The Dentist In The Ditch - Season 5, Episode 13
A human skeleton is discovered in the trenches of an old Civil War battleground, and the bones belong to a local dentist; and Booth's brother Jared returns from his travels with some surprising news.
In the midst of a Civil War re-enactment, two of the faux-soldiers stumble across a skeleton. They argue about the victim: Is it a dead Rebel or a dead Yankee? Meanwhile, Jared Booth has returned from India, and he surprises Booth at the FBI. To Booth's shock, Jared says he's in love... and getting married. Later, at the crime scene, Booth shares his concerns with Brennan. Jared has only known Padme for one month. Brennan is focused on the case. Pine needles left behind tannic acid, which acts as a red dye. Brennan can tell that the victim is male, but the body is encased in clay, so she can't discern much more. At the lab, Brennan notes that the bone is degraded by demineralization. She finds evidence of titanium screws, suggesting that the victim is not a Civil War casualty. They must now determine how to extract the remains from the clay without damaging the bone. Suddenly thousands of baby spiders emerge from the clay! Hodgins deals with the spiders while explaining that the heat in the lab hatched the eggs. Vincent Nigel-Murray has determined that the victim is in his late twenties or early thirties. Even more pertinent, this type of spider is not indigenous to the area where the remains were found. It seems the victim was killed elsewhere, and dumped.
Booth meets Padme, who is an elementary school teacher. She is originally from Alexandria, VA. Booth marvels that Jared went all the way to India to meet a girl that lived so close to him. Padme and Jared look happy, but Booth has a feeling something is not right. Meanwhile, at the lab, Vincent has trouble removing the bones from the clay. He then reports that the victim has poor quality dental work with good materials. Brennan believes this signifies a dental school. Tendonitis in the elbow, and other occupational, markers mean the victim could have been a dentist. She instructs Vincent to find out what caused the damage to the sternum. As she walks away, Vincent laments her lack of praise. Later he cleans the sternum with a sonic toothbrush. Cam wonders if there is a faster way to accomplish the task. Vincent asks if Brennan has praised any of the other interns, and Cam advises him to strive for mild approval.
Dental records confirm the identity of the victim: Dam Pinard was a dentist who lived alone. On the drive to his house, Brennan gives Booth advice about Jared. Booth believes in true love, so why not this love? Booth still cannot shake his suspicions. Booth and Brennan pull up to Dan's house, which has an incomplete driveway. He was remodeling. Inside they find Lucas Pickford watching a football game. He is the contractor, and lives above the garage. He is shocked to learn Dan is dead. He had been gone for a while, but it wasn't unusual for Dan to disappear for days or even weeks at a time. Lucas thinks Booth should talk to Christopher Fife, Dan's ex. Christopher explains that he worked two jobs to put Dan through dental school. Dan dumped him when he graduated. Brennan pries an arrowhead from a nearby tree. It could have caused the trauma to the sternum. Booth arrests Christopher. Later, Vincent tells Cam that the trauma to the sternum is not the cause of death. It likely occurred post mortem, when the victim was tossed into the creek. Christopher Fife is not the murderer. He then deduces that rhubarb can help clean the clay from the remains. Meanwhile, Booth questions Grace Bryson, Dan Pinard's former dental hygienist. She claims Dan gave her Hepatitis C. He nicked her with a syringe. Booth doesn't believe the story. Dan never had Hepatitis C. Grace confesses that she had an affair, and lied to explain the disease to her husband. Did Mr. Bryson kill Dan because of her lie? Did Grace kill him so he wouldn't tell her husband the truth? Dan cancelled all appointments on the day he was murdered, and wrote “Dr. Hibbert” in his appointment book. Grace reveals that Dan always wrote "Dr. Hibbert" when he cancelled patients at the last minute.
Booth tells Brennan that he did a background check on Padme Dalaj. She worked as an escort four years ago. Brennan believes that Jared already knows the truth about Padme, but Booth disagrees. If Jared knew, he would not want to marry her. Brennan examines the cleaned skeleton. The victim has damage all over his body, including trauma to the head and a nick on the ankle. Hodgins recognizes them as common football injuries.
