Bones (2005–2017): Season 9, Episode 22 - The Nail in the Coffin - full transcript

Previously on «Bones»...

She thinks there's another
serial killer out there.

Because that's what Pelant
told her before he died.

If anything happens to me, uh, she...
she'll keep doing

what she's doing.

And you'll never
find out who she is.

BRENNAN:
I believe Lana Brewster

was the first
Ghost Killer victim.

HODGINS: — Trent McNamara was
a nasty piece of work,

and that's his sister
Stephanie.

We have evidence your father
paid off a medical examiner



to cover up the fact
that Lana was murdered.

You think I killed Lana?
This family's been harassed enough.

I've seen this one before, on
one of the Ghost Killer victims.

I'd like to help, Seeley,
but Dr. Brennan has

no evidence to link these
cases to a serial killer.

These are the files on
all six Ghost Killer victims.

I want you to oversee this one.

Does Dr. Brennan know you're
making me responsible for these?

Why would you give those
remains to Dr. Edison?

SAROYAN: — A single gunshot wound
to the temple.

This sure looks to me
like an admission of guilt.

I read your autopsy
report on Trent McNamara.

Yes, his fingernail
was ripped off.

Lana Brewster sustained
the exact same wound.



What do you think?
I think we're gonna catch her.

Her?

That's what you said — her.

Well, you believe me?

Mm-hmm.

And the forest demon
took the shape

of the last man murdered.

He glided through the
woods on the wind,

looking for new
victims to feed on.

Stop, Dad,
this is stupid.

You're just scared.

Am not.

Think you're going
a little overboard, Mike.

That's what the demon's
last victim said.

She was part of a family
just like us,

sitting around a campfire,
marshmallows on sticks.

We should've stayed in
the regular campground.

It's creepy with
no one else around.

I like it, Dad.

Go on.
It was quiet that night.

The family suspected nothing.

Till the leaves
started rustling. (rustling)

It's just the wind, Allison.
Still oozing

with blood from
his last victim,

he catches the scent of
the innocent family.

Okay, that's enough.
Stop it, Mike.

Now.
It's just a stupid ghost story.

It's okay, buddy.
We're here to have fun.

Let's just roast
our marshmallows,

and sing a few songs
before we turn in.

Thank God.
(branches cracking)

What was that?

DAD:
Nothing, honey.

Probably just a... a bunny
or a chipmunk or something.

(thud)
(girl screams)

I swear to God, Michael,

this is the cruelest thing
you've ever done.

(laughing):
You're the best, Dad.

I-I-I...

(screaming)

(shrieking)

Awesome!

(screams)

(scream echoing away)

BOOTH:
Hey. Oh,

is that my Bureau assessment
you're filling out?

Yes. They wanted me to,
because we're partners.

Oh.

But you're not
allowed to look at it.

It's confidential.
What are all those, uh,

papers there?
This is my

answer to question 3a.

3a? They only have
three little lines for that.

It says use additional
paper, if necessary.

You must have at least 15
pieces of paper...

Eighteen.

18. On comportment?
Well, okay, don't look.

You know this promotion
affects you, too.

I was told to be objective
and dispassionate.

That sounds terrible.

(phone ringing) I think your comportment
is excellent, by the way.

Thank you.
For the most part.

(ringing continues)
Right. Ah.

Booth.

Hey, Camille.

Don't-Don't call me Seeley.

Right. Okay.

On our way.

Oh.

I really don't think
that's a good idea.

Look, I'm just saying...

Okay, it's your call.

Got it. Bye.

What was that?

It's a body in the woods.
Oh.

Okay, I'll get ready.

Cam just wants me to go.

What? I always go with you
to a murder scene.

We're partners.
She's bringing Clark out on this one.

Clark? I'm the head of forensic
anthropology. What is going on?

Well, she thinks that this has
something to do with the Ghost Killer.

And since, you know,
Clark is heading this up...

She thinks I'm incapable
of being objective about

the Ghost Killer,
which is absurd.

I'm being dispassionate
about you; I'm coming.

Technically,

you know, she has
the jurisdiction to decide

which tech goes.
Technically?

I laid all the groundwork
for the Ghost Killer case.

I know, but you know...
you know how you and Cam

got into it, last time,
on this one.

What about you? Do you think
that I'm the best person

to investigate this case?
Of course I do.

It's not my call, okay?
Don't shoot the messenger here.

You just... Just take the
high road on this, all right?

Just show Cam that
you're a team player.

(siren wailing over
indistinct radio communication)

You know Bones
is pissed, don't you?

Hey, look, I'm just
doing my job.

Just tell Dr. Brennan
it wasn't my fault.

Good luck with that.
SAROYAN: — Sorry, Seeley.

I'm not gonna have her veer

an investigation off track
because she wants this

to be the Ghost Killer.
BOOTH: — Well, you must have

suspected something or you
wouldn't have excluded her.

I do, but it's not
conclusive yet.

The victim appears
to have been stabbed.

Whoa! And the head
was chopped off.

Actually, no.
The victim was strung up

after she was
already dead.

