MUSIC IN:
INT. AUTOPSY ROOM - DAY
(MUSIC OVER ACTION)
DUCKY: Mister Palmer! Mister Palmer!(SFX: MUFFLED MUSIC B.G.)
JIMMY: Yes, Doctor!
DUCKY: As a serious and dedicated student of anatomy... you are a serious and dedicated student of anatomy, are you not?
JIMMY: Uh-huh.
DUCKY: Well then, Mister Palmer, are you up to the task of identifying the reconstructive blunder that has been foisted upon our deceased?
JIMMY: Uh... uh...
DUCKY: Would you call that a thumb?
JIMMY: I would call that a toe.
DUCKY: Why then, perchance, did you place it with the other digits from his right hand?
JIMMY: Because that's where it belongs. If you look at the scar line, it matches perfectly. Plus his right foot had a cleanly amputated big toe. This guy lost his thumb in an accident or something and had surgery to replace it with the big toe.
[SCENE_BREAK]
INT. COURTROOM - FLASHBACK
(MONTAGE OF FLASHBACK COURTROOM SCENES)
[SCENE_BREAK]
INT. AUTOPSY ROOM - DAY
DUCKY: My god. I think I know who this is.
(MUSIC UP AND OUT)
(THEME MUSIC UP OVER OPENING TITLE/SCENES/ CREDITS AND OUT)
MUSIC IN:
INT. SQUAD ROOM - DAY
"THE MEAT PUZZLE"(SFX: KEYBOARDING B.G.)
TONY: Mmm, I love Filomena's ice cream.
KATE: Filomena's in Georgetown?
TONY: My standard first date place.
KATE: I went there on a first date Saturday night.
TONY: Yeah? After dinner, I like to stroll the lucky lady down Wisconsin to this pretentious gallery called "Impressions." Boy, they really eat it up.
KATE: That's where we went after dinner.
TONY: Really? Huh.
KATE: You've been following me.
TONY: Me, follow you on a Saturday night? Not that desperate, Kate.
KATE: I don't believe you.
TONY: Well, on my mother's life I was not following you.
GIBBS: Your mother's dead.
TONY: I didn't follow her, boss. I do know her boyfriend, Steve Adler.
KATE: He's not my boyfriend! I don't believe this.
MCGEE: Did you tell her about your fraternity brother yet?
TONY: I was just getting to the good part there, McGee.
KATE: Steve Adler is your fraternity brother?
TONY: I'd show you the secret handshake, (WHISPERS) but then I'd have to kill you.
KATE: (WHISPERS) He told you about our date?
TONY: Well, not the intimate details... until I asked him. Then he had to. (WHISPERS) It goes with the oath.
KATE: Gibbs!
GIBBS: DiNozzo!
DUCKY: Jethro, I need you in autopsy.
[SCENE_BREAK]
INT. AUTOPSY ROOM - DAY
(SFX: DOORS SLIDE OPEN)
DUCKY: What he had was a great toe transplantation. An incredibly arduous surgical procedure. Nerves smaller than a human hair are connected using microscopic sutures.
GIBBS: They sewed his toe to his hand?
DUCKY: Exactly. In a catastrophic injury when the thumb is lost, the patient's Hallux, or big toe, is removed and attached to the hand.
JIMMY: The opposable thumb is one of the most important milestones in human evolution. It's what makes us, us. Our ability to make tools, a defining element which separates us from the animals, comes directly from this dexterity.
DUCKY: Drawn out digressions is a privilege earned, Mister Palmer.
JIMMY: Sorry, Doctor.
DUCKY: If I'm right, the victim's name is Michael Grant. He was a Baltimore district attorney. Ten years ago I testified at several cases he was prosecuting.
GIBBS: About the other bodies, Duck.
DUCKY: Well, at this point I still have no idea who they are.
GIBBS: We need positive I.D.'s, Duck.
DUCKY: The flesh was peeled off the pads of the fingers.
JIMMY: That rules out fingerprints.
DUCKY: And the flesh and skin of the face has also been removed. So photographic identification won't be possible either.
GIBBS: Dental?
DUCKY: Unless we can find a piece of Michael Grant's DNA, the dental records will have to do.
GIBBS: Do it.(SFX: DOORS SLIDE OPEN)
DUCKY: Jethro, a barrel is left at Bethesda in my jurisdiction containing three dissected bodies, one of whom I knew. This isn't a coincidence, is it? (BEAT) I didn't think it was. (SIGHS)
[SCENE_BREAK]
INT. SQUAD ROOM - DAY
GIBBS: Possible ID on one of the Meat Puzzle bodies. A D.A. named Michael Grant.
TONY: Hey cool! After six months, we finally got a lead, huh?
GIBBS: Find out if he's been reported missing. Kate, pull the cases that Ducky testified where Michael Grant was the lead attorney.
KATE: On it.
TONY: Psst! Hey, it looks like we're going to work late. So do you want me to call Steven and cancel your dinner reservation?
KATE: This is a nightmare.
[SCENE_BREAK]
INT. AUTOPSY ROOM - DAY
DUCKY: If you have a thought about continuing your genetic line, I would suggest a change of position.
