NCIS s15e12 Episode Script
Dark Secrets
1 Still think we're making a mistake here, hon.
You know how Melissa hates birthdays, and surprises.
She says that, but I don't think she really feels that way.
(chuckles) She is gonna regret the day she ever gave you the keys of her house.
Trust me, it'll put a smile on her face when she gets home tonight.
Well I think I'll put this on the breakfast room table.
Okay.
(sighs) Now, what the hell's the good of an alarm if you don't turn it on? She must've been in a hurry.
She had to be in court early this morning.
Oh, geez CHRISTINE: Alan! Oh, God! Oh, God! Alan, get her down! Get her down! Oh, God! Oh, God, no! NCIS 15x12 Dark Secrets BISHOP: Oh, she's so cute.
Oh! Look at that little guy.
What a dude.
They don't look any different than they did yesterday.
BISHOP: They are adorable, McGee.
And they are so different.
I mean, Johnny sleeps all the time.
And Morgan, Morgan is nonstop active.
It's like they're two distinctive personalities, and Delilah and I Bishop, remind me what we used to talk about every morning, before McGee had twins? GIBBS: Morning.
Morning, Boss.
Hey.
You got new pictures? Yeah.
Look at that.
Ah.
(chuckles) By the way, HR called.
They said that today is the last day to update the photo on your new credential.
I hate my new photo.
They took it on a bad day, after a rough night.
Can't be that bad.
Whoa, whoa, what are you doing? Taking a look.
TORRES: Wait, come on, man See, I hate that I said anything.
BISHOP: You were right, Nick, that is unflattering.
Bishop.
, it's Gibbs.
I can't live with that, man.
No way.
Well, maybe they'll let you take another one.
I tried, bro.
I went down to HR, they got real nasty, real uppity.
They thought I was "criticizing their work.
" GIBBS: Okay.
On our way.
GIBBS: Got a dead JAG officer.
Come on.
Let's go.
Time of death? Around 7:00 a.
m.
But as Dr.
Mallard always says, (English accent): "I'll be more precise when I get her on my table, Jethro.
" Her only phone, no landline.
We didn't find a suicide note.
What about the parents? Well, in denial.
ALAN: We know our daughter, Agent Bishop.
Melissa did not take her own life.
BISHOP: When's the last time you spoke to her? Talk we talk ev almost every day.
Has she sounded depressed lately? No.
Just the opposite.
Maybe a fight with a friend? Someone at work? No.
She loved her job.
No.
Mm-hmm.
She's proud to be a JAG lawyer.
It sounds old-fashioned, but all she ever wanted to do was help people and serve her country.
ALAN: I mean, I don't think she was ever happier.
She just got engaged to this great guy, David.
Have you Find anything, Agent Gibbs? Mr.
Newhall, we're just beginning our investigation.
This is crazy.
This morning, we were coming to surprise Melissa for her birthday, and now Either of you notice anything unusual? Her behavior, maybe? No.
No.
Yes.
The alarm.
The alarm was off when we arrived.
She's religious about setting the alarm, especially when she's alone in the house.
CHRISTINE: That's true.
She was really good about that.
McGEE: Lieutenant Melissa Newhall was an only child.
She grew up in rural Pennsylvania.
Had poor grades in high school, but she went to junior college, got straight As, and earned a scholarship to Georgetown, where she was Phi Beta Kappa.
That's impressive.
McGEE: Well, it gets more impressive.
She was top in her law school class, and made law review.
Lieutenant Newhall turned down a lot of lucrative law firm offers to become a JAG lawyer.
I wonder why she'd do that? Well, I called her CO, and he was in court today, observing proceedings.
I'm waiting to hear back.
Who? Captain Bud Roberts.
I know him.
I phoned her fiancé, David Crocker, but I haven't heard back from him yet.
Parents haven't been able to reach him, either.
All right.
I'll be in autopsy.
Dr.
Palmer.
Got a blood draw here for Abby.
You got anything for me? Maybe.
Found some fresh bruising, which suggests a struggle.
I also found some other bruising which appears to be older.
Here, here and here.
Could be domestic abuse.
Is there a spouse? No, there's a fiancé.
And he's not returning our calls.
Hey.
Hey.
Where'd you go? Um, well, I was going to get a Caf-POW!, and I ran into Sloane, who was going to the coffee cart, so I joined her.
Oh.
What, uh, what did you do to your finger? Nothing.
I mean, well, I got a splinter.
But don't tell Gibbs.
'Cause he'll try to, like, dig it out with a knife.
Thought you had a hack for splinters.
Banana peel? I tried it.
Didn't work.
Oh.
By the way, your, uh, printer spit something out while you were gone.
Oh, it's the results of Lieutenant Newhall's blood work.
And I see you cracked her password protection.
No suicide note in the computer.
I'm scrolling through her search history.
There's nothing suicide-related here at all.
Some online shopping, movie reviews, and her hometown newspaper.
I'm gonna check, see what apps she has.
Okay, so the lieutenant was sedated at the time of her demise.
Diazepam.
Well, that's interesting.
We didn't find any prescription drugs at her house.
Just a few vitamin supplements.
Sometimes, suicide victims will use it to relax themselves so they don't change their minds.
Well, and sometimes, killers will drug their victims in order to stage a fake hanging.
McGee.
She has a video diary.
My friend Carol has that same app.
She keeps trying to talk me into using it.
Well, let's see if her innermost thoughts help our investigation.
ABBY: It looks like she made an entry every single day, until three days ago, and then, nothing.
Friday night.
Long day at work today.
Uh, happy to meet David for sushi.
Mostly discussed the wedding.
It appears we have very different ideas.
Uh, he's thinking elaborate destination wedding, and that's not for me.
Somehow, we'll work it all out.
She seems so positive.
Oh, I have an appointment Yeah.
to look at wedding dresses tomorrow.
Mom wants to come, but I think I need to narrow it down to a few choices before getting her involved.
Or she'll make me crazy.
That's it.
I'm tired.
Good night.
ABBY: Okay.
That does not sound like someone who was about to take their own life.
BISHOP: David Crocker, Lieutenant Newhall's fiancé, works for a small PR firm in Reston.
I called his office, and they said something came up, and he made an unscheduled flight to New York, early this morning.
Shades of O.
J.
How early this morning? Took the shuttle, New World Airlines, flight 23.
Left at 9:00 from Reagan National, and he has a return ticket on the 3:00 p.
m.
Okay.
Meet the plane, Torres.
Yes, sir.
As for the lieutenant's phone, she exchanged recent calls with three people: her parents, her fiancé and her best friend, Kerry Lyons.
Who I spoke to.
She still lives in her hometown, Eastbourne, Pennsylvania.
She's a social worker, and she was the last one to talk to the lieutenant.
So when was this? 6:05 this morning.
Yeah, she wanted to be the first one to say happy birthday to her friend.
Ms.
Lyons is on her way here now to console the parents.
The lieutenant also made several outgoing calls to a prepaid phone number.
I've called, and only got a recording.
Left two messages.
SULTRY WOMAN (over phone): Hi, this is Rita.
I can't get to the phone right now, so leave a message.
