NCIS s16e05 Episode Script
Fragments
1 You know, it's kind of sad to see this place close.
As a kid, I came here every week to mail a letter to my pen pal.
He lived on a lettuce farm in Yuma, can you imagine? (sighs) God, I love fresh produce.
- Wow.
- (chuckles) -Babe.
- We'll be able to fit way more tables in here once we rip this wall out.
Come help me with this thing.
It's bolted to the studs.
Listen, I've been thinking, we really can't call this place a vegetarian restaurant if you insist on serving bacon.
(high-pitched): What? You're killing the thing they sorted mail in? If I was killing it, you'd know.
(both straining) (coughs) - Hey.
What's that? - Dust bunny.
Straight to the lungs.
It's a letter.
Must've fallen behind the shelf.
Look at the date.
DYLAN: So it's been sitting back there all this time? It's addressed to a lady on Lockwood Lane.
- Hi.
Can I help you? - Are you Claire Hall? Yes.
We were clearing out the old post office, and we found this.
My God.
This is from my husband when he was in Vietnam.
He used to send me audio tapes.
He died in that war.
DANIEL (on tape): Claire.
(sobs) I love you more than I know how to say in words.
Claire, please forgive me for what I'm about to tell you.
NCIS 16x05 Fragments Ah, I'm glad you guys are here.
I feel like I'm going crazy.
She gets like this when she's hungry.
- Here, give her some of your muffin.
- No, no.
It's too delicious.
Have you heard this? MAN (recorded): Laurel.
What the hell was that? It's that thing that had everyone fighting over what word it was saying.
Well, see, that's what I don't get.
I-I don't understand how any normal human being can hear anything other than the word "Laurel.
" MAN (recorded): Laurel.
Laurel.
"Yanny.
" I hear "Yanny.
" "Yanny.
" (scoffs) No, you don't.
McGee? I don't know why we're even talking about this.
It's old news; it went viral months ago.
Well, it must've been when I unplugged for three days for my annual mental reset.
Oh, that must've been when I, when I unplugged, too.
Oh, uh, you know, for cooler reasons in a completely different location.
JIMMY: You guys.
Word on the basement street is: it's official.
Has he, uh, made an announcement yet? Has who made what announcement? Everyone.
May I have your attention, please? As you all know, Ms.
Hines has proven herself indispensable over the last five months.
So, as her temporary employment ends here I'm pleased to announce that she rose to the top of our candidate pool and is now our permanent forensic scientist.
Ms.
Hines, welcome to the team.
Thank you, sir.
(applause) TORRES: All right.
Oh, wow, and clapping, too.
(chuckles) (laughter) DANIEL (on tape): I wanted to have it in me to lead, but I don't.
I can't carry this anymore, so today is my last.
I decided I'm done.
(crying) (voice breaking): But you're right here with me, Claire.
And I will keep you next to my heart, as I say good-bye.
I love you.
I love you, and I'm so sorry.
(sighs) My husband.
He was saying good-bye.
He killed himself, Agent Gibbs.
- He was a Marine? - Yes.
First Lieutenant Daniel Hall.
Instead of letters, we sent recordings back and forth when he was overseas.
These are all from him.
- Ma'am - Claire.
Claire.
I am sorry for your loss, but I am not seeing anything to investigate here.
There's a man, another Marine.
His name is Ray Jennings.
He's serving life in prison for the murder of my husband in Vietnam.
But if Danny committed suicide A Marine is serving time for a crime he did not commit.
48 years, Agent Gibbs.
He's been locked up for the last 48 years.
Hey, guys.
Guess what.
Ooh, those look good.
Get your own, Bishop.
McGEE: If you want your own, go to the muffin guy selling them across the street.
It's my second one today.
They're too delicious to share.
Fine.
Enjoy.
No, I found this article online, it said that "Laurel" hits on the lower frequencies, and "Yanny" hits on the higher ones.
TORRES: Dude.
You are still on that? Yes, because now that I understand the mechanics, I can get myself to hear whichever one I'm thinking about.
Ah, makes sense.
I've always been able to hear both.
Yeah, they say that people who hear both are operating on, like, full brain capacity or something.
- Oh, like me.
- Hmm.
- Let me hear it again.
- Okay.
MAN (recorded): Laurel.
Hmm.
I still hear "Yanny.
" Let me focus.
(clears throat) "Laurel.
" (imitates man): Laurel.
Okay, go.
MAN (recorded): Laurel.
- Okay, you know what? My-my brain works just fine.
Prove it, Torres.
Update.
First Lieutenant Daniel Hall.
McGEE: At the time of his death in 1970, he was a rising star, leading a team of five Marines on a recon mission in Vietnam.
They were gathering Intel on Vietcong movements near the fire support base where they were assigned.
- Where at? - I Corps, Quang Tri Province.
TORRES: Lieutenant Hall was killed by a Marine under his command.
McGEE: Lance Corporal Ray Jennings.
He was the baby of the group, just 18 at the time.
Murder weapon was a grenade.
The radio operator was an eyewitness to the murder, a Corporal Thomas Fletcher, but because Ray Jennings pled guilty, there was no trial.
And update out.
- What? - It's a catchphrase that Torres is trying to start to signify the end of an update.
It's not exactly catching on.
I asked for details of the incident itself.
Boss, we pieced everything together from plea documents.
NIS investigated at the time, but their report isn't in the system.
JAGMAN investigation? TORRES: We are thinking that both reports are probably together.
Together where? Why aren't they in the system, Torres? - I'll get on it.
BISHOP: Gibbs, remember.
Ray Jennings pled guilty, so even without the reports, it's looking like an open-and-shut case of fragging.
Fragging.
The murder of a superior officer by someone under their command.
The term was coined during the Vietnam War, when the number of fraggings soared.
The word comes from the weapon of choice in such attacks: the fragmentation grenade.
- Plentiful, deadly, and - And grenades can't be traced, which makes it almost impossible to find the killer.
Uh Am I right? Yes, but, it's (stammers) Oh, no, I'm off my cue.
Sorry, sorry, that's-that's my bad.
I tend to get super invested in multimedia presentations.
Uh, okay.
Oh, here's where I'm gonna talk about the protests going on at home.
Um, an unpopular war meant low morale within the military.
Oh, and civil rights.
There was rampant racial discrimination.
Which only contributed to motive.
Exactly.
Some fraggings were the result of racism, some were because of drug use.
Others were seen as a way to stop a superior who was seen as too eager for combat.
But let's face it: fragging is just one small part of what made that war so brutal.
DANIEL (on tape): Lieutenant Danny Hall here, coming to you from a very sweaty Midsummer Night's Nightmare.
(laughter) Oh, did you like that one? MAN: Yeah, that was pretty good.
DANIEL: Yeah, he's the only one that laughs at my jokes, this one.
MAN: I got to.
DANIEL: Oh, yeah? Why's - Hmm.
That's a beauty.
- Yeah, right? I dug it out of our old technology graveyard downstairs.
Oh, I found a phone for you down there, too, if you ever want to upgrade.
(sighs): Yeah.
What are you thinking? Uh, I'm starting from the beginning, listening to them in order.
