Bones Episode 5.14 The Devil in the Details

FATHER PATRICK and altar boy WILLIAM prepare for mass at St. Dominic's Catholic Church. Father Patrick blesses the holy water but William has a hard time being prayerful. What is that smell? They rush to the altar and find a burning corpse with horns!

BRENNAN drives while BOOTH encourages her to behave at the crime scene. She tends to get blasphemous near churches. Father Patrick greets the partners at the scene. He is deeply disturbed that the victim has horns. Booth crosses himself as they approach the remains. Brennan smells an accelerant. She confirms that the horns are real and appear to be composed of bone.

At the Lab, the remains make CAM uneasy. ARASTOO reports that the victim is human. However, he has a tail. He is Caucasian and in his early twenties. HODGINS confirms that the accelerant was common motor oil. He took a sample of the horns and determined that they contain coral. Brennan believes the horns were a cosmetic implant. Remodeled bone grew within the coral as a result of biocompatibility. The tail, however, is real. It is a vestigial tail. ANGELA arrives with an ID: NEAL LOWERY. He was being treated for Schizophrenia at Havenhurst Sanitarium.

At the FBI, Booth sits with ERICA LOWERY and her son, GABE LOWERY. Neal was a nice, normal child. However, he became a difficult teenager. He would set fires and kill animals. At sixteen, Neal ran away and returned with horns. He told people he was the son of Satan. Since then, Erica has spent every penny at Havenhurst, trying to help her son.

In the Autopsy Room, Cam notices the intestines have ruptured. Arastoo removes the shoes. The feet are intact but they smell terrible. Cam realizes that the victim has gangrene. She has seen this condition before in junkies who inject between their toes. Hodgins arrives with an analysis of the particulates in the boot treads. He found potting soil and the seeds of a plant called Christmas Roses.

Brennan, Booth and SWEETS arrive at Havenhurst Sanitarium. Brennan spies Christmas Roses. Sweets is excited to be of use. He interned at a mental health facility. They are greeted by LLOYD ROBERTSON, a nurse practitioner. Dr. Copeland is waiting for them.

DR. ETHAN COPELAND explains that Neal has disappeared before. Sweets wants to question the patients and staff. Copeland is worried about interaction with the patients. They are sick people. Sweets assures him that he is trained and can handle the challenge.

Neal never physically fought with any of the patients but his delusions did conflict with that of another patient. In the Arts & Crafts Room, Copeland approaches the angelic NEVIAH LARKIN. She shows them her painting: the image depicts Neal crucified on a cross while Neviah stabs him with a holy lance. Neviah believes she is an angel. Brennan mentions that Neal was stabbed precisely where the lance pierces him in the painting.

Sweets prepares to question Neviah. He does not want Brennan to be present. She will only upset Neviah by questioning her delusions. Brennan decides to wait elsewhere while Booth and Sweets approach Neviah. Neviah believes that God guides her hand, telling her what to paint. He also guides her actions. She killed Neal because he was a demon. It was her duty.

Meanwhile, Brennan observes the patients in the Common Room. DR. PHILLIP WOMACK approaches her, offering refreshments. They strike up a conversation and Brennan finds herself charmed that he shares her insights on psychiatry. He offers to give her a tour of the facility. As the pair heads off, Copeland interrupts. He sends Phillip to get his medication. Brennan is distressed that she was talking to a patient, not a doctor.

In the Ookey Room, Arastoo works with the cleaned skull. It seems the victim was struck in the head by a weapon two-centimeters in diameter. There is also a Colles fracture on the right distal radius. While discussing Satan, Arastoo reveals that he does believe in the devil and he sees him everyday. Cam quickly excuses herself.

In Angela's Office, Angela and Sweets review Neviah's painting. Her brushstrokes are calm. Angela doesn't see any rage in this painting. However, she does notices that the paint is unusually thick. There could be something underneath. She switches the camera filter to infrared, revealing an entirely new image. In this painting, Nurse Lloyd is painted as a devil and he is holding a dead Neal in his arms.

