NCIS s15e07 Episode Script
Burden of Proof
1 Seems like forever since my trial.
Ten years.
They kept showing this picture of what he looked like before.
Lieutenant O'Connell.
They talked about how he was brave, how he served his country, how he took his mother out for dinner every Sunday.
Then they showed the picture of him after he was gone.
He was wearing his uniform, and his head (gavel banging) I see that picture when I close my eyes.
(gavel banging) MAN: Order! Order in this courtroom! (gavel banging) They said he was bound and dragged.
I imagine it in my head.
(crying): No, please! Please, no! He was hit so hard, the side of his head caved in.
O'CONNELL: No! HICKS: I imagine it all.
Everything they said, everything they showed in that courtroom-- it's in my head, and it won't go away.
And everyone who looks at me they think I did that to him.
Did you, Gabriel? Did you murder Lieutenant O'Connell? No.
Then start from the beginning.
Tell me how you ended up here.
I was framed.
By who? NCIS.
NCIS 15x07 Burden of Proof Morning, Bishop.
Hey, McGee, cannot wait to work with you today, bud.
Why are you so chipper? Well, Bishop, I woke up this morning, and I realized that all of my T-shirts are too small.
Well, I could've told you that.
They're practically child-sized.
No, man.
It's my arms.
My biceps are gaining inches, man.
All those reps are are really paying off, baby.
I woke up this morning, I looked down at my arms, and you know when you know? I-I just knew that today was gonna be a great day, for all of us.
So all of us are gonna have a great day because of your muscles? Mm-hmm.
SLOANE: Hey, Nick.
Incoming.
What the hell? It's a gift.
Foxy Feet Pedicure Kit, as seen on TV.
Buy one, get one free.
So, you're welcome.
Wait.
This is for your feet.
Why would I want this? I could've sworn you were the type who self-pedicured at least once a week.
You know the drill.
Well, I don't know the drill, but, uh, thank you, I guess.
I-I don't think so.
Got it.
As you were.
You know, I bet you would go to great lengths to prevent any kind of physical imperfection.
BISHOP: Mm-hmm, and Sloane is really good at reading people.
Oh, come on, guys.
I already told you.
I spend every free minute I get in the gym.
I don't have time to do this kind of stuff.
Fine.
I'll take it.
No, I'm taking it.
Oh, hey, what's up, Gibbs? Dead body, boss? Nope.
Special Agent Gibbs.
Jessica Shaeffer, federal public defender.
Pleasure.
I'll assume you won't mind if I forego the B.
S.
No.
Six months ago, I took on the case of a man named Gabriel Hicks.
He was convicted of kidnapping, robbing and murdering Navy Lieutenant Edward O'Connell.
Hicks was wrongfully convicted.
He served ten years on death row for a crime he didn't commit.
O'Connell's murder was before my time.
I thought maybe you could fill in the blanks, Gibbs.
Wasn't my case.
But you remember it.
Joint investigation with the FBI.
If she thinks Hicks is innocent She thinks that we botched the investigation.
Actually, I thought you framed him.
Luckily for you, I found no evidence of that.
But what I have found are some rather jumbled reports written by the NCIS point.
Special Agent Mark Mason.
Died of a heart attack five years ago, I'm aware.
I'm mid-trial on this thing, Director.
I have done my homework.
But Agent Mason's not why I'm here.
Okay.
Then what? Lieutenant O'Connell's autopsy report.
It was completed by a second-string M.
E.
Ducky's mom was having surgery.
He took a leave.
We sent the body to the city M.
E.
I received permission to have it exhumed.
Now I want your permission to have the best of the best take a look.
I've already taken the liberty of messengering Dr.
Mallard the original copy of that report, and the body.
The great American physician, poet and polymath Oliver Wendell Holmes, Senior, once said, âWhere we love is home, home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts.
â (chuckles) In other words, it's great to be back.
This is all really lovely, but can we? Oh, uh, yes, you're due back in court.
Let's get started.
Based on these photos and reports, I can safely say that I agree with your cause of death.
Blunt force trauma.
Yes.
Here, to the side of the head.
With what appeared to be a metal pipe.
Yes.
Ms.
Shaeffer.
You seemed to have studied the report well.
But, uh, what do you see, Dr.
Palmer? Well, the injuries and blood spatter show that the victim was kneeling while the assailant was standing for the fatal blow.
Gentlemen, as we've established, I know the report.
I don't need it read back to me.
You agree with it, I understand.
Ms.
Shaeffer, the findings were correct, but, the, uh, analysis is incomplete.
Now that I see the decomposition of the outer layers, I have a clearer picture.
Clearer than the prior M.
E.
You see, the point of impact is the posterior left and radiates down toward the temple.
Now, this means that the assailant had to be standing behind him.
My colleague has just given you a concurring second opinion.
I don't understand.
This injury-- it's the result of a left-handed swing.
The original M.
E.
missed that fact.
Ms.
Shaeffer, dare we ask about your client, Gabriel Hicks? He's right-handed.
He's innocent.
God, I love my life.
What happened? Your shirt get even tighter? I wish.
No, Agent Sloane just, uh, told me something, uh It's made my day, that's all.
Well, what was it? Nah, I shouldn't say anything.
It's about you, Bishop, and it's kind of like, uh it's kind of embarrassing.
What? Wait.
You mean she was profiling me? What did she say? It was embarrassing? Embarrassing how? You really want me to say it in front of McGee? (clears throat) Uh, these are the O'Connell case files? Yeah, there were a lot more than I expected.
Makes sense.
Agent Mason didn't input his reports electronically.
I can see why.
The info is so disorganized, I mean, it'd take forever to categorize.
TORRES: Damn it.
I hate stacks of paper.
So, 11 years ago, Lieutenant Edward O'Connell was abducted outside of his home in Virginia by a man driving a blue van.
O'Connell was forced to withdraw $1,200 cash from his bank while the assailant waited in the van in the parking lot.
Come on.
A military guy like that? No way he'd get back in the van.
He must've been threatened somehow.
O'Connell was murdered in the forest.
Body was found the next day.
Fast forward a year.
Gabriel Hicks was convicted of robbery, kidnapping and first-degree murder.
Sentenced to death.
Evidence? All circumstantial-- Hicks drove a blue van, and was found with over $1,000 cash on him.
He also gave a fake alibi.
Said he was at his friend's house at the time of the murder.
Turns out, he was staying at a hunting cabin near the crime scene.
McGEE: Several witnesses saw a blue van outside the lieutenant's home before the abduction.
Any of them see the driver? No, but a woman who sold fruit in the bank parking lot was believed to have gotten a close-up view.
By the time investigators realized she could know something, she couldn't be located.
Agent Mason referred to her as âWitness X.
â Torres, you have anything to add? Crime scene photos.
Let's go back to the forest and see if we missed anything.
FORNELL: Course I remember it.
I remember all the cases I was point on.
They're like my ugly work babies.
So you heard about the retrial? Yeah.
Technicality.
It's a real waste of tax dollars.
There's no way this jury is gonna find anything different.
The guy did it, no question.
Yeah.
Mason thought that, too.
It's more than a thought, Gibbs.
Hicks is as guilty as they come.
Why are we talking about this? Yeah.
Maybe he's not.
