NCIS (2003–…): Season 4, Episode 17 - Skeletons - full transcript

MARINE: In pain we may find comfort.
In sorrow, hope. In death, resurrection.

HONOUR GUARD:
Guard! Huh!

Ready, aim, fire!

[GUNSHOT]

Aim, fire!

[GUNSHOT]

Aim, fire!

[GUNSHOT]

- Ready.
JACKSON: They're almost finished.

What do you want me to tell you?

- I can't get the thing open.
- Stripped?

No, it's catching.
It's just stuck or something.

When's the last time
you reopened one of these?

This is the first tandem
since I've been here.

- That's like what, a decade?
- Yeah.

Let me try.

[MARINE PLAYS "TAPS"
ON TRUMPET]

[GRUNTING]

Okay, it's moving.

- Ah.
- What's that smell?

[BOTH GRUNTING]

DIXON:
You okay?

Give me a dollar.

Okay, what's wrong with that one?

The machine wouldn't take it
and I want a candy bar.

- What's wrong with that candy bar?
- It has nougat in it.

But you hate nougat.

I know. It was a mistake, McGee.

Do you have a dollar?

All l have are big bills.

- What is nougat?
- It's whipped dolphin fat.

No, that's the filling
in Clownie Cake.

That is a myth.

Would someone
please give me a dollar?

Sure, I got one.

ABBY:
Thanks.

God, it's like some kind of crime
to not like nougat.

I don't even know what nougat is.

It's a cream made from sugar,
honey and nuts.

Grab your gear.

We've got an explosion
at a Marine's funeral

in James River National.

Did anyone else see
what just happened there with Abby?

Yeah, she stole my dollar.

ZIVA:
Last ones to the party.

TONY: It's not really a party
until the Bomb Squad says it is.

- What'd you find?
TRASK: We got nothing.

No ordnance, no residue,
no electronics, no time device.

No wiring, no remote.

No evidence of a bomb.

Except for the explosion.

You've got two employees injured,
both vets.

They were taken to the VA with
concussions and shrapnel wounds.

- Got names?
- Former Lance Corporal

Lloyd Jackson, 36,
and PFC Kenneth Dixon, 25.

Veterans keep getting younger.

Yeah, the kid they were burying
was only 22.

It's a family crypt.

- Tandem.
- His grandfather was in the back slot.

Still there, as far as we could tell.

GIBBS:
Your men clear?

TRASK:
Bio readings are clean.

Air's safe to breathe,
not that I would recommend it.

GIBBS: Anything else?
- Yeah.

Might want to cover your shoes.

That is truly appalling.

Chief Warrant Officer
Mitchell Waller.

Died 1978. Should be the one
in the back of the crypt.

- He appears to be undisturbed.
TONY: He would be the only one.

This is really the most disgusting thing
I've ever seen.

And believe me, that says a lot.

McGEE: It's like porridge.
DUCKY: The word is "effluvium."

The result of decomposing
human organs and tissue.

- This is people?
DUCKY: Yes. Two, I'd say,

PALMER:
And the two skulls, of course.

Mr. Palmer,
we have to recover all of this.

One wet-vac for the soylent green
coming right up.

Somewhat claustrophobic,
and for all eternity.

Our friends here
might agree with you.

They obviously needed to get out.

They didn't belong there
in the first place.

Vents are definitely clogged.

ZIVA:
Careful, doctor. We still haven't found

traces of what caused the explosion.

Yes, if my suspicions are correct,
Officer David,

the bomb is all around us.

It's a phenomenon
in the death industry

informally referred to
as "exploding casket syndrome."

Well, the floor is all yours, Duck.

[CHUCKLES]

Thank you, Jethro.

All bodies
contain enzymes and bacteria.

Immediately upon death,
they start to break down tissue.

Yes, a body can liquefy within a week,
especially if it hasn't been embalmed.

Yes, it's possible that these remains
were human in appearance

as recently as two weeks ago.

And someone dumped them in here.

