The girl in the video- Chapter 3
So, here's the third chapter. I hope you're all still reading this and maybe drop a comment afterwards. The solution is near.... well, then again not really ;)
Thanks to bonesinoz for putting up with me and the crazy amounts of chapters I'm sending her. I promise I'll try to make the next Never dull Sequel chapters shorter!
So, meet Cam's family...
Chapter 3: Dirty Diana
"I called Sweets," Angela told him when he emerged from the bathroom a while later. Cam had sent him out so she could freshen up.
"He said this could happen," Hodgins shrugged and his face showed the disapproval he felt. He had seen the panic in Cam's eyes for the second time now. He knew that panic, felt it every time he thought about the time he had been buried by the gravedigger. And the thought that all of his colleagues would see him like this and Sweets trying to help him didn't feel right. So he figured that Cam would appreciate a bit of privacy. He didn't know what made her panic like that, but her reaction earlier showed that she didn't want to talk about it and he was ok with that. He didn't want to talk about his nightmares either.
"Jack, whatever is wrong with her she needs some help," Angela said, knowing where he was coming from.
"Maybe she just needs some time to herself to deal with whatever is wrong and then she'll be fine," he argued back.
"Yeah, just like you are," Angela said sarcastically and didn't miss the anger showing in his eyes. He still didn't want to talk about it.
"I'm gonna analyze the necklace," he replied through gritted teeth and left the room. Angela stayed and waited for Cam to get out of the bathroom. Brennan and Booth had retreated to Brennan's office when Jack had assured them that Cam was fine and Angela had called Sweets.
When the young psychologist arrived Cam was still in the bathroom. Booth, who had come in with Sweets, knocked on the bathroom door impatiently.
"Cam? You ok?" he asked loudly and a second later the lock clicked and the door opened. Cam had redone her bun and applied fresh make- up. The smile on her face was still fake, but she seemed not as fragile anymore.
"My, Dr. Sweets, what are you doing here? I'm not dying, you know," she said in Booth's direction but no one laughed at her joke.
"I was here earlier when you had the nervous break-down," he replied friendly and sat down on her couch, making it clear he wasn't leaving again.
"I had no break-down, I forgot to eat," she rolled her eyes at him and took an apple out of her desk drawer and bit into it.
"I'm sorry, Dr. Saroyan, but we both know you're lying," Sweets insisted. Immediately Cam became angry and just wanted to wipe that smart-ass look off his face. Before she could say something though Booth spoke.
"Who is the girl in the video, Camille?" he came straight to the point and surprised Sweets.
"How should I know?" she shrugged.
"Don't lie to me, Cam, I'm one of your oldest friends. Who is she and why is this video freaking you out so much?" he pressed and walked towards her. He stood so close that he was clearly invading her personal space, but she didn't step back. Instead she raised her head and looked him straight in the eyes.
"I don't know who that girl is and I just forgot to eat," she repeated without breaking the eye contact.
"You are lying," Booth said again, pronouncing each word clearly.
"I don't need to justify myself to you, Seeley. Believe whatever you want," she shrugged and turned around sat down on her desk chair.
"You need to talk about it, Dr. Saroyan," Sweets spoke up again. "Not only to help with the investigation but also so you can get over it."
"Sweets, if you want to treat me for an eating disorder: This was a onetime thing and it has nothing to do with the investigation. Speaking of which: Why don't you all go and do your job so I can do mine?" she asked pointedly and Angela, who had been quiet so far, sighed loudly.
"You know, whatever this is, it will come around and bite you in the ass, Cam. Ask Jack, he should know what I'm talking about," Angela said and left the office.
"You two: Out! Now!" Cam turned to Sweets and Booth once again. She was clearly angry now and both men left the office. Sweets face had that "I know what's up" look again, while Booth stared grimly back at her, seemingly hurt because he thought she was lying to him. Cam shook her head when they were finally out. Another wave of panic rose in her chest but she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She really didn't know the girl. She wasn't dead.
~*~
"She's lying," Booth fumed when they entered Brennan's office. "Why is she lying to me?" he asked Sweets and plopped down on the couch.
"She's not lying to us," Sweets shook his head and took a seat. "She's in denial and merely telling us what she is telling herself. At this point she is just not able to take the truth, whatever that might be," Sweets explained with another shrug.
"So she does know who the girl is?" Brennan asked from behind her desk.
"She says no, but I know she is lying," Booth replied and emphasized the lying part.
"Does Cam have children?" Sweets asked Booth next and Booth nearly choked on his own saliva.
"I'm sorry? You don't think that.. You know she doesn't. Beside Michelle that is," he replied. "And the woman is now what, early to mid- twenties? Right Bones?" he asked.
"Judging by the examinations Mr. Bray did in the meantime between 22 to 25," she nodded.
"Cam is now... she's too young to be the mother of that woman," Booth shook his head and knew that Cam would kill him if he would tell them her age.
"Cam is 38, so let's assume the victim was 25 when she was killed, that would make Cam 13 when she had her. That is young, but biologically possible," Brennan shrugged and Booth gaped at her when she revealed that she knew Cam's age.
"Cam has studied medicine, she graduated top of her class, and she worked as a cop... That's not what a teen with a baby usually does," Booth shook his head.
"Maybe she gave her up for adoption," Brennan argued.
"Have you seen how Cam is Michelle? How much she loves that girl? She never wanted more kids because she never got over losing Michelle. She would never give up a child just like that," Booth disagreed vehemently.
"Maybe she had no choice," Brennan insisted on proving that she could be right.
"No way," Booth didn't give in.
"Maybe you should just talk to Cam's family. Maybe it's a cousin or a little sister, who knows? If anyone can help you it's them," Sweets spoke up.
