NCIS: Origins (2024) s02e06 Episode Script

1
RANDY: It's pretty important
to get these case files
typed into the computer.
Being able to search
just by clicking a button
seems like the future, you know?
Shoot. It's overheating.
LALA: We need to
chat with Flaco Navarro.
He's the head of
the 63rd Street Chacales.
You try anything, I swear
to God, I will cut you both.
Understood.
A long time ago, I had a horrible date.
I had this horrible date once.
The eight-track was jammed.
OAKLEY: That eight-track
was stuck in my car stereo.
I'm sorry, but I can't just stop caring.
FRANKS: Something came to mind,
actually.
Place I think you might like.
A community, folks all
living out their second chance.
Whoa! I feel good ♪
OLDER GIBBS: Bernard Francis Randolf.
He woke up that morning
with a song in his head.
An anonymous caller tipped us
off that something was going on
at the Roach House again.
We showed up bracing for the worst.
Randy showed up bracing for the worst,
but with a song in his head.
'cause Roach House or not,
that day was Randy's birthday.
So nice, so nice ♪
I got you ♪
OLDER GIBBS: Every year on that day,
since he was a kid,
his mom Maxine would tell him the story
- of when he was born.
- MAXINE: Yeah!
When I hold you ♪
Baby Randy arrived nine days early
- RANDY: Got some blood.
- in an auto repair shop.
And when I ♪
He was in such a hurry to get here,
his mom didn't even have
time to drive to the hospital.
And the minute he was born,
it was like a switch flipped
on in that greasy old garage.
His mom took one look at him,
and she knew
this kid was meant to bring a
great big light into the world.
So nice, so nice ♪
This kid
was meant to bring the kind of light
Hey! ♪
that never goes out.
FRANKS: Tell you what, Texas was a trip.
Ranch looked just the same.
Packed up everything you'd want.
Ma's stuff, too.
MASON: Appreciate that, Mikey.
Couple boxes wouldn't fit
in the truck, so I mailed 'em.
Once they get here,
I'll drive 'em all out to you.
Well, it'll be really good to see you.
Got a good mattress out there?
- Pick you up a topper.
- Nah, It's all good.
You know, I'm learning a lot
about growing plants.
Might be getting a new horse
that needs breaking. A mustang.
That's good, Mason.
That's real good.
Talk to you soon, then.
Yeah, you bet.
(HANGS UP)
LALA: Victim was
25-year-old
Marine Sergeant Henry Aldrin.
He was an equipment mechanic
- here on Pendleton.
- GIBBS: Anonymous tipster
called us instead of the cops.
We're thinking he either knew the victim
or found the military ID
in Aldrin's wallet at the scene.
Mary Jo, what did the tipster say?
Just that something bad was going on.
He gave me the address
to the Roach House and hung up.
I thought Randy would like
balloons this year.
You think it's too much?
No way. Randy friggin' loves balloons.
Mary Jo, I shipped some stuff
here from Texas.
What do you want me to do about it?
Call the post office,
find out what's taking so long.
Come on, they're for my brother.
Dropped him off at that compound
all alone. I'm worried about him.
Okay, I'll see what I can do.
Hell you doing?
Looking for the office lighter
for the birthday candles.
I ain't got the office lighter.
Gail said it was here.
You know how she is with her
intuitive placement.
She said you think of lighters,
you think of cigarettes,
you think of Franks.
I can see that.
Here, take mine. I want it back, though.
Page me soon as you track down my boxes.
Where's the man of the hour?
- Notifying the victim's family.
- That's poor form, Mike.
You don't send a kid on
a death knock on his birthday.
He's got a way of
making people feel better.
Softens the blow.
Plus, he don't mind.
That stuff don't get to him
like it does the rest of us.
Well, that was awful.
Aldrin's parents
took the news really hard.
Like, really hard.
They said Aldrin
hurt his back on the job
and he had a prescription for
painkillers but he got addicted,
and they were worried he was moving
up to something stronger,
maybe heroin,
which could explain what
he was doing at the Roach House.
Oh, my God.
I friggin' love balloons!
(LAUGHS): Yes!
Brought you a new batch of files
from the vault, kid.
Computer crap's on your time,
Rando, not mine.
KOWALSKI: Hey, Mike.
I'm gonna invite you
to sit upright in your chair
and I want you to consider the
enormity of the time and effort
that this young man
put into this project.
Have some respect.
RANDY: Don't worry, boss. Me and Martha
are already halfway done
through all the case files
for the whole office.