DUCKY:
Yes, and in such a confined space,

as the gases
were given off the bodies,

with not any proper ventilation,

the crypt itself
could become a pressure cooker.

The bodies were the bomb.

PALMER:
Not our first meat puzzle, doctor.

DUCKY:
Yes, and it certainly won't be the last.

Never forget, Mr. Palmer,
experience is the ultimate teacher.

Yeah, corner pieces are not as reliable
as the singular components.

- Yes, as experience has taught us.
- Skulls and torsos.

And judging by these pelvic structures,
we have a man and a woman.

Yes, well, let's put Adam on the left
and Eve on the right.

You know, this reminds me
of a summer

when l assisted at
an archaeological dig in North Africa.

Our team unearthed
two fossilised Neanderthals

from a primitive burial mound.

One man, one woman.

PALMER:
This rib structure is fractured, doctor.

Possibly from the force
of the explosion?

DUCKY: No. No, no, no.
It's a clean serrated edge.

Very unlikely.

Did you know that the Zulus
burn all the possessions

of a dear departed to ward off evil?

Some tribes even throw spears
and shoot arrows into the air

to kill hovering spirits.

Right ulna.

That evolved into the modern military
tradition of firing a volley into the air.

[lMlTATES GUNSHOT
THEN PALMER CHUCKLES]

PALMER:
Uh, right hand.

DUCKY: Yes, after the death
of an African king-- Ah, right hand.

--some of his subjects
used to cut off fingers and toes.

It was considered a mark of respect.

Humerus.

I suppose it depends
on what you find funny.

Oh.
Right. | see. Humerus.

[BOTH LAUGHING]

Right hand.

Didn't this happen the last time?

- We'll need another table.
- We'll need another table.

The mausoleum
doesn't get many visitors,

which makes it a creative place
to get rid of a few bodies, but--

Whoever deposited them
would have to know that portion

- of Chief Waller's crypt was vacant.
- That would suggest an inside job.

With the knowledge
to access a sealed tomb.

Which would point to Jackson

or Dixon.

If they hadn't
practically blown themselves up.

What do you think, McGee?

She definitely seemed un-Abby.

- Who?
McGEE: Abby.

Abby's unhappy?

No, Abby's un-Abby.

I need you to focus here, okay?

Pitch in.

- I'll talk to her when I can.
- Why you?

Because dealing with an angry woman
requires a great deal of sensitivity.

Clearly not an area
of expertise for you.

Well, I don't doubt that you have
more experience with angry women.

You see,
now that wasn't very sensitive, was it?

The man has one serious relationship
and all of a sudden he is an expert.

All right, there is one
clear-cut undeniable reason

why I should be the one
to talk to Abby.

She owes me a dollar.

Now--

Uh, we ran down IDs on the remains,
got a hit on the woman.

Hmm. Classic DiNozzo.

One intact fingerprint off her left hand
matches driver's licence.

TONY: Marilyn Torrance, age 58,
of Tysons Corner.

There's no case file
because her nephew and his wife

never reported her missing.

McGEE:
They're on their way in.

That it?

[PHONE RINGS]

- McGee.
DUCKY: Bring Jethro down here.

Be right there, Ducky.

Saved by the bell.

DUCKY:
They were dismembered.

By severing tendons,
muscles from ligaments, at every joint.

The neck, shoulder, elbow, wrist,
hip, knee, ankle...

Et cetera.

There's very little damage to the bones
themselves, except the rib cages.

They were cut,
probably using a bone saw.

Were they murdered?

One of them, at least, was.

Blunt-force trauma
to the female skull.

A blow to the back of the head

that was certainly enough
to kill a woman of her age.

Fourth-rib phase analysis
suggests that she was in her 703.

ZIVA: According to the DMV,
Marilyn Torrance was 58.

Women lie about their age.

PALMER:
But this is her hand.

- Not her head.
- Well, maybe that's her head.

That's a man's skull.

Well, maybe you reassembled
the pieces incorrectly.

The problem is
we can't reassemble the pieces.

