Show: NCIS - 22x7
I'm telling you, Harry, this program is no joke.
I'm taking Intro to Forensics, Theories of Criminal Behavior.
Oh, my professor said the FBI recruits straight out of Waverly's Criminology Program.
That is how good it is.
I'm not set on the FBI just yet.
You know, that's why I'm doing this internship.
See how it is to be a private eye.
Not exactly Raymond Chandler, is it?
Who?
Listen, kid, the client doesn't need 700 pictures of his wife standing in a window.
He just wants one picture of the wife with the boy toy.
That's the money shot.
Harry, come on, we have been here all night.
Nothing is going to happen.
Trust me, kid, people will screw each other any time of day.
Hmm?
Okay.
Showtime.
Come on, kid, take the picture.
I-I think the battery died.
For crying out loud.
How many times I got to tell you?
Always bring a backup.
Come on, lover boy.
Show me your pretty face.
Gotcha.
No, Mrs.
Anderson, I get it.
Okay, you're upset, and your daughter's upset, I completely understand, but you got to...
Well, Mrs.
Anderson, I don't know what you expect me to do about this.
It's just a game.
You know, it's-it's a kid...
Hello?
Hello?
Good morning?
Yeah, not so much.
Who was that?
That was Mrs.
Anderson, the third parent to call me this morning.
Huh.
Sounds like somebody could use a chausson aux pommes, the original apple turnover.
No?
You know, 400 years ago, these babies saved an entire French village.
No, thanks, I'm not hungry.
You know what the crazy thing about this is, too?
I volunteered for this.
You volunteered to be yelled at by angry parents?
No, I volunteered to be a referee in my kids' local soccer league.
Oh, no.
I mean, I thought it'd be fun.
You know?
Good for the kids, nice cardio for me.
So, that's why when Jimmy asked me to do it, I said yeah.
Hold it.
Jimmy is a ref, too?
Oh, he's not just a ref, he is the head ref.
Yeah, don't remind me.
Whenever Jimmy puts on those knee-high socks, he becomes a different man.
Okay.
Oh, here comes, uh, Dr.
Palmer and Mr.
Hyde now.
-Okay.
Yeah.
No, I hear you, Bob.
Yeah, I do, you are yelling.
Look, I think it might be better if we just continue this after you've had a chance to calm down.
And maybe not while you're driving your kids to school.
Although, you know, they have learned some fun new words today, haven't they?
Okay, all right, you have a good day, Bob, all right.
Bye-bye.
Mmm.
Chausson aux pommes.
Huh?
You know, these things saved a village.
Mais oui.
So what'd you guys do to piss off all the parents?
No, it's nothing really.
Just a little disagreement about a call we made.
It was a call that decided the championship game.
Ah.
Kids were crying.
Parents were yelling.
I don't know, it was kind of awful.
It's all part of being a ref, Tim.
It'll blow over.
You'll see.
All right, that's kickoff, folks.
We got a dead Naval researcher in an Arlington park.
Jimmy, see you there.
Anyone heard from Nick?
Call him on the way.
All right, we got Dr.
Roger Carnahan.
He's the new head of Warfare and Weapons at the Office of Naval Research.
He's only had the job about ten months.
ONR.
Isn't that near here?
Yeah, it's about a ten-minute walk east.
The doctor's house is about a ten-minute walk west.
Well, Torres finally got back to me.
Said he's not feeling well.
Can't remember the last time he was sick.
Well, the good news is, I don't think you guys are gonna need four agents to solve this one.
Call it, ref.
Got a gun near his hand.
A bullet near his temple.
This looks like a suicide.
Maybe the pressure of the new job got to him?
So what are we thinking?
He was walking to work when he decided to stop here and kill himself?
Why even start walking to work in the first place?
Oh, it's a great park.
You know?
I mean, I'd like to have a nice view before I die.
-Jimmy?
Yeah?
Help me lift up his head.
I'm trying to unlock his phone.
Oh, sure, yeah.
It's not all that uncommon for suicides to occur outside of the house.
It spares their loved ones the cleanup.
Doesn't look like the good doctor was married.
I don't see a ring.
Then what's that?
Looks like a ring.
There's a tan line from where it used to be.
All right, we need to talk to his wife.
I'm in his phone.
I can look up her...
Wow.
What?
What is it?
I think I might know why Carnahan killed himself.
Oh, hey, guys.
What are you doing here?
Was gonna ask you the same question.
We need to speak to Mrs.
Carnahan.
Nick?
Is everything all right?
It's not what it looks like.
Jimmy puts Dr.
Carnahan's time of death between 6:30 and 7:00 a.m.
He received the photos of you and Amber just before that.
Who sent these?
Don't know.
They used an encrypted messaging app.
Nick, I want to give you the benefit of the doubt, but you got to realize how this looks.
Tell me you're not having an affair with our victim's wife.
Amber's not a fling.
She's a confidential informant.
She's your C.I.?
Since when?
Remember that party that SECNAV threw a few weeks ago?
Yeah, I remember making an excuse to get out of it.
Yeah, me, too.
Oh, really?
Well, that's great, guys.
Thanks.
Just-- What happened at the party?
What do you think happened?
I got bored.
Filled up a plate with food.
I went to the terrace thinking, hey, I'm gonna lay low here.