Oh, wow.

Yeah. The body separated
from the head during decomp.

It fell on a family
that was camping.

I have a feeling
they're gonna be staying

in hotels from now on.
Right, so...

it was killed, then hung.

All right? There's no attempt
to hide the body.

The lack of a prominent glabella

indicates the victim was female.
Okay, well,

the body is very gooey, here.

Any, uh... you got
time of death, bug boy?

Predation, blow flies and rove beetles
put time of death

between eight and ten days.

So far, I hear nothing
that connects this

to the Ghost Killer.

Well, I need to compare this

to the other potential victims.

That's gonna take time, Agent Booth.
I don't have time.

And I can't start a serial
killer investigation

unless we're certain.
Oh, God.

Why didn't I just wait
for the pictures?

BOOTH: — You know what?
I know I'm supposed to be

a good soldier here,
and I'm trying real hard,

but we all know that
Bones should be here.

Which is why I am, Booth.
Yes.

Dr. Brennan, I specifically
told you to wait until called.

You are not to touch the rema...
The third finger

on the right hand has
an avulsion fracture

on the superior aspect

of the distal phalanx.
The fingernail

has been ripped off, just like
every other Ghost Killer victim.

Did you not see this?

Yes, I did.

And you can check my notes.

Now can I please
get back to work?

CAROLINE:
Fighting among the squints

can compromise the case.

You don't want this going on
the report when the muckymucks

are deciding who to promote.
BOOTH: — You know what?

I don't care
about the muckymucks.

Bones should have been here
from the beginning.

Seeley...
This evidence should have been linked

to the Ghost Killer immediately.
EDISON: — I did.

I also noted the other fingers.
Unless you're

too arrogant to
look at my findings.

BOOTH: — Oh!
Uh-oh.

All of them
have avulsion fractures.

EDISON: — Yes, all the nails
were ripped out.

The Ghost Killer's
never done that before.

Those fractures are old.

Just check the remodeling.

BRENNAN:
With traces of

what seems to be an adhesive.

Well, that might explain these.
What are those?

Well, maybe the victim

couldn't grow her own nails,
so she wore artificial ones.

These aren't artificial.

These nails are real.

BOOTH:
Real?

Who glues on real nails
to themselves?

— ♪ — Bones 9x22 — ♪ —
The Nail in the Coffin
—=«O»=—
Original Air Date on April 21, 2014

— ♪ — Main Title Theme — ♪ —
The Crystal Method

— ♪ —

MONTENEGRO: — So we're
finally calling it.

The Ghost Killer exists.

Every victim
has had the fingernail

of the third distal
phalanx torn off.

That signature suggests
the work of the same killer.

EDISON:
The X-rays show

multiple sharp force
trauma injuries.

SAROYAN: — There are
also indications

of blunt force trauma
on what little tissue is left.

This is a far more
violent murder

than the others.
Until the bones are clean,

we can't determine
which are post–

and which are perimortem.

So you two are
cool with each other?

Oh. Dr. Edison's

work has been excellent.

And I imagine
he is relieved

to be working with me.

As soon as

Dr. Saroyan apologizes

for excluding me...
Which you ignored.

And which I would
ignore again.

Oh, boy... I poked
a hornet's nest, didn't I?

Am I the only professional here?

Well, this bladder
seems to be intact,

which means I'll be able
to run a tox screen.

Has Dr. Hodgins returned
from the crime scene?

I need these
wounds swabbed.

He's still there,
looking for

fingernails and any
other particulates

that'll tell us who this victim is.
EDISON: — The skull is intact.

So how long do you think
it'll take you to get an I.D.?

As soon as Brennan gives it
to me, I can...

I don't think

that'll be necessary.
Can you bring up

Trent McNamara's
skull X-rays?

The last victim?
SAROYAN: — Technically, not a victim.

His death was ruled a suicide.

You may want
to re-evaluate

that ruling.

Notice the forward prominence

of the lower mandible.

This is a rare
genetic marker

known as prognathism.

Now, bring up this victim.

Mm-hmm.

Same prognathism...
I mean, albeit mild.

You think this victim
is a McNamara?

Statistically,

that's a reasonable conclusion,

and since there was only one
surviving member of the family,

this must be Trent's sister,
Stephanie.

SAROYAN:
Excellent.

But why would
the Ghost Killer

target the McNamaras?

In most of the previous cases,
the remains were hidden.

Or the killings
were made to look

like an accident.

Hanging the victim
from the tree was brazen.

It was theatrical, even.

The Ghost Killer
is upping his game.

He's thumbing his nose at us.
Her.

Bones thinks that
the killer is a woman.

She's never been wrong.
CAROLINE: — Good enough for me, cher.

But why two McNamaras?

There's never been
a connection

between the victims before.

SWEETS:
That we know of.

The connections
could all just

be in his — or her — mind.

Serial killers
often develop

elaborate rationalizations

to justify their actions.

Hence the creepy fingernails.

They put me off manicures,
I can tell you that.