We don't have
two full sets of remains.

- We're missing pieces.
- Yes, and these unrelated pieces,

well, they belong to at least
three different people.

ZIVA:
Three more bodies?

We're missing a lot of pieces.

This is more than someone
just dumping two bodies.

I think you're looking
for a mass murderer.

GIBBS:
What do you got, Abs?

Decaying flesh,
organs and human tissue.

- The DNA confirms that--
- Five different people.

Well, if you already talked to Ducky,
there's not much I can tell you.

You didn't give me much to work with,
Gibbs. There's barely any blood.

The bodies were probably drained.

So, what, you think
we're looking for a vampire?

There were traces of cellulose fibre,
common paper and string.

GIBBS: The parts were wrapped.
ABBY: They're too degraded

to get any fingerprints off of.
There was one thing.

The screws
from the marble frontispiece,

they've been collecting rust
since the internment in 1978.

But look at the heads,
they're scratched.

TONY: From the screwdriver,
dislodged the rust.

But look at the other crypts.

See the screws?

GIBBS:
Yeah, they're all rusted.

Except for these two crypts.

Anson Gage, USMC,
Colonel Raymond Dalton, US Army.

Might be vandalism,
but it might be something.

- DiNozzo.
TONY: Contact next of kin

and get permission to open
those two crypts. On it, boss.

Nice catch, Abby.

Yeah.

I couldn't help but notice
how quiet it is.

- Where's the music?
- Just wasn't in the mood.

Anything you wanna talk about?

Why would there be?

I don't know.
It's just that McGee said

that you weren't acting like yourself.
So I thought--

Oh, so you guys
have been talking about me?

Yeah. No.

We're wondering
if there was anything bothering you.

You wanna know what bothers me?

It bothers me when people gossip
about other people behind their backs.

Do you really think that
that is okay?

Yeah.

Because, heh, I mean,
it's the only way to gossip.

If we talked in front of your face, then
that would just be talking about you.

You know what? We're not gonna--
We're not gonna do that anymore.

Sorry.

Your aunt lived with you?

When she was in town, yes.

You're sure she was murdered?

Preliminary findings
have been inconclusive, Mr. Torrance,

but it's probable.

- When was the last time you saw her?
- It's been almost three months now.

And you never filed
a missing persons report?

Well, she does this.

She would meet a new man
with a yacht or jet,

and disappear for a while.

But we always expected
she would resurface eventually.

Just never like this.

Um...

Here. I know how difficult it is
to lose a person you care about.

MADELEINE:
Thank you.

Uh, we'll also need a list of anyone
who has access to your homes:

contractors, workmen, employees.

And also the names of any of her
travel companions or associates.

Of course.

Thank you for coming in so quickly.

- If you learn anything--
- Please call.

ZIVA:
As soon as we know more.

They were really cut up.

Sorry. It's a poor choice of words.

How many more of these
are we going to do?

Ah, at least five,
so pace yourself.

What do you mean by that, McGee?

Nothing. Just, you know,
it got a little emotional in there.

TONY: lwill meet you upstairs,
Ms. Dalton, okay?

DALTON:
Okay.

McGEE:
Next of kin?

Abby thinks there might be more
body parts in her grandfather's crypt.

- You talked to Abby?
TONY: Yeah, McGee.

l was right, wasn't I?
Something wrong?

Let it go, probie.

VVhy?

Because I'm pretty sure
it's something you did.

- But what did I do?
- Well, think about it, probie.

I'm sure you'll come up
with something.

I don't understand
what I'm supposed to be looking at.

These photos
are of your grandfather's tomb.

| get that.

I assure you, this has nothing to do
with your grandfather.

How could it? He's been dead
13 years. l was at the funeral.

Right.
It's been tampered with, okay?

And we believe
that, uh, there is evidence

hidden inside relating to an ongoing
murder investigation.

What kind of evidence?

I run my own business,
Agent DiNozzo.

That means that I'm losing money
every minute that l have to spend here.

So why don't you just tell me
what it is that you want from me?

