03x17 - Ravenous

Episode transcripts for the TV show, "NCIS". Aired: September 2003 to present.*
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The cases of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
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03x17 - Ravenous

Post by bunniefuu »

FADE IN:

EXT. NATIONAL PARK - DAY

HENDRICKS: Almost there, boys! Just five more to go!

JERRY: Minutes?

HENDRICKS: Miles, Jerry. Hold up. Come here. Come on. This here's your lucky day. You know what we got here?

JERRY: Yeah, a seriously mammoth pile of...

HENDRICKS: Bear scat. Fresh. Any brave soul want to investigate this particular bear's diet?

JERRY: Sure. My old man always said I was full of this stuff anyway.

HENDRICKS: Now, bears are omnivores. They'll basically eat anything. It's not unusual to find digested berries, deer sinew, even bones in a single scat specimen. So, Jerry, tell us. What's this one been eating?

JERRY: I think maybe people.

(MUSIC UP AND OUT)

(THEME MUSIC UP OVER OPENING TITLE/ SCENES/ CREDITS AND OUT)

MUSIC IN:

INT. AUTOPSY ROOM - DAY

"RAVENOUS"(SFX: ELEVATOR DINGS/DOORS SLIDE OPEN)

TONY: Trust, me. You've got to see this.

ZIVA: I'd rather be taking a shower, Tony.

TONY: It's every newbie's worst nightmare.(SFX: DOORS SLIDE OPEN)

DUCKY: This liver shows signs of advanced cirrhosis. It's clearly consistent with the jaundiced skin we noticed earlier. Now if you'll come closer, you'll be able to see the inflammation of the pancreas. Oh, hello! Scalpel, please, Mister Palmer. Every cadaver has its own story to tell. In many cases, it's... it's just a whisper that reveals....

TONY: All new agents are required to observe an autopsy. You should have seen McGee. Hurled. Emptied the contents of his stomach onto Ducky's shoes.

DUCKY: It's not only visual cues we look for. Odors can be helpful too. Note the putrid smell.

ZIVA: I think he's talking about you, Tony.

DUCKY: (V.O.) There's no need to be shy. Odors...

(SFX: PROBIE GAGS)

ZIVA: We have the same test at Mossad. If you fail, they terminate you.

TONY: How do you fail an autopsy?(SFX: DOORS SLIDE OPEN)

ZIVA: By doing that. What happens if you fail here?

TONY: Depends, Officer David. Some of them go on to become our Director. You'll have to reschedule your class, Duck. The rangers found a body in Shenandoah Park.

DUCKY: Well, perhaps you'd be willing to share the specifics with the class. Yes, the three most frequent causes of death in our national parks are heart att*cks, hiking accidents, and prolonged exposure to the elements.

GIBBS: Not this time. Sailor was eaten... by a bear.

CUT TO:

EXT. CAMPSITE - DAY

TONY: Yet another reason why I never want to go camping.

MCGEE: Actually, Tony, bear att*cks are quite rare.

TONY: Really? Do you want to tell this guy?

ZIVA: Not a big fan of nature, huh?(CAMERA FLASHES)

TONY: Oh, I'm a big fan of nature as long as it's on TV.

RANGER LANDIS: I'd say three hundred twenty five pounds. Maybe six foot standing, Agent Gibbs.

GIBBS: You found the dog tags here, Ranger Hendricks?

HENDRICKS: Right on the other side of the clearing. I followed the tracks back and found... found what was left of his body.

ZIVA: Well, the name matches the dog tags recovered by the park rangers. Petty Officer Benjamin Riley.

TONY: Bag it. Probie, you were a Boy scout or whatever, right?

MCGEE: Yeah. Well, technically I was a Webelos but....

TONY: Whatever. Use your expertise and go and bag and tag that bear poo down there. Bag the poop.

GIBBS: When you're done collecting scat, find out what the hell happened to Ducky.

MCGEE: Got it, Boss.

LANDIS: This entire area is supposed to be off limits to campers.

HENDRICKS: A hunter was bear-baiting here last month.

TONY: Bear baiting?

HENDRICKS: Have you spent any time in the woods, Special Agent DiNozzo?

TONY: Well, heck yeah. As much time as I can I'm in the woods. I'm a big fan of mother nature.

HENDRICKS: In the off-season, hunters set out food.... always in the same place. Bears get used to being fed and, come season, all they have to do is wait.(CAMERA FLASHES)

TONY: That's clever. I'll have to try that the next time out.

ZIVA: It's illegal, Tony.

HENDRICKS: If I had my way, hunting would be, too.

GIBBS: Who was baiting the bear?

LANDIS: A local. Jason Edom. We pulled his license and banned him from the park.

HENDRICKS: For life.

ZIVA: Petty Officer Riley know this was a potentially dangerous area?

HENDRICKS: We hand this out to every visitor.

LANDIS: Had a real bad drought around here this year. The berries the bears normally feed on have been scarce. A hungry bear will eat just about anything.

HENDRICKS: The sad fact is they're going to track down this bear and k*ll it because your stupid sailor couldn't be bothered to read a three page pamphlet.

LANDIS: You'll have to forgive her. She's what we like to call "opposed" to hunting.

ZIVA: Yes, that's not the only thing she's opposed to.

GIBBS: You said Riley checked in alone?