JIMMY: Oh.
DUCKY: Jaws expand and contract, Mister Palmer. Teeth wear, but fillings, crowns, and bridges remain.
DUCKY: Now let's see... four fillings on the lower left bicuspids. Crowns on the upper left molars.
JIMMY: It's him.
DUCKY: Yes, it's he.
JIMMY: Doctor Mallard, on a more personal note.
DUCKY: It's not the best time, Mister Palmer.
JIMMY: I just want you to know that I am determined to learn from you.
DUCKY: Your point quickly.
JIMMY: Well, it's important for me to know that you know that even though there are nearly two thousand pieces of tissue on these tables, that I...
DUCKY: Please come to the point, Jimmy!
JIMMY: I know the difference between a thumb and a toe.
DUCKY: Ah.(DUCKY WALKS O.S.)
JIMMY: He called me Jimmy.
[SCENE_BREAK]
INT. SQUAD ROOM - DAY
TONY: Michael Grant disappeared eight months ago hiking the Appalachian Trail. His body was never found. Local LEOs could never determine if he got lost or killed.
DUCKY: Definitely killed. The poor fellow was then dissected into small pieces, put in a barrel of alcohol along with two other bodies, and deposited in a dumpster behind Bethesda Naval Hospital.
GIBBS: Dental records matched?
DUCKY: I'm afraid so, Jethro.
KATE: Ducky, remember a Judge Roland Davis?
DUCKY: Of course. A man of small stature and enormous ego. A highly competent jurist, nonetheless.
KATE: He was the judge on one of the two cases you testified, where Michael Grant was the lead attorney.
DUCKY: The significance of that, Caitlin?
KATE: He was reported missing seven months ago.
DUCKY: I'll run a dental comparison -- the judge with the other two bodies.
GIBBS: Pull up the case, Kate.
DUCKY: Oh, yes. Of course. Who could forget him? Vincent Hanlan. A medical school washout. He was studying to become a... medical examiner. He was accused of raping and murdering a Navy Lieutenant who worked at Bethesda Hospital's pathology lab.
[SCENE_BREAK]
INT. PATHOLOGY LAB - FLASHBACK
DUCKY: (V.O.) I performed the autopsy. She was a beautiful girl. I believe her name was Lieutenant Sylvia...
[SCENE_BREAK]
INT. SQUAD ROOM - DAY
KATE: Sylvia Waksal.
DUCKY: Yes, that's right. She was working late one night. Vincent Hanlan stalked her with the intention of raping her. The speculation was that he was unable to perform the rape.
[SCENE_BREAK]
INT. AUTOPSY ROOM - FLASHBACK
DUCKY: (V.O.) His impotence so enraged him that he proceeded to beat the poor girl to death.
[SCENE_BREAK]
INT. SQUAD ROOM - DAY
DUCKY: When it went to trial...
[SCENE_BREAK]
INT. COURTROOM - FLASHBACK
DUCKY: (V.O.) ... Michael Grant was the prosecuting attorney. Judge Davis presided. And I testified.
[SCENE_BREAK]
INT. SQUAD ROOM - DAY
DUCKY: The evidence was all circumstantial. So when the judge offered the jury second degree murder, they accepted it.
KATE: Vincent Hanlan served eight years in the Maryland Correctional Adjustment Center.
GIBBS: Kate, start building a profile on Vincent Hanlan. Tony...
TONY: Find the whereabouts of everybody else associated with prosecuting Vincent Hanlan and fast.
GIBBS: McGee, the last address for Vincent Hanlan. I want to bring him in. McGee!
MCGEE: Uh... sorry, boss. I already found him.
GIBBS: Give me the address.
MCGEE: It's twenty two Victor Road, Mount Ephraim Cemetery. He's been dead over a year.
(MUSIC UP AND OUT)
MUSIC IN:
INT. AUTOPSY ROOM - DAY
DUCKY: Crown, crown, match, match, filling, filling, match. As we feared, the second corpse is Judge Roland Davis.
GIBBS: Any guesses on number three here?
TONY: Carl Foss.
KATE: The jury foreman.
DUCKY: Of course!
TONY: Missing since last summer.
KATE: His x-rays are on the way over from his family dentist.
GIBBS: Are you okay, Duck?
DUCKY: I assume this macabre play is being put on for my benefit. My testimony was key in putting Vincent Hanlan in prison.
MUSICAL DISSOLVE TO:
INT. AUTOPSY ROOM - FLASHBACK
DUCKY: (V.O.) I was able to lift a partial print of Vincent's off her body.
[SCENE_BREAK]
INT. AUTOPSY ROOM - DAY
DUCKY: Thinking back, I think I was slightly unnerved by Hanlan during the trial.
KATE: How so?
[SCENE_BREAK]
INT. AUTOPSY ROOM - FLASHBACK
DUCKY: (V.O.) He just seemed particularly agitated when I was on the stand.
[SCENE_BREAK]
INT. AUTOPSY ROOM - DAY
KATE: You were the medical examiner he was never going to be.
DUCKY: I was using his failure against him.
