Bones Episode 4.20 The Cinderella in the Cardboard

At a cardboard recycling center, JUAN and BARNEY watch the "new guy." The new guy is actually a woman and she is H-O-T. Juan is sure the Lord would frown on Barney's comments. Barney doesn't believe him. If that were true, the Lord would send Barney a sign. The workers grab a bale of crushed cardboard and are stunned to see the image of the Virgin Mary. It's a miracle.

BOOTH, BRENNAN and CAM push their way through the gathering crowd. When Booth sees the miracle, he crosses himself. Brennan is skeptical. She discovers dried blood. The team separates layers of cardboard until they discover a flattened female corpse!

At the lab, Cam concludes the victim was dead before being crushed. They cannot separate her from the cardboard until all tests are complete. Running a tox screen will be difficult as the cardboard absorbed the victim's fluids. WENDELL notices glaze on the victim's blouse while Cam finds maggots. Brennan realizes the victim underwent a procedure to shorten her toes.

At the FBI, Booth and Brennan sit with DR. MARCUS SCHEER. He looks at X-rays of the victim's feet and confirms that this was his patient. He shortened MERIEL MITSAKOS' toes because she was getting married. She wanted to wear sandals but her uneven toes ruined the look of her perfect pair of shoes. Booth and Brennan stop their debate about marriage long enough to tell Dr. Scheer that Meriel is dead and he is the prime suspect. He is the only person to use a knife on her.

At the FBI, Booth breaks the news to Meriel's fianc?, MIKE CAVERLY, and her maid of honor, GENIE GORMON. Mike asks if Dr. Scheer is responsible. Booth tells him Scheer was out of the country when Meriel died. Genie confesses that Meriel wanted to be a bride more than anything. Mike concurs, but insists that Meriel loved him. He last saw her four days ago for a cake tasting. After that, she disappeared.

At the lab, Wendell uses a Fluoroscopic Imaging Unit from the Egyptology Department to X-ray the victim. Angela is concerned because Wendell took the machine without asking. Cam approaches to tell Wendell he is in hot water. Egyptology called her. Wendell proves his worth by sharing his findings. There is a straight pin embedded in the anterior superior iliac spine. Angela guesses the victim had a dress fitting before she died.

At Bertolino Bridal Salon, women swarm and grab dresses during their annual sale. LUCIA BERTOLINO approaches Booth and Brennan. She can tell they are meant for each other. Brennan changes the subject, asking about a framed bouquet. Lucia explains that the flowers are dipped in glycerin so they last forever. Booth asks about Meriel. Lucia remembers her. Meriel fought with Anya, her best bridal consultant. The fight escalated until Anya finally slapped Meriel, forcing Lucia to fire her. As Lucia retrieves Anya's information, Booth sees DAISY WICK, Sweets' girlfriend, trying on a wedding gown for a man who is definitely not Sweets.

At the FBI, Brennan and Booth debate whether to tell Sweets about Daisy's infidelity. As if on cue, SWEETS enters. Booth covers, turning talk to the case. In Sweets' opinion, a frazzled bride could potentially act out by being unfaithful. Booth ushers Brennan out of the room before she can break the Daisy news to Sweets.

In the Interrogation Room, Booth and Brennan speak with ANYA PERTEL. She could handle any bride until Meriel Mitsakos. Meriel told Anya she was incompetent. She pushed Anya and threw pins at her. So Anya slapped her. Anya is ashamed of her behavior but has no alibi for the time of Meriel's murder.

At the lab, Cam tells Wendell there was gravel in the victim's hair. Hodgins joins them on the Forensic Platform to report that the maggots were drunk on tequila, which means Meriel was too. He also determined the glaze on Meriel's blouse is glycerin. Bertolino's Bridal Salon uses glycerin to preserve flowers. Anya Pertel may not be as innocent as she claims.

At the lab, Wendell orchestrates the separation of corpse and cardboard, using information gleaned from his experience at a pizza parlor. With aluminum sheeting and a fine gauge wire, they peel the victim's body from the boxes, carefully freeing it from the cardboard.

In the Founding Fathers Bar, Booth and Brennan wait for lunch. Booth doesn't think Anya Pertel is the murderer. Discussion turns to the subject of marriage, with Brennan insisting she will NEVER get married. Sweets and Daisy arrive. Daisy is thrilled to see her idol. Concerned that Brennan will reveal Daisy's secret to Sweets, Booth fakes a text message and leads Brennan out of the restaurant.

At the lab, Angela cleans the cardboard boxes with steam. Brennan observes as Angela uncovers handwriting. Brennan announces that Daisy is having an affair. Angela feels sorry for Sweets but she agrees with Booth. This is none of Brennan's business. Angela paints lemon juice on the cardboard and puts it under a heat lamp. An address becomes visible. They are headed to the Champagne Lounge.

Bubbles fill the Champagne Lounge. Booth worries about his suit and Brennan realizes the bubbles are formed with glycerin. They approach the bartender and ask about Meriel. He remembers her. The woman sent her drink back three times. She was with a man and he paid for everything. The bartender agrees to look for the receipt. Brennan notices a stack of cardboard boxes. They are recycled in a dumpster off the back alley.

Booth and Brennan step into the alley next to the Champagne Lounge. Brennan sees gravel. It may match the gravel found in the victim's hair. Booth unearths a crystal studded cell phone. It probably belongs to the victim. With a UV light and goggles, Brennan discovers blood.

