Bones - The Final Chapter: The Scare in the Score

Posted on 01 February 2019 at 15:37

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"The Final Chapter: The Scare in the Score" is episode seven of season twelve of Bones, the forensic drama television series loosely based on the novels and life of anthropologist Kathy Reichs. In this episode, Booth's past as a sniper is coming back to haunt him and everyone connected to him.

Chased By a Raccoon

A woman is running through a forest on her phone, saying she needs help and he's still after her, still coming. The terrifying individual chasing after her is... a raccoon. Then she trips and falls over, landing on decayed human remains. The raccoon arrives, takes a piece, and leaves. The man on the phone tells the woman to calm down, it's not as bad as she thinks it is. In this case, well, it probably is.

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Brennan Thinks Her Father Looks Healthier

Brennan is at home with Booth and she's concerned because her father has just stepped out to take a private call. She says her father seems different. Healthier. Booth suggests that Max is changing his ways. Brennan replies that, at Max's age, it is unlikely. Booth says people can change even late in life. Brennan replies that it's difficult for an elderly person to alter their basal ganglia (hard to change in other words).

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Max Has Had a Pacemaker Fitted

Dad, we need to talk.

When Max returns, Brennan asks why he needs privacy. Booth looks at the time and decides he needs to help the kids get ready. Well, he needs to avoid the conversation. Brennan asks Max what's going on with him. He replies that he feels great. Brennan says his colour is better and he's not wheezing, and she wants a causal explanation. Max says that, a few months ago, he had some issues (it did seem in "The Final Chapter: The Brain in the Bot" as if he had an undisclosed health problem). So he saw a cardiologist. Max didn't tell his daughter because she was always busy. So, Max went ahead and had a pacemaker embedded in his chest. Brennan is upset that her father went ahead with surgery without telling her. Then she gets a message about a body.

Max Might Not be Lucky to Have a Daughter Like Brennan if He Keeps Hiding Things

A jogger found a body in Fountainhead Regional Park. Booth is going to have Aubrey check missing person's reports. Brennan, looking at the picture, says the body has been there a while. Brennan also complains about Max lying to her; Booth says he's an FBI agent and that wasn't a lie. Brennan responds that it was a lie of omission, and she wants Max to share with her. At his age she will only have so much time left with her father, so doesn't want to be kept in the dark. Booth says that Max is lucky to have a daughter like her. Brennan says he might not be lucky for long if he keeps hiding things.

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Jewellery Lodged in the Body

At the Jeffersonian, the body is identified as a female of Asian descent, in her mid 70s according to Arastoo. She also suffered from arthritis. Hodgins says that, according to the blowfly larvae, the victim has been dead for a week. He also finds hair on the body, canine by the looks of it. There's an object lodged in the victim's chest by the jogger falling on it. It looks like jewellery and Angela says that she should be able to identify the make and vendor.

Cam Watches Home Shopping Mall

Hold on a second. Our cosmopolitan, stylish Cam Saroyan watches the Home Shopping Mall?

Cam says there's no need, as it's a limited edition enchanted hummingbird brooch. When Cam is asked how she knows that, Arastoo smiles. Cam mumbles that you can get it from HSM. Brennan asks if that's a very technical term and Angela says no, it's probably Home Shopping Mall. Cam says she occasionally sees bits and pieces when channel surfing and Arastoo pipes up that you can barely get Cam away from it. Hodgins has more questions about this but Cam decides to leave. And addresses Arastoo as Dr Vaziri, saying they will discuss it later. Arastoo is in trouble.

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The Victim is Traced

So I checked into the sales records at the Home Shopping Mall. 2,108 people around the country bought this limited edition Enchanted Hummingbird Brooch.

Aubrey tells Booth that 2,108 people bought this limited edition brooch (a pretty big limited edition) and 83 of them in the DC area. Booth asks how many were elderly; Aubrey replies that probably all of them. Just look at the brooch. One of them is a Margaret Kwan of Rockville, Maryland, who matches Angela's facial reconstruction.

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Cam is Irritated with Arastoo

At the lab, Arastoo is saying that the victim had a vitamin d deficiency. Cam doesn't comment. So Arastoo asks Cam what she's learned. She replies that she learned that Arastoo thinks it's okay to share personal details with everyone here. Arastoo tells her it's nothing to be ashamed of, but does admit, when Cam asks, that he enjoyed telling everyone about it. He says it's only because she's so professional. If Cam wasn't so professional, he'd kiss her right now. And grab her butt. Cam tells Arastoo she is both flattered and appalled by his lack of professionalism.

