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: I wasn't happy with this chapter but I'm stuck on "Midnight" and this chapter has some interesting bits for you to mull over during the Hiatus which will begin officially as this chapter goes up. Hopefully I wil be back to writing "Zooth" in the second half of the mouth of July 2009.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Soon enough Booth and his entire squint squad was back in DC where they belonged and Booth had to explain to his superiors the whole Oscarmann/Zack thing and how, for whatever reason, he thought that this case and the murder of Anne Zerbrowski were connected which was a real headache to the federal agent. Inevitably he was assigned the case of Olivia Oscarmann's murder in connection to Anne Zerbrowski's murder and Brennan was force to tell Zack to go home because, well, he was off the examination of Olivia Oscarmann's bones for obvious reasons. Zack couldn't find a ride home and asked Angela if he could borrow her computer so he could play a game online until someone was freed up enough to take him back to Booth's place. She gave him a pitying look and told him he could. Zack got frustrated by that and called Bailout to come and pick him up. His teammate agreed and even offered to pay for pizza but Zack asked if he was avoiding studying which, of course, Bailout was so Zack said that at least they could go somewhere like P.F Chang's or T.G.I.F's to eat. Bailout enthusiastically agreed and Zack left the Jeffersonian without telling anybody.

Booth on the other hand hunted down Olivia Oscarmann, also known as Olivia Riley, formerly Olivia Specter's medical records and family background. He eventually found them and dropped the entire folder onto Brennan's desk as she was typing up her reports on her computer. "What's this?" she asked. Booth collapsed into a chair across from her and propped his feet onto the desk.

"Olivia Oscarmann's medical records and family background. There is no way her parents were her biological parents. The medical records don't fit." Booth folded his hands on his lap in a very self-satisfied way. "And Zerbrowski is blocking the release of his wife's medical records."

"Why?"

"He's a jerk and doesn't like me."

"That's suspicious."

"It can be but he's using completely legal reasoning to stop the release."

"Like what?"

"Like we already know who she is."

"Oh…that's a rotten reason for impeding a federal investigation."

"Yup. Hate that guy."

"This information might help then." Brennan handed a piece of paper with a lot of stuff Booth didn't understand on it. Booth gave her a look that told her he didn't get it. "Cam got a positive DNA match from both sets of remains that they were not just related but twins."

"So our suspicions are confirmed?"

"Yes. Are we going to pursue that line of the investigation?" Brennan wanted to know. Booth shook his head.

"Both sets of parents are dead. It would be impossible."

"I see."

"What's really interesting is that both sisters married young and to older men."

"Why is that significant to the investigation?"

"Nothing really except it gives us some insight into our victims."

"They both wanted to be taken care of and ended up with jerks?" Brennan supposed.

"Exactly. So what's the connection between the two sisters?" Booth enjoyed these conversations with Brennan. It helped him figure stuff out when he said stuff aloud.

"Nothing except that they were twins…. separated at birth."

"Which sounds like a bad nineties sitcom." Brennan obviously didn't get the pop culture reference.

"So how are we sure that their deaths weren't sheer coincidence?"

"We don't except for circumstantial evidence."

"Which wouldn't necessarily hold up in court." Brennan sounded disappointed. Booth nodded to show his solidarity in her disappointment. "So what are we going to do?"

"Don't know just work with what we have."

"Did anything come up with Anne' masseuse lover at the spa?"

"Cleaner than a whistle except that he was having an affair with every other regular at Mason le Renoucement" Brennan laughed at his bad French.

"Maison De Recommencement"

"Whatever. So what would be the motives for killing Anne Zerbrowski?"

"Jealous lover."

"Which covers both her affair and her husband's."

"Money."

"Which covers her husband."

"She's was considered unpleasant."

"She was a bitch….which covers anyone who ever met her."

"That doesn't narrow down the suspects does it?"

"No." Booth could tell by looking at Brennan's face that she was frustrated by that fact. Cam stuck her head into the room.

"Has either of you seen Zack?" They shook their heads.

"No. Why?" Brennan asked.

"Angela said that he asked to play games on her computer until someone could take him home but he's not in her office or Limbo or anywhere." Booth frowned.

"That's weird. Does he have a cell?" Cam shook her head.

"He doesn't like them." Brennan explained. "Do you think that he might have gotten a ride home with someone?" Cam shook her head.

"Everyone I've talked to says that they haven't seen him all day…and some were asking inappropriate questions about him and the cases we're working on which leads me to think he's hiding out somewhere or something." Cam's tone and facial expression showed her disgust at other people's discourtesy.

"Maybe he called one of his basketball teammates to pick him up?" Brennan guessed.

"Maybe." Cam said. "Do either of you have a contact list for them?" Cam closed her eyes and held up a hand. "Nevermind, forget I asked that." She looked at the pair. "I'm just being a mother hen about it. Zack's a grown-up. He can take care of himself. We told him to go home and he did. There really isn't anything else we can do about it." It sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than Brennan and Booth. She walked out. Brennan and Booth looked at each other.

"It seems like everyone is treating Zack like he's an incompetent, lately." Brennan observed. "Ever since we discovered the remains were the wife of the man that Zack was having an affair with and his apartment blew up we've all been treating him like he's going to break."

"We've all?"

"I'll admit that I've caught myself being a little less firm in my decisions involving Zack. It's seems I've been feeling protective over him. What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Have you noticed your behavior changing toward Zack since he admitted his bisexuality to you and everything else?"

"Not really." Booth was uncomfortable with his partner's observations.

"You let him stay in your apartment until he can find something better or his apartment is rebuilt."

"That's because I found him sleeping in Limbo." Brennan narrowed her eyes.

"When did this happen?"

"The day he started staying with me. He disappeared. I went searching for him and apparently he sat down on the floor the day before and couldn't get back up again. I didn't think it was fair that Hodgins decided to stay with Angela and Zack was left homeless. I felt bad for the kid."

"He's not a young goat and you just admitted that your attitude toward Zack has changed since the explosion and recent admissions about his private life."

"His house was blown up, Bones!! I'm not inhuman. He needed a place to stay and I wasn't seeing you or Cam stepping up to bat nor was I going to let him just bounce from house to house of his basketball buddies. I'm doing a nice thing for him! You don't need to analyze it!" Booth stood.

"I was merely remarking how you started to treat him more delicately. It's nothing to be ashamed of. We've all been doing the same sort of thing in regards to Zack. Why do I feel like I should be apologizing?" Booth calmed himself down. Brennan didn't know anything.

"No. You're fine and right. I have started to treat Zack differently…letting him get away with more stuff." Booth looked at Brennan. "But he's been acting differently too. He's behaving more human and moody….I can't help myself."

"He probably doesn't appreciate his private life being dragged out on display in his professional environment. I know I wouldn't." she remarked.

"Yeah. And it has to hurt to come face to face with a guy who killed his boyfriend and tried to kill him after his home was blown up and he was taken off a case for conflict of interest then dumped for the same reason by the guy behind the conflict." Brennan nodded.

"So maybe he went to hang out with someone who isn't treating him like he's an infant made of glass." Booth squinched his eyes closed.

"You're mixing metaphors, Bones. It doesn't work."

"Do you get my meaning?"

"Yes but-"

"Then the metaphor holds water." Booth shook his head at his partner's weird syntax. Brennan was one of a kind.

Author After Talk: See, I almost wrote "We've all been doing the same thing with Zack that you are." But thought it would sound like Brennan knew something she didn't and I wanted to be nice to Booth right before I put him on a shelf for a month. Sort of a synopsis of this first half of the journey. See you all in an month to bring it on home.

Tropic