A Charismatic Evil-M, Drama, Casefic - by willgirl

A/N: So, here is the very short prologue of my new Bones story! It's going to be longer than others I think and I'm trying something new! A Case Fic! (I know, what am I thinking!) I'm going to try to be as accurate as possible, but I'm sure that there will be mistakes. This story will probably only be updated once a week, as I am going to edit my chapters before posting them. (Plus all the research should take me a while. Hope you enjoy!

Also, I've started my livejournal here: [Only admins are allowed to see this link]

It's going to be comprised of me writing about the various challenges of writing a type of story like this. So check it out if you're interested!

DISCLAIMER: This story describes graphic scenes of death.

Prologue

The cold, stiff air blew through the trees, causing the leaves to tremble slightly. One fell from it’s branch and slowly made its way to the ground, coming to rest against a charred finger.

The finger belonged to a body, one that was burned beyond all recognition. Tendrils of smoke still rose from the blackened bones, disappearing into the night air.

He (for it was a he) was coal black from head to foot. Only remnants of his once white eyes could be distinguished. One arm was placed over his mouth as if in a last ditch attempt at shielding himself from the blazing inferno. Pieces of burned flesh clung to him; his heart, once alive and beating, now shrivelled and black.

He lay in a clearing in a forest, the surrounding trees black with soot.

Lost in a woods that was rarely visited. Once a man, now nothing but burned flesh and bones.

Five hundred miles away, a fly landed on the bluish lip of a nine year old girl. Her blonde hair spread out around her head like a halo, her eyes wide open and almost protruding from her face. Her mouth was in a perfect ‘O’ of surprise as if she wasn’t expecting the tight skipping rope around her neck to do its job.

Maggots had begun to tear away at her visible flesh, the rest of her body half-buried in a landfill amongst the garbage of the city.

Clutched in her hand is her backpack, a last link to the life she once knew.

And five miles away from her, Dr. Temperance Brennan awoke to begin her day.

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References:

[Only admins are allowed to see this link]

Okay Willi that was disturbingly graphic. Poor little girl, why do you have to put a dead kid in it, isn't the charred guy bad enough. Very well done though, you should see my face right now, not pretty. I will await your next post, somewhat impatiently!

DDBL

Uh yeah....very graphic....interesting...can't wait for you to begin this one Willi!

Willi, I love the way you write. The graphic stuff doesn't bother me. I teach science so I like the blood and guts stuff, and really get a kick out of watching the team find all of the evidence and nail the bad guys with things that aren't even visible to the unaided human eye many times.

I can't wait to see where you go with this story. I am hoping for a little bit of fluff, but I love the case so far.

One note, I noticed that one of your sources is wikipedia.org. If you are wanting to guarantee that your scienctific information is correct let me suggest not using wikipedia. The site is set up so that anyone can go in and make changes, and this can seriously detract from the accuracy of the information. Just a thought though. However, I can't wait to read the story no matter what sources you use.

so this is going to be a family fic.......lets all gather round the fireplace and talk of charred bones and maggots eating our eyes out.....oh willi......you really know how to perk me up dont you??

seriously.....i am intrigued......and i love all the disgusting stuff......more graphic the better......bring it on.......

descrïptions are nice......so whens the next chap???????????lol

WHOO HOO!!! Willi, this is AWESOME!
Not that I don't love your other writing, because you're really good at character development, but I'm excited to see you put together a case fic... I really like the way you've set it up, mentioning Brennan only at the end..

I have to ask... will there be any of the "mushy stuff", or is this going to be completely case driven...?

Looking forward to the update!WHOO!

OMG Willsss…. Beautiful leaf in cold wind and thennn..a charred fingerrrr???? Chills!!!
Oh dear….and the white eyes and the shrivelled heart!

And the girl…she made me cry!

Geez after so many storied you would think it would be harder for you to surprise me , but no…. can’t even imagine where you are getting the inspiration for this one but buy are you inspired!

You know what I find extraordinary? That gruesome as the images were there weren’t nauseating, but very very sad…you managed to give me the feeling I get in Bones, sadness and loss for the victims not stomach pains for the pitiful remains of their physical existence.

