Bones (2005–2017): Season 4, Episode 3 - The Finger in the Nest - full transcript

While Booth enjoys playing with his preteen son Parker, the boisterous boy accidentally finds a severed finger. Dr. Lance Sweets reassures Booth his boy is fine, not traumatized at all. The victim is a missing veterinarian, who is somehow connected to illegal dogfights, and to the death on Don Timmons's farm in the area where the dismembered corpse was found. Don's son Robbie was an apprentice at the vet's surgery and was tutored by Dr. Andrew Hopp, who vouches for the family, discrediting the vet.

You know what the most
beautiful thing in the world is?

- Mom says the sunset.
- Okay.

Well, one of the most beautiful
man-made things?

Mom says the Mona Lisa.

Okay, look, all due respect
to your mom, buddy,

but a perfectly thrown spiral
is way better than any of that stuff.

Okay? So let me show you
how you do this.

Put your hand up here like that.

Spread your fingers wide.

- My hand's too small.
- It'll grow. All right?

Okay, hand there to steady the ball.
Lift it up to your ear.



No, your ear, not your chin, silly.

- All right.
- What's it saying?

It's saying, "Throw your old man
a deep pass for the touchdown!"

What. What you got? Whoa!

Hey, there's a bird's nest.

- Where?
- There!

Cool, huh? Hey, you want me to lift you up
so you can see inside?

How about I knock it down
with a perfect spiral?

No, no, no. No, don't do that.

You don't want to do that.
That's somebody's home, okay, buddy?

Something could be alive in there, okay?

So you want me to boost you up
so you can see?

- Sure.
- All right, you ready?

- Yeah.
- One, two, three, and up.



- What do you see up there? Higher.
- Higher. A little higher.

- Okay.
- I see something.

Well, if it's an egg, don't touch it.

Because if the mommy bird comes back...

It's not an egg.

- What is it?
- It's somebody's finger!

He pulled the finger
out of a bird's nest.

Did he completely freak out?

Booth said Parker wanted to put it
in his pocket and take it home.

When it comes to boys, that "snips and
snails and puppy dogs tails" thing

- is pretty accurate.
- You have a son?

I have four.

Mr. Starret is my oldest grad student.

Can you get a fingerprint?

Not enough flesh.

There are scrapes on the bone

and a jagged appearance here
where it was severed.

Well, it was probably
chewed off by a wild animal.

Sticky stuff on the finger

turns out to be sap from
a flowering Japanese cherry.

I know you from somewhere.

I sold you a vintage '50s
hot rod back in the mid-'90s.

- You were clean shaven back then.
- Because I was a kid.

What? You drove a hot rod, Hodgins?

No, I did not.

The lemon he sold me
broke down after a week.

Body parts in park. Mystery needs solving.

The nest was made
by a Corvus brachyrhynchos,

the American crow.

A crow will seldom stray
more than 12 miles from its nest.

There's a spectacular copse
of Japanese flowering cherry

at the Jefferson Memorial.

- How do you know?
- Career number two, park supervisor.

The Jefferson Memorial's eight miles
from where Parker found the finger.

Good work, guys.

I'd say "king of the lab,"
but that just depresses me.

Don't ask.

- A human finger?
- Yes. A human finger, all right?

Look, is my son gonna be suffering
from some kind of post-traumatic stress?

You know, like suppressed feelings,
memories, all that hooey?

Well, a child's brain can't process
death as an ending.

You know? That's why we tell
children that their deceased loved ones

are looking down on us from heaven.

- Which they are.
- Yeah. It's an excellent coping technique.

You know, Grandma isn't worm food.
She's simply moved on to a better place.

- Which she did.
- Yeah. Parker looks good to me.

So, you talk to him?

"Hi, Parker. I'm Dr. Sweets.

"I'm a psychologist
and I'm here to talk to you

"about the human finger that you found."

- That's great. Could you do that?
- No.

That could introduce issues
that don't currently exist.

Just call me if he displays
any symptoms of distress.

Okay. Any symptoms of distress.

- Like killing cats?
- Yeah. Sure.

When I was five years old,

I went next door
to visit our neighbor, Mrs. Walkey,

and she was dead,
sitting at the kitchen table.

- And I'm all right.
- You spend your life with skeletons.