Ducky says that the killer was left-handed.
Hicks is right-handed.
Come on.
A million things could've happened to make the guy swing lefty.
Victim was bound and kneeling.
Why swing with your off hand? I don't know.
Ask Hicks.
I took another look at all the evidence.
Everything you had was circumstantial.
The guy lied to my face about where he was that night.
And did you get a look at his priors? One prior.
Yeah.
Armed robbery.
Look, did we have this thing gift-wrapped? No.
It was messy as hell, but it was enough.
Gibbs, I'm telling you, Hicks is guilty, 100%.
All right.
Good to know.
Thanks for keeping me in the loop.
According to the M.
E.
in San Diego, Sloane profiled everyone in their office.
No.
Yeah.
Apparently, she had a-a big wooden cabinet full of files, kept it locked all the time.
No way, man.
I was just in her office.
There was not one cabinet there.
I don't know-- she's already started in on you and Bishop.
Okay, so I I got a confession to make.
Uh, Sloane was not asking anything about Bishop.
Uh, I made the whole thing up.
What, to take the heat off your pedicures? No, man, just 'cause it drives Bishop crazy.
She keeps asking me, âOh, what did Sloane say about me?â What do you think I should say, something about her feet? Or something else? (chuckles) I don't know, but GPS says the body was found in this general location.
Well, it looks like the tree.
The sign is there, but something's different.
11 years later, the bark's grown over it.
Wow.
Mother Nature kicks ass.
McGEE: Huh, looks like something's under there.
Look at that.
It's Lieutenant O'Connell's license.
You think it's been there the whole time? Well, the only reason we found it is 'cause the sign was pushed forward from the tree.
ABBY: What was the victim's license doing there? I mean, and how the heck did it end up behind that sign in the first place? Sounds like a question with a very Abby answer to it.
There are no answers coming to me.
(computer beeps) There's an answer coming to me.
Blood on the license? Well, it's degraded, due to years of exposure, but all we needed was one viable sample to confirm.
And, yup, it belonged to Lieutenant O'Connell.
Bummer for us, the killer didn't leave any DNA, and we still don't know how the heck the license got behind the sign in the first place.
The killer.
What? Uh, the killer put it there.
- What do you mean? - Well, I've been searching ViCAP with relevant keywords and parameters, and I just found a commonality with four unsolved murders in the D.
C.
area.
And those cases are linked to ours how? The victim's license was discovered hidden at each of the crime scenes, and always with a smear of blood over the face.
So the license was a calling card.
Whoever murdered Lieutenant O'Connell was a serial killer.
FORNELL: Gabriel Hicks.
I always knew he was a lying son of a bitch, but he's worse than I gave him credit for.
Serial killer never entered my mind.
VANCE: Well, let's shake off the hit.
Trial will be over in a matter of days.
We need to act now, so let's direct our efforts and make a plan.
So, we put the O'Connell case on the back burner and focus on connecting Hicks to the other four murders.
That's not the plan we had in mind, Tobias.
Not the plan? That's the only plan.
If that lawyer talks the jury out of the truth, Hicks will walk.
We've decided to take a second look at the O'Connell case, with an open mind.
You're kidding me.
We're taking another whack at Witness X.
The fruit lady? (chuckles) Oh, God, please tell me I'm being punked.
We know that she was in the bank parking lot.
She could be key in I.
D.
'ing or confirming O'Connell's killer.
Even if you track her down, you think she's gonna remember some guy in a van from 11 years ago? It's a long shot, I agree, but the evidence we have against Hicks is all circumstantial.
Which is why we have to look at him for the other murders.
But he was never a suspect in the other murders, and Dr.
Mallard believes that the Yeah, that the killer's left-handed.
Right.
I got it.
Come on.
Gibbs, help me out here.
You want a bottom line? This lawyer can make a pretty good case.
Listen to me.
The murders stopped after Hicks was locked up.
Maybe, or maybe they haven't been linked with the other ones.
Oh, you're a âmaybeâ kind of guy now? Maybe I am.
Maybe I'm just trying to figure this out, same as you! Well, you're talking like a guy who's Gentlemen, gentlemen, might I remind you it's this healthy type of disagreement that is the beauty of a joint investigation.
Right.
Well while you guys are going down a rabbit hole, I'm gonna focus on getting a slam dunk on Hicks.
We'll keep you in the loop; you'll do the same.
Yeah, yeah! SLOANE: He is educated.
He's accustomed to the use of a pen.
Arthur Conan Doyle, profile of Jack the Ripper.
Yes! You got it in three characteristics! You're like a machine, Ducky.
Yeah, my turn.
What is this? They're playing Name That Profile.
I don't know how to interrupt without getting analyzed.
Hey! We're standing here.
Uh, yeah.
Yes, you are.
Hi.
DUCKY: I'm sorry, Jethro, but Jack here is quite a kick.
Yeah, ain't she great? What do you got? DUCKY: Um, I'm building a picture of our serial killer.
We're looking for someone with antisocial personality disorder.
Psychopath.
Indeed.
As to his victims-- well, they're all male and notably strong, which suggests he may be trying to prove something.
McGEE: What about the money? Lieutenant O'Connell was forced to make a withdrawal.
Yes, well, theft is involved in all five cases, likely to support his habit.
Robbery is his work, but murder is his pleasure.
And what were you doing while Ducky was doing all the work? Hmm.
I was collecting stats on Jessica Shaeffer.
Hmm.
What, you profiled the lawyer? I found an in and made a new friend.
By faking more car trouble? Actually, I bought her lunch.
Her website bio said she'd moved here from out of state.
I told her how hard my own move was.
She empathized.
She's actually a really nice person.
She became a public defender because of her uncle.
He was wrongly convicted and died in prison.
So she truly believes that Hicks is innocent? Are we done talking? Yup.
My new friend invited me down to meet Hicks during recess.
Actually, Hicks requested it.
He, uh, wants to show us he has nothing to hi Really? Oh, yeah.
I'm going with you.
Okay.
Oh, great! My file cabinet.
Thanks so much.
You can just put it anywhere over there, all right? Oh, that's a unique piece of furniture.
Till we meet again, sir.
TORRES: You mean the cabinet from San Diego? It's in her office now? She had it shipped.
ABBY: That doesn't mean anything, you guys.
I asked Sloane about this.
She said she doesn't profile people in her spare time.
Okay, and you believe her? Why wouldn't I? She's my friend.
(phone ringing) McGEE: Guys, I'm telling you, this is just what Sloane wants us to think.
She became âfriendsâ with that lawyer just to profile her.
Mm-hmm.
Well, did Torres tell you what she said about me? She said I'm the type to have feet like a werewolf.
I mean, why would she say that? It's not even true.
I'll take off my shoes right now and show you.
Um actually, uh, Sloane didn't Uh, you know what, uh, Bishop, we should show McGee what we've been working on.
There's so many files.
BISHOP: Yeah, these are from the other four murder cases.
Suspects? Uh, there are about 20, at least.
Authorities were never able to narrow down the list.
BISHOP: Hard evidence was just as nonexistent as it was in the O'Connell case.
Got something.
So, the FBI collected these bags a few days after the murder.
They were turned over by bank customers who bought fruit in them from our Witness X.