"Oh my god," Booth sighed and slid down on the couch at the thought of meeting Cam's family again.
~*~
"Here, I thought, well, before it happens again," Hodgins said with a small smile on his face as he placed a sandwich on her desk in front of her.
"Thank you Hodgins," she replied but didn't look up from the paperwork she was doing.
"You should eat it before it gets cold," he added and remained standing beside her. After another moment she looked up to him.
"Thank you," she said softly and he understood that she wasn't thanking him for the sandwich but for not asking questions.
"No biggy," he shrugged and sat down on her couch. "Beside your sofa is much more comfortable than my desk chair," he said then and unwrapped his own sandwich. Slowly Cam got up and walked over with her sandwich, sat down beside him. She bit in it and swallowed the first bite before she placed the bread on the table and leaned back against the couch.
"Not good?" he asked, his mouth full with his own food.
"I'm not hungry," she admitted and he thought he saw her chin trembling for a moment like she would start crying, but the next second it was gone.
"Don't know if it'll be as good cold," he shrugged. Of course he was curious and wanted to know what was going on, but he was convinced that if she really needed to talk about it she would. And it should be her decision when and with whom she would do that.
"Did you find anything more?" she asked him and he was surprised that she wanted to talk about the case.
"I analyzed the necklace and found a small hair tangled in it most likely belonging to either the victim or the killer. I will send it over later so you can pull DNA," he said and she nodded quietly, focused on her hands. "The pendant was a small hand, pure gold, most likely manufactured in Northern Africa where women wear them as a symbol of luck. Just like the eye in Turkey, for example," he went on and again she nodded.
"I know," she said and looked up from her hands. She stared at him for a moment, like she was analyzing him. He held her look and hoped that he would pass whatever test she just performed.
"Other than the hair there were just particulates from the garden, some body lotion, perfume," he went on nervously while she still stared at him.
"The girl on the video," Cam started quietly and it seemed to take a lot of effort for her to speak at this moment. "The girl is not.... the remains are not the girl. It's someone else," she finished still looking him in the eyes.
"Ok," he nodded simply because he knew that this was what she needed to hear from him. He didn’t believe it though. "But how do you know?" he asked when she didn't say anything else. He saw this as a chance. At that moment she had opened up, she had started talking about it, not him. He could see that she was contemplating how to answer his question. She bit her lip, and then let it go again. Bit it once more. When she opened her mouth to answer him he stopped breathing, started again when her mouth closed and her eyes widened when she heard some noise coming from Angela's office. In a split second she jumped up and was out the door and he ran after her for the second time that day.
~*~
"Seeley, my boy, what are doing here?" the tall, burly man greeted Booth when he opened the door and to Brennan's biggest surprise he wasn't black or mixed race, but Caucasian- white. He had a grey beard, blue eye, was taller than Booth and wore a red vest over his flannel shirt.
"Hey Coach," Booth replied and shook his hand. "This is my partner Dr. Temperance Brennan, she works at the Jeffersonian," he introduced Brennan.
"Oh, I know who she is. She and Cammy bumped heads a bit when she first started working there," Cam's father laughed and shook hands with Brennan. "What can I do for you?" he asked then.
"We're here about your daughter Mr. Saroyan," Brennan replied and earned a worried look in reply.
"Oh my god, you're not here to tell me that she's... that Cammy is..." he started but couldn't get the words over his lips.
"No, Coach we're not. Cam's alive and kicking," Booth said quickly and threw Brennan a disapproving look.
"Way to give a man a heart attack, Miss," Mr. Saroyan joked relieved and invited them in. The apartment was small but clean and a small, black, elder woman sat on the kitchen table knitting socks.
"Hi Franci," Booth waved in her direction and looked a bit uneasy.
"Seeley, honey, how are ya?" she replied and smiled at him, held her arms open. Obediently he hugged her for a moment.
"I'm good and you?" he replied and waved Brennan over to him.
"Oh you know, just the usual. My back is killing me, my big toe is still infected and the new teeth they gave me are not fitting correctly," she replied and opened her mouth wide to show him.
"You should have that fixed soon, otherwise your jaw muscles will start to spasm painfully," Brennan told her, after she had looked curiously in the mouth of the woman.
"Who are you?" Cam's grandmother asked her and didn't even sound close to friendly.
"I'm Dr. Temperance Brennan, I'm a forensic anthropologist at the Jeffersonian Institute, "Brennan replied.
"Oh so you're working at the same ratty Institute as Camille. Another crazy one who can't keep her hands of the dead, huh. Why can't you let the past rest?" Francine replied with venom in her voice.
"Bones, leave it," Booth told her quietly and led her to the living room where Cam's father was sitting in front of the TV watching sports. While Brennan sat down Booth walked back into the kitchen and came back with three beers. He handed each of them one and finally sat down as well.
"Coach, can we talk for a moment?" he asked Cam' father.
"Just a minute, son, the game is nearly over," he got in reply and Cam's father didn't even look at him.
"Josh, please, it's important," he insisted and switched the TV off with the remote that lay on the table.
"I'm sure it could have waited another second," Cam's father replied disapprovingly but finally looked at them.
"As I already said we're here about Cam," Booth started again, when a young man burst through the door, a crying girl following him.
"What did you do now, Frank?" Mr. Saroyan asked the man, who seemed to be furious. He kicked against the doorframe before he turned to his uncle.
"Make that crazy bitch stop following me or I'll kick her ass," he yelled at his uncle who didn't seem surprised by this outburst and neither did Booth. Brennan's eyebrows had nearly disappeared in her hair though.
