NCIS (2003–…): Season 5, Episode 13 - Dog Tags - full transcript

GIBBS:
Take the back, McGee.

[MUSIC PLAYS OVER SPEAKERS]

McGee?

In position, boss. Back door's open.

Federal agents. We have a warrant.

[GLASS SHATTERS]

[BARKING]

[MCGEE GRUNTING]

GIBBS: Clear.
- Clear.

We gotta stop serving warrants
after lunch.

Ten bucks says
McGee spills it on this one.

Where is McGee?

[GUNSHOT]

McGee?

[WHIMPERS]

MAN:
Looks like a flesh wound.

It's a good thing
McGee's not a better shot.

When did you last have
a tetanus shot?

Probably after that time
Dicky Newsome and I

were fighting over the Galactic Hunt
Obi-Wan Kenobi.

So last year sometime?

It was a while ago, Ducky.

Yeah, well,
a trip to the infirmary is in order.

Should we take him to the vet?

GlBBS: The dog is going nowhere
but back to the lab.

- lt's covered with evidence.
TONY: Great.

Abby will have a field day
combing that for evidence.

It is not an "it" or a "that," it is a "he."
And he is in pain.

Yes, well, this should alleviate that.

Actually, Dr. Mallard, it would be
more effective in the back of the neck.

Really?

Actually,
you should pinch the skin up

so the needle doesn't hit
the muscle mass.

Where did you learn that,
Mr. Palmer?

I spent two summers
as a veterinary assistant

during college.

DUCKY:
Wonderful.

Well, I should have no problem
patching him up.

- Unless you would rather--
- No, no. Carry on.

I have a body
with which to acquaint myself.

GIBBS:
Not the only one.

DiNozzo, Ziva, come on.

Boss. What about me?

Take the evidence back to Abby.

Petty Officer Kyle Hanson,
military working-dog handler

with the Pax River
Master-at-Arms Force.

- Drug Enforcement Unit.
- Enforcing everyone but himself.

Well, given the prevalence
of bite marks,

torn flesh, puncture wounds,

l'd postulate that Petty Officer Hanson
was the victim of a dog attack.

Really going out on a limb
there, Duck.

That assumption
is further substantiated

by the presence of a dog
at the scene of the crime.

[IN ENGLISH ACCENT]
By cracky, Dr. Mallard,

I believe you've solved the case.

Did you wake up
in the wrong bed this morning?

[IN NORMAL VOICE]
If your question is,

did I wake up
on the wrong side of the bed,

the answer is no.
But my mood did sour somewhat

when I walked in and found
that our chief suspect was dead.

And it appears he's been dead
for at least 36 hours.

That explains his disappearance

and why he did not show up
for his dog-handling duties.

Doesn't explain
why his dog turned on him.

It's just too bad, you know?

If we had more time,
we would've been able to bust this guy

and find out who was shipping drugs
through this base.

Unfortunately,
thanks to Semper Fido,

he's never gonna roll over.

Sorry, boss.

Play dead.

ZIVA:
Gibbs?

I can help. Sorry. Sorry, boss.

- Room with a view.
- Hey.

Cocaine?

GIBBS:
Well, you tell me.

TONY: Looks like someone
was in a hurry to rip into it.

GIBBS:
Or bite into it.

That would explain
why the dog went all Hannibal Lecter.

Sorry. I know. Movie reference.

Cocaine.

TONY:
Aha! And a generous allowance.

lf Hanson wasn't dead,
we'd have enough to arrest him.

Hey, McGee.

Oh, my God.
What happened to you?

- I was attacked by a vicious dog.
- Are you okay?

- Yeah. Careful, careful.
- Sorry. Did you provoke it?

Well, if you consider
serving a warrant provoking.

- What happened to the dog?
- He was shot.

What?

McGee? Poor thing.

Abby, Abby, careful.
That is one vicious dog.

ABBY:
Hi.

Yeah, McGee. He's really vicious.

