A reporter waiting for a meeting at a construction site is found dead. McGee (Sean Murray) has to take another polygraph test. Tony (Michael Weatherly) asks him why and here comes the oft used phrase again, "Don't ask, don't tell." Need to have that included at least a few times a season. Tony being funny as per usual, comments, "You didn't make a mistake about coming out did you?" How many times has Tony mentioned that about McGee now.
McGee replies, "I don't have anything to come out about." Tony calls him "McQueen" and that this could end McGee's career. Always a scaremonger, our Tony. Gibbs (Mark Harmon) on the other hand, never took a polygraph. Just a thought what happened to the polygraphs the team were meant to be subjected to in season 4 finale Angel of Death. We didn't hear anything more about that. The dead Vic was Matt Burns (Julian Acosta) a blogger, who Tony comments was kicking NCIS butt in his stories. Ducky (David McCallum) talks with Ziva (Cote de Pablo) when the others are out in the field. She hasn't been cleared for fieldwork yet.
At the CS, McGee finds a shoeprint on the ground. Tony hones on the female police officer of course and comments on her scarf bringing out the colour of her eyes but advises her not to wear it at a CS as the loose fibres can contaminate. She's Megan Hanley (Kelly Overton). Gibbs questions whether Burns was pushed or did he jump. Sportelli (Jack Conley ) from Metro PD thinks the case will be awkward for NCIS since Burns was "trashing" them as being involved in the cover-up of a marine's death. Nah, our NCIS team, never! Sportelli expects them to cooperate fully. Burns was looking into the death of Lt Rod Arnett after he died in a car crash at Pax Naval Base. Tony calls it an accident. Burns had a source who accused NCIS of the cover-up. Tony, Gibbs and Sportelli come to blows, not physically, and he's referred to as the "police detective who made the mistake of tugging on Superman's cape." Gibbs being Superman of course.
McGee looks for the source. A chief suspect is Thomas Victor (H Richard Greene) a judge whose reputation was destroyed by Burns. McGee says they're only investigating Arnett as Burns is not within the "purview" of their case. Tony has to hold onto the "Ooh, purview." A big word for Tony. Ha. Tony clearly doesn't like it when his investigating skills are questioned and rightly so. Gibbs asks Ducky if he's got a new toy; his portable X-ray machine. Ducky brings up Ziva and how she's been through so much but doesn't talk about it. Gibbs says she'll talk when she's ready, well she's already talked to Gibbs, last episode.
Ducky reviews the autopsy file on Arnett and Abby (Pauley Perrette) goes over the physical evidence. The Judge tells Tony he's glad Burns is dead. Burns accused him of plagiarizing when he borrowed phrases from a book he read, he was stupid but he only wanted a name for himself. (Last time I checked, you are allowed to quote as long as you state your source.) Tony runs off when he sees Sportelli. Arnett's company showed no signs of insider dealing. They question Lt Jessica Summers (Erin Cahill) who says she rode once in Arnett's car and he drove fast. He received job offers. Abby carried out an accident reconstruction on the computer and concludes it was an accident. Abby tells McGee the polygraph test is nothing and that Kirschner had to retake a test, but he left before McGee got here. That would only make McGee more worried.
Lt Summers called Arnett, more ammo for Tony: "Fraternization in the workplace - not a good idea." (For all sorts of reasons which is why it wouldn't work between Tony and Ziva either and besides we don't want them fraternizing! Also Gibbs' one of rules.) Tony looks right over at Ziva when he says this. Ziva went through Burns' articles and says he made up facts and figures in them. Ziva: calls them "Salami" in one of her Ziva-isms. Tony corrects her, it's "Baloney." Salami, baloney, pastrami, Tony knows all about food. There's nothing unusual in Arnett's finances. Summers says she broke it off with him since he was seeing another woman. Tony comments they're not through with 'Honey Bunny' and Gibbs will lead in with the "creepy uncle" scenario when questioning her and end with the "father figure you can trust." Which is exactly what Ziva called him last episode. That's how Gibbs will break Summers.
