04x17 - Skeletons

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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04x17 - Skeletons

Post by bunniefuu »

FADE IN:

EXT. CEMETERY - DAY

MARINE: (V.O.) In pain we may find comfort, in sorrow hope, in death resurrection.

HONOR GUARD: (V.O.) Guard ho! Ready, aim, fire! (SFX: g*nf*re)

CUT TO:

INT. MAUSOLEUM

HONOR GUARD: (V.O.) Aim, fire! Aim, fire! Aim, fire!(SFX: g*nf*re B.G.)

JACKSON: They're almost finished out there, Ken.

DIXON: What do you want me to tell you, Jack? I can't get the damn thing open.

(SFX: TAPS B.G.)

JACKSON: Stripped?

DIXON: No, it's catching. It's just stuck or something. When's the last time you reopened one of these things?

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

DIXON: That's like what? A decade?

JACKSON: Yeah. Let me try.

(SFX: JACKSON GRUNTING B.G.)

JACKSON: Okay, it's moving.

DIXON: What's that smell?

(SFX: expl*si*n)

DIXON: Are you okay?

(MUSIC UP AND OUT)

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

FADE IN:

INT. SQUAD ROOM - DAY

ABBY: Give me a dollar!

"SKELETONS"

MCGEE: Okay. What's wrong with that one?

ABBY: The machine wouldn't take it, and I want a candy bar!

MCGEE: What's wrong with that candy bar?

ABBY: It has nougat in it!

MCGEE: What? You hate nougat.

ABBY: (SHOUTS) I know!! It was a mistake, McGee! Do you have a dollar!?

MCGEE: All I have are big bills.

ZIVA: What is nougat?

TONY: It's whipped dolphin fat.

MCGEE: No, that's the filling in Clownie Cake.

ABBY: That is a myth! (SHOUTS) Would someone please give me a dollar?!

TONY: (LONG b*at) Sure, I've got one.

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

ZIVA: I don't even know what nougat is.

GIBBS: It's a cream made from sugar, honey and nuts. Grab your gear. We have an expl*si*n at a Marine's funeral in J. Hoover National.

MCGEE: Did anyone else see what just happened there with Abby?

TONY: Yeah. She stole my dollar.

MUSICAL BRIDGE TO:

EXT. MAUSOLEUM

ZIVA: Last ones to the party.

TONY: It's not really a party until the b*mb squad says it is.

GIBBS: What'd you find?

TRASK: We've got nothing. No ordnance. No residue. No electronics. No time device. No wiring. No remote. No evidence of a b*mb.

ZIVA: Except for the expl*si*n.

TRASK: You've got two employees injured. Both vets. They were taken to the V.A. with concussions and shrapnel wounds.

TONY: You got names?

TRASK: Former Lance Corporal Lloyd Jackson, thirty-six. And PFC Kenneth Dixon, twenty-five.

GIBBS: The veterans keep getting younger.

TRASK: Yeah, the kid they were burying is only twenty-two. It's a family crypt.

GIBBS: Tandem.

TRASK: His grandfather was in the back slot. Still there as far as we could tell.

GIBBS: Are your men clear?

TRASK: Bio readings are clean. Air's safe to breathe, not that I would recommend it.

GIBBS: Anything else?

TRASK: Might want to cover your shoes, though.

MUSICAL BRIDGE TO:

INT. MAUSOLEUM - DAY

TONY: That is truly appalling.

MCGEE: Chief Warrant Officer Mitchell Waller. (V.O.) d*ed nineteen seventy-eight. He should be the one in the back of the crypt.

ZIVA: He appears to be undisturbed.

TONY: He would be the only one. This is really the most disgusting thing I've ever seen. And believe me, that says a lot.

MCGEE: (V.O.) It like porridge.

DUCKY: The word is effluvium. The results of decomposing human organs and tissue.

TONY: This is people?

DUCKY: Yes, two, I'd say, judging by the volume.

JIMMY: And the two skulls, of course.

DUCKY: Mister Palmer, we have to recover all of this.

JIMMY: One Wet-Vac for the soylent green coming right up.

DUCKY: Somewhat claustrophobic and for all eternity.

TONY: Our friends here might agree with you. They obviously needed to get out.

GIBBS: They didn't belong there in the first place.

DUCKY: Vents are definitely clogged.

ZIVA: Be careful, Doctor. We still haven't found traces of what caused the expl*si*n.

DUCKY: Yes, if my suspicions are correct, Officer David, the b*mb is all around us. It's a phenomenon in the death industry informally referred to as exploding casket syndrome.

GIBBS: Well, the floor is all yours, Duck.

DUCKY: Thank you, Jethro. All bodies contain enzymes and bacteria. Immediately upon death they start to break down tissue. Yes, a body can liquefy within a week, especially if it hasn't been embalmed. It's possible that these remains were human in appearance as recently as two weeks ago.

TONY: And someone dumped them in here.

DUCKY: Yes, in such a confined space, as the gases were given off the bodies, with not any proper ventilation, the crypt itself could become a pressure cooker.