We got a new secretary?
Nope. He named his computer
Martha Stewart.
RANDY: 'Cause once I'm
done inputting files in her,
she'll know everything about everything.
(LAUGHS)
What's she gonna know about me?
FRANKS: Sergeant Aldrin. He is dead,
and none of y'all are telling me why.
Rando thinks he might've been doped up.
Who slit his throat?
What kind of whackjob
slaps blood on the walls
and poses the body
like it's tipping its hat to the devil?
I talked to Aldrin's parents.
They didn't think
he was mixed up in anything
- cult-like.
- I know this symbol.
When I did missionary work
in the Dominican Republic.
Santería.
It's not a cult,
it's an Afro-Caribbean religion.
What does the symbol mean?
There's an old Santería shop
in, uh, San Diego. North Park.
They'll be able to tell you.
LALA: Our forensics confirm
the powder on the ground
is table salt.
The blood type on the wall
was a match to our victim's.
Salt is used in some ceremonies
for purification and protection.
Not like this.
Santería is about leading a good life,
helping people heal
their body, their spirit.
Have you seen this before?
SANTERA: The bow and arrow.
It represents Ochosi, the hunter.
He's one of our santos.
But whatever this ritual is,
it is a perversion of our ways.
A true santero would never
take part in human sacrifice.
Show her the rest of the
pictures. I'll be right back.
What did you say to her?
The hell, man?
Flaco wants to follow me,
tell him he should at least have
the balls to sit in the car with you.
You said no to helping take down Luna.
Now Luna clipped two more.
Flaco wants me to remind you
that the blood is on your hands.
Doesn't want to force you
to help him, but
he's watching.
GIBBS: Lala.
(CAR ENGINE STARTS)
The hell was that?
- Get in the car.
- Who was that?
Get in the car and drive, probie.
Lala, wait. That
that was that same guy
that dropped you off
that time at the beach,
same Impala. (SCOFFS)
You can't just blast the music
in the car and think that
- I'm gonna quit asking.
- Of course I'm gonna
- blast Nirvana. Are you crazy?
- Who was that guy? Why won't you
- tell me who he was?
- Oh, would you stop yelling?
- People are gonna hear.
- Answer the question
- and I'll stop asking it.
- Stop yelling!
- Answer the quest I'm not yelling.
- Gibbs.
- Why did he peel off like that?
- Gibbs?
- You looked threatened.
- Gibbs.
- Was he threatening you?
- Leroy!
Y'all ought to cherish these moments.
One day we'll all be dead.
Hey. I
I'm asking you to let this go.
- Okay?
- Is it something off the books?
You know you can trust me.
You had my back. After Mexico.
You can trust me.
Whatever it is.
It's a guy I've been seeing.
We went out a few times.
- (DOOR OPENS)
- MARY JO: Oh, can you believe that girl?
LALA: Who?
Gail.
She thinks it's intuitive
to put the birthday card
in the ladies' room because it's
the one place Randy won't see it.
What does she think, we want
a bunch of them coming in here,
signing it while we're doing
our business?
No offense, Gibbs.
Oh.
Have you heard the latest?
No, we just got back.
The tipster that called in that body
he showed up here wanting to talk.
FRANKS: Mr. Howard, how'd you
know that body was in that house?
I was there.
I broke in looking for copper wires.
You can find 'em in these
old houses, get cash for 'em.
You walked in looking
to score wires, and what?
I turned the corner and I saw him.
He was dead.
The white stuff on the floor,
there was blood on the walls.
Did you see it?
I did.
His wallet was there,
so I opened it to see
if there was any cash, you know?
Then I saw his picture.
I saw his face.
You knew him?
No.
He could've been anyone.
Could've been me.
I felt bad for him,
so I ran out of the house
and I called you guys.
(PAGER BEEPING)
Excuse me a minute.
Gail, who's paging me 911?
Oh, that was me.
Why?
Mary Jo said you wanted
to be paged as soon as
I talked to the post office
about your boxes.
What'd they say?
They don't know where they are.
Loonier than a one-toed ostrich.
Sorry about that.
- You were saying about the body?
- I know he was
a dead dude in a crack house, but I
It seems like you don't care.
Hey.
Could've been you.
Could've been me.
Crack house or not,
I got my best guys on it.
Whoa! I feel good ♪
Get stoked. The fruit guy was outside.
- How's your day going?
- Better now, that's for sure.
Oh, Dr. Téngalkat needs a few minutes.
Why don't you have a seat?
Oh. Yeah, okay.