GIBBS: You'll stay at NCIS as much as possible. Other than that, one of us will be with you at all times.
DUCKY: Jethro, my mother is ninety-six years old. She suffers from dementia. She gets very nervous when I'm not home in the evenings.
GIBBS: Tony, you'll take the first shift ... with his mother.
TONY: Uh... doing what, boss?
GIBBS: Whatever she wants.
DUCKY: Yes, it would be helpful if you could assist with the dogs.
TONY: Oh, gosh. I'm not really an animal person, Ducky. I just haven't spent a lot of time with them lately and...
DUCKY: The yappy creatures are all she has in this life... except for me, of course.
GIBBS: If Vincent Hanlan is dead, who is getting revenge?
KATE: His family?
GIBBS: Find them, Kate.
[SCENE_BREAK]
INT. SQUAD ROOM - DAY
KATE: According to their tax returns, Vincent Hanlan's parents are both morticians. They've run a funeral home for the last thirteen years.
GIBBS: Siblings.
KATE: One brother who's a taxidermist.
GIBBS: Mortician, taxidermist, wannabe medical examiner.
KATE: Yeah, the death obsession pretty much runs in the family.
MUSICAL BRIDGE TO:
INT. FUNERAL HOME - DAY
FRED: Vincent's conviction tore the family apart. His death pretty much put us under. Through here.
[SCENE_BREAK]
INT. EMBALMING ROOM - DAY
(DOOR OPENS)
FRED: Mary.
MARY HANLAN: Get these people out of here!
FRED: They're federal agents.
MARY HANLAN: I don't care!
FRED: They're here about Vincent.
MARY HANLAN: They're not authorized! Get out!
GIBBS: Individuals connected with Vincent's prosecution have been found murdered.
MARY HANLAN: Good.
KATE: Good?
MARY HANLAN: Vincent was innocent. He was a good boy. He was in medical school.
GIBBS: Jack the Ripper went to medical school.
MARY HANLAN: When my son got out of prison, he had nothing left. No hope. No promise. They labeled him a s*x murderer.
KATE: What was he doing when he got out of prison?
FRED: He was drinking a lot.
MARY HANLAN: Oh, that's all you have to say about your dead son!?
FRED: That isn't what I meant. I was trying to explain how difficult his life was.
GIBBS: What happened the night he died?
FRED: He was driving with his brother and they hit a tree.
KATE: Can you think of anyone who would want to get revenge on the men who put your son in jail?
MARY HANLAN: Me! But I don't know anything about it, so why don't you just get the hell out of here before I call the authorities and have you arrested and maybe you'll go to prison! Bastards!
[SCENE_BREAK]
INT. AUTOPSY ROOM - DAY
DUCKY: Two bridges, ten crowns, seven fillings. Not exactly a paragon of oral hygiene, my dear fellow.
JIMMY: Is he Carl Foss?
DUCKY: Was there ever any doubt? Well, that's all three... prosecutor, judge, and now foreman of the jury.
JIMMY: Are you scared, Doctor Mallard?
DUCKY: Madame Curie, one of the world's most brilliant thinkers, once said, "There is nothing in life to be feared. It is only to be understood." I think it's safe to say that Madame Curie never set her eyes on a meat puzzle. Yes, I'm scared. Scared as hell. Put them away, Jimmy. They're tired of talking. They need to rest.
(DOOR OPENS/ CLOSES)
JIMMY: Yes, doctor.
[SCENE_BREAK]
EXT. MALLARD HOME - DAY
VICTORIA (V.O.)Keep it down --(KNOCK ON DOOR)
(SFX: DOGS BARKING)
(DOOR OPENS)
VICTORIA: Yes?
TONY: I'm Anthony DiNozzo, Mrs. Mallard. I work with your son. He called, said I'd be coming over.
VICTORIA: You're Italian!
TONY: Yes, I am.
VICTORIA: You're a gigolo.
TONY: Ah... well, I wouldn't exactly call--
VICTORIA: You move furniture.
TONY: I could.
VICTORIA: I have a commode that has no business being here. It belongs in the lounge. I've told Donald this. He never listens.
TONY: I understand. Okay. If you'll just show me where you want the --
(SFX: DOGS GROWL)
VICTORIA: Who are you?
TONY: Anthony DiNozzo. Everyone calls me Tony.
VICTORIA: That's an Italian name.
TONY: Yes, it is. So if you'll just show me where ...
VICTORIA: Oh... gigolo. If you look down my blouse, I shall disembowel you!
TONY: (LAUGHS) That's funny.
VICTORIA: I have a knife in my brassiere.
TONY: I'll keep that in mind.
VICTORIA: Good! Who are you again?
[SCENE_BREAK]
INT. HANLAN'S WORKSHOP - DAY
JONATHAN: Couldn't there be another case where these men worked together?
GIBBS: I haven't found one.
KATE: Your brother's case is the common link.
JONATHAN: I would love to have stuffed Vincent. (CHUCKLES) He would've liked that. He had a good sense of humor, Vincent did. But it's against state law. Oh! Best mammal at the regionals last year. Like anything else, you get obsessed. Becomes a way of life.