GIBBS: The bodies were the b*mb.

MUSICAL BRIDGE TO:

INT. AUTOPSY LAB - DAY

JIMMY: Not our first meat puzzle, Doctor.

DUCKY: Yes, and it certainly won't be the last. Never forget, Mister Palmer, experience is the ultimate teacher.

JIMMY: Corner pieces are not as reliable as the singular components.

DUCKY: Yes. As experience has taught us.

JIMMY: Skulls and torsos. And judging by these pelvic structures, we have a man and a woman.

DUCKY:

DUCKY: Yes, well let's put Adam on the left and Eve on the right. You know, this reminds me of a summer when I assisted at an archeological dig in North Africa.

(CONT.) Our team unearthed two fossilized Neanderthals from a primitive burial mound. One man, one woman.

JIMMY: This rib structure is fractured, Doctor. Possibly from the force of the expl*si*n.

DUCKY: Oh, no, no, no. It's a clean serrated edge. Very unlikely. Did you know that the Zulus burn all the possessions of the dear departed to ward off evil? Some tribes even throw spears and sh**t arrows into the air to k*ll hovering spirits.

JIMMY: Right ulna.

DUCKY: That evolved into the modern m*llitary tradition of f*ring a volley into the air.

(SFX: DUCKY MIMICS f*ring g*n)

JIMMY: Uh... right hand.

DUCKY: Yes, after the death of an African king... ah, right hand... some of his subjects used to cut off fingers and toes. It was considered a mark of respect. Humorus.

JIMMY: I suppose it depends on what you find funny. (b*at) Oh. Right. (CHUCKLES) I see. Humorus. (CHUCKLES)

DUCKY: Right hand.

JIMMY: Didn't this happen the last time?

DUCKY: We're going to need another table.

JIMMY: (IN UNISON) We're going to need another table.

CUT TO:

INT. SQUAD ROOM - DAY

TONY: The mausoleum doesn't get many visitors, which makes it a creative place to get rid of a few bodies. But...

ZIVA: Whoever deposited them, would first have to know the portion of Chief Waller's crypt was vacant.

TONY: That would suggest an inside job.

ZIVA: With the knowledge to access a sealed tomb.

TONY: Which would point to Jackson or Dixon.

ZIVA: If they hadn't practically blown themselves up.

TONY: What do you think, McGee?

MCGEE: She definitely seemed un-Abby.

ZIVA: Who?

MCGEE: Abby.

ZIVA: Abby's unhappy?

TONY: No, Abby's un-Abby. I need you to focus here, okay? Pitch in. I'll talk to her when I can.

MCGEE: Why you?

TONY: Because dealing with an angry woman requires a great deal of sensitivity, clearly not an area of expertise for you.

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

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

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

TONY: All right, there is one clear cut undeniable reason why I should be the one to talk to Abby. She owes me a dollar. Now, uh... we ran down IDs on the remains - got a hit on the woman.

ZIVA: Hm. Classic Dinozzo.

MCGEE: One intact fingerprint off her left hand matches a driver's license.

TONY: Marilyn Torrance, age fifty-eight, of Tyson's Corner. There's no case file, because her nephew and his wife never reported her missing.

MCGEE: They're on their way in.

GIBBS: Is that it?

(PHONE RINGS)

MCGEE: (INTO PHONE) McGee.

DUCKY: (V.O./FILTERED) I need Jethro down here.

MCGEE: (INTO PHONE) Be right there, Ducky. (HANGS UP PHONE)

TONY: Saved by the bell.

DUCKY: (V.O.) They were dismembered.

CUT TO:

INT. AUTOPSY LAB - DAY

DUCKY: Likely by severing tendons, muscles from ligaments at every joint.

JIMMY: Neck, shoulder, elbow, wrist, hip, knee, ankle... et cetera.

DUCKY: There's very little damage to the bones themselves, except the rib cages. They were cut, probably using a bone saw.

ZIVA: Were they m*rder*d?

DUCKY: One of them at least was. Blunt force trauma to the female skull. A blow to the back of the head that was certainly enough to k*ll a woman of her age.

JIMMY: Fourth rib phase analysis suggests that she was in her seventies.

ZIVA: According to the DMV, Marilyn Torrance was fifty-age.

TONY: Women lie about their age.

JIMMY: But this is her hand.

GIBBS: Not her head.

MCGEE: Well, maybe that's her head.

JIMMY: No, that's a man's skull.

MCGEE: Well, maybe you reassembled the pieces incorrectly.

JIMMY: The problem is we can't reassemble the pieces. We don't have two full sets of remains.

GIBBS: We're missing pieces.

DUCKY: Yes, of these unrelated pieces - well, they belong to at least three different people.

ZIVA: Three more bodies?

MCGEE: We're missing a lot of pieces.

TONY: This is more than someone just dumping two bodies.

DUCKY: I think you're looking for a mass m*rder*r.

(MUSIC UP AND OUT)

FADE:

CLOSE ON MONITOR: (SFX: KEYBOARDING B.G.)

ON SCREEN: Can't we talk about this?

