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The Good Son Recap
◄ Back to 9.19 The Good Son
◄ Back to 9.19 The Good Son
Downtown Baltimore Maryland: A sailor on leave helps his drunken buddy stagger down the street. He looks around, sees another shipmate lying in an alley. "Adams? Yo, Adams, come on, man! Get up! You hear me?" He pushes Adams' shoulder in an attempt to wake him up. Both sailors are startled to see Adams lying dead in a pool of blood.
Roll the opening credits.
In the squadroom, Tony is uncharacteristically silent and industrious. "It's been over an hour and he hasn't said one word!" Ziva whispers to McGee. "What if he's sick?" Tony finally tells them to stop whispering -- after all, he can hear them. He's not sick, he's just trying to find his 'deep calm'. Ziva snatches a paper from his hands: it's Tony's performance appraisal. In the comments section, Gibbs had written "Agent DiNozzo displays exemplary skills, though he can be too talkative in the field." As Ziva and McGee laugh at him, Tony defends his commentary. "It's my process, you guys know that, it's how I focus!" But on reflection, Tony decides that maybe he should dial it back a bit.
"I'm going to kill the next performance appraisal. Next time he writes down in his little margin here, 'DiNozzo, professional. DiNozzo, focused. DiNozzo...'" "Too much yabba-yabba", Gibbs says as he walks in. "Sorry, boss, I was just..." (Gibbs gives him a look) "Suppressing the yabba?" "Good," Gibbs says. "Get your gear! Dead petty officer in Baltimore."
As they walk towards the crime scene, Tony tells Ziva that he and Wendy have decided to not resume their relationship. "Yabba," Gibbs says, and Tony cuts off the personal conversation. The petty officer has blood and bruises on his face and knuckles, and what appears to be a stab wound in his abdomen. Wallet found near the body, no cash. Victim is Caleb Adams, a Petty Officer 2nd Class on a destroyer docked for liberty. The two sailors that found Adams are standing by. Ducky says that the victim's abrasions suggest a fight, ended by the stab wound. "Ugly," says Tony.
Ducky teases DiNozzo about his one-word comment, surprised that he's not hearing wisecracks or obscure movie references. McGee reports that Baltimore PD has a suspect in custody. Someone reported the dead petty officer from an auto repair shop two blocks away; when the police checked out the location, they found a mechanic trying to wash blood from his hands and jacket. A police car pulls up and the suspect is turned over to the NCIS team. He's a young black man named Michael Thomas, and says that he's being "railroaded". He doesn't want to call a lawyer -- he wants to call someone else.
Bing! The NCIS elevator doors open. Hands clasped behind his back, Director Leon Vance has been waiting for the elevator to appear. As the suspect walks out, he looks at Vance. "They've got this all wrong, Leon." "Just do what they say, Michael," Vance tells him before Ziva escorts Thomas away. Thomas is the young brother of the Director's wife. Although Vance has previously ordered that agents recuse themselves from investigations involving family members as suspects, Vance says that he's going to stay involved in this case. Phoof!
Vance asks for a minute alone with Thomas in the hallway outside of Interrogation. Thomas tells him that he's innocent, that he was just trying to help the petty officer, and had never seen Adams before. "You believe me, right?" he asks. Vance studies him for a moment, then nods. Vance tells Thomas to be truthful with Gibbs and everything will be OK.
Gibbs pulls Thomas into Interrogation. He asks Thomas if this is his first arrest, and Thomas says yes. Thomas tells his story while Director Vance watches from behind the mirror. Thomas says that it was his day to open the shop, so he caught an early bus. While walking from the bus stop, he heard "awful" sounds ("like a dying animal") and found Adams, still alive but in a pool of blood. Thomas tried to apply pressure to the wound, but Adams died in his hands. His boss gets mad if he's late, and he really needs the job, so he left for work and called for emergency help using his cell phone. There were no other witnesses. When Thomas says that he's haunted by the sight of Adam's dying eyes, Vance turns away.
In the squadroom, the team listens to a recording of the emergency call made by Thomas. McGee hasn't found any connection between Thomas and the victim. Thomas' boss has confirmed that Adams was never a customer at the repair shop. Adams had called someone named Meredith Bilson five times in the hours before his death. He had also made a charge at a Baltimore pizza place at 3AM. Tony begins to ramble, but suddenly stops (clearly remembering "too much yabba") at a glare from Gibbs.
Gibbs sends Ziva and Tony out to chase down the leads. As they prepare to go, McGee gets a call from the destroyer's commander: Everyone on leave reported back on time except Adams and one other sailor - Brian Smith. Perhaps a second victim? "Or maybe involved?" asks Leon Vance from the stairway. Gibbs is clearly distressed with Vance's continued participation in the case.
At the pizza parlor, the owner cannot remember Petty Officer Adams -- he sees far too many sailors (and is too busy during Liberty Week) to be able to recognize any one man. One of the sailors in the restaurant steps up to Tony and Ziva -- he was a friend of Adams. Adams was fine when last seen at 11 PM -- in a great mood and was looking forward to seeing his girlfriend. The girlfriend's name is Meredith Bilson.
In Autopsy, Ducky and Gibbs discuss the Director's unusual behaviors. Gibbs believes that there's more to it than just the family relationship. But Gibbs knows that whether Thomas is family or not, he has to do his job. Vance walks in, asking Ducky for any news. Ducky briefs them both at once: Adams died of the stab wound, and was attacked from the front with a non-serrated, sharp knife. "He was face to face with the killer," Gibbs says. Vance takes it a little further: "So maybe he knew this person, they were familiar." "Not necessarily", Gibbs has to remind his boss. Ducky was able to pick up some fingerprints, and has sent them to Abby for analysis.
