["Teardrop Valley" by The Lonesome Drifter playing]
♪ Well, today hard luck has found me...
♪ GUARD: You're not on the list, I can't let you in.
But it's not about me.
I need to talk to someone about her.
Look, I'm not gonna let you just pass me off...
Ma'am, I need you to calm down.
I've been calm!
For a year, while police sat on their asses!
Okay, we're done.
You need to go.
I'm not going anywhere until someone listens to me.
GUARD: Ma'am, step back.
No, I'm not leaving.
No.
I said step back.
Ma'am.
Get off me.
[grunting]
Hey.
WOMAN: Let me go!
[gasping]
Hey!
Aah!
We've got it handled, Agent Gibbs.
You work here?
You NCIS?
Enough!
Let's go!
Look at that photo.
Look at her face.
She was m*rder*d.
She was a veteran.
You owe her justice!
Get off me!
♪ Yes, the situation was contained at the front gate.
It was an isolated incident with no connection to the lockdown we had last month.
Okay, appreciate it.
No comment at this time.
Thank you.
That is three reporters in the last eight minutes.
You?
One reporter, Homeland, and Agent Wright from the REACT team.
Yes, I'll hold again.
No problem.
BISHOP: Who do you have, SECNAV?
Oh, no, I'm making a reservation at The Cooler.
The Cooler?
Like, the restaurant where everything's made of ice?
It's like a five-star meal in a five-star igloo.
Oh, there's no way you're getting in there.
I heard Oprah's in town this week-- even she can't get a table.
Special Agent McGee.
Uh, hold on, you're ignoring all other calls you're getting right now?
B, relax.
Hello.
Before they put me on hold, I forwarded all my calls to Reeves.
Are you kidding me, bro?
My phone has been ringing double-time.
Sucks to be you, baby.
Hello.
NCIS, Special Agent Nick Torres.
I'd like a table for two, please.
[phone beeping]
Hello?
Hello?
You hung up on them.
Not everything's about you, mate.
It's not?
Yeah, that's right.
No new developments to speak of.
You guys, it is a madhouse down there.
There's a line of news vans right outside the gate.
Hello?
Yes, uh...
No, no, no, don't put me on hold.
Oh...
And music.
Wait, what's going on around here?
Ooh, is Oprah touring the navy yard?
No, no, there was an arrest at the front gate this morning.
What happened?
We don't have full details yet-- still waiting on an update from Gibbs.
Who is she?
My mother.
Retired navy.
Name?
Chief Petty Officer Mae Carter.
And you are...
Sara Carter.
This isn't about me.
You punch a guard at the navy yard gate, it becomes about you.
My mother was a master-at-arms/ command investigator.
Did three tours in the Middle East.
This one was Kuwait.
Desert Storm.
She left her kid and ran straight into a w*r zone.
Same as every man she served with.
Just like me.
I left my daughter.
Desert Storm.
Guards found this in your bag when they searched it.
That your mom, too?
It was taken 26 years later.
It's a self-portrait.
She took it a week before she d*ed.
All right.
All right, I'm listening.
She was sh*t and k*lled by an intruder in her own house.
Virginia State Police did nothing.
They let it go unsolved for a year.
Yeah, well, getting yourself arrested isn't gonna help.
I don't need a lecture.
I need you to take this case.
See, I don't like that word "need." Come on with the dancing.
Okay?
You don't get to sit on that side of the table and make demands.
Well, I'm making them!
My mom gave 20 years of her life to serve this country.
You say you're a vet, you know what that means.
You kick me out of here, I'll camp out at the front gate.
Hell, I'll find your front door.
I need you to take this case and solve it.
For her.
NEWSMAN: This morning's disturbance was caused by a woman identified as 28-year-old Sara Carter.
Carter was reportedly there to demand that NCIS solve the m*rder of her mother.
And thanks to cell phone video taken by an onlooker at the scene, we have a pretty good idea of what happened when Carter's appeal went awry.
She's got a heck of a left.
Really fast.
So?
SECNAV has asked me to draft a press release.
