NCIS: Origins (2024) s02e05 Episode Script

1
(THUNDER RUMBLING)
(SOLDERING IRON SPARKING)
(RADIO STATIC CRACKLES)
ANNOUNCER: An evacuation order
remains in effect
for all of Naktok Bay.
Winds of 140 miles per hour
are expected.
Secure all livestock
and head south immediately
(SCANNING STATIONS)
("FUNNY HOW TIME SLIPS AWAY"
BY WILLIE NELSON PLAYING)
- (NAILS CLATTER)
- Well, hello, there ♪
My, it's been a long,
long time ♪
(THUNDER RUMBLING)
How am I doing? ♪
Oh, I guess
that I'm doing fine ♪
OLDER GIBBS: Three decades.
It's a hell of a long time.
That's how long
I put in on the job.
Lately, I've been thinking
a lot about those early days.
Back when I was still
cutting my teeth.
Gee, ain't it funny ♪
How time slips away ♪
Over the years, the outside changes.
But inside
you still feel all the same things.
You'll see.
I don't know how you ended up
out here in the middle of nowhere.
But I'm glad we found each other.
Nick of time for you, too, bud.
Big storm's coming.
(THUNDER RUMBLING)
(SIGHS)
I'm Leroy, by the way.
What are we gonna call you?
(WHINES SOFTLY)
You can't still be hungry.
Okay.
Go ahead.
Have mine, too.
You know, a long time ago,
I worked with a dog
that had a first and a last name.
Special Agent Gary Callahan.
He was a good guy.
Just like you.
I was lucky.
I worked with a lot of good guys.
I never know
when I'll be back in town ♪
Three decades.
(CLEARS THROAT)
Hell of a long time.
But remember ♪
What I tell you ♪
In time ♪
You're gonna pay ♪
And it's surprising ♪
How time ♪
Slips away. ♪
♪
OLDER GIBBS: 30 years go by
faster than you think.
The details get fuzzy
along the way.
But the victims?
The victims are hard
to let go of.
Back then,
I thought maybe it'd help
to carry them with me.
I cut out their pictures
and I stuck them in my notepad.
When it comes to the job,
people tell you
to do the opposite.
(LOUD BANGING)
They tell you to lock them away.
"Compartmentalize," they call it.
Big word for how far
you got to go
to stop thinking about
all the stuff
you can't stop thinking about.
Truth is,
even if you sailed
across the ocean
it wouldn't be far enough.
(BANGING CONTINUES)
VERA: No, you're not hearing me.
I don't want some random dude
strapped to my back.
DALTON: Mary Jo!
Yeah, it's my first time
jumping out of a plane, but I
DALTON: Mary Jo!
Let me call you back.
Yo, Dalton Basement, quit your yelling.
I'm trying to schedule
a skydiving lesson.
If you need me,
I am sitting right over there.
- Move your feet.
- I can't.
I've got all this evidence
I'm trying to log in.
Hello, chain of custody?
I can't leave it.
Where are the guys?
Kowalski's out sick. Herm's downstairs.
On your six, MJ.
I thought this might be a good time
to make that pineapple delivery
downstairs.
Yeah, find Herm downstairs
and send him up.
I don't think she heard you.
I will go fetch young Herm.
Okay, hurry up.
I don't want to be stuck here all day.
What's in the bag, Gail?
Not pineapples.
That's just a code word I came up with.
Mama likes. Tell me more.
Mary Jo thinks maybe the boiler
in Dalton's office
is leaking carbon monoxide
and that's why he's such
a grumpy Gus all the time.
I'm putting this detector in his office.
He doesn't let anyone in there,
so it's a secret mission.
Then why are you telling me?
I'm just busting your balls, Gail.
You should always tell me everything.
- Now, where is Herm? The vault?
- Uh, locker room.
He and Franks just got back
from a run with Gary Callahan.
Yo, Herm.
Um
Wow, lot of abs going on there.
Congrats.
Basement's looking for you.
He, uh he's stuck
to his evidence again.
- Oh, for real?
- Yeah.
Dang, guess your bath's
gonna have to wait, Gary.
FRANKS: No, it ain't.
You missed his bath last week,
and he's been stankin' up my sheets.
HERM: Thought it was
your turn last week.