Ducky finds the bruising on Adams face and hands to be informative. It appears that the bruising occurred several hours before death. He may have fought with someone different than the killer, or perhaps the killer returned to finish the job.
Vance and Gibbs ride up in the elevator together, and Vance presses the stop switch for a private conversation.
"Michael didn't do it, Gibbs."
"I never said he did."
"And despite my ties to him, I won't try to sway this investigation."
"I never said that either!"
Vance's phone rings; his wife, Jackie, is calling. Vance tells her that he expects to be working late, and specifically avoids mentioning anything about her brother. "No, no, everything's fine - just a lot going on, back to back meetings..." Gibbs hears that and starts the elevator. When Vance finishes the call, he turns back to Gibbs. "It's complicated." "Family, Leon. Always is."
Ziva and Tony apparently have an address for Meredith Bilson. They pull up to a house, and Bilson answers the door. She says she can't talk with them right then. Just as she begins to close the door, a bare-chested sailor walks down her staircase. "Petty Officer Brian Smith?" DiNozzo calls. "Yeah?" "There's a whole shipful of people looking for you! May want to put a shirt on. You're coming with us." Smith bolts out the back of the house and DiNozzo takes chase, leaving Ziva with Bilson. After a brief chase, Tony tackles Smith, who is sporting bruises that look just like the victim's. Phoof!
In Interrogation, DiNozzo shows pictures of Adams to Smith, who turns away in discomfort. Smith says that he didn't kill Adams.
In the conference room, Ziva is interviewing Meredith Bilson. Bilson says that Smith and Adams had fought over her. Adams had called her just as he got off the ship, and she told him that she was in love with Smith. Adams didn't take it well -- he "lost it."
Smith tells Tony that Adams dragged him behind a store and began hitting him. Smith fought him off, then ran. He never saw Adams again after that time. Smith says he walked around for a while to clear his head, and eventually went to Bilson's apartment about 6 AM. There were best friends, Smith said, grew up together and were practically brothers. "I know I'm a bad person for betraying Caleb that way, but I didn't kill him."
When Bilson last spoke with Adams on the phone, he was drunk and vowed to win her back again; he promised to buy her a ring. When Ziva specifically asks Bilson if she thought Smith had killed him, she says "Of course not," but looks like she doesn't really believe that. She washed Smith's shirt -- there was a lot of blood on it. She asked him if the blood was from the fight; Smith wouldn't answer her. "He was acting so crazy, I didn't know what to do. I washed it. I'm so sorry."
McGee meets with Tony and Ziva for a moment. He's uncovered information about Michael Thomas' background: when he was fourteen years old, he was charged with "assault with a deadly weapon". The records were sealed because Thomas was a juvenile.
Gibbs enters Interrogation, where Thomas is waiting. "Assault with a deadly weapon? You left that one out the last time we talked." Thomas said that he was just a dumb kid. "I admit, I had some tough times as a kid. I lashed out. I made a mistake, I learned from it, I moved on." The exchange grows heated for a moment until Director Vance interrupts. "All right, that's enough. Michael, don't say another word."
In the hallway outside, Vance and Gibbs bring matters to a head.
"You should be focusing your energy on real evidence, real suspects."
"Michael is a suspect."
"The only person you need to be worried about is Petty Officer Brian Smith. UA after the crime, fight with the victim."
"I thought you were going to steer clear and let me do my job?"
"Maybe I'm not satisfied with the job you're doing, Gibbs."
"It's not about me, and you know that!"
"I'm not going to stand by and let you grill him about something that happened sixteen years ago!"
"He lied to me, Leon! What's more important is that you let him!"
"That's not true! His records were sealed."
"Still matters."
"I told you. It was complicated."
"More than complicated. Why the kid gloves?"
All this time, an escort has been patiently waiting in the hallway for Thomas to come out. Vance tells him to stand down, and the escort leaves. Vance turns back to Gibbs.
"Michael was eight when Jackie and I met. Both parents passed away. Kid was struggling. I filled the void, I tried to steer him right."
Gibbs takes a breath. "Leon, it's tough taking things like that on."
"Yeah, it wasn't always easy. But I got him into private school. I got him into counseling. He was lost for a long time, Gibbs, and now he's finally finding his way. The last thing he needs is people giving up on him."
"People like you."
"Yeah. I've come a long way with him. I'm not about to give up on him now."
Gibbs' phone rings. "Yeah, Abby, I'm on my way."
Gibbs walks into Forensics with Vance close on his heels. Abby is somewhat disconcerted by Vance's presence, but he tells her to carry on as she would for any other case. The killer used a common five-inch fish boning knife; he stabbed deeply then pulled the handle up as he pulled it out. She was able to match the fingerprints found on the body to... "Petty Officer Brian Smith," Vance says with satisfaction. He looks at Gibbs. "You have your guy." Gibbs calls DiNozzo and tells him to search Smith's belongings for a fishing knife. Vance catches Gibbs in the elevator, and wants his brother in law released into his own custody tonight. He'll keep Thomas with him, and take him home tonight.
At Director Vance's home, his children are playing video games when Vance and Thomas arrive. The kids are delighted to see Uncle Michael. "Are you staying long this time?" Kayla asks.
Jackie Vance steps out of the kitchen. "He's not staying."
Leon looks at her.
She dismisses the children. "Kayla, Jared, get ready for bed. I'll be there in a minute," she says as they reluctantly leave.
Jackie steps forward, looks at her brother Michael. She firms her lips and walks past him to Leon. "I want him out of my house, now." She moves into the kitchen. Michael looks at Leon, shrugs his shoulders and sighs. Leon looks back, his face deadpan. Phoof!
In the kitchen, Jackie and Leon Vance discuss the matter, loudly enough to be overheard by Michael in the living room. Jackie says that his whole life has been one bad decision after another, always knowing that Leon would be there to save the day for him.
