NCIS (2003–…): Season 2, Episode 8 - Heart Break - full transcript
While recovering after heart surgery, a commander dies due to an internal flash and the resulting fire without an apparent external cause; the Gibbs team investigate. Abby says it's murder, then she finds a key fact, and the gang solves it.
(MONITOR BEEPING)
DOOLEY: Tell me he's asleep.
Dr Byers saw to that.
Gave him Percocet before she left.
If I were her, and he called me in at 2:00
in the morning, I would have killed him.
MAN 1: (ON RADIO) Well, after all these
years of drought, now all the rain.
Between Hurricane Charley
and Hurricane Dana,
we 're looking at pretty, pretty
strange weather conditions here
for our crops.
This year, Queen Anne's County
led all counties
in soybean, corn and wheat production.
Caroline County was first in the harvest
of barley and vegetables.
While Frederick once again led
in cheese and milk production.
MAN 2: That's right, Bud.
Overall, we 've...
(PHONE RINGING)
(PHONE BEEPS)
-Yeah, it's Gibbs.
-Hl, boss, it’s Tony.
No, you did not wake me up, DiNozzo.
Okay, that’s good. 'Cause / got a call
from dispatch this morning in Bethesda.
They want us to check it out.
-Okay, I'll meet you there.
-Right.
Hey, can you drop me by Bethesda?
-You got here quick. Where were you?
-Home asleep.
Asleep, maybe. But not at home.
I got you on your cell.
Drop it, DiNozzo.
Do not make this a challenge, Kate.
I will find out.
(EXCLAIMS)
-See you.
-Bye.
Looks like you and l were the only ones
flying solo last night, McGee.
Speak for yourself.
-Morning, boss.
-Where?
First floor. A-wing.
TONY: Some kind of explosion.
Guy went up in flames.
Name?
Commander Michael Dornan.
Safety Officer on the Kennedy.
It just got back from the Gulf.
Yeah, Friday.
He'd been complaining of chest pains,
had open heart surgery four days ago.
The doctor who led the team
that operated on him is on the way in.
I'll talk to him.
That'd be a her, boss.
Commander Janice Byers.
(WOMAN CHATTERING
ON PA SYSTEM)
MAN: Come on.
Whoa!
That had to hurt.
What started the fire, Duck?
The source of the conflagration
appears to be internal.
The majority of the damage
is confined to the torso.
KATE: He was receiving oxygen
through a nasal cannula.
Still it would have needed
a source of ignition
and I seriously doubt it
could have caused this kind of damage.
Could he have been smoking in bed?
The corpsman saw him 10 seconds
before the explosion.
Dornan was out cold.
Hey, boss. Listen, I know this
may sound far-fetched, but...
Will you spit it out, McGee?
Spontaneous human combustion.
-Where's the surgeon?
-She's in the waiting room.
Just got here.
Probie, what are you thinking?
"Spontaneous human combustion?"
It's an urban myth.
Actually, Tony, we shouldn't disregard
the notion.
Stories of the phenomenon go
way back, to the Bible, in fact,
although it wasn't popularised
until Dickens.
-Charles Dickens?
-Yes.
He used spontaneous combustion
to kill off one of his characters,
Mr Krook, in the novel Bleak House.
It caused a minor uproar.
Dickens was accused of perpetuating
the age-old superstition.
I saw that movie.
The silent version
or the British miniseries?
They were talking.
(SCOFFS)
Commander Dornan
was complaining of pain.
-He insisted the night staff call me in.
-lnsisted?
The Commander liked
to throw his weight around,
especially with
the junior nurses and the corpsmen.
Normal post-op pain?
To appease him, I did
an echocardiogram and he was fine.
I gave him a Percocet for the pain
so he could fall asleep.
-Jethro, I'll be...
-You headed back?
Yeah.
Commander Byers,
this is Dr Mallard, our ME.
Dr Byers is the surgeon
that operated on the victim.
DUCKY: Oh!
Dr Mallard's a man of few words.
I don't have any more questions
for you right now, Doctor.
-Thank you for your time.
-Sure.
What exactly was the procedure?
Aortic valve repair.
-Congenital aortic stenosis?
-Acquired.
-And the prognosis?
-Everything went well.
l was expecting Commander Dornan
to be back on active duty in two months.
Thank you.
I may have to ask you
a question or two after the autopsy.
I'll give you my numbers.
(WOMAN CHATTERING OVER PA)
Too bad you didn't get to bed
at a sensible hour.
I mean, sleep,
'cause obviously you were in bed.
-| get it, Tony.
-G|BBS: McGee.
-Yeah, boss?
-Stay here.
Meet with the engineers
and the plant manager.
I want this oxygen system
completely checked out.
TIM: On it, boss.
Everything in this room
goes back to Abby.
Everything?
-Right.
-Hey! Background the victim.
This is the beginning of a very long day.
Yeah.
Too bad you had such a short night.
I must say,
l was very intrigued by your doctor.
I'm not quite sure why.
Did you find her that way, too?
It looks like he burned
from the inside out.
It does, doesn't it, Mr Palmer?
That's the remains of his stomach.
Make sure they get to Abigail
for content analysis.
-Doctor?
-Yeah?
Does it help you to talk to them?
Well, they're still human.
I mean, what we do
is very invasive and impersonal.
It helps me establish a relationship.
ABBY: Hey, Gibbs.
-I hear you're not a fan of SHC.
-ls that a band?
(ABBY CHUCKLING)
No, spontaneous human combustion.
Don't waste my time, Abs.
If you were to read my master's thesis,
-you may become a believer.
-Doubt it.
I can show you photos of what was left
of a 240-pound woman.
-Yeah, but you won't.
-She was sitting in a chair.
All that was left
were blackened seat springs,
a section of backbone,
one foot still in a satin slipper
and 10 pounds of ashes.
The rest of her apartment
was untouched.
Abby, you know what?
Just tell me what caused the explosion.
A bribe. That always works.
So, I checked out all the electrical
equipment from the hospital
trying to find the source of the ignition.
Nothing.
Everything's in perfect working order,
including this monitor
which recorded the victim's Vitals
up until the point of blastoff.
Somebody went a little postal
with the fire extinguisher.
lt complicates finding trace evidence.
Well, the Commander
was being barbecued.
I doubt they were concerned
with forensics.
True.
You don't know
what caused the explosion?
Other than SHC?
(SIGHING) All right.
Get with Ducky.
Maybe together you can solve it.
Roger that. When he's finished slicing
and dicing, we'll go bang heads.
Don't cause any sparks.
No, that's more than enough for now.
Thanks for your time, Doctor.
-l was thinking of becoming a doctor.
-KATE: You? A doctor?
Anthony DiNozzo, comma, M.D.
(KATE LAUGHING)
Let me guess. A gynaecologist?
No, l was thinking more dermatologist.
Normal hours. Big bucks.
Never an emergency.
I mean, nobody ever died from a zit.
I had a terrible case of acne as a kid.
Of course, you did, probie.
Boss. Plant engineer says that oxygen
is supplied to the rooms
through a central system.
They did a complete check
and everything was in order.
Day shift concurred with night shift.
The Commander was a pain in the ass.
(PHONE RINGING)
Divorced 10 years ago. No kids.
