The Face with Two Skeletons
By: Tropicwhale
Disclaimer: Mine? Who's been saying that wonderful lie? oh...ignore them, they lie like rugs. Bones and all things associated with the show belong to other people...dammit.
Author Talk: So close. Stay tuned for an important announcement at the end of the feature.
Chapter Twenty-Two
A few days later Zack had his leg cast off and was down to an ace bandage on his wrist therefore cleared for travel. Dr. Brennan agreed to send him to Alabama to figure out the origins of the bones. Zack found this odd seeing as there was a lot of odd things going on with those bones but assumed that it was because Dr. Brennan were consumed with Anne Zerbrowski's murder and really what he was looking for was a paper trail or a simple mistake in shipping. Angela was going with him…Zack had the singular suspicion that Booth didn't want him wandering on his own which was completely unnecessary. Zack could take care of himself but he was happy for the company. He hated to fly.
They went to the University of Alabama at Birmingham first to ensure that the skeleton did come from them in the first place. The numbers and everything matched up which was very frustrating to Zack and very boring to Angela. The secretary was very excited to meet them and immediately started to ask about Dr. Brennan which made Zack very uncomfortable but Angela knocked the girl into her place by reminding her that there was at the very least mislabeled remains of a murder victim that came from her department. The secretary blushed and quietly gave them the information to get to the evidence storage building which was 'across town' from the sheriff's department. Angela drove the rental car as Zack sat quietly in the passenager's seat contemplating various scenarios starring him and Booth having sex. "Hey, Zack. What're you thinking about?" Angela asked suddenly. Zack was startled out of his thought processes. He was certain that Booth wouldn't appreciate Zack telling Angela that they had had sex.
"Zerbrowski." he said, the first word that popped into his mind. Angela sighed and patted his knee.
"You know, sweetheart, you really should just forget about him. He's not worth it." Zack shrugged and looked out the window at the countryside they were driving through. It alternated between swamp and farmland.
"He was my friend. I am upset that we stopped being friends….anyway the physical aspect was secondary and not that interesting." Angela laughed.
"You have the worst sex life I've ever heard of Zack."
"I've had really good sex….just not very often or for a...." he was about to say 'a long time' but that would be lying and he didn't want to lie to Angela. "awhile."
"When was the last time you had great sex, Zack?" Angela sounded amused. Zack stopped and blushed. He turned back toward the window. The last time he had great sex was a few days ago with Agent Booth but he wasn't about to tell Angela that. "Oh, I saw that blush…tell me!!"
"I'd rather not." Zack stated blankly.
"Alright…tell me what you define as great sex." Zack felt his pupils dilate in response to the arousal he now felt remember his time with the federal agent in tactile detail.
"We….I don't have to think about what the other person wants and know that they are happy with my performance. Um…" Zack was finding it difficult to put his thoughts into words.
"So you feel taken care of?" Angela clarified.
"Yes but also that I'm taking care of them without trying."
"A mutual caretaking. Alright. I can understand that. You probably have to trust this person, right?"
"Yes. Trust is a definite….would it be completely shallow of me to say they have to be a really good kisser?" Zack wondered. Angela snorted in amusement.
"No, Zack. You're allowed to like having sex with someone who is an good kisser."
"Not just good. Amazing. They have to have the ability to make me forget my own name temporarily. I really like someone who likes to kiss. Zerbrowski and Naomi both preferred not to kiss….or rather they liked it when-" Zack cut himself off, unwilling to continue his explanation of the private matter with his co-worker.
"They both preferred to see what your mouth could do to them rather than what their mouths could do for you." Zack blushed again.
"Something like that. They both seemed overly fond of…I think you would say giving me head?"
"They both liked to go down on you. Yeah, okay. You didn't like that?"
"It makes me feel like I owe them something and I think oral sex is very unhygienic so I try not to engage in it....except-"
"Your partners leave you a position that makes you feel like you should."
"Exactly."
"So when was the last time you didn't feel pressured during sex with a really great kisser that you trusted." Zack blushed and balled up in his seat.
"I'd rather not say…I think we're here." Zack said, looking down at the directions and checking the address on the squad concrete building that was on the right side of the car. Angela slowed, put on her turn signal and turned into the driveway. They parked and got out. Zack held the door opened for Angela and they stepped into the air conditioned building out of the southern mosquito-infested humidity. A bell rang as they entered and a woman Zack thought was in her early fifties popped up from under the caged counter. She was short with brown hair that had graying frizzies and more laugh lines than frown lines on her face. Actually, Zack thought she reminded him of his mother's Aunt Sally.
