TEASER
(Exterior - Day - Jail, smoke streaming out several windows, firefighters and fire trucks outside, sirens wailing. Cut to interior, prisoners yelling, Booth Brennan and Warden walking down corridor towards camera.)
BOOTH: Hey, where’d the fire start?
WARDEN: Not sure yet. It spread through the ducting though. Brennan yawns.
BOOTH: Maybe you’d like something a little bit more exciting, huh? Like Attica.
BRENNAN: My neighbors are renovating their apartment and one of the workmen left his radio on. Hip
hop is not conducive to sleep.
PRISONER: Get me out of here.
BRENNAN: Whoa. Are you allowed to put that many men in one cell?
BOOTH: Just cut the warden a little slack, okay, Bones? There was a riot.
WARDEN: The cell doors open automatically in a fire. The guards had to subdue the inmates so the firefighters could do their jobs. (Prisoner grabs Brennan and pulls her towards the cell. Booth grabs Brennan and pulls her away, between him and the Warden.)
BOOTH: Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. You stay close, okay? A lot of these animals haven’t seen a real woman since Reagan was president.
BRENNAN: Okay.
WARDEN: (pointing) Body’s in here.
BOOTH: Okay, you’re sure this is Howard Epps?
WARDEN: This was his cell.
BRENNAN: Why not keep him on death row?
WARDEN: We don’t have one. He was transferred to Bayview so he’d be closer to the courthouse for his trial.
BRENNAN: (Looking at burnt remains) Victim is male, approximately 30 years of age. He matches Epps general size and build. Contortion indicates a . . . (smiling) painful death.
BOOTH: Well, after killing four teenage girls that we know about it’s just what the doctor ordered.
BRENNAN: It seems as if someone threw accelerant on him, lit him on fire.
BOOTH: Hey, look. Any idea who’d want him dead?
WARDEN: All the inmates hated him. Once the fire started, it was . . . It was chaos. Could’ve been anyone.
BRENNAN: (examining the arm of the charred remains) … Booth?
BOOTH: Yeah?
BRENNAN: This is the wrist I broke.
BOOTH: So?
BRENNAN: So this break is fresh.
BOOTH: So? Bones, they break in a fire, right?
BRENNAN: Yes, but . . . there’s no sign of a prior break. This man’s wrist was slammed against a hard edge within the last few hours.
BOOTH: Whoa, what are you saying?
BRENNAN: (Exhales) This is not Howard Epps.
WARDEN: That’s impossible.
BOOTH: Okay, look. All your prisoners, are they accounted for?
WARDEN: They are if this is Epps.
BOOTH: What about the guards?
WARDEN: They’ve all reported in.
BRENNAN: Whoa.
BOOTH: What now, whoa?
BRENNAN: The dye from the tattoo survived the fire. (Tatoo on the remains reads “D.C.F.D.”) D.C.
Fire Department. He was a firefighter.
BOOTH: So you’re saying that the fireman comes in to save Epps, but Epps kills him, takes his uniform,
sets him on fire.
BRENNAN: And walks right out the front door. (Throwing surgical gloves onto the floor as she stands.)
WARDEN: Son of a bitch.
BOOTH: Lock this place down now.
WARDEN: (Yelling to guards as he turns and walks away) I want this whole block locked down! No on in
or out!
BOOTH: It’s Booth. I need you to close off a 30 mile radius of the Bayview Federal Penitentiary. Howard
Epps escaped.
(Buzzer sounds. Men Shouting. Cell door closes)
ACT I
(Interior - Day - Platform at the Jeffersonian. Camera pans from behind Zack, Angela and Hodgins to in front to reveal them standing over the charred remains and examining the “SCIENCE” section of a newspaper with the headline “The Clues Are in the Bones: How Forensic Anthropology is Helping the FBI Solve Crimes.”)
ZACK: You look short, don’t you think?
ANGELA: Is that important?
HODGINS: You were supposed to say no.
ZACK: But you are short.
HODGINS: And the article describes you as robotic.
ZACK: Yeah, and “wildly intelligent.”
ANGELA: Did you really call me “the heart of the operation? (Reaching out to hold the newspaper.)
HODGINS: Yeah. It was before you called me short.
ANGELA: Hey, Zack called you short. I think you’re just the right height.
HODGINS: Yeah?
ANGELA: Short men have better leverage?
ZACK: I’m feeling uncomfortable.
CAM: (from out of frame) Any answers? (Everyone turns around to look at Cam. Cam sees the newspaper in Angela’s hand.) Hope you enjoyed your 15 minutes of fame people, (Cam takes the newspaper from Angela )‘cause we have a psycho on the loose, so it’s back to work. (Looking at the newspaper.) I photograph well. (Folds the newspaper in half and hands it back to Angela.) Okay. So what have we got?
HODGINS: The accelerant was distilled alcohol.
ZACK: Fractures are consistent with Dr. Brennan’s theory. The victim’s wrist was broken to match Epps’s injury. A blow to the head rendered him unconscious. He was then set on fire.
ANGELA: If there was ever anyone who should be in Gitmo . . .
CAM: I agree. But, he’s not. He’s out and that means more victims unless we stop him first, which we will do. Or, there’ll be another article written about us that won’t be so kind. Where’s Dr. Brennan?
(Backing out of the room)
ANGELA: She and Booth are talking to Epps’s wife.
CAM: Turning and walking away. I.D. the remains.
(Interior - Day - Booth’s Office. Cut to picture of a woman in a white dress with Epps. The woman sets the picture down on Booth’s desk. She’s sitting down in front of the desk and Booth is perched on the left side. Brennan sits in a chair to the left.)
CAROLINE EPPS: I’m no longer involved in Howard’s life.
BOOTH: It’s hard to believe, being his wife and all.
CAROLINE EPPS: Ex-wife. The judge signed my divorce papers last month.
BOOTH: Why didn’t it work out, exactly? Was it a lack of quality time or all the women he bludgeoned to
death?
CAROLINE EPPS: I thought I could help Howard, but he used me. I haven’t had any contact with him in
over six months.
BOOTH: I’d like to place you in protective custody until we find him.
CAROLINE EPPS: That won’t be necessary.