McGee calls it "intimidation, classic in yer face Gibbs." Ziva disagrees. Gibbs goes for the, in Tony's words, "Old lie to me, I'll lie to you - never saw that coming. I like it." Summers is Burns' source, that was obvious and Gibbs loses his temper with her. McAllister Industries contract made money and Ziva says the two cases are connected. McGee adds they messed up the investigation.
Ducky reviewed the autopsy and concludes Arnett's death was an accident. Ducky talks to the Metro ME on the case and has to fob him off, "I have to say that or he'll talk my ears off." Like someone else we know 'ey Ducky and that's meant in a nice way! Ducky's stories are intriguing most of the time, even though people will disagree, that's the charm of his character. Gibbs asks if Ducky lies like that to him and responds, "Never!" He says the tissue had to be prepared for tests on Arnett, however his family wanted him buried. Benjamin Franklin (Clyde Kusatsu) from the Securities Exchanges Commission pays a visit and claims to have heard all the jokes in relation to his name. Before Tony can get one in. There's no evidence of insider trading on Arnett's part. So instead Tony focuses on his bifocals, no pun! A Will Sutton (Kevin Will) made two million on McAllister stock.
Meanwhile Abby has to contend with Sportelli and tells him she only takes orders from Gibbs, she wants Gibbs to make him go away. He has a court order for their evidence and Sportelli hopes Gibbs can tell his boss he didn't blow the investigation. Tony questions Sutton with a toothpick in his mouth, like Vance (Rocky Carroll) but he only has eyes for the pastrami. Then proceeds to scoff the whole lot back at his desk, without giving any to McGee. He offers him the pickle though, which McGee doesn't like. Arnett and Sutton don't have anything in common. Arnett's body is exhumed and Ducky tells Abby how in South China they open graves after one year and rebury in a vase. The coffin is empty. Tony wonders who would steal the body.
McGee and Tony go the funeral home where Tony can't help checking out the caskets and suggests McGee should get inside one so he can send the photo to McGrady (Jackie Geary) and she'll think he's dead. How nice Tony! The security alarm went off at the home that's when his body was stolen. Abby comments her coffin was handcrafted by an artisan, and provides "hours of restful sleep and pleasure." Ducky and Gibbs had the same thought about the casket. Ziva thinks Burns stole Arnett's body. Tony likes that theory and wants to know how they can prove it. He and McGee check out Burns' car in police impound and McGee downloads data from his navigation system onto his laptop; before they're chased by dogs and arrested. McGee could've just scaled the fence at the side instead of running towards the fence they climbed over to get in. Liked their mugshots. Abby comments on how scared McGee looks. Vance got them released.
Burns parked outside the mortuary. Ziva begins writing a letter to her father on the computer. Abby tells her the theory was right, but she refuses to celebrate on a girl's night out with Abby. Grady just wanted to see McGee again and used the polygraph as a ploy. She takes the same train every morning which provides McGee with a clue to solving the case and getting the proof that Tony wants. (Should that be 'McProof' as Tony referred to him last episode.) Abby finds the fibres on Arnett's uniform are consistent with a car. McGee discovers Arnett had a rail pass. Sutton drives to the station to take the train and Arnett took the train to the Pentagon. Tony asks if Sutton is a Hitchcock fan as the film Strangers on a Train (1951) comes to mind. Since if there was an SEC investigation there would be no obvious connection between Sutton and Arnett. Sutton says he wants a lawyer and Tony comments innocent guys always say they want a lawyer. Isn't that a bit of a contradiction, since it's not only the bad guys who ask for lawyers but the innocent too. They met at the bridge and Sutton killed Burns. Gibbs offers to give Sportelli the killer for dropping all charges against Tony and McGee.
Gibbs spells out for McGee that Grady just wants to see him since she likes him, "draw you a picture?" It doesn't matter what Ziva's father thinks. She says it's wrong for her to be a visitor here, she wants to be an agent. Gibbs doesn't know if she can, she has to resign from Mossad first.
Didn't know what to make of this episode, it had all the jokes and the fun bits, but didn't seem that interesting. Just routine. Not one of my favourite episodes of season 7 and I like them all.
Jack Conley appeared twice in JAG and always as a bad guy.
No comments:
Post a Comment