Last time on Bones, we watched as Sweets showed off his legendary chess moves in order to solve a murder. Who knew Sweets has so many hidden talents?
This episode of Bones, “The Heiress in the Hill,” follows the team as they attempt to solve the murder of a kidnap victim. Hodgins will also learn about a long-buried secret in his family history.
It’s all About the Money
The episode begins with Brennan and Booth at home on a rainy morning. Booth is stunned when he finds a royalty check for $75,000 dollars on the kitchen counter. It is an advance for the book sales of Brennan’s latest novel. Booth is upset that the advance is more than he makes in a year.
Hodgins and Angela also have money issues on the brain as they discuss adding some rooms to their humble abode. They are interrupted by Dr. Rozran, of the Sandalwood Home, which is an in-patient mental health facility. It turns out that Dr. Rozran is there because Hodgins is the sole survivor of the Cantilever group. Apparently, Hodgins has a secret brother, and his expenses haven’t been paid in over a year. Since Hodgins is an only child, he is rather shocked by this announcement.
Strange Remains
A giant clump of earth is moved into the lab, with skeletal remains peeking out of the soil. The remains were found at Antietam Battlefield Park. Fisher, always one to spread good cheer, notices that the foot belongs to a female, and there is one toe missing. Worse yet, the remains were treated with lye before they were buried. Hodgins sprays the remains with vinegar so the lye won’t further react with the soil and water to damage the remains. Hodgins to the rescue, once again!
The remains were put in the ground a little more than a day ago, and Brennan thinks the body belongs to a female in her mid-20’s. Some of the victim’s teeth have also been smashed to try and prevent identification.
Booth asks Sweets to go through some files and look at some cases to see if there are any similar crimes. Sweets notices Brennan’s check and realizes why Booth is in a bad mood. Booth tells Sweets that Brennan signed the check over to him because they don’t have a joint account. When Sweets comments on male and female gender roles and how the topic of money fits into the equation, an exasperated Booth tells him to start working on the files.
The Kidnap Plot
Meanwhile, at the Jeffersonian, Brennan and Fisher discover that the victim’s head was repeatedly smashed against a hard surface. Cam runs the victim’s DNA, and gets a hit– Lauren Frank. Frank is a community college student who lived with her father and stepmother. The victim’s father is the CEO of a software company, and he is wealthy.
Lauren’s father and stepmother arrive and demand to know if they found Lauren. They reluctantly reveal that they received a package outside their door the previous morning, telling them that if they went to the police Lauren would be killed. Her toe was in the box. Yikes!
Sweets tells Lauren’s father and stepmother that they recovered Lauren’s body. Steven Frank receives a message on his cell phone with instructions. Since the kidnapper doesn’t know that they have found Lauren’s body, it gives the FBI a definite advantage.
My Brother’s Keeper
Hodgins meets with Dr. Rozran, and he examines the paperwork for Jeffrey Hodgins. Hodgins is shocked when he identifies his parent’s signatures on the contract for the Sandalwood Home. Rozran tells Hodgins that when his mother became pregnant with him, the decision was made to have Jeffrey live at the facility. Hodgins’ brother has schizo-affective disorder. If he is on his medication, he does quite well. Hodgins experiences even more guilt because he doesn’t have the money to pay for Jeffrey’s treatment.
Hodgins ventures outside at the facility to meet his brother. They bond over a shared love of Jules Verne. Hodgins doesn’t let his brother know that they are related. When Hodgins jokes that he is “a conspiracy nut,” Jeffrey becomes agitated and tells Hodgins that static electricity is masking threats in the world. Hodgins is shaken up by the abrupt change in Jeffrey’s personality.
Bones Episode 9.14 Photos: Hodgins Reunites with His Brother>>>
Scene of the Crime
At the Frank residence, the horrified parents tell Booth that the kidnapper was watching them, and that they followed all the instructions. Brennan and Booth are interrupted by a friendly golden retriever who is interested in trying to eat the victim’s toe. Chuck Winter, who manages the house, grabs the dog and pulls him from the room.
