NCIS (2003–…): Season 4, Episode 22 - In the Dark - full transcript
A blind photographer takes a picture; his assistant sees the body of a sailor in the background, and she calls the NCIS; Gibbs and company pursue. The gang find a second body, which leads to another crime, three solutions, and the bad guy.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
SCOTT: You're late.
- No, I'm not.
SCOTT: Most civilised people
eat breakfast at 7 am.
I got you wheat toast and a salad.
It's doctor's orders until you get
your cholesterol down.
And Vanity Fair called again. They
wanna know where the photos are of—-
These are really--
Really what?
Boflng?
Stupid?
What's wrong?
There's a man in this photo
and he's dead.
I didn't know that fixing a leak
involved tearing out half the wall.
I found it.
MANN:
Nice work.
- Ready for payment?
GIBBS: Not done.
What do you mean you're not done?
The sleeve is only temporary.
The pipes are old.
The leak's gonna spread.
You've got to swap out
all these old iron pipes with copper.
All of them.
You know a good plumber?
I know a great plumber.
Are you ready
for that down payment?
[CELL PHONE RINGING]
Hang on. Yeah? Gibbs.
[INDISTINCT DIALOGUE
ON PHONE]
Uh-huh.
Have him meet me there.
Go.
I'll be here when you get back.
TONY:
A blind photographer?
ZIVA: Apparently, he's quite successful.
- Why not?
Beethoven was deaf.
After my assistant noticed the body,
I blew up the photo.
She saw the uniform, called you.
I'll need a copy of your negative,
Mr. Scott.
Sorry we're late, boss.
Huh. Hit every red light
and we had to stop and get gas.
And some bratwurst?
[TONY CHUCKLES]
Yeah, everybody gets hungry.
Where's the body?
Apparently, there's been some sort
of miscommunication.
TONY:
What?
We carried all our equipment
up here for nothing?
Yeah, we.
ZIVA: Do you remember where
you were when you took that photo?
l was at the corner of 18th
and Wescott, following the fruit.
Since Mr. Scott lost his eyesight in an
automobile accident ten years ago,
he's had to rely on his other senses
for his work.
Instead of following the light,
he'll go out and follow a sound.
Or in this case a scent,
as inspiration.
Last night, it was some kind
of a fruit smell.
Slightly rotted, uh, like an orange,
maybe a bad cologne.
I followed it for over an hour
until I hit that underpass.
And then all I could smell was vomit.
Hmm. What was
the inspiration behind these?
Oh, I heard a girl crying.
I followed the tears.
TONY:
I don't see a girl.
Neither did I.
TONY:
It's funny
how a hundred people probably
walked by this guy
- and it took a blind man to find him.
- It's funny?
TONY: Well, funny
in a kind of sad, pathetic way.
What if I was blind?
That technique may work for the likes
of Jackson Scott, Tony,
but a true investigator
keeps his eyes open at all times.
A lesson this unfortunate
would have done well to heed.
Does he have a name?
GIBBS:
No wallet. No ID.
Found this, Duck.
Sharp-force trauma to the abdomen,
making that
the probable murder weapon.
If this was a murder, of course.
Yeah, I know, I know.
It always is, isn't it?
I can't imagine what I'd do
if I lost my eyesight.
You'd adapt.
What if I didn't?
You'd fall into a deep depression
and eventually you would die.
Remind me not to come to you
for a pep talk any time soon.
[ZIVA TUT-TUTS]
- What?
ZIVA: Fresh vomit.
Whoever it belongs to
must have seen something.
Time of death,
roughly 15 hours ago.
Are those markings on his neck?
DUCKY:
Yeah, well, abrasions such as those
usually result
from the forcible removal of jewellery.
Perhaps a crucifix
or in his case his dog tags.
Pre-mortem?
Well, the inflammation suggests
he was still alive.
Combine that
with the missing wallet.
Looks like a mugging.
- I'll just swab under the fingernails.
- He is right, actually.
Snatched necklace, missing wallet,
signs of a struggle.
- Textbook mugging.
- Or it was made to look like one.
DUCKY: Although photography
didn't come into its own as an art form
until the 20th century,
it was during the Civil War that
its more infamous side blossomed.
PALMER:
Oh, I know this, uh...
Mathew Brady,
the famous battlefield photographer.
I said infamous, Mr. Palmer.
It wasn't pictures of battlefields
the soldiers wanted
but subjects of a bluer nature.
I thought colour film wasn't invented
until, uh--
- You mean, um...
- As with all new media,
carnal activity came to the forefront.
Thus proving the old adage--
Sex sells.
Yes, it does.
Although, I assume that's not
what you came down here to discuss.
- That's a good guess.
- Yeah, well, how about another one?
You came down here
hoping that I had found
some subtle incongruity
in my autopsy
that would shed some light
on this dastardly mystery.
Always seems to be the case, Duck.
Yes, all I've done so far
is to confirm my initial impression
as to the cause of death.
He was stabbed
right in the stomach.
Yeah, even with medical intervention,
this lad was not long for this world.
You mean Petty Officer Peter Lynn.
Worked in the Supply Corps
at the Defence Logistics Agency,
which is also known as the DLA,
if you're in the K-N-O-W.
They're the guys
who supply the military, you know,
with pretty much everything.
You already knew this.
He was a liaison
to the Naval Space Command,
which is the spy satellite guys.
Remember, we had the naked girl
on the beach--?
You already know about all this.
[TONY MUTTERING]
Abby got a hit off the prints.
DUCKY:
That's not all Abby got.
She was able to match mitochondrial
fragments in the vomit
to the cellular material scraped
from the victim's fingernails.
GIBBS:
They both came from the assailant.
Why, the old snatch and vomit.
DUCKY: Emesis as it is known. It's not
uncommon in first-time offenders.
Yeah, they learn the hard way
that they don't have the stomach
for a life of crime.
Take our mugger's last supper.
Cheese blintz, some red wine.
No doubt a cheap Bordeaux.
And almost a pound of veal.
Mugging business must be good,
Duck.
I'll have Ziva start running down
the local restaurants.
Uh, I've got an address
on Petty Officer Lynn as well.
So where were we?
- Pornography.
- Yes.
I believe it was photography,
Mr. Palmer.
Kindly try to keep your mind
out of the gutter.
Oh.
What is it?
Perhaps I have found
a subtle incongruity after all.
Yes, thank you.
You take over here.
I need to consult with Miss Sciuto.
Hello?
Where did that come from?
I haven't the foggiest idea.
Really? How incongruous.
Please dispose of this, Mr. Palmer.
Hi.
Yeah, well, I found the bra.
Yeah, it was a close call, but we--
Oh, no, no. No panties.
We just--
What do you mean, a matching set?
McGEE:
Petty Officer Lynn live alone?
We'll find out soon enough.
McGEE:
Huh. The Eagle Nebula.
Trash.
What are you talking about, trash?
This is known as the pillars of creation,
Tony.
TONY:
I'm talking about this.
He must really not like taking
the trash out.
Well, maybe it's not trash.
[CELL PHONE RINGING]
- Yeah, what do you got, Duck?
- An interesting development, Jethro.
When I opened
Petty Officer Lynn's stomach,
I discovered that he, too,
before his mugging,
had eaten a cheese blintz.
Popular dish.
Coincidence? No.
I found traces of the same wine
in both stomachs.
The D-glucose levels in the tannin,
it's like a fingerprint.
They shared a meal, Jethro,
which means th--
It wasn't a random mugging.
I never thought I'd be doing this again
so soon.
McGEE:
When was the last time?
After my psych evaluation profile,
I wanted to read the rough drafts.
- Huh. What'd they say?
- l have no idea.
The papers | reconstructed,
they weren't mine, they were yours.
Mine?
You read my psych profile?
What'd it say?
GIBBS:
It's better you don't know, McGee.
Got your message.
What do you got, Abby?
ABBY:
Trash and lots of it.
Sadly, nothing that can identify
the owner yet.