You know, what ties
her actions together

could be impossible
for us to know

until we talk to her.
Or maybe the killer just thought

that Stephanie McNamara

was investigating
her brother's death

and killed her because
she was getting too close.

Incoming.

BOOTH:
The Deputy Director?

He never comes down here.

You want a breath mint?

Breath mint? No.

Mm.

Agent Booth.
Yes.

Ms. Julian.

Uh, Dr. Sweets.

I'm a profiler.

Of course. Dr. Sweets.

Just wanted to tell you
we understand

the importance
of this case.

We'll offer you

any support you need.

Because the McNamaras
are involved, right?

I'm sure Agent
Booth merely meant

that since Stephanie
McNamara was...

I know what Agent Booth meant.
And I appreciate his honesty.

That's why you're on our short
list for the...

BOOTH: — I'm not in it

for a promotion, sir, I just
want to catch the murderer.

Of course.

And you're right about
the McNamaras.

They were a very
powerful family.

Wealth has its privileges.

Yes, it does,
Ms. Julian.

And there are people
more powerful than I

that want this resolved.
Quickly.

It'll take
as long as it takes, sir.

I want to give Ms. Julian
a case that sticks.

I would expect nothing less.

Glad you're running point
on this one, Booth.

Thank you, sir.

Hey. It took a while,

but I retrieved the other nails
from the crime scene.

At least pieces of all of them.
Great.

I'll check for DNA under them,

in case the victim
scratched her assailant.

And I'll look at the rope
used for the noose.

Some of the killer
might be on that, too.

Dr. Hodgins?

Yeah.
I'm sorry,

by the way.
I know you knew the family.

Oh, yeah.

The truth is, the family
was always strange, you know?

Like they were living under a cloud.
A very wealthy cloud.

Yeah, tons of money,

and all that's left is murder,
sadness and secrets.

I'm telling you, I'm doing
a hell of a lot better broke.

(computer beeping, trilling)

Well, got the blood results.

Wait a minute — she tested
positive for alkaloid cytosine?

SAROYAN: — Which is what?
It's also known as sophorine.

It's part
of the Fabaceae family,

like peas, beans, legumes.

Hey, if sophorine is mixed
with dimethyl sulfoxide,

it becomes an anesthetic.

So, she was drugged?

It's probably how
she was abducted.

Is there any way to trace

where the killer got
the anesthetic from?

No.

It has to be homemade.

Homemade and,
therefore, untraceable.

There's a reason
why we call the killer a ghost.

BOOTH:
So, the gardener at

the McNamaras' compound
was the last person

to report seeing
Stephanie McNamara alive.

You think she could have
made that anesthetic?

I imagine she'd need
a science background.

Well, she dropped out of high school
to work for the McNamaras.

You know, I wrote seven pages
on your problem-solving skills.

Wow. Seven.
Which I said were excellent.

Thanks, Bones.
Although, I admitted

to being skeptical
about your reliance on your gut.

But I explained it...
Huh?

...by referencing
studies showing that

gut instincts are merely
highly-developed

observational powers.

So it's probably your eyes
more than your gut.

You know, you're
amazing, you know that?

Yes.

However, I'm not sure
what exemplary quality

you're referencing–
my intellect, or...

Your support.

Your... Thanks.

Thanks.

How could I not support you?

You believed in me, even when
there's no tangible evidence

the Ghost Killer existed.

I guess it was my gut.

WOMAN: — The tack room was
the last place I saw her.

It was Sunday.

Stephanie left at 10:00 a.m.
for her morning ride,

and she never came back
to the house.

Why didn't you
report her missing?

I'm just an employee
of the McNamaras.

I don't know her schedule.

Sometimes she'd be gone
for weeks on a trip.

You just, uh, tend the garden.

That's right.

Do you have any plants
in the Fabaceae family here?

Yes. Peas and beans. Why?

Well, she likes to garden, too.

Look at this, Booth.

BOOTH:
What's that?

Scratch marks.

Stephanie?

I don't think so.

This dried blood
is highly oxidized.

This happened a long time ago.

BOOTH:
What's that?

Fragment of a fingernail.

BOOTH:
A fingernail.

Okay, looks like
somebody was trying

to claw their
way out of this.

Do you know anything
about this?

No.

Hold up a second.

These markings look recent.

Someone kicked out,
was trying to get away.

This is probably where
Stephanie McNamara was abducted.

I've finished cataloguing
Stephanie's perimortem injuries.

In total, 16 sharp force
trauma injuries,

most of which were concentrated
on the torso and neck.

Based on the striae, the weapon
had an irregular serrated blade.

Any idea what was
used in the assault?

Not yet. I'm having Dr. Hodgins
swab the wounds for trace.

If there are plant particulates,

it could help point
to the McNamara's gardener.

So far, we've found
nothing that ties her

to the abduction or the
preparation of the anesthetic.

No.

Dr. Brennan...

I just have to say
how much I appreciate

how accepting you've been

about me working
with you on this case.

Yes.

That is rare for me,
isn't it?

(laughs)
Yes, it is.

And I know Pelant told you
you would never be able

to catch this Ghost Killer
without his expertise.

