NCIS s08e12 Episode Script

Well, Allison, the most valuable asset in America's Navy today is personnel.
Smart, dedicated, young people just like yourself.
The best our country has to offer.
Here, take these home and read them over with your parents.
You got a big decision to make.
Okay, thanks.
Oh, sorry, I didn't see you there.
Whoa! So - where is she? - Who? Tony, Ziva's been gone since Thursday.
Oh, this Ziva.
Gosh, I hadn't noticed.
You are lying.
Magoo, I have better things to do than to obsess over the whereabouts of our little Miss Fancypants Ziva.
Yeah? Like what? Well, for instance, there's lunch.
Today I'm thinking falafel.
Tony All right, she spent the weekend with him.
Him who? The Sire of South Beach, the King of Key West, the man with the Mr.
I'm running out of things to call him.
She won't even tell us his name.
Morning.
Gorgeous day.
It's 27 degrees out.
Who are you? My name is, uh, is Magnus.
I'm meeting with Dr.
Mallard.
Oh, okay.
Is Ducky in the pond yet, McGee? I haven't seen him.
You're welcome to wait here, though, if you'd like.
Uh, if you don't mind, I I'd like to-to wait in in Autopsy.
You sure? Smells funny.
Well, that's that's a matter of opinion.
It's a matter of dead bodies.
Stinky.
Your escort will be happy to take you there, Mr.
Magnus.
Uh, Doctor, and I-I think I know the way.
All right.
Friend of yours, Tim? He says he knows Ducky.
Looks familiar.
Come on! Grab your gear! Don't want to miss the school bus.
Class trip, boss? Got a dead petty officer in a high school stairwell.
Janitor found him this morning.
Oh.
The wheels on the bus go GIBBS AND TONY: Round and round, round and round Whew! Heck of a fall.
Guess nobody heard him.
In high school, no one can hear you scream.
Of course, it wasn't high school, was it? It was space; Alien, 1979.
Ridley Scott and that Sigourney Weaver.
Tall drink of water, but you Shutting up, boss.
Nose is broken, jaw looks shattered, too.
Got an I.
D.
? "Petty Officer First Class Simon Craig, 27.
" Did two tours overseas, then requested a transfer back to the States.
Been working out of the Naval Recruiting Station in Alexandria ever since.
Musty stench of high school stairwells.
Copped my first feel in a stairwell very much like this.
Alice Kratzenstein.
Hey, DiNozzo.
Anyway, I.
D.
and cards are gone.
No cash.
Robbery.
Gone bad, maybe.
Navy ring's still on his finger.
His watch, too.
Check with the school for kids with discipline problems.
Find out who he reported to.
Ducky will give us a time of death.
Where is Ducky? Dr.
Mallard is is right behind me.
At least he was.
Why do people always get killed in the least accessible places? I once found a ship's cook all chopped up an-and left in a in a deep fryer.
The sailors nibbled on him and the and the calamari for days.
Could someone please help me down the steps? My my knees aren't what they used to be.
Magnus, right? Right.
And you're, uh you're Gibbs.
I-I-I remember you.
Yeah.
Yeah, I remember you, too.
Doc, you can take a look, but you can't stay here.
It's a crime scene.
Oh, sure I can.
No, you can't.
Well, I'm, I'm not gonna bother you.
I'm not gonna touch the the merchandise.
I'm just here as a as an observer today.
I hope so.
You're retired, Doc.
I'm sorry.
Retired from what? NCIS.
Tony, meet former medical examiner and my esteemed predecessor Dr.
Walter Magnus.
Ma-Magnus is my guest.
Bringing guests to crime scenes now are you, Duck? Only ones that used to be me.
Oh, the clock's ticking, Gibbs.
You-you really should get this man into autopsy be-before we all die of of old age.
Very nice to see you again, Doc.
Recognize that light box? I think it might be older than you are.
Nothing's older than I am.
You know, Walter, when you called to say that you were coming to visit at such short notice, I was a bit surprised.
Well, there's no-no time like the present.
Retirement does have some advantages.
It's not how you felt when you left.
I-I knew I'd left the department in-in good hands.
