The Bone That Blew

"The Bone That Blew" Episode 4 x 11 / Production 4x02 Airdate: November 26, 2008 Written By: Carla Kettner Directed by: Jessica Landaw Transcribed by: ziggystarduzt

Disclaimer: The characters, plotlines, quotes, etc. included here are owned by Hart Hanson, all rights reserved. This transcript is not authorized or endorsed by Hart Hanson or Fox.

TEASER EXT. VIRGINIA - WOODED AREA - NIGHT

[POACHER #1: following POACHER #2: through the forest. Both are holding flashlights.]

POACHER #1: : I'm tellin' ya, this... this is a bad idea.

POACHER #2: Huh..I heard there's an eighty foot tall black walnut tree back here.

POACHER #1: Uh huh?

POACHER #2: We can get fifteen grand for just one tree!

POACHER #1: This is government property! The road said "closed" in big red letters!

POACHER #2: So we get in, we get the wood, we get out.

[POACHER #1: shines his flashlight up at a large tree.]

POACHER #1: Is this it?

POACHER #2: What are you, a moron? This tree is coniferous.

POACHER #1: Carnivorous, what? It eats meat?

POACHER #2: No, numb nuts. Needles and cones.

POACHER #1: Oh.

[Dude #1 shines his flashlight up into another tree and sees a large chunk of bone nestled in the branches]

POACHER #1: Those don't look like cones to me.

[POACHER #2: shines his own flashlight up into the tree and sees that there are several additional bones scattered throughout the branches. Eventually his light hits upon a partial human skull.]

POACHER #2: Holy mother of God.

[POACHER #1: screams loudly.]

[CUT TO: INT. MEDICO-LEGAL LAB - MAIN AREA - DAY]

[DR. CAMILLE SAROYAN and DR. TEMPERANCE BRENNAN are walking together through the lab, arguing.]

BRENNAN: How could you have hired him?

CAM: Your father was the best candidate.

BRENNAN: Well, are you sure? Dad is an excellent liar.

CAM: He's also an excellent science teacher. I called the school where he taught...

BRENNAN: (interrupting) Well, fifteen years ago!

CAM: And after fifteen years, they still remember him. They named their lab after your dad! I thought you'd be pleased.

BRENNAN: Well, you were incorrect! Is there a probation period?

CAM: Yes.

BRENNAN: Well, what would please me is if you terminate him at the end of that time.

[BRENNAN and CAM come to a stop. CAM looks confused as BRENNAN walks away and into an EXAMINATION ROOM, where her father MAX KEENAN is in the midst of a science experiment with a group of CHILDREN]

MAX: OK, kids, everybody put on their goggles.

BRENNAN: Hello?

MAX: Hi, honey. Hey. Okay! Ready? ... aim, fire.

[MAX: turns on a laser set up on a table to fire through a large block of red Jello.]

CHILD #1: The light refracted.!

MAX: Yeah, now why is the light visible?

CHILD #2: Because the Jello molecules are close together.

MAX: Yeah, but that's not magic, that's...

CHILDREN: ???

MAX: K, the Science Way.

[BRENNAN, highly irritated, flicks on the lab light switch. MAX turns off the laser.]

MAX: Science Squad, meet my daughter. The world famous anthropologist, Temperance BRENNAN. Of course, I taught her everything she knows.

BRENNAN: Actually, I went to college. I have multiple degrees.

MAX: Well, tell the uh, kids a little something about refraction.

BRENNAN: (Engaging and stepping further into the room) Snell's Law states that the angle of incidence is related to the angle of refraction, where V equals the wave velocities through the respective media and N equals...

MAX: (Cutting BRENNAN off for the sake of the confused children) Nifty, that's very nifty. But wha-what was your favorite example when you were a kid?

BRENNAN: Rainbows.

CHILD #3: Rainbows! I love rainbows!

MAX: Yeah, rainbows. She used to make me drive her all the way across town, the other side of the rainbow. She didn't believe that light came out of the back of a raindrop. Yeah. So, are there any questions for our, uh, scientist?

[All the children eagerly raise their hands, several shout "me!"]

BRENNAN: (Backing out of the room) I have to examine the frontal bone of a...dead person's skull. Maybe another time, kids.

[Exit BRENNAN]

MAX: Gee, dead person's skull. Ain't that a kick in the head?!

[The children laugh]

[CUT TO: EXT. VIRGINIA - WOODED AREA - DAY. The location where the bones in the tree were discovered is now buzzing with FBI agents and crime scene technicians. There is a flurry of activity: Photographs are being taken, samples collected, etc. BRENNAN stands under the tree with her partner, SPECIAL AGENT SEELEY BOOTH. Both are looking up at the bones, which are being collected by a technician.]

BRENNAN: Most likely a wind deposited them there.

BOOTH: That seems most likely.

BRENNAN: Well, the bones didn't come from the ground, and they didn't come from the sky, that leaves the wind.

[Enter PARK OFFICER NORMA RANDALL, who marches up, clearly upset.]

OFFICER RANDALL: Those people over there? (nodding to agents) Need to clear out.

[BRENNAN walks over to examine bones which have already been collected and are arranged on a nearby table.]

BOOTH: Okay, well those people over there are looking for the rest of that. (motions to already collected bones)

OFFICER RANDALL: They're right in the middle of the masked booby migration path.

BOOTH: Masked booby. You're kidding.

[BOOTH walks over to join BRENNAN]

OFFICER RANDALL: The Department of Fish and Wildlife does not kid, Agent BOOTH.

BOOTH: Okay, you just have to give me a minute, okay, you can have your boobies all to yourself. (to BRENNAN ) Okay, what do we got?

BRENNAN: (holding up a bone) This one's a portion of the sacrum. It's definitely human. There's char marks.

[BRENNAN lifts the bone to her nose and sniffs it]

BOOTH: Oh, God. You know I hate when you sniff and smell dead things.

BRENNAN: (ignoring BOOTH) Fresh burn. Days or weeks rather than months.

[BRENNAN's current grad student assistant, WENDELL BRAY, appears in the background. He holds up a bone and calls to BRENNAN]

WENDELL: Found a hyoid!

BOOTH: Oh, he found a hyoid.

[WENDELL approaches with the hyoid bone, which he presents to BRENNAN]

WENDELL: Dead guy's hyoid.

BRENNAN: (taking the hyoid) "Guy" as in sexually non-specific urban colloquialism, or in reference to the gender normally associated with pen1s, Mr. WENDELL?

WENDELL: Uh...the pen1s?

BRENNAN: (examining the hyoid) Similar char marks.

BOOTH: (to OFFICER RANDALL ) Any fires in the last couple of weeks?

OFFICER RANDALL: No.

BRENNAN: The body of the hyoid is fractured.

WENDELL: Strangulation?

BRENNAN: This man was murdered, we'll need to search this entire area.

BOOTH: (to OFFICER RANDALL) According to my scientists, your boobies are out of luck.

CREDITS ACT I

[CUT TO: INT. MEDICO-LEGAL LAB - MAIN AREA - DAY is walking through the lab towards the EXAMINATION PLATFORM. On his way, he encounters MAX:, who is walking towards BOOTH.]