LANDIS: Monday afternoon. I signed him in myself.

GIBBS: We're going to need to organize a search.

LANDIS: I'm one step ahead of you. I've got a team out tracking the bear now. If he's still in the area, we'll find him.

GIBBS: I'm more concerned about the woman. There's two sets of footprints. One is Riley's. The other's a lady's size seven.(CAMERA FLASHES)

LANDIS: Are you sure about that?

GIBBS: Yeah. Unless these are Navy issue.

CUT TO:

EXT. STAGING AREA - DAY

LANDIS: Listen up! I want four-man teams in each sector. At least two of them armed with r*fles. She's been out there at least two nights, possibly injured, and most definitely scared out of her mind. All communications will run through mountain tac one. Most of them have been working search and rescue in the park before I got stationed here. They'll find her.

(DOGS BARKING B.G.)

GIBBS: Hope it's before the bear does.(GIBBS WALKS O.S.)

CUT TO:

EXT. CORONER'S VAN - DAY

DUCKY: I'm sorry we were so late, Jethro. Mister Palmer's navigating skills still leave something to be desired.

JIMMY: Honestly, Doctor, I thought that moss grew on the south side of trees.

DUCKY: It does in Australia.

TONY: Petty Officer Riley's vehicle isn't in the parking lot, Boss. According to the red - to the local guys, a lot of the campers park their cars at the general store outside the main gate.

MCGEE: Park's been having problems lately with vandalism and theft on unattended vehicles.

GIBBS: Find it, DiNozzo.

TONY: On it, Boss.

GIBBS: Move over, Palmer. I'm driving.

(MCGEE WAVES TO THE LOCALS)

TONY: Don't.

MCGEE: Don't what?

TONY: Don't encourage them, Probie. Didn't you ever see Deliverance?

MCGEE: No.

TONY: Well, when you do just remember that I'm Burt Reynolds and you're Ned Beatty.

(SFX: CAR ENGINE STARTS)

CUT TO:

EXT. PARKING LOT - DAY

(SFX: VAN DOORS OPEN/ CLOSE)

MCGEE: It's Riley's.

TONY: Jackrabbit Slims?

ZIVA: Just like the diner in Pulp Fiction.

TONY: You don't know how to say porcupine, but you know the diner from Pulp Fiction?

ZIVA: And believe it or not we actually have movie theaters in my country.

MCGEE: Locked.

TONY: Keys are probably inside. Afternoon. Five dollar shakes. Girls dressed like Marilyn. This could be a little slice of heaven.

CUT TO:

INT. DINER - DAY

(SFX: MUSIC PLAYS B.G.)

TONY: Or not.

ZIVA: Do you feel like dancing?

MCGEE: They're drinking cappuccinos?

TONY: Probably fueling up for the banjo dueling contest later.

ZIVA: What's that?

MCGEE: Oh, those are scones. Sort of like an English coffee pastry.

TONY: I think, Probie, that Ziva was referring to the jar next to the scones. Those are pickled pigs feet, Ziva. I think you'd enjoy them.

ZIVA: Ooh, I'll pass on that. They're not exactly kosher.

WESLEY: Can I help you folks?

MCGEE: I'll take a double-sh*t, extra foam--

TONY: (OVERLAP) NCIS.

WESLEY: You hear about the sailor eaten by the bear?

TONY: Well, yes, I guess his car is in your parking lot.

WESLEY: Yep. I figured someone would show up for it. I charge park visitors ten bucks a day. I guess I'm gonna have a hard time collecting.

ZIVA: Well, that's a good guess.

WESLEY: Jason! The key to the Cherokee.

ZIVA: Jason ... Edom?

JASON: Here you go.

ZIVA: Thank you, Jason.

JASON: I know you, lady?

ZIVA: Not yet.

TONY: You see anyone with Petty Officer Riley when he dropped that off?

WESLEY: Nope. You?

JASON: Nope. You're wasting your time, sweetheart. I don't date your kind.

ZIVA: What is your kind, Mister Edom? Breathing?

WESLEY: You want to keep working here? You better learn to keep your damn mouth shut. (TO ZIVA) I'm sorry about that, Miss. The boy's a little on the touchy side.

TONY: Yeah, I'd say so. Thank you for your help.

MCGEE: Ziva, come on. Let's go.

CUT TO:

INT. AUTOPSY ROOM - DAY

DUCKY: (V.O.) The American black bear has a narrow muzzle and a large hinged jaw with enormous crushing power. (ON CAMERA) Six hundred pounds per square inch. No animal of equal size is nearly as strong. You never discovered any of that, did you?

GIBBS: How do you know that?

DUCKY: Well, when Mister Palmer sponged him down, we didn't find any evidence of slashing or wounds on his hand and forearm.

GIBBS: He didn't defend himself.

DUCKY: More than that, I'm afraid. The bear's claws and teeth have rounded edges that pierce the flesh. Yes, when I examined Mister Riley's heart, it revealed a very different story. Our Petty Officer was k*lled with a flat blade. Death would have been instantaneous. Yes, he was dead ...

GIBBS: Before the bear started eating him.

DUCKY: Yes.

(MUSIC OUT)

FADE IN:

INT. SQUAD ROOM - DAY

MCGEE: According to Petty Officer Riley's C.O., he's been on leave the last six days.