TONY:
Hmm.

We need you
to give us permission to open it.

So if you could just sign

these authorisation forms.

My dad put me to work
right after my grandpa died.

You know the first lesson
that I learned?

What's that?

Don't sign any papers
without having a lawyer look at them.

That's a good lesson.

But if it's necessary,
we'll get a federal warrant.

Oh, that would be
much easier for me.

You should just do that.

- Okay.
- Anything else you need?

Just the federal warrant.

Great.

Company, boss.

Special Agent Gibbs.

- Colonel Mann.
- I got a call

your case might be venturing
into CID territory.

That call was premature.

Really?

Here I thought it was
four weeks overdue.

I understand
you were denied permission

by the family
to access Colonel Dalton's crypt.

Got a warrant.

And that got my attention.

Why don't you fill me in?

Wouldn't wanna make
a bad situation worse, would you?

Don't look so nervous, Jethro.

- Do I look nervous?
- No.

You actually look, um...
You look pretty good.

David, DiNozzo, perimeter.

Sure you don't want us
to help you in there, boss?

Of course not. If you did, you would've
said, "David, DiNozzo, follow me."

Probie, stop it.

We're not going anywhere.

Why? What'd I miss?

MANN: Not like you
to leave something unfinished.

The crime scene.

Ever worry you're slipping?

GIBBS:
No.

MANN:
Any suspects yet?

GIBBS:
Nothing concrete.

What does your gut say?

Theory, it's an inside job.

But you don't like that.

So how else would he know
which crypts are vacant? Ah.

Read the faceplates.

So the warrant didn't exactly specify
what we're looking for here.

Yeah, it's best
to not have expectations.

It staves off disappointment.

What are we hoping for?

You throw that "we" word
around pretty casually.

The last time someone tried to remove
one of these, it blew up in his face.

Ah.

GIBBS:
You might wanna step back a little bit.

Thank you for your concern.

| see what you mean. Expectations.

TONY:
Gibbs did not look happy to see her.

[LAUGHS]

His body language suggested
he was not comfortable at all.

Ah, nothing makes Gibbs
uncomfortable.

Nothing job related.

Think he ended it with her?

- Assuming that he started something.
- I don't buy it.

McGEE: Why not?
TONY: She's not a redhead.

ZIVA: People do change, Tony.
- It's true. Even you have a girlfriend.

- I haven't changed.
- Really?

- What about the girl in the office?
- Natalie Dalton?

You noticed she was pretty,
but didn't flirt.

- That would've been unprofessional.
McGEE: I don't know.

Might've gotten her
to sign the authorisation.

Then we would not have needed
the warrant.

Then Colonel Mann
wouldn't have been here.

ZIVA: And we would be inside
doing ourjob like professionals.

All because you don't flirt anymore.
Why is that?

- Enough gossip, McGee.
McGEE: Tony,

you like to talk about
everyone's private lives.

Talk, yes.

But I don't write entire books
about them, do I?

Ha! It does create a bit
of a trust issue, McGee.

MAN:
Excuse me. Hi.

Am I able to go inside today?

ZIVA:
The mausoleum is closed, sir.

Huh.

MANN:
Here it is.

Are you gonna let me in?

I think we should be clear
on the implications first.

You're interfering
with my investigation.

- Is that what I'm doing?
- Honestly, I'm not sure.

If there's evidence in here,

I'm gonna be obligated
to see this through to the end.

- If there's not?
- I don't see why my involvement

shouldn't end right here.

[MANN LAUGHS]

If you wanted to see me,

you didn't have to manufacture
a reason.

I follow the orders
of the United States Army,

even when they don't exactly
make sense.

- You could have called.
- So could you.

| distinctly remember
the last thing you said

- as you were slinking out of--
- I don't slink.

"I'll call you.’I

For the record, I didn't think
the last time we saw each other

- was gonna be the last time.
- Neither did I.

Well, here we are.

Lucky for us.

Call it fate.

You're just gonna let fate decide
whether we go our separate ways?

