NCIS s18e09 Episode Script
Winter Chill
1
[ELECTRICAL BUZZING.]
Looking good this morning, Merri.
Feeling cold, Reilly.
Really cold.
If it's any consolation, you look the opposite.
By which I mean hot.
Thank you for clarifying.
You are nothing if not relentless.
Hey, nobody ever hits a home run without stepping up to the plate.
And nothing turns on a woman more than a good baseball metaphor in subzero temperatures.
That's not subzero.
This is subzero.
And I love it.
It's invigorating.
You know, good for the blood flow.
Stamina.
And I've been vaccinated, just saying.
Gosh, I can't wait for business to get back to normal, so I can afford to cook with fresh veggies again.
- But then you'd never get to see me.
- Oh, yeah.
That's a real Sophie's choice.
Hey, you ordered peas, right? Here's a loose bag.
On the house.
Now, tell me about this, uh, Sophie girl [SCREAMS.]
"And while I know that staying in Afghanistan is right for me, "I do regret not getting to say goodbye to each of you in person.
" BISHOP: "So as a way of saying 'Till we meet again, ' I hereby bequeath the following items from my office.
" "To McGee, I leave my electric stapler, since he used it every chance he could.
" Yeah.
"And to Ellie, I leave my shiatsu massage bar, since she borrowed it every chance she could.
" Ah, yes.
"And to Nick, I officially award "full custody of Carl, because I know he'll take good care of him.
" - Aw.
- What? No.
No.
Come on.
You guys got all cool stuff and I get a damn fish? - He's been with you all week.
- Look, one thing is keeping him alive for a week.
The other is permanently.
Well, obviously she thinks you need it, Nick.
Yeah, like I need that back massager.
You know, this e-mail's just to the three of us.
I wonder what she left Gibbs.
You mean, besides a broken heart? I think he's been a lot chipper since he got back.
Yeah, I know, right? I mean, he seems to be taking Sloane's loss pretty well.
I didn't know she was lost.
Unless you know something I don't.
Uh, no, boss, we're just talking about the fact that she's staying in Afghanistan.
Yeah, I heard about that.
Gear up.
Got a body in Douglass.
Bundle up, kids.
Ms.
Hines? Director.
I take it Agent Sloane left a memento for you as well? She did.
Yeah, but that's not why I'm here.
I just came to think.
Here as opposed to your own office? [CHUCKLES.]
Force of habit.
I've actually been consulting with Jack semi-regularly since that whole diner hostage thing last year.
Per your suggestion, if you recall.
Yeah.
I-I recall.
She was helpful? Oh, very.
So much so, I find myself drawn here whenever I need to collect my thoughts, I guess.
Everything we've been through the past year or so Uh-huh.
But why do I get the feeling that there's-there's something more personal, like But not-not that it's any of my business.
No, it's fine, just family stuff.
My sister got furloughed from her job and then she lost her apartment.
She had to move back in with our mom and ugh, let's just say the two of them love each other best from afar.
I-I am familiar with that dynamic.
Yeah, I was up half the night on the phone playing referee.
[PHONE CHIMES.]
And I am late to a budget meeting.
I sure could use a referee on this.
[CHUCKLES.]
: Ugh.
Uh, but listen, um, you if you need a few days off Uh, no, not at all.
I-I'm fine.
Okay.
All right, that's close enough.
I never get to say that.
Victim is, uh, Petty Officer Martin Delfino, 25.
Currently listed as U.
A.
from the USS Patrick Goodell.
Failed to report for muster at midnight last night.
Where is his ship now? Uh, prepared to depart out of Norfolk.
Delfino was, uh, scheduled for mandatory quarantine pre-deployment.
TORRES: Neither of the witnesses knows the victim, and the driver has no idea how the body got in his truck.
You got any cause of death, Palmer? JIMMY: Yeah, we may have to wait until he thaws out a bit.
Uh, it appears to be a head wound, but, uh, judging by his somewhat casual pose, I'd say he was dead before he froze.
No rhyme intended there.
[PHONE RINGING.]
Hey.
Third call today and you don't even leave a message.
Everything okay? FORNELL: Couldn't be better, Butch.
I just had some big news to share, and voice mail wouldn't do.
You got a minute? No.
Why, what is it? It's way too big without telling you with a detailed explanation and you'll think I'm crazy.
I already think you're crazy.
Well, that's a good point.
Look, I-I still have a couple of errands to run.
I'll just drop by later and I'll tell you in person.
Ciao, baby.
"Ciao, baby"? JIMMY: Hey, Gibbs? We might not know who left him here, but maybe Killer Korn does? Killer Korn? Killer Korn? Killer Korn? Like the food truck? - You know it? - I know it? I love it.
It's the best corn on the cob in the universe.
There's a sentence you don't hear every day.
Come on, Ellie, it's just corn.
How good can it be? Oh, you won't be asking me that when you try it, promise.
Did I hear right? That's one of the Killer Korn guys? Oh, now you recognize him? I didn't see the logo.
Him I don't know so well.
I mostly deliver to Greco, his cousin.
When was the last time you delivered? Had to be last week.
- Where do we find this place? - BISHOP: Well, uh, it pops up all over town.
Luckily, I have my trusty little food truck app here.
Oh, yeah.
Oh, of course you do.
What kind of foodie would she be without it? Okay, guys.
Uh, it tracks every food truck in the metro area.
Just give me a second.
Retrace your steps last night.
Um, my last delivery was in Brightwood.
After that, I dropped off the truck at the supply house around 10:00.
Picked it back up this morning at 6:30.
Obviously you didn't take inventory.
Hate to say, I'm a little lazy about that.
I just let them load the truck and I deliver.
Then let's check the supply house.
Any luck on the truck, Bishop? BISHOP: Uh, no, not yet, which is super weird, 'cause this app updates every ten minutes, but right now it just says that Killer Korn is nowhere.
Mmm, this is so good.
You ready for this? Listen to this sweet sound.
[WHIRS.]
I hate you both.
Not as much as I hate Carl over here.
Hate is a strong word, Nick.
Dude, this fish needs everything except a daily walk.
Are you sure neither of you can take him? My childhood trauma, remember? Oh, come on, that was a goldfish that died.
This is a betta fish.
I'll even vaccinate him.
McGee? No, I'm already taking care of Tony's fish.
Maybe, uh, maybe Gibbs will take him.
[CACKLES.]
[LAUGHTER.]
Update.
Petty Officer First Class Martin Delfino, 25 years old, CO calls him a model sailor, coming off two months' leave after back-to-back tours in the Persian Gulf.
- Next of kin? - We notified his parents in Phoenix.
They said that he visited briefly and then returned back to D.
C.
to help his cousin out on his food truck.
- We find the cousin? - TORRES: Not yet.
The name is Sean Greco.
We left several messages on the number the parents gave us.
Website offers no update on that truck's location.
Same with the app.
Uh, I've hit the refresh button, like, a million times and still Oh.
Wait, I don't believe it.
Okay.
It finally updated.
We've got a location.
Good, take Torres with you.
McGee, we are going to the supply house.
Let's go.
All right, Killer Korn, here we come.
Hey, Nick, you are going to love this place.
They've got Taiwanese corn, they've got Mexican street corn, they've got Cuban corn.
Oh, and their Italian corn? Mmm.
Parmesan and pesto? Oh, man.
Wait a minute.
That's not Killer Korn.
- It says "Killer Korn" on it.
- Yeah, no, I know what it says, but their truck is green, not blue.
Kosmic Korn.
Not Killer Korn.
- It is Kosmic Korn that's the best.
- [BJORK LAUGHS.]
Don't let Greco hear you say that.
Kosmic Korn doesn't come close.
What'd I tell you? You gonna be out of here by 3:00? As always, Bjork, but it's my first day without Marty.
He went back to the Navy, so I'm scrambling here to open up on time.
Well, uh, don't let me keep you.
There's that look.
Taiwanese? You know it's my favorite.
Here.
