A couple out for a walk, sing the mocking bird song to their baby, as Gibbs (Mark Harmon) used to sing to Kelly. Then hear gunshots and find a woman kneeling over the man's body. Tony (Michael Weatherly) says something very special "is happening to very special agent Anthony DiNozzo today." Ziva (Cote de Pablo) asks who he's seeing Kurosawa? She didn't know he was into Asian women. He's into all women as if she doesn't know! Tony: "Kurosawa's a dude." Ziva: "I certainly did not know you were into Asian dudes." He's the greatest filmmaker, made the Seven Samurai and The Hidden Fortress. Ziva mentions her book being a work of art and Tony asks her if she's got the new Judy Bloom. He always liked 'God Are You there, It's Me Margaret'. Another book comment from Tony, why has he read that particular book. Ziva meant the Declaration of Independence and wants to pass her citizenship test with "swimming colours." McGee (Sean Murray) corrects her, "flying colours."
McGee mentions his whole apartment is wired to a single remote control. Tony likes the clapper, clap on, clap off. Gibbs tells them they're ona case, there's no time for coffee for McGee. He has buttermints, taste like coffee. Detective Phillip McCadden (Adam Kaufman) tells them the Vic's fiancee saw the whole thing. Ducky (David McCallum) tells Palmer (Brian Dietzen) to put away his 'insidious device'. It's a CS not a chatroom. Palmer's got a date with a girl from the funeral home. Tony warns him they like to do it in the dark. They find an empty ring box. Norton has multiple wounds to his torso. They don't normally have witnesses. Ziva questions Gibbs' ex-mother-in-law.
Flashbacks to Joanne (Gena Rowlands) Shannon and Kelly as a baby. Joanne saw them at the funeral. Tony: "All right McNosy what have you gott?" To McGee, who comments they're very estranged. Tony comments "maybe she's cursed like a Kennedy." Ziva read about that. The shooter was in the "book suppository." Tony corrects her "depository."
Gibbs: "I'm listening." He was. Knew where the cameras were and how to avoid them. Capt Norton was 6 months away from retirement. Gibbs compliments Tony on his good work. Vance (Rocky Carroll) wants to speak with Gibbs after he talks with Joanne. Tony says he complimented him twice and suggests they keep an eye on him. Vance replies that's not Tony's decision to make.
Joanne sees Gibbs is still drinking coffee. His father's stubborn. Norton proposed to her and a stranger shot him. He went for the gun, she wouldn't help. How did she know he was a stranger, Norton could have known him. Gibbs has to follow protocol as he's related to her, he declines to give up the case. They've all lost people. Vance thinks it could be a problem. Gibbs tells him off the record, he needs to do this for Shannon, it's what she would have wanted. Vance didn't step down from the Korean assassin case when that was personal for him too, even if he wasn't related to her. Vance tells him if his judgement is in question he'll remove him from the case. That should have been done anyway.
Half expecting Ziva to walk in on Gibbs in the toilet. (As she does to Tony.) Gibbs decided to leave but he was a Marine and had to take his family with him. Tony interrupts his flashback and asks if he needs anything. Gibbs asks him to leave. McCadden tells him Joanne said the same thing about the ring, she's arthritic Every woman knows her ring size. Just incase. Ziva's is size 5. McGee finds the GSR shows she was within a foot of Norton when he was shot. She'd be covered from the discharge so the test would be useless. Gibbs recognizes the sketch Joanne did of the shooter as Kyle from high school. Was Joanne really going to fool Gibbs. He died in a car accident three years ago. Gibbs asks if she saw the shooter or not. Yes cos she shot him, That was obvious and suspect Gibbs knows that too; or at least his gut should have told him.
Tony drops Joanne off at home - he drives like a maniac. More like Ziva does. Gibbs doesn't trust many people. Tony asks her what he was like when younger. She liked him, but didn't understand him, happy Shannon married him. McGee finds a laptop and two burn phones bought in Arizona. Calls made to Nogales from the Renosa Drug cartel. McGee says drugs were smuggled out when navy ships were in Mexican ports. Ducky smelt Palmer's awful cologne and he wears disposable contacts. Gibbs: "Smells like a French whorehouse in here." (He'd know, ha, well he and Jenny (Lauren Holly) were in Paris.) He asks if he's trying to raise DBS? Ducky finds a parasite from infected sand flies found in Third World countries. Gibbs comments like Mexico.
Abby (Pauley Perrette) test fires the gun, like a carnival, you can win a stuffed animal. Like her hippo. She examines the spatter patterns from Joanne's coat, she wasn't standing where she said. If she was behind him, the blood spatters would be on her left shoulder from exit wounds. Scrapings from under her fingernails reveal wool fibres. Navy epaulets and aircraft fuel on the surface. Officer bridgecoats have epaulets. Gibbs realizes Joanne is lying, her story doesn't add up. He wants honesty and respect. She tells him Gibbs always had that, but only when Shannon was alive. He did nothing when they died and he replies they all have that in common. She slaps him. Gibbs had his orders and he wasn't the one who killed them. This is about Norton's murder.