And then Brennan…. I always liked and admire all that she represents but in this particular case she made me shed more tears…tears of hope, of compassion for the victims..and a deep trust in somebody who we know can bring justice for these victims.

It is not a story, because it is a Bones inspired ones so much more significance comes with every image, every word!
Wills I am so very proud of you and how your talent has grown and flourished, this will be the most amazing one yet…so few words and so powerful!!

Make it right for the victims, I want to know them , to know all about them!

Amazing….and take your time because I will love the journey!! And thanks for working so hard to give us so much.

Okay, you just made my tears well up! I'm glad you liked it, its totally different for me so it made me nervous to post it for some reason.
Your comment about it not being nauseating but sad, totally reassured me because I was worried that aspect wouldn't come through.

Thank you, thank you thank you! I appreciate your thoughts as well as everyone else's muchly!

Willi!!! Ok that was so incredibly intense and well writtenand beautifuly disturbing...i loved it though...case fics are hard, but im sure you can handle it[Only admins are allowed to see this image])) post soon please...

Wow Willie, I am truly impressed. This level of graphic writing is beyond most anything I've seen come out of you before. You were really showing the story and conveying emotion with very few words. A hard skill to master, and master it you have. I'm looking forward to seeing where you take this. Great job!

ohhhhhhhh!!! not many casefics!!! I can't wait!!!

Well, first, I hope that you feel as if you have conquered the descrïption concerns...because after that, have no doubt that you are masterful with it. Graphic, yes, but not gratuitously. Even though you have yet to reveal the details, I get the solid sense that every bit of it is to serve a purpose. On the first level, I thought how amazingly like an intro to an episode this was. Then, there was the sense of being there, like you could almost hear the faint buzz of that fly and smell the charred smell in the fall air. Truly got the shivers. But the thing that lingers after reading, is this overwhelming sadness at the little girl's death. The detail of a skipping rope used as the murder weapon bringing that home even more. I actually found myself thinking..."Poor baby, please don't let her have suffered too much."...and on the flip side, the burned victim, this totally different ominous feeling. I can't even guess (which is good) where you plan to go with that....but that word ominous keeps scrolling through my head.

Very, very well done, Wills. Love the omniscient narration too. It adds that extra touch to the tone...the idea that something bigger than Brennan (and later Booth and the squints) is hovering over....sadly orchestrating what is sure to be one hell of a story. And based on this beginning, one destined to be a bones fanfic classic!

And finally...wrapping this up...great idea to post the links to your research. I took a quick peek, and plan to head back later...looks as if it can be full of fantastic ideas and background...

Now...off to read the livejournal....because I can't wait to see the background behind the development of this story!

kudos again, wills....freakin amazing as always!

OK... Squinting around to see if there are pages here that I'm missing but... nope!

Well Willie... nicely started. Very vivid... but in that good way that still lets us use our own imaginations to enhance. :-)

Looking forward to reading more!

A/N: So here's the next chapter! Finally! After the prologue I had some trepidations about this chap for some reason but I think its good. A few things to mention.

1. Thanks to Ana for betaing. Little does she know, I'm totally taking her up on her offer again. And again. And again.

2. I've started a livejournal that's documenting my ups and downs while writing this story. Here's the link if you are interested:

[Only admins are allowed to see this link]

And last but not least, thanks for the reviews!

Chapter One

“Bones, chop, chop. Let’s go. We have a case.” Booth said as he swiped his card and made his way up the steps of the Medico-Legal lab.

“I’m busy.” Brennan replied, not even looking up from the skeleton she was intensely studying.

“I’m sorry, didn’t you hear me? I said case, Bones.” He said, waving the file around. “C’mon.” he wheedled. “A body was found in a landfill. I got everyone on standby. We wouldn’t want your precious remains to be tampered with.”

“Fine.” She said, standing up and pulling off her gloves. “Let me get my stuff. Zach, can you finish this up?”

“Absolutely, Dr. Brennan.” Zach said, moving towards the skeleton.