BRENNAN: Mrs. Epps, the women in Howard’s life don’t tend to live very long.
CAROLINE EPPS: I appreciate your concern Dr. Brennan, but I’ve changed job, apartments.
BOOTH: WE found you. Hey, Howard could too.
CAROLINE EPPS: I have a new life and a new boyfriend. Raymond’s a good man. If he found out . . .
BRENNAN: We all have secrets in our past, Mrs. Epps. Admittedly, not as bizarre as yours, but you shouldn’t risk your life just because your embarrassed to tell your boyfriend the truth.
CAROLINE EPPS: Howard’s interest is in young blonde girls. I’m not even his type. Gets up and walks to the door.
BOOTH: If he contacts you . . .
CAROLINE EPPS: (Turns back to look at Booth) I’ll call. (Exits.)
BRENNAN: What-- You can’t let her go! She’s not safe!
BOOTH: Well, I can’t force her to take protection, alright? I’ll have the local police drive her house every couple of hours and make sure she’s safe. And you know what? You’re not safe either.
BRENNAN: But I’m not unhinged. I can take care of myself.
BOOTH: You and Epps-- Okay, it’s personal. You’re everything that he hates.
BRENNAN: And what is that exactly?
BOOTH: Well, you know, you’re a smart, strong, confident woman. (Brennan smiles.) And, uh, figured him out. You made him feel powerless so he’s gonna want to, uh, prove that, uh, you’re weak and inferior. So, you are not to gout on your own, ever.
(Interior - Day - Autopsy Room Jeffersonian. Cam is walking to door when Booth walks in.)
BOOTH: Hi.
CAM: Hey, did the wife you anything?
BOOTH: Oh, chills. Look, I need you to double security here at the lab.
CAM: You think Epps is gonna come after Brennan?
BOOTH: I can’t rule anything out when it comes to Epps.
CAM: I’ll take care of it.
BOOTH: Look, I-I don’t want you to be alone either.
CAM: Are you inviting me over?
BOOTH: I’m just thinking that everyone should just stay here at the lab.
CAM: Leave it to a serial killer to spoil the mood.
BOOTH: Whatever security you think is enough, you double it, Camille. (Walking toward her and leaning in. She gazes into his eyes. Booth smiles. She kisses him.)
CAM: I’m glad you’re on my side, Seeley.
( Booth smiles again, leans in, resting his forehead on Cam’s. She smiles as he turns and leaves. Booth looks back at Cam when he gets to the door.)
(Interior - Day - Brennan’s office. Angela holds up a picture of a man in uniform, handing it to Brennan. Brennan is standing in front of a board with a map with lines drawn on it linked to pictures of remains and pictures of victims.)
ANGELA: The burn victim is Donald Kent, a decorated firefighter.
BRENNAN: Epps would appreciate the irony.
ANGELA: You know Kent was still alive when he was set on fire? How many victims does that make?
BRENNAN: Seven that we know of.
ANGELA: And they aren’t just young blonde women anymore. (Brennan sis in her chair.)
BRENNAN: No, they aren’t. (Brennan looks over her shoulder at the board behind her.)
ANGELA: He’s such a monster. He’s killed from behind bars and new victims keep turning up and now he’s out.
BRENNAN: We will find him, Ange. We’re ready this time.
ANGELA: I’m not. Look, I have some sick days coming. And I was thinking that since Epps makes me
sick, that--
BRENNAN: We need you, Ange. Hodgins certainly does.
ANGELA: That was low.
BRENNAN: I know. Did it work? (Angela smiles.)
ANGELA: How do you deal with the fear?
BRENNAN: (Reaching down to grab her purse, getting up and setting the purse on the desk.) I . . . have this. (Reaching into her purse. She pulls out a very large, very shiny gun. She flips it open and closed,
smiling.)
ANGELA: Oh, my God. That-- (standing) That thing is huge. Whoa, wow. That’s like, movie huge.
BOOTH: (Walking in the door.) Where the hell did you get that?
BRENNAN: The mall.
BOOTH: The mall?
BRENNAN: Yeah, it’s pretty big, right? Bigger than the one you have.
BOOTH: Excuse me. It’s not the size that matters. It’s how you use it.
BRENNAN: Well, I think size is pretty important.
BOOTH: The point is that you shouldn’t have a gun in the first place!
ANGELA: If you do have one, bigger is always better.
BOOTH: You’re not helping!
ANGELA: Right, yeah. This does seem like a private conversation. Angela leaves.
BOOTH: Yeah, private. Okay. You know, people see you with that, the next thing you know everyone in this place is gonna start packing.
BRENNAN: This is America. Get used to it. A phone rings. Brennan sits, answering it. Brennan.
EPPS: (Standing outside in daylight.) I’d forgotten how nice it was to breathe fresh air.
BRENNAN: (Mouthing “Epps” to Booth who points to his phone and steps out of the office to make call.) We will find you, Howard.
EPPS: We’ll see. I can’t tell you how nice it is to be out of that stupid orange jumpsuit. I mean, I have an I.Q. of 180, for God’s sake, and they had me dressed like a pumpkin.
BRENNAN: You burned a man alive.
EPPS: Means to an end. Everything is a means to an end, Dr. Brennan.
BRENNAN: I thought it was just women you were after.
EPPS: I felt the need to grow as a human being.
BRENNAN: What is it you want? (Booth snaps at Brennan and signals for her to keep the call going.) You must want something or you wouldn’t be calling.
EPPS: Yes. I want you to know that everything that happens from here on in is your fault.
BRENNAN: (Brennan looks surprised.) Wh-what’s going to happen, Howard?
EPPS: I can’t answer all your questions. Use your head, Dr. Brennan. Use your head. (Epps drops the receiver and walks away. Brennan hangs up the phone. Booth walks back into the office looking at his notepad.)
BOOTH: Okay, we got it. He’s in a pay phone on Water Street and 23rd.
(Exterior - Day - Phone booth, receiver dangling where Epps was standing in the previous scene. Rapid beeping of phone of the hook, and siren wailing as Booth’s SUV and cop car both pull up in front of the pay phone. Booth and Brennan exit the SUV and head toward the phone.)