I don't want to miss your call.
I spoke to the clerk at the JAG office.
Rita is not a co-worker, and there's no one by that name who works in the building.
Did you ask the parents? Yeah.
And the best friend.
Neither of them know who Rita is.
Uh, good to see you, Gibbs.
Yeah, good to see you, too, Bud.
Wish it was under different circumstances.
Yeah.
A real shocker.
Took her own life? I don't buy it.
See, Lieutenant Newhall, she was a good officer.
A great lawyer.
She had her head on straight.
Yeah.
Well, as you know, we handle suicides the same way as we do homicides: with a death investigation.
Was she well-liked? Absolutely.
What kind of cases she handle? Little bit of both.
She preferred to defend, but when called upon, she was a-a fierce prosecutor.
She had some enemies? (laughs) You're agreeing with me, aren't you, Gibbs? You don't think it was a suicide.
Investigating all the possibilities, Bud.
There was a case a few years ago where she put a petty officer away for spousal abuse.
And he threatened her in court.
Um, let me look it up.
GIBBS: You meet the fiancé? Yeah, a couple times.
He, uh a little too stiff for m my taste, but she was happy.
Yeah, here it is.
Valencia.
Carlos Valencia.
Court-martialed June 2015.
He was released.
When? Two weeks ago.
Sometimes, you just know the accused is guilty.
That's how it was with Petty Officer Valencia.
I knew this morning, when I walked into that room, that it wouldn't take long for the court member panel to convict him.
You found it.
Yup.
Night of Valencia's court-martial.
You know, Lieutenant Newhall talked to this diary almost every day for five years.
There's over 45 hours of video here.
I got to say, I was a little upset when he went on a rant threatening me.
That was a first.
But I'm sure a good night's sleep will help put it out of my mind.
Looks like she didn't take that threat very seriously.
Find out where Valencia is now.
Get the video up to Sloane.
Maybe she'll find something-- a pattern, a motive.
Gladly.
Listening to her private thoughts and confessions was creeping me out.
It's like when I was a kid and I found my sister's diary.
Torres pick up the fiancé? Yeah.
He and Bishop have him in Interrogation.
I landed in New York, there were messages on my phone from the office, Melissa's dad and NCIS.
I just got this sick feeling in my stomach, and I I knew something must have happened to her.
But I never would have guessed this.
She seem upset the last time you saw her? She has been a little preoccupied recently.
How recently? Started over the weekend.
The last three days, she's just been acting strangely.
N-Not her usual self.
Did you say anything? I tried talking to her.
She just, she wasn't open like she usually was.
I attributed it to nervousness about the wedding.
Where were you at 7:00 a.
m.
this morning? My apartment.
Rushing to get to the airport.
Anyone see you? I don't know.
I don't think so.
You want to tell us how your fiancé got those bruises? What? Come on, man.
She had bruises-- old ones, new ones-- all over her arms and torso.
I-I wasn't aware.
How's that possible? Look, I know this is gonna sound strange.
I thought so, too.
But Melissa was committed to remaining celibate until she was married.
That's why we didn't live together.
We were we were never intimate.
JIMMY: Uh, Bishop? We have a problem.
Contrary to what he just told you, Lieutenant Newhall was not celibate.
JIMMY: Autopsy and forensics indicate that she did have sex, in the last 72 hours.
I collected DNA.
And hopefully, I will be able to identify her partner.
MELISSA: It's 2:00 a.
m.
and I am just now going to bed.
I stayed up and watched Roman Holiday for the umpteenth time.
Audrey Hepburn was so gorgeous.
Hmm.
Things were so simple and romantic back then.
I think I was born 50 years too late.
(knock at door) Come in.
You have a minute? Hey, yeah, for you, always.
Have a seat.
Thanks.
Your, uh, your door's usually open.
Yeah.
I was watching the lieutenant's diaries.
I wanted to respect her privacy.
Hey, can we believe the fiancé? That they weren't actually intimate? Yeah.
She talks about it all the time, how she appreciated his patience, and it's kind of cool.
Well, Jimmy and Abby are positive that she was sexually active.
Any indication she was seeing somebody else? Not so far.
Could she have been raped? Jimmy collected DNA.
There haven't been recordings for, like, three days, so Anything's possible.
I still have several more hours to watch.
So, hopefully, I'll come up with something.
All right, well, let me know if you do.
Yeah.
Hey.
Hmm? Want a lollipop? Oh.
Green.
Yes! How did you know? 'Cause you have a gigantic heart.
Thank you.
MELISSA: I am gonna pay the price tomorrow, though, for staying up and watching the movie.
We have a staff meeting first thing in the morning.
Is that Lieutenant Newhall's voice? Yeah.
What? Play it again.
I am gonna pay the price tomorrow, though, for staying up and watching the movie.
We have a staff meeting first thing in the morning.
CHRISTINE: I think Melissa would have liked to wear her white uniform.
I think so, too.
She loved summer.
There's so much to do.
I don't know where to start.
Mrs.
N, we don't have to do everything today.
Let's just get through the funeral, and I'll stay as long as you need me.
What would I do without you, Kerry? You were always like a second daughter to me.
You know, I can't find any of her important documents.
I've searched her desk, everywhere.
They'll show up.
Excuse me.
(knock at door) NCIS.
Special Agent Nick Torres.
Kerry? Thanks for meeting me here.
I just didn't want to leave Melissa's parents alone.
They're really taking it hard.
Especially her mother.
I understand.
Come inside.
Good morning.
Uh I just have a few questions for Kerry since she was the last one to speak to your daughter.
We can talk in the kitchen, Agent Torres.
TORRES: Sure.
It's been so hard on them.
They were the greatest parents.
Melissa was so lucky.
When you spoke to Melissa yesterday, did you sense that anything was wrong? No.
It was just all about her birthday.
And we just laughed about past ones.
I'm sorry.
No problem.
David Crocker, her fiancé.
What can you tell me about him? The love of her life.
To her, Mr.
Perfect.
And to you, too? (sighs) For Melissa, yeah.
Her love life, in general? What do you mean? Other boyfriends? No.
No others, actually.
Ever? Just never seemed to care until David.
What about high school? Nope.
This important somehow? It might be.
Truth is, um And I mean, I don't know for sure, but I guess I can tell you now, I just I don't think she cared that much.
About? I just always suspected Melissa might be asexual, just not into anybody, either sex.
RITA: Hi, this is Rita.
I can't get to the phone right now, so leave a message.
I don't want to miss your call.
Now this a voice sample of Lieutenant Newhall from her diary.
MELISSA: I am gonna pay the price tomorrow, though, for staying up and watching the movie.
We have a staff meeting first thing in the morning.
They sure sound like the same person, don't they? I'm doing a voice comparison with my audio software.
Did you run the DNA Jimmy found on the body? I did.
Compared it to the fiancé.
It's not him.
And I assume you didn't get a match in the database or you would've led with that.
Mm, you would assume correctly.
Oh, but I can tell you that he is male, Caucasian, predominately European ancestry, and has markers for pattern baldness.
Oh, well.
You have very discerning ears, Bishop.
My audio software agrees with you.
