Chapter 9
Charles Reed's House, Wednesday at 5:00 am (Mountain Time)
"Mr. Reed, this is the FBI, please open the door," Booth knocked on the door. He'd been knocking for almost five minutes. The man had to be home at this hour since his day job was nine to five at an accounting office. What troubled him more was that he'd left the dog outside. It got cold in the desert at night. No way any loving pet owner left their pet outside when the temps dipped below forty degrees.
"All right, seems we need to knock it down," the G-man indicated to the door as he pulled out his weapon. Officer Chambliss nodded and grabbed his sidearm as well. Then he moved next to the federal agent and the two kicked it in. The door had been locked and Booth was glad to have the officer's help.
"Bones, stay back," he didn't even know why he said it as the forensic anthropologist gave him a look before continuing on directly behind him. Even without her large caliber handgun, she wasn't afraid.
"Looks like somebody left in a hurry," Chambliss pointed to the mess on the floor as they moved through the living room and into the dining room. A computer had been unplugged and removed from the desk in the corner of the living room and clothes and shoes lay about on the furniture and floor.
"Or he was in the middle of doing the laundry when someone busted in," Booth smirked and headed into the kitchen.
"Clear in there and the refrigerator is empty except for some ketchup," the G-man said as he moved back into the hallway where Chambliss now stood.
"Bathroom and den are empty but also a mess. Time to head upstairs," the officer told him.
"All right. Bones stay here please," Booth begged her. She only nodded. She seemed fascinated with something on the now empty desk. The two left her standing there as they headed upstairs. They made quick work of the five rooms and discovered the bedroom closet to be empty and the medicine chest in the bathroom was missing the usual toiletries.
"He's gone. Somebody spooked him enough that he took off," Chambliss shook his head as he holstered his weapon.
"He left his dog though. Why go through the trouble of packing clothes, supplies, and your computer but leave the dog?" Booth asked as he did the same. They headed back downstairs to find Brennan had moved from the desk to the other side of the room. She had rubber gloves on and had turned on the lights.
"I have no idea. What do you have Dr. Brennan?" Chambliss wondered.
"Blood. Not a large amount but enough to have been more than just a paper cut," Brennan explained.
"Is that your professional opinion or a guess?" Booth was teasing her and she gave him a look.
"A paper cut would not be large enough to leave a blood trail. It starts at the desk and moves back and forth across the room until it reaches the fireplace," she pointed it out on the floor and the two men took a look. The drops did seem to follow a back and forth pattern but why they stopped at the fireplace didn't make any sense. Booth squatted in front of the fireplace and looked around in the ashes. It had been used recently, perhaps to cover something up or possibly cauterize whatever was losing blood.
"I'm calling a forensics team in. We need to identify whose blood this is and if they used one of the fire pokers to stop the bleeding," he said.
"Do we put an APB out on Reed?" Chambliss asked.
"I wouldn't. It could tell Scarpini and his gang that the guy is running. For all we know, he knows too much. They'll probably track him down and kill him before we get to question him if they haven't already," Booth told him as he pulled out his phone. Within a few moments he was talking to Agent Blachura.
"I need to see the dog," Brennan said.
"I'll go out with you. I'm guessing you want to get a mold of his teeth," Chambliss smiled.
"Yes. You'll have to take the dog into custody of course. I don't have the molding materials with me," the forensic anthropologist told him as they walked to the back door.
"Would it be better if we ship him to the Jeffersonian?" The officer smirked at his own remark and opened the door for her.
"That might not be a bad idea," Brennan said seriously. The dog turned to see the two exiting the back door and immediately barked. Not a threatening bark, which surprised the two of them.
"Hi buddy," Chambliss smiled and carefully stuck his hand out as he approached the dog from the side. Surprisingly, the dog met him and leaned up against him.
"He's very friendly," Brennan approached them and the dog let her pet him.
"Kind of surprising for a German Shepard. They tend to be more aggressive which is what makes them a good police dog," Chambliss said as he looked at the collar.
"True but this dog was obviously not trained that way," she commented.
"Champ. Original," the police officer rolled his eyes. Champ's eyes lit up when he heard his name. Brennan took the opportunity to grab a nearby tennis ball. Champ got all excited and opened his mouth. His canines looked sharp which meant that him biting the femur was quite likely. She lightly tossed the ball and Champ took off after it.
"He has a lot of energy considering being outside in this weather," Brennan commented.
"He certainly does. I'll go see if we can't find a leash and we'll get him down to headquarters," Chambliss told her before ducking back toward the house.
To Be Continued…