Brennan went into her office and a few moments reappeared, her kit in hand.

“Okay, let’s go.” Booth said, gesturing to the door.

She rolled her eyes at him as he placed his hand on her back and lead her out the door.

“So… how’s your father?” he said, once they were on the road.

“Why do you want to know?” she asked.

“Nothing. I’m just trying to start a conversation. Small talk, you know?”

“Actually, small talk alludes to unimportant subjects of conversation, as opposed to serious or weighty ones. My father counts as a serious one I think. And I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Fine. I was just checking.”

“Well, there’s nothing to check.” She replied. “Everything’s fine. So how was the body found?”

Booth noted her abrupt change of topic as a signal that she didn’t want to talk about it anymore.

“One of the dump truck drivers had pulled up to the side and begun to unload when he saw something out of his rear view mirror. He got out and saw the body a few feet away.”

“Good thing he saw, otherwise it would have never been found.” Brennan said.

“Well they were, so now it’s our turn.” He replied, pulling into the landfill parking lot.

They got out of the car and saw a portly man coming towards them.

“Can I help you?” he asked.

“Special Agent Seeley Booth, my partner Temperance Brennan. We’re here about the body.”

“Right.” The man said. “Right this way. My name’s Bob Douglas. I’m the manager of this dump. Sorry about this but we’re gonna have to wade through some garbage to get to her. Some other people are already there.”

“Oh man.” Booth said, looking down at his clean suit.

Brennan chuckled as she followed the man up the hill of garbage. Less than a minute later they were there, however both of their shoes and pant legs were covered in various types of garbage, including gum, food and other things that Booth didn’t care to know what they were.

But as they got closer to the body, the smell grew stronger and he realized it wasn’t the garbage.

“Oh god.” Booth said, clasping his hand over his mouth and nose in a futile attempt to stop the smell that permeated in the air.

They were standing on a mound of garbage, looking down at the ravaged body of a young girl. There were flies everywhere, and maggots had invaded her body, worming their way in and out of her nasal and eye cavities.

Brennan on the other hand just looked puzzled. “Booth, she has skin. Why am I here?”

Booth didn’t reply, just continued to watch the maggots desecrate the little girl.

“Booth!”

His head snapped up. “Right, uh, we’ll take this to Cam.”

“Get the forensics team to collect garbage samples for Hodgins. I’ll take some pictures.”

Booth nodded. “So clearly she died of strangulation. And she looks to be around ten years old. Anything else you can tell me?”

Brennan looked at him warily as she shifted from side to side, her feet slightly sinking into the garbage.

“C’mon Bones, I know you don’t do skin but you can at least give me your thoughts.”

“Okay. Well she was strangled as you said, though from initial observation it wasn’t just the skipping rope that killed her.” Brennan said. “See the marks below the rope? It’s in the shape of a thumb. It’s most likely that a hand was pressing down assisting the rope to make the strangulation go faster. There’s also no defensive wounds, so it seems as if she didn’t struggle, which is unusual.”

“Unless she was sexually assaulted.” Booth replied. “Sometimes predators of children like to lure them into false hope. Tell them that everything will be fine if they just let them continue. She probably didn’t think she was going to die.”

“Most people don’t.” Brennan mused. “As for being sexually assaulted, all of her clothes are still on.”

“Time of death?” Booth asked, jotting down her answers in his black notebook.

“No more than two days judging from the state of decomp.” She replied. “Hodgins may be able to narrow it down.”

“Was she killed here?”

“It’s unlikely. The garbage would make it difficult for the killer to maintain his balance while strangling her. It’s more likely that she was dumped here.”

“I’ll go talk to the dump manager and see if I can an idea of who has dumped their garbage in the past two days.”

She nodded and turned her attention back to the body, snapping pictures of the girl and the surrounding area.

It took several hours for the forensics team to do their jobs, but once all of the samples had been taken and the body shipped to the Jeffersonian, Booth and Brennan finally got in the car and made their way back.

“You okay?”

“Me?” Booth asked. “Fine, why?”

“Because you’re gripping the steering wheel.” She noted.