No, thanks.
- I quit.
- Quit? You?
I decided it was time to cut down
on the caffeine.
I wish I could tell you I've already
reconstructed these documents.
I've got it on an automated programme,
but it's still gonna take some time.
You called me
to tell me you got nothing?
Me, nothing.
But Mr. Mildly-Neurotic-lntrovert-
With-a-Highly-Sensitive-Ego,
he has something.
Yeah. Uh, lwas going through
Petty Officer Lynn's computer
looking for an address book
and I found this.
It's called Celestia.
It's an open-source
astronomy programme
popular with space enthusiasts,
people in the field.
I'm not one of them, McGee.
Sorry. My point is, it's supposed to be
an accurate simulation,
but I found a star system
that doesn't belong.
Of course you did. Heh.
McGEE:
The programme's open source.
That means you can adapt it to pretty
much anything. Education, games.
You can store grocery lists.
Or in this case, use it for a diary.
What better place to hide
all your personal secrets
than in a galaxy, far, far away.
What's he hiding?
McGEE:
For the most part, not a whole lot.
It's about the most boring diary
I've ever read.
An obsession with Kelly Clarkson.
Wondering why he can't find
a girlfriend.
He didn't make the connection
between those two things?
McGEE: Two weeks ago, though,
it got interesting.
Lynn claims that he was contacted
by someone
at the Naval Inspector General's office
in Norfolk.
- Asked to go on a mission.
- Did he say who?
No. Didn't say what kind either.
That was the last entry.
You were kidding
about the delicate ego thing, right?
A question that answers itself.
My name
is Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo.
This is my partner, Ziva David.
Ah...
[CLEARS THROAT]
So, what can
the Inspector General's office do
for our investigative cousins?
Are you familiar with a petty officer
by the name of Peter Lynn?
[JAKOBSEN SNEEZES]
JAKOBSEN:
Oh, excuse me.
Yes, I'm familiar with the name.
Was he helping with an investigation
out of this office?
Petty Officer Lynn
isn't helping with an investigation.
He's the subject of it.
- There's nothing on his record.
JAKOBSEN: There wouldn't be.
The investigation was classified.
You guys saved me a call.
I was just about to bring
NCIS in on this.
[SNEEZES]
We believe PO Lynn is abusing
his position as a DLA storekeeper,
providing info on military purchases
to competing vendors.
Not anymore.
Petty Officer Lynn's dead.
- How?
ZIVA: Stabbed to death.
Someone tried to make it look like
a mugging.
[JAKOBSEN SNEEZES]
Uh...
Suspects?
- An accomplice, perhaps.
JAKOBSEN: Yeah. Hmm.
We thought he was working alone.
Maybe his buyers are covering
their tracks.
Well,
good luck sniffing them out.
Now that there's been a murder,
NCIS gets sole jurisdiction.
But if there's anything I can do,
let me know.
Hmm. Is something wrong?
No. Other than a dead petty officer.
He betrayed his country.
As far as I'm concerned,
he got what was coming to him.
Oh, come on already.
[KNOCKING ON DOOR]
FEMALE VOICE [ON PHONE]:
Your call will be answered
- in the order it was received.
- Hey.
Look, I got your message.
Why didn't you answer your phone?
I've been on hold
with the Department of Development.
What about your cell?
On hold with the Secretary
of the Commonwealth's office.
And they disconnected me again.
- Jeanne, what's going on?
- I'm being evicted.
My building is going condo.
- Con-- Heh. Condo?
- Is there something funny about that?
No, |just—- I got your message,
and so |--
Never mind. What can I do?
You're doing it.
Thank you for coming.
It's no problem, because I said
I had a dentist appointment again.
I've got 30 days to find a new place
but no time to go apartment hunting.
One of my colleagues offered me
their couch ifl can't find anything.
No, I've seen Grey's Anatomy.
That's out.
- My mother offered me a bed.
- Oh. Eergh.
So I either fight it or--
We get a place together.
FEMALE VOICE:
Please stay on the line.
Tony.
Wow.
Yeah, wow.
WOMAN [ON PHONE]: Department
of Housing and Development,
how may we direct your call?
JEANNE: Nowhere.
- What did you say, ma'am?
I'm moving in with my boyfriend.
Uh, fifth photo was a--
GIBBS:
Streetlight.
Oh, yeah, right. Halogen one.
[MAKES BUZZING SOUND]
SCOTT:
Let me see, uh...
Oh, yeah, yeah. There was
a, uh, couple having a fight nearby.
Hotdog vendor.
And something that smelled
like, uh, mothballs.
I didn't get too close.
ABBY: The next one is-- Hang on.
Ugh. I'm not into...
Bad news from the, urn, dentist?
Something like that.
ABBY:
I got it. I got it. Okay.
Um, this is number six.
That's where Mr. Scott
first picked up the fruit smell.
- You were with him?
- No.
- l was in the office when he left.
- | work alone.
And I like it that way.
Bryn writes our press releases.
So I had to go over all the photos
with her this morning.
Like I said, it was an unusual scent.
So I followed it.
Why aren't we using the plasma?
ZIVA: He said he didn't like looking
at his pictures on a computer.
TONY:
He's blind.
Hey.
Okay, um, this is seven.
Looks like it, uh,
could be a sewer.
[SCOTT SCOFFS]
And I'm the blind one.
You got the photos out of order, honey.
Number seven's the sky shot.
- Number 22 is a low angle.
- Good memory.
SCOTT: Yeah, well,
I don't have much choice.
Either that or I break my nose
walking into walls.
Number 22 is where Mr. Scott
lost the fruit smell.
I recognise that graffiti.
It's on the restaurant
where l tracked Petty Officer Lynn
to his last supper.
You found the restaurant?
Well, there's not too many places
that serve cheese blintzes.
- No one remembers seeing the officer.
- If he was the source of the smell,
he never came out of there.
And if he wasn't, then he was probably
with the guy who was.
They could've used the back exit.
Which would make sense
if they were having a meeting
and were worried
about being followed.
Hey, hey, check, uh,
number 18.
There was a car idling outside
the restaurant.
ABBY:
Oh.
- Sorry.
LANDERS: I'll get those.
ABBY:
Time to go digital.
How long was he there?
He was still there when I left.
Can you get the licence?
Accessing the Virginia DMV.
TONY:
We only have a partial plate,
but we can narrow it down
by make and model.
- Really?
- Sarcasm is not sexy, Ziva.
Narrowing the list down
to make and model.
Got it. Licence plate: TA5-4021.
Registered to a David Wong, 41.
Civilian.
Record?
TONY: Guy's squeaky clean.
No criminal record.
No outstanding parking tickets.
Works in Inventory Management
at the Defence Logistics Agency.
"Who else works there?"
he thought sexily.
I know a petty officer who used to,
and just as squeaky.
Call McGee and have him bring
David Wong in here.
[TONY DIALLING PHONE]
McGEE [ON PHONE]:
I was just about to call you, Tony.
I was gonna say great minds
think alike, but, well, you know.
- I've got a lead.
TONY: Yeah, we do too.
We found a car outside the restaurant
Petty Officer Lynn ate at.
- A Honda. Licence plate--
- TA5-4021?
- Good guess.
McGEE: Not a guess.
I'm standing right in front of it.
I spoke to Petty Officer Lynn's
superiors.
They had a lot of nice things
to say about him.
It's a guy in the office across
the hall they were worried about.
- David Wong.
McGEE: That's right.
Why were they worried?
He went to lunch four hours ago.
Never came back.
A blind photographer, huh?
That is a new one.
Is he a suspect?
Not yet.
Uh, gotta come straight in.
MANN:
So he takes a picture of a dead body
who just happens to be
under investigation
from the Inspector General's office.
I thought you didn't
like coincidences.
Well, that's why I said not yet.
You got any suspects?
Uh, co-worker of Petty Officer Lynn's
went MIA today.
- Left in a hurry.
-Hmm.
I'd offer to help you
with your manhunt,
but I filed for retirement today.