Except Amber had the same idea.
Started to talk for a while, then she finally told me that she had evidence her husband was gonna commit a crime.
She couldn't talk in front of him, so I slipped her my card.
Why didn't you come to us?
'Cause she was scared.
Trust me, if I would've brought you in, she would've pulled away.
How do you know that?
Because it's what I do, Parker.
You cultivate orchids, I cultivate C.I.s.
All right, how did you end up at this fine establishment?
Amber called me, she said she wanted to meet.
I showed up, we talked, but she was still too scared.
Skip to the end.
What was her husband planning to do?
I don't know.
You knocked on the door, you screwed everything up.
Yeah, can you blame us?
It's my fault.
I didn't know where else to go, so I checked in here.
Roger's always been the jealous type.
He must've hired someone to follow me.
How could you have known?
He's done it before.
Amber, I'm sorry for your loss, but considering the sensitive nature of your husband'swork...
...we need to know everything.
You can trust them.
It'll be all right.
Director Vance, I'm already having a hard enough time accepting that Roger Carnahan took his own life, but now you also expect me to believe that he was planning to sell top secret research?
I don't want to believe it either, Dr.
Lythcott, but the allegations are serious.
What is your source?
Uh, Dr.
Lythcott, I'm afraid that we can't reveal our source while the investigation is ongoing, but they mentioned a project that the doctor was planning to steal.
Does the "MAD Falcon" ring any bells?
Alarm bells.
What can you tell us?
Nothing.
It's-it's top secret with a capital everything.
You'd need authorization.
Let me worry about that.
Right now, we need you to lock down ONR's systems.
We're sending a computer forensic specialist to do a sweep.
Of course, Director.
But before I go, how is Mrs.
Carnahan doing?
I can't imagine what she must be going through.
Don't worry, Doctor.
She's in good hands.
I'll await your specialist.
Good hands?
I take it you saw the photos from the motel.
I have.
Let's just hope the press never sees them.
I want to know who took them, and I want them contained.
I'll get Kasie on it.
Torres.
Was he out of bounds?
No.
But it's still a mess.
You're doing the right thing.
The right thing?
The right thing got Roger killed.
He's dead because of me.
Come on, stop.
If you're gonna blame someone, blame me.
I should've seen we were being watched.
If I had, this would've never happened.
No.
Hey.
You were there for me when I needed someone.
Sorry to interrupt.
Just wanted to let you know that we found hard drives taken from the ONR hidden under the floorboards of your house.
You were right.
So does this mean that I can go home now?
Well, the place is crawling with federal agents.
Do you have any friends or family that you can stay with?
No family, and, um...
I really don't have any friends...
Whew.
Whoa.
You all right?
Yeah.
I just haven't eaten anything since yesterday.
Well, then let's get you some food.
Huh.
Jimmy.
Oh.
Hey, sorry, Tim.
I was just practicing my tones.
I don't think I have the end-of-play triple blast down.
Oh, there it is.
Remember, your whistle is your voice on the field.
Don't be afraid to use it.
Yeah.
Hey, Jimmy, um, the call that we made this past weekend, do you think that maybe we got it wrong?
Do you think we got it wrong?
I don't know, I keep replaying it in my head, right?
I see the shot on goal, and I see little Susan Finley leaps for it.
And she saved it.
Look, Tim, all of these parents saying they saw the ball cross the goal line, they don't make the call.
Okay?
We make the call.
Simple as that.
Right, right, but...
I think they may be right.
Whoa, time-out.
Sorry, I know there's no time-outs in soccer.
But, Tim, what you're going through right now, it's natural.
I felt the same thing when I first started reffing.
You know, doubting myself, questioning every call, wondering if I had what it takes.
Now, trust me, it will pass.
But until it does, you can't let these parents get under your skin.
Okay?
Yeah, yeah.
You're right.
Besides, we totally made the right call.
I'm not sure I can say the same thing about Dr.
Carnahan here.
What do you mean?
Well, I pulled up his medical records.
A few weeks ago, he went to see an orthopedic surgeon about a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder.
Mm-hmm.
Now, raising a gun up to shoot himself in the head at the angle he did, would've been nearly impossible.
Speaking of angles, take a look at this.
Now, if he had shot himself, you would expect the bullet to pass through on a horizontal plane, but in this case...
The bullet passed through at a downward angle.
Someone else was holding the gun.
Which would make this murder.
When Roger was offered the job at ONR, that was huge.
But it meant that I had to quit my job in L.A.
and move across the country with him.
And what did you do in L.A.?
You're gonna laugh.
Try me.
I was an on-air pitchwoman for the Buy Now Home Shopping Channel.
I knew I recognized you.
You know, I think I actually bought a blender from you at 3:00 a.m.
Yeah, that was me.
Blenders, vacuums, mops.
I could sell anything.
Roger thought it was...
stupid. "
Frivolous" was the word he used.
Not like his work.
And he had a point.
So I quit, and here I am.
For better or for worse, right?
Amber, did he ever hurt you?
I, um...
I had a lot of coffee.
Where's the, um...
Just through that door.
Hi.
Sorry.
Mm-hmm.
You okay?
I'm fine, yeah.
It's Amber I'm worried about.
Her husband.
Yeah, a real piece of work, huh?
It took a lot of courage for her to speak up.