It's just a matter of time. He's just a kid.

He's gonna realize that he had
a dead finger in his hand.

He's gonna freak out.

You afraid you're gonna
get in trouble with Rebecca?

There's a chance that he
might not say anything to her.

So, yes.

- Agent Booth?
- Yeah?

We found something.

Okay. What do you got? Whoa!

Whoa, it's an opossum.

Eating a body. Should I shoot it?

No, no, no, no.
Opossums are scared of humans.

Here. Shoo, shoo, shoo!
Go, go, go, go! Shoo, shoo.

Come on. Shoo, shoo, shoo, shoo.

Yeah, they're terrified.

A number of body parts are
missing. We'll have to grid the vicinity.

Okay. We'll recalibrate the search
and we'll call this ground zero.

Fanny pack, PD A clip.

Well, if you can identify this person,
I can subpoena the PD A's contents.

Partial skull.

Oh! Look at that. The possum's dead.

I got it. The victim was poisoned.

The possum ate the victim,
got poisoned, and died. That's it.

A stressed-out opossum can go into
a false sleep lasting up to four hours.

Wow. The possum was faking it?

- Uh-huh.
- Wow.

- There it goes.
- You should go get him.

What do I look like? Ranger Rick?

He could have evidence
in his digestive tract.

- Come on, Bones.
- Booth, evidence.

- Fine. I'll go get your possum.
- Opossum.

- Possum.
- Opossum.

The sternal rib end indicates the victim
was between 35 and 40 years old.

Length of the long bone suggests
he was between 5'8"and 5'10".

He?

Bone density and skull indicators
suggest male.

Time of death?
Approximately four days ago.

Lividity indicates that he died
somewhere else and was then dumped.

Deep puncture wounds to the trachea
pierced the jugular.

He bled to death.

I'll make an impression of the wound.
See if we can't specify a murder weapon.

First we look for particulates.

- Bull penis.
- Beg your pardon?

The fanny pack had dandruff-size flakes
of bull penis in it.

Why are you spying on me?

Could it be because I'm the dupe
of an organ of the shadowy forces

that secretly run this country?

You have the "dupe" part right.

Freeze-dried bovine phallus.

You know where to find me
if you wish to discuss anything.

Yeah. The problem isn't finding you.
It's avoiding you.

Okay.

The skull was badly mangled.

So I was only able to construct a partial.

But I cross-checked physiological markers
against the missing persons database,

and it yielded three possibilities.

- Okay. Robert Sanchez, 24.
- Too young.

Michael Minden,
former basketball coach, 39.

Too tall.

That leaves Dr. Seth Elliott,
veterinarian, 37.

Any objections to Dr. Elliott?

He falls into the parameters.

Plus, dog trainers use freeze-dried
bull penises as rewards.

He was a veterinarian.

How do you know about
the bull penis stuff?

He's middle-aged, and he's held
every possible job.

Four boys, seven dogs, 14 guinea pigs,
one reticulated python.

- You get the point.
- I got it.

Oh, God. I always hated that fanny pack.

That's blood on it, isn't it?
What happened?

Mrs. Elliott, when did you last
speak with your husband?

Ex-husband.

On Thursday, we made arrangements
for Seth to pick up Brando.

We have joint custody.

- And Brando is your cat?
- That's a dog, Booth.

Thank you.

So, Seth Elliott never picked up Fido?

- Brando.
- The dog?

- Seth's dead, isn't he?
- I'm afraid so.

Oh...

May I hold your dog while you cry?

He's so compact.

Brando adored Seth.

So did I.

Wow. Not so many ex-wives
speak so fondly of their former husbands.

- I never wanted to divorce Seth.
- Then why did you?

You know, Seth had
a serious gambling problem.

He would either lose our car payment

or he would come home
with diamond earrings.

And when he lost our house,

filing for divorce was supposed to be
a wakeup call.

- And he never woke up.
- No.

Listen. Do you have the bookie's name?

No. Ask Karen.

- Who's Karen?
- Who's Karen?

I've been Dr. Elliott's assistant,

receptionist, whatever,
for like eight months.

Murder?

His remains were found
in the Jefferson Memorial park.

Oh, my God. Poor Seth.

I don't know what will happen
to this place now.

Was it doing well?