BOOTH: Bus stop. Three different lines, they run through here. (To cop.) Want you to check every bus stop. See any witnesses, you bring them to me.
BRENNAN: (Examining the phone) Booth, Epps left us something. (Takes a surgical glove out of her purse and uses it to pick up a glass jar with something white inside.)
BOOTH: What is that? (Brennan shakes her head no.)
(Interior - Day - Zack’s office at the Jeffersonian. Zack and Brennan are looking at a computer screen. Hodgins walks from the back of the room to the desk in front.)
BRENNAN: It’s bone.
ZACK: Shaved down by a rough sandpaper. Hodgins found mica grit.
HODGINS: Tell you this: If Epps comes near Angela, I’ll kill him.
ZACK: What about the rest of us? (Zack moves the specimen to the microscope next to Hodgins, Brennan
follows.)
BRENNAN: Everyone will be fine. Cam increased security.
HODGINS: (Adding solution to a specimen.) And you have the big gun. (Laughing.) Hey, tough to keep that one a secret. Beautiful woman with a weapon? Very Guns & Ammo summer issue. (Replacing the implement and looking at Brennan. She glares at him.) I’m gonna concentrate on my work now.
ZACK: Hey, osteon count places the victim’s age as mid-30’s. I’ll run amelogenin and a nuclear DNA test to get sex and race.
HODGINS: (Looking at screen next to him) I got the chemical breakdown. (Hodgins stands, Brennan and Zack move to look at the screen.) Powders in the bone are organic. It’s a mixture of cardamom, tamarind and kokum.
ZACK: Spices?
HODGINS: Yeah. The bone wasn’t cooked. Why would he add spices to it?
BRENNAN: Epps likes puzzles. The spices are a message. A woman screams.
HODGINS: (Everyone runs out of the room.) ANGELA!
(Interior - Day - Angela’s office at the Jeffersonian. Angela is standing in front of her desk, staring aghast at a cardboard box on top, hand over her heart.)
ANGELA: Oh, my God. (Hodgins, Brennan, Zack and Cam run in.)
HODGINS: What happened? (Angela points at the box. Brennan looks in, Cam and Zack standing around the desk.)
BRENNAN: A heart.
CAM: Definitely human. Adult. DNA can give us sex.
ZACK: He’s killed two people today!
CAM: That’s if this heart’s from the same victim as the bone dust. (Brennan puts on a surgical glove and reaches into the box.) What? What is it? (Brennan unfolds a piece of blood-soaked paper. )
BRENNAN: It’s the DC Sentinel article about the lab. Every lines is blacked out except one. “Dr. Hodgins called Angela ‘the heart of the operation.’”
HODGINS: Son of a bitch. You don’t have to stay inhere, Angela.
ANGELA: How did this even get in here?! I thought that there was security!
CAM: So did I. I-I’ll take care of it. (Angela and Hodgins exit.)
BRENNAN: He’s coming after me through my friends.
CAM: What?
BRENNAN: He told me whatever happened would be my fault.
CAM: (Cam nods.) Then we’ll make sure nothing else happens.
(Interior - Day - Autopsy room at the Jeffersonian. Close-up of the heart in the box melds into an image of the heart on the screen over the autopsy table. Cam is standing on the left of the table, Brennan on the right.)
CAM: There are cut marks on both sides of the inferior vena cava and connecting arteries. The heart was cut out using shears or scissors. (Booth walks in.)
BOOTH: Package was delivered by a bike messenger. He said a man matching Howard Epp’s description approached him on L Street. Paid cash.
BRENNAN: He’s just playing with us.
BOOTH: Not for long. (Hodgins walks in.)
BRENNAN: How’s Angela?
HODGINS: Angry. She insisted on helping me, which worked out well. She realized that the present Epps gave us was a recipe.
BOOTH: Wait, the heart?
HODGINS: No, the ingredients in the vial. After he ground up the bone, Epps mixed it with spices: the cardamom, tamarind and kokum - which are all used in making curries.
BRENNAN: Indian food.
BOOTH: Epp’s wife. The last address we had for her was in Little India over a curry restaurant. (Pushing Brennan out of the room.) Come on!
(Interior - Day - Mrs. Epps’s apartment building. Booth and Brennan walk towards her open door. Booth puts out his arm to keep Brennan behind him, opening the door with his other hand. Brennan pulls out her big guns, checks the barrel, and clicks it closed.)
BOOTH: You know, I could have the Bureau pull your license.
BRENNAN: Yeah, and I could assign Zack as your forensic anthropologist. (The both enter guns at the ready walking cautiously through the apartment..)
BOOTH: Place hasn’t been rented since she moved.
BRENNAN: You know, it’s just not logical. Playing games with us? It’s just gonna lead us right to him. (Brennan flips the light switch on and off but nothing happens. Booth turns to the ktchen and looks at the refrigerator which can be heard running.) Wait. If the lights are off, then why is the refrigerator working? (Booth moves toward the refrigerator.)
BOOTH: Wai- just stand back. (Brennan, still holding her gun up, looks into the other room. Booth examines the refrigerator.) Well, it’s not booby-trapped. (He opens the door. Mrs. Epps severed head, blood is sitting on the top shelf.)
Act II
(Interior - Day - Autopsy room at the Jeffersonian. Dr. Brennan holding the head and Cam looking on. Booth standing at the other end of the room.)
BRENNAN: The neck was severed just above the shoulders. The jagged marks on the bone indicate that Epps used some kind of saw to decapitate her.
CAM: No sign of blunt force trauma to the skull - Epps usual M.O. No clear cause of death.
BRENNAN: Without the rest of her body we can’t know for sure how she died.
CAM: I’m seeing some kind of white powder in her hair. Hodgins can tell us what it is. Why just leave
her head?
BOOTH: To get us all involved. I mean, the less we have to work with, the- the more we’re all drawn in.
BRENNAN: Epps told me to use my head.
BOOTH: Everything he says is a clue. Could it be inside the head?
CAM: It’s too early to tell.
BOOTH: What do you mean, too early? Okay? All we do is just cut open the damn head and find out what’s inside.
BRENNAN: But there are protocols, Booth!
BOOTH: Yeah, and I’m sure Epps is really concerned about the protocols.
