NCIS s13e09 Episode Script
Day in Court
In a stunning and sudden end to a story that we've been closely following for weeks, Petty Officer Kyle Friedgen, who seemed destined for death row for killing his ex-girlfriend, Joy Vanatter, is now a free man.
With the judge throwing out a vital piece of DNA evidence linking Friedgen to the murder, he now walks out of jail through a loophole in the law.
Here they come! They're coming out! (reporters clamoring) Detective Malone.
What do you think about the judge's ruling? We arrested the right guy.
Mr.
Wyner, would you care to comment on the fact that your mishandling of a warrant caused evidence to be thrown out and the charges dismissed? It was an unfortunate misunderstanding, but I accept full responsibility.
Will this affect your run for City State's Attorney? I'm more concerned about the miscarriage of justice.
Uh, the hearing was a travesty.
A guilty man is getting away with murder.
Thank you.
(reporters clamoring) Come on, honey.
Let's get you out of here.
I can't wait to get home.
My car's in the parking structure.
Hanna, come on.
I'm not going home with you, Kyle.
I'm moving in with my parents.
I stood by you.
You're free now, and I'm done.
CARRIE: I'm sorry, Kyle.
I'm just exhausted.
I didn't sleep at all last night.
How come? Zoe insists on having the lights on.
Any reason for that? Well nyctophobia, which is this fear of darkness.
I mean, you know, here she is, she's this kick-ass ATF agent she's got to sleep with the lights on? Well, a lot of people have phobias, Tony.
Even you.
Don't get on your high horse, Mr.
Fear of Heights.
Acrophobia, so what? A lot of people live with that.
Bish? Any phobias? Yeah, phobophobia.
Fear of people with phobias.
You know, I once dated a girl who had pteronophobia.
What is that? The fear of being tickled with a feather.
That's interesting.
Kinky.
Wait a minute.
You haven't dated that many people.
Do I know this person? Is it Delilah? No, it's not Delilah.
It's Abby.
Is it Abby? It is.
It's Abby.
Listen to me.
She will kill me, okay? You have to promise, promise that you will not tell her.
I promise.
You have my word as a gentleman, I promise.
BISHOP: All right.
Thanks for trying.
(sighs) Jake and I are going to the Kennedy Center tonight.
Can't get reservations for anywhere decent afterwards.
Any ideas? Adams House Grill.
Senior's favorite.
I'll make a call.
Thanks.
That'd be great, Tony.
Anyone hear from the boss? That's good, thank you.
Thought you weren't hungry.
(chuckles) You know, I can order you your own side of bacon.
No, I-I'm good.
It just it just smelled good.
I'm glad you suggested that we meet here.
How's the knee? Oh, it's good.
It's good.
It, uh, it swells, I ice it, you know.
(laughs) He have something to do with the, uh "favor" you wouldn't talk to me about on the phone? CARRIE: Know who he is? GIBBS: Well, yeah.
The murder and arrest did get a lot of media coverage.
Kyle, this is Special Agent Gibbs.
Miss Clark said you might be able to help me, sir.
Help you with what? Kyle, sit down.
Since the Baltimore judge dismissed the charges against Petty Officer Friedgen, his life has been hell.
His wife has left him.
She is threatening to deny him access to their soon-to-be-born child.
He's reported back to duty aboard the Ulysses, and his shipmates are harassing him.
FRIEDGEN: You gotta understand.
I didn't do anything.
I'm innocent.
But nobody believes me.
Everyone thinks I'm guilty of murder and got off on a technicality.
The police aren't looking for anyone else, Gibbs.
What do you want me to do? I want NCIS to arrest me for murder.
I want the truth to come out.
I deserve my day in court, sir.
I want to be court-martialed.
He wants us to arrest him? GIBBS: Yes.
McGEE: Well, you gotta give the guy credit.
It's a novel request.
Give his lawyer credit.
She thinks outside the box.
It opens the door for us to investigate the murder.
It's crazy.
Why would he want us involved? GIBBS: Because he swears he's innocent.
Prisons are filled with guys who swear they're innocent.
Yeah.
The difference is, Friedgen's not in prison.
So, what do we know about him? What do we know about the victim? Well, Kyle Friedgen and Joy Vanatter dated in high school.
He got her pregnant when she was 16.
She had an abortion.
A year later, they got into a violent argument and he was arrested for abuse.
TONY: Got a year's probation.
When he turned 18, he enlisted in the Navy.
Since then, it appears that he's gotten his life in order.
He's got a clean military record.
He married his wife, Hanna, two years ago, and they're expecting their first child next month.
Things went less well for Joy Vanatter.
She's been arrested on drug and prostitution charges.
DiNozzo, take McGee with you, go to Baltimore.
Find out what the police know.
I'll find out who's in charge of the investigation.
Look at this with fresh eyes.
Can Hanna really keep me from seeing my own child? Well, as we've seen, you never know what a judge might do.
Her father got to her.
He never liked me.
JAG is on board, Carrie.
They're willing to go through with the court-martial, pending our investigation.
Other than the DNA evidence that was tossed, everything else against Kyle is circumstantial.
He and the victim had history together, and exchanged some texts and a phone call the day of the murder, but that's it.
I haven't seen the Baltimore file yet.
What, exactly, did the judge throw out? A syringe, with traces of Joy Vanatter's blood.
It was found in Kyle's car.
You want to explain that? I can't.
But I swear, I haven't seen her in years.
She texted me.
She said she wanted to meet that day, but I didn't.
Someone must have planted the damn needle.
Who? You want the truth? We're gonna dig deep on this.
You're a free man right now.
Are you sure you want to go through with this? I got nothing to lose, sir.
Everyone thinks that I'm guilty.
I might as well be.
I want my life back.
Ah, the smell of feet in the morning! Hey, hey! Malone! DiNozzo! (laughs) How are you, my brother? You smell good.
(laughing) This is Special Agent Tim McGee.
So is this guy behaving himself? Is this the DiNozzo? MALONE: In person.
Hey, you are, like, legend around here.
I have heard a lot of wild stories about you.
Tell me.
"Buck Naked Bust"? That's not true.
That is 100% true.
So who was naked, you or the perp? Both of us.
I was undercover at a nudist colony.
MALONE: See, we got this tip.
Pole dancer stole from her boss, so she's hiding out in a nudist colony.
DiNozzo volunteers to go undercover.
Of course he does.
Is it true that you spotted her right away, but didn't make the arrest for two days? Three days.
DiNozzo'll tell you all his war stories later.
Um, State's Attorney Wyner is waiting to talk to you guys.
Joy Vanatter's body was found on the morning of October 8.
Cause of death blunt force trauma.
Forensics indicates the body was moved and then dumped.
We never could determine the location of the murder or find the weapon.
You rule out robbery? Yeah.
Among the personal effects we found were cash.
Over $200.
So what led you to Petty Officer Friedgen? Uh, Vanatter's cell phone records.
They showed multiple texts and a call between her and Friedgen, but we never did find the phone.
The two were planning to meet the day of the murder.
Friedgen denies that they ever hooked up; says he hasn't seen her in years.
But he didn't have an alibi that we could verify.
Yeah, the two had a violent past, so he became a person of interest.
WYNER: And the clincher? We found a syringe in his car with her blood on it.
Proves that they'd been together previously.
But the judge threw it out.
Yeah, that's my bad.
There was a misunderstanding between me and the judge's clerk.
The warrant wasn't signed until a few hours after I'd authorized Detective Malone to search Friedgen's car.
Without that evidence, we just didn't have a strong enough case.