MAX: Hey, good afternoon, Agent Booth.

BOOTH: Max?

MAX: Wish I could stay and chat, but I gotta go pick up my new employment ID.

[MAX pats BOOTH on the shoulder, then grabs his bicep.]

MAX: Ooh, guns of steel!

[MAX slaps BOOTH's arm and wanders off]

BOOTH: (To MAX's retreating from) You work here now? Max, you... (to himself) You work here now?

[BOOTH swipes his ID and walks up onto the main examination platform, where CAM and BRENNAN are examining the remains from the tree.]

CAM: I can still make out the accelerant pour pattern. Victim must have been doused post-mortem. I'll have HODGINS run it through the mass spec.

BOOTH: (to BRENNAN) Your dad works here now?

BRENNAN: Not my idea.

CAM: She wants me to fire him.

BOOTH: Why?

BRENNAN: This is a crime lab! My father is a bank robber and an accused murderer.

CAM: Booth's killed more people than Max has, and he works here.

BOOTH: Don't bring that up. Why'd you have to bring that up?

CAM: In fact, Dr. Brennan, you've also killed a person. And, I'll point out, Max was never convicted. So, in the eyes of the law, he's never killed anyone.

BRENNAN: Why are you defending him?

CAM: Why aren't you?

BOOTH: He is your father.

BRENNAN: Whose sperm hit whose egg shouldn't determine who works here.

CAM: Come o-he's showing kids around the museum. What can it hurt?

BRENNAN: Let's get to work, please.

CAM: (begrudgingly) Nothing definitive on cause of death. Of course, We don't have a lot to work with.

BRENNAN: I did find an anomaly. The victim suffered a compression fracture sometime between 3 and 6 months prior to his death.

BOOTH: Why is that an anomaly?

BRENNAN: Compression fractures are normally associated with osteoporosis, but the sacral vertebrae haven't even undergone final fusing.

CAM: Not even 30 years old.

BRENNAN: The fracture must have been the result of trauma. A motor vehicle accident, parachute jumping...It would have been very painful.

BOOTH: 20-something with a bad back. You gotta give me something here more to go on, Bones.

[CAM's cell phone rings, she walks over to a desk to answer it.]

BRENNAN: Well, I would love to give you more, BOOTH, but that would involve fantasy, which would be futile.

CAM: (into phone) Dr. Saroyan?...Eeexcellent. I'll check my e-mail.

[CAM hangs up the phone and calls to BOOTH]

CAM: It's your lucky day, Booth.

[BOOTH and BRENNAN walk over to CAM, who is now using a computer]

CAM: We ran the victim's bone marrow? We got a hit on the Armed Forces DNA Registry.

[CAM pulls up a picture of a man in uniform]

CAM: Here's your guy. Calvin Warren.

BOOTH: Force Recon. Marine Corps Special Ops, toughest of the tough.

BRENNAN: The kind that parachute out of airplanes and get vertebral compression fractures?

BOOTH: You know what, you are a genius, okay? So the Marine Corps say where this guy got to?

CAM: They don't know. Warren was honorably discharged three years ago. Marines tried to track him down, see if he wanted to re-up, even checked his credit cards and bank accounts but he's totally off the grid.

BOOTH: Would his back be bad enough to medicate?

BRENNAN: Yes.

BOOTH: 'Kay fine, I'll just order a search of the controlled substance database, I'll see if I can get an address. You guys can go back to your bone play.

[Exit BOOTH]

[CUT TO: INT. MEDICO-LEGAL LAB - EXAMINATION ROOM - DAY. DR. JACK HODGINS and WENDELL BRAY are examining one of the victim's bones and discussing it with CAM]

HODGINS: (lifting the bone) Can you believe how light this thing is?

[HODGINS passes the bone to WENDELL]

WENDELL: I'd say six grams.

CAM: No way these bones were burned in an ordinary wood fire.

WENDELL: A wood fire burns at eight hundred degrees Fahrenheit, human flesh needs fourteen hundred to ignite.

HODGINS: Why do you know that?

WENDELL: I got an uncle who's a funeral director. Crematorium will incinerate a grown man down to five or six pounds.

CAM: These weren't cremated. The bones would be drier and the flesh would be completely gone.

HODGINS: Meaning that the burn was hotter than a wood fire and cooler than a crematorium.

CAM: That's a thousand-degree range.

HODGINS: I may be able to ID the accelerant.

WENDELL: I think we need a broader picture of the burn conditions.

CAM: How are you gonna do that?

WENDELL: (to HODGINS ) We could experiment.

HODGINS: (to CAM) Oh. Ohhh. Is that what you're after here?

CAM: You'll recall I mostly disapproved of your experiments with Dr. Addy.

HODGINS: You didn't disapprove of the results.

CAM: You have me there, Dr. Hodgins.

[Exit CAM]

WENDELL: I can't tell if we're doing an experiment or not.

HODGINS: Not.

[CUT TO: INT. ROYAL DINER - DAY. BRENNAN is having lunch with MAX. They are arguing about MAX's employment with the Jeffersonian.]

MAX: See, I... I don't see what the problem is.

BRENNAN: It's a crime lab! You're a convicted felon. Your presence taints the evidence.

MAX: But I'm not gonna be around any evidence. Basically, I'm just gonna be firing lasers through stuff.

[In the background, DR. LANCE SWEETS enters the diner and removes his coat. He notices BRENNAN and MAX and walks towards them.]

MAX: Oh, look! There's the doc that told the jury that I was a sociopath. Hey! Please, sit down, Doc. How are ya?

[SWEETS sits down with BRENNAN and MAX]

SWEETS: Likeable sociopath.

MAX: So, Cam wants Hodgins to design an experiment to figure out how hot a fire was.

BRENNAN: (bothered) Yeah, how hot a fire was that burned a body.

SWEETS: What body?

BRENNAN: The bones in the tree murder victim; which is a crime we cannot discuss.

MAX: Yeah, but I know exactly how that experiment should go.

BRENNAN: You aren't adequately credentialed to design an experiment, Dad.

SWEETS: Can I ask what's really going on between you?

MAX: Tempe doesn't want me working at the, uh, Jeffersonian.

SWEETS: Why?

BRENNAN: It's a conflict of interest. We catch criminals, my dad is a criminal.

SWEETS: That would be valid.

BRENNAN: Thank you.

SWEETS: If it were your real reason. But it's not.

BRENNAN: Yeah, yes, it is.

SWEETS: No, it's not.

BRENNAN: Yeah, yes, it is.

SWEETS: No, no.

BRENNAN: Yeah-huh!

SWEETS: No, it's not.

BRENNAN: Mm-hmm!

SWEETS: No. And, and this can't be resolved between you until you confront the real reason behind your feeling.

MAX: What do you say it is?

SWEETS: Well, at the time you abandoned your daughter, 15 years ago, you were a well-regarded science teacher. Now...here you are, basically in the same situation. And subconsciously, she doesn't want to risk feeling that sense of abandonment and bereavement again.

