A Day Later:
"Any luck yet?" Cam asked Booth while they sat in the diner, eating breakfast.
"Yes!" Agent Aubrey exclaimed before Booth could say anything, rushing over, out of breath.
"Are you ok?" Booth and Cam questioned, confused.
"Sorry. I ran all the way here. A group of special needs kids and their teacher were on a nature walk through the woods behind the school. Something about texture and sensory exercise. Anyway, they stumbled upon a shack, and one of the kids nearly fell into a hole in the ground. The shack was covered in blood. And they found another body in the hole. Tristan is there now; he told me to get you and Cam. He said the body was fresher and still had skin and hair. The rest of the lab workers are there as well. All we know right now is that he's an older gentleman." Agent Aubrey answered, trying to catch his breath.
"Well, I guess it's time to head out." Cam sighed, standing up.
"What about breakfast?" Aubrey questioned, watching Booth and Cam.
"Have you ever been to a major crime scene like the one we're going to?" Booth inquired, watching Aubrey.
"No. Why does that matter?" Aubrey questioned.
"Trust me; you're not going to want food. Not during. Not before. Not even after right away. Now, let's go." Booth insisted, leading the way.
"I think I can handle it." Aubrey mumbled, following Booth to Booth's vehicle.
"We'll see about that." Booth replied, watching Aubrey eat some candy.
Fifteen Minutes Later:
"Well, here we are." Booth informed Aubrey, who had just finished eating chips.
"Let's do this. What's that bag for?" Aubrey determinedly insisted. He then asked when he saw Booth holding a paper bag.
"It's for you. The squints and the rest of us don't want the scene contaminated. Come on." Booth answered, leading the way.
"Keep it; I'll be fine." Aubrey persisted, following Booth.
"Ok." Booth replied, unfolding the bag in front of him.
A Few Minutes Later:
"What's that smell?" Aubrey questioned, sniffing the air.
"Decomposition: the great smell of death." Booth answered with a smirk.
"Uh-huh. I didn't realize it smelt this strong." Aubrey replied, holding his breath.
"Just wait 'til we get there." Booth replied.
"It gets worse?" Aubrey questioned, trying not to sound horrified.
"Much. I think we're here." Booth answered before seeing their people.
"Hey, it's about time you made it here. Is he ok?" Tristan greeted Booth and Aubrey.
"He's fine. Right, Aubrey?" Booth replied before questioning.
"Yep." Aubrey answered, pale in the face.
"He's never been to a crime scene like this before." Booth explained to Tristan.
"Ah. That makes sense." Tristan replied, leading Booth the way.
"Oh, God!" Aubrey exclaimed, holding his breath and his hand over his mouth. Booth just held out the paper bag to him.
"Thank you." Aubrey thanked Booth, backing up before vomiting into the bag.
"He ate something, didn't he?" Cam questioned, watching Booth walk over. She got there only a few minutes before him and Aubrey.
"Yep. Chocolate, other candy, and chips. He decided not to listen, so I just let him go at it." Booth answered with something between a smirk and a smile.
"That's just mean." Cam replied with a sigh. Still, she couldn't help but smile, doing her best not to laugh aloud.
"Oh, well. But what do we have here?" Booth questioned Cam and Tristan, changing the subject.
"Well, I just got here, so not much. What I can tell you is like our last victim; he is male and was exsanguinated. Right now, the biggest difference is that he's quite a bit older than our other victim. That's all I have until I can get a closer look." Cam answered.
"Great. So, we have two John-Does now." Booth sighed, annoyed.
"Feeling better?" Tristian questioned Aubrey.
"Yeah." Aubrey answered.
"What did you do with your vomit bag?" Booth questioned, turning his attention to Aubrey.
"Well, I was going to toss it in the trashcan back there. But once I opened it, I decided against it: there's some evidence in there, I think. I went back to the van and got an empty grocery store bag and put my bag in there for now." Aubrey answered.
"Good going, Aubrey. Can I get a squint over here? We have trash to look through." Booth praised Aubrey before requesting from Cam.
"Uh… Yeah. Hopkins: go with Booth." Cam ordered one of the lab workers.
"Yes, Ma'am." The man, Hopkins, obeyed, following Booth and Aubrey.
"This is most definitely the place the first guy was killed. These bugs look the same, but only Penny will be able to determine that. But I'm pretty sure this is the same type of soil." A man with brown eyes and dark brown hair that was all over the place. His hair looked like he was zapped with high voltage or something.
"Thank you, Mr. Smith." Cam thanked Ben Smith.
"Is there something else?" Tristan questioned, watching Ben.
"I think so. Gage said he found a patch saying, "If found, "If found, contact C. Spencer." We were all assuming his name started with a "c." But what if "c" isn't the first letter but in the last letter of the name?" Ben inquired.
"What are you getting at?" Tristan and Booth questioned as Booth and Aubrey walked over. Hopkins was behind them, carrying a bag of garbage.
"We found two other pieces of the patch from our first victim. One reads, "Dom." And the other reads, "ini." I figured when put together the full name will read, "Dominic Spencer." Or am I just crazy?" Ben explained, handing Tristan a baggy with two pieces of a patch.
"No, you did fine. Off the top of my head, Dominic is the only name that makes sense. But we'll find out for sure after a little bit. Good job." Booth insisted, watching Ben.
"Holy shit." Aubrey exclaimed when he finally saw the body.
"Something wrong, Aubrey?" Booth and Tristan questioned, looking at Aubrey.
"No. Yeah. I don't know. I know him." Aubrey spoke, stunned.
"This man? You know him? Who is he?" Tristan questioned, watching Aubrey along with Booth and Cam.
"God, what is his name? I haven't seen him in years. He was a pastor at the church I went to when I was a kid. I was five when he announced that he was retiring; he never gave a reason why. That shocked and angered a lot of people in the church. His wife, Hannah, reported him missing nine and a half years ago when I was fifteen. Isaac. His name was Isaac. Isaac and Hannah Spencer." Aubrey answered, thinking a little.