"Leon, haven't you fathered him long enough? When are you going to let him stand up on his own two feet?"
"He's getting ready to open a repair shop, Jackie, his repair shop."
"And two years ago, he was going to finish college. The year before that, he was going to sell that, that, that miracle.."
"At least he's trying, Jackie! He's come a long way from where he was!"
"You," Jackie says in a warning tone of voice, "Do not need to remind me... of where he was."
Vance nods in acknowledgement.
"You know that I love him, and I always will, and I had to let him go, and I just, I just wish you would too, you..."
Vance inches closer as Jackie tries to find the words. Her heart finally melts and she gives in. "Why do I have to be married to such a good man? Who I'm so mad at?"
"He'll just stay the night, Jackie."
"And he's out by morning."
"Yes."
Early the next morning, Gibbs walks into Forensics calling for Abby. After working all night (and calling Gibbs at home before he had woken for the day), she had curled up to sleep under a desk. Tony had found a fishing knife in Brian Smith's seabag and she spent the night analyzing it. While there were traces of trout blood on the knife, there was no human blood. Smith's knife wasn't the murder weapon. Toxicology screening found low doses of tranquilizers in Adam's blood, just enough to impair his motor skills. "So the question is who slipped it to him and where?" she summarizes. "Well, test everyone who was on liberty that night." Gibbs thanks her with a kiss on the cheek and heads out of the lab. "Can I borrow McGee to help?" she calls. "Abbs-solutely", he calls back over his shoulder.
That morning in the Vance home, Michael is entertaining the children with stories of his mother and sister. Jackie and Michael laugh together comfortably while fondly remembering their mother. "Thanks for letting me stay," he tells her. "Well, the kids miss seeing you." "And I miss them." Leon enters the kitchen and joins in the good humor. Jared has finished his school paper, and Kayla reports that Uncle Michael fixed the dishwasher. As Leon and Michael prepare to leave, Jackie steps close. With a smile, she tells Leon that there are a few things around the house that need repairing, signalling that she would be willing to let Michael stay in the house during the day.
Outside the house, Leon clarifies things with Michael. Thomas has been released into Vance's custody, so if Vance allows him to stay at the house, he cannot leave. Michael agrees, and apologizes for putting Leon through this. "After today," Vance says, "This will all be behind us, and you can get back to focusing on your repair shop. You find a space?" "Got a few I'm looking at. I'm going to pay you back every dime, you know, with interest." "And free repairs for life!" Micheal confesses that he doesn't like the way that Gibbs looks at him. Vance chuckles. "He looks at everybody like that!" Vance leaves for the office, with Michael staying behind.
In the office, Gibbs tells Vance that the recovered knife wasn't the murder weapon. The team reports about the drugs in Adams' system that were impairing him before his death. Abby and McGee call from Forensics -- three of the 215 sailors on shore leave had traces of sedatives in their blood. McGee is dispatched to interview the three sailors.
On the ship, McGee talks with one of the sailors that had been with Adams. They had heard (third-hand) about a man bragging about the money he won playing blackjack. He can't remember any details: "The night was a blur," the sailor says. McGee asks about the location of the casino. "It wasn't a casino. It was a crappy little game in the back of a pizza place."
Gibbs and Tony walk into Sposare's Pizza, where the jovial owner welcomes them back. "Where's the game?" Gibbs asks. He heads towards a back room while Tony keeps the owner out front. Gun drawn, Gibbs slams open the door and several sailors are caught. The dealer tries to leave through a rear exit, only to find Ziva's gun trained on him when he opens the door. Phoof!
In Interrogation, Gibbs works on the pizza parlor owner. The owner admits to running the back-room games, but denies drugging anyone. Gibbs drops a bag of pills onto the table. "Found this in the cabinet next to the oregano." The pizza guy gulps. "Try again," Gibbs suggests.
"All right. What can I say? I'm not proud. But times are tough. I mean, who doesn't need a little extra cash?"
"Cash off the backs of young sailors, serving their country, on liberty? In a crooked game?"
"Hey - the game itself is not crooked. We deal straight -- there ain't no sleight of hand here."
"Just a little shot of this crap to give you the edge!"
"What, they don't comp drinks in Vegas?"
"You're not Vegas, Marty! This is a drug, it's not a drink." Gibbs slams down a photograph. "This kid died playing your game!"
"Oh no. No way! One of these pills, it'll make you woozy, but it never killed anybody!" He pushes the picture back to Gibbs. "Never."
"Tell me about that night," Gibbs says in a softer tone of voice.
"Aw, the kid was breaking our hearts. Telling us about his girlfriend dumping him, you know, saying how much he had to win in order to buy her an engagement ring. We kept saying that he should just forget about her, but, no, he just kept playing."
"Until you stole all his money."
"I thought about giving some of it back! Yeah, that's right! But then the kid, he just went nuts! Flipped the table over and then he ran out."
"Where?"
"How should I know?"
There's a knock on the door, and DiNozzo pokes his head in. "Hate to break Rule 22, boss, but his lawyer is here." The pizza guy sits back in his chair. "Then I'm done talking." Gibbs gathers his papers and leaves, startling the pizza guy by loudly bumping the table as he rises. "Oops." Vance is waiting in the hallway outside, and Gibbs tells him that they've heard the same story from the blackjack dealer. Vance puts a spin on the story. "If what he says is even half true, Petty Officer Adams could have left that game and picked a fight with the first person he saw." "Could be anyone," Gibbs agrees.
Vance leaves and Tony steps up. Gibbs asks for his thoughts. DiNozzo tells him that McGee and Ziva are checking neighboring stores for video. "Yeah, I know that, "Gibbs says, "But I asked your thoughts, DiNozzo." "My thoughts? I thought you didn't like my process, my yabba yabba." Gibbs cocks his head. "Doesn't mean I don't depend on it."