Five bodies in total.

We've only recovered portions.

You're hoping the rest are in here.

Aren't you?

Honestly, I'm not really sure.

That the answer
you're looking for?

DUCKY: If the bodies recovered
from the mausoleum

were, in fact,
the result of mass murder,

one might expect a certain modicum
of consistency

- in the manner of death.
GIBBS: One might.

Yes, and one would be wrong.

Shot, stabbed, strangled,
bludgeoned,

and poor
Miss Undetermined Torrance.

Three women, two men.

Ages ranging from 19 to 70.

Three are Caucasian,
one Asian, and one black.

- No common traits.
DUCKY: Well, not in life.

But the blood, however,

settled on different surfaces
on each of the bodies.

Her left thigh and back.

His chest and buttocks.

- Meaning--
- The bodies were moved repeatedly.

Precisely. They were killed and then
moved for some sort of preparation.

See the indentations in the ankles
here and here, here.

Chainlink.

Yes, I believe the bodies
were suspended and drained,

prior to being, well,
there's only one word for it.

- Butchered.
- We sent the tissue samples to Abby.

Hopefully, she can--

[PHONE RINGING]

Speak of the devil.

What we have here
is paradoxical behaviour.

On one side we have a--

An emotional unrestrained murderer,
using whatever means at hand.

Yes, and on the other,
someone tidy, meticulous,

and almost flawless
in the way he dissected these bodies.

That wasn't Abby. That was
the director. She wants to see you.

Both of you.

TONY:
As far as we can tell,

the only thing that brought
these people together

is how they were taken apart.
In addition to Marilyn Torrance,

we have a 19-year-old runaway
from Florida. He was shot.

Thirty-year-old prostitute.

She was strangled.

No next of kin on either of them.

Wade Carlin, 26-year-old
Georgetown graduate from Michigan.

He broke off contact
with his parents

after his girlfriend dumped him
six months ago.

They thought he was Jack Kerouacing
around the country.

When in fact he was stabbed to death
a few weeks after the breakup.

All missing persons cases.

- All have led to nowhere.
- Until now.

Gloria Grady, age 72.

Ducky says she was the first victim.
Blunt trauma.

Only one relative, her son,

Len Grady.

He was at James River.

- With a bouquet of flowers.
ZIVA: Lilies. For who?

N0 record of any Grady
at James River.

Could be under a different name.

TONY: Could be a friend.
- But lilies, they're feminine.

The kind you give to a woman.

Like your mother.

Grady's mother.

I don't know your mother.

Could be visiting his trophies.

Fits the classic profile:
303, single, white.

We should tell Gibbs.

Why don't we wait till he gets out,
unless you wanna be the one

to interrupt his meeting?
Campfire's over.

Okay. Well, thank you, colonel.

I will get her back to you
as soon as possible.

Your superiors have agreed
to loan us your services for the interim.

I trust that there is not a problem
with that.

No. Of course not, director.

As long as Special Agent Gibbs
continues to be forthcoming

with pertinent information.

JEN:
Agent Gibbs?

As long as she follows my lead,
I can't foresee a problem.

You two have worked cases together
successfully in the past.

Nothing's changed to interfere

with that professional relationship,
has there?

What do we have so far?

Four confirmed homicides.

- Likely five.
- That's all you know?

I know we're wasting time
debating jurisdictional protocol

or discussing
who is entitled to what.

- Why don't you get back to it?
GIBBS: Yeah, thank you.

Um, not you, Colonel Mann.

I'd like to have
a private word with you.

Um, breaking in a new pair?

No, | always wear these.

Why do | always wear these?

- Let me see your shoes.
- Okay. Ooh!

Flat, sensible, functional.

- Not very sexy, but--
- But they do the trick.

Why do I wear 3-inch platforms?
I'm already 5'10".

I love these shoes, just all wrong.

Wrong for who?

- The tissue samples.
- I don't follow.

You don't wanna hear about shoes.
You wanna hear about tissue samples.