- Trying for a read.
The lieutenant's state of mind.
So far, he's not nearly suicidal, but it's still early on in his second tour.
He did two back-to-back.
He had a lot to say.
He was going to be a reporter when he got out.
These tapes were correspondence with his wife for sure, but he was also doing it to hone his craft.
Documenting and interviewing.
You got that look, Jack.
You know me so well, Gibbs.
Just listen to this again, okay? (tape rewinding) DANIEL: Yeah, he's the only one that laughs at my jokes, this one.
MAN: I got to.
DANIEL: Oh, yeah? Why's that? MAN: I need your help.
My roof just caved in again.
(laughter) The guy laughing with the lieutenant, it's the same guy who supposedly killed him.
Ray Jennings.
They were friends.
Claire mentioned that.
Yes, but it was much deeper than that.
These two had a real bond; they were almost like brothers.
I'm telling you, Gibbs.
This does not fit the typical profile of a fragging.
Maybe it wasn't.
McGEE: We're here because of a development in your case.
A recording surfaced.
It was lost up until now.
It's a suicide message from Lieutenant Daniel Hall.
Mr.
Jennings? GIBBS: If you'd like to listen to the tape, we can make that happen.
What do you want from me? We'd like to hear your side of the story.
In light of newly discovered evidence, NCIS is gonna reopen your case.
You're wasting your time.
Guard, I'm done here.
- Wait, Mr.
Jennings - I said you're wasting your time.
I killed him.
(lock buzzes) Morning, team.
How's it going? - It's going.
- Hey, so I was just moseying by, you know, trying to stay on top of the case.
You got a question, or is your head just gonna keep on floating like that? Well, since Ray Jennings pled guilty and said again yesterday that he committed the murder, I mean, do we even have cause to investigate? We got a suicide tape and two missing incident reports.
Plus, the way Jennings shut us down, he's hiding something.
I'm not gonna stop working until we find out what.
Ooh.
Did anyone else just get chills? You have cause to investigate, I'll give you that, but not enough cause to exhume the body.
You got to be kidding me.
Unfortunately, I'm not.
Your request for exhumation has been denied.
Yeah, by you.
Gibbs, exhuming a body isn't cheap.
Leon, you've been out of the office a long time.
Watch your step, Gibbs.
GIBBS: Maybe you forget, I don't give a damn about the budget.
My priority is ensuring Ensuring that justice is served.
Yeah, I know.
I read it in your request, which, as you damn well know, is lacking evidence, and is therefore denied.
Looking for a fight on this, Leon? Because I'll give you one.
All right, good news and bad news, people.
TORRES: Whoa.
It's heavy in here.
You got my answer on this, Gibbs.
Please tell me I didn't miss one of them taking a swing.
Hey, Torres.
Gibbs, I found the reports.
That's the good news.
The bad news is that they were in a flood.
Is that why they weren't scanned into the system? Yeah, they're warped, moldy and disgusting.
Good luck, dude.
Wh-Why are you giving these to me? Because reading makes you happy.
(phone rings) - This is Bishop.
- Boss, I got these.
KASIE: Me.
Hello.
Uh, over here, volunteering to help you scrape off the mold.
- Yeah.
Let's go.
- Okay.
You know, mold is actually a very hardworking fungus that gets a really bad rap.
Thanks.
Uh, Gibbs, I tracked down our eyewitness to the fragging, Thomas Fletcher.
He was a corporal back then, and a retired master sergeant now.
Take Torres.
And I do believe this bike is gonna ride like the wind.
(girl giggles) (horse neighs nearby) Mr.
Fletcher.
Yeah, can I help you? NCIS.
We need to talk to you about Lieutenant Daniel Hall.
Daniel Hall-- well, there's a name I haven't heard in a long time.
My God, and there's Ray Jennings.
It's amazing.
He and I were the only ones to make it out of there alive.
The other three Marines here were killed about a year later in the war.
And I'm assuming you both know what happened to the lieutenant, right? Well, plea documents say you were an eyewitness.
BISHOP: Mr.
Fletcher, we know this isn't easy to talk about, but we need to know exactly what you saw.
The night before, Ray and the lieutenant went out on a scout.
By the time they got back the next morning, things were different.
Things were-were really off between them.
But then again, we were all off.
Our radio went down, and the VC could have gutted us without thinking twice.
But all I could do is work as hard as I could to try to fix that radio.
(radio static) Damn it.
JENNINGS: L.
T.
FLETCHER: I saw Ray and the lieutenant walking.
Hey, I don't know how I'm gonna get this working without a new whip.
L.
T.
, hold up.
Jennings, I said I was done talking about this.
Wait.
L.
T.
, hold up.
No I couldn't tell what the hell they were talking about.
Then things got real quiet.
That's when Ray ran out.
- Get down! - No! And the lieutenant was gone.
Look, I know Ray did wrong, but when you think about the jungle and the war the war itself was enough to break any man.
BISHOP: Mr.
Fletcher, are you saying that you didn't actually see Ray Jennings throw the grenade? No, I didn't.
Wait a minute, I don't understand something.
I thought Ray Jennings confessed.
(explosions, gunfire) DANIEL: Fletcher, you all right? Fletcher, check in! Fletcher! FLETCHER: Good to go, sir! DANIEL: All right, hey, stay down.
Hey! Stay down over there.
Stay down! Jennings, you got a visual? JENNINGS: Negative, sir.
DANIEL: (whooping) That was close.
That was close.
They ain't playing.
People at home, laying in bed, you want to know what war is? This is war.
(sighs) Oy.
Kasie wasn't messing around with this presentation.
You all right? Yeah.
Different war.
Still, it's oof.
Yeah, me, too.
(clears throat) I'll spare you the rest.
Turned out okay.
Yeah, except it didn't, Jack.
No.
Of course.
You're right.
There's no way Lieutenant Hall wasn't affected by what he experienced out there.
I mean, look at us.
Our hearts were pounding just hearing it.
This was Hall's second to last tape.
He was stressed-- you heard him-- but he was keeping it together.
He wasn't suicidal.
- His last tape, he was.
- Right.
So the question is what happened between those two tapes? The last scout with Ray Jennings.
Right, but what happened? Hey.
What's with the? Oh, my God.
Why didn't anyone tell me what's going on back here? We got a sealed subwoofer with a passive radiator.
McGee, the reports.
Right.
Kasie tried to de-mold as best she could.
The JAGMAN was beyond repair.
But I was able to read part of the NIS Report of Investigation.
- Anything? - Yep.
Ray Jennings changed his story.
What do you mean? Well, at first he said he threw the grenade into the lieutenant's hooch from outside, at a distance.
And then later, he said that he was in the actual hooch when he threw it, then ran outside, like Fletcher said.
So he was insistent in saying that he did it.
Why would he change his story about where he was standing? You think you can get him to talk? We'll find out.
Boss.
I'd like to go back with you, if that's okay.
You got a reason? Yeah.
You know, my father was only 19 when he went to Vietnam.
He ended his career a four-star admiral.
Well, he didn't really end it, he passed away, about four years ago now.
You know, he did two tours in Vietnam, and I can't tell you what his job was at the time.
