Tucker is?" Angela asked.

"Funny you should ask that, Ang." Booth handed her a stack of papers. "Tucker never contacted Kinser face to face, always by email or disposable phone. We need you to check these emails out and see if you can trace an originating point for any of them."

Angela smiled and nodded. "I'm on it." She stood and took off to find her laptop and some privacy to work.

"What else, Booth? There has to be something else we can do." Sweets looked pained.

"Well, agents were sent to speak with Tucker's wife earlier, but except for a comment he made about a speech, which we're looking into, she hasn't had any direct contact with Tucker in almost four years, right around December 15th of 2010, as close as she could remember. His lawyers have handled everything since then."

Brennan looked troubled. "He hasn't seen his wife and child in four years?"

"No. He simply…went off the grid. The only contact he's had with anyone in his former life was, like I said, his lawyers. He provided monetarily for his family, but he essentially abandoned them."

Charlotte stood up suddenly. "Did you say December 15th? 2010?"

"Yes…" Booth recognized that look. "Why? What do you remember?"

"On the 16th is when I gave that speech at Georgetown…where I met Bren." Brennan closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them and nodded to Charlotte in confirmation. "I remember the date specifically because it was the only speech I gave before the article came out, and it was essentially what I used as a deadline, because Time wanted the article finished by then."

"So he was there? At the speech?" Booth blanched at the thought of not only Charlotte, but Brennan being in the same room with an unbalanced Tucker. "You didn't see him?"

"No, of course not, Seeley. I would have remembered if-"

"I saw him!" Brennan suddenly exclaimed. "I remember now!"

"You saw Tucker at Charlie's speech?" Gus asked, standing with the rest of them.

"No…no. It was at Founding Fathers! He…yes, he passed me on the way back from the ladies' room! I remember thinking that he would need surgery to repair his nose as his nasal and vomer bones were both poorly remodeled." Brennan gave Booth a wide-eyed look. "Oh. And he smiled at me and said something...I don't remember what. But I do remember his accent. And that he was exceedingly polite."

Booth pulled Brennan into his arms, concerned that his usually stoic wife was shaking slightly. "Bones, are you absolutely sure?" At her huffed breath, he nodded. "Okay. Okay, babe. You're sure. I got it."

"God, Bren…I'm so sorry." Charlie hugged herself, rubbing her hands up and down her arms as if she were chilled.

Brennan turned and shook her head. "Charlotte. None of this…nothing that's happened is your fault. You couldn't possibly have known that Tucker was watching you so closely, and I was in no danger." At Booth's sigh, she turned on him. "No, Booth. If I were in danger, he would have done something that night. I left alone, not too long after you and Charlotte left. If he'd wanted to get to me then, he would have." She turned again to Charlie, determined to get her point across. "I was in no danger."

"I just…I'm just having trouble dealing with the fact that the man who killed my friend and kidnapped my husband was that close to…" She shook her head violently and moved to the door. "I need some time, alone. I'm sorry."

Gus and Booth watched as Charlie walked out, and then turned to Brennan. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you before, Bones. Really."

"It's fine, Booth. Rationally, it was just good sense to assume I had seen the Time article and that was what convinced me I'd seen Tucker. Not that it matters, we know he was following you and Charlotte."

"I'm going to go check on Charlotte…" Gus began.

Sweets stood suddenly, putting a hand on the larger man's shoulder. "No, let me go. Please?"

Gus stared at the young psychologist for a moment before nodding. "Yeah, alright."

"Thanks." Sweets said as he moved quickly to follow Charlie out of the room.

B&B

Sweets found Charlotte sitting on the stairs. He sat down next to her, "You need anything?"

She glanced over at him, "No. Thanks for asking though and for not asking me if I was ok – I know everyone means well but…"

"You're not ok. I know."

"No, I'm not," she sniffled. "I keep thinking about what I could have done to prevent this."

"Nothing." Sweets tapped her on the leg, "There is nothing you could have done to prevent this. I know that every person on the planet could try and assure you of that and it would do nothing assuage the unnecessary guilt you feel. But that's ok because you're allowed your feelings."

She clenched her jaw and then smiled, "You would say that, you're a shrink."

"A very good shrink if I might say so myself."

"I've only seen you in action these last few days but Seeley always spoke highly of you, not that he would ever want you to know that but… I believe that you're very good."

He grinned, "Thanks."

They sat and listened to the voices in the other room, mapping out the next steps in the investigation for a few minutes before she turned to him, "You know what I can't figure out is…Why now?"

"Now?"

"If he's… whatever he is about me, why take these steps now? He's been watching me all this time, right?"

Sweets nodded but stayed quiet and let her riff.

"Why not go after me when I was more vulnerable. Do you realize the amount of time I have spent alone, out of town, in unfamiliar surroundings?"

"Booth and Gus are pretty sure that Clay was Tucker's target – not you."

Ok, then," she swallowed, "why didn't he go after Seeley when he and I were together or Clay when we started dating or when we got engaged or even married? I can't fathom why he chose now. Something had to have flipped his switch. But what?"

Sweets sighed deeply, he had been asking himself the same questions for the last day, "Well, what's changed in your life recently?"

Charlotte's mind jumped to her pregnancy but she was certain, or at least she hoped she was certain, that not even Tucker could have known about that, "Not much, the biggest change was last month when I left CNN."

"Why'd you leave?"

"The press started focusing more on Clay running in 2016 and the more they talk about that the more biased I seem about…well, anything I report on so I resigned and to sound like the worst feminist ever, I haven't minded it a bit."

Sweets nodded, certain they had finally found out the reason this entire nightmare had begun. "But I bet Tucker does."

B&B

"Booth? Charlotte and Sweets are starting to make some headway on Tucker's motives and plans." Brennan told her husband as she closed the door to the bedroom they had been using for the past two nights behind her.

He looked up at her, "I'll be out shortly. I just needed a minute."

"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked as she perched on the bed next to him.

Keeping his gaze fixed on the floor, he explained in a rasp, "It didn't hit home how close he was to Charlotte, to me, until I heard how close he was to you." He shifted his weight and palmed the back of his neck, "If I had noticed him then, paid more attention then we wouldn't be here now."

Brennan smoothed the back of her hand down the side of his face, "You said yourself that he was trained to not be seen."

"I know what I said, Bones. I also know…." He ran his hand down his face, "I-I don't know what I know."

"You don't think it terrifies me to think that if he had found his trigger sooner that you would have been the one who..." She shook her head, purging the dark thought from her mind. "But I have to keep reminding myself that we can't worry about what might have happened and we can't change what has already happened so please, don't you dwell on that, either." She cupped his chin and guided his eyes to hers, "It's counterproductive to the case but more importantly it's a burden that pains you and I refuse to let you hurt yourself like that, I love you far too much."

Booth nodded against her touch and leaned to kiss her heatedly. "I sometimes forget how soothing your rationality can be, Bones. Thanks."

She smiled softly, running her fingertips absently across his lips. "Anything for you. Now, let's go get this case over with so we can get our children and go home."