- Sure.
- I ran the Torrance tissues

through the mass spec, and
I found abnormal levels of chlorine.

- Chlorine?
- Yeah, like in a swimming pool.

TONY: Len Grady's website.
He's a jack-of—all-trades.

Basically, a guy with a big van.

McGEE:
And a little initiative.

Something
of an amateur entrepreneur.

That's not easy to say.

TONY: Carpenter, plumber,
gardener, electrician,

TV installation, snow shovelling--

But most importantly, pool cleaning.

That supposed to mean something?

He's not just any pool man,
he's the Torrance's pool man.

Grady's got his own key.

Heated, indoor, regular
monthly maintenance. I looked into it.

Royalty cheques burning a hole
in your pocket, McGee?

ZIVA: Already tied Grady to his mother.
- Body number 1.

- And now Torrance.
- Body number 2.

Let's bring him in.

JEN: A lot of people were pleased
to see Sharif off the streets.

My superiors acknowledge
your letter of commendation.

- I want you to know I appreciate it.
- You two make an effective team.

Gibbs and myself?

Well, it wasn'tjust
a flash in the pan, was it?

Your service at CID
is up in six months.

You must have started considering life
after the military?

Yes, it has crossed my mind.

The question is how to best serve
your future,

where the opportunity
for advancement lies.

It's not too early for a cocktail, is it?

The sun must be down somewhere.

[JEN LAUGHS]

You drink bourbon?

- No, not regularly.
-Hmm.

Spend enough time around Gibbs
and you'll learn.

Believe me.

It's an acquired taste.

And when did you first acquire it?

It's been a while.

It's something
that stays with you, though.

Nobody's home, boss.

Neighbours said he went out
about an hour ago.

What do we do?

We wait.

Okay.

Colonel Mann
still in with the director?

What do you think
they're talking about?

We wait...

...silently.

Okay.

I got him.

Len Grady. Freeze!

Federal agents.

[GRADY GRUNTING]

McGEE:
Up, up, up.

GRADY:
What?

What?

Bachelor living.

Not every bachelor.

McGEE:
Guy's got a card for everything.

"Len Grady, Painter."

"Len Grady, Fountain Design."

"Cottage-cheese ceilings
removed and made smooth."

Anything with a blade on it
we should get to Abby.

ZIVA:
Not really what she wants.

She's upset about her shoes.

Doesn't sound like Abby.

TONY: Wrong pair of Shoes
can reduce a woman to tears.

- She was crying?
- Practically.

It's not the shoes.

TONY:
Got something.

Yep.

White-paper package
tied with brown string.

What is that?

It's a pork chop.

- Hear you got our guy in there.
- Maybe.

- What?
- Nothing.

Seems like you
were thinking something.

- Oh, that's been known to happen.
- Something about me.

- Thought I recognised your perfume.
- I don't wear perfume.

Must have been something else.

So can ljust go ahead
and pay the fine and get out of here?

Fine?

I know I shouldn't have cashed
my mother's Social Security cheques.

We're not the IRS.

She went missing last March.

She had dementia.

It was getting worse.
She must have gotten out one day.

We're talking about a person here,
not a dog.

I keep hoping she'll come back.

You already know where to find her.

How do I know that?

- You went to visit her.
- Brought her flowers.

My mother's at the cemetery?

What's left of her.
She was dismembered.

Look at his mind spinning.

He's trying to figure out
how to play them.

I didn't do that.

I took care of my mother.

I fed her.

I cleaned up after her.

ZIVA: You must have been
praying for it to end.

- I loved my mother.
- Maybe you were right the first time.

It must have been
like putting down a dog.

Only no one ever noticed.

Getting away with it
must've been the real shocking part.

And a new career is born.

ZIVA:
You did it again.

And again. Kelly Camarda.

Wade Carlin.

MANN: Something's not right.
ZIVA: Marilyn Torrance.

- What do you mean?
ZIVA: Todd...

He looks relieved.

ZIVA:
Gloria Grady.

Okay, stop.