Brennan and Booth examine Lauren’s second floor bedroom, and Booth theorizes that the perpetrator used an emergency fire ladder to remove Lauren. Katherine shares that the alarm sensors on the bedroom door didn’t go off when it was opened because she told her stepdaughter that the air conditioning was drying out her skin. Booth asks Brennan to take the victim’s laptop back to the lab.
Spanish Studies
Back at the lab, Angela tells Brennan that Hodgins feels terrible that Jeffrey will have to go to a state facility. Angela discovers a reminder in Lauren’s computer about an appointment to study Spanish with Mauricio.
Mauricio is not the teacher, but he is the teacher’s assistant. Sweets hones in on the fact that Mauricio and Lauren had a romantic relationship. They had, in fact, planned to leave the following week on a hiking trip to South America. Mauricio had booked his flight, but Sweets informs him that there was no information about the trip on Lauren’s computer.
Must Love Dogs
Booth talks with Chuck as they view home security footage. For some reason, the system failed to reboot the night that Lauren was kidnapped. Suddenly, the two men notice a man climb over the wall and head to Lauren’s room.
Booth apprehends the suspect after a chase, and he is the dog walker. He was also friends with Lauren, and he tells Booth that Lauren hated living at home with her stepmother. In fact, Lauren once saw Katherine and her trainer involved in some bedroom shenanigans. Steven Frank rushes to give Booth his phone when he receives a text demanding three million dollars for Lauren’s safe return.
Cause of Death
Fisher and Brennan discover that the victim banged her head, hands, and heels against the ground, which was the result of a seizure.
Angela tries to comfort Hodgins as he grapples with the reality of his brother’s illness. Booth, Brennan and Sweets meet at the diner. Katherine’s lover was out of town at the time of the kidnapping. Angela discovers that the texts originated from Lauren’s phone, which is still in the house. Lauren’s stepmother also took out a kidnapping insurance policy. Of course, that doesn’t sound suspicious, does it?
Booth arrives to locate the phone, and finds it with Katherine’s exercise equipment. This wicked stepmother states that the victim’s father took out the insurance policy, and put it in her name to hide money. She then asks for her attorney. Sweets suspects that Lauren’s father and his wife may have acted together because Lauren was getting in the way of their marriage.
A True Friend
Booth and Brennan once again discuss her royalty check, and Booth asks if he gets a vote in how the money is spent. Booth wants to give it to Hodgins so his brother can stay at the facility. Bravo, Booth! Booth and Brennan offer Hodgins and Angela the money, but Hodgins declines in favor of getting a loan.
The victim’s toe was removed with a rusty clipper, and she also had tetanus, which would have resulted in a high fever. Hodgins finds a large amount of penicillin in the beetles that defleshed the remains. Lauren was allergic to penicillin, so the antibiotic inadvertently caused her death.
Fisher shares his perspective on Hodgins’ brother, and tells him that he should be happy that Jeffrey is somewhere where he can get the care that he needs.
The Plot Thickens
Angela discovers that the ransom demand text was actually a “selfie,” taken by Lauren three weeks before the kidnapping. Hodgins discovers traces of dog feces in the victim’s wound. Booth brings in the dog walker, who tells them that Lauren cut off her own toe, and that the wound got infected.
The dog walker stole antibiotics from the vet’s office to try and treat Lauren when she refused to go to the hospital. The dog walker is surprised to learn that the last text from Lauren’s phone explained where to find him and set him up for the whole plot.
Hodgins gets a call from Dr. Rozran that Jeffrey has run away. He finds his brother, who thinks that Hodgins is an operative who is trying to make him leave his home. Hodgins shows Jeffrey a picture of their parents, and Jeffrey agrees to let Hodgins bring him home to the facility.
Brennan is proud that Booth wants to give the royalty money to “The Wounded Warrior Project.” I really liked this emotional aspects of this episode of Bones.
Bones will be moving to Monday nights once again after a brief hiatus, returning with new episodes in March.
Bones airs Fridays at 8 pm on FOX
(Image courtesy of FOX)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
Kim has been covering television entertainment since 2013. She is addicted to Real Housewives, Pump Rules, Dancing with the Stars, and many more shows.
