Bones Wiki
Register
Advertisement

The Bone that Blew is the eleventh episode of the fourth season of Bones.

Plot[]

When a skull and various skeletal remains are found in a tree in a nationally protected wooded preserve, Brennan and Booth are on the case to investigate. Back at the Jeffersonian, Brennan learns of her father's new position as a teacher, a prospect she is less than happy to learn about, allegedly because of his recent acquittal for murder. In a lucky break, the victim's bones are identified in a government database as those of an ex-Marine who has been off-the grid for nearly three years. With no records of his whereabouts from the past three years, the team turns to the internet for answers. The investigation eventually leads Brennan and Booth to an ultra-elite private school and a group of rich and powerful families, one of whom the ex-Marine had worked for as a “nanny”. As the investigation continues, the team finds Brennan's father to be an unlikely asset to the case, but Brennan is opposed to her father's involvement.

Summary[]

Two men search for a rare and expensive wood in the forest that they plan to harvest. They see a skull on the limbs of a tree then scream.

The next day, Bones is upset to learn that her father, Max, has been hired to work at the Jeffersonian as a tour guide. Bones finds her father as he teaches a group of kids about light refraction. Later, Booth and Bones investigate the remains found on the tree. An agent from the Department of Fish and Wildlife tells the team that they need to move in order to protect rare birds. Bones smells the skull and notices that it has been recently burned.

The remains are brought to the lab. Booth is surprised to find that Max works at the lab. Bones finds that the victim has a compression fracture caused by trauma that he received before dying. The DNA of the remains matches a Marine named Calvin Warren. They read that he had been discharged three years ago.

Hodgins, Camille, and Wendell find that Calvin's remains were burned by a heat hotter than a wood fire, but cooler than what a crematorium would produce.

At lunch, Max tells Sweets that Bones does not want him to work in the Jeffersonian. Bones says that she doesn't want him there because he is a criminal. Sweets thinks that Bones has abandonment issues.

Camille meets with Angela and tells her that Calvin was found with oxycotin. Angela looks at his Myspace page and says that he doesn't look like a drug dealer. Angela examines a photo on his webpage and finds Calvin's address.

Booth and Bones go to his apartment to search through his belongings. They find a passport and several stacks of foreign currency. They assume that he was a world traveler. They also discover a RF card that can be used to open electronic doors. They determine that it opens a gate at a private school, Woodbury.

Booth goes to the school and meets an administrator named Donnegan. Donnegan says that Woodbury is an elite school. Booth asks Donnegan if he knows Calvin Warren. Donnegan does not recognize his name. Donnegan looks Calvin up in the school database and finds that he is the nanny for the president of the parents association.

Booth and Bones meet with the the mother of the children that Calvin was a nanny for, Elsbeth King. She says that her husband is a defense contractor who's life is always in danger. She says that Calvin was hired as a nanny/bodyguard. Booth and Brennan then talk to the King kids, Royce and Alexa. Royce insults Booth in Chinese, and Booth becomes threatening to the kid. Royce says that he got hurt while playing lacrosse and Calvin brought him to be treated by Doctor Ezralow. While on their way back to the Jeffersonian, Booth and Brennan talk about the price of attending Woodbury. Booth says that he doesn't think that he is able to mentally challenge his son, Parker, enough. Booth meets with the doctor that Calvin took Royce to see, Dr. Ezralow. She says that she is familiar with Calvin and the King family. She says that when Calvin was in her office, he stole her prescription pad.

Hodgins tells Camille that he has found the accelerant used to burn the body. He says that the victim was burned using aviation gas.

Booth meets with the doctor again. Ezralow admits to Booth that she wrote Calvin a prescription for pain. Booth shows Ezralow her flight logs that suggests that she was having an affair with Calvin. Ezralow admits to the relationship. She says that Calvin told her about a tip regarding Richard King's company that she used to make a lot of money.

Hodgins and Max conduct an experiment concerning the case. They put a burnt test skull in a windtunnel and crank it up to 65 mph. They see that the speed is capable of moving the skull. Wendell says that there recently was a windstorm that produced winds up to 71 mph. They figure that they should contact the NOAA to get a definitive answer where the storm brought the bones to the tree from. Bones says that her father should have not participated in a murder investigation and will be fired.