You-you've done a fantastic job, Donald.
Thank you, Doctor.
Rest assured it hasn't been without its challenges.
Tell me, are you still living with your lovely wife in South Carolina? Sweet Elizabeth passed almost a decade now.
I'm sorry.
No, no, no, don't be.
We had 47 years of happiness.
A man a man can't ask for more than that.
And your daughter? Since her mother died, we, um Jenny and I, we-we don't talk much.
She has her own family now.
People grow apart.
Life goes on.
Well, you'll always be welcome here.
It's, it's good being back, Donald.
Petty Officer First Class Simon Craig.
He's a local kid out of Chesapeake City, Maryland.
He single? Never married.
His parents died in a car accident when he was a kid.
He was raised by his older sister Nina.
Nina runs the family crabbing business.
Mmm, crabs! Get a loaf of bread and a pitcher of beer.
Glad to see you haven't lost your appetite, DiNozzo.
Sister's on her way now.
Recruiting station? I spoke to his boss, Chief Petty Officer Jerome Carr.
The Alexandria office is anxious to cooperate.
Check for rejected applicants.
Rejects R us, boss.
Gibbs I need a moment.
How are you holding up Leon? How do you think.
I'm on a strict diet of paperwork and painkillers.
Glad to have you back.
Glad to be back.
Considering the alternative.
Where are we on that recruiter case? We're just getting started.
Ah, it's a hell of a lot of catching up to do, Gibbs.
Did you sign anything, did you read anything in my absence? No.
It comes with the job.
Better you than me.
No doubt I'm appreciative, but since I got hurt, we've been on SECNAV's radar, and I want to prove that recent events haven't influenced things around here.
It's gonna take you a while to get on track, Leon.
You're lucky to be alive.
You don't think I know that? No, I do think you know it.
I think you also feel responsible.
Things needed to be dealt with.
All right, then, suck it up, move on.
Get back to work, Agent Gibbs.
You, too, Director Vance.
I informed the district office in Richmond of Petty Officer Craig's death.
This is a tremendous loss to the Navy.
He was a good man.
How's the recruiting business been, Carr? We're up about five percent from last year.
Not everybody makes Uncle Sam's cut, huh? Absolutely not.
There are written and physical evaluations, a full criminal background check and then the interviews.
So, if everything's looking up, who would want to kill Petty Officer Craig? One guy really held a grudge against Craig.
Kept calling, leaving threatening messages.
Even contacted our commanding officer at District.
The train wreck have a name? James Zanetti.
Our recruiter job is to find career sailors.
Zanetti had issues.
That's an understatement.
Work address is on the form.
Knock yourselves out.
It's amazing that you guys didn't have all these computers and stuff, and you solved cases, like really complicated cases.
I mean, I know that coroners were doing forensic autopsies back then, but it wasn't until 1975 that the FBI installed their first automated fingerprint reader.
That sort of revolutionized what I do, or what, what we do.
I-I-I haven't understood one one thing you said, but I'm, I'm all for it.
Uh, forensics have certainly changed, haven't they, Doctor? Yes, indeed.
You should see her when she gets excited about a case.
Gibbs, Gibbs, Gibbs, Gibbs! Come meet Dr.
Magnus.
He's like a forensic history book, and he's adorable.
I mean that with the utmost professional respect.
Yeah.
We've met.
What do you got, Abbs? Well, I digitally lifted a boot print from Petty Officer Craig's facial features.
After he was hit at the top of the steps, he landed at the bottom of the stairs with multiple contusions, a concussion, broken bones, but this was the death blow.
It was a single downward blow.
that crushed the front of his skull.
Leading to a severe temporal hemorrhage.
You have details on the boot print, Abbs? Yep.
It is a Global Trailbreaker work boot.
Un-Unbelievable.
What I would've given for a, a, a piece of, of hardware like her.
I mean, like, like, like this.
Well, you were part of a different era, Walter.
An era that had to work harder for results.
Ah, hell, Doc, nothing to be ashamed of.
There was also a wood tack embedded in the boot's rubber heel, and Ducky found particles of sawdust in the grooves.
Killer's a woodworker.
Thank you, Abbs.