Enjoy! And I'll be happy to prove our corn's a thousand times better, just not for another half hour.
Yeah, Mr.
Greco, I'm afraid we're here about your cousin.
MCGEE: Now, that is Reilly.
He's dropping off his truck at Igloo supply house around 10:00 p.
m.
last night, walking away like nothing happened.
Now, we didn't see anyone coming or going from there until midnight, when we see this worker starting to load food crates just inside the freezer door.
If Delfino's body was already in there, then this guy never saw him.
Well, at 6:30 a.
m.
, Reilly showed up again, picked up his schedule, and headed back out, which is exactly what he said he did.
What do we know about Reilly? Two old drug misdemeanor charges, but he's been clean ever since then.
I'm still making calls off his delivery schedule from yesterday.
Multiple pages, you know.
- That Jack's? - Yeah.
Left it to me.
A beaut, isn't she? Why, it sure does staple.
Yeah.
She leave you anything, boss? I-I just can't believe it.
Marty was indestructible.
- Like a force of nature.
- Hold up.
How could he be dead? Dead? Marty? Our Marty? - I'm afraid so.
- And you are? Betty's his girlfriend.
Uh, good friend.
We had a friendly split before he had to leave.
Oh, God, this is awful.
How? - You didn't say how he died.
- We're still trying to figure that out.
His body was discovered in the back of a frozen food delivery truck.
Seriously? The driver's name was Richard Reilly? Are you kidding? That goofball? What was Marty doing in his truck? Any disagreements between them? GRECO: They hardly knew each other.
And Reilly hadn't delivered here in at least a week.
Two weeks for me.
Were there any known enemies he might have had? No.
No, he had no enemies, but Well, let's just say my cousin didn't take any crap from anybody.
That's a good way to say it.
- Such as? - From, like, people we had to deal with sometimes.
You know, business owners who don't like us parking in front of their stores.
Rude customers, food bloggers expecting free samples in exchange for a good review.
Everybody wants freebies.
Parking cops, those trendy influencers.
And Marty handled all our social media, so he couldn't stand them.
Any known arguments or fights? I guess he had a few with Sammy.
Sammy who? Sloppy Joe Sammy.
Eh, I don't know his last name, but yeah, those two were always at odds.
Y'all know where we can find him? That's his truck right there.
Guy's a real charmer.
Hey, yo, you Sammy? Did you see the name on the side of the truck? I don't open for another ten minutes.
This won't take long.
Look, I whoa.
I'm sorry, I was kidding.
Sammy's off today.
As a matter of fact, he told me not to open at all.
So have a good day.
All right, hold on now.
[ENGINE SPUTTERING.]
Are you trying to flee the scene, Sammy? I told you I'm not Sammy.
Turn off your engine.
Turn it off? I can't even turn it on.
Stop trying.
What does that badge say? NCIS.
You know, food trucks make lousy getaway cars.
I told you, for the millionth time, I thought you were the health department.
And for the millionth time, why would you run from them? Well, if you must know, they gave my truck a "C" rating last month, and I, I haven't quite gotten around to making all the improvements yet.
Putting a little extra sloppy in your sloppy joe? Yeah, even your mob buddies would find that disgusting.
- Oh, here we go.
- What mob buddies? Found guilty in 2015 on two counts of racketeering and operating a casino without a license.
The food truck business is a bigger gamble than any backroom card game I might have run.
But that life It-it's all behind me now.
Or at least as of two weeks ago, when your probation ended.
Oh, congratulations, what did you do to you celebrate? Huh? You settle some scores? Hey, I got no scores to settle with that Navy kid.
Look, any problems we might have had was because we we're too much alike.
- Is that right? - Yeah.
This is a tough business.
And you got to be tough and you got to bust your ass.
Nice kid like Greco's lucky to have a guy like Marty in his corner.
To fight off the competition? You want competition, don't talk to me.
Go talk to Kosmic Korn.
Why, what about Kosmic Korn? Well, look, I don't know all the gory details, but, uh, there's a lot of bad blood over there.
It's like the Hatfields and the McCoys.
You know, except for food.
BISHOP: Sammy wasn't kidding.
These food blogs read like a crime novel.
Not a good crime novel.
I mean, come on: "The Great Korn Wars of D.
C.
"? What's that about? Basically, both Killer Korn and Kosmic Korn make the same product, which apparently splits the market on a pretty fierce fan base.
Two months ago, the competition boiled over into accusations of slashing tires.
Led to the owners of each truck to file restraining orders against each other.
- Well, where's the other truck? - [TYPING.]
MCGEE: The website doesn't show a location.
Let me check the app again.
This a bad time? - Uh - Not the best, but when has that ever stopped you? - Hey, how are you? - Hey, Tobias.
- Toby, what's up, man? - How are you? Greetings to one and all.
I'm doing great.
And I'm really glad you all are here, because now I can make it official.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah.
- Your big news.
- Gibbs I am moving to Costa Rica.
Okay.
FORNELL: Once you told me Sloane's original plan, you know, before Afghanistan, the wheels started turning.
So I checked it out and I think it's really perfect.
I did not know you were looking.
Well, why not? I'm on the brink of retirement.
Emily is finally squared away.
The time is right.
Uh okay squared away, okay, but what's Emily really think about this? My daughter thinks it's a great idea.
As a matter of fact, we're meeting for dinner tonight to work out the details.
Who knows? Maybe she'll even come with me.
Well what do you think? Me? What does that matter? It matters.
You matter.
Are you happy? Mm.
Then, what the hell? Go for it.
Yes! [LAUGHS.]
[LAUGHTER, CHEERING.]
Nice, Tobias, way to go, man.
Thanks, guys.
Wow, I am really stoked.
I've got a few more errands to run, so, Gibbs, I'll give you a call you later.
And, uh uh, everybody have a great day! - All right, man.
- See you.
See you, Tobias.
Wow, Costa Rica.
So what do you really think, Gibbs? You heard what I think.
Yeah, but really, I mean, first Sloane, now Fornell? Losing another friend? Did I say that out loud? Nobody's losing anything.
We still got phones, right? - And Zoom.
- TORRES: Yeah, and, uh, - FaceTime.
- Mm-hmm.
Whatever we got a location on those other corn trucks? Uh, you know what, still nothing on the app.
Well, get a new app and find the damn thing.
And then find out why that kid's cousin didn't tell you about the corn wars or whatever the hell that's about.
Yeah, you did say that out loud.
That kid melted yet? Gibbs, whoa, you scared me.
Uh, yes, Petty Officer Delfino has thawed out a bit, and his skull X-ray is actually quite revealing.
Blunt force trauma? Wait, you-you can see that? What I see is no bullet, and that's usually when you say blunt force.
I'm sorry to be so predictable, but yes, there's a crush injury to the squamosal suture which caused massive brain hemorrhage.
- Killed him fast.
- You know what hit him? Well, whatever it was, it left a distinct pattern, and here comes Kasie to match that pattern to a weapon.
I'll certainly try.
There's no try, Kase.
You just do.
Yes, sir.
[LAUGHS.]
: Oh Wha? Really? Gibbs actually quotes Yoda, and all you can say is "yes, sir"? What? Oh, right.
Yoda, yeah.
Okay, what's going on? Is it your mom or your sister? Both.
- Did Vance tell you? - No, no.
But whenever something's up with your family, you get really quiet and your eyebrows furrow just like that.
[CHUCKLES.]
Damn.
Nothing gets past you.
Okay, last I remember, uh, your sister lost her place, - so she moved in with your mom, right? - Uh, yeah.
Now she's all moved in, and it's going so well that she just called to tell me that Mom's having chest pains and they're headed to the E.
R.
Kasie what are you, what are you still doing here? You know, it's it's not that simple.
Even if I were to head to New York now, it's not like the hospital will allow for visitors anyway.
Yeah, but you'd be closer.
And Mom will definitely think she's dying if I just show up.
Yeah.
Why am I burdening you with all this? Because we're friends.