CAM: This is my autopsy. We’re gonna do it by the book. That means surface exam followed by x-rays after which I will open the skull.
BOOTH: Sorry. I’m just a little anxious to get the little gerbil back in his cage. That’s all.
CAM: (Looking from the neck to the screen above the exam table which shows an enlarged view of the neck.) Okay. That’s terrifically disturbing.
BOOTH: What?
CAM: Massive blood aspiration to the soft tissue of the neck. (Brennan exhales loudly.)
BOOTH: Meaning?
CAM: Caroline Epps was alive when Howard cut her head off.
BRENNAN: Now he’s torturing his victims.
BOOTH: So let’s torture him.
BRENNAN: How?
BOOTH: Bring his mother in.
CAM: I thought Epps hated his mother.
BOOTH: His FBI profiler believes he was emotionally attached to her. His prison logs show that he wrote
to her almost every day.
CAM: Well that’s sick.
BOOTH: But helpful. I mean, if he feels responsible for his mother being in jail we can knock him off his game.
(Interior - Day - Interrogation Room. A large woman in a colorful print dress with glasses on a cord sits at the table. Booth and Brennan enter.)
BOOTH: (Whispering.) What’s that smell?
BRENNAN: It’s mold. It grows in the fat creases of morbidly obese people.
MRS. EPPS: What is this about? Did you bring me here to make fun of me?
BRENNAN: I merely stated a fact, Mrs. Epps. You need to lose weight. Obesity also causes diabetes, heart damage, liver failure. Not to mention the wear it puts on your joints.
MRS. EPPS: I have a glandular condition. A little compassion and understanding, that’s what I really need. To Booth. Why am I here?
BOOTH: We, uh - we found some drugs at your place. (Pulls a pill box, plastic with slots for each day of the week, from a plastic evidence bag.)
MRS. EPPS: Those are my pills. My doctor gave them to me. I need my medicine.
BOOTH: Well, you know, they’re not, uh, properly labeled. This could take us a few days to sort this out with your doctor.
BRENNAN: We’re looking for Howard, Mrs. Epps.
MRS. EPPS: Howard’s in jail. I haven’t seen him or talked to him in years.
BOOTH: Howard, uh, escaped yesterday.
MRS. EPPS: Oh, dear Lord. I tried to raise a good son. Tried to keep him pure like the good book says. I-I don’t know what happened. He was such a sweet child.
BOOTH: Howard- He wrote to you all the time.
MRS. EPPS: He wants me to understand, wants me to forgive him. Says he’s still my little boy. (Inhales loudly.) But I don’t answer.
BRENNAN: You’re son murdered his wife yesterday, beheaded her.
MRS. EPPS: (Shaking her head now) And you want to blame me?
BRENNAN: You made your son bathe in ammonia.
MRS. EPPS: The women he would go out with, they were loose. Not the right kind for a God-fearing son! Wanted him to wash their scent off.
BOOTH: Is there anything else that you can tell us that might help us find your son before he kills again?
MRS. EPPS: It’s not my fault what he did.
BOOTH: Yeah. Okay. Um, that’s all for now. We’ll have an agent escort you back to your cell. Um, of course you have the right to an attorney. (Booth and Brennan stand up to leave.)
MRS. EPPS: I should’ve been harder on him, beat him more regular. I’m a nice person. Too nice. That was my problem. Too nice.
(Exterior - Day - Booth’s SUV. Booth driving and Brennan in the passenger seat.)
BRENNAN: Marian Epps is clearly a bad mother.
BOOTH: (Chuckles.) You think?
BRENNAN: But a lot of people have bad mothers and they don’t up to be serial killers which is why I don’t put much stock in psychology.
BOOTH: Listen, Bones, I don’t care how you explain it, alright? The guy, he’s an animal. He’s got no
conscience.
BRENNAN: I don’t know how one draws moral distinctions between killers.
BOOTH: Listen, Bones, alright, there are crimes of passion, alright, crimes committed out of desperation, which are usually followed by remorse or acknowledgment of human failing. The key word here is “human.”
BRENNAN: The reasons for killing someone are unimportant. It- The life that’s taken is all that matters.
BOOTH: Listen, you can’t blame yourself here.
BRENNAN: It’s me he’s after. Angela and everyone else, they shouldn’t be involved.
BOOTH: Alright. Look. It’s not your fault, alright? It’s all Epps, which is why I’m gonna take this little bastard down.
BRENNAN: Booth. (Looking in rear view mirror at a car behind them.) Booth, we’re being followed.
BOOTH: Mm-hmm. That’s right. (Chuckles.) Two agents, all the time, at a very discreet distance. See, I don’t care how big your gun is. Alright? (Clears Throat. Cell phone rings.)
BOOTH: What’s this? Booth.
CAM: Something was inserted in Caroline’s ear. Epps made an incision in Caroline’s left ear canal, inserted a token for a kid’s ride from a place called Hillside Park.
BOOTH: Oh, God. My son plays there every day after school. Booth hit’s the siren and does a u-turn.
(Exterior - Day - Hillside Park. A man is handing a girl a token in front of a merry-go-round.)
MAN: Here you go. (Booth and Brennan run around the path toward the merry-go round.)
BOOTH: Parker comes here every day at 4 with his nanny. (Sees the nanny, grabs her elbow.) Rose! Rose, where’s Parker?
ROSE: On the merry-go-round. He was just there! (Booth jumps onto the merry-go-round, Brennan runs around the other side.)
BOOTH: Parker! Parker!
BRENNAN: Parker!
BOOTH: (Running between the rows of horses.) Parker! Parker!
BRENNAN: Parker! Parker!
ROSE: Parker!
BRENNAN: Parker?
ROSE: Parker!
BOOTH: (Freaking out.) Parker. Parker!
BRENNAN: (Looking away, sees Parker at the ice-cream vendor.) Booth.
BOOTH: What?
BRENNAN: Over there.
BOOTH: Parker. Parker! Parker!
PARKER: (Running towards Booth, carrying an ice cream cone.) Daddy!
BOOTH: Hey. (Picks him up, hugging him tightly, hand behind his head.) Oh, God. Alright.
PARKER: Look. A man bought me ice cream.