An Old, Shut-in Knitter

The victim had a repetitive stress injury, but only in the right shoulder. Arastoo has also found bone spurs on the right hand. So she was doing something repetitive and detail-oriented; Arastoo suggests knitting. So the victim is an old, shut-in knitter. Who would want to murder her?

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No Friends, No Family, No Visitors

Booth and Aubrey are let into Margaret's Kwan's place by a young woman. When she's asked about all the boxes, she doesn't know what they are for; she only manages the building because her father makes her. And she will be out of there as soon as something better comes along. Booth comments that with an attitude like that she will go far - apparently her father says the same thing. The victim had no friends and family, and no visitors.

Tortured Prior to Death

Impact fractures are found to the victim's feet, as if they had been struck with a heavy, cylindrical item, such as a hammer. There were multiple blows over an extended period. Suggesting torture, a week prior to her death. The victim also has ligature marks on her wrists and ankles. Brennan says that torture is usually done to extract information, but what information could the victim have had?

The Victim's Deliveries Were Made by a Guy From Booth's Old Unit

Angela tells Booth that the victim had little contact with the outside world. She barely used her mobile phone and her car only moved every 3-4 weeks. She even ordered food online. Booth says that her apartment was filled with boxes, so someone would have to deliver it. Angela checks, and the deliveries were made by one guy, Michael Reiss. Booth asks if it's Michael L. Reiss and it is. He was in Booth's unit and his phone records ended a week ago.

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The Person Who Tortured Aldo Clemens May Be Responsible

In "The Final Chapter: The Price for the Past", Aldo Clemens had been tortured for information, but killed himself rather than talk. So it's suspected that the same person is responsible here. Brennan says the MO is the same, extensive and prolonged torture. Booth tells Caroline that his unit killed a Serbian war criminal, and Booth was the one who took the shot. Reiss was a Ranger, so torture wouldn't work on him. So the killer tortured Margaret Kwan in front of him until he gave up Booth's name. Caroline wants to move Booth's family to a safe house. The children go and Brennan wants Max to go as well. He insists he can help, but Brennan says she needs him to look after her children for her. Cam calls Booth and tells him that Margaret Kwan had her throat slit, so the torturer will know Booth's name by now.

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Booth Recognises a Face

Well, then we have got a problem, because we need more evidence to get a warrant, but we're not getting a warrant without some evidence here.

The trail leads to a Serbian bar and the owner says he knows who the war criminal is. People like him are why they left Serbia. Booth spots a photo in a frame of a boy and asks who it is. He's told it's Mark Kovac, a good player on their soccer team. Booth recognises, and flashes back to Bosnia, 1995. He's looking through the scope of his rifle and the boy from the picture is celebrating his birthday. With his father, the man Booth is going to kill. Once the boy moves out of the way, Booth takes the shot. Later, Booth tells Caroline that Mark Kovac is the general's son. He just knows it. Caroline says she needs more but Booth replies that if anything happens to him, remember the name.

Mark Kovac is Interviewed

Mark Kovac is married with kids and works as a paramedic. He was evacuated from Serbia by the Red Cross and placed with a family. He served in the U.S. military as a medic, getting a Bronze Star and a Combat Infantryman Badge. Angela and Brennan confirm that he is almost certainly the general's son. Which Kovac does admit to Booth and Aubrey, but he didn't like broadcasting the information for reasons he's sure they understand. Kovac hadn't even told his wife.

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Hiding Something or a Psychopath

Caroline shows Aubrey some information on Kovac, information she's not supposed to have access to. Kovac's psych evaluations from when he was in the military. He had no disorders at all. Caroline asks Aubrey when he ever met anyone with no problems, especially given that Kovac is the son of a war criminal, who saw his father killed and served in combat. Kovac is either hiding something or a psychopath. The body of Mike Reiss is found, and he died from a cardiac arrest. He was tortured to death. Margaret Kwan was killed after she served her purpose. The killer tortured Reiss for fun.

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So, Kovac may be the killer, but there is no evidence to prove it. They can't get a warrant without evidence, and without a warrant they can't get the evidence they need. Plus the killer is definitely targeting Booth. And his family.