Plus I got my own manhunt
to worry about.
This is the part
where you say something.
I'm not sure which part to start with.
You could start with,
"How do you feel?"
- How do you feel?
- Good.
I'm ready for something permanent.
And the Army's not gonna,
you know, give that to me.
[LAUGHS]
That's a nice try, but this is the part
where you say something, remember?
I guess I'm wondering
what you mean by permanent.
I mean
that I like you.
And I think you like me too.
You're gonna have to confirm
or deny that.
I like you.
Good.
Well, as you know,
when two people like each other,
they usually like to spend time
with each other.
And I consider my time valuable,
thus I consider time
spent with you an investment.
That makes me like, what?
A CD?
[BOTH CHUCKLE]
MANN:
At our age, more like an IRA.
And I've already, uh,
invested a lot in it.
You never know how things
will turn out,
and I'm not asking for promises.
ljust need to know if you're in this
for the long haul.
I wanna start building something
and I wanna build it with you.
[EXHALES SHARPLY]
Holly, I do like you.
I'm just...
What? Wounded?
Afraid to love?
I'm in the middle of a case,
and I'm not real focused right now.
Okay, well, I didn't expect
to get an answer tonight,
but I did have to ask the question.
I'm leaving for Fort Bragg.
I'm helping choose
my replacement tomorrow.
You know, and hopefully
when I get back,
you may have an answer for me.
You know, I'd hate to have to find
a new plumber.
TONY:
No hits on the BOLO yet.
Co-workers said he'd been acting
strange all week.
If he planned his run,
it'll make him that much harder to find.
Did you track his cell calls yet?
Agent Lee's getting the warrant
at the US. Attorney's office.
And Abby's processing evidence
from his office.
She nearly bit my head off when
I poked it into her lab to check on her.
Quit drinking caffeine.
Abby?
Abby Sciuto?
- Yes, boss?
- Wong. David Wong.
We have two competing theories
on Mr. Wong.
- Theory one:
- It is possible that David Wong
and Petty Officer Lynn
were working together.
And then they had a fall out
and Wong ended their relationship.
Theory two:
The commander from the IG
had it wrong about Petty Officer Lynn.
Wong was selling the info.
Lynn found out. Wong killed him for it.
We figure out a motive,
we figure out where he's going.
First, we need that warrant.
I've got it right here.
Uh, Agent Lee faxed this over.
I thought I'd run it up to you.
- McGee.
McGEE: Yeah, on it, boss.
All right, pulling up his records.
GIBBS:
Hey.
Do you need something else?
Uh, no.
I bet it's in the lab.
[CHUCKLES]
McGEE: Palmer's been acting
like that all morning.
Earlier, I caught him at the gym
hiding in the towel bins.
Bank records coming up.
No unusual activity.
You know what?
I gotta make a pit stop.
I can't think of anything charming
or pithy to say.
JEANNE:
Well, I have fantastic news.
I think I found us a place.
Wow, that's great.
It's a three-bedroom apartment, not far
from the university or the hospital,
- and has really cute floral wallpaper.
- Ah, ha, ha.
Wow.
That-- That-- That's great.
Great as in great, or great
as in you're having second thoughts?
I'm not having second thoughts.
Is there a third option?
Don't do this to me, Tony.
Jeanne.
You didn't have to say anything
yesterday.
You could havejust given me a hug
and told me everything would be okay.
That would have been
more than enough.
But don't tell me you wanna live
with me, then take it back.
I am not taking it back.
When I suggested
that we live together,
I was speaking from, you know,
what's the thing in your rib cage?
Heart?
Heart. Yeah.
I was.
And I am.
And I meant it, and I'm just--
A commitment phobe?
Afraid to love?
Right in the middle there.
And I'm, ahem, just not
very focused right now.
And I'm not a big fan of floral,
I'll be honest with you.
Okay, then.
I'll keep looking if you're sure
that's all that it is.
Yeah, I'm sure.
Then what are you doing
on the phone? Get back to work.
Yes, ma ’am.
- Hi.
McGEE: Hey.
Abby called. She found something.
Wanted us to come down.
GIBBS:
If you're done, that is.
TONY:
I'm sorry, boss, I'm--
GIBBS:
I know.
DiNozzo, trust me.
I know.
How long were you guys there?
Long enough.
So you are getting a new roommate.
TONY: We're discussing it.
- What is there to discuss?
- It's complicated.
- Complicated.
Complicated. Complicated.
You know, in America, I have noticed
they use that word as a code for:
"Ifl explain it, uh,
you would not agree.
Therefore, I'll use
the word 'complicated,‘
and hopefully, you will stop asking."
That's pretty much it in a nutshell.
I'll see what Abby wants.
- Tony.
- Ziva.
If you're gonna give me advice
on dating,
I'm gonna need to get something
out of my system first, okay?
[LAUGHING]
Stop laughing or I will hurt you.
I know what you're doing.
You're hiding behind all these jokes.
And I know what you're hiding from.
Really? What's that?
What everyone who is afraid to love
hides from.
Getting hurt.
It's not just me that I'm worrying
about hurting, Ziva.
That's because
you're a good person.
It's a low-frequency acoustic
RF-buffered transmitter.
GIBBS: English, Abs.
- It's a bug.
I found it embedded
underneath the Caps Lock key
of David Wong's keyboard.
I thought the DLA
ran routine security sweeps.
How did they miss it?
The same way I almost did.
Okay.
To avoid detection
from internal sensors,
the bug records for five hours...
[ABBY INHALES DEEPLY]
...and then blast sends the data
in under five seconds.
- That little bug can do all that?
ABBY: Yeah.
It can if it only records
a few tiny subaudible frequencies.
- Subaudible meaning?
- Humans can't hear it.
So, what,
Lassie's bugging this guy?
I think he bugged himself.
Don't you like the way I do that?
Like, right when you think you know
where I'm going, it's like, shazam,
- a hard turn.
GIBBS: He bugged himself?
Abs.
Sorry, Gibbs.
I'm just a little bit distracted.
Better. Subaudible bug.
Whoever planted it wasn't
eavesdropping on conversations.
They were listening
for keyboard taps.
Every key makes a similar
but unique sound.
With the right software,
you can record the keystrokes.
Using algorithm,
you can figure out what was typed.
The virtual Rosetta stone.
ABBY: A bug like this
would bypass all security protocols.
No password would be safe.
David Wong had access
to some pretty sensitive info.
Why would he need to bug himself?
He already knew his passwords.
No, he didn't.
The DLA uses RSA secure ID.
It's a hardware token
that regenerates authentication
every minute.
ABBY: If Wong had a partner, the best
way to give him access would be to--
GIBBS:
Bug himself.
Does this record
more than passwords?
- It records everything that's typed.
GIBBS: Okay, let's see it.
Well, we can't, because it broadcasts
and then it dumps.
You could try the buffer.
Sorry. You guys say that every
once in a while, so I thought--
- He's right.
- He is?
- I am?
- If we treat the buffer
like a normal hard drive,
even if it erased itself,
we should be able to get something
off of it.
Accessing the RAM buffer.
ABBY:
We've got something.
Wong was looking for directions
to an abandoned DLA warehouse.
Perhaps a rendezvous
with his buyers?
Or he's worried we traced the murder
of Petty Officer Lynn to him
and he decided to run.
- Address?
McGEE: Got it.
GIBBS:
That's good work, Abs.
TONY:
Nice place.
I don't think Wong
chose this location for scenery.
GIBBS:
McGee, DiNozzo.
If Wong was running,
he didn't get very far.
GIBBS:
Federal agents!
TONY: Wrong.
He got about as far as he can get.
DUCKY:
The telltale inverted V,
combined with the haemorrhaging
of the lips and eyelids,
fractured cervical vertebrae,
no evidence of any drugs
in his system,
and only his DNA on the rope.
- Let me guess. He hung himself.
- It certainly would appear that way.
GIBBS: He have any help?
DUCKY: Well, he may have.