98% assurance that Lieutenant Newhall and Rita are one and the same.
I appreciate the info.
Thanks very much.
Boss, Carlos Valencia has an alibi.
He was 200 miles away yesterday morning in a mandated re-entry program for parolees.
So much for the angry defendant.
Oh, thanks, Billy.
Yes, sir.
What did Billy bring? Let's see.
Some new photo IDs.
Ugh, what a doofus.
I can't live with that for five years, man.
And of course the camera loves Bishop.
What, does she have a wind machine? What?! Gibbs, this looks like your old picture, man.
BISHOP: Hey, McGee.
Ping this number.
It's Rita's prepaid phone.
See if you can get a location.
Oh, you got something, Bishop? Lieutenant Newhall is Rita.
Wait wait, explain.
So the voice on the prepaid number Lieutenant Newhall was calling is her own.
They're one and the same person.
McGEE: Phone is active.
It's on the 2100 block of M Street.
Go.
It's coming from down the street.
I think I know how to solve the problem.
I'm just gonna tell them I lost my creds.
Then they're gonna have to issue a new one.
Boom! Well, they will once they've completed their 2B investigation.
Yeah, he's right, Nick.
No All right, phone's in the hotel.
HOST (on TV): to advance to the lightning round and a chance to This is getting crazier.
Why would the lieutenant have anything to do with a place like this? Can I help you? - Federal agents.
You got a minute? - Maybe.
You got an ID? (clears throat) ID.
Navy cops? BISHOP: Yup.
You recognize her? Rita's in the Navy? All right, I'll call Rita's number.
(phone ringing) This has just gotten very weird.
Very, very weird.
Look at this.
She's got the same diary app on her phone.
Last time it was used was three days ago.
(panting) Barry just left.
The pain was incredible.
He knows how much I crave it.
(breathes heavily) Oh, does he now? (phone buttons beeping) All the contacts are just first names.
Sound male, mostly.
Rick, Matt, Justin, Damon, list keeps going.
Last few calls were to this, uh, Barry guy she mentioned.
Let's see if this belonged to Barry.
We'll run it.
See if we can get a print.
BISHOP: Diazepam.
Prescription is in Melissa Newhall's name.
Well, we still have another few hours of Rita's diaries to go through.
TORRES: Let's run Barry's number.
See if we can get a last name.
Yeah, bet he's got a story to tell.
There has to be some kind of a mistake.
Melissa would never do any of those things.
SLOANE: Kerry, we know this is hard to hear.
Didn't Agent Torres tell you what I said? Yes, but that doesn't change what we found.
Listen to me.
Melissa never even cared about guys until David.
And now you're telling me she's out with a different one every night, asking them to hurt her? (sighs) She was lying to me.
I'm sorry.
I just, I already had to say good-bye to her once.
And now Now you have to mourn the person you thought she was.
Why would she do this? Well, when someone leads a double life, it's almost always the result of an acute traumatic event.
Can you think of anything that-that might've happened to her? No.
And up until today, I thought she told me everything.
Oh, my God, her parents.
What about them? You can't tell them about this.
It would kill them.
Kerry, this is an open investigation.
Unfortunately, we can't make those promises.
Please.
Melissa was hiding this from everyone.
She didn't want people to know.
I'm still her best friend.
I have to protect her memory.
This place smells like old cheese.
Well, that's him.
Excuse me, Barry Goode.
NCIS.
Need to talk to you.
TORRES: Uh, McGee.
You got the wrong guy, bro.
Nah, I don't think so.
Uh, seriously, dude, that's the wrong guy.
Oh.
My bad.
Sorry.
Barry Goode.
NCIS.
Yeah.
Heard your boyfriend there give a speech to the wrong guy.
Look, in my defense, you look a lot more washed-up than you do in your photo ID, okay? TORRES (laughing): Damn.
See, bad things happen when you don't look like your picture, man.
I mean, I don't have that problem, though.
I my issue is that when you take a picture of me with a camera, I look better in person 'cause the camera doesn't capture my-my bone structure.
Isn't that weird? That's-that's-that's kind of an issue.
- Okay, I'm not sure that's your issue.
- Uh Whoa, Barry.
Where you think you're going, buddy? I got a thing against talking to guys who iron their clothes.
You know this woman? I know lots of women.
Her name is Rita.
Doesn't ring a bell.
What about her being dead? Does that ring a bell? Might want to think real long and hard before you answer that, Barry, 'cause we've got DNA and I bet it'll prove that you and Rita knew each other pretty well.
We hung out a couple times.
Did you fight a lot when you were hanging out? Fight? No, we screwed.
You put hands on her, man.
She had bruises.
Look, I did what she asked, okay? She liked it rough.
Too rough for me, even.
Where were you yesterday at 7:00 a.
m.
? I work baggage at Dulles.
Graveyard shift.
You want proof? There's cameras all over the airport.
Do your job.
Oh.
That's great advice.
Thank you.
That's the kind of guy that goes through your checked luggage.
Yeah, man, this place is nasty.
Make sure you wash your hands before you hug your kids tonight.
David wanted to cook dinner for me tonight.
He had the whole thing planned.
When I told him I had to work late, he he was hurt.
I could see it.
I I keep thinking once we get married, something's gonna have to change.
I am gonna have to change.
Watch this.
It's late.
Past 3:00.
I'm here alone.
I thought for sure I would meet someone tonight, but everyone was talking like it mattered and I don't like it when they ask more than my name.
So here I am.
What'd you see? These two videos, taken a month ago on the same day.
Yeah, but she lied to her fiancé about where she was going.
What is that? Split personality? No.
Dual life.
It's a big difference.
She's the same person whether she's going by Melissa or Rita and she's fully aware of all of her actions.
Why pretend to be someone you're not? I don't know.
Why do you do it? Why do I do it? Why does anyone do it? Both of these lives are very much Melissa, but unlike most of us, she feels the need to keep them separate.
She's scared.
Yeah.
Fear and guilt are two peas in a pod, Gibbs.
The physical abuse that she seeks out as Rita suggests that she is punishing herself for something.
Yeah, or it's something she thinks she did.
A person who records their thoughts this compulsively is someone who wants to be heard, but feels she isn't.
My guess, that feeling was ingrained in her from an early age.
You think as a kid she had a diary? If she did, I'd like to see it.
It would help me complete my profile, that's for sure.
All right.
Find the trigger.
Christine, we don't need to take everything right now.
These were really important to her.
I don't want to lose them.
Okay.
I'm sorry.
Don't worry.
(car door opens) Agent Gibbs, you found something? - This is Special Agent Sloane.
- Hello.
Hi.
You have proof that Melissa didn't commit suicide? No, we're still investigating.
Well, how can we help you? Do you know if Melissa kept a diary when she was a kid? Yes.
Always.
But I-I couldn't tell you what was in it.
She was protective of it and we respected her privacy.
Do you know where it is? I-I know that she took it with her when she moved out after law school, but we just went through all of her things.
I didn't see it.
Did you? No.
Why do you ask? Do you think it could tell you that she didn't do this to herself? It's possible.
We have to find it.
I-I'll go, I'll go look again.