He He, he just kissed her.
Well, consider it an innocent gesture of endearment.
Cover your mouth.
I'm allergic to sawdust.
Mostly pine.
Better with hardwoods, you know, walnut, oak.
Were you a sickly child? 'Cause I'm betting you were a sickly child.
I need my inhaler.
I want Ziva back.
All right, let's just get this over with.
Where's Zanetti? Aha! What do you think about the dude at the chop saw? Forearms like Popeye? Tattoos? Let's approach him carefully.
James Zanetti turn off the chop saw.
Zanetti, federal agents! Hands in the air, now! Oh, hey.
Did you break Zanetti? I offered to drop the lumber assault charge if he confessed to Craig's murder.
Oh.
Yeah, he almost put your head in a Cuisinart, though.
Yeah, well, Zanetti admits to sending hate mail to the recruitment office, but swears up and down he didn't kill anybody.
And you believe him.
Took an extension class last night.
Couldn't have done it.
"How to Pick Up Girls.
" That guy? So now what? I'm going to be checking disciplinary records, and the guidance counselor gave us a list of five kids Craig was advising.
I thought you were in Miami.
You look positively Alpine.
He came to me.
We went skiing again, this time to Vermont.
TONY Vermont.
That's so quaint.
They have all those lovely little country inns, and, uh, cozy fires, and sticky maple syrup that gets everywhere.
He enjoys nature, and I discovered that he's a fantastic cook.
He made this-- oof, delicious-- osso bucco.
Aren't you lucky.
So he's a real Renaissance man, huh? He is an experienced man, who knows how to appreciate life.
There is a difference.
So when do we get to meet him? And please tell us his name.
Oh, no! Please.
Let me guess.
Zeus? Uh Thor.
His name is Ray.
Ray? What a nice little name.
Ray, like Ray Kroc or Ray Charles or Sugar Ray? Um I promise you, Ray is a good man.
My brother loved the Navy, Agent Gibbs.
And he loved helping people even more.
That's what made him such a good recruiter.
A man has to enjoy his work to do it well.
Personal life? Nothing out of the ordinary.
Women.
Guess it won't do any harm now.
What? Telling the truth.
Agent Gibbs, my brother was gay.
We didn't talk about it much.
Couldn't.
Was he involved with anyone? High school teacher.
English, I think.
Teacher have a name? TONY Glenn Block, tenth-grade English? You're looking at him.
NCIS.
Special Agents DiNozzo and David.
We would like to speak with you for a moment.
Of course.
It's about the murder of Petty Officer Simon Craig.
We understand you knew him? We were friends.
According to some, you were a little more than friends.
Um We'd been seeing each other for about a month.
It was comfortable, you know? Unfortunately, I'm also in a committed relationship.
Did your other partner know about Petty Officer Craig? It's not a man.
It's my wife.
Oh, boy.
Penny threw me out.
I've been staying in a motel.
So is she angry enough to kill? Don't be ridiculous.
She didn't kill Simon.
How can you be so sure? I've been married to her for 11 years.
I know.
We will need to talk to her.
Please.
Do you understand what something like this could do to our lives? To my career? Don't envy that guy.
At least he's being honest with himself.
With who he really is.
No one said life is easy.
Wow.
All that skiing made your blood run cold.
I'm not being cold-hearted.
I'm being realistic.
At least the wife knows the truth.
TEENAGE BOY: Dad, don't stress.
I'll handle it.
BOY'S DAD: No, you won't handle it, Paul.
Hey, check it out.
I think that might be one of the kids Craig was talking to.
It won't take away from anything else.
You've made those promises to me in the past.
Yeah, well, I'll keep this one.
Paul Simmons? Yeah? NCIS.
Could we talk to you for a second? Actually, we're a little late for a meeting with his guidance counselor.
We'll be quick.
Do you recognize this man? Yeah, that's the Navy guy I've been talking to.
What Navy guy? When did you see him last? Last week, maybe.
Why? He's dead.
Wow.
Simon was a cool guy.
Anything you can tell us would be helpful.
There's nothing to say, really; we just talked.
About? School.
College stuff, mostly.