TONY: Nice vacation. A little camping. A Kn*fe to the heart. A little trip inside a bear's digestive track.

MCGEE: I'd fire my travel agent.

TONY: You're late, Ziva David.

ZIVA: I almost forgot it was Abby's birthday. Do you think she'll like them?

TONY: (b*at) Oh, yeah.

MCGEE: Yeah.

(TONY TOSSES ZIVA A BURRITO)

ZIVA: Thanks.

MCGEE: Think we should have told her?

TONY: Nah.

MCGEE: No, me neither.

CUT TO:

INT. LAB - DAY

(SFX: MUSIC PLAYS B.G.)

ABBY: Little square, little square, where have you been? Stuck on the behind of Riley's missing girlfriend.

(SFX: ZIVA CLEARS HER THROAT)

ABBY: Oh, hey! I was just about to call Tony and McGee. I think they were having sex.

ZIVA: Tony and McGee?

ABBY: No! Riley and the missing girl. I found this in their camp trash. It's one of those little sticky thingies like you use when you're trying to stop smoking. But it had residue of medication on it. It was progestin and estrogen.

ZIVA: Birth control patch?

ABBY: Yes. Is that burrito for me?

ZIVA: Nope. But these are.

ABBY: Oh.

ZIVA: (IN HEBREW) Yom mouledet sameach. Happy birthday, Abby.

ABBY: Thank you so much! You shouldn't have.

ZIVA: You're right. I guess I shouldn't have. I mean, I could get you something else.

ABBY: No! I love them. Hey, um... is Gibbs in yet?

ZIVA: I haven't seen him.

ABBY: Okay.

ZIVA: Is something wrong?

ABBY: No. Nope. Nothing's wrong. It's just that every year Gibbs usually takes me out to dinner the night before my birthday. It's like a tradition.

ZIVA: Well, he probably just forgot.

ABBY: Yeah.

ZIVA: I mean because of the case! I could remind him when I see him.

ABBY: No! Don't remind him. It's really no big deal. I mean, I don't want to distract him and Gibbs is going to want a name to go with this patch. And that means that I have work to do. Thank you for the flowers.

CUT TO:

INT. HALLWAY - DAY

(SFX: ELEVATOR DINGS/ DOORS SLIDE OPEN)

ZIVA: Oh! Nice flowers, Ducky.

DUCKY: Ah, I should hope so. I went to four flower shops to find them. Apparently they're sold out all over the city!

(SFX: ELEVATOR DINGS/DOORS SLIDE CLOSED)

(SFX: ZIVA CHUCKLES)

CUT TO:

INT. SQUAD ROOM - DAY

TONY: What if we're not looking for a damsel in distress here, Probie.

MCGEE: Hmm?

TONY: No one saw our missing Jane Doe. Not the Rangers when Riley checked in. Or the hillbillies when he parked his car.

MCGEE: She didn't want to be seen.

TONY: We could be dealing with a Black Widow here.

ZIVA: Lions and spiders and bears. Oh, my! What, Mister Movie doesn't know The Wizard of Oz?

TONY: I'm talking about a predatory female here, Ziva. Mates, then kills. Reminds me of my father's second wife.

ZIVA: I don't buy your theory.

TONY: Oh, what's to buy? She lured him out to the woods, made love to him, then hacked him while he was sleeping.

ZIVA: Or ran off while Riley was being stabbed to death.

GIBBS: How about neither?

TONY: Rough night, Boss?

GIBBS: Well, yeah, DiNozzo. I spent it tracking our missing woman with a bunch of volunteers in Shenandoah Park.

MCGEE: You found her?

GIBBS: No.

ZIVA: So she's still out there?

GIBBS: Park service thinks so. Here, McGee. Take the film doey-whacker out of there and put it up there on the plasma.

MCGEE: Well, Boss, actually, this is a digital camera. They use memory cards now. I'll put the doey-whacker in.

GIBBS: There wasn't a sign or a track of a ladies' size seven boot ever leaving that campground.

TONY: How'd she get out here, Boss?

GIBBS: Like this.

TONY: So what's this?

GIBBS: sn*pers call that a ghost, DiNozzo. Someone who can move through the woods almost undetected. I followed them for three hundred meters before I lost them. They left two obvious signs. The back edge of a m*llitary boot heel. And this.

MCGEE: Jewelry?

GIBBS: Yeah. Get it to Abby.

ZIVA: So you think someone carried her away?

GIBBS: Well, Ziva, I think she didn't just float out of that campsite. We need to find out who she is.

TONY: Right. I talked to the guys Riley worked with at the Navy Yard. Only one of them... a Seaman Brad Phillips, knew he was going camping. Riley mentioned taking a girl he met a couple weeks ago. Phillips never caught a name.

GIBBS: Pull Riley's phone records.

ZIVA: Did it. And he has a cell phone he doesn't use much. Went back two weeks. Made a couple of phone calls to his family in New York, and the rest were to local businesses and government agencies.

GIBBS: Check out his room.

TONY: Went through his room at the Navy Yard. Nothing unusual. No sign of a girlfriend.

GIBBS: Rangers set up a temporary aid center inside Jackrabbit Slim's for the volunteers. I want you both there. I had them pull the files of all other deaths that happened in that park.