Well, he sure wasn't much good to you, was he? Excuse me? Well, any father worth his salt would teach his kid how to shut his damn mouth in a library.
- Mr.
Jennings - I don't know who you're talking to.
I was never a mister.
I was a lance corporal, then I was a nothing.
I was just trying to Y'all trying to trick me into talking about that jungle.
Ray, if you don't belong here, we can help you.
I belong here.
Look around you, what do you see? Other guys use their comm money for cookies, I use mine for books.
When I got here, every last one of them was a waste of paper between two covers.
I mean, no-no Tolstoy, no Ellison, no nothing.
"All alone and free in the soft sands of the beach.
" That's Kerouac.
That's escape, and that's something.
I'm gonna die in here.
I've made my peace with it.
Now you need to walk on out of here and do the same.
DANIEL (on tape): Lieutenant Danny Hall here, coming to you from a very sweaty Midsummer Night's Nightmare.
(laughter) Oh, did you like that one? JENNINGS: Yeah, that was pretty good.
DANIEL: Yeah, he's the only one that laughs at my jokes, this one.
JENNINGS (on tape): I got to.
What do you think you're doing? You two were friends.
DANIEL: Oh, yeah? Why's that? You owe it to him to be straight with us.
JENNINGS: I need your help.
My roof just caved in again.
(laughter) Turn it off.
DANIEL: All right, don't worry, buddy, I got you.
I said turn it off! (clicks) - No, wait.
GIBBS: Did you change your story, where you were when you threw that grenade? - This is my house, you hear? - I asked you a question.
Sam, get them out of here.
Sam, stay right there.
I will throw you out myself! Did you change your story? - I'm done playing.
- Did you change your story?! Yes! Why? He doesn't remember, Leon.
What? Ray Jennings changed his story to match the witness's 'cause he doesn't know what happened.
He blacked out.
He was drunk? He downed a fifth of whiskey.
We don't know who pulled the pin on that grenade.
The lieutenant could've killed himself or it could've been his buddy, Ray.
Another time he blacked out, he killed six Vietcong.
Okay, so he was capable, but if he can't remember what happened, why confess to murder? I don't know.
That's what I'm telling you.
He's refusing to talk and he's hiding something.
So what? We got a murder victim claiming suicide and a convicted killer that doesn't remember what happened.
And the wife of a dead Marine who deserves the truth.
- I'm aware of that.
- No, Leon.
This time, I'm not leaving without it.
Permission to exhume the body, Director.
Do it.
My apologies for disturbing you, Lieutenant Hall.
48 years at rest.
That's quite a stretch.
But now that you're here, I'd like to formally welcome you to 2018.
We have e-mail now and kale chips.
You'll find that quite a bit has changed since you've been away, Lieutenant Hall.
Yet somehow we're still making the same mistakes we always did.
The amount of damage is unbelievable, isn't it? I knew suicide happened during war, but it's still hard to imagine somebody doing this to themselves.
What about Ray Jennings? You spoke to him, didn't you? Yeah, that's an overstatement.
Do you think he did this? Ray sure believes he did.
I-I don't know why.
You are staring into a glassy lake, aren't you? Hmm? A wise man once told me that the toughest cases are like staring into a glassy lake.
All the answers you're looking for are there at the bottom, but in between you and them is the reflection.
Yeah.
That's-that's yeah.
We don't have to talk about this.
No, no.
The reflection, it's-it's my father.
I have a lot of regrets when it comes to him.
I'm so sorry.
Well, I just made this very, very awkward.
Uh, would you like me to just tell you what it is I found? - That would be great.
- Great, great.
Okay, well, I have pulled several grenade fragments from the lieutenant's bone and remaining tissue.
This wasn't one of them.
What am I looking at? A four-inch metal plate that appears to be fused to the proximal side of his right, fifth rib.
Any mention of it in his medical records? No, no.
In fact, rib plating wasn't even a procedure that was performed back then.
Then what is it? JIMMY: I sent it to Kasie for analysis.
Uh, Kasie? Don't stop me now, Ellie, I am in the zone.
I will get this done before Gibbs gets here.
Actually, Gibbs is already on his way down.
Listen, I need you two to intercept him and stall him.
Break.
What do we got? Oh, hey, Gibbs.
- Um, the-the viral thing.
- Mm-hmm.
Have you seen this viral thing? No.
Okay, listen to this.
MAN (recorded): Laurel.
What do you hear? "Laurel" and "Yanny.
" At the same time? - And "Blizzard.
" - "Blizzard"? He heard a third word? He's operating at beyond full brain capacity.
What do you got? Uh, listen, before we get to that, I hear you have a boat in your basement.
Man, what's up with that? Okay, so, uh, Jimmy found this plate on one of the lieutenant's ribs.
I removed it from the bone.
- What kind of plate? - Uh, it's brass.
I'm pretty sure it's a piece of something that was near Hall when the grenade went off.
The blast must've fused it to his ribs.
Ooh.
Oh, I managed to remove enough debris to see that there's an engraving on it.
- What's it say? - Not a clue.
But if I can get a little more time, I can figure it out and put the answer in a presentation.
Engraving means it's personal.
Mm-hmm.
Cool, cool, cool.
Thank you so much for stopping by.
Great.
Oh.
Damn it.
I still heard "Yanny.
" GIBBS: "Until we meet again.
" When I found out that Danny was going overseas, I bought two recorders, one for him and one for me.
And I had them engraved with matching plates.
It was a strange gift, I know.
No, it's perfect for your husband.
Well, actually, he was my boyfriend then.
Those days before he left were so difficult.
Danny was consumed by what was happening in the world.
And it wasn't just Vietnam.
Martin Luther King had just been shot and just seemed like everywhere you looked, there was hate.
But when I showed him the recorders, his face just lit up.
Well, he knew that he'd be able to hear your voice while he was away.
He he put down the newspaper and got down on one knee.
We went to City Hall the next day and got married.
SLOANE: The recorder represented his wife.
The plate impacted the lieutenant's rib which suggests that he was holding the recorder near his chest when he died.
Plus, he said it himself.
What do you mean? In his suicide message, Leon.
He said, "I'll keep you next to my heart as I say good-bye.
" He didn't say "in my heart," like most people would say.
He was trying to tell Claire that he would hold her as he died and that's exactly what he did.
You think the lieutenant ordered Ray out of the hooch and then he killed himself? 100%.
Well, I'm at 50% because Ray Jennings is still saying that he did it.
And until we find out why he believes that, none of this is gonna make any sense.
- The scout.
- Exactly.
Whatever happened on that scout made Lieutenant Hall suicidal or Ray homicidal.
Do we think Ray remembers or was that part of the blackout? Oh, he remembers, but he's not talking.
All right, then you need to break him.
No.
Excuse me? He's not the kind you break, Leon.
Look, Gibbs, I know you sat in here and signed some papers while I was gone, but I'm back now.
Okay, boys, let's focus here.
Hello.
Pushing Ray might get us a word or two, but he needs to want to tell his story.
That's gonna take a real connection and that needs to be earned.
McGee.
McGee's got a stake in this.