Well, Ducky and Jimmy
sedated him.

I'm hoping you can get
some evidence off of him.

ABBY: There, that's better.
Who would shoot this cute little dog?

Look at you. You're--

It was self-defence.
It was self-defence.

- You shot that cute little dog?
- He's not cute and little.

He's vicious and large.

How could you shoot
an innocent animal, McGee?

Abby, that dog is not innocent.
He killed someone.

Dogs don't kill people.
People kill people.

People with dogs that kill people
kill people.

You didn't kill anybody, did you?

No.

McGEE:
That's my Hugo Boss.

Hey, don't you think that
you're compromising the evidence

with my $500 jacket?

If you think that I can't distinguish
the fibres on your stupid jacket

from the evidence on the dog,
you don't know me, McGee.

And right now,
I don't wanna know you.

Good dog.

Bad McGee.

Jethro. Ijust got a call
from Pax River.

The base commander's talking
like the case is closed.

GIBBS:
No, that's a dead end. It's still open.

He claims we got our man.

Got one link in a bigger chain.
Still got five suspects.

From his point of view,
both the cocaine and the trafficker

were found. Problem solved.

Is that your point of view?

I can sympathise
with the commander's impatience.

Well, you sympathise.
I'll keep investigating.

The suspect's dead.
You played your hand.

The rest of the team closed up shop.

I can't afford to waste resources
if the trail's gone cold.

Director, the only thing that's cold
is that body in autopsy.

Clock's ticking.

I will inform the base commander

that you will be prudent
in your disruption of his operations.

Something else?

- Hey, they check you for rabies?
- No.

- What?
- Cujo.

You know, the movie,
based on the novel by Stephen King?

A perfectly friendly Saint Bernard
contracts rabies,

bites up everyone in this town.

I mean,
people's brains start swelling up,

leaking out of their ears.
People are foaming at the mouth.

- Define "foaming."
ZIVA: You do not have rabies.

You're getting him all worried
for no good reason.

She's right, McGruff.

What you should worry about
is whether our dead petty officer,

whose blood was all over the dog,
might have had some disease

like herpes or hepatitis or malaria.

I hadn't thought about that.

Have any of you thought about
how to pick up the pieces to this case?

Well, the one piece that we did have,
Petty Officer Hanson,

is now lying in pieces,
thanks to a possibly rabid dog.

- Bad timing for us and for him.
- What do we know, McGee?

We know that Hanson recently called
a known cocaine trafficker,

Diego Gallante in Panama,

and that Gallante
has recently disappeared.

- Hiding.
- Or dead.

We also know Gallante claimed
he had bribed a flight crew,

and that he had access to Coco Solo
Naval Air Station in Panama,

where C-130s make
regular supply flights from Pax River

every week.

When we crosscheck which flights
match that pattern, we come up with--

Suspects. One or more.

- Any of them call Gallante?
- No, just Hanson.

Gallante would've ditched his cell
by now.

I think it's time we go in
and lean on those guys.

GIBBS:
Not yet.

- McGee--
- I know, boss.

Oh, boss, we already been through
all this. I mean, I got no leads.

Ziva's flirted with every seaman
on the base.

And McGee's watched a hundred
hours of Petty Officer Junction.

Hundred and fifty, actually.

Go back to Pax River
and talk to the other dog handlers.

TONY:
See if one of them barks. I know.

Hey, McGee.

You okay?

Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine, boss.

ABBY:
You're a clean boy. Okay.

Be a good boy while Abby swabs
the inside of your mouth for DNA.

Who's a good Jethro?

GIBBS:
I'm a good Jethro.

Don't be mad. Be flattered.

He's just so strong
and handsome and quiet,

so I named him Jethro.

Abby.

Well, "Butch" was just too,
you know, butch.

And don't worry,
because I got enough blood

and hair and fibre samples
before I cleaned him.

I don't have results for you yet,
but I know how much you love results.

