The Tensing (Chapter 4)
There it was! The location was nothing more than a vacant lot, but the car was parked along the fence line. He braced himself, hoping that she somehow bested her assailant. Swallowing back the rising panic, Booth advanced, gun in position. He cleared both the front and back seat, then reached in to pop the hood of the trunk. He could hear her voice in his head telling him to use his sense of smell when approaching a potential dead body. An errant tear flowed down his left eye, and he aggressively wiped it away. Taking a deep breath, he walked around to the back of the car. He let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding. Empty.
Where the heck was, she?
In no less than three minutes, the local PD was scouring the area for clues that could hold Dr. Brennan's whereabouts. Booth needed information on Rigby. Later that evening after several cans of Dr. Pepper and what felt like hours on the phone, Booth was seated in front of Rigby's roommate from prison. Booth was in no mood for subtleties.
"Talk" he demanded. The 35-year-old Texan with orangish red hair and a matching mustache and beard rolled his eyes.
"You know, you're not going to get anywhere with me if you talk to me like a dog."
Something about this guy just annoyed Booth. He had a condescending strut that reminded Booth of a peacock.
"Fine, Mr. Lynn. Can you tell me anything related to the prison break of Andrew Rigby?"
"Well, you'll have to be more specific than that? Is this your first time doing this?"
Booth was nearing the end of his patience when the warden walked in.
"Lynn!" The warden's voice seemed to snap him out of his smug disposition.
"This is a Fed, you got that? A FED!! Cooperation on your part may go a long way with that inquiry." Booth watched the prisoner's shoulders relax as he let out a breath.
"Okay fine." He stated. His voice now more resigned. "Rigby mentioned Dr. Temperance Brennan and you, Agent Booth, every day. It was like he had some kind of obsession. He talked about some kind of ritual...he was into some weird stuff...I don't know. He wrote stuff down in this little moleskin book. I think he bartered for it when he assisted in the sick bay during that Flu epidemic."
"Great, where's the book?"
"He never went anywhere without it...there's no telling." Booth fought back the urge to clock this guy. Apparently, the young prisoner picked up on the agents suppressed rage and quickly stuttered, "but it might be hidden in the room somewhere." Booth had the room searched thoroughly and nothing turned up. Closing his eyes, Booth looked heavenward and silently pleaded with God. He took several deep breaths and tried not to think about what Bones was going through.
Bones started to come to, and she felt like her head had been placed in a vice. She knew she had been drugged but she couldn't tell if she was restrained. She tried to pull her legs toward her body and realized that they were still numb. After a quick self-assessment, she understood that she was given a sedative. That seemed consistent with the practices of a doctor. Although she wasn't sure how Dr. Rigby's actions lined up with the Hippocratic Oath. She was able to move her arms and the top half of her torso. In a large sweeping movement, Bones tried to lift herself up to sitting. Bones did a half sit up and managed to use her arms to steady her into a sitting position. Forcefully, she began massaging and pounding at her legs in a hope to counteract the effects of the sedative. She began to feel a drilling sensation move through her legs…it was working! Bones began to regain feeling in her buttocks, her thighs, then her legs and finally her feet. As soon as she could stand up, she began to scan the room for a weapon. If Rigby did return, she would have to be ready to make her move. Still drowsy from the meds, she padded her way through the room and found a pipe wrench. That would do it. As she leaned forward to reach for it, the wrench toppled to the floor. The sound practically shattered her as it echoed through the entire room. No doubt, Rigby would have heard it if he was in the building. Taking a deep breath, Bones reached down and grabbed the wrench. She heard footsteps descending what sounded like a staircase. Gripping the wrench tighter, she took a steadying breath. It was now or never.