Tony is a little surprised, and happily begins his riff. He finally concludes that one of their suspects is lying. "Yeah, which one?" Gibbs asks. Tony scratches his ear. "Don't know. It's going to take a little more yabba yabba." "Good. Go help Ziva and McGee. I've got to see a lady about a card game."
In Forensics, Abby has been processing all of the fingerprints she has identified on four decks of cards from the game. There are a few usable fingerprints (mostly from the dealer, who touched every card), but she is still looking.
In the squadroom, the only video surveillance of the pizzeria is from a rooftop across the street. The images are grainy and parts of the video is corrupted, but they've managed to locate an image of Petty Officer Adams as he leaves. There was also another man that left a few frames earlier in the video. "Who is he?" Director Vance asks. The man has his back to the camera, so they don't have a clear shot of his face. Tony notices what appears to be a reflection of his face in the window, so McGee begins enhancing the image.
As the image is being processed, they can tell that the man is a civilian. Gibbs recalls a sailor telling them about a man that bragged about winning money. But since the game was rigged, no-one could have won a large amount, and that would make the winner a shill: someone in on the con that is lying to recruit players. McGee finishes the image enhancement. "It's as good as it gets, boss."
Just then, Abby rushes into the squadroom. "Gibbs, Gibbs, Gibbs!" She becomes nervous when she sees the director is present. She's found a match on one of the fingerprints from the decks of cards. In a low voice, she tells them the person is in NCIS custody and shows a picture on the plasma. It's Michael Thomas.
Vance closes his eyes. On the plasma, we see that the enhanced reflection in the window looks like it could be a match.
Without a word, Vance turns on his heel and leaves. "Leon!" Gibbs calls to no avail.
In the Vance living room, Michael is playing an Xbox game with Jared and Kayla, laughing and joking. Vance walks through the front door, then slams it closed and glares at Michael. "Oh man, I know that look," Michael says. "Their homework starts as soon as they're done kicking my butt, Pops." Jackie walks out of the kitchen to see what's happening. "I didn't see the harm," she says, "Dinner's almost ready."
Vance looks at her, then back at Michael. "You and the kids get started without us." Jackie realizes that it's serious, and hustles the children to the kitchen. Michael rises and apologizes for keeping the kids from their homework. "I pushed them into playing."
"Yeah, you're good at that." Vance steps up close to Michael. "Why'd you do it?"
Michael looks at him with a question in his eyes.
"Card game," Vance says. "The kid you found dying in the street."
Michael starts to deny, but Vance interrupts. "How about not lying to me for once in your life."
Long pause, then Michael begins to explain.
"I was trying to get out from under. These guys, they had my money..."
"Whose money? The money for the shop?"
"The money you loaned me. It wasn't enough. Well, I thought maybe if I doubled it, maybe tripled it..."
"Behind a pizza place?" Vance hisses in disbelief.
"Well, small outfit like that, man I couldn't believe that I lost it all. Couldn't ask you for more. So they made me a deal. Bring some fresh meat to the table, and I can get you your money back."
"Why? Michael, why? You were doing so good."
"I tried to make it right, Leon, on my own two feet. But watching that poor kid losing his last dime, I couldn't take it. I got out of there."
"And he came after you."
"Yeah, he blamed me for, uh, bringing him into the game. He said I ruined his life, ruined his chances of ever getting back with his girl. And then he pulled a knife, you know, he came at me hard! I tried to get away, but he just kept coming at me! I tried to get away, but he just kept coming at me! Everything happened so fast, Leon. Next thing I know, he's... he's face down and the knife's in my hand. It was an accident. I didn't mean to kill him."
Vance looks hard at him, takes a breath. "But you did."
"Yeah, I know. Believe me, I know. I watched him die, right in front of me." He pauses for a moment,then his face brightens. "But I'm going to spend the rest of my life making up for it, If you could help me out, I promise I'll make it up to you, and the whole damn world, and the guy."
Vance looks away, then straight back at Michael. "I will," he says in a strained voice. "I will help you, Michael. More than I've ever helped you before." Michael's lips twitch in appreciation and he nods.
Vance turns and walks back to the front door as Jackie steps out from the kitchen and watches. Vance opens the door and nods to someone outside. Gibbs enters, followed by DiNozzo carrying a pair of handcuffs. Tony moves around behind a stunned Michael. "No, please," Jackie says, "Not in the house." Vance looks at DiNozzo and nods.
"Sorry, Jackie," Michael says. Jackie's head slowly bobs as they escort him out the door. "Me too, Mike" she whispers to his back.
Tony takes Michael to the car while Gibbs and Vance look on from the sidewalk.
"I was so close with him, Gibbs. He was becoming a good man."
"Not your fault. You didn't fail, Leon. It's just time to let go."
Gibbs walks to the car. Leon bites his lip, then goes back inside the house where Jackie is still waiting. He firmly closes the door, looks at it for a moment, then turns to her. She shows as much pain in her eyes as he does. They hold each other tightly as the children creep out from the kitchen.
"When is Uncle Michael coming back?" Jared asks quietly. Leon blinks to clear his eyes, then turns to Jared. "Not for a while, son."
"Come on, kids, let's leave your dad be for a bit." Jackie herds them back towards the kitchen as Leon sits on the couch and drops his face into his hands. A soft sob escapes.
Jared creeps out from the kitchen once again, feeling somehow that this must be because of him. "I'm sorry I put Xbox before doing my homework, but it wasn't Uncle Mike's fault." Leon looks up at him. "I know, son, it's OK." Jared turns to go back to the kitchen.
"Jared." Leon calls him back. Jared stands before him, uncertain but straight-backed, as Leon considers his words. "Will you show me how to play this?"