FBI couldn't pull her DNA or fingerprints? No, but there were unknown particles on the outside of two of the three bags.
What was it? The particles were too small for their mass spectrometer to analyze.
Should've given them to you.
They did.
And Ye Olde Major Mass Spec gave me the same bad news back then.
Ye Olde Major Mass Spec? Yeah, this was 11 years ago.
He's had many upgrades since then.
He's like a whole new man.
I'm so proud of him.
You retested the particles and got a hit.
I did.
It's a clear rust protectant that's made for farm equipment.
That's pretty specialized.
ABBY: Yeah, there's only three stores in the area that carry it.
Two of them were not in business 11 years ago.
So I just got off the phone with the third.
It's a paint store that's been open for 40 years.
So we're thinking our fruit lady got her bags from a paint store? Well, there's only one way to find out.
I'm on it.
All that paperwork is killing me.
I'll text you the address! Thanks so much for talking to us.
I know you're in the midst of a trial.
We won't keep you long.
Thank you for coming.
You get to a point where having someone want to hear you out-- it means everything.
Where would you like him to start? Actually, I'd like to hear whatever Gabriel would like us to know.
I-I don't know.
Um I-I guess that I'm not what people think I am.
And what do people think you are? A liar.
They think I lied about where I was that night.
I got my days mixed up.
I was scared.
The FBI was questioning me, and I And you had a record.
Yeah.
Armed robbery.
I was a stupid kid with a knife trying to steal some beers.
I know how that sounds.
So, Gabriel, why do you think you were convicted? For the longest time, the only thing that made sense in my head was that I was framed.
After I was convicted, I-I heard about Agent Mason getting a promotion.
I thought that maybe he had moved the body closer to where I was staying, or changed the description of the car in order to make me look guilty.
What about now? I trust Jessica with my life.
She didn't find any evidence that I was framed.
So the only answer left is that I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
A coincidence.
Some people don't believe in such things.
(sighs) I wish they were right.
I'd be on the outside eating ice cream right about now.
Ah, that's what you'd do if you were out, eat ice cream? No, I I don't know why I said that.
When I was a kid, playing Little League, we'd lose, and it felt like the end of the world.
So my dad, he'd take me out for ice cream.
He'd order two scoops of vanilla, and the world was right again, you know? He died last year.
And they wouldn't let me out for the funeral.
Jessica and hope.
That's all I got left in here.
Thank you.
So, what do you think? Well, no analysis could be conclusive after 30 minutes, but I didn't see anything to suggest psychopathic tendencies.
And? And what? And what about that gut of yours? Huh? Oh, yeah.
That's right, cowboy.
Your gut is so famous, people bow down to it all the way to California.
(chuckles) Right.
Come on, lay it on me.
Give me some of that gut stuff.
Tiny bit.
MAN: These the bags you're talking about? Yes, sir.
Been using the same ones since the beginning.
Lot of people now, they carry their stuff out with their bare hands 'cause of landfills and whatnot.
Mr.
Rydell Pop.
Everyone calls me Pop.
All right, Pop.
Uh, I know it's a long shot, but I need to ask you about someone from about 11 years ago.
If I don't remember it, it didn't happen.
That's how sharp my mind is.
All right, well, she, uh she used to sell fruit around that time, and she might have put it in bags like these from your store.
Sure, I know who you're talking about.
You do? My employee.
He used to take home a stack of bags now and then to his aunt, who sold fruit.
All right.
What's his name? I'll do you one better.
You can talk to him yourself.
Ray! Name's Raymond.
Been working for me since he was a kid.
Ah.
What you need, Pop? Hey, Raymond.
Special Agent Nick Torres.
NCIS.
I need to talk to you about your aunt.
My aunt? The one you used to bring the bags for.
R-Ray? (dog barking in distance) (chuckles) Okay.
Night night.
Night night.
(siren approaching) (door closes) This guy's aunt is Witness X.
The fruit lady? Yep.
VANCE: Does Agent Torres plan on asking him a question? Probably.
It's possible his aunt could I.
D.
our killer.
Yes.
Don't you think that warrants you being in the room? No.
They swung at each other and connected.
They got a history now.
Torres needs to use that.
I told him to take a page from Sloane.
Ah, find an in.
TORRES: You got quite a hook there, man.
Look, man, I don't want to be here any more than you do.
I got a boss.
He's an old dude, like yours.
He's gonna make me stay here two hours plus, minimum, whether you're talking or not.
Hey, you box, right? I mean, you have to with a swing like that.
'Cause this hurt.
(exhales) Come on, man.
I'm just trying to pass the time here.
A place over on Maple.
Maple and Third? Freddie's Gym.
Ah, I went there a couple times.
You know, Freddie doesn't let just anybody in there.
You got to be good peoples.
And if Pop has kept you around since you were a kid, well he must think you're all right.
I trust Pop and Freddie.
Yo, Ray, just talk to me about your aunt so the both of us can get the hell out of here.
Okay.
Okay, I cash the checks.
Checks? You know what I'm talking about.
My aunt's checks.
One of her customers left her some money in his will.
Checks started coming after she moved away.
Where'd she move to? Look, I needed the money, man.
Pops is still paying me like it's 1950.
I don't care about the checks, man.
I just need to know where your aunt is.
I don't know.
I thought she was suing me or something.
She didn't send you? What's her name? Mary Smith! That was Gibbs on the phone.
I need all hands on deck.
Witness X is Mary Smith.
Oh, could she have a more common name? We also know that she has annuity checks from Dawson Mutual coming to the home address of her nephew, Raymond Smith.
Well, still, she might as well be Jane Doe.
Okay, guys, less complaining and more finding her.
Thought you'd all want to know-- Sloane's cabinet? Definitely locked.
I just helped her move it to the other side of her office.
Hey, did she say anything about my feet when you were up there? Hmm? Uh, Bishop, Sloane never said anything about you at all.
Torres made up the whole thing about the werewolf feet.
What? Why? Well, because he likes to drive you crazy.
Rude.
ABBY: Okay, guys.
I got a middle name.
I found it on one of the annuity documents.
Mary Elaine Smith.
I'm gonna search DMV.
I've got government programs.
Banks and credit cards.
I'll hop on the autopsy computer, check for death certificates.
All right, guys, we can do this.
Let's find a current address.
MAN: Mr.
Hicks, it's your testimony that on the evening of August 24, 2006, you were staying at the Richardson's hunting cabin to write? Yes.
I was young.
I was traveling the country, writing, trying to find myself.
The cabin was just one of the places I stopped along the way.
And the thousand dollars in cash that you had in your possession when you were apprehended-- you said you earned that doing odd jobs? Yes.
Do you have any of your employers' names? Not all of them.
I'd work a day here and there for anyone that would hire me along the way.
You mean, along your writing journey, while you weren't producing any writing? Objection.
Asked and answered.
Sustained.
Mr.
Hicks, that money you had-- you didn't earn that, did you? Yes, I did.
I No, you stole it.
You stole it from Lieutenant O'Connell.
It's what was left of his withdrawal, wasn't it? Objection.
Badgering.
Then you force him into your van.
- Objection.
- Then you bound him.
Sustained.
Then you drag him in the forest.
Mr.
Gardiner.
Then you listen to him plead for his life, and you strike him so hard that it caves in his head.
