-Venus POV-
I get a message from Temp saying that Hank was declared dead and taken to the undertaker where he was then stabbed to death. I told Booth as we are now in his car with the undertaker video chatting with Cam and Temp. Booth tells the undertaker, "You see, what we have here, Franklin, is a real-time video link to the Jeffersonian forensic lab. Huh? So, say hi." The undertaker looked shocked at the screen seeing Hank's body on the other side as Cam says, "Hello. I'm Dr. Camille Saroyan. I'm not sure we met." The undertaker then says, "That's Mr. Reilly!" Temp then asks, "Why did you hid all these stab wounds?" "It's my job to make the body presentable. I did my job." He turns to us, "I did my job." He then starts to cry as I looked at him shocked, "I did my job!" I then say, "Look Mr. Tung, what we need to know is who stabbed Hank Reilly?" "I did! It was me." Booth asks, "You stabbed a corpse?" "It's crazy. This whole thing is totally crazy. Maybe I'm crazy. I did acid in high school, and it's probably why I'm not a doctor." I add, "To much information." Booth then says, "Okay, listen. Just relax. Just tell us what happened, okay?" "It was late. Everyone had gone home, and the body had just come in. I had cleaned and disinfected him, and was about to administer the pre-injection to flush his veins before I began the arterial embalming. I went in through the right femoral artery. And suddenly, wham! His eyes opened. His body jerks up and spasms." Cam asks, "You panicked and stabbed him?" "It was a reflex. I... Have you seen those zombie movies? They can really warp you."
I looked at Booth surprised by Mr. Tangs ideology as Booth says, "Okay, you watched zombie movies on acid?" "I was scared." Cam nods, "I get it. Sometimes I'm here in the middle of the night, and I swear I see one of these bodies move." We just stared at her as she looks at all of us, "Let me just say, I totally get that." Booth then says, "Okay, guys, listen, was, was Hank Reilly dead or alive?" Cam then says, "It wasn't a full autopsy. No need, because he was declared dead by the hospital. Cause seemed reasonable, so the ME signed off on it." Mr. Tang then asks, "Can I go?" Booth shakes his head, "No. You can't go. Listen, Cam, how is it that a guy can appear dead to two sets of medical professionals?" I then say, "Well there are several forms of paralysis which mimic death." Cam adds, "Embalming would destroyed any traces of paralytic toxins in his system. Except..." We see her grab something then going over to Hank opening his eye, "A trace amount of the toxin may still be found in the vitreous humor of the eye." We see her insert a needle in the eye as we all looked a bit grossed out as Booth quickly shuts the computer the says to Mr. Tang, "All right, let's go. You can go. Come on, out."
Temp came back as she had more information for us, "Hank Reilly was in a paralytic state mimicking death when Franklin Tung inserted the trocar, causing Hank Reilly to spasm in such a way that he actually sat up on the embalming table." Booth then says, "Ah, so technically, Franklin Tung committed manslaughter, while somebody else committed attempted murder?" I nod then ask, "What did you find at the lab?" Booth says, "Tetrus hydrogen." Temp corrected him, "tetrodotoxin." "That's what I said!" I then say, "Tetrodotoxin does have limited medical uses as a treatment for some cardiac arrhythmias." Temp adds, "Hank had a congenital heart condition." Booth asks, "So is this tetrahockalin thing common?" Temp, Hodgins and I corrected him, "Tetrodotoxin." "That's what I said." Hodgins speaks, "It's a controlled substance." Temp looks at Angie, "Angela, maybe you could access the FDC database, see if Hank was ever prescribed tetrodotxin." "I need a computer." Booth says, "Use mine. Come on, in the car. Come on. Come on. Come on. Okay. Anybody comes in here, do not let them look in that casket. Do you understand?" We nod, "All right?" They leave as we sit waiting for them.
Booth comes telling us that he needed Temp for now to question Dr. Amayo. After a bit of waiting Hodgins stood up saying that he knows how he was poisoned repeating the word Fugu. In which tetrodotoxin is biologically derived from tetraodontidae. Which is Puffer fish. He doesn't explain to me why puffer fish as he leaves the room. Leaving me alone. I sigh waiting patiently as I hear the door open after a few minutes seeing Booth enter the room with Mr. Tung as I looked at them questioningly as Booth handcuffs Tung to the coffin as he says, "There. So, nobody looks inside the casket. Okay, Mr. Tung?" "How do I do that?" "Just, um... Well, Blueberry, how does he do that?" "Uh... If someone enters and wants to see Hank just say... 'We are encountering fluid seepage at the moment and the body is not available for viewing just now." Tung then says, "I would never phrase it that way." Booth nods, "I know, it's perfect! It's so gross!"
