Chapter 15
Time passed. She knew he had left, but she also knew he would come back. That's what scared her the most. She heard a faint noise. It was footsteps. Holding her breath, she silently hoped that he wasn't coming back. She wasn't sure if she would make it if he came back. She concentrated, and realized that the footsteps were further away than if he was in the same room with her. Finally, she realized that the footsteps were above her. She let out her breath and tried to think. If someone were above her, would she be able to get their attention? Would she be able to get help?
Friday
2:49 PM
Booth and Casey stormed into the lab. For once, she was in step with him rather than chasing behind. He always seemed to be trying to leave her behind, but since their chat at the Lincoln memorial, he had a new appreciation for Casey and he respected her as the leader of the investigation. Not to mention Casey was just as eager to find out what Angela had found as Booth was.
They both approached the lab platform. Not caring about the security measures, Booth took the steps two at a time onto the platform. As soon as he crossed the invisible security line, the security alarm and lights started going off. Booth ignored it and walked over to Angela and Hodgins.
"Shouldn't somebody take care of that?" Casey asked as she covered her ears from the sound of the alarm. She didn't let the alarm keep her from joining Booth on the platform.
"You know security hates when you do that," Cam said as she approached the platform. She swiped her badge to make the lights and alarm stop going off.
"This was an emergency," Booth replied.
Cam walked up onto the platform.
"So, what have we got?" Cam asked.
"That's what I'd like to know," Booth replied.
"I found something…in the video," Angela said.
Booth noticed how shaky her voice was. Hodgins' arm was immediately around her shoulders. Booth knew how difficult it was for Angela to have watched the video. He silently thanked her for being so brave.
"What did you find?" Casey questioned.
Angela typed something into the computer. A still image from the video Booth had been sent appeared on the screen. Brennan was lying on the floor with the man over her, holding her hands above her head. Even though the image was still, Booth knew what was happening to her in that moment, and it killed him.
"I reviewed the video over and over," Angela began. "The one thing I noticed was her hands."
Angela pressed a button and the screen zoomed in to focus just on her bound hands.
"Her hands?" Booth asked.
"Watch," Angela replied.
She started the video in slow motion, keeping the screen zoomed in on her hands. The man's hand that was clasped around her wrists eventually began to move down her arms, knowing he had her subdued. Booth watched her hands intently, but saw nothing. They were completely still and he had to wonder if being strung up by her wrists had caused her to have no function in her hands at all.
"Angela, what are we…" Cam began to ask.
Then it happened. Brennan's pinky finger on her right hand began to move slowly. Of course Booth knew they were watching the video in slow motion, but it seemed like her finger was moving agonizingly slow. After watching the video in slow motion for about sixty seconds, which was probably only fifteen seconds of the video, the video stopped and the screen turned black.
"That's it?" Booth asked.
"That's it," Angela answered. "That's the end of the tape."
"So what exactly are we supposed to be looking at?" Booth questioned.
"Her finger," Hodgins answered.
"Her finger?" Casey wondered.
"What does her finger prove? We already knew she was still alive!" Booth couldn't keep the anger out of his voice. He knew everyone was doing everything they could to find Brennan, but he had gotten his hopes up. He was hoping that whatever Angela had found would help find Brennan. He knew she was running out of time. "Who cares about her pinky finger?!"
"It's Morse code," Hodgins stated.
"What?" Casey responded.
"I found it strange that with…everything going on, she'd be moving her pinky finger for a full fifteen seconds when she hadn't been moving it at all before," Angela explained. "So, I called in Hodgins to take a look."
"And I remembered learning Morse code in boy scouts when I was a kid," Hodgins stated. "I recognized her finger as a series of dots and dashes, just like Morse code."
"You were a boy scout?" Cam asked.
"My dad made me," Hodgins responded. "He felt that I needed more…"
"Hodgins!" Booth said, cutting him off. "If it's Morse code, what is she saying?"
"I don't know," Hodgins admitted. "I never did earn my Morse code badge. We've been trying to figure it out. We looked it up online, but it's difficult to tell the difference between dots and dashes. We've got a specialist coming in from…"
"Play it at full speed," Casey interrupted.
"What?" Angela asked.
"Play the video at full speed," Casey repeated.
With the image still fixated on her hands, Angela backed up the video and played it again at full speed.
"C. P…no, R. Wait…
"You know Morse code?" Cam questioned.