Mr.
Gardiner, ask a question or shut it down.
Mr.
Hicks, if what you say is true, you were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Is that correct? Yes.
Simply in the wrong cabin, at the wrong time, with the wrong vehicle, with the wrong amount of cash.
That would make you the unluckiest man in the world, wouldn't it? Yes.
(phone ringing) Bishop, tell me something good.
We got Witness X.
You got what? A name? Mary Elaine Smith.
She is alive and well.
We tracked her current location through Social Security.
You're on your way to talk to her? Gibbs is.
Keep me posted.
My nephew was cashing the checks? We'll get you what you're owed.
No, I don't want it.
Poor kid's had about as many breaks as I have.
I didn't have enough to take care of him, so I left.
But that's not why you're here, is it? A man named Gabriel Hicks is being retried for murder.
You know who I'm talking about? You want to know about the man I saw driving the blue van that day.
That's right.
I had a few oranges left, and I wanted to get rid of them so I could get home.
The man in the van told me he wasn't interested.
I offered a better price.
He told me to walk away or I'd regret it.
What did he look like? It was a long time ago, and I-I wouldn't know him if I saw him.
But I do know he was black and in his 40s.
You sure about that? Why didn't you tell someone? I did.
I figured he didn't believe me because I was just some lady selling fruit on the street.
Who didn't believe you? That FBI man.
He tracked me down 11 years ago, and I told him exactly what I just told you.
FORNELL: What do you want me to say? That you knew where she was 11 years ago and you talked to her.
Yeah, I talked to her.
And you covered it up.
Because she was lying through her teeth.
She would've created reasonable doubt about a guy that I know was guilty.
You didn't know a damn thing.
I've got a gut, too, Gibbs! I knew.
You said yourself there's reasonable doubt.
Guy takes one lefty swing, and you want to throw the whole investigation out the window? We got an eyewitness saying it wasn't him! Mary Smith was threatened.
Hicks got her to say exactly what he needed her to.
He scared her so bad, she's still lying for him.
Happens all the time.
Come on, Gibbs.
A witness is so intimidated that they disappear.
You know I'm right.
I know about afterwards.
I remember that.
Mason wasn't the only one to get a promotion off of all this.
I was on this case for a year.
I took Lieutenant O'Connell's mother to dinner every Sunday because he wasn't there to do it anymore.
I promised her justice, and that's what I gave her.
You expose this witness? It ends me.
My career.
Emily.
God, Emily.
But it's bigger than that.
If you expose Mary Smith, a murderer walks.
A serial killer.
Hicks goes off on his merry way, and we can't try him for this anymore.
You got blinders on, Tobias.
You didn't do the job.
You never acted as judge and jury? Convicting him was not your call to make.
Hypocrite doesn't look good on you.
Get out.
Gibbs Leave.
Tobias, get out.
Okay, uh, send her up, please.
Boss, Jessica Shaeffer's on her way up now.
What do we know? Have you talked to Mary Smith? What do we know? Could she describe the killer? I asked you a question.
What have you been doing? - Where is the evidence? - Boss, the list of suspects in these other four cases, it's huge, and we can't connect any of 'em to Lieutenant O'Connell's murder.
But we can't connect Hicks to any other cases either.
BISHOP: Hicks may have been in the area when all five murders happened, but so were at least 20 other suspects.
So we got nothing! Agent Gibbs.
Agent Gibbs, I need to speak to you.
I thought I had your cooperation.
You should've contacted me already.
For what? You found Witness X.
Says who? Are you telling me you didn't find her? Or should we start talking Brady violation? Agent Gibbs, (scoffs) I don't know what's going on here, but this is a man's life we're talking about.
What did the witness say? I'm calling you to the stand.
We'll see what you have to say under oath.
You had no business discussing this investigation with anyone.
Uh, who-who'd I tell what? You know what I'm talking about.
I wish I did.
Damn it, Sloane What? What?! The lawyer.
Your new friend.
You're the only one with a connection to her, and she knew we found Witness X.
Okay.
I'm gonna lay it out for you, okay? There's two choices.
Option one, you tell me what's going on, and none of it ever leaves the room.
Option two, I find out on my own-- and I will find out-- then I can't make any promises.
So now you know I didn't open my big mouth, and you want to talk, but you don't want me to think I won.
Nobody won.
(exhales) Just talk.
Lawyer is calling me to the stand.
If I tell the truth, a man will lose everything.
This man known him a long time.
Has a daughter.
He's your friend.
Mm.
And if you lie to protect your friend, you could be re-sentencing an innocent man to death.
Yeah.
That is quite a conundrum, isn't it? (clears throat) So, what do you think about my cabinet? I think you are trying to distract me with a handcrafted piece of furniture.
Now, why would I do that? Because you don't know the answers any more than me.
You're right.
It is handmade.
My, um my dad made it for my mom before they were married.
He was this great craftsman.
But he was so busy trying to woo her that he made the bottom drawers too tight.
It got humid, and the wood swelled.
And then they quit opening.
He wanted to fix it, but, uh, my mom said no.
She loved it just the way it was.
That one act tells you everything you need to know about my mom.
Anyway (sniffles) the drawers still don't open, so it's empty.
But I like having it in my office.
(grunts) It reminds me that even extraordinary people make mistakes.
That's a given.
It's our response to those mistakes that defines us.
So Lock up when you're done.
Agent Gibbs, answer the question.
Did you locate Witness X? (sighs softly) Yes.
Yesterday.
What's her name? Mary Elaine Smith.
Was Mary Smith able to describe the man in the blue van? Yes.
What was her description? African-American, in his 40s.
(gallery murmuring) JUDGE: Order.
Order.
Were you inclined to believe this witness? Agent Gibbs, did you believe Mary Smith? Yes.
Why is that? Because she gave the same statement at the time of the crime.
To whom? Let me remind you, Agent Gibbs, you are under oath.
To whom did Mary Smith give her statement 11 years ago? FBI Agent Tobias Fornell.
(gallery murmuring) Ladies and gentlemen, if you'll follow me, Mr.
Hicks will be making a statement in the atrium.
Thank you.
Ah, Tobias.
It was me.
I tipped off the lawyer about Witness X.
Why? What the hell for? Because I knew you'd do the right thing.
I've been carrying this around so long I didn't know what the right thing was anymore.
But I knew you would.
HICKS: To my lawyer, Jessica Shaeffer.
I can't thank her enough for believing in me and seeing justice through to the end.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
Thank you all.
Excuse me.
(reporters clamoring) Agent Gibbs.
(chuckles) I don't even know what to say.
You don't have to say anything.
You gonna be okay? Yeah.
Yeah, it's just It's overwhelming.
I don't even know what to do with myself out here anymore.
Start small.
Maybe some ice cream.
(chuckles): Right.
Two scoops of chocolate, in honor of my dad.
Vanilla, wasn't it? You said your dad ordered vanilla.
(chuckles): Vanilla.
Right.
I guess I'm even more overwhelmed than I thought.
Eh.
Thank you.
Oh, yeah.
It's possible he really was overwhelmed.
Or he made the whole thing up.
You lie about ice cream, it doesn't make you a murderer.
No.
Does make him a liar.
SLOANE: He knows we're here.