You think he'd be willing to get in the mud? I think he'll do whatever it takes.
Send him back in.
I get two hours a day in this room.
I don't want you in it, Marine.
He's not here.
They sent you in alone? Hmm.
Well, pick out a book, sit in back, you can read quietly for an hour and we'll tell them you tried.
I appreciate the offer, Ray, but I can't do that.
Go home, kid.
I want you to tell me what happened on that scout.
Appreciate the offer, but I'm not doing that.
Well, then I'm gonna keep coming back until you do.
What, uh, your daddy rode a ship to Vietnam and you think you know me? You think you know what I went through out there? No.
No, I have no idea what you went through out there.
That's why I keep asking.
That's why I'm gonna keep asking until you tell me.
My father, I asked him about Vietnam one time, once.
You know what he did? He shut me down, just like you're doing.
I don't know what happened to him over there, but it changed him, it defined him.
And I never asked again and you know what? I should've.
I should've asked him a hundred times 'cause maybe he would've told me.
Maybe I would've understood him.
Maybe it would've fixed us.
We we, uh heard the VC firing at close range the night before, so Lieutenant took me out on the scout.
We were cutting through some heavy brush and we saw it.
Vietcong patrol.
They were heavily armed.
They had an American.
A POW.
(shouting in Vietnamese) (coughing) But what he was, it was worse than dead.
What did you do? We fought about it.
First argument we ever had.
All right, move out, back to base.
I need to make a plan.
- A plan? - To rescue him? It'd be the six of us against a whole damn army.
No man left behind, Ray, not on my watch.
You order us in there, and we're all dead.
This is not your call to make, Marine.
Do you hear me? This is my call.
I said move out.
We went back to base.
We didn't tell the others what we saw.
But the lieutenant was going to? Yes.
I kept on him, but he would not budge.
He was gonna order us in.
That's when you started drinking.
Yes, yes.
(crying): It doesn't matter if I don't remember the act.
I know the thought that was in my head before I blacked out.
Calling that order, Lieutenant was doing right.
But I didn't want to die.
So I killed him.
I killed my friend 'cause I was a coward.
Okay, motive for homicide, yes.
For Jennings.
Hold up there, Speedy.
You're getting ahead of yourself.
You didn't see the look on Ray's face when he told me what happened.
- Yes.
But I did listen to every single one of Lieutenant Hall's tapes, and he had his own issues.
Okay, maybe I should hold that marker.
You have to admit, Ray had every reason to kill the lieutenant.
If he didn't, six Marines would've been killed trying to rescue one POW.
You're right.
I'll give you motive, but Ray's story is also a motive for suicide.
No man left behind.
The lieutenant knew he had to attempt a rescue.
Yeah, but that meant leading his men into certain death.
An impossible choice.
And he said so himself.
In his last tape he said, "I wanted to have it in me to lead, but I don't.
I can't carry this anymore.
" Boss, what do you think? - Yeah.
- Yeah, to which theory? I see both.
Do you see a blizzard, too? BISHOP: Hey.
- Got something.
- Yeah, go, let's hear it.
Ray Jennings doesn't have any family.
No one he's in contact with, no.
You said that he talked about spending his commissary money.
Right, on books for the library.
Which got me wondering Who is sending him money? Exactly, so I looked into it, and for the last 30 years, there has been an anonymous contributor to Ray's account.
- You tracked the deposits? - I did.
Through four fake names and two shell companies, directly to retired Master Sergeant Thomas Fletcher.
The witness.
Why would he give money to the man that he helped put away for life? Guilt.
FLETCHER: So when are you people gonna tell me what's going on here? I think you already know.
No, I don't know.
What really happened the night Lieutenant Hall died? I've already gone through this with your agents.
Get up.
Excuse me? On your feet.
Here, look at me.
You told a lie.
You told a lie and then you went and lived your life like it never happened.
You wore the uniform for 30 years, isn't that right, Tom? Did you deserve the honor of wearing it? Did you deserve to wear the uniform of a United States Marine? I heard them down there that night.
I heard them down there in the lieutenant's hooch, making a lot of noise.
I have no idea what the hell they were fighting about.
Couple of hours passed, and everything got real quiet.
And Ray wasn't blacked out, functional.
He was passed out.
Completely unconscious.
So I decided to get on with my task at hand and then went down to talk to the lieutenant.
Hate to say it, Lieutenant, but that radio's a no-go.
Yeah, I figured as much.
Supply drop should make us whole.
That's in, what, about five days? Yeah, don't forget to give Boyd your mail.
All right? He'll make sure it gets out then, too.
- Yes, sir.
- Right.
- Good night.
- Night, sir.
CLAIRE (on tape): Hello, there, love.
Things are fine, but I sure do miss you.
No! You knew all along it was a suicide.
Yes, I did.
Why'd you pin it onto Ray Jennings? Two altercations on your record.
Both before this happened, both with African American Marines.
Let me just tell both of you something.
Back then, we were at war here, too.
They were on one side and we were on the other.
That's just the way it was.
And in that jungle, I had to trust the man next to me with my life.
And you couldn't trust Ray because of the color of his skin.
So you tried to get him sent home.
I thought he was gonna get a slap on the wrist and a discharge.
That's how they dealt with these fragging situations.
Couldn't prove anything.
But then Ray confessed.
You let him believe he was guilty.
I couldn't own up to the lie.
It would've ruined my career.
You have to see that.
You have to understand that.
You had 48 years to set the record straight.
I did what I had to do to survive, Agent Gibbs.
So what's gonna happen to Thomas Fletcher? Not much.
The statute of limitations on making a false statement passed a long time ago.
Living with something like that on your conscience would pretty much be like being in a prison, except Fletcher can go get ice cream with his family whenever he wants.
Hey, what're you doing? Oh.
Uh, I'm just putting the room back to the way it was.
(chuckles): I mean, this case was pretty much one huge forensics fail.
I have this picture in my head of what a real forensic scientist should be, and now I'm finally here.
But I'm not, so Kasie.
Look, you were already here as a temp.
I mean, y-you want to talk about this case? Look, you handed off this clue to Gibbs, which allowed him to go run with it.
And that's what being a team is all about.
Yes.
(chuckles) There's a muffin guy selling them across the street.
I hear they're delicious.
It's cranberry.
That's my favorite.
Hmm.
Ray.
You ready? Yeah.
Don't worry.
I'll make sure they take good care of the place.
Someone told me long ago There's a calm before the storm I know It's been coming for some time You know, I am angry.
At myself.
At the world.
And I'm angry with you.
I know But Lieutenant Hall he wanted us to live.
So I decided I'm gonna let go of that anger.
Have you ever seen the rain? And I'm gonna live.
I want to know I just wanted you to know that.
Have you ever seen the rain Coming down on a sunny day? Yesterday and days before Sun is cold and rain is hard I know Been that way for all my time I want to know Have you ever seen the rain? - It is so nice to meet you.
-You, too.
And I want to know I'm so sorry.
Have you ever seen the rain Coming down on a sunny day? Staring into a glassy lake.
Sometimes it's a good thing.
Yeah.
Your dad would be proud of you, Tim.