Let me guess.
"We'll support the Virginia State Police "in every way possible "to solve the m*rder of Mae Carter.
"However, this case does not fall under the jurisdiction of NCIS." Once again.
Say that slowly so I can type it.
Are you sure this is the best route, Leon?
You said it yourself-- m*rder of a veteran off-base.
It's not our case.
Sure, but what about principle?
Is that even a thing anymore?
I did some digging on the daughter, Sara Carter.
Not only was her mom a vet, so was her grandmother, and so is Sara.
She was an individual augmentee in Afghanistan.
Recipient of the Purple Heart.
She suffered a broken clavicle and a traumatic brain injury from a roadside b*mb.
A kindred spirit, but still it's not our case.
Taking the case, Leon.
Gibbs, come on in.
Police had their sh*t.
We've got more resources.
We've got a better team.
And her mother, I understand her without even reading a report.
Cell phone videos of this gate incident have gone viral.
People are gonna scrutinize and demonize until Mae Carter's k*ller is found.
If we take this on, we could be setting up this agency for a PR nightmare.
We're not gonna fail, Leon.
All right, I'll let them know.
Thanks.
That was Detective Olson from Virginia State PD.
He's giving us the Mae Carter case.
You talk to him?
Yeah.
He sent over his electronic files about 15 minutes ago.
Yeah, he said he was more than willing.
He's pulling up the evidence for us now.
Why be so willing to hand over a case?
'Cause normal people like to work less.
We are not normal people, Torres.
Give me an update.
Let's go.
As a master-at-arms/ command investigator, CPO Mae Carter handled POWs during wartime and investigated non-felony crimes during peace.
BISHOP: She retired at 38 and started a second career as an assistant parole officer in the Virginia Department of Corrections.
McGEE: One year ago, she was sh*t and k*lled in her home in what appeared to be a robbery gone bad.
Detective Olson said that her house went into foreclosure right after that.
TORRES: The new owner tore it down to rebuild.
Yeah, so no going back to the crime scene.
Suspects?
One primary.
A guy named Robert Flynn.
BISHOP: He was convicted of attempted burglary.
That happened on the same block a few days before the m*rder.
Flynn served six months for that crime, but there was never enough evidence to charge him with the m*rder of Mae Carter.
Torres, coordinate with Olson.
Transfer of evidence.
Bishop, loop in Abby.
McGee, you and me.
All right.
Robert the robber.
I already tracked down his location for the rest of the afternoon.
[laughter]
FLYNN: I'm telling you, it's true.
I am going for the easiest target every single time.
Now, remember, for somebody like me, it's all about opportunity.
So, keep your doors locked, keep your eyes open, and keep your valuables with you at all times, or else I'm gonna be stealing 'em as you walk out of this room.
[laughter]
I'm kidding, of course.
Thank you guys so much.
That's all the time that I got.
I really appreciate it.
[applause]
Keep it real.
Mr.
Flynn, NCIS.
FLYNN: Let me guess.
You're here about Mae Carter?
The daughter has her 15 minutes, you got reporters and the navy cops calling.
But tell you what.
See that beautiful lady right there in the blue?
I just gave her an interview.
If I were you, I'd go talk to her, ask her if you could see it.
That way you could save me some time, I could get all this cleaned up.
[chuckles]
No.
Okay.
Somebody came in hot.
[laughs]
But look, I was a burglar, not a m*rder*r.
And, as you can see, now I'm neither-- I'm reformed.
The judge forced you to do these talks as part of your parole.
And I'm embracing 'em, bro.
Mae Carter.
Talk.
Yeah, look, it was, um...
it was the middle of a heat wave.
I didn't have air in my car, so I only ended up casing her street for about an hour.
I tried to hit a house down the block, and I got caught.
That's it.
That's as close as I ever got to Mae Carter.
You never entered her house?
Nah, man, she had lawn ornaments.
That means there ain't nothing worth nothing in there.
[chuckling]: If you know what I mean.
Yeah, yeah, I did, uh...
I did hear some yelling, though.
