A woman's corpse is found three days after her disappearance, and both the victimology and methodology are consistent with those of serial killer Howard Epps — which is odd, because he has been on death row for years.
Tropes:
- Consulting a Convicted Killer: Exploited Trope. Imprisoned Serial Killer Howard Epps works with an accomplice on the outside to commit copycat crimes for the sole purpose of making the FBI (and Dr Brennan, in particular) consult him on the case. He very purposefully leaves a trail of clues for the FBI to follow, most of which can’t be understood without talking to him and listening to the hints he drops into conversation.
- It Amused Me: Epps's motivation for screwing with Brennan's mind by having his former cellmate kill people like him, while sending secret messages and leaving odd clues sending the FBI on a wild goose chase.
- "Not So Different" Remark: Epps really wants Booth and Brennan to see that they're not that different from him, and he tells them that. He finds Brennan having to kill a man to save Booth to be particularly reminiscent of his own habit of kidnapping and murdering women.
- Red Herring: Epps is fond of using these as a distraction. He has his wife slip his disabled former cellmate a sinister note so the FBI will look into him instead of look for the missing girl.