Jared breaks out into a smile. "Sure, Dad!" He sits down close to his father with the controllers in hand. Leon wraps his arms around his son and holds him close. Phoof!
Roll the closing credits.
Roll the opening credits.
In the squadroom, Tony is uncharacteristically silent and industrious. "It's been over an hour and he hasn't said one word!" Ziva whispers to McGee. "What if he's sick?" Tony finally tells them to stop whispering -- after all, he can hear them. He's not sick, he's just trying to find his 'deep calm'. Ziva snatches a paper from his hands: it's Tony's performance appraisal. In the comments section, Gibbs had written "Agent DiNozzo displays exemplary skills, though he can be too talkative in the field." As Ziva and McGee laugh at him, Tony defends his commentary. "It's my process, you guys know that, it's how I focus!" But on reflection, Tony decides that maybe he should dial it back a bit.
"I'm going to kill the next performance appraisal. Next time he writes down in his little margin here, 'DiNozzo, professional. DiNozzo, focused. DiNozzo...'" "Too much yabba-yabba", Gibbs says as he walks in. "Sorry, boss, I was just..." (Gibbs gives him a look) "Suppressing the yabba?" "Good," Gibbs says. "Get your gear! Dead petty officer in Baltimore."
As they walk towards the crime scene, Tony tells Ziva that he and Wendy have decided to not resume their relationship. "Yabba," Gibbs says, and Tony cuts off the personal conversation. The petty officer has blood and bruises on his face and knuckles, and what appears to be a stab wound in his abdomen. Wallet found near the body, no cash. Victim is Caleb Adams, a Petty Officer 2nd Class on a destroyer docked for liberty. The two sailors that found Adams are standing by. Ducky says that the victim's abrasions suggest a fight, ended by the stab wound. "Ugly," says Tony.
Ducky teases DiNozzo about his one-word comment, surprised that he's not hearing wisecracks or obscure movie references. McGee reports that Baltimore PD has a suspect in custody. Someone reported the dead petty officer from an auto repair shop two blocks away; when the police checked out the location, they found a mechanic trying to wash blood from his hands and jacket. A police car pulls up and the suspect is turned over to the NCIS team. He's a young black man named Michael Thomas, and says that he's being "railroaded". He doesn't want to call a lawyer -- he wants to call someone else.
Bing! The NCIS elevator doors open. Hands clasped behind his back, Director Leon Vance has been waiting for the elevator to appear. As the suspect walks out, he looks at Vance. "They've got this all wrong, Leon." "Just do what they say, Michael," Vance tells him before Ziva escorts Thomas away. Thomas is the young brother of the Director's wife. Although Vance has previously ordered that agents recuse themselves from investigations involving family members as suspects, Vance says that he's going to stay involved in this case. Phoof!
Vance asks for a minute alone with Thomas in the hallway outside of Interrogation. Thomas tells him that he's innocent, that he was just trying to help the petty officer, and had never seen Adams before. "You believe me, right?" he asks. Vance studies him for a moment, then nods. Vance tells Thomas to be truthful with Gibbs and everything will be OK.
Gibbs pulls Thomas into Interrogation. He asks Thomas if this is his first arrest, and Thomas says yes. Thomas tells his story while Director Vance watches from behind the mirror. Thomas says that it was his day to open the shop, so he caught an early bus. While walking from the bus stop, he heard "awful" sounds ("like a dying animal") and found Adams, still alive but in a pool of blood. Thomas tried to apply pressure to the wound, but Adams died in his hands. His boss gets mad if he's late, and he really needs the job, so he left for work and called for emergency help using his cell phone. There were no other witnesses. When Thomas says that he's haunted by the sight of Adam's dying eyes, Vance turns away.
In the squadroom, the team listens to a recording of the emergency call made by Thomas. McGee hasn't found any connection between Thomas and the victim. Thomas' boss has confirmed that Adams was never a customer at the repair shop. Adams had called someone named Meredith Bilson five times in the hours before his death. He had also made a charge at a Baltimore pizza place at 3AM. Tony begins to ramble, but suddenly stops (clearly remembering "too much yabba") at a glare from Gibbs.
Gibbs sends Ziva and Tony out to chase down the leads. As they prepare to go, McGee gets a call from the destroyer's commander: Everyone on leave reported back on time except Adams and one other sailor - Brian Smith. Perhaps a second victim? "Or maybe involved?" asks Leon Vance from the stairway. Gibbs is clearly distressed with Vance's continued participation in the case.
At the pizza parlor, the owner cannot remember Petty Officer Adams -- he sees far too many sailors (and is too busy during Liberty Week) to be able to recognize any one man. One of the sailors in the restaurant steps up to Tony and Ziva -- he was a friend of Adams. Adams was fine when last seen at 11 PM -- in a great mood and was looking forward to seeing his girlfriend. The girlfriend's name is Meredith Bilson.
In Autopsy, Ducky and Gibbs discuss the Director's unusual behaviors. Gibbs believes that there's more to it than just the family relationship. But Gibbs knows that whether Thomas is family or not, he has to do his job. Vance walks in, asking Ducky for any news. Ducky briefs them both at once: Adams died of the stab wound, and was attacked from the front with a non-serrated, sharp knife. "He was face to face with the killer," Gibbs says. Vance takes it a little further: "So maybe he knew this person, they were familiar." "Not necessarily", Gibbs has to remind his boss. Ducky was able to pick up some fingerprints, and has sent them to Abby for analysis.
Ducky finds the bruising on Adams face and hands to be informative. It appears that the bruising occurred several hours before death. He may have fought with someone different than the killer, or perhaps the killer returned to finish the job.
Vance and Gibbs ride up in the elevator together, and Vance presses the stop switch for a private conversation.