"How can I help you folks?" she asked in what could be described as a playful southern drawl.
"Pack Rat?" Zack inquired, recognizing the voice.
"Who asks?" the woman was suspicious.
"Dr. Zack Addy from the Jeffersonian in Washington D.C. We talked on the phone a week and three days ago?" The woman's face brightened.
"Oh the man with the stray skeleton. Hello, how you doing?"
"Still trying to figure it out." Zack nodded. "This is my co-worker, Angela Montenegro." Pack Rat shook the woman's hand through the delivery slot in the cage.
"How do you do? I'm Lt. Sgt. Vanessa Marin but folks call me Pack Rat on account I keep all the evidence from every crime in Houston County since 1941 right here in this building."
"Angela." Pack Rat pulled up a stool and sat on it.
"Any luck hunting down who the woman was?" Pack Rat asked. Angela shook her head.
"No." Zack verbalize. Pack Rat nodded. Zack handed her the files they got from the fangirl secretary at the university through the slot. Pack Rat flicked them open and perused the contents of the file.
"This doesn't look at all familiar." the police woman said.
"Would a picture of her face help?" Angela asked and handed another sketch of the skeleton to Pack Rat. Pack Rat pursed her lips and shrugged.
"Looks familiar but I can't place where I've seen her before." Zack clenched his left hand into a fist briefly by his side to relieve tension. It was frustrating. Pack Rat handed the picture back to Angela. Just then the door rang again. Pack Rat smiled at the new arrival. "Sheriff Riley! What can I help you with?" Zack and Angela moved out of the way to let the older man through. Zack froze when he spotted the other man's face. It was stern and a little intimidating. Sheriff Riley barely glanced in his direction.
"Hey Pack Rat. Was wondering if I could see the broken lock from the Smiths' robbery case?"
"Sure thing, Sheriff." Pack Rat disappeared through a door recessed into the wall to her left. Sheriff Riley leaned his hip against the countertop which left his hip holster free and turned him to face the two squints. Zack had wandered so he was behind Angela and the sheriff couldn't see him. Angela didn't seem to share her co-worker's anxiety.
"Hi." She said friendly enough. The sheriff narrowed his eyes.
"Who are you?"
"We're from the Jeffersonian Institute in Washington." Angela bounced her head to either side, smiling. "There was some confusion about a skeleton we received and we traced it back to here." The sheriff snorted.
"What sort of problem?"
"Well, the paperwork for this particular skeleton says it was found in Pittman Bay in 1930- something and our forensic anthropologist discovered it isn't older than six months old. The university that sent it to us said it came from your sheriff department."
"That sounds like it was more your problem than ours." He told her. Angela wilted a little and Pack Rat came out from a door behind the Sheriff.
"Here, sign out, Sheriff." The sheriff turned and signed a piece of paper on a clipboard that the older woman held out. "Oh hey!! Maybe the sheriff will be able to identify your missing person. He knows practically every living soul in Houston County." Angela stepped forward and held out the picture. Sheriff Riley barely glanced at it.
"Don't recognize it." Angela looked mildly defeated.
"Alright…where to next, Zack?" The artist turned to face Zack which gave Sheriff Riley a good look at the scientist. Zack felt the blood leave his face. "Zack? Sweetie? What's amatter? You look ill." Angela looked back and forth between the two men. "Do you know each other?"
"No" The sheriff said abruptly the same time Zack said "Yes"
"Zack?" Angela looked at her co-worker.
"He's Mr. Hector Oscarmann…I used to date his son until he walked in on us and shot Bradley. He's suppose to be in jail in Michigan." Zack explained. The sheriff drew his gun and aimed it at Zack. Angela gasped and backed away.
Author After Talk: Change of plans!! I think that I'm only going to take it to the next two chapters because I don't have chapter twenty-five written and I want to do a good job on it. However, "Sometime around Midnight" Chapter one needs to be written. So I'm going to post the last two chapters tomorrow and the first chapter of "Midnight" then as well. So there's going to be a bit of an overlap in the fics but this one is still going on hiatus because I just don't have the attention span to do math homework, follow spot, and two fics at the same time. So there will be two more chapters not three and it'll sort of be over the next day and a half. Sorry for the inconvenience but I hope you continue to read my work.
Tropic