Tony watches a movie and acts it out. Study Japanese Samurai. Like Gibbs, "with even bigger stones and less to say." Tony checks her phone and financial records. McGee finds one call was made to Nogales from the US side from a Martin Hendricks. She paid him for two years. Tony and Ziva pay a visit to Arizona, does he have to, he's already been there twice in season 6. See it's always Arizona. Tony wears his suit. Tony: "are you hot?" Ziva: "I've been told that before." He's talking about the temperature. Winter feels like this to her back home. Tony tells her they're in the US (as usual) and they "embrace the central air not a melanoma." Hendricks is dead and Tony comments like a homemade toaster oven, "well done." Ziva: "Thanks." Tony: "Not you, him."
Gibbs confronts Joanne, she hired Hendricks, she can talk to him cos it's only them. She spent years looking for Norton. Gibbs tells her she's leaving a trail. He wants to give her a chance cos of Shannon and asks if she wants his help. Which he gives anyway. Another case of Gibbs wanting to help out even if it's not protocol or by the book. (See the season finale.) Allison (Rena Sofer) turns up at Gibbs' place. His door' still open. Still she calls him Mr Gibbs. Gibbs asks if she does pro bono work as someone needs her help. First he was complaining about her getting in his way and always turning up to get in the way of his cases and now he specifically asks her for help. He wants her to represent Joanne. It might be conflicted. Alison "worst date I've ever had." Who said it was a date. Ducky says Hendricks died of extreme thirst. McGee locates the phone calls were made to a Lt Shankton (Bryce Johnson) . He met Norton in Mexico ten years ago.
Shankton confessess he's a drug dealer but didn't kill him. Fibres are examined from his coat and he claims he's being framed. Allison doesn't let Tony talk to Joanne. Tony tells her she gets around. Vance says they're holding Shankton for murder. Gibbs tells him the evidence says he did it and has a connection to the Cartel. Vance thinks she killed him and set him up. Gibbs replies that makes her very clever and a vigilante. Vance: "Go ahead Gibbs, cross it." He asks if they arrest her will Gibbs be able to focus on the job..
Ducky finds three slugs, one in the spine and the other two passed through Norton. Joanne couldn't have been behind Norton. Actual blood spatter was further down, she was standing in front and facing him. She fired the shots. Allison tells Gibbs he can't talk to her alone. He says she's family and has to. She's been defending guilty people for too long. As long as they bow to each other and somebody wins, she's done her job. "Truth's overrated." She knew Norton was "guilty by association." She knew about the Cartel and she killed one and framed another. Joanne is a mother who lost everything. Gibbs tells her Norton didn't kill them but he knows who did. Flash to Gibbs shooting the killer (3.24) "Did it feel satisfying." She whispered their names and shot him three times and watched him die. "No one need know, we both did what we did for them."
Gibbs arrests Joanne and Allison conveniently walks in. The arrest is illegal and unlawful, no Miranda rights and she can take legal action. Gibbs tells her the case will never hold. She won. Oh the contrivance! Vance says Shankton had means and opportunity. The fibres match his coat and he's a drug dealer. Joanne is no longer a suspect. Palmer introduces them to Breena, (Michelle Pierce) a blonde, prompting Tony to utter life isn't fair. Palmer loves her for her mind. Appropriate song at the end, with Gibbs burning Joanne's file: "there's murder in my heart." By Sheryl Crowe.
What is it with Gibbs and Allison, not another 'did they/didn't they' going on here, but it feels that way. It was abundantly apparent Gibbs planned to question Joanne without her lawyer there, that's why he called Allison. The go to gal whenever a stitch up is needed. So much for them talking about justice in the Masquerade episode. Now Gibbs has taken justic into his own hands again ( as he did when he shot his family's killer. That'll come back to haunt him, which is why we got this episode now.) Took Joanne a long time to find Norton and even if he didn't actually pull the trigger, she finds satisfaction in killing him. Oh she's ruthless. Losing her family aside, she's not the only mother to ever go through that.
This just reeks of injustice. Something about this episode was really off, she got away with murder, no wonder Allison was here, it's her specialty. Vengeance, retribution isn't justice but satisfying personal vendettas. Gibbs letting quite a few people off throughout the series, like he did with the Marine's father whose son was killed in season 5 episode Tribes. Suppose he had to she was family after all, but just goes to show how much can be swept under the carpet by those in the know. Yes it all depends on who you know. Sean Harmon's second appearance and the woman in the photo appears to be Pam Dawber, Mark's wife.
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