Uh, yeah, it's good to have a minute
. (SIGHS)
It's been a day already.
We got a body, as you know.
It was a hard one to look at.
And then
notifying the family was
Like sugar and spice ♪
But-but that's the thing. It's just
The ups, the downs, the highs, the lows.
Even on the best days
So nice ♪
if work calls,
you got to do the work.
You know what I mean?
(MUSIC STOPS)
MAXINE: Bernie, honey, I need to
talk to you for a minute.
Um, I have to work.
What?
Oh, honey, I hate that
this is happening
on your birthday, but
I have to work.
Soon as I'm done,
we'll go get your present.
You'll have your
pick of the whole Toys "R" Us.
Why didn't you tell me you had to work?
Well, I
I didn't want to ruin your cake.
Safe to say we know
what killed him, huh?
Slice to the throat severed
the jugular and trachea.
See here?
There's a slight zigzag pattern.
Weapon was some kind of
unsharpened tool, maybe a kitchen knife.
But as deep as the cut was,
wasn't what killed him.
You're kidding.
Throat was slit post-mortem.
Tell him how we know.
No evidence of blood spray.
FRIEDMAN: If the heart's not pumping,
the blood's not spurting.
It pools instead.
It clots around the wound.
Like jelly. Hey, show him the jelly.
Like jelly.
Woody's tox report came back.
Cause of death was a heroin overdose.
- His parents were afraid of that.
- FRIEDMAN: In other news,
I'm digging around
inside of this man's neck wound,
as one does,
and I find something shiny.
This was in your victim's throat.
LALA: You're telling me there's
another case where the killer
shoved a quarter down a victim's throat?
I-I know I typed in
something about a coin
in a victim's throat in one of
the old case files I inputted.
I just got to find the right
keyword for the search.
This is crazy.
Like, all the hours
I put in are about to pay off.
FRANKS: No, it was my brother's stuff,
but I mailed it to my office.
No, I mailed it to my office
so I could drop it off to him!
Dang it. Why isn't it coming up?
Maybe it was a dime, not a quarter.
FRANKS: Of course,
I wrote the addresses on the box!
Did you think I'm a damn idiot?!
Yeah, well-well, screw your stamps!
I said screw your stamps,
they don't work worth a crap.
- No. No, that's not it.
- Your face is red, Mike.
- The hell y'all doing?
- Uh, maybe it's a
Looking for an old case.
It's connected to ours.
How do you know that?
Because I remember typing it in,
but the keyword search isn't working
- for some reason.
- Go ask Kowalski,
he knows all the old cases.
No, I know I typed it in.
That thing ain't working.
You been clacking on it for 20 minutes.
It hasn't been 20 minutes.
The whole time I've been on the phone.
You were on the phone for three minutes.
LALA: You switch into dog
time any time you get angry.
It's like one minute seems like seven.
Randolf, I said get off that thing.
One sec, boss. I know it's on here.
You think I broke it?
I just wanted to unplug it.
I didn't think it was gonna break.
Happy birthday to you ♪
Happy birthday to you ♪
Happy birthday, dear Randy ♪
Happy birthday to you. ♪
KOWALSKI: Yeah, I'll let him know.
Give Grandma Dotty my love.
I'll see you tomorrow.
Herm says he won't know if
he can collect any of the data
until he sees
if the hard drive is damaged.
Is he still sledding
with his grandma up in Big Bear?
Yeah, they're
on their way home tomorrow.
He's not due back to work till Friday,
but he's gonna come straight in for you.
Aw, he's the best.
You guys are all the best, by the way.
Going through all these files with me?
And so you know, I am 100% sure
that one of these says
something about a coin
in someone's throat.
I just I don't-I don't
understand why the
keyword search wasn't working.
LALA: Martha probably
would've eventually come through
if Franks didn't
whip her across the room.
And then he doesn't even apologize?
KOWALSKI: No mention of a
coin in any of the evidence logs.
And I don't remember a case
like that, either.
Hey, by the way, coin in the mouth
is a Greek burial rite,
so your killer seems confused.
Maybe he's mixing a bunch
of rituals on purpose.
Maybe he's not a killer at all.
Sergeant Aldrin OD's,
somebody finds the body,
slits his throat for his ritual.
Or maybe he drugs Aldrin
in order to desecrate the body.
Why would you rule out murder?
I'm not ruling out anything.
FRANKS: Hey!
How you doing?
I asked around the office.
Nobody remembers a coin.
