The Acid Test

A/N: Sequel to Over The Edge and Memories of a Fairy Tale. This fic is really writing itself backwards for me. I wrote a lot of stuff for the end first. In fact, the first scene I wrote was a fight between B&B that turns steamy (I’ve always thought that when they get together it will be in a moment of vulnerability for one of them, or a passionate argument – I’m going the argument route for this fic….), and then I wrote the resolution to that scene (which happens to be the last scene) but that didn’t help me write the beginning of this fic. But now because I had to wait to post the May CBPC which chronologically comes before this one, I’ve got the first eight or so chapters pretty much ready to go so I think I’m ready to start getting it out there (I hate waiting too long between updates, so I won’t make you guys wait too long either!). So without further ado….

A/N 2: 07/08/07 – I have re-edited this story with the help of the incredible beta talents of FauxMaven. All chapters have been edited and re-posted. Thank you FauxMaven for all your time, talent and effort, all of which have been considerable!

Rating: T for adult situations later on in the story.

Disclaimer: Don’t own them, couldn’t afford it……

--

Chapter One: The Body by the Reflecting Pool

Brennan closed the passenger side door of the SUV as she climbed out into the bright sunlight of an early June afternoon. She heard Booth slam his door shut and he came around the front of the vehicle to join her on her side. He had pulled the SUV off to one side of Constitution Avenue, sliding in behind a black and white DCPD cruiser with its lights flashing.

“If this is a federal case because of its location, why is DCPD here?” Brennan questioned, gesturing to the police car.

“Crowd control,” Booth replied. “We’ve had to cordon off a large area and we needed additional hands to keep people away from the crime scene. When the reports first came in, people thought it was a terrorist attack and there was some initial panic.”

Brennan shielded her eyes against the glare and looked around. “Where did they say the body was found?”

“Down by the Reflecting Pool. Come on. I’ll take your kit.” He took her kit in his left hand and ushered her ahead of him away from the SUV with his other hand at the small of her back. “It’s just on the other side of Constitution Gardens at the east end of the pool.”

They walked along the footpath, past the Lockkeeper’s House and around the picturesque garden pond. A light breeze blew small eddies on the surface of the water under the graceful weeping willows. Brennan scanned the nearby landscape and for just a moment enjoyed the quiet of this natural oasis in the midst of bustling D.C.

Then she turned her attention back to the case at hand. “What information do we have so far on the victim?”

“The explosion happened just before 12:15pm.” Booth pulled his notebook out of his jacket pocket and flipped it open to ensure he was relating the details accurately. “Witness accounts have a middle aged man, on his own, sitting by the Reflecting Pool. He carried a bag with him that most of the witnesses have suggested was his lunch.”

As they discussed the case, they skirted the World War II memorial and emerged out into the open area of the National Mall. To the west, in the distance, was the white marble Lincoln Memorial, its architecture vaguely reminiscent of a Grecian temple. Over the top of the World War II memorial, they could see the towering Washington Monument. But what attracted both their attention was the large section of grass cordoned off with bright yellow crime scene tape near the perimeter of the Reflecting Pool. Just outside the restricted area Booth had to pull out his ID to get them past the FBI agent who was screening people on the outskirts of the scene.

They approached the crime scene tape and Booth lifted it so that Brennan could duck underneath. He glanced back at his notes as he followed her. “It was lunch time, so there were a fair number of people in the area.” He looked up at the clear, blue sky. “It’s such a nice day; a lot of people had come out to catch some sun before heading back to the grind.”

Brennan glanced sideway at Booth with a quizzical look. “The grind?”

“You know Bones, not everyone loves their job as much as we do.” He grinned at her. She raised a single eyebrow at him in response.

“Anyway, apparently the guy literally just exploded,” he continued.

“Spontaneously?”

“Well, that’s for you and the squints to figure out. There was a lot of crowd panic after it happened as everyone’s first thought that that the guy was a terrorist. After the first responders got some of them calmed down, people started to report that the guy had been alone. There hadn’t been anyone within about 30 feet of him, so if he was a terrorist, he wasn’t a very good one since he was the only one who died. It looks like you’re going to have fun picking up the pieces as it’s such a big open area.”

An older man with salt and pepper hair approached them. “Booth. Is this your doctor?”

“Silverton.” Booth shook hands with him. “This is my forensic anthropologist, Dr. Temperance Brennan. She’ll be running the crime scene for us. Make sure she gets anything she needs.”

“Sure thing, Booth. We’ve been keeping everyone out of the immediate area until you could get here.”

“Thanks.”

They left the agent and entered an open area in the middle of the crime scene tape. About 20 feet from the edge of the Reflecting Pool was a scorched area of grass with clods of turf thrown up and out from the epicenter. In the middle of the scorched area was a curled, blackened corpse with barely recognizable features.

“Ugh,” Booth turned his face away slightly. “I will never get used to the smell of burnt flesh.”

Brennan put her hand out suddenly and caught his arm, causing him immediately to halt. “Stop.”

He looked at her intently. “What?”

She looked down at the ground. “I’m seeing bits of soft tissue out in a radius of about 25 feet or more from the epicenter of the blast.” She scanned the area at her feet to make sure that it was clear and then took her kit from Booth and set it down. She then pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. “It’s a considerable dispersal radius. I’m going to need help here photographing and cataloguing all the tissue remains.”