“Yeah, well..” he trailed off.

“We’ll figure this out.”

“Yeah, I know Bones.” He sighed. “It’s just…she was just a little girl you know?”

Brennan nodded.

Silence reigned until they got back to the Jeffersonian. Heading into the lab, Booth immediately knew the body had arrived by the smell that had entrenched the lab.

Already Zach and Hodgins were poring over the body.

“What’ve we got people?” Cam barked as she came on the platform.

“Body found in the dump.” Booth said, as they headed towards the table.

“Strangulation.” Cam noted. “Hodgins, can you get anything off the body?”

“I’ve already got samples of the surrounding garbage as well as several of the flies and maggots.”

“Good, start with those. Get Angela to come and do a face. I’ll do an autopsy.” Cam replied.

“Once Angela has a face, let me know so I can contact the parents.” Booth said.

“We’ll call you.” Brennan said, before turning and heading to her office.

“You heard the Doc.” Cam smiled, wheeling the body to the autopsy room.

Booth just nodded and headed off to the Hoover building.



********

“Booth.” He said, cradling the phone in one ear as he continued to type into the computer. His tie and jacket were off and there were several stacks of paper work on his desk.

“Tawny Michaels.” Brennan stated.

Booth sighed. “Who are you talking about?”

“Our victim. Her name is Tawny Michaels. She’s eleven years old. Reported missing yesterday by her parents, Fred and Sandra Michaels.”

“Alright, I’ll pull an address and come pick you up in five okay?”

“Okay.”

Booth snapped his phone shut and saved the file on his computer. His paperwork would have to wait till another day.


**********

She was waiting for him outside when his car pulled up. Wordlessly he handed her the file as she got in the car and he made his way to 7th Street.

“Glenn Dale?” she inquired. “Do they have a dump there?”

“Nope.” Booth replied. “But Springfield does and that’s only ten minutes away.”

“So why would someone take the body all the way up to D.C. to dump it?”

“I don’t know, Bones. But that’s what we are going to find out.”

They continued the half hour drive to Maryland in silence, Brennan perusing the file while Booth focused on the drive.

Finally they arrived in front of a red brick house. They got out of the car, Brennan noticing the pristine condition of the front lawn. They strode up to the door, pressed the doorbell and waited.

The door opened and a short, blonde woman looked out at them. Her eyes were rimmed red and her appearance was dishevelled.

“Yes?” she said hesitantly.

“Mrs. Michaels?” Booth asked.

She nodded.

“My name’s Special Agent Seeley Booth and this is my partner, Dr. Temperance Brennan.”

“Are you here about Tawny?” she said, her voice quivering.

“Yes. Can we come in?”

She nodded and opened the door further, letting them into the house. They made their way to the living room.

“Is Mr. Michaels at home?” Booth asked.

“He’s at work.”

“His daughter is missing and he’s at work?” Brennan queried.

“Fred has a high stress job. It’s very competitive. If he misses a day, then he misses out on some sales. We really need the money right now.”

Booth nodded. “Mrs. Michaels, when did you first notice your daughter was missing?”

“Two days ago. She was supposed to be home right after school, but she never came home. You see, the school’s around the corner, so we let her walk with her friends.”

“I’m going to need a list of the friends she usually walks with.”

“Of course.” Mrs. Michaels replied. “I don’t understand. I gave all this information to the police, why is the FBI involved?”

Booth turned solemn. “We found your daughter.”

“You did? Is she…?” Mrs. Michaels trailed off when she saw the look on Booth’s face. “No!” she sobbed. “Please, not Tawny. Please.”

“I’m so sorry for your loss.” Booth said. “Can I ask, was Tawny in trouble at all? Did she get along with everyone at school?”

“Tawny was a good kid.” Mrs. Michaels replied, her voice thick with tears. “Everyone loved her. Nobody would want to hurt her.”

“Has she ever been to D.C.?” Booth asked.

“Yes. We go on trips there all the time. Why?”

“She was found in D.C.” Brennan said. “In the garbage dump.”

“Oh god.” Mrs. Michaels said, clasping her hand over her mouth. “Can I see her?”