Called up Artie,
couple other old-timers,
put a fax out to other agencies,
police departments. Nothing.
Boss, I'm sure that it's down here.
Rando, we looked, it ain't here.
Probably what happened is the
computer scrambled your brain.
- Hey.
- FRANKS: We'll start fresh
in the morning, get out there,
chase down some real leads.
KOWALSKI: Happy birthday, kid.
Glad you were born.
Let's go.
Don't you got some cake to eat?
Yeah.
I'm just gonna
straighten up in here first.
A bunch.
WOMAN: So, we're going
to the Caribbean for vacation.
MAXINE: Ladies, may I
introduce you to
this summer's bold new shades.
- I'm so jealous!
- We're hoping
the change of scenery
makes us feel young again.
- (ALL LAUGHING)
- Yes. Oh, Lois, Lois,
this Rhubarb Renegade would look
just gorgeous on you.
(CHATTER CONTINUING)
The colors are very vibrant.
The color
RANDY: Salutations, ladies.
Wow, look at you,
the whole neighborhood is here.
How's everyone doing tonight?
Can I top anyone off?
I would like some. Thank you.
Mrs. Neiman, dang, you look fantastic.
What the heck is going on with you?
I started Weight Watchers.
Mama mia, that must be why
your eyes are so sparkly.
- Aw.
- Mom,
what's that color
you were telling me about
for Mrs. Neiman? I'm thinking
it might make her eyes sparkle
- right out of her head.
- MAXINE: Yes.
Velvet Vesper.
Mrs. Pelagatti, you know Bert Eckles
- down at the bowling alley?
- Mm-hmm.
I heard him talking about you
when I was down there
on a gym class field trip.
He said he likes seeing you
in the league on Fridays.
I bet he'd love seeing you
even more in some Rhubarb Renegade,
- you know what I mean?
- Hmm.
(WOMEN CHATTERING, LAUGHING)
RANDY: I'm sorry,
babe, I-I'm still at work.
JUNE: Don't tell me you're gonna
stay the night on your birthday.
We'll celebrate on Friday.
We'll do it up right,
we'll we'll go nuts.
Promise we'll go nuts?
I promise. Love you.
Love you back, birthday boy.
(HANGS UP)
(PHONE RINGING)
Hello?
(DIAL TONE)
Damn.
(FLOORBOARDS CREAKING)
Drop it.
Hands on your head. Drop it.
Hands on your head.
Hands on your head.
Turn around.
I don't got nothing on me.
The hell is this?
I was gonna knock.
Turn to me, speak up.
I said I was about to knock.
Yeah? Were you gonna knock before,
when you busted in
to leave your little pictures?
Manuel Santiago.
281 Harbor Street.
Flaco's telling you to keep on me?
You tell him no.
You come at me again,
there's gonna be a problem
at 281 Harbor.
What's this for?
It's a lock.
I see that. What's it for?
For your door.
It's a cross lock,
made in Portugal, hard to pick.
The one you got on there now
was pretty easy.
Flaco doesn't know I'm here.
Rando.
Bernard!
Oh! Morning.
Oh. What? Yeah, I'm up.
Thought I told you to go home
last night.
Oh, yeah. I just wanted to finish
looking through those files.
Also wanted to be here when Herm got in,
see if he could fix the computer.
- Is he here yet?
- Thing's buzzing.
Oh
Did you get paged, too?
You know what it's for?
Mary Jo! What'd we get paged for?
Oh, well, you know
all those calls you made
to see if anyone remembered a case
with a coin in the victim's throat?
We finally heard back
from Roger in the clink.
He said he remembered something
about it,
but we didn't actually work the case.
What did he remember?
He thought one of our CIs
mentioned a case like that in passing.
Which CI?
Oh, Mary Jo knows. I don't remember.
- Black Kenny?
- No.
- White Kenny?
- No.
The Bagpiper?
- No.
- Bambi Rose?
MARY JO: It was Twitchy Tony.
Lala's running down
a location on him now.
Appreciate you, Mary Jo.
LALA: Okay. Thank you, ma'am.
I just talked to Tony's mom.
She said he's still crashing
at that abandoned warehouse.
- I have the address.
- Rando, probie, go check it out.
LALA: What? Twitchy Tony is my CI.
What do you think he's doing
in an abandoned building,
having a picnic?
He's running one of his fights.
I can't send a girl in there. Come on.
Mike, Tony is my guy.
Get off my back, Dominguez,
Rando needs to get out.
He's already missed
his whole damn birthday.
No, we're gonna celebrate Friday.