Yeah, but after all you've been through? And why have you been through so much? Why does stuff like this keep happening to good people like you and, frankly, to me, while other folks are just skating through life happily unscathed? Is that really what you think? It's what I think.
And see and feel lately, yeah.
[GROANS.]
Okay, all right, well, let's, let's reframe this then, um Look, if-if what I've been through has taught me anything, it's that absolutely no one happily skates through life unscathed.
I'm not so sure.
I'm 100% sure.
It's, like, um Tale of Two Cities.
Okay, you lost me.
Yeah, Charles Dickens did not write "It was the best of times and everything was awesome.
" [LAUGHS.]
You know, I mean, without "the worst of times," we wouldn't have I don't know poetry, wouldn't have sad songs, wouldn't have anything that makes us appreciate "the best of times.
" Stars can't shine without darkness.
No one is immune to suffering.
No one.
But the good news is, people like you and me? We can handle it.
We can? Heck yeah.
We work hard to keep shining.
What? Just, now I know how you talked that guy off the ledge.
[DOOR OPENS.]
[DOOR CLOSES.]
I didn't tell you because it didn't matter.
Kosmic Korn stays on their side of town, we stay on ours.
But it wasn't always that way.
Hey, Greco, backup hot sauces? Right above the register, Bets.
- Oh, I see them.
- What about your truck? Oh, I got a staff working it.
It's cool.
We look out for each other.
Some more than others.
Can't afford to shut down, not even for a day.
Not in this business.
Which brings us back to your feud.
How did it start? [SIGHS.]
Uh I was head line cook at Dasher's in Georgetown for years, and then COVID shut us down.
And, uh, suddenly out of a job, I get this corn idea.
And since nobody else was doing it, I sunk my life savings and every credit card I had to make it happen.
Struggled at first, but then Marty came to help, and, uh, and pretty soon business was booming.
- You know, until - Until Kosmic Korn.
Until another cook from Dasher's, a now formerbuddy of mine, opened up his own truck, yeah.
- Your buddy stole your idea? - Stole my idea.
My recipe.
Even the Ks we use in our name.
- Oh, that's straight-up slimy.
- Well, Marty and I thought so, too, until the restraining orders forced us to do business miles apart.
So he's out of sight, out of mind ever since.
At least until now.
[PHONE RINGING.]
It's McGee.
Hey, McGee, you're on speaker.
Hey, one of these blogs just gave me a location for Kosmic Korn.
An industrial park on 10th and Ardale.
Uh we're a few blocks away from there.
- Hey, are you, uh, Pete Cannizaro? - Uh, yeah.
Just take a number and I'll be right with you.
TORRES: I don't like him already.
- You don't like what he did.
- And you do? I say we drag him out by his feet for breaking his restraining order.
I say there are other ways to get answers.
Plus, you might even get some great corn out of it.
Just follow my lead.
Uh, Mr.
Cannizaro, we-we're not here to eat, actually.
I-I'm writing an article for Food Truck Aficionado, and I'd love to feature what we're told is the best corn in town.
In the universe.
But, uh, as you can see, I'm swamped over here.
Uh, well, maybe we could help.
- What? - What? Yeah, my-my husband Nick and I, we could get behind the scenes, make it a real hands-on story.
We've both been vaccinated.
You have any experience? - None.
- Tons.
Nick.
Well, be honest, Ellie, we don't have tons of experience, but I mean, how hard can it be? It's just corn.
Oh, and you think it's easy? Okay, hotshots, climb aboard and, uh, do exactly what I tell you.
I'll take two I need three Italian, two Mexican, two limes and an orange.
Two limes and an orange.
Three Italian, two Mexican.
Uh, cancel one of the Italians, make it a Taiwanese.
Uh, okay, which one's the Taiwanese again? It's the one with the green label.
- Okay.
- And after that I need, uh, two honey butter and, uh four Mexican.
Thank you.
So, uh, how did you get the idea to serve corn on the cob? Uh, I don't know.
Most everybody loves corn, and nobody else was doing it.
Nobody else? Well, you know, there's nothing new under the sun, right? Right, so it was your own, uh, killer recipe? Yeah, it's my own twist on it.
Yeah.
- Uh, these are all limes.
- Oh.
I need, uh One orange coming right up.
BISHOP: Hey, so, I saw this, uh, thing online about some other corn guys, like some kind of feud or something? Oh, it was just a big misunderstanding.
I have some regrets about that.
CANNIZARO: Okay, whoa, whoa, careful, Mr.
How Hard Can Corn Be? Can't have a mess in here.
Nick, I'll help you.
MAN: This is his first day, right? So, just a big misunderstanding, huh? Yeah, I don't like to talk about it.
I haven't even seen those guys since the restraining orders.
Are you sure about that? Sure about what? You haven't seen the Killer Korn guys or, uh, Marty Delfino? What does that look like to you? That looks like blood.
It's probably just hot sauce.
Nope.
No, it's definitely not hot sauce.
Okay, hold on, now, I-I can explain.
You're gonna have to.
You think I killed Marty? Well, now that you admitted he came to see you, I I also think you're really bad at wiping up blood.
I keep telling you, that was my blood from my nose.
- From your fight with Marty.
- It wasn't a fight.
It was just an argument that got a little physical.
You whacked Marty in the head, and then you stuffed him - into a freezer truck.
- [SIGHS.]
No.
In fact, once he drew blood, he calmed down.
- Even apologized.
- Is that so? CANNIZARO: Said he was trying to break old habits.
All he wanted was to make sure his loved ones were taken care of before he shipped out.
Like his cousin? Yeah, Marty was so worried about Greco, all that money and mental stress, so he made one last plea to me to get out of the corn business, and he even offered to help finance my switch.
He gave you money? I-I didn't take it.
Hell, once he was done talking, I was, you know, a little ashamed.
I mean, it-it was Greco's idea to begin with.
And his recipe.
[SIGHS.]
Okay, I-I admit it, what I did was wrong, and life is too short, you know? Stupid "Korn War" was giving me gray hairs of my own.
So I told him I'd switch over to burritos as soon as I ran out of corn.
Kasie confirmed it's Cannizaro's blood and not our victim, so while it doesn't make Cannizaro innocent, he's not lying.
CANNIZARO: And once we shook on it, Marty said he had one more stop to make.
One more stop where? I don't know.
All I know is he had one more loved one to take care of.
Any idea who that could be? That sounds like something Marty would say.
But I don't know that he'd consider me a loved one.
Well, you'd been his girlfriend.
You said the breakup was friendly.
From my side, at least.
We were only together for two months.
He would get so protective, so possessive.
Jealous? Of anyone in particular? Flirty customers mostly.
He-He'd overhear from his truck and come over and get in their faces.
- Any fights? - Just words.
Marty was lovely.
He was, uh so sweet.
It just made me feel uncomfortable.
Even if he hadn't shipped out, I would have ended it.
Life's too short.
Can you think of anyone specifically, Betty, who may have flirted recently, enough for Marty to want to protect you? No.
I can't think of Who? [ELEVATOR BELL DINGS.]
[SIGHS.]
Sloane gave you this? Oh.
Hey, Gibbs.
Yeah.
I was so honored.
During our talks, Sloane would always point to the elephant in the room whenever she thought I was holding back.
What'd she leave you? Got our weapon yet? Ooh, getting there.
The wound's waffling pattern suggests a tool of some kind.
Since our victim worked with food, I am thinking cooking tools.
Like one of those meat-tenderizing hammers or a deep fryer basket.
Or maybe an actual waffle iron.
Might be a little heavy to swing, but anything's possible.
Are you feeling better? Better than what? Well, Kase, you seemed a little off down there in Autopsy You know, that - that eyebrow thing.
- Damn.
You know, I am never playing poker with you or Jimmy.
[SCOFFS.]
So you're not better.
No.
Yes.
Sort of.
It helped to have Jimmy remind me that I'm not alone in my anxiety.
That both joy and sadness await us all.
Good days and bad, everybody goes through them, so, may as well embrace the roller coaster, right? Okay, fine.