We made barely enough to pay the rent,
cover his salary, mine

- and the kid who sweeps up.
- So no, not very well.

Seth didn't tell me everything.

But I could sense
he was under a lot of pressure.

Tossed and turned all night.

- So you slept together?
- He's divorced. I'm single.

There's nothing enervating about it.

For future reference, that word
doesn't mean what you think.

Look, are you aware that Dr. Elliott had
a gambling problem?

That was Seth's one fault.

We'd like to talk to his bookie
if you know where he is.

- I don't think that's how Seth gambled.
- How did he gamble?

- Online poker, mostly.
- Can you think of anything else?

Just after I started here,
Seth caught a guy stealing drugs.

He wrestled him to the ground,
called the cops.

Everyone said Seth was a hero.

- What kind of drugs?
- Ketamine.

It's an animal tranquilizer.
And the guy went to prison.

Do you think he killed Seth for revenge?

You know, thank you for your help.
We're really sorry for your loss.

Come on, Bones.

Without Seth, I'm paralyzed.

I don't know how I'll find the energy
to go on.

Well, now that
is what "enervating" means.

- Bones.
- What?

Okay. Tucker Payne.

He was found guilty of stealing drugs
from Dr. Elliott's vet clinic.

Sentenced to two years,
and he was paroled one month ago.

I'll have the drug thief's parole officer
bring him in for questioning, okay?

- Brennan.
- Dr. Brennan, Hodgins found saliva.

- Where?
- On the victim.

- But why was Hodgins looking for saliva?
- I wasn't looking for saliva, I found it.

Giant difference.

Oh, easy, pal. Watch your tone.

I don't care about tone.
I just care about results.

Dr. Hodgins was looking for particulates
on the mandible and vertebrae

that might lead to a murder weapon
when he found saliva.

There was enough saliva
in the wounds to run a DNA profile.

Well, it had to be the possum, right?

The puncture wounds indicate
something larger.

- Hey, who's that?
- Fraudulent used car salesman.

Booth, meet Mr. Starret.

I ran the standard eight nuclear markers
for canids.

Canids? What is that? Some kind of a bug?

- Not a bug, Agent Booth.
- Canis lupus familiaris.

See how annoying that interrupting,

know-it-all used car salesman thing
can be?

I'm sorry. What is a can-ass, familiar-ass...

Domestic dog.

Seth Elliott was killed by a dog
with filed teeth.

Tucker Felix Payne. You really must
hate your parents for naming you that.

It's a good name. Felix means "lucky."

Assault, possession of various
restricted weapons, various drug offenses.

Doesn't seem so lucky.

You should see the stuff
they didn't get me on.

Was it good luck that you
got taken down by a veterinarian?

I was so high I could've been taken down
by a florist.

Yeah. The vet's dead.

You get paroled.
The vet turns up murdered.

You see where I'm going with this?

Make your dog bark?

You told me to bring Schatzi
so you can hear him bark?

Schatzi?

- It means "treasure" in German.
- Yeah.

I want to hear Schatzi bark.

I can't see its teeth.

Want to show me his teeth?

Why do you file its teeth down to points?

I'm a drug dealer.

You people catch me with a gun,
I go away forever.

- Schatzi your choice of weapon?
- Never had to use him yet.

Were you really gonna shoot my dog?

I got nothing against your dog.
I was gonna shoot you.

See, I'm gonna take your dog.

- Oh, man. You got a warrant for my dog?
- Mmm-hmm.

That's cold.

Per your instructions, I Microsilled
the lethal bite mark. See here?

- An irregularity in the wound track.
- Yes.

- I took an impression of Schatzi's bite.
- Who's Schatzi?

Drug dealer's dog.

- He responds to German commands.
- Very intimidating.

The dog that killed Dr. Elliott has
a pronounced crack in its canine tooth.

And the neighboring bicuspid shows
a slab fracture. Very distinct.

- So Schatzi's not our killer?
- No.

Schatzi is innocent.

- Hey, Hodgins.
- City police found the vet's car.

A forensics crew is going through it now.

Booth wanted me to make sure
they didn't screw things up.

Hey, deal with it.

Well, I hope you find something
because this puppy's innocent.

- Yeah, well we're finding gobs of dry blood.
- It's a vet's vehicle.