"Spencer? You're sure about that?" Booth and Tristan questioned.
"We've got another exsanguinated body over here!" Someone yelled, roughly ten feet from where Cam was.
"Come on." Booth instructed, leading the way.
"Aubrey, you're sure about the name Spencer?" Tristan questioned again.
"Yeah, I'm 99.9 percent sure." Aubrey answered.
"Do you know if he's related to a Dominic Spencer?" Booth questioned.
"I'm not sure. I know he and Hannah had five or six kids. If I remember correctly, most of them were daughters, but I think they had two or three sons. I remember Hannah really well because she was so kind and generous—and she made the best pastries ever. I know they have—had a lot of grandchildren. Dominic could be one of them." Aubrey answered, following them to the next body.
"Oh, wow. I don't think you could tell us who this is, could you?" Tristan asked Aubrey, looking at a new body.
"I haven't the slightest. His face is gone." Aubrey noted, looking at the body.
"This has maximum rage written all over him." Booth noted as Cam made her way over.
"Wow. He's awful. On estimate, he looks to have been dead for four to six days. I won't know for sure until I get him back to the lab." Cam informed Booth, Tristan, and Aubrey.
"We have another over here!" One tech called.
"And over here!" Another called.
"Guys, I think I've uncovered a burial dump site." Aubrey spoke, looking around as techs left and right called out body by body.
"I think I agree." Booth and Tristan replied.
"We have to figure out who these people are." Cam insisted, looking around.
Several Hours Later:
2:47 PM:
"Is that all of them?" Aubrey questioned, looking around.
"Yeah, I think so." Booth answered, covered in sweat.
"One would think; we dug up the entire area." Tristan gave his opinion.
"And techs and other FBI agents searched the surrounding areas with Ground Penetrating Radars (GPR). There wasn't anything except animal corpses and dirt." Cam added, looking around.
What was supposed to be one body, turned into thirteen bodies.
"Is it safe to say that this case is priority number one?" Aubrey and Tristan questioned Booth.
"Yeah, I'd say so. And so far, two of them have been a Spencer." Booth answered.
"Nope. Not two." Aubrey spoke, looking around.
"What do you mean?" Booth, Tristan, and Cam questioned, watching Aubrey.
"Those two men: they are Isaac and Hannah's sons. I don't know their names, but I do recognize them. The rest I'm unsure about." Aubrey answered in shock.
"Are you sure?" Tristan questioned, watching Aubrey.
"He's sure. Just looking at his face, I can tell, he's sure. We have to figure out who this family is and why people are targeting them. This stays out of the news until we know more. Or if it can't, keep names out. Cam, let us know what you find out; we'll let you know as well. Come on, Aubrey; I'm your ride. Tristan, follow along as well." Booth instructed, heading to the car.
"Where are we going?" Tristan questioned, following Booth and Aubrey.
"Missing Persons." Booth plainly answered.
"Hey, Booth. What's going on?" Sweets questioned, answering the phone.
"Sweets, meet me, Tristan, and Aubrey at Missing Persons. We're going to need you." Booth instructed.
"Yeah, sure. What's going on?" Sweets replied, confused.
"Thanks Sweets. See you soon." Booth responded before hanging up.
Twenty Minutes Later:
Due to traffic, it took them longer to get to Missing Persons.
"Booth, what's going on? What took you so long to get here?" Sweets questioned, confused.
"Mass grave. That's all I can say right now." Booth vaguely answered, seeing undercover news reporters; he recognized at least three.
"Oh, Booth. This is a surprise. What are you doing here?" A woman in her mid-thirties questioned with a polite smile.
"Hi, Delilah. We need to use the computers to look up some missing people." Booth informed the woman, Delilah.
"Yes, of course. How many?" Delilah politely questioned.
"Four. Also, unless it's the boss, nobody else gets in without my say so." Booth strictly told Delilah.
"Yes, of course. This must be important. Go right ahead." Delilah let them in, noting not to let anyone else in.
"Thank you, Delilah." Booth thanked Delilah.
"What are we looking for?" Sweets once again questioned once they reached the way back of the room.
"First, we're going to start with Isaac Spencer. From there, you three are going to get on the other computers and start looking up other missing Spencer family members. Aubrey said Isaac Spencer was a pastor before retiring roughly nineteen years ago, and then disappearing roughly nine years ago. I want to know more about him and his family. I think they're being targeted for some reason. Come on. Come on." Booth answered, impatiently waiting for the computer to turn on and load up.
"There." Tristan stopped Booth when he saw the Isaac Spencer they were looking for.
"Let's see…" Booth muttered, trailing off.
Isaac Lee Spencer (74)
Born November 16th, 1934, to Abel and Mary Spencer.
4th born of 7.
Ruth born, December 31st, 1929 (79—living in Montana)
Gabriel, born October 12th, 1931 (Missing)
Elijah & Isaac born November 16th, 1934 (Missing)
Simon, born March 13th, 1936 (Died at age 5—accidental death by falling down two flights of stairs)
Deborah & Rebecca, born June 7th, 1938 (70—living in Ohio)
Married Heather Markle February 18th, 1953
Had two sons and one daughter with Heather:
Jacob, born March 18th, 1952 (died of SIDs 2 months after birth)
Faith, born August 17th, 1953 (died at age nine due to Leukemia)
Evan, born February 2nd, 1955 (54—living in Florida)
Divorced Heather Markle April 18th, 1955
Married Hannah Prescott May 15th, 1957
Had two sons and four daughters with Hannah:
Adam & John, born May 27th, 1957 (Missing)
Elizabeth, born January 2nd, 1959 (50—living in Michigan since 1975)
Martha born, June 18th, 1961 (died at 15 in 1975 via suicide)
Anna, born August 14th, 1963 (died at 16 in 1979 via suicide—was 3 months pregnant)
Grace, born December 25th, 1965 (died April 2004)
Went missing on November 17th, 2000 (was 66)
"Ok… For now, Sweets: I want you to look up Isaac's sisters, Ruth, Deborah, and Rebecca and find out where they are and about their families. Tristan: I want you to look up his brothers, Gabriel and Elijah, and his second son, Evan: find out if they have or had any family. Aubrey: I want you to run a search on Isaac and Hannah's children. I will take care searching for Heather and Hannah. First and foremost, mark down the missing ones first. Then search through the known ones: find out where they live and if they have families and so on and so forth. We still need to identify eleven missing bodies; we have Isaac and Dominic for sure." Booth gave orders, looking at the screen. He didn't know what, but something felt wrong.