Right now I'm waiting on a call from my sister to get Mom's results from the doctor.
The way things are going, I'm kind of bracing for the worst.
So get out of here.
- What? No.
Like I told Jimmy - What? Oh, no No, no, you don't get to say no to me.
Go.
Now.
Fine, I will book a flight as soon as I have our weapon.
Weapon can wait.
Kasie.
You only have one mom.
The only trip you regret is the one you don't take.
So go.
Get on a plane, get on a train.
Go.
- [BEEPING.]
- Oh.
- That might be our weapon now.
- What is it? The wound's pattern is a 96% match to whatever this is in Bishop's crime scene photo.
- [PHONE RINGS.]
- That's on the freezer truck.
Hi, Bishop.
We think Reilly is the guy.
Yeah, I know that.
Hey, you go.
Go.
Where is he? Now.
REILLY: I admit, Marty did come see me last night, but it's a long story.
BISHOP: We've got time.
GIBBS: Make it a good one.
REILLY: I was on my last stop at this snack shop when Marty comes up to me and tells me to stay away from this girlfriend of his while he was away at sea.
- Beignet Betty.
- That one, yeah.
I wanted to reassure the guy he had nothing to worry about, only I had parked by a hydrant and was in a hurry, so I asked him to wait outside while I finished up my delivery.
But when I came back out, he was nowhere in sight.
Gone.
Rule 39.
- What's that? - Convenient.
Maybe so, but it was also a big relief.
So I-I closed up my truck, I snatched the ticket off my my-my windshield, and I drove off fast.
You should have told us that this morning.
Look, I panicked, okay? So I played dumb.
Oh, you don't got to play dumb.
Found a couple of hairs.
You all want to bet they belong to Marty? I swear to you, I did not kill him.
Wait.
Back up.
You got a parking ticket? It-it was 75 bucks.
But I wasn't even mad, since Marty had left.
Again, I was by a hydrant, so it wasn't a complete surprise.
GIBBS: Ticket issued by C.
Bjork.
I'll run the badge number.
Of course.
Bjork strikes again.
- You know him? - Every truck driver does.
Must have nailed me five times already this year.
And he's an even bigger hard-ass with food trucks.
Yeah, we know him, too, Nick.
- We do? - He got free corn from Greco.
- Let's go get him.
- GIBBS: Hang on.
We're gonna need surveillance from where this all happened.
Got the address on the ticket.
- You're coming with me.
- Where am I going? You're going with me until we find out you're not lying again.
[PHONE RINGS.]
Hold this.
Hey, Tobias, can I call you back? I'm in the middle of something.
Gibbs, hurry.
It-It's Emily.
Wait, what? What's going on? - Oh, my God.
It's Emily.
- Tobias! Gibbs? Tobias.
They won't let me in, Gibbs.
My baby's in there and they won't let me in.
- Why won't they let me in? - Okay, let's sit down.
I don't want to sit down.
Okay.
Take a breath.
[TAKES DEEP BREATH.]
Talk to me.
Tell me what happened.
I don't know.
First she didn't show up for dinner and then she didn't answer my texts or or any of my my calls, and then I-I ran home, and I I went to her room, and there she was.
Bottle of pills on her nightstand.
- She's alive.
- Barely.
She was breathing, but she was so cold, her skin was so cold.
What do we do, Gibbs? What are we gonna do? We're gonna sit down.
[WHIMPERS SOFTLY.]
And we're gonna let these doctors do what it is they do best.
All right.
Right, there's good doctors here.
Yeah, they're the best.
Sit down.
She's gonna be okay.
Believe that.
Yeah, that's one of mine.
I didn't see the guy I ticketed, though.
But you saw, uh, Marty Delfino.
We have a witness that saw you guys arguing.
Wait, Marty? From the corn truck? I-I'm confused.
No, no, you're not, and yes, that Marty.
You got into a scuffle.
[SIGHS.]
Not a scuffle.
A-After I wrote his ticket, he just sort of appeared, told me to stop being such a hard-ass.
And then he just kind of tripped.
Oh, he didn't trip.
Our witness saw you pushing him headfirst, hard, into a truck.
I'm telling you, he stumbled.
And yeah, he-he landed kind of hard, y-you know, so I set him up in the truck wh-while I went to go get the first aid kit from my car.
TORRES: So you left the scene and came back? And when I did, he was gone.
Did your witness see that? Oh, I'm sorry, I keep saying "witness.
" I meant to say "security video.
" We have the whole thing, Bjork, in living color.
I-I snapped, okay? The guy got in my face and I let him have it.
But, again, I only put him in the truck so he could sit and ice his head while I went to go get first aid.
Video doesn't lie.
Marty was half-dead when you put him in the truck.
You were hoping to pin it on Reilly.
Then you left and never came back.
Do you have any idea how hard it is having everybody mad at you every day just for doing your job? I'd let Gibbs know, but Still going straight to voice mail? Yep.
Well, he clearly said "Tobias" when he answered the phone, and then he just ran off without a word.
I shudder to think what those two are up to right now.
[DIALING.]
- I'm gonna try him again.
- Hmm.
[PHONE RINGING.]
Sylvia Carruthers.
Who? The name on the prescription bottle.
Grandmother of one of Em's friends.
She probably found it in the old lady's medicine cabinet.
Temptation is everywhere, Tobias.
I really thought she was past it, Gibbs.
Seemed completely okay.
She was.
She will be again.
[KASIE CRYING, LAUGHING.]
Hey, we deserve a good cry.
[SNIFFLES.]
Oh, hey.
Jimmy just walked in.
Let me call you back.
Okay.
Love you, too.
[SNIFFLES.]
You were right.
You were so right.
I was? I am? That was my sister.
My mom passed all her tests with flying colors.
See? That is great.
And while they were at the hospital, my sister's old job called.
They want her back starting next week.
This is, this is great.
- [PHONE RINGING.]
- Oh, hey.
It's Mom.
I Let me take this.
Yeah, t-take it.
I-I Give her my best.
Hey.
Hey, Mom.
Yeah, uh, hang on.
Hey, Jimmy.
[QUIETLY.]
: Thank you.
Oh, yeah.
That's right.
What's right? She was there, in the room.
Emily? Diane.
Her mother.
Her spirit.
When I first ran in and saw Emily in the bed, I could feel Diane in the room, like she was waiting for me to get there.
Yeah, I'll bet she was.
Yeah.
I'm sure of it.
Yeah, good.
Then Emily was not alone.
Hey, guys, I just finished up, so I am headed o [STAMMERS.]
What's going on? What happened? Emily Fornell.
What? How? H-How? - Addiction.
- MCGEE: You know how it goes.
Addicts build up a tolerance.
They get clean.
Sometimes they relapse, and it's a shock to their system.
You know? Just doesn't seem real.
I'm gonna go home and hug my kids.
BISHOP: Director.
I guess you heard? Gibbs is, uh he's taking Fornell to his place.
Um I thought I would just go over and, I don't know, I don't know, just sit outside and just be there.
That sounds nice.
I, uh, think I'll join you.
I'll join, too.
What do you have there, Director? It's a, it's a copy of a poem that a friend sent me when my wife died.
The same one you sent me? Merrit Malloy? Yeah.
I thought I would give it to Fornell.
I don't know, it might be too soon.
It's never too soon, sir.
Not for that poem.
I'd like to read it.
Or hear it.
Sure.
I'll try to get through it.
"When I die "Give what's left of me away "To children And old men that wait to die.
" "And if you need to cry" [GROANS.]
"Cry for your brother or sister Who walk the street beside you.
" [CRYING.]
"And when you need me, Put your arms around anyone" "And give them what you need to give to me.
" "I want to leave you something.
"Something better than words "Or sounds.
"Look for me In the people I've known or loved.
" "And if you cannot give me away, "At least let me live in your eyes And not your mind.
" "You can love me most By letting hands touch hands.
" "By letting bodies touch bodies.
" "And by letting go "Of children That need to be free.
" "Love doesn't die.
People do.