MAX: Boy, that is such a load of crap. (to BRENNAN) You are far too rational for that.

BRENNAN: Exactly.

[CUT TO: INT. MEDICO-LEGAL LAB - ANGELA'S OFFICE - DAY. ANGELA MONTENEGRO is standing at a computer, holding a clipboard. CAM enters, carrying a file.]

CAM: FBI got a hit off the controlled substances database? I just got off the phone with Booth. Cal Warren had a prescription for Oxycodone, written by a Dr. Antonia Ezralow, office in Chevy Chase.

ANGELA: Could she provide an address?

CAM: DR. EZRALOW has never heard of Calvin Warren. Plus, she's a dermatologist. Very rarely writes prescriptions for pain medication.

ANGELA: So he probably stole her prescription pad. (motioning to her computer, which is open to MySpace) Here's his MySpace page, and I have to say? he doesn't look much like a drug dealer. What a waste. Tall, dark, handsome and dead.

CAM: Too bad he's blocking his address.

ANGELA: Well, let's see. (she zooms in on a picture of the victim on his MySpace page.) This is the house across the street. Now, if I were a house number, I'd be right about here. (She zooms in again) I crop it so all we got is the reflection. Reverse and resize. Tweak the contrast, find some edges. (she does all this and the house number becomes clear)

CAM: "3-2-9-4." So he's across the street from 3294, but what street?

ANGELA: (indicating the photo) Well, 1880-ish architecture, square bay front... Let's assume the D.C. Area.

CAM: Check out the lamppost.

ANGELA: Yeah, It places us in one of the two historical districts where they still use those cast iron modified bishop's crook street lamps.

CAM: For an artist, you make a pretty good detective.

ANGELA: I think you just insulted me. (they both laugh) Okay. Now, I do a search for 3294 in those two zip codes. (she seaches) And I come up with...(the computer displays an address) Mad skills, babe.

[Angela and Cam high give one another]

[CUT TO: INT. 3294 7TH STREET - WASHINGTON DC - DAY. BOOTH and BRENNAN are inside the victim's house, investigating his belongings.]

BOOTH: The landlord said that Cal Warren worked crazy hours, you know, he kept to himself. Every time the landlord asked, you know, what he did for a living, he dodged the question.

BRENNAN: Maybe he liked his privacy.

BOOTH: What, So much that he pays his rent in cash? I don't know, Bones, something is weird, It's not right.

BRENNAN: There's no letters, No photographs, not even...a bill.

BOOTH: So did you persuade Cam to fire Max?

BRENNAN: What, you think my dad should be allowed to work at the Jeffersonian?

BOOTH: What? You know, she's just, you know, trying to do you a favor.

BRENNAN: Well, I didn't ask for a favor.

BOOTH: Sometimes you don't need to ask. Got a passport. (looking through it) This guy's been to countries I haven't even heard of.

[BRENNAN pulls a small white card out the pocket of a jacket hanging on a coat rack.]

BRENNAN: What is this?

BOOTH: I don't know. (he reaches into a drawer and pulls out a pile of money) This is something we're familiar with. Foreign currency. Lots of it.

[CUT TO: INT. MEDICO-LEGAL LAB - ANGELA'S OFFICE - DAY. CAM and ANGELA walk from the main lab area into ANGELA's office. ANGELA is holding a key card.]

CAM: Booth found this in tall, dark and handsome's drawer. (indicates the card)

ANGELA: It's an RF proximity card.

CAM: And that would be...?

ANGELA: Basically, it's a super fancy key card. You wave the card in front of the reader, it logs your info, and the door opens.

CAM: Any way to figure out what door it opens?

[ANGELA puts the card into a reader attached to her computer.]

ANGELA: Well, if the info on the card isn't too heavily encrypted... I heard you tried to get HODGINS interested in doing an experiment.

CAM: Let's just say I planted the seed.

[ANGELA pushes some keys on her keyboard and a window of code, apparently from the keycard, appears.]

ANGELA: Huh.

CAM: What? CIA? NSA?

ANGELA: No. Dupont Circle.

[CUT TO: INT. BOOTH'S SUV - WOODBURY SCHOOL - DAY. BOOTH drives up to the school's gate and swipes the keycard against the reader. The gate opens, and BOOTH drives in. He parks, leaves his SUV, and passes several security agents in suits and dark glasses as he attempts to enter the school. The front door is locked; BOOTH notices an intercom near the door and presses it.]

BOOTH: (into the intercom) Special Agent BOOTH, FBI.

[The door buzzes and BOOTH enters the school.]

[CUT TO: INT. WOODBURY SCHOOL - DAY. BOOTH is examining a model of a spaceship in the school. Children walk around him on their way to class. HEADMASTER DONNEGAN approaches and shakes BOOTH's hand. As they speak, they begin walking together.]

HEADMASTER DONNEGAN: Ah. Welcome to the Woodbury School, Agent BOOTH.

BOOTH: Hi, how are you? What's with all the security?

HEADMASTER DONNEGAN: It's precautionary. Our student body includes children of diplomats, heads of state, CEOs...

[A child passes them on the stairs.]

CHILD: Good morning!

[The headmaster nods and smiles at the child, keeps on walking.]

HEADMASTER DONNEGAN: How old is your child?

BOOTH: Parker? Uh, he's seven.

HEADMASTER DONNEGAN: Has he been evaluated?

BOOTH: He does just fine.

HEADMASTER DONNEGAN: Most applicant families engage an educational consultant. I mean, it's not a requirement, of course, but...

BOOTH: (cutting him off) I, I...Mr. Donnegan, I think you got this all wrong.

HEADMASTER DONNEGAN: I know it seems crazy, but given the demand, we can only accept the most qualified applicants.

BOOTH: Parker's a great kid.

HEADMASTER DONNEGAN: The problem is keeping him that way, isn't it? Sixty-eight percent of our students matriculate to Ivy League universities. It's not because of our electron microscope or AP classes... It's because of our Honour Code. Any violation results in immediate dismissal. Now, why don't I get you an admissions packet?

BOOTH: Actually, I'm here because of a murder investigation.

HEADMASTER DONNEGAN: I'm sorry?

BOOTH: One of your parking lot access cards was found in the apartment of a victim, Cal Warren?

HEADMASTER DONNEGAN: He's not a parent or an employee, I would know the name.

BOOTH: Maybe we could check your computer.

HEADMASTER DONNEGAN: Of course.

[Donnegan swipes the card to access his office]

HEADMASTER DONNEGAN: No one is issued a key card without security clearance.

[Donnegan holds the door open for BOOTH, they enter into the office.]

BOOTH: Thanks.

HEADMASTER DONNEGAN: One of our fathers actually implemented the security system. He's deputy director of the CIA.

[Donnegan sits down at his computer and keys in a search.]

BOOTH: Really?

HEADMASTER DONNEGAN: There he is, Calvin Warren.

BOOTH: Did he happen to work for the CIA?

HEADMASTER DONNEGAN: No, actually, he works for the president.