Bones and Booth meet with Doctor Ezralow at a lacrosse game. They ask her how Richard found out that Calvin told her about the King company. Ezralow tells them that she wants to talk to her lawyer before answering any further questions.

Angela, Hodgins, and Camille examine the weather data and find where the bones were placed in order to land on the tree. Camille tells Hodgins that he did a good job. Hodgins tells Camille to thank Max Brennan. Later, the team goes to the area where they believe Calvin's remains were originally placed. The find a pile of bones and signs that Calvin was shot with a 12 gauge shotgun. They figure that Calvin was choked, shot then burned. They look around and see that the King family owns a country home next to the burn site.

Booth and Bones speak to Richard. He says that he owns several shotguns. He says that he didn't know that Calvin leaked information. They leave his house and examine his car. Booth opens the gas tank and sticks his tie inside of it.

Sweets, Bones and Max meet for lunch. Bones says that she fired her father. Sweets says that Bones's memory of Max's absence is causing her anxiety. Max says that he will never abandon Bones again.

Hodgins tells Camille that the gas sample that Booth took from King's car matches the accelerant found on Calvin's body.

Later they find that Calvin was not choked to death, but instead, dragged after he was killed. They figure that he was moved using a choke chain. They determine the angle in which he was dragged and figure that the person was at most 5'5". They figure that Elsbeth King was the killer. Elsbeth is questioned in the interrogation room by Booth. Booth says that her country home is near to the burn site and that she had access to shotguns. Elsbeth says that she had to protect her family. Sweets sees the interview and says that he doesn't think that she killed Calvin. Sweets says that she wants Booth to believe that she killed Calvin. Sweets tells Booth that the only truth that he notices from Elsbeth is when she says that she wants to protect her family. Booth asks Sweets if he is a lousy dad by not sending his kid to private school. Sweets says no, but he would be a lousy dad if he didn't think about what is best for his son.

Bones gets a call and learns that the shotgun was discharged by someone shorter than Elsbeth King. The team brings the entire family to for questioning. They bring up a text message that Alexa wrote. They tell Alexa that Calvin caught her getting into trouble and wanted to report it to the school. Alexa admits that she didn't want to get kicked out of school and shot Calvin. Elsbeth admits that she took Calvin's body to the country house and burned it.

Later, Booth and Bones watch as Max teaches Parker about science. Booth tells Bones not to fire Max. Booth says that it would be a personal favor if she kept Max in the Jeffersonian. Booth says that he wants what is best for Parker, but can't afford to put him into a private school. Booth says that if Max is around, he would be as good as putting Parker into a private school. Bones watches Max and Parker interact and decides that Max should stay.

Cast[]

Main Cast[]

Intern of the Week[]

Recurring Cast[]

Guest Cast[]

Featured Music[]

  • "The Sun Will Rise" - Brendan James

Notes[]

  • David Boreanaz and Gina Torres previously worked together in Angel. Boreanaz played the titular character, Angel. Torres played Jasmine, the fourth season's main villain for 5 episodes.
  • Royce and Alexa King speak Chinese, alluding to the television show Firefly, in which Gina Torres starred. Firefly describes the world's two dominating countries as the United States and China. And as a result, people speak both Chinese and English, like the King children due to their father's belief.
  • When Royce King insults Booth in Mandarin, Dr. Brennan translates it as "a stupid inbred sack of meat."  This is the same insult that Saffron/Bridget yells after Monty's ship leaves her behind in "Trash" (episode 11 of "Firefly"). Gina Torres was one of that series’ stars and Tamara Taylor appeared in its movie, Serenity, shortly before taking the role of Cam.
  • Toni Ezralow participated in the illegal practice of insider trading. That would have been excuse enough for Booth to arrest her and hold her for questioning.

I don't know what that means[]


Previous Story:
The Passenger in the Oven
Next Story:
Double Trouble in the Panhandle
EpisodesSeason 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 · 11 · 12
CharactersSeason 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 · 11 · 12
CategoriesMain Characters ·  Relationships


Advertisement