"Suzy, why don't you go home and I'll send him over once he's sober?" Mr. Saroyan said to the crying young woman, who only nodded and then left. "And you, get your drunk ass out of my living-room before I forget myself," he went on and turned to his nephew.
"You ain't no match for me anymore, Coach," Frank replied and stood up straight.
"Maybe not, but my friend Seeley here sure is," he replied calmly and pointed with his thumb at Booth, who waved at Frank.
"Do as you're told, Frank and leave you wife alone until you're sober or I'll stop by your place again. Got it?" Booth asked with a grim
expression and Brennan would have liked to ask what "stop by your house" meant in detail, but she knew that this wasn't the right moment.
"Got it. Chill, man," Frank replied and was out the door the next moment.
"You were saying?" Josh turned to Booth again, anxious to get this talk over with so he wouldn't miss the next game.
"I was saying that we're here about Cam," Booth said again, but once again couldn't go on because Cam's sister Felicia walked in.
"Hey daddy," she greeted and smiled haughtily when she saw Booth.
"Seeley, how nice to see you. Is that your new girlfriend?" she asked, pointing to Brennan and kissed him on the lips a second later.
"No, she's not. That's Dr. Brennan from the Jeffersonian, I don't think you two have met yet," booth said slightly flustered when she let go of him. "She's my partner," he added for good measure.
"Felicia, don't be ridiculous, you know that Seeley is with Cammy," Josh lectured his daughter, but she only laughed but didn't say anything.
"Sorry, daddy. I was just joking," she said to her father.
"It's ok, princess," Josh smiled at her and then turned to Booth again. "So you're here about Cam," he summed up what Booth had told him so far, even though it wasn't much.
"Did she screw up? Lose her job? Oh I so wanna hear this," Felicia exclaimed and sat down as well, her father only laughed.
"We found the remains of a young woman today together with a USB drive that contains several video files. Your daughter suffered a mental breakdown when she saw one of the videos," Brennan explained this time, already fed up with the constant interruptions.
"I always knew this girl was non compos mentis," Francine snorted from the kitchen table.
"Why did she break down?" cam's father asked and ignored his mother-in- law.
"We don't know, coach, that's why we're here," Booth shrugged and couldn't quite find the courage to ask what he needed to ask.
"We think your daughter knew the victim, Mr. Saroyan," Brennan spoke up again.
"Really? Wow," Mr. Saroyan just said.
"We thought maybe you know her as well, since Cam seemed very emotionally attached to the girl," Booth said and took a picture out of his jacket pocket. Angela had printed out a picture for them of the newer video, where one could see the face of the young woman clearly.
"The victim is most likely this young woman, She's approximately 22 to 25 years old, 5'6 to 5'8, mixed race, blue eyes," Booth said while Cam's father looked at the picture but didn't take it off the table.
"I don't know her," he shook his head, his eyes still looking fixed to the picture. It was Felicia who quietly picked up the picture and looked at it. Booth saw that her hand shook slightly when she placed it back on the table and she had to swallow thickly before she could speak.
"Felicia?" he asked softly, hoping he would get something from her.
"I... I don't know her either," she pressed out.
"Felicia, tell me who that is," Booth pressed, but she just shook her head.
"I don't know. I'm just... it's just so sad that this beautiful girl is dead. She was just a few years younger than me," Felicia said.
"Why are you guys lying to me? I've known you for 15 years," Booth said loudly in frustration and picked the picture up from the table.
"You should leave now, Seeley. I let no one accuse my daughter of lying," Cam's father said angrily and stood up. With a sigh Booth got up as well, Brennan following him. Just before they walked out the door Felicia stopped them.
"Tell her to call me if she needs someone, ok?" she said and Josh closed the apartment door right in front of their noses.
"Nice family. They didn't even ask how Cam is doing now," Brennan muttered when they walked down the corridor to the exit.
"There's a reason why Cam avoids them, Bones," Booth replied darkly and looked at the picture again before he stuffed it back in his pocket.
~*~
"Turn that off!" Cam yelled when she entered Angela's office where Dirty Diana was blasting from the loudspeakers.
"I'm sorry I told Angie to turn up the volume. I love that song," Wendell apologized while Angela turned down the volume.
"Sorry Cam, we just got lost in the moment," Angela excused as well, while Sweets was sitting on the couch watching the scene with growing interest.
"I said turn it off," Cam insisted when the song was still audible. She was furious, her eyes hooting daggers at Angela and Wendell and the artist was for the first time really scared by her boss. Without another word she stopped the song.
"I never want to hear that sing here ever again," Cam hissed, still looking darkly at the two.
"It was on the USB drive. It's the only sound file so I was able to recover it faster than the videos," Angela explained somewhat helplessly.
"Give me the USB drive," Cam said then and held out her hand.
"What?" Angela asked surprised. "Why?"
"Because I'm your boss and I' telling you to give to me," Cam insisted, her voice still shaking with anger.
"Dr. Saroyan don't you think you're overreacting?" Wendell tried to defend his girlfriend.
"Mr. Bray, you're fired, how's that for overreacting? An now give me that fucking USB drive!" Cam spat and marched up to Angela, who instinctively took a step back, the USB drive now safely in her hand. Hodgins saw Sweets getting up from the couch but he knew that he would only make it worse if he would interfere. Quietly he shook his head and signalized Sweets that he got the situation.
"Cam, why don't you go back to your office and calm down. I'll bring you the USB stick in a second," he said calmly and placed a hand on her shoulder, hoped that she wouldn't attack him now because he had used her first name.
"One second," was all she said to him before she turned around and left the office, slamming the door behind her.
"Oh my god, I thought she was going to kill me with her bare hands," Angela exclaimed and placed a hand on her chest. "I have never seen eyes so full of... hate," she gasped out.