She speed dialed the lab and connected with Dr. Zach Addy. “Zach, I need you and Hodgins down here at the crime scene at the Reflecting Pool. I need you to bring your photographic equipment and additional evidence bags. We’ve got an explosion in an open space with wide tissue dispersal. This is going to take us a while to get collected, even with three of us.” She paused for a moment as Zach relayed something to her. “Yes, that would be fine. We’ll see you in about 30 minutes.”

She flipped her phone closed and looked up at Booth. “Zack and Hodgins are gathering what they need and then will be on their way here.”

“Do we need to wait for them?”

“No, I’m going to pick my way in to get a better look at the victim.”

“Do you want me to come in with you?”

Brennan looked from her serviceable boots to Booth’s expensive Italian leather dress shoes. “I think you’d better stay here. We wouldn’t want you to get anything on your fancy shoes.”

Booth rolled his eyes at her but stayed where he was as she slowly moved towards the epicenter of the blast. As he watched, she carefully examined each area of grass before stepping into it, ensuring no human remains would be compromised. As she approached the victim, she crouched down on the balls of her feet next to it to get a better look.

“What have we got?” Booth called.

“Middle aged Caucasian male, probably mid- to late-40s. Severe damage to his upper chest, neck and face. Both hands have been amputated by the blast.” She looked around cursorily, as if looking for them in the immediate vicinity, then turned back to the body. “The chest cavity has been opened; severe injury to the enclosed internal organs. Secondary damage from lacerations, most likely from the blast impact. Extensive tissue burning to the anterior portion of the body.” She looked up and locked gazes with him. “Death would have been instantaneous.”

She stood and turned to walk back towards Booth. “We’re going to need a body bag for the victim and to call Cam to tell her we’ll be bringing it in after we process the scene.”

“Can I tell her when you’ll be back to the Jeffersonian with it?”

Brennan scanned the area again. Due to the open space, the soft tissue of the victim was dispersed in a large oval pattern away from the Reflecting Pool as if the victim had been positioned facing the pool and the bomb had gone off in front of him. She contemplated the work ahead of her and her team. “Tell her it’s going to be a while.”

--

Four hours later, Brennan rose from her position over the corpse. She had just finished zipping it into a heavy black body bag for transportation back to the Jeffersonian. She placed her hands on the small of her back and arched backwards.

Booth approached her. “Are we done now, do you think?”

She stepped back to allow two FBI agents to move a gurney next to the body bag. They lifted the bag onto the gurney and then proceeded to wheel it towards a waiting coroner’s van. “Yes. We’ve photographed and collected all the remains. The body is being taken to the lab – Cam will be there to meet it and get it stored for examination tomorrow. Hodgins has collected samples of the existing flora to exclude from any other evidence that we uncover. All trace evidence has been collected and bagged." She turned away to start packing up her kit as she continued. "Once Cam is finished with her autopsy tomorrow, Zach will macerate the bones to strip any remaining flesh from them. That will take about 24 hours, so the next day I’ll get the tissue markers placed on the skull and Angela can get a reconstruction going. We should have a full facial reconstruction within approximately two days if you need it for ID purposes.”

“Don’t forget we’ve got court tomorrow afternoon too. If I don’t get you there, Caroline Julian will have my hide.”

Brennan raised an eyebrow at him. “Are you scared of her, Booth?”

“Absolutely. I love her, and she’s an amazing prosecutor, but she still scares the hell out of me!”

Brennan laughed. Booth smiled down at her. She was so serious most of the time; he loved it when she laughed.

“Have we had anyone reported missing who might fit the victim’s description?”

“It’s too soon for a missing persons report at this point seeing as the guy was probably only missed from work about 2 or 3 hours ago, but I’ll start checking first thing tomorrow. We haven’t had a great description of him. It seems like he was one of those nondescript kind of guys that no one ever notices.”

“We’ll have dental for you tomorrow as well, so that may help too.” She finished packing away all of her gear into her kit and closed it. “We’re done here now. You can tell Silverton to release the site.” She turned towards Zach and Hodgins who were sealing off any remaining evidence and packing it away. “Zach, can you make sure all the bone fragments get logged in tonight?”

“Yes, Dr. Brennan.” Zach nodded briefly and returned to completing his task.

“Hodgins, we’ll see you back at the lab?”

Hodgins looked over. “Yeah, I’ve got a few more things to do there and then Angela and I are off to a late dinner. Are you coming back now?”

“Yes, we’ve got the scene completed now and it’s being released.” She looked over at Booth. “Do you want me to go back with them? I assume you’ve got paperwork to do at your office?”

“Yes, unfortunately, enough to keep me going for a few hours.” He picked up her case again. “Come on; let’s get this wrapped up.”

They started walking slowly towards the footpath, Zach and Hodgins behind them. As they entered the shade of Constitution Gardens once more, Booth slid his sunglasses off to meet her eyes. “What time will Cam get started on the autopsy tomorrow?”

“I’m sure she’ll get started first thing. It will take her most, if not all, of the morning and then Zach will take the body for maceration. He’ll get that going while we’re at court.”

Hodgins had parked directly behind Booth. When they reached the cars, Booth handed Brennan her kit, and stood with them for a moment as they packed all of their equipment and evidence securely into Hodgins car, then wished them a good night and climbed in the SUV and drove off, heading downtown. Brennan watched him drive off until he disappeared from sight, then she got in Hodgins’s Lexus and they headed in the opposite direction, towards the Jeffersonian. She was already organizing tasks in her mind for the case. It had been a long afternoon, but there was still considerable work to be done that night.

--

Next chapter – the squints get to work in the lab the following day!

Please read and review – I find I’ve become quite attached to finding those happy little messages in my inbox. It gives me quite a thrill!