"Girl Scouts. I did earn my Morse code badge," Casey replied. "Pause the video and play it again," Casey said.
Angela stopped the video, rewound it, and played it again. Casey was silent as she concentrated on Brennan's finger. Everyone else kept their eyes on Casey.
"Again," she said when the video was over. Angela played it again.
"C. R. It's definitely a R. E…. E." She paused. "Play it again."
Booth was getting anxious. He couldn't stand the wait. He clenched and unclenched his fists every time Casey spoke. He just wanted the answer. He wanted to know what Brennan was trying to tell them.
"Maybe we should wait for the specialist," Cam suggested as Angela played the tape again.
"Every minute we waste is a minute she's there," Booth stated through gritted teeth.
"One more time," Casey said. She took a step closer to the TV and began to tap her index finger on the table in front of her along with Brennan's finger on the computer screen.
"C. R. E. E. P. Y. M. A." she read.
"What does that mean?" Angela asked.
"Creepy," Booth answered.
"Creepy?" Cam responded.
"That was our nickname for Collin Brown," Booth answered. "Bones is telling us that she was kidnapped by Collin Brown."
"We already knew that," Hodgins commented.
"Yeah, but she didn't know that we knew that," Booth said. He felt like punching something. They were right back where they started. They knew nothing.
"What about the rest of it?" Cam questioned. "What does the M A stand for?"
"Massachusetts?" Angela offered.
"He doesn't have any ties to Massachusetts," Casey stated. "I don't think that's what it means."
"It looks like she was cut off by the end of the video," Hodgins said. "Maybe there was more."
"So we're back at square one," Cam stated, sighing.
"Is there any other time in the video that she uses Morse code?" Booth asked.
Angela shook her head. "We went over ever millisecond of the video. There's nothing else."
"What about the audio?" Casey questioned.
"A bunch of scrambled sounds. I can take a closer listen and see if I can pick out any distinct sounds."
"I'd appreciate that," Casey said.
"I'll be in my office," Angela responded.
"I'll be helping her," Hodgins said.
"Me too," Cam replied. "Three pairs of eyes are better than two."
"Cam, you've been here more than thirty hours," Booth said. "Go home."
"You haven't gone home."
"She's my partner."
"And she's my friend," Cam stated.
Booth nodded. "Thanks."
Cam squeezed his hand before leaving the platform. As soon as she was gone, Booth turned to Casey.
"Why didn't your people catch this?" Booth asked.
"Excuse me?"
"You sent the tape to the FBI crime lab. Why didn't your people catch the Morse code?"
"My people? Last I checked, you worked for the FBI too."
"And I told you to send the video to the Jeffersonian! You insisted on giving it to the FBI! And what have they done? Absolutely nothing! My people are the only ones who have found anything!"
"Because it's personal to them. Think about how much harder you work when it's someone you…" Booth glared at her, telling her not to reveal the secret he had told her earlier. "Care about."
"I work hard on all of my cases!"
"And so do they, but as you pointed out, you know Dr. Brennan. You and your team know her better than anybody else. You know how smart she is. You know she would find some way to tell you how to find her! Why do you think I've continued to let you and your team stay on this case?"
Booth sat down in the chair Angela had been occupying in defeat.
"I'm sorry," he said.
"We're all under a lot of stress."
"I just wish we had more to go on."
"I've talked to Agent Woods about how these envelopes have been getting into the Hoover building and onto your desk."
"And?"
"We can't figure out how they've been getting into the mail room."
"It could be someone on the inside?"
"Possibly. Or if someone drops them in a mailbox right outside the building, they'd get delivered to the FBI even without a complete address. All we do know is that the envelopes have come straight from the mail room. I have Agent Woods and other agents interrogating every person who works in the mail room."
"I doubt they'll find anything. Creepy's too smart for that."
Casey shrugged. She knew he was probably right, but it was still worth looking into.
"What do you think MA means?" Casey asked.
"What?"
"The Morse code said Creepy and then MA. You know Dr. Brennan better than anybody. So what does MA mean?"
Booth shook his head. "I have no idea."
"Could they be initials?"
"It doesn't ring a bell from Collin Brown's file."
"What about to Dr. Brennan? Does she know anyone with the initials MA?"
Booth tried to think back about anyone Bones might have ever mentioned. He was so exhausted, he couldn't think.
"I don't know. I don't think Bones ever mentioned anyone with those initials."
"Why do you call her Bones?" Casey asked.