FRANKS: What's the point of the
schedule if you ain't gonna stick to it?
Ah, it's My Two Dads.
It's adorbs.
Hey, Vera.
You got plans Friday night?
No. Why?
My neighbor's having a thing.
- What kind of thing?
- (PAGER BEEPING)
Use the good shampoo
when you're washing Gary.
Did Franks just ask me out?
I don't know.
Where to?
A little town called Serenity.
Isn't that cute?
Couple hours east of here.
A car got hit by a train.
LALA: CHP called it in.
Vehicle's registered
to a chief petty officer.
Gibbs and Randy are in the car.
Road trip, Mike. Let's go.
ANNOUNCER: This is the Serenity,
California Weather Service
with an urgent storm advisory.
Heavy rain and sustained winds
over 50 miles per hour
are expected tomorrow night.
(WIND HOWLING)
♪
Oh, wow, that's a durable beer.
Where's the front half of the car?
Everywhere. It was obliterated.
Little Toyota hit by
a 10,000-ton freight train
going 70 miles per hour.
Officer Ellison, CHP.
- You the only one here?
- Yeah.
There's a sheriff's office
over there but no sheriff.
That's why the railroad company
called us.
What happened to the train?
Took it a few miles
for it to fully stop,
and then it limped over
to the station for repairs.
I called you once I ran the plate.
It's registered to a retired
Navy guy, Louis Burke.
Was he in the car?
Haven't found any blood or body parts.
Could be that the car
stalled on the tracks
and he was able to get out in time.
Didn't bother to call nobody?
Maybe he was drinking,
worried he'd get in trouble.
Not much for folks
to do around here but drink.
What folks? Where is everybody?
Been wondering the same thing.
I heard singing coming
from the church up there,
but I didn't check it out.
Protocol won't let me
leave the scene unattended.
Dominguez, Rando,
head over to the church.
Copy.
Make me proud.
(CAMERA CLICKING)
Boss?
Radio said that's Louis Burke's car?
Where the hell you been, Sheriff?
Sheriff.
I was at headquarters, San Diego.
Heard it on the radio on my way back,
drove as fast as I could.
(CAMERA CLICKING)
Boss!
Ah, damn it. Boss!
Louis Burke's watch.
Probie, let's go!
We got a damn body here!
Gibbs! Forget the pictures!
Let's go!
A few more of Burke's parts turned up.
Sheriff Mulligan and CHP what's-her-face
are still out there gathering.
Mary Jo said Herm's en route
with an evidence truck.
Chief Petty Officer Louis Burke.
Retired construction mechanic.
No record, no wife or kids.
For now, that's all we got.
Mulligan ain't giving us much, either.
I'm out there peppering him with
questions, and all he can say is,
"Burke's quiet, keeps to himself."
I think he's holding back.
Is that a damn chandelier?
- (WIND HOWLING)
- RANDY: Whew.
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
Wow. This place is quaint.
Lala's still up at the church.
There was a service about to
start when the accident happened.
The people who weren't already there
went afterwards to pray.
Pretty sure Burke was in the car.
Yeah, Gibbs found his paw.
- So we got witnesses.
- Quite a few.
Lala's rounding them up
to be interviewed.
Is that a claw tub?
Yeah, it's bolted to the floor.
I checked.
- Why would you check that?
- FRANKS: Rando,
help Herm out when he gets here.
Get everything loaded up.
Y'all take it back to Tango and Woody.
Copy that, boss.
(WIND HOWLING)
Howdy, Sheriff.
Just found Burke's torso
300 yards from the tracks.
The debris zone's bigger
than we thought.
This is my desk. You can use that one.
Why you got a bathtub in your bullpen?
MULLIGAN: This place used to
be a bed-and-breakfast.
It closed down.
I moved the office
from my house to here.
Need you to cozy up next to
Roscoe P. Coltrane over there.
Find out what he ain't telling us.
How am I supposed to do that?
You and Mulligan
are from one-horse towns.
Kissing cousins and all that.
You can relate to him.
It's not like you're from Manhattan.
(PHONE RINGING)
- Yeah. Strickland.
- (STATIC BLARING OVER PHONE)
FRANKS: Vera, it's me.
We're spread thin here in the boonies,
body parts everywhere.