BOOTH: Alright. Alright. (Throws down the ice cream.)
PARKER: That was my favorite.
BOOTH: I’ll buy you another one, okay? Just listen to me. What did this man look like?
PARKER: A man. He said he was your friend.
BOOTH: What did he say to you? Did he say anything else to you, Parker?
PARKER: To use my napkin.
BRENNAN: (Picking up napkin.) Booth. (Takes napkin from Brennan, reading it aloud,) “My name is Parker. Ask me how I can solve this case.” To Parker. Alright. What else did he tell you?
PARKER: Nothing. He was just nice.
BOOTH: Okay. Just listen to me, Parker. Alright? This man is trying to hurt Daddy’s friends, okay? So I need you to think. What else did he say to you?
PARKER: I didn’t do anything wrong. He said he was your friend.
BOOTH: You never talk to strangers, okay?! You never! (Parker beings to cry. Booth hugs him.) I’m sorry, buddy. It’s okay. Alright? I’m sorry.
ROSE: What’s going on, Mr. Booth?
BOOTH: There’s just an investigation going on, okay, Rose? (Pulls Parker away and looks at him.) I’m gonna have these agents take you and Parker home and keep you safe. Alright? (Pulls Parker into another hug.) I’m sorry. It’s okay.
(Interior - Day - Autopsy room at the Jeffersonian. Pan up from Mrs. Epps head in a jar to Cam examining the head with an implement and the examination viewable in a screen behind Cam’s left shoulder. Zack walks in.)
CAM: No.
ZACK: I didn’t say anything.
CAM: You’ve been in her every 10 minutes since they left. I will let you know when I’m finished.
ZACK: I could take the head and x-ray it. Then you could finish what you’re . . .
CAM: No. We have these protocols for a reason. A telephone rings. Saroyan.
BOOTH: (Calling from his SUV, Brennan in the passenger seat.) Have you opened the head yet?
CAM: I just finished telling Zack . . .
BOOTH: Listen, Epps just went after my kid, Cam.
CAM: Parker.
BOOTH: You know there’s something there. He told us. It’s something we need. He wants us to find it.
CAM: You’re upset.
BOOTH: Of course I’m upset! Listen, I know there are protocols, but he could’ve killed my son. (Booth
hangs up.)
CAM: (Cam hangs up the phone. To Zack.) Get me the number two saw. (Cut to bone saw whirring, Cam with safety goggles on preparing to saw the head.) I found some bruising to the back of her head. I’m gonna cut below it so I don’t disturb the area.
ZACK: I hate this part.
CAM: Me too. (Begins to saw half way between the eyebrows and hairline. Suddenly, a white powder sprays out of the head. Cam begins coughing and wheezing.)
ZACK: Dr. Saroyan.
CAM: Protocol.
ZACK: Biological containment. (Alarms blaring. Jack and Angela put masks on and run from their offices. Cam collapses on the floor, eyes rolled back in her head and frothing at the mouth.) Uh-unknown hazardous material. We need an emergency medical team at the autopsy lab ASAP.
ANGELA: What happened?
HODGINS: I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know!
ANGELA: Oh, my God. Cam.
ZACK: Dr. Saroyan, they’re on their way.
ACT III
(Interior - Day - Hospital Room. Cam is lying on the bed, eyes closed, a nurse attending to her. Brennan, Booth and a Doctor stand outside looking in.)
DOCTOR: Here heart rate is erratic. There’s clotting in the kidneys.
BOOTH: How bad is that?
DOCTOR: Bad enough. But what worries us more is the lung damage. The toxin has caused edema.
BOOTH: What does that mean? I don’t know what that means.
BRENNAN: Fluid buildup. Essentially, she’s drowning. I’m sorry.
DOCTOR: If she has family nearby, you’ll want to send for them.
BOOTH: Yeah. Cam’s got a lot of family. (Booth walks away.)
BRENNAN: How much time does she have?
DOCTOR: Send for her family. (Doctor exits. Brennan moves over next to Booth. Hodgins walks in.)
HODGINS: Zack saw everything.
BRENNAN: How close was he?
HODGINS: A few feet.
BRENNAN: And he’s fine. So it’s probably not a toxic gas.
HODGINS: Zack says it was some kind of powder. Which means there could be traces on her clothing.
BOOTH: Just work fast, okay, Hodgins? Just work fast. (Hodgins exits.)
BRENNAN: Considering the relationship between you and Cam, I’d like to say the right thing, Booth . . . I don’t know what it is. Usually I’d-I’d ask you or Angela.
BOOTH: You just said it. Thanks.
(Interior - Day - Hodgins desk at the Jeffersonian. Glare from the light behind booth bridges to the overhead lamp above the desk. Hodgins is sitting at the desk, Zack has his back to him.)
HODGINS: Can’t find any traces of powder on Cam’s clothing.
ZACK: Did you search elect statically?
HODGINS: Yes. You’re sure it was a powder.
ZACK: Yes.
HODGINS: It had to be a gas.
ZACK: If it were a gas, I’d be in the hospital with Cam. (Hodgins hands are in gloves in a plastic box. He’s running an implement over the clothing.)
HODGINS: No particles on her clothing. Zack, it had to be a gas.
ZACK: It wasn’t. Are we having an argument?
HODGINS: Of course.
ZACK: Why?
HODGINS: Because Cam’s dying, and I should be with Angela. And because there are no particles.
ZACK: On the clothing?
HODGINS: That’s right.
ZACK: What about the glass parts still left in the head? (Hodgins whips around to look at Zack.)
HODGINS: I’m not angry at you anymore. (Hodgins pats Zack on the shoulder as he runs by.)
(Interior - Day - Hospital room. Cam is lying in bed, eyes closed. Booth is sitting to the left of her bed, head down. Cam’s eyes open.)
BOOTH: Hey! (Cam wheezing.) Welcome back.
CAM: Why can’t I breathe?
BOOTH: Your saw, it um, it hit some kind of poison, but, uh, you’re gonna be alright.
CAM: Zack?
BOOTH: He’s fine. Okay? Everyone- everyone’s good. (Cam nods.) I’m- I’m . . . I’m so sorry, you know, that I put so much pressure on you to hurry. I didn’t, uh-
CAM: (Wheezing) Not your fault. Epps did this to me.