Well, in a court-martial, a unanimous decision isn't required by the panel, so maybe we can get your guy.
Oh, I made you a complete copy of our records.
Can we have access to the physical evidence? I'll make those arrangements.
Great.
Glad to have NCIS aboard.
You'll have the complete cooperation of the State's Attorney's Office.
Here we are.
Your table.
JAKE: Oh, this is great.
Thanks.
Oh! Thanks.
WAITRESS: And the wine list.
Thank you.
Enjoy.
(exhales) Gershwin music.
symphony orchestra was just what I needed tonight.
Didn't you love it? I'm glad we went.
Mmm.
Thanks.
I wish we could get out more often.
We haven't had a night like this since you got back from Dubai.
Geez, you're right.
Thank God you weren't hurt.
Yeah, I was lucky.
Now can you tell me why, uh why you weren't there when the bomb went off? The Agency's been asking me the same question.
There was a threat assessment before the conference, and it was covered up and then leaked.
They suspect that I had knowledge of it.
Did you? Ellie come on.
Well, where were you? (sighs) You know, this It's so frustrating.
Is this why you've been so distracted and distant lately? When you had NSA clearance, we could discuss things, at lunch, at home.
But now I know.
I understand, and I hate it.
I miss our sneaking off to lunch at Chez Nicole.
(chuckles) (laughs) You know, I still go there almost every day.
By myself.
We have got to spend more time together.
ABBY: Let's see what we got.
All right, this is the box of evidence collected by Baltimore PD at the crime scene where they found the body.
Looks like a blouse.
All right.
Now, there should be three more bags of clothing.
Shoes, pants undergarments.
Good morning, Abby, Timothy.
I understand from Mr.
Palmer you have the Baltimore coroner's report.
I do.
Ah.
Thank you.
This is the cash that was in the victim's pocket.
It's ten Ah.
The infamous syringe found in Petty Officer Friedgen's car.
Which is inadmissible in a court-martial for the same reason it was inadmissible in the criminal trial.
But I'm gonna give it a once-over.
Or a twice-over.
Well, Gibbs says we have to start at square one.
Are you gonna have Joy Vanatter's body exhumed? I don't have to; it's still being held in the Baltimore morgue.
McGEE: Well, that's odd.
She's been dead for over a month.
Well, no family member has come forward to claim the body.
In such cases, the M.
E.
holds on to the remains, well, as long as he thinks necessary.
I'm going to dispatch Mr.
Palmer to retrieve Ms.
Vanatter.
(door closes) We will be moving into my bedroom.
My father converted it into his home office, and now I'm gonna be sharing it with the baby.
You're having a boy.
(chuckles) Yeah.
When are you due? Three weeks.
Never thought I'd be doing this alone.
Don't get me wrong, my parents are great.
It's just, uh not how I thought it would be.
How about I give you a hand? He's really good with tools.
Oh, please.
Be my guest.
BISHOP: This must be a difficult time for you, Hanna.
Kyle put me and my parents through hell the past month.
His arrest, the hearing, finding out he was seeing his old girlfriend.
Was he ever, um, violent with you? No.
You know about his past troubles? Kyle never said anything.
He kept all that from me, and now I realize he never was truthful.
That's why I believed he Capable of hurting someone? You mean killing? Yeah.
I'm sure the police already asked you this, but was Kyle acting differently around the time of the murder? (dog barking outside) I don't need this right now.
He knows I don't want to see him.
Uh, why don't you take a seat? No! I just want this whole thing in the past.
Kyle, get back in the car.
No, sir.
I want to talk to my wife.
GIBBS: You asked for my help, so I'm gonna give you some advice.
A confrontation right now with your wife or her parents it's not gonna help your cause.
(elevator bell dings) How'd it go with the wife? BISHOP: She's pretty upset.
Good thing she had an alibi for the time of the murder.
What'd you find? The police never seriously looked at anyone else after they pulled Joy Vanatter's cell phone records.
Why? McGEE: Day before her murder, Vanatter and Petty Officer Friedgen were exchanging texts.
TONY: She was pretty adamant.
She wanted to see him.
This is their final exchange, the morning she died.
Two minutes later, he called her.
They spoke for four minutes and 16 seconds.
Unfortunately, we don't know the contents of that call.
And when the police questioned Friedgen, he acknowledged the call, but he swore he told her he would never meet her.
McGEE: When they found the syringe with her DNA on it in his car, they knew he was lying.
Vanatter also made phone calls to a burn phone.
Baltimore PD couldn't trace it, neither could I.
I'm thinking maybe to her pusher.
I had some connections, uh, on the mean streets of Mobtown.
Thinking maybe I could go nose around.
McGee, keep him out of trouble.
Going to Norfolk.
Check with Friedgen's C.
O.
and shipmates.
Bishop? Where you going? Uh, wanted to surprise Jake, meet him for lunch.
(elevator bell dings) TONY: This was part of my beat when I was in uniform, on foot patrol.
Things change much? Yeah.
See that Thai massage parlor? Used to be a Korean massage parlor.
(rap music playing nearby) Ooh.
TONY: Hold on.
MAN: Right.
Good lookin' out, Cheech.
Hey, good lookin'.
What you got cookin'? Tony freakin' DiNozzo?! Man! You know I thought you was dead? (chuckles) (tires screeching) (panting) (chuckles): You're too old for this, Cheech! Cheech, you're gonna have a heart attack.
Stop it! (Cheech grunting) Ah, damn! Cheech CHEECH: Help me up.
(grunts) (laughs): Oh! (panting): Oh, man.
Oh, look at that.
Your favorite plant.
That's very subtle.
You know, he always been a hater.
You know that, right? Look.
It pays to advertise.
I want them to know what I'm selling.
Isn't marijuana legal in Maryland? Yeah, but who wants to pay retail? (chuckles) My dude! Where you been, boy? You know, Cheech, back in the day, was my number one and most enthusiastic snitch.
I'm not a snitch.
What you talking about? I'm a P.
I.
C.
-- a paid information consultant.
I'm a businessman.
There's a difference, man.
Come on.
Well, we're not gonna pay you, but you know her? Of course.
Man, that's the girl the sailor killed.
Everybody know that.
You know her? Oh, do I know? Well, I know guys that know her.
(chuckles) What you need? We need a name, Cheech.
Did you not see me try to run just now? My knees are barely hanging on now.
I-I don't need them broke.
Okay.
All right, look.
I'm not here to mess around.
Let's do this.
What are you doing? I'm putting you under arrest.
For what? A couple of joints? Really? I'm sure we can find more than that on you.
Yeah, I'm sure you can.
Wait, wait.
Okay, okay, okay.
I'll tell you what you want to know.
Look, rumor has it, she came into some money, right? And, uh, she was trying to buy a higher grade of heroin.
You know, not the cheap stuff anymore.
But she wasn't hooking to pay for it.
Where'd she get the money? She started seeing some suit from uptown.
And the suit-- oh, he was all up into her little specialty, And you know, S and M.
(chuckles) Exactly! You a client, too? Thank you, Cheech.
Let's get out of here.
You ain't gonna pay me? Are you serious? (elevator bell dings) Hey, Abbs.
Bishop.
I got something.
The bills from Joy Vanatter's body-- they're all relatively new.
The serial numbers are sequential.
So I put a call in to the Federal Reserve to see what bank they were distributed to.
That's great, uh, but I need help with something else.
I'm all yours.
Three weeks ago, when I didn't know if Jake was dead or alive in Dubai, Delilah and I were in MTAC, and she accessed a Dubai taxi passenger-cam.