A murderer could easily cover up
a ligature strangulation
with a post-mortem hanging.
I understand there was some kind
of note from Mr. Wong?
GIBBS: Took the credit
for killing Petty Officer Lynn.
TONY:
Wong said he and Lynn
were partners on a con
embezzling from the DLA
until Lynn tried to blackmail Wong
out of his share.
- So Wong killed him.
- Tried to make it look like a mugging.
TONY: And then he panicked when
he learned NCIS figured out it wasn't.
Quote, "I'm sorry. I never meant
for any of this to happen.
May God have mercy,
David B. Wong."
Abby verified the handwriting.
You know, the vomit near the body
contained copious amounts
of cheese blintz.
David Wong was lactose intolerant.
If he had consumed
that much cheese,
that would explain his throwing up.
- It puts Wong at the underpass.
- Which corroborates the letter.
- Yet you doubt it?
- The mugging wasn't a mugging.
DUCKY: Yeah, so the suicide
may not be a suicide.
In the mugging, certain key facts
did not add up.
But here, I'm afraid,
there are no such discrepancies.
GIBBS:
Well, I've got a discrepancy.
Evidence bag says David G. Wong.
Yes, his middle name was George.
Then why did he sign his name
with a B?
ZIVA: Perhaps
he was sending us a message.
Letter B is not much of a message.
I find it very doubtful
that he would make a mistake.
Besides, if he wrote a note
under duress,
the message would have to be
something the killer would not notice.
Could be part of the killer's initials.
- Is that what you'd write?
TONY: No.
Two letters would be circumstantial.
One letter's just useless.
Perhaps there is another place where
David Wong used the false initial.
McGEE:
I already checked. DMV, bank records,
the only place that Wong used
the letter B is on the suicide note.
Maybe it wasn't one letter, then.
McGee, run it.
Whoa, stop it right there. There.
McGEE: What?
TONY: The B's are different.
Thirteen.
It's not a letter, it's a number.
McGEE:
Actually, I think it's both.
Boss, I think this is an I
and a three together.
After Wong's suicide note,
I checked his office's records.
They code their invoices with an I
followed by a number
corresponding to a department.
I'd gotten as far as l-5,
but I didn't find anything to corroborate
the claim of embezzlement.
Look again.
That's good advice, Gibbs.
That's exactly what I did.
You're gonna love what I found.
The first thing I did
when I got the photos--
Was run facial-recognition software
on every face you could find.
- Which led nowhere.
- Thank you both
for that reminder of my failure.
You haven't failed me yet, Abs.
I thought I had squeezed all the data
I could out of the photos
until Jackson Scott walked in
and humbled me.
The man uses echolocation
to find obstacles in his way.
No Shamu jokes.
Echolocation is reflected sound,
which made me think
of reflected images,
which made me find this.
I know it's a blur.
But that's because of the photons
of light in the image,
- they're spread out in time.
- But you can de-spread them.
Well, the technical term
is deconvolution, but, yeah.
I calculated the shutter speed,
merging the photons
into a coherent image.
The final results are still processing,
but this is good enough for an ID.
Look familiar?
Relax.
There's nothing to be nervous about.
Then why am |
in an interrogation room?
That's a good point.
Maybe you should be nervous.
I haven't done anything wrong.
Actually, you did.
But, uh, we're going to give you
another chance to correct it.
So tell us again where were you
the night your boss took this picture?
I told you already.
I was in Mr. Scott's office until 6,
and then I went straight home.
TONY:
She was at your loft when you left?
I told you that already too.
I'm blind,
but you guys are deaf.
GIBBS:
Do you believe her?
Well, why would I think she's lying?
Because she is.
ZIVA:
So if you went straight home,
then what are you doing in this photo
your boss took that night?
It's interesting you didn't notice
she was there.
Yet you noticed everything else.
| see.
She's not the only one
being interrogated.
Care to change your testimony?
I took the long way home.
I must have walked by
where Mr. Scott was shooting.
If I did,
I didn't realise he was there.
TONY: So you two
were within 20 feet of each other...
And neither of you knew
the other was there.
SCOTT:
Bryn wouldn't have noticed me.
I work hard to keep myself
below people's radar.
But I would have certainly
noticed her.
Why didn't you?
ZIVA:
Interesting story.
- I don't know.
ZIVA: Here's the problem.
We showed your photo to the staff
at the restaurant
where Petty Officer Lynn
was having his last supper,
and one of the waiters identified you
at the lobby.
You being at the same restaurant as
Petty Officer Lynn a coincidence too?
Because I don't think the jury
will see it that way.
What they will see
is the person he had dinner with,
and lured him to the underpass,
and stabbed him to death.
No. Okay, that's not what happened.
Then tell me what did.
I was following Mr. Scott.
But I lost him for a few minutes.
| just ducked into the restaurant
for a second
when he came around the corner
and surprised me.
Jackson's harder to follow
than you'd think.
I have to wear special shoes
and perfume when I follow him.
ZIVA: Fruity perfume, by any chance?
LANDERS: Lavender.
ZIVA: Why were you following him?
- I don't understand this.
- Why were you following him?
LANDERS: I called NCIS.
Why were you following him?
You're in love with him.
If you think his photos are brilliant,
you should see him work.
He can't see, but he still sees
more than most people.
I lied to you because if Jackson knew
I was following him, he'd--
I didn't see your petty officer.
And if he was there when I was,
I wouldn't have noticed.
SCOTT:
Heh.
For a man who can see
more than most people,
I managed to miss the thing
that counts the most.
Better late than never, I suppose.
- Are you going to let her go now?
- Now, no.
After we corroborate, yeah.
Maybe Wong's suicide note
was legit after all.
Oh, I'm sorry.
I was just looking for some, uh,
pipettes which are clearly not here.
- Bye.
GIBBS: Hey.
What?
The fruit smell from that night.
Oh. Oh, my gosh.
I forgot to take my insulin.
I was so busy
looking for the pipettes, I forgot.
Insan?
PALMER:
Yeah, I have mild diabetes.
When my blood sugar spikes,
my breath gets a mild fruity smell.
Is it really that bad?
Why is everyone looking at me
like I'm in some kind of trouble?
JAKOBSEN:
Well, I got your message.
What's this about a breach
of our security?
We believe someone's been running
a bogus investigation
out of your office.
The Lynn case?
Our suspect told
Petty Officer Lynn a co-worker
was under investigation
for embezzling.
GIBBS: A lie.
McGEE: And asked Lynn to plant a bug
in the co-worker's office.
That co-worker was David Wong.
The lie was to get Wong's password
to the DLA accounting database.
The suspect was the one
who was embezzling.
You can check DLA ledger I-3.
It's all there.
The funny part is, Wong grew
suspicious and contacted you,
which is ironic,
since you were the one running the
bogus investigation out of this office.
We traced the logons to DLA servers
back to your computer.
Also, a waiter places you
at the restaurant with Lynn.
TONY:
And we have come to believe
that it was Colonel Mustard
in the conservatory with a wrench.
How?
Jackson Scott decided
to follow the fruit.
As a diabetic, you should have skipped
the cheese blintz.
[SNEEZES]
Wow.
You're done already.
I thought you said it was gonna take
a while.
Nope. I worked all night.
And what's the rush?
[CHUCKLES]
Oh, I see.
So that's how it's gonna be, huh?
- Hol, I wanted--
- No, uh, don't.
Don't say it.
No, don't say anything.
Not that you ever do anyway.
But you know what?
I'm gonna say something.
You're making a mistake.
You're gonna wake up
in a week or a month
and you're gonna realise
that you threw away something good.
And it's gonna be too late.
You know, I realise that there are
three billion men in the world,
The fact that you don't,
it just makes me wonder why
I ever wanted you in the first place.
Are you gonna say something?
You told me not to.
Well, I changed my mind.
I worked through the night
because I found another small leak
in your bathroom,
and I wanted to surprise you.
Biggerjob than I thought.