Need a couple favors.
Yeah, Mary Jo thought you might.
She gave me the file.
(STATIC BLARING)
Hello?
Wind's causing havoc with the lines.
Need you to look up Burke's Navy record,
find a next of kin.
Also, call
Pacific Freight Railroad.
Talk to the conductor.
- Find out what he seen.
- Oh.
You know how those unions are.
They'll never let me at him
without a warrant.
That's why I'm asking you, Vera.
Use your moxie.
Scare the crap out of 'em.
You think I have moxie?
- Uh, hey, about Friday night
- (STATIC BLARING)
I'm losing you.
Call me back
when you got something.
(LINE CLICKS)
Yo, Gail. Mm-mm-mm.
Did you hear Franks asked me out?
- What?
- Yeah.
I thought he was gay.
You know, the fitted jeans.
MULLIGAN: Do me a favor.
Go easy on my people.
Never been through anything like this.
ALMA:
I was teaching an art class.
I looked out the window,
and I saw Louis Burke drive past,
and he was turning towards the tracks.
SAM: Was riding through town,
and I saw Burke turning off Main.
Uh, and fast.
He spooked Patches pretty good.
Patches is his horse.
We good?
Dude, I just came over here to sit.
(LAUGHING): I didn't see nothing.
WENDELL:
I'm down at the post office,
and I start hearing the train out there,
laying on its horn.
SUSAN: You hear the train's
horn going like that,
you know something's wrong.
So I went to look.
Burke stopped his car
right on the tracks.
I thought he was sick or drunk,
but he wasn't.
He looked at me, said to stay away.
ANDREW: I rolled my window down,
yelled at him to get off
the tracks, but he wouldn't.
He wanted to get hit.
We had no choice. We had to
get the hell out of there.
- MULLIGAN (SIGHS): Cory.
- CORY: Sheriff.
Do you have more than one uniform,
or do you just keep washing that one?
- (CORY LAUGHING)
- Come here.
Oh, funny guy, huh?
AMANDA:
The train hit Burke's car.
The sound
was awful.
GEORGE: I wish I
never went out there.
They're all saying the same thing.
That Burke committed suicide.
Any mention of the beer?
Beer that was in the car?
Yeah.
He probably got it pretty recently,
or he would've put it
in a fridge somewhere.
Where do you think he bought it from?
(DOOR OPENS, BELL JINGLES)
JACKSON: Leroy,
quit playing with that wood
and help me stock
these shelves, will you?
LAINEY: Can I help you?
Special Agent Gibbs. NIS.
Yeah, I know who you're with.
You guys kind of stand out.
- What happened to the window?
- (SCOFFS)
Neighborhood kids like to play
stickball out there.
Few of them aren't very good.
I was wondering if Louis Burke
came in recently to buy beer.
This morning.
Comes in every morning around 10:30,
picks up a six-pack,
and heads home to drink it.
Well, you didn't give
a statement at the church.
I didn't see anything after he left.
He seem different today?
Yeah, matter of fact, he did.
Asked if we picked a name yet.
Stuck out to me 'cause
he never really says much of anything.
(BELL JINGLES)
(DOG PANTING)
- LAINEY: Hey, honey.
- Hey.
Everything all right?
Agent Gibbs, this is my husband Mac.
MAC: Hi.
Where did you find this?
(WIND HOWLING)
What are you doing?
Found another piece of Burke's car.
Windshield frame, has blood on it.
The hell?
GIBBS: Looks just like that.
How'd a bloody handprint get there?
Easiest way to move a car,
put it in neutral,
one hand on the steering wheel,
one hand here.
Burke didn't park
on those tracks. He was pushed.
It wasn't a suicide.
Everyone in this town is lying to us.
What's that protruding there,
Dr. Tangle-tooth?
- Looks like a C5 maybe?
- (GRUNTS)
- Oh.
- It's a spark plug.
And I asked you
not to call me that, Lenora.
Spark plug's ours.
Thank you, Dr. Tangle-tooth.
I believe this is yours.
I found it lodged in the radiator.
The pinky we've been looking for.
FRIEDMAN: Today has been one
for the books, fellas.
What do you say
we all go get wasted after this?
- I'm down.
- Why wait till after?
