Page 174 of Bones
“Did you do this?” the one feeling for a pulse on Madame’s bloody neck asked.
I didn’t answer.
“Bones, did you do this?” Smith demanded, but I stayed silent.
“She’s dead,” the one on the floor announced like it wasn’t fucking obvious.
“Somebody get Nemo!”
“Did you kill Madame?”
“What happened?”
The questions blurred into noise.
“Bones?”
I looked up to see Nemo staring at me, his brow furrowed. He looked between me and Madame’s body and then up at Smith.
“Sorry, sir, we just weren’t sure what to do with her,” Smith said.
Nemo studied me a moment longer before gesturing at me to follow him. “Come on, Bones. Let’s go upstairs.”
“Do you want me to—” Smith produced a pair of handcuffs.
“No, that won’t be necessary, but fetch Mac, will you?”
I followed Nemo up the stairs, pretending not to notice the concerned glances I received. The remains of Madame's office door leaned against the wall, peppered with bullet holes, and hacked to pieces. Inside Madame's office still looked the same, except for a box on the bloodstained floor full of papers.
“Sorry, I was just startin’ to clean things out in here,” Nemo said.
I stood numbly in the middle of the room. He took a seat behind the desk and motioned toward the other chair. I hesitated a moment longer, but then I sat. He leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers together and studying me.
“I gotta say, that was unexpected.”
I waited.
“You’re not in trouble, Bones,” he said. “We were gonna have a public execution. Not my choice, but that was what the majority voted. Some folks might be disappointed, but I don’t think anybody is gonna blame you for what you did.”
I stared at my hands covered in dried streaks of Madame’s blood.
“I certainly don’t.”
I glanced up at him, and he offered me a half smile.
“I’d like to talk to you more about all of this later, but I don’t think now is the right time.”
As if on cue, running footsteps grew louder, and then Mac burst through the open doorway, looking uncharacteristically panicked. His eyes sought me out first, scanning me before turning toward Nemo.
“It’s alright, Mac,” Nemo said. “Could you take Bones back to the clinic?”
Mac stared at him, breathing hard like he’d run all the way here. “That’s it?”
“That’s it,” Nemo replied.
Mac grabbed my arm, pulling me to my feet and propelling me out the door like he feared Nemo might change his mind. Once we were outside, he glanced down at me, his grey eyes sparking.
“Why the fuck would you go and do something so reckless?” he snarled at me.