Um, Christine can only cope with the hard times by convincing herself it didn't happen.
She'll never believe that our daughter took her own life.
You read Melissa's diary.
Yeah.
She was 15 and I was desperate.
I only got ten pages in (inhales) before she came home and made me stop.
I don't know what she did with it after that.
Why were you desperate? She was a great kid who turned into a troubled teen.
She was stealing and drinking and skipping school.
But during her senior year, she turned her life around.
She became a different person.
What happened? I don't know.
She wouldn't tell me.
I'm sure she wrote about it, but it wasn't in the ten pages that I read.
Whatever it was, it it changed her life forever.
WOMAN: Got something for you, Nick.
Ah, thank you.
Uh, who is that with Torres? JIMMY: No idea.
Hey, where's Gibbs? On his way up.
Should be here any minute.
- Hey, who was that? - Huh? Huh? The woman you were just talking to on the staircase.
Oh, that's Jody.
She's new.
She works at HR.
She processed my new creds.
BISHOP: What? That looks like it was taken by Annie Leibovitz.
JIMMY: You wearing makeup there, Nick? Or is that Photoshopped? Now, that's a picture I can live with.
(scoffs) There's Gibbs.
Autopsy report.
You find anything? - Nothing I haven't already told you.
- Hey, Jimmy.
Abby needs you.
BISHOP: Uh, how much did you tell the parents? GIBBS: Not much.
But the father told us that Melissa had a juvenile arrest record and she kept a diary as a teen.
I'm going to my office, folks.
We got to find the diary.
Call the fiancé.
See if he knows anything about a diary.
Okay.
But what do I tell him about her secret life? Do I keep it from him? He's gonna find out eventually.
ABBY: Ow, ow! JIMMY: Sorry.
Sorry.
It's getting infected.
You should really see a doctor.
You are a doctor, Jimmy.
Just get it out.
Well, you're awfully grouchy today.
You all right? Something bothering you? Sorry.
Yeah.
It's Lieutenant Newhall.
Like, instead of talking to her diary, she should have been sharing her problems with someone.
You know, like-like her friends, or her parents, her fiancé.
Yeah, you're right.
She needed help.
She could've gotten it, too.
You know, the Navy's got several suicide prevention programs.
The Military Crisis Line, they listen without judgment and they offer great support.
Got it.
Thank you.
Yeah, now we just need some antiseptic.
I have that in here.
JIMMY: Hey, McGee.
I'm gonna go get Lieutenant Newhall's body ready for transport.
Abby, I blew it.
I really screwed up.
I'm sure you're exaggerating.
You're a great agent.
What happened? Two days ago I noticed that Lieutenant Newhall had Googled her hometown newspaper.
I was gonna check it out, but I got sidetracked with the video diary and I didn't follow up until now.
So what's the problem? Look at this.
ABBY: "Body of Teacher Missing Fourteen Years Found.
" He was suspected of abusing his female students, but he disappeared before charges were made.
Local police assumed he just ran away.
14 years ago? Melissa Newhall would have been a teenager.
You think she was one of his victims? It's likely.
Small town, one high school.
Ooh.
You think you know someone so well.
Guess I didn't know her at all.
We appreciate you helping us out.
So, where are we looking? In the living room.
Melissa's passport expired; she needed to renew it for our honeymoon.
So, I saw where she kept all her valuables.
(sighs) We were going to Bali.
I didn't see a diary, but I wasn't really looking.
MELISSA: "Our parents think Mr.
Paull "is such a nice man, but he's really a scuzzball.
MELISSA/SLOANE: "He creeps us out "the way he stares at us on the field.
"He thinks he can get away with anything but Kerry and I are gonna teach him a lesson.
" That was the last entry she made.
After he went missing, local police started investigating, and the girls started talking.
It became quite evident that Emmett Paull abused and molested female students.
Possibly Melissa Newhall and Kerry Lyons.
14 years later, Paull's body is found buried in the woods.
McGee came across a curious thing when he was going through Lieutenant Newhall's computer.
She never visited the Web site of her hometown newspaper until the day the body was found.
And then, she checked it the next three days, and then she was dead.
GIBBS: "Kerry and I are going to teach him a lesson.
" That's incriminating, especially now that the teacher's buried remains were found.
Wait, wait, wait.
That was the trigger.
Killing the teacher is why Melissa became Rita.
She was seeking out these dangerous, violent sexual encounters to punish herself for what she did 14 years ago.
Yeah, but that still doesn't tell us whether she was murdered or committed suicide.
SLOANE: My opinion-- suicide.
She feared the police investigation would reveal her secrets, past and present.
She couldn't juggle both her lives and felt there was no other way out.
GIBBS: Or it was murder.
Her friend Kerry thought that Melissa would break and confess to killing the teacher.
I mean, that's hard to prove.
The words in her diary aren't exactly a confession.
Kerry doesn't know what it says.
(door opens) Agent Sloane.
This room's a little more intimidating than where we met the last time.
Kerry, this is Special Agent Gibbs.
You know what this is? Melissa's diary.
Melissa was a compulsive writer, Kerry.
She wrote it all down.
About "getting even with Mr.
Paull.
" Do you want to tell us what happened? How did you "get even"? We were just gonna scare him.
We didn't mean for him to die.
How did he die? (sighs) We lured him into the woods, not far from school.
He was willing; we knew he would be.
When he saw we brought rope, it excited him.
He let us tie him up.
When Melissa took out the camcorder, he panicked, and we threatened to torture him unless he confessed to molesting girls at school.
He gasped and breathed hard.
And at first we thought he was faking, but he was having a heart attack.
And we became hysterical, arguing about what to do and He died.
We buried the body and prayed he'd never be found.
We never spoke of that night again.
Until the body was found last week.
The minute I heard it on the news, I called Melissa.
She freaked.
We talked several times over the next couple days.
And I tried to convince her that after all these years, they'd never tie us to it.
But she didn't believe me.
Then I called her on her birthday.
She said her life was over.
She didn't want to talk about it anymore and hung up.
What did you do? I got in my car and hoped to get to her house to calm her down.
I got to Melissa's place.
Using my own key, I went inside and turned off the alarm.
(sniffles) But I was too late.
(gasps) Melissa was dead.
I found a handwritten suicide note.
It incriminated us in Mr.
Paull's death.
And she said good-bye to everybody.
I took it and ran.
For your sake, I hope you didn't destroy it.
No.
(quietly): I kept it.
What happens now? GIBBS: That's up to the authorities in Pennsylvania.
They'll consider all the circumstances, Kerry.
Your age, his actions.
Yeah, they were only 15.
And he a predator.
SLOANE: Well, if they believe Kerry, like I do, the teacher died of a heart attack.
When I get home, I am hugging my kids.
Does anybody want to have a drink over at the Adams House? My treat.
Yeah, sure.
SLOANE: I'm in.
GIBBS: Nope, can't.
One more thing I got to do.
Break the news to Lieutenant Newhall's parents.
I got to take a rain check.
Gibbs, wait up.
Pardon.
(sighs) I'm going with you.
This is one of the obligations of the job I will never feel comfortable with.
It's hard when people hold things inside and keep secrets.