" "So, when all that's left of me is love" "Give me away.
"
Looking good this morning, Merri.
Feeling cold, Reilly.
Really cold.
If it's any consolation, you look the opposite.
By which I mean hot.
Thank you for clarifying.
You are nothing if not relentless.
Hey, nobody ever hits a home run without stepping up to the plate.
And nothing turns on a woman more than a good baseball metaphor in subzero temperatures.
That's not subzero.
This is subzero.
And I love it.
It's invigorating.
You know, good for the blood flow.
Stamina.
And I've been vaccinated, just saying.
Gosh, I can't wait for business to get back to normal, so I can afford to cook with fresh veggies again.
- But then you'd never get to see me.
- Oh, yeah.
That's a real Sophie's choice.
Hey, you ordered peas, right? Here's a loose bag.
On the house.
Now, tell me about this, uh, Sophie girl [SCREAMS.]
"And while I know that staying in Afghanistan is right for me, "I do regret not getting to say goodbye to each of you in person.
" BISHOP: "So as a way of saying 'Till we meet again, ' I hereby bequeath the following items from my office.
" "To McGee, I leave my electric stapler, since he used it every chance he could.
" Yeah.
"And to Ellie, I leave my shiatsu massage bar, since she borrowed it every chance she could.
" Ah, yes.
"And to Nick, I officially award "full custody of Carl, because I know he'll take good care of him.
" - Aw.
- What? No.
No.
Come on.
You guys got all cool stuff and I get a damn fish? - He's been with you all week.
- Look, one thing is keeping him alive for a week.
The other is permanently.
Well, obviously she thinks you need it, Nick.
Yeah, like I need that back massager.
You know, this e-mail's just to the three of us.
I wonder what she left Gibbs.
You mean, besides a broken heart? I think he's been a lot chipper since he got back.
Yeah, I know, right? I mean, he seems to be taking Sloane's loss pretty well.
I didn't know she was lost.
Unless you know something I don't.
Uh, no, boss, we're just talking about the fact that she's staying in Afghanistan.
Yeah, I heard about that.
Gear up.
Got a body in Douglass.
Bundle up, kids.
Ms.
Hines? Director.
I take it Agent Sloane left a memento for you as well? She did.
Yeah, but that's not why I'm here.
I just came to think.
Here as opposed to your own office? [CHUCKLES.]
Force of habit.
I've actually been consulting with Jack semi-regularly since that whole diner hostage thing last year.
Per your suggestion, if you recall.
Yeah.
I-I recall.
She was helpful? Oh, very.
So much so, I find myself drawn here whenever I need to collect my thoughts, I guess.
Everything we've been through the past year or so Uh-huh.
But why do I get the feeling that there's-there's something more personal, like But not-not that it's any of my business.
No, it's fine, just family stuff.
My sister got furloughed from her job and then she lost her apartment.
She had to move back in with our mom and ugh, let's just say the two of them love each other best from afar.
I-I am familiar with that dynamic.
Yeah, I was up half the night on the phone playing referee.
[PHONE CHIMES.]
And I am late to a budget meeting.
I sure could use a referee on this.
[CHUCKLES.]
: Ugh.
Uh, but listen, um, you if you need a few days off Uh, no, not at all.
I-I'm fine.
Okay.
All right, that's close enough.
I never get to say that.
Victim is, uh, Petty Officer Martin Delfino, 25.
Currently listed as U.
A.
from the USS Patrick Goodell.
Failed to report for muster at midnight last night.
Where is his ship now? Uh, prepared to depart out of Norfolk.
Delfino was, uh, scheduled for mandatory quarantine pre-deployment.
TORRES: Neither of the witnesses knows the victim, and the driver has no idea how the body got in his truck.
You got any cause of death, Palmer? JIMMY: Yeah, we may have to wait until he thaws out a bit.
Uh, it appears to be a head wound, but, uh, judging by his somewhat casual pose, I'd say he was dead before he froze.
No rhyme intended there.
[PHONE RINGING.]
Hey.
Third call today and you don't even leave a message.
Everything okay? FORNELL: Couldn't be better, Butch.
I just had some big news to share, and voice mail wouldn't do.
You got a minute? No.
Why, what is it? It's way too big without telling you with a detailed explanation and you'll think I'm crazy.
I already think you're crazy.
Well, that's a good point.
Look, I-I still have a couple of errands to run.
I'll just drop by later and I'll tell you in person.
Ciao, baby.
"Ciao, baby"? JIMMY: Hey, Gibbs? We might not know who left him here, but maybe Killer Korn does? Killer Korn? Killer Korn? Killer Korn? Like the food truck? - You know it? - I know it? I love it.
It's the best corn on the cob in the universe.
There's a sentence you don't hear every day.
Come on, Ellie, it's just corn.
How good can it be? Oh, you won't be asking me that when you try it, promise.
Did I hear right? That's one of the Killer Korn guys? Oh, now you recognize him? I didn't see the logo.
Him I don't know so well.
I mostly deliver to Greco, his cousin.
When was the last time you delivered? Had to be last week.
- Where do we find this place? - BISHOP: Well, uh, it pops up all over town.
Luckily, I have my trusty little food truck app here.
Oh, yeah.
Oh, of course you do.
What kind of foodie would she be without it? Okay, guys.
Uh, it tracks every food truck in the metro area.
Just give me a second.
Retrace your steps last night.
Um, my last delivery was in Brightwood.
After that, I dropped off the truck at the supply house around 10:00.
Picked it back up this morning at 6:30.
Obviously you didn't take inventory.
Hate to say, I'm a little lazy about that.
I just let them load the truck and I deliver.
Then let's check the supply house.
Any luck on the truck, Bishop? BISHOP: Uh, no, not yet, which is super weird, 'cause this app updates every ten minutes, but right now it just says that Killer Korn is nowhere.
Mmm, this is so good.
You ready for this? Listen to this sweet sound.
[WHIRS.]
I hate you both.
Not as much as I hate Carl over here.
Hate is a strong word, Nick.
Dude, this fish needs everything except a daily walk.
Are you sure neither of you can take him? My childhood trauma, remember? Oh, come on, that was a goldfish that died.
This is a betta fish.
I'll even vaccinate him.
McGee? No, I'm already taking care of Tony's fish.
Maybe, uh, maybe Gibbs will take him.
[CACKLES.]
[LAUGHTER.]
Update.
Petty Officer First Class Martin Delfino, 25 years old, CO calls him a model sailor, coming off two months' leave after back-to-back tours in the Persian Gulf.
- Next of kin? - We notified his parents in Phoenix.
They said that he visited briefly and then returned back to D.
C.
to help his cousin out on his food truck.
- We find the cousin? - TORRES: Not yet.
The name is Sean Greco.
We left several messages on the number the parents gave us.
Website offers no update on that truck's location.
Same with the app.
Uh, I've hit the refresh button, like, a million times and still Oh.
Wait, I don't believe it.
Okay.
It finally updated.
We've got a location.
Good, take Torres with you.
McGee, we are going to the supply house.
Let's go.
All right, Killer Korn, here we come.
Hey, Nick, you are going to love this place.
They've got Taiwanese corn, they've got Mexican street corn, they've got Cuban corn.
Oh, and their Italian corn? Mmm.
Parmesan and pesto? Oh, man.
Wait a minute.
That's not Killer Korn.
- It says "Killer Korn" on it.
- Yeah, no, I know what it says, but their truck is green, not blue.
Kosmic Korn.
Not Killer Korn.
- It is Kosmic Korn that's the best.
- [BJORK LAUGHS.]
Don't let Greco hear you say that.
Kosmic Korn doesn't come close.
What'd I tell you? You gonna be out of here by 3:00? As always, Bjork, but it's my first day without Marty.
He went back to the Navy, so I'm scrambling here to open up on time.
Well, uh, don't let me keep you.
There's that look.
Taiwanese? You know it's my favorite.
Here.
Enjoy! And I'll be happy to prove our corn's a thousand times better, just not for another half hour.