- It could be from one of his patients.
- It's not.

Don't listen to him.

You'll end up buying this blood-soaked
heap for three times its value.

I worked as a vet's assistant in college
when I was studying to be an EMT.

We were as careful with blood
as any human doctor.

You ever think this vet
didn't live up to your high standards?

Most likely, the car was used to transport
the victim's body and then dumped.

- That does make more sense.
- I found a...

Excuse me. The crack FBI team

found a prescription bottle
of erythromycin.

That's not an animal drug.

That's a macrolide antibiotic
used for a number of conditions.

Including acne and STDs.

Four boys.

Maybe we got lucky and the bad guy
dropped his prescription.

Bottle reads Donald Timmons.

We should track him down.

Wow. That is an absolutely wonderful idea

that could only have sprung
from the time-tempered mind

of a man with your life's experience
ripping off unsuspecting car enthusiasts.

I feel better. You treat everyone like crap.

Look at that pit, huh?
Muscles like cantaloupes.

Well, is that why we're not getting out?

No, it's the country, Bones.
They got a different way of doing things.

- You're afraid of the dog.
- No, I'm not.

What you do in the country is
you sit in your car and you wait.

It's rural-polite.

- Parker had a nightmare.
- About severed fingers?

No. It was a singing frog.

I don't see the connection.
But then I'm one of those people

who thinks if you dream about a banana,
it's probably just a banana.

He's acting up at school.
He's talking back to his mom.

- He's not flushing the toilet.
- He's a boy.

Okay, yeah. I get it.

You saw a whole lady's corpse when you
were a little girl and you were fine.

Yes.

Although for some reason
that I do not understand,

I kept staging my own death,
pretending that I drowned in the bathtub,

faking electrical shock.
It really freaked my parents out.

And then once
when Russ found me hanging,

he had to go see the school psychologist.

- But otherwise you were fine?
- Yeah.

Yeah. Okay.

Do you dream about bananas a lot?

Why?

Can we get out of the car now?

- Quiet.
- Don Timmons?

Why just wait in the car?
Gladys wouldn't hurt you.

FBI Special Agent Booth.
This here is my associate, Dr. Brennan.

- Do you know Dr. Seth Elliott?
- Sure I do.

Went to high school with him.
He's my vet. Why?

- He was murdered.
- Oh, man.

Hey, Robbie! Hey, Robbie!

- What's up?
- Seth died.

- What? What happened?
- This is the FBI.

They said he got murdered.

This is my boy, Robbie.
He used to work for Seth part-time.

Can you think of a reason why
Dr. Elliott's car would be full of blood?

No.

No, it's not like he ran
an animal ambulance or something.

- You ever ride in his car, Mr. Timmons?
- No, never. Why?

When it's bagged like that,
it means it's evidence, Dad.

- Well, it's not his. It's mine.
- Robbie.

Dad, it's a murder investigation.

They don't care about insurance.
I'm too old to be on my dad's insurance.

He got the prescription under your name?

But that's fraud.

That's working around a system
that doesn't care about people like us.

Listen, I'm the father.
Robbie shouldn't be held responsible.

How about you?
You been in Dr. Elliott's car recently?

Last time was on the weekend.

We did a gelding
over at Danny Oliver's place.

What about Tuesday night?
Where were you?

I was at my tutor's.
I'm trying to get my GED.

Hi.

Robbie's gonna go to medical school
if it kills both of us.

I was kind of thinking I'd be a vet.

Yeah, well, that's a good backup
if you crap out on medical school.

Well, we're gonna need
the tutor's name, address, all that stuff.

It's Andrew Hopp. He'll vouch for Robbie.

Gladys is a very nice animal.

Yeah, Dad really trained him great.

Gladys, come. Sit.

Lay down.

Watch.

Wow. That's impressive.

No sense in owning a dog
if you can't control it.

- Gladys' teeth are not filed.
- What?

Well, Dr. Elliott was killed by a dog
who had sharpened teeth.

Bones, what are you doing?
Enough playing with the dog.

- What?
- Seth was murdered by a dog?

The murderer was a human being.
The murder weapon was a dog.

We're back to this, are we?
You staring at me?

- Well, I have concerns, Dr. Hodgins.
- About me?