BOOTH: Of the United States?

HEADMASTER DONNEGAN: Parents Association. As a nanny.

BOOTH: A nanny?

END ACT I ACT II

[INT. BOOTH: 'S SUV - OUTSIDE WASHINGTON, DC - DAY. BOOTH and BRENNAN are driving on their way to interview the victim's employer. As they drive, they discuss the Woodbury School.]

BOOTH: Twenty-eight grand a year. I didn't pay that much for four years of college!

BRENNAN: If you think it's so ridiculous, why did you save the application?

BOOTH: I didn't save it. I just didn't have a chance to throw it out yet.

BRENNAN: You don't have to be embarrassed, It's perfectly normal to want the best for Parker.

BOOTH: Public school was good enough for me, it's good enough for my kid.

BRENNAN: Of course it is. Probably.

BOOTH: What's that supposed to mean?

BRENNAN: Parker is a bright, engaged little boy. I'm sure he'll do fine in a large classroom. I did.

BOOTH: Except...

BRENNAN: Except what?

BOOTH: Your dad was a science teacher. You're a scientist.

BRENNAN: Yes, my education was enriched at home.

BOOTH: That's what I gotta do! Enrich Parker at home.

BRENNAN: In what academics are you qualified to offer enrichment?

BOOTH: Well...

[BOOTH has no answer and looks lost. The SUV drives up to a large mansion, the home of the King family. Outisde, ELSBETH KING is issuing instructions to a housekeeper, ETHEL, as they walk. MRS. KING is evidently frantic and on her way out.]

MRS. KING: Ethel, could you grab my bag, please? I am on my way to the Children First board meeting. (Ethel passes her the bag) Thank you. (to a passing dog-walker) Oh, Wexler has the groomer at three.

[BOOTH and BRENNAN approach, Ethel retreats.]

BOOTH: Excuse me. Elsbeth King?

MRS. KING: Yes?

[BOOTH shows MRS. KING his badge.]

BOOTH: We're with the FBI.

BRENNAN: Do you know a Mr. Calvin Warren?

MRS. KING: He was my nanny... What happened?

BOOTH: That's exactly what we're investigating.

[CUT TO: INT. PARLOUR - KING MANSION - DAY. BOOTH and BRENNAN are sitting and interviewing MRS. KING while she drinks a bottle of water.]

MRS. KING: Cal dropped off the face of the earth on Sunday. He was an excellent nanny.

BOOTH: Well, how is it that an ex-Special Ops guy becomes a nanny?

MRS. KING: My husband, Richard handles defense contracts. The Middle East, South America... There were kidnap threats a couple years ago and Richard was concerned. He offered Cal twenty-five hundred a week.

BRENNAN: That's very good pay for...a babysitter.

MRS. KING: Cal was more like a bodyguard. Do you suppose that's what got him killed? Someone after my children?

BRENNAN: ...Um...

BOOTH: Could we speak to your children?

MRS. KING: Of course.

[CUT TO: EXT. KING MANSION - DAY. ALEXA: KING and her brother ROYCE KING are in the midst of playing a game of chess with giant pieces. They are wholly uninterested in BOOTH and BRENNAN and are much more focused on their game.]

BOOTH: Okay, so what time on Sunday did you last see Cal?

ROYCE: Why?

BRENNAN: (irritated) Because it's pertinent to our investigation.

ROYCE: Wei shenme ta wen zhe ge wen ti?

ALEXA: Wo bu zi dao.

BOOTH: What?

BRENNAN: Mandarin Chinese.

ROYCE: My father says the Chinese will run the planet in ten years. He figures it'll be useful.

BRENNAN: That's very smart.

BOOTH: Okay, well, here, today, okay, I run the world.

ROYCE: Bun tyen-shung duh ee-dway ro.

BRENNAN: (laughing) He just called you a stupid, inbred stack of meat.

BOOTH: Really? I'm sorry, do you have something to say to me?

ROYCE: Dui bu qi. Xie xie.

BRENNAN: He, he apologized.

BOOTH: Good. So, you want to tell me what happened on Sunday?

ROYCE: Well, Cal dropped me off at the algebra tutor around eight, then took Lexie to check out a new horse.

ALEXA: In the afternoon you had a game against All Saints.

ROYCE: Lacrosse. I got this.

[ROYCE brushes his hair back to show a scar on his forehead]

BOOTH: Let's see. Ow...And Cal took you to the emergency room?

ROYCE: No. He knew one of the moms was a doctor, so, he figured she'd do a better job.

BRENNAN: Looks like the work of a plastic surgeon.

ROYCE: No, dermatologist. DR. EZRALOW. Very competent.

[BOOTH and BRENNAN, recognising the name, look meaningfully at each other.]

[CUT TO: INT. BOOTH'S SUV - WASHINGTON DC - DAY. BOOTH and BRENNAN are on their way back into town from the King residence and are discussing the new development in the case.]

BRENNAN: The ROYCE boy was stitched up by the same doctor who said she didn't know Cal Warren.

BOOTH: Mm-hmm, I'm having her brought in for questioning. You think those kids are better off than Parker?

BRENNAN: Yeah, Of course they are. They have every advantage: a wonderful school, a successful father, mother committed to charity work...

BOOTH: (scoffing) I spend more time with my houseplants than they do with their kids.

BRENNAN: Well, children of privilege have always been raised by staff. It's how the upper one percent stays the upper one percent. Assuming quality education and adequate supervision, parents are actually rather irrelevant beyond a certain age.

BOOTH: You're kidding me.

BRENNAN: Look at this, they start Latin in third grade. That's fantastic!

BOOTH: No, You know what's more important than academic enrichment? A loving environment. You ask anyone.

BRENNAN: Parker is a wonderful child, BOOTH. You shouldn't feel inadequate.

BOOTH: Yeah, well I'm perfectly capable of raising my own kid.

BRENNAN: You're being defensive.

BOOTH: I am not.

BRENNAN: It's because you only have one child, when you procreate in multiples, there's less pressure.

BOOTH: Thank you. I feel much better.

[CUT TO: INT. BOOTH's OFFICE - FBI BUILDING - DAY. BOOTH is leading DR. ANTONIA EZRALOW into his office for an interview.]

BOOTH: This way. Have a seat.

DR. EZRALOW: I apologize, Agent BOOTH. When you called and asked if I knew a Calvin Warren... I just didn't put it together with the King's nanny.

BOOTH: Oh, so you did know him?

DR. EZRALOW: Yes. But just as Cal. My son is on the same lacrosse team as the King boy.

BOOTH: Did you have any more dealings with him?

DR. EZRALOW: I'm afraid not... Actually, no, that's not true. I'm sorry, again. Calvin came along with us one time when I took the uh, King children up for a ride.

BOOTH: A ride?

DR. EZRALOW: I'm a pilot. I own a Seneca Five. Cal got sick, and, well, the boys thought that was hilarious.

BOOTH: You wouldn't happen to know how Cal Warren got a prescription for painkillers from you?

DR. EZRALOW: Oh. Isn't that obvious? That's why he brought ROYCE King to me to be stitched up. To steal my prescription pad.