ZIVA: Looks like another chance to hit on that cute Ranger, yes?

TONY: It's going to be tough, but not impossible. Initial misreads are part of the game.

ZIVA: True, except uh... I was talking about me.

CUT TO:

EXT. PARKING LOT - DAY

TONY: Maybe she drove out here on her own. That's why no one saw her with Riley. Registration could give us a name.

ZIVA: I assume Gibbs would have checked that out last night.

TONY: Rule number eight. Never assume anything.

ZIVA: To be precise, it's never take anything for granted.

TONY: To be more precise, what would you do if I started head-slapping you?

ZIVA: I'd most likely k*ll you. It's a reflex thing.

TONY: Gentlemen.... (TO ZIVA) People with g*ns make me nervous.

ZIVA: I noticed.

TONY: I was talking about you, actually.

ZIVA: Eh!

CUT TO:

INT. GENERAL STORE - DAY

TONY: Still holding any vehicles for campers?

WESLEY ROWAN: Your Agent Gibbs asked the same question... last night. Nope.

ZIVA: Looks like the search is good for business. Yes?

WESLEY ROWAN: Yeah.

LANDIS: Special Agent DiNozzo. Ziva.

ZIVA: Find anything?

LANDIS: Not yet. We've expanded the search area beyond the initial five mile radius. If she was abducted, she could be anywhere. The park's a hundred and ninety eight thousand acres. It's over three hundred square miles.

ZIVA: It's a big area to patrol.

LANDIS: Yeah, unless you like to exercise.

ZIVA: Well, as a matter of fact, I like to walk and...

TONY: Our boss would like any records you have on deaths in the park.

LANDIS: Bobby?

HENDRICKS: Follow me.

CUT TO:

INT. CORNER OF THE GENERAL STORE

HENDRICKS: These are every death over the last ten years. All ruled natural or accidental.

TONY: Thank you. Listen, I just wanted to... I think we may have gotten off on the wrong foot, and I just wanted to let you know that I'm not a hunter. I was trying to impress you.

HENDRICKS: Really?

TONY: Yeah.

CUT TO:

INT. LAB - DAY

GIBBS: Got anything?

ABBY: Define anything. No, thanks.

GIBBS: Hair follicles?

ABBY: Uh-huh.

GIBBS: Our missing woman?

ABBY: Most likely.

GIBBS: And?

ABBY: And Caucasian. Brunette. It's in the anagen, or growth phase. So I can probably get DNA off the root.

GIBBS: What about the one on the right?

ABBY: It's from Petty Officer Riley's car. They're both from the same person.

GIBBS: She drove out there with him?

ABBY: You think?

GIBBS: Is something bothering you, Abby?

ABBY: No. I did a further test on our lady's birth control method of choice. It's a low-level estrogen patch. Prescription dosage is based on weight and height. So odds are she's of average to small stature. Is there anything else I can do for you?

GIBBS: Find me a name.

(GIBBS WALKS O.S.)

ABBY: Now I know how Molly Ringwald felt in Sixteen Candles.

CUT TO:

INT. SQUAD ROOM - DAY

TONY: Slam dunk. We're going out next weekend. Yeah!

ZIVA: (CHUCKLES) That's not bad, Tony. Landis asked me out tonight. I said no. I don't want him to think I'm sleazy.

TONY: That term is "easy."

ZIVA: What's the difference?

TONY: Mostly the makeup.

GIBBS: What do we have?

TONY: Uh, over the last seven years, there's been eight deaths in the park, Boss. Three from natural causes, a stroke, and two heart att*cks.

GIBBS: The others?

ZIVA: All accidental. In two thousand, a couple drowned while canoeing. The woman's body was never recovered.

TONY: In two thousand two a couple got lost hiking. Their remains were recovered last year.

ZIVA: In two thousand four, a woman named...

TONY: Tracy Roberts' body was discovered nine months after she went into the park to photograph wildlife. Her remains were--

ZIVA: Too ravaged by animals and the elements to determine a cause of death.

GIBBS: I want to see a profile on the address--

MCGEE: Boss, I think I found something.

GIBBS: Passports. Get me a....

MCGEE: Boss?

GIBBS: What, McGee!

MCGEE: Sorry. Uh... I think I found something here. The three dead women. They all fit the same description. Twenties, Caucasian...

GIBBS: Brunette, petite?

MCGEE: Yeah. Since we all know about how you feel about coincidences, I decided to pull their driver's license photos.

ZIVA: Wow, they look like they could be sisters.(CAMERA FLASHES)

TONY: Something tells me their deaths weren't exactly accidental.

GIBBS: We're dealing with a k*ller who's using park accidents to cover up m*rder.

(MUSIC UP AND OUT)

FADE IN:

INT. ABBY'S LAB - DAY

MCGEE: Three almost identical women. All of them end up dead in Shenandoah National Park. And if our missing woman fits the same profile, we could be dealing with a serial k*ller. One that uses park accidents to cover up abductions and m*rder. So what do you think?

ABBY: I'm not sure yet, McGee. But I think that this might be unforgivable.

MCGEE: Well yeah. Of course it's unforgivable.

ABBY: What if he had a really good reason?

MCGEE: A good reason?

ABBY: Yeah, like he was really stressed out or like overworked.

MCGEE: What difference does that make?