ON SCREEN: There's no point...

CUT TO:

INT. ABBY'S LAB - DAY

GIBBS: What do you got, Abs?

ABBY: Decaying flesh, organs and human tissue. The DNA confirms...

TONY: Five different people.

ABBY: Well, if you already talked to Ducky, there's not much I can tell you. You didn't give me much to work with, Gibbs. There's barely any blood. The bodies were probably drained.

TONY: So what do you think? We're looking for a vampire?

ABBY: There were traces of cellulose, fiber, common paper, and string.

GIBBS: (V.O.) The parts were wrapped.

ABBY: Yeah, but they're too degraded to get any fingerprints. There was one thing. The screws from the marble furnace piece - they've been collecting rust since the internment in nineteen seventy-eight. But look at the heads. They're scratched.

TONY: (V.O.) That's from the screwdriver - dislodged the rust.

ABBY: But look at the other crypts. See the screws?

GIBBS: Yeah, they're all rusted.

ABBY: Except for these two crypts.

GIBBS: Ensign Gage, USMC, Colonel Raymond Dalton, US Army.

ABBY: It might be vandalism, but it might be something.

GIBBS: Dinozzo.

TONY: Contact next of kin, and get permission to open those two crypts. On it, Boss!

TONY: Nice catch, Abby.

ABBY: Yeah.

TONY: I couldn't help but notice how quiet it is in here. Where's the music?

ABBY: I just wasn't in the mood.

TONY: Anything... do you want to talk about?

ABBY: Why would there be?

TONY: Yeah, I don't know. It's just that McGee said that you weren't really acting like yourself. And so I thought...

ABBY: Oh, so you guys have been talking about me?

TONY: Yeah. No. We were wondering if there was anything bothering you.

ABBY: You want to know what bothers me? It bothers me when people gossip about other people behind their backs. Do you really think that that is okay?

TONY: Yeah? 'Cause, I mean, it's the only way to gossip. Because if we talked about you in front of your face, then that would just be talking about you.

(SFX: BEEP TONES)

TONY: You know what? We're just not going to ... we're not going to do that anymore. Sorry.

CUT TO:

INT. INTERVIEW ROOM - DAY

MCGEE: Your aunt live with you?

JACOB: When she was in town, yes. Are you sure she was m*rder*d?

MCGEE: Preliminary findings have been inconclusive, Mister Torrance. But it's probable.

ZIVA: When was the last time you saw her?

JACOB: It's been almost three months now.

ZIVA: And you never filed a missing person's report?

MADELEINE: Well, she does this. She would meet a new man with a yacht, or jet, and disappear for a while.

JACOB: We always expected she would resurface eventually.

MADELEINE: Just never like this.(SFX: MADELEINE CRIES B.G.)

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

MADELEINE: Thank you.

MCGEE: We'll also need a list of anyone who has access to your homes - contractors, workmen, employees.

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

JACOB: Of course.

CUT TO:

INT. SQUAD ROOM - DAY

MCGEE: Thank you for coming in so quickly.

JACOB: If you learn anything...

MADELEINE: Please call.

ZIVA: As soon as we know more.

(MADELEINE AND JACOB WALK TO THE ELEVATOR)

MCGEE: They were really cut up. Sorry. It's a poor choice of words.

ZIVA: How many more of these are we going to do?

MCGEE: Ah, at least five. So pace yourself.

ZIVA: What do you mean by that, McGee?

MCGEE: Nothing. Just, you know, it got a little emotional in there.(ELEVATOR DINGS/ DOORS OPEN/ CLOSE)

TONY: I will meet you upstairs, Ms. Dalton, okay?

DALTON: Okay.

MCGEE: Next of kin?

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

MCGEE: You talked to Abby?

TONY: Yeah, McGee.

MCGEE: I was right, wasn't I? There's something wrong.

TONY: Let it go, Probie.

MCGEE: Why?

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

MCGEE: But what did I do?

TONY: Well, think about it, Probie. I'm sure you'll come up with something.

CUT TO:

INT. CONFERENCE ROOM - DAY

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

TONY: These photos are of your grandfather's tomb.

DALTON: I get that.

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

DALTON: How could it? He's been dead thirteen years, and I was at the funeral.

TONY: Right. It's been tampered with, okay? And we believe that there is evidence hidden inside relating to an ongoing m*rder investigation.

DALTON: What kind of evidence? I run my own business, Agent DiNozzo. That means I am losing money every minute that I have to spend here. So why don't you just tell me what it is that you want from me?

TONY: We need you to give us permission to open it. So if you could just sign these authorization forms.

DALTON: My dad put me to work right after my grandpa d*ed. You know the first lesson that I learned?

TONY: What's that?

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

TONY: That's a good lesson. But if it's necessary, we'll get a Federal warrant.

DALTON: Oh, that would be much easier for me. You should just do that.

TONY: Okay.

DALTON: Anything else you need?

TONY: Just the Federal warrant.

DALTON: Great.