Yeah. You seem to have
completely abandoned

your paranoid conspiracy theories.

I'm not a trained psychologist like you.

But that sounds like a good thing.

Dr. Saroyan, I found something important
I need to show you.

Conspiracy was the central idea around
which you organized your sense of self.

Also, I can't help but note that
you're not paying quite so much attention

to your personal appearance.

Less paranoid and less vain.
Again, sounds like a good thing.

These kinds of changes in a man's life
indicate intense distress.

Would you like to discuss this with me?

I'd rather drive a motorcycle
full-speed into a bridge abutment.

Do you...

- Do you often entertain suicidal thoughts?
- No. I'm more homicidal in nature.

I'm pretty sure you're not saying that
in earnest,

but as a way to keep me at arm's length.

I'm here. What's up?

Oh. Do you mind? I've got work to do.

You need to talk
about these things, Dr. Hodgins.

If not with me, then with someone else.

Dr. Saroyan.

- What have you got?
- Oh, uh...

I found some particulates
that the geniuses at FBI forensics missed.

From the victim's car?

Crushed exoskeletons of copepods
and other crustaceans.

Ah.

Yeah, I don't know what it means, either.

- So you called me over here to...
- Make Sweets go away.

Not an appropriate use
of your boss, Dr. Hodgins.

Well, it worked, didn't it?

Well, thanks for coming
into the Jeffersonian, Dr. Hopp.

I'm not a doctor yet.
I'm only a third-year medical student.

- So you tutor Robbie Timmons?
- Yeah, twice a week.

- Here's a complete record of our meetings.
- I'll take that. Thanks.

So, you do a little needlepoint
on the side?

- It's used to practice suturing.
- Yeah. Next year we use actual corpses.

- So, what is Robbie like?
- He's a good kid.

I mean, he's never gonna be
what his dad wants, but he tries hard.

I'm sorry. I have to run. I got a class.

- Did you ever meet Dr. Elliott?
- The vet that Robbie worked for?

The one who got murdered? Yeah, yeah.

I take it you didn't like him, huh?

Well, I was raised
not to speak ill of the dead.

Yeah, well, I was raised
to ask questions like that.

- So I'm afraid I'm gonna have to insist.
- I met him maybe twice.

- And I'm pretty sure he was tweaking.
- What's that?

He's a meth addict.

Look, I'm just not sure Seth Elliott was
the best role model

for Robbie Timmons, that's all.

Well, did Robbie Timmons' father know?

No, way. Old Don's a pretty straight arrow.

Robbie's his main project, so...

- Well, thanks for coming in.
- Hey, thanks for letting me see this place.

It's legendary.

- It's dog fighting.
- I hate this job.

So I'm quitting to go run a gallery
in Dubai.

Just disgusting.

Yeah. We got the subpoena to download
Dr. Elliott's PD A records from the server.

- These were on his PD A?
- Time-stamped the day of his death.

Fighting pit, spectators, a rape stand
used to restrain uncooperative females.

The smaller cages are for bait.

Small animals used
as rewards for the winners.

They teach you that
at anthropology school?

Pitting animals against each other is
a common pastime in evolving cultures

where violence is more commonplace
and animal life has no value.

- To men. No value to men.
- Yes. It's always men.

Here we go again. Okay, you two,

don't get all, you know,
Xena: Princess Warrior on me, okay?

I guess we know now
where Elliott liked to do his gambling.

Wait. Ange, go back.

There. Can you magnify that?

- What, that blob?
- There's something familiar.

- It's Gladys' ball.
- Who's Gladys?

lt'll be enough for me to get a warrant

if the judge had a glass of wine
or two at lunch.

Dubai, people.
I'm gonna go sell Inuit art to gazillionaires.

Hey, Sweets, you got a minute
for me and Parker here?

Wow. There you are.

Actually right here in my office
without an appointment or...

Hi, Parker. I'm Dr. Sweets.

His face doesn't look like a baby's behind.

Look, okay, he's having nightmares.

He's not eating.
He doesn't want to go to school.

And suddenly he's afraid of meteors.

Giant flaming rocks from outer space.
Who wouldn't be afraid?

You know I can still hear you?

Okay, hum. Hum, okay? Got it? Hum?

I know all this is connected
to him finding that finger.