Cake, presents, we dance
to James Brown, it's great.
Ain't you a little pale to be
moving to the Godfather of Soul?
Music is universal, boss.
Rando, I'll pull the truck around.
We'll change on the fly.
Mary Jo, I need my damn lighter back.
My boxes still ain't here yet, either.
Could you please ask Herm
to look at Martha
when he gets back? Thank you.
I love you so much.
(CLAMORING, SHOUTING)
Got him. He's over there.
Yo, Tony.
Yeah, yeah. Um, I got
Dietz versus Lenny up next.
I got Dietz at two to one.
Uh, who-who do you want?
No, T,
it's it's Randolf.
This is Gibbs.
Oh, man. Oh, Randolf. Hey, man, yeah.
You just-you just showed up
here like, what, I mean,
you got, like, a hoodie on and
everything. Um, wait. Are you
You're not here for me, are you?
We need to talk to you about a case.
Hey, hey. Um,
i-is Lala back at work yet?
- Yeah.
- Yeah? Oh, she is?
Oh, no kidding? Good for her, man.
Like, even with her-her leg,
and her head, and the, um,
all her Yeah, good for her.
Um, she ain't here, though?
GIBBS: You remember
talking to NIS about a guy
that got killed, someone
put a coin in his throat?
Those are the eyes
of a Siberian Husky, man.
Dang, man. Yeah. Wait, um, a-a coin?
Um, nah. A coin?
Wait, yeah, no. A coi Yeah.
I remember a dude, he was
talking about a deal like that.
Um, it-it was, uh,
it was a lady, though.
She had a, uh, uh, silver dollar
in her mouth.
Yeah, this dude I rode with one night,
he was talking about it.
Like, we-we were wasted,
and we wrecked that car. But,
yeah, he was talking about that.
- Well, who was he?
- Yeah, I don't,
I don't know, man,
he was from Riverside, so, uh
- Yeah, we was wasted.
- BRONSON: Tony!
Tony, you shorted me on that last round.
Uh, hey, count again, 'cause
I think you miscalculated.
Oh, man, you guys
should get out of here.
Bronson gets like this, he gets
'em all going, they light up the place.
What else do you know about that coin?
Nothing, I was wasted, man.
- You ever been wasted?
- BRONSON: Tony!
Huh? You owe me money, boy.
All right, no, you really got to go.
You try and break this up,
they're gonna know you're feds
and I'll Man, half these guys
would rip my nuts off.
- Let's go. Let's go.
- Hey, hey, hey.
Tell Lala that, you know, I'm-I'm on,
you know, just tell her
that I'm proud of her.
- All right, okay, let's go.
- Come on. We got to go.
Hey, come on, move it, pal.
- Let us through.
- I said move it.
- (GRUNTING)
- Whoa, whoa!
- RANDY: Thank you, Tony!
- (CLAMORING)
Back off! Let's go! Back off!
Hey, hey!
- Let's go.
- Let's go.
Come on, come on, go, go, go, go!
Come on, come on.
Go, go, go, go, go, go. ♪
- Herm! Hey. Saw you pull up.
- What's going on?
I just heard you got into it
at some street fight,
tossed a dude off Gibbs' back
like it was nothing.
Well, how do you know?
you just got here.
Ran into JJ in the parking lot.
I think people expect
a certain level of performance
from Gibbs,
but JJ said you did it up
like the guy from Road House.
(LAUGHS): No.
Dude, I was just trying to keep up.
Listen, man, I appreciate
you coming in on your day off.
Ah, I would've got here sooner
but we got some fresh powder
this morning.
Would've broke Gramma's heart
if we didn't get to do a
couple more runs with the sled,
- you know what I mean?
- Mm-hmm.
- Let's see what's going on here.
- Yes.
This here
is your hard drive.
RANDY: That crack can't be good.
Eh, like Gramma says,
it's what's on the inside that counts.
Okay.
HERM: Hmm. That ain't good.
You can't recover any of it?
The hours I spent, it was, um,
it's, uh, a cr-crippling amount
of typing just
(WHOOSHES)
down the toilet, and
I'm-I'm gonna make peace with that,
but we're looking for this
one specific thing that I typed,
and I tried to find it
in the hard copies in the vault,
but I must've missed it
'cause I was so tired,
but it's about this coin
in a victim's throat,
and-and Twitchy Tony said
the guy who mentioned the coin
was from Riverside, so I'm just thinking
if we could just somehow recover
that one file,
- just one
- Bro, it's gone.
