The Bullet in the Brain

The Bullet in the Brain is the eleventh episode of the sixth season of Bones. 
==Synopsis==
The city anxiously anticipates the arrival of Heather Taffet, more notoriously known as "The Gravedigger," for her final appeal after being sentenced to death for a kidnap-murder and a series of similar coldblooded crimes. But when a bullet targeted at The Gravedigger is fired from a distance and hits her, the Jeffersonian team is tasked to piece together the sniper's precise location as well as identify the suspect and his motives. With the help of prosecutor Caroline Julian, Booth and Brennan put together a list of likely suspects, but the evidence and the remarkable skill needed to pull off the crime leads the team to believe that the crime was an inside, professional job, leaving Brennan's father, Max, and even Booth as plausible suspects. Meanwhile, Sweets attempts to put on a brave face after being caught in the firestorm just moments following a chilly encounter with The Gravedigger.
==Summary==
The episode opens with the Gravedigger being transported to court. Sweets rides with the serial killer in the back of an armored police van. She mercilessly taunts him, calling him the "weakest link in the chain." Sweets appears to take the words to heart. Moments later, the Gravedigger is escorted from the vehicle. Booth spots James Kent, the father of two of the Gravedigger's victims, in the crowd. Suddenly, the Gravedigger's head explodes from an unheard sniper round.
Back at the Jeffersonian, Camille extracts the bullet from the skull fragments. It's a big one from a very powerful rifle. Caroline says that a lot of people wanted Taffet dead, including Max Brennan. Booth is skeptical, but agrees to put Max on the list of suspects. Sweets, meanwhile, listens to a recording of the Gravedigger taunting him. The words of the dead woman clearly bother him more than he dares to admit.
Later, Bones asks Angela if she thinks Max might be responsible. Angela assures Bones her dad wasn't the killer. Later, Booth calls in James Kent for questioning. He admits to feeling pretty good about the Gravedigger being killed. He then hands Booth the video camera he was using outside the courthouse. Later, Booth watches the video, determining the shot came from the southwest and from very, very far away. Bones then presents a photo of the recreated bullet. Booth immediately identifies it as a handmade job and concludes that it was a professional hit.
At the Jeffersonian, where Angela uses her computer to recreate the crime scene. She deduces that Max could not have made that shot and to take him off the list of suspects. Max walks into the office. Later, Max and his daughter have coffee. Max asks whether Bones is romantically involved with Booth. Bones suggests they drop the subject. Max then presents receipts for a recent trip to New Hampshire as an alibi.
Later, Bones and Booth head to the courthouse and notice a law office is located just about where the kill shot originated. Turns out a man who works in the office as a paralegal is also an accomplished marksman. The man used to be a lawyer, but Taffet had gotten him disbarred. Booth almost immediately dismisses the man when he is brought in for questioning. The former lawyer is far too nervous to have made such a precision shot. Camille and Angela, meanwhile, use police microphones to pinpoint the spot of the shooter. Thanks to Angela, the two get an address and head to the apartment belonging to a young woman.
Inside the apartment, Booth finds drag marks on the floor. He theorizes the table was dragged toward the window. Booth recreates the scene by lying on the table and aiming with the sniper rifle. Bones suggests the sniper community is so small that Booth probably knows the killer. He agrees. They then discover the bathtub has been covered in a tarp and taped into place. Booth pulls back the tarp, revealing a decomposing body.
Later, Sweets sits in his car in an underground parking garage replaying the tape of the Gravedigger calling Sweets the "weakest link in the chain." Hodgins interrupts claiming he needs Sweets' "professional opinion". Hodgins tells Sweets he is thrilled the Gravedigger is dead. Sweets ask Hodgins if he believes that Taffet got what she deserved. Hodgins responds with a resounding "yes." Sweets, meanwhile, doesn't look so convinced. He remains shaken by the Gravedigger's words. However, he agrees and Hodgins leaves feeling as though his resolve has been strengthened.
At Booth's office, he has narrowed the list of capable snipers to six men, all of which he knows personally. Caroline, in the meantime, visits Sweets. She notices that he can't get the Gravedigger's words out of his head. Caroline then confesses that she was so terrified that she had an accident (she soiled herself). The very personal confession gives Sweets' strength. She then says that Taffet can no longer get to any of them and that everything was over. Sweets appears to demonstrate a renewed strength.
Bones, meanwhile, theorizes the sniper was ambidextrous and that he killed the woman in the apartment with an Army grade hunting knife. Booth's eyes light up at the news. He immediately grabs one picture from the lineup of six, William Preston. In the interrogation room, Preston says he has an alibi, and then says that they both knew who committed the crime. Booth bristles at the suggestion Jacob Broadsky could have been the killer. Apparently, Jacob was a mentor to Booth. Preston presses, suggesting Broadsky might not be fully retired.
Caroline does a little searching and discovers Broadsky goes by an alias. That alias opened a bank account just the other day and deposited $2 million. James Kent, father of two of the Gravedigger's victims, recently withdrew the same amount from his account. This was the same amount of money Taffet wanted for his sons. Moments later, Kent sits in the interrogation room. Booth explains that an innocent woman was killed for access to her apartment and then soaked in lye. Kent admits to being called by a man who offered to kill the Gravedigger for money. Kent, believing he was doing society a favor, agreed to pay over $2 million.
Later, the team discovers Jacob Broadsky recently bought land under another assumed name: Seeley Booth. "This is between me and him," Booth growls. So Booth drives out to the overgrown plot of land and is confronted by Broadsky, who taunts him that he needs a warrant. Booth explains he doesn't need a warrant, because the land belongs to him. Broadsky runs and Booth gives chase. As the pair pass a trailer, Broadsky sets off an explosion. The trailer is blown to pieces, destroying any evidence inside. Booth then pulls a gun on Broadsky, who urges the FBI agent to shoot. Broadsky, who claims to be innocent, then says that Booth could never shoot anyone if there was any doubt. Booth doesn't shoot and Broadsky disappears into the woods.
==Cast==
===Main Cast===
*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 Week===
*Wendell Bray - Michael Grant Terry
===Recurring Cast ===
*Max Keenan - Ryan O'Neal
*Caroline Julian - Patricia Belcher
*Heather Taffet - Deidre Lovejoy
*James Kent - James McDonnell
*Jacob Broadsky - Arnold Vosloo
===Guest Cast===
*William Preston - Matthew John Armstrong
*Tracy Leveque - Meili Cady
*Pedestrian - Louis Fasanaro
*Man - Jesse 'Jet Set' Hudson
*FBI Agent - Adrian Quiñonez Lou
*Harvey Morster - Unknown
==Notes==
*Heather Taffet said that she was not the only one responsible. Which would suggest she most likely had an unknown accomplice helping her.
*Brennan mentions that booth has the record for the longest shot at just over 1 kilometer (She actually says 'almost a kilometer'. Booth corrects her that is was 'over a kilometer'.). The longest shot on record at time of recording was well over 2 kilometers.
==Quotes==
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Category:Season 6
Category:Episodes