Any way you can pull that up? Oh, yeah.
If it was in MTAC, it'll be on the archival hard drive.
Why do you want to see it again? I was so excited to see Jake alive that I didn't pay attention to who the other passenger was in the backseat of the taxi.
(computer trills, beeps) That it? What? I just saw Jake with a woman in a restaurant.
I'm pretty sure it's her.
They were in a-a really heavy discussion.
My God.
You don't think something's going on between them, do you? It crossed my mind, but I'm not going there.
I know her.
Her name's Taylor Matthews.
She's NSA's version of Internal Affairs.
I think Jake's in trouble.
Why? He told me there'd been a leak, that he was under suspicion.
She was reprimanding him.
MAN: The ship's in port for two months getting retrofitted.
There's only a skeleton crew aboard.
Petty Officer Friedgen said he didn't get a warm reception from his shipmates when he returned to duty.
I'd say that's accurate.
He never had a lot of friends aboard.
Not exactly Mr.
Warmth.
Told me his personal gear was damaged.
That why you're here? Down this way.
I know you've gone over this with the police, but I'd like to hear about the night Joy Vanatter was killed.
Petty Officer Friedgen was due to report at 2100, but didn't log in until four hours late.
Well, he claims that he was late because there was an accident on the expressway.
ere was an accident, but was Friedgen really stuck on the road? I don't know.
Commander, you don't sound like you believe him.
I'll give you a heads-up, Special Agent Gibbs.
You're about to interview several of his shipmates.
To a man and woman, they think he's guilty of murder.
BISHOP: I'm listening, yes.
Bish is in the cone of silence.
You know who she's talking to? Jake, I think.
It's obviously something she doesn't want us to hear.
Mmm.
She seems a little down.
I think maybe I should talk to her.
Just leave her be.
Maybe she's in need of a little brotherly advice.
Thanks for the chips.
TONY: You are very welcome.
Everything okay? Looks like you got something on your mind.
There's some sort of crisis at the NSA.
Jake's at home packing a bag-- I don't know where he's going.
"Need to know," huh? Yeah.
Well, can't be far.
Said he'll be back tomorrow afternoon.
Well, you wanted to marry a spy.
He's a lawyer, Tony.
You find out anything in Baltimore? We got some leads we're working on.
Tony's definitely in his element, boss-- snitches, pushers, pimps, prostitutes.
Well Learn anything in Norfolk? Petty Officer Friedgen was telling the truth.
His shipmates all think he's guilty.
Guys, guys, guys, guys.
I have something.
I just I don't know if it's good or if it's bad.
Okay, 3o I tracked these serial numbers from the $20 bills that were found on the girl's body.
They're all relatively new.
They were printed at the Philadelphia mint only 62 days ago.
From there, they ended up at a branch of the National Armed Forces Credit Union located Ready? at the Norfolk Navy shipyard.
Interesting.
Yes, and I'm not done.
There's more.
So banks like to use the new crisp bills in their ATMs so they don't jam up anything.
Fortunately for us, those machines are equipped with optical scanners that record the serial numbers as they're being dispensed.
Are you gonna tell us you know who withdrew the money? Yes.
October 7.
One Petty Officer Third Class Kyle Friedgen.
He gave Vanatter the money.
Said he hadn't seen her in years.
(door opens) You ask for my help.
(Carrie gasps) Then you lie to me? Gibbs, what are you talking about? You told me you never saw Joyce Vanatter.
Baltimore PD found money on her body that we traced to a withdrawal you made from an ATM.
Is that true? Is that true? Joy wouldn't stop texting me.
Said she wanted to meet.
I made the mistake of calling her.
She said she needed money.
I said I wouldn't do it.
But then I caved when she threatened to call my wife and tell her about our past.
So I drove to Baltimore, I gave her the money.
That's it.
Why'd you lie to the police? Because when they first questioned me, I didn't know Joy was dead, and I didn't want Hanna to know that I'd met with her.
No, when you found out she was murdered, why didn't you tell them the truth? Because I panicked.
I felt like I had to stick to my story-- I'd look guilty.
You buying any of this? Why'd she want the money? Drugs? No.
No, she said she got into some trouble, and she needed to get out of town.
What kind of trouble? She wouldn't tell me.
I do not like being lied to.
You will be put in a holding cell tonight.
You got what you wanted.
Tomorrow morning, you'll be charged with murder.
MALONE: Nice work, Gibbs.
The money proves Friedgen met with Vanatter.
I got enough to refile charges.
Yeah, we'll take him into custody.
No, it's an NCIS case now.
MAN: All right, let's go.
CARRIE: I will see you in the morning, and we'll decide then what our next step is.
(door opens) (door squeaks shut) Hey, Bishop.
It's after midnight.
You okay? No.
(chuckles) Been, uh driving around.
Didn't really want to go home to an empty apartment.
Really is a boat in here.
I thought Tony was just punking me.
Where's Jake? Not really sure.
Said he was working.
You don't believe him? I don't know what to believe.
Here, sit down.
You talk, I'll listen.
Uh It's Jake's work.
He won't tell me anything.
He can't.
(scoffs) I hate the NSA.
He hides everything behind a veil of secrecy.
What's he hiding? I think he's being investigated by Internal Affairs.
Why? There's been a leak at the agency.
That's never good.
No.
Any wise words? Bishop, do you understand the irony in all this, you asking me for marital advice? (chuckles) Well, he can't tell you the details.
He can tell you how he feels.
You make him talk to you.
Hey, guys.
Morning.
Hey, Abbs.
What's up? Nothing.
Just came down to see how you're doing.
I'm fine.
Mmm.
What you working on? ABBY: Well, I confirmed Baltimore Forensic's finding.
The DNA on the needle does belong to Joy Vanatter.
And then I ran the residue from inside the barrel through Major Mass Spec, and it's black tar heroin.
It's a very cheap low-grade form of the narcotic.
That's weird, 'cause Cheech said that Vanatter was using, um, high-grade heroin.
He did.
So you gonna follow up? Oh yeah.
Yeah, no, we we will absolutely.
You two are acting weird.
Talk to Bishop today? No.
She texted us this morning, said she wasn't coming in.
No explanation.
We were just wondering maybe she said something to you? Girl-to-girl? No.
Abby, we know you're lying.
Your fingers are crossed.
I told you she was gonna play mum.
That's why I came prepared.
What does that mean? You told him?! Okay, okay.
Okay okay.
Kyle lied to both of us.
Gonna drop him? JAG'll provide him a lawyer.
No, I'm, uh I'm gonna stick with him.
Uh he was free.
He asked to be court-martialed.
Why would anyone do that I don't if they were guilty? I don't know why.
Sure feels like he's playing us.
Oh, so like Baltimore PD, you got your man, you're not looking for anyone else? Uh, I didn't say that.
You got your client under arrest, and I think it's best if we stopped talking.
Carrie, I know you, you're a sharp lawyer.
I don't want to say something and get misquoted at the court-martial.
REPORTER: So what's the latest development? MALONE: NCIS has found new evidence that prove what we always knew.
Petty Officer Kyle Friedgen is guilty of murder.
That's my guy.
REPORTER: So do you think this will boost your campaign for Baltimore state's attorney, Mr.
Wyner? I don't think it'll hurt, but, more importantly, justice will be served.
Thank you.
REPORTER: And yet another twist in this bizarre case.
Got something for me, Duck? I finished the autopsy on Miss Vanatter.
Everything is consistent with the Baltimore coroner's findings.