"Am I really fired?" Wendell asked just as shocked.
"People, please remember that she's still in shock. That is a normal reaction," Sweets tried to calm them down.
"Ange', how fast can you copy the data from the stick to your computer?" Hodgins asked and looked over his shoulder to the door, afraid that Cam would come back.
"Few seconds," she shrugged.
"Then do that and give me the stick," he said and looked worriedly at Sweets. "What the hell was that?" he asked him.
"A coping technique you should be familiar with, Dr. Hodgins: Anger," Sweets replied smartly and Hodgins rolled his eyes.
"But why did she attack me?" Angela asked, still shocked.
"Because you played the song that obviously triggered a very painful memory for Dr. Saroyan," Sweets said and looked over her shoulder at the copied files. "Was there a video with Dirty Diana in it?" he asked then.
"I don't know. So far I was only able to recover I'll be there by the Jackson5, Because of you by Kelly Clarkson and Back for good by Take That. All sung by the same girl, all filmed in different rooms, in different years. First video recorded in 1997, the last in 2004. The rest is still rendering. It's over 150 videos, that takes a while," Angela said and handed Hodgins the USB drive.
"Keep looking out for Dirty Diana. It was also the only sound file on the USB drive, wasn't it?" Sweets grinned.
"Yes, it was," Wendell nodded.
"There will be something special about that song, believe me," Sweets grinned and Hodgins once again rolled his eyes.
"I better leave before she kills us all," he said then and hurried off with the USB drive in his hand.
"And what about me? Am I still working here or not?" Wendell wanted to know again.
"You should probably hide somewhere until Brennan comes back to protect you," Angela told him, pecked him on the lips and then turned back to her computer.
~*~
“Hey, here’s the USB drive,” Hodgins said and placed the stick on the desk in front of her. Cam was sitting at her desk, staring blankly ahead without working.
“Thank you,” she said her voice calm now, nearly defeated.
“Maybe you should take the rest of the day off, when you’re not feeling too well,” he suggested carefully, scared he would provoke her next outburst.
“You’re right,” she nodded instead and he breathed out in relieve.
“If you want me to I can drive you,” he went a step further. She rubbed over her face with both hands and looked exhausted.
“I think I’ll take that offer,” she agreed, knowing that her head was too clouded to drive.
“Ok, you let me get my car keys and I’ll be right back,” he said and hurried off. He went to his workspace where he grabbed his wallet and his keys and stopped by Angela’s office on his way back.
“I’m taking Cam home. You can work again in a few minutes,” he told them and they all seemed relieved, especially Wendell.
“Are Booth and Brennan back yet?” Angela asked him.
“Haven’t seen them yet, but maybe it’s better when Cam doesn’t know that they are talking to her family at the moment,” Hodgins shrugged and walked back to Cam’s office. He found her with her elbows propped up on her desk, her face buried in her hands.
“Dr. Saroyan, we can leave,” he said and watched her lifting her head slowly.
“I just want this day to be over,” she sighed while she got up. She grabbed her handbag and together they walked to his car. The drive to her apartment passed in silence. He knew where she lived and she was lost in her own thoughts. When he parked the car in front of her house Cam stared at the car parked in front of him and groaned.
“My sister is here,” she said and sunk deeper into the seat.
“You want some back-up?” he asked her with a small smile and she nodded in agreement. They both got out of the car and found Cam’s sister sitting on the porch together with her father.
“What are you doing here?” Cam asked them and handed Hodgins the key to her house, which he took with a surprised look. He wasn’t sure if she simply wanted him to unlock the door or if she wanted him to go inside so she could talk to her family. She had asked for backup though, hadn’t she?!
“We heard of your break-down,” her father said and eyed Hodgins suspiciously.
“I’m fine dad,” she told him, still lying through her teeth, but her father seemed to buy it. Her sister didn’t. “Who told you?” she asked then.
“Seeley and this Doctor Brennan came to see me today, asked me if I knew a girl in a video,” her father replied and Cam stared at him speechless for a moment.
“He did what?” she shrieked then. “What did you tell him?” she wanted to know and looked at her sister this time.
“We told him we don’t know her,” Felicia replied and Cam seemed relieved for a moment, then the sad look came on her face again.
“I’m just… I’m really tired. I call you tomorrow when I’ll be able to think again, ok?” she asked them and accepted the hug her sister gave her.
Hodgins quickly unlocked the door when they walked down the porch-steps. When Felicia looked over her shoulder back at Cam he saw the tears in her eyes. He was convinced now that Cam knew that woman, her sister did as well and something was majorly wrong here.
He held the door open for Cam, watched her how she dropped her bag on the floor and kicked her heels off. She took a bottle with pills out of the medicine cabinet in the kitchen and then turned back around, seemed to remember that he was still there.
“I’m just gonna take these and go to bed,” she said and shook the bottle. Hodgins didn’t know why but an uneasy feeling spread in his gut and he took the bottle out of her hand, opened it and handed her two pills.
“Only these two, that’s it,” he told her and kept the bottle with the others.
“I wasn’t planning on killing myself. If I wanted to do that a bullet to the head would do the trick,” she said with an unnerved eye-roll.
“I know. Just remember that you have Michelle now,” he said and she looked down, the sadness was back.
“I do have Michelle now,” she whispered and quickly swallowed the pills without water. “You can leave now, I’m just gonna sleep,” she said and was already walking to her bedroom.
“You’re sure you’ll be fine?” he asked her and followed her again.
“I don’t know, but I won’t kill myself,” she replied and he felt that this was probably the only truthful answer she had given them all day.
“Ok, then sleep tight. Maybe you should stay home tomorrow as well,” he replied.