"Hold on, Cam's calling. Hello?" Booth instructed before answering his phone.
"Hey, Booth." Cam started, sounding indifferent.
"What is it, Cam? You're on speaker; Tristan, Aubrey, and Sweets are all here." Booth replied.
"Two of the bodies got mixed up. The second body that was found—after Isaac; that was Dominic Spencer. The first body we got that was thought may have been Dominic was actually a guy named Trenton Connors. He was reported missing by his landlord, Colton Swanson, who said, and I quote, "That lowlife owes me six months of rent and over four thousand dollars for damages or stolen items." Colton thought he just skipped town. Police brought the landlord here after he complained to them. He identified the body before passing out. Colton was also able to identify Dominic Spencer as Trenton's best friend—and was just as much trouble. He also said Dominic owed him money for whatever. Now, he's out over twenty thousand dollars. When you find out who did this, you're supposed to call Colton and let him have a piece of him—or at least let the person know they owe him money." Cam explained. The guys could tell she was trying not to laugh at this man's sheer stupidity.
"Have you identified any of the other bodies?" Aubrey questioned.
"Yes. As you stated at the site, two of the male bodies were that of Adam and John Spencer—Isaac and Hannah's sons. But those are the only ones we could identify for now. Oh, and before I forget. Gage found a note on Isaac's body that reads, "You were supposed to protect them." Some of these bodies have been dead for only a few years while others have been dead for decades." Cam answered before adding when she remembered some things.
"Ok. Is there anything else?" Tristan questioned.
"Other than they were all tortured and exsanguinated? No, not at this moment. Do you have anything?" Cam inquired.
"We learned that Isaac has a large family—and several of them are either missing or dead. But I do have two names for you: Gabriel and Elijah. So far, they're the only ones confirmed missing that you haven't identified yet." Booth informed Cam.
"Ok. Talk to you later." Cam replied before hanging up. Sheer shear
"Let's get to work; we're going to be here for a while. Ten bodies left. I still need you guys to look up who I told you look at just in case they had families." Booth instructed, frustrated.
"Right." The guys got to work.
Heather Ann Markle (72)
Born August 12th, 1936, to Nicholas and Kara Markle.
3rd born out of 3.
Kyle, born March 1st, 1930 (died of a heart attack 2003)
Eli, born October 12th, 1934 (died peacefully in his sleep in 1997)
Heather (living in Florida—since April 1955)
Married Isaac Spencer February 18th, 1953
Had two sons and one daughter with Isaac:
Jacob, born March 18th, 1952 (died of SIDs 2 months after birth)
Faith, born August 17th, 1953 (died at age nine due to Leukemia)
Evan, born February 2nd, 1955 (54—living in Florida)
Divorced Heather Markle April 18th, 1955
Got a restraining order against Isaac Spencer and his family April 21st, 1955 for her and Evan.
Married Vincent Habbernotch December 10th, 1963
Had two sons and two daughters with Vincent:
Cody, born September 4th, 1964 (44—living in Florida with 3 children)
Emily, born January 11th, 1967 (42—living in Florida with 3 children)
Annabella, born, April 12th, 1970 (38—living in Florida with 2 children)
Jace, born November 15th, 1975 (34—living in Florida with 5 adopted children)
Hannah Marie Spencer (67)
Born January 12th, 1942, to Michael and Carol Prescott.
2nd born of 2.
Peter, born January 12th, 1935 (74—living in Pennsylvania with wife since 1980)
Hannah (living in Washington D.C.)
Married Isaac Spencer May 15th, 1957
Had two sons and four daughters with Isaac:
Adam & John, born May 27th, 1957 (Missing)
Elizabeth, born January 2nd, 1959 (50—living in Michigan since 1975)
Martha born, June 18th, 1961 (died at 15 in 1975 via suicide)
Anna, born August 14th, 1963 (died at 16 in 1979 via suicide—was 3 months pregnant)
Grace, born December 25th, 1965 (died April 2004)
"Something wrong, Booth?" Tristan questioned, concerned, getting the attention of Sweets and Aubrey.
"Honestly, I don't know. I know age differences aren't that huge of an issue, so long as the younger one in the relationship is sixteen. And it was probably different in the thirties, forties, and maybe the fifties and sixties, but I'm kind of starting to wonder about Isaac. His first wife, Heather, has a restraining order for herself against him. She had one for their son, Evan, but that expired when he turned eighteen. When they got married, Isaac was twenty-three and Hannah was only fifteen. She was also only fifteen when she gave birth to Adam and John. Yeah, Cam?" Booth answered before answering his phone.
"Gabriel and Elijah are two of the victims. And there's a problem." Cam answered before informing Booth, Tristan, Aubrey, and Sweets.
"What is it now?" Booth and Tristan questioned, frustrated.
"That landlord, Colton; he woke up. No, that's not the issue. The issue is he mentioned that there were several DVDs like the one found on the guy and God only knows how much recording equipment. He's talking about selling it as compensation. Jasmine told me, and I explained to Colton and the officers that brought him in that those could be evidence. He had a massive conniption and is being detained. However, he's called a lawyer, who said we can't hold him without good reason." Cam explained.
"How about impeding on an FBI investigation?" Aubrey questioned as Booth, who was already beyond frustrated, sat there, seething.
