Just when I thought Body of Proof season 3 couldn't get any better, it proved me wrong with "Skin and Bones."

It seems as though every procedural on TV must deliver a zombie episode, but Body of Proof was one of the few to make it truly fascinating.  

The episode was equal parts science lesson, horror show and thrilling crime drama wrapped into one and it began with a simple virus.

Of course that virus was rabies, one of the oldest and deadliest viruses known to man. One of the scariest things about rabies is that once you begin to show symptoms, it's too late to start treatment. The other is that the progression of the disease could make one resemble a flesh eating zombie.

Since the virus multiplies most quickly in the brain and is spread through saliva, it literally drives its victims insane with the need to bite so that it can survive in another host when its current on finally succumbs to a gruesome fate. 

What sounds like a horror movie is actually the progression of a horrific disease.

That alone could have made for a frightening hour, yet this episode took it further. As the team struggled to figure out how two victims acquired the disease, it learned it wasn't from an animal bite... but from donor tissue. 

A corneal transplant and a skin graft that had both come from a cadaver quickly highlighted the highly lucrative yet under regulated practice of tissue donation. Apparently modern medicine is so hungry for human tissue that one of the companies used for acquiring it had to contract out to an independent body harvester to keep up with demand.

Can you imagine seeing that listed on a resume? Previous occupation: Body Harvester?!?

Even scarier was learning that the tissue harvested from a body could bring upwards of $100,000. Forget robbing banks for money. I suddenly feel like we're all walking around with giant targets on our backs.

All of that lead us to a twisted serial killer who decided to multitask. Why just work out your childhood abuse issues by torturing and killing college students when you can also make a nice profit by selling them for parts? If it weren't for a stray dog bite that spread the rabies his scheme could have gone on for quite some time.

Not stopping there, the episode also incorporated some great character moments to move its core story along. 

Luke Perry returned as Charlie Stafford, the new city Health Commissioner. It was great to see Charlie back in the lab. As Kate pointed out, he challenges Megan in a way most men don't.

And did that ever get under Tommy's skin. Both men were circling around one another trying to mark their territory in Megan's life.  

Leave it to Megan to hand out mixed signals. She obviously trusts Tommy enough to share her suspicions about her father's suicide with him. Speaking of which, it was good to see that story line moving forward.  

Megan's father definitely wrote the note but the handwriting alludes to it being under some sort of duress. Could that simply be the stress one would feel as they were about to take their own life or the pressure of having someone else hold a gun to their head while they wrote?

With Tommy's help, Megan just might find that answer. 

But where she'll share one of the most personal and troubling aspects of her life with him, she's reluctant to move their relationship forward. What happened between them 20 years ago that's still making her so gun shy?

Megan almost seemed to revel in flirting with Charlie in front of Tommy which was kind of mean. Then again, Megan definitely has a mean streak but I'd really like to know what's driving it this time.

I couldn't blame Tommy for moving on with his gorgeous fellow officer. The woman was smart, beautiful and liked hockey. It's hard to argue with that. 

My only complaint for "Skin and Bones" was that although Ethan's green pants made quite an impression, there wasn't nearly enough Curtis and Ethan to keep me satisfied. That's been bit of a trend lately, one which I hope the show rectifies soon.  

Will we be seeing more of Charlie this season? Will Megan ever give Tommy another chance? And how long will we have to wait to figure out if her father committed suicide or was murdered? All of the above questions are making this the most compelling season of Body of Proof yet.

C. Orlando was a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow her on Twitter.