“Maybe,” she shrugged and disappeared into the bathroom, signalizing him that it was time to leave.
TBC
Thanks to bonesinoz for putting up with me and the crazy amounts of chapters I'm sending her. I promise I'll try to make the next Never dull Sequel chapters shorter!
So, meet Cam's family...
Chapter 3: Dirty Diana
"I called Sweets," Angela told him when he emerged from the bathroom a while later. Cam had sent him out so she could freshen up.
"He said this could happen," Hodgins shrugged and his face showed the disapproval he felt. He had seen the panic in Cam's eyes for the second time now. He knew that panic, felt it every time he thought about the time he had been buried by the gravedigger. And the thought that all of his colleagues would see him like this and Sweets trying to help him didn't feel right. So he figured that Cam would appreciate a bit of privacy. He didn't know what made her panic like that, but her reaction earlier showed that she didn't want to talk about it and he was ok with that. He didn't want to talk about his nightmares either.
"Jack, whatever is wrong with her she needs some help," Angela said, knowing where he was coming from.
"Maybe she just needs some time to herself to deal with whatever is wrong and then she'll be fine," he argued back.
"Yeah, just like you are," Angela said sarcastically and didn't miss the anger showing in his eyes. He still didn't want to talk about it.
"I'm gonna analyze the necklace," he replied through gritted teeth and left the room. Angela stayed and waited for Cam to get out of the bathroom. Brennan and Booth had retreated to Brennan's office when Jack had assured them that Cam was fine and Angela had called Sweets.
When the young psychologist arrived Cam was still in the bathroom. Booth, who had come in with Sweets, knocked on the bathroom door impatiently.
"Cam? You ok?" he asked loudly and a second later the lock clicked and the door opened. Cam had redone her bun and applied fresh make- up. The smile on her face was still fake, but she seemed not as fragile anymore.
"My, Dr. Sweets, what are you doing here? I'm not dying, you know," she said in Booth's direction but no one laughed at her joke.
"I was here earlier when you had the nervous break-down," he replied friendly and sat down on her couch, making it clear he wasn't leaving again.
"I had no break-down, I forgot to eat," she rolled her eyes at him and took an apple out of her desk drawer and bit into it.
"I'm sorry, Dr. Saroyan, but we both know you're lying," Sweets insisted. Immediately Cam became angry and just wanted to wipe that smart-ass look off his face. Before she could say something though Booth spoke.
"Who is the girl in the video, Camille?" he came straight to the point and surprised Sweets.
"How should I know?" she shrugged.
"Don't lie to me, Cam, I'm one of your oldest friends. Who is she and why is this video freaking you out so much?" he pressed and walked towards her. He stood so close that he was clearly invading her personal space, but she didn't step back. Instead she raised her head and looked him straight in the eyes.
"I don't know who that girl is and I just forgot to eat," she repeated without breaking the eye contact.
"You are lying," Booth said again, pronouncing each word clearly.
"I don't need to justify myself to you, Seeley. Believe whatever you want," she shrugged and turned around sat down on her desk chair.
"You need to talk about it, Dr. Saroyan," Sweets spoke up again. "Not only to help with the investigation but also so you can get over it."
"Sweets, if you want to treat me for an eating disorder: This was a onetime thing and it has nothing to do with the investigation. Speaking of which: Why don't you all go and do your job so I can do mine?" she asked pointedly and Angela, who had been quiet so far, sighed loudly.
"You know, whatever this is, it will come around and bite you in the ass, Cam. Ask Jack, he should know what I'm talking about," Angela said and left the office.
"You two: Out! Now!" Cam turned to Sweets and Booth once again. She was clearly angry now and both men left the office. Sweets face had that "I know what's up" look again, while Booth stared grimly back at her, seemingly hurt because he thought she was lying to him. Cam shook her head when they were finally out. Another wave of panic rose in her chest but she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She really didn't know the girl. She wasn't dead.
~*~
"She's lying," Booth fumed when they entered Brennan's office. "Why is she lying to me?" he asked Sweets and plopped down on the couch.
"She's not lying to us," Sweets shook his head and took a seat. "She's in denial and merely telling us what she is telling herself. At this point she is just not able to take the truth, whatever that might be," Sweets explained with another shrug.
"So she does know who the girl is?" Brennan asked from behind her desk.
"She says no, but I know she is lying," Booth replied and emphasized the lying part.
"Does Cam have children?" Sweets asked Booth next and Booth nearly choked on his own saliva.
"I'm sorry? You don't think that.. You know she doesn't. Beside Michelle that is," he replied. "And the woman is now what, early to mid- twenties? Right Bones?" he asked.
"Judging by the examinations Mr. Bray did in the meantime between 22 to 25," she nodded.
"Cam is now... she's too young to be the mother of that woman," Booth shook his head and knew that Cam would kill him if he would tell them her age.
"Cam is 38, so let's assume the victim was 25 when she was killed, that would make Cam 13 when she had her. That is young, but biologically possible," Brennan shrugged and Booth gaped at her when she revealed that she knew Cam's age.
"Cam has studied medicine, she graduated top of her class, and she worked as a cop... That's not what a teen with a baby usually does," Booth shook his head.
"Maybe she gave her up for adoption," Brennan argued.
"Have you seen how Cam is Michelle? How much she loves that girl? She never wanted more kids because she never got over losing Michelle. She would never give up a child just like that," Booth disagreed vehemently.
"Maybe she had no choice," Brennan insisted on proving that she could be right.
"No way," Booth didn't give in.
"Maybe you should just talk to Cam's family. Maybe it's a cousin or a little sister, who knows? If anyone can help you it's them," Sweets spoke up.
"Oh my god," Booth sighed and slid down on the couch at the thought of meeting Cam's family again.