"We tried that. The lawyer is claiming we're falsifying that." Cam explained.
"Ok. We'll be there in a few minutes." Booth replied, annoyed.
"Before you go, I have two names for you." Sweets spoke up.
"Yeah, I have a few as well." Aubrey added.
"I only have one plus information on Dominic." Tristan added.
"Ok. Go ahead. Agent Healer, seeing as you only have one, you go first." Cam calmly replied.
"Elijah only had two daughters, Shiloh, and Serena. Shiloh was killed when she was run over by a tractor when she was four. Serena only ever had one son, Dominic—and it was late in life. She ended up passing away from breast cancer in nineteen-ninety-three when Dominic was seventeen; he ended up living with Isaac and Hannah off and on until four years ago. Gabriel had two sons. His older son, Samuel Spencer has been missing since June of two-thousand-three. The younger son, Seth, was arrested on multiple charges of battery, assault, sexual assault, rape, vehicular manslaughter, etc. He got life in prison four years ago." Tristan explained, reading what he had written down so far.
"I will have my team look into him. Sweets?" Cam replied before asking Sweets to speak.
"I didn't find anything on Deborah or Rebecca, but Ruth has been married several times, and has a few kids. But her children had been taken by CPS or have been arrested. But her first two husbands mysteriously vanished. Her next three husbands, after their divorces, are just fine, so they didn't see the need to contain or question her." "Sweets, names, please." Cam interrupted Sweets's babbling.
"Sorry. Cole Stevens and Maximillian Stapleton." Sweets answered.
"Thank you, Sweets. Agent Aubrey?" Cam thanked Sweets before asking Aubrey.
"Adam and John never had any children: it stated that Adam was infertile, and John didn't want any kids. Elizabeth left Washington D.C. at sixteen and never returned. She does have children, but they and their children have never been here. Somewhere, it stated that Anna, one of the youngest daughters, had committed suicide at sixteen. However, looking deeper into her background, I found that she had given birth before; she had triplets—three boys, who Adam took and raised as his own. There was Asher, Nathaniel, Zachary. I didn't get around to Grace." Aubrey explained.
"Ok. Thank you for that. Hopefully that will help some. I'll let you go, so you can get over here to take care of Colton and his lawyer. I have to get all this to Jasmine." Cam replied before hanging up.
"See you soon." The guys told Cam just before she hung up.
"Ok, let's head out. We have thirteen names. We'll come back to the rest of the family later and look through files if these aren't the right people." Booth sighed, standing up.
"Ok." The others replied, getting ready to head out.
Five Minutes Later:
"Hey! Are you the lawyer representing some landlord?" Booth demanded, walking over to some guy in a suit.
"Yes. I'm Tanner Cooke. Ah. I see we've gotten things taken care of." The man, Tanner Cooke, spoke, watching as police walked over with a man with dark blonde hair and green eyes.
"I'll be heading to my place to collect my payment." The man, assumed to be Colton, cockily insisted.
"You can take him back to his cell." Booth told the officer.
"Yes, of course." The officer replied, turning to take Colton back.
"Hey, let me go!" Colton yelled, fighting against the officer.
"Excuse me. You have no right to hold my client." Tanner insisted.
"Oh, yes, we do. He's impeding on a federal case." Tristan retorted, holding up his badge. At the same time, Booth and Aubrey showed their badges.
"You're just saying this so that he can't get his payment." Tanner argued.
"Does this look like we're kidding or trying to play some kind of trick? Listen here, Pal: I don't care how crappy of a tenant this Trenton Connors was; he and several others were murdered. He was tortured and had his blood drained from his body. They were all tortured and drained of their blood. Do you understand what we are telling you? You claim he and his friend were ruffians. Who knows what is on those disks or cameras and whatever else?" Booth angrily told Tanner and Colton, showing him pictures of Trenton, Dominic, and a few other victims.
"Oh, my God." Colton and Tanner exclaimed, horrified and disgusted.
"And let me tell you this, if you were to take any of those disks or cameras and sell them, and they have damning evidence, you will go down for that as well. Do you understand what I am telling you?" Tristan warned Colton.
"Yes." Colton answered.
"Good. First off, none of this gets to the press. We're going to keep this on the downlow until we decide otherwise. Next, if you agree to take us to the place Trenton was living and let us in to collect everything, we won't charge you with anything. And if he doesn't have any family, you may have whatever he has that we don't take and do with it as you please." Booth firmly told the man.
"Yes, of course." Colton immediately agreed.
"Let's go." Booth, Tristan, and Aubrey instructed.
"Sweets, you wait here. We may need you when we go visit Hannah." Booth firmly told Sweets.
"Ok." Sweets replied, stunned.
Roughly Six at Night:
"Are you sure now is a good time?" Sweets questioned when Booth pulled up to a house.
"Now is as good a time as ever. Besides, we don't clock out until seven or eight." Booth answered, turning the car off.
"What's going on, Cam?" Tristan questioned when Booth turned his phone on with the speakers on.
"I just wanted to let you know that the names you gave us earlier: they all match a body." Cam informed the guys.
"Well, that's one part done." Tristan sighed.
"Where are you?" Cam questioned, hearing children running by the vehicle.
"Hannah Spencer's home. We're going to speak with her to discuss everything." Aubrey answered with a slight yawn.
"Ah. Hold on. What is it, Jasmine?" Cam asked after telling the guys.
"Is that Booth and group?" Jasmine inquired.
"Yes." Cam answered.
"Oh, good. Can y'all hear me?" Jasmine questioned.
"Yeah." The guys answered.
"The DVDs weren't anything but pirated movies and television shows. The recording cameras haven't been used in a while—maybe more than a month or so, but it had been used before. There were no home videos of any kind." Jasmine explained.
"Ok, thank you. Well, we have to go before it gets too late for this. Bye." Booth thanked Jasmine for the information before insisting.