Coming from her house?
Yeah, yeah.
I couldn't, uh...
couldn't make out the words, but it sounded like a couple of females who were pretty pissed off at each other.
You tell that to the detective on the case?
What, Olson?
Oh, yeah, yeah.
Me and him go way back, like car seats.
We got a special bond.
He, uh...
he's the first cop that ever arrested me, so...
Good luck, guys.
Tell you what, if I wasn't knee-deep in a triple homicide, I'd buy you a drink for taking this beast off my hands.
Well, do you have a minute to chat?
Uh, 30 seconds would be better.
Robert Flynn.
You like him for this?
At first, yeah.
But I could never find anything solid tying him to the m*rder.
And the Carter place was tossed.
No valuables were taken.
You think it was staged?
The victim could have been the target all along.
I went down that road, hit a dead end.
And when I followed up on the fight that Flynn told me about, three neighbors confirmed there was arguing the entire week leading up to the m*rder.
Arguing between who?
Between Mae Carter and her daughter.
Sara?
Yeah.
She admitted to living with her mother at the time, but she claims she can't remember what the fights were about.
Hard to believe.
Well, when I first got this case, I felt like I was staring into a can of worms.
The only person I ever found that had a true beef with Mae Carter was her daughter.
All right, we'll be in touch.
Yeah, you know where to find me.
ABBY: Okay, let's see what's in this one.
The b*ll*ts that k*lled Mae Carter.
A pair of nine millimeters, check.
And the clothes she was wearing when she was m*rder*d.
Yep, they're all here.
JIMMY: Did you guys see these crime scene photos?
See, the-the autopsy report said that Mae fell onto her stomach when she was sh*t, but the police report said she was found on her side.
Why would the k*ller have moved her?
[computer chimes]
Is the answer coming in already?
What?
I just got an e-mail saying that I was randomly selected to have dinner for two at The Cooler this weekend.
Yes!
I'm in.
What?
No, no, no.
I-I already know what I'm gonna order.
They serve this gourmet soup, and there is this pumpkin chowder, Abbs, that is supposed to be amazing.
You know, I think I might give it to Al, the janitor.
His wife's been in the hospital, and they could probably use a pick-me-up.
No joke, Abby, you are like an angel in platform shoes, you know that?
Oh, oh, hey, it says here that this offer is non-transferrable.
That means, Abby, you have to go.
You have to take one of us with you.
Well, you can leave me out of it.
I don't really fancy soup.
Hey, Abbs.
Ladies' night in an igloo?
Huh?
Wait a minute.
Guys, look at this.
They're credit card bills, all in Sara Carter's name, and they're all past due.
So, she was fighting with her mother, and thousands of dollars in debt.
Failed to mention it to any of us.
Think she was hiding something?
One way to find out.
I'll send you her address?
All right, picture this: you and me, subterranean coworkers dining on ice chairs.
It feels so right.
That's not her name.
You sure this is the right house?
Well, it has to be.
This is the address she gave us.
Hey, there she is.
Ms.
Carter.
Who are you?
NCIS.
Oh, you're working with Agent Gibbs?
Yes.
Did you find something?
Do you have a suspect?
Actually want to ask you a few questions, if you don't mind coming with us.
Yeah, I mind, I've got my kid.
Look, some issues have come up, and we need some clarification.
Well, can it wait until tomorrow when he's in school?
Uh, no, it can't.
Where are you going, Sara?
I'm not going anywhere.
Your car is packed.
You were fighting with your mother before she was k*lled, and now you're about to skip town?
I said I'm not going anywhere.
This is everything you have, isn't it?
Your mother's house went into foreclosure, and...
...this car's where you've been living.
Thank you.
Hey, Leon.
I just got off the phone with a reporter named Diane Boyle.
She's the newest member of this TV news magazine, Profile 360.
Yeah.
Saw her when we went to question Robert Flynn.
She's doing a piece on the case?
Mm-hmm.
She's turning over every rock she can find on the m*rder of Mae Carter.
In fact, she's got witnesses saying that NCIS was hostile with Mae's daughter in the street.