BOOTH: I have no further questions, so, you know, thanks for coming in.

DR. EZRALOW: I feel stupid for not being able to put the face with the name. I'm so sorry for wasting your time.

BOOTH: No worries. Have a nice day.

[CUT TO: INT. MEDICO-LEGAL LAB - MAIN AREA - DAY. HODGINS approaches CAM, who is walking across the lab carrying a file.]

HODGINS: Hey! Soooo, you know that thing where you insist that all information goes through you?

CAM: Yes, and I'm afraid I'm immovable on the subject.

HODGINS: And you send out little emails summarizing the case so far?

CAM: Yes, plus I check those e-mails to see if they've been opened.

[They approach the main examination platform together. CAM swipes her access card and they walk up onto the platform.]

HODGINS: That's a very good system.

CAM: Thank you.

HODGINS: Because if you weren't checking, I probably never would have read the email that said BOOTH questioned a flying dermatologist.

CAM: I hope you're not trying to get some free lotion.

HODGINS: I ran the accelerant sample through the GC mass spec. There were traces of tetra-ethyl lead.

CAM: Have we changed the subject?

HODGINS: No. Because if you hadn't been so a**l about the emails, I never would've known that I discovered something that wasn't merely interesting, but vital to the investigation.

CAM: Which is tetra ethyl lead?

HODGINS: Tetra-ethyl lead was a common antiknock additive in gasoline that went out with catalytic converters and unleaded gas.

CAM: Does the flying dermatologist drive a vintage car?

HODGINS: Maybe. But for sure, the flying dermatologist flies a plane.

CAM: Aviation gas?

HODGINS: The victim's remains were incinerated by aviation gas.

CAM: (opening her cell phone and dialing BOOTH) I'll let Booth know. Hopefully, she hasn't flown the coop while you were getting to the point.

[Exit CAM: ]

HODGINS: (calling after her) I was just trying to be nice!

[CUT TO: INT. INTERROGATION ROOM - FBI BUILDING - DAY. BOOTH is now in the process of interrogating DR. EZRALOW. He has a binder in front of him on the table.]

BOOTH: You lied to me.

DR. EZRALOW: Yes. I wrote Cal a prescription for painkillers. I shouldn't have. That's the truth.

BOOTH: Yeah, not this time, Doc. Now that I know that you're a world-class liar. (he removes a small stack of papers from the binder and sets them in front of him) I came just a little bit more prepared this time. Take a look at those there (indicating the papers).

DR. EZRALOW: (looking over the papers) My flight logs...

BOOTH: Mm-hmm.

DR. EZRALOW: For the past year.

BOOTH: Yeah. Mmm. Oh, look it here, this one here. Right here.

[BOOTH points to one of the flight logs, where Cal Warren's name is highlighted on the passenger list.]

DR. EZRALOW: Yes, I took Cal flying a few times.

BOOTH: Mm-hmm, without the kids? This one here is my favorite. (indicates paper) This particular flight to New York. You were gone the whole weekend.

DR. EZRALOW: All right. All right, I'll tell you what you want to know. No. My husband didn't know I was having an affair with the Kings' manny. Would I have killed Cal to prevent him from finding out? No, I would not. Why? Because my husband doesn't give a damn who I boff. Do I know anyone else who might wish Cal ill? Yes. Richard King.

BOOTH: Don't stop, this, this is great. Keep going.

DR. EZRALOW: Cal told me to sell a stock. He said he had some insider knowledge that uh, this company was in trouble. I took the tip, made a killing. That's when I flew him to New York to say thank you. And he said "you're welcome." All weekend.

BOOTH: (chuckling) What's this have to do with Richard King?

DR. EZRALOW: It was Richard King's company.

END ACT II ACT III

[CUT TO: INT. MEDICO-LEGAL LAB - EXAMINATION ROOM - DAY. HODGINS and MAX are standing at one end of a large glass tube filling most of the room- a wind tunnel they've devised. On the other end of the tunnel is a tree.]

HODGINS: How's that look, MAX?

MAX: Good, looks good.

HODGINS: Never thought I'd be doing another experiment.

[Enter BRENNAN]

BRENNAN: Dad, what are you doing in here?

HODGINS: Max had a great idea for an experiment.

BRENNAN: Dad, you said you wouldn't touch evidence!

[WENDELL suddenly appears from under the tree]

WENDELL: He's been very careful not to touch the evidence, Dr. Brennan.

HODGINS: You know, your old man, he reminded me why I got into science.

BRENNAN: To catch murderers?

HODGINS: No. To figure stuff out in amusing ways.

WENDELL: The bones were incinerated by aviation fuel.

MAX: They just need to know, uh, how strong the wind was, basic.

HODGINS: So, figure out how big a wind blew the bones...

WENDELL: Check the weather charts.

[HODGINS and WENDELL go about setting the tunnel up to conduct the experiment]

MAX: Basic, that's very basic.

BRENNAN: This is the same wind tunnel you helped me build for the science fair.

MAX: Right, yeah, a basic wind tunnel, honey. You won first prize.

WENDELL: I made casts that weigh the same as the bones we found in that tree.

MAX: All right, now...

[They turn on the wind tunnel]

HODGINS: We put the skull cast into the wind tunnel, since that was the largest artifact on the tree.

MAX: I didn't touch anything.

HODGINS: The bone begins to move at wind speeds of forty-two miles per hour.

WENDELL: Not enough net force to achieve aerodynamic lift.

HODGINS: But, crank it to sixty-nine...

[HODGINS: adjusts the wind speed as such and the bone cast flies into the tree.]

WENDELL: I checked the National Weather Service? There were windstorms that in area last week. A strong nor'easter hit seventy-one miles per hour late last Tuesday.

HODGINS: That gives us a fourty-eight hour window for Calvin Warren's murder. But, we still don't know where he was killed or where the body was dumped.

MAX: Wait a minute, I can figure that out.

BRENNAN: Dad, you're fired.

WENDELL: What?

MAX: (ignoring BRENNAN) The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

WENDELL: NOAA tracks surface conditions.

HODGINS: We can calculate where the bones started out if we can plot approximate mass and reverse the path of that nor'easterly.

WENDELL: The heavier remains will still be near the original dump site.

MAX: (to BRENNAN) You see, I'm helping!

HODGINS: Oh, most definitely is helping.

BRENNAN: I'm sorry, Dad, but you're fired. You took part in a forensic experiment. You said you wouldn't, but you did, so now you're fired.

[Exit BRENNAN]

WENDELL: (calling after her) Dr. Brennan, he didn't touch any of the evidence!

MAX: It's okay, kid. Never mind.

[CUT TO: EXT. - LACROSSE FIELD - WASHINGTON DC - DAY. BOOTH and BRENNAN walk past a children's lacrosse game; the kids are calling plays to each other animatedly. A crowd of parents and siblings watch on the side.]

LACROSSE PLAYER #1: Nice assist, Mick! Now cage him out, quick!

LACROSSE PLAYER #2: No, Mick! Pass it! Pass it!