- Abs?
- That's not what you're here to tell me.

You're here to tell me,

"Abby, don't get too attached
to the dog,

because he doesn't belong to us,

and we don't know
where the evidence is gonna lead us."

- Okay, good. I won't have to tell you.
- No, you don't.

- Abs, the dog belongs in a kennel.
- No, he doesn't, Gibbs.

He shouldn't be behind bars.
He's innocent.

Okay, come on.

Get inside.

I'm gonna prove it to you.
I took a swab from Jethro,

and I took a swab
from the victim's neck.

When I get the results back,

I'm gonna show you
that they don't match.

We'll see.

GIBBS:
The dog stays in the kennel, Abs.

ZIVA: Do you know him?
- Lieutenant commander, flight crew.

- Don't know them all. Don't know him.
- His name is Warfield.

- Do you know Lieutenant Bowen?
- No, ma'am.

Can you tell me what kind of people
Hanson was associating with?

Did he say anything to you
before he went UA?

Your shoulders work much better
than your mouth.

- I work with dogs, ma'am. Not people.
- You worked with Hanson.

Did anything about his behaviour
or activities seem suspicious to you?

You don't like us being here, do you?

Or is it because
you guys could not sniff out

who was smuggling drugs,
and we have to do yourjob for you?

Sorry, ma'am. Ijust didn't get to know
Petty Officer Hanson all that well.

Ha-ha. Obviously, you did not
converse with him on a regular basis,

but surely you must have noticed
something about the man.

Hanson was a showboat.
He liked to flaunt the cash.

TONY:
How long you been a dog handler?

MAN:
Draw your own conclusions.

TONY: Dogs you work with ever bite?
- Not mine.

What about Hanson's?

Kyle was a friend.
I don't like to speak ill of anybody,

especially not somebody
who died a horrible death like that.

So you're covering
because you know he's guilty?

No, sir.

Just couldn't keep complete control
of his dog, is all.

Got aggressive on me
and others on occasion.

What would happen
if a dog got a taste of some cocaine?

Is that what happened?
It would be bad, sir.

Dog handling
must be a pretty rough job.

I don't wanna dog you
with a lot more questions,

but if I need to sniff around
some more,

is there a number I can call, or...?

The folks inside
keep track of me pretty good.

You can call them.

What about this one, Dr. Mallard?

Those wounds are glancing.

Too much tearing, I'm afraid.

No, what we're looking for
is a representational bite-hold. Ah!

Oh, this one will do.

You know, Mr. Palmer,

a number of these puncture wounds
are exceedingly sharp.

Certain breeds, especially shepherds,
can have needle-sharp teeth,

capable of inflicting
severe puncture wounds.

As on the clavicle here.

Did you get your shots, Timothy?

I feel like a dartboard.

Guess that's better
than being a chew toy.

If you're looking for my findings,
I'll be done momentarily.

Actually, Ducky,

I was wondering if you could tell me
what the symptoms of rabies are.

Yes, well, I will yield the floor
to young Palmer here

and allow our resident dog expert
to explain to you

why you do not have rabies.

PALMER: You ever heard of Cujo?
There's something...

- You got it?
- Well, I've got enough.

Oh, no, no.
We need to do this one together.

Ducky.

[NELLIE MCKAY'S "THE DOG SONG"
PLAYS ON COMPUTER]

ABBY:
Hey, Gibbs. Hey, Ducky.

- Did you meet Jethro?
- Quite a number of years ago.

ABBY:
No, not Gibbs. Jethro.

- Say hi to him.
- Hello, Jethro.

Say hi to Ducky.

[BARKING]

GIBBS: Abs.
- Good boy.

Ducky has his initial findings.

Yes, well,
Petty Officer Hanson was mauled.

He had a neck wound
that severed his carotid artery

and that made him bleed to death.

You understand
what he's saying to you, Abs?

Well, yeah.
Hanson was killed by a dog.

- It doesn't say this dog.
- Abby, come on.