Ooh, wow,
lot of brain power going on in here.
I've never felt so regular.
WOODY: Hey, there, buddy.
Got good news Gibbs was right,
somebody pushed the car onto the tracks.
You sure? 'Cause the sheriff
in Serenity doesn't think
the smear looks like a handprint.
Please, look at it.
Finger, finger, finger, finger.
Bad news is, it's too smudged
to match to possible suspects.
Well, whoever pushed the car
grabbed the steering wheel, too,
right? Is there a print on there?
WOODY: We don't have it.
It's probably still lying out there
in the middle of Bumpkinsburg.
Whatever you brainiacs are doing
over there, I need you to stop
immediately and look at me.
The train did not kill your sailor.
There was a bullet in his heart.
He was shot, then pushed onto the tracks
to make it look like a suicide.
I got to call Franks.
We're still getting drunk
after this, right?
Oh, schmammered. Yeah.
What do you mean
you can't release his name?
Is he in some kind of train conductor
witness protection program?
You people are frickin' killing me!
Train company still giving you
the runaround?
Yeah, but me and my moxie
are wearing 'em down.
(LAUGHS) Got Franks for you on line two.
He's not happy you're at his desk.
Oh, he loves it. Did you hear
that he asked me out?
Really? I figured Gail
just made that up.
- You're not going, are you?
- Hell to the no.
Could you imagine? I did accidentally
tell him that
I don't have plans, though,
so I'm trying to figure out a
way to, like, let him down easy.
Mary Jo, what the hell's this thing?
It's beeping in my office.
VERA: Is that
the carbon monoxide detector?
What?
You feeling okay, honey?
You seem a little out of breath.
I'm fine.
I just took the stairs.
Let's get you off your feet,
just to be safe.
Just in case.
- Yo, Randolf, what up?
- Hey.
Hey, did you hear the news
about Franks asking me out?
Really? I figured Herm
just made that up.
Why is everyone finding that
so hard to believe?
- (LINE BEEPING)
- (GRUNTS) Come on!
Before, it was static.
Now, it's a busy signal.
Have you been able
to get ahold of Franks?
Oh, crap, I forgot.
- He's on line two.
- What?
Yeah. Hey, uh, Franks?
The hell took you so long, Vera?
Hey, what's the matter, Mike?
You miss me?
FRANKS: What are you
talking about, woman?
- And why are you sitting at my desk?
- Hey, boss,
- I'm here, too.
- Congratulations, Rando.
Thanks. Burke was shot before
he was pushed onto the tracks.
That's right, he was pushed
onto the tracks.
It was a frickin' palm print.
Kudos, Gibbs.
But the print on the frame
is too smudged
to compare to suspects, so we
got to find the steering wheel.
Must still be out there somewhere. Go.
Oh, my turn. Hey,
Franks, uh, just a heads-up,
everyone here knows
about our earlier conversation.
What the hell's going on with her?
RANDY: No, no, no.
T-T-Talk fast. Call's gonna drop.
VERA: All right,
so I dug into Burke's Navy record.
I couldn't find any next of kin,
but I did find something interesting.
He was reprimanded
repeatedly for hazing.
Behavior like that is ingrained.
It doesn't just go away.
Yo. Are you guys still there?
LALA: Yeah, I'm still here.
What else you got?
You said Burke was quiet,
kept to himself.
Was he a bully?
Let's sit.
- Remember, you're a guest here.
- Answer the question.
Was Burke bullying people?
He didn't have a record.
Because you let him get away with it?
You took an oath
to protect these people,
and you failed them. You've had it easy.
I haven't been on the job a year,
and I've got a notepad full of victims.
You had to protect your town
from one guy!
Vera said someone
named Jimmy Wallace called
about the case.
He's coming into NIS to talk.
VERA: Mr. Wallace,
in your message, you said you
were calling from a hospital.
Yeah, I need to show you something.
This is my grandpa Dominic.
Everyone in Serenity
calls him Grandpa Dom.
I took this yesterday.
Doctors don't think he's gonna wake up.
VERA: What happened?
JIMMY: A week ago, he left Deb's Diner,
got attacked by Louis Burke.
Okay, how do you know it was Burke?
The doctors found splinters
in the back of Grandpa's head.