I'm determined
to prove him wrong.

I appreciate that, Clark.

And the nails?

Oh! Well, that's actually
the most interesting finding.

Oh. Next time, please lead with
the most interesting finding.

Well, I guess I like the build.

I'm more of a crescendo
kind of guy.

Now...

Notice the nail beds?

They're torn and remodeled.
Any new nails

Stephanie grew would have
been irregular at best,

if not totally deformed.
And look at the remodeling.

BRENNAN: — These nails
were torn away

at least 15 years ago.
Bent back and torn out.

From clawing at something.

Stephanie might have
been the one who was

locked in that stable.

It was her.

The nail fragment you found

in the wood of the stable door
matches Stephanie

McNamara's DNA.
What about

the other nails
Dr. Hodgins found?

None of the DNA
matches Stephanie.

I'm going through
the nails now,

to see if I can find any matches.
So, the Ghost Killer might

have glued the nails from her
other victims onto Stephanie.

But why?

The SEC?

Yeah. The McNamaras
had billions.

I want to know who benefits
from Stephanie's murder.

The Ghost Killer doesn't
care about money, Booth.

She's fulfilling
an emotional need,

not a financial one.

What if the gardener killed her?
Wouldn't that give you both?

None of the other victims
fit the money profile.

Lana Brewster,
Chloe Campbell–

neither one was rich.
I don't care, okay?

When it comes to fortunes
like the McNamaras', okay,

murders like this–
it's always about the money.

WOMAN: — I'm still not
entirely clear on

how the SEC can assist with

a murder investigation,
Agent Booth.

Oh, the McNamaras–
they have been investigated

by you in the past.

Eight times to be exact.

Eight.
Those cases are sealed.

As are the
settlements we reached.

I know there's always a turf war

between agencies.
Just remember,

we're gonna win this one.
So why don't you be

a good girl and help?
I can tell you that the

formal investigations launched

over the last 18 years
have included allegations

of insider trading,
accounting fraud,

market manipulation
and disclosure violations.

CAROLINE:
One of those cases involved

$132 million in tax violations
and missing funds.

But you didn't recommend
prison time.

As a prosecutor, that makes me
want to slap someone silly.

The responsible entity
received a cease-and-desist

and paid a fine.

BOOTH:
Wait a second. Entity.

Okay, Giles McNamara is an entity now?
We try to avoid prosecutions.

They're time-consuming
and difficult to prove.

Well, it didn't
take us long to prove

that McNamara used one
of his shell companies

to pay off a medical examiner

in the tune of, what,
two million dollars?

In the Madoff case,
we were looking

at missing funds in
excess of $65 billion,

so excuse me if two million
didn't raise a red flag.

CAROLINE: — We're going to need
access to the McNamara

financials
over the past 18 years.

Corporate filings,
disclosure documents,

regulatory examination
reports, penalties...

That is all confidential,
proprietary information.

I would like to help, but...
All right, you know what?

You really don't want to
push me right now, Ms. Kent,

'cause I will
get Ms. Julian here

to get the DOJ to issue
a warrant to put you

in jail for impeding
a murder investigation.

See how easy that was, cherie?

Hey.
Hey.

Booth and Caroline
forced the SEC

to send over their
investigations

of McNamara and his
holding companies,

his offshore entities, the works.
That's great.

Well, there's three
hard drives worth.

There's over a million and a
half pages covering 18 years.

It just feels like we're
being buried in paperwork.

So show 'em you can't be buried.

Hey, I may have found a link
to the gardener for Booth.

So, look at this.

I found phosphorous, nitrates,

chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium,
Flumetralin,

as well as organochlorides.

Oh, I know that one!

It's a pesticide.

I use it for our vegetables.
Yeah.

That's right. Well, Stephanie
actually had it on her clothes,

so, it's enough for a search
warrant to match the chemicals

that the gardener uses as well
as any potential weapons

that Steph was stabbed with.

Well, but couldn't Stephanie
just have had that stuff

on her clothes just by
being on the estate?

Yes.. Yes, but the Flumetralin
and the pesticide

was inside the stab wounds
that I swabbed.

They were on the murder weapon.

It's always the help, right?

The butler did it?

We found trace
of the Flumetralin you use

within Stephanie's injuries.

«Flumetramin». Right.
What?

Right. Translation is,
you stabbed her

with your gardening tool.
BRENNAN: — My colleagues at

the Jeffersonian are
testing your tools now.

Can you turn your head
to the side, please?

What? No.

Okay.

I didn't kill Stephanie.

I grew up on the estate.

Stephanie and I played
together as kids.

What is she doing?

I don't know, but, uh,

you know,
if you have nothing to hide,

why would you be nervous?
Why would I kill her?

The McNamaras were good to me.

Even if the estate sold,

I still have a pension
and severance package.

Maybe you felt you
deserved more.

May I feel
your mandible?

It'll just
take a second.

Do I have to?

I would.

Fine.

Hmm.

You felt you deserved more

because
you're Stephanie's sister.

What?