Jethro is innocent.

I found pieces of Hanson's flesh
in Jethro's teeth.

Well, that sounds innocent.

Flesh that had hair follicles on it
from Hanson's arm, not his neck.

Well, that's hardly surprising.

We found multiple perforating injuries
on most of Hanson's extremities.

Well, that hardly suggests
the dog was innocent.

It shows that Jethro
was trying to drag his owner.

He was trying to save Hanson.

Or Hanson was putting up his arms

to protect himself
from a dog that was killing him.

We don't know that. There's still a lot
of evidence that has to be processed.

There's the castings.

I haven't gotten the DNA match yet
on the dog's saliva.

Butch?

Butch.

TONY:
Wait. Go back.

Tolliverjust handed something
to Sanchez.

ZIVA:
Small package.

Could be drugs.

What's he doing?

ZIVA:
He's opening it.

He's examining it.

- He's eating it.
- Looks like Funyuns.

What do we got?

A sudden urge
to hit the vending machines.

- McGee?
- Besides eye strain, not much, boss.

No pressure, but I just got word

the Pax River five are shipping out
to Panama in 36 hours.

We'll lose access to them
for at least a week, maybe two.

- Bring them in?
- No.

We go to them.
Catch them off guard.

- Shake the tree, see what falls.
- Ziva, DiNozzo, let's go.

[PHONE RINGS]

Boss?

- Yeah, Gibbs.
ABBY: Gibbs, I've got something.

I'll meet you in the car.

Gibbs, look in the microscope.

Found cocaine in the dog.

Just look in the microscope, Gibbs.
Do it.

GlBBS: It looks like a bug.
- lt's notjust a bug, Gibbs.

It's a flea.

GIBBS:
Okay.

Look.

Ducky found that flea
on the deceased.

Mm-hm.

I went over every inch of Jethro.
Not one flea.

Which means he is totally clean.
Which means he's totally innocent.

Flea could've jumped off the dog,
landed on the dead guy, Abby.

That kind of wild conjecture
would never stand up in court.

Did you read
the rest of Ducky's report?

Well, sometimes Ducky's wrong.

I mean, not often.

Maybe one time.

Abs.

We have to give the dog back.

Gibbs, you know what that means.

You can't keep the dog, Abs.

But--

Okay.

Okay.

I'll give him back after I finish
getting all the evidence off of him.

How much more do you need, Abby?
You found cocaine in the dog.

You got the victim's flesh
on the dog's teeth.

Dog's saliva on the victim.
He attacked McGee.

Gibbs.

Look at his eyes.

Does he look like a killer?

You are just making this rougher
on yourself, Abs.

DUCKY:
If you have a moment...

- Can I help you?
- Petty Officer Erica Perelli.

Dog handler, Pax River.

You the one
that shot Hanson's dog?

Uh...

- Looks like he bit you pretty bad.
- I've been bitten harder.

By dogs. I love dogs.
I'm a dog person, really.

What kind of dog do you have?

I don't.

Yet. But I might.

Will. Soon. Very soon.
Ijust need to find the right girl.

Dog. Girl dog. Iwant a girl dog.

- I do like boys, though.
- Don't ask, don't tell, McGee.

Hey, boss. This is Petty Officer Perelli.
She is here to...

To collect the dog, sir.
I'm sorry to say he has to be put down.

I wish there could be another way,

but it's Navy policy
in fatal dog-mauling cases.

Boss, I can take
Petty Officer Perelli down if you like.

You can call me Erica.

Timothy.

There have been a lot
of tough assignments over the years,

but this is one of the toughest.

It's probably not
gonna get any easier.

Abby, our forensic scientist,
has become a bit attached to the dog.

How attached?

Abby?

Abby.

GIBBS:
NCIS.

Gather around, kids.
We're gonna have a little chat.

We have a training mission.

Not anymore.

ZIVA: We know without a doubt that
a major cocaine-smuggling operation

was run out of this aircraft.