ABBY: Nobody's perfect.

MCGEE: Abby, there is no excuse!

ABBY: McGee, that's so sweet. I know it's just a stupid birthday. Who cares if Gibbs forgot?

MCGEE: Wait, I guess that I do?

ABBY: That's why I love you. When you get all hot and bothered like that, it really turns me on.

MCGEE: Really?

ABBY: Oh, yeah.

GIBBS: Are you two done playing grab-assy, or do I need to transfer McGee to a weather station in the Antarctic?

MCGEE: W-We were just...

ABBY: I think I found our missing girl, Gibbs. And McGee was just congratulating me. The birth control patch that our Jane Doe was wearing turned out to be a Rosetta Stone. It delivers a very specific estrogen cocktail. It's usually prescribed for women whose systems can't handle the pill. The birth control pill is the most common--

GIBBS: I've had a few wives, Abby.

ABBY: And yet, you know so little about women. Luckily, this patch was still in the rollout phase so the company is required to maintain detailed medical profiles on the three thousand women that are using them. I crossed those profiles with the data I pulled off her DNA profile, her race, and her blood type. I came up with two hundred women, Gibbs.

GIBBS: Find out which one's missing.

ABBY: I'm not done yet. From the hair samples we know that the woman was brunette. So if we subtract blonde women and those with black hair, that brings us to forty three. Of the forty three, only fourteen live in the Mid-Atlantic. I called them all and I got thirteen. Number fourteen.... is Jessica Fagan. She works at HUD in D.C. She didn't show up for work on Monday. She's missing, Gibbs.

GIBBS: Have you got a picture?

ABBY: I was waiting for the DMV to email me one before I called you. But fortunately, it's already here.

MCGEE: Boss, this definitely doesn't look like a coincidence.

GIBBS: Ya think, McGee?

CUT TO:

INT. SQUAD ROOM - DAY

TONY: It's confirmed, Boss. She told a co-worker she was going camping with her boyfriend in Shenandoah.

GIBBS: Duck, all three of these women's deaths were ruled accidental. Pull their autopsy records along with the two guys who d*ed with them.

DUCKY: To look for what specifically?

GIBBS: How they were m*rder*d.

DUCKY: Oh, right.(SFX: ELEVATOR DINGS/DOORS SLIDE OPEN)

LANDIS: Nice place you've got here, Ziva.

ZIVA: Thank you.

HENDRICKS: They just cut our wildlife conservation budget and you guys have a skylight? Nice.

LANDIS: I understand things have taken a turn for the worst, Agent Gibbs?

GIBBS: If by worse you mean multiple homicides in your park since two thousand, then yeah. Worse.

LANDIS: Well there goes that theory.

ZIVA: What theory?

LANDIS: I was prepared to say that this could all be just a coincidence, but when you see them like that...

HENDRICKS: It's more than a little disturbing.

GIBBS: Yeah.

LANDIS: What can we do to help?

TONY: We're looking for someone who knows his way around your park. Most likely a local.

LANDIS: We've got a list of the usual troublemakers; poachers and vandals. But I never figured any of them for a serial k*ller.

ZIVA: Most likely you wouldn't, James. The most successful ones blend into their environment.

TONY: Yeah. I mean, look at the BTK k*ller, right? Pillar of the community, Cub Scout leader, president of his church.

HENDRICKS: You're saying it could be anyone?

GIBBS: Not in this case. We're looking for someone who carried a woman through the woods and hardly left a track.

LANDIS: An experienced hunter?

GIBBS: Or someone with m*llitary training.

LANDIS: I'd like to send the photo of the missing woman out to our search teams.

GIBBS: DiNozzo!

TONY: I'm on it.

LANDIS: Get it to Pete at Jackrabbit Slim's. Tell him to post it on every pole, every fence, every car near the park.

HENDRICKS: Got it.(PHONE RINGS)

GIBBS: (INTO PHONE) Gibbs.

ABBY: (V.O./FILTERED) I've got something if you're interested.

GIBBS: (INTO PHONE) Yeah, we're on our way. (TO ALL) Abby's got something.

ZIVA: Our forensic scientist. You'll like her. She's a vampire.

(ANGLE ON TONY'S DESK AREA)

TONY: So would you like me to email that or fax it?

HENDRICKS: Email is fine.

TONY: Email it is.

HENDRICKS: So is it just me or is it hot in here?

TONY: It's probably a little bit of both. Email sent. There you go. So I was thinking about this weekend and--

HENDRICKS: About trying camping?

(SFX: TONY GASPS)

HENDRICKS: Is something wrong?

TONY: I'm married.

HENDRICKS: Then why did you ask for my number?

TONY: She's dead. (CRYING) It was a... it was a pottery accident, kiln overheated or something. Very unexpected. Very unexpected. I thought I was ready to move on.

HENDRICKS: Oh, you... oh, you poor, poor man.
CUT TO:

INT. GENERAL STORE

(SFX: JASON EDOM CRUMPLES THE PAPER)

CUT TO:

INT. LAB - DAY

ABBY: I swabbed what's left of Petty Officer Riley's clothes. It's mostly his blood and what I now know to be bear saliva.

GIBBS: He was eaten by a bear, Abby. Tell me something I don't know.

ABBY: About the case or perhaps something more personal?