[BOOTH and BRENNAN come across ALEXA KING, who is watching the game from the sidelines.]

BOOTH: Hi, Alexa. How are you? Shouldn't you be like, studying algebra or Chinese, or solving the world's problems?

ALEXA: I'm cheering for Royce. He's the goalie

[ALEXA points to her brother. BOOTH and BRENNAN continue along.]

BOOTH: I watch football. You know, it's a better sport. It's American.

BRENNAN: Lacrosse was invented by the American Indian. You can't get much more American than that.

[BOOTH and BRENNAN come to DR. EZRALOW who is sitting in a foldable chair on the sidelines, holding her BlackBerry.]

BOOTH: Hi.

DR. EZRALOW: Oh, God, what now?

BOOTH: Well, I'm thinking about this whole insider trading thing.

DR. EZRALOW: I told you everything.

BOOTH: I'm thinking Cal, you know, gives you a tip on a stock, you sell it, you make two million, three million dollars, and uh... it raises questions in my mind.

BRENNAN: How did Richard King find out that Cal spilled insider knowledge?

BOOTH: That's right, Bones.

DR. EZRALOW: I don't know.

BRENNAN: Well, where were you between last Sunday and Tuesday night?

DR. EZRALOW: (to BOOTH) Who is she?

BOOTH: Don't get jealous, Doc. Just answer the question.

DR. EZRALOW: I was in San Antonio doing skin grafts on a firefighter with third-degree burns.

BOOTH: You've got your own plane.

BRENNAN: You had time to fly back.

BOOTH: You really want me to believe that Richard King killed Cal.

BRENNAN: Cal Warren's remains were incinerated with aviation gas.

DR. EZRALOW: I didn't kill Cal.

BOOTH: You know what, she lies a lot. I don't think she can help it at all.

[DR. EZRALOW pulls out a business card and hands it to BOOTH]

DR. EZRALOW: This is my lawyer's card.

BRENNAN: She's decided not to cooperate.

DR. EZRALOW: No, I've decided to watch my son play lacrosse.

[CUT TO: INT. MEDICO-LEGAL LAB - ANGELA'S OFFICE - DAY. ANGELA is using a large computer monitor with weather maps displayed on it to illustrate her findings to CAM and HODGINS. She is holding a stylus and tablet.]

ANGELA: Okay, Here's the surface weather for Tuesday night, when that nor'easter blew the bones into that tree.

[ANGELA changes to a different screen and marks a red X with her stylus.]

HODGINS: Now, that red X, that's the tree.

ANGELA: Mm-hmm. The bones must have traveled along this vector.

[ANGELA draws a red line representing the vector]

ANGELA: Now, given the duration of the gust and the terrain obstacles, lift off must have happened somewhere between here... and here.

[She draws a line representing area of possible lift-off.]

HODGINS: That's on the edge of Queen Anne's and Kent County.

CAM: Good job, excellent experiment.

HODGINS: Don't thank me. Thank Max Brennan.

[CUT TO: INT. MEDICO-LEGAL LAB - EMPLOYEE LOUNGE AREA - DAY. BOOTH is pouring himself a cup of coffee when MAX approaches.]

BOOTH: How's it goin' there, Max?

MAX: That's the last day with my kids this afternoon. I'm toast.

BOOTH: Cam fired you, huh?

MAX: No, no. Tempe fired me. And don't tell me she hasn't got the authority, because, believe me... I feel fired.

BOOTH: Sorry, Max.

[MAX leans down to get a soda out of the fridge, BOOTH turns to leave]

MAX: Can I ask you a question?

BOOTH: (turning back) Sure.

MAX: You, are you, uh... Are you sleeping with my daughter?

BOOTH: No.

MAX: Why? Are you gay?

BOOTH: (amused) No.

MAX: Is she not attractive enough?

BOOTH: (serious) Bones is beautiful.

MAX: Is it because of me? Because I killed one man, and we both know he deserved it.

BOOTH: Right, just cut it out, Max, alright, I'll talk to her. Probably ain't gonna get anywhere with her, but... I'll talk to her.

MAX: You're a good man. And I want that for her. And now I got to go blow up some soda for some kids.

[CUT TO: EXT. WOODED AREA - WASHINGTON DC - DAY. BOOTH and BRENNAN are at the location determined to be where the victim's bones started out. There are several FBI agents and technicians searching the area.]

BRENNAN: Okay, according to the calculations, the bones must have started out from somewhere in this vicinity.

BOOTH: You know something, Bones? It's tough being a father.

BRENNAN: Parker will be fine. Peer groups and random environmental factors are far more important than family.

BOOTH: How's that a good thing?

[An FBI TECHNICIAN: calls and waves to BOOTH]

FBI TECHNICIAN: Over here! Agent Booth, over here.

[BOOTH and BRENNAN run over to the technician and find a large section of scorched earth and bone remnants.]

BRENNAN: This must have been where the... body was burned.

BOOTH: You think?

[BRENNAN kneels down and begins to examine the bones in the patch.]

BRENNAN: Femur, pelvis...sternum. Gunshot trauma to the sternal angle. The buckshot embedded in the anterior surface indicates that the murder weapon was a twelve gauge shotgun.

BOOTH: I thought Cal was strangled.

BRENNAN: He was. Strangled, shot, and set on fire.

BOOTH: Someone wanted to make sure he didn't get home.

[BOOTH notices a large mansion in the near distance. There is a family crest affixed to the mansion's gateposts.]

BOOTH: Hey, Bones, look at that family crest. Looks like that someone came from the Kings' country home.

END ACT III ACT IV

[CUT TO: INT. DEN - KING MANSION - DAY. BOOTH and BRENNAN are again in the Kings' mansion conducting an interview, this time with RICHARD KING, the patriarch.]

BOOTH: Mr. King, we'd like to ask you a few questions about your nanny.

MR. KING: I, uh, I really don't see how I can help you, Agent Booth. My wife deals with the staff.

BOOTH: You own a 12-gauge shotgun?

MR. KING: Yeah, several. You're welcome to examine them.

BRENNAN: Two months ago, Cal gave an investor insider knowledge about your company.

MR. KING: I didn't know that.

BOOTH: And if you had known?

MR. KING: I suppose I would have tried to fire him.

BOOTH: Tried?

MR. KING: I don't think that Elsbeth would have allowed it.

BRENNAN: Was she having an affair with him?

BOOTH: Oh, Bones, such a good one.

MR. KING: You two need to learn focus.

BOOTH: Excuse me?

MR. KING: Focus.

BOOTH: Focus.

MR. KING: Either accuse me of killing Cal because he betrayed business secrets or because he had s*x with my wife, and then once you've chosen, then contact my lawyers. I'd go with the business motive. I'm very happily married.

[CUT TO: EXT. KING MANSION - DAY. BOOTH and BRENNAN, having finished their interview, are leaving the mansion.]

BOOTH: Okay, that guy is one cool customer.

BRENNAN: Ooh, Cool like a... like a murderer?