All of it.
Sorry, dude.
- Let me ask you something.
- FRANKS: Rando.
What are you doing? We're all
in there trying to run down
this joker from Riverside.
Martha's dead, boss.
Oh.
Well, she's probably in a better place.
We got work to do. Let's go.
Herm. Thanks, man.
HERM: M-Mary Jo.
Oh, you're back.
Did Gramma do the alpine slide again?
Can I ask you something?
It's about Wheeler.
What about him?
I know something about him.
I wish I didn't know, but I do.
And, uh, I don't want to
I don't want to put
his business out there, but
I feel like I should
say something to someone.
What do you mean, you know something?
You mean, you know something about
what he prefers?
Yeah.
Herman? Look at me.
You keep your dang mouth shut
about this, you hear me?
This ain't your business.
Yes, ma'am.
Riverside PD thinks
they might have had a case
with a coin nine or ten years ago.
They've had a lot
of turnover since then.
- You tell 'em to check their files?
- They can't.
That's why they didn't
respond to your fax.
They went full digital
last year, their system's down.
Course they're down.
That's what them systems do.
Woody said they were able to get
ahold of Riverside forensics.
They're having some stuff
couriered over from a case in '82,
- said we should come by now.
- LALA: I'll stay here,
track down the Riverside
newspaper archives.
Rando, look alive. You're with us.
Uh, boss, I think I should stay
and look through the files
in the vault one more time.
- You been through them files.
- I know, but I-I was tired.
Just let me stay and look
one more time.
You got till we get back.
(DOOR OPENS, CLOSES)
Mom, wh what are you doing?
MAXINE: You, uh,
ready to go pick out your present?
We just need to stop by Mrs. Nichols'
and drop off our eight-track player.
- Why?
- Oh, you know,
Mrs. Nichols, she's so lonely.
You know, she's just rattling around
in that house all by herself.
She needs this more than we do.
You're selling it to her, aren't you?
We didn't make enough money tonight.
You don't have enough for my present.
Come on, come on.
It's got to be here somewhere.
FRANKS: I'm telling you,
Rando's losing his spark.
That computer sucked it
right out of him.
He seems fine to me.
He grabbed a guy off my back,
tossed him to the ground
like Road House.
Normally, I'd ask him
to go down to the post office
and get them yahoos to tell me
where my boxes are at.
You know, he's good
with all sorts of yahoos, but
he's changing.
How long has Lala been seeing that guy?
- What guy?
- Guy with the Impala.
He showed up at the Santería shop,
drove off pretty fast.
She was upset.
They always like them bad boys.
WOODY: No, it's not the same bulb, Phil.
PHIL: Well,
it's 'cause you're doing it wrong.
No, it's not the same bulb
as the orig
- No, give it to me.
- Okay.
- Take it, take it.
- I got it, thank you.
GIBBS: How many forensic scientists
does it take to change a lightbulb?
That was completely uncalled for.
We're having a moment here.
It's a joke.
Okay. Well, as soon as Don Rickles
is done with his set over here,
I guess we can tell you what we've got.
He's done.
Riverside case in question
happened back in 1982.
Victim's name was Lillian Garrett.
Same M.O. as your victim Aldrin.
Throat slit, salt circle around her,
weird-ass symbol drawn on a wall.
WOODY: And the pièce de résistance?
A single silver dollar
recovered from her throat.
He downsized from
a silver dollar to a quarter?
PHIL: Well, the other
inconsistency was the cause of death.
What killed her was the throat
slitting. She wasn't dead
She wasn't dead beforehand like Aldrin.
Wow. Now he's interrupting me.
Can you believe this?
You know, man, you walk
through life looking like that
and you think it's all fun and games,
but looks fade, my friend.
Sooner or later, you're gonna be
just like the rest of us.
Nah, he's probably just gonna
turn into a silver fox.
You're right. Damn it.
File says Riverside
had a pretty good suspect.
PHIL: Do you mind? Thank you.
This is the fingerprint Riverside
pulled off of the silver dollar.
This
is the print of their primary suspect,
- one Gordon Lynch.
- GIBBS: It's a match.
Please. Anyone with eyes
can see that there are only
ten identical points of comparison here.
And Lynch refused to confess,
so, wasn't enough for a conviction.
- He's still out there, he's our guy.
- PHIL: He's not, actually.
He was nabbed for aggravated
kidnapping back in '84.
There's no way Gordon Lynch
could have done this to Aldrin.
He's currently serving 50 to life.