Switch-hitter.
He played us.
Game's not over.
Ten years.
They kept showing this picture of what he looked like before.
Lieutenant O'Connell.
They talked about how he was brave, how he served his country, how he took his mother out for dinner every Sunday.
Then they showed the picture of him after he was gone.
He was wearing his uniform, and his head (gavel banging) I see that picture when I close my eyes.
(gavel banging) MAN: Order! Order in this courtroom! (gavel banging) They said he was bound and dragged.
I imagine it in my head.
(crying): No, please! Please, no! He was hit so hard, the side of his head caved in.
O'CONNELL: No! HICKS: I imagine it all.
Everything they said, everything they showed in that courtroom-- it's in my head, and it won't go away.
And everyone who looks at me they think I did that to him.
Did you, Gabriel? Did you murder Lieutenant O'Connell? No.
Then start from the beginning.
Tell me how you ended up here.
I was framed.
By who? NCIS.
NCIS 15x07 Burden of Proof Morning, Bishop.
Hey, McGee, cannot wait to work with you today, bud.
Why are you so chipper? Well, Bishop, I woke up this morning, and I realized that all of my T-shirts are too small.
Well, I could've told you that.
They're practically child-sized.
No, man.
It's my arms.
My biceps are gaining inches, man.
All those reps are are really paying off, baby.
I woke up this morning, I looked down at my arms, and you know when you know? I-I just knew that today was gonna be a great day, for all of us.
So all of us are gonna have a great day because of your muscles? Mm-hmm.
SLOANE: Hey, Nick.
Incoming.
What the hell? It's a gift.
Foxy Feet Pedicure Kit, as seen on TV.
Buy one, get one free.
So, you're welcome.
Wait.
This is for your feet.
Why would I want this? I could've sworn you were the type who self-pedicured at least once a week.
You know the drill.
Well, I don't know the drill, but, uh, thank you, I guess.
I-I don't think so.
Got it.
As you were.
You know, I bet you would go to great lengths to prevent any kind of physical imperfection.
BISHOP: Mm-hmm, and Sloane is really good at reading people.
Oh, come on, guys.
I already told you.
I spend every free minute I get in the gym.
I don't have time to do this kind of stuff.
Fine.
I'll take it.
No, I'm taking it.
Oh, hey, what's up, Gibbs? Dead body, boss? Nope.
Special Agent Gibbs.
Jessica Shaeffer, federal public defender.
Pleasure.
I'll assume you won't mind if I forego the B.
S.
No.
Six months ago, I took on the case of a man named Gabriel Hicks.
He was convicted of kidnapping, robbing and murdering Navy Lieutenant Edward O'Connell.
Hicks was wrongfully convicted.
He served ten years on death row for a crime he didn't commit.
O'Connell's murder was before my time.
I thought maybe you could fill in the blanks, Gibbs.
Wasn't my case.
But you remember it.
Joint investigation with the FBI.
If she thinks Hicks is innocent She thinks that we botched the investigation.
Actually, I thought you framed him.
Luckily for you, I found no evidence of that.
But what I have found are some rather jumbled reports written by the NCIS point.
Special Agent Mark Mason.
Died of a heart attack five years ago, I'm aware.
I'm mid-trial on this thing, Director.
I have done my homework.
But Agent Mason's not why I'm here.
Okay.
Then what? Lieutenant O'Connell's autopsy report.
It was completed by a second-string M.
E.
Ducky's mom was having surgery.
He took a leave.
We sent the body to the city M.
E.
I received permission to have it exhumed.
Now I want your permission to have the best of the best take a look.
I've already taken the liberty of messengering Dr.
Mallard the original copy of that report, and the body.
The great American physician, poet and polymath Oliver Wendell Holmes, Senior, once said, âWhere we love is home, home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts.
â (chuckles) In other words, it's great to be back.
This is all really lovely, but can we? Oh, uh, yes, you're due back in court.
Let's get started.
Based on these photos and reports, I can safely say that I agree with your cause of death.
Blunt force trauma.
Yes.
Here, to the side of the head.
With what appeared to be a metal pipe.
Yes.
Ms.
Shaeffer.
You seemed to have studied the report well.
But, uh, what do you see, Dr.
Palmer? Well, the injuries and blood spatter show that the victim was kneeling while the assailant was standing for the fatal blow.
Gentlemen, as we've established, I know the report.
I don't need it read back to me.
You agree with it, I understand.
Ms.
Shaeffer, the findings were correct, but, the, uh, analysis is incomplete.
Now that I see the decomposition of the outer layers, I have a clearer picture.
Clearer than the prior M.
E.
You see, the point of impact is the posterior left and radiates down toward the temple.
Now, this means that the assailant had to be standing behind him.
My colleague has just given you a concurring second opinion.
I don't understand.
This injury-- it's the result of a left-handed swing.
The original M.
E.
missed that fact.
Ms.
Shaeffer, dare we ask about your client, Gabriel Hicks? He's right-handed.
He's innocent.
God, I love my life.
What happened? Your shirt get even tighter? I wish.
No, Agent Sloane just, uh, told me something, uh It's made my day, that's all.
Well, what was it? Nah, I shouldn't say anything.
It's about you, Bishop, and it's kind of like, uh it's kind of embarrassing.
What? Wait.
You mean she was profiling me? What did she say? It was embarrassing? Embarrassing how? You really want me to say it in front of McGee? (clears throat) Uh, these are the O'Connell case files? Yeah, there were a lot more than I expected.
Makes sense.
Agent Mason didn't input his reports electronically.
I can see why.
The info is so disorganized, I mean, it'd take forever to categorize.
TORRES: Damn it.
I hate stacks of paper.
So, 11 years ago, Lieutenant Edward O'Connell was abducted outside of his home in Virginia by a man driving a blue van.
O'Connell was forced to withdraw $1,200 cash from his bank while the assailant waited in the van in the parking lot.
Come on.
A military guy like that? No way he'd get back in the van.
He must've been threatened somehow.
O'Connell was murdered in the forest.
Body was found the next day.
Fast forward a year.
Gabriel Hicks was convicted of robbery, kidnapping and first-degree murder.
Sentenced to death.
Evidence? All circumstantial-- Hicks drove a blue van, and was found with over $1,000 cash on him.
He also gave a fake alibi.
Said he was at his friend's house at the time of the murder.
Turns out, he was staying at a hunting cabin near the crime scene.
McGEE: Several witnesses saw a blue van outside the lieutenant's home before the abduction.
Any of them see the driver? No, but a woman who sold fruit in the bank parking lot was believed to have gotten a close-up view.
By the time investigators realized she could know something, she couldn't be located.
Agent Mason referred to her as âWitness X.
â Torres, you have anything to add? Crime scene photos.
Let's go back to the forest and see if we missed anything.
FORNELL: Course I remember it.
I remember all the cases I was point on.
They're like my ugly work babies.
So you heard about the retrial? Yeah.
Technicality.
It's a real waste of tax dollars.
There's no way this jury is gonna find anything different.
The guy did it, no question.
Yeah.
Mason thought that, too.
It's more than a thought, Gibbs.
Hicks is as guilty as they come.
Why are we talking about this? Yeah.
Maybe he's not.
Ducky says that the killer was left-handed.