“An investigation into her death is still in progress.” She replied. “Once we’ve finished, we will release the body to you for burial.”

Mrs. Michaels began to wail. “Oh god! Who would do something like this?”

“That’s what we’re going to find out.” Booth said firmly. Both he and Brennan stood up. “We’ll be in touch.”

Exiting the house, they headed for the car.

“Let’s stop by the police station to get the evidence they have gathered so far and then let’s get back to D.C. It’s getting late.”

Brennan nodded. “So, the father seems suspicious.”

Booth smiled as he started the car. “Is this a gut feeling?” he teased.

“Absolutely not.” She replied. “It just seems suspicious because he is at work rather than at home, despite his daughter being missing.”

“I agree.”

“Plus the lawn was recently mowed and the garden was worked on.” Brennan noted. “That seems an odd thing to do while your child is missing.”

“Some people have different ways of coping.” Booth said. “But we won’t rule them out yet. Let’s get back to the lab and see what Cam has. Maybe the killer stamped their name somewhere.”

“It’s not that easy Booth.”

“I know.” He said grimly. “But sometimes I wish it was.”

Whoo hoo ! Great work Willi, I'm impressed at the amount of detail and research you are clearly putting into this... I'm SO intrigued by this case....

Excellent!

Wow Will!! I feel like that was an actual episode. It was so well written and detailed...it made the reading flow really well. Great job! I can't wait to see where this goes!

wow........i am thinking someone really spent a lot of time looking stuff up......love the descrïption of the body......does that make me a sick individual.....man.......nobody is ever going to want me to come and visit them...lol....

great job willi......very factual and so step by step.....its really cool.....now you know i want more right????? so get crackin woman..........

your number 1 fan........

a2b

amazing beginning, willi...this is really interesting [Only admins are allowed to see this image]

Willi!! Great chapter...I love all the B/B interaction, b/c its JUST like on the show...Booth's reaction to the little girl and Brennan's obvious uncomfortableness with the body actually resembling a little girl is right on point...great job!!!! post soon...

Great chapter Will. I can actually see all this happening word for word on the show. Great way of portraying the case. I would never have know that this is your first case fic.

How sad. I hate it when the case involves a kid Great job on the descrïptions again as well.

wonderful job wills....very descrïptive....
and sad...which means excellent job chica...
more soon....

fab

great job willi...poor litle girl...

You are going to take me up on that offer? again and again, hm? Promise? Because I am so hooked into this story already...[Only admins are allowed to see this image]

And now onto that fabulous chapter...

As I said before, I think you have done a fantastic job of capturing the cadence of the show, the dialogue and exposition is perfect in that respect. The rhythm is so spot-on, that I can imagine the characters speaking as I read, and it truly feels like an episode.

The level of detail is amazing as well. All of that hard work and outlining is paying off...for the story and the reader. It has made this utterly believable, and doesn't pull any punches (in a good way)in delivering the scenes. You don't give us graphic images for the sake of uck factor, but write powerful descrïptions that get us all invested in what has and will happen.

I could go on and on for ages...but will leave it with one more point. I appreciate the fact that you respect the reader with the way you tell your story. You give us the details (such as Brennan's feet sinking into the garbage...the perfectly manicured yard) and let us put together some of the pieces as Brennan/Booth do. It would have been easy to just lay out the exposition in dialogue, but it is the touches like that, that is one of the things that makes this story so great.

I truly look forward to seeing the next chapter and the next...

PS...yeah, leave it to me to keep talking after I said I was done...but have been reading the livejournal as well...and still think it is a fantastic idea...i think it has me even more invested in the story...reading about what has gone into it....

and if there are folks out there that have not read it...you really really should...a great peek behind the scenes of the writer's process

I can't believe I didn't see this before! Oh my god! I'm hooked! I'm officially hooked! Front row seat for me!

Wow!!! Willi, oh my word, this is incredible! Absolutely amazing! The forensic detail is on the Kathy Reichs level! And the dialogue and...wow! I just...wow! That's as good as I can do.

WOW.