Hey, Leon, I don't care what kind of BS she's got.
My only concern is justice for Mae Carter, that's it.
Bear in mind, Gibbs, when the world is watching, "no comment" can only play for so long.
Okay, guys, you're both right.
Can we just please move on?
The daughter, Sara Carter.
That address she gave us, it's not hers.
The family that lives there lets her use their shower.
SLOANE: The traumatic brain injury that Sara suffered in Afghanistan resulted in migraines and trouble concentrating.
Hard to hold down a job.
SLOANE: Which contributed to her homelessness.
This is not a unique case, as we all know.
Yeah.
I know the numbers.
The-the numbers are wrong, Leon, that's the point.
Women are the fastest growing segment of the homeless vet population.
And-and women aren't the vets that are standing on the side of the road with a cardboard sign.
They don't live in the streets or shelters.
It is safer to sleep in a car or on someone's couch if you have kids.
Exactly.
It's like they're invisible.
They're not even counted.
So there are not enough resources to help, I know.
But our case isunique, Agent Sloane.
Living situation aside, Sara Carter is looking like a suspect.
Does the TBI affect her memory?
Nothing in her charts would suggest that, no.
So there's no way she can't recall a week-long argument leading up to the m*rder of her mother.
Find out what she's hiding.
Sara Carter is waiting in the conference room.
I'll get her son settled somewhere and meet you in there.
I'd like to go with you to talk to her.
Too many people, her guard will go up.
Gibbs, we're not done here!
Hey.
That's not your call to make.
You know about the volunteer work I've been doing.
Yeah.
Charity for homeless vets.
Let me talk to Sara.
I can benefit this investigation.
Okay, Reeves, you take my place.
Thank you.
You report back to me.
Where'd they take Theo?
Uh, he's just down the hall with Agent Bishop.
Please, have a seat.
I don't know what you want from me.
Uh, do you remember stuff you said a year ago?
If it was one of the last things I said to my mom, yeah.
Sara, we know that you were in debt.
Did you ask your mom for money?
The sooner you talk to us, the sooner you and your son can go.
[sighs]
I-I didn't want my mom to bail me out.
Uh, she loved taking pictures.
So she cashed in her 401K to start a photography studio.
When she found out how much I owed, she used the money to pay for my bills instead.
[exhales]
So that's why you were arguing.
Yeah.
Why didn't you tell Detective Olson?
I was ashamed.
And it had nothing to do with her m*rder anyway.
I mean, that detective was looking in all the wrong places.
And so you came to us because you wanted to take care of your mom the way she took care of you.
She did more than that.
She took care of Theo.
When I deployed, she kept my baby safe and fed, she sang to him, she let him know he was loved, so I could complete my mission.
You know, she did that for me.
Now I'm going to do this for her.
Sara, you can't help anybody if you don't help yourself.
There's an organization called Final Salute.
[sighs]
And they have a house for female vets and their kids.
Look, I already told you...
You could stay there until you get back on your feet.
We're not homeless.
Okay?
As soon as this is over, Theo and I are gonna go live with my aunt in Texas, okay?
It's pre-paid.
I've programmed in my number.
Just in case you change your mind.
Can we go get Theo now?
Absolutely.
McGEE: Morning, Abby.
Get ready, 'cause I've got a surprise for you.
Is it something to keep me warm while I'm having dinner at The Cooler?
Faux-fur skull earmuffs, check 'em out.
Thank you.
You can put them here on the table with the scarf from Torres and the leg warmers from Bishop and the soup spoon from Jimmy.
Have you picked a plus one yet?
No.
I just want to make sure that I choose the person who really deserves a fantastic night.
Abby, I have known and adored you longer than any of these people.
I know, McGee.
And I'm factoring that into my dinner companion algorithm.
Okay.
Meanwhile, I found out why Mae's body was moved.
She was turned onto her side so the k*ller could get something out of her front pocket.
These the jeans she was wearing?
Yes.
And I found traces of paper here.
McGEE: What are those markings?