Hicks is right-handed.
Come on.
A million things could've happened to make the guy swing lefty.
Victim was bound and kneeling.
Why swing with your off hand? I don't know.
Ask Hicks.
I took another look at all the evidence.
Everything you had was circumstantial.
The guy lied to my face about where he was that night.
And did you get a look at his priors? One prior.
Yeah.
Armed robbery.
Look, did we have this thing gift-wrapped? No.
It was messy as hell, but it was enough.
Gibbs, I'm telling you, Hicks is guilty, 100%.
All right.
Good to know.
Thanks for keeping me in the loop.
According to the M.
E.
in San Diego, Sloane profiled everyone in their office.
No.
Yeah.
Apparently, she had a-a big wooden cabinet full of files, kept it locked all the time.
No way, man.
I was just in her office.
There was not one cabinet there.
I don't know-- she's already started in on you and Bishop.
Okay, so I I got a confession to make.
Uh, Sloane was not asking anything about Bishop.
Uh, I made the whole thing up.
What, to take the heat off your pedicures? No, man, just 'cause it drives Bishop crazy.
She keeps asking me, âOh, what did Sloane say about me?â What do you think I should say, something about her feet? Or something else? (chuckles) I don't know, but GPS says the body was found in this general location.
Well, it looks like the tree.
The sign is there, but something's different.
11 years later, the bark's grown over it.
Wow.
Mother Nature kicks ass.
McGEE: Huh, looks like something's under there.
Look at that.
It's Lieutenant O'Connell's license.
You think it's been there the whole time? Well, the only reason we found it is 'cause the sign was pushed forward from the tree.
ABBY: What was the victim's license doing there? I mean, and how the heck did it end up behind that sign in the first place? Sounds like a question with a very Abby answer to it.
There are no answers coming to me.
(computer beeps) There's an answer coming to me.
Blood on the license? Well, it's degraded, due to years of exposure, but all we needed was one viable sample to confirm.
And, yup, it belonged to Lieutenant O'Connell.
Bummer for us, the killer didn't leave any DNA, and we still don't know how the heck the license got behind the sign in the first place.
The killer.
What? Uh, the killer put it there.
- What do you mean? - Well, I've been searching ViCAP with relevant keywords and parameters, and I just found a commonality with four unsolved murders in the D.
C.
area.
And those cases are linked to ours how? The victim's license was discovered hidden at each of the crime scenes, and always with a smear of blood over the face.
So the license was a calling card.
Whoever murdered Lieutenant O'Connell was a serial killer.
FORNELL: Gabriel Hicks.
I always knew he was a lying son of a bitch, but he's worse than I gave him credit for.
Serial killer never entered my mind.
VANCE: Well, let's shake off the hit.
Trial will be over in a matter of days.
We need to act now, so let's direct our efforts and make a plan.
So, we put the O'Connell case on the back burner and focus on connecting Hicks to the other four murders.
That's not the plan we had in mind, Tobias.
Not the plan? That's the only plan.
If that lawyer talks the jury out of the truth, Hicks will walk.
We've decided to take a second look at the O'Connell case, with an open mind.
You're kidding me.
We're taking another whack at Witness X.
The fruit lady? (chuckles) Oh, God, please tell me I'm being punked.
We know that she was in the bank parking lot.
She could be key in I.
D.
'ing or confirming O'Connell's killer.
Even if you track her down, you think she's gonna remember some guy in a van from 11 years ago? It's a long shot, I agree, but the evidence we have against Hicks is all circumstantial.
Which is why we have to look at him for the other murders.
But he was never a suspect in the other murders, and Dr.
Mallard believes that the Yeah, that the killer's left-handed.
Right.
I got it.
Come on.
Gibbs, help me out here.
You want a bottom line? This lawyer can make a pretty good case.
Listen to me.
The murders stopped after Hicks was locked up.
Maybe, or maybe they haven't been linked with the other ones.
Oh, you're a âmaybeâ kind of guy now? Maybe I am.
Maybe I'm just trying to figure this out, same as you! Well, you're talking like a guy who's Gentlemen, gentlemen, might I remind you it's this healthy type of disagreement that is the beauty of a joint investigation.
Right.
Well while you guys are going down a rabbit hole, I'm gonna focus on getting a slam dunk on Hicks.
We'll keep you in the loop; you'll do the same.
Yeah, yeah! SLOANE: He is educated.
He's accustomed to the use of a pen.
Arthur Conan Doyle, profile of Jack the Ripper.
Yes! You got it in three characteristics! You're like a machine, Ducky.
Yeah, my turn.
What is this? They're playing Name That Profile.
I don't know how to interrupt without getting analyzed.
Hey! We're standing here.
Uh, yeah.
Yes, you are.
Hi.
DUCKY: I'm sorry, Jethro, but Jack here is quite a kick.
Yeah, ain't she great? What do you got? DUCKY: Um, I'm building a picture of our serial killer.
We're looking for someone with antisocial personality disorder.
Psychopath.
Indeed.
As to his victims-- well, they're all male and notably strong, which suggests he may be trying to prove something.
McGEE: What about the money? Lieutenant O'Connell was forced to make a withdrawal.
Yes, well, theft is involved in all five cases, likely to support his habit.
Robbery is his work, but murder is his pleasure.
And what were you doing while Ducky was doing all the work? Hmm.
I was collecting stats on Jessica Shaeffer.
Hmm.
What, you profiled the lawyer? I found an in and made a new friend.
By faking more car trouble? Actually, I bought her lunch.
Her website bio said she'd moved here from out of state.
I told her how hard my own move was.
She empathized.
She's actually a really nice person.
She became a public defender because of her uncle.
He was wrongly convicted and died in prison.
So she truly believes that Hicks is innocent? Are we done talking? Yup.
My new friend invited me down to meet Hicks during recess.
Actually, Hicks requested it.
He, uh, wants to show us he has nothing to hi Really? Oh, yeah.
I'm going with you.
Okay.
Oh, great! My file cabinet.
Thanks so much.
You can just put it anywhere over there, all right? Oh, that's a unique piece of furniture.
Till we meet again, sir.
TORRES: You mean the cabinet from San Diego? It's in her office now? She had it shipped.
ABBY: That doesn't mean anything, you guys.
I asked Sloane about this.
She said she doesn't profile people in her spare time.
Okay, and you believe her? Why wouldn't I? She's my friend.
(phone ringing) McGEE: Guys, I'm telling you, this is just what Sloane wants us to think.
She became âfriendsâ with that lawyer just to profile her.
Mm-hmm.
Well, did Torres tell you what she said about me? She said I'm the type to have feet like a werewolf.
I mean, why would she say that? It's not even true.
I'll take off my shoes right now and show you.
Um actually, uh, Sloane didn't Uh, you know what, uh, Bishop, we should show McGee what we've been working on.
There's so many files.
BISHOP: Yeah, these are from the other four murder cases.
Suspects? Uh, there are about 20, at least.
Authorities were never able to narrow down the list.
BISHOP: Hard evidence was just as nonexistent as it was in the O'Connell case.
Got something.
So, the FBI collected these bags a few days after the murder.
They were turned over by bank customers who bought fruit in them from our Witness X.
FBI couldn't pull her DNA or fingerprints? No, but there were unknown particles on the outside of two of the three bags.