KATE: I thought pandas were endangered?
JONATHAN: Oh, they are. "Re-Creation Category." I took two black bears and bleached one. And then I sewed them together in a panda pattern.
GIBBS: Do you miss your brother?
JONATHAN: He's my brother.
GIBBS: Did you two get along?
JONATHAN: When he got out of prison, he was depressed. He couldn't go back to school. He couldn't get a job. He started drinking heavily.
GIBBS: You didn't answer my question.
JONATHAN: We were close. And I have no idea who killed the men that put him in jail.
KATE: What happened the night he died?
JONATHAN: Vincent was driving. He lost control. We went off the road into the woods. My head hit the dash hard. I stumbled out of the car. I fell to my knees. When I got my bearings, I saw the car was on fire.
KATE: Do you feel guilty you didn't pull him out?
JONATHAN: I was told he died instantly from the impact. That he never felt the flames. I think he felt the flames. Oh! Second place, Nationals. Small animal division. African civet.
(SFX: PHONE RINGS)
GIBBS: (INTO PHONE) Yeah, Gibbs.(BEGIN TELEPHONE INTERCUTS)
(SCENE CUT)
MCGEE: (INTO) Boss, I've been running down other people involved in the Vincent Hanlan case. I've got something good.
(SCENE CUT)
GIBBS: (INTO PHONE) Spit it out, McGee.
MCGEE: (V.O./FILTERED) The lead Detective in the Hanlan ...
(SCENE CUT)
MCGEE: (INTO PHONE) ...Case was a Baltimore officer named Marco Cesaretti. He retired in ninety six. Missed his last rent payment. Nobody's seen him in three weeks.
(END TELEPHONE INTERCUTS)
[SCENE_BREAK]
INT. MALLARD HOME - DAY
TONY: Where do you need this? Oh, God. Mrs. Mallard? Mrs. Mallard!?
VICTORIA: Who are you!? And where are you going with my commode!
TONY: I'm your son's co-worker. Remember? Tony DiNozzo, the Italian gigolo furniture mover.
(SFX: DOOR BELL RINGS)
(SFX: DOGS BARK)
TONY: No!
(VICTORIA SHOUTS/KNIFE FALLS TO THE GROUND)
TONY: I'm a Federal Agent, Ma'am.
VICTORIA: That's what they all say.
(SFX: DOORBELL RINGS)
TONY: Will you please go stand over there? Now! And keep the girls and boys in the other room.
VICTORIA: Stay. Quiet down.
TONY: What is it?
DELIVERY MAN: Delivery!
TONY: What kind of delivery?
DELIVERY MAN: I don't know, Sir. It just says perishable.
(DOOR OPENS)
DELIVERY MAN: Hi.
TONY: Step back, please! Step back!
DELIVERY MAN: Okay!
TONY: Thank you.
(MUSIC UP AND OUT)
MUSIC IN:
EXT. MALLARD HOME - DAY
(PHOTO FLASHES)
DUCKY: Victim number four, Jethro. The size of the pieces, the cuts, are all consistent with the bodies of the D.A., the judge and the foreman.
GIBBS: The homicide detective completes the team.
DUCKY: You're forgetting the Medical Examiner, Jethro, whose testimony put Vincent Hanlan behind bars.
JIMMY: That's you!
DUCKY: Very good, Mister Palmer. He's saving the best for last.
GIBBS: It's not going to happen, Duck.
MCGEE: Boss.
DUCKY: You may load it, Mister Palmer.
JIMMY: Right. Should I...uh... roll it?
DUCKY: Well, one could do that, but I think it might be easier if you used the hand trolley.
JIMMY: Oh, oh, of course. I was so distracted by its contents, I didn't notice it.
DELIVERY MAN: Here. Let me help you with this.
MCGEE: The guy, who works for an independent delivery service downtown, picked up the barrel from a new client on Twenty-seventh Street. That's the order.
GIBBS: Universal Scrap Metal.
MCGEE: The owner called it in. The print's kind of small. Even I had trouble reading it.
GIBBS: Print's fine, McGee. Jeffrey... Jeffrey Winston.
MCGEE: Actually, it's Jeffrey Wilson. But you're very close, Boss.
GIBBS: Are you sure it's Wilson?
[SCENE_BREAK]
INT. PORCH - DAY
KATE: Gibbs is right. Whoever he is, he's not going to get you.
DUCKY: There is only one thing better than looking into the eyes of a beautiful woman and have her say that everything is going to be all right.
KATE: And what's that, Ducky?
DUCKY: My saying it to her.
JIMMY: All loaded, Doctor!
GIBBS: You stick to him like...
KATE: Glue.
GIBBS: An ex-wife after an alimony check.
KATE: (LAUGHS) Gibbs, what did Ducky look like when he was younger?
GIBBS: Ilya Kuryakin.
(TONY LAUGHS)
TONY: The sweet smell of freedom!
GIBBS: Mrs. Mallard?
TONY: Sleeping. Her usual afternoon fistful of Wild Turkey. Her last words to me were either "I'm going to slit your throat" or "kiss your moat." I couldn't tell because she was slurring.