That's how Burke handled his
business, with a baseball bat.
Why didn't the sheriff arrest him?
JIMMY: Because he was piss scared.
We all were.
Burke terrorized us for years.
And now, I hear y'all are in town
doing some big investigation.
What for? It was a suicide, right?
No. He was, uh, shot to death.
You don't seem that surprised.
Where were you yesterday morning?
At my grandpa's bedside,
holding the phone to his ear
so folks from Serenity
could say goodbye and thank him.
He gave Father Ed money
to rebuild the chapel.
Lainey, from the general store,
her mom died when she was 12.
Grandpa Dom took her in.
Sam, the rancher, needed a new
tractor, so he called Grandpa.
So what are you saying? One of
them flipped out, killed Burke?
No, what I'm saying
is the whole damn town
had reason to kill him,
and reason to cover for whoever did.
Don't get me wrong,
I don't believe in this vigilante stuff.
It's not right.
But what's done is done.
So, I'll ask,
is the guy who did that
worth finding justice for?
(THUNDER RUMBLING)
Hey.
Franks says to pack it in,
start looking after the dust settles.
Storm's coming.
Any prints on that steering
wheel will get washed away.
You sure you're not looking
for your pictures?
Franks said you lost them.
What's going on
with you and that church?
You told me to take my hat off,
and I saw you looking at that statue.
I didn't know you were religious.
I never was before.
But I'm starting to think
I'm not the same as I was before.
What do you mean? Before the accident?
(GLASS SHATTERS)
- LALA: Hey!
- GIBBS: Hey! Stop!
- Hey! Hey!
- Hey!
Stop! That's an NIS vehicle!
- Hey! Hey!
- Hey!
Put 'em down! That's federal property!
- Down! Put it down!
- Drop 'em, now!
- Put it down!
- Hey, put that down!
LALA: I said drop it!
GIBBS: Stay with them. I got him!
(LAUGHING)
Get down!
(HORN HONKS)
Hey, hey, stop, stop, stop!
Hey, come here!
Down on your knees! Get down!
(GRUNTS)
So what? You think you won?
(LAUGHING)
Give me your left hand.
Your other left.
(GUNSHOTS)
Gibbs!
Are you okay?
Ranchers out there
were firing warning shots,
telling us to go home.
LALA: The tire iron sliced you.
CORY: Yeah, sorry. I threw it.
He went all Superman
jumping in front of you.
Y'all should listen to those ranchers.
Get out of town
before somebody gets hurt.
(LAUGHING)
Hey, lawman, let me out of here,
I'll let you watch me
- take a bath. (LAUGHING)
- This damn town.
EZRA: Hey, you can't keep us in here.
We can't even move.
We got human rights.
You were in that church.
I told you, I don't know
nothing about Burke. (LAUGHING)
What about you two jokers?
You got a thing about
smashing up cars?
You push Burke's car onto the tracks
- so the train could hit it?
- You know what I think?
I think you want me to watch you
take a bath in that tub.
(LAUGHTER)
Older two are in here all the time,
- high on God knows what.
- Crank.
Ezra cooks the good stuff. (LAUGHING)
What about the younger one?
- We questioned him at the church.
- Cory?
Other two are a bad influence on him,
as you can see,
but none of them are killers.
(CORY COUGHING)
Your people talk to Jimmy Wallace?
Then you know about Grandpa Dom.
(CORY WHISTLING)
Everyone in this town wanted Burke dead.
Would've been a lot easier if
you told us that from the start.
- They don't know crap.
- Town's not gonna talk.
Tweet, tweet, tweet. (LAUGHING)
What kind of crank you got down here?
EZRA: Hey, Mulligan.
You loved that little birdie,
and she never loved you back.
- CORY: Tweet, tweet, tweet.
- (EZRA LAUGHING)
What are they talking about?
Hey, pretty cop.
That's right, I'm talking to you.
Whole town's saying
you're out scrapbooking.
What?
Your little photos you lost.
You need better glue for your scrapbook.
Get you that Elmer's.
(YELLS)
Oh, you little bitches
don't like crap thrown at you?
Well, me neither.
(PHONE RINGS)
This is Dalton.
The hell are you doing at my desk?
Well, the fire department's
down in my office checking for
- a carbon monoxide leak.