- Possible we're looking at a copycat.
- Mm.
You could see if Lynch knows
who might copy him,
but like we said,
he's always refused to confess.
LALA: Mr. Lynch.
Mr. Lynch.
This happened two days ago.
A lot like what you did
to Lillian Garrett in '82.
The ritual in these cases
means something.
It'd be a shame if the meaning
died along with you.
I need you to admit what you did.
Tell me what you did
to Lillian back then
so I can understand
why someone would do this again.
I protected her with salt.
She paid her way to the
underworld with the coin in her throat.
I sacrificed her
to create a path for others to follow.
Who else did you talk to about it?
I think things into being.
That's why I was chosen to start
the spiritual revolution.
Who's been doing this?
Who have you been talking to?
No one.
I told you.
I have the gift
of thinking things into being.
GIBBS: Lynch confessed to Lala
that he murdered Lillian Garrett
- in '82.
- I checked his prison records.
No calls, no visitors,
no letters in and out
in the last four years.
He claims he "thinks things into being."
Wait, so, we think this guy
mind-powered people
- into doing his bidding?
- No.
We think there's a copycat
that Lynch didn't know about.
Walked into the bullpen,
no one was there.
- That's because we're here, Mike.
- RANDY: That's my fault, boss.
They were just filling me in.
Don't worry.
I only have this area
to read through again.
I told you you had till I got back.
- I know, but
- But nothing, Randolf.
I've had about enough of you
disobeying orders.
Hey. Boss, come on,
he's just down here trying to
Trying to what, probie?
He's had his head stuck
so far up that computer's ass
he don't know which way's up no more!
Okay, I'm gonna have to go ahead
- and disagree with that.
- Look at you.
You bury your face in that screen,
now you lock yourself in this dungeon.
You're frying your damn brain.
And for what?
This ain't getting us nothing.
Boss, I was chasing a lead
on that computer.
It's the same thing
that I'm doing down here.
This ain't you, Rando.
Down here like some troll,
disobeying orders.
I'm only down here
because you broke the computer.
That was an accident!
You didn't even say sorry.
That was months of my life.
I didn't say sorry
'cause I'm glad I done it.
You are supposed to be out there
being a people person.
You're changing who you are.
If that's what you think
then you have no idea who I am.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
Sorry. Hey. Uh
Mary Jo told me to keep
my mouth closed, but, um,
I figured I'd just
put it out there, you know?
Put what out there?
(CLEARS THROAT)
That file y'all looking for?
It's gone because of Wheeler.
I-I'm so confused.
Wheeler took one of my files?
- What? When?
- Remember when y'all were pissed off
because Wheeler was in the field
and Randy was on the desk?
- ALL: Yeah.
- Well, the day Lala came back to work,
Wheeler got the little desk,
and he made Randy switch with him.
- Yes -Yeah.
- Y'all left him alone,
and he started looking up
stuff on the computer
to prove that he was supposed
to be in the big office.
He accidentally deleted a couple files.
He asked me to try
to get them back again,
but they were gone.
That's why the key word search
wasn't working.
He must have deleted one of the files
- I was looking for.
- Yeah.
But see, Wheeler knew he messed up,
so he hunted down
the actual file folders.
He said he was gonna put it
in your to-do bin,
so you'd just type it back in again.
I I don't have a to-do bin. Mary Jo?
Don't tell her I told you about Wheeler.
RANDY: Mary Jo?
Oh. Mary Jo.
- Herm just told us about Wheeler.
- What?
The hell would you tell him
not to tell nobody?
Because Wheeler's preferences
are nobody's business but his own.
HERM: I know he told me he preferred
I keep this
deleted file stuff to myself,
but I had to tell them, MJ.
Wait, you were talking about some files?
GIBBS: Yeah.
What did you think
we were talking about?
Nothing.
And I don't know anything
about any files, either.
LALA: Wheeler put the hard
copies in Randy's to-do bin.
We need to find them.
Sounds like Randy
needs to check his to-do bin.
- I don't have a to-do bin.
- Cliff!
MARY JO: He's not here.
Did I hear you guys
talking about Randy's to-do bin?
You know something about this, Gail?
I made the to-do bin for Randy
'cause I thought he should
have a place for all those files
he was typing in.
Oh, my gosh.
Anything with a coin.
It's got to be in one of these.
FYI, I told Wheeler about the bin.
And you didn't think to tell Randy?
I must have forgot.
But it was intuitive to find.
You know, you think
of Randy on the computer
you think of a caged bird.