And she's really lucky that she found you.
I know you've only known her for a couple of weeks, but you've been really protective.
Yeah, well, I've known men like Carnahan.
Mm, it's Parker.
Jimmy just ruled Carnahan's death a homicide.
And Cyber Divisionconfirms he stole files from ONR's system.
Must've killed him for those files.
Help!
Help!
Help me, Nick!
No shot, no shot!
Anything?
We've put a BOLO out on the van and MPD is setting up a perimeter.
I don't understand, why would someone take Amber Carnahan?
We think that whoever her husband was selling top secret research to must have found out that she's been talking to NCIS.
So they killed him and abducted her.
Probably to find out how much she told us.
And what will they do with her after that?
Oh, God.
We're gonna find her, but it would help if we knew what her husband stole.
What is the "MAD Falcon?"
SecDef has authorized Dr.
Lythcott to read us in.
Please.
MAD Falcon is the Navy's next- generation hypersonic missile. "
MAD" stands for Missile Air Defense.
It's the culmination of years of research.
Is that what I think it is?
Yes, the Falcon would be the first nuclear-capable hypersonic missile in the military's arsenal.
Well, that narrows our suspect list.
Russia, China, North Korea.
Carnahan wasn't hurting for money.
He didn't just wake up one day and decide to betray his country.
I'm thinking he was recruited years ago.
It's a pretty big thing to miss on a DoD background check.
Yeah, too big.
Makes you wonder who ran it.
Track 'em down.
Agent Parker?
Please find Mrs.
Carnahan.
Tim, you find the van?
Well, uh, yes and no.
We got a hit on a traffic cam from about seven hours ago.
This is from the Arlington park where Dr.
Carnahan was murdered.
So, whoever killed Carnahan kidnapped Amber.
But that doesn't help us find her.
What about the motel?
What about it?
Remember, I told you I saw the white van parked outside right where the photos were taken?
Rule 39.
That's the one about no coincidences, right?
So, maybe the killer was watching Amber at the motel to see who she was talking to.
And then used these photos to sell her husband's murder as a suicide.
Kasie's been working on ID'ing the photographer.
I'll go talk to her.
Knight, I need you to pull Carnahan's background investigation and find out who worked it.
I want to know why they missed these red flags.
You got it.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, Torres.
Where you going?
I'm gonna go see if Jimmy missed anything else important.
Well, look, whoever staged Carnahan's suicide knew what they were doing.
This isn't Jimmy's fault.
No, it's not, it's mine.
She was my C.I., Parker.
It was my job to protect her.
Yeah, and it still is.
Jimmy's doing his job, you do yours.
Go back over Amber's statement.
Maybe there's something that we missed.
All right.
Hey, Kase.
Hey, McGee.
Hey, tell me if this is weird.
So, I just finished analyzing the drives found at the Carnahan house.
Guess what they contained?
Top secret missile designs?
Nothing.
Well, not nothing.
I mean, like, you know, expense reports, meeting transcripts, a recipe for cauliflower soup.
Nothing remotely classified.
Weird, right?
Yeah, very weird.
But that's not why I'm down here.
Oh, the motel photos?
Yeah.
Any luck ID'ing who took them?
Whew!
It has been a journey, my friend.
So first, I started off trying to trace the encrypted texts that put the photos on Carnahan's phone in the first place.
No luck.
But then, I noticed something interesting in one of the wider shots.
See that?
Yeah, it looks like smoke.
Uh, yeah.
And that little tendril sent me on the hunt for some butts.
Cigarette butts.
I figured someone in the van was a smoker.
And since most vehicles phased out ashtrays decades ago, I assumed they sadly did what most people do.
Toss their butts out the window.
Drives me crazy.
Oh, yeah, me too.
But I was right.
So, I sent Curtis to the motel, and he found five butts, all in the area where the photos were taken.
Two of the butts were useless, but three of the butts had partial fingerprints.
So, I took all the partial prints from the butts-- Oh, my gosh.
I'm saying "butts" a lot, aren't I?
Hmm.
Okay.
And I ran them all through AFIS.
Still waiting.
But...
Nevertheless, I thought I could update you on Refgate 2024. "
Refgate"?
Oh, yeah, I also like "Scandalball."
Yeah, Curtis told me about your little championship confusion, and I realized that what you need is VAR.
Video assisted referee?
Exactly.
So, I uploaded all the social media videos of the game into a simulator, and it generated a 3D reenactment of the disputed play.
Kasie, this is-- About as sporty as I get.
I was a clumsy child.
Um, I still can't tell if the ball crossed the goal line.
Hmm.
Wait for it.
It crossed.
They scored?
Which means...
Jimmy and I were wrong.
We made a bad call.
So, what are you gonna do?
Ooh, got a hit on the prints.
Okay, so, meet Harold Lamb.
Retired Navy.
Now a private investigator.
And...
oh.
Guess what kind of vehicle is registered to his name?
A white van.
Mm-hmm.
Do we know where he is now?
Someone's inside.
Federal agents!
Open up!
Out of the van!
What?
Headphones off!
Out of the van!
Okay.
Let's go!
Turn around.
I'm just an intern, I'm doing this for school credit.
Daniel Simmons.
Goes to Waverly University.
No sign of Amber.
Who?
Where's Lamb?