- CORY: Tweet, tweet, tweet.
Go get Vera. I need to talk to her.
DALTON: Yeah, she told me
to sit here and wait for your call.
She wrote it down for me.
"Yo, Franks,
"I finally moxied those
choo-choo boys into submission.
"The guy driving the train
didn't see anything helpful,
"but the workers
found some more pieces stuck
"in the train's grill.
"I'm at forensics
checking it out.
And we also need to talk
about Friday night."
That's it.
So are you just trying to hit it,
or are you gonna buy her dinner, too?
- What?
- Yeah, the whole office
is talking about
how you asked her out.
FRANKS: I didn't ask her out.
- CORY: Tweet, tweet, tweet.
- DALTON: Hmm, well,
don't worry about it then.
I don't think
she wants to go anyway.
Course she does.
She's a woman and I'm me.
(LAUGHTER)
Hey, it's the Kid 'n Play
of naval forensics.
WOODY: Hey, Vera.
Hey, is there any truth to the rumor
that you're carrying
Michael Franks's child?
Uh
He's smitten, asked me out,
I'm not going. Moving on.
Moving on to who?
Phil, don't do it.
Sorry, what's happening?
Whenever a lady is being courted,
Phil's engines rev,
and he tries to swoop in.
- He's a serial swooper.
- Untrue. But I will say
Oh-la, oh-la-aye ♪
Oh-la, oh-la-aye. ♪
- Okay, wow.
- WOODY: "Okay, wow" is right.
He has the voice
of an earthly angel, but please,
I don't need HR back in here, not again.
HR's fine whenever they come here.
- They find no problems.
- WOODY: What are you talking about?
- It's HR.
- Hey.
Uh, we found the steering wheel.
Was it in the grill of the train?
Yeah, but don't get your hopes up.
After being dragged for miles,
there's no usable prints.
- (SIGHS)
- What about the bullet?
It's a .40 caliber cartridge
for the new Smith & Wesson 4006.
It's a pretty rare gun, so if
anybody in Serendipity has it,
- they're probably your killer.
- Town's called Serenity.
I'm never going there,
and I do not care.
PHIL: Ooh, got something.
RANDY: Gearshift?
If you're gonna push a car, Randolf,
you got to put that baby
in neutral first.
And that, my friends,
is a viable partial print.
WOODY: Mm, nicely done, Phil.
Now, all we need is
some suspects to match to it.
Just like Kid 'n Play, we never miss.
FATHER ED: Go in peace,
to love and serve the Lord.
(CONGREGATION RESPONDS)
FRANKS: Sorry to interrupt, Padre.
I'm sure most of you heard
Louis Burke was murdered.
We got a warrant that says all
of you are gonna be fingerprinted.
We need you to form two lines.
MULLIGAN: That won't be necessary.
I shot Louis Burke.
This is the gun I used to do it.
Come on, that's Franks's car.
That's not cool, guys.
- Wasn't us.
- RANDY: Okay, well,
you are the ranchers
I'm hearing about, right?
Firing at my colleague yesterday?
If we'd fired at him, he'd be dead.
- Morning, Rando.
- Morning, Gibbs.
Sorry I'm late, a bunch of the
roads are closed from the storm.
Must be what's taking
the tow truck so long.
So, Mulligan confessed
to shooting Burke, huh?
- He say why he did it?
- (GIBBS SIGHS)
Said he let Burke terrorize
his town for too long.
Felt guilty for never
putting a stop to it.
What Burke did to Grandpa Dom
was the last straw.
Hey, stay where you are.
Sheriff, we're passing the hat.
- Getting you a big-city lawyer.
- No need, Sam.
Probie, find out what the hell's
taking the tow truck so long.
These guys give you any guff
while you wait, shoot 'em.
Hey. After the rain stopped last night,
I went out looking for your pictures.
- Wait, you did?
- I didn't find any,
- but I did find this.
- GIBBS: My knife.
Thank you.
Try not to get killed, huh?
(ENGINE STARTS)
(PHONE RINGING)
Gail. Some help here? Gail?
- Uh, MJ
- NIS.
- Hey, Woody.
- Hey, MJ. Need you to look at this.