Carbon black dye number 28.
Because of the extreme heat we were having, some of the ink from the paper transferred onto the inside of the pocket.
And you enhanced it.
ABBY: Enhanced it, unscrambled it and flipped it, and I could see that it's a list of alphanumeric characters, all beginning with the letters "GC." Which means...?
They're tracking numbers from a shipping company called Global Courier.
It's possible the k*ller was looking for some kind of package.
Were you able to find any full numbers?
I got one, and I texted it to you.
Wow, thanks, Abbs.
By the way, those earmuffs?
Velvet lined.
WOMAN [over P.A.]: We need a forklift at the loading dock, please.
Yep, this is definitely one of our tracking numbers.
What was it for?
We don't know the contents, but it was a six-by-nine envelope bag sent from Veteran Alpha Care.
The mail order pharmacy.
Yeah, that's the one.
Let me see.
The recipient was Earl Kraft in Arlington.
Package was delivered?
February of last year.
No, I take that back.
It was initially marked as delivered, but the recipient later reported it stolen.
Earl...?Earl Kraft.
I can write down his address, if that helps.
Boss?
Hey.
You following us?
Start rolling.
You're with NCIS...
I asked you a question.
My name is Diane Boyle, and we're here...
Yeah, yeah, I know who you are.
Put that away.
How do you respond to claims that your agency was mistreating the victim's daughter?
Put it down.
What?
I said put it down!
Do you have any new suspects on the m*rder of Mae Carter?
Mr.
Gunderson, do these people have your permission to be on the property?
N-No, they do not.
I'm not gonna ask you again.
All right, let's go-- okay.
Get out of here.
BISHOP: Earl Kraft is an Army vet who was receiving prescription painkillers from a mail order V.A.
pharmacy.
Did you talk to him?
He d*ed of a heart att*ck about two months ago.
According to the report he filed, he believed his pills were stolen out of his mailbox.
Give me a timeline.
Theft happened a month before Mae Carter was m*rder*d.
So it's possible she got his tracking number and stole his pills.
TORRES: It's funny, that picture makes her look like a good citizen, but...
Well, original case file shows that she used her credit card to buy gas a few hours before she d*ed.
That gas station is in a bad neighborhood.
We're talking about Mad Maxbad.
Hey, you talking about the gas station bit?
Yeah.
Well, for that, I have something.
Traffic cam footage.
You got to come closer, bro.
No, Torres, your massive head is...
it's in the way.
Can you just...?
Thank you.
The traffic cam only took a picture because the car in front was speeding through a red light.
That's Mae's car in back, parked half a mile from the gas station.
We don't know how long she stayed, we don't know where she went.
Anything else in the area?
There's a hostel on the corner, and that's it, really.
Why would she have stopped there the day she was m*rder*d?
Torres, Reeves, go.
Bishop, other traffic cams.
McGee, get Detective Olson on the phone.
Find out if any of this means anything to him.
They put me on hold for, like, an hour, and then they tell me that I can't get a table till next year.
But Abby's got to take me, right?
I mean, I deserve a fantastic night.
Yeah, I'm sure you do, mate.
What's your problem?
What's my problem?
Sara Carter doesn't have an aunt who lives in Texas.
I've seen this a dozen times.
She needs help, but she's scared that if she admits she's homeless, they'll take her son away from her.
That's heavy, man.
Yeah.
You know, I have heavy thoughts, too.
Weightlifting fantasies don't count, mate.
They don't?
Hey.
NCIS.
You, too?
I'm MI6, actually.
MI6.
That's dope, dude, you got the accent and everything.
All right, all right.
You recognize her?
Hmm, no.
Why, should I?
About a year ago, she was in the neighborhood, parked on the corner.
Well, that's kind of a stretch, isn't it?
TORRES: Listen, how many beds you have open tonight?
Uh, I don't really do math.
I just give people a bed if I got one.
Perfect.
Then you won't mind if we have a look around?
No, do your thing.
I got this!
No, I got this!
Hey!
[bystanders gasp]
[grunts]
Come on.