Wife's happily remarried,
living in Santa Fe.
Parents are retired. One sister,
and they're being notified by CACO.
-DiNozzo?
-|t's Harrison.
(EXCLAIMS)
-Hi.
-|t's Harrison.
I'm glad you called.
I never cease to be amazed
by your skill, Abby.
You know, when l was a young ME,
we used to recreate crime scenes
using interns.
You also used to listen to records
and do the jitterbug.
Actually, I was quite the hoofer.
(HUMMING)
(CLEARING THROAT)
Let's see it, Abs.
Based on the condition of the body, the
burn patterns, and the debris scatter,
we were able to recreate the explosion.
Doesn't tell us much.
Watch when l rotate it 180
and play it in slo-mo.
That's the point of ignition.
What caused the explosion?
Well, this was taken from that area
of the mattress.
I also provided Abby
with epidermal scrapings
from the victim's upper left torso.
And the spectrometer found
minute traces of antimony sulphide
and potassium chlorate on both.
-Matches.
-Light my fire, McGee!
Someone struck a match
and ignited the oxygen.
Well, according to the corpsman,
the Commander was asleep.
This was no accident, Gibbs.
Barbecue Boy, he was murdered.
GIBBS: Get back to Bethesda.
Review their security tapes.
Find out how someone
got into that hospital room
and then managed to get out
without being seen.
-On it, boss.
-Start a timeline.
Twenty four hours before the explosion.
I want to know every doctor,
nurse, orderly, visitor
that went into that hospital room.
You two are going to Norfolk.
Dornan had spent the last nine months
on the Kennedy.
I'll get the car.
What are you so jazzed about?
He knows that the first person
you'll be talking to
is the NCIS Agent Afloat.
Special Agent Paula Cassidy.
You're kidding.
-She was reassigned there.
-What am I missing?
Paula Cassidy
is a rather attractive agent
that DiNozzo drooled all over
last year when we were at Gitmo.
Enough talk, Agent Todd.
(SPRAYING)
Let's go.
(MAN CHATTERING ON PA)
Okay, 02-32-8—Q would be this way.
The last time we were on a carrier,
you were the one that got lost. Not me.
I wasn't lost.
I was momentarily disoriented.
-Like you were with Paula in Gitmo.
-|'m not the type to kiss and tell, Kate.
It's not like you to be discreet, Tony.
She's something special, isn't she?
-|s he something special?
-Who?
Mister Short Night Harrison.
Six is two down this way.
No, it's this way.
Trust me. I'm right.
(MAN CHATTERING OVER PA)
We have to check in with the XO.
Why don't you take care of that?
-Why don't you?
-Because I outrank you.
That'd be six up and three to the left.
She is something special.
(CLEARING THROAT)
Enter.
l was expecting Gibbs.
Disappointed?
Hi.
You've been back a week.
You didn't call.
I've been gone months.
I didn't get any e-mails.
Well, I figured you'd be
too busy to reply.
You were at sea with 5,000 men.
-I had trouble choosing.
-Guess I'm a hard act to follow.
Actually, I was afraid of making
the same mistake.
Wow! Full contact there.
Nice. Let's start over.
I'll go back outside and do this again.
It won't change anything.
Commander Dornan really blew up?
Literally.
-There was no accident?
-It doesn't look that way.
Was he having trouble
with anyone aboard the ship?
Safety officers are generally disliked.
They have the authority to stick
their nose in anyone's department.
-No one can say a word.
-That sounds like Gibbs.
So Commander Dornan made enemies.
Made an art of it.
Definitely sounds like Gibbs.
So I've just been pulling files
of all the people he put...
(SNIFFING)
Put on report.
Could be the record for a cruise.
Mmm-hmm.
How the hell did pure oxygen
accumulate in the chest cavity?
I do not know, Jethro.
I mean, lungs I can understand.
The Commander was receiving oxygen
through a nasal cannula,
but the fire originated outside the lungs,
in the cavity.
-Dr Byers, you're early!
-No traffic.
Copies of Commander Dornan's
medical records.
Thank you.
We were finished, weren't we, Jethro?
We were, Ducky.
Ducky?
Yes, it's something I was tagged with
in school in my youth.
| used to resent it. Now I quite like it.
So do |.
Well, have you finished the autopsy?
Yes.
Yes, there was one question
I wanted to ask you.
Why did you choose to perform
a valve repair
as opposed to a valve replacement?
It was a close call,
but Commander Dornan was insistent.
If we replaced the valve, he wouldn't
be able to go back on active duty.
Yeah, true.
But the team felt that the valve
was repairable, and it was.
(SIGHING)
Ironic though, isn't it?
We saved his life only to have him die
in a freak accident.
I'm afraid it wasn't an accident.
I reviewed the hospital surveillance
tapes with security.
Between the end of visiting hours
and the fire,
all but five people can be identified
as hospital personnel.
So, I downloaded them onto my laptop.
Are you eliminating
the hospital personnel, McGee?
No, boss. No, definitely not.
I'm gonna check them all out.
In the meantime,
I'm going to run the five images
through the face-recognition system.
Just give me one second
and I will have them up on the plasma.
-Agent Cassidy.
-Special Agent Gibbs.
Agent Cassidy pulled files on everyone
Commander Dornan put on report.
Not a people-friendly guy.
GIBBS: Yeah, we'll have to get into
all that. Are you ready?
Yeah.
TIM: My first pass at facial recognition
will be against the database
of military personnel
and government employees.
I can save you the trouble.
That's Ensign Evan Hayes.
He's in the engineering department
on the Kennedy.
Commander Dornan rode his ass.
-More than other young officers?
-Yeah.
He did not like him
and I'm not sure why,
but it got so bad that
Ensign Hayes verbally threatened him.
DiNozzo, get me
the report of investigation.
There isn't one.
Commander Dornan asked
that | not write one up,
that he would handle it himself.
NCIS special agents
do not look the other way
because they're asked to,
Agent Cassidy.
-That wasn't what happened.
-Yeah? What happened then?
I felt sorry for the kid.
He didn't deserve the abuse.
Some people can handle it
and he couldn't.
And I didn't think
it should show up on his record.
Get Ensign Hayes in here,
Agent Cassidy.
DiNozzo, you go with her to make sure.
DUCKY: This is where it all happens.
BYERS: Very impressive.
Is that Dornan's surgeon with Ducky?
Ducky's older, Kate. He's not dead.
Ensign Hayes went UA, Agent Cassidy.
-Isn't most of the ship on leave?
-Not Ensign Hayes.
Commander Dornan put him
on rivet watch.
He was restricted to the ship.
Two days ago, he walked off.
This is his quarters.
We've put out calls.
Can't find him.
Thank you, Chief Velat.
We're gonna take a little look around.
The scuttlebutt's that
Commander Dornan was murdered.
And Ensign Hayes did it.
You've been in the Navy long enough
to know not to listen to scuttlebutt.
Yes, ma'am. But I wouldn't blame him.
Dornan rode him from the minute
he came aboard.
Why do I get the feeling
you know why, Chief?
Commander Dornan and I both served
under Ensign Hayes' father,
Captain Hayes.
Dornan was a lieutenant then
who needed to be put in his place.