Cause of death was blunt force trauma, so all he had to do was a standard tox screen.
You' gonna do a more detailed one? Exactly.
Abby's already started to run tissue samples taken from her body.
I'll get back to you.
You heard from Bishop today? Gave her the morning off.
Oh.
Ellie.
Uh, why aren't you at work? Are you feeling okay? Not really.
We've got to talk.
Okay.
What is it? For months now, things have been different.
I know you've felt it too.
It's my fault.
I'm in a difficult position and, uh Just let me finish.
At first, I thought that you were having an affair.
But I know what's going on now, and I know that you're in trouble at work.
Ellie.
Yesterday I went to surprise you at lunch, but when I got there, I saw you being reprimanded by Taylor Matthews from Internal Affairs.
Stop.
I'm not in trouble at work.
This is so hard.
I've been trying to tell you, but I I just I don't know how.
I'm having an affair with Taylor.
At first it was just an office flirtation, that's all it was, but then we went to Dubai.
I'm not making excuses, but after the bombing Shut up.
I don't want to hear anymore.
Ellie.
Ellie, you don't deserve this.
Look, I hate myself for what I've done.
Were you with her last night? What's gonna happen with her remains? Well, eventually, I will have to return Miss Vanatter to Baltimore.
By then, if no one has claimed her, the body will be cremated.
And her ashes? Well, once a year, the State of Maryland has a ceremonial spreading of all unclaimed ashes.
There's got to be somebody out there that cared for her.
Like a-a friend or a distant relative or I want to find them.
What we got? Miss Sciuto has the interesting results of the tox screen.
ABBY: The narcotics found in her tissue samples were high-grade white heroin.
It's far more expensive and refined than the black tar heroin that was in the syringe found in Petty Officer Friedgen's car.
Yet the needle had Miss Vanatter's DNA on it.
So it couldn't have been a syringe that she used recently.
Could Friedgen be telling the truth? It was planted in his car.
Okay, let's give Petty Officer Friedgen the benefit of the doubt.
Say the syringe was planted in his car by the murderer.
Who? Joy Vanatter had a history of drug abuse.
Her supplier? Your snitch tell you who she was buying from? No.
Could it be him? Well, he was selling pot when we caught up with him.
Cheech? Come on.
I don't think so.
Joy Vanatter's last bust was two years ago in Baltimore.
Look into that case.
My turn to drive? (elevator bell dings) Oh.
All right.
Hey, Bishop.
You okay? Uh No.
Jake's having an affair.
You sure? How'd you find out? He told me.
I'm sorry.
DiNozzo's headed to Baltimore.
Go with him.
Jake is aware that you carry a gun for a living? Here you go.
The evidence from Joy Vanatter's bust two years ago.
Thanks.
You're an NCIS agent? Yeah.
Lot cuter than the guy you brought yesterday, Agent DiNozzo.
DINOZZO: That is very true.
So what exactly are you guys looking for? Not sure.
Can I take a look? Help yourself.
Whoa! I'm impressed.
Bye-bye, Greenie.
(clears throat) Okay.
Joy Vanatter was arrested two years ago, August 13.
Based on a tip from an informant, we raided a shooting gallery.
When the officers broke in, the needle was still in her arm.
BISHOP: This must be it.
She had a public defender, got a year, but only spent six months in the City Detention Center.
Who was the informant? Francis Del Conte.
Cheech? Well, that's funny, he didn't tell me anything about it when I talked to him yesterday.
Huh.
BISHOP: Log shows the evidence was admitted into storage after the trial.
It sat untouched for almost two years, till it was accessed three weeks ago.
By who? Alan Wyner? The Assistant State's Attorney? Makes sense.
Wyner was the prosecutor on both cases, Vanatter's drug bust two years ago and Friedgen's trial for her recent murder.
But why go back to evidence on the old drug bust? I'm sure he was just being thorough, seeing if anything related back to her murder.
Look, I've been working closely with the guy, Wyner.
He's a good guy.
And he cared about Vanatter.
He asked for the minimum sentence, he-he spoke for her at her parole hearing.
Why the hell didn't Cheech tell me he got her busted two years ago? There's no trace of heroin in the barrel of this syringe and there's no DNA on the needle.
This has never been used.
Are you sure this was evidence in a drug bust two years ago? We just got it from the Baltimore PD evidence locker.
Okay, are we just going to ignore what's going on here? Has Jake lost his mind? I really don't want to talk about it, Abby.
What else can you tell me about the needle? I was able to get a serial number from it and I ran a manufacturing check.
It identifies the syringe as coming from a batch that was manufactured only three months ago.
(elevator bell dings) McGee.
You won't believe this.
You have some big balls, coming here.
I've got to talk to Ellie.
You know where she is? She's not answering my calls or my texts.
Do you blame her? It's not smart, coming here.
I think you should leave.
JAKE: Look, uh, I get that you're upset, but she is my wife.
Then treat her like one.
You should leave.
I'll walk you out.
TONY: Think he's gonna punch him out? Love to see it.
Come on, Gibbs, you know me.
You need to understand Understand what? You cheating on Bishop? I never wanted this to happen.
(elevator bell dings) Get your head out of your ass, Jake.
Back to work.
Boss, State Attorney Alan Wyner-- he's had evidence thrown out once before.
Early in his career.
It was a misdemeanor B and E.
Evidence was tossed because of a mis-timed warrant.
What does that mean? Well, the clerk told Wyner that he'd have the judge sign the warrant when he recessed court at 3:00.
The trial went long and Wyner jumped the gun.
The seed evidence was tossed because the warrant was signed after the seizure.
Just like in this case.
Wyner's a smart guy, boss.
He wouldn't make the same mistake twice.
TONY: Cheech said Joy Vanatter was doing "some suit from uptown.
" Alan Wyner wears really nice suits.
Guys, guys, guys! Abs, you got something? Oh, yeah.
(clock chiming the hour) Hey! What's up? How's our case moving along? Well, it's taken a little change of direction.
We've got a new person of interest.
Who? What's this? A warrant.
Properly signed and executed.
I'm sure it'll hold up in court.
We're gonna search your house, your office, your car.
I bet we find evidence linking you to Joy Vanatter's murder.
We know you had access to the evidence room and you switched the syringes.
TONY: Hope you were smart enough to destroy the burn phone you used to call her.
MALONE: Why, Alan? Was she trying to blackmail you? I mean, hell of a headline.
"Candidate involved in S&M scandal.
" I tried to help her.
Get rehab, paroled You were sleeping with her.
I assume you know your rights, Counselor.
Ooh.
You like being dominated, huh? So let me get this straight: You screwed up the warrant on purpose so Friedgen wouldn't go to jail? Yeah and he got off.
So why in the hell would he ruin it and go to NCIS? Think you're a clever guy, Wyner? That's a pretty twisted morality.
CARRIE: Paperwork's done.
We're out of here.
Thank you, sir.
If you had been totally honest with the police the first time you talked to them, it wouldn't have gone this far.
I've got most of my life back.
I report to my ship at 0600 tomorrow.
Glad I still have the Navy, but things will never be the same with my wife.
She thought I was guilty of murder.
Just give her some time, Kyle.
You're about to have a son.
Be a part of his life.
Breakfast again soon? You know where to find me.
Bye.
I've made a decision.
Could we talk? Say something, I'm giving up on you I'll be the one if you want me to Anywhere I would have followed you Say something, I'm giving up on you BISHOP: Jake And I I'm in a bad place.
Will swallow my pride I hurt a lot.
You're the one That I love And I'm saying good-bye I'm going home to Oklahoma.