I'm not some radio advice hack who
performs diagnoses over the phone.

This is exactly why I brought him here,
in person.

- Cure him.
- No. It doesn't really work that way.

Therapy with a child is...

I thought I was
gonna run out of breath.

Yeah. I'm gonna run out of breath
when I run upstairs

and get that warrant
from that senile judge.

10, 15 minutes? Is that good enough time?
Okay, see you.

Bye. Have fun.

Are you my babysitter?

Parker, that is exactly what I am.

Judge said no.

- Gladys' ball isn't enough for a warrant.
- Why?

Because over two million of them
were sold last year.

Well, we did our best. Next case.

We need evidence that the Timmons place
is used for dog fighting.

All right, well, I found
crustaceous material in the victim's car.

It's an antifungal treatment
used on Astroturf.

That doesn't link us
with dog fighting, either.

Yeah, it does.

All right, here we go.

Brennan said that this was
the dog fighting ring.

So it's Astroturf.

If this Astroturf cleaning stuff
was delivered to the Timmons place,

- that should get us a warrant.
- You are a genius.

No. You're the genius.

Okay, people. What we're looking for
is evidence of a dog fighting operation.

Mr. Millan, thank you so much for coming.

- I hope I can help.
- I've seen you on TV.

- Thank you.
- No. I only stated a fact.

There's nothing inherently complimentary
about being on television.

She's happy you're here. So am I.

What the hell's going on here?

You know what? Serve him this warrant.
Tell him we're looking for Astroturf.

- So where do we look first?
- Start with the larger outbuildings.

Come on.

You don't hurt the ones you love.

You don't send the ones you love
to their death for entertainment.

You must really hate these guys.

I really do.

What is it?

You said that the dogs
fight to their deaths.

So we should have expected this.

It's a mass grave.

These seem to be all dog bones,

but there's other stuff, too.
Some trash, betting slips.

We'll send it all back to the Jeffersonian.

See if we can trace these betting slips,
find these people and charge them.

Yes. That would make me feel
a bit better if we did that.

Agent Booth. We found something.

Yup. Dog fighting ring.

The Astroturf.

It's just like the pictures
on Elliott's PD A.

- Find any dogs?
- Yes, quite a few, in fact.

Hey, shh.

Hey.

Down.

- How does he do that?
- He's a dog whisperer.

You didn't do anything.

Dog fighting ring.
The remains of a dozen dead dogs.

And you're gonna tell me all that
happened 100 yards from your house

and you had no idea what was going on.

I never go to the barn. I rent it out.

Numbered company. Don't tell me,

they pay cash
and you never met the tenant.

That's right.
As far as I know, they use it for storage.

- How involved was Dr. Elliott?
- I have no idea what you're talking about.

He owe you money?
Or maybe you just wanted a bigger cut?

Let me go. Or get me my lawyer.

Whatever happened, you know what?
Four days ago, you snapped.

You had one of your trained dogs
attack him.

Four days ago?

I'm a driller, Agent Booth.
I dig wells, mostly, some pylon holes.

Four days ago, I was at
an auger seminar in Chicago.

Can you corroborate that?

Airplane tickets, hotel receipts,
about 60 eyewitnesses.

See, I'm kind of the life of the party
at those things,

I know how to organize a good time.

Just like you know how to organize
a dog fighting ring.

I don't know anything about
what goes on down at that barn.

Hey, stop that now.

Could I see your teeth, please?

That's not how you do it.

Down.

Down.

No, it's not a match.

That mold you made
is like Cinderella's slipper.

That story never made sense to me,
but yes.

Hey, stop that now.

It's not as easy as it looks.

Down.

- It's a match.
- Are you positive?

This is the killer dog, yes.

I'm sorry, buddy.

Sorry, dog.

So sorry, buddy.

Should I be looking out
for anything in particular?

Yeah. Flashy crap you can sell
to a gullible kid.

I didn't sell you that car. You bought it.

You saw those horizontal scallops
and you just had to have it.

I suggested that you look under the hood,

but all you did was sit behind the wheel
and make vroom-vroom noises.

I was 20 years old.

All these years later,
you're still blaming me?

You're not 20 anymore, Dr. Hodgins.

- So cut it out.
- You know...

I'm sorry.

I just...