Yeah, Mr.
Greco, I'm afraid we're here about your cousin.
MCGEE: Now, that is Reilly.
He's dropping off his truck at Igloo supply house around 10:00 p.
m.
last night, walking away like nothing happened.
Now, we didn't see anyone coming or going from there until midnight, when we see this worker starting to load food crates just inside the freezer door.
If Delfino's body was already in there, then this guy never saw him.
Well, at 6:30 a.
m.
, Reilly showed up again, picked up his schedule, and headed back out, which is exactly what he said he did.
What do we know about Reilly? Two old drug misdemeanor charges, but he's been clean ever since then.
I'm still making calls off his delivery schedule from yesterday.
Multiple pages, you know.
- That Jack's? - Yeah.
Left it to me.
A beaut, isn't she? Why, it sure does staple.
Yeah.
She leave you anything, boss? I-I just can't believe it.
Marty was indestructible.
- Like a force of nature.
- Hold up.
How could he be dead? Dead? Marty? Our Marty? - I'm afraid so.
- And you are? Betty's his girlfriend.
Uh, good friend.
We had a friendly split before he had to leave.
Oh, God, this is awful.
How? - You didn't say how he died.
- We're still trying to figure that out.
His body was discovered in the back of a frozen food delivery truck.
Seriously? The driver's name was Richard Reilly? Are you kidding? That goofball? What was Marty doing in his truck? Any disagreements between them? GRECO: They hardly knew each other.
And Reilly hadn't delivered here in at least a week.
Two weeks for me.
Were there any known enemies he might have had? No.
No, he had no enemies, but Well, let's just say my cousin didn't take any crap from anybody.
That's a good way to say it.
- Such as? - From, like, people we had to deal with sometimes.
You know, business owners who don't like us parking in front of their stores.
Rude customers, food bloggers expecting free samples in exchange for a good review.
Everybody wants freebies.
Parking cops, those trendy influencers.
And Marty handled all our social media, so he couldn't stand them.
Any known arguments or fights? I guess he had a few with Sammy.
Sammy who? Sloppy Joe Sammy.
Eh, I don't know his last name, but yeah, those two were always at odds.
Y'all know where we can find him? That's his truck right there.
Guy's a real charmer.
Hey, yo, you Sammy? Did you see the name on the side of the truck? I don't open for another ten minutes.
This won't take long.
Look, I whoa.
I'm sorry, I was kidding.
Sammy's off today.
As a matter of fact, he told me not to open at all.
So have a good day.
All right, hold on now.
[ENGINE SPUTTERING.]
Are you trying to flee the scene, Sammy? I told you I'm not Sammy.
Turn off your engine.
Turn it off? I can't even turn it on.
Stop trying.
What does that badge say? NCIS.
You know, food trucks make lousy getaway cars.
I told you, for the millionth time, I thought you were the health department.
And for the millionth time, why would you run from them? Well, if you must know, they gave my truck a "C" rating last month, and I, I haven't quite gotten around to making all the improvements yet.
Putting a little extra sloppy in your sloppy joe? Yeah, even your mob buddies would find that disgusting.
- Oh, here we go.
- What mob buddies? Found guilty in 2015 on two counts of racketeering and operating a casino without a license.
The food truck business is a bigger gamble than any backroom card game I might have run.
But that life It-it's all behind me now.
Or at least as of two weeks ago, when your probation ended.
Oh, congratulations, what did you do to you celebrate? Huh? You settle some scores? Hey, I got no scores to settle with that Navy kid.
Look, any problems we might have had was because we we're too much alike.
- Is that right? - Yeah.
This is a tough business.
And you got to be tough and you got to bust your ass.
Nice kid like Greco's lucky to have a guy like Marty in his corner.
To fight off the competition? You want competition, don't talk to me.
Go talk to Kosmic Korn.
Why, what about Kosmic Korn? Well, look, I don't know all the gory details, but, uh, there's a lot of bad blood over there.
It's like the Hatfields and the McCoys.
You know, except for food.
BISHOP: Sammy wasn't kidding.
These food blogs read like a crime novel.
Not a good crime novel.
I mean, come on: "The Great Korn Wars of D.
C.
"? What's that about? Basically, both Killer Korn and Kosmic Korn make the same product, which apparently splits the market on a pretty fierce fan base.
Two months ago, the competition boiled over into accusations of slashing tires.
Led to the owners of each truck to file restraining orders against each other.
- Well, where's the other truck? - [TYPING.]
MCGEE: The website doesn't show a location.
Let me check the app again.
This a bad time? - Uh - Not the best, but when has that ever stopped you? - Hey, how are you? - Hey, Tobias.
- Toby, what's up, man? - How are you? Greetings to one and all.
I'm doing great.
And I'm really glad you all are here, because now I can make it official.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah.
- Your big news.
- Gibbs I am moving to Costa Rica.
Okay.
FORNELL: Once you told me Sloane's original plan, you know, before Afghanistan, the wheels started turning.
So I checked it out and I think it's really perfect.
I did not know you were looking.
Well, why not? I'm on the brink of retirement.
Emily is finally squared away.
The time is right.
Uh okay squared away, okay, but what's Emily really think about this? My daughter thinks it's a great idea.
As a matter of fact, we're meeting for dinner tonight to work out the details.
Who knows? Maybe she'll even come with me.
Well what do you think? Me? What does that matter? It matters.
You matter.
Are you happy? Mm.
Then, what the hell? Go for it.
Yes! [LAUGHS.]
[LAUGHTER, CHEERING.]
Nice, Tobias, way to go, man.
Thanks, guys.
Wow, I am really stoked.
I've got a few more errands to run, so, Gibbs, I'll give you a call you later.
And, uh uh, everybody have a great day! - All right, man.
- See you.
See you, Tobias.
Wow, Costa Rica.
So what do you really think, Gibbs? You heard what I think.
Yeah, but really, I mean, first Sloane, now Fornell? Losing another friend? Did I say that out loud? Nobody's losing anything.
We still got phones, right? - And Zoom.
- TORRES: Yeah, and, uh, - FaceTime.
- Mm-hmm.
Whatever we got a location on those other corn trucks? Uh, you know what, still nothing on the app.
Well, get a new app and find the damn thing.
And then find out why that kid's cousin didn't tell you about the corn wars or whatever the hell that's about.
Yeah, you did say that out loud.
That kid melted yet? Gibbs, whoa, you scared me.
Uh, yes, Petty Officer Delfino has thawed out a bit, and his skull X-ray is actually quite revealing.
Blunt force trauma? Wait, you-you can see that? What I see is no bullet, and that's usually when you say blunt force.
I'm sorry to be so predictable, but yes, there's a crush injury to the squamosal suture which caused massive brain hemorrhage.
- Killed him fast.
- You know what hit him? Well, whatever it was, it left a distinct pattern, and here comes Kasie to match that pattern to a weapon.
I'll certainly try.
There's no try, Kase.
You just do.
Yes, sir.
[LAUGHS.]
: Oh Wha? Really? Gibbs actually quotes Yoda, and all you can say is "yes, sir"? What? Oh, right.
Yoda, yeah.
Okay, what's going on? Is it your mom or your sister? Both.
- Did Vance tell you? - No, no.
But whenever something's up with your family, you get really quiet and your eyebrows furrow just like that.
[CHUCKLES.]
Damn.
Nothing gets past you.
Okay, last I remember, uh, your sister lost her place, - so she moved in with your mom, right? - Uh, yeah.
Now she's all moved in, and it's going so well that she just called to tell me that Mom's having chest pains and they're headed to the E.
R.
Kasie what are you, what are you still doing here? You know, it's it's not that simple.
Even if I were to head to New York now, it's not like the hospital will allow for visitors anyway.
Yeah, but you'd be closer.
And Mom will definitely think she's dying if I just show up.
Yeah.
Why am I burdening you with all this? Because we're friends.
Yeah, but after all you've been through? And why have you been through so much? Why does stuff like this keep happening to good people like you and, frankly, to me, while other folks are just skating through life happily unscathed? Is that really what you think? It's what I think.