Name Diego Gallante ring any bells?

Major drug trafficker in Panama.

He was supplying to someone
on this aircraft.

MAN: This is bull crap.
- Sir.

If by "bull crap," you mean
your worst freaking nightmare,

then, yeah, this is bull crap.

WARFIELD: Those contrabandistas
down there will say anything.

Doesn't make it true.

Well, doesn't make it false.

SANCHEZ:
So I heard some rumours.

Some local guy bragging
he bribed a flight crew.

You didn't believe him?

Nobody could bribe
a whole flight crew.

He only had to bribe one.

TONY:
As Ioadmaster,

you're in charge of everything
brought aboard the aircraft?

Yes, sir.

So you could sneak aboard
whatever you wanted?

ZIVA: You seem nervous.
- Don't like being questioned by cops.

Because you did something?

Because they can cause me trouble,
even when I didn't do something.

As flight engineer, I'm in charge
of every moving part of this aircraft, sir.

Gives you access
to every nook and cranny.

A lot of hiding spaces
on a C-130, huh?

If I was smuggling drugs,
I'd be living it up in Georgetown,

not slumming it in the barracks, sir.

I don't believe any of my men
are involved in this.

But even the best aircraft commanders
have a limited field of vision.

It's your crew, your responsibility.

Do you know how long
a prison sentence you'd be facing?

- Life.
- Life.

TONY:
If you're not involved,

you don't wanna go down
with the person who is.

If you are involved, and you talk,
you will get a reduced sentence.

A limited-time offer. OthenNise...

We're like a locked-on missile.

The only question is
who we take down.

TONY: Think they're all involved?
GIBBS: No.

- Think we rattled them?
- We'll see.

[ROCK MUSIC PLAYS
ON CAR STEREO]

- Can I help you, ma'am?
- I'm looking for fleas.

Fleas?

Yeah.

Yes, ma'am.

[MUSIC STOPS]

ABBY: All right, Jethro.
We're just gathering evidence.

It's for your own defence.

Jethro.

Jethro. Jethro!

l'm Jethro.

ABBY:
Jethro!

Jethro, come here.

Jeth--

Jethro.

Never do that again.

[JETHRO GROWLING]

[PHONE RINGS]

- Hey, McGee.
McGEE: Where'd you take the dog?

- Abby?
- I'm at the Naval base, McGee.

You better get down here.
I think we have another body.

DUCKY:
Careful, Mr. Palmer.

We're trying to take bones
out of the ground, not put mine in.

PALMER:
Of course.

That dog should have
a muzzle on it, Abby.

Put a muzzle on yourself, McGee.
It's not like he shot you.

All right, I know I shouldn't have
taken him out without authorisation,

but time was of the essence.

And besides, Jethro might have
uncovered an important clue.

Or maybe it's another one
of his victims, and he's confessing.

- Or maybe it's his lunch.
- Only if he was a cannibal, Jethro.

I wasn't talking to you.

And you may wanna
cover your eyes.

What's here is not human.

lt's canine.

Criminal investigation is really an art.

It involves creativity and inspiration.
Don't you think?

You found a clue, Tony.
That does not make you Picasso.

[TONY CHUCKLES]

l'm sensing a little frustration here.

Envy. Let it go.
It's counterproductive.

Boss, I got something.

The pilot we talked to,
Lieutenant Commander Warfield,

has a cousin stationed at Pax River.

Petty Officer Phillip Granger.

Warfield listed him
as his emergency contact.

Granger was busted for
cocaine possession two months ago.

Failed to appear to face charges.
He has fled.

Family business.
Warfield supplies to his cousin.

Maybe.

- Worth another chat with him.
GlBBS: Keep digging.

I have more
on Lieutenant Commander Warfield.

You do?

Fetch.

TONY: What'd you find?
ZIVA: A little inspiration.

TONY: Hey.
- Hey, Timothy.

McGEE: Hey, Erica.
- Timothy?