"Ok, we'll talk to you tomorrow." Cam and Jasmine replied before both parties hung up.
"Ok, are we ready?" Tristan asked everyone.
"Yep." Booth answered.
"As we'll ever be." Aubrey and Sweets answered.
They got out of the vehicle and headed up to the house.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Aubrey knocked on the front door once they composed themselves.
"Please, hold on!" They heard a younger-sounding girl call from inside.
"Aubrey, are you sure this is the right place?" Booth questioned, watching Aubrey.
"It's the address that was on file." Aubrey answered.
"Hold on; I'm coming!" The girl called again.
The guys heard something hit the other side of the door before seeing the curtains in the window next to the door move. They momentarily saw someone peek out and look at them.
"Can I help you?" The girl questioned, barely opening the door.
"I hope so. I'm Agent James Aubrey with the FBI; I'm here with my associates to speak with Hannah Spencer. Does she still live here?" Aubrey answered the girl, explaining why they were there.
"Can I see a badge?" The girl requested, unmoving.
"Oh, sure." Aubrey showed the girl his badge.
The girl pulled away from the door and shut it. The guys could hear her unlocking a few different locks.
"Well, they're certainly on the protective side." Sweets spoke.
"Do you think they know?" Tristan questioned.
"I don't know, maybe." Booth answered.
"Sorry about that. What does the FBI want with Nana?" Booth, Sweets, and Tristan recognized the girl as Nevaeh—the girl from the bar.
"Is this a joke?" Nevaeh questioned, seeing Tristan before looking around.
"No. Wait. I know what this may look like, but this isn't a joke or a prank. Sophie and Tyler aren't here. I'm FBI as well; I'm from Pennsylvania." Tristan quickly told Nevaeh to keep her from closing the door on them. He just as quickly pulled out his badge.
"I'm also here. I'm the senior agent here." Booth spoke, getting Nevaeh's attention.
"I don't understand. Why are three FBI agents and a shrink here, wanting to speak to Nana?" Nevaeh questioned.
"There's a joke in there somewhere." Booth, Tristan, and Aubrey spoke.
"Huh?" Nevaeh asked, confused.
"Never mind. So, Hannah Spencer does live here still?" Booth questioned, watching Nevaeh.
"Yes." Nevaeh answered.
"Can we speak with her, please? This is kind of important." Booth questioned.
"You can come in if you'd like, and I can see if she'll come out to talk." Nevaeh replied, moving aside to open the door, letting them in.
"Thank you, Nevaeh." The guys thanked Nevaeh, walking inside.
"It's nice in here." Tristan complimented Hannah's home.
"It's not what I expected." Aubrey muttered.
"And what did you expect?" Nevaeh's brother, Noah, questioned, walking in from behind everyone.
"May we help you?" Aubrey questioned, watching Noah.
"No. May we help you?" Noah retorted.
"Noah, I let them in. They're FBI and are here to talk to Nana about something." Nevaeh told Noah.
"FBI? For Grandma? Why?" Noah questioned, confused.
"I don't know. I'm going to see if Nana will come out." Nevaeh answered, walking down a hall.
"Ah. Wait. She still hasn't come out of her room? Did she eat something? Did you eat? Nevaeh!" Noah questioned before yelling down the hall.
"We had soup!" Nevaeh called back.
"Is this normal?" Tristan questioned, watching Noah.
"It depends on what you consider normal. It's up and down depending on the day. You were at that bar the other night. And so were you two. You—you, I don't know. This had better not be some cruel joke." Noah answered before noticing Tristan, Booth, Sweets, and Aubrey.
"No, this isn't some sort of joke. We're all FBI." Tristan calmly spoke, pulling out his badge again. At the same time, Booth and Aubrey pulled their badges out.
"I'd just leave those out if I were you: Grandma will demand to see them—along with your credentials and proper identification. And don't even try to touch that cat if you value your fingers." Noah calmly insisted before warning Aubrey when he went to pet a gray and black-striped cat.
"Not friendly?" Tristan questioned.
"Not really, no. He's Grandma's cat and is only nice to her and Nevaeh. The old cranky bastard doesn't like men." Noah answered, flipping the cat off. The cat hissed at Noah before growling until Noah put his finger down.
"He doesn't like it when you flip him off either." Noah added, standing up all the way.
"Stop picking on Spark Plug." Nevaeh told Noah, walking out.
As soon as he saw her, the cat, Spark Plug, went to Nevaeh; he rubbed against her once before using her as a bridge to get onto the cupboards.
"Is Grandma coming out?" Noah questioned, watching Nevaeh.
"Nana said she will be out in a few minutes. And she wants you to take Elvis out." Nevaeh told Noah.
"Yeah, yeah." Noah sighed, heading down the hall Nevaeh came back from.
"So, Starry Night is here, I see." Tristan noticed Starry Night sitting on some blankets on the couch.
"Of course, she is. Sorry about this. Just give me a second." Nevaeh replied before apologizing as she started folding her blankets and placing them under her pillow at the end of the couch.
"Hey, did Elvis and the cats eat?" Noah inquired, walking out with an older, big black dog.
"Yes. Elvis is out of dog food, so he had leftover burgers and noodles with an egg. Umm… Please, have a seat." Nevaeh answered, standing next to the couch. She then politely told Booth, Tristan, Aubrey, and Sweets.
"Thank you." The four men replied.
"What about the cats?" Noah questioned.
"I bought them food the other day; they're good." Nevaeh answered.
"What about Grandma's cats?" Noah questioned.
"They're good. I didn't know Elvis was out of food when I went to feed him. I would've got the dog food, but I can't lift the bags; you said I wasn't strong enough." Nevaeh answered and explained.
"You're not. Don't look at me like that; you can barely lift a gallon of milk without dropping it. Which reminds me: how did you manage to get the cats their food?" Noah responded to Nevaeh before asking her.
"The boxes aren't that heavy. I can bring one in at a time." Nevaeh immediately defended herself.