Listen, we really do need to be getting inside now.
Paul.
If you can think of anything else, anything, uh, unusual, give me a call.
Have a nice day.
What was that all about? Come on, no more surprises.
Boots? Mm-hmm.
I see.
Is this, uh, is this Willy Wong's, uh, Wok? Willy Willy's been closed for, for 13 years.
Who, who is this? Ber-Bernie's Bernie's Burritos.
Oh Well, thank you very much, Bernie, but I, uh, I was kind of in the mood for for Chinese food.
I told you, things have changed around here.
Um.
I guess, I guess so.
You wanted to see me, Duck? Ah! Yes, Jethro.
Take a look at these bruises.
Many of them go well below the surface and into deep muscle tissue.
Guy fell down stairs, Duck.
Bruised a lot of things.
Those, those are older injuries.
Even with these eyes, I could, I could see that.
Contusions sustained days before his death.
Craig was in a fight? A beating is more like it.
Dr.
Magnus is correct.
And there are other signs of past injuries.
Yeah, poorly healed bone fractures.
This was not Petty Officer Craig's first physical encounter.
Look, I know, I know it's a bit unorthodox, but in Mr.
Palmer's absence, I was wondering if Dr.
Magnus could, uh, continue to offer his expertise if you've no objections.
No, it's fine with me.
Walter, why don't you put on some scrubs, and we'll, uh Walter? Walter? Oh, uh, oh, I'm, I'm sorry.
I was just You know, it's been a while since I observed a an autopsy.
Um Think I could use a, a little a little air.
Mm.
Yeah, it's Gibbs.
Glenn Block's wife was just arrested on a DUI charge.
There was also a pair of Global Trailbreaker work boots in the trunk of her car.
Bring her in.
You know him? Seen him before.
He's dead.
Won't catch me crying over him.
Petty Officer Craig fought for his country.
And I'm fighting for my marriage.
And nobody is giving me a medal.
When did you learn about your husband's affair? I had a feeling something was up, so I followed him.
Found his car, parked at a motel off the interstate.
Wasn't what I was expecting.
Your husband ever do anything like this before? You think I'd be here if he had? Eight days ago, you made a large withdrawal from your bank.
We think that you hired someone to assault Craig.
Teach him a lesson.
Anything you would like to say about it? I hope it hurt.
So you admit it.
I'm not admitting anything.
Maybe I should call a lawyer.
For the DUI, the assault or the murder? Where were you, night before last? At a bar.
Looking for a real man.
You got a lot of hate in you, Penny.
Yeah.
I hated Craig for stealing my husband.
I hated the embarrassment.
I hated the humiliation.
But you didn't kill him.
What do you think? Somebody.
Talk to me.
The night Craig was murdered, Penny Block was in Alexandria at a bar called, appropriately enough, The Alibi Room.
Was anyone unlucky enough to pick her up? Well, according to the bartender, most of the evening was spent in a booth with a truck driver named Ernhart.
Could've hired somebody to do this, too.
What about the five kids Craig was recruiting? Anything? Two were with family, two were playing varsity basketball in Reston.
The only one that had any contact with the petty officer that night was Paul Simmons.
The boy we spoke to.
Paul lost his mom a few years ago to cancer.
He's an only child.
His father Lance was recently laid off from a local factory job.
No substantial run-ins with the law, but his, uh, school file indicates multiple suspensions.
Details? The school has a history of racial problems, all sorts of social tension, but none of it links Paul specifically to any of it.
Petty Officer Craig had no idea what he was walking into.
Boss, uh, Director Vance wants to see you.
Have any of you seen Dr.
Magnus? - I've been looking for him everywhere.
- Nope.
Uh, sorry, Duck, not here.
You try the break room? Well, it's odd-- he left Autopsy a while ago and seems to have just disappeared.
Maybe he went home.
Uh, possible but unlikely.
Well, I'm sure he's fine-- perhaps he went for a walk.
Yeah.
I'll check the lobby.
Come in.
You want to see me? Mm.
Recruiter case.
Now, you could've called it anything else-- why a potential hate crime? A zebra has stripes, Leon.
Politically, this is not the kind of attention I was looking for right now.