My gut? You're speaking from experience.
You know how Melissa hates birthdays, and surprises.
She says that, but I don't think she really feels that way.
(chuckles) She is gonna regret the day she ever gave you the keys of her house.
Trust me, it'll put a smile on her face when she gets home tonight.
Well I think I'll put this on the breakfast room table.
Okay.
(sighs) Now, what the hell's the good of an alarm if you don't turn it on? She must've been in a hurry.
She had to be in court early this morning.
Oh, geez CHRISTINE: Alan! Oh, God! Oh, God! Alan, get her down! Get her down! Oh, God! Oh, God, no! NCIS 15x12 Dark Secrets BISHOP: Oh, she's so cute.
Oh! Look at that little guy.
What a dude.
They don't look any different than they did yesterday.
BISHOP: They are adorable, McGee.
And they are so different.
I mean, Johnny sleeps all the time.
And Morgan, Morgan is nonstop active.
It's like they're two distinctive personalities, and Delilah and I Bishop, remind me what we used to talk about every morning, before McGee had twins? GIBBS: Morning.
Morning, Boss.
Hey.
You got new pictures? Yeah.
Look at that.
Ah.
(chuckles) By the way, HR called.
They said that today is the last day to update the photo on your new credential.
I hate my new photo.
They took it on a bad day, after a rough night.
Can't be that bad.
Whoa, whoa, what are you doing? Taking a look.
TORRES: Wait, come on, man See, I hate that I said anything.
BISHOP: You were right, Nick, that is unflattering.
Bishop.
, it's Gibbs.
I can't live with that, man.
No way.
Well, maybe they'll let you take another one.
I tried, bro.
I went down to HR, they got real nasty, real uppity.
They thought I was "criticizing their work.
" GIBBS: Okay.
On our way.
GIBBS: Got a dead JAG officer.
Come on.
Let's go.
Time of death? Around 7:00 a.
m.
But as Dr.
Mallard always says, (English accent): "I'll be more precise when I get her on my table, Jethro.
" Her only phone, no landline.
We didn't find a suicide note.
What about the parents? Well, in denial.
ALAN: We know our daughter, Agent Bishop.
Melissa did not take her own life.
BISHOP: When's the last time you spoke to her? Talk we talk ev almost every day.
Has she sounded depressed lately? No.
Just the opposite.
Maybe a fight with a friend? Someone at work? No.
She loved her job.
No.
Mm-hmm.
She's proud to be a JAG lawyer.
It sounds old-fashioned, but all she ever wanted to do was help people and serve her country.
ALAN: I mean, I don't think she was ever happier.
She just got engaged to this great guy, David.
Have you Find anything, Agent Gibbs? Mr.
Newhall, we're just beginning our investigation.
This is crazy.
This morning, we were coming to surprise Melissa for her birthday, and now Either of you notice anything unusual? Her behavior, maybe? No.
No.
Yes.
The alarm.
The alarm was off when we arrived.
She's religious about setting the alarm, especially when she's alone in the house.
CHRISTINE: That's true.
She was really good about that.
McGEE: Lieutenant Melissa Newhall was an only child.
She grew up in rural Pennsylvania.
Had poor grades in high school, but she went to junior college, got straight As, and earned a scholarship to Georgetown, where she was Phi Beta Kappa.
That's impressive.
McGEE: Well, it gets more impressive.
She was top in her law school class, and made law review.
Lieutenant Newhall turned down a lot of lucrative law firm offers to become a JAG lawyer.
I wonder why she'd do that? Well, I called her CO, and he was in court today, observing proceedings.
I'm waiting to hear back.
Who? Captain Bud Roberts.
I know him.
I phoned her fiancé, David Crocker, but I haven't heard back from him yet.
Parents haven't been able to reach him, either.
All right.
I'll be in autopsy.
Dr.
Palmer.
Got a blood draw here for Abby.
You got anything for me? Maybe.
Found some fresh bruising, which suggests a struggle.
I also found some other bruising which appears to be older.
Here, here and here.
Could be domestic abuse.
Is there a spouse? No, there's a fiancé.
And he's not returning our calls.
Hey.
Hey.
Where'd you go? Um, well, I was going to get a Caf-POW!, and I ran into Sloane, who was going to the coffee cart, so I joined her.
Oh.
What, uh, what did you do to your finger? Nothing.
I mean, well, I got a splinter.
But don't tell Gibbs.
'Cause he'll try to, like, dig it out with a knife.
Thought you had a hack for splinters.
Banana peel? I tried it.
Didn't work.
Oh.
By the way, your, uh, printer spit something out while you were gone.
Oh, it's the results of Lieutenant Newhall's blood work.
And I see you cracked her password protection.
No suicide note in the computer.
I'm scrolling through her search history.
There's nothing suicide-related here at all.
Some online shopping, movie reviews, and her hometown newspaper.
I'm gonna check, see what apps she has.
Okay, so the lieutenant was sedated at the time of her demise.
Diazepam.
Well, that's interesting.
We didn't find any prescription drugs at her house.
Just a few vitamin supplements.
Sometimes, suicide victims will use it to relax themselves so they don't change their minds.
Well, and sometimes, killers will drug their victims in order to stage a fake hanging.
McGee.
She has a video diary.
My friend Carol has that same app.
She keeps trying to talk me into using it.
Well, let's see if her innermost thoughts help our investigation.
ABBY: It looks like she made an entry every single day, until three days ago, and then, nothing.
Friday night.
Long day at work today.
Uh, happy to meet David for sushi.
Mostly discussed the wedding.
It appears we have very different ideas.
Uh, he's thinking elaborate destination wedding, and that's not for me.
Somehow, we'll work it all out.
She seems so positive.
Oh, I have an appointment Yeah.
to look at wedding dresses tomorrow.
Mom wants to come, but I think I need to narrow it down to a few choices before getting her involved.
Or she'll make me crazy.
That's it.
I'm tired.
Good night.
ABBY: Okay.
That does not sound like someone who was about to take their own life.
BISHOP: David Crocker, Lieutenant Newhall's fiancé, works for a small PR firm in Reston.
I called his office, and they said something came up, and he made an unscheduled flight to New York, early this morning.
Shades of O.
J.
How early this morning? Took the shuttle, New World Airlines, flight 23.
Left at 9:00 from Reagan National, and he has a return ticket on the 3:00 p.
m.
Okay.
Meet the plane, Torres.
Yes, sir.
As for the lieutenant's phone, she exchanged recent calls with three people: her parents, her fiancé and her best friend, Kerry Lyons.
Who I spoke to.
She still lives in her hometown, Eastbourne, Pennsylvania.
She's a social worker, and she was the last one to talk to the lieutenant.
So when was this? 6:05 this morning.
Yeah, she wanted to be the first one to say happy birthday to her friend.
Ms.
Lyons is on her way here now to console the parents.
The lieutenant also made several outgoing calls to a prepaid phone number.
I've called, and only got a recording.
Left two messages.
SULTRY WOMAN (over phone): Hi, this is Rita.
I can't get to the phone right now, so leave a message.
I don't want to miss your call.
I spoke to the clerk at the JAG office.