Have you ever seen the rain Coming down on a sunny day?
As a kid, I came here every week to mail a letter to my pen pal.
He lived on a lettuce farm in Yuma, can you imagine? (sighs) God, I love fresh produce.
- Wow.
- (chuckles) -Babe.
- We'll be able to fit way more tables in here once we rip this wall out.
Come help me with this thing.
It's bolted to the studs.
Listen, I've been thinking, we really can't call this place a vegetarian restaurant if you insist on serving bacon.
(high-pitched): What? You're killing the thing they sorted mail in? If I was killing it, you'd know.
(both straining) (coughs) - Hey.
What's that? - Dust bunny.
Straight to the lungs.
It's a letter.
Must've fallen behind the shelf.
Look at the date.
DYLAN: So it's been sitting back there all this time? It's addressed to a lady on Lockwood Lane.
- Hi.
Can I help you? - Are you Claire Hall? Yes.
We were clearing out the old post office, and we found this.
My God.
This is from my husband when he was in Vietnam.
He used to send me audio tapes.
He died in that war.
DANIEL (on tape): Claire.
(sobs) I love you more than I know how to say in words.
Claire, please forgive me for what I'm about to tell you.
NCIS 16x05 Fragments Ah, I'm glad you guys are here.
I feel like I'm going crazy.
She gets like this when she's hungry.
- Here, give her some of your muffin.
- No, no.
It's too delicious.
Have you heard this? MAN (recorded): Laurel.
What the hell was that? It's that thing that had everyone fighting over what word it was saying.
Well, see, that's what I don't get.
I-I don't understand how any normal human being can hear anything other than the word "Laurel.
" MAN (recorded): Laurel.
Laurel.
"Yanny.
" I hear "Yanny.
" "Yanny.
" (scoffs) No, you don't.
McGee? I don't know why we're even talking about this.
It's old news; it went viral months ago.
Well, it must've been when I unplugged for three days for my annual mental reset.
Oh, that must've been when I, when I unplugged, too.
Oh, uh, you know, for cooler reasons in a completely different location.
JIMMY: You guys.
Word on the basement street is: it's official.
Has he, uh, made an announcement yet? Has who made what announcement? Everyone.
May I have your attention, please? As you all know, Ms.
Hines has proven herself indispensable over the last five months.
So, as her temporary employment ends here I'm pleased to announce that she rose to the top of our candidate pool and is now our permanent forensic scientist.
Ms.
Hines, welcome to the team.
Thank you, sir.
(applause) TORRES: All right.
Oh, wow, and clapping, too.
(chuckles) (laughter) DANIEL (on tape): I wanted to have it in me to lead, but I don't.
I can't carry this anymore, so today is my last.
I decided I'm done.
(crying) (voice breaking): But you're right here with me, Claire.
And I will keep you next to my heart, as I say good-bye.
I love you.
I love you, and I'm so sorry.
(sighs) My husband.
He was saying good-bye.
He killed himself, Agent Gibbs.
- He was a Marine? - Yes.
First Lieutenant Daniel Hall.
Instead of letters, we sent recordings back and forth when he was overseas.
These are all from him.
- Ma'am - Claire.
Claire.
I am sorry for your loss, but I am not seeing anything to investigate here.
There's a man, another Marine.
His name is Ray Jennings.
He's serving life in prison for the murder of my husband in Vietnam.
But if Danny committed suicide A Marine is serving time for a crime he did not commit.
48 years, Agent Gibbs.
He's been locked up for the last 48 years.
Hey, guys.
Guess what.
Ooh, those look good.
Get your own, Bishop.
McGEE: If you want your own, go to the muffin guy selling them across the street.
It's my second one today.
They're too delicious to share.
Fine.
Enjoy.
No, I found this article online, it said that "Laurel" hits on the lower frequencies, and "Yanny" hits on the higher ones.
TORRES: Dude.
You are still on that? Yes, because now that I understand the mechanics, I can get myself to hear whichever one I'm thinking about.
Ah, makes sense.
I've always been able to hear both.
Yeah, they say that people who hear both are operating on, like, full brain capacity or something.
- Oh, like me.
- Hmm.
- Let me hear it again.
- Okay.
MAN (recorded): Laurel.
Hmm.
I still hear "Yanny.
" Let me focus.
(clears throat) "Laurel.
" (imitates man): Laurel.
Okay, go.
MAN (recorded): Laurel.
- Okay, you know what? My-my brain works just fine.
Prove it, Torres.
Update.
First Lieutenant Daniel Hall.
McGEE: At the time of his death in 1970, he was a rising star, leading a team of five Marines on a recon mission in Vietnam.
They were gathering Intel on Vietcong movements near the fire support base where they were assigned.
- Where at? - I Corps, Quang Tri Province.
TORRES: Lieutenant Hall was killed by a Marine under his command.
McGEE: Lance Corporal Ray Jennings.
He was the baby of the group, just 18 at the time.
Murder weapon was a grenade.
The radio operator was an eyewitness to the murder, a Corporal Thomas Fletcher, but because Ray Jennings pled guilty, there was no trial.
And update out.
- What? - It's a catchphrase that Torres is trying to start to signify the end of an update.
It's not exactly catching on.
I asked for details of the incident itself.
Boss, we pieced everything together from plea documents.
NIS investigated at the time, but their report isn't in the system.
JAGMAN investigation? TORRES: We are thinking that both reports are probably together.
Together where? Why aren't they in the system, Torres? - I'll get on it.
BISHOP: Gibbs, remember.
Ray Jennings pled guilty, so even without the reports, it's looking like an open-and-shut case of fragging.
Fragging.
The murder of a superior officer by someone under their command.
The term was coined during the Vietnam War, when the number of fraggings soared.
The word comes from the weapon of choice in such attacks: the fragmentation grenade.
- Plentiful, deadly, and - And grenades can't be traced, which makes it almost impossible to find the killer.
Uh Am I right? Yes, but, it's (stammers) Oh, no, I'm off my cue.
Sorry, sorry, that's-that's my bad.
I tend to get super invested in multimedia presentations.
Uh, okay.
Oh, here's where I'm gonna talk about the protests going on at home.
Um, an unpopular war meant low morale within the military.
Oh, and civil rights.
There was rampant racial discrimination.
Which only contributed to motive.
Exactly.
Some fraggings were the result of racism, some were because of drug use.
Others were seen as a way to stop a superior who was seen as too eager for combat.
But let's face it: fragging is just one small part of what made that war so brutal.
DANIEL (on tape): Lieutenant Danny Hall here, coming to you from a very sweaty Midsummer Night's Nightmare.
(laughter) Oh, did you like that one? MAN: Yeah, that was pretty good.
DANIEL: Yeah, he's the only one that laughs at my jokes, this one.
MAN: I got to.
DANIEL: Oh, yeah? Why's - Hmm.
That's a beauty.
- Yeah, right? I dug it out of our old technology graveyard downstairs.
Oh, I found a phone for you down there, too, if you ever want to upgrade.
(sighs): Yeah.
What are you thinking? Uh, I'm starting from the beginning, listening to them in order.
- Trying for a read.
The lieutenant's state of mind.