What?
Half-sister probably,

but she has the same
slight prognathism

as Stephanie, although

hers was more prominent.

She's a McNamara?

Yes. I am sure
that a DNA test will prove

that Giles McNamara
was her father.

What? You're wrong and crazy.

I assure you I am neither.
I wouldn't call her wrong and crazy.

And it was common knowledge

that Giles McNamara
wasn't a faithful husband.

And your mother
worked on the estate.

Why don't you
do the math?

BRENNAN: — As the last
McNamara left alive,

even as an illegitimate one,

you stand to inherit
a significant amount of money.

Billions of
dollars, Bones.

Billions of reasons why you
would want to kill Stephanie.

I ran the DNA
on each individual nail

that was glued on Stephanie.
Mm-hmm.

You were right.

They match all the other victims
you identified.

Chloe Campbell,
Lana Brewster, Carla Hopkins,

Timothy Monroe, Michael Windsor,
Heather Mendez,

Alex Webber and Trent McNamara.
And since Stephanie

was wearing Trent's nail,
I can confirm that Trent is

one of the victims of the Ghost Killer.
And the gardener

would have had contact
with Lana Brewster,

Trent and Stephanie.

We should have her check the
other victims to determine...

Angela already has.

Hey, so, these
are the locations

where each of the Ghost Killer
victims were murdered.

Once Cam got me the names,
I was able to create

a timeline of who was killed
where and when.

The McNamara family

expense accounts and
travel records

were on the hard drives
the SEC sent over.

I was able
to place Stephanie

at each of the murder sites.
BRENNAN: — Stephanie?

MONTENEGRO:
Yeah.

Heather Mendez, California,
November 2004.

Stephanie was
in Los Angeles

hosting a McNamara Foundation

charity event.

SAROYAN: — Timothy Monroe,
Texas, May 2012.

MONTENEGRO: — Stephanie was in town
for the wedding

of her college roommate.

So Stephanie put
those nails on herself.

Stephanie McNamara

was the Ghost Killer.

HODGES:
But who killed Stephanie?

The McNamaras are American
royalty, for God's sake.

I mean, so what the hell
prompts a princess

to go on a killing spree?
Her father's megalomania,

for one thing.
Giles McNamara had

a pathological need
to dominate and control

every aspect of his life,
including his family.

We found DNA

and blood evidence
that indicates

that Stephanie McNamara
was abused as a girl.

BOOTH: — When we pressed the
gardener, she admitted

that McNamara used to lock
his daughter in the tack room

if she did anything wrong.
And Stephanie

tried to claw her way out.
CAROLINE: — Poor child

tore her nails up so badly

that eventually she had
none left, to speak of.

Which is why she took
the fingernails from her victims.

SWEETS: — Symbolically,
she was replacing

something that she felt
her father had stolen from her.

But you still have one nail
you haven't I.D.'d.

We're working on it now.
Yes, and we have

to assume it's another victim
we don't know about.

(sighs): — My God.
And through all of this,

no one at the McNamara estate
ever called in the abuse

to the authorities?

CAROLINE: — The gardener was
around Stephanie's age.

She probably thought if she
said anything, she'd be next.

So far this half sister's
our best suspect, though?

Yes, sir.

The whole damn country believes

the government lets people

like the McNamaras
get away with murder,

and for the past
18 years, we have.

I want this put to bed, Booth.

I want convictions.

No loose ends.

Yes, sir.

So, I was compiling the results
from the pollen and particulates

I found on Stephanie...

To match them to what's grown
on the McNamara estate.

Yeah, but in the stab wound,
I found traces of Nicotiana tobacum.

Tobacco? Wait a minute,
wasn't Stephanie a smoker?

Well, she was,
but there was no other tobacco

or traces of cigarettes
found on her.

So why is there tobacco
residue on the murder weapon?

I don't know, I don't know.
I'm gonna run everything

through the mass spec again,
see if I missed something.

SAROYAN:
The last fingernail

gave me a DNA match
on the unknown victim–

Maya Zinkow.

15 years old. Died 20 years ago.
Well, that's by far

the youngest victim.
HODGINS: — Wait a minute.

Maya Zinkow?
Well, she lived in the same town

that Stephanie and I grew up in.

I mean, they were classmates.

Apparently, the murderer was
found and convicted.

Well, yeah. He was a teacher
at the school; I remember this.

I mean, everyone said
he was the nicest guy.

Well, he might have been.
Dr. Brennan's

having Maya's exhumed so she can
link Stephanie to the murder.

You mean she started
killing at 15?

I guess she was a prodigy.

BOOTH: — Dr. Herman Kessler–
served 20 years

for killing that girl.

He was her biology teacher.
No prior record.

He was accused of rape, too.
No, that wasn't proven.

BRENNAN: — It only took the jury
four hours to find him guilty.

No juror wants to be responsible
for letting a monster go free.

Kessler was released
six months ago.

SAROYAN: — It sounds like he
had good reason

to want revenge
against the person that actually

committed the crime.

BOOTH: — So he killed
Stephanie McNamara

to set the
record straight.