GIBBS: That's good work, Tony.
TONY: Thank you, boss. So who's taking over for me now?
GIBBS: Kate's on protection detail with Ducky.
TONY: Yeah.
GIBBS: McGee's going with me to interview the guy who delivered the barrel.
TONY: Yeah.
GIBBS: I guess that leaves you.
TONY: Me? Boss, I just spent all day playing furniture mover for this slightly demented old lady and her pack of yapping hounds.
GIBBS: They're not hounds, DiNozzo. They're Corgis!
TONY: No, Boss! No, Boss! I'm on the verge, man! McGee?
(SFX: CAR STARTS)
TONY: (SHOUTS) Boss, I'm going to go postal! I'm not kidding! I'm this close!
(SFX: DOGS BARK)
TONY: Here's Tony! Come on. Here you go. Guys, come on. We've got treats in the house. In the house! We've got treats. Good boy, Tyson.
[SCENE_BREAK]
EXT. SCRAP YARD - DAY
WILSON: Are you going to badge me? That's what they say on T.V.
GIBBS: NCIS. Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
WILSON: I know what it stands for. I wasn't always in the junk business. U.S.S. Forestal. Machinist's Mate First Class.
GIBBS: Are you Jeffrey Wilson?
WILSON: This is about that barrel, ain't it? I knew that deal was too good.
GIBBS: Tell us about that.
WILSON: Well, this dude comes in. He buys a few of those.
GIBBS: Where'd you get them?
WILSON: Back of plants, factories. They don't want 'em. I clean 'em up, resell 'em.
GIBBS: Okay. Go on.
WILSON: Well, the dude brings one of them back. It's got some kind of liquid in it 'cause I can hear it sloshing around. So first I thought it might be some stuff to make meth. He offers me two hundred bucks to messenger it someplace in Reston.
MCGEE: Probably didn't give his real name.
WILSON: No name, no address. He didn't tell me what was in it. And I didn't ask.
GIBBS: I need you to come by the Navy Yard, sit down and describe him to a sketch artist.
WILSON: Won't do no good. Dude always wore a hooded sweatshirt and shades. He could've been Elvis. What was in that barrel anyway?
GIBBS: A meat puzzle.
[SCENE_BREAK]
INT. NCIS LAB - DAY
(MUSIC PLAYS B.G.)
ABBY: Oh! Gibbs, you scared me.
GIBBS: Come on, Abs. You sleep in a casket dressed in a funeral gown.
ABBY: I don't always wear the gown.
GIBBS: Too much information. What do we got here?
ABBY: Straight to the point. That's our Gibbs. Okay, bottom line. The sicko that's killing everyone that sent Vincent Hanlan to jail is definitely not Vincent Hanlan.
ABBY: Before Ducky went to see his mom, he checked the dental x-rays with those from the Maryland Correctional Adjustment Center.
GIBBS: Vincent Hanlan is in the casket.
ABBY: Every last inch of what is probably very rotting flesh at this point.
GIBBS: What about a DNA testing?
ABBY: Maryland incinerates all biological evidence three years after sentencing.
GIBBS: Okay, find an earlier x-ray. Before he went to prison.
ABBY: Before? Before.
[SCENE_BREAK]
INT. MALLARD HOME - DAY
(DOOR OPENS)
DUCKY: Mother, I'm home!
KATE: Your dogs.
DUCKY: Not just dogs, Kate. Welsh Corgis. In Wales the Corgi was the protector of the farmer. Now they protect my mother. That's Tyson.
KATE: Because he thinks he's a boxer?
DUCKY: No, because he bites. The bedrooms are upstairs, of course. Mine's there. You could use the guest room.
KATE: I won't be sleeping, Ducky.
DUCKY: Of course.
KATE: Where's your mother's room?
DUCKY: Oh, she sleeps down here now.
KATE: It must be difficult for her to get up the stairs at her age.
DUCKY: It has nothing to do with stairs, Caitlyn. Her snoring is deafening. She kept me awake all night. She'll keep you awake, too. Hello.
[SCENE_BREAK]
INT. DINING ROOM - DAY
(SFX: HAIRDRYER B.G.)
DUCKY: Hello?(DOOR OPENS)
VICTORIA: There you are, Contessa. You're beautiful.
(SFX: KATE LAUGHS)
KATE: Oh Tony, you finally found your true calling.
DUCKY: Mother, may I present Caitlyn. She works with Tony and me.
(SFX: VICTORIA SPITS)
DUCKY: Mother! We talked about this! Caitlyn is here to protect us.
VICTORIA: Show me your knickers.
KATE: Um... Ma'am?
VICTORIA: Your underwear, missy. One can always tell a woman's intention from her panties.
TONY: That's always been my philosophy.
DUCKY: I do apologize. Come along, Mother! Time to get dinner ready.
VICTORIA: Haven't I had dinner?
DUCKY: No you haven't.
VICTORIA: Well, use butter tonight. You always use bacon fat.
DUCKY: I use canola oil.
VICTORIA: I can tell that, too.