Boy, did the old man do it.
This cruise was payback time.
All right, I gotta go topside
and make a phone call. Thank you.
ABBY: The EKG and the IVAC
recycle at timed intervals.
l was able to salvage the last
seven minutes of Dornan's vitals.
-I thought you could use them.
-Thank you.
Are you making a statement
with this tie, Ducky?
-Too much, do you think?
-Oh, no, no, no. You can pull it off.
So what's the big event?
Dinner date?
-Too ordinary.
-W hat then?
I thought I'd show her something
that reveals who I am.
If she gets turned on, too,
we haven't wasted our time.
You're the man, Ducky.
Mmm.
Why can't I find someone like you?
Well, if this doesn't work out,
I am available.
(GIGGLES)
(WHISTLE BLOWING)
I'll be right back.
(BLOWING WHISTLE)
Evan! What are you still doing here?
You promised me
you'd go back to your ship.
I can't, coach.
Now, come on. A two-day absence
can't be that serious.
It's more than that.
What?
-Did you call your father?
-No.
He could help you.
Commander Dornan put me through hell
because of him.
You can't blame everything
on your father.
You've got to take responsibility
for yourself.
You're throwing away your career.
-I never wanted to be in the Navy.
-But you are.
Promise me you'll go back
to your ship, all right?
Set things straight.
-Hey, coach! We're ready.
-All right. All right. I'll be right there.
Hey, you're going back.
Hey, coach.
Thanks.
Keep me posted, huh?
Ensign Hayes was recorded
on the hospital security tape at 0203
and the explosion that killed
Commander Dornan wasn't until 0317.
-Where was he in between those times?
-Find him and you can ask him.
Any hits on his cell phone
or credit cards?
Nothing.
Kate, what'd you learn?
Dornan punished Hayes with port watch.
He was one of the few left onboard.
Most of the others have scattered.
They were away for nine months.
Well, the few I could track down
haven't heard from him.
Ensign Hayes was your typical
Navy brat.
His family moved around a lot
when he was young.
Went to high school in Alexandria
when his father
was assigned to the Pentagon.
-Talk to the parents?
-The mother.
When Captain Hayes retired,
they moved to Scottsdale.
She seemed a little concerned
because she hasn't heard from her son
since the Kennedy made port.
E-mail his photo to the locals.
It's done, boss.
DC, Virginia, Delaware and Maryland.
Do you need anything
from your sleeping quarters?
What you're thinking,
that's against regs.
Great. You can handcuff me.
-|t's not going to happen, DiNozzo.
-Why not?
-We're both game players.
-Too much alike, huh?
-We would drive each other crazy.
-Crazy's good.
Yeah.
Hey, what you working on?
Stomach contents.
Gastric juices and glandular secretions.
Appetising.
This is whacked.
What? What is whack?
Something is missing
that should be here.
I'm gonna have to lock you up
for the night, Commander.
No, don't put me back in the dark.
Abby, you made me almost...
Made you almost what, Jimmy?
-You know what.
-Where's Ducky?
-He left early.
-Can you get him on his cell?
Is something wrong?
(CELL PHONE RINGING)
I guess he doesn't want to be disturbed.
When you asked me out,
I didn't expect to be touring
the basement of the Smithsonian.
No, this is where
they prepare the exhibits.
Can't you just feel the history, Janice?
Where do we start?
This is my favourite.
These were used by Army surgeons
Joseph Woodward and Edward Curtis
at the post mortem of Abraham Lincoln
performed in a guest bedroom
at the White House.
The Lincoln Bedroom.
Hence the popular misconception.
Lincoln never slept there.
How do you have access to this?
| consulted on Lincoln's autopsy.
That is the ball, fired by Booth,
that killed Lincoln.
These bits of bone are skull fragments.
You're an unusual man, Ducky.
Would you care for a bite to eat?
-We just got here.
-Yes.
Wow.
How does a woman like you
end up in the Navy?
My father's a retired Chief Petty Officer.
You ever contemplate private practice?
Actually, my obligation
to the Navy is up.
I'm leaving next month to accept
an offer from Columbia Pres.
New York.
Now that is exciting.
(CORK POPPING)
(CLINKING)
(DUCKY CHUCKLING)
(PHONE RINGING)
Thanks.
NCIS, Special Agent McGee speaking.
Thanks.
-T|M: Really? And when did this happen?
-What?
Why are you being so tough
on Agent Cassidy?
I haven't done anything to her yet.
You made her spend the day,
alone, with DiNozzo.
She survived.
-They're on their way back.
-Wait, boss, one second.
Okay, got it. Thank you, ma'am.
Ensign Hayesjust made
a charge on his credit card.
-A hotel on Braddock Road, Alexandria.
-Contact DiNozzo and Cassidy.
Have them meet us there.
You man the phones.
Kate, come on. Let's go.
Gibbs. NCIS.
May | see that, please?
Okay. What can I do for you,
Agent Gibbs?
You just checked in an Evan Hayes.
What room is he in?
It would be illegal
to release that information.
We're investigating a crime
and we need to speak with him.
Then I suggest you get a warrant.
Hayes is in the United States Navy.
As you just saw,
I'm a Special Agent in
the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
I don't need a civilian warrant.
You're absolutely correct there, sir.
You need the military equivalent,
a DD 553.
-Are you a law student?
-Second year, Georgetown.
I'm gonna give you a little lesson
tonight in practical law.
I'm gonna ask for Hayes' room key
politely.
-And you're gonna hand it over.
-Key?
Hotels haven't used keys in years.
If he has to wake up a judge,
nobody is going to be happy.
Okay. But announce yourself first.
That's in compliance with
the recent Supreme Court decision.
All right, Tony you're with me.
Kate seal off the hallway.
Paula you get the service elevator.
All right, we announce
and then we go in.
Okay.
(ROCK MUSIC PLAYING ON STEREO)
NCIS! Get your hands up!
-Put your hands in the air!
-Up! Up! Up! Get them up!
Party's over. Get up.
Okay.
Where is Ensign Hayes?
Put your hands down.
One of you checked in as Evan Hayes.
GIBBS: DiNozzo, search them
and find the credit card.
-Let's see some ID.
-Just give it to them, Jonathon.
Thank you, Jonathon.
Where'd you get this?
A guy gave it to me.
You're gonna have to do
better than that, Jonathon.
Look, I swear, it's the truth.
Okay, we were hanging out
after swim practice
-and this strange guy just walked in.
-Really spaced.
He just handed me the card and said
that we should have a good time with it,
that he didn't need it anymore.
It's true, mister.
He was trying to get rid of us.
He said he wanted to use the pool.
And you didn't think
that was a little weird?
Well, yeah, but I mean he said
we could party with his credit card.
Where's the pool?
Alexandria Central High.
Agent Cassidy, you and DiNozzo
baby-sit these people
until their parents get here
and collect their car keys.
Come on, man.
Nobody likes a whiner, Jonathon.
Nice shirt.
See? I knew we'd end up
in a hotel room tonight.
Special Agent Gibbs, NCIS.
Get down on your stomach.
Spread your arms and legs. Quickly.
I'm done taking orders.
Do it now, Ensign Hayes.
No, son. You don't want to do that.
-Then put the weapon down.