I guess she prefers McGee's scent.

Ha! She'll eat him alive.

[ZIVA LAUGHS]

Let it go, Tony.

Sorry you had to make
two trips out here.

I don't mind.

Besides, the last thing
I wanna do is put down a dog.

[THE CURE'S "THE LOVECATS"
PLAYS OVER SPEAKERS]

[GROWLS]

[KNOCKING]

Pay no attention to him, Jethro.

Abby, open the door.

Jethro has to go now.

- Abby.
- I can't hear you, McGee.

If you can't hear me,
why did you answer?

[MUSIC PLAYS MORE LOUDLY]

I am not opening the door
until Jethro is proven innocent.

Abby, do not make a scene.

Too late, McGee.
I am in full scene mode.

You can't stay in there forever.

l'm fully stocked
on both Caf-Pow! and kibble.

I'm good for at least a few days.

So now you're trying to pick us off
one at a time, huh?

Right now, it is not about us,
it is about you.

You are the one
with a cousin busted with cocaine.

That what this is all about?
My loser cousin?

We're not even close.

Close enough to give him
some of the blow you smuggled in.

I didn't smuggle anything.

We know that your plane
brought it in every three weeks

for the past three months
like clockwork.

Two months ago,
I was in a sickbay in Panama.

And I didn't fly the aircraft back.
I hopped on a transport a week later.

If you'd checked properly,

your own records
would prove me innocent.

[CHUCKLES]

Records can prove one's guilt
or one's innocence.

Damn straight.

ZIVA: Like this record
from that sickbay in Panama.

Three consecutive days,

you signed out from 2
to 5:00 in the afternoon.

Guess you were not too sick
to meet with your supplier.

- You got it all wrong.
- Hm.

One phone call, and I can get
every record out of Panama,

every single person
on that base interviewed,

every single step you took retraced.

You don't want me
making that phone call, do you?

Where were you?

I will make that call.

I was seeing a woman.

Rosa, a translator.

- I was helping her out.
- By sleeping with her?

I care about her.

She's a single mom
with a 6-year-old.

Her boy had a respiratory infection
real bad. Drowning in his own lungs.

That's sad.

No, that's leverage.

ZIVA: So you went to sickbay,
complaining of a respiratory infection.

- You did it to get drugs for the boy.
- He could've died.

lllegal transfer
of prescription medication.

Dereliction of duty.
Conduct unbecoming.

[ZIVA WHISTLES]

I smell a dishonourable discharge
in your future.

Question:

Do you like being a pilot?

I will forget everything
you just told me

if you remember who in your crew
has been acting suspiciously.

You are willing to give up
your entire career

for somebody else's crime?

- No.
- Then give me a name.

I don't have a name.

- You are lying.
- I'm not. I don't know.

He's telling the truth.

Mm-hm. Any way you translate it.

Your investigation?

Moving along.

You've been looking at me all week
like you wanna ask me something.

Any health issues?

I'm fine.

Are you sick?

My health is fine.

Yours, however,
could take a turn for the worse

if you don't wrap up
this investigation.

[MUSIC PLAYING
OVER SPEAKERS]

[KNOCKING]

Go away, McGee.

Abby.

Director.

[MUSIC STOPS]

- Do we have a problem?
- Nope.

- No problem.
- Good.

Then could you open the door?

Thank you.

He doesn't look very good, does he?

ABBY: I think it's because
he knows he's on death row.

That would put a damper
on anybody's spirits.

I suppose you're gonna order me
to give him up, huh?

Is that what it's going to take?

If I had more time,
I could prove that he didn't do it.

You seem to be the only one
around here who thinks so.

So what? So what if I am?

You have to stand up
for what you believe in.

You have to stick to your guns
until you can make a wrong right.

Sometimes things
aren't so simple, Abby.

Sometimes
you can't control the outcome.

Sometimes you have to look
at the reality in front of you

and accept it.

I can't.