And how long is this gonna take?
Oh.
It could take a while.
- I feel like an idiot.
- You sounded like one.
How do I make it up to you?
[LAUGHS]
SCOTT: You're late.
- No, I'm not.
SCOTT: Most civilised people
eat breakfast at 7 am.
I got you wheat toast and a salad.
It's doctor's orders until you get
your cholesterol down.
And Vanity Fair called again. They
wanna know where the photos are of—-
These are really--
Really what?
Boflng?
Stupid?
What's wrong?
There's a man in this photo
and he's dead.
I didn't know that fixing a leak
involved tearing out half the wall.
I found it.
MANN:
Nice work.
- Ready for payment?
GIBBS: Not done.
What do you mean you're not done?
The sleeve is only temporary.
The pipes are old.
The leak's gonna spread.
You've got to swap out
all these old iron pipes with copper.
All of them.
You know a good plumber?
I know a great plumber.
Are you ready
for that down payment?
[CELL PHONE RINGING]
Hang on. Yeah? Gibbs.
[INDISTINCT DIALOGUE
ON PHONE]
Uh-huh.
Have him meet me there.
Go.
I'll be here when you get back.
TONY:
A blind photographer?
ZIVA: Apparently, he's quite successful.
- Why not?
Beethoven was deaf.
After my assistant noticed the body,
I blew up the photo.
She saw the uniform, called you.
I'll need a copy of your negative,
Mr. Scott.
Sorry we're late, boss.
Huh. Hit every red light
and we had to stop and get gas.
And some bratwurst?
[TONY CHUCKLES]
Yeah, everybody gets hungry.
Where's the body?
Apparently, there's been some sort
of miscommunication.
TONY:
What?
We carried all our equipment
up here for nothing?
Yeah, we.
ZIVA: Do you remember where
you were when you took that photo?
l was at the corner of 18th
and Wescott, following the fruit.
Since Mr. Scott lost his eyesight in an
automobile accident ten years ago,
he's had to rely on his other senses
for his work.
Instead of following the light,
he'll go out and follow a sound.
Or in this case a scent,
as inspiration.
Last night, it was some kind
of a fruit smell.
Slightly rotted, uh, like an orange,
maybe a bad cologne.
I followed it for over an hour
until I hit that underpass.
And then all I could smell was vomit.
Hmm. What was
the inspiration behind these?
Oh, I heard a girl crying.
I followed the tears.
TONY:
I don't see a girl.
Neither did I.
TONY:
It's funny
how a hundred people probably
walked by this guy
- and it took a blind man to find him.
- It's funny?
TONY: Well, funny
in a kind of sad, pathetic way.
What if I was blind?
That technique may work for the likes
of Jackson Scott, Tony,
but a true investigator
keeps his eyes open at all times.
A lesson this unfortunate
would have done well to heed.
Does he have a name?
GIBBS:
No wallet. No ID.
Found this, Duck.
Sharp-force trauma to the abdomen,
making that
the probable murder weapon.
If this was a murder, of course.
Yeah, I know, I know.
It always is, isn't it?
I can't imagine what I'd do
if I lost my eyesight.
You'd adapt.
What if I didn't?
You'd fall into a deep depression
and eventually you would die.
Remind me not to come to you
for a pep talk any time soon.
[ZIVA TUT-TUTS]
- What?
ZIVA: Fresh vomit.
Whoever it belongs to
must have seen something.
Time of death,
roughly 15 hours ago.
Are those markings on his neck?
DUCKY:
Yeah, well, abrasions such as those
usually result
from the forcible removal of jewellery.
Perhaps a crucifix
or in his case his dog tags.
Pre-mortem?
Well, the inflammation suggests
he was still alive.
Combine that
with the missing wallet.
Looks like a mugging.
- I'll just swab under the fingernails.
- He is right, actually.
Snatched necklace, missing wallet,
signs of a struggle.
- Textbook mugging.
- Or it was made to look like one.
DUCKY: Although photography
didn't come into its own as an art form
until the 20th century,
it was during the Civil War that
its more infamous side blossomed.
PALMER:
Oh, I know this, uh...
Mathew Brady,
the famous battlefield photographer.
I said infamous, Mr. Palmer.
It wasn't pictures of battlefields
the soldiers wanted
but subjects of a bluer nature.
I thought colour film wasn't invented
until, uh--
- You mean, um...
- As with all new media,
carnal activity came to the forefront.
Thus proving the old adage--
Sex sells.
Yes, it does.
Although, I assume that's not
what you came down here to discuss.
- That's a good guess.
- Yeah, well, how about another one?
You came down here
hoping that I had found
some subtle incongruity
in my autopsy
that would shed some light
on this dastardly mystery.
Always seems to be the case, Duck.
Yes, all I've done so far
is to confirm my initial impression
as to the cause of death.
He was stabbed
right in the stomach.
Yeah, even with medical intervention,
this lad was not long for this world.
You mean Petty Officer Peter Lynn.
Worked in the Supply Corps
at the Defence Logistics Agency,
which is also known as the DLA,
if you're in the K-N-O-W.
They're the guys
who supply the military, you know,
with pretty much everything.
You already knew this.
He was a liaison
to the Naval Space Command,
which is the spy satellite guys.
Remember, we had the naked girl
on the beach--?
You already know about all this.
[TONY MUTTERING]
Abby got a hit off the prints.
DUCKY:
That's not all Abby got.
She was able to match mitochondrial
fragments in the vomit
to the cellular material scraped
from the victim's fingernails.
GIBBS:
They both came from the assailant.
Why, the old snatch and vomit.
DUCKY: Emesis as it is known. It's not
uncommon in first-time offenders.
Yeah, they learn the hard way
that they don't have the stomach
for a life of crime.
Take our mugger's last supper.
Cheese blintz, some red wine.
No doubt a cheap Bordeaux.
And almost a pound of veal.
Mugging business must be good,
Duck.
I'll have Ziva start running down
the local restaurants.
Uh, I've got an address
on Petty Officer Lynn as well.
So where were we?
- Pornography.
- Yes.
I believe it was photography,
Mr. Palmer.
Kindly try to keep your mind
out of the gutter.
Oh.
What is it?
Perhaps I have found
a subtle incongruity after all.
Yes, thank you.
You take over here.
I need to consult with Miss Sciuto.
Hello?
Where did that come from?
I haven't the foggiest idea.
Really? How incongruous.
Please dispose of this, Mr. Palmer.
Hi.
Yeah, well, I found the bra.
Yeah, it was a close call, but we--
Oh, no, no. No panties.
We just--
What do you mean, a matching set?
McGEE:
Petty Officer Lynn live alone?
We'll find out soon enough.
McGEE:
Huh. The Eagle Nebula.
Trash.
What are you talking about, trash?
This is known as the pillars of creation,
Tony.
TONY:
I'm talking about this.
He must really not like taking
the trash out.
Well, maybe it's not trash.
[CELL PHONE RINGING]
- Yeah, what do you got, Duck?
- An interesting development, Jethro.
When I opened
Petty Officer Lynn's stomach,
I discovered that he, too,
before his mugging,
had eaten a cheese blintz.
Popular dish.
Coincidence? No.
I found traces of the same wine
in both stomachs.
The D-glucose levels in the tannin,
it's like a fingerprint.
They shared a meal, Jethro,
which means th--
It wasn't a random mugging.
I never thought I'd be doing this again
so soon.
McGEE:
When was the last time?
After my psych evaluation profile,
I wanted to read the rough drafts.
- Huh. What'd they say?
- l have no idea.
The papers | reconstructed,
they weren't mine, they were yours.
Mine?
You read my psych profile?
What'd it say?
GIBBS:
It's better you don't know, McGee.
Got your message.
What do you got, Abby?
ABBY:
Trash and lots of it.
Sadly, nothing that can identify
the owner yet.
No, thanks.
- I quit.
- Quit? You?
I decided it was time to cut down
on the caffeine.
I wish I could tell you I've already
reconstructed these documents.