What was it? The particles were too small for their mass spectrometer to analyze.
Should've given them to you.
They did.
And Ye Olde Major Mass Spec gave me the same bad news back then.
Ye Olde Major Mass Spec? Yeah, this was 11 years ago.
He's had many upgrades since then.
He's like a whole new man.
I'm so proud of him.
You retested the particles and got a hit.
I did.
It's a clear rust protectant that's made for farm equipment.
That's pretty specialized.
ABBY: Yeah, there's only three stores in the area that carry it.
Two of them were not in business 11 years ago.
So I just got off the phone with the third.
It's a paint store that's been open for 40 years.
So we're thinking our fruit lady got her bags from a paint store? Well, there's only one way to find out.
I'm on it.
All that paperwork is killing me.
I'll text you the address! Thanks so much for talking to us.
I know you're in the midst of a trial.
We won't keep you long.
Thank you for coming.
You get to a point where having someone want to hear you out-- it means everything.
Where would you like him to start? Actually, I'd like to hear whatever Gabriel would like us to know.
I-I don't know.
Um I-I guess that I'm not what people think I am.
And what do people think you are? A liar.
They think I lied about where I was that night.
I got my days mixed up.
I was scared.
The FBI was questioning me, and I And you had a record.
Yeah.
Armed robbery.
I was a stupid kid with a knife trying to steal some beers.
I know how that sounds.
So, Gabriel, why do you think you were convicted? For the longest time, the only thing that made sense in my head was that I was framed.
After I was convicted, I-I heard about Agent Mason getting a promotion.
I thought that maybe he had moved the body closer to where I was staying, or changed the description of the car in order to make me look guilty.
What about now? I trust Jessica with my life.
She didn't find any evidence that I was framed.
So the only answer left is that I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
A coincidence.
Some people don't believe in such things.
(sighs) I wish they were right.
I'd be on the outside eating ice cream right about now.
Ah, that's what you'd do if you were out, eat ice cream? No, I I don't know why I said that.
When I was a kid, playing Little League, we'd lose, and it felt like the end of the world.
So my dad, he'd take me out for ice cream.
He'd order two scoops of vanilla, and the world was right again, you know? He died last year.
And they wouldn't let me out for the funeral.
Jessica and hope.
That's all I got left in here.
Thank you.
So, what do you think? Well, no analysis could be conclusive after 30 minutes, but I didn't see anything to suggest psychopathic tendencies.
And? And what? And what about that gut of yours? Huh? Oh, yeah.
That's right, cowboy.
Your gut is so famous, people bow down to it all the way to California.
(chuckles) Right.
Come on, lay it on me.
Give me some of that gut stuff.
Tiny bit.
MAN: These the bags you're talking about? Yes, sir.
Been using the same ones since the beginning.
Lot of people now, they carry their stuff out with their bare hands 'cause of landfills and whatnot.
Mr.
Rydell Pop.
Everyone calls me Pop.
All right, Pop.
Uh, I know it's a long shot, but I need to ask you about someone from about 11 years ago.
If I don't remember it, it didn't happen.
That's how sharp my mind is.
All right, well, she, uh she used to sell fruit around that time, and she might have put it in bags like these from your store.
Sure, I know who you're talking about.
You do? My employee.
He used to take home a stack of bags now and then to his aunt, who sold fruit.
All right.
What's his name? I'll do you one better.
You can talk to him yourself.
Ray! Name's Raymond.
Been working for me since he was a kid.
Ah.
What you need, Pop? Hey, Raymond.
Special Agent Nick Torres.
NCIS.
I need to talk to you about your aunt.
My aunt? The one you used to bring the bags for.
R-Ray? (dog barking in distance) (chuckles) Okay.
Night night.
Night night.
(siren approaching) (door closes) This guy's aunt is Witness X.
The fruit lady? Yep.
VANCE: Does Agent Torres plan on asking him a question? Probably.
It's possible his aunt could I.
D.
our killer.
Yes.
Don't you think that warrants you being in the room? No.
They swung at each other and connected.
They got a history now.
Torres needs to use that.
I told him to take a page from Sloane.
Ah, find an in.
TORRES: You got quite a hook there, man.
Look, man, I don't want to be here any more than you do.
I got a boss.
He's an old dude, like yours.
He's gonna make me stay here two hours plus, minimum, whether you're talking or not.
Hey, you box, right? I mean, you have to with a swing like that.
'Cause this hurt.
(exhales) Come on, man.
I'm just trying to pass the time here.
A place over on Maple.
Maple and Third? Freddie's Gym.
Ah, I went there a couple times.
You know, Freddie doesn't let just anybody in there.
You got to be good peoples.
And if Pop has kept you around since you were a kid, well he must think you're all right.
I trust Pop and Freddie.
Yo, Ray, just talk to me about your aunt so the both of us can get the hell out of here.
Okay.
Okay, I cash the checks.
Checks? You know what I'm talking about.
My aunt's checks.
One of her customers left her some money in his will.
Checks started coming after she moved away.
Where'd she move to? Look, I needed the money, man.
Pops is still paying me like it's 1950.
I don't care about the checks, man.
I just need to know where your aunt is.
I don't know.
I thought she was suing me or something.
She didn't send you? What's her name? Mary Smith! That was Gibbs on the phone.
I need all hands on deck.
Witness X is Mary Smith.
Oh, could she have a more common name? We also know that she has annuity checks from Dawson Mutual coming to the home address of her nephew, Raymond Smith.
Well, still, she might as well be Jane Doe.
Okay, guys, less complaining and more finding her.
Thought you'd all want to know-- Sloane's cabinet? Definitely locked.
I just helped her move it to the other side of her office.
Hey, did she say anything about my feet when you were up there? Hmm? Uh, Bishop, Sloane never said anything about you at all.
Torres made up the whole thing about the werewolf feet.
What? Why? Well, because he likes to drive you crazy.
Rude.
ABBY: Okay, guys.
I got a middle name.
I found it on one of the annuity documents.
Mary Elaine Smith.
I'm gonna search DMV.
I've got government programs.
Banks and credit cards.
I'll hop on the autopsy computer, check for death certificates.
All right, guys, we can do this.
Let's find a current address.
MAN: Mr.
Hicks, it's your testimony that on the evening of August 24, 2006, you were staying at the Richardson's hunting cabin to write? Yes.
I was young.
I was traveling the country, writing, trying to find myself.
The cabin was just one of the places I stopped along the way.
And the thousand dollars in cash that you had in your possession when you were apprehended-- you said you earned that doing odd jobs? Yes.
Do you have any of your employers' names? Not all of them.
I'd work a day here and there for anyone that would hire me along the way.
You mean, along your writing journey, while you weren't producing any writing? Objection.
Asked and answered.
Sustained.
Mr.
Hicks, that money you had-- you didn't earn that, did you? Yes, I did.
I No, you stole it.
You stole it from Lieutenant O'Connell.
It's what was left of his withdrawal, wasn't it? Objection.
Badgering.
Then you force him into your van.
- Objection.
- Then you bound him.
Sustained.
Then you drag him in the forest.
Mr.
Gardiner.
Then you listen to him plead for his life, and you strike him so hard that it caves in his head.
Mr.
