The Girl in the Mask

The Girl in the Mask is the twenty-third episode of fourth season of Bones.
==Plot==
When the head of Sachi Nakamura, the sister of Booth's friend, is discovered in Washington, D.C., her brother Ken, a detective from Tokyo, flies in to aid the search for his sister's killer. The investigation leads to an elite escort service, and the team must race against the clock when Sachi's roommate is missing as well.
==Summary==
Bones meets with Booth and looks over her choices for her new hire. She has to choose between Wendell, Clark, and Vincent and asks for his opinion. Booth then gets a call from his friend Ken Nakamura. He says he hasn't heard from his sister in a few days and he is worried. He explains that he is in Japan, but will fly to the US to meet with him so they can look for his sister.
Booth and Bones drive in the car and Booth makes calls to find his friend's sister Sachi. He finds out that her car was abandoned near the salt marshes. Booth winces and Bones points out that it is a bad place to dump a body.
The detectives arrive at the scene and meet with Officer Kopek. She tells them that Sachi's roommate is also missing. They see blood inside Sachi's car and Bones sees something in the marsh. She sees that the object is a mask. She lifts it out of the water and sees a human head beneath it. Bones says the mask looks Japanese in nature.
The head is taken back to the lab. They figure the head was in the marsh for about four days and too much blood has leeched out for them to make a positive ID.
Bones meets with Booth and Sachi's brother Ken. Ken introduces them to Dr. Haru Tanaka and Bones says she is very familiar with the doctor's work. They then look at the remains. Haru sees that there is a gunshot wound in the skull. Bones sees that the jaw was broken. She can also tell that the skull was a native Japanese speaker. Bones asks Ken if Sachi had any distinctive facial scars. He says she fell during gymnastics as a child and had to have her jaw wired shut. Bones tells Ken that she is comfortable declaring the remains as being his sister.Booth follows Ken out of the room and tries to console him. Ken says Sachi was his responsibility and he won't rest until he finds her killer. Ken shows him pictures that he says a man took of his sister, claiming he could make her a model.
The team looks at the mask and Haru tells them that the mask is an original. Sweets points out that the mask may have been used to distance the killer from an emotional connection to the victim. Haru tells him they think psychology is not a real science and leaves the room. Angela wonders if Haru is a man or a woman.
Ken and Booth meet with the photographer. They then go to a cafe and see a woman in a mask. They talk to the owner Bruce and he says he knew Sachi and her roommate. He tells them that the mask belongs to Sachi's roommate Nozomi. He says they worked for him and he treated them as family. He says he had to fire them after they started working for an escort service. Ken becomes upset causing Bruce to threaten him with a meat clever.
Haru watches as Camille tests the remains for residue. The test is negative and the two wonder where the killer could have fired his gun. Haru tells Camille that they met Sachi three times and is helping with the case because they would do anything for Ken. Camille slices open the skull to examine the wound track.
Bones meets with Ken and he tells her that he met Booth during an exchange program between Japanese law enforcement and the FBI which afforded Booth the opportunity to work in Japan. Ken explains that most of the FBI agents offered their opinions on how Japanese law enforcement could/should deal with their organized crime problem.
Booth was silent for a few days, saying nothing and listening a lot.  (Brennan, of course, can scarcely believe Booth was quiet.)  Finally, when Booth spoke up, he asked Ken how he would handle the FBI's organized crime problem.
Ken says that Booth was respectful and that created their friendship (that, and an incident with sake and a police boat). They both agree that it is great to work with Booth, though it seems Ken is implying more.
Sweets and Hodgins discuss why the roommate's mask was on Sachi's face. Angela arrives and asks if they figured out whether or not Haru is a man or a woman. Angela believes Haru is a man, but Hodgins says Haru is a woman. Sweets points out that it doesn't matter.
Booth and Bones meet with James Sok, the owner of the escort service, and ask about his assault against Bruce. James says the charges were dropped because Bruce attacked him with a knife, then he shows them his wound. He says he knew Nozomi, but not Sachi. He suggests that Nozomi flaked out and ran away.
Ken meets with Camille and Haru and see that the wound was not caused by a bullet. Ken wonders what could have been driven through his sister's head. Camille tells Ken to work with Booth while they continue their examination. Hodgins walks in and announces that he found bird vomit in the skull. He says it belongs to a high marsh creature which is odd because the head was found in the low marsh. They realize that they need to go to the high marsh and search for remains. Bones and Booth go to the high marsh and find human remains. They head back to the lab and Bones tells Ken that his presence is distracting. Ken understands and lets the detectives work.