"Michael didn't do it, Gibbs."
"I never said he did."
"And despite my ties to him, I won't try to sway this investigation."
"I never said that either!"
Vance's phone rings; his wife, Jackie, is calling. Vance tells her that he expects to be working late, and specifically avoids mentioning anything about her brother. "No, no, everything's fine - just a lot going on, back to back meetings..." Gibbs hears that and starts the elevator. When Vance finishes the call, he turns back to Gibbs. "It's complicated." "Family, Leon. Always is."
Ziva and Tony apparently have an address for Meredith Bilson. They pull up to a house, and Bilson answers the door. She says she can't talk with them right then. Just as she begins to close the door, a bare-chested sailor walks down her staircase. "Petty Officer Brian Smith?" DiNozzo calls. "Yeah?" "There's a whole shipful of people looking for you! May want to put a shirt on. You're coming with us." Smith bolts out the back of the house and DiNozzo takes chase, leaving Ziva with Bilson. After a brief chase, Tony tackles Smith, who is sporting bruises that look just like the victim's. Phoof!
In Interrogation, DiNozzo shows pictures of Adams to Smith, who turns away in discomfort. Smith says that he didn't kill Adams.
In the conference room, Ziva is interviewing Meredith Bilson. Bilson says that Smith and Adams had fought over her. Adams had called her just as he got off the ship, and she told him that she was in love with Smith. Adams didn't take it well -- he "lost it."
Smith tells Tony that Adams dragged him behind a store and began hitting him. Smith fought him off, then ran. He never saw Adams again after that time. Smith says he walked around for a while to clear his head, and eventually went to Bilson's apartment about 6 AM. There were best friends, Smith said, grew up together and were practically brothers. "I know I'm a bad person for betraying Caleb that way, but I didn't kill him."
When Bilson last spoke with Adams on the phone, he was drunk and vowed to win her back again; he promised to buy her a ring. When Ziva specifically asks Bilson if she thought Smith had killed him, she says "Of course not," but looks like she doesn't really believe that. She washed Smith's shirt -- there was a lot of blood on it. She asked him if the blood was from the fight; Smith wouldn't answer her. "He was acting so crazy, I didn't know what to do. I washed it. I'm so sorry."
McGee meets with Tony and Ziva for a moment. He's uncovered information about Michael Thomas' background: when he was fourteen years old, he was charged with "assault with a deadly weapon". The records were sealed because Thomas was a juvenile.
Gibbs enters Interrogation, where Thomas is waiting. "Assault with a deadly weapon? You left that one out the last time we talked." Thomas said that he was just a dumb kid. "I admit, I had some tough times as a kid. I lashed out. I made a mistake, I learned from it, I moved on." The exchange grows heated for a moment until Director Vance interrupts. "All right, that's enough. Michael, don't say another word."
In the hallway outside, Vance and Gibbs bring matters to a head.
"You should be focusing your energy on real evidence, real suspects."
"Michael is a suspect."
"The only person you need to be worried about is Petty Officer Brian Smith. UA after the crime, fight with the victim."
"I thought you were going to steer clear and let me do my job?"
"Maybe I'm not satisfied with the job you're doing, Gibbs."
"It's not about me, and you know that!"
"I'm not going to stand by and let you grill him about something that happened sixteen years ago!"
"He lied to me, Leon! What's more important is that you let him!"
"That's not true! His records were sealed."
"Still matters."
"I told you. It was complicated."
"More than complicated. Why the kid gloves?"
All this time, an escort has been patiently waiting in the hallway for Thomas to come out. Vance tells him to stand down, and the escort leaves. Vance turns back to Gibbs.
"Michael was eight when Jackie and I met. Both parents passed away. Kid was struggling. I filled the void, I tried to steer him right."
Gibbs takes a breath. "Leon, it's tough taking things like that on."
"Yeah, it wasn't always easy. But I got him into private school. I got him into counseling. He was lost for a long time, Gibbs, and now he's finally finding his way. The last thing he needs is people giving up on him."
"People like you."
"Yeah. I've come a long way with him. I'm not about to give up on him now."
Gibbs' phone rings. "Yeah, Abby, I'm on my way."
Gibbs walks into Forensics with Vance close on his heels. Abby is somewhat disconcerted by Vance's presence, but he tells her to carry on as she would for any other case. The killer used a common five-inch fish boning knife; he stabbed deeply then pulled the handle up as he pulled it out. She was able to match the fingerprints found on the body to... "Petty Officer Brian Smith," Vance says with satisfaction. He looks at Gibbs. "You have your guy." Gibbs calls DiNozzo and tells him to search Smith's belongings for a fishing knife. Vance catches Gibbs in the elevator, and wants his brother in law released into his own custody tonight. He'll keep Thomas with him, and take him home tonight.
At Director Vance's home, his children are playing video games when Vance and Thomas arrive. The kids are delighted to see Uncle Michael. "Are you staying long this time?" Kayla asks.
Jackie Vance steps out of the kitchen. "He's not staying."
Leon looks at her.
She dismisses the children. "Kayla, Jared, get ready for bed. I'll be there in a minute," she says as they reluctantly leave.
Jackie steps forward, looks at her brother Michael. She firms her lips and walks past him to Leon. "I want him out of my house, now." She moves into the kitchen. Michael looks at Leon, shrugs his shoulders and sighs. Leon looks back, his face deadpan. Phoof!
In the kitchen, Jackie and Leon Vance discuss the matter, loudly enough to be overheard by Michael in the living room. Jackie says that his whole life has been one bad decision after another, always knowing that Leon would be there to save the day for him.
"Leon, haven't you fathered him long enough? When are you going to let him stand up on his own two feet?"
"He's getting ready to open a repair shop, Jackie, his repair shop."