So far, he's not nearly suicidal, but it's still early on in his second tour.
He did two back-to-back.
He had a lot to say.
He was going to be a reporter when he got out.
These tapes were correspondence with his wife for sure, but he was also doing it to hone his craft.
Documenting and interviewing.
You got that look, Jack.
You know me so well, Gibbs.
Just listen to this again, okay? (tape rewinding) DANIEL: Yeah, he's the only one that laughs at my jokes, this one.
MAN: I got to.
DANIEL: Oh, yeah? Why's that? MAN: I need your help.
My roof just caved in again.
(laughter) The guy laughing with the lieutenant, it's the same guy who supposedly killed him.
Ray Jennings.
They were friends.
Claire mentioned that.
Yes, but it was much deeper than that.
These two had a real bond; they were almost like brothers.
I'm telling you, Gibbs.
This does not fit the typical profile of a fragging.
Maybe it wasn't.
McGEE: We're here because of a development in your case.
A recording surfaced.
It was lost up until now.
It's a suicide message from Lieutenant Daniel Hall.
Mr.
Jennings? GIBBS: If you'd like to listen to the tape, we can make that happen.
What do you want from me? We'd like to hear your side of the story.
In light of newly discovered evidence, NCIS is gonna reopen your case.
You're wasting your time.
Guard, I'm done here.
- Wait, Mr.
Jennings - I said you're wasting your time.
I killed him.
(lock buzzes) Morning, team.
How's it going? - It's going.
- Hey, so I was just moseying by, you know, trying to stay on top of the case.
You got a question, or is your head just gonna keep on floating like that? Well, since Ray Jennings pled guilty and said again yesterday that he committed the murder, I mean, do we even have cause to investigate? We got a suicide tape and two missing incident reports.
Plus, the way Jennings shut us down, he's hiding something.
I'm not gonna stop working until we find out what.
Ooh.
Did anyone else just get chills? You have cause to investigate, I'll give you that, but not enough cause to exhume the body.
You got to be kidding me.
Unfortunately, I'm not.
Your request for exhumation has been denied.
Yeah, by you.
Gibbs, exhuming a body isn't cheap.
Leon, you've been out of the office a long time.
Watch your step, Gibbs.
GIBBS: Maybe you forget, I don't give a damn about the budget.
My priority is ensuring Ensuring that justice is served.
Yeah, I know.
I read it in your request, which, as you damn well know, is lacking evidence, and is therefore denied.
Looking for a fight on this, Leon? Because I'll give you one.
All right, good news and bad news, people.
TORRES: Whoa.
It's heavy in here.
You got my answer on this, Gibbs.
Please tell me I didn't miss one of them taking a swing.
Hey, Torres.
Gibbs, I found the reports.
That's the good news.
The bad news is that they were in a flood.
Is that why they weren't scanned into the system? Yeah, they're warped, moldy and disgusting.
Good luck, dude.
Wh-Why are you giving these to me? Because reading makes you happy.
(phone rings) - This is Bishop.
- Boss, I got these.
KASIE: Me.
Hello.
Uh, over here, volunteering to help you scrape off the mold.
- Yeah.
Let's go.
- Okay.
You know, mold is actually a very hardworking fungus that gets a really bad rap.
Thanks.
Uh, Gibbs, I tracked down our eyewitness to the fragging, Thomas Fletcher.
He was a corporal back then, and a retired master sergeant now.
Take Torres.
And I do believe this bike is gonna ride like the wind.
(girl giggles) (horse neighs nearby) Mr.
Fletcher.
Yeah, can I help you? NCIS.
We need to talk to you about Lieutenant Daniel Hall.
Daniel Hall-- well, there's a name I haven't heard in a long time.
My God, and there's Ray Jennings.
It's amazing.
He and I were the only ones to make it out of there alive.
The other three Marines here were killed about a year later in the war.
And I'm assuming you both know what happened to the lieutenant, right? Well, plea documents say you were an eyewitness.
BISHOP: Mr.
Fletcher, we know this isn't easy to talk about, but we need to know exactly what you saw.
The night before, Ray and the lieutenant went out on a scout.
By the time they got back the next morning, things were different.
Things were-were really off between them.
But then again, we were all off.
Our radio went down, and the VC could have gutted us without thinking twice.
But all I could do is work as hard as I could to try to fix that radio.
(radio static) Damn it.
JENNINGS: L.
T.
FLETCHER: I saw Ray and the lieutenant walking.
Hey, I don't know how I'm gonna get this working without a new whip.
L.
T.
, hold up.
Jennings, I said I was done talking about this.
Wait.
L.
T.
, hold up.
No I couldn't tell what the hell they were talking about.
Then things got real quiet.
That's when Ray ran out.
- Get down! - No! And the lieutenant was gone.
Look, I know Ray did wrong, but when you think about the jungle and the war the war itself was enough to break any man.
BISHOP: Mr.
Fletcher, are you saying that you didn't actually see Ray Jennings throw the grenade? No, I didn't.
Wait a minute, I don't understand something.
I thought Ray Jennings confessed.
(explosions, gunfire) DANIEL: Fletcher, you all right? Fletcher, check in! Fletcher! FLETCHER: Good to go, sir! DANIEL: All right, hey, stay down.
Hey! Stay down over there.
Stay down! Jennings, you got a visual? JENNINGS: Negative, sir.
DANIEL: (whooping) That was close.
That was close.
They ain't playing.
People at home, laying in bed, you want to know what war is? This is war.
(sighs) Oy.
Kasie wasn't messing around with this presentation.
You all right? Yeah.
Different war.
Still, it's oof.
Yeah, me, too.
(clears throat) I'll spare you the rest.
Turned out okay.
Yeah, except it didn't, Jack.
No.
Of course.
You're right.
There's no way Lieutenant Hall wasn't affected by what he experienced out there.
I mean, look at us.
Our hearts were pounding just hearing it.
This was Hall's second to last tape.
He was stressed-- you heard him-- but he was keeping it together.
He wasn't suicidal.
- His last tape, he was.
- Right.
So the question is what happened between those two tapes? The last scout with Ray Jennings.
Right, but what happened? Hey.
What's with the? Oh, my God.
Why didn't anyone tell me what's going on back here? We got a sealed subwoofer with a passive radiator.
McGee, the reports.
Right.
Kasie tried to de-mold as best she could.
The JAGMAN was beyond repair.
But I was able to read part of the NIS Report of Investigation.
- Anything? - Yep.
Ray Jennings changed his story.
What do you mean? Well, at first he said he threw the grenade into the lieutenant's hooch from outside, at a distance.
And then later, he said that he was in the actual hooch when he threw it, then ran outside, like Fletcher said.
So he was insistent in saying that he did it.
Why would he change his story about where he was standing? You think you can get him to talk? We'll find out.
Boss.
I'd like to go back with you, if that's okay.
You got a reason? Yeah.
You know, my father was only 19 when he went to Vietnam.
He ended his career a four-star admiral.
Well, he didn't really end it, he passed away, about four years ago now.
You know, he did two tours in Vietnam, and I can't tell you what his job was at the time.