MUSICAL BRIDGE TO:

EXT. MAUSOLEUM - DAY

(SFX: CAR BRAKES TO A STOP)

TONY: Company, Boss!

MANN: Special Agent Gibbs.

GIBBS: Colonel Mann.

MANN: I got a call your case might be venturing into CID territory.

GIBBS: That call was premature.

MANN: Really? Here I thought it was four weeks overdue. I understand you were denied permission by the family to access Colonel Dalton's crypt.

GIBBS: Got a warrant.

MANN: And that got my attention. Why don't you fill me in? Wouldn't want to make a bad situation worse, would you? Don't look so nervous, Jethro.

GIBBS: Do I look nervous?

MANN: No. You actually look... you look pretty good.

GIBBS: David, Dinozzo, perimeter.

TONY: Sure you don't want us to help you in there, Boss? Of course, not. Because if you did, you would have said, "David, Dinozzo, follow me." Probie! Stop it! We're not going anywhere.

MCGEE: Why? What'd I miss?

MUSICAL BRIDGE TO:

INT. MAUSOLEUM - DAY

MANN: It's not like you to leave something unfinished. The crime scene. Ever worry you're slipping?

GIBBS: Nope.

MANN: Any suspects yet?

GIBBS: Nothing concrete.

MANN: What does your gut say?

GIBBS: Theory is it's an inside job.

MANN: But you don't like that. So how else would he know which crypts are vacant? Ah, read the faceplates. So the warrant didn't exactly specify what we're looking for here.

GIBBS: No. It's best to not have expectations.

MANN: It staves off disappointment. What are we hoping for?

GIBBS: You throw that "we" word around pretty casually. The last time someone tried to remove one of these, it blew up in his face.

MANN: Oh.

GIBBS: You might want to step back a little bit.

MANN: Thank you for your concern.

(SFX: CRYPT DOOR SLIDES OPEN)

MANN: I see what you mean. Expectations.

CUT TO:

EXT. MAUSOLEUM - DAY

TONY: Gibbs did not look happy to see her.

ZIVA: Ha! His body language suggested he was not comfortable at all.

MCGEE: Nothing makes Gibbs uncomfortable.

TONY: Nothing job related.

MCGEE: Do you think he ended it with her? Assuming that he started something.

TONY: I don't buy it.

MCGEE: Why not?

TONY: For one, she's not a redhead.

ZIVA: People do change, Tony.

MCGEE: It's true. Even you have a girlfriend.

TONY: I haven't changed.

ZIVA: Really? What about the pretty girl in the office?

TONY: Natalie Dalton?

ZIVA: Oh, you noticed she was pretty, but you didn't flirt with her.

TONY: That would have been unprofessional.

MCGEE: I don't know. You might have gotten her to sign the authorization.

ZIVA: Then we would not have needed the warrant.

MCGEE: Then Colonel Mann wouldn't have been here.

ZIVA: And we would be inside doing our job like professionals.

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

TONY: Enough gossip, McGee.

MCGEE: Tony, you like to talk about everyone's private lives.

TONY: Talk. Yes. I don't write entire books about them, do I?

ZIVA: Ah! It does create a bit of a trust issue, McGee.

GRADY: (V.O.) Excuse me. Hi. (ON CAMERA) Am I able to go inside today?

ZIVA: The mausoleum is closed, Sir.

CUT TO:

INT. MAUSOLEUM - DAY

MANN: Here it is.

GIBBS: Are you going to let me in?

MANN: I think we should be clear on the implications first.

GIBBS: You're interfering with my investigation.

MANN: Is that what I'm doing?

GIBBS: Honestly, I'm not sure.

MANN: If there's evidence in here, I'm going to be obligated to see this through to the end.

GIBBS: And if there's not?

MANN: Then I don't see why my involvement shouldn't end right here.

GIBBS: If you wanted to see me, you didn't have to manufacture a reason.

MANN: I follow the orders of the United States Army, even when they don't exactly make sense.

GIBBS: You could have called.

MANN: So could you. I distinctly remember the last thing you said as you were slinking out of--

GIBBS: I don't slink!

MANN: ... was "I'll call you."

GIBBS: For the record, I didn't think the last time we saw each other was going to be the last time we saw each other.

MANN: Neither did I.

GIBBS: Well, here we are.

MANN: Lucky for us.

GIBBS: Call it fate.

MANN: Are you just going to let fate decide whether we go our separate ways?

GIBBS: Five bodies in total. We've only recovered portions.

MANN: You're hoping the rest are in here.

GIBBS: Aren't you?

MANN: Honestly, I'm not really sure.

(SFX: CRYPT DOOR SLIDES OPEN)

GIBBS: Is that the answer you were looking for?

(MUSIC UP AND OUT)

FADE IN:

INT. ELEVATOR - DAY

DUCKY: If the bodies recovered from the mausoleum were, in fact, the result of mass m*rder...

CUT TO:

INT. AUTOPSY LAB - DAY

(SFX: DOORS SLIDE OPEN)

DUCKY: ... one might expect a certain modicum of consistency in the manner of death.

GIBBS: One might.

