Broken Bones

Episode 1 "Pilot" Part 4

"Talking"

"Thought"

Regular text

Booth and Temp were looking around the apartment as I was on watch duty, making sure Mr. Laurier doesn't escape us. I speak up breaking the silence. "So, Mr. Laurier, Agent Booth is under the impression that you might have something pertinent to a case he's working on." I hand him a photo. "You're looking for a Bronze Star? Like the one Cleo wore?" I smile at him nodding my head. "Yes, exactly like that one, Mr. Laurier." "I don't have it." Temp pipes in "Sometimes stalkers retain keepsakes." Booth then adds in, "What the hell are these things, huh?" "Miniature Lives of the Saints. I hand them out ..." "Heads up, Blueberry." "I got it. Don't worry Mr. Laurier, what were you saying." "I hand them out for donations. I'm not a panhandler. Help yourself. I never stalked Cleo." I pipe in "Oh my, then how come she got a restraining order?" "Okay, okay, no. First of all, no. Ken Thompson, her supposed boyfriend, got the restraining order, with his boss, the Senator, but Ken is only concerned with his job and his tropical fish. They colluded to ruin my reputation with this specious 'stalker' label, when, in actuality ... I was Cleo's close friend."

"I see, but what bothers me is why you disregard my friendly greeting and why'd you run from the warrant I presented you?" "My fight-or-flight response is heavily weighted towards flight. If there's anything I can do to help you catch Cleo's killer, just tell me." Booth pipes in "Oh, a full confession -- that would be great." "I love Cleo. Why would I hurt her?" "I see. Well thank you for this lovely talk. If you don't mind, could I keep one of these little books. Also, the ones that Agent Booth and my sister has." "Whatever you need ... Dr. Venus." I turned towards the door walking away giving Booth a look saying to keep an eye on him, as Mr. Laurier watches me walk out of his home. Booth watches him for a brief second and we all make our way back at the lab.

We are in Angie's workspace as she debriefs us. "This is a rough composite, but you get the idea." Temp steps in "Skull trauma was not the cause of death. Cleo was stabbed first." I then take over from her with a sad look "She was stabbed five to eight times with a military issue K-Bar knife." Angie then pipes in, "I just completed this rendering. The defensive wounds to the bones of her hands suggest that it wasn't until the third or fourth penetration ..." The 3-D hologram shows a fatal stab wound as Temp points out. "That's likely the fatal stab, right there." Angie then cuts in "... that Cleo stopped fighting back." "I believe that the distinctive damage to her distal phalanges -- the tips of her finger bones -- was caused by the murderer using the knife to remove her finger pads. Cranial fragmentation suggests a 20-pound hammer striking four to five times while the victim's head rested on a cement floor containing traces of diatomaceous earth. That's the best explanation for the particulates found in her skull. This was not a crime of passion."

Angie speaks out, "Cleo never saw the first stab coming. It didn't arise out of an argument. Why smash Cleo's face? Why whittle away her fingertips, remove her clothing and jewelry?" Zack adds in "Sink her body ..." Brennan then pitches in "The murder put more effort into hiding the victim's identity than he did into the murder itself." Hodgin joins in, "In case Cleo was identified, the murderer planted evidence. The little book Venus got from the stalker matches the cellulose found in Cleo's hand. Angie then adds in, "Military cemetery, military knife, implicates her own father, more misdirection." Hodgins then speaks, "Sound like any conniving son-of-a-bitch senators you know?" We all look at Booth as I was a bit upset that someone tried to put the blame on the Major. "You expect me to declare war on a United States senator based on your little holographic crystal ball?"

Temp cuts in, "It's not magic. It's a logical recreation of events based on evidence." "It's no more valid than my gut." "Zack speaks in, "A good hypothesis withstands testing. That's what makes it a good hypothesis." "This is not a hypothesis -- you have a dead girl and a United States senator." I finally spoke up, "Sadly, this is why we aren't FBI agents." Booth nods in agreement, "Blueberry is right, you guys don't know anything about the real world." Temp then turns walking away telling the others to follow her out. I stay in place as they all leave. "I don't like it either Booth but weren't you a bit tough on them." "I know blueberry but sometimes they need it to understand. Also aren't you a bit soft on them." "Yah, I am but that is how I am trying to make amends for myself. You understand right." "Yeah, I understand really well. We all try too in different ways." "I will see you later Ranger." "Ya, see you later blueberry." I walk out of Angie's workplace going to my safe place that Dr. Goodman provided me two years ago, as Angie walks back in giving me a little smile.