Rita is not a co-worker, and there's no one by that name who works in the building.
Did you ask the parents? Yeah.
And the best friend.
Neither of them know who Rita is.
Uh, good to see you, Gibbs.
Yeah, good to see you, too, Bud.
Wish it was under different circumstances.
Yeah.
A real shocker.
Took her own life? I don't buy it.
See, Lieutenant Newhall, she was a good officer.
A great lawyer.
She had her head on straight.
Yeah.
Well, as you know, we handle suicides the same way as we do homicides: with a death investigation.
Was she well-liked? Absolutely.
What kind of cases she handle? Little bit of both.
She preferred to defend, but when called upon, she was a-a fierce prosecutor.
She had some enemies? (laughs) You're agreeing with me, aren't you, Gibbs? You don't think it was a suicide.
Investigating all the possibilities, Bud.
There was a case a few years ago where she put a petty officer away for spousal abuse.
And he threatened her in court.
Um, let me look it up.
GIBBS: You meet the fiancé? Yeah, a couple times.
He, uh a little too stiff for m my taste, but she was happy.
Yeah, here it is.
Valencia.
Carlos Valencia.
Court-martialed June 2015.
He was released.
When? Two weeks ago.
Sometimes, you just know the accused is guilty.
That's how it was with Petty Officer Valencia.
I knew this morning, when I walked into that room, that it wouldn't take long for the court member panel to convict him.
You found it.
Yup.
Night of Valencia's court-martial.
You know, Lieutenant Newhall talked to this diary almost every day for five years.
There's over 45 hours of video here.
I got to say, I was a little upset when he went on a rant threatening me.
That was a first.
But I'm sure a good night's sleep will help put it out of my mind.
Looks like she didn't take that threat very seriously.
Find out where Valencia is now.
Get the video up to Sloane.
Maybe she'll find something-- a pattern, a motive.
Gladly.
Listening to her private thoughts and confessions was creeping me out.
It's like when I was a kid and I found my sister's diary.
Torres pick up the fiancé? Yeah.
He and Bishop have him in Interrogation.
I landed in New York, there were messages on my phone from the office, Melissa's dad and NCIS.
I just got this sick feeling in my stomach, and I I knew something must have happened to her.
But I never would have guessed this.
She seem upset the last time you saw her? She has been a little preoccupied recently.
How recently? Started over the weekend.
The last three days, she's just been acting strangely.
N-Not her usual self.
Did you say anything? I tried talking to her.
She just, she wasn't open like she usually was.
I attributed it to nervousness about the wedding.
Where were you at 7:00 a.
m.
this morning? My apartment.
Rushing to get to the airport.
Anyone see you? I don't know.
I don't think so.
You want to tell us how your fiancé got those bruises? What? Come on, man.
She had bruises-- old ones, new ones-- all over her arms and torso.
I-I wasn't aware.
How's that possible? Look, I know this is gonna sound strange.
I thought so, too.
But Melissa was committed to remaining celibate until she was married.
That's why we didn't live together.
We were we were never intimate.
JIMMY: Uh, Bishop? We have a problem.
Contrary to what he just told you, Lieutenant Newhall was not celibate.
JIMMY: Autopsy and forensics indicate that she did have sex, in the last 72 hours.
I collected DNA.
And hopefully, I will be able to identify her partner.
MELISSA: It's 2:00 a.
m.
and I am just now going to bed.
I stayed up and watched Roman Holiday for the umpteenth time.
Audrey Hepburn was so gorgeous.
Hmm.
Things were so simple and romantic back then.
I think I was born 50 years too late.
(knock at door) Come in.
You have a minute? Hey, yeah, for you, always.
Have a seat.
Thanks.
Your, uh, your door's usually open.
Yeah.
I was watching the lieutenant's diaries.
I wanted to respect her privacy.
Hey, can we believe the fiancé? That they weren't actually intimate? Yeah.
She talks about it all the time, how she appreciated his patience, and it's kind of cool.
Well, Jimmy and Abby are positive that she was sexually active.
Any indication she was seeing somebody else? Not so far.
Could she have been raped? Jimmy collected DNA.
There haven't been recordings for, like, three days, so Anything's possible.
I still have several more hours to watch.
So, hopefully, I'll come up with something.
All right, well, let me know if you do.
Yeah.
Hey.
Hmm? Want a lollipop? Oh.
Green.
Yes! How did you know? 'Cause you have a gigantic heart.
Thank you.
MELISSA: I am gonna pay the price tomorrow, though, for staying up and watching the movie.
We have a staff meeting first thing in the morning.
Is that Lieutenant Newhall's voice? Yeah.
What? Play it again.
I am gonna pay the price tomorrow, though, for staying up and watching the movie.
We have a staff meeting first thing in the morning.
CHRISTINE: I think Melissa would have liked to wear her white uniform.
I think so, too.
She loved summer.
There's so much to do.
I don't know where to start.
Mrs.
N, we don't have to do everything today.
Let's just get through the funeral, and I'll stay as long as you need me.
What would I do without you, Kerry? You were always like a second daughter to me.
You know, I can't find any of her important documents.
I've searched her desk, everywhere.
They'll show up.
Excuse me.
(knock at door) NCIS.
Special Agent Nick Torres.
Kerry? Thanks for meeting me here.
I just didn't want to leave Melissa's parents alone.
They're really taking it hard.
Especially her mother.
I understand.
Come inside.
Good morning.
Uh I just have a few questions for Kerry since she was the last one to speak to your daughter.
We can talk in the kitchen, Agent Torres.
TORRES: Sure.
It's been so hard on them.
They were the greatest parents.
Melissa was so lucky.
When you spoke to Melissa yesterday, did you sense that anything was wrong? No.
It was just all about her birthday.
And we just laughed about past ones.
I'm sorry.
No problem.
David Crocker, her fiancé.
What can you tell me about him? The love of her life.
To her, Mr.
Perfect.
And to you, too? (sighs) For Melissa, yeah.
Her love life, in general? What do you mean? Other boyfriends? No.
No others, actually.
Ever? Just never seemed to care until David.
What about high school? Nope.
This important somehow? It might be.
Truth is, um And I mean, I don't know for sure, but I guess I can tell you now, I just I don't think she cared that much.
About? I just always suspected Melissa might be asexual, just not into anybody, either sex.
RITA: Hi, this is Rita.
I can't get to the phone right now, so leave a message.
I don't want to miss your call.
Now this a voice sample of Lieutenant Newhall from her diary.
MELISSA: I am gonna pay the price tomorrow, though, for staying up and watching the movie.
We have a staff meeting first thing in the morning.
They sure sound like the same person, don't they? I'm doing a voice comparison with my audio software.
Did you run the DNA Jimmy found on the body? I did.
Compared it to the fiancé.
It's not him.
And I assume you didn't get a match in the database or you would've led with that.
Mm, you would assume correctly.
Oh, but I can tell you that he is male, Caucasian, predominately European ancestry, and has markers for pattern baldness.
Oh, well.
You have very discerning ears, Bishop.
My audio software agrees with you.
98% assurance that Lieutenant Newhall and Rita are one and the same.