I've just been having
a lot of problems recently and...

I'm sorry to hear that.

My best friend who used to work
here with me,

he got himself into a lot of trouble and...

Well, I really miss the guy.

Dr. Hodgins.

You know Angela?

She and I, we were engaged to be married.

And well, that went south, too.

That's a lot to bear,
especially if you feel responsible.

Yeah, I do.

I do feel responsible.

You shouldn't be talking to me.

Of course not. I'm sorry.

What I mean is I'm not
the right person for you to confide in.

This is my last day here.
I leave for a dig in Arizona tomorrow.

Oh.

There are people around here
who seem to like you very much,

people who are concerned
for your happiness.

- What's this?
- It's a computer chip.

Pet owners have them embedded
in their animals in case of theft or loss.

But you knew that, didn't you?

I got a message that you
have something to tell me about Parker.

Yeah, yeah.

You were right. Parker is traumatized.

It has nothing to do
with the finger in the nest.

Huh?

Um...

- He has a girl problem.
- Girl? He's six.

Mmm-hmm.

A girl. Her name's Stephanie Clyde.

She's somewhat large.

Likes to pick him up and carry him around.

Carry him under her arm?

Like a pet monkey.
He doesn't know what to do.

- He says you told him never to hit girls.
- I told him never to hit anyone.

You know, unless it was for self-defense.

She carries him around?

Like a monkey, at recess.

She thinks he's cute.

What about the finger?

Parker actually wishes that
you'd let him have the finger

so he could show it to Stephanie
and maybe make her barf.

Why doesn't he just run away?

Well, when I suggested that,

he told me very proudly that his father
never ran away from anything.

- Proudly? He said that?
- I think you know what to do.

I mean, we've all had
our Stephanie Clydes, right?

No one's ever carried me around
like a monkey.

- Especially a girl.
- Of course not.

Me neither.

This is exactly where
the microchip would be embedded.

Ten digits.

The FBI can use it
to track down Ripley's owner.

If it's his microchip.

Ripley?

According to the American Veterinary
Identification Device Database,

his owners brought him here.

To be put to sleep.

- It's true. Do you know why?
- Why?

Because they didn't know when they
bought him that he'd get so big.

- You didn't euthanize Ripley.
- Seth couldn't do it.

The dog was completely healthy.

Instead he found Ripley a new home.

- Where?
- That I don't know.

Well, Ripley ended up at a dog fighting
facility run by Don Timmons.

No. Seth devoted his life to saving dogs.

He simply wouldn't do that.

Not on purpose.

Hey, Bones.
Don Timmons' alibi checked out.

He was in Chicago.

What are you doing?

Well, I'm just going through the case
to see if I missed anything.

The dog should be, you know, in the cage.
He killed Seth Elliott.

Well, it's not his fault.
He's actually a very nice dog. Aren't you?

- He reminds me of you.
- Me?

He's got warm and reassuring brown eyes,
and he's capable of great violence.

Hey, great. Thanks a million.

Wait, Booth. Look at this cruelty.

They send dogs in to fight,
to die or be hurt,

and then they stitch them back up
and they send them out to fight again.

You know, we've been assuming that
it's been Seth Elliott doctoring these dogs.

- Well, he was a vet.
- But look, common suture stitch.

See here how it's uneven
in the same way?

- And there's an X at the end?
- So?

It's distinctive.

And I've seen it before.

Common suture, uneven.

X at the end. Same thing.

It's like a fingerprint.

Thread is green nylon.
You better believe we'll match it.

Stitching up wounded animals
isn't a crime.

- What's going on?
- Just everybody shut up and we'll be fine.

- Everyone, this is Ripley.
- He killed Dr. Elliott.

None of us ever saw that dog before.

Well, we can tie Andy here to all of these
wounded animals and to Ripley.

Is that that guy from TV
who talks to dogs?

- Yes.
- You see, we want to know

who sicced Ripley here on Seth Elliott.

We don't need you.
We know you were in Chicago.

Would you mind clapping? Like this?

- No, we won't do that.
- Do it, Robbie.

- What?
- You're not his master. Do it.

It's not him.

- Look at that.
- He's waiting for your command.

Maybe my dog killed Dr. Elliott,

but that doesn't mean I made him do it.

