Trama

A skull is found in a crushed car. The investigation leads to an artist who used crushed vehicles in his artwork, leaving the team to wonder if he made himself part of his art.

Car junk yard robbers find a press-crushed wreck containing a corpse. It's identified as postmodernist 'crushing art' sculptor Geoffrey Thorne. Gallery owner Helen Bridenbecker claims that he planned to commit suicide by becoming part of his last sculpture, which can't be deconstructed until it's proven to be a murder case. His assistant and heir, Roxie Lyon, was Angela's lesbian partner at college. A 89th fracture on his skull proves he was first murdered. Suspects also include his rival, forger Lucas 'Anton Deluca' Denton. Sweets convinces Angela it's time to dare date again.—KGF Vissers

Will Brennan (Emily Deschanel) and Booth (David Boreanaz) finally get together? Unlikely. Will a dead body be found in the opening moments? Almost certainly.

Sure enough, two drunk kids scale a fence to a junk lot in search of spare car parts. They find a car crushed into a cube and ... bleeding? Sure enough, a decomposing human head sits inside. Body found.

Cut to a bar, where Angela (Michaela Conlin) and Sweets (John Francis Daley) have met for a drink. Angela explains she misses sex since breaking up with Hodgins (T.J. Thyne) but is no floozy. "I do require an emotional connection," she explains. Sweets suggests Angela is simply protecting herself from the chance of emotional pain. She agrees. "It's time to move on," she says. Does that mean Sweets is about to get lucky? Hardly.

Booth and Brennan head out to the address where the crushed car originated. Booth jimmies the lock and lets the pair inside a vast warehouse. Dozens of crushed cars rest on the concrete floor -- as does a pool of blood. A severe-looking woman wearing Kabuki makeup emerges from the back.

"What the hell are you supposed to be?" Booth asks.

A curator, actually. Turns out the cubed cars are sculptures made by an artist named Jeffrey. The severe woman warns Booth that the FBI will be liable if the pieces are damaged. The victim's young assistant, Roxy, approaches. She wonders aloud if Jeffrey might have finally "done it" -- i.e. made himself part of his artwork. "The ultimate artistic act," says the severe woman. Brennan shows a photo of the victim's hand. Roxy identifies the distinctive ring in the picture as belonging to Jeffrey. Looks like a suicide/ artistic statement. Or is it?

Back at the lab, the team is dismayed to discover a federal judge has declared the evidence a "historic work of art" -- trapped body and all. Angela, meanwhile, recognizes Roxy, who has come along with the severe woman to protect the art. Turns out Angela and Roxy went to college together. The two embrace.

Booth and Brennan, meanwhile, arrive to interview Anton, an artist and Jeffrey's rival. Not surprisingly, the man denies all knowledge of the case. "I'd look at his girlfriend if I were you," Anton says. The girlfriend, according to Anton, is none other than Roxy.

Second later, Booth is in the interrogation room questioning the assistant, who was the sole heir to Jeffrey's millions. Roxy, however, denies a sexual relationship with her former boss. "I'm a lesbian," she says. "I've never been with a man in my life and I never will."

Later, Angela confirms as much. Turns out she has first-hand knowledge, in fact. "We were together for over a year," Angela says. Booth, after duly noting he has already imagined the two women in bed, wonders aloud if Roxy could kill someone. Angela instantly becomes defensive, insisting the case is a clear-cut suicide.

Back at the lab, Camille (Tamara Taylor) and Daisy (Carla Gallo), using a fancy surgical-like camera, have discovered fractures on the victim's bones. The result of the crushing process or an attack?

Angela visits Roxy's loft -- and finds that the artist still has a nude portrait of the investigator. The two flirt -- but stop short of making out. Angela leaves when an idea of how to clear her former gal pal suddenly pops into ther brain.

Back at the lab, Angela introduces a scanner used on boxcars allowing the team to digitally recreate what is inside the mass of glass and steel. One scan later, Angela displays the results to Brennan and Booth in an impressive holographic laser light show seemongly lifted from CSI: Miami "His bones sustained 88 fractures, all of which can be explained by the crushing of the car," Angela says. So it was suicide, after all.

Or maybe not. Brennan notices an 89th fracture -- and it wasn't caused by the crusher. In fact, the fracture on the man's skull looks an awful lot like an inflicted wound. Angela is crestfallen. "I wanted to prove it wasn't murder," she says. Brennan is typically and cluelessly unsympathetic. "But it is," she comments. Thanks, Bones.

The proof of murder changes everything. No longer a piece of art but an honest-to-goodness murder scene, the "sculpture" can now be legally cracked open. Hodgins does the honors and Brennan tells Daisy to lift out the skull "very, very carefully." Daisy tries, but manages to squeeze too hard and crush the skull into dozens of pieces. Brennan sighs. She'll be up late reassembling poor Jeffrey's head.

Sure enough, hours pass and Brennan is STILL gluing Humpty Dumpty back together again. As she is fitting in the final piece, Angela enters and explains her relationship with Roxy was "very intense." When they broke up, Roxy threatened to quit her day job and move to Europe. Brennan, whose literal mind struggles to form sympathetic words, opts instead to make an informed guess on the possible murder weapon.

"I'm almost certain that the death blow came from a common fire axe," she says.

Booth and Brennan head back to the artist's warehouse, where the severe woman -- who Anton called "that Kabuki ghoul Helen" -- angrily accuses them of ruining her business. The investigators discover traces of blood on the floor. The pattern indicates someone -- a small person not strong enough to carry the body -- rolled the victim across the floor to the loading dock and into a waiting car. They also find a fire axe. Unfortunately, Helen has no motive. Why would she kill an artist who is bringing in so much money?

It all points back to recently-flush-with-cash Roxy.

Back at the lab, Hodgins discovers sweat on the fire axe. The pH levels indicate whoever wiped down the axe with turpentine was a woman. Daisy suggested trying to match the sweat on the axe with "Angela's lesbian lover." But wait! Hodgins has a better idea. He analyzes the sweat once more and discovers the murderer has a form of leukemia. Moreover, the murderer's skin would be discolored -- automatically excluding Roxy as a suspect.

Hmm. Who have we met in the last hour whose skin is discolored. Or better yet, who wears white Kabuki makeup hiding it?

If you answered "Helen," pat yourself on the back. Booth interrogates the woman, who insists it wouldn't make financial sense to kill Jeffrey. Booth, showing a surprisingly astute knowledge of the art world, counters the artist's death would only increase the value of the sculptures. Brennan points out Helen recently called an expensive clinic in Mexico looking for a cure for her disease. Turns out the woman not only needed the money, but needed it quickly. Helen breaks down, saying she did the depressed Jeffrey a "favor."

"Maybe he wanted to live," Booth says.

"So do I," a crying Helen says.

Case closed. Now it's play time.

Back at Roxy's place, Angela and her former lover celebrate by making out. The scene tastefully fades to black.

Back at the lab, Sweets prepares to fire Daisy on Camille's orders. Turns out the mousy woman is just too darn annoying to work with the rest of the team. Sweets explains he has "good news and bad news." The bad news is no one likes Daisy and she needs to find a new job. The good news: "There's absolutely no reason for us to be discreet about our relationship anymore." The two kiss.

Booth, Brennan and Camille -- watching from the floor above -- are SHOCKED. Brennan argues the relationship will not last as Daisy is a woman of science and Sweets makes his living as a psychologist. Booth agrees, saying every relationship needs common ground. Brennan gives Booth an odd, longing look.

Could another shocking kiss be too far away?