The caged bird just wants to fly.
Top shelf behind the cage.
You want me to put it back up there?
No, Gail. You've done enough.
Okay.
I got it, I got it.
I got it, this is it.
It's a-it's a DUI charge from last year.
Driver crashed his car
into the south wall
of a dental clinic on Pendleton.
That's the crash that
Twitchy Tony was talking about.
Yeah, yeah, it names him
as the passenger.
What's that got to do with a coin?
Uh, "Driver was inebriated.
Responding MP labeled him
"'increasingly belligerent, '
"talking nonsense about his sister
getting killed
with a coin down her throat."
Well, who was he?
FRANKS: Lillian Garrett
was your half sister.
Care about her like I think you do,
then you don't want
to look in that file.
But you already know what's
in them pictures, don't you?
RANDY: You were in that house
stealing those wires
when you saw Aldrin's body.
You saw that he OD'd.
I didn't know how he died.
Johnny, I'd do anything for my family.
Anything.
It's not hard to understand
why you would, too.
You looked at that body
and you thought what?
I thought if I made it look like the guy
that killed Lillian killed him, too,
maybe someone would care.
Maybe they'd reopen Lillian's case.
Find out who did that to her.
- So, you slit Aldrin's throat.
- With my wire cutter.
I made him look how Lillian looked.
I just wanted someone
to go back to her case.
To care.
It's been ten years.
The cops never even had a suspect.
They did.
His name is Gordon Lynch.
He's serving 50 years to life
for another crime.
And today,
he confessed to killing
your sister Lillian.
I don't understand.
Why didn't anyone tell me?
GIBBS: Turn him over at Oceanside,
they'll charge him
with desecration of a body?
Knowing Franks, he'll ask them
to go easy on him.
RANDY: They got him a year
later for kidnapping. Like I said
Hey, how'd your truck shopping go?
Find something you like?
No.
The hunt continues.
You need a ride home then?
Nah, I'm good.
He drives off on you like that again
I'll break his legs.
Your new guy. In the Impala?
I'll let him know.
Good news. Post office finally
got their damn act together.
- Where's Rando?
- HERM: He bounced.
He's got a birthday thing.
I think he left a note for you, though.
"Sorry I yelled."
"Let's hug tomorrow.
XO, Randy."
I scored him a new computer.
Game warden's office was
getting rid of it, so I wiped the drive.
- He's gonna type it all in again?
- Yeah,
I figured I'd surprise him,
get the first file done for him.
I could help you.
I'll read, you click-clack?
I didn't mean to break the other one.
Ya'll keep saying
those things are the future.
Could be they start
sucking out the stuff
that makes us look at each other.
Life already throws
enough change at you.
It's like
You blink,
your big brother's acting like
you're the big brother,
you know what I'm saying?
Not really.
Just don't want Rando
to go changing, too.
People person stuff.
The happy.
Don't want him losing that.
Guy like Randy?
I don't think that's possible.
All right.
Lynn Nelson, 32 years old.
LALA: There are two
churches on Harbor Street.
What are you doing at mine?
Are you following me?
I bought one of my own.
(CLATTERS SOFTLY)
I don't want to owe you.
I started coming when we found you here.
Why?
I don't know.
Why do you come here?
I don't know.
(BOTH CHUCKLE)
(EXHALES SHARPLY)
Awful case.
Bloody.
My boss was being an ass,
smashed our computer.
But this guy I work with
he didn't let it get him down.
He just kept doing his thing.
Made us laugh,
nailed a Road House fight like Swayze.
(CHUCKLES)
Solved the case.
He's probably lighting up a room
somewhere right now.
I wish I was more like that.
Me too.
YOUNG RANDY: Mom, listen to me.
- We're not selling it.
- Bernie.
Sweetheart.
I have been trying to keep things happy,
but the truth is money is tight,
- and I
- Mom, I already know that.
I just thought we weren't
gonna let that get us down,
'cause that's who we are.
We're people who don't let
the bad stuff win.
Aren't we?
(LAUGHS): Yes.
That's who you are, baby.
That's who you'll always be.
- (CLICK)
- Whoa! ♪
I feel good ♪
I knew that I would, now ♪
So good ♪
So good, I got you ♪
Whoa! I feel nice ♪
OLDER GIBBS: Bernard Francis Randolf.
Every year on his birthday,
his mom Maxine would tell him
the story of when he was born
Did you know your daddy
was born in a greasy old garage?
His mom took one look at him
and she knew
this kid was meant to bring
a great big light
into the world.