BOOTH: (Sniffles) Hey. Your family’s coming.
CAM: Oh, God. (Coughing.) And I thought poison . . . was my biggest problem. (Booth chuckles and sniffles. Cam chuckles.)
(Interior - Day - Brennan’s office. Brennan at her desk and Angela in the doorway.)
ANGELA: You look exhausted.
BRENNAN: (Exhales.) What have you got? (Angela leans in and types on Brennan’s computer.)
ANGELA: Okay. This is an x-ray of Caroline’s head. These are shards of glass, very fragile.
BRENNAN: What was it?
ANGELA: I think it was a glass capsule filled with a poisonous powder. Epps inserted it after she was dead. Probably up the nose.
BRENNAN: And when the saw blade hit it, it exploded.
ANGELA: Hodgins has some of the shards now. He’ll figure out what the poison is.
BRENNAN: If I were Epps, I would’ve made it something that changes composition after prolonged exposure to air.
ANGELA: Let’s hope he’s not as smart as you. I’m gonna go sit with Cam for awhile. (Angela exits. Brennan turns to face the wall with the case info. A telephone rings.)
BRENNAN: Brennan.
EPPS: So who’d I get?
BRENNAN: (mouths “Epps,” pointing to the phone to signal to the agent outside her office. The agent exits.) If you’re talking about the bulb in Caroline’s head, we removed it. How’d you get it in there without breaking it?
EPPS: I saw the emergency vehicles. I know I got someone. They might not be dead yet, but they will be soon.
BRENNAN: Sorry. You missed this time.
EPPS: If you don’t admit to who it was, then I can’t give you the hint to save their life. Okay, then. It was nice talking to you.
BRENNAN: Wait! Wait!
EPPS: Yes, Dr. Brennan?
BRENNAN: Dr. Saroyan.
EPPS: She tried to remove the bulb with forceps. But it was too fragile. It snapped.
BRENNAN: Yes, that’s exactly what happened. Now will you tell me the poison?
EPPS: The body knows what the head can’t say.
BRENNAN: Caroline’s body or your mother’s body?
EPPS: My mother?
BRENNAN: Yes. We have her in custody. Didn’t you know?
EPPS: On what charges?
BRENNAN: What poison, Howard?
EPPS: (pacing back and forth, running his hands through his hair) You had no right. My mother’s not part of this.
BRENNAN: You tell me about the poison and I will tell you about your mother.
EPPS: (placing the phone to his forehead and then away from him. Talking into it sideways.) You don’t run the game. I run the game. You’re gonna be sorry. (Hangs up. Agent re-enters.)
AGENT: Cell phone downtown. There’s a team on its way.
BRENNAN: He’s already gone.
(Interior - Day - Cam is in her bed, intubated, eyes closed. Booth is sitting in a chair to the left of the bed looking anxious. Brennan walks in with an agent behind her.)
BOOTH: (Seeing Brennan and standing.) Hey, Hodgins find the poison?
BRENNAN: Not yet. (Walking toward the bed.) How’s Cam?
BOOTH: It’s worse. She can’t breathe on her own. They- Uh- Bones, I really need you to find out what
she inhaled.
BRENNAN: Epps called and left me a clue.
BOOTH: What is it?
BRENNAN: He said, “the body knows what the head can’t say.”
BOOTH: Caroline’s body.
BRENNAN: I think so, yes. You were right. He was pretty upset when he found out that we had his
mother.
BOOTH: (Chuckling) You told him? That’s good. Make the bastard sweat.
BRENNAN: He said we’d be sorry. (Turning to leave.) I’ll call you as soon as we have something to g on.
BOOTH: Bones, I’m coming with you, alright? Hold on, alright? This is gonna take all of us. (Booth kisses Cam on the forehead and brushes the hair back from her face.) Okay, I’ll drive.
(Interior - Day - Zack’s office. Jack has his hands in the plastic box collecting samples from Caroline’s head. Zack is looking at the display screen behind Hodgins.)
HODGINS: If I put too small a sample into the photoelectric aerosol sensor then I’ll both lose the sample and not get an accurate response.
ZACK: I estimate that there’s about 1/10,000th of a gram on this shard.
HODGINS: (Exhales) We’re not getting enough. Not to mention the particles themselves are extremely small, about 1.6 micrometers in diameter. (Booth enters.)
BOOTH: Hey. What’s the poison?
HODGINS: I don’t know yet.
BOOTH: Well, what-what do you know?
HODGINS: It’s none of the common poisons: arsenic, cyanide, mercuric chloride.
BOOTH: Let’s start by telling the hospital what it isn’t then, okay? What was in Caroline Epps’s hair?
HODGINS: The white powder? It was just common plaster dust.
ZACK: There was also a very small amount of sodium hydrosulfide in her ear.
BOOTH: Great. Put those two things together, what do we have?
HODGINS: Drywalling and . . .
ZACK: (stammering) Uh, leather goods.
BOOTH: Great! I’ll look through the evidence and see if I can find those two things. Turning to leave.
HODGINS: Booth. (Booth turns back to Hodgins.)
BOOTH: What?
HODGINS: I’m sorry man. Without more material, it’s just . . .
BOOTH: You’re both doing a great job. Now it’s up to me to find Caroline Epps’s body. (Turning to leave and getting to the door.)
ZACK: Booth?
BOOTH: (Turning back around irritably.) What?
ZACK: We’ve endowed Epps with intelligence he does not have. His clues are unsophisticated word
games.
BOOTH: Yeah?
ZACK: Uh, “my name is Parker. Ask me how I can solve this case.”
BOOTH: I already asked Parker. He doesn’t know anything.
ZACK: It doesn’t have to be your son. It can be something else named Parker. Something to do with leather goods or drywall. Do a Boolean search. (Booth shakes his head angrily, moving toward Zack.) Okay, right. You don’t know what that is. Boolean is . . . (Booth moves toward Zack threateningly, Zack backs into a seat.) I won’t explain. I’ll just do it.
BOOTH: I am walking out of here. You try and stop me again, I will shoot both of you. (Booth exits.)
