Plot

An acquaintance of Patrick requests his help in solving a murder related to a neurological science project which involves animal testing.

At Leyland State Universitye's prestigious, lucrative Stutzer Institute's annual neurological symposium, cosmonaut Alex Nelson dies after drinking water poisoned with hydrogen cyanide. Patrick pushes Lisbon to take the case when he hears his former psychiatrist, Alex's ex and still research partner, reported the case and is a suspect. The CBI also investigates Alex's present wife Emily, research assistant Kerry Sheehan, animal rights extremists and the Stutzer project for moral mind re-calibration by electric current.—KGF Vissers

When Patrick Jane receives a call from his former psychiatric Sophie Miller relative to the murder of her former husband and fellow scientist Alex Nelson at a symposium in the Leyland State University, he convinces Lisbon to assume the investigation. They investigate all the people involved in the case and learns that the scientists are researching a project to re-calibrate the brain for moral that has failed but has not been disclosed to the sponsor Professor Stutzer. Who might be the killer?—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Leyland State University, Neuroscience Symposium

A man introduces "one of the nation's leading cosmonauts," Alex Nelson. A blonde glares from the audience as Alex kisses another blonde before taking the stage. Alex takes the stage and takes a drink of water. But then he gets woozy and collapses. The angry blonde walks out with a purpose.

At CBI, Jane gets a call from Sophie Miller. After some hesitation, he takes her call. He's intrigued by what he hears. He asks Lisbon for a favor.

Sophie, the angry blonde, is interviewed by police. Alex's water bottle had poison on it. She's being interviewed. She's his ex-wife. She's made death threats against him and was arrested for assaulting him. But they got past it for the sake of their work together.

Lisbon worries about Jane's personal interest, but he says she didn't do it - she told him so. (A mentalist always knows.)

Lisbon explains that CBI can be lead agency because Leyland is a state university. An officer brings in something that was posted around campus condemning Alex for having the blood of innocent animals on his hands.

Chancellor Stern visits Minelli, worried about the security of another scientist testing on animals, Prof. Stutzer, leader of the university's flagship institute.

Lisbon demands answers from Jane about Sophie. She was his doctor - his psychiatrist, a good one. In a locked room. He "did a little time in a hospital." It's not on his record.

Van Pelt looks into various animal rights groups. Security tapes show nothing. Lisbon and Jane visit Stutzen. His attractive young teaching assistant struggles to find words to describe Alex, calling him "a good, good man."

They asks Stutzen what he does. He says they're curing evil, banishing the devil. They've found the area of the brain that controls good and evil. He shows them his test chimps. They recalibrated one's "morality center" and now Suzy's cheery and nice. He's not intimidated by the animal rights groups. Also, he keeps a gun in his office, he shows them.

They've moved onto the first stage of testing on humans. He shows them a lab where a man answers a series of questions while monitored.

Sophie catches up with them outside. Lisbon excuses herself.

Jane says he's been doing well. She left clinical practice and went into research. She's drawn to "controlling, but damaged and emotionally-unavailable men." She saved his life, but she's innocent, so why does she need his help? Maybe she just wanted to see him again, she says coyly.

From the security camera footage, they get a van with a college sticker which they trace to a dude whose in an animal rights group. They're quickly swarming with place with SWAT.

They find a guy in a tank cop in the basement, surrounded by cats. A criminal mastermind, he's not.

He tells Cho all his plans. He's going to kill Stutzer, but first he needs to feed his cats so they don't pee on his computer keyboard. He explains that the world is ruled by insects, his tinfoil hat apparently at home for the day.

Lisbon and Jane talk to the widow, Emily. She's struggling over deciding funeral arrangements. They were newlyweds. She says work had been hard. Jane finds a picture of them on the beach that intrigues him. She didn't understand Alex's work at all. She heard him shouting in his office a few weeks ago. He was on the phone with someone and she thinks she heard the name "Rosie." Jane tells Emily to take a vacation when this is all over. He bosses her, then tells her to resist her impulse to fall for control freaks, to which she spinelessly agrees, proving his point.