But how did Kessler
know that Stephanie

killed this girl?
We just found out ourselves.

SAROYAN: — Well, it looks like
the casket's made of wood.

Depending on how it's sealed,
we may have

a viable set of remains
that could give us answers.

MAN: — Pull that bolt
out of there.

MAN 2:
Hang on, there's one more.

All right.

BRENNAN: — Mummified,
so she wasn't embalmed.

SAROYAN:
I might be able to get

tox results from the tissue.
These injuries

seem to be stab wounds–
violent,

like the wounds on Stephanie.
Bones, are you satisfied

that this is, uh, Maya Zinkow?

There's an excellent chance.

All right, let's
get her back to the lab, ASAP.

Um, is Caroline having

the medical examiner's
report sent over?

It's gonna be at your office
when you get back.

I'm gonna get Sweets;
we'll try and locate Kessler.

BRENNAN:
The M.E. report indicates

that the victim was placed
inside the casket

at the coroner's office and then
taken straight to the cemetery.

Explains why
she wasn't embalmed.

But it raises more questions
than it answers.

Standard procedure
is to release the remains

to the family and have them
go through a funeral home.

None of the stab wounds
have been catalogued.

Just the injuries
to the C3 and the clavicle.

EDISON: — Well, even cursory looks
indicate that there's

12, 13, 14 wounds
to the ribs, sternum...

As well as the avulsion fracture
where her fingernail

was ripped off.
These look like

almost the same injuries
we found on Stephanie McNamara.

This report is as incompetent
as any I've seen.

Who would sign off
on a job like...

Oh, God.

What?

'Cause that sounded
like a bad «Oh, God.»

The M.E. who signed off
on Maya's autopsy,

it's the same one who worked
on Lana Brewster's body.

The one Giles McNamara paid off.

Could he have known that
his daughter was killing

all these people and not done
anything about it?

Oh, God.

BRENNAN: — How did Kessler get
this information?

Like I said, I haven't seen
Kessler in awhile.

What's «awhile»?

Four or five days.
Could be longer.

Kessler, he's a quiet one.

Isn't that what they always say
about psycho killers,

«He was a real quiet one»?

Nobody said anything
about a killer, sir.

I read the papers.

So what are we looking at here?

It's gruesome, right?
Like, Dahmer gruesome?

Just open the door.

Give me one detail.
Something juicy.

Now, look, you're familiar
with the term

«obstruction of justice»?

Feds, you're always such
hard-asses.

Okay, take care.

Hmm.

File boxes
and nothing else.

No personal effects.

He really did not care

about building
a life after prison.

Look at this, huh?

Information
about McNamara.

Hmm... It's like he made a hobby
collecting stuff about him.

I'd say...

it's safe to call it
an obsession.

Obsession? I bet
all these boxes are full

of stuff about McNamara.

Look at this.

What do those
blueprints say?

The McNamaras' estate.

Oh, my G...
So Kessler used that

to plan Stephanie's
abduction.

What about
that other set?

This is from another house.

Kessler's going after
someone else.

So, Angela's looking through
the Hall of Records

for a house that matches
the second set of blueprints.

Yeah, we now know that most
of this was obtained

while he was in prison.

He planned on
filing an appeal,

so that gave him access
to everything

even remotely related
to the case.

He never filed for an appeal.

Yeah, that's 'cause it was
never about exoneration.

It was always about revenge.
You're saying

that he knew the McNamaras were
involved this whole time?

It's the only thing
that makes sense.

Kessler knew that he couldn't
fight someone as powerful

as them in court.

So the man
spent 20 years in prison

finding a way
to even the score.

SWEETS: — In his mind,
it was the only way

he could get justice–
but here's our biggest find.

Those are the crime scene
photos of Maya Zinkow.

Wait a second.
I thought these never existed.

CAROLINE: — According to
the local police

and the FBI,
they don't exist.

Something about the original
negatives being «damaged».

I can only assume
someone was trying to bury them

for McNamara.

McNamara must have someone
working on the inside.

SWEETS: — But how did
Kessler get them?

You devote every waking hour
for 20 years,

you uncover a lot.

Yeah, well, I want to know
who hid all this stuff.

BRENNAN: — The bone defects
on the distal ends

of the right radius
and ulna suggest

the implement entered with
a left-to-right trajectory.

I'm noticing the same thing

on the anterior surface
of the manubrium.

The directionality
on the report showed

a right-to-left trajectory.

We could go through
this all day.

The M.E.'s report
is a complete fiction.

It was clearly written
to set up Kessler.

Yes, but what's most interesting
is what's left out.

Stephanie McNamara's wounds
mirror almost exactly

the wounds suffered
by Maya Zinkow.

And as far as we know,
Kessler's the only one

that had access to these photos.

Which leaves little doubt

that Kessler killed
Stephanie McNamara.

There was a rape charge in here.

Yeah, the charge was dropped.

Because they didn't want
the body to be examined.

The flesh is desiccated,
but I found some evidence

of damage to the cervix,

and microscopic sections show

associated tissue disruption
and hemorrhaging

which is consistent
with having been raped.