Go back, Clay, I'm faster than you.
MAN: Hey!
[car horn honks]
REEVES: Get over yourself, bruv, I'm just jogging.
TORRES: How funny, so am I.
[workers muttering]
[grunting]
Nick, out my bloody way!
[grunts]
Really?
[Reeves mutters]
Clay, stop!
[bystanders screaming]
WOMAN: Oh, my God.
Name was Jax Wesley.
He owned the hostel?
Yeah.
TORRES: This guy must've had a lot of practice running away from cops.
He was quick.
What about the woman who hit him?
She was lucky.
Just a few scratches.
Wrong time, wrong place.
Hmm.
Could happen to the best of us.
Yep.
You know what?
This body needs to be covered.
I'm gonna text Jimmy, see how far away he is.
Copy.
Hey.
Yo.
You all right, man?
Yeah.
You know, you never want to see these things happen, even if the guy's running away from you.
Listen.
You pulled me back when that truck hit.
What?
You think I was trying to save your life?
What, you weren't?
No, man, I just-- I just can't stand seeing you ahead of me.
Oh, hey, and, Reeves?
The only reason why you won is because I pulled my hammy.
[chuckles]
So, what are we looking for?
Well, Reeves said, once they headed behind the desk, the guy ran.
Hollow?
Mm-hmm.
GIBBS: Or you could push right here.
My bad.
This is more than a hostel.
BISHOP: Yeah, one-stop shop for all your illegal prescription drug needs.
Nine-mill.
Same as the b*ll*ts used to k*ll Mae Carter.
Get it to Abby for ballistics.
OLSON: Agent Gibbs?
Yeah.
Detective Olson.
Nice to meet you in person.
Yeah.
Same.
Torres caught me up to speed.
I ran the name Jax Wesley through our system.
Narcotics had a file on him.
Find any prescription dr*gs here?
Oh, yeah.
Wow.
The guy wasn't kidding around.
Narcotics was onto him for the last two months, but they were keeping their distance, trying to get an ID on his supplier.
They come up with anything?
No.
You think his supplier could've been Mae Carter?
From me?
She doesn't seem the type.
Well, as far as I can see, the tracking numbers you found in Mae Carter's pocket could've been pills she stole, brought here to sell.
Or, possible, she was coming here to buy more.
That's not my mom.
She wasn't stealing anyone's pills.
She wouldn't steal anything.
We took this case out of respect for your mother.
That hasn't changed.
SLOANE: Sara, we looked into her past.
In 1998, she was hospitalized.
She overdosed on antidepressants.
Yeah, my father couldn't handle her being away on deployment.
He left us.
You're accusing her.
Desert Storm, guys were always looking for trophies to smuggle back.
Weapons, knives.
I took a can of Iraqi shoe polish.
[both chuckle]
Made me think that we all...
polish our boots the same way.
Me...
the enemy...
the guy next to me.
So what?
And your mother, too.
Oh, you think you know my mom because, what, we're all the same?
No.
Not the same.
We're all human.
When she got out of that hospital, she picked herself up and went straight to rehab.
Okay?
My mother was not stealing anything.
And she damn sure wasn't taking anything either.
She stayed sober until the day she d*ed.
Wait, wait.
Excuse me, Sara, Sara?
Wait, wait, wait.
At least take some food for Theo.
Look, I'm late.
I got to pick him up from school.
Please.
You said you were going to do right by my mom.
Now all you're doing is dragging her through the mud.
[door opens, bell jingles]
DIANE: Next week, on Profile 360, Sara Carter packed up her life, putting off a cross-country move to find justice for her mother.
My mom loved taking photos.
Look, I'm only talking to you so people know she mattered.
Okay?
So they can't just throw her to the side.
DIANE: We'll take you through all the drama.
I said, put it down!
DIANE: Okay.
All right.
All right, let's go.
GIBBS: Get out of here!
Camera adds ten pounds to his temper.
You want to make it 20?
Gibbs!
[whispers]: God, he's really quiet.
DIANE: All that and more next week...