Say something, I'm giving up on you Don't contact me.
I'm not sure when I'll be back.
Say something
With the judge throwing out a vital piece of DNA evidence linking Friedgen to the murder, he now walks out of jail through a loophole in the law.
Here they come! They're coming out! (reporters clamoring) Detective Malone.
What do you think about the judge's ruling? We arrested the right guy.
Mr.
Wyner, would you care to comment on the fact that your mishandling of a warrant caused evidence to be thrown out and the charges dismissed? It was an unfortunate misunderstanding, but I accept full responsibility.
Will this affect your run for City State's Attorney? I'm more concerned about the miscarriage of justice.
Uh, the hearing was a travesty.
A guilty man is getting away with murder.
Thank you.
(reporters clamoring) Come on, honey.
Let's get you out of here.
I can't wait to get home.
My car's in the parking structure.
Hanna, come on.
I'm not going home with you, Kyle.
I'm moving in with my parents.
I stood by you.
You're free now, and I'm done.
CARRIE: I'm sorry, Kyle.
I'm just exhausted.
I didn't sleep at all last night.
How come? Zoe insists on having the lights on.
Any reason for that? Well nyctophobia, which is this fear of darkness.
I mean, you know, here she is, she's this kick-ass ATF agent she's got to sleep with the lights on? Well, a lot of people have phobias, Tony.
Even you.
Don't get on your high horse, Mr.
Fear of Heights.
Acrophobia, so what? A lot of people live with that.
Bish? Any phobias? Yeah, phobophobia.
Fear of people with phobias.
You know, I once dated a girl who had pteronophobia.
What is that? The fear of being tickled with a feather.
That's interesting.
Kinky.
Wait a minute.
You haven't dated that many people.
Do I know this person? Is it Delilah? No, it's not Delilah.
It's Abby.
Is it Abby? It is.
It's Abby.
Listen to me.
She will kill me, okay? You have to promise, promise that you will not tell her.
I promise.
You have my word as a gentleman, I promise.
BISHOP: All right.
Thanks for trying.
(sighs) Jake and I are going to the Kennedy Center tonight.
Can't get reservations for anywhere decent afterwards.
Any ideas? Adams House Grill.
Senior's favorite.
I'll make a call.
Thanks.
That'd be great, Tony.
Anyone hear from the boss? That's good, thank you.
Thought you weren't hungry.
(chuckles) You know, I can order you your own side of bacon.
No, I-I'm good.
It just it just smelled good.
I'm glad you suggested that we meet here.
How's the knee? Oh, it's good.
It's good.
It, uh, it swells, I ice it, you know.
(laughs) He have something to do with the, uh "favor" you wouldn't talk to me about on the phone? CARRIE: Know who he is? GIBBS: Well, yeah.
The murder and arrest did get a lot of media coverage.
Kyle, this is Special Agent Gibbs.
Miss Clark said you might be able to help me, sir.
Help you with what? Kyle, sit down.
Since the Baltimore judge dismissed the charges against Petty Officer Friedgen, his life has been hell.
His wife has left him.
She is threatening to deny him access to their soon-to-be-born child.
He's reported back to duty aboard the Ulysses, and his shipmates are harassing him.
FRIEDGEN: You gotta understand.
I didn't do anything.
I'm innocent.
But nobody believes me.
Everyone thinks I'm guilty of murder and got off on a technicality.
The police aren't looking for anyone else, Gibbs.
What do you want me to do? I want NCIS to arrest me for murder.
I want the truth to come out.
I deserve my day in court, sir.
I want to be court-martialed.
He wants us to arrest him? GIBBS: Yes.
McGEE: Well, you gotta give the guy credit.
It's a novel request.
Give his lawyer credit.
She thinks outside the box.
It opens the door for us to investigate the murder.
It's crazy.
Why would he want us involved? GIBBS: Because he swears he's innocent.
Prisons are filled with guys who swear they're innocent.
Yeah.
The difference is, Friedgen's not in prison.
So, what do we know about him? What do we know about the victim? Well, Kyle Friedgen and Joy Vanatter dated in high school.
He got her pregnant when she was 16.
She had an abortion.
A year later, they got into a violent argument and he was arrested for abuse.
TONY: Got a year's probation.
When he turned 18, he enlisted in the Navy.
Since then, it appears that he's gotten his life in order.
He's got a clean military record.
He married his wife, Hanna, two years ago, and they're expecting their first child next month.
Things went less well for Joy Vanatter.
She's been arrested on drug and prostitution charges.
DiNozzo, take McGee with you, go to Baltimore.
Find out what the police know.
I'll find out who's in charge of the investigation.
Look at this with fresh eyes.
Can Hanna really keep me from seeing my own child? Well, as we've seen, you never know what a judge might do.
Her father got to her.
He never liked me.
JAG is on board, Carrie.
They're willing to go through with the court-martial, pending our investigation.
Other than the DNA evidence that was tossed, everything else against Kyle is circumstantial.
He and the victim had history together, and exchanged some texts and a phone call the day of the murder, but that's it.
I haven't seen the Baltimore file yet.
What, exactly, did the judge throw out? A syringe, with traces of Joy Vanatter's blood.
It was found in Kyle's car.
You want to explain that? I can't.
But I swear, I haven't seen her in years.
She texted me.
She said she wanted to meet that day, but I didn't.
Someone must have planted the damn needle.
Who? You want the truth? We're gonna dig deep on this.
You're a free man right now.
Are you sure you want to go through with this? I got nothing to lose, sir.
Everyone thinks that I'm guilty.
I might as well be.
I want my life back.
Ah, the smell of feet in the morning! Hey, hey! Malone! DiNozzo! (laughs) How are you, my brother? You smell good.
(laughing) This is Special Agent Tim McGee.
So is this guy behaving himself? Is this the DiNozzo? MALONE: In person.
Hey, you are, like, legend around here.
I have heard a lot of wild stories about you.
Tell me.
"Buck Naked Bust"? That's not true.
That is 100% true.
So who was naked, you or the perp? Both of us.
I was undercover at a nudist colony.
MALONE: See, we got this tip.
Pole dancer stole from her boss, so she's hiding out in a nudist colony.
DiNozzo volunteers to go undercover.
Of course he does.
Is it true that you spotted her right away, but didn't make the arrest for two days? Three days.
DiNozzo'll tell you all his war stories later.
Um, State's Attorney Wyner is waiting to talk to you guys.
Joy Vanatter's body was found on the morning of October 8.
Cause of death blunt force trauma.
Forensics indicates the body was moved and then dumped.
We never could determine the location of the murder or find the weapon.
You rule out robbery? Yeah.
Among the personal effects we found were cash.
Over $200.
So what led you to Petty Officer Friedgen? Uh, Vanatter's cell phone records.
They showed multiple texts and a call between her and Friedgen, but we never did find the phone.
The two were planning to meet the day of the murder.
Friedgen denies that they ever hooked up; says he hasn't seen her in years.
But he didn't have an alibi that we could verify.
Yeah, the two had a violent past, so he became a person of interest.
WYNER: And the clincher? We found a syringe in his car with her blood on it.
Proves that they'd been together previously.
But the judge threw it out.
Yeah, that's my bad.
There was a misunderstanding between me and the judge's clerk.
The warrant wasn't signed until a few hours after I'd authorized Detective Malone to search Friedgen's car.
Without that evidence, we just didn't have a strong enough case.
Well, in a court-martial, a unanimous decision isn't required by the panel, so maybe we can get your guy.