I-I just, I figured the
best way to let Franks down easy
is to just write a note
and-and leave it
next to his mustache kit.
Okay, I'll let him know.
- Will you read it?
- Give me a minute, honey.
I got a forensics thing going on here.
- (SIGHS)
- MARY JO: Base to PE-19.
RANDY (OVER RADIO):
Yeah, Randy here.
How long before y'all are back?
20 minutes. Why?
I'll fill you in when you get here,
but tell Franks I'm gonna
get a room ready for him.
FRANKS: Your print
don't match the partial
on the gearshift.
That gearshift was stuck
in the grill of the train.
Who knows how they collected it.
Even if you do find a match
on that thing,
it'll never hold up in court.
Plus, I wore gloves.
(SCOFFS) You didn't do this, did you?
- Told you I did.
- You weren't even in town.
We got witnesses saw you
at the sheriff's briefing
in San Diego when Burke was shot.
I shot him, pushed him onto the tracks,
then I went to my briefing.
You don't even own a Smith & Wesson.
I've got plenty of guns
in my evidence locker
that I've confiscated.
That's the one I picked.
Show me the evidence log.
Shredded it.
Hey.
FRANKS: You know,
I've dealt with a lot of
What's up? What's going on?
- He recant?
- No.
He's doubling down.
Classic reverse interrogation.
I'm just trying to do
the right thing.
Last time a guy gave a false confession,
we were here for 18 hours
trying to un-break him.
- (SIGHS)
- All right.
I'll call Bamboo Palace,
get us some grub.
Randolf, you like Kung Pao chicken?
Indeed, I do.
FRANKS:
How long are you gonna keep up
- this charade, Sheriff?
- MULLIGAN: All I'm doing
- is the right thing.
- All you're doing is letting
a killer walk free!
- Somebody who might kill again!
- Where are you going?
Look at him.
He's about to punch a wall.
He needs to eat.
- I'm going in.
- You got this.
Go un-break that fool.
Hi.
You seem like a good guy,
but we know you didn't do it.
RANDY: You've had, uh,
you've had Mike Franks come in.
He's a hard-nosed guy, and
Vera, she's gonna come in here.
But I'm the guy that you can
just be honest with.
You're gonna be here a while.
I highly recommend taking a cup of joe.
All you got to look forward to
is jazzercise
at a California federal prison.
♪
(DOOR OPENS, CLOSES)
FRANKS: Listen here.
I'm done playing games.
I'm gonna sit down,
and you're gonna tell me
who you're covering for.
I think it's about time
we call it quits.
We're done when I say we're done.
GIBBS: Yeah,
I'm still waiting on a tow.
No, in Serenity.
Don't tell me it's about
the roads being closed again.
- They've been open for
- (GUNSHOTS)
(TIRES SQUEALING)
Let me guess, nobody saw a thing, right?
Excuse me.
What about you?
You see anything up there?
(SIGHS)
Lainey Sims. Nickname Birdie.
Them vandals was razzing you.
Saying you were in love with a Birdie.
They're a bunch of dopeheads.
Grandpa Dom took Lainey in
after her mama died, didn't he?
Can't imagine how pissed off she was
after Burke gave the old man a beating.
So was I.
So were all of us.
And Lainey is the registered owner
of a Smith & Wesson, you know that?
My guess is she keeps it behind
the counter of her store.
Hmm, damn.
FRANKS: That's right, Vera.
You know what else?
Store window was broken.
She said it was some kids playing ball.
VERA: Oh, and you're thinking
she got into it with Burke
and shot him through the glass.
FRANKS: I think
the sheriff can't stand the idea
of a pregnant lady going to prison.
♪
Even if she ain't never loved him back.
I told you what happened to Burke.
I shot him and tried
to make it look like a suicide.
My story's never gonna change.
So, you can leave Lainey, her husband,
and the rest of Serenity to be in peace.
I'm invoking my right to a
lawyer to end this interrogation.
FRANKS: Come on, Sheriff.
Think about what you're doing here.
- MULLIGAN: I'd like a lawyer now.
- FRANKS: Sheriff, no.
Sheriff, come on, man.
Look at me. Come on, man.
(SIGHS)
Tell Rando and Dominguez to
have him transferred to Metro.
(VERA CLEARS THROAT)
Up. Come on.