You have something
you wanna tell us?

All of these people
were chopped up?

That's disgusting.

What kind of person
do you think could do that?

I mean, you're looking
for a monster.

What do you want me to say?

It's not me.

What now? Hmm?

Want me to do a lie-detector test
or something?

You just did.

He's telling the truth.

- You think I'm wrong?
MANN: No.

He was relieved when you connected
her with the rest of the bodies.

He has no feelings
about them at all.

Doesn't mean he wasn't involved.

Maybe, but that doesn't look like
a man who feels trapped.

That looks like a man
who knows he has a way out.

There's something much worse
than Len Grady out there.

Only he knows what it is.

We've gotta push Grady
to tell us what he knows.

- He won't.
- You think he's protecting the killer?

- Protecting himself.
- No, I can prove he's not acting alone.

Trying to run down Grady's van,
no luck so far.

MANN: He was on foot
when you apprehended him.

- What'd he do with his ride?
- And when did he do it?

- After he spotted us at the cemetery.
MANN: What?

He just happened to be visiting?

There's no such thing
as a coincidence.

Well, he wanted information.

He was there to watch us.

But he got there as quickly as I did.

How did he know
about the investigation?

- He's got a friend on the inside.
MANN: Uh-huh.

One person's a psychopath.
Two people's a conspiracy.

So who is he talking to?

Grady doesn't leave here
until we know everything about him.

You start with yesterday
and you work backwards.

Go.

Forensics?

- Boss...
MANN: Yeah?

Um...

If you're gonna go see Abby,
you should know

- She's going through something--
- I'm not going empty-handed, McGee.

ABBY:
Gibbs.

And Lieutenant Colonel Mann.

- Abby.
- Can I interest you in some knives?

I've got kitchen knives, penknives,
pocket knives, Swiss army knives,

razorblades, X—ACTO blades,
scissors, saws, scalpels,

hedge clippers, an adze,
an awl, fish scaler,

and even a golf-hole cutter.

All recovered from Grady's pigsty?

Reflected in the care
he used to maintain his cutlery,

there's dings and nicks
and dull edges.

None of these correspond
to any of the precise incisions used

to dismember the corpses.
For such a slob,

he certainly is careful
when it counts.

There wasn't a single trace
of human blood anywhere.

Human blood.

Our boy Grady
is something of a carnivore.

From the remnants
on his silvenNare,

I could pretty much tell you
every meal he had for a week.

Liverwurst, knackwurst, pastrami,
roast beef, rack of lamb.

Which leads us to...

...this.

MANN:
The pork chop from his freezer.

Probably his next meal.

When I blow it up,
it gets real interesting.

MANN:
It matches the incisions on the bodies.

ABBY: Tool-mark analysis isn't
as precise as fingerprints or ballistics,

but I can conclusively tell you
that none of the blades

in Grady's possession
carved that pig.

Well, why would they? Hmm.

He probably had it carved at--

His partner is a butcher.

Don't you have work to do?

Look, it's not something
that you can fix

in the classic Gibbs
hit-and-run style, okay?

I got time, Abs.

It's stupid.

It's just...

...a guy.

I'm not gonna start spilling my guts
just because you keep standing here.

All right, apparently,
I am too much for him.

Can you imagine that? Me?

And it's not what you think.

It's not all this.

He likes...

He likes small women.

I got dumped because I'm too...

Too big.

And don't even bother with the,
"No, it's him. He's too small."

Or, "If he can't accept you for who
you are, then it's his problem" thing.

He just doesn't think
that we could make it work.

And I've done everything I can
to try to convince him that he's wrong.

So I guess
I'm just gonna have to accept it.

And let it go.

Thanks, Gibbs.

You always know what to say.

TONY: Metro P.D. responded
to the BOLO on Grady's van.

ZIVA:
So far, 13 possibles and counting.

MANN: McGee.
- Supermarkets, slaughterhouses,

any place with a butcher on site within
a 20-block radius of Grady's residence.

