The Turn in the Urn

The Turn in the Urn is the nineteenth episode of the ninth season of Bones.

SummaryEdit

The Scene of the Crime: B&B attend the funeral for Todd, a wealthy artifact collector, but are as shocked as everyone when he is alive. They are attending because Todd helped fund a lot of Brennan’s research, and she wanted to pay her respects. Once they see that Todd is alive, they can’t help but wonder whose ashes are in the decorative urn — and whose dead body was pulled from Todd’s home’s safe house a few weeks back.

The ashes are sent to the Jeffersonian, and Brennan, Hodgins, Cam and Finn all work to pull out traces of skeletal bone, hoping to get an identity. Angela uses the safe room’s temperature and humidity tracking to retrace the room’s heat and moisture. She is able to reverse engineer a plausible identity.

The Victim: Daniel Barr is the victim, and he is also Todd’s personal concierge, often responsible for helping Todd with major purchases, including expensive antiquities.

Primary Suspects:

•    Todd himself is a suspect, but he insists he was in Costa Rica in drug rehab for a heroin addiction. He used an alias so his high level investors didn’t find out about his whereabouts.

•    Todd’s mother, Mrs. M. She despised all of the women in Todd’s life (including Brennan) and Todd’s girlfriend Sarah. She also resented Daniel and filed a restraining order against him for seemingly no reason.

•    Sarah Metzler, Todd’s girlfriend. Booth suggests that she didn’t like having Daniel around, but Sarah insisted that Todd loved her and that she was friends with Daniel.

•    Satimah Najjar, an antiquities dealer. Booth and Brennan question her about the location of the “slaughterer’s chalice,” and Satimah verifies that while Daniel asked her to locate it for a sum of approximately 50 million dollars, it would be impossible to find it.

The Case Progression: Booth and Sweets talk to Mrs. M. She tells them it is unfair they are questioning her. Booth says it is procedure, but she replies by telling him he’s just mad because her son slept with Brennan — a recurring theme with Mrs. M. Booth gets back to the case.  Sweets says her relationship with Todd was strained because she took things of his, so much so that Daniel tried to get her to leave the house, which is why she filed a restraining order. Mrs. M says they should talk with Sarah Metzler.

At the lab, Brennan and Finn examine the skeletons again and find part of the occipital bone. The damage to it is not a result of the cremation but instead of blunt force trauma, likely cause of death. Hodgins also tells them he found a small piece of tusk in the remains, over 1000 years old. It is possibly from what Daniel was struck with.

Brennan wonders if the slaughterer’s chalice is possibly the murder weapon. At the diner, Booth and Brennan discuss the case, and Brennan says that messing with art like that is more than just a crime, it is a crime against historical humanity. Booth is just annoyed that billionaire Todd gets tax breaks for his friends. Brennan says it isn’t illegal. Booth insists it is still wrong. Brennan tells him he is a good man. He says it’s not about being good, it’s about being normal.

Booth gets a call about the chalice, and he and Brennan go to question Satimah. She insists she doesn’t deal in stolen artifacts, but Brennan proves her wrong by pointing one out immediately in her store.  Booth arrests her.

At the lab, Hodgins has also uncovered some diamond powder, not likely from the chalice.

Booth and Brennan talk to Todd about the slaughterer’s chalice. Brennan asks if he knows Satimah. He knows who she is but has never met her. They find it hard to believe Daniel would spend 50 million without him knowing. Todd said Daniel might have been working for someone else. He insists he is innocent.

Later at home, Booth is annoyed that Todd doesn’t want to play by the rules. He wants Brennan to find something to catch him.  Brennan suggests that there are parts of the victim missing and that the rest of the body is probably in the cremation equipment.

Finn, Hodgins and Cam examine the cremation equipment, and they do find additional remains. Cam is able to analyze some tissue to determine that Daniel was also on heroin, and Finn finds out that at some point, Daniel was shot. It’s not cause of death, but when Hodgins is able to find parts of an antique bullet, they can trace it back to an antique gun Todd recently acquired at an auction.

When Booth and Brennan question Todd again, he admits that he accidentally shot Daniel while they were messing around, but that he paid for his medical expenses and gave him a raise. Booth suggests that perhaps Daniel was blackmailing him. Brennan mentions the diamond powder, and Todd is visibly surprised by that. His demeanor changes, and he basically admits to B&B that he is responsible for Todd’s death. He also requests his lawyer

Booth and Brennan are still suspicious. Brennan wonders if all of the evidence caused him to confess, but Booth doesn’t think that is how Todd is. He still wants Brennan to find evidence against Todd’s mother.

Finn, Hodgins, Angela and Cam discover diamond pieces within Daniel’s bone structure, combined with some sort of lacquer as if from a nail polish. They research and find diamond nail polish as part of a “million dollar manicure” auctioned off in Johannesburg. One of the three lucky winning bids belonged to Sarah Metzler.

The Verdict: B&B bring Sarah in for questioning, and she admits that she was trying to take care of Todd. If Daniel brought him more drugs, Todd would relapse. She was just looking out for him because she loved him.

CastEdit

Main Cast:Edit

• Temperance Brennan - Emily Deschanel
• Seeley Booth - David Boreanaz
• Jack Hodgins - T.J Thyne
• Angela Montenegro - Michaela Conlin
• Camille Saroyan - Tamara Taylor
• Lance Sweets - John Francis Daley

Intern of the WeekEdit

• Finn Abernathy - Luke Kleintank

Guest CastEdit

• Michelle Welton - Tiffany Hines
• Todd Mirga - John Sloan
• Drina Mirga - Joanna Pacula
• Sarah Metzler - Christie Burson
• Satima Najjar - Anjali Bhimani
• Minister - Stephen Grove Malloy

Featured MusicEdit

• One and the Same by Gareth Dunlop and Kim Richey

NotesEdit

• This episode marks the final appearance of Luke Kleintank as Finn Abernathy.

QuotesEdit

• Brennan: Welcome back, Mr. Abernathy! I trust you enjoyed your studies in Boston?
  Abernathy: That I did ma'am, and with a little money in my pocket. I even ate at a restaurant where I didn't understand one word on the menu.
  Brennan: Oh, that's wonderful! That's how I tasted my first tarantula!

GalleryEdit

Video GalleryEdit

TriviaEdit