Booth and Brennan approach Jason Hendler, coach of the Cardinals, during football practice. He is floored by the news of Dan's death. The team loved him. Brennan wonders if Dan's homosexuality was an issue, but no: the whole team is gay. Everyone on the team is positive that none of them hurt Dan. Brennan locates Dan's helmet. Is splattered with blood on the inside. Booth wonders if Dan's death was a football accident. No one speaks. Booth tells them to cancel their plans this weekend; they aren't going anywhere. Meanwhile, Hodgins works with the spiders. Vincent arrives with a tray of small white ovals. They were in the rhubarb stew. Hodgins isn't sure what they are. Brennan tells Angela that Padme was a call girl. Angela doesn't think Booth should tell Jared what he knows. It could ruin their relationship. Brennan notes that the trauma to the skull seems to be the cause of death. Whatever struck the skull must have been pointed enough to pierce the brain. Cam says there was blood on Dan's towel that belongs to a man named Cyd Zigler. Booth discovers that Cyd plays for one of the other teams in the football league. He got into a fight with Dan after one of the games. Dan won. Perhaps Cyd was looking for revenge.
Jared arrives at the FBI after getting an urgent message from Booth. Booth reveals that Padme was arrested for prostitution four years ago. Jared is livid that Booth performed a background check on his girlfriend, and storms out. Booth questions Cyd Zigler. Cyd simply thought Dan was avoiding him. He had no idea he was dead. Dan had everything figured out. He was proud to be gay, but Cyd wasn't ready to come out of the closet. Still, Cyd loved Dan, and wanted to be with him. Vincent cannot discern the cause of the cause of death: What made the skull fractures? There are three points of impact that appear to coalesce; however, it seems the weapon originated inside the skull. Hodgins has a thought, and rushes out. Sweets, Brennan, and Booth discuss Zigler. Zigler was married for six years. He was trying to conform to social norms, but Dan made him confront his feelings. Zigler could have transferred his self-loathing to Dan (and murdered him).
Vincent and Hodgins determine what caused the fracture to the frontal bone. Hodgins, saying that Vincent is brilliant, says that those ovals in the rhubarb stew were seeds which became lodged in the skull and grew, causing the fractures. It is known as floral turbation, and is similar to a sliver of grass growing through cement. Brennan, disappointed, says they still have no cause of death. Vincent is disappointed not to get any praise. Brennan carefully analyzes each bone. She finds a nick on the ankle. Whatever made the mark must have cut the posterior tibial artery, and caused massive bleeding. Vincent and Hodgins must recover particulates to establish a weapon. Cam defends Vincent to Brennan. She should have realized that the bone nick hit an artery. Brennan agrees, and Cam encourages her to praise Vincent. Vincent and Hodgins arrive. They found tungsten carbide particulates, a compound used to coat dental tools. Grace Bryson, the dental hygienist, would have access to dental tools. At Cam's urging, Brennan tells Vincent he did a good job. Vincent is thrilled. Grace lives in Virginia. The spiders from the body are found in that area. They can make an arrest.
In the way to Grace Bryson's, Brennan chastises Booth for abandoning his belief system. He told her that her father's criminal past didn't matter, she believed him, and now she and her father have a relationship. So why is he overly concerned with Padme's past? Booth has no answer.
Booth and Brennan question Grace in her front yard. She denies involvement in the murder. Brennan notices that her driveway is made of the same cobblestone as Dan's driveway. Grace explains that they have the same contractor: Lucas Pickford. Lucas said he had materials left over from the job he did for Dan, and could give Grace a good deal. Booth thinks it was a scam. He resold the materials that Dan had purchased. They need to dig up the driveway. It transpires that the stones are covered in blood that matches the victim. Lucas Pickford paved over the crime scene. Vincent and Hodgins announce that a grout scraper is the murder weapon. It is coated in tungsten carbide, and matches the ankle nick that killed Dan. It belongs to Lucas. Vincent thinks he detects a gleam of approval in Brennan's eye, and is overjoyed.
Lucas claims he killed Dan in self-defense. Dan came after him for reselling his supplies. He was defending himself. Booth wonders why he didn't call 9-1-1. Why did he watch Dan bleed to death, and dump his body? Lucas didn't want to lose his contractor's license.
At the bar, Booth and Brennan wait for Jared. Booth feels bad about the way he behaved. He's thought about what Brennan said, and hopes he didn't ruin his brother's relationship. Jared and Padme arrive. Jared tells Booth that he and Padme never had any secrets. He knew about her past, and Booth needs to decide if he’s going to stay in their lives or not. "I'm in," says Booth. Jared then stuns Booth by asking him to be his best man. Brennan tries to make a celebratory toast: a wordy affair in which she explains that she used to not believe that love existed, that it was just a chemical reaction in the brain, but meeting Booth has allowed her to consider the possibility that love does exist after all. Booth cuts to the chase: "To love!"
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