GIBBS: Abby?

ABBY: I also found traces of a cornucopia of different chemicals sprayed all over his clothes. Phenyl acetic crystals, methyl anthranilate, and acorn, caramel and bergamot oils.

LANDIS: A hunting lure?

ABBY: You are correct, Mister Ranger, Sir. More specifically, it was Uncle Bebo's Bear Attractant. Somebody hosed the Petty Officer down with it.

LANDIS: I can pull a list of every hunter that applied for a bear hunting permit this year.

ZIVA: You don't have to. McGee just found who sprayed him with it.

MCGEE: Boss, we pulled multiple prints from the equipment at the campsite. Most of them are Riley's. A bunch, I assume are--

GIBBS: You assume, McGee?

MCGEE: Well, yeah. I mean, we're working on getting Jessica Fagan's prints to clear them, but we have three other matches belonging to a third individual. Jason Edom.

ZIVA: Looks like he was baiting more than bears.

MUSICAL BRIDGE TO:

INT. OBSERVATION ROOM - DAY

ZIVA: This man makes my skin crawl.(DOOR OPENS)

GIBBS: Can you interrogate him without breaking any bones?

ZIVA: Truthfully? No.

GIBBS: I agree. That's why I'm doing it. You're going to spend the next few hours studying everything we know about him and the evidence.

ZIVA: And supply the answers to you in there?

GIBBS: No. No, I've got DiNozzo doing that. You're on Edom's side.

ZIVA: Meaning?

GIBBS: Meaning, you're going to defend him. I want you to assume that he's innocent.

ZIVA: The man's a serial k*lling r*cist, Gibbs.

GIBBS: He probably is. But you're still going to do it.

ZIVA: Why?

GIBBS: Because you can't walk in there and interrogate him - yet.

(DOOR CLOSES)

CUT TO:

INT. INTERROGATION ROOM - DAY

(DOOR OPENS/ CLOSES)

JASON EDOM: You mind telling me why I'm here?

GIBBS: You like hunting.

JASON EDOM: Last time I checked that wasn't illegal.

GIBBS: Your hunting license was pulled.

(JASON EDOM LAUGHS)

JASON EDOM: You're a Marine, huh? I can tell. My old man was a Marine. Hated his guts. Gets your hands out your pocket, boy. Shave your face, boy. Cut your hair, boy.

GIBBS: See? A lasting impression.

JASON EDOM: Semper fi.

GIBBS: He teach you how to bait bears?

JASON EDOM: Nah, I learned that for myself. He was just a real loser.

GIBBS: Your record includes more than bear baiting.

JASON EDOM: I guess I'm a complicated man.

GIBBS: You did time for as*ault and battery.

JASON EDOM: It was a bar fight. I didn't even start it.

GIBBS: Do you know him?

JASON EDOM: Yeah. That's the idiot who got eaten by the bear.

GIBBS: He was m*rder*d first with a hunting Kn*fe. You baited the area where that occurred.

JASON EDOM: Lookee here, Mister Marine. I haven't been in that park for over a month. Newsflash. I happen to be banned for life.

GIBBS: Your fingerprints were found at the campsite. Last time I checked that was inside the park.

JASON EDOM: No, that's a damn lie. I've been nowhere near that area.

GIBBS: Know her?

JASON EDOM: Nope.

GIBBS: How about them?

JASON EDOM: Like I said... no, okay? I had nothing to do with this. I wouldn't--

GIBBS: Wouldn't what?

JASON EDOM: k*ll people. I may be a lot of things, but I'm not some... some psycho.

MUSICAL BRIDGE TO:

INT. SQUAD ROOM - DAY

ZIVA: (INTO PHONE) Yes, I'll hold.

TONY: You shave, right?

ZIVA: What?

TONY: Nothing. So how did the k*ller's prints end up at the campsite?

ZIVA: Obviously when he m*rder*d the sailor and abducted the girl!

TONY: No, Gibbs wants you defending him, Ziva.

ZIVA: McGee, what objects were the k*ller's - sorry, sorry - Edom, Edom, Edom's prints found on again?

MCGEE: Two cans of tuna, one pack of double A batteries.

ZIVA: All items sold at Jackrabbit Slim's. Okay, so what if Riley bought these items and Edom placed them in the bag?

TONY: (CLAPS) Yeah! That was actually plausible. Nice job. But it is hard to prove.

ZIVA: (INTO PHONE) I'm still here, yes.

TONY: Okay, Edom's a hunter, right? He's familiar with the area and he's done time for violent crime.

ZIVA: (INTO PHONE) Thank you.

TONY: And we found his prints at the campsite, so...

ZIVA: He didn't do it.

TONY: Okay, you're not getting this. You can't just say he didn't do.

MCGEE: Ziva, he's right. You need to back your side up with facts and rational...

ZIVA: The night Riley was m*rder*d, Edom was at his daughter's dance recital in Manassas, Virginia. Multiple witnesses.

TONY: Unbelievable.

ZIVA: I agree. I thought for sure this was our man.

TONY: No. I mean, this guy actually reproduced?

ZIVA: Gibbs, we just--

TONY: Confirmed Edom's alibi. He was in Manassas the night of the m*rder.

ZIVA: He didn't do it.

GIBBS: I know.

TONY: He knows.