-No, I can't.
Gotta cover my partner,
isn't that right, Kate?
KATE: Right.
A woman?
I would never hurt a woman.
GIBBS: Okay.
GIBBS: I'm holstering my weapon, okay?
All right, your turn.
I been trying to pull this trigger all night,
but I can't 'cause I'm a coward.
You're not a coward.
You just don't want to die.
I can't spend the rest of my life
taking his orders.
Commander Dornan pushed
a lot of people's buttons, not just yours.
Commander Dornan?
It's not my problem anymore.
This is the only place I ever felt safe.
It's the only place l was ever happy.
All right, let's talk about it.
It's too late to talk.
Don't do it.
That's Evan.
He was troubled,
but I had no idea he was suicidal.
He was suspected of murder.
Murder? Evan? No way.
We think he killed a superior officer
at the Bethesda Naval Hospital.
-Tuesday.
-Tuesday? When?
A little after 0300.
3:00 am? No, that's impossible.
He was with me.
He called. He woke me and my wife up.
He wasn't making any sense.
I told him I'd come get him.
I picked him up in front
of the hospital around 2:00.
-You must have the wrong time.
-No, I'm certain.
Well, that's not possible because
he was there at the hospital.
Agent Todd, I'll meet you up
in the squad room.
No, Gibbs. That would mean...
How long were you with him?
We sat up talking all night.
About what?
Mostly his father.
They had a lot of problems.
Ensign Hayes tell you
why he was at the hospital?
He said he wanted to confront someone
who was giving him a hard time,
but he lost his nerve.
(CRYING)
Ensign Hayes has an alibi?
-What's gonna happen?
-Nothing.
You did everything by the book.
I killed an innocent man, Gibbs.
It was suicide by cop, Kate. Get over it.
We focused on the wrong guy.
No one went in or out of
Commander Dornan's room
between the time the corpsman
checked up on him and the explosion.
GIBBS: What about the corpsman?
I checked his record
against the Commander's.
Their paths never crossed until
the Commander came in for surgery.
There were four others on
the security video you couldn't identify.
Right. I've cleared three of them.
One is still unknown.
And I'm on it.
Go back to the ship.
Go over your files again.
Agent Gibbs, I need to explain.
There's nothing to explain,
Agent Cassidy.
You didn't file a report,
now two naval officers are dead.
Would it have mattered?
We'll never know.
GIBBS: DiNozzo, go down to the lab.
Go over all the physical evidence
from the hospital room again.
What am I looking for?
I'll figure it out.
Good morning, Mr Palmer.
-ls that the ensign Agent Todd shot?
-Yes, sir.
Oh, dear.
Abby wanted you to see this
as soon as you got in.
Mr Palmer,
I want Commander Dornan's remains
back on the table.
(DIAL TONE BEEPING)
Kate, how are you?
Well, I shot an innocent man.
That give you any ideas?
I'm sorry. I need a service record.
(TECHNO MUSIC PLAYING)
(HUMMING)
(BEEPING)
(TONY HUMMING
ALONG WITH MUSIC)
Stop playing with my equipment.
Well, I haven't had a woman say that
to me in a long time.
Sorry.
You break anything, you're dead meat.
-What are you working on?
-Evidence analysis report, DiNozzo.
I think you misspelled
tetrafluoroethylene.
I'm a great speller.
Don't you have somewhere else to be?
Gibbs told me to go
through the physical evidence.
He expects you to find something
that I didn't?
Just another set of eyes, Abs.
-I really need to finish this.
-Sorry.
Dornan's personal effects?
Yeah.
(EXCLAIMS)
Well, he didn't
only have heart problems.
(CHUCKLES)
This guy was blind.
-Did you find any trace of cigarette ash?
-In an oxygen fire?
I don't think so. Wait!
I did find something
that might be a cigarette filter.
(CHUCKLING)
Abby.
I think I know
how the oxygen was ignited.
Here are the service records
you asked for, Ducky.
Thanks.
Thanks, Kate. Thanks.
(TECHNO MUSIC PLAYING)
-Abby, what do you got for me?
-Not me.
Cecil B. DiNozzo.
Stalag 17.
GI uses a cigarette as a time fuse
to blow up a Nazi train.
Come on, guys.
Don't try this at home, McGee.
It's for grownups.
(COUGHING)
DiNozzo.
How do people do this?
Okay, the cigarette
becomes a time fuse.
Check this.
Huh?
In real time it takes about 12 minutes
for it to reach the matches.
It's cool, huh?
The killer placed it next to Dornan's side
under the tented sheet,
next to the open oxygen line.
Then he left the room.
Who was there
12 minutes before the fire?
-Dr Byers.
-She was the one who murdered him?
DUCKY: He wasn't murdered.
Commander Dornan died
as a result of his surgery.
Only Dr Byers made it look
as if he was murdered.
-We|l, who was she trying to frame?
-No one.
She was covering her mistake.
In 1995, she was the subject
of a malpractice investigation
on a heart valve repair almost identical
to the one she performed
on the Commander.
So how do you know that he was dead
before the fire started?
I compared Dornan's previous EKGs
to the last IVAC recording.
-That heartbeat wasn't his.
-She still could have murdered him.
Well, not intentionally.
Duck.
Will you trust my gut on this one?
Everything is fine. I'll see you tomorrow.
-That's great.
-You're welcome.
-Thank you, Dr Byers.
-WOMAN: (ON PA) Dr Martinez, 6426.
Ducky. What a pleasant surprise.
Special Agent Gibbs?
DUCKY: Janice, there was no Percocet
in Commander Dornan's stomach.
I'm glad it's over.
(SIGHING)
Dornan was in pain
and demanding to see me.
I rushed to the hospital,
did an echocardiogram and realised
not replacing the valve was a mistake.
It was failing.
Why didn't you operate immediately?
When I told him he became hysterical.
He went into cardiac arrest.
I tried to resuscitate him, but couldn't.
A second failed valve repair
would end my career,
and the job at Columbia Pres.
| panicked.
I tried to cover up.
(SIGHING)
(MONITOR FLATLINING)
BYERS: [placed the EKG sensors
on my own chest.
I turned off the audible alarm,
cleared the record data,
and reset the time/date stamp
ahead 15 minutes,
disconnected the oxygen tube
from his nasal cannula
and inserted it into his incision
so the oxygen could accumulate
in his chest cavity.
Then using one of his own cigarettes
and a match book...
[placed it on the bed.
On my way out I stopped by
the nurses' station and told them
that I had sedated him
and he was resting
and to check on him in a half hour.
Janice, you didn't kill him.
But I did.
By not replacing the valve
in the first place.
(ON ANSWERING MACHINE)
This is Paula. Leave a message.
(ANSWERING MACHINE BEEPING)
Hey, it's me.
Come on, just 'cause
you're pissed at Gibbs
is no reason
not to return my calls. Right?
So dial the number
'cause you've got it. Okay.
Sometimes you've just got to know
when to let go, Tony.
You don't really expect me to take
advice about women from you, do you?
I could stay here and argue the point,
but I have a date.
80? Now what?
I don't know.
You can't let any woman
affect you like this, Duck.
Especially one you didn't know that well.
My concerns are more immediate.