Booth and Brennan stop Lloyd in his car as he leaves Havenhurst. They search his vehicle. Booth finds a bag containing nunchucks in the trunk. He then discovers a stash of drugs in a secret compartment. Lloyd is busted.

At the FBI, Lloyd claims he is being set up by one of the patients. Booth doesn't buy it. Lloyd confesses that Neal's medications didn't help. They didn't make him feel better, but heroin did. So Lloyd supplied Neal with heroin in exchange for his other medications. Lloyd insists he was helping but Booth is going to hold him on drug charges.

Hodgins tells Cam that the nunchucks are completely clean. Brennan believes they could be the murder weapon so Hodgins will need to do an experiment. Cam reluctantly gives permission and Hodgins senses that something is off. Cam confesses that Arastoo made her uneasy. He said that he looks at the devil everyday. Some Muslims refer to Americans as the "Great Satan." Could Arastoo be talking about them? Arastoo arrives to show Cam that there are radiating microfractures in Neal's tail. Cam recalls that his intestines were ruptured. He was definitely slammed into something.

At Havenhurst, Copeland explains that Lloyd had pharmacy privileges. He fooled everyone by stealing drugs from the patients. Suddenly, Phillip Womack has an outburst. He demands the "special" medicine from Lloyd while doctors restrain him. Booth wants to search the premises. Brennan begins to realize the value of Copeland's work.

At the Lab, Hodgins prepares to hit a crash test dummy with the nunchucks and register the strength of the impact. However, he only ends up hurting himself. Arastoo takes the reigns and skillfully wields the nunchucks. However, the Squints only discover this is not the murder weapon.

At Havenhurst, Sweets questions Phillip Womack. He is completely delusional, discussing methods of psychiatry with Sweets as if he were a real doctor. He claims to know things about Neal but refuses to speak on the matter because of doctor-patient confidentiality.

Arastoo has finally discovered cause of death. But before he can tell Cam, he must clarify his earlier comment. He served as a translator in Iraq. One day, he was forced to kill an attacker coming after his unit. Afterward, he found a picture of this man's family. He doesn't see the devil in Americans. He sees it in himself. Back to the task, Arastoo points to more microfractures on the maxillary and mandibular. Neal was electrocuted. The current entered his hand and exited his tail. This explains the ruptured intestines.

Brennan and Sweets tell Dr. Copeland that Neal died from electrocution. He received an extended shock of at least 480 volts. The Squints consult Angela, who refers to the electrical plans of the building. There is a 600 volt transformer in the basement but it was sealed off when the building was remodeled. Neal was known for finding unique hiding places. Perhaps he found a way in.

In the basement, Sweets, Brennan, Booth and Copeland find a place where someone was cooking heroin. Brennan spots blood and burnt flesh. Booth turns on a light and they see a message on the wall: "Welcome to Hell."

At the Lab, Angela runs a simulation of the electrocution. She doesn't believe Neal could have died from the shock he received. Brennan asks Angela to run the simulation without Neal's rubber-soled shoes. Sweets concurs that after shooting up, Neal wouldn't have put them back on. Brennan refers to a picture of Neal's shoes from his body. She doesn't believe that he tied the laces. Angela runs the simulation again without the shoes. This time, Neal dies. The killer's DNA must be on the laces.

Gabe Lowery sits in the Interrogation Room. Erica is in disbelief. Sweets explains that Gabe went to visit Neal the night he died. Gabe found Neal taking drugs and lashed out, knocking him into a transformer. Erica wonders why God did this to her family.

At the Diner, Brennan wonders if Booth loses his faith after a case like this. He admits that he does but tomorrow is a new day. His faith will return. Brennan has had a similar experience. When she cannot determine the cause of something, her faith in logic is shaken. But then she remembers that two plus two equals four and sugar makes her coffee sweet. These small truths comfort her. Booth smiles and sips his coffee. Life is good again.