MANN:
Narrow the search to boutique shops.

They'd need their privacy.

- There's just one.
- Just one?

Boutique butcher is a dying industry.

MANN: Where?
McGEE: Le Cochon, Mass Avenue.

All right, get a list of employees,
owners, past and present.

Let's roll.

MS. Dalton.

DALTON:
Thought you said you didn't need me.

What's your relationship
with Len Grady?

Lenny's my boyfriend.
Why, what's going on?

You told Grady
you spoke with us earlier.

Yeah, I mentioned it.

Is this about the investigation?

- Where is Len?
- In custody.

We suspect he's committed
at least five murders.

[LAUGHS]

That's impossible.
Len would never hurt any--

- Five?
- At least.

Where's your freezer?

TONY:
Nothing in here, boss.

- Just pork, beef and lamb.
- What else would there be?

Human blood.

Human?

What's in here?

It's a freezer I use for overflow to store
geese and turkeys in the holidays.

GIBBS:
Got a key?

What kind of evidence did you say that
you found in my grandfather's crypt?

Does Grady have access
to your store?

DALTON:
He's here all the time.

Look, this can't be happening, okay?
There must be some kind of--

[RETCHING AND COUGHING]

He was a regular customer.

Every week, like clockwork.

It was the only time that he could
get away from his mother.

He felt trapped?

I could tell that he needed
to get on with his life.

It started with a few words
here and there, and then...

-...before long we were--
- Together.

DALTON:
Not fully, no.

We didn't trade keys until...

...after she, uh, disappeared.

He learned your trade.

I taught him.

He always wanted to try new things.

I never suspected that...

How could I not have seen it?

Love makes you blind.

DALTON:
No.

I must be some kind of monster.

MANN: Is she the monster
you were talking about?

No.

She loves me.

How?

We're in love.

MANN:
Well, then she had to know about it.

She had to know the real you.

- She didn't do anything.
McGEE: You're right.

She could have stopped you.

She Should have stopped you.

Well, if it was real.

She didn't know.

I hid it. I hid everything.

Just leave her out of it!

Natalie, I'm sorry!

I'm sorry, Natalie! I'm so sorry!

Natalie, I love you!

I'm
S
orry
!

Let's try this again.
Marilyn Torrance.

She was swimming in her pool.
I drowned her.

GIBBS: Wade Carlin.
- Natalie was at the wholesale market.

He came in for a sandwich,
I stabbed him.

She was a hooker. l was lonely.
Natalie was out of town.

| strangled her.
And the kid was nobody.

You kept them in the freezer
for over a year.

Why'd you move the bodies?

Why'd you move them?

He needed the space.

MANN:
You were gonna kill again?

He already did.

MANN:
What'd you do with the body?

It doesn't matter.

It doesn't matter.

No! No! No!

No, Natalie, I love you!

MANN:
Find the van, find the body.

Let her go.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

- Still at work?
- Yeah.

I was just catching up
on some things.

Cheek swabs.

Hey, your music's back on.

You're feeling good again.

Maybe not good.

Not yet, but better.

You know how, um, sometimes a guy
can get you all tied up inside?

Yes.

And then you can't get
the knots out?

Yes.

Well, itjust really helped me to talk
things out with Gibbs.

You know, and unknot the knots.

Because even if you don't let it show,
people can still tell.

So, you know, if you ever wanna talk
about Lieutenant Sanders...

I liked him. He died.

And, uh,
what else is there to say?

Well.

I'm glad you feel better.

With the right partner,
you can make the perfect monster.

Oh, yeah.
Give me a little old-time romance.

[LAUGHING]

Someone's got hidden skeletons
of his own.

You know, if I ever find myself
in a dire situation,

the proverbial body I need to get rid of,
I think I would tell you.

- Yeah?
- Yeah.

What makes you think
I wouldn't turn you in?

If there's one thing you're good at,
Jethro, it's keeping your mouth shut.

You made the right call
letting the girl go.

It seems you always make
the right call when it involves a case.

Oh. Son of a--