What do you want me to do, sweep it under the rug? I've never turned a blind eye to a victim; I'm not about to start now.
Do you have a basis for your evaluation? Violence wasn't new to Petty Officer Craig only this time he couldn't fight back.
Gibbs, even with the change in military regulation, you're about to tick off a lot of very important people.
Maybe.
It's a hell of a can of worms.
Well, someone's got to open it.
And it might as well be you.
Mm.
Hmm.
I'm tired.
Are you okay? I don't know.
You need more time, Leon.
You should take it.
No.
Can't do that, Gibbs-- that's that's pretty clear to me now.
And that's your decision.
Yes, it is.
Abby, I got your message.
I came as quick as I could.
Now, did you have a forensic epiphany on the recruiter case? No, not exactly.
Well, what is it? It's Dr.
Magnus-- I found him.
Oh, thank goodness! I was beginning to worry about the old man.
You know, for someone who Ducky, please.
Your friend needs you.
Wh-Where is he? He's back here.
How long as he been like this? Well, I don't know-- I was out of my lab for a while, and then I came back in and turned the lights on and there he was.
I asked him if there was anything I could do to help him, and he just kind of looked at me and smiled.
Walter? It-it's me, Donald.
Donald? Yeah.
That's a hippo.
Yes, it is.
Fascinating creatures.
Their sweat is the color of red.
It's true.
Disturbing.
But-but beautiful.
Walter what's going on? I love it here at the zoo.
So much to see.
Like-like the hippos.
It's a beautiful place.
Um help me get him up.
Go and get him some water, please.
Okay.
Okay.
Where am I? It's open.
Mr.
Simmons? Agents DiNozzo and David, NCIS.
Yeah, I remember you.
If I'd known you were coming, I would have cleaned up.
Yeah.
So looks like you're doing a little, uh, renovation.
Yeah, I'm doing it myself, in case we have to sell.
What can I do for you? Uh, we actually wanted to ask Paul more questions.
Is he around? Nah, that kid comes and goes.
So he's, uh pretty interested in going in the Navy, huh? You kidding? No, not my Paul.
Why is that? 'Cause he's never been able to take orders.
You know, he marches to his own drum.
So you had no knowledge that he was talking to Petty Officer Craig? No, I didn't.
I hope he didn't waste that guy's time.
How would that be a waste? Because he's my kid.
Because I know what he's capable of, and you know, if he joined the Navy right now, that wouldn't be good for you or him.
Hey, Paul.
Remember these agents from this morning? Yeah.
Sure.
They just want to ask you some more questions about that recruiter who died.
I already told you everything that I know.
It'll just take a second.
Hey, Paul! Hey! Wait! Stay here! Stop! Don't move! Paul, get out of the car.
Turn the engine off! Now! So, why'd you run, Paul? I don't know.
Agents just wanted to talk.
You hiding something? I got scared.
Scared of what? Everything.
You remember Petty Officer Craig? Good guy.
Yeah.
Yeah, well, he just wanted to talk, too.
I'm beginning to think you just don't like to talk, Paul.
I didn't do that.
I didn't hurt anybody.
Agent Gibbs my son is not a killer.
May 2010, you got in a fight after school; suspended.
September, same year, another fight; suspended again.
You got a temper, Paul.
Those weren't my fault.
You don't understand.
Witnesses put you at the college fair the other day.
They saw you with Petty Officer Craig.
I stayed for a few minutes.
We talked; I left.
Yeah? Where'd you go then? Home.
Prove it.
I can't.
Wait, all right, that's enough.
I think you met with Petty Officer Craig afterward.
No.
You were talking to him in the stairwell, weren't you, Paul? No! That's it! This-this is over.
Let him answer.
We need to speak privately, Agent Gibbs.
Now.
You can't do that! Yeah, I can, as long as you're present.
Look, Paul might be hotheaded, he might be stubborn-- he did not kill that sailor.
Your son has a history of acting out.
Well, what kid doesn't? He admits he saw Craig before he was murdered.
You heard him.
He was home.
Where were you? Where were you, Mr.
Simmons? Were you out at a bar? Were you out picking up a 12-pack? I was passed out in my car, drunk.