Shut the door, Vera.
(LIGHTER FLICKING)
♪
(YELLS)
He's gone? You throw the table at him?
He lawyered up.
But he didn't do it.
You think I don't know that?
Well, what are we gonna do about it?
(GRUNTS)
We've done everything we can, probie.
He ain't gonna change his story.
I went to go fingerprint
Lainey and her husband.
They left town.
They're throwing Mulligan to the wolves.
Even if we get a match, it's a partial.
- I have other stuff, too.
- Partial print ain't gonna hold up in court.
I talked to Cory. He's one of
the kids that busted up our car.
This thing ain't even
going to trial anyway.
He said that the whole town knows
that Mulligan's always
been in love with Lainey.
That he'd do anything for her.
I told you, probie, there ain't
nothing else we can do!
You're putting a man in prison
for the rest of his life
- for something he didn't do!
- He put himself there!
He wanted to take the fall!
Mike.
♪
(KNOCKS ON TABLE)
Keep putting pictures in your notebook,
pretty soon
it's gonna be too heavy to lift.
Ain't no way to do this job,
carrying all that weight.
When the job is done, probie,
you got to walk away.
(DOOR OPENS)
(DOOR CLOSES)
Okay, thanks.
(SIGHS)
Mulligan's been booked.
He's already started
the paperwork to plead guilty.
Good, Franks isn't here.
What's going on?
MARY JO: Dalton Basement tried to steal
Franks's desk lamp.
He thinks it ain't right
that Franks's lamp bends
and his doesn't.
- (LAUGHS)
- VERA: Man,
did they go ahead and plug up
that carbon monoxide leak?
Fire department said
the detector was faulty.
There's no leak.
Dalton Basement is just a prick-hole.
- I could've told you that.
- (LAUGHS)
FRANKS: Mary Jo, where's Vera?
Vera.
May I speak with you?
Oh.
Yes, you may.
Found your note next to my mustache kit.
I'm sorry, Michael.
I-I-I hope you saw that I was
trying to let you down easy.
Yeah. I did see that,
and I'd like to do the same for you.
I-I was never trying to ask you out.
It's not that I don't like the cut of
your jib or nothing,
it's just that, uh
Uh, hell.
(SIGHS)
My neighbor needs a tenth.
Motorcycle lessons?
Classes start Friday.
I already know how to ride,
- but
- (SIGHS)
I heard you were
thinking about skydiving.
- Mm-hmm.
- If you're looking for a rush,
cruising down the PCH
makes a lot more sense
than jumping out of a damn plane.
(LAUGHS) Yeah.
All right.
You can sit at my desk long as you need.
("FUNNY HOW TIME SLIPS AWAY"
BY WILLIE NELSON PLAYING)
(DOOR CLOSES)
GIBBS: Hey, Herm.
You got one started on the Burke case?
Yeah, right here.
(GRUNTS)
Got the files,
the crime scene Polaroids,
interrogation tapes.
Why, am I missing something?
- Got some notes I made.
- Oh, cool, man, yeah.
You can rip 'em out of there
and I can stick 'em in the file.
How am I doing? ♪
Oh, I guess
that I'm doing fine ♪
Just take it.
I heard you told him ♪
(SIGHS)
All right.
Hey, my grandma said you can
keep using her shed whenever.
She also mentioned something
about you building a boat, though.
How you gonna get that thing
out of there?
OLDER GIBBS: Rule 11.
When the job's done, walk away.
Seems like just ♪
OLDER GIBBS:
I did my best to abide by that.
But in the end,
it's easier said than done.
How time slips ♪
OLDER GIBBS: Hell.
Franks is the one
that gave me that rule,
and half the time, he couldn't
bring himself
to walk away either.
He went to Mulligan
in Metro that night.
Asked him one more time
if he was sure
he didn't want to recant.
After that, Franks visited
Mulligan once a year in prison.
Told him if he wanted to,
we'd reopen the case.
Mulligan looked forward
to the visits,
but he never changed his story.
Franks kept going, though,
once a year,
till he died.
But remember ♪
OLDER GIBBS: Three decades,
it's a hell of a long time.
Over the years,
the outside changes,
but inside,
you still feel
all the same things.
How time slips away. ♪