At the lab, Angela gives the cell phone a new battery. She turns the phone on and it rings. Brennan tells Angela to answer the call. She presses a button and Hodgins' face appears on the screen with a message: "Date or Hate?" Angela and Brennan are stunned.

At the lab, Booth, Brennan and Angela confront Hodgins. He explains that he is using a mobile dating service called "Date or Hate." Whenever you are within one hundred yards of a potential match, you receive their photo. Both parties can choose "Date" or "Hate." If both people choose "Date," they get each other's cell phone numbers. Hodgins suggests Booth and Brennan go to the "Date or Hate" offices. They are local and Meriel would have had other potential dates.

At the Date or Hate Offices, Booth and Brennan meet KURTIS ROSSI, the geeky owner. He designed the system that matches the users. He is distressed when he hears that one of his clients has died. That can't be good for business and he is trying to go national. Kurtis agrees to give Booth and Brennan a list of Meriel's Date or Hate activity. He tells them that she met with Owen Smith, a potential match, at 7:45PM last Friday, the day of her death.

At the FBI, Booth questions Meriel's fianc?e, Mike Caverly. Mike doesn't believe Meriel was cheating on him. Booth doesn't buy it, and accuses Mike of finding out and killing Meriel in a fit of rage. In the Observation Room, Brennan asks Sweets if he'd want to know if his girlfriend were cheating on him. Sweets says he wouldn't need anyone to tell him. As someone trained in human behavior, he would know. Brennan tells Sweets that Daisy is sleeping with another man. She saw Daisy trying on a wedding gown. Sweets is devastated. He asks to be alone.

At the lab, Angela, Cam and Wendell work in Angela's Office. Angela uses different wavelengths of light on a picture of the victim's skull. After a moment, the peri-mortem bruising becomes visible. They see the shape of a tire tread. The victim was run down with a car.

At the FBI, Brennan finds Booth. Mike Caverly has an alibi. Brennan asks about Owen Smith. Booth reports that his cell phone was disposable and his email address has been cancelled. Brennan admits she told Sweets about Daisy. Booth isn't happy. Sweets is going to be emotional. Sweets wanders in, looking for Booth. Brennan leaves and Sweets relates that Daisy has been cancelling on him lately because of "yoga." Their intimate relations haven't been up to par either. He believes he's a failure as a boyfriend and psychologist. Booth asks what Sweets would advise a patient to do, prompting Sweets to decide he wants to confront Daisy.

At the lab, Angela uses the Angelator to recreate the car accident that killed the victim. The victim would have flown through the air, landing away from the vehicle. Since the Squints found tire treads on her skull, the driver must have backed up to see where she landed and then run over her again. Brennan will give the information to Booth.

In a parking lot, Wendell and Brennan look for the car of Joe Fillion. According to Booth, he was the man buying drinks for Meriel the night she died. His car turns out to be an SUV that is the same height as the victim's patella fractures. Wendell inspects the tires and notices black hairs. The victim also had black hair. This SUV could be the murder weapon.

At the FBI, JOE FILLION tells Booth he met Meriel, his former fianc?e, at the Champagne Lounge to get his grandmother's engagement ring back. Meriel informed him that she sold it to fund her current wedding. To top it all off, she took a "Date or Hate" message while she was with him. She was cheating on her fianc?! Booth thinks Joe may be angry enough to kill.

Booth learns that the hair from Joe Fillion's SUV is from a dog. He didn't kill Meriel. At the lab, Hodgins and Angela look over Meriel's "Date or Hate" matches. Angela suspects that something is not right about Owen Smith's photograph. He looks too perfect and some of his facial features couldn't exist together without plastic surgery.

At the FBI, Sweets meets Daisy. She realizes he is breaking up with her. She is upset and asks for a reason. Sweets tells Daisy that he found out she is engaged. Booth and Brennan saw her trying on a wedding dress. Daisy sets the record straight. She was buying the dress for her cousin. They are they same size and her cousin was out of town on the day of the sale at Bertolino's. Sweets is relieved. He apologizes for his jealousy. Daisy forgives him with a little romp in his office.

At the lab, Angela shows Brennan the photograph of Owen Smith. Angela recognized that he was a composite of Meriel's four other dates. Someone created this man as a way to meet Meriel. This means the murderer had access to all of the "Date or Hate" photographs.

At the FBI, Booth and Brennan confront Kurtis Rossi. He denies everything but Booth did his homework. Kurtis drives an SUV that is consistent with the victim's injuries. A forensic team is analyzing it now. Kurtis backpedals, claims it was an accident. Brennan knows that isn't true. He hit her twice. It was deliberate. Kurtis is trapped. He knew he was perfect for Meriel and figured if she'd just give him a chance, she'd think so too. However, Meriel didn't want anything to do with him when she saw what he really looked like. After she rejected him at the bar, he saw her as he was driving through the alley. She gave him the finger so he ran her down.

Hodgins walks to meet Wendell at the Founding Fathers Bar. He sees him inside, surrounded by women. Hodgins is about to join them when he gets a text. It is a picture of Angela with a message: "Date or Hate?" Angela walks down another part of the street. Her phone rings and she sees the same message with a picture of Hodgins. They both close their phones. Hodgins joins Wendell in the bar.

At Booth's apartment, Brennan is upset because she was wrong about Sweets and Daisy. She made him so jealous it almost cost him his relationship. She knows that jealously is irrational but she admits she feels it everyday. She is jealous of Angela, Hodgins, Cam and even Booth. Booth wonders why and Brennan tells him that they all believe in true love. She wants to feel that as well. Booth comforts her. It will happen for her...someday.