Camille and Haru heat the brain remains to find out what particle showed up in the x-ray. Haru catches Camille staring at them. They then find a sliver and Camille tells Haru to take it to Hodgins.
Booth and Bones go to a massage parlor and find a man receiving a massage. Booth asks about his relationship with Nozomi and Bones asks how much his massage costs. Booth tells the man that they know he beat Nozomi up after hiring her. He says Micah, the photographer, introduced them. Bones gives the masseuse pointers, but Booth tells her she is not that kind of masseuse. Booth shows the man a picture of Sachi, but he doesn't recognize her. Booth then asks him about a rare sword he owned and he says he had to sell it at auction.
Camille meets with Angela and tells her Haru caught her staring. Angela shows Camille that she was able to break into Micah's computer. She finds pictures of Sachi that look like they were taken without her consent. They figure he was stalking her.
Haru and Bones discuss the skull. They realize that the victim was drowned. Camille walks in and confirms the drowning. Hodgins runs tests to find out where Sachi was drowned. He then says the sliver was made out of ornamental bamboo.
Bones finds Ken looking at pictures of his sister. They agree that she was beautiful. He thinks Sachi came to America to get away from him. Bones tells Ken that her parents left her with her big brother, but he walked out on her too. She says it would have been nice to have a brother like Ken. Bones then asks about the frequent phone calls made between them. She says the pattern suggests a deep and abiding love between them. Bones asks if it is worth it to have his happiness contingent on another human being.
Camille tells Booth and Bones that Sachi was drowned in a water feature. Ken says if they find the killer, he wants to be there to confront him. Booth tells Ken he can't go with them. Bones then collects a sample of the water from Micah's water fountain. Micah tells them that Sachi wouldn't pose nude. He says he has releases that she signed for the photos.
Hodgins tells Ken that the water didn't match the fountain in Micah's studio. Angela then tells Ken that Sachi wasn't a prostitute. Ken says that in feudal Japan, a head was placed on a stake as a warning. They figure that the killer was using Sachi to warn Nozomi. Ken wonders what his sister did to get killed.
Booth tells Sweets that he found Nozomi trying to leave the country. Sweets meets with Nozomi and tells her that they will keep her safe. Sweets says he knows it was hard to find Sachi's head on a stake, but he says they will protect her if she tells them who did it. Nozomi is silent.
Haru and Angela tell Bones that they are analyzing the head wound. Angela uses her computer to render an image of the knife. Bones recognizes it as a marine knife. Angela points out that James lives on a boat. James is then brought to the station along with his knife. James denies killing anyone and Bones finds that there is no blood on the knife. She then finds blood on the sheath. Bones says it proves he cut off Sachi's head, but not that he killed her since she was drowned. James tells Booth to cut him a deal if he wants to know what happened.
Booth tells Ken that if they cut James a deal, he could give up Sachi's murderer. Ken is conflicted, but agrees to cut the deal. James tells the detectives that a client of his named Paul Vogler killed her. He explains that Vogler used to beat Nozomi and Sachi confronted him. Vogler is then brought to the station and arrested.
Ken tells Booth and Bones that Sachi will be reborn. Bones says it is improbable, but hopes that it is true. Ken tells Booth that he is forever in his debt, then the two say goodbye.
The team watches Haru packing up their things and discuss their gender. Angela decides to go up to Haru and give them a hug goodbye. Everyone watches in anticipation and Angela announces that "it" moved which means that they have a penis.
Booth and Bones have ice cream to celebrate closing the case. They talk about how awful it is to lose someone. Bones says they should be designed to handle the worst. Booth says they are and that every moment they have with their loved ones is worth it. After pointing out that they usually celebrate with alcohol, Booth concedes and grabs a couple of beers from the fridge.
==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
===Guest Cast===
*Ken Nakamura - Brian Tee
*Haru Tanaka - Ally Maki
*Micah Strutt - Bumper Robinson
*Paul Vogler - Larry Clarke 
*Bruce Takedo - Yuji Okumedo
*James Sok - Robert Wu
*Lisa Kopek - Katherine Kamhi
*Nozomi Sato - Jane Park Smith
==Featured Music==
* "Tronica" - Electric Street Police
==Notes==
* The story was based off the case of the Hello Kitty murder.
Category:Season 4
Category:Episodes