There was no rape kit
in evidence.

And how would Stephanie
be involved?

I mean, she certainly
didn't rape Maya

before killing her.

Well, it appears
that someone did.

You're going to retrieve
a sample from the victim?

It's been 20 years.

Seminal DNA yielding
a complete pattern

after 20 years of decomp
is a long shot,

but it's not impossible.

And we don't have
any other options.

Hey, Cam,

I think I found something

that you might want to see.

I'd been searching
the Hall of Records

and Building
and Safety for DC

and Maryland,
Virginia, and Delaware,

and I finally found
a match

for the blueprints
Booth sent over.

SAROYAN: — 515 North Alfred
Street, Arlington, Virginia.

Who lives there?

MONTENEGRO:
Congressman Steven Palter.

SAROYAN:
Why would Kessler be going

after a congressman?

BOOTH: — Turns out
that Congressman Palter

used to be Judge Palter.

He presided over
the Maya Zinkow case.

Two years later, the McNamaras
helped fund congressional campaign.

Uh–huh — through
shell companies.

Of course it was
through shell companies.

Cam got a viable semen sample
from Maya Zinkow's remains

and she got a DNA match.

Well, I'm guessing
it's not Kessler.

No, it was Giles McNamara.

Stephanie's father raped
Maya Zinkow?

Wait — why would Stephanie
want to kill Maya?

It's sick, but the victimology

makes perfect sense.
Stephanie had

an abusive relationship
with her father, right? — Right.

She would do anything
to gain his attention.

So... she was jealous
that he raped someone?

Right. To her, someone else was
getting her father's attention.

It could've easily triggered
a psychotic break,

leading to the first murder.
Right, and McNamara

paid off the M.E. and the judge
to make all this go away.

Yeah, except he didn't care
about protecting Stephanie,

only himself.

No wonder
Kessler wants revenge.

Congressman, uh,
Palter is next in line.

Tell Stark, will you?
Okay.

(siren wailing) BOOTH: — Geez!
There's no answer at Palter's.

I hope he's out playing poker
or something.

How did the Deputy Director
react when you told him

that there might be someone
at the FBI

who protected McNamara?
Well, he wasn't surprised,

which was surprising.

But he gave me a blank check.
Told me to find out

who was behind it.
Whoever it is

let nine people die.

(tires screeching)

BOOTH:
Looks like a struggle.

Locked.

Booth?
Yeah.

All right, stand back, will you?

(gunshot)

HODGINS: — So any particulates
from the weapon

will be on the shirt
as well as on the wounds.

EDISON: — The left external
carotid was severed.

Yeah, after he was stabbed
in the chest and spine.

Well, Kessler clearly wanted him
to suffer.

BRENNAN: — There are
clean incisions

in the third costal cartilage
as well as the clavicle.

And C3.

SAROYAN: — One long slash
from the neck,

across the chest
to the abdomen.

BRENNAN: — I see a total
of 16 wounds.

It's the same number we saw
on Maya Zinkow and Stephanie.

More vengeance
from Kessler.

EDISON: — This wound track is
deeper and more definitive

than anything we ever
saw on Stephanie.

Dr. Hodgins,
can you swab the wound?

Then Clark can make a mold.

I'm not done examining the...
We don't have the time.

Finally getting a weapon I.D.
could lead us to Kessler.

Okay, I'll cut away
the tissue.

STARK: — You were supposed
to handle this, Booth.

Now I got a dead congressman
on my hands.

Look, I'm willing to take
full responsibility, sir,

but I'm more concerned
about who's next.

Next?

You got to be kidding me.
If Kessler

sees this as a conspiracy...
Which it is.

You don't know that, Ms. Julian.
McNamara gets away

with paying off a judge
and a medical examiner

to protect his daughter,

frames Kessler
for murder,

he escapes prosecution
by the SEC,

somehow he gets the FBI

to lose vital pieces
of evidence.

Do I have to go on, sir?
Because I think I'm on a roll.

You really think this Kessler
guy is gonna kill again?

We have to assume that, sir.

I've been through almost
1,000 pages Kessler compiled

on the murder case,
as well as McNamara's

business dealings, all right?
Kessler suffers

from post-traumatic embitterment
disorder, dysthymia,

as well as a comorbidity...
Okay, okay,

the guy's a sick bastard–
I get it.

Who's next on his list?

No idea, sir.
We're trying to find him.

And?
Well...

he's too smart to run, so he's
got to be hiding someplace.

I'm guessing you have no idea
where that is.

No. Which is why we should
get back to work.

Then go. Get the hell out
of here before Congress hangs me

from the Capitol Building.

You wanted to see me, Dr. Hodgins?
Yeah, more tobacco, Dr. B.

It was in the wound

and on his shirt
where it was cut by the weapon.

Was he a smoker like Stephanie?
No, as a matter of fact,

his last piece of legislation
was an increase

in the tobacco tax.

So the tobacco was transferred
from the murder weapon.

No other explanation.

I'm also seeing methoxychlor.
It's a pesticide.

Something the gardener used?
No, methoxychlor was banned.