BOOTH: No, I don't know, okay? I just don't see him losing his temper or taking on some Special Forces vet, that's all.

[The dog walker crosses in front of them and past a Ferrari with a very large dog.]

BOOTH: All right, do you think that dog comes with a saddle? (noticing the Ferrari) Follow me, Bones, will you, for a second?

[BOOTH walks over to the Ferrari, BRENNAN follows.]

BRENNAN: What's going on? What are you doing?

[BOOTH reaches into the open window and presses the button to pop the car's gas cap open.]

BRENNAN: Are you going to urinate in the gas tank as an act of vandalism?

BOOTH: You kidding me, Bones? I would never do something like that to this fine Italian automobile. Beautiful car. It's Italian, Bones. Just remember that. Italians make the best automobiles. (he removes his tie and dips one end of it into the gas tank of the Ferrari.) Yeah. There it is. Okay, Bones, give me, uh, one of your little baggies.

BRENNAN: I didn't bring evidence bags.

[They walk away, bickering]

BOOTH: Thanks, Bones, Appreciate it. You come prepared.

BRENNAN: Well, we're not at a crime scene. Why would I bring evidence bags?

BOOTH: You always have evidence bags on you.

[CUT TO: INT. ROYAL DINER - DAY. BRENNAN and MAX are once again sitting at lunch with SWEETS. They are seated at a table, holding menus.]

MAX: I've, um... I've decided I'm gonna leave the Jeffersonian.

SWEETS: Why?

BRENNAN: Uh, because I fired him.

SWEETS: You can do that?

MAX: (chuckling wryly) Ohhh yeah. Believe me, she can do it.

BRENNAN: Well, it's all about proximity to forensic evidence.

MAX: Uh, don't take any offense, but that's a lot of crap. It's about a proximity to me. Right?

[BRENNAN glares at SWEETS]

SWEETS: (Off BRENNAN's look) Well, in my opinion, it isn't your father's presence that's causing you anxiety, it's the memory of his absence.

BRENNAN: I can understand quantum mechanics, but I can't understand you.

MAX: Well, I'll make it easy. I'm leaving the Jeffersonian.

BRENNAN: Well, you are?

MAX: But I'm staying with you.

BRENNAN: Wha-oh, in my house?

MAX: No. No, no. Wait, why, is that an offer?

BRENNAN: No. Would you... Would you want me to offer?

MAX: No, no! but thanks for the offer.

BRENNAN: No, it wasn't an offer, it was just a question.

SWEETS: He isn't saying he's literally staying with you. He's promising never to abandon you again.

BRENNAN: I'm sorry, but if it wasn't for that evidence thing, I'd- I'd let you keep your job.

SWEETS: That's simply not true.

MAX: Hey, it's all right. We're good!

[BRENNAN looks at SWEETS again.]

SWEETS: (frustrated) Nothing I say has any impact!

BRENNAN: I should get back to work.

[Exit BRENNAN]

MAX: Oh, geez. Did she leave any money?

[CUT TO: INT. MEDICO-LEGAL LAB - CAM'S OFFICE - DAY. CAM is sitting at her desk, working on her computer. WENDELL enters, excited.]

WENDELL: About the fractured hyoid?

CAM: Yes?

WENDELL: I was just remembering about a tapeworm.

CAM: I'm gonna need more than that.

WENDELL: There was a tapeworm in the line. The one that went to the beer keg.

[CAM, confused, gives WENDELL a vacant look.]

WENDELL: I was workin' as a barback a couple years ago. There's no flow from the tap line, first assumption: kink in the line, right?

CAM: What else could it be?

WENDELL: There was a tapeworm in the line. Eight inches long. I learned something from that.

CAM: Drink bottled beer?

[WENDELL turns to a computer and pulls up an image of the victim's hyoid bone.]

WENDELL: The tap don't flow, you assume the line's got a kink. The guy's hyoid is broken, you assume he died from getting strangled.

CAM: You found a tapeworm? I mean, metaphorically?

WENDELL: Yeah, but I don't know if it's a tapeworm. I need Dr. BRENNAN.

[Enter HODGINS]

HODGINS: Dr. Saroyan?

[CAM and WENDELL turn to HODGINS]

HODGINS: I am so your most valuable player.

[CUT TO: INT. MEDICO-LEGAL LAB - MAIN AREA - DAY. HODGINS is at his desk, using his computer to show his findings to CAM.]

HODGINS: Now, this is the profile of the accelerant we found on the bones.

CAM: Aviation gas.

HODGINS: And this is the profile of the gas we took off BOOTH's tie.

[HODGINS overlays the two profiles to demonstrate a near exact match.]

CAM: Richard King's car runs on avgas?

HODGINS: He could have siphoned it out of his own car to burn Cal Warren's remains.

CAM: (indicating a slight difference in the profiles) And what is this anomaly?

HODGINS: C6H8O7.

[CAM pulls out her cell phone and begins dialing BOOTH.]

CAM: Citric acid?

HODGINS: It's my considered belief that Agent Booth spilled orange juice on his tie.

CAM: (laughing) I look forward to seeing him explain that to a jury. (into her phone) BOOTH:, it's CAM. I think you're gonna wanna get yourself a warrant to arrest Richard King.

[CUT TO: INT. MEDICO-LEGAL LAB - EXAMINATION ROOM - DAY. CAM, WENDELL, and BRENNAN stand over the victim's skeletal remains, arranged on a table. WENDELL is demonstrating his findings.]

WENDELL: Fractures on the transverse processes of the C2. Both sides and the spinous process. And check out the occipital protuberance.

BRENNAN: Oh, yes.

CAM: Maybe this will help BOOTH keep Richard King in detention.

BRENNAN: Cal wasn't strangled postmortem, he was dragged.

WENDELL: Strangulation is the kink, dragging is the tapeworm. The pattern of marks is evenly spaced, as if it were from a series of connected prongs.

CAM: What would do that?

BRENNAN: A choke chain.

CAM: Richard King's a big strong guy, I don't see him dragging a dead body around on a choke chain.

BRENNAN: That's because he didn't. The angle of the fracture is eighteen degrees.

WENDELL: Assuming a standard four-foot leash, whoever dragged the victim is at most five-five.

BRENNAN: Elsbeth King.

END ACT IV ACT V

[CUT TO: INT. INTERROGATION ROOM - FBI BUILDING - DAY. BOOTH is in the process of interrogating MRS. KING]

BOOTH: So, you're sure you don't want your attorney present, MRS. KING?

MRS. KING: Let's just get this over with.

BOOTH: Okay, sounds good to me. Here's uh, what I'm thinking. I'm thinking that uh, your country home is less than a mile from the spot where Cal's body was burned. You had access to the shotgun, the aviation gas...

MRS. KING: You know how many people work for us, Agent BOOTH? Every single one of them had access.

BOOTH: Yeah, but I don't think any of them really would have cared if they found out that uh, Cal Warren was trying to destroy your husband's company. Hmm...You have a nice life. I'm sure you got really angry when you found out that it was all going away. Hm?

MRS. KING: You don't understand. It wasn't about the money. I had to protect my family.