So glad you're here.
Take a peek here at Jax Wesley.
Now, what you're looking at are massive injuries from the truck hit.
[phone chimes]
That it?
It's Abby.
Ballistics came back.
Jax's g*n was the one used to k*ll Mae Carter.
Well, we've got our k*ller right here.
Mae Carter, what about her tox screen?
Police dropped the ball.
They never did one on Mae the time of the m*rder.
So, if she had relapsed, we'll never know for sure.
[quietly]: Yeah.
[bell dings]
Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready?
Made from scratch with our own brilliant hands, of course, say hello to the monster pizzas.
[applause]
[laughs]
WOMAN: Well, make sure you save yourself a piece.
It's called the Final Salute HOME program.
All the residents are homeless women vets and their kids.
So, this is what you were collecting donations for?
Yeah.
Started volunteering as part of my recovery.
See, a difference between me and Sara, she has a load of pictures of her mom.
And, uh, I've only got the one.
Aw, is that you?
I was three years old when she d*ed.
One of the only things I know about her is that she was homeless.
Well, we were homeless together.
So you volunteer to honor her.
Yeah, it's like, uh, when I'm here, I can see her, in a way.
And I figured, when I'm retired, I'd start a charity of my own and name it after her.
But I think my, uh, volunteer work is best kept to making pizza.
[chuckles]
Why?
Because Sara didn't accept your help?
I mean, you can't give up on her.
I'm not.
That's why I wanted you to see this place, so you could talk to her.
Me?
Abby, you've got the biggest heart I've ever seen.
If anyone can convince Sara to take help, it's you.
I'm not doing it.
Please, Abby.
Sara doesn't trust me.
You don't need me.
Everything that this place stands for, this is you, Clay.
And you can't expect Sara to let her guard down if you don't let your guard down.
[phone ringing]
Yeah.
This is Reeves.
THEO: Is this the police guy?
Theo?
My mom needs help.
[grunting]
Theo, where are you?
THEO: We're at the place where we parked our car.
Please, come.
Please!
I'm on my way, Theo!
[grunting]
[dogs barking]
Mom!
[grunting]
[both scream]
[both grunting]
[siren wailing]
[crying]
[car door shuts]
[engine starts]
It's okay.
It's okay.
We were coming back from dinner.
We saw him going through our car.
I mean, the guy wasn't leaving.
I fought him until he ran off.
You weren't able to describe him, huh?
He was wearing a mask.
Well, it sounds like he might have been looking for something in your car.
Our stuff isn't worth taking.
You said the guy that k*lled my mom was dead.
Then who did this to us?
[knocking on door]
Come in.
Hey.
Reeves.
There he is.
My friend Abby asked me to come and get you.
That toy rocket ship that was in your car, she fixed it.
Actually, Abby asked me to bring him down.
Oh, she did?
Yup.
Come on, Theo.
Abby's so fun.
Mind your manners, baby.
Are you all right?
I want you to know that I'm not just some...
You know, I have a job, clean houses.
I've been applying for everything else I can find.
You know, I'm trying to be a good mom, you know?
I'm trying.
You know, my mother, she was, um...
She was someone who needed help, too.
I mean, she wasn't perfect, but...
I love her for who she was trying to be.
Look, I'm scared that the second I say I need help, they're gonna take him away from me.
I know you are, Sara.
But you can trust me.
Okay, there's something I need to tell you.
I didn't want to say it.
A couple of weeks before my mom d*ed, my own pills went missing.
Prescription?
I take tramadol for my migraines from the TBI.
And I need those pills.
So when they didn't show up in the mail, you know, I got so worked up.
My mom said she was gonna call the insurance company for me.
You think she was back to using?
Think she stole my pills, too?
Boss, Mae Carter didn't steal anything.
We talked to the insurance company.
They had a record of when Mae called about Sara's missing pills.
Mae asked them to e-mail the tracking numbers to Sara's account in the insurance portal.
But they screwed up.
They sent her a list of tracking numbers of all the missing packages recorded over the last year.
Mae was a command investigator.