Oh, I made you a complete copy of our records.
Can we have access to the physical evidence? I'll make those arrangements.
Great.
Glad to have NCIS aboard.
You'll have the complete cooperation of the State's Attorney's Office.
Here we are.
Your table.
JAKE: Oh, this is great.
Thanks.
Oh! Thanks.
WAITRESS: And the wine list.
Thank you.
Enjoy.
(exhales) Gershwin music.
symphony orchestra was just what I needed tonight.
Didn't you love it? I'm glad we went.
Mmm.
Thanks.
I wish we could get out more often.
We haven't had a night like this since you got back from Dubai.
Geez, you're right.
Thank God you weren't hurt.
Yeah, I was lucky.
Now can you tell me why, uh why you weren't there when the bomb went off? The Agency's been asking me the same question.
There was a threat assessment before the conference, and it was covered up and then leaked.
They suspect that I had knowledge of it.
Did you? Ellie come on.
Well, where were you? (sighs) You know, this It's so frustrating.
Is this why you've been so distracted and distant lately? When you had NSA clearance, we could discuss things, at lunch, at home.
But now I know.
I understand, and I hate it.
I miss our sneaking off to lunch at Chez Nicole.
(chuckles) (laughs) You know, I still go there almost every day.
By myself.
We have got to spend more time together.
ABBY: Let's see what we got.
All right, this is the box of evidence collected by Baltimore PD at the crime scene where they found the body.
Looks like a blouse.
All right.
Now, there should be three more bags of clothing.
Shoes, pants undergarments.
Good morning, Abby, Timothy.
I understand from Mr.
Palmer you have the Baltimore coroner's report.
I do.
Ah.
Thank you.
This is the cash that was in the victim's pocket.
It's ten Ah.
The infamous syringe found in Petty Officer Friedgen's car.
Which is inadmissible in a court-martial for the same reason it was inadmissible in the criminal trial.
But I'm gonna give it a once-over.
Or a twice-over.
Well, Gibbs says we have to start at square one.
Are you gonna have Joy Vanatter's body exhumed? I don't have to; it's still being held in the Baltimore morgue.
McGEE: Well, that's odd.
She's been dead for over a month.
Well, no family member has come forward to claim the body.
In such cases, the M.
E.
holds on to the remains, well, as long as he thinks necessary.
I'm going to dispatch Mr.
Palmer to retrieve Ms.
Vanatter.
(door closes) We will be moving into my bedroom.
My father converted it into his home office, and now I'm gonna be sharing it with the baby.
You're having a boy.
(chuckles) Yeah.
When are you due? Three weeks.
Never thought I'd be doing this alone.
Don't get me wrong, my parents are great.
It's just, uh not how I thought it would be.
How about I give you a hand? He's really good with tools.
Oh, please.
Be my guest.
BISHOP: This must be a difficult time for you, Hanna.
Kyle put me and my parents through hell the past month.
His arrest, the hearing, finding out he was seeing his old girlfriend.
Was he ever, um, violent with you? No.
You know about his past troubles? Kyle never said anything.
He kept all that from me, and now I realize he never was truthful.
That's why I believed he Capable of hurting someone? You mean killing? Yeah.
I'm sure the police already asked you this, but was Kyle acting differently around the time of the murder? (dog barking outside) I don't need this right now.
He knows I don't want to see him.
Uh, why don't you take a seat? No! I just want this whole thing in the past.
Kyle, get back in the car.
No, sir.
I want to talk to my wife.
GIBBS: You asked for my help, so I'm gonna give you some advice.
A confrontation right now with your wife or her parents it's not gonna help your cause.
(elevator bell dings) How'd it go with the wife? BISHOP: She's pretty upset.
Good thing she had an alibi for the time of the murder.
What'd you find? The police never seriously looked at anyone else after they pulled Joy Vanatter's cell phone records.
Why? McGEE: Day before her murder, Vanatter and Petty Officer Friedgen were exchanging texts.
TONY: She was pretty adamant.
She wanted to see him.
This is their final exchange, the morning she died.
Two minutes later, he called her.
They spoke for four minutes and 16 seconds.
Unfortunately, we don't know the contents of that call.
And when the police questioned Friedgen, he acknowledged the call, but he swore he told her he would never meet her.
McGEE: When they found the syringe with her DNA on it in his car, they knew he was lying.
Vanatter also made phone calls to a burn phone.
Baltimore PD couldn't trace it, neither could I.
I'm thinking maybe to her pusher.
I had some connections, uh, on the mean streets of Mobtown.
Thinking maybe I could go nose around.
McGee, keep him out of trouble.
Going to Norfolk.
Check with Friedgen's C.
O.
and shipmates.
Bishop? Where you going? Uh, wanted to surprise Jake, meet him for lunch.
(elevator bell dings) TONY: This was part of my beat when I was in uniform, on foot patrol.
Things change much? Yeah.
See that Thai massage parlor? Used to be a Korean massage parlor.
(rap music playing nearby) Ooh.
TONY: Hold on.
MAN: Right.
Good lookin' out, Cheech.
Hey, good lookin'.
What you got cookin'? Tony freakin' DiNozzo?! Man! You know I thought you was dead? (chuckles) (tires screeching) (panting) (chuckles): You're too old for this, Cheech! Cheech, you're gonna have a heart attack.
Stop it! (Cheech grunting) Ah, damn! Cheech CHEECH: Help me up.
(grunts) (laughs): Oh! (panting): Oh, man.
Oh, look at that.
Your favorite plant.
That's very subtle.
You know, he always been a hater.
You know that, right? Look.
It pays to advertise.
I want them to know what I'm selling.
Isn't marijuana legal in Maryland? Yeah, but who wants to pay retail? (chuckles) My dude! Where you been, boy? You know, Cheech, back in the day, was my number one and most enthusiastic snitch.
I'm not a snitch.
What you talking about? I'm a P.
I.
C.
-- a paid information consultant.
I'm a businessman.
There's a difference, man.
Come on.
Well, we're not gonna pay you, but you know her? Of course.
Man, that's the girl the sailor killed.
Everybody know that.
You know her? Oh, do I know? Well, I know guys that know her.
(chuckles) What you need? We need a name, Cheech.
Did you not see me try to run just now? My knees are barely hanging on now.
I-I don't need them broke.
Okay.
All right, look.
I'm not here to mess around.
Let's do this.
What are you doing? I'm putting you under arrest.
For what? A couple of joints? Really? I'm sure we can find more than that on you.
Yeah, I'm sure you can.
Wait, wait.
Okay, okay, okay.
I'll tell you what you want to know.
Look, rumor has it, she came into some money, right? And, uh, she was trying to buy a higher grade of heroin.
You know, not the cheap stuff anymore.
But she wasn't hooking to pay for it.
Where'd she get the money? She started seeing some suit from uptown.
And the suit-- oh, he was all up into her little specialty, And you know, S and M.
(chuckles) Exactly! You a client, too? Thank you, Cheech.
Let's get out of here.
You ain't gonna pay me? Are you serious? (elevator bell dings) Hey, Abbs.
Bishop.
I got something.
The bills from Joy Vanatter's body-- they're all relatively new.
The serial numbers are sequential.
So I put a call in to the Federal Reserve to see what bank they were distributed to.
That's great, uh, but I need help with something else.
I'm all yours.
Three weeks ago, when I didn't know if Jake was dead or alive in Dubai, Delilah and I were in MTAC, and she accessed a Dubai taxi passenger-cam.
Any way you can pull that up? Oh, yeah.
If it was in MTAC, it'll be on the archival hard drive.