ZACK: (Pulls a map up on the screen and whimpers.) Mmmm… Ummm… (Turns to face Hodgins.)
HODGINS: What?
ZACK: I really need him to come back.
HODGINS: (yelling) BOOTH! (to Zack.) Whatever you got better be worth dying for. (Booth enters menacingly, placing a hand near his gun.)
ZACK: Uh, there’s a Parker & Parker Leather Goods owned by the Parker brothers on Parker Street in the town of Parker just outside of Arlington. That’s a lot of Parkers.
BOOTH: Yeah, okay. Let’s go. (Pulling Zack up out of the chair by the tie and guiding him out of the office.) Grab your boos and let’s get going. Come on.
(Exterior - Night - Parker & Parker Leather Goods.)
(Interior - Night - Parker & Parker Leather Goods. The swat team opens the door. Booth is behind them.)
MAN: Alright. Let’s fan out. Moving into the next room. Clear!
MAN #2: Go, Sean. (Brennan and Zack appear behind Booth.)
MAN #3: Check that door. Check that door. (Caroline’s headless corpse is on a table in the center of the
room.)
MAN #4: We’re clear.
BOOTH: Okay. Uh- (putting his arm out to prevent Brennan from approaching the body.) Come on. Knowing Epps, how do we even know that’s Caroline’s body there.
BRENNAN: If it isn’t, it’ll still be a clue.
BOOTH: Okay, let me do this, alright? (Moving to examine the table.) Alright. No, uh- (Into a receiver on his jacket.) Jam all the frequencies. (To Brennan ) If he’s got a remote detonator, it ain’t gonna work now. No sign of trip wires.
BRENNAN: There it is. On her stomach, the poison, just like Epps said.
ZACK: (Moving toward the table) I’ll just . . .
BOOTH: No, Zack, no! (A switch clicks and something beeps.) Don’t hesitate! Put your palm on the stomach and press down. (A switch clicks.)
BRENNAN: What?
BOOTH: That was a pressure trigger. (Zack hands the bag to Brennan.) Body’s booby trapped. Everybody out!
MAN: Roger that! Let’s go! (The swat team exits.) Go! Go! Go! Go!
ZACK: What do I do?
BOOTH: Don’t be scared.
ZACK: I’m not scared. I just need to know what to do.
BOOTH: (Pushing Brennan out of the room.) Out. Out.
BRENNA: I want to help!
BOOTH: Out! Now. (Booth tilts a wooden dining table in the corner over onto it’s side. Booth exhales loudly.) Zack, uh . . . This, uh . . . (Coming up behind Zack and placing his hand on Zack’s.) This is gonna hurt?
ZACK: You or me?
BOOTH: Mostly you. Okay. On three, I want you to jump back as high as you can.
ZACK: I’m not a good jumper.
BOOTH: Be a good counter.
ZACK: I-I am a good counter.
BOOTH: Right.
ZACK: On three.
BOOTH: Okay.
BOOTH & ZACK: One, two, three! (They jump backwards. From the exterior we see fire erupt from the front windows of the store, blowing out the glass.)
ACT VI
(Interior - Night - Dr. Brennan’s Office at the Jeffersonian. A television report of Channel 2 WPKV News (J.C. Natt Reporter) is playing. A female reporter is standing in front of a firetruck and the debris strewn front of Parker & Parker Leather Goods.)
FEMALE REPORTER: The explosion occurred as FBI agents searched the shop for escaped serial killer Howard Epps. At least one person was killed in the blast. Dr. Zack Addy, a forensic anthropologist who was working with the FBI, died at the scene. Special Agent Seeley Booth remains in critical condition.
(Booth is sitting on the couch watching the TV. He has Bruises on his face.)
BOOTH: Chuckles. Okay, that’s creepy. Zack dead and me in critical condition, right? (Zack is sitting next to him. He has cuts on his face and he is holding his right arm. Brennan is sitting on the arm of the couch next to Zack.)
ZACK: But why? It’s not true. (Brennan turns of the TV with the remote.)
BRENNAN: (To Zack.) You gonna be alright?
ZACK: (Shakes his head yes.) My doctor said most of my injuries didn’t come from the explosion but from being slammed into the floor. (To Booth.) Apparently, you’re extremely strong.
BRENNAN: (To Booth.) Did you have to be so rough on him?
BOOTH: It was a bomb. I was being, you know, heroic.
ZACK: (To Brennan.) I was heroic too.
BRENNAN: Yes, you were.
BOOTH: Somebody saved somebody. That’s all I’m saying.
ZACK: Well, I got the poison.
BRENNAN: Which is good because Caroline’s body was blown to pieces.
BOOTH: That was good thinking, you know, you keeping your wits. But I mean, what I did was, uh . . . (Looking at Brennan and Zack’s incredulous looks.) I guess if you have to explain to yourself why you’re a hero, I guess you’re not really a hero.
(Interior - Night - Zack’s office at the Jeffersonian. Hodgins is alone, looking at computer.)
HODGINS: What the hell are you? You’re not a bacterial protein or a non-opioid analgesic. You’re not a neurotoxin or a heavy metal. (Angela enters.) You act like chloromethane, but Zack said that there was no sweet smell when the powder was released.
ANGELA: Are you talking to the evidence?
HODGINS: Just . . . working through this as systematically as possible.
ANGELA: You know, when this whole thing is over, I am moving to a doorman building, I’m getting an unlisted number and I am hiring a full-time bodyguard named Knuckles.
HODGINS: Don’t get paranoid.
ANGELA: That’s funny coming from a conspiracy theorist. Computer beeping
HODGINS: Of course! Methyl bromide. Exiting I’ll call the hospital.
(Interior - Night - Dr. Brennan’s office at the Jeffersonian. Booth is standing, Zack and Brennan are on the couch. Hodgins enters.)
HODGINS: Methyl bromide mixed with plaster dust. That’s what made it so hard to isolate.
BOOTH: What’s the treatment?
HODGINS: Racemic epinephrine. I called the hospital, they’re starting an I.V.
BRENNAN: Shouldn’t you be there for that?
HODGINS: Hey, priorities in life, man. One, be there when someone you love comes back from the brink of death. Two, catch the serial killer. Everything after that is basically unimportant.