~*~
"Here, I thought, well, before it happens again," Hodgins said with a small smile on his face as he placed a sandwich on her desk in front of her.
"Thank you Hodgins," she replied but didn't look up from the paperwork she was doing.
"You should eat it before it gets cold," he added and remained standing beside her. After another moment she looked up to him.
"Thank you," she said softly and he understood that she wasn't thanking him for the sandwich but for not asking questions.
"No biggy," he shrugged and sat down on her couch. "Beside your sofa is much more comfortable than my desk chair," he said then and unwrapped his own sandwich. Slowly Cam got up and walked over with her sandwich, sat down beside him. She bit in it and swallowed the first bite before she placed the bread on the table and leaned back against the couch.
"Not good?" he asked, his mouth full with his own food.
"I'm not hungry," she admitted and he thought he saw her chin trembling for a moment like she would start crying, but the next second it was gone.
"Don't know if it'll be as good cold," he shrugged. Of course he was curious and wanted to know what was going on, but he was convinced that if she really needed to talk about it she would. And it should be her decision when and with whom she would do that.
"Did you find anything more?" she asked him and he was surprised that she wanted to talk about the case.
"I analyzed the necklace and found a small hair tangled in it most likely belonging to either the victim or the killer. I will send it over later so you can pull DNA," he said and she nodded quietly, focused on her hands. "The pendant was a small hand, pure gold, most likely manufactured in Northern Africa where women wear them as a symbol of luck. Just like the eye in Turkey, for example," he went on and again she nodded.
"I know," she said and looked up from her hands. She stared at him for a moment, like she was analyzing him. He held her look and hoped that he would pass whatever test she just performed.
"Other than the hair there were just particulates from the garden, some body lotion, perfume," he went on nervously while she still stared at him.
"The girl on the video," Cam started quietly and it seemed to take a lot of effort for her to speak at this moment. "The girl is not.... the remains are not the girl. It's someone else," she finished still looking him in the eyes.
"Ok," he nodded simply because he knew that this was what she needed to hear from him. He didn’t believe it though. "But how do you know?" he asked when she didn't say anything else. He saw this as a chance. At that moment she had opened up, she had started talking about it, not him. He could see that she was contemplating how to answer his question. She bit her lip, and then let it go again. Bit it once more. When she opened her mouth to answer him he stopped breathing, started again when her mouth closed and her eyes widened when she heard some noise coming from Angela's office. In a split second she jumped up and was out the door and he ran after her for the second time that day.
~*~
"Seeley, my boy, what are doing here?" the tall, burly man greeted Booth when he opened the door and to Brennan's biggest surprise he wasn't black or mixed race, but Caucasian- white. He had a grey beard, blue eye, was taller than Booth and wore a red vest over his flannel shirt.
"Hey Coach," Booth replied and shook his hand. "This is my partner Dr. Temperance Brennan, she works at the Jeffersonian," he introduced Brennan.
"Oh, I know who she is. She and Cammy bumped heads a bit when she first started working there," Cam's father laughed and shook hands with Brennan. "What can I do for you?" he asked then.
"We're here about your daughter Mr. Saroyan," Brennan replied and earned a worried look in reply.
"Oh my god, you're not here to tell me that she's... that Cammy is..." he started but couldn't get the words over his lips.
"No, Coach we're not. Cam's alive and kicking," Booth said quickly and threw Brennan a disapproving look.
"Way to give a man a heart attack, Miss," Mr. Saroyan joked relieved and invited them in. The apartment was small but clean and a small, black, elder woman sat on the kitchen table knitting socks.
"Hi Franci," Booth waved in her direction and looked a bit uneasy.
"Seeley, honey, how are ya?" she replied and smiled at him, held her arms open. Obediently he hugged her for a moment.
"I'm good and you?" he replied and waved Brennan over to him.
"Oh you know, just the usual. My back is killing me, my big toe is still infected and the new teeth they gave me are not fitting correctly," she replied and opened her mouth wide to show him.
"You should have that fixed soon, otherwise your jaw muscles will start to spasm painfully," Brennan told her, after she had looked curiously in the mouth of the woman.
"Who are you?" Cam's grandmother asked her and didn't even sound close to friendly.
"I'm Dr. Temperance Brennan, I'm a forensic anthropologist at the Jeffersonian Institute, "Brennan replied.
"Oh so you're working at the same ratty Institute as Camille. Another crazy one who can't keep her hands of the dead, huh. Why can't you let the past rest?" Francine replied with venom in her voice.
"Bones, leave it," Booth told her quietly and led her to the living room where Cam's father was sitting in front of the TV watching sports. While Brennan sat down Booth walked back into the kitchen and came back with three beers. He handed each of them one and finally sat down as well.
"Coach, can we talk for a moment?" he asked Cam' father.
"Just a minute, son, the game is nearly over," he got in reply and Cam's father didn't even look at him.
"Josh, please, it's important," he insisted and switched the TV off with the remote that lay on the table.
"I'm sure it could have waited another second," Cam's father replied disapprovingly but finally looked at them.
"As I already said we're here about Cam," Booth started again, when a young man burst through the door, a crying girl following him.
"What did you do now, Frank?" Mr. Saroyan asked the man, who seemed to be furious. He kicked against the doorframe before he turned to his uncle.
"Make that crazy bitch stop following me or I'll kick her ass," he yelled at his uncle who didn't seem surprised by this outburst and neither did Booth. Brennan's eyebrows had nearly disappeared in her hair though.
"Suzy, why don't you go home and I'll send him over once he's sober?" Mr. Saroyan said to the crying young woman, who only nodded and then left. "And you, get your drunk ass out of my living-room before I forget myself," he went on and turned to his nephew.