Look ever since his mother died, Paul's had it rough.
She understood him.
You know, he just needs a little a little guidance.
You lose a parent that young, like he did, he's messed up.
That's all.
He's still got a father.
Act like one.
Here we are.
The healing powers of a single cup of tea are the equivalent of several hours rest.
So they say.
There are many things my Scottish ancestors got wrong, but taking the time to savor a nice cup of Darjeeling was not one of them.
Walter I called your daughter Jenny in South Carolina.
You are not estranged from them.
In fact, you live with her now, and the two boys.
She's been terribly worried about you.
Yeah, Jenny, uh, Jenny's a sweet kid.
She's like her mother.
Then why did you run away? Why come here? This, uh, this job this-this place was well, it was it was everything t-to me.
Well, I understand that.
Walter, you know.
But now you have grandchildren, and you have so much to share with them.
But, uh I mean, then my my-my life had it had purpose! Your family is your purpose now, Walter.
You have a responsibility to those two boys to teach them everything you can.
But damn it, I can't! I mean, don't don't you see? Before the-the symptoms started, before the hell, Alzheimer's diagnosis I would run cases in my head.
Ev Every autopsy, ev-every detail, I remembered it all.
And now there's nothing! That's why I came here, just one last time, thinking that that-that maybe it would it would it would all come back.
Donald sometimes I can't remember who I was.
Then let me show you.
All right, who's got something? Paul got home before Petty Officer Craig was killed.
Prove it.
One large deep-dish with extra pepperoni and sausage.
He ordered a pizza? Delivery kid remembers him; the receipt has a time stamp to prove it.
Paul Simmons enlistment contract, did it say anything out of the ordinary? Aside from some less-than-stellar grades, all the information is truthful and accurate.
According to Petty Officer Craig's records, the other kids had phone conversations with him on a regular basis.
Questions about deployment, life on board a ship.
Paul never called.
McGee, access the petty officer's e-mail account.
Navy or personal, boss? Personal.
Already got the warrant.
I'm scanning, but nothing addressed specifically to Paul Simmons.
Put it up.
Do a word search.
"Don't ask, don't tell.
" Pay dirt, boss.
Open them.
They're all coded.
No names listed.
Everything on the QT.
The boy spilled his heart out to him.
All the fights at school were just Paul defending himself.
Craig was offering the kid advice.
Paul didn't want to lie anymore.
Petty Officer Craig wanted to help.
Petty Officer Craig understood.
Thought he could offer me a new life.
He knew what I was feeling, what I was going through.
The fights? Since junior high school.
I tried to talk to teachers, counselors.
Nobody wanted to li listen.
What about your dad? Think about it.
Your gay son comes to you, tells you he wants to join the military.
What would you say? I'd wish him luck try to be there for him.
My dad couldn't wrap his head around it.
Thought it was crazy.
Rather than talk me out of it, he tried to make it all just go away.
All I wanted was to protect my son.
You think I don't know what was happening? Guy meets my son at all hours, sending him private e-mails.
What if it wasn't "just business"? No, Dad.
No.
That's not true.
He was helping me.
Oh Paul, I just tried to be a good dad.
That's all I was trying to do.
Agent McGee, are you ready? One last entry, and we're good to go, Duck.
Ah.
I told you I would help you remember all that you accomplished.
It's okay, Doctor, you don't you don't have to do this.
Timothy? These are your memories, Dr.
Magnus.
Look at them.
They're people you helped.
You gave them answers.
You gave them closure.
And now they can do the same for you.
Well, hello, world How've you been? Huh.
Good to see you, my old friend Sometimes I feel Cold as steel Broken like I'm never gonna heal ASSISTANT Director, I have the SECNAV for you.
I see a light A little hope in a little girl Director? Well, Paul, why don't we discuss your options.
Well, hello, world I-I really think the Navy can offer me the opportunities that I'm looking for.
I'm ready to serve my country, and I want to be a part of something special.
Good to see you, my old friend Sometimes I feel as cold as steel And broken like I'm never gonna heal I see a light A little grace, a little faith unfurled Well, hello, world