I won't.

He really doesn't look good,
does he?

[DOGS BARKING ON VIDEO]

- Finding inspiration?
- Whenever I can.

He's my personal McMuse.

When Dogs Attack!
That's very funny.

All bark, no bite,
like the rest of my team.

Oh, hey, Ijust got an e-mail
from Abby with teeth.

Lab results from the cocaine
we found in Hanson's house.

"Wrappings contained
minute traces of hydraulic fluid."

The crew member who comes into
contact most often with hydraulic fluid

is the flight engineer.

Petty Officer Bidwell.

Boss?

Come on.

Flight Operations said
Bidwell was working on a plane.

Check inside.

NCIS.

ZIVA:
Petty Officer Bidwell?

Accident?

GIBBS:
Not?

McGEE: Looks like that's the lever
that unlocks all the pallets.

Standard ops is lock as you load.

Jittery partner.

So we know
that Bidwell brought in the drugs.

And Hanson helped
get them through the base.

We don't know anything until
we know everything. You keep looking.

Probie-Wan Kenobi.

McGEE:
Wait a second.

What, do you want me
to dust the whole plane by myself?

Just the flat surfaces
where you can lift a print.

Yeah. The whole plane.

- Ducky, I need help.
- What happened?

I don't know. He was acting funny,
and then he started coughing up blood.

Get the x-ray machine, Mr. Palmer.

- Is he dying?
- I don't know.

- That's not a good answer.
- You must calm down.

PALMER:
In the stomach, right there.

- What is it?
- Something that doesn't belong.

Prepare to sedate, Mr. Palmer.

You'll find everything you need
in my bag.

PALMER: Right away, doctor.
- We're going to have to operate.

ABBY:
Is he gonna be okay?

The inside of a dog's stomach
is like a sewer.

Survival rates are not good.

Well, then both our expertise
are going to be challenged.

Ducky,
you know what you're doing, right?

Yes, well,
the fact that he's breathing

does put me somewhat
out of my element.

But we don't have a choice,
now, do we?

What do we need?

PALMER: Uh... The suture materials.
Metzenbaum scissors.

Hemostats.

And scalpels, Number 10 blade.

All right, thank you.

You may wanna leave now.

- No.
DUCKY: All right.

I need to make an incision
posterior to the xiphoid cartilage.

- Retracting the peritoneal fat.
- Oh, clip that bleeder, Mr. Palmer.

- Yeah. Hurry, hurry, hurry, please.
- All right, all right, I see.

Got it.

- Got it.
- Good, good.

Now pull up the inner mucosal layer.
There you go.

All right, now...

Got the little rascal.

Is that what I think it is?

- Well, your Jethro may be the first
PALMER: Autopsy.

to survive a trip to the autopsy.

- Ducky.
DUCKY: Wait.

We're not out of the woods yet.

PALMER: Yes, sir. He's here. I'll put
him on. Dr. Mallard, it's Agent Gibbs.

- Clean this off for me.
PALMER: Yeah.

- Can you sew him up?
PALMER: Absolutely.

Jethro.

GlBBS: Duck, need you
at Pax River Air Station.

- I got a dead petty officer.
DUCKY: Uh, certainly.

But we have an interesting
development here, Jethro,

that you will find fascinating.

- The dog from Hanson's house--
- Jethro.

DUCKY: You'll never guess
what he swallowed.

It's the tip of a knife, Gibbs.

DUCKY: Yes, well, while Hanson
was definitely mauled,

there was a puncture mark
on his collar bone that troubled me.

I now know that that puncture mark
was made by this knife, not a dog bite.

It's a perfect match.

- It wasn't just the dog that killed him.
DUCKY: No, no, no.

He had a human coconspirator.

Just a minute, Jethro.

Mr. Palmer, the cervical vertebrae
from the John Doe,

the one I cleaned off, where is it?

- John Doe?
- The dead dog, Mr. Palmer.