BOOTH: I’m gonna go see Cam at the hospital. (To Brennan) and you are gonna go home and get some
sleep?
ZACK: Why can’t I go home?
BOOTH: Didn’t you just hear what they said on the news? You’re dead.
BRENNAN: What about Epps?
BOOTH: I got an entire surveillance team outside your home, watching you. Why does everybody question me, right? I’m the hero.
(Interior - Night - Cam’s hospital room. Booth at the end of the bed. A doctor to the right, examining
Cam.)
BOOTH: Why is it taking so long?
DOCTOR: It’s not. She’s responding. (Doctor exits.)
BOOTH: Camille?
CAM: Seeley.
BOOTH: (Chuckles) Don’t call me Seeley.
CAM: Don’t call me Camille.
BOOTH: How you feeling, babe?
CAM: Like I got poisoned by a disembodied head full of plaster dust.
BOOTH: Plaster dust. (To himself ) Plaster dust.
(Exterior - Night - Brennan’s apartment building.)
(Interior - Night - Brennan’s apartment. An agent is opening the door, Brennan and another agent are behind him.)
AGENT #1: Everything is secure. Agent Holtz will stay in the hallway and they’ll be another agent in the
lobby.
BRENNAN: Thank you. (Agent hands Brennan her keys) Good night.
AGENT #1: Good night. (Agent Exits.) Brennan closes the door.
(Interior - Night - Brennan’s bathroom. Shower running, mirror fogged up, music playing. A piece of drywall is pushed in and Epps crawls through and pushes open the closet door, holding a crow bar. He rounds the corner looking toward the bathroom. At the front door, Booth is looking in, gun in hand, and Agent #1 and Agent Holtz are behind him.)
BOOTH: (Whispering) Check the apartment next door. (Epps approaches the bathroom. Brennan rounds the corner, dry and dressed, gun in hand. The hammer clicks into place. Booth’s gun clicks as he walks
toward Epps.) Dead end.
BRENNAN: (To Booth) You won’t let me shoot him, will you?
BOOTH: You knew he was gonna be here, didn’t you?
BRENNAN: It’s the only scenario that made sense.
BOOTH: Oh. What, you heading for the balcony, Howie? Hope you can fly, cause that’s about a fifty foot drop, (to Brennan) right?
BRENNAN: Yeah.
EPPS: How did you know?
BRENNAN: Plaster dust in the poison.
BOOTH: Renovations to the apartment next door.
BRENNAN: You’re not all that smart, turns out.
EPPS: One minute. All I want is one minute alone with you.
BRENNAN: Fine with me.
BOOTH: Don’t provoke the lunatic, alright? (To Epps) You got nowhere to go.
EPPS: I’m not going back to jail.
BOOTH: You see, that’s really not your decision, Howie. Get your hands up. Drop the crowbar. (Epps throws the crowbar at the lamp, breaking it and casting the room into darkess. He dashes out the window.)
BOOTH: In the line of fire, Bones. (Epps jumps off the balcony and Booth grabs him by the arm.) You’re not getting away, Howard. (Brennan appears and leans over to look.)
EPPS: (Panting) Look who the killer is now, Agent Booth.
BOOTH: A little help here, Bones? I got nothing but dead weight here. Help me.
BRENNAN: (Trying to reach but not being able to.) Sorry. Can’t reach.
BOOTH: Grab the railing.
EPPS: You’re gonna drop me anyway. Just get it over with.
BOOTH: You son of a bitch.
EPPS: Are you saying you don’t want me dead?
BOOTH: Yeah, I’m not you.
EPPS: Oh, really? You’re not thinking of the world with me still in it? Going after Dr. Brennan, your son-
BOOTH: I’m not you. (Booth and Brennan grunting, straining to reach.. Epps, scared, whimpers, gasps, and Booth looses his grip. Epps falls to the pavement. Sirens wail, police radio chatter sounds.)
(Interior - Night - Brennan’s Apartment. Booth, Brennan and Agent #1 are sitting at the dining room table.)
AGENT #1: Unit on the ground saw what happened. So did the sniper across the street. You tried to save him.
BOOTH: Yep.
BRENNAN: No one could’ve helped him.
BOOTH: (Nodding) Yeah.
AGENT #1: You can take off now, Booth. Department might want to assign you a shrink- on the job death like that. (Exits.)
BRENNAN: You didn’t have your full strength. Your wrist was hurt from pulling Zack away from the explosion.
BOOTH: My wrist wasn’t hurt, Bones.
BRENNAN: (scoffs) I wish you’d let me shoot him.
BOOTH: No, you don’t. (Getting up and walking out.)
(Exterior - Day - Hillside Park. Booth is bending over Parker in front of the merry-go-round.)
BOOTH: Come on, Parker. I’ll put you up there.
PARKER: No, Daddy. I don’t wanna get on. Booth picks Parker up and puts him on the merry-go-round.
BOOTH: Up. Up. There you go. Alright? (Strapping him in to the ride. Brennan enters, watching silently. Booth kisses Parker on top of his head.) Knuckles. (Booth and Parker bang knuckles. Booth walks away as the ride starts. Sees Brennan.) Hi. How’d you know I was here?
BRENNAN: Saturday morning. How’s Parker?
BOOTH: Yeah, I’m afraid I freaked him out the other day. He’s really scared of this place. Now I gotta put that right. (Sitting down on a bench.)
BRENNAN: That’s you all over- putting thingss right. (Sits down next to Booth. Exhales.) Cam gets released from the hospital today?
BOOTH: Yeah.
BRENNAN: What?
BOOTH: You know, what happened to Cam happened because . . . we had a personal relationship.
BRENNAN: Had?
BOOTH: Yeah. People who work in . . . high-risk situations they can’t be involved romantically because it leads to things like what happened.
BRENNAN: High-risk situations.
BOOTH: Every single day it’s with us. There’s this line, and we can’t cross it. You know what I’m saying?
BRENNAN: Yes. I understand. (she takes a deep breath. Parker waves from the merry-go-round. Looking at Parker.) He seems okay now.
BOOTH: Yeah, you know, it’s important to make things right. I just don’t know how. I don’t know how.
FADE TO BLACK.