I have two tickets for the opera tonight.
She was going to accompany me.
-Jethro?
-No.
I wonder if Kate would be interested.
-Do you know where she is?
-No.
DOOLEY: Tell me he's asleep.
Dr Byers saw to that.
Gave him Percocet before she left.
If I were her, and he called me in at 2:00
in the morning, I would have killed him.
MAN 1: (ON RADIO) Well, after all these
years of drought, now all the rain.
Between Hurricane Charley
and Hurricane Dana,
we 're looking at pretty, pretty
strange weather conditions here
for our crops.
This year, Queen Anne's County
led all counties
in soybean, corn and wheat production.
Caroline County was first in the harvest
of barley and vegetables.
While Frederick once again led
in cheese and milk production.
MAN 2: That's right, Bud.
Overall, we 've...
(PHONE RINGING)
(PHONE BEEPS)
-Yeah, it's Gibbs.
-Hl, boss, it’s Tony.
No, you did not wake me up, DiNozzo.
Okay, that’s good. 'Cause / got a call
from dispatch this morning in Bethesda.
They want us to check it out.
-Okay, I'll meet you there.
-Right.
Hey, can you drop me by Bethesda?
-You got here quick. Where were you?
-Home asleep.
Asleep, maybe. But not at home.
I got you on your cell.
Drop it, DiNozzo.
Do not make this a challenge, Kate.
I will find out.
(EXCLAIMS)
-See you.
-Bye.
Looks like you and l were the only ones
flying solo last night, McGee.
Speak for yourself.
-Morning, boss.
-Where?
First floor. A-wing.
TONY: Some kind of explosion.
Guy went up in flames.
Name?
Commander Michael Dornan.
Safety Officer on the Kennedy.
It just got back from the Gulf.
Yeah, Friday.
He'd been complaining of chest pains,
had open heart surgery four days ago.
The doctor who led the team
that operated on him is on the way in.
I'll talk to him.
That'd be a her, boss.
Commander Janice Byers.
(WOMAN CHATTERING
ON PA SYSTEM)
MAN: Come on.
Whoa!
That had to hurt.
What started the fire, Duck?
The source of the conflagration
appears to be internal.
The majority of the damage
is confined to the torso.
KATE: He was receiving oxygen
through a nasal cannula.
Still it would have needed
a source of ignition
and I seriously doubt it
could have caused this kind of damage.
Could he have been smoking in bed?
The corpsman saw him 10 seconds
before the explosion.
Dornan was out cold.
Hey, boss. Listen, I know this
may sound far-fetched, but...
Will you spit it out, McGee?
Spontaneous human combustion.
-Where's the surgeon?
-She's in the waiting room.
Just got here.
Probie, what are you thinking?
"Spontaneous human combustion?"
It's an urban myth.
Actually, Tony, we shouldn't disregard
the notion.
Stories of the phenomenon go
way back, to the Bible, in fact,
although it wasn't popularised
until Dickens.
-Charles Dickens?
-Yes.
He used spontaneous combustion
to kill off one of his characters,
Mr Krook, in the novel Bleak House.
It caused a minor uproar.
Dickens was accused of perpetuating
the age-old superstition.
I saw that movie.
The silent version
or the British miniseries?
They were talking.
(SCOFFS)
Commander Dornan
was complaining of pain.
-He insisted the night staff call me in.
-lnsisted?
The Commander liked
to throw his weight around,
especially with
the junior nurses and the corpsmen.
Normal post-op pain?
To appease him, I did
an echocardiogram and he was fine.
I gave him a Percocet for the pain
so he could fall asleep.
-Jethro, I'll be...
-You headed back?
Yeah.
Commander Byers,
this is Dr Mallard, our ME.
Dr Byers is the surgeon
that operated on the victim.
DUCKY: Oh!
Dr Mallard's a man of few words.
I don't have any more questions
for you right now, Doctor.
-Thank you for your time.
-Sure.
What exactly was the procedure?
Aortic valve repair.
-Congenital aortic stenosis?
-Acquired.
-And the prognosis?
-Everything went well.
l was expecting Commander Dornan
to be back on active duty in two months.
Thank you.
I may have to ask you
a question or two after the autopsy.
I'll give you my numbers.
(WOMAN CHATTERING OVER PA)
Too bad you didn't get to bed
at a sensible hour.
I mean, sleep,
'cause obviously you were in bed.
-| get it, Tony.
-G|BBS: McGee.
-Yeah, boss?
-Stay here.
Meet with the engineers
and the plant manager.
I want this oxygen system
completely checked out.
TIM: On it, boss.
Everything in this room
goes back to Abby.
Everything?
-Right.
-Hey! Background the victim.
This is the beginning of a very long day.
Yeah.
Too bad you had such a short night.
I must say,
l was very intrigued by your doctor.
I'm not quite sure why.
Did you find her that way, too?
It looks like he burned
from the inside out.
It does, doesn't it, Mr Palmer?
That's the remains of his stomach.
Make sure they get to Abigail
for content analysis.
-Doctor?
-Yeah?
Does it help you to talk to them?
Well, they're still human.
I mean, what we do
is very invasive and impersonal.
It helps me establish a relationship.
ABBY: Hey, Gibbs.
-I hear you're not a fan of SHC.
-ls that a band?
(ABBY CHUCKLING)
No, spontaneous human combustion.
Don't waste my time, Abs.
If you were to read my master's thesis,
-you may become a believer.
-Doubt it.
I can show you photos of what was left
of a 240-pound woman.
-Yeah, but you won't.
-She was sitting in a chair.
All that was left
were blackened seat springs,
a section of backbone,
one foot still in a satin slipper
and 10 pounds of ashes.
The rest of her apartment
was untouched.
Abby, you know what?
Just tell me what caused the explosion.
A bribe. That always works.
So, I checked out all the electrical
equipment from the hospital
trying to find the source of the ignition.
Nothing.
Everything's in perfect working order,
including this monitor
which recorded the victim's Vitals
up until the point of blastoff.
Somebody went a little postal
with the fire extinguisher.
lt complicates finding trace evidence.
Well, the Commander
was being barbecued.
I doubt they were concerned
with forensics.
True.
You don't know
what caused the explosion?
Other than SHC?
(SIGHING) All right.
Get with Ducky.
Maybe together you can solve it.
Roger that. When he's finished slicing
and dicing, we'll go bang heads.
Don't cause any sparks.
No, that's more than enough for now.
Thanks for your time, Doctor.
-l was thinking of becoming a doctor.
-KATE: You? A doctor?
Anthony DiNozzo, comma, M.D.
(KATE LAUGHING)
Let me guess. A gynaecologist?
No, l was thinking more dermatologist.
Normal hours. Big bucks.
Never an emergency.
I mean, nobody ever died from a zit.
I had a terrible case of acne as a kid.
Of course, you did, probie.
Boss. Plant engineer says that oxygen
is supplied to the rooms
through a central system.
They did a complete check
and everything was in order.
Day shift concurred with night shift.
The Commander was a pain in the ass.
(PHONE RINGING)
Divorced 10 years ago. No kids.
Wife's happily remarried,
living in Santa Fe.
Parents are retired. One sister,
and they're being notified by CACO.
-DiNozzo?