We left to a sushi place where Hank last ate as we Booth asks the restaurant owner, "So do you serve puffer fish?" Temp adds, "Fugu." The owner says, "Blowfish? No, we aren't licensed." I then say, "We're investigating a tetrodotoxin poisoning. Fugu." "We do not serve fugu. I promise. Did someone die who ate at my restaurant?" Temp answered, "Dr. Hank Reilly." "Hank? He just had lunch with us the other day." I ask, "Do you know who he ate lunch with?" "It was a woman. She told him something, and he got very upset." Booth asks, "Can you tell us anything else about her?" "Not really. She had short haircut like Cleopatra" The three of us looked ar each other knowing who she was referring to.
Temp, Booth, and I are making our way back inside the house as Temp was talking to Cam, "We'll be there as soon as we can... We'll come and get you right after we talk to Cleopatra." Sweets comes over to us as Booth asks him, "Have you seen someone who looks like Cleopatra?" "What's going on?" "What's... I sense that you three are holding something back. Yes. Yes. You are." The three of us looked at each other as Temp says, "Okay, we stole Hank's body in order to confirm that he as murdered..." Booth and I correct her, "translated." "Translated." Sweets looks at us, "You're totally yanking my chain." I shake my head as Booth says, "No. The undertaker stabbed him." "Wait, the same undertaker that's been telling everyone that the body's been leaking?" We nod as he looks at us a bit sheepishly, "Okay, I may have told him that murder's nothing to worry about." I catch my laugh as Booth groans as he continues, "I didn't... I didn't know." Booth adds, "Oh, that's great. You know what? If you want to help out, go find Hodgins, bring him back to the lab, get the body and bring it back into the casket without anyone noticing it." "Wait. What?! Why?" Temp answers, "So that poisoner doesn't figure out what we're up to and run away. Duh." We started to walk away as Sweets says loudly, "There's a poisoner and a stabber?" We quiet him down as he starts apologizing as I hold in my laughter of his clumsiness.
We look around the place as we finally see Cleopatra in the kitchen as Booth says to us, "Could you both get lost?" Temp asks, "Why?" "If I can be devastatingly charming if you two aren't watching me." I giggle as I grab Temp, "Good luck Ranger." He nods as we leave him alone. After a bit Booth joined us in the family room as everyone was singing amazing grace as Booth points and whispers to us, "See, Cleopatra there is the, uh, family estate lawyer. She handles the mother's will." Temp ads, "She argued with Hank Reilly at his last lunch." "Mm-hmm. Business. My guess: problems with the will." "Oh, you mean, because the old lady is so close to death?" I nod, "Yeah, it's not the nicest way of putting it, Temp, but yeah." "Well, look at her, Ven, Booth. It's amazing that she can still stand." I nod a bit agreeing as Booth says, "There are two heirs to the money when she dies. There's Hank and his brother, Barney." Temp asks, "Oh, do you think Barney killed Hank?" "Why don't you go ask him?" "Why? Is it because I'm an attractive and sexy, young woman who will loosen his tongue?" I chuckle quietly, "Definitely that Temp. We'll stick with that." Booth adds, "Also, he wants you to publish his book." She nods understandingly as we pushed her to go closer and find something out as we watched.I grabbed Booth's sleeve wanting to see what Temp would do as we get a little closer and faced each other pretending that we were talking about something as we hear Barney say to Temp, "What a lovely voice you have, Dr. Brennan." "Yes, I know. Please call me Temperance. So, um... tell me about your book." "Well, Temperance, uh... the latest one is called Dark Tactical. A real nail-biter. A deadly game of cat-and-mouse between two SWAT guys. One's good; the other isn't." Booth and I gave each other a confusing not really intrested look as Barney asks Temp, "Does that sound like something you'd be interested in presenting to your publisher?" "No." Booth and I froze a bit as Barney ask, "Too edgy, huh?" "The concept is contrived and tired." "Oh." Booth and I cough as Temp adds, "That's what my publisher would say, but in reality, it's..." "Too edgy?" "Too.... yes. Perhaps you should publish your novel yourself?" "Well, I can't afford that." "You have an inheritance coming." "Well, that's true. The whole thing, too." "You mean instead of splitting it with Hank?" "Splitting it? Oh, you mean in half? No way. Me and Hank were stepbrothers. Hardly any of it was coming to me. 90% was going to Hank and Helen. Nothing Mom could do about it either." "What about now?" "Well, half to Helen, half to me. I can publish my book. To Hank Reilly."