I've got it on an automated programme,
but it's still gonna take some time.
You called me
to tell me you got nothing?
Me, nothing.
But Mr. Mildly-Neurotic-lntrovert-
With-a-Highly-Sensitive-Ego,
he has something.
Yeah. Uh, lwas going through
Petty Officer Lynn's computer
looking for an address book
and I found this.
It's called Celestia.
It's an open-source
astronomy programme
popular with space enthusiasts,
people in the field.
I'm not one of them, McGee.
Sorry. My point is, it's supposed to be
an accurate simulation,
but I found a star system
that doesn't belong.
Of course you did. Heh.
McGEE:
The programme's open source.
That means you can adapt it to pretty
much anything. Education, games.
You can store grocery lists.
Or in this case, use it for a diary.
What better place to hide
all your personal secrets
than in a galaxy, far, far away.
What's he hiding?
McGEE:
For the most part, not a whole lot.
It's about the most boring diary
I've ever read.
An obsession with Kelly Clarkson.
Wondering why he can't find
a girlfriend.
He didn't make the connection
between those two things?
McGEE: Two weeks ago, though,
it got interesting.
Lynn claims that he was contacted
by someone
at the Naval Inspector General's office
in Norfolk.
- Asked to go on a mission.
- Did he say who?
No. Didn't say what kind either.
That was the last entry.
You were kidding
about the delicate ego thing, right?
A question that answers itself.
My name
is Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo.
This is my partner, Ziva David.
Ah...
[CLEARS THROAT]
So, what can
the Inspector General's office do
for our investigative cousins?
Are you familiar with a petty officer
by the name of Peter Lynn?
[JAKOBSEN SNEEZES]
JAKOBSEN:
Oh, excuse me.
Yes, I'm familiar with the name.
Was he helping with an investigation
out of this office?
Petty Officer Lynn
isn't helping with an investigation.
He's the subject of it.
- There's nothing on his record.
JAKOBSEN: There wouldn't be.
The investigation was classified.
You guys saved me a call.
I was just about to bring
NCIS in on this.
[SNEEZES]
We believe PO Lynn is abusing
his position as a DLA storekeeper,
providing info on military purchases
to competing vendors.
Not anymore.
Petty Officer Lynn's dead.
- How?
ZIVA: Stabbed to death.
Someone tried to make it look like
a mugging.
[JAKOBSEN SNEEZES]
Uh...
Suspects?
- An accomplice, perhaps.
JAKOBSEN: Yeah. Hmm.
We thought he was working alone.
Maybe his buyers are covering
their tracks.
Well,
good luck sniffing them out.
Now that there's been a murder,
NCIS gets sole jurisdiction.
But if there's anything I can do,
let me know.
Hmm. Is something wrong?
No. Other than a dead petty officer.
He betrayed his country.
As far as I'm concerned,
he got what was coming to him.
Oh, come on already.
[KNOCKING ON DOOR]
FEMALE VOICE [ON PHONE]:
Your call will be answered
- in the order it was received.
- Hey.
Look, I got your message.
Why didn't you answer your phone?
I've been on hold
with the Department of Development.
What about your cell?
On hold with the Secretary
of the Commonwealth's office.
And they disconnected me again.
- Jeanne, what's going on?
- I'm being evicted.
My building is going condo.
- Con-- Heh. Condo?
- Is there something funny about that?
No, |just—- I got your message,
and so |--
Never mind. What can I do?
You're doing it.
Thank you for coming.
It's no problem, because I said
I had a dentist appointment again.
I've got 30 days to find a new place
but no time to go apartment hunting.
One of my colleagues offered me
their couch ifl can't find anything.
No, I've seen Grey's Anatomy.
That's out.
- My mother offered me a bed.
- Oh. Eergh.
So I either fight it or--
We get a place together.
FEMALE VOICE:
Please stay on the line.
Tony.
Wow.
Yeah, wow.
WOMAN [ON PHONE]: Department
of Housing and Development,
how may we direct your call?
JEANNE: Nowhere.
- What did you say, ma'am?
I'm moving in with my boyfriend.
Uh, fifth photo was a--
GIBBS:
Streetlight.
Oh, yeah, right. Halogen one.
[MAKES BUZZING SOUND]
SCOTT:
Let me see, uh...
Oh, yeah, yeah. There was
a, uh, couple having a fight nearby.
Hotdog vendor.
And something that smelled
like, uh, mothballs.
I didn't get too close.
ABBY: The next one is-- Hang on.
Ugh. I'm not into...
Bad news from the, urn, dentist?
Something like that.
ABBY:
I got it. I got it. Okay.
Um, this is number six.
That's where Mr. Scott
first picked up the fruit smell.
- You were with him?
- No.
- l was in the office when he left.
- | work alone.
And I like it that way.
Bryn writes our press releases.
So I had to go over all the photos
with her this morning.
Like I said, it was an unusual scent.
So I followed it.
Why aren't we using the plasma?
ZIVA: He said he didn't like looking
at his pictures on a computer.
TONY:
He's blind.
Hey.
Okay, um, this is seven.
Looks like it, uh,
could be a sewer.
[SCOTT SCOFFS]
And I'm the blind one.
You got the photos out of order, honey.
Number seven's the sky shot.
- Number 22 is a low angle.
- Good memory.
SCOTT: Yeah, well,
I don't have much choice.
Either that or I break my nose
walking into walls.
Number 22 is where Mr. Scott
lost the fruit smell.
I recognise that graffiti.
It's on the restaurant
where l tracked Petty Officer Lynn
to his last supper.
You found the restaurant?
Well, there's not too many places
that serve cheese blintzes.
- No one remembers seeing the officer.
- If he was the source of the smell,
he never came out of there.
And if he wasn't, then he was probably
with the guy who was.
They could've used the back exit.
Which would make sense
if they were having a meeting
and were worried
about being followed.
Hey, hey, check, uh,
number 18.
There was a car idling outside
the restaurant.
ABBY:
Oh.
- Sorry.
LANDERS: I'll get those.
ABBY:
Time to go digital.
How long was he there?
He was still there when I left.
Can you get the licence?
Accessing the Virginia DMV.
TONY:
We only have a partial plate,
but we can narrow it down
by make and model.
- Really?
- Sarcasm is not sexy, Ziva.
Narrowing the list down
to make and model.
Got it. Licence plate: TA5-4021.
Registered to a David Wong, 41.
Civilian.
Record?
TONY: Guy's squeaky clean.
No criminal record.
No outstanding parking tickets.
Works in Inventory Management
at the Defence Logistics Agency.
"Who else works there?"
he thought sexily.
I know a petty officer who used to,
and just as squeaky.
Call McGee and have him bring
David Wong in here.
[TONY DIALLING PHONE]
McGEE [ON PHONE]:
I was just about to call you, Tony.
I was gonna say great minds
think alike, but, well, you know.
- I've got a lead.
TONY: Yeah, we do too.
We found a car outside the restaurant
Petty Officer Lynn ate at.
- A Honda. Licence plate--
- TA5-4021?
- Good guess.
McGEE: Not a guess.
I'm standing right in front of it.
I spoke to Petty Officer Lynn's
superiors.
They had a lot of nice things
to say about him.
It's a guy in the office across
the hall they were worried about.
- David Wong.
McGEE: That's right.
Why were they worried?
He went to lunch four hours ago.
Never came back.
A blind photographer, huh?
That is a new one.
Is he a suspect?
Not yet.
Uh, gotta come straight in.
MANN:
So he takes a picture of a dead body
who just happens to be
under investigation
from the Inspector General's office.
I thought you didn't
like coincidences.
Well, that's why I said not yet.
You got any suspects?
Uh, co-worker of Petty Officer Lynn's
went MIA today.
- Left in a hurry.
-Hmm.
I'd offer to help you
with your manhunt,
but I filed for retirement today.
Plus I got my own manhunt
to worry about.
This is the part
where you say something.
I'm not sure which part to start with.