"And two years ago, he was going to finish college. The year before that, he was going to sell that, that, that miracle.."
"At least he's trying, Jackie! He's come a long way from where he was!"
"You," Jackie says in a warning tone of voice, "Do not need to remind me... of where he was."
Vance nods in acknowledgement.
"You know that I love him, and I always will, and I had to let him go, and I just, I just wish you would too, you..."
Vance inches closer as Jackie tries to find the words. Her heart finally melts and she gives in. "Why do I have to be married to such a good man? Who I'm so mad at?"
"He'll just stay the night, Jackie."
"And he's out by morning."
"Yes."
Early the next morning, Gibbs walks into Forensics calling for Abby. After working all night (and calling Gibbs at home before he had woken for the day), she had curled up to sleep under a desk. Tony had found a fishing knife in Brian Smith's seabag and she spent the night analyzing it. While there were traces of trout blood on the knife, there was no human blood. Smith's knife wasn't the murder weapon. Toxicology screening found low doses of tranquilizers in Adam's blood, just enough to impair his motor skills. "So the question is who slipped it to him and where?" she summarizes. "Well, test everyone who was on liberty that night." Gibbs thanks her with a kiss on the cheek and heads out of the lab. "Can I borrow McGee to help?" she calls. "Abbs-solutely", he calls back over his shoulder.
That morning in the Vance home, Michael is entertaining the children with stories of his mother and sister. Jackie and Michael laugh together comfortably while fondly remembering their mother. "Thanks for letting me stay," he tells her. "Well, the kids miss seeing you." "And I miss them." Leon enters the kitchen and joins in the good humor. Jared has finished his school paper, and Kayla reports that Uncle Michael fixed the dishwasher. As Leon and Michael prepare to leave, Jackie steps close. With a smile, she tells Leon that there are a few things around the house that need repairing, signalling that she would be willing to let Michael stay in the house during the day.
Outside the house, Leon clarifies things with Michael. Thomas has been released into Vance's custody, so if Vance allows him to stay at the house, he cannot leave. Michael agrees, and apologizes for putting Leon through this. "After today," Vance says, "This will all be behind us, and you can get back to focusing on your repair shop. You find a space?" "Got a few I'm looking at. I'm going to pay you back every dime, you know, with interest." "And free repairs for life!" Micheal confesses that he doesn't like the way that Gibbs looks at him. Vance chuckles. "He looks at everybody like that!" Vance leaves for the office, with Michael staying behind.
In the office, Gibbs tells Vance that the recovered knife wasn't the murder weapon. The team reports about the drugs in Adams' system that were impairing him before his death. Abby and McGee call from Forensics -- three of the 215 sailors on shore leave had traces of sedatives in their blood. McGee is dispatched to interview the three sailors.
On the ship, McGee talks with one of the sailors that had been with Adams. They had heard (third-hand) about a man bragging about the money he won playing blackjack. He can't remember any details: "The night was a blur," the sailor says. McGee asks about the location of the casino. "It wasn't a casino. It was a crappy little game in the back of a pizza place."
Gibbs and Tony walk into Sposare's Pizza, where the jovial owner welcomes them back. "Where's the game?" Gibbs asks. He heads towards a back room while Tony keeps the owner out front. Gun drawn, Gibbs slams open the door and several sailors are caught. The dealer tries to leave through a rear exit, only to find Ziva's gun trained on him when he opens the door. Phoof!
In Interrogation, Gibbs works on the pizza parlor owner. The owner admits to running the back-room games, but denies drugging anyone. Gibbs drops a bag of pills onto the table. "Found this in the cabinet next to the oregano." The pizza guy gulps. "Try again," Gibbs suggests.
"All right. What can I say? I'm not proud. But times are tough. I mean, who doesn't need a little extra cash?"
"Cash off the backs of young sailors, serving their country, on liberty? In a crooked game?"
"Hey - the game itself is not crooked. We deal straight -- there ain't no sleight of hand here."
"Just a little shot of this crap to give you the edge!"
"What, they don't comp drinks in Vegas?"
"You're not Vegas, Marty! This is a drug, it's not a drink." Gibbs slams down a photograph. "This kid died playing your game!"
"Oh no. No way! One of these pills, it'll make you woozy, but it never killed anybody!" He pushes the picture back to Gibbs. "Never."
"Tell me about that night," Gibbs says in a softer tone of voice.
"Aw, the kid was breaking our hearts. Telling us about his girlfriend dumping him, you know, saying how much he had to win in order to buy her an engagement ring. We kept saying that he should just forget about her, but, no, he just kept playing."
"Until you stole all his money."
"I thought about giving some of it back! Yeah, that's right! But then the kid, he just went nuts! Flipped the table over and then he ran out."
"Where?"
"How should I know?"
There's a knock on the door, and DiNozzo pokes his head in. "Hate to break Rule 22, boss, but his lawyer is here." The pizza guy sits back in his chair. "Then I'm done talking." Gibbs gathers his papers and leaves, startling the pizza guy by loudly bumping the table as he rises. "Oops." Vance is waiting in the hallway outside, and Gibbs tells him that they've heard the same story from the blackjack dealer. Vance puts a spin on the story. "If what he says is even half true, Petty Officer Adams could have left that game and picked a fight with the first person he saw." "Could be anyone," Gibbs agrees.
Vance leaves and Tony steps up. Gibbs asks for his thoughts. DiNozzo tells him that McGee and Ziva are checking neighboring stores for video. "Yeah, I know that, "Gibbs says, "But I asked your thoughts, DiNozzo." "My thoughts? I thought you didn't like my process, my yabba yabba." Gibbs cocks his head. "Doesn't mean I don't depend on it."