"You ain't no match for me anymore, Coach," Frank replied and stood up straight.
"Maybe not, but my friend Seeley here sure is," he replied calmly and pointed with his thumb at Booth, who waved at Frank.
"Do as you're told, Frank and leave you wife alone until you're sober or I'll stop by your place again. Got it?" Booth asked with a grim
expression and Brennan would have liked to ask what "stop by your house" meant in detail, but she knew that this wasn't the right moment.
"Got it. Chill, man," Frank replied and was out the door the next moment.
"You were saying?" Josh turned to Booth again, anxious to get this talk over with so he wouldn't miss the next game.
"I was saying that we're here about Cam," Booth said again, but once again couldn't go on because Cam's sister Felicia walked in.
"Hey daddy," she greeted and smiled haughtily when she saw Booth.
"Seeley, how nice to see you. Is that your new girlfriend?" she asked, pointing to Brennan and kissed him on the lips a second later.
"No, she's not. That's Dr. Brennan from the Jeffersonian, I don't think you two have met yet," booth said slightly flustered when she let go of him. "She's my partner," he added for good measure.
"Felicia, don't be ridiculous, you know that Seeley is with Cammy," Josh lectured his daughter, but she only laughed but didn't say anything.
"Sorry, daddy. I was just joking," she said to her father.
"It's ok, princess," Josh smiled at her and then turned to Booth again. "So you're here about Cam," he summed up what Booth had told him so far, even though it wasn't much.
"Did she screw up? Lose her job? Oh I so wanna hear this," Felicia exclaimed and sat down as well, her father only laughed.
"We found the remains of a young woman today together with a USB drive that contains several video files. Your daughter suffered a mental breakdown when she saw one of the videos," Brennan explained this time, already fed up with the constant interruptions.
"I always knew this girl was non compos mentis," Francine snorted from the kitchen table.
"Why did she break down?" cam's father asked and ignored his mother-in- law.
"We don't know, coach, that's why we're here," Booth shrugged and couldn't quite find the courage to ask what he needed to ask.
"We think your daughter knew the victim, Mr. Saroyan," Brennan spoke up again.
"Really? Wow," Mr. Saroyan just said.
"We thought maybe you know her as well, since Cam seemed very emotionally attached to the girl," Booth said and took a picture out of his jacket pocket. Angela had printed out a picture for them of the newer video, where one could see the face of the young woman clearly.
"The victim is most likely this young woman, She's approximately 22 to 25 years old, 5'6 to 5'8, mixed race, blue eyes," Booth said while Cam's father looked at the picture but didn't take it off the table.
"I don't know her," he shook his head, his eyes still looking fixed to the picture. It was Felicia who quietly picked up the picture and looked at it. Booth saw that her hand shook slightly when she placed it back on the table and she had to swallow thickly before she could speak.
"Felicia?" he asked softly, hoping he would get something from her.
"I... I don't know her either," she pressed out.
"Felicia, tell me who that is," Booth pressed, but she just shook her head.
"I don't know. I'm just... it's just so sad that this beautiful girl is dead. She was just a few years younger than me," Felicia said.
"Why are you guys lying to me? I've known you for 15 years," Booth said loudly in frustration and picked the picture up from the table.
"You should leave now, Seeley. I let no one accuse my daughter of lying," Cam's father said angrily and stood up. With a sigh Booth got up as well, Brennan following him. Just before they walked out the door Felicia stopped them.
"Tell her to call me if she needs someone, ok?" she said and Josh closed the apartment door right in front of their noses.
"Nice family. They didn't even ask how Cam is doing now," Brennan muttered when they walked down the corridor to the exit.
"There's a reason why Cam avoids them, Bones," Booth replied darkly and looked at the picture again before he stuffed it back in his pocket.
~*~
"Turn that off!" Cam yelled when she entered Angela's office where Dirty Diana was blasting from the loudspeakers.
"I'm sorry I told Angie to turn up the volume. I love that song," Wendell apologized while Angela turned down the volume.
"Sorry Cam, we just got lost in the moment," Angela excused as well, while Sweets was sitting on the couch watching the scene with growing interest.
"I said turn it off," Cam insisted when the song was still audible. She was furious, her eyes hooting daggers at Angela and Wendell and the artist was for the first time really scared by her boss. Without another word she stopped the song.
"I never want to hear that sing here ever again," Cam hissed, still looking darkly at the two.
"It was on the USB drive. It's the only sound file so I was able to recover it faster than the videos," Angela explained somewhat helplessly.
"Give me the USB drive," Cam said then and held out her hand.
"What?" Angela asked surprised. "Why?"
"Because I'm your boss and I' telling you to give to me," Cam insisted, her voice still shaking with anger.
"Dr. Saroyan don't you think you're overreacting?" Wendell tried to defend his girlfriend.
"Mr. Bray, you're fired, how's that for overreacting? An now give me that fucking USB drive!" Cam spat and marched up to Angela, who instinctively took a step back, the USB drive now safely in her hand. Hodgins saw Sweets getting up from the couch but he knew that he would only make it worse if he would interfere. Quietly he shook his head and signalized Sweets that he got the situation.
"Cam, why don't you go back to your office and calm down. I'll bring you the USB stick in a second," he said calmly and placed a hand on her shoulder, hoped that she wouldn't attack him now because he had used her first name.
"One second," was all she said to him before she turned around and left the office, slamming the door behind her.
"Oh my god, I thought she was going to kill me with her bare hands," Angela exclaimed and placed a hand on her chest. "I have never seen eyes so full of... hate," she gasped out.
"Am I really fired?" Wendell asked just as shocked.