We then hear glass crashing onto the ground as Helen says, "Admit it. Just admit it!" We watch as the assitant and wife argues as the assistant says, "Helen, please. Stop this." "Don't you call me 'Helen' you little tramp. I am Mrs. Reilly to you. Mrs. Hank Reilly." "Please. Hank is gone." "I know he's gone! He was my husband! Which is why I am Mrs. Hank's Reilly, and you are Mr. Hank's skank." "Then show him some respect for once in your life!" Temp then asks, "What is going on?" I nod wanting to know as well as Booth says, "Just normal funeral stuff." Helen then says, "Oh, so you respect my husband, is that it?" "Of course I respected him. I see. And exactly how many times a week did you respect him?" "This is not the time nor the place, Helen." "Get out of my house. Go back to your one-bedroom brothel and die." I then whisper to Booth, "Wow. Funerals are much more exciting than I thought." He nods, "Right." Helen then says, "You were nothing to him." "Then why did he want to make love to me and not you?" They were trying to grab hold onto each other as Booth get's between them as he says, "Hey, how about a little help here? Seriously, you really want to watch them fight? He, hold it, hey, hey! Blueberry get over here!" I stopped watching as I said, "Oh, yeah okay." The two tried to claw each other as Booth takes Helen while I take the assistant as she accidently grabs the sleeve on my arm and tears it off. I looked at her shock as Booth sees as he yells, "Hold it! Hold it! Hold it." The two stop glaring at each other as I look at my ripped sleeve as Booth says, "Do you think this is the way Hank would want to see his wake end? No! This isn't about you or you or you or you. This is about him. It's about Hank. You think he'd want to see this?" Barny then says, "I think he would, especially if they were in Jell-O."
I shake my head walking next to Temp as Booth continues, "He wouldn't want to see us fight. He'd want us to... sing." He starts singing as Hodgins comes over to us pulling us out into the kitchen to look inside the tea as Temp asks, "Only loose tea? No bags?" Hodgins nods, "No bags. Cam found loose tea leaves in the stomach contents." I then say, "I was thinking about drinking some tea earlier... not anymore." Temp adds, "Here's another one. Malty Orange Assam." Hodgins nods, "Throw it in there. We'll test it for the fugu poison." She puts it inside the chemical mixing it in, "Okay." I put a test tube inside taking some of the herbal tea and putting drops of another chemical to see if we could get a reaction. It turns blue as we looked at each other as I say, "Hank Reilly was killed by a cup of tea." They nod as Hodgins add, "I've also been wondering, what happened to your sleeve?" I look at my sleeveless arm, "Just normal funeral fight."
We brought Helen in the dinning room as we ask her what kind of tea Hank drank as she says, "How should I know what kind of tea Hank drank that morning?" Temp then says, "You said you brewed it for him every day, part of your routine." "That was in the eulogy speech. No one tells the truth in eulogy speech." I was confused as Booth says, "All right, well, then who did make his tea?" "Hank did it himself. The water had to be the perfect temperature. Hank was very particular about his tea." We looked at each other as she sighs, "If there's nothing else, I'm exhausted. We nod as she leaves. We are now on our way back as it turned dark out as Booth says, "His wife was cheating on him." Temp adds, "He cheated on her." I add, "The assistant is still in play." Temp asks, "What about the lawyer?" Booth says, "Oh, she seemed very nice." We nod as he continues, "Yeah, all right. So we are far from an arrest here. Understand, people?" Temp then says, "Well, at least we got Franklin Tung." I add, "He didn't mean to kill anyone." Booth nods, "That's the... Cam? You here?" We look at her as she says, "What? I'm sorry. This smoking thing with Michele... How do people be parents?" Booth then says, "Do you ever think that this is her way of trying to stop you from smoking?" Temp shakes her head, "No... Cam doesn't smoke, right?" I chuckle adding, "That's not what the cameras says."
Booth then says to her, "You stop, she'll stop. It's that simple. Plus, you know what? She's doing you a favor." "Great, so I go from a smoking issue to a chocolate cake and ice cream issue?" "You know what? You just... you give your best shot and that's all." Temp then asks, "Nobody knows about the poison in the tea except us, right?" Booth says, "The murderer does." I smile, "I get you Temp. When crops failed, the ancient Pothigai in southern India believed that one of them might be possessed by an evil spirit. They would find out which one by passing around a poison which would kill only demons. The person who refused to drink the poison was proven possessed." Cam then asks, "Okay, is this another way to get me to quit smoking? Because it's done. I quit." Booth smiles widely, "You know what? You both are a genius, Blueberry, Bones. Absolute genius!" We smile as Temp says, "I know." While I say, "Happy to help."