TONY: Sometimes older people can make so much sense.
KATE: You're relieved, Tony.
TONY: Oh, god. Okay, this is Contessa. She likes it rough.
KATE: Good night, Tony.
TONY: Yeah, look at the time. I've got to meet Steven for a beer. Hate to be late. So much to catch up on.
[SCENE_BREAK]
INT. SQUAD ROOM - DAY
(SFX: PHONE RINGS)
GIBBS: (INTO PHONE) Yeah, Gibbs.
[SCENE_BREAK]
INT. LAB - DAY
ABBY: (INTO PHONE) Vincent Hanlan's dental x-rays just arrived from medical school.
[SCENE_BREAK]
INT. SQUAD ROOM - DAY
GIBBS: McGee, you're with me. Come on.
[SCENE_BREAK]
INT. AUTOPSY ROOM - DAY
JIMMY: These x-rays were taken at Vincent Hanlan's autopsy. And these were eleven years ago in medical school. And if you look closely, you can see a perceptible difference due to molar wear, which is highly unusual given the short span of years, at least in modern man. In Neolithic man, who used to gnaw a lot of bones, you know, it could incur these kinds of...
GIBBS: Are you telling me these x-rays match?
JIMMY: I'm afraid so. The fillings in the upper third molar and second bicuspid are identical, as are the shape of the teeth.
GIBBS: He gnaws on bones like a caveman?
JIMMY: I can't explain that.
MCGEE: He grinds his teeth, boss. I did it as a kid in my sleep. Had to wear a special retainer at night.
ABBY: You still should.
GIBBS: I want Vincent Hanlan's body exhumed.
JIMMY: Why? I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that, Sir. It just... it just spewed out.
GIBBS: Abby, call Mount Ephraim Cemetery. McGee, you're with me. You dig up that body!
ABBY: Love to!
JIMMY: He's supposed to get a judge's authorization. He didn't even give us a reason why!
ABBY: Well, obviously Gibbs doesn't think that Hanlan is dead.
JIMMY: He is dead. Dental x-rays don't lie.
ABBY: Well, either Gibbs is wrong or Hanlan is one of the dead that still walks at night.
JIMMY: Okay, well then Gibbs is wrong. Isn't he?
[SCENE_BREAK]
INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT
(SFX: DOG BARKS O.S.)
(MUSIC OVER ACTION/KATE WALKS THROUGH THE HOUSE)
[SCENE_BREAK]
EXT. YARD - NIGHT
KATE: Mrs. Mallard? Mrs. Mallard.(SFX: DOG CONTINUES BARKING B.G.)
VICTORIA: Sneaking off after having your fun. Just as I knew you would.
KATE: No, it's not like that, Mrs. Mallard. Now please, I need you to take your dog and go back inside.
VICTORIA: That's not my dog.
KATE: Of course it's yours. Now, please, Mrs. Mallard!
VICTORIA: I've never seen that dog before in my life. I only have Corgis.
KATE: Get back inside now!
[SCENE_BREAK]
INT. MALLARD HOME - NIGHT
KATE: (SHOUTS) Ducky! Ducky!
[SCENE_BREAK]
EXT. HOUSE - NIGHT
(KATE RUNS FROM THE HOUSE)
(SFX: CAR DOOR CLOSES)
(SFX: CAR TIRES SCREECH)
KATE: (SHOUTS) Ducky!
(MUSIC OUT)
MUSIC IN:
INT. SQUAD ROOM - DAY
KATE: Gibbs, I'm sorry.
GIBBS: It's my fault. Two agents...
KATE: Excuse me?
GIBBS: Two protectees. I should have had two agents. You were as responsible for the mother as you were for Ducky.
(SFX: DOORS SLIDE OPEN)
TONY: Boss! Abby says the tire tracks from the van were made from Uniroyal Laredos. They're standard on Chevy Express cargo vans.
MCGEE: Both the funeral home and the taxidermy business own Chevrolet Express Cargo vans.
GIBBS: That's good enough for a search authorization.
TONY: On it.
GIBBS: Tony, you and Kate take the turkey stuffing brother. McGee, come on. You're with me.
[SCENE_BREAK]
INT. FUNERAL HOME - DAY
MARY HANLAN: You have no right to invade my home and my business.
MCGEE: Actually, that search warrant says we do, Ma'am.
MARY HANLAN: Don't Ma'am me you simpering wimp!
MCGEE: No, Ma'am.
GIBBS: Unlock this door.
MCGEE: Ma'am, if you impede our search in any way, you will be charged with obstruction.
GIBBS: That's not the way to do this. I have the right to break down that door, and anything in my way.
[SCENE_BREAK]
INT. CREMATORIUM - DAY
MARY HANLAN: Are you satisfied?
GIBBS: No. McGee, take a scraping from inside. One son beats a young woman to death, the other one plays with dead animals. I wonder where they get that.
MARY HANLAN: From their mother.
[SCENE_BREAK]
INT. AUTOPSY ROOM - DAY
JIMMY: Same teeth. Vincent Hanlan's corpse matches his autopsy x-rays.
ABBY: Teeth don't lie, Jimmy. (BEAT) What?