"People, please remember that she's still in shock. That is a normal reaction," Sweets tried to calm them down.
"Ange', how fast can you copy the data from the stick to your computer?" Hodgins asked and looked over his shoulder to the door, afraid that Cam would come back.
"Few seconds," she shrugged.
"Then do that and give me the stick," he said and looked worriedly at Sweets. "What the hell was that?" he asked him.
"A coping technique you should be familiar with, Dr. Hodgins: Anger," Sweets replied smartly and Hodgins rolled his eyes.
"But why did she attack me?" Angela asked, still shocked.
"Because you played the song that obviously triggered a very painful memory for Dr. Saroyan," Sweets said and looked over her shoulder at the copied files. "Was there a video with Dirty Diana in it?" he asked then.
"I don't know. So far I was only able to recover I'll be there by the Jackson5, Because of you by Kelly Clarkson and Back for good by Take That. All sung by the same girl, all filmed in different rooms, in different years. First video recorded in 1997, the last in 2004. The rest is still rendering. It's over 150 videos, that takes a while," Angela said and handed Hodgins the USB drive.
"Keep looking out for Dirty Diana. It was also the only sound file on the USB drive, wasn't it?" Sweets grinned.
"Yes, it was," Wendell nodded.
"There will be something special about that song, believe me," Sweets grinned and Hodgins once again rolled his eyes.
"I better leave before she kills us all," he said then and hurried off with the USB drive in his hand.
"And what about me? Am I still working here or not?" Wendell wanted to know again.
"You should probably hide somewhere until Brennan comes back to protect you," Angela told him, pecked him on the lips and then turned back to her computer.
~*~
“Hey, here’s the USB drive,” Hodgins said and placed the stick on the desk in front of her. Cam was sitting at her desk, staring blankly ahead without working.
“Thank you,” she said her voice calm now, nearly defeated.
“Maybe you should take the rest of the day off, when you’re not feeling too well,” he suggested carefully, scared he would provoke her next outburst.
“You’re right,” she nodded instead and he breathed out in relieve.
“If you want me to I can drive you,” he went a step further. She rubbed over her face with both hands and looked exhausted.
“I think I’ll take that offer,” she agreed, knowing that her head was too clouded to drive.
“Ok, you let me get my car keys and I’ll be right back,” he said and hurried off. He went to his workspace where he grabbed his wallet and his keys and stopped by Angela’s office on his way back.
“I’m taking Cam home. You can work again in a few minutes,” he told them and they all seemed relieved, especially Wendell.
“Are Booth and Brennan back yet?” Angela asked him.
“Haven’t seen them yet, but maybe it’s better when Cam doesn’t know that they are talking to her family at the moment,” Hodgins shrugged and walked back to Cam’s office. He found her with her elbows propped up on her desk, her face buried in her hands.
“Dr. Saroyan, we can leave,” he said and watched her lifting her head slowly.
“I just want this day to be over,” she sighed while she got up. She grabbed her handbag and together they walked to his car. The drive to her apartment passed in silence. He knew where she lived and she was lost in her own thoughts. When he parked the car in front of her house Cam stared at the car parked in front of him and groaned.
“My sister is here,” she said and sunk deeper into the seat.
“You want some back-up?” he asked her with a small smile and she nodded in agreement. They both got out of the car and found Cam’s sister sitting on the porch together with her father.
“What are you doing here?” Cam asked them and handed Hodgins the key to her house, which he took with a surprised look. He wasn’t sure if she simply wanted him to unlock the door or if she wanted him to go inside so she could talk to her family. She had asked for backup though, hadn’t she?!
“We heard of your break-down,” her father said and eyed Hodgins suspiciously.
“I’m fine dad,” she told him, still lying through her teeth, but her father seemed to buy it. Her sister didn’t. “Who told you?” she asked then.
“Seeley and this Doctor Brennan came to see me today, asked me if I knew a girl in a video,” her father replied and Cam stared at him speechless for a moment.
“He did what?” she shrieked then. “What did you tell him?” she wanted to know and looked at her sister this time.
“We told him we don’t know her,” Felicia replied and Cam seemed relieved for a moment, then the sad look came on her face again.
“I’m just… I’m really tired. I call you tomorrow when I’ll be able to think again, ok?” she asked them and accepted the hug her sister gave her.
Hodgins quickly unlocked the door when they walked down the porch-steps. When Felicia looked over her shoulder back at Cam he saw the tears in her eyes. He was convinced now that Cam knew that woman, her sister did as well and something was majorly wrong here.
He held the door open for Cam, watched her how she dropped her bag on the floor and kicked her heels off. She took a bottle with pills out of the medicine cabinet in the kitchen and then turned back around, seemed to remember that he was still there.
“I’m just gonna take these and go to bed,” she said and shook the bottle. Hodgins didn’t know why but an uneasy feeling spread in his gut and he took the bottle out of her hand, opened it and handed her two pills.
“Only these two, that’s it,” he told her and kept the bottle with the others.
“I wasn’t planning on killing myself. If I wanted to do that a bullet to the head would do the trick,” she said with an unnerved eye-roll.
“I know. Just remember that you have Michelle now,” he said and she looked down, the sadness was back.
“I do have Michelle now,” she whispered and quickly swallowed the pills without water. “You can leave now, I’m just gonna sleep,” she said and was already walking to her bedroom.
“You’re sure you’ll be fine?” he asked her and followed her again.
“I don’t know, but I won’t kill myself,” she replied and he felt that this was probably the only truthful answer she had given them all day.
“Ok, then sleep tight. Maybe you should stay home tomorrow as well,” he replied.
“Maybe,” she shrugged and disappeared into the bathroom, signalizing him that it was time to leave.
TBC