He's undercover in the bar next door.
He's on a case.
So are we.
Pull him out.
Now.
Oh, man.
You got some nerve, burning me like that.
Do you know how many weeks it took for me to set up this undercover?
And what the hell does NCIS want with me anyway?
I've been retired from the Navy for 30 years.
Oh.
Now I get it.
Lover boy's a Fed.
Okay, now is this the point where we shut off the camera and we all go and look for my teeth?
Where is she?
How should I know?
I mean, I hate to break it to you, Casanova, but, ten to one, she probably tuck-tailed and went back to her husband.
So if you want to find her, you can ask him.
Yeah, well, he's not talking, Harry.
Oh.
Hmm.
Well...
that explains why I haven't gotten paid.
Wait a minute.
Is that why I'm here?
'Cause you think I did this?
We've got your van at the park where Carnahan was killed.
And we got your van at the diner where Amber was kidnapped.
Well, I don't know anything about that, but that's not my van.
Looks like your van.
Yeah, but it's not.
I mean, there are a whole lot of white vans out there.
Why do you think I use 'em for surveillance?
Now, listen, Carnahan hired me ten days ago because he thought he was being two-timed by her and he wanted me to tail her.
Which I did.
That's it.
End of story.
What about the beginning?
What?
When did you first meet him?
I told you, about ten days ago.
Wrong answer.
You met him a year ago.
You did his background investigation before he joined ONR.
Government work is classified.
So it's not a lie if Uncle Sam says it isn't.
Hmm.
Well, it is a crime to falsify the report.
What?
What are you talking about?
Carnahan was clean as a whistle.
I got news for you, Harry-- before he was murdered, Carnahan stole top secret research.
But you already knew that, didn't you?
And you painted a pretty picture with this report, which got Carnahan in the door at ONR.
And then you two hatched a plan to steal and sell the MAD Falcon.
You think this is funny?
No.
I think it's a setup.
And I think that broad has got her hooks so deep into you that you can't even see it.
We got a problem.
Oof, actually, more than one.
I've been processing the van, and the P.I.'s hidden camera confirms that he was in that bar for the last five hours.
So he couldn't have abducted Amber.
And we are looking for a different white van.
What's the other problem?
I've been trying to track Amber's phone, and when I accessed her cloud account, I found two files.
The first is the guest list for SECNAV's party, where she and Torres met.
How the hell did she get that?
And the second is Torres' classified NCIS file.
How the hell'd she get that?
I don't know how, but I know when she got it-- a whole week before she and Torres had their meet-cute.
Lamb's right.
This is a setup.
Amber's been playing us the whole time.
Amber's got to be one hell of a hacker to pull SECNAV's party list from a DoD server.
And she would've had to hack one of our own to get Nick's personnel file.
Got Curtis looking into it now.
We're missing something.
Amber's a TV pitchwoman.
She sells mops and Chia Pets, not hypersonic missiles.
Don't sell her short.
Before movingto D.C., Amber workedin L.A.
for the Buy Now Home Shopping Channel.
And as part of her job, she spent a lot of time in China working with suppliers.
Especially this man.
Zhao Ming, a deputy minister of Chinese State Security.
He has a history of grooming American assets.
You're saying that Amber might be a spy?
Well, if that's true, maybe her kidnapping wasn't a kidnapping.
Maybe it was an extraction disguised as a kidnapping.
Kind of like a murder disguised as a suicide.
I'm telling you, we're missing something.
Nick, listen, you may not want to hear this, but everything that she has done all points to her playing the long game.
But what game?
Why come to me?
Why...
why tip me off on a crime she's about to commit?
Look, I'm not saying that she's innocent.
I'm just saying...
We're missing something.
Well, we better find her, get some answers.
I think I know who might be able to help.
Oh, wow.
So he-he just walked out naked?
Mm-hmm.
And what'd you do?
Well, my job.
Took the pictures.
Uh, client never used 'em though, I guess, because the target's a senator now, so...
That's a warrant for all of your surveillance on Amber Carnahan.
I see.
So, first you accuse me of murder and kidnapping, but now you want my help, right?
The sooner we find her, the sooner you get your van back.
We just need help going through all of this.
Anything that might tell us where she's going.
Oh, so she wasn't kidnapped, hmm?
Whew.
Ah.
I think that's the last of it.
Man, Harry, you got a whole office back there.
Yeah.
Office, bedroom, occasionally a bathroom, you know?
Yeah, I, uh...
I-I found the jars.
Oh!
I also found this.
It was buried under a stack of folders.
Wow, that's a Bronze Star.
That's got to be a story.
Yeah, not really.
Listen, I-I think that my intern would do a better job of this than me, so--He's already back at Waverly.
Stop stalling.
Let's get this over with.
Hold the elevator!
Thanks.
Hey.
What you still doing here?
Oh, just finished my autopsy report.
What about you?
Any luck finding Mrs.
Carnahan?
Uh, unfortunately not.
Yeah, I feel for Nick.
Having someone you trust betray you like that, I can't imagine.
Mm.
Listen, Jimmy, about the game...
What are you doing?
Tim, I saw the reenactment Kasie made.
So you know?
Did you tell anyone?
No.
Um...
but don't you think we should?
Absolutely not.
Tim, you know these parents.
We reverse our decision, we'll never hear the end of it.