Booth was surprised by her question. He shrugged. "Because she works with bones."
"So? We work with criminals, but I wouldn't want people referring to me as Criminal."
"First of all, it's not people who refer to Bones as Bones. It's me. Just me."
"So it's like a pet name?"
Booth shifted uncomfortable. "You know, I would appreciate if what we talked about earlier stays between us."
"Of course. I was just…curious."
"Bones just…fit, you know. Temperance was too long and Brennan was too formal so it's just Bones. It's always been that way."
"But she calls you Booth, right? Isn't that too formal?"
"That's because I don't like my first name."
"So, does that mean I shouldn't start calling you Seeley?"
"Not unless you want me to go back to calling you Agent Temple."
"Point taken."
"So, Casey…where do you want to go from here?" Booth asked.
"You're asking me?"
"You're the one in charge, aren't you?"
She nodded. "Well, we wait to see if Angela can find anything in the audio. In the meantime, I think we should go back through Collin Brown's file to see if we can find anything connected to MA."
"I left his file in Bones' office."
"Then let's start reading."
They both left the platform and walked over to Brennan's empty office. Booth led the way, feeling more comfortable about invading Brennan's space. He grabbed the file off Brennan's desk and brought it over to the couch where Casey was sitting. He laid it out on the coffee table.
"Let's assume that video cut out before Dr. Brennan could spell out an entire word. Therefore, we're looking for any word beginning with the letters MA," Casey said.
Booth separated the file into two halves. He gave half to Casey and took half for himself. Propping his feet up on the coffee table, he settled in to read the file yet again. His eyes skimmed over the words of the file, but he couldn't help but think back to the last day he had spent with Bones. He thought about the cemetery, the diner, the parking lot. Booth jolted upwards.
"The parking lot," he said.
"What?"
"The parking lot."
"What are you talking about?"
"Collin Brown's old house was turned into a…"
Hodgins and Angela burst into Brennan's office.
"We think we know where she is," Hodgins exclaimed.
"So do I," Booth replied, standing.
"Where do you think?" Hodgins asked.
"No, you tell us what you found first," Booth insisted.
As much as Booth was sure he was right, he needed more than just his gut. He needed evidence if he was going to get his hopes up of finding Brennan.
"Wait, will somebody please tell me what's going on?" Casey asked.
"I was able to separate the audio," Angela explained as she parked herself at Brennan's computer. Within seconds, she had her audio program up and running. "I was able to eliminate Brennan and Creepy's voices and amplify the background noise."
"Which was what?" Casey questioned.
"Pretty much a whole lot of scrambled nothing," Hodgins answered.
"So how do you know where she is?" Casey wondered, still feeling like she was in the dark.
"I was able to pinpoint a specific sound," Angela explained. She clicked the mouse and a tapping sound came from the speakers.
"What is that?" Casey asked.
"Footsteps," Booth stated.
"So? Someone else was walking in the room?" Casey questioned.
"No," Angela answered. "Someone was walking above her. A lot of someones actually."
"So? She's in a basement of some kind?" Casey guessed.
"Yes," Angela said.
"How can we found out which basement?" Casey asked.
"If you listen to the footsteps, there are several distinct sets. One caused by a set of high heels. Another caused by flip flops and another caused by a pair of stiletto boots," Angela explained.
"She's good," Casey commented.
"You have no idea," Angela replied, smiling. "Anyway, the sounds of these steps aren't just people walking around. They're people, woman most likely, based on the type of shoes, walking in a back and forth pattern"
"Why would women be walking in a back and forth pattern?" Casey questioned.
"What's the first thing you do when you try on a new pair of shoes?" Angela asked.
Casey's eyes widened as if the light bulb had gone off above her head. "Walk back and forth in the store," Casey answered.
"Exactly."
"So she's under a shoe store?"
"She's at the mall," Booth stated. He felt a surge of energy rush through him. They knew where she was. He only hope they weren't too late.
"MA," Casey said. "She was trying to spell mall."
Booth took his phone out of his pocket and speed dialed the FBI building, ready to call for backup.
"Collin Brown's home was turned into a shopping mall. He took her home," Booth explained.
"Let's go," Casey said. Booth was already halfway out the door.
Author's Note: So, it's less than an hour until Bones (at least for us East Coast folks) and, I'm not going to lie, I'm excited! I hope this chapter will enhance your Bones fix for the night! Thank you for reading!