ZIVA: So what now?

GIBBS: You're going to go down there and have a talk with him, Ziva.

ZIVA: Why? You just agreed he didn't k*ll the Petty Officer.

GIBBS: Because he knows who did.

(MUSIC OUT)

FADE IN:

INT. INTERROGATION ROOM - DAY

(DOOR OPENS/ CLOSES)

ZIVA: It's not poisoned. (LONG b*at) Afraid of germs?

JASON EDOM: I didn't k*ll those women.

ZIVA: I know. You were at your daughter's dance recital. You know, I used to spend most of my time on stage, searching for my father's face in the audience. But he was never there. Even when he promised he'd--

JASON EDOM: I drove all the way to South Carolina once.

ZIVA: To watch your daughter dance? What's her name?

JASON EDOM: Sarah.

ZIVA: That's a Hebrew name. It means Princess.

JASON EDOM: I didn't know that.

ZIVA: Each of them was someone's princess, Jason.

JASON EDOM: (SOBS) She should have never left him. Not like she did.

ZIVA: Left who?

JASON EDOM: Wes.

CUT TO:

INT. SQUAD ROOM - DAY

MCGEE: Boss, State Trooper's just missed Wes Rowan. He left Jackrabbit Slim's with a r*fle and a backpack. Said he was going to help with the search.

GIBBS: He is the search, McGee.

TONY: Jessica Fagan was Wes Rowan's childhood sweetheart. It was all pretty much all over when she filed a restraining order against him in two thousand.

GIBBS: Why am I just finding out about this now?

TONY: She legally changed her name. It used to be Parker.

ZIVA: Most likely to make it difficult for Rowan to locate her. When he couldn't, he took his anger out on women who resembled her.

TONY: That could explain why she never let anyone at Jackrabbit Slim's or the park see her.

GIBBS: Oh, you think, DiNozzo?

(PHONE RINGS)

GIBBS: (INTO PHONE) Gibbs. Abs, I have no time. Two minutes.

MCGEE: Boss, State Troopers are setting up roadblocks on all highways leading down from the mountains.

GIBBS: He took his backpack with him, McGee. He's not planning on coming down. Grab your gear! I'll meet you out back in five!

MCGEE: Guess what, guys. Rowan is a hunting guide, and apparently one of the best in Virginia.

ZIVA: Great! He'll be like finding a pin in a haystack.

TONY: A needle in a haystack.

ZIVA: Well, aren't these just as hard to find?

TONY: No.

MCGEE: No.

CUT TO:

INT. LAB - DAY

GIBBS: You've got two minutes, Abby. Starting now.

ABBY: I don't need two minutes. Just a minute. Or maybe only forty five seconds.

GIBBS: Abby.

ABBY: I pulled skin cells off the rhinestones that you found in the park, and the DNA matches Jessica Fagan's hair.

GIBBS: You could have told me that on the phone.

ABBY: Well, I also found traces of blood! I have a theory, Gibbs. I made this in high school.

GIBBS: A minute thirty three.

ABBY: Okay. I screwed up a bunch of times and pulling these things off is really hard. I cracked two nails and I cut my finger.

GIBBS: Oh hell, she's leaving a trail. That's great work, Abs.

ABBY: Wait, I still have a minute and change left. Um... I know you're really busy with the case, and I understand.

GIBBS: Understand what?

ABBY: That you forgot my birthday.

GIBBS: I didn't forget.

ABBY: You didn't?

GIBBS: No. I remember how old you are, too.

ABBY: Oh, you can forget that.

GIBBS: Check your desk.

ABBY: No. I have been working in here all night. There is no way you snuck by me.

(GIBBS WALKS O.S.)

(ABBY WALKS TO HER DESK)

ABBY: This is so Pulp Fiction.

CUT TO:

INT. SQUAD ROOM - DAY

DUCKY: I've been searching the building for you.

GIBBS: You found me.

DUCKY: She may still alive, Jethro. I re-checked the Rappahannock County M.E.'s records. All three victims had hairline fractures. The medical examiners assumed that these were caused by animals or falls in the woods.

GIBBS: They didn't know she was m*rder*d, Duck. That bastard beats them.

DUCKY: I'm afraid so.

GIBBS: How does that make her alive?

DUCKY: Some of these fractures had minute calcification. They'd begun to heal, Jethro.

GIBBS: How long?

DUCKY: Oh, I'd say a week or ten days perhaps after he b*at them. (TO SCREEN) He'll find you, my dear, hopefully before it's too late.

MUSICAL BRIDGE TO:

EXT. TRAIL HEAD - DAY

HENDRICKS: There are hunting cabins along this edge of the park. He could have taken her to one of them.

TONY: Any cabins in the park?

HENDRICKS: Two. Birch and Pine. Gotta reserve them a year in advance. They're real popular.

TONY: Is anyone there now?

HENDRICKS: No. We only open them Memorial Day to Labor Day.

GIBBS: Where?

HENDRICKS: Pine's here. Birch is here.

GIBBS: The other night I lost the trail right here. Jessica could be in one of those cabins.

HENDRICKS: Checked them the first day.

GIBBS: What if he held her in the woods while you searched the cabin? Search them again. Where is Ranger Landis and the search party?

HENDRICKS: Razorback Ridge.