-|t's Harrison.
(EXCLAIMS)
-Hi.
-|t's Harrison.
I'm glad you called.
I never cease to be amazed
by your skill, Abby.
You know, when l was a young ME,
we used to recreate crime scenes
using interns.
You also used to listen to records
and do the jitterbug.
Actually, I was quite the hoofer.
(HUMMING)
(CLEARING THROAT)
Let's see it, Abs.
Based on the condition of the body, the
burn patterns, and the debris scatter,
we were able to recreate the explosion.
Doesn't tell us much.
Watch when l rotate it 180
and play it in slo-mo.
That's the point of ignition.
What caused the explosion?
Well, this was taken from that area
of the mattress.
I also provided Abby
with epidermal scrapings
from the victim's upper left torso.
And the spectrometer found
minute traces of antimony sulphide
and potassium chlorate on both.
-Matches.
-Light my fire, McGee!
Someone struck a match
and ignited the oxygen.
Well, according to the corpsman,
the Commander was asleep.
This was no accident, Gibbs.
Barbecue Boy, he was murdered.
GIBBS: Get back to Bethesda.
Review their security tapes.
Find out how someone
got into that hospital room
and then managed to get out
without being seen.
-On it, boss.
-Start a timeline.
Twenty four hours before the explosion.
I want to know every doctor,
nurse, orderly, visitor
that went into that hospital room.
You two are going to Norfolk.
Dornan had spent the last nine months
on the Kennedy.
I'll get the car.
What are you so jazzed about?
He knows that the first person
you'll be talking to
is the NCIS Agent Afloat.
Special Agent Paula Cassidy.
You're kidding.
-She was reassigned there.
-What am I missing?
Paula Cassidy
is a rather attractive agent
that DiNozzo drooled all over
last year when we were at Gitmo.
Enough talk, Agent Todd.
(SPRAYING)
Let's go.
(MAN CHATTERING ON PA)
Okay, 02-32-8—Q would be this way.
The last time we were on a carrier,
you were the one that got lost. Not me.
I wasn't lost.
I was momentarily disoriented.
-Like you were with Paula in Gitmo.
-|'m not the type to kiss and tell, Kate.
It's not like you to be discreet, Tony.
She's something special, isn't she?
-|s he something special?
-Who?
Mister Short Night Harrison.
Six is two down this way.
No, it's this way.
Trust me. I'm right.
(MAN CHATTERING OVER PA)
We have to check in with the XO.
Why don't you take care of that?
-Why don't you?
-Because I outrank you.
That'd be six up and three to the left.
She is something special.
(CLEARING THROAT)
Enter.
l was expecting Gibbs.
Disappointed?
Hi.
You've been back a week.
You didn't call.
I've been gone months.
I didn't get any e-mails.
Well, I figured you'd be
too busy to reply.
You were at sea with 5,000 men.
-I had trouble choosing.
-Guess I'm a hard act to follow.
Actually, I was afraid of making
the same mistake.
Wow! Full contact there.
Nice. Let's start over.
I'll go back outside and do this again.
It won't change anything.
Commander Dornan really blew up?
Literally.
-There was no accident?
-It doesn't look that way.
Was he having trouble
with anyone aboard the ship?
Safety officers are generally disliked.
They have the authority to stick
their nose in anyone's department.
-No one can say a word.
-That sounds like Gibbs.
So Commander Dornan made enemies.
Made an art of it.
Definitely sounds like Gibbs.
So I've just been pulling files
of all the people he put...
(SNIFFING)
Put on report.
Could be the record for a cruise.
Mmm-hmm.
How the hell did pure oxygen
accumulate in the chest cavity?
I do not know, Jethro.
I mean, lungs I can understand.
The Commander was receiving oxygen
through a nasal cannula,
but the fire originated outside the lungs,
in the cavity.
-Dr Byers, you're early!
-No traffic.
Copies of Commander Dornan's
medical records.
Thank you.
We were finished, weren't we, Jethro?
We were, Ducky.
Ducky?
Yes, it's something I was tagged with
in school in my youth.
| used to resent it. Now I quite like it.
So do |.
Well, have you finished the autopsy?
Yes.
Yes, there was one question
I wanted to ask you.
Why did you choose to perform
a valve repair
as opposed to a valve replacement?
It was a close call,
but Commander Dornan was insistent.
If we replaced the valve, he wouldn't
be able to go back on active duty.
Yeah, true.
But the team felt that the valve
was repairable, and it was.
(SIGHING)
Ironic though, isn't it?
We saved his life only to have him die
in a freak accident.
I'm afraid it wasn't an accident.
I reviewed the hospital surveillance
tapes with security.
Between the end of visiting hours
and the fire,
all but five people can be identified
as hospital personnel.
So, I downloaded them onto my laptop.
Are you eliminating
the hospital personnel, McGee?
No, boss. No, definitely not.
I'm gonna check them all out.
In the meantime,
I'm going to run the five images
through the face-recognition system.
Just give me one second
and I will have them up on the plasma.
-Agent Cassidy.
-Special Agent Gibbs.
Agent Cassidy pulled files on everyone
Commander Dornan put on report.
Not a people-friendly guy.
GIBBS: Yeah, we'll have to get into
all that. Are you ready?
Yeah.
TIM: My first pass at facial recognition
will be against the database
of military personnel
and government employees.
I can save you the trouble.
That's Ensign Evan Hayes.
He's in the engineering department
on the Kennedy.
Commander Dornan rode his ass.
-More than other young officers?
-Yeah.
He did not like him
and I'm not sure why,
but it got so bad that
Ensign Hayes verbally threatened him.
DiNozzo, get me
the report of investigation.
There isn't one.
Commander Dornan asked
that | not write one up,
that he would handle it himself.
NCIS special agents
do not look the other way
because they're asked to,
Agent Cassidy.
-That wasn't what happened.
-Yeah? What happened then?
I felt sorry for the kid.
He didn't deserve the abuse.
Some people can handle it
and he couldn't.
And I didn't think
it should show up on his record.
Get Ensign Hayes in here,
Agent Cassidy.
DiNozzo, you go with her to make sure.
DUCKY: This is where it all happens.
BYERS: Very impressive.
Is that Dornan's surgeon with Ducky?
Ducky's older, Kate. He's not dead.
Ensign Hayes went UA, Agent Cassidy.
-Isn't most of the ship on leave?
-Not Ensign Hayes.
Commander Dornan put him
on rivet watch.
He was restricted to the ship.
Two days ago, he walked off.
This is his quarters.
We've put out calls.
Can't find him.
Thank you, Chief Velat.
We're gonna take a little look around.
The scuttlebutt's that
Commander Dornan was murdered.
And Ensign Hayes did it.
You've been in the Navy long enough
to know not to listen to scuttlebutt.
Yes, ma'am. But I wouldn't blame him.
Dornan rode him from the minute
he came aboard.
Why do I get the feeling
you know why, Chief?
Commander Dornan and I both served
under Ensign Hayes' father,
Captain Hayes.
Dornan was a lieutenant then
who needed to be put in his place.
Boy, did the old man do it.
This cruise was payback time.
All right, I gotta go topside
and make a phone call. Thank you.