[CUT TO: INT. OBSERVATION ROOM - FBI BUILDING - DAY. BOOTH, having just finished interrogating MRS. KING, walks into the observation room adjacent to the interrogation room. Inside is SWEETS, who has been witnessing the interview.]

BOOTH: What do you think?

SWEETS: In my professional opinion, she didn't whack him.

BOOTH: What? Come on, Cal betrayed them. Come on, SWEETS. For once, you're right. Embrace the win, my friend.

SWEETS: I'm sorry, but it's Kinesics 101. You pushed all the right buttons, but instead of her ego defense system triggering a stress-response state, she went straight to a tacit confession.

BOOTH: Right, which means... she did it.

SWEETS: No, it means she didn't do it. But she wants you to believe that she did.

BOOTH: Why would she want to do that?

SWEETS: 'Cause she's covering for someone. The only honest thing that she said was that she had to protect her family.

BOOTH: So we're back to square one.

SWEETS: Sort of.

BOOTH: (sighing) Geez...Sweets? Let me ask you something. I mean, you're a smart guy, you went to private school, right?

SWEETS: Yeah. With perfect attendance through sixth grade, might I add.

BOOTH: Yeah, that's great. You don't think that I'm a lousy dad for not sending my son to private school?

SWEETS: No, but you'd be a lousy father if you didn't torture yourself about it.

BOOTH: Thanks.

[BOOTH's cell phone rings, he goes to answer it.]

BOOTH: Oh, hold on. (into phone) Booth. (It's Brennan on the other line)

BRENNAN: (into phone) I reviewed the placement of the shotgun pellet wounds? The trajectory indicates that whoever shot Cal was significantly shorter than Mrs. King. I don't think she did it.

BOOTH: Right. Thanks. (he hangs up the phone.)

[CUT TO: INT. CONFERENCE ROOM - FBI BUILDING - DAY. Gathered around a conference table are BOOTH, BRENNAN, MR. KING, MRS. KING and ALEXA KING. BOOTH has a laptop in front of him and is in the process of interrogating ALEXA]

BOOTH: You see, we got a court order for your cell phone and your laptop.

BRENNAN: You know, nothing you text or IM is really private.

ALEXA: I knew that.

BOOTH: Really? Because, you know, we checked your text messages, and uh, we found one from a couple of weeks ago that's a little weird.

[BOOTH pulls up the message on his laptop, it is displayed on a large monitor beside him.]

BRENNAN: This one is from the night that Cal was killed. "Bring it over now. Parents both gone."

MRS. KING: (to Mr. King) Stop this, Richard!

MR. KING: No, I want to hear it.

BOOTH: It turns out that uh, ALEXA, here, had a project due on Ancient Greece.

BRENNAN: Hmm. You spent three days complaining about it, Why didn't you just do it?

ALEXA: I didn't want to. It was stupid.

BOOTH: Stupid? Oh.

[BOOTH pulls up another message.]

BOOTH: How about this one? "Da manny will do it. He can't say no, he works for me." But Cal really did say no, didn't he, because you paid a hundred bucks to somebody else to do it for you. Someone by the name of Dakota Shearcroft?

MR. KING: Oh, my God.

BOOTH: Yeah. I think it's a stupid name, too.

BRENNAN: So what happened? Did Cal catch you?

ALEXA: He threatened to tell the school.

MR. KING: Why wouldn't he have just told us?

ALEXA: Cal said you wouldn't do anything. You never do. He said I had to learn a lesson.

BOOTH: What kind of lesson?

ALEXA: They would have kicked me out of school! Zero tolerance... My friends are at that school! I got the gun out of the garage and I shot him... Mom came home and saw.

MRS. KING: I drove the body to the country house, took it into the woods, and burned it. She's my daughter, I had to protect her.

MR. KING: No, you did what you always do. Make everything bad go away.

BRENNAN: It's counterproductive to raise children in a world without consequences.

BOOTH: Well, it looks like little Lexy here is going to have to come face-to-face with some pretty nasty consequences. But not the kind of consequences you're gonna have to face, Mrs. King.

[FADE TO: INT. MEDICO-LEGAL LAB - LOUNGE - DAY. BRENNAN is looking down to the main area of the lab, where MAX is about to demonstrate an experiment to PARKER BOOTH. He is placing a bottle of soda on a table.]

MAX: Okay, Parker, this is called the candy mint-soda experiment. You can do this for your dad at home.

[BOOTH brings BRENNAN a cup of coffee, they stand and look down together.]

BOOTH: So, Mom copped to conspiracy to avoid trial. She'll spend some time in prison.

BRENNAN: How much?

BOOTH: Not enough. My opinion, she ruined that little girl's life.

BRENNAN: (sighing) What about the little girl?

BOOTH: Removed from the family, institutionalized for a couple of years.

BRENNAN: (scoffs) Then it's back to ponies and tennis lessons?

BOOTH: Mm-hmm.

BRENNAN: Well, Caroline should charge her as an adult.

BOOTH: She's 11 years old, Bones.

BRENNAN: Yeah, well, she's old enough to speak Chinese.

BOOTH: Uh, they don't take that into account. Tell ya. Man, when that little girl killed Cal Warren, she killed the best father she had.

BRENNAN: Well, sometimes it's hard to appreciate what you've got.

[Down below, MAX is getting Parker to put candy mints in a tube suspended in the bottle of soda.]

BOOTH: (proudly) Look at him! Parker's never liked science before.

BRENNAN: So, are you still thinking of sending him to Woodbury?

BOOTH: I torched the application. I'm thinkin' there's something to be said for middle class. You sure he's gonna be all right?

BRENNAN: Sure! Well, probably.

BOOTH: Probably, like, what do you mean, probably? What the hell are they doing anyways?

BRENNAN: Disrupting the surface tension of a two-liter cola.

BOOTH: Right.

MAX: Is that the last one? All right, put it in the tube. And then we'll both take a step back.

BOOTH: Don't fire Max. Let him keep his job. You know, he's a teacher, he's not a janitor.

BRENNAN: I can't overlook the sanctity of the forensic lab, Booth...

BOOTH: Yeah, maybe you can overlook it for me.

BRENNAN: For you?

BOOTH: Yeah. Personal favor.

BRENNAN: What, like a partner thing?

BOOTH: Partner thing.

BRENNAN: (chuckling) I know you, Booth. You're trying to do me a favor by telling me it's a favor for you.

BOOTH: No. Mm-mm, no, I... I can't afford that school. I can't enrich Parker, not with the science thing, but... you can, MAX can.

[Below, the cola shoots a stream directly into the air, raising up to the height of the lounge BRENNAN and BOOTH are standing in. Parker and MAX react excitedly.]

PARKER: Woah! Do it again? (to BOOTH) Daddy! Daddy! look what I did! I blew it up!

BOOTH: Yeah, I saw little man.

BRENNAN: Look at my dad!

BOOTH: Look at my little boy there with your dad.

BRENNAN: Okay. Yes. All right.

BOOTH: Thanks, Bones.

FADE END