Well, he sure wasn't much good to you, was he? Excuse me? Well, any father worth his salt would teach his kid how to shut his damn mouth in a library.
- Mr.
Jennings - I don't know who you're talking to.
I was never a mister.
I was a lance corporal, then I was a nothing.
I was just trying to Y'all trying to trick me into talking about that jungle.
Ray, if you don't belong here, we can help you.
I belong here.
Look around you, what do you see? Other guys use their comm money for cookies, I use mine for books.
When I got here, every last one of them was a waste of paper between two covers.
I mean, no-no Tolstoy, no Ellison, no nothing.
"All alone and free in the soft sands of the beach.
" That's Kerouac.
That's escape, and that's something.
I'm gonna die in here.
I've made my peace with it.
Now you need to walk on out of here and do the same.
DANIEL (on tape): Lieutenant Danny Hall here, coming to you from a very sweaty Midsummer Night's Nightmare.
(laughter) Oh, did you like that one? JENNINGS: Yeah, that was pretty good.
DANIEL: Yeah, he's the only one that laughs at my jokes, this one.
JENNINGS (on tape): I got to.
What do you think you're doing? You two were friends.
DANIEL: Oh, yeah? Why's that? You owe it to him to be straight with us.
JENNINGS: I need your help.
My roof just caved in again.
(laughter) Turn it off.
DANIEL: All right, don't worry, buddy, I got you.
I said turn it off! (clicks) - No, wait.
GIBBS: Did you change your story, where you were when you threw that grenade? - This is my house, you hear? - I asked you a question.
Sam, get them out of here.
Sam, stay right there.
I will throw you out myself! Did you change your story? - I'm done playing.
- Did you change your story?! Yes! Why? He doesn't remember, Leon.
What? Ray Jennings changed his story to match the witness's 'cause he doesn't know what happened.
He blacked out.
He was drunk? He downed a fifth of whiskey.
We don't know who pulled the pin on that grenade.
The lieutenant could've killed himself or it could've been his buddy, Ray.
Another time he blacked out, he killed six Vietcong.
Okay, so he was capable, but if he can't remember what happened, why confess to murder? I don't know.
That's what I'm telling you.
He's refusing to talk and he's hiding something.
So what? We got a murder victim claiming suicide and a convicted killer that doesn't remember what happened.
And the wife of a dead Marine who deserves the truth.
- I'm aware of that.
- No, Leon.
This time, I'm not leaving without it.
Permission to exhume the body, Director.
Do it.
My apologies for disturbing you, Lieutenant Hall.
48 years at rest.
That's quite a stretch.
But now that you're here, I'd like to formally welcome you to 2018.
We have e-mail now and kale chips.
You'll find that quite a bit has changed since you've been away, Lieutenant Hall.
Yet somehow we're still making the same mistakes we always did.
The amount of damage is unbelievable, isn't it? I knew suicide happened during war, but it's still hard to imagine somebody doing this to themselves.
What about Ray Jennings? You spoke to him, didn't you? Yeah, that's an overstatement.
Do you think he did this? Ray sure believes he did.
I-I don't know why.
You are staring into a glassy lake, aren't you? Hmm? A wise man once told me that the toughest cases are like staring into a glassy lake.
All the answers you're looking for are there at the bottom, but in between you and them is the reflection.
Yeah.
That's-that's yeah.
We don't have to talk about this.
No, no.
The reflection, it's-it's my father.
I have a lot of regrets when it comes to him.
I'm so sorry.
Well, I just made this very, very awkward.
Uh, would you like me to just tell you what it is I found? - That would be great.
- Great, great.
Okay, well, I have pulled several grenade fragments from the lieutenant's bone and remaining tissue.
This wasn't one of them.
What am I looking at? A four-inch metal plate that appears to be fused to the proximal side of his right, fifth rib.
Any mention of it in his medical records? No, no.
In fact, rib plating wasn't even a procedure that was performed back then.
Then what is it? JIMMY: I sent it to Kasie for analysis.
Uh, Kasie? Don't stop me now, Ellie, I am in the zone.
I will get this done before Gibbs gets here.
Actually, Gibbs is already on his way down.
Listen, I need you two to intercept him and stall him.
Break.
What do we got? Oh, hey, Gibbs.
- Um, the-the viral thing.
- Mm-hmm.
Have you seen this viral thing? No.
Okay, listen to this.
MAN (recorded): Laurel.
What do you hear? "Laurel" and "Yanny.
" At the same time? - And "Blizzard.
" - "Blizzard"? He heard a third word? He's operating at beyond full brain capacity.
What do you got? Uh, listen, before we get to that, I hear you have a boat in your basement.
Man, what's up with that? Okay, so, uh, Jimmy found this plate on one of the lieutenant's ribs.
I removed it from the bone.
- What kind of plate? - Uh, it's brass.
I'm pretty sure it's a piece of something that was near Hall when the grenade went off.
The blast must've fused it to his ribs.
Ooh.
Oh, I managed to remove enough debris to see that there's an engraving on it.
- What's it say? - Not a clue.
But if I can get a little more time, I can figure it out and put the answer in a presentation.
Engraving means it's personal.
Mm-hmm.
Cool, cool, cool.
Thank you so much for stopping by.
Great.
Oh.
Damn it.
I still heard "Yanny.
" GIBBS: "Until we meet again.
" When I found out that Danny was going overseas, I bought two recorders, one for him and one for me.
And I had them engraved with matching plates.
It was a strange gift, I know.
No, it's perfect for your husband.
Well, actually, he was my boyfriend then.
Those days before he left were so difficult.
Danny was consumed by what was happening in the world.
And it wasn't just Vietnam.
Martin Luther King had just been shot and just seemed like everywhere you looked, there was hate.
But when I showed him the recorders, his face just lit up.
Well, he knew that he'd be able to hear your voice while he was away.
He he put down the newspaper and got down on one knee.
We went to City Hall the next day and got married.
SLOANE: The recorder represented his wife.
The plate impacted the lieutenant's rib which suggests that he was holding the recorder near his chest when he died.
Plus, he said it himself.
What do you mean? In his suicide message, Leon.
He said, "I'll keep you next to my heart as I say good-bye.
" He didn't say "in my heart," like most people would say.
He was trying to tell Claire that he would hold her as he died and that's exactly what he did.
You think the lieutenant ordered Ray out of the hooch and then he killed himself? 100%.
Well, I'm at 50% because Ray Jennings is still saying that he did it.
And until we find out why he believes that, none of this is gonna make any sense.
- The scout.
- Exactly.
Whatever happened on that scout made Lieutenant Hall suicidal or Ray homicidal.
Do we think Ray remembers or was that part of the blackout? Oh, he remembers, but he's not talking.
All right, then you need to break him.
No.
Excuse me? He's not the kind you break, Leon.
Look, Gibbs, I know you sat in here and signed some papers while I was gone, but I'm back now.
Okay, boys, let's focus here.
Hello.
Pushing Ray might get us a word or two, but he needs to want to tell his story.
That's gonna take a real connection and that needs to be earned.
McGee.
McGee's got a stake in this.
You think he'd be willing to get in the mud? I think he'll do whatever it takes.