And see and feel lately, yeah.
[GROANS.]
Okay, all right, well, let's, let's reframe this then, um Look, if-if what I've been through has taught me anything, it's that absolutely no one happily skates through life unscathed.
I'm not so sure.
I'm 100% sure.
It's, like, um Tale of Two Cities.
Okay, you lost me.
Yeah, Charles Dickens did not write "It was the best of times and everything was awesome.
" [LAUGHS.]
You know, I mean, without "the worst of times," we wouldn't have I don't know poetry, wouldn't have sad songs, wouldn't have anything that makes us appreciate "the best of times.
" Stars can't shine without darkness.
No one is immune to suffering.
No one.
But the good news is, people like you and me? We can handle it.
We can? Heck yeah.
We work hard to keep shining.
What? Just, now I know how you talked that guy off the ledge.
[DOOR OPENS.]
[DOOR CLOSES.]
I didn't tell you because it didn't matter.
Kosmic Korn stays on their side of town, we stay on ours.
But it wasn't always that way.
Hey, Greco, backup hot sauces? Right above the register, Bets.
- Oh, I see them.
- What about your truck? Oh, I got a staff working it.
It's cool.
We look out for each other.
Some more than others.
Can't afford to shut down, not even for a day.
Not in this business.
Which brings us back to your feud.
How did it start? [SIGHS.]
Uh I was head line cook at Dasher's in Georgetown for years, and then COVID shut us down.
And, uh, suddenly out of a job, I get this corn idea.
And since nobody else was doing it, I sunk my life savings and every credit card I had to make it happen.
Struggled at first, but then Marty came to help, and, uh, and pretty soon business was booming.
- You know, until - Until Kosmic Korn.
Until another cook from Dasher's, a now formerbuddy of mine, opened up his own truck, yeah.
- Your buddy stole your idea? - Stole my idea.
My recipe.
Even the Ks we use in our name.
- Oh, that's straight-up slimy.
- Well, Marty and I thought so, too, until the restraining orders forced us to do business miles apart.
So he's out of sight, out of mind ever since.
At least until now.
[PHONE RINGING.]
It's McGee.
Hey, McGee, you're on speaker.
Hey, one of these blogs just gave me a location for Kosmic Korn.
An industrial park on 10th and Ardale.
Uh we're a few blocks away from there.
- Hey, are you, uh, Pete Cannizaro? - Uh, yeah.
Just take a number and I'll be right with you.
TORRES: I don't like him already.
- You don't like what he did.
- And you do? I say we drag him out by his feet for breaking his restraining order.
I say there are other ways to get answers.
Plus, you might even get some great corn out of it.
Just follow my lead.
Uh, Mr.
Cannizaro, we-we're not here to eat, actually.
I-I'm writing an article for Food Truck Aficionado, and I'd love to feature what we're told is the best corn in town.
In the universe.
But, uh, as you can see, I'm swamped over here.
Uh, well, maybe we could help.
- What? - What? Yeah, my-my husband Nick and I, we could get behind the scenes, make it a real hands-on story.
We've both been vaccinated.
You have any experience? - None.
- Tons.
Nick.
Well, be honest, Ellie, we don't have tons of experience, but I mean, how hard can it be? It's just corn.
Oh, and you think it's easy? Okay, hotshots, climb aboard and, uh, do exactly what I tell you.
I'll take two I need three Italian, two Mexican, two limes and an orange.
Two limes and an orange.
Three Italian, two Mexican.
Uh, cancel one of the Italians, make it a Taiwanese.
Uh, okay, which one's the Taiwanese again? It's the one with the green label.
- Okay.
- And after that I need, uh, two honey butter and, uh four Mexican.
Thank you.
So, uh, how did you get the idea to serve corn on the cob? Uh, I don't know.
Most everybody loves corn, and nobody else was doing it.
Nobody else? Well, you know, there's nothing new under the sun, right? Right, so it was your own, uh, killer recipe? Yeah, it's my own twist on it.
Yeah.
- Uh, these are all limes.
- Oh.
I need, uh One orange coming right up.
BISHOP: Hey, so, I saw this, uh, thing online about some other corn guys, like some kind of feud or something? Oh, it was just a big misunderstanding.
I have some regrets about that.
CANNIZARO: Okay, whoa, whoa, careful, Mr.
How Hard Can Corn Be? Can't have a mess in here.
Nick, I'll help you.
MAN: This is his first day, right? So, just a big misunderstanding, huh? Yeah, I don't like to talk about it.
I haven't even seen those guys since the restraining orders.
Are you sure about that? Sure about what? You haven't seen the Killer Korn guys or, uh, Marty Delfino? What does that look like to you? That looks like blood.
It's probably just hot sauce.
Nope.
No, it's definitely not hot sauce.
Okay, hold on, now, I-I can explain.
You're gonna have to.
You think I killed Marty? Well, now that you admitted he came to see you, I I also think you're really bad at wiping up blood.
I keep telling you, that was my blood from my nose.
- From your fight with Marty.
- It wasn't a fight.
It was just an argument that got a little physical.
You whacked Marty in the head, and then you stuffed him - into a freezer truck.
- [SIGHS.]
No.
In fact, once he drew blood, he calmed down.
- Even apologized.
- Is that so? CANNIZARO: Said he was trying to break old habits.
All he wanted was to make sure his loved ones were taken care of before he shipped out.
Like his cousin? Yeah, Marty was so worried about Greco, all that money and mental stress, so he made one last plea to me to get out of the corn business, and he even offered to help finance my switch.
He gave you money? I-I didn't take it.
Hell, once he was done talking, I was, you know, a little ashamed.
I mean, it-it was Greco's idea to begin with.
And his recipe.
[SIGHS.]
Okay, I-I admit it, what I did was wrong, and life is too short, you know? Stupid "Korn War" was giving me gray hairs of my own.
So I told him I'd switch over to burritos as soon as I ran out of corn.
Kasie confirmed it's Cannizaro's blood and not our victim, so while it doesn't make Cannizaro innocent, he's not lying.
CANNIZARO: And once we shook on it, Marty said he had one more stop to make.
One more stop where? I don't know.
All I know is he had one more loved one to take care of.
Any idea who that could be? That sounds like something Marty would say.
But I don't know that he'd consider me a loved one.
Well, you'd been his girlfriend.
You said the breakup was friendly.
From my side, at least.
We were only together for two months.
He would get so protective, so possessive.
Jealous? Of anyone in particular? Flirty customers mostly.
He-He'd overhear from his truck and come over and get in their faces.
- Any fights? - Just words.
Marty was lovely.
He was, uh so sweet.
It just made me feel uncomfortable.
Even if he hadn't shipped out, I would have ended it.
Life's too short.
Can you think of anyone specifically, Betty, who may have flirted recently, enough for Marty to want to protect you? No.
I can't think of Who? [ELEVATOR BELL DINGS.]
[SIGHS.]
Sloane gave you this? Oh.
Hey, Gibbs.
Yeah.
I was so honored.
During our talks, Sloane would always point to the elephant in the room whenever she thought I was holding back.
What'd she leave you? Got our weapon yet? Ooh, getting there.
The wound's waffling pattern suggests a tool of some kind.
Since our victim worked with food, I am thinking cooking tools.
Like one of those meat-tenderizing hammers or a deep fryer basket.
Or maybe an actual waffle iron.
Might be a little heavy to swing, but anything's possible.
Are you feeling better? Better than what? Well, Kase, you seemed a little off down there in Autopsy You know, that - that eyebrow thing.
- Damn.
You know, I am never playing poker with you or Jimmy.
[SCOFFS.]
So you're not better.
No.
Yes.
Sort of.
It helped to have Jimmy remind me that I'm not alone in my anxiety.
That both joy and sadness await us all.
Good days and bad, everybody goes through them, so, may as well embrace the roller coaster, right? Okay, fine.
Right now I'm waiting on a call from my sister to get Mom's results from the doctor.