I appreciate the info.
Thanks very much.
Boss, Carlos Valencia has an alibi.
He was 200 miles away yesterday morning in a mandated re-entry program for parolees.
So much for the angry defendant.
Oh, thanks, Billy.
Yes, sir.
What did Billy bring? Let's see.
Some new photo IDs.
Ugh, what a doofus.
I can't live with that for five years, man.
And of course the camera loves Bishop.
What, does she have a wind machine? What?! Gibbs, this looks like your old picture, man.
BISHOP: Hey, McGee.
Ping this number.
It's Rita's prepaid phone.
See if you can get a location.
Oh, you got something, Bishop? Lieutenant Newhall is Rita.
Wait wait, explain.
So the voice on the prepaid number Lieutenant Newhall was calling is her own.
They're one and the same person.
McGEE: Phone is active.
It's on the 2100 block of M Street.
Go.
It's coming from down the street.
I think I know how to solve the problem.
I'm just gonna tell them I lost my creds.
Then they're gonna have to issue a new one.
Boom! Well, they will once they've completed their 2B investigation.
Yeah, he's right, Nick.
No All right, phone's in the hotel.
HOST (on TV): to advance to the lightning round and a chance to This is getting crazier.
Why would the lieutenant have anything to do with a place like this? Can I help you? - Federal agents.
You got a minute? - Maybe.
You got an ID? (clears throat) ID.
Navy cops? BISHOP: Yup.
You recognize her? Rita's in the Navy? All right, I'll call Rita's number.
(phone ringing) This has just gotten very weird.
Very, very weird.
Look at this.
She's got the same diary app on her phone.
Last time it was used was three days ago.
(panting) Barry just left.
The pain was incredible.
He knows how much I crave it.
(breathes heavily) Oh, does he now? (phone buttons beeping) All the contacts are just first names.
Sound male, mostly.
Rick, Matt, Justin, Damon, list keeps going.
Last few calls were to this, uh, Barry guy she mentioned.
Let's see if this belonged to Barry.
We'll run it.
See if we can get a print.
BISHOP: Diazepam.
Prescription is in Melissa Newhall's name.
Well, we still have another few hours of Rita's diaries to go through.
TORRES: Let's run Barry's number.
See if we can get a last name.
Yeah, bet he's got a story to tell.
There has to be some kind of a mistake.
Melissa would never do any of those things.
SLOANE: Kerry, we know this is hard to hear.
Didn't Agent Torres tell you what I said? Yes, but that doesn't change what we found.
Listen to me.
Melissa never even cared about guys until David.
And now you're telling me she's out with a different one every night, asking them to hurt her? (sighs) She was lying to me.
I'm sorry.
I just, I already had to say good-bye to her once.
And now Now you have to mourn the person you thought she was.
Why would she do this? Well, when someone leads a double life, it's almost always the result of an acute traumatic event.
Can you think of anything that-that might've happened to her? No.
And up until today, I thought she told me everything.
Oh, my God, her parents.
What about them? You can't tell them about this.
It would kill them.
Kerry, this is an open investigation.
Unfortunately, we can't make those promises.
Please.
Melissa was hiding this from everyone.
She didn't want people to know.
I'm still her best friend.
I have to protect her memory.
This place smells like old cheese.
Well, that's him.
Excuse me, Barry Goode.
NCIS.
Need to talk to you.
TORRES: Uh, McGee.
You got the wrong guy, bro.
Nah, I don't think so.
Uh, seriously, dude, that's the wrong guy.
Oh.
My bad.
Sorry.
Barry Goode.
NCIS.
Yeah.
Heard your boyfriend there give a speech to the wrong guy.
Look, in my defense, you look a lot more washed-up than you do in your photo ID, okay? TORRES (laughing): Damn.
See, bad things happen when you don't look like your picture, man.
I mean, I don't have that problem, though.
I my issue is that when you take a picture of me with a camera, I look better in person 'cause the camera doesn't capture my-my bone structure.
Isn't that weird? That's-that's-that's kind of an issue.
- Okay, I'm not sure that's your issue.
- Uh Whoa, Barry.
Where you think you're going, buddy? I got a thing against talking to guys who iron their clothes.
You know this woman? I know lots of women.
Her name is Rita.
Doesn't ring a bell.
What about her being dead? Does that ring a bell? Might want to think real long and hard before you answer that, Barry, 'cause we've got DNA and I bet it'll prove that you and Rita knew each other pretty well.
We hung out a couple times.
Did you fight a lot when you were hanging out? Fight? No, we screwed.
You put hands on her, man.
She had bruises.
Look, I did what she asked, okay? She liked it rough.
Too rough for me, even.
Where were you yesterday at 7:00 a.
m.
? I work baggage at Dulles.
Graveyard shift.
You want proof? There's cameras all over the airport.
Do your job.
Oh.
That's great advice.
Thank you.
That's the kind of guy that goes through your checked luggage.
Yeah, man, this place is nasty.
Make sure you wash your hands before you hug your kids tonight.
David wanted to cook dinner for me tonight.
He had the whole thing planned.
When I told him I had to work late, he he was hurt.
I could see it.
I I keep thinking once we get married, something's gonna have to change.
I am gonna have to change.
Watch this.
It's late.
Past 3:00.
I'm here alone.
I thought for sure I would meet someone tonight, but everyone was talking like it mattered and I don't like it when they ask more than my name.
So here I am.
What'd you see? These two videos, taken a month ago on the same day.
Yeah, but she lied to her fiancé about where she was going.
What is that? Split personality? No.
Dual life.
It's a big difference.
She's the same person whether she's going by Melissa or Rita and she's fully aware of all of her actions.
Why pretend to be someone you're not? I don't know.
Why do you do it? Why do I do it? Why does anyone do it? Both of these lives are very much Melissa, but unlike most of us, she feels the need to keep them separate.
She's scared.
Yeah.
Fear and guilt are two peas in a pod, Gibbs.
The physical abuse that she seeks out as Rita suggests that she is punishing herself for something.
Yeah, or it's something she thinks she did.
A person who records their thoughts this compulsively is someone who wants to be heard, but feels she isn't.
My guess, that feeling was ingrained in her from an early age.
You think as a kid she had a diary? If she did, I'd like to see it.
It would help me complete my profile, that's for sure.
All right.
Find the trigger.
Christine, we don't need to take everything right now.
These were really important to her.
I don't want to lose them.
Okay.
I'm sorry.
Don't worry.
(car door opens) Agent Gibbs, you found something? - This is Special Agent Sloane.
- Hello.
Hi.
You have proof that Melissa didn't commit suicide? No, we're still investigating.
Well, how can we help you? Do you know if Melissa kept a diary when she was a kid? Yes.
Always.
But I-I couldn't tell you what was in it.
She was protective of it and we respected her privacy.
Do you know where it is? I-I know that she took it with her when she moved out after law school, but we just went through all of her things.
I didn't see it.
Did you? No.
Why do you ask? Do you think it could tell you that she didn't do this to herself? It's possible.
We have to find it.
I-I'll go, I'll go look again.
Um, Christine can only cope with the hard times by convincing herself it didn't happen.