Send him back in.
I get two hours a day in this room.
I don't want you in it, Marine.
He's not here.
They sent you in alone? Hmm.
Well, pick out a book, sit in back, you can read quietly for an hour and we'll tell them you tried.
I appreciate the offer, Ray, but I can't do that.
Go home, kid.
I want you to tell me what happened on that scout.
Appreciate the offer, but I'm not doing that.
Well, then I'm gonna keep coming back until you do.
What, uh, your daddy rode a ship to Vietnam and you think you know me? You think you know what I went through out there? No.
No, I have no idea what you went through out there.
That's why I keep asking.
That's why I'm gonna keep asking until you tell me.
My father, I asked him about Vietnam one time, once.
You know what he did? He shut me down, just like you're doing.
I don't know what happened to him over there, but it changed him, it defined him.
And I never asked again and you know what? I should've.
I should've asked him a hundred times 'cause maybe he would've told me.
Maybe I would've understood him.
Maybe it would've fixed us.
We we, uh heard the VC firing at close range the night before, so Lieutenant took me out on the scout.
We were cutting through some heavy brush and we saw it.
Vietcong patrol.
They were heavily armed.
They had an American.
A POW.
(shouting in Vietnamese) (coughing) But what he was, it was worse than dead.
What did you do? We fought about it.
First argument we ever had.
All right, move out, back to base.
I need to make a plan.
- A plan? - To rescue him? It'd be the six of us against a whole damn army.
No man left behind, Ray, not on my watch.
You order us in there, and we're all dead.
This is not your call to make, Marine.
Do you hear me? This is my call.
I said move out.
We went back to base.
We didn't tell the others what we saw.
But the lieutenant was going to? Yes.
I kept on him, but he would not budge.
He was gonna order us in.
That's when you started drinking.
Yes, yes.
(crying): It doesn't matter if I don't remember the act.
I know the thought that was in my head before I blacked out.
Calling that order, Lieutenant was doing right.
But I didn't want to die.
So I killed him.
I killed my friend 'cause I was a coward.
Okay, motive for homicide, yes.
For Jennings.
Hold up there, Speedy.
You're getting ahead of yourself.
You didn't see the look on Ray's face when he told me what happened.
- Yes.
But I did listen to every single one of Lieutenant Hall's tapes, and he had his own issues.
Okay, maybe I should hold that marker.
You have to admit, Ray had every reason to kill the lieutenant.
If he didn't, six Marines would've been killed trying to rescue one POW.
You're right.
I'll give you motive, but Ray's story is also a motive for suicide.
No man left behind.
The lieutenant knew he had to attempt a rescue.
Yeah, but that meant leading his men into certain death.
An impossible choice.
And he said so himself.
In his last tape he said, "I wanted to have it in me to lead, but I don't.
I can't carry this anymore.
" Boss, what do you think? - Yeah.
- Yeah, to which theory? I see both.
Do you see a blizzard, too? BISHOP: Hey.
- Got something.
- Yeah, go, let's hear it.
Ray Jennings doesn't have any family.
No one he's in contact with, no.
You said that he talked about spending his commissary money.
Right, on books for the library.
Which got me wondering Who is sending him money? Exactly, so I looked into it, and for the last 30 years, there has been an anonymous contributor to Ray's account.
- You tracked the deposits? - I did.
Through four fake names and two shell companies, directly to retired Master Sergeant Thomas Fletcher.
The witness.
Why would he give money to the man that he helped put away for life? Guilt.
FLETCHER: So when are you people gonna tell me what's going on here? I think you already know.
No, I don't know.
What really happened the night Lieutenant Hall died? I've already gone through this with your agents.
Get up.
Excuse me? On your feet.
Here, look at me.
You told a lie.
You told a lie and then you went and lived your life like it never happened.
You wore the uniform for 30 years, isn't that right, Tom? Did you deserve the honor of wearing it? Did you deserve to wear the uniform of a United States Marine? I heard them down there that night.
I heard them down there in the lieutenant's hooch, making a lot of noise.
I have no idea what the hell they were fighting about.
Couple of hours passed, and everything got real quiet.
And Ray wasn't blacked out, functional.
He was passed out.
Completely unconscious.
So I decided to get on with my task at hand and then went down to talk to the lieutenant.
Hate to say it, Lieutenant, but that radio's a no-go.
Yeah, I figured as much.
Supply drop should make us whole.
That's in, what, about five days? Yeah, don't forget to give Boyd your mail.
All right? He'll make sure it gets out then, too.
- Yes, sir.
- Right.
- Good night.
- Night, sir.
CLAIRE (on tape): Hello, there, love.
Things are fine, but I sure do miss you.
No! You knew all along it was a suicide.
Yes, I did.
Why'd you pin it onto Ray Jennings? Two altercations on your record.
Both before this happened, both with African American Marines.
Let me just tell both of you something.
Back then, we were at war here, too.
They were on one side and we were on the other.
That's just the way it was.
And in that jungle, I had to trust the man next to me with my life.
And you couldn't trust Ray because of the color of his skin.
So you tried to get him sent home.
I thought he was gonna get a slap on the wrist and a discharge.
That's how they dealt with these fragging situations.
Couldn't prove anything.
But then Ray confessed.
You let him believe he was guilty.
I couldn't own up to the lie.
It would've ruined my career.
You have to see that.
You have to understand that.
You had 48 years to set the record straight.
I did what I had to do to survive, Agent Gibbs.
So what's gonna happen to Thomas Fletcher? Not much.
The statute of limitations on making a false statement passed a long time ago.
Living with something like that on your conscience would pretty much be like being in a prison, except Fletcher can go get ice cream with his family whenever he wants.
Hey, what're you doing? Oh.
Uh, I'm just putting the room back to the way it was.
(chuckles): I mean, this case was pretty much one huge forensics fail.
I have this picture in my head of what a real forensic scientist should be, and now I'm finally here.
But I'm not, so Kasie.
Look, you were already here as a temp.
I mean, y-you want to talk about this case? Look, you handed off this clue to Gibbs, which allowed him to go run with it.
And that's what being a team is all about.
Yes.
(chuckles) There's a muffin guy selling them across the street.
I hear they're delicious.
It's cranberry.
That's my favorite.
Hmm.
Ray.
You ready? Yeah.
Don't worry.
I'll make sure they take good care of the place.
Someone told me long ago There's a calm before the storm I know It's been coming for some time You know, I am angry.
At myself.
At the world.
And I'm angry with you.
I know But Lieutenant Hall he wanted us to live.
So I decided I'm gonna let go of that anger.
Have you ever seen the rain? And I'm gonna live.
I want to know I just wanted you to know that.
Have you ever seen the rain Coming down on a sunny day? Yesterday and days before Sun is cold and rain is hard I know Been that way for all my time I want to know Have you ever seen the rain? - It is so nice to meet you.
-You, too.
And I want to know I'm so sorry.
Have you ever seen the rain Coming down on a sunny day? Staring into a glassy lake.
Sometimes it's a good thing.
Yeah.
Your dad would be proud of you, Tim.
Have you ever seen the rain Coming down on a sunny day?