"Uh-huh." Noah replied, walking to the door with Elvis.
"Mr. Romus helped carry everything in." Nevaeh mumbled, looking away.
"Yes, I know; he told me earlier." Noah replied before walking out the door, laughing a little.
"Nevaeh?" Tristan tried getting Nevaeh's attention. She stood there, staring at the door, looking annoyed.
"Umm… Did you say something?" Nevaeh questioned, coming back to reality.
"How long are you visiting with your grandmother?" Aubrey questioned, watching Nevaeh.
"Huh? Oh, you don't know. Noah and I live with Nana." Nevaeh answered, sitting in a chair.
Booth, Tristan, Sweets, and Aubrey sat on the couch.
"Oh. How long have you lived here?" Aubrey questioned, watching Nevaeh as "Call Me" by Blondie started playing on the radio.
"Umm… Well, Noah, Lord, and Buggy have been here for four and a half years. Starry Night and I have been here for almost four years. And Froggy is three months." Nevaeh softly answered.
"I'm sorry. Lord, Buggy, and Froggy?" Aubrey questioned, confused.
"They're our cats. Well, Lord is the family cat; he was Mom's cat. Buggy and Froggy are my cats. And Nana has Elvis, Spark Plug, Elvira, and Daffy. Noah's not really a cat person; he prefers dogs." Nevaeh answered, starting to pick at her fingers.
"And you're not a big fan of dogs?" Sweets questioned, hearing something in Nevaeh's tone.
"Could you not do that?" Nevaeh requested.
"Do what?" Sweets questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"Being a shrink. Don't. I've seen enough shrinks to know when they're being shrinks. I can tell you're watching me and my body language." Nevaeh defensively spoke.
"You're getting pretty defensive." Sweets replied, watching Nevaeh.
"You would be too." Nevaeh replied, rubbing oncoming tears.
"What's going on?" Noah questioned, watching Nevaeh.
"Nothing." Nevaeh lied.
"You're a horrible liar. What is going on? What did you do to her?" Noah replied before demanding.
"Let's all calm down now." Booth instructed, standing up.
"The shrink is evaluating me." Nevaeh told Noah.
"I'll go get Grandma." Noah sighed, taking Elvis down the hall again.
"Is that dog vicious?" Tristan questioned.
"Elvis? No; he's a big lush—unless he or his people are threatened." Nevaeh answered.
"But you don't like him? I noticed you stay far away from him—even when he tries to go to you." Tristan questioned.
"Ha. It's not that I dislike Elvis. I just can't be near him without having flashbacks. To answer your question, I am afraid of dogs—particularly bigger dogs. When I was four or five, I was attacked by our neighbor's dog. I don't remember what kind of dog it was other than a big, black, skinny dog. It dragged me down the street, and I got bit a lot. So, no, I'm not a big fan of dogs." Nevaeh answered, rubbing more tears away as she remembered things. Starry Night started rubbing against her to calm her down.
"Can I ask why you sleep on the couch?" Sweets carefully questioned.
"I don't normally sleep on the couch. I was sick yesterday after I saw the dentist. I cracked a tooth last week and had to get it fixed. Well, the dentist ended up removing it, saying it was a wisdom tooth or something along those lines. The stuff they give me makes me sick for a good day or so. My room is over there. It's just easier to get to the bathroom from here." Nevaeh answered before pointing to a room.
"No door?" Aubrey questioned, looking around, shocked. All the other rooms had doors as far as he could see.
"No. Noah took it off for me. I don't like… I don't like being in rooms with doors; they make me feel trapped. So, using the bathroom is always a task." Nevaeh answered before Sweets could ask her.
"I noticed you call your grandmother "Nana," but your brother calls her "Grandma." Can I ask why that is?" Sweets questioned.
"Hahaha. He does it to get under Nana's skin; she doesn't like being called Grandma for some reason. I think it makes her feel old or something. Now, can I ask why you're here—why all of you are here? It can't be good, right? I mean, three FBI agents and a shrink: something bad must have happened. Did Dominic do something again?" Nevaeh answered Sweets, laughing a little before asking.
"Grandma's coming now." "That's Nana to you, Boy!" Hannah yelled at Noah, interrupting him.
"What about that asshole?" Noah questioned, referring to Dominic.
"Watch your mouth or you'll get the hot sauce!" Hannah yelled at Noah.
"They're talking about Dominic, Nana." Noah answered with a sigh.
"And who are you people?" Nana questioned, walking around the corner and over to everyone.
"FBI, Ma'am. I'm agent Seeley Booth. And these are my partners, Agent Tristan Healer and Agent James Aubrey. And that's Sweets." Booth introduced everyone as they showed her their badges.
"So, what did Dominic do this time? Did he kill someone's pet again? Or did he escalate to people?" Hannah inquired, walking around the corner.
Hannah was a short, elderly woman with dark gray hair and hazel eyes.
"Gracie, be a dear, and get everyone something to drink." Hannah spoke to Nevaeh.
"That's Nevaeh, Grandma." Noah firmly told Hannah.
"We have water, instant tea, orange, apple, grape, and prune juice, milk, and water." Nevaeh spoke, not wanting any confrontation.
"In a minute, please and thank you. Hannah, could you identify this person for us?" Booth responded to Nevaeh before asking Hannah, showing her a picture.
"Oh, yes. That's Dominic: I recognize those tattoos on his arms. He's dead?" Hannah calmly answered before asking after shifting her glasses.
"Dead?" Nevaeh and Noah questioned, shocked.
"Yeah. Can you identify him?" Tristan questioned, showing Nevaeh and Noah the picture.
"Oh, I wouldn't do that if I were you. Too late." Hannah tried telling Tristan not to show her grandchildren the picture. But it was too late, and they saw: Noah threw up where he stood before collapsing to his knees. Nevaeh momentarily stopped breathing before she blacked out.
"Well, it's safe to say they aren't the killers." Sweets noted as Booth just barely got to Nevaeh before she could hit the ground.