DUCKY: Yes, and one would be wrong. sh*t, stabbed, strangled, bludgeoned, and poor Miss Undetermined Torrance. Three women, two men. Ages ranging from nineteen to seventy. Three are Caucasian, one Asian, and one Black.

GIBBS: No common traits.

DUCKY: Not in life. But the blood, however, settled on different surfaces on each of the bodies.

JIMMY: Her left thigh, and back. His chest and buttocks. Meaning...

MANN: The bodies were moved repeatedly.

DUCKY: Precisely. They were k*lled and then moved for some sort of preparation.

JIMMY: See the indentations in the ankles here and here... here.

MANN: Chain link.

DUCKY: Yes, I believe the bodies were suspended and drained, prior to being, well... there's only one word for it.

GIBBS: Butchered.

JIMMY: We sent the tissue samples to Abby. Hopefully she can...

(SFX: PHONE RINGS)

JIMMY: Speak of the devil.

DUCKY: What we have here is paradoxical behavior. On one side we have a--

MANN: An emotional unrestrained m*rder*r, using whatever means at hand.

DUCKY: Yes, and on the other, someone tidy, meticulous, and almost flawless in the way he dissected these bodies.

JIMMY: That wasn't Abby. That was the Director. She wants to see you. Both of you.

TONY: (V.O.) As far as we can tell...
CUT TO:

INT. SQUAD ROOM - DAY

TONY: ... the only thing that brought these people together is how they were taken apart. In addition to Marilyn Torrance, we have a nineteen-year-old runaway from Florida. He was sh*t. Thirty year old prost*tute. She was strangled.

ZIVA: No next of kin on either of them. Wade Carlin, twenty-six year old Georgetown graduate from Michigan.

MCGEE: He broke off contact with his parents after his girlfriend dumped him six months ago. They thought he was Jack Kerouac-ing around the country.

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

MCGEE: All missing persons cases. All have led to nowhere.

TONY: Until now. Gloria Grady. Age seventy-two. Ducky says she was the first victim. Blunt trauma. Only one relative, her son, Len Grady.

ZIVA: He was at James River.

TONY: With a bouquet of flowers.

ZIVA: Lilies. For who?

MCGEE: No record of any Grady at James River. Could be under a different name.

TONY: Could be a friend.

ZIVA: But lilies. They're feminine. The kind you give to a woman.

MCGEE: Like your mother. (b*at) Grady's mother. I don't know your mother.

TONY: Could be visiting his trophies.

ZIVA: Fits the classic profile. Thirties. Single. White.

MCGEE: We should tell Gibbs.

TONY: Yeah? Why don't we wait 'till he gets out, unless you want to be the one to interrupt his meeting? Campfire's over.

MUSICAL BRIDGE TO:

INT. SHEPARD'S OFFICE

SHEPARD: (INTO PHONE) Okay. Well, thank you, Colonel. I will get her back to you as soon as possible. (TO MANN) Your superiors have agreed to loan us your services for the interim. I trust that there is not a problem with that.

MANN: No. Of course not, Director. As long as Special Agent Gibbs continues to be forthcoming with pertinent information.

SHEPARD: Agent Gibbs?

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

SHEPARD: You two have worked cases together successfully in the past. Nothing's changed to interfere with that professional relationship, has there? (b*at) What do we have so far?

GIBBS: Four confirmed homicides. Likely five.

SHEPARD: That's all you know?

GIBBS: I know we're wasting time debating jurisdictional protocol, or discussing who is entitled to what.

SHEPARD: Well, then why don't you get back to it?

GIBBS: Yeah, thank you.

SHEPARD: Um... not you, Colonel Mann. I'd like to have a private word with you.(DOOR OPENS/ CLOSES)

CUT TO:

INT. ABBY'S LAB - DAY

(SFX: ABBY SLAMS HER SHOE ON THE COUNTER)

ZIVA: Uh... breaking in a new pair?

ABBY: No. I always wear these. Why do I always wear these? Let me see your shoes.

ZIVA: Okay.

ABBY: Flat, sensible, functional. Not very sexy, but...

ZIVA: But they do the trick.

ABBY: Why do I wear three inch platforms? When I'm already five ten! I love these shoes, just all wrong.

ZIVA: Wrong for who?

ABBY: The tissue samples.

ZIVA: I don't follow.

ABBY: No, you don't want to hear about shoes. You want to hear about tissue samples.

ZIVA: Sure.

ABBY: I ran the Torrance tissues through the mass spec. And I found abnormal levels of chlorine.

ZIVA: Chlorine?

ABBY: Yeah. Like in a swimming pool.

TONY: (V.O.) Len Grady's website.

CUT TO:

INT. SQUAD ROOM - DAY

TONY: He's a jack-of-all-trades. Basically a guy with a big van.

MCGEE: And a little initiative. Something of an amateur entrepreneur.

TONY: That's not easy to say. Carpenter, plumber, gardener, electrician, TV installation, snow shoveling.

ZIVA: But most importantly pool cleaning.

GIBBS: Is that supposed to mean something?