It was the next morning as we were at the mortuary as the priest was speaking, "...and though the human remains of Henry Reilly will not physically rest here, his soul will remain with the generations of his family here and in heaven." I then raise my hand as the priest looks at me, "Yes?" "May I add something. I sadly missed my chance at the wake and I hope I could make up for it." "No objections from the family?" They shake their heads as I step up. "Hello everyone. There are some who knows me, but to the ones that don't I'm Dr. Venus Brennan; director of the Jeffersonian Institution. Now Hank Reilly specialized in Egyptian embalming rituals and practices. He was an expert in grieving." I waved over the team over as they brought the materials as I continue, "Hank would appreciate nothing more than the most common of funerary practices: the raising of a glass." The team starts handing out the cups and tea as I continue, "It's not alcohol, but an even more ancient drink: tea. Hank's greatest passion in which my sister Dr. Temperance Brennan and I took the liberty of bringing this tea from Hank's personal stash. The same tea he drank on his last day with all of us. I can think of no better way of saying 'adieu' than to share one last cup of tea with Hank. To Hank."
Everyone raises their glass repeating, "To Hank." We were about to drink it as we see Barney's mom slap the cup out of his hand saying, "No!" "Geez, Mom, watch what you're doing!" I sigh sadly as Booth then says, "You poisoned your own son?" Barney looked confused, "What? Mom, what's going on?" But she then says, "He wasn't my son. It wasn't fair of your father. He work it so you got nothing. He got everything." Cleopatra then says, "You killed Hank?... Oh, this is my fault." Cam then says, "Oh, God. This is why I hate funerals." Angie then adds, "Oh, this is why I love them." Cleopatra then says, "I told Hank that Annie was trying to get around the will by siphoning money into a separate trust for Barney. But it was illegal." The mother then says, "If you'd kept your nosy trap shut, Hank would still be alive." She then gets up walking over to the grave of her husband. "Bob, this is all your fault. You brought this on yourself." She then looks over at us, "Do what you're going to do. What's the worst that could happen?" I then whisper next to Hodgins, "I think she just jinxed herself..." He nods agreeing.
5 days later we were back at the grave site with Barney as we look down at his mothers grave as he says, "Mom, mom, mom, mom..." Booth then says, "One thing for sure, Barney, your mother loved you." I nod as Temp says, "She used her own heart medicine to kill your brother, so you would bet your fair share. She mixed it in his tea." Barney nods, "And she died because she ran out of her medicine killing him. Oh, Ma... I would've done fine. Hank, I didn't want the money this way. I know you would have done right by me." Booth and I see she was going to say something as I say, "Temp, don't." Barney looks at us, "Would you excuse me, please?" I nod, "Of course." I grab Temp as we all started to walk away as Booth tells Temp, "He wants to be alone with his mother and brother." "By that way of thinking, he wants to be alone with every person who has ever died." I shrug as Booth then says, "Look, if I die, I want you to do me a favor." "Well, you will die, Booth. It's inevitable." "All right, whatever, Bones. When I inevitably drop dead before you both, I'd like you both to come out and, you know, spend some time and talk to me every once in a while." I nod as Temp says, "Well, I'll feel foolish, knowing that you can't hear me." "Promise me." "I promise."
I smile as Booth says, "Hey! There you go, huh? Hey, you agreed. I knew Blueberry would agree but I didn't think you would agree. Now, why did you agree?" "I believe that if I pretended you were still here, I'd feel better for a moment. Also, speaking to you would require me to figuratively look at myself through your eyes, again temporarily. And I think that would make me live my life more successfully." "Hmm, you know what, Bones? That's the best thing that anyone has ever said about me." "I'll say it at your wake." I then say, "That would be very beautiful. Don't worry Ranger I will put a sculpture of you on your grave." He smiles, "Now that's what I am talking about. You'll even include the belt buckle?" I nod, "I'll make sure they get you all. You'll have the best grave site." "That's what I'm talking about!" It then starts to rain as I smile running around the rain as Temp and Booth go under the umbrella.
******************************************************************************************
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN "BONES". IT IS OWNED BY JOSEPHSON ENTERTAINMENT, BY HART HANSON. I ONLY CLAIM MY CHARACTER VENUS BRENNAN. I ALSO DON'T OWN ANY OF THE IMAGES. THANK YOU.