They will question every call we make.
Our days of reffing will be over.
Yeah, but what about the kids that should've won?
I mean, don't you think they deserve to know?
Kids are resilient.
Trust me.
It's the parents who are fragile.
All right.
Well...
whatever you decide, Jimmy, I-I got your back.
Thank you, Ref.
Oh, you got to flip the...
Hmm?
Oh, right.
Never done that before.
Quite the power move.
All right, what about this?
She ate lunch alone at a café two days in a row.
She interact with anyone?
No.
Did she leave anything?
No.
Did you take any photos?
No, because her husband wanted me to get a picture of her in the act, not while she's eating a croissant!
You know what, I'm done with this.
This is just a waste of time.
Sit down, Harry.
Or what?
You gonna arrest me?
I said, sit down.
Okay, maybe we should take a break.
You know what your problem is, Torres?
You broke the first rule of surveillance-- never get too close.
'Cause when you get too close, you get burned.
What happened to you, man?
You served your country.
You know, they only give these to heroes.
Look at you.
Yeah.
I served, all right.
And you know what I got?
I got screwed over.
So...
I guess, me and you, we got a lot more in common than we thought.
Nick.
Hey.
Don't listen to him.
Why not?
He's right.
She played me.
She read my file.
She knew about the man who hurt my mother.
She knew what buttons to push.
Someone came to you, asking for help.
And what did you do?
You helped them.
Because that's who you are and that's who you've always been.
Nick, you didn't do anything wrong.
So get out of your head.
We got a two-timing broad to catch.
Well, maybe this'll help.
A GPS tracker?
Yeah.
I put it on Amber's car.
I didn't say anything because...
Because it's illegal?
What was Amber doing in a place like this?
You hear that sound?
It's coming from in there.
Ready?
Three, two...
Dr.
Lythcott?
What's she doing here?
Not breathing.
I found the van!
Is he gone?
Who?
The man who kidnapped me.
He had me locked in there for hours.
I knew you'd come.
Drop the act.
What act?
I know you targeted me.
What are you talking about?
The MAD Falcon.
You and your hubby stole the plans.
I have no idea what you're talking about.
I found something that might jog her memory.
Is that a 3D printer?
Yeah.
Check it out.
They were printing parts for a Falcon missile prototype.
Coming back to you?
Nick, it's not what it looks like.
She's right.
They didn't steal plans for a missile.
Behold the MAD Falcon.
A vacuum cleaner?
Please, I can explain.
You've got it all wrong.
Well, half wrong.
See, it turns out you and your husband didn't steal the MAD Falcon.
That's what I'm trying to tell you.
But you and Dr.
Lythcott did.
Phone calls and emails between you and Dr.
Lythcott going back months.
The two of were accomplices.
She stole the plans for the Falcon, and you used NCIS to frame your husband for it.
Lythcott killed him, then you killed her.
No!
No.
I would never.
I lied when I told you that I didn't have any friends here.
I had one: Wendy Lythcott.
And she told me everything about the MAD Falcon.
Would that be the missile or the vacuum?
The missile was a dud.
After five years and billions of dollars, it didn't work.
When my husband joined ONR, he shelved the project.
And how did Wendy feel about that?
How do you think?
She poured her heart and soul into the Falcon.
One night, we were drowning our sorrows over a bottle of wine, and she told me everything. "
High-speed vortex," "cyclonic separation."
I don't know what they mean, but I have said those words a thousand times when I was selling vacuums on TV.
So, you weren't gonna sell the Falcon to a foreign power.
You were gonna put them on store shelves.
It was simple.
Wendy designs it, and I use my home-shopping contacts to get it to market.
But they were still Navy property.
You're telling me that this was worth committing treason?
It was worth it if it meant I finally got away from him.
He was a monster!
The Falcon was my ticket out.
I know what you're thinking, but I didn't kill him.
Then who did?
I don't know!
Someone found out about our plan.
He killed Roger, then he kidnapped me.
Then he contacted Wendy and told her, if she didn't give up the Falcon, he would put a bullet in my head.
But I'm guessing your kidnapper wasn't too thrilled when he learned that the Falcon missile was nothing but a high-priced Hoover.
He got angry.
He shot Wendy and got away with a copy of the Falcon.
Please, you have to believe me.
Nick!
Tell them!
Nick, please!
Please tell them.
You know me!
You know I'm not a killer!
Nick, please.
What do you think?
Hey, she's lying.
Wasn't talking to you.
Sit down, please.
I believe her.
After everything she's done?
Yeah.
Amber's not a murderer.
Somebody else killed them.
Man, seriously, the more I study this thing, the more I want one.
Here.
Check it out.
Okay.
It uses the missile's impeller technology to compress and expel air, bypassing the need for internal combustion.
Kasie.
No.
Hold on now.
Wait a minute.
People talk about building a better mousetrap, but damn, this thing could suck up mice like candy.
Kasie!
Oh, yes!
Sorry.
Killer on the loose.
Okay, here we go.
So...
I processed the van that you recovered from the warehouse.
According to the VIN, it was stolen three days ago.
Now, I found Amber's hair, Amber's fingerprints, Amber's DNA, but no one else's.
Whoever they are, they are smart.
Okay, but you're smarter, right?