MCGEE: Well, he's not just any pool man. He's the Torrance's pool man. Grady's got his own key. Heated. Indoor. Regular monthly maintenance. I looked into it.

GIBBS: Royalty checks burning a hole in your pocket, McGee?

ZIVA: Already tied Grady to his mother.

MCGEE: Body number one.

TONY: And now Torrance.

ZIVA: Body number two.

GIBBS: Let's bring him in.

MUSICAL BRIDGE TO:

INT. SHEPARD'S OFFICE - DAY

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

MANN: My superiors acknowledge your letter of commendation. I want you to know I appreciate it.

SHEPARD: You two make an effective team.

MANN: Gibbs and myself?

SHEPARD: Well, it wasn't just a flash in the pan, was it? Your service at CID is up in six months. You must have started considering life after the m*llitary.

MANN: Yes, it has crossed my mind.

SHEPARD: The question is how to best serve your future, where the opportunity for advancement lies. It's not too early for a cocktail, is it?

MANN: The sun must be down somewhere.

SHEPARD: You drink bourbon?

MANN: No, not regularly.

SHEPARD: Spend enough time around Gibbs, and you'll learn. Believe me. It's an acquired taste.

MANN: And when did you first acquire it?

SHEPARD: It's been a while. It's something that stays with you, though.

CUT TO:

EXT. STREET - NIGHT

(TONY JOGS TO THE CAR)

(SFX: CAR DOOR OPENS/ CLOSES)

TONY: Nobody's home, Boss. Neighbors said he went out about an hour ago. What do we do?

GIBBS: We wait.

TONY: Okay. Colonel Mann still in with the Director? What do you think they're talking about?

GIBBS: We wait....silently.

TONY: Okay. (b*at) I got him!

(DOOR OPENS)

TONY: Len Grady! Freeze!

(MUSIC OVER ACTION/TONY AND GIBBS CHASE GRADY)

TONY: Federal agents!

(SFX: GRADY TRIPS/FALLS)

MCGEE: Up! Up! Up!

GRADY: What?! What!?

CUT TO:

INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

(DOOR OPENS)

TONY: Bachelor living.

ZIVA: Not every bachelor.

MCGEE: He's got a card for everything. (READS) Len Grady Painter. Len Grady Fountain Design. Cottage cheese ceilings removed and made smooth.

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

ZIVA: Not really what she wants. She's upset about her shoes.

MCGEE: Doesn't sounds like Abby.

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

MCGEE: She was crying?

ZIVA: Practically.

MCGEE: Oh, it's not the shoes.

TONY: Got something. Yep. White paper package tied with brown string.

ZIVA: What is that?

MCGEE: It's a pork chop.

CUT TO:

INT. HALLWAY - DAY

MANN: You got our guy in there.

GIBBS: Maybe.

MANN: What?

GIBBS: Nothing.

MANN: It seems like you were thinking of something.

GIBBS: That's been known to happen.

MANN: Something about me.

GIBBS: I thought I recognized your perfume.

MANN: I don't wear perfume.

GIBBS: Must have been something else.

(DOOR OPENS)

CUT TO:

INT. OBSERVATION ROOM

GRADY: (FILTERED) So can I just go ahead and pay the fine and get out of here?

CUT TO:

INT. INTERROGATION ROOM

GIBBS: Fine?

GRADY: I know I shouldn't have cashed my mother's social security checks.

GIBBS: We're not the IRS. She went missing last March.

GRADY: She had dementia. It was getting worse. She must have gotten out one day.

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

GRADY: I keep hoping she'll come back.

GIBBS: You already know where to find her.

GRADY: How do I know that?

GIBBS: You went to visit her.

ZIVA: Brought her flowers.

GRADY: My mother's at the cemetery?

ZIVA: What's left of her. She was dismembered.

CUT TO:

INT. OBSERVATION ROOM

MANN: Look at his mind spinning.

MCGEE: He's trying to figure out how to play him.

CUT TO:

INT. INTERROGATION ROOM

GRADY: I didn't do that. I took care of my mother. I fed her. I cleaned up after her.

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

GRADY: (SHOUTS) I loved my mother!(SFX: GRADY BANGS HIS HAND ON THE COUNTER)

ZIVA: Maybe you were right the first time. It must have been like putting down a dog. Only no one ever noticed. Getting away with it must have been the most shocking part.

GIBBS: And a new career is born.

ZIVA: You did it again. And again. Kelly Camarda.

CUT TO:

INT. OBSERVATION ROOM

ZIVA: (FILTERED) Wade Carlin.

MANN: Something's not right.

ZIVA: (FILTERED) Marilyn Torrance.

MCGEE: What do you mean?

MANN: He looks relieved.

CUT TO:

INT. INTERROGATION ROOM

ZIVA: Gloria Grady.

GRADY: Okay. Stop.

GIBBS: You have something you want to tell us?

GRADY: All of these people were chopped up? That's disgusting. What kind of person do you think could do that? I mean, you're looking for a monster. What do you want me to say? It's not me. (LONG b*at) What now? Want me to do a lie-detector test or something?