Why do you want to see it again? I was so excited to see Jake alive that I didn't pay attention to who the other passenger was in the backseat of the taxi.
(computer trills, beeps) That it? What? I just saw Jake with a woman in a restaurant.
I'm pretty sure it's her.
They were in a-a really heavy discussion.
My God.
You don't think something's going on between them, do you? It crossed my mind, but I'm not going there.
I know her.
Her name's Taylor Matthews.
She's NSA's version of Internal Affairs.
I think Jake's in trouble.
Why? He told me there'd been a leak, that he was under suspicion.
She was reprimanding him.
MAN: The ship's in port for two months getting retrofitted.
There's only a skeleton crew aboard.
Petty Officer Friedgen said he didn't get a warm reception from his shipmates when he returned to duty.
I'd say that's accurate.
He never had a lot of friends aboard.
Not exactly Mr.
Warmth.
Told me his personal gear was damaged.
That why you're here? Down this way.
I know you've gone over this with the police, but I'd like to hear about the night Joy Vanatter was killed.
Petty Officer Friedgen was due to report at 2100, but didn't log in until four hours late.
Well, he claims that he was late because there was an accident on the expressway.
ere was an accident, but was Friedgen really stuck on the road? I don't know.
Commander, you don't sound like you believe him.
I'll give you a heads-up, Special Agent Gibbs.
You're about to interview several of his shipmates.
To a man and woman, they think he's guilty of murder.
BISHOP: I'm listening, yes.
Bish is in the cone of silence.
You know who she's talking to? Jake, I think.
It's obviously something she doesn't want us to hear.
Mmm.
She seems a little down.
I think maybe I should talk to her.
Just leave her be.
Maybe she's in need of a little brotherly advice.
Thanks for the chips.
TONY: You are very welcome.
Everything okay? Looks like you got something on your mind.
There's some sort of crisis at the NSA.
Jake's at home packing a bag-- I don't know where he's going.
"Need to know," huh? Yeah.
Well, can't be far.
Said he'll be back tomorrow afternoon.
Well, you wanted to marry a spy.
He's a lawyer, Tony.
You find out anything in Baltimore? We got some leads we're working on.
Tony's definitely in his element, boss-- snitches, pushers, pimps, prostitutes.
Well Learn anything in Norfolk? Petty Officer Friedgen was telling the truth.
His shipmates all think he's guilty.
Guys, guys, guys, guys.
I have something.
I just I don't know if it's good or if it's bad.
Okay, 3o I tracked these serial numbers from the $20 bills that were found on the girl's body.
They're all relatively new.
They were printed at the Philadelphia mint only 62 days ago.
From there, they ended up at a branch of the National Armed Forces Credit Union located Ready? at the Norfolk Navy shipyard.
Interesting.
Yes, and I'm not done.
There's more.
So banks like to use the new crisp bills in their ATMs so they don't jam up anything.
Fortunately for us, those machines are equipped with optical scanners that record the serial numbers as they're being dispensed.
Are you gonna tell us you know who withdrew the money? Yes.
October 7.
One Petty Officer Third Class Kyle Friedgen.
He gave Vanatter the money.
Said he hadn't seen her in years.
(door opens) You ask for my help.
(Carrie gasps) Then you lie to me? Gibbs, what are you talking about? You told me you never saw Joyce Vanatter.
Baltimore PD found money on her body that we traced to a withdrawal you made from an ATM.
Is that true? Is that true? Joy wouldn't stop texting me.
Said she wanted to meet.
I made the mistake of calling her.
She said she needed money.
I said I wouldn't do it.
But then I caved when she threatened to call my wife and tell her about our past.
So I drove to Baltimore, I gave her the money.
That's it.
Why'd you lie to the police? Because when they first questioned me, I didn't know Joy was dead, and I didn't want Hanna to know that I'd met with her.
No, when you found out she was murdered, why didn't you tell them the truth? Because I panicked.
I felt like I had to stick to my story-- I'd look guilty.
You buying any of this? Why'd she want the money? Drugs? No.
No, she said she got into some trouble, and she needed to get out of town.
What kind of trouble? She wouldn't tell me.
I do not like being lied to.
You will be put in a holding cell tonight.
You got what you wanted.
Tomorrow morning, you'll be charged with murder.
MALONE: Nice work, Gibbs.
The money proves Friedgen met with Vanatter.
I got enough to refile charges.
Yeah, we'll take him into custody.
No, it's an NCIS case now.
MAN: All right, let's go.
CARRIE: I will see you in the morning, and we'll decide then what our next step is.
(door opens) (door squeaks shut) Hey, Bishop.
It's after midnight.
You okay? No.
(chuckles) Been, uh driving around.
Didn't really want to go home to an empty apartment.
Really is a boat in here.
I thought Tony was just punking me.
Where's Jake? Not really sure.
Said he was working.
You don't believe him? I don't know what to believe.
Here, sit down.
You talk, I'll listen.
Uh It's Jake's work.
He won't tell me anything.
He can't.
(scoffs) I hate the NSA.
He hides everything behind a veil of secrecy.
What's he hiding? I think he's being investigated by Internal Affairs.
Why? There's been a leak at the agency.
That's never good.
No.
Any wise words? Bishop, do you understand the irony in all this, you asking me for marital advice? (chuckles) Well, he can't tell you the details.
He can tell you how he feels.
You make him talk to you.
Hey, guys.
Morning.
Hey, Abbs.
What's up? Nothing.
Just came down to see how you're doing.
I'm fine.
Mmm.
What you working on? ABBY: Well, I confirmed Baltimore Forensic's finding.
The DNA on the needle does belong to Joy Vanatter.
And then I ran the residue from inside the barrel through Major Mass Spec, and it's black tar heroin.
It's a very cheap low-grade form of the narcotic.
That's weird, 'cause Cheech said that Vanatter was using, um, high-grade heroin.
He did.
So you gonna follow up? Oh yeah.
Yeah, no, we we will absolutely.
You two are acting weird.
Talk to Bishop today? No.
She texted us this morning, said she wasn't coming in.
No explanation.
We were just wondering maybe she said something to you? Girl-to-girl? No.
Abby, we know you're lying.
Your fingers are crossed.
I told you she was gonna play mum.
That's why I came prepared.
What does that mean? You told him?! Okay, okay.
Okay okay.
Kyle lied to both of us.
Gonna drop him? JAG'll provide him a lawyer.
No, I'm, uh I'm gonna stick with him.
Uh he was free.
He asked to be court-martialed.
Why would anyone do that I don't if they were guilty? I don't know why.
Sure feels like he's playing us.
Oh, so like Baltimore PD, you got your man, you're not looking for anyone else? Uh, I didn't say that.
You got your client under arrest, and I think it's best if we stopped talking.
Carrie, I know you, you're a sharp lawyer.
I don't want to say something and get misquoted at the court-martial.
REPORTER: So what's the latest development? MALONE: NCIS has found new evidence that prove what we always knew.
Petty Officer Kyle Friedgen is guilty of murder.
That's my guy.
REPORTER: So do you think this will boost your campaign for Baltimore state's attorney, Mr.
Wyner? I don't think it'll hurt, but, more importantly, justice will be served.
Thank you.
REPORTER: And yet another twist in this bizarre case.
Got something for me, Duck? I finished the autopsy on Miss Vanatter.
Everything is consistent with the Baltimore coroner's findings.
Cause of death was blunt force trauma, so all he had to do was a standard tox screen.
You' gonna do a more detailed one? Exactly.