She'll never believe that our daughter took her own life.
You read Melissa's diary.
Yeah.
She was 15 and I was desperate.
I only got ten pages in (inhales) before she came home and made me stop.
I don't know what she did with it after that.
Why were you desperate? She was a great kid who turned into a troubled teen.
She was stealing and drinking and skipping school.
But during her senior year, she turned her life around.
She became a different person.
What happened? I don't know.
She wouldn't tell me.
I'm sure she wrote about it, but it wasn't in the ten pages that I read.
Whatever it was, it it changed her life forever.
WOMAN: Got something for you, Nick.
Ah, thank you.
Uh, who is that with Torres? JIMMY: No idea.
Hey, where's Gibbs? On his way up.
Should be here any minute.
- Hey, who was that? - Huh? Huh? The woman you were just talking to on the staircase.
Oh, that's Jody.
She's new.
She works at HR.
She processed my new creds.
BISHOP: What? That looks like it was taken by Annie Leibovitz.
JIMMY: You wearing makeup there, Nick? Or is that Photoshopped? Now, that's a picture I can live with.
(scoffs) There's Gibbs.
Autopsy report.
You find anything? - Nothing I haven't already told you.
- Hey, Jimmy.
Abby needs you.
BISHOP: Uh, how much did you tell the parents? GIBBS: Not much.
But the father told us that Melissa had a juvenile arrest record and she kept a diary as a teen.
I'm going to my office, folks.
We got to find the diary.
Call the fiancé.
See if he knows anything about a diary.
Okay.
But what do I tell him about her secret life? Do I keep it from him? He's gonna find out eventually.
ABBY: Ow, ow! JIMMY: Sorry.
Sorry.
It's getting infected.
You should really see a doctor.
You are a doctor, Jimmy.
Just get it out.
Well, you're awfully grouchy today.
You all right? Something bothering you? Sorry.
Yeah.
It's Lieutenant Newhall.
Like, instead of talking to her diary, she should have been sharing her problems with someone.
You know, like-like her friends, or her parents, her fiancé.
Yeah, you're right.
She needed help.
She could've gotten it, too.
You know, the Navy's got several suicide prevention programs.
The Military Crisis Line, they listen without judgment and they offer great support.
Got it.
Thank you.
Yeah, now we just need some antiseptic.
I have that in here.
JIMMY: Hey, McGee.
I'm gonna go get Lieutenant Newhall's body ready for transport.
Abby, I blew it.
I really screwed up.
I'm sure you're exaggerating.
You're a great agent.
What happened? Two days ago I noticed that Lieutenant Newhall had Googled her hometown newspaper.
I was gonna check it out, but I got sidetracked with the video diary and I didn't follow up until now.
So what's the problem? Look at this.
ABBY: "Body of Teacher Missing Fourteen Years Found.
" He was suspected of abusing his female students, but he disappeared before charges were made.
Local police assumed he just ran away.
14 years ago? Melissa Newhall would have been a teenager.
You think she was one of his victims? It's likely.
Small town, one high school.
Ooh.
You think you know someone so well.
Guess I didn't know her at all.
We appreciate you helping us out.
So, where are we looking? In the living room.
Melissa's passport expired; she needed to renew it for our honeymoon.
So, I saw where she kept all her valuables.
(sighs) We were going to Bali.
I didn't see a diary, but I wasn't really looking.
MELISSA: "Our parents think Mr.
Paull "is such a nice man, but he's really a scuzzball.
MELISSA/SLOANE: "He creeps us out "the way he stares at us on the field.
"He thinks he can get away with anything but Kerry and I are gonna teach him a lesson.
" That was the last entry she made.
After he went missing, local police started investigating, and the girls started talking.
It became quite evident that Emmett Paull abused and molested female students.
Possibly Melissa Newhall and Kerry Lyons.
14 years later, Paull's body is found buried in the woods.
McGee came across a curious thing when he was going through Lieutenant Newhall's computer.
She never visited the Web site of her hometown newspaper until the day the body was found.
And then, she checked it the next three days, and then she was dead.
GIBBS: "Kerry and I are going to teach him a lesson.
" That's incriminating, especially now that the teacher's buried remains were found.
Wait, wait, wait.
That was the trigger.
Killing the teacher is why Melissa became Rita.
She was seeking out these dangerous, violent sexual encounters to punish herself for what she did 14 years ago.
Yeah, but that still doesn't tell us whether she was murdered or committed suicide.
SLOANE: My opinion-- suicide.
She feared the police investigation would reveal her secrets, past and present.
She couldn't juggle both her lives and felt there was no other way out.
GIBBS: Or it was murder.
Her friend Kerry thought that Melissa would break and confess to killing the teacher.
I mean, that's hard to prove.
The words in her diary aren't exactly a confession.
Kerry doesn't know what it says.
(door opens) Agent Sloane.
This room's a little more intimidating than where we met the last time.
Kerry, this is Special Agent Gibbs.
You know what this is? Melissa's diary.
Melissa was a compulsive writer, Kerry.
She wrote it all down.
About "getting even with Mr.
Paull.
" Do you want to tell us what happened? How did you "get even"? We were just gonna scare him.
We didn't mean for him to die.
How did he die? (sighs) We lured him into the woods, not far from school.
He was willing; we knew he would be.
When he saw we brought rope, it excited him.
He let us tie him up.
When Melissa took out the camcorder, he panicked, and we threatened to torture him unless he confessed to molesting girls at school.
He gasped and breathed hard.
And at first we thought he was faking, but he was having a heart attack.
And we became hysterical, arguing about what to do and He died.
We buried the body and prayed he'd never be found.
We never spoke of that night again.
Until the body was found last week.
The minute I heard it on the news, I called Melissa.
She freaked.
We talked several times over the next couple days.
And I tried to convince her that after all these years, they'd never tie us to it.
But she didn't believe me.
Then I called her on her birthday.
She said her life was over.
She didn't want to talk about it anymore and hung up.
What did you do? I got in my car and hoped to get to her house to calm her down.
I got to Melissa's place.
Using my own key, I went inside and turned off the alarm.
(sniffles) But I was too late.
(gasps) Melissa was dead.
I found a handwritten suicide note.
It incriminated us in Mr.
Paull's death.
And she said good-bye to everybody.
I took it and ran.
For your sake, I hope you didn't destroy it.
No.
(quietly): I kept it.
What happens now? GIBBS: That's up to the authorities in Pennsylvania.
They'll consider all the circumstances, Kerry.
Your age, his actions.
Yeah, they were only 15.
And he a predator.
SLOANE: Well, if they believe Kerry, like I do, the teacher died of a heart attack.
When I get home, I am hugging my kids.
Does anybody want to have a drink over at the Adams House? My treat.
Yeah, sure.
SLOANE: I'm in.
GIBBS: Nope, can't.
One more thing I got to do.
Break the news to Lieutenant Newhall's parents.
I got to take a rain check.
Gibbs, wait up.
Pardon.
(sighs) I'm going with you.
This is one of the obligations of the job I will never feel comfortable with.
It's hard when people hold things inside and keep secrets.
My gut? You're speaking from experience.