You could start with,
"How do you feel?"
- How do you feel?
- Good.
I'm ready for something permanent.
And the Army's not gonna,
you know, give that to me.
[LAUGHS]
That's a nice try, but this is the part
where you say something, remember?
I guess I'm wondering
what you mean by permanent.
I mean
that I like you.
And I think you like me too.
You're gonna have to confirm
or deny that.
I like you.
Good.
Well, as you know,
when two people like each other,
they usually like to spend time
with each other.
And I consider my time valuable,
thus I consider time
spent with you an investment.
That makes me like, what?
A CD?
[BOTH CHUCKLE]
MANN:
At our age, more like an IRA.
And I've already, uh,
invested a lot in it.
You never know how things
will turn out,
and I'm not asking for promises.
ljust need to know if you're in this
for the long haul.
I wanna start building something
and I wanna build it with you.
[EXHALES SHARPLY]
Holly, I do like you.
I'm just...
What? Wounded?
Afraid to love?
I'm in the middle of a case,
and I'm not real focused right now.
Okay, well, I didn't expect
to get an answer tonight,
but I did have to ask the question.
I'm leaving for Fort Bragg.
I'm helping choose
my replacement tomorrow.
You know, and hopefully
when I get back,
you may have an answer for me.
You know, I'd hate to have to find
a new plumber.
TONY:
No hits on the BOLO yet.
Co-workers said he'd been acting
strange all week.
If he planned his run,
it'll make him that much harder to find.
Did you track his cell calls yet?
Agent Lee's getting the warrant
at the US. Attorney's office.
And Abby's processing evidence
from his office.
She nearly bit my head off when
I poked it into her lab to check on her.
Quit drinking caffeine.
Abby?
Abby Sciuto?
- Yes, boss?
- Wong. David Wong.
We have two competing theories
on Mr. Wong.
- Theory one:
- It is possible that David Wong
and Petty Officer Lynn
were working together.
And then they had a fall out
and Wong ended their relationship.
Theory two:
The commander from the IG
had it wrong about Petty Officer Lynn.
Wong was selling the info.
Lynn found out. Wong killed him for it.
We figure out a motive,
we figure out where he's going.
First, we need that warrant.
I've got it right here.
Uh, Agent Lee faxed this over.
I thought I'd run it up to you.
- McGee.
McGEE: Yeah, on it, boss.
All right, pulling up his records.
GIBBS:
Hey.
Do you need something else?
Uh, no.
I bet it's in the lab.
[CHUCKLES]
McGEE: Palmer's been acting
like that all morning.
Earlier, I caught him at the gym
hiding in the towel bins.
Bank records coming up.
No unusual activity.
You know what?
I gotta make a pit stop.
I can't think of anything charming
or pithy to say.
JEANNE:
Well, I have fantastic news.
I think I found us a place.
Wow, that's great.
It's a three-bedroom apartment, not far
from the university or the hospital,
- and has really cute floral wallpaper.
- Ah, ha, ha.
Wow.
That-- That-- That's great.
Great as in great, or great
as in you're having second thoughts?
I'm not having second thoughts.
Is there a third option?
Don't do this to me, Tony.
Jeanne.
You didn't have to say anything
yesterday.
You could havejust given me a hug
and told me everything would be okay.
That would have been
more than enough.
But don't tell me you wanna live
with me, then take it back.
I am not taking it back.
When I suggested
that we live together,
I was speaking from, you know,
what's the thing in your rib cage?
Heart?
Heart. Yeah.
I was.
And I am.
And I meant it, and I'm just--
A commitment phobe?
Afraid to love?
Right in the middle there.
And I'm, ahem, just not
very focused right now.
And I'm not a big fan of floral,
I'll be honest with you.
Okay, then.
I'll keep looking if you're sure
that's all that it is.
Yeah, I'm sure.
Then what are you doing
on the phone? Get back to work.
Yes, ma ’am.
- Hi.
McGEE: Hey.
Abby called. She found something.
Wanted us to come down.
GIBBS:
If you're done, that is.
TONY:
I'm sorry, boss, I'm--
GIBBS:
I know.
DiNozzo, trust me.
I know.
How long were you guys there?
Long enough.
So you are getting a new roommate.
TONY: We're discussing it.
- What is there to discuss?
- It's complicated.
- Complicated.
Complicated. Complicated.
You know, in America, I have noticed
they use that word as a code for:
"Ifl explain it, uh,
you would not agree.
Therefore, I'll use
the word 'complicated,‘
and hopefully, you will stop asking."
That's pretty much it in a nutshell.
I'll see what Abby wants.
- Tony.
- Ziva.
If you're gonna give me advice
on dating,
I'm gonna need to get something
out of my system first, okay?
[LAUGHING]
Stop laughing or I will hurt you.
I know what you're doing.
You're hiding behind all these jokes.
And I know what you're hiding from.
Really? What's that?
What everyone who is afraid to love
hides from.
Getting hurt.
It's not just me that I'm worrying
about hurting, Ziva.
That's because
you're a good person.
It's a low-frequency acoustic
RF-buffered transmitter.
GIBBS: English, Abs.
- It's a bug.
I found it embedded
underneath the Caps Lock key
of David Wong's keyboard.
I thought the DLA
ran routine security sweeps.
How did they miss it?
The same way I almost did.
Okay.
To avoid detection
from internal sensors,
the bug records for five hours...
[ABBY INHALES DEEPLY]
...and then blast sends the data
in under five seconds.
- That little bug can do all that?
ABBY: Yeah.
It can if it only records
a few tiny subaudible frequencies.
- Subaudible meaning?
- Humans can't hear it.
So, what,
Lassie's bugging this guy?
I think he bugged himself.
Don't you like the way I do that?
Like, right when you think you know
where I'm going, it's like, shazam,
- a hard turn.
GIBBS: He bugged himself?
Abs.
Sorry, Gibbs.
I'm just a little bit distracted.
Better. Subaudible bug.
Whoever planted it wasn't
eavesdropping on conversations.
They were listening
for keyboard taps.
Every key makes a similar
but unique sound.
With the right software,
you can record the keystrokes.
Using algorithm,
you can figure out what was typed.
The virtual Rosetta stone.
ABBY: A bug like this
would bypass all security protocols.
No password would be safe.
David Wong had access
to some pretty sensitive info.
Why would he need to bug himself?
He already knew his passwords.
No, he didn't.
The DLA uses RSA secure ID.
It's a hardware token
that regenerates authentication
every minute.
ABBY: If Wong had a partner, the best
way to give him access would be to--
GIBBS:
Bug himself.
Does this record
more than passwords?
- It records everything that's typed.
GIBBS: Okay, let's see it.
Well, we can't, because it broadcasts
and then it dumps.
You could try the buffer.
Sorry. You guys say that every
once in a while, so I thought--
- He's right.
- He is?
- I am?
- If we treat the buffer
like a normal hard drive,
even if it erased itself,
we should be able to get something
off of it.
Accessing the RAM buffer.
ABBY:
We've got something.
Wong was looking for directions
to an abandoned DLA warehouse.
Perhaps a rendezvous
with his buyers?
Or he's worried we traced the murder
of Petty Officer Lynn to him
and he decided to run.
- Address?
McGEE: Got it.
GIBBS:
That's good work, Abs.
TONY:
Nice place.
I don't think Wong
chose this location for scenery.
GIBBS:
McGee, DiNozzo.
If Wong was running,
he didn't get very far.
GIBBS:
Federal agents!
TONY: Wrong.
He got about as far as he can get.
DUCKY:
The telltale inverted V,
combined with the haemorrhaging
of the lips and eyelids,
fractured cervical vertebrae,
no evidence of any drugs
in his system,
and only his DNA on the rope.
- Let me guess. He hung himself.
- It certainly would appear that way.
GIBBS: He have any help?
DUCKY: Well, he may have.
A murderer could easily cover up
a ligature strangulation
with a post-mortem hanging.
I understand there was some kind
of note from Mr. Wong?