The way things are going, I'm kind of bracing for the worst.
So get out of here.
- What? No.
Like I told Jimmy - What? Oh, no No, no, you don't get to say no to me.
Go.
Now.
Fine, I will book a flight as soon as I have our weapon.
Weapon can wait.
Kasie.
You only have one mom.
The only trip you regret is the one you don't take.
So go.
Get on a plane, get on a train.
Go.
- [BEEPING.]
- Oh.
- That might be our weapon now.
- What is it? The wound's pattern is a 96% match to whatever this is in Bishop's crime scene photo.
- [PHONE RINGS.]
- That's on the freezer truck.
Hi, Bishop.
We think Reilly is the guy.
Yeah, I know that.
Hey, you go.
Go.
Where is he? Now.
REILLY: I admit, Marty did come see me last night, but it's a long story.
BISHOP: We've got time.
GIBBS: Make it a good one.
REILLY: I was on my last stop at this snack shop when Marty comes up to me and tells me to stay away from this girlfriend of his while he was away at sea.
- Beignet Betty.
- That one, yeah.
I wanted to reassure the guy he had nothing to worry about, only I had parked by a hydrant and was in a hurry, so I asked him to wait outside while I finished up my delivery.
But when I came back out, he was nowhere in sight.
Gone.
Rule 39.
- What's that? - Convenient.
Maybe so, but it was also a big relief.
So I-I closed up my truck, I snatched the ticket off my my-my windshield, and I drove off fast.
You should have told us that this morning.
Look, I panicked, okay? So I played dumb.
Oh, you don't got to play dumb.
Found a couple of hairs.
You all want to bet they belong to Marty? I swear to you, I did not kill him.
Wait.
Back up.
You got a parking ticket? It-it was 75 bucks.
But I wasn't even mad, since Marty had left.
Again, I was by a hydrant, so it wasn't a complete surprise.
GIBBS: Ticket issued by C.
Bjork.
I'll run the badge number.
Of course.
Bjork strikes again.
- You know him? - Every truck driver does.
Must have nailed me five times already this year.
And he's an even bigger hard-ass with food trucks.
Yeah, we know him, too, Nick.
- We do? - He got free corn from Greco.
- Let's go get him.
- GIBBS: Hang on.
We're gonna need surveillance from where this all happened.
Got the address on the ticket.
- You're coming with me.
- Where am I going? You're going with me until we find out you're not lying again.
[PHONE RINGS.]
Hold this.
Hey, Tobias, can I call you back? I'm in the middle of something.
Gibbs, hurry.
It-It's Emily.
Wait, what? What's going on? - Oh, my God.
It's Emily.
- Tobias! Gibbs? Tobias.
They won't let me in, Gibbs.
My baby's in there and they won't let me in.
- Why won't they let me in? - Okay, let's sit down.
I don't want to sit down.
Okay.
Take a breath.
[TAKES DEEP BREATH.]
Talk to me.
Tell me what happened.
I don't know.
First she didn't show up for dinner and then she didn't answer my texts or or any of my my calls, and then I-I ran home, and I I went to her room, and there she was.
Bottle of pills on her nightstand.
- She's alive.
- Barely.
She was breathing, but she was so cold, her skin was so cold.
What do we do, Gibbs? What are we gonna do? We're gonna sit down.
[WHIMPERS SOFTLY.]
And we're gonna let these doctors do what it is they do best.
All right.
Right, there's good doctors here.
Yeah, they're the best.
Sit down.
She's gonna be okay.
Believe that.
Yeah, that's one of mine.
I didn't see the guy I ticketed, though.
But you saw, uh, Marty Delfino.
We have a witness that saw you guys arguing.
Wait, Marty? From the corn truck? I-I'm confused.
No, no, you're not, and yes, that Marty.
You got into a scuffle.
[SIGHS.]
Not a scuffle.
A-After I wrote his ticket, he just sort of appeared, told me to stop being such a hard-ass.
And then he just kind of tripped.
Oh, he didn't trip.
Our witness saw you pushing him headfirst, hard, into a truck.
I'm telling you, he stumbled.
And yeah, he-he landed kind of hard, y-you know, so I set him up in the truck wh-while I went to go get the first aid kit from my car.
TORRES: So you left the scene and came back? And when I did, he was gone.
Did your witness see that? Oh, I'm sorry, I keep saying "witness.
" I meant to say "security video.
" We have the whole thing, Bjork, in living color.
I-I snapped, okay? The guy got in my face and I let him have it.
But, again, I only put him in the truck so he could sit and ice his head while I went to go get first aid.
Video doesn't lie.
Marty was half-dead when you put him in the truck.
You were hoping to pin it on Reilly.
Then you left and never came back.
Do you have any idea how hard it is having everybody mad at you every day just for doing your job? I'd let Gibbs know, but Still going straight to voice mail? Yep.
Well, he clearly said "Tobias" when he answered the phone, and then he just ran off without a word.
I shudder to think what those two are up to right now.
[DIALING.]
- I'm gonna try him again.
- Hmm.
[PHONE RINGING.]
Sylvia Carruthers.
Who? The name on the prescription bottle.
Grandmother of one of Em's friends.
She probably found it in the old lady's medicine cabinet.
Temptation is everywhere, Tobias.
I really thought she was past it, Gibbs.
Seemed completely okay.
She was.
She will be again.
[KASIE CRYING, LAUGHING.]
Hey, we deserve a good cry.
[SNIFFLES.]
Oh, hey.
Jimmy just walked in.
Let me call you back.
Okay.
Love you, too.
[SNIFFLES.]
You were right.
You were so right.
I was? I am? That was my sister.
My mom passed all her tests with flying colors.
See? That is great.
And while they were at the hospital, my sister's old job called.
They want her back starting next week.
This is, this is great.
- [PHONE RINGING.]
- Oh, hey.
It's Mom.
I Let me take this.
Yeah, t-take it.
I-I Give her my best.
Hey.
Hey, Mom.
Yeah, uh, hang on.
Hey, Jimmy.
[QUIETLY.]
: Thank you.
Oh, yeah.
That's right.
What's right? She was there, in the room.
Emily? Diane.
Her mother.
Her spirit.
When I first ran in and saw Emily in the bed, I could feel Diane in the room, like she was waiting for me to get there.
Yeah, I'll bet she was.
Yeah.
I'm sure of it.
Yeah, good.
Then Emily was not alone.
Hey, guys, I just finished up, so I am headed o [STAMMERS.]
What's going on? What happened? Emily Fornell.
What? How? H-How? - Addiction.
- MCGEE: You know how it goes.
Addicts build up a tolerance.
They get clean.
Sometimes they relapse, and it's a shock to their system.
You know? Just doesn't seem real.
I'm gonna go home and hug my kids.
BISHOP: Director.
I guess you heard? Gibbs is, uh he's taking Fornell to his place.
Um I thought I would just go over and, I don't know, I don't know, just sit outside and just be there.
That sounds nice.
I, uh, think I'll join you.
I'll join, too.
What do you have there, Director? It's a, it's a copy of a poem that a friend sent me when my wife died.
The same one you sent me? Merrit Malloy? Yeah.
I thought I would give it to Fornell.
I don't know, it might be too soon.
It's never too soon, sir.
Not for that poem.
I'd like to read it.
Or hear it.
Sure.
I'll try to get through it.
"When I die "Give what's left of me away "To children And old men that wait to die.
" "And if you need to cry" [GROANS.]
"Cry for your brother or sister Who walk the street beside you.
" [CRYING.]
"And when you need me, Put your arms around anyone" "And give them what you need to give to me.
" "I want to leave you something.
"Something better than words "Or sounds.
"Look for me In the people I've known or loved.
" "And if you cannot give me away, "At least let me live in your eyes And not your mind.
" "You can love me most By letting hands touch hands.
" "By letting bodies touch bodies.
" "And by letting go "Of children That need to be free.
" "Love doesn't die.
People do.
" "So, when all that's left of me is love" "Give me away.
"