JIMMY: Do you think... you could get a blood type from the nerve tissue in this tooth?
ABBY: If I can rehydrate it. What are you thinking?
JIMMY: I'm thinking something crazy, Abby.
ABBY: Crazy is good.
MUSICAL BRIDGE TO:
INT. COFFIN STORAGE ROOM - DAY
(SFX: SCREW GUN B.G.)
MCGEE: It's heavier. Definitely something in this one.
MARY HANLAN: Mister Goldberg. He's being buried in the morning.
GIBBS: Check underneath Mister Goldberg.
(MUSIC OVER ACTION/MCGEE SEARCHES THE CASKET)
MCGEE: There's nothing.
MARY HANLAN: I'll inform the Goldbergs their grandfather was frisked by NCIS in his coffin. They're litigators.
[SCENE_BREAK]
EXT. FUNERAL HOME - DAY
(MUSIC OVER ACTION/TRUCK PULLS AWAY FROM THE HOME)
[SCENE_BREAK]
INT. FUNERAL HOME - DAY
MCGEE: Boss, the van is on the way to the garage for forensics. What next?
MARY HANLAN: Why don't you just admit that you made a mistake and get the hell out of here.
(SFX: PHONE RINGS)
GIBBS: (INTO PHONE) Gibbs.(BEGIN TELEPHONE INTERCUTS)
(SCENE CUT)
TONY: (INTO PHONE) No joy, Boss. We've looked under every furry creature and inside a couple. Ducky's not here.
(SCENE CUT)
GIBBS: (INTO PHONE) Yeah, I knew you'd find something, DiNozzo. That's good work, Tony. You bring him in for interrogation.
(SCENE CUT)
TONY: (INTO PHONE) Did you hear what I said, Boss?
(SCENE CUT)
GIBBS: (INTO PHONE) Yeah! Yeah, I heard you. (CHUCKLES) Let's go, McGee.(END TELEPHONE INTERCUTS)
MCGEE: What'd they find?
(DOOR OPENS/CLOSES)
FRED: Jonathan called. They're searching his shop, too.
MARY HANLAN: What do they think, he's stuffed their precious doctor?
FRED: Mary, we should do something to prevent...
MARY HANLAN: Fred... Fred. Shh... shh... shh. Don't start thinking now. You're far too old for that.
[SCENE_BREAK]
INT. INTERROGATION ROOM - DAY
JONATHAN: I already told you.
GIBBS: Tell me again.
JONATHAN: We crashed into a tree.
GIBBS: Vincent was driving?
JONATHAN: Yes.
GIBBS: You jumped out of the car?
JONATHAN: That's right.
GIBBS: You didn't even attempt to help your brother?
JONATHAN: The car was on fire. I was in a daze.
GIBBS: But you didn't even try.
JONATHAN: It was too hot! There was no way I could get to him.
GIBBS: What did your mother think about that?
JONATHAN: I wouldn't know. We don't talk. We haven't spoken since that night.
GIBBS: Yeah? Why is that?
JONATHAN: He was her favorite.
GIBBS: She blames you for his death. If my friend dies, I'll blame you, too.
KATE: (V.O./FILTERED) Gibbs, Jimmy Palmer ....
[SCENE_BREAK]
INT. OBSERVATION ROOM - DAY
KATE: ...and Abby need to see you.
(DOOR OPENS)
JIMMY: I pulled one of Vincent Hanlan's teeth and gave it to Abby.
ABBY: We did a blood analysis of the nerve tissue and compared it to the blood type of the tissue from the corpse.
ABBY AND JIMMY: (IN UNISON) They didn't match.
JIMMY: These are Vincent Hanlan's teeth, but they were put into this jaw. This body is not Vincent Hanlan's.
ABBY: I did a gas chromatograph and I found traces of Cyanoacrylate on the bottom of the--
GIBBS: In a language I speak, Abby.
ABBY: There is Super Glue on the root of the tooth.
JIMMY: Just a drop. It would never show up on an x-ray.
KATE: So the teeth were pulled from Vincent's mouth?
JIMMY: One by one. And then they were glued back into this jaw.
[SCENE_BREAK]
INT. INTERROGATION ROOM - DAY
GIBBS: Homo sapien. Reconstruction category. Someone took your brother's teeth and put them in that skull.
JONATHAN: It wasn't me. It was them. It's always them.
GIBBS: Your mother and Vincent?
JONATHAN: Vincent was drunk the night he slammed into that tree. We got out just before it burst into flames. When we got home, Mother had a car crash body laid out on the embalming table. Closed-casket job. She came up with the idea of giving Vincent a new life.
[SCENE_BREAK]
INT. OBSERVATION ROOM - DAY
TONY: He's got to be telling the truth.
KATE: Why?
TONY: Who would make that up?
JONATHAN: (MUFFLED) After she extracted Vincent's teeth and put them in the car-crash body...
[SCENE_BREAK]
INT. INTERROGATION ROOM - DAY
JONATHAN: She burnt the corpse beyond recognition.
GIBBS: Where is Vincent?
