The New King

The Jykell in the Hyde

Another case, another busy stage. The rotting and decomposing corpse of Jackland Chambers lay on the table with a light underneath, something I’ve been used to for years upon years. Everybody different in every way, cause of deaths over used and some impossible to decipher, but somehow my team solves them.

“The amount of bicarbonate molecules under his nails and in his hair gave me the idea of his location before the murder,” Hodgins replayed, walking up onto the stage like a bug-boy magician.

“Salt?” I asked. “There are many places with salt.”

“Yes,” he said turning to me. His smile made me nervous. Either it was gruesome or interesting and there was no telling. “However, there was a few pieces of scrap metal in his shoe soles that led me to a car park downtown who uses salt-based cleaning solution to wash off tires.”

The insane prosecution led me to believe he had to be right, for everything matched up. How he found that in two hours made me question his mind-set and goals. He clicked about and pulled up a screen, a map he had found and set points on.

“This red dot,” he said, pointing to said red dot, “was where our victim was last seen.” He dragged his finger along the line to another. “This is where we put him before the murder.” Another line later, he was at the murder sight. He looked back at me and Dr. Brennan, a smile still on his face.

“Impeccable work, Dr. Hodgins,” she said, looking back to the remains. “Now, if you don’t mind, Dr. Saroyan, I’m no use here with flesh still on the remains. Dr. Hodgins, please inform me when you have cleaned the bones. I will be in my office,” she said, pulling off her gloves and tossing them into the trash before walking off the stage. Agent Aubrey looked at her, walking towards the steps.

“Um, Dr. Hodgins?” he asked. “Mind if I talk to you and Dr. Montenegro?” I shook my head, Hodgins letting out a sigh.

“Can’t. Gotta do my work.”

“And, Agent Aubrey, you have no allowance to pull my team from their work like that.”

“Dr. Saroyan, can I at least talk to Angela?” I nodded, looking to Hodgins. Aubrey was gone and Hodgins smiled.

“At least the kid asked,” he said, walking to the remains and grabbing a light hold of the skull. He scraped away some of the flesh and cut a ligament, pulling away the mandible and the skull from the spine and setting it on a tray. With a sigh, I walked over and helped.

“He’s much different from Sweets,” he said, trying to pick up conversation while we dismantled a deceased human being. Dr. Brennan would never approve, but I thought otherwise. It was something different than the ripping of decaying skin and peeling of rotting muscle.

“Very. Much more sociable, I would say,” I said. He nodded in agreement. Soon enough we had the body on trays and Hodgins was gone into his office, ready to get to work. Now, Aubrey and Angela.

I walked down the hallway to Angela’s office and saw her seated on her couch, Aubrey standing in front of her, and a file in her hands. I stepped in, looking at the two of them. Thankfully my heel clicks went unnoticed, or were ignored.

“He’s got no place to stay and I thought instantly of you and Hodgins. I know you are very caring,” Aubrey said before looking over at my sudden presence. Angela followed his stare and saw me, wiping her eyes and standing.

“Dr. Saroyan,” she smiled, “I’m sorry but I got distracted.”

“With what, if I may ask?”

“I’m going to take Decker into my home for the night, make sure he;s safe.”

Wait, what did she just say? “A murder suspect in your home? Angela, I can’t allow you to do that.”

“Please, Camille,” she begged, walking towards me. “I see Michael Vincent in him. I could never leave my baby boy out in the cold, and I’m sure you wouldn’t leave your daughter out.”

“Angela,” I said, putting comforting hands onto her shoulders, “there are plenty of places to take him in for the night and I’d feel safer if he wasn’t in your home.”

“I did the background check and Aubrey triple checked. He’s not at all dangerous. Straight-A’s, a bit of paranoia, and he’s lonely.” She looked at me with those big, pleading brown eyes and I put my arms down.

“Fine,” I said, “but if he shows up here tomorrow you and Booth are having a talk.” She nodded, looking back to Aubrey. She picked a pen out of her pocket and then the files off of the couch, signing something and giving it back to him. He nodded to the both of us and slipped out the door without a word.