GIBBS: Took the credit
for killing Petty Officer Lynn.
TONY:
Wong said he and Lynn
were partners on a con
embezzling from the DLA
until Lynn tried to blackmail Wong
out of his share.
- So Wong killed him.
- Tried to make it look like a mugging.
TONY: And then he panicked when
he learned NCIS figured out it wasn't.
Quote, "I'm sorry. I never meant
for any of this to happen.
May God have mercy,
David B. Wong."
Abby verified the handwriting.
You know, the vomit near the body
contained copious amounts
of cheese blintz.
David Wong was lactose intolerant.
If he had consumed
that much cheese,
that would explain his throwing up.
- It puts Wong at the underpass.
- Which corroborates the letter.
- Yet you doubt it?
- The mugging wasn't a mugging.
DUCKY: Yeah, so the suicide
may not be a suicide.
In the mugging, certain key facts
did not add up.
But here, I'm afraid,
there are no such discrepancies.
GIBBS:
Well, I've got a discrepancy.
Evidence bag says David G. Wong.
Yes, his middle name was George.
Then why did he sign his name
with a B?
ZIVA: Perhaps
he was sending us a message.
Letter B is not much of a message.
I find it very doubtful
that he would make a mistake.
Besides, if he wrote a note
under duress,
the message would have to be
something the killer would not notice.
Could be part of the killer's initials.
- Is that what you'd write?
TONY: No.
Two letters would be circumstantial.
One letter's just useless.
Perhaps there is another place where
David Wong used the false initial.
McGEE:
I already checked. DMV, bank records,
the only place that Wong used
the letter B is on the suicide note.
Maybe it wasn't one letter, then.
McGee, run it.
Whoa, stop it right there. There.
McGEE: What?
TONY: The B's are different.
Thirteen.
It's not a letter, it's a number.
McGEE:
Actually, I think it's both.
Boss, I think this is an I
and a three together.
After Wong's suicide note,
I checked his office's records.
They code their invoices with an I
followed by a number
corresponding to a department.
I'd gotten as far as l-5,
but I didn't find anything to corroborate
the claim of embezzlement.
Look again.
That's good advice, Gibbs.
That's exactly what I did.
You're gonna love what I found.
The first thing I did
when I got the photos--
Was run facial-recognition software
on every face you could find.
- Which led nowhere.
- Thank you both
for that reminder of my failure.
You haven't failed me yet, Abs.
I thought I had squeezed all the data
I could out of the photos
until Jackson Scott walked in
and humbled me.
The man uses echolocation
to find obstacles in his way.
No Shamu jokes.
Echolocation is reflected sound,
which made me think
of reflected images,
which made me find this.
I know it's a blur.
But that's because of the photons
of light in the image,
- they're spread out in time.
- But you can de-spread them.
Well, the technical term
is deconvolution, but, yeah.
I calculated the shutter speed,
merging the photons
into a coherent image.
The final results are still processing,
but this is good enough for an ID.
Look familiar?
Relax.
There's nothing to be nervous about.
Then why am |
in an interrogation room?
That's a good point.
Maybe you should be nervous.
I haven't done anything wrong.
Actually, you did.
But, uh, we're going to give you
another chance to correct it.
So tell us again where were you
the night your boss took this picture?
I told you already.
I was in Mr. Scott's office until 6,
and then I went straight home.
TONY:
She was at your loft when you left?
I told you that already too.
I'm blind,
but you guys are deaf.
GIBBS:
Do you believe her?
Well, why would I think she's lying?
Because she is.
ZIVA:
So if you went straight home,
then what are you doing in this photo
your boss took that night?
It's interesting you didn't notice
she was there.
Yet you noticed everything else.
| see.
She's not the only one
being interrogated.
Care to change your testimony?
I took the long way home.
I must have walked by
where Mr. Scott was shooting.
If I did,
I didn't realise he was there.
TONY: So you two
were within 20 feet of each other...
And neither of you knew
the other was there.
SCOTT:
Bryn wouldn't have noticed me.
I work hard to keep myself
below people's radar.
But I would have certainly
noticed her.
Why didn't you?
ZIVA:
Interesting story.
- I don't know.
ZIVA: Here's the problem.
We showed your photo to the staff
at the restaurant
where Petty Officer Lynn
was having his last supper,
and one of the waiters identified you
at the lobby.
You being at the same restaurant as
Petty Officer Lynn a coincidence too?
Because I don't think the jury
will see it that way.
What they will see
is the person he had dinner with,
and lured him to the underpass,
and stabbed him to death.
No. Okay, that's not what happened.
Then tell me what did.
I was following Mr. Scott.
But I lost him for a few minutes.
| just ducked into the restaurant
for a second
when he came around the corner
and surprised me.
Jackson's harder to follow
than you'd think.
I have to wear special shoes
and perfume when I follow him.
ZIVA: Fruity perfume, by any chance?
LANDERS: Lavender.
ZIVA: Why were you following him?
- I don't understand this.
- Why were you following him?
LANDERS: I called NCIS.
Why were you following him?
You're in love with him.
If you think his photos are brilliant,
you should see him work.
He can't see, but he still sees
more than most people.
I lied to you because if Jackson knew
I was following him, he'd--
I didn't see your petty officer.
And if he was there when I was,
I wouldn't have noticed.
SCOTT:
Heh.
For a man who can see
more than most people,
I managed to miss the thing
that counts the most.
Better late than never, I suppose.
- Are you going to let her go now?
- Now, no.
After we corroborate, yeah.
Maybe Wong's suicide note
was legit after all.
Oh, I'm sorry.
I was just looking for some, uh,
pipettes which are clearly not here.
- Bye.
GIBBS: Hey.
What?
The fruit smell from that night.
Oh. Oh, my gosh.
I forgot to take my insulin.
I was so busy
looking for the pipettes, I forgot.
Insan?
PALMER:
Yeah, I have mild diabetes.
When my blood sugar spikes,
my breath gets a mild fruity smell.
Is it really that bad?
Why is everyone looking at me
like I'm in some kind of trouble?
JAKOBSEN:
Well, I got your message.
What's this about a breach
of our security?
We believe someone's been running
a bogus investigation
out of your office.
The Lynn case?
Our suspect told
Petty Officer Lynn a co-worker
was under investigation
for embezzling.
GIBBS: A lie.
McGEE: And asked Lynn to plant a bug
in the co-worker's office.
That co-worker was David Wong.
The lie was to get Wong's password
to the DLA accounting database.
The suspect was the one
who was embezzling.
You can check DLA ledger I-3.
It's all there.
The funny part is, Wong grew
suspicious and contacted you,
which is ironic,
since you were the one running the
bogus investigation out of this office.
We traced the logons to DLA servers
back to your computer.
Also, a waiter places you
at the restaurant with Lynn.
TONY:
And we have come to believe
that it was Colonel Mustard
in the conservatory with a wrench.
How?
Jackson Scott decided
to follow the fruit.
As a diabetic, you should have skipped
the cheese blintz.
[SNEEZES]
Wow.
You're done already.
I thought you said it was gonna take
a while.
Nope. I worked all night.
And what's the rush?
[CHUCKLES]
Oh, I see.
So that's how it's gonna be, huh?
- Hol, I wanted--
- No, uh, don't.
Don't say it.
No, don't say anything.
Not that you ever do anyway.
But you know what?
I'm gonna say something.
You're making a mistake.
You're gonna wake up
in a week or a month
and you're gonna realise
that you threw away something good.
And it's gonna be too late.
You know, I realise that there are
three billion men in the world,
The fact that you don't,
it just makes me wonder why
I ever wanted you in the first place.
Are you gonna say something?
You told me not to.
Well, I changed my mind.
I worked through the night
because I found another small leak
in your bathroom,
and I wanted to surprise you.
Biggerjob than I thought.
And how long is this gonna take?
Oh.
It could take a while.
- I feel like an idiot.
- You sounded like one.
How do I make it up to you?
[LAUGHS]