JONATHAN: (CRYING) With Mother. He's always with Mother.
GIBBS: We already searched the funeral home.
JONATHAN: Look harder!
GIBBS: Is Doctor Mallard there?
JONATHAN: Probably.
GIBBS: They don't keep you informed?
JONATHAN: They have lots of secrets. Terrible secrets with each other.
GIBBS: You call your mother, Jonathan. You tell her we've released you. You tell her that everything is okay now, that we had run into a dead end. You convince her, Jonathan. If you don't, I will tear every tooth out of your skull!
MUSICAL BRIDGE TO:
INT. STORAGE ROOM - NIGHT
(DOOR OPENS)
MUSICAL BRIDGE TO:
EXT. FUNERAL HOME - DAY
GIBBS: I got a light.
TONY: Let's go.
GIBBS: Wait.
TONY: For what?
GIBBS: Let them get Ducky out of wherever they've been hiding him.
TONY: Now?
GIBBS: Not yet. Okay, get into positions.
[SCENE_BREAK]
INT. EMBALMING ROOM - NIGHT
VINCENT: It'll only take four minutes to drain your blood. Versus eight years in the same cell, twenty four hours a day.
MARY HANLAN: He's getting off easy, Angel.
(SFX: DUCKY'S MUFFLED CRIES B.G.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
INT. FUNERAL HOME - NIGHT
(MUSIC OVER ACTION/DOOR CRASHES OPEN)
[SCENE_BREAK]
INT. HALLWAY - NIGHT
GIBBS: Where are they?
MCGEE: Turn around! Hands out! He's clean.
[SCENE_BREAK]
INT. EMBALMING ROOM - DAY
(DOOR OPENS)
GIBBS: Get back!
(SFX: MUFFLED DUCKY CRIES CONTINUE)
GIBBS: Move back or you're dead! Tony?
DUCKY: My hands. Release my hands! Get me something to stop the bleeding!
KATE: Hands in the air!
VINCENT: I can't go back there.
MARY HANLAN: Just do what they say, Vincent.
GIBBS: Turn around! Face the wall!
MARY HANLAN: Just do it.
VINCENT: I love you, Mother, but I can't do this again!
MARY HANLAN: (SCREAMS) No! No! My god, no! Oh my god no! No god, they killed my son!
KATE: Come on, let's go!(MARY SOBS HYSTERICALLY)
DUCKY: You're the one that got off easy, my boy. What kept you?
[SCENE_BREAK]
INT. SQUAD ROOM - NIGHT
TONY: The mother finally give a statement?
GIBBS: Yeah, short one. Two words.
TONY: So, you seeing my frat brother tonight?
KATE: As a matter of fact, I am. Steven feels bad. Said he'd like to make it up to me.
TONY: How's he going to do that?
KATE: By telling me things about you.
TONY: Never gonna happen. The Fraternal oath is sacred.
KATE: Some things are even more sacred, Tony.
Plan: A: several months; Q: How long did it take Ducky and Jimmy to identify the bodies in the meat puzzle? A: the bodies; Q: What do Ducky and Jimmy finally start identifying in the meat puzzle? A: the meat puzzle; Q: What have Ducky and Jimmy been working on? A: a part; Q: What did the victims all play in a trial in which Ducky testified? A: Vincent Hanlon; Q: Who is the medical examiner who was accused of raping and murdering a young Navy lieutenant? A: Hanlon; Q: Whose teeth match the corpse's? A: eight years; Q: How long was Hanlon jailed for? A: the case; Q: What were the dead men involved in? A: the next target; Q: What does Gibbs think Ducky might be? A: revenge; Q: What is the motive of the murders? A: protection detail; Q: What is the name of the detail that Tony and Kate are assigned to? A: his elderly mother; Q: Who is Ducky protecting? A: a split-second mistake; Q: What did Kate do that led to Ducky being kidnapped? A: his home; Q: Where was Ducky kidnapped from? A: The team; Q: Who must race against time to find Ducky before he ends up dead like all the other previous victims? A: Abby; Q: Who is Jimmy's partner in the investigation of the murders? A: a car crash; Q: How did Hanlon die? Summary: After several months, Ducky and Jimmy finally start identifying the bodies in the meat puzzle they have been working on. It is not long before Ducky realizes that the victims all played a part in a trial in which he himself testified: the court case of a would-be medical examiner named Vincent Hanlon. Hanlon was accused of raping and murdering a young Navy lieutenant, and was eventually jailed for eight years as a result. They soon discover that the dead men were involved in the case, and it dawns on Gibbs that Ducky might be the next target. It appears that whoever has already carried out the gruesome killings is out for revenge against those who were involved in the case. Tony and Kate are assigned to protection detail, which means safeguarding Ducky and his elderly mother, but Kate makes a split-second mistake that leads to Ducky being kidnapped from his home during the night. The team must race against time to find him before he ends up dead like all the other previous victims. Meanwhile, Jimmy and Abby begin working together and uncover a surprising revelation: Vincent Hanlon, who is thought to have died in a car crash, is not actually dead. The corpse's teeth match Hanlon's, while the body belongs to someone else.