She knew how to dig.
Boss, she was single-handedly unraveling a prescription drug ring.
She wasn't going to Jax for herself.
She was tailing the person who was stealing the pills.
Jax's supplier.
So the supplier is the only one left in the equation, has to be the one who att*cked Sara.
Right, but what was he looking for in her car?
And how'd he even know it was there?
Bishop, get Abby.
Hmm.
McGee, pull up that TV video thing.
Oh, you mean "When Gibbs att*cks"?
[chuckles]
I'm sorry, that's-that's what McGee calls it.
GIBBS: Fast-forward.
Slow it down.
Freeze it right there.
Zoom in.
Uh, that's Jax Wesley.
Outside his hostel.
Who is he talking to?
ABBY: Who is who talking to?
I'm like a step behind here, and it's making my brain feel really weird.
Abbs, we're looking for a picture.
McGEE: And we only have a partial; we need the full image.
Yeah, I just sent you the freeze-frame.
No worries because I have all the contents of Sara's car categorized, and the picture you are looking for is...
here.
McGee.
Boss, right behind you.
Um, what just happened?
Anyone?
You got to check that with the office.
Head back down there, let me know.
Okay?
Hey, there.
You're back.
So what can I help you with?
BISHOP: Mae Carter realized her list of missing packages all went through your warehouse.
She showed up asking questions.
And she suspected that you were stealing packages from your own warehouse.
She followed you and watched you sell pills to your buyer Jax.
[scoffs]
BISHOP: You saw her there.
You even saw her snap a couple pictures.
So you had Jax k*ll her and destroy the pictures.
But when he tossed her house...
[winces]
...he didn't find the pictures.
Which was okay until you saw one resurface in the Profile 360promo.
Then you went looking for it in Sara Carter's car.
She fought you off and, uh...
[chuckles]
...she kicked your ass.
You know, that cut looks good on you.
I give it three seconds before he lawyers up.
I want a lawyer.
Thank you very much.
I'll give SECNAV the good news.
And I'll assure her there won't be any future installments of "When Gibbs att*cks." Hmm.
So this all started with a mother trying to take away her daughter's pain.
Sounds about right.
What about Sara?
You know she doesn't really have an aunt in Texas.
Reeves is handling it.
He's really coming into his own, isn't he?
♪ We were born into a world on fire...
♪ You staying for dinner?
Um, I can't tonight.
In fact, I should, uh, I should really get going.
Listen.
I don't want to get all sappy, but...
thank you.
For seeing who I'm trying to be.
Your mum would be proud.
♪ You're always there for me...
♪ So would yours.
♪ You clear the air I breathe ♪ You make me feel at home ♪ You, you make me feel at home ♪ ♪ This love, it grows ♪ No matter where we go ♪ You, you make me feel at home ♪ ♪ We have known this world at times apart ♪ ♪ When you're alone, the feeling never ends ♪ ♪ Your heart is all I need ♪ I'm drawn to everything ♪ 'Cause you make me feel at home...
♪ ABBY: McGee, I had five different kinds of soups, and I feel like a...
like a rainbow inside an icicle.
McGEE: Rubbing it in.
I'm not trying to rub it in.
I'm just being honest.
That cold felt amazing!
And now I officially like soup!
[both laugh]
Okay, listen, you can cry to us later.
Good night, Abbs.
I love you.
Abby, cheers to you.
For what?
Choosing me to come with you, and for convincing me to talk to Sara.
I told you, you didn't need me.
Come on, Abby, everybody needs you.
You're our angel in platforms.
[chuckles]
Spare some change?
Oh, yeah, man, absolutely.
Of course.
Just give me the whole thing.
Listen, mate.
You, too.
Give me your wallet now.
Okay, no problem, man.
Um, you know what, maybe if-if we could talk, then, um, I could help you.
You think you're better than me?
Look, just take it, yeah?
You want to help me?
Look, just take it and go, yeah?
You want to help me?
Say it.
You want to help me?
Yes, I want to help you.
You can't.
Stop!
[g*nsh*t]