Outside, neither think Emily has what it takes to kill anyone. Jane says they should talk to the lab assistant, Carrie. In the photo he was admiring of Emily, he noticed she had dark hair, but has since dyed it blonde to look like Sophie. Carrie also had dyed blonde hair, ergo, she was having an affair with Alex.

At Carrie's house they knock but get no answer. They find her slumped in a chair inside, a bottle of poison next to her. A note says "Forgive Me."

The coroner says her pink color indicates cyanide, the same poison that killed Alex. They find a ripped up photo of her with Alex, cuddling.

Lisbon doesn't think it's a suicide. The note was too brief, women like to explain themselves. But it couldn't be the widow. Which leaves Sophie.

Sophie observes a woman answering ethical test questions. She explains how she can run a current through the test subject's brains to get answers opposite to human instinct. Jane gets geeked about the experiment, chatting up Sophie, but Lisbon is all business, wanting to talk in private.

Sophie tells Lisbon that Carrie told her she was having an affair with a married man, but she didn't know it was Alex. Lisbon asks her who "Rosie" is. In the background of the office, the chimp goes a little nuts.

Flashback to Sophie counseling Jane in the metal hospital, tenderly.

He asks Lisbon to leave and he asks Sophie again about Rosie. It's not a person, it's a chimp. He guesses that Sophie switched Rosie for Suzy, because Suzy never did get docile. They've been fabricating their evidence for a year now. She didn't want to disappoint Stutzer. Alex was going to confess that morning. She begged him not to. He thinks she killed him and Carrie to cover it up and asked him to investigate because she thought she could manipulate him. He says if she had anything to do with the murders now is the time to get on a plane to Brazil and walk away. Flash to them saying a sweet (but kiss-free) good-bye in the hospital. She says again she had nothing to do with the murders.

Jane calls Minelli and, as Minelli says it's a crazy idea and no no, Jane tells the team that he says go for. Cut to Sophie racing to find Stutzer and telling him the morality experiment works. She brings him back to the lab, where Jane is hooked up to the machine and Sophie is saying she successfully recalibrated his brain. She fiddles with the computer, demonstrating a baseline answer. He responds accordingly. Then she makes him "evil" and he responds evilly. Stutzer is thrilled that it works and says they have to call the Chancellor. He arrives and they demonstrate again. They exalt as Jane gets up and walks away, but Sophie says she hasn't made him un-evil. They follow him, trying to tell him they need to fix him. He goes to Stutzer's office, followed by Sophie, Stutzer and the Chancellor. Jane locks it down and gets Stutzer's gun. He asks Stutzer a test quesiton: Who killed Alex and Carrie? Stutzer says he doesn't know.

Jane turns the gun on Sophie, winks, and shoots her. She slumps to the floor, bloody, as the CBI team calmly enjoys lunch in the other room.

Jane asks Stutzer again, threatening to kill the Chancellor if he doesn't answer. Stutzer sputters. Just then the Chancellor confesses. He was trying to protect Stutzer. They can find the poison in his basement. He did it to protect the university, whose finances are tied to the Stutzer Institute. Jane unlocks the room.

He welcomes in Lisbon telling her the poison can be found on the top shelf in the basement. And Sophie can get up now. She does. The Chancellor sputters that the ruse is inadmissable. True, but they have teams at his house with a search warrant at that moment. "I'd hate to be a state's attorney, Jane's always pulling crap like this on them," Lisbon says. "But they always win. In the meantime, you're under arrest."

Jane seems to be having a blast, but Stutzer realizes the truth. The engine doesn't work.

Jane and Sophie chat. He asks her not to call him if another ex-lover turns up dead. They're even. She's ruined as a scientist, so she'll probably go back to helping people. He kisses her good-bye. On the cheek. Lisbon, waiting in the car, teases him when he comes over.

But she seems him looking glum and offers to let him drive. She hates when he drives. He drives too fast, but he's touched that she's willing to overcome her irrational fear to cheer him up. Seeing that her gesture has been picked apart, Lisbon starts the engine. "Never mind."