"I tried warning you; they don't handle that kind of stuff well. My boy handles it a little better than Nevaeh, but not by much; he freezes up and vomits before collapsing. My sweet girl—well, you saw her reaction. But she struggles with the sight of blood—even if it's from a papercut. They'll be fine in a few seconds." Hannah spoke, frustrated.
"How can you be so sur—?" Tristan and Aubrey started to ask but immediately shut up when Hannah emptied half a water bottle onto Noah and Nevaeh.
"Ahh!" Nevaeh screeched, pulling away from Booth.
"God, what the hell, Grandma?!" Noah yelled, sitting there, shocked.
"Do not use the lord's name in the same sentence as that place!" Hannah scolded Noah as Nevaeh managed to lean against the couch, deeply breathing.
"That's not real, is it?" Nevaeh managed to ask after a few minutes of Starry Night rubbing against her.
"Unfortunately, it is." Tristan answered with a sigh, putting the pictures away.
"Who did he piss off enough to warrant that? Yeah, he was a major creepy ass, but still." Noah questioned, still in shock.
"We were hoping you would know." Aubrey replied.
"We won't show you any more pictures, but could we ask if you know some people?" Booth questioned, looking from Nevaeh and Noah to Hannah.
"Yes." Hannah answered.
"Yeah, sure. Whatever." Noah answered.
"Ok." Nevaeh softly answered, still shaking.
1. Isaac Spencer
2. Gabriel Spencer
3. Elijah Spencer
4. Adam Spencer
5. John Spencer
6. Asher Spencer
7. Nathaniel Spencer
8. Zachary Spencer
9. Samuel Spencer
10. Trenton Connors
11. Cole Stevens
12. Maximillian Stapleton
"I've heard a few of those names, but I don't actually know any of them, except for Trenton; he is—was a friend of Dominic. They were often together." Noah answered.
"I know Trenton, and I think Isaac was Grandpa. But why are you asking about these people? I mean, Grandpa has been dead for years. I think the last time I saw him, I was five or six—maybe younger." Nevaeh answered.
"Yeah. That was a little strange. We used to come here all the time when we were younger. Then one day, Mom made it her mission to keep us away until after her passed away." Noah added, thinking a little.
"I know all of those people. From what I understand most of them moved away, and a few went missing." Hannah spoke up.
"Yes, that includes your husband, Isaac. Hannah, I remember when you reported him missing a little over nine years ago. I used to go to your church when I was a child—when Isaac was the pastor. And now, along with all the other names we mentioned, he is confirmed dead." Aubrey calmly spoke to Hannah.
"Missing? But I remember someone saying he had died of a heart attack." Nevaeh spoke up, confused.
"You're remembering wrong; it was a stroke. That's what I remember hearing." Noah responded.
"The truth?" Hannah asked, watching Noah and Nevaeh.
"Yeah, that would be nice." Noah replied, annoyed.
"Lose the tude. It was a long time ago. Your mother did what she thought was best for you. Now, I don't know what either of you were told, but yes, I reported your grandfather missing—three weeks later." Hannah started speaking after scolding Noah.
"Grandma!" "Nana!" Noah and Nevaeh exclaimed, horrified.
"Why did you wait three weeks to report him missing?" Aubrey questioned, shocked.
"What was best for us? What does that mean? Why would not telling us Grandpa went missing be what was best for us?" Nevaeh questioned, confused.
"I'd like to know all that as well." Booth and Sweets spoke up.
"You're a shrink, aren't you?" Hannah questioned Sweets.
"Yeah." Sweets answered.
"Yes, I thought so. I've seen a lot of you before. The only reason I didn't report him missing was because I thought he ran off with that tart of his." Hannah started to explain.
"Tart? Why would leave with a pop-tart?" Nevaeh questioned, confused with that blank face.
"Wrong kind of tart. What Grandma means is that Grandpa was cheating on her with some younger woman or a hooker." Noah explained to Nevaeh.
"Then why doesn't she just say that?" Nevaeh questioned.
"Because Grandma is old and grew up in a time where it was used a lot." Noah answered, frustrated.
"Watch your tongue." Hannah warned Noah, narrowing her eyes.
"As you were saying…" Noah urged his grandmother.
"As I was saying, I thought he ran off with that tart of his; he often said he would—along with other things. But none of that is for your ears. Anyway, that tart came to the house looking for him one day. I may have gotten a little snappy with her—and then she got snappy with her. And then I accidentally shared with her a dark secret in the family. Again, not something for your ears. She hadn't seen him, and a good chunk of money had been drained from our bank account, so I called and reported him as a missing person. I don't remember much about her, but I think she said her bank account was missing a good amount of money as well—despite not having a whole lot to begin with. And I think she reported him missing as well, but I could be wrong; he hasn't been all that missed." Hannah continued to explain.
"Why? Why isn't he missed? Why was it best we not be around him? What did he do?" Nevaeh lost it; she was even more confused than before.
"Gracie, Dear, you need take a breath." Hannah calmly spoke to Nevaeh.
"Nevaeh, Grandma. This is Nevaeh, not Mom. And Nevaeh, she's right; you need to calm down before you end up in the hospital—again." Noah sternly told Hannah before trying to calm Nevaeh down.
"No! I know people have secrets; I get that. But this—I have believed Grandpa has been dead for years now. What next? Mom and everyone else alive as well?" Nevaeh was nearly screaming.
"Thanks a lot, Grandma." Noah sarcastically thanked Hannah.
"You're welcome." Hannah replied as Nevaeh started frantically pacing around.
"No. Grandma, seriously? I knew you were a little crazy, but I didn't think you were off your rocker. If it weren't for the fact that these guys are FBI agents and he's a shrink, I don't think I'd believe them about Grandpa being missing. But here we are. So, what? Is he dead or missing? And for crying out loud, before Nevaeh has another massive panic attack, tell us what Grandpa did or so help me God…" "Says the atheist." Hannah grumbled, interrupting Noah's rant.