Ripley's a good dog.
He wouldn't attack unless he was ordered.

Tell these people
what you know about Seth Elliott.

Robbie.

I saw it.

Andy told Ripley to attack

because he saw Dr. Elliott
taking pictures of the dog fighting.

I don't know how to do this.

Mostly, you just tell me
what's on your mind.

Mostly on my mind is, I hate everyone.

- Everyone?
- To varying degrees, but yeah.

Yeah, everyone.

Angela the most.

Because we, you know,
had something great,

and now it's dirt.

Hmm.

Zack for being such an idiot.

Brennan for bringing us all together.

Cam for making us efficient.

Booth for giving us a mission.

You for pick, pick, picking at me.

- Should I go on?
- No, no. I get the point.

I just hate everyone. So, what?

Intense therapy? Heavy medication?

No. I'm good with the hate.

- Are you serious?
- Yeah, I am. You're doing fine.

Um...

- I hate everyone.
- You're coping.

It's a coping technique. Coping's good.

Did you get your degree on the Internet?

- Let me see your diploma.
- You're working.

You're living a life of purpose.

You haven't turned your back
on your friends.

Except I hate them all.

You're independently wealthy, right?
You don't have to work.

And yet you choose
to stay with the people you hate.

- Which makes me completely nuts.
- No, you've...

You've replaced one way
of seeing the world, paranoia,

with another, misanthropy.

Soon you'll replace misanthropy
with something nicer.

But for now, temporarily, I'm satisfied
with your coping technique.

My coping technique of hate?

Correct.

So are you like my therapist now, or...

No. We work together.

Great! See you at work.

- Hey.
- Hey.

Robbie Timmons gave a statement.

Andrew Hopp set the dog on Seth Elliott.

Apparently, Elliott was furious
when he found out

that the dog he'd given to Timmons
was used in dog fighting.

Dr. Elliott took all those photos
to turn in to the police.

Andrew Hopp would have
lost his main source of income.

He would've been forced
to leave medical school.

What about the rest of the people
in the dog fighting ring?

Don't worry about it. We'll round them up.

So, what do you got there?

Well, I've decided to adopt Ripley.

- Bones.
- I've already contacted a dog walker

and a doggie daycare place, and my dad
will take him when I leave town.

I got a little tag.

- See? Ripley Brennan.
- He was put down.

- What?
- I'm sorry.

You know, he killed someone
and they had to put him down.

No. It wasn't Ripley's fault.

People made him do what he did!

I know. I'm sorry.

You can tell he's a good-natured dog.

- They put him down?
- Yeah.

Damn it.

Bones, I'm sorry.

What are they gonna do with his remains?

Hey, Booth? Can I do that?

- You sure?
- Yeah.

You dug it.

Yeah.

- So, did Sweets help you with Parker?
- Yeah.

I told Parker that it's best
just to walk away sometimes.

What, sometimes?
Isn't it always better to walk away?

You know, this dog would still be alive
if he wasn't forced to fight.

I told him to walk away if it's for himself

and to stand up and fight
if it's for someone else.

I don't know if that was
the right thing to say, but...

You're a very good father.

So do you want to say something?

Well, I feel that this dog, Ripley,
paid a price that was unfair.

It's not my fault, Bones.
Why are you talking to me?

What? You're the only one here.

Well, talk to the universe or God
or Ripley.

Well, I don't believe in God.

Well, God spelled backwards is dog.

Well, and Ripley is dead.
Plus he's a dog with, you know,

- limited vocabulary skills.
- Bones, just

speak from your heart.

On behalf of humankind, universe,

I'd like to apologize
for what happened to Ripley.

He was born a cute little puppy.

And then the people who adopted him
wanted to kill him

because they were too stupid to realize
that he would grow into a big dog.

That's good.

Ripley was a good dog.

He didn't want to fight,
but he did it to please his master.

You know, he didn't want to
attack a human being,

but he did it to please his master.

You know, it wasn't Ripley's fault
that his master was cruel and selfish.

Like all dogs, Ripley only saw
the good in people.

Dogs are like that.

People should take a lesson.

I hurt too

I hurt too

- Is that enough?
- Yeah.

As much as any good dog, hey,
could hope for.

Even with limited vocabulary skills, okay?

I hurt too

I hurt too

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