Tony is a little surprised, and happily begins his riff. He finally concludes that one of their suspects is lying. "Yeah, which one?" Gibbs asks. Tony scratches his ear. "Don't know. It's going to take a little more yabba yabba." "Good. Go help Ziva and McGee. I've got to see a lady about a card game."
In Forensics, Abby has been processing all of the fingerprints she has identified on four decks of cards from the game. There are a few usable fingerprints (mostly from the dealer, who touched every card), but she is still looking.
In the squadroom, the only video surveillance of the pizzeria is from a rooftop across the street. The images are grainy and parts of the video is corrupted, but they've managed to locate an image of Petty Officer Adams as he leaves. There was also another man that left a few frames earlier in the video. "Who is he?" Director Vance asks. The man has his back to the camera, so they don't have a clear shot of his face. Tony notices what appears to be a reflection of his face in the window, so McGee begins enhancing the image.
As the image is being processed, they can tell that the man is a civilian. Gibbs recalls a sailor telling them about a man that bragged about winning money. But since the game was rigged, no-one could have won a large amount, and that would make the winner a shill: someone in on the con that is lying to recruit players. McGee finishes the image enhancement. "It's as good as it gets, boss."
Just then, Abby rushes into the squadroom. "Gibbs, Gibbs, Gibbs!" She becomes nervous when she sees the director is present. She's found a match on one of the fingerprints from the decks of cards. In a low voice, she tells them the person is in NCIS custody and shows a picture on the plasma. It's Michael Thomas.
Vance closes his eyes. On the plasma, we see that the enhanced reflection in the window looks like it could be a match.
Without a word, Vance turns on his heel and leaves. "Leon!" Gibbs calls to no avail.
In the Vance living room, Michael is playing an Xbox game with Jared and Kayla, laughing and joking. Vance walks through the front door, then slams it closed and glares at Michael. "Oh man, I know that look," Michael says. "Their homework starts as soon as they're done kicking my butt, Pops." Jackie walks out of the kitchen to see what's happening. "I didn't see the harm," she says, "Dinner's almost ready."
Vance looks at her, then back at Michael. "You and the kids get started without us." Jackie realizes that it's serious, and hustles the children to the kitchen. Michael rises and apologizes for keeping the kids from their homework. "I pushed them into playing."
"Yeah, you're good at that." Vance steps up close to Michael. "Why'd you do it?"
Michael looks at him with a question in his eyes.
"Card game," Vance says. "The kid you found dying in the street."
Michael starts to deny, but Vance interrupts. "How about not lying to me for once in your life."
Long pause, then Michael begins to explain.
"I was trying to get out from under. These guys, they had my money..."
"Whose money? The money for the shop?"
"The money you loaned me. It wasn't enough. Well, I thought maybe if I doubled it, maybe tripled it..."
"Behind a pizza place?" Vance hisses in disbelief.
"Well, small outfit like that, man I couldn't believe that I lost it all. Couldn't ask you for more. So they made me a deal. Bring some fresh meat to the table, and I can get you your money back."
"Why? Michael, why? You were doing so good."
"I tried to make it right, Leon, on my own two feet. But watching that poor kid losing his last dime, I couldn't take it. I got out of there."
"And he came after you."
"Yeah, he blamed me for, uh, bringing him into the game. He said I ruined his life, ruined his chances of ever getting back with his girl. And then he pulled a knife, you know, he came at me hard! I tried to get away, but he just kept coming at me! I tried to get away, but he just kept coming at me! Everything happened so fast, Leon. Next thing I know, he's... he's face down and the knife's in my hand. It was an accident. I didn't mean to kill him."
Vance looks hard at him, takes a breath. "But you did."
"Yeah, I know. Believe me, I know. I watched him die, right in front of me." He pauses for a moment,then his face brightens. "But I'm going to spend the rest of my life making up for it, If you could help me out, I promise I'll make it up to you, and the whole damn world, and the guy."
Vance looks away, then straight back at Michael. "I will," he says in a strained voice. "I will help you, Michael. More than I've ever helped you before." Michael's lips twitch in appreciation and he nods.
Vance turns and walks back to the front door as Jackie steps out from the kitchen and watches. Vance opens the door and nods to someone outside. Gibbs enters, followed by DiNozzo carrying a pair of handcuffs. Tony moves around behind a stunned Michael. "No, please," Jackie says, "Not in the house." Vance looks at DiNozzo and nods.
"Sorry, Jackie," Michael says. Jackie's head slowly bobs as they escort him out the door. "Me too, Mike" she whispers to his back.
Tony takes Michael to the car while Gibbs and Vance look on from the sidewalk.
"I was so close with him, Gibbs. He was becoming a good man."
"Not your fault. You didn't fail, Leon. It's just time to let go."
Gibbs walks to the car. Leon bites his lip, then goes back inside the house where Jackie is still waiting. He firmly closes the door, looks at it for a moment, then turns to her. She shows as much pain in her eyes as he does. They hold each other tightly as the children creep out from the kitchen.
"When is Uncle Michael coming back?" Jared asks quietly. Leon blinks to clear his eyes, then turns to Jared. "Not for a while, son."
"Come on, kids, let's leave your dad be for a bit." Jackie herds them back towards the kitchen as Leon sits on the couch and drops his face into his hands. A soft sob escapes.
Jared creeps out from the kitchen once again, feeling somehow that this must be because of him. "I'm sorry I put Xbox before doing my homework, but it wasn't Uncle Mike's fault." Leon looks up at him. "I know, son, it's OK." Jared turns to go back to the kitchen.
"Jared." Leon calls him back. Jared stands before him, uncertain but straight-backed, as Leon considers his words. "Will you show me how to play this?"
Jared breaks out into a smile. "Sure, Dad!" He sits down close to his father with the controllers in hand. Leon wraps his arms around his son and holds him close. Phoof!
Roll the closing credits.
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