Abby's already started to run tissue samples taken from her body.
I'll get back to you.
You heard from Bishop today? Gave her the morning off.
Oh.
Ellie.
Uh, why aren't you at work? Are you feeling okay? Not really.
We've got to talk.
Okay.
What is it? For months now, things have been different.
I know you've felt it too.
It's my fault.
I'm in a difficult position and, uh Just let me finish.
At first, I thought that you were having an affair.
But I know what's going on now, and I know that you're in trouble at work.
Ellie.
Yesterday I went to surprise you at lunch, but when I got there, I saw you being reprimanded by Taylor Matthews from Internal Affairs.
Stop.
I'm not in trouble at work.
This is so hard.
I've been trying to tell you, but I I just I don't know how.
I'm having an affair with Taylor.
At first it was just an office flirtation, that's all it was, but then we went to Dubai.
I'm not making excuses, but after the bombing Shut up.
I don't want to hear anymore.
Ellie.
Ellie, you don't deserve this.
Look, I hate myself for what I've done.
Were you with her last night? What's gonna happen with her remains? Well, eventually, I will have to return Miss Vanatter to Baltimore.
By then, if no one has claimed her, the body will be cremated.
And her ashes? Well, once a year, the State of Maryland has a ceremonial spreading of all unclaimed ashes.
There's got to be somebody out there that cared for her.
Like a-a friend or a distant relative or I want to find them.
What we got? Miss Sciuto has the interesting results of the tox screen.
ABBY: The narcotics found in her tissue samples were high-grade white heroin.
It's far more expensive and refined than the black tar heroin that was in the syringe found in Petty Officer Friedgen's car.
Yet the needle had Miss Vanatter's DNA on it.
So it couldn't have been a syringe that she used recently.
Could Friedgen be telling the truth? It was planted in his car.
Okay, let's give Petty Officer Friedgen the benefit of the doubt.
Say the syringe was planted in his car by the murderer.
Who? Joy Vanatter had a history of drug abuse.
Her supplier? Your snitch tell you who she was buying from? No.
Could it be him? Well, he was selling pot when we caught up with him.
Cheech? Come on.
I don't think so.
Joy Vanatter's last bust was two years ago in Baltimore.
Look into that case.
My turn to drive? (elevator bell dings) Oh.
All right.
Hey, Bishop.
You okay? Uh No.
Jake's having an affair.
You sure? How'd you find out? He told me.
I'm sorry.
DiNozzo's headed to Baltimore.
Go with him.
Jake is aware that you carry a gun for a living? Here you go.
The evidence from Joy Vanatter's bust two years ago.
Thanks.
You're an NCIS agent? Yeah.
Lot cuter than the guy you brought yesterday, Agent DiNozzo.
DINOZZO: That is very true.
So what exactly are you guys looking for? Not sure.
Can I take a look? Help yourself.
Whoa! I'm impressed.
Bye-bye, Greenie.
(clears throat) Okay.
Joy Vanatter was arrested two years ago, August 13.
Based on a tip from an informant, we raided a shooting gallery.
When the officers broke in, the needle was still in her arm.
BISHOP: This must be it.
She had a public defender, got a year, but only spent six months in the City Detention Center.
Who was the informant? Francis Del Conte.
Cheech? Well, that's funny, he didn't tell me anything about it when I talked to him yesterday.
Huh.
BISHOP: Log shows the evidence was admitted into storage after the trial.
It sat untouched for almost two years, till it was accessed three weeks ago.
By who? Alan Wyner? The Assistant State's Attorney? Makes sense.
Wyner was the prosecutor on both cases, Vanatter's drug bust two years ago and Friedgen's trial for her recent murder.
But why go back to evidence on the old drug bust? I'm sure he was just being thorough, seeing if anything related back to her murder.
Look, I've been working closely with the guy, Wyner.
He's a good guy.
And he cared about Vanatter.
He asked for the minimum sentence, he-he spoke for her at her parole hearing.
Why the hell didn't Cheech tell me he got her busted two years ago? There's no trace of heroin in the barrel of this syringe and there's no DNA on the needle.
This has never been used.
Are you sure this was evidence in a drug bust two years ago? We just got it from the Baltimore PD evidence locker.
Okay, are we just going to ignore what's going on here? Has Jake lost his mind? I really don't want to talk about it, Abby.
What else can you tell me about the needle? I was able to get a serial number from it and I ran a manufacturing check.
It identifies the syringe as coming from a batch that was manufactured only three months ago.
(elevator bell dings) McGee.
You won't believe this.
You have some big balls, coming here.
I've got to talk to Ellie.
You know where she is? She's not answering my calls or my texts.
Do you blame her? It's not smart, coming here.
I think you should leave.
JAKE: Look, uh, I get that you're upset, but she is my wife.
Then treat her like one.
You should leave.
I'll walk you out.
TONY: Think he's gonna punch him out? Love to see it.
Come on, Gibbs, you know me.
You need to understand Understand what? You cheating on Bishop? I never wanted this to happen.
(elevator bell dings) Get your head out of your ass, Jake.
Back to work.
Boss, State Attorney Alan Wyner-- he's had evidence thrown out once before.
Early in his career.
It was a misdemeanor B and E.
Evidence was tossed because of a mis-timed warrant.
What does that mean? Well, the clerk told Wyner that he'd have the judge sign the warrant when he recessed court at 3:00.
The trial went long and Wyner jumped the gun.
The seed evidence was tossed because the warrant was signed after the seizure.
Just like in this case.
Wyner's a smart guy, boss.
He wouldn't make the same mistake twice.
TONY: Cheech said Joy Vanatter was doing "some suit from uptown.
" Alan Wyner wears really nice suits.
Guys, guys, guys! Abs, you got something? Oh, yeah.
(clock chiming the hour) Hey! What's up? How's our case moving along? Well, it's taken a little change of direction.
We've got a new person of interest.
Who? What's this? A warrant.
Properly signed and executed.
I'm sure it'll hold up in court.
We're gonna search your house, your office, your car.
I bet we find evidence linking you to Joy Vanatter's murder.
We know you had access to the evidence room and you switched the syringes.
TONY: Hope you were smart enough to destroy the burn phone you used to call her.
MALONE: Why, Alan? Was she trying to blackmail you? I mean, hell of a headline.
"Candidate involved in S&M scandal.
" I tried to help her.
Get rehab, paroled You were sleeping with her.
I assume you know your rights, Counselor.
Ooh.
You like being dominated, huh? So let me get this straight: You screwed up the warrant on purpose so Friedgen wouldn't go to jail? Yeah and he got off.
So why in the hell would he ruin it and go to NCIS? Think you're a clever guy, Wyner? That's a pretty twisted morality.
CARRIE: Paperwork's done.
We're out of here.
Thank you, sir.
If you had been totally honest with the police the first time you talked to them, it wouldn't have gone this far.
I've got most of my life back.
I report to my ship at 0600 tomorrow.
Glad I still have the Navy, but things will never be the same with my wife.
She thought I was guilty of murder.
Just give her some time, Kyle.
You're about to have a son.
Be a part of his life.
Breakfast again soon? You know where to find me.
Bye.
I've made a decision.
Could we talk? Say something, I'm giving up on you I'll be the one if you want me to Anywhere I would have followed you Say something, I'm giving up on you BISHOP: Jake And I I'm in a bad place.
Will swallow my pride I hurt a lot.
You're the one That I love And I'm saying good-bye I'm going home to Oklahoma.
Say something, I'm giving up on you Don't contact me.
I'm not sure when I'll be back.
Say something