ABBY: The EKG and the IVAC
recycle at timed intervals.
l was able to salvage the last
seven minutes of Dornan's vitals.
-I thought you could use them.
-Thank you.
Are you making a statement
with this tie, Ducky?
-Too much, do you think?
-Oh, no, no, no. You can pull it off.
So what's the big event?
Dinner date?
-Too ordinary.
-W hat then?
I thought I'd show her something
that reveals who I am.
If she gets turned on, too,
we haven't wasted our time.
You're the man, Ducky.
Mmm.
Why can't I find someone like you?
Well, if this doesn't work out,
I am available.
(GIGGLES)
(WHISTLE BLOWING)
I'll be right back.
(BLOWING WHISTLE)
Evan! What are you still doing here?
You promised me
you'd go back to your ship.
I can't, coach.
Now, come on. A two-day absence
can't be that serious.
It's more than that.
What?
-Did you call your father?
-No.
He could help you.
Commander Dornan put me through hell
because of him.
You can't blame everything
on your father.
You've got to take responsibility
for yourself.
You're throwing away your career.
-I never wanted to be in the Navy.
-But you are.
Promise me you'll go back
to your ship, all right?
Set things straight.
-Hey, coach! We're ready.
-All right. All right. I'll be right there.
Hey, you're going back.
Hey, coach.
Thanks.
Keep me posted, huh?
Ensign Hayes was recorded
on the hospital security tape at 0203
and the explosion that killed
Commander Dornan wasn't until 0317.
-Where was he in between those times?
-Find him and you can ask him.
Any hits on his cell phone
or credit cards?
Nothing.
Kate, what'd you learn?
Dornan punished Hayes with port watch.
He was one of the few left onboard.
Most of the others have scattered.
They were away for nine months.
Well, the few I could track down
haven't heard from him.
Ensign Hayes was your typical
Navy brat.
His family moved around a lot
when he was young.
Went to high school in Alexandria
when his father
was assigned to the Pentagon.
-Talk to the parents?
-The mother.
When Captain Hayes retired,
they moved to Scottsdale.
She seemed a little concerned
because she hasn't heard from her son
since the Kennedy made port.
E-mail his photo to the locals.
It's done, boss.
DC, Virginia, Delaware and Maryland.
Do you need anything
from your sleeping quarters?
What you're thinking,
that's against regs.
Great. You can handcuff me.
-|t's not going to happen, DiNozzo.
-Why not?
-We're both game players.
-Too much alike, huh?
-We would drive each other crazy.
-Crazy's good.
Yeah.
Hey, what you working on?
Stomach contents.
Gastric juices and glandular secretions.
Appetising.
This is whacked.
What? What is whack?
Something is missing
that should be here.
I'm gonna have to lock you up
for the night, Commander.
No, don't put me back in the dark.
Abby, you made me almost...
Made you almost what, Jimmy?
-You know what.
-Where's Ducky?
-He left early.
-Can you get him on his cell?
Is something wrong?
(CELL PHONE RINGING)
I guess he doesn't want to be disturbed.
When you asked me out,
I didn't expect to be touring
the basement of the Smithsonian.
No, this is where
they prepare the exhibits.
Can't you just feel the history, Janice?
Where do we start?
This is my favourite.
These were used by Army surgeons
Joseph Woodward and Edward Curtis
at the post mortem of Abraham Lincoln
performed in a guest bedroom
at the White House.
The Lincoln Bedroom.
Hence the popular misconception.
Lincoln never slept there.
How do you have access to this?
| consulted on Lincoln's autopsy.
That is the ball, fired by Booth,
that killed Lincoln.
These bits of bone are skull fragments.
You're an unusual man, Ducky.
Would you care for a bite to eat?
-We just got here.
-Yes.
Wow.
How does a woman like you
end up in the Navy?
My father's a retired Chief Petty Officer.
You ever contemplate private practice?
Actually, my obligation
to the Navy is up.
I'm leaving next month to accept
an offer from Columbia Pres.
New York.
Now that is exciting.
(CORK POPPING)
(CLINKING)
(DUCKY CHUCKLING)
(PHONE RINGING)
Thanks.
NCIS, Special Agent McGee speaking.
Thanks.
-T|M: Really? And when did this happen?
-What?
Why are you being so tough
on Agent Cassidy?
I haven't done anything to her yet.
You made her spend the day,
alone, with DiNozzo.
She survived.
-They're on their way back.
-Wait, boss, one second.
Okay, got it. Thank you, ma'am.
Ensign Hayesjust made
a charge on his credit card.
-A hotel on Braddock Road, Alexandria.
-Contact DiNozzo and Cassidy.
Have them meet us there.
You man the phones.
Kate, come on. Let's go.
Gibbs. NCIS.
May | see that, please?
Okay. What can I do for you,
Agent Gibbs?
You just checked in an Evan Hayes.
What room is he in?
It would be illegal
to release that information.
We're investigating a crime
and we need to speak with him.
Then I suggest you get a warrant.
Hayes is in the United States Navy.
As you just saw,
I'm a Special Agent in
the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
I don't need a civilian warrant.
You're absolutely correct there, sir.
You need the military equivalent,
a DD 553.
-Are you a law student?
-Second year, Georgetown.
I'm gonna give you a little lesson
tonight in practical law.
I'm gonna ask for Hayes' room key
politely.
-And you're gonna hand it over.
-Key?
Hotels haven't used keys in years.
If he has to wake up a judge,
nobody is going to be happy.
Okay. But announce yourself first.
That's in compliance with
the recent Supreme Court decision.
All right, Tony you're with me.
Kate seal off the hallway.
Paula you get the service elevator.
All right, we announce
and then we go in.
Okay.
(ROCK MUSIC PLAYING ON STEREO)
NCIS! Get your hands up!
-Put your hands in the air!
-Up! Up! Up! Get them up!
Party's over. Get up.
Okay.
Where is Ensign Hayes?
Put your hands down.
One of you checked in as Evan Hayes.
GIBBS: DiNozzo, search them
and find the credit card.
-Let's see some ID.
-Just give it to them, Jonathon.
Thank you, Jonathon.
Where'd you get this?
A guy gave it to me.
You're gonna have to do
better than that, Jonathon.
Look, I swear, it's the truth.
Okay, we were hanging out
after swim practice
-and this strange guy just walked in.
-Really spaced.
He just handed me the card and said
that we should have a good time with it,
that he didn't need it anymore.
It's true, mister.
He was trying to get rid of us.
He said he wanted to use the pool.
And you didn't think
that was a little weird?
Well, yeah, but I mean he said
we could party with his credit card.
Where's the pool?
Alexandria Central High.
Agent Cassidy, you and DiNozzo
baby-sit these people
until their parents get here
and collect their car keys.
Come on, man.
Nobody likes a whiner, Jonathon.
Nice shirt.
See? I knew we'd end up
in a hotel room tonight.
Special Agent Gibbs, NCIS.
Get down on your stomach.
Spread your arms and legs. Quickly.
I'm done taking orders.
Do it now, Ensign Hayes.
No, son. You don't want to do that.
-Then put the weapon down.
-No, I can't.
Gotta cover my partner,
isn't that right, Kate?
KATE: Right.
A woman?
I would never hurt a woman.