It hasn't been used in decades,
so... Hey, any luck

with the murder weapon?
The mold gave us kerf marks

on the blade — they're
bent and irregular.

The weapon seems
to be quite old.

Well, that would explain
the pesticide.

All right, I got to get back
to work — I'm also seeing

some fibers embedded
in the wound that might help us.

I'm doing MRI scans
on both sets of remains.

We don't have time to clean
the congressman's bones,

but this should give us
a clear view of the damage done

to both victims.

Kessler had more
information than the FBI.

All right, look,
McNamara might be dead

but whoever protected him
could still be alive.

Unless that's who Kessler's
going after next.

I want to know who McNamara bought.
From all the information

Kessler got, he knows.
Look, Stephanie

and Palter were killed within
ten miles of each other,

so he should be close.
I agree.

He's revisiting the scene
of the crime, reliving it.

Rewriting it, actually, so it comes out
the way he feels it should.

So you're saying
that he's home.

Psychologically, yeah.

These «V» nicks on Stephanie's
third and fourth ribs,

if we measure
the intercostal space,

the distance between the ribs...

It'll give us the width
of the blade.

(beep)
4.19 centimeters.

Now the striation on
the right anterolateral surface

of the body,
on the sixth thoracic vertebra.

So the length of the blade
would have been

20 centimeters.

Please rotate
Stephanie's torso.

The scrape
on the posterior aspect

of the fourth sternal rib seems
to have been caused by trying

to extract something
with a hooked end.

As if caught and then
someone turned it.

SAROYAN:
I see where you're going.

The width of that scrape

could give us
the size of the hook.

BRENNAN: — Can you see
if the same kind

of hooked blade was used
on the congressman?

Yeah, give me a second.

BRENNAN:
They're an exact match.

He used the same blade
on both of them.

Asbestos.
The fibers were asbestos.

Tell us why you're happy.

Oh, I understand.

I am also happy.

Okay. now this is not fair.
Tobacco, asbestos

and a banned pesticide.

Well, asbestos was also
banned in the '50s.

It was used in the manufacture
of cigarette filters,

as if cigarettes
didn't kill you fast enough.

So the weapon came
from an old tobacco factory?

MONTENEGRO: — It makes sense.
Look at this.

The weapon was
a tobacco scythe.

(siren wailing)

Old Dominion Cigarettes.

They went out of
business in '68.

The factory is abandoned.

And it is eight miles
from the McNamaras' estate

and 15 miles
from Palter's house.

You know what?
That's a perfect location

for Kessler to retreat to
after an attack.

You guys did
a great job, Bones.

I'll only accept that compliment
if no one else dies.

Have you called
for additional support?

No, no, no.
Look, I know guys

like Kessler, all right?
The quieter we are,

the better chance
we have in getting him.

His light is on.

Don't do it, Kessler.

I did what I needed to do.

I set the record straight.
That's what I wanted.

If he jumps from that height,
his neck will snap.

We wouldn't have
time to cut him down.

You have information
that we need — you can help.

I have nothing.

I've had nothing
since they put me away.

You had missing
files on McNamara.

On the cover-up.
And you think

you can get justice?

The law isn't for people
like them.

You've got to try.

We can help.

I'm sorry.

I'm tired.

Why did you do that?

They'll never let me live,
anyway.

You'll live.

I promise that.

— ♪ —

— ♪ —

— ♪ —

— ♪ —

Hey.

Booth.

Look at that.

Oh, beer?

Well, it's all they had
at the convenience store.

And we have to celebrate 'cause
we caught the Ghost Killer.

Are you hungry? Because
I am pretty sure that...

beer from Missouri
goes very well

with leftovers.
Eh, just drink the beer

from... Missouri, huh?

Alexander's Famous.

So, um, Stark
and Caroline,

they're trying
to figure out a deal

so Kessler
will cooperate.

He's a killer.
Yeah, but who he killed.

In the Old West, they would've
made him a sheriff.

So, um, Stark

has finally recommended me
for that promotion.

Course, I have to be confirmed
by the House subcommittee.

Congratulations, Booth.

This calls for a toast.
Mmm.

To you.
No, no, wait.

To us, okay? 'Cause I told him

no matter what happens to us,

we're still a team.

Well, that's
basically the definition

of marriage, isn't it?

Does that mean I...
don't have to finish

filling out this
questionnaire?

No, you know what, uh,
you should still do it.

The government,
they love their paperwork.

Okay. There was one question
asking if we had a relationship

outside of work, so...

You should probably
just skip that one.

Oh. Um, I wrote all this.

You wrote all this.

Whoa! About our sex life?

Well, are you suggesting
that it isn't interesting?

No, no, but...
They told me to be thorough.

I also put that you never throw
your socks into the hamper.

In case the floor is cold,
I put the socks on

so my feet stay warm — but they
don't really care about that.

What if I'm called before
Congress to testify,

and they ask
why I ignored

the question?
Just ignore it for now, okay?

Here's to catching
the Ghost Killer.

To Missouri.
Beer from Missouri.

What's that mean?