(DOOR OPENS/ CLOSES)

ZIVA: You just did.

CUT TO:

INT. OBSERVATION ROOM

MANN: He's telling the truth.

GIBBS: You think I'm wrong?

MANN: No. But he was relieved when you connected her with the rest of the bodies. He has no feelings about them at all.

GIBBS: It doesn't mean he wasn't involved.

MANN:

MANN: Maybe. But that doesn't look like a man who feels trapped. That looks like a man who knows he has a way out.

(CONT.) There's something much worse than Len Grady out there. Only he knows what it is.

(MUSIC UP AND OUT)

FADE IN:

INT. SQUAD ROOM - DAY

MANN: We've got to push Grady harder to tell us what he knows.

GIBBS: He won't.

MANN: You think he's protecting the real k*ller?

GIBBS: Protecting himself.

MANN: Well, I can prove that he's not acting alone.

TONY: Trying to run down Grady's van. No luck so far.

MANN: He was on foot when you apprehended him.

TONY: So what did he do with his ride?

MANN: And when did he do it?

ZIVA: After he spotted us at the cemetery.

MANN: What? He just happened to be visiting? There's no such thing as a coincidence.

ZIVA: Well, he wanted information.

MCGEE: He was there to watch us.

MANN: But, he got there as quickly as I did, so how did he know about the investigation?

MCGEE: He's got a friend on the inside.

MANN: A-ha. One person's a psychopath. Two people's a conspiracy. So who is he talking to? Grady doesn't leave here until we know everything about him. You start with yesterday and you work backwards.

GIBBS: (LONG b*at) Go.

MANN: Forensics?

MCGEE: Boss...

MANN: Yeah?

MCGEE: (TO GIBBS) Um, if you're going to go see Abby, I think you should know she's going through something and I'm not...

GIBBS: Not going empty-handed, McGee.

MUSICAL BRIDGE TO:

INT. ABBY'S LAB - DAY

ABBY: Gibbs. And Lieutenant Colonel Mann.

MANN: Abby...

ABBY: Can I interest you in some knives? I've got kitchen knives, pen knives, pocket knives, Swiss Army knives. Razor blades, Exacto blades, scissors, saws, scalpels, hedge clippers, an adze, an awl, a fish scaler, and even a golf-hole cutter.

MANN: All recovered from Grady's pig sty?

ABBY: Reflected in the care he used to maintain his cutlery. There's dings and nicks and dull edges. None of these correspond to any of the precise incisions used to dismember the corpses. For such a slob, he certainly is careful when it counts. There wasn't a single trace of human blood anywhere.

MANN: Human blood.

ABBY: Our boy Grady is something of a carnivore. From the remnants on his silverware, I could pretty much tell you every meal he had for a week. Liverwurst, knockwurst, pastrami, roast beef, rack of lamb. Which leads us to...this.

MANN: The pork chop from his freezer.

ABBY: Probably his next meal. When I blow it up, it gets real interesting.

MANN: It matches the incisions on the bodies.

ABBY: Tool mark analysis isn't as precise as say fingerprints or ballistics, but I can conclusively tell you that none of the blades in Grady's possession carved that pig.

MANN: Well, why would they? He probably had it carved at... his partner's a butcher!

(MANN WALKS O.S.)

ABBY: Don't you have work to do? Look, it's not something that you can fix in the classic Gibbs' hit and run style. Okay?

GIBBS: I've got time, Abs.

ABBY: It's stupid. It's just... the guy. I'm not going to start spilling my guts just 'cause you keep standing here. (LONG b*at) All right, apparently I am too much for him. Can you imagine that? Me? And it's not what you think. It's not all this. He likes... he likes small women. I got dumped because I'm too ... too big. Don't even bother with the..."no, it's him. He's too small." Or "if he can't accept you for who you are, then it's his problem thing." He just doesn't think that we could make it work. And I've done everything I can to try to convince him that he's wrong. So I guess I'm just going to have to accept it. And let it go. (b*at) Thanks, Gibbs. You always know what to say.

CUT TO:

INT. SQUAD ROOM - DAY

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

ZIVA: So far thirteen possibles and counting.

MANN: McGee.

MCGEE: Supermarkets, slaughterhouses, any place with a butcher on site within a twenty block radius of Grady's residence.

MANN: Narrow the search to boutique shops. They'd need their privacy.

MCGEE: There's just one.

ZIVA: Just one?

TONY: Boutique butcher's a dying industry.

MANN: Where?

MCGEE: Le Cochon, Mass Avenue.

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

GIBBS: Let's roll!

MUSICAL BRIDGE TO:

INT. LE COCHON - DAY

(SFX: DALTON CHOPS MEAT)

GIBBS: Ms. Dalton.(DOOR OPENS)

DALTON: I thought you said you didn't need me.

MANN: What's your relationship with Len Grady?

DALTON: Lenny's my boyfriend. Why? What's going on?

MANN: You told Grady you spoke with us earlier.