GIBBS: Well, he's a lot closer than we are. Have him search them. McGee! DiNozzo, you're with me. Ziva, you stay here with Ranger Hendricks.

ZIVA: Gibbs, I think I'd be better suited if I actually went...

GIBBS: We're taking him alive. Let's roll.

HENDRICKS: I hate it when men try to protect you because you're female.

ZIVA: He's not trying to protect me. He's afraid I'll k*ll Rowan before he tells us where the girl is.

CUT TO:

EXT. TRAIL - DAY

TONY: For a ghost, he's sure leaving a lot of footprints.

GIBBS: He took a knee here.

TONY: Maybe he heard McGee coming.

GIBBS: No. He's tracking.

TONY: Tracking who? He already knows where the girl is.

CUT TO:

EXT. RANGER STATION - DAY

HENDRICKS: (INTO RADIO) James? Bobby, how you doing?(DOOR OPENS)

LANDIS: (V.O./FILTERED) Almost to Pine Cabin. I've got Beaufort and Max checking Birch.

HENDRICKS: (INTO RADIO) You be careful, you hear.

LANDIS: (V.O./FILTERED) Don't you worry about me, Bobby. Out.

ZIVA: You both live here?

HENDRICKS: Jim does. I got me a log cabin about a mile down the road. Built in the eighteen thirties.

ZIVA: Is that old?

HENDRICKS: Yeah, around these parts it is.

ZIVA: I'm sorry, that was bitchy. I get that way when I'm tired.

HENDRICKS: Yeah. Me, too. That'll be more searchers. I'd better go brief them.

ZIVA: Do you mind if I grab a bat nap?

HENDRICKS: No. Just hang from the rafters.

(DOOR OPENS/ CLOSES)

CUT TO:

EXT. TRAIL - DAY

TONY: What is it, Boss?

GIBBS: The trail's too obvious.

MCGEE: Rowan doesn't know that we're tracking him.

GIBBS: Or he's setting an ambush. McGee, I want you thirty meters to my right. DiNozzo, thirty to my left. I'll stay on the straight.

TONY: What if it is an ambush?

GIBBS: I want you guys to get him before he gets me. Go! Go! Be ghosts.

CUT TO:

INT. CABIN - DAY

(SFX: ZIVA STARTLES AWAKE)

(MUSIC OVER ACTION/ZIVA PICKS UP THE RHINESTONE)

CUT TO:

EXT. TRAIL - DAY

(MUSIC OVER ACTION/GIBBS/ MCGEE AND TONY WALK SLOWLY ALONG THE TRAIL)

CUT TO:

INT. CABIN - DAY

(MUSIC OVER ACTION/ZIVA LOOKS FOR RHINESTONES)

CUT TO:

EXT. TRAIL - DAY

(SFX: g*nf*re)

(MUSIC OVER ACTION)

LANDIS: I got him.

TONY: I thought it was you, Boss.

MCGEE: Me, too!

WESLEY ROWAN: I ... I was trying to find Jessica.

CUT TO:

INT. CABIN - DAY

(MUSIC OVER ACTION/ ZIVA SEARCHES THE CABIN BASEMENT)

CUT TO:

EXT. TRAIL - DAY

GIBBS: We've got to get him to a hospital.

LANDIS: We ought to just let the bastard bleed to death.

GIBBS: If he dies, we may never find that girl alive.

CUT TO:

INT. CABIN - DAY

(MUSIC OVER ACTION/ ZIVA UNLOCKS THE DOOR)

CUT TO:

EXT. TRAIL - DAY

GIBBS: Your station can't be far.

LANDIS: Maybe a quarter of a mile that way.

GIBBS: You got him?

CUT TO:

INT. CABIN - DAY

(DOOR OPENS)

HENDRICKS: Jim made it in. They got Rowan.

ZIVA: Call nine one one!

HENDRICKS: I just did for Rowan. They're bringing him in wounded. How?

ZIVA: You tell me. She was in your root cellar.

MUSICAL BRIDGE TO:

EXT. TRAIL - DAY

GIBBS: I thought you were leading the search?

LANDIS: Bobby radioed. She had fresh searchers. I was cutting back to pick them up and I spotted Rowan sneaking through the woods.

GIBBS: He wasn't sneaking, he was tracking.

HENDRICKS: (V.O./FILTERED) Jim, this is Bobby. Officer David found Jessica Fagan. She was in your root cellar. Jim? Jim, do you read me?

LANDIS: Drop that shotgun.

HENDRICKS: (V.O./FILTERED) Jim, are you there?

GIBBS: How many?

LANDIS: Twenty seven. No, twenty six. Can't count Jessica. I didn't finish with her. (SHOUTS) Drop that shotgun!

(MUSIC OVER ACTION)

MCGEE: Take him! Take him!

TONY: No, no, no. Leave him.

MCGEE: We gotta help Boss.

TONY: He doesn't need your help. Look at him!

(F/X: LANDIS RUNS ACROSS THE CLEARING)

(SFX: g*nsh*t)

(SFX: LANDIS MOANS B.G.)

MCGEE: Boss didn't...?

TONY: Nah. He wouldn't do a thing like that.

(MUSIC OUT)

(ENDING CREDITS UP AND OUT)

(MUSIC UP OVER ENDING CREDITS AND OUT)
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