- Two-oh-six.
DUCKY: Stay with me, Jethro.

Yes, as I thought.

The knife point
fits perfectly into the wound

on the cervical vertebrae of the dog
we unearthed yesterday.

If I were a betting man, I'd say
the two crimes were related, Jethro.

Yeah, Duck. Yeah.
That's a bet I'd take too.

McGee.

- Are we going back?
- Whoa, boss.

Two people, one mothership.
This'll take all night.

Hope you brought
a warm coat, DiNozzo.

Just the flat surfaces
where you can lift the prints, Tony.

McGee.

Jethro is fine.

I'm taking up a collection for flowers.

Why would I give flowers
to a dog that attacked me?

Um, maybe because
dog is man's best friend.

Or maybe because
I am a forensic scientist,

and I could boil you from the inside out
and never leave a trace.

GlBBS: McGee.
ABBY: Thanks.

McGEE: Boss, surveillance is a wash.
I've watched all the footage.

That is Bidwell's killer right there.

The other angle's even worse.

Killer knew
the plane was under surveillance.

Gibbs, I've been thinking.

We don't know for certain

that Jethro attacked Hanson. I mean,
he could've swallowed the knife tip

when he was licking
Hanson's wounds,

which would also account
for the blood that was all over him.

- You already thought of that.
- Uh-huh.

Hey, Abby,
that dog tried to rip me limb from limb.

TONY:
You do have that effect, McGee.

Especially when you bail
on our biggest crime scene ever.

[COMPUTER BEEPING]

Got a match.

The knife tip found in Jethro came
from a Navy-issue tactical boot knife.

Find out who ordered a new boot knife
from Pax River in the past 72 hours.

Already on it, boss.
Three people. One stands out.

Evidence locker, McGee.
Get Log 421.

- Petty Officer Perelli.
- Yes, sir?

What's this about?

Have you received
the tactical boot knife

you requisitioned?

How did you know about--?

Not yet, ma'am.

What happened to the knife
you got issued three years ago?

- I lost it.
- In Hanson's body.

You knew about our investigation.

You and Bidwell
needed to pin it on somebody.

You picked Hanson. Was it because
he was suspicious of you?

You killed Hanson
and tried to frame him for it.

You set him up
by using his phone to call Gallante.

Then you planted cocaine and cash
in his house for us to find.

McGEE:
Tried to cover your tracks

by making it look like
he was killed by his own dog.

- Then you killed Bidwell.
- Because you thought he might crack.

I'm no lawyer,

but this sounds like
an awful lot of conjecture to me, sir.

Your whole case
is me requisitioning a boot knife.

You really think
that's gonna hold up in court?

No.

Neither do I.

- You got a warrant?
- In my pocket.

MAN:
Seek. Seek.

- You still got that magic, McGee.
MAN: Heel. Good dog.

Evidence Log Number 421, cocaine.

MAN:
Good dog.

Your dog don't hunt.

Up, boy.

You killed the drug-sniffing dog
and replaced him with an attack dog.

Because you needed a dog
that wouldn't react to cocaine.

You're under arrest for the murders
of Petty Officer Hanson

and Petty Officer Bidwell.

[DOG GROWLING AND BARKING]

[ZIVA YELLS]

You just seem to attract
all the sick puppies, Timothy.

Hey, Abs.

Hey.

What's wrong?

Gibbs asked the base commander
if I could keep Jethro.

- He said no?
- He said yes.

- Then why are you...?
- My landlord said no.

Oh. That's too bad.

I have to find Jethro a good home.

He's a distinguished veteran.

He deserves to be happy, McGee.

Abby, no, no, no.

You have been looking
for a dog, Timmy.

That dog tasted my blood,
and I think he liked it.

Okay, sometimes you have to look
at the reality in front of you

and just accept it.

You are taking Jethro.

Accept it.

McGee, Jethro, shake.

All right, Jethro, you're gonna have
to be the bigger man.

[J ETHRO GROWLS]