DALTON: Yeah, I mentioned it. (b*at) Is this about the investigation? (b*at) Where is Len?

TONY: In custody.

MANN: We suspect he's committed at least five murders.

DALTON: That's impossible. Len would never hurt any... (b*at) five?

MANN: At least.

GIBBS: Where's your freezer?

(MUSIC OVER ACTION/ZIVA/ TONY/ MCGEE SEARCH THE STORE)

TONY: Nothing in here, Boss.

ZIVA: Just a pork, beef and lamb.

DALTON: What else would there be?

MCGEE: Human blood.

DALTON: Human?

GIBBS: What's in here?

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

GIBBS: Got a key?

(SFX: GIBBS UNLOCKS THE PADLOCK)

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

MANN: Does Grady have access to your store?

DALTON: He's here all the time. Look, this can't be happening, okay? There must be some kind of...

(SFX: FREEZER DOOR OPENS)

(MUSIC OVER ACTION/DALTON RUSHES FROM THE ROOM GAGGING/ VOMITING)

CUT TO:

INT. INTERROGATION ROOM

DALTON: He was a regular customer. Every week like clockwork. It was the only time that he could get away from his mother.

ZIVA: He felt trapped.

DALTON: I could tell that he needed to get on with his life. It started with a few words here and there. And then before long we were...

ZIVA: Together.

DALTON: Not fully, no. We didn't trade keys until ... after she um... disappeared.

ZIVA: He learned your trade.

DALTON: I taught him. He always wanted to try new things. I never suspected that...how could I not have seen it?

GIBBS: Love makes you blind.

DALTON: No. I must be some kind of monster.

CUT TO:

INT. OBSERVATION ROOM

MANN: Is she the monster you were talking about?

GRADY: No. She loves me.

TONY: How?

GRADY: We're in love.

MANN: Well then she had to know about it. She had to know the real you.

GRADY: She didn't do anything.

MCGEE: You're right. She could have stopped you.

TONY: She should have stopped you.

MANN: Well, if it was real.

GRADY: She didn't know! I hid it! I hid everything! Just leave her out of it! (SHOUTS) Natalie, I'm sorry! I'm sorry, Natalie! I'm so sorry!

CUT TO:

INT. INTERROGATION ROOM

GRADY: (V.O./MUFFLED) I'm sorry!! I love you!!

CUT TO:

INT. OBSERVATION ROOM

GRADY: (SHOUTS) I'm sorry!(DOOR OPENS/ CLOSES)

GIBBS: Let's try this again. Marilyn Torrance.

GRADY: She was swimming in her pool. I drowned her.

GIBBS: Wade Carlin.

GRADY: Natalie was at the wholesale market. He came him for a sandwich. I stabbed him. She was a hooker. I was lonely. Natalie was out of town! I strangled her. And the kid was nobody. Nobody. I just sh*t him!

MANN: You kept him in the freezer for over a year? Why'd you move the bodies? Why'd you move them!?

GIBBS: He needed the space.

GRADY: No one could have stopped me.

MANN: You were going to k*ll again.

GIBBS: (b*at) He already did.

MANN: What'd you do with the body?

GRADY: It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter.

(GRADY STRUGGLES/

SHOUTS)

GRADY: No! No! No! No, Natalie!!(DOOR CLOSES)

(GRADY'S MUFFLED SHOUTS B.G.)

MANN: Find the van, find the body.

GIBBS: Let her go.

CUT TO:

INT. ABBY'S LAB - DAY

(SFX: DOORS SLIDE OPEN)

ZIVA: Still at work?

ABBY: Yeah. I was just catching up on some things.

ZIVA: Cheek swabs. Hey, your music's back on. You're feeling good again.

ABBY: Maybe not good. Not yet. But better. You know, um... sometimes a guy can get you all tied up inside.

ZIVA: Yes.

ABBY: And then you can't get the knots out.

ZIVA: Yes.

ABBY: Well, it just really helped me to talk things out with Gibbs, you know, and unknot the knots. 'Cause even if you don't let it show, people can still tell. So you know, if you ever want to talk about Lieutenant Sanders...

ZIVA: I liked him. He d*ed. And what else is there to say?

(ABBY HUGS ZIVA)

ZIVA: Well, I'm glad you feel better.

CUT TO:

INT. CAR - MOVING

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

GIBBS: Oh, yeah. Give me a little old time romance.

(SFX: MANN LAUGHS)

MANN: Someone's got hidden skeletons of his own. You know, if I ever find myself in a dire situation, (V.O.) the proverbial body I need to get rid of, (ON CAMERA) I think I would tell you.

GIBBS: Yeah?

MANN: Yeah.

CUT TO:

EXT. CAR - NIGHT

(SFX: CAR DOORS OPEN/CLOSE)

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

MANN: If there's one thing you're good at, Jethro, it's keeping your mouth shut. You made the right call letting the girl go. It seems you always make the right call when it involves a case.

(SFX: VAN DOORS OPEN)

MANN: Oh, son-of-a....

(MUSIC UP AND OUT)

(ENDING CREDITS UP AND OUT)
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