The Devil In The Details - Season 5, Episode 14
Brennan and Booth investigate a set of uniquely disfigured remains allegorizing biblical text; the victim was a former patient at a sanitarium, and the suspects are hard to characterize as either good or evil; and intern Arastoo Vaziri reveals a secret about his past.
At a Catholic Church, a priest and altar boy are shocked and terrified to find a burning corpse - with horns - on the altar. 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 IDs the horned corpse: Neal Lowery. He was being treated for schizophrenia at Havenhurst Sanitarium.
Booth speaks with Neal's mother, Erica Lowery, and her son Gabe. Neal was a nice, normal child; however, he became a difficult teenager who would set fires and kill animals. At sixteen, Neal ran away. When he returned, he had horns. He told people he was the son of Satan. Since then Erica has spent her every penny at Havenhurst, trying to help her son. 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.
At Havenhurst Sanitarium, Brennan spies Christmas Roses. Sweets, who interned at a mental health facility, is excited to be of use. They are greeted by Lloyd Robertson, a nurse practitioner. Dr. Copeland is waiting for them. He explains that Neal has disappeared before. Sweets wants to question the patients and staff. It transpires that 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 young Neviah Larkin. She shows them her painting, which depicts Neal crucified on a cross while Neviah stabs him with a holy lance. Neviah believes she is an angel. Brennan says 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, as she will only upset Neviah by questioning her delusions. 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. When asked where the "holy lance" is, however, she insists it's right here... just invisible.
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 opinions on psychiatry. He offers to give her a tour of the facility; however, Copeland interrupts. He sends Phillip to get his medication. Phillip is not a doctor after all; he's a delusional patient. Brennan is distressed; they seemed to have so much in common. 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.
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, and 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; 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, and apologizes to him for her earlier belittling comments about psychiatry. 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... ultimately proving that this is not the murder weapon.
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 the cause of death, but before he can tell Cam, he says that he wants to 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.
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 shocked. 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, devastated, wonders why God did this to her family. Sweets, trying to comfort her, says he's sorry for her pain. "You can't even imagine my pain," she says.
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 understands. When she cannot determine the cause of something, her faith in logic is shaken. 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.
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