GIBBS: Okay.
GIBBS: I'm holstering my weapon, okay?
All right, your turn.
I been trying to pull this trigger all night,
but I can't 'cause I'm a coward.
You're not a coward.
You just don't want to die.
I can't spend the rest of my life
taking his orders.
Commander Dornan pushed
a lot of people's buttons, not just yours.
Commander Dornan?
It's not my problem anymore.
This is the only place I ever felt safe.
It's the only place l was ever happy.
All right, let's talk about it.
It's too late to talk.
Don't do it.
That's Evan.
He was troubled,
but I had no idea he was suicidal.
He was suspected of murder.
Murder? Evan? No way.
We think he killed a superior officer
at the Bethesda Naval Hospital.
-Tuesday.
-Tuesday? When?
A little after 0300.
3:00 am? No, that's impossible.
He was with me.
He called. He woke me and my wife up.
He wasn't making any sense.
I told him I'd come get him.
I picked him up in front
of the hospital around 2:00.
-You must have the wrong time.
-No, I'm certain.
Well, that's not possible because
he was there at the hospital.
Agent Todd, I'll meet you up
in the squad room.
No, Gibbs. That would mean...
How long were you with him?
We sat up talking all night.
About what?
Mostly his father.
They had a lot of problems.
Ensign Hayes tell you
why he was at the hospital?
He said he wanted to confront someone
who was giving him a hard time,
but he lost his nerve.
(CRYING)
Ensign Hayes has an alibi?
-What's gonna happen?
-Nothing.
You did everything by the book.
I killed an innocent man, Gibbs.
It was suicide by cop, Kate. Get over it.
We focused on the wrong guy.
No one went in or out of
Commander Dornan's room
between the time the corpsman
checked up on him and the explosion.
GIBBS: What about the corpsman?
I checked his record
against the Commander's.
Their paths never crossed until
the Commander came in for surgery.
There were four others on
the security video you couldn't identify.
Right. I've cleared three of them.
One is still unknown.
And I'm on it.
Go back to the ship.
Go over your files again.
Agent Gibbs, I need to explain.
There's nothing to explain,
Agent Cassidy.
You didn't file a report,
now two naval officers are dead.
Would it have mattered?
We'll never know.
GIBBS: DiNozzo, go down to the lab.
Go over all the physical evidence
from the hospital room again.
What am I looking for?
I'll figure it out.
Good morning, Mr Palmer.
-ls that the ensign Agent Todd shot?
-Yes, sir.
Oh, dear.
Abby wanted you to see this
as soon as you got in.
Mr Palmer,
I want Commander Dornan's remains
back on the table.
(DIAL TONE BEEPING)
Kate, how are you?
Well, I shot an innocent man.
That give you any ideas?
I'm sorry. I need a service record.
(TECHNO MUSIC PLAYING)
(HUMMING)
(BEEPING)
(TONY HUMMING
ALONG WITH MUSIC)
Stop playing with my equipment.
Well, I haven't had a woman say that
to me in a long time.
Sorry.
You break anything, you're dead meat.
-What are you working on?
-Evidence analysis report, DiNozzo.
I think you misspelled
tetrafluoroethylene.
I'm a great speller.
Don't you have somewhere else to be?
Gibbs told me to go
through the physical evidence.
He expects you to find something
that I didn't?
Just another set of eyes, Abs.
-I really need to finish this.
-Sorry.
Dornan's personal effects?
Yeah.
(EXCLAIMS)
Well, he didn't
only have heart problems.
(CHUCKLES)
This guy was blind.
-Did you find any trace of cigarette ash?
-In an oxygen fire?
I don't think so. Wait!
I did find something
that might be a cigarette filter.
(CHUCKLING)
Abby.
I think I know
how the oxygen was ignited.
Here are the service records
you asked for, Ducky.
Thanks.
Thanks, Kate. Thanks.
(TECHNO MUSIC PLAYING)
-Abby, what do you got for me?
-Not me.
Cecil B. DiNozzo.
Stalag 17.
GI uses a cigarette as a time fuse
to blow up a Nazi train.
Come on, guys.
Don't try this at home, McGee.
It's for grownups.
(COUGHING)
DiNozzo.
How do people do this?
Okay, the cigarette
becomes a time fuse.
Check this.
Huh?
In real time it takes about 12 minutes
for it to reach the matches.
It's cool, huh?
The killer placed it next to Dornan's side
under the tented sheet,
next to the open oxygen line.
Then he left the room.
Who was there
12 minutes before the fire?
-Dr Byers.
-She was the one who murdered him?
DUCKY: He wasn't murdered.
Commander Dornan died
as a result of his surgery.
Only Dr Byers made it look
as if he was murdered.
-We|l, who was she trying to frame?
-No one.
She was covering her mistake.
In 1995, she was the subject
of a malpractice investigation
on a heart valve repair almost identical
to the one she performed
on the Commander.
So how do you know that he was dead
before the fire started?
I compared Dornan's previous EKGs
to the last IVAC recording.
-That heartbeat wasn't his.
-She still could have murdered him.
Well, not intentionally.
Duck.
Will you trust my gut on this one?
Everything is fine. I'll see you tomorrow.
-That's great.
-You're welcome.
-Thank you, Dr Byers.
-WOMAN: (ON PA) Dr Martinez, 6426.
Ducky. What a pleasant surprise.
Special Agent Gibbs?
DUCKY: Janice, there was no Percocet
in Commander Dornan's stomach.
I'm glad it's over.
(SIGHING)
Dornan was in pain
and demanding to see me.
I rushed to the hospital,
did an echocardiogram and realised
not replacing the valve was a mistake.
It was failing.
Why didn't you operate immediately?
When I told him he became hysterical.
He went into cardiac arrest.
I tried to resuscitate him, but couldn't.
A second failed valve repair
would end my career,
and the job at Columbia Pres.
| panicked.
I tried to cover up.
(SIGHING)
(MONITOR FLATLINING)
BYERS: [placed the EKG sensors
on my own chest.
I turned off the audible alarm,
cleared the record data,
and reset the time/date stamp
ahead 15 minutes,
disconnected the oxygen tube
from his nasal cannula
and inserted it into his incision
so the oxygen could accumulate
in his chest cavity.
Then using one of his own cigarettes
and a match book...
[placed it on the bed.
On my way out I stopped by
the nurses' station and told them
that I had sedated him
and he was resting
and to check on him in a half hour.
Janice, you didn't kill him.
But I did.
By not replacing the valve
in the first place.
(ON ANSWERING MACHINE)
This is Paula. Leave a message.
(ANSWERING MACHINE BEEPING)
Hey, it's me.
Come on, just 'cause
you're pissed at Gibbs
is no reason
not to return my calls. Right?
So dial the number
'cause you've got it. Okay.
Sometimes you've just got to know
when to let go, Tony.
You don't really expect me to take
advice about women from you, do you?
I could stay here and argue the point,
but I have a date.
80? Now what?
I don't know.
You can't let any woman
affect you like this, Duck.
Especially one you didn't know that well.
My concerns are more immediate.
I have two tickets for the opera tonight.
She was going to accompany me.
-Jethro?
-No.
I wonder if Kate would be interested.
-Do you know where she is?
-No.