Listen, I'm sorry, Nick, but all I can tell you about the killer is what radio station they liked.
'Cause it was playing when I started the van. "
WVUY, the official station of..."
Waverly University.
See, Kasie, I told you you were smarter.
Hey, Tim.
Is Harry still with you?
When did he leave?
Hey, Harry, what's on the schedule?
Hey, kid.
Uh, well, no cases today, just a...
just a business opportunity.
Vacuums.
Excuse me?
Come on, kid.
Don't act dumb.
I know what you did.
I was looking at the surveillance of Amber last night, and I saw gaps and missing reports, all of which happened when you were working solo on your shift.
No.
Your van's a mess, Harry.
You probably lost 'em.
No, I don't think so.
No, I think that you overheard Amber talking about stealing the Falcon, and you decided to cash in.
The only thing was, you didn't count on becoming a vacuum salesman, but, uh, I can help you with that.
No, you're crazy.
I'm out of here.
Or I could turn you in to NCIS.
I leach off Amber's plan, now you leach off mine?
That it?
Way of the world, kid.
Only question is, why did you kill Carnahan, hmm?
He was a loose end.
Ah.
Leaving him alive was the biggest flaw in Amber's plan.
But I...
thought of everything.
Get in the van.
How many times I got to tell you, kid?
Always bring backup.
Drop the gun, Danny.
I'm taking Intro to Forensics, Theories of Criminal Behavior.
Oh, my professor said the FBI recruits straight out of Waverly's Criminology Program.
That is how good it is.
I'm not set on the FBI just yet.
You know, that's why I'm doing this internship.
See how it is to be a private eye.
Not exactly Raymond Chandler, is it?
Who?
Listen, kid, the client doesn't need 700 pictures of his wife standing in a window.
He just wants one picture of the wife with the boy toy.
That's the money shot.
Harry, come on, we have been here all night.
Nothing is going to happen.
Trust me, kid, people will screw each other any time of day.
Hmm?
Okay.
Showtime.
Come on, kid, take the picture.
I-I think the battery died.
For crying out loud.
How many times I got to tell you?
Always bring a backup.
Come on, lover boy.
Show me your pretty face.
Gotcha.
No, Mrs.
Anderson, I get it.
Okay, you're upset, and your daughter's upset, I completely understand, but you got to...
Well, Mrs.
Anderson, I don't know what you expect me to do about this.
It's just a game.
You know, it's-it's a kid...
Hello?
Hello?
Good morning?
Yeah, not so much.
Who was that?
That was Mrs.
Anderson, the third parent to call me this morning.
Huh.
Sounds like somebody could use a chausson aux pommes, the original apple turnover.
No?
You know, 400 years ago, these babies saved an entire French village.
No, thanks, I'm not hungry.
You know what the crazy thing about this is, too?
I volunteered for this.
You volunteered to be yelled at by angry parents?
No, I volunteered to be a referee in my kids' local soccer league.
Oh, no.
I mean, I thought it'd be fun.
You know?
Good for the kids, nice cardio for me.
So, that's why when Jimmy asked me to do it, I said yeah.
Hold it.
Jimmy is a ref, too?
Oh, he's not just a ref, he is the head ref.
Yeah, don't remind me.
Whenever Jimmy puts on those knee-high socks, he becomes a different man.
Okay.
Oh, here comes, uh, Dr.
Palmer and Mr.
Hyde now.
-Okay.
Yeah.
No, I hear you, Bob.
Yeah, I do, you are yelling.
Look, I think it might be better if we just continue this after you've had a chance to calm down.
And maybe not while you're driving your kids to school.
Although, you know, they have learned some fun new words today, haven't they?
Okay, all right, you have a good day, Bob, all right.
Bye-bye.
Mmm.
Chausson aux pommes.
Huh?
You know, these things saved a village.
Mais oui.
So what'd you guys do to piss off all the parents?
No, it's nothing really.
Just a little disagreement about a call we made.
It was a call that decided the championship game.
Ah.
Kids were crying.
Parents were yelling.
I don't know, it was kind of awful.
It's all part of being a ref, Tim.
It'll blow over.
You'll see.
All right, that's kickoff, folks.
We got a dead Naval researcher in an Arlington park.
Jimmy, see you there.
Anyone heard from Nick?
Call him on the way.
All right, we got Dr.
Roger Carnahan.
He's the new head of Warfare and Weapons at the Office of Naval Research.
He's only had the job about ten months.
ONR.
Isn't that near here?
Yeah, it's about a ten-minute walk east.
The doctor's house is about a ten-minute walk west.
Well, Torres finally got back to me.
Said he's not feeling well.
Can't remember the last time he was sick.
Well, the good news is, I don't think you guys are gonna need four agents to solve this one.
Call it, ref.
Got a gun near his hand.
A bullet near his temple.
This looks like a suicide.
Maybe the pressure of the new job got to him?
So what are we thinking?
He was walking to work when he decided to stop here and kill himself?
Why even start walking to work in the first place?
Oh, it's a great park.
You know?
I mean, I'd like to have a nice view before I die.
-Jimmy?
Yeah?
Help me lift up his head.
I'm trying to unlock his phone.
Oh, sure, yeah.
It's not all that uncommon for suicides to occur outside of the house.
It spares their loved ones the cleanup.
Doesn't look like the good doctor was married.