Gardiner, ask a question or shut it down.
Mr.
Hicks, if what you say is true, you were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Is that correct? Yes.
Simply in the wrong cabin, at the wrong time, with the wrong vehicle, with the wrong amount of cash.
That would make you the unluckiest man in the world, wouldn't it? Yes.
(phone ringing) Bishop, tell me something good.
We got Witness X.
You got what? A name? Mary Elaine Smith.
She is alive and well.
We tracked her current location through Social Security.
You're on your way to talk to her? Gibbs is.
Keep me posted.
My nephew was cashing the checks? We'll get you what you're owed.
No, I don't want it.
Poor kid's had about as many breaks as I have.
I didn't have enough to take care of him, so I left.
But that's not why you're here, is it? A man named Gabriel Hicks is being retried for murder.
You know who I'm talking about? You want to know about the man I saw driving the blue van that day.
That's right.
I had a few oranges left, and I wanted to get rid of them so I could get home.
The man in the van told me he wasn't interested.
I offered a better price.
He told me to walk away or I'd regret it.
What did he look like? It was a long time ago, and I-I wouldn't know him if I saw him.
But I do know he was black and in his 40s.
You sure about that? Why didn't you tell someone? I did.
I figured he didn't believe me because I was just some lady selling fruit on the street.
Who didn't believe you? That FBI man.
He tracked me down 11 years ago, and I told him exactly what I just told you.
FORNELL: What do you want me to say? That you knew where she was 11 years ago and you talked to her.
Yeah, I talked to her.
And you covered it up.
Because she was lying through her teeth.
She would've created reasonable doubt about a guy that I know was guilty.
You didn't know a damn thing.
I've got a gut, too, Gibbs! I knew.
You said yourself there's reasonable doubt.
Guy takes one lefty swing, and you want to throw the whole investigation out the window? We got an eyewitness saying it wasn't him! Mary Smith was threatened.
Hicks got her to say exactly what he needed her to.
He scared her so bad, she's still lying for him.
Happens all the time.
Come on, Gibbs.
A witness is so intimidated that they disappear.
You know I'm right.
I know about afterwards.
I remember that.
Mason wasn't the only one to get a promotion off of all this.
I was on this case for a year.
I took Lieutenant O'Connell's mother to dinner every Sunday because he wasn't there to do it anymore.
I promised her justice, and that's what I gave her.
You expose this witness? It ends me.
My career.
Emily.
God, Emily.
But it's bigger than that.
If you expose Mary Smith, a murderer walks.
A serial killer.
Hicks goes off on his merry way, and we can't try him for this anymore.
You got blinders on, Tobias.
You didn't do the job.
You never acted as judge and jury? Convicting him was not your call to make.
Hypocrite doesn't look good on you.
Get out.
Gibbs Leave.
Tobias, get out.
Okay, uh, send her up, please.
Boss, Jessica Shaeffer's on her way up now.
What do we know? Have you talked to Mary Smith? What do we know? Could she describe the killer? I asked you a question.
What have you been doing? - Where is the evidence? - Boss, the list of suspects in these other four cases, it's huge, and we can't connect any of 'em to Lieutenant O'Connell's murder.
But we can't connect Hicks to any other cases either.
BISHOP: Hicks may have been in the area when all five murders happened, but so were at least 20 other suspects.
So we got nothing! Agent Gibbs.
Agent Gibbs, I need to speak to you.
I thought I had your cooperation.
You should've contacted me already.
For what? You found Witness X.
Says who? Are you telling me you didn't find her? Or should we start talking Brady violation? Agent Gibbs, (scoffs) I don't know what's going on here, but this is a man's life we're talking about.
What did the witness say? I'm calling you to the stand.
We'll see what you have to say under oath.
You had no business discussing this investigation with anyone.
Uh, who-who'd I tell what? You know what I'm talking about.
I wish I did.
Damn it, Sloane What? What?! The lawyer.
Your new friend.
You're the only one with a connection to her, and she knew we found Witness X.
Okay.
I'm gonna lay it out for you, okay? There's two choices.
Option one, you tell me what's going on, and none of it ever leaves the room.
Option two, I find out on my own-- and I will find out-- then I can't make any promises.
So now you know I didn't open my big mouth, and you want to talk, but you don't want me to think I won.
Nobody won.
(exhales) Just talk.
Lawyer is calling me to the stand.
If I tell the truth, a man will lose everything.
This man known him a long time.
Has a daughter.
He's your friend.
Mm.
And if you lie to protect your friend, you could be re-sentencing an innocent man to death.
Yeah.
That is quite a conundrum, isn't it? (clears throat) So, what do you think about my cabinet? I think you are trying to distract me with a handcrafted piece of furniture.
Now, why would I do that? Because you don't know the answers any more than me.
You're right.
It is handmade.
My, um my dad made it for my mom before they were married.
He was this great craftsman.
But he was so busy trying to woo her that he made the bottom drawers too tight.
It got humid, and the wood swelled.
And then they quit opening.
He wanted to fix it, but, uh, my mom said no.
She loved it just the way it was.
That one act tells you everything you need to know about my mom.
Anyway (sniffles) the drawers still don't open, so it's empty.
But I like having it in my office.
(grunts) It reminds me that even extraordinary people make mistakes.
That's a given.
It's our response to those mistakes that defines us.
So Lock up when you're done.
Agent Gibbs, answer the question.
Did you locate Witness X? (sighs softly) Yes.
Yesterday.
What's her name? Mary Elaine Smith.
Was Mary Smith able to describe the man in the blue van? Yes.
What was her description? African-American, in his 40s.
(gallery murmuring) JUDGE: Order.
Order.
Were you inclined to believe this witness? Agent Gibbs, did you believe Mary Smith? Yes.
Why is that? Because she gave the same statement at the time of the crime.
To whom? Let me remind you, Agent Gibbs, you are under oath.
To whom did Mary Smith give her statement 11 years ago? FBI Agent Tobias Fornell.
(gallery murmuring) Ladies and gentlemen, if you'll follow me, Mr.
Hicks will be making a statement in the atrium.
Thank you.
Ah, Tobias.
It was me.
I tipped off the lawyer about Witness X.
Why? What the hell for? Because I knew you'd do the right thing.
I've been carrying this around so long I didn't know what the right thing was anymore.
But I knew you would.
HICKS: To my lawyer, Jessica Shaeffer.
I can't thank her enough for believing in me and seeing justice through to the end.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
Thank you all.
Excuse me.
(reporters clamoring) Agent Gibbs.
(chuckles) I don't even know what to say.
You don't have to say anything.
You gonna be okay? Yeah.
Yeah, it's just It's overwhelming.
I don't even know what to do with myself out here anymore.
Start small.
Maybe some ice cream.
(chuckles): Right.
Two scoops of chocolate, in honor of my dad.
Vanilla, wasn't it? You said your dad ordered vanilla.
(chuckles): Vanilla.
Right.
I guess I'm even more overwhelmed than I thought.
Eh.
Thank you.
Oh, yeah.
It's possible he really was overwhelmed.
Or he made the whole thing up.
You lie about ice cream, it doesn't make you a murderer.
No.
Does make him a liar.
SLOANE: He knows we're here.
Switch-hitter.
He played us.
Game's not over.