"Excuse me?" Noah questioned, shocked.
"Don't think I don't know you're not a believer. And don't think I don't know you're not straight; I know you're gay. You're not as sneaky as you think you are. Your grandfather was not a good person. Whether he is dead or not, I don't know—well, I didn't know until they brought him and the others up. Keeping him away from you kids was for your own good." Hannah sternly explained.
"What does that mean?!" Nevaeh snapped, having enough.
"Ok. Ok. Everyone just needs to take a deep breath." "Shut up." Noah and Hannah interrupted Sweets.
"Ok. That's enough. Nevaeh: you need to sit down before you hurt yourself or give your brother an aneurysm. Noah: you need to calm down; you're only making your sister all the more agitated. And Hannah: you have to tell us all about your late husband. This is not a matter of whether or not what you're keeping to yourself is for your grandchildren's ears or not. This is a federal matter: Dominic wasn't the only one who was murdered; your husband and all the others on this list were murdered. All these men were tortured and then exsanguinated of all their blood. They were then buried in the woods, half an hour away from here. So, we need to know what your husband and any of these other men did, now." Booth had enough and put his foot down, ordering Nevaeh, Noah, and Hannah.
"And at this point, I think Nevaeh and Noah have the right to know what's going on." Tristan and Aubrey insisted.
"I concur with that sentiment." Sweets spoke up.
"Fine. Your grandfather, Isaac Spencer is or was a sex pervert. He was married once before me, to a woman named Heather; they had three children together. However, only one son lived: one child died shortly after birth and the other had cancer. It's only thanks to Heather and your father that your mother and I were able to escape from that man, and we do keep in touch—or we used to until a few years ago. When I was thirteen, my parents gave me to Isaac and let him do as he pleased with me—whether I wanted it or not. He raped me every day and every night. However, I didn't end up pregnant until I was at the end of fourteen. He made sure that I knew he was in control: it was his rules, no exceptions. I was fifteen when I had your uncles Adam and John, who grew up to be just like Isaac. They brought home girls and raped them without any consequences. Isaac, Adam, and John also raped your aunts, Elizabeth, Martha, and Anna, and your mother. At sixteen, your Aunt Elizabeth ran away during or after school. I told her if she could get away, to get away; she got away. Aunt Martha and Aunt Anna weren't as lucky: your father knew people who kept an eye on them all day. Your Aunt Martha committed suicide in nineteen-seventy-five when she was only fifteen by hanging herself just to get away from everything. Your Aunt Anna committed suicide in nineteen-seventy-nine when she was sixteen and pregnant the second time; she had triplets the year before. She couldn't take it anymore, got Isaac's gun, and shot herself first in the stomach and then her head. So long after Heather, her husband, and your mother's husband helped your escape, your Uncle Adam and Uncle John went missing. Of course, I didn't figure that one out until years down the road. Oh, and your mother was pregnant with Catharine when we escaped; she already had Joseph. Joseph is also Isaac's son biologically, and Catharine, I think is Adam's. But she never had a paternity test done, so she could biologically be John's. I know she's not Isaac's; he had Joseph. But none of that mattered because her very loving husband adopted them as his own once they married. And then when your brothers, sisters, and you two came along, I saw the looks Isaac started giving you kids. I knew he was planning for the next generation of psychopaths and victims. I couldn't let him near you kids—especially not little Nevaeh; she's the perfect victim for them. No offense, Dear, but you're not very strong, healthy, confident, or very bright. But none of that is your fault; your mother's pregnancy and birth with you was so complicated. And you are so helpful. So, I told your mother to keep you all away. I stayed because I learned to handle it—and it kept him away from you, your mother, and your brothers and sisters. Well, there you go." Hannah explained why she did everything she did for her family.
"Jesus. Why didn't you just call the police?" Noah questioned, rubbing Nevaeh's back as she leaned over the couch.
"Isaac had friends who were police. There was the lawyer and the judge he was friends with as well. So, you tell me who I could have gone to. And don't you use his name like that. Atheist or not: you live in this house; you will follow my rules." Hannah retorted, annoyed.
"Yes, Ma'am." Noah replied, bowing a little.
"Stop! Just stop." Nevaeh yelled, wanting the arguing to stop.
"I think we have everything we need here tonight. If you think of anything, don't hesitate to give any of us a call." Booth insisted, handing Nevaeh, Noah, and Hannah each a card.
"Oh, wait. There is one more thing. Do any of you know what this is?" Tristan questioned, pulling the disk that was found on the first body, Trenton.
"It's a disk of some sort. The kids play them on the television or in their radios." Hannah dryly answered.
"We can also use them in computers. I play disk games on my computer and Nevaeh and I both use them to transfer music from CDs to our MP3 players. That is a burnt disk. And from the looks of the handwriting, it was one of Dominic's. Well, that and that stupid symbol he was always drawing; he decided to combine several cult symbols together as one new one. He had it tattooed on his ankles, wrists—both sides, the back of his neck, both sides of his neck, and his chest." Noah thoroughly explained.
"Nevaeh?" Tristan tried getting Nevaeh's attention.
"Yes?" Nevaeh replied.
"Can you look at this disk to see if you recognize it?" Tristan requested.
Nevaeh didn't reply; she only lifted her head to stare in shock.
"Where did you get that?" Nevaeh questioned, horrified.
"It was found on Trenton's body. Do you recognize it?" Trenton questioned, watching Nevaeh.
"She knows it." Sweets insisted, watching the tears rapidly falling from Nevaeh's eyes.
"No. No, no, no. NO! They said they got rid of it! They promised! No more!" Nevaeh screamed, immediately panicking.
"Nevaeh. Nevaeh, calm down. Breathe. Nevaeh!" Noah tried getting Nevaeh to calm down. But it was too late; she started severely hyperventilating, holding her chest before collapsing; her entire world went black…