I don't see a ring.
Then what's that?
Looks like a ring.
There's a tan line from where it used to be.
All right, we need to talk to his wife.
I'm in his phone.
I can look up her...
Wow.
What?
What is it?
I think I might know why Carnahan killed himself.
Oh, hey, guys.
What are you doing here?
Was gonna ask you the same question.
We need to speak to Mrs.
Carnahan.
Nick?
Is everything all right?
It's not what it looks like.
Jimmy puts Dr.
Carnahan's time of death between 6:30 and 7:00 a.m.
He received the photos of you and Amber just before that.
Who sent these?
Don't know.
They used an encrypted messaging app.
Nick, I want to give you the benefit of the doubt, but you got to realize how this looks.
Tell me you're not having an affair with our victim's wife.
Amber's not a fling.
She's a confidential informant.
She's your C.I.?
Since when?
Remember that party that SECNAV threw a few weeks ago?
Yeah, I remember making an excuse to get out of it.
Yeah, me, too.
Oh, really?
Well, that's great, guys.
Thanks.
Just-- What happened at the party?
What do you think happened?
I got bored.
Filled up a plate with food.
I went to the terrace thinking, hey, I'm gonna lay low here.
Except Amber had the same idea.
Started to talk for a while, then she finally told me that she had evidence her husband was gonna commit a crime.
She couldn't talk in front of him, so I slipped her my card.
Why didn't you come to us?
'Cause she was scared.
Trust me, if I would've brought you in, she would've pulled away.
How do you know that?
Because it's what I do, Parker.
You cultivate orchids, I cultivate C.I.s.
All right, how did you end up at this fine establishment?
Amber called me, she said she wanted to meet.
I showed up, we talked, but she was still too scared.
Skip to the end.
What was her husband planning to do?
I don't know.
You knocked on the door, you screwed everything up.
Yeah, can you blame us?
It's my fault.
I didn't know where else to go, so I checked in here.
Roger's always been the jealous type.
He must've hired someone to follow me.
How could you have known?
He's done it before.
Amber, I'm sorry for your loss, but considering the sensitive nature of your husband'swork...
...we need to know everything.
You can trust them.
It'll be all right.
Director Vance, I'm already having a hard enough time accepting that Roger Carnahan took his own life, but now you also expect me to believe that he was planning to sell top secret research?
I don't want to believe it either, Dr.
Lythcott, but the allegations are serious.
What is your source?
Uh, Dr.
Lythcott, I'm afraid that we can't reveal our source while the investigation is ongoing, but they mentioned a project that the doctor was planning to steal.
Does the "MAD Falcon" ring any bells?
Alarm bells.
What can you tell us?
Nothing.
It's-it's top secret with a capital everything.
You'd need authorization.
Let me worry about that.
Right now, we need you to lock down ONR's systems.
We're sending a computer forensic specialist to do a sweep.
Of course, Director.
But before I go, how is Mrs.
Carnahan doing?
I can't imagine what she must be going through.
Don't worry, Doctor.
She's in good hands.
I'll await your specialist.
Good hands?
I take it you saw the photos from the motel.
I have.
Let's just hope the press never sees them.
I want to know who took them, and I want them contained.
I'll get Kasie on it.
Torres.
Was he out of bounds?
No.
But it's still a mess.
You're doing the right thing.
The right thing?
The right thing got Roger killed.
He's dead because of me.
Come on, stop.
If you're gonna blame someone, blame me.
I should've seen we were being watched.
If I had, this would've never happened.
No.
Hey.
You were there for me when I needed someone.
Sorry to interrupt.
Just wanted to let you know that we found hard drives taken from the ONR hidden under the floorboards of your house.
You were right.
So does this mean that I can go home now?
Well, the place is crawling with federal agents.
Do you have any friends or family that you can stay with?
No family, and, um...
I really don't have any friends...
Whew.
Whoa.
You all right?
Yeah.
I just haven't eaten anything since yesterday.
Well, then let's get you some food.
Huh.
Jimmy.
Oh.
Hey, sorry, Tim.
I was just practicing my tones.
I don't think I have the end-of-play triple blast down.
Oh, there it is.
Remember, your whistle is your voice on the field.
Don't be afraid to use it.
Yeah.
Hey, Jimmy, um, the call that we made this past weekend, do you think that maybe we got it wrong?
Do you think we got it wrong?
I don't know, I keep replaying it in my head, right?
I see the shot on goal, and I see little Susan Finley leaps for it.
And she saved it.
Look, Tim, all of these parents saying they saw the ball cross the goal line, they don't make the call.
Okay?
We make the call.
Simple as that.
Right, right, but...
I think they may be right.
Whoa, time-out.
Sorry, I know there's no time-outs in soccer.
But, Tim, what you're going through right now, it's natural.
I felt the same thing when I first started reffing.
You know, doubting myself, questioning every call, wondering if I had what it takes.
Now, trust me, it will pass.
But until it does, you can't let these parents get under your skin.
Okay?
Yeah, yeah.
You're right.
Besides, we totally made the right call.
I'm not sure I can say the same thing about Dr.
Carnahan here.
What do you mean?
Well, I pulled up his medical records.
A few weeks ago, he went to see an orthopedic surgeon about a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder.
Mm-hmm.
Now, raising a gun up to shoot himself in the head at the angle he did, would've been nearly impossible.
Speaking of angles, take a look at this.
Now, if he had shot himself, you would expect the bullet to pass through on a horizontal plane, but in this case...
The bullet passed through at a downward angle.
Someone else was holding the gun.
Which would make this murder.
When Roger was offered the job at ONR, that was huge.
But it meant that I had to quit my job in L.A.
and move across the country with him.
And what did you do in L.A.?
You're gonna laugh.
Try me.
I was an on-air pitchwoman for the Buy Now Home Shopping Channel.
I knew I recognized you.
You know, I think I actually bought a blender from you at 3:00 a.m.
Yeah, that was me.
Blenders, vacuums, mops.
I could sell anything.
Roger thought it was...
stupid. "
Frivolous" was the word he used.
Not like his work.
And he had a point.
So I quit, and here I am.
For better or for worse, right?
Amber, did he ever hurt you?
I, um...
I had a lot of coffee.
Where's the, um...
Just through that door.
Hi.
Sorry.
Mm-hmm.
You okay?
I'm fine, yeah.
It's Amber I'm worried about.
Her husband.
Yeah, a real piece of work, huh?
It took a lot of courage for her to speak up.
And she's really lucky that she found you.
I know you've only known her for a couple of weeks, but you've been really protective.
Yeah, well, I've known men like Carnahan.
Mm, it's Parker.
Jimmy just ruled Carnahan's death a homicide.
And Cyber Divisionconfirms he stole files from ONR's system.
Must've killed him for those files.
Help!
Help!
Help me, Nick!
No shot, no shot!
Anything?
We've put a BOLO out on the van and MPD is setting up a perimeter.
I don't understand, why would someone take Amber Carnahan?
We think that whoever her husband was selling top secret research to must have found out that she's been talking to NCIS.
So they killed him and abducted her.
Probably to find out how much she told us.
And what will they do with her after that?
Oh, God.
We're gonna find her, but it would help if we knew what her husband stole.
What is the "MAD Falcon?"
SecDef has authorized Dr.
Lythcott to read us in.
Please.
MAD Falcon is the Navy's next- generation hypersonic missile. "
MAD" stands for Missile Air Defense.
It's the culmination of years of research.
Is that what I think it is?
Yes, the Falcon would be the first nuclear-capable hypersonic missile in the military's arsenal.
Well, that narrows our suspect list.
Russia, China, North Korea.
Carnahan wasn't hurting for money.
He didn't just wake up one day and decide to betray his country.
I'm thinking he was recruited years ago.
It's a pretty big thing to miss on a DoD background check.
Yeah, too big.
Makes you wonder who ran it.
Track 'em down.
Agent Parker?
Please find Mrs.
Carnahan.
Tim, you find the van?
Well, uh, yes and no.
We got a hit on a traffic cam from about seven hours ago.
This is from the Arlington park where Dr.
Carnahan was murdered.
So, whoever killed Carnahan kidnapped Amber.
But that doesn't help us find her.
What about the motel?
What about it?
Remember, I told you I saw the white van parked outside right where the photos were taken?
Rule 39.
That's the one about no coincidences, right?
So, maybe the killer was watching Amber at the motel to see who she was talking to.
And then used these photos to sell her husband's murder as a suicide.
Kasie's been working on ID'ing the photographer.
I'll go talk to her.
Knight, I need you to pull Carnahan's background investigation and find out who worked it.
I want to know why they missed these red flags.
You got it.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, Torres.
Where you going?
I'm gonna go see if Jimmy missed anything else important.
Well, look, whoever staged Carnahan's suicide knew what they were doing.
This isn't Jimmy's fault.
No, it's not, it's mine.
She was my C.I., Parker.
It was my job to protect her.
Yeah, and it still is.
Jimmy's doing his job, you do yours.
Go back over Amber's statement.
Maybe there's something that we missed.
All right.
Hey, Kase.
Hey, McGee.
Hey, tell me if this is weird.
So, I just finished analyzing the drives found at the Carnahan house.
Guess what they contained?
Top secret missile designs?
Nothing.
Well, not nothing.
I mean, like, you know, expense reports, meeting transcripts, a recipe for cauliflower soup.
Nothing remotely classified.
Weird, right?
Yeah, very weird.
But that's not why I'm down here.
Oh, the motel photos?
Yeah.
Any luck ID'ing who took them?
Whew!
It has been a journey, my friend.
So first, I started off trying to trace the encrypted texts that put the photos on Carnahan's phone in the first place.
No luck.
But then, I noticed something interesting in one of the wider shots.
See that?
Yeah, it looks like smoke.
Uh, yeah.
And that little tendril sent me on the hunt for some butts.
Cigarette butts.
I figured someone in the van was a smoker.
And since most vehicles phased out ashtrays decades ago, I assumed they sadly did what most people do.
Toss their butts out the window.
Drives me crazy.
Oh, yeah, me too.
But I was right.
So, I sent Curtis to the motel, and he found five butts, all in the area where the photos were taken.
Two of the butts were useless, but three of the butts had partial fingerprints.
So, I took all the partial prints from the butts-- Oh, my gosh.
I'm saying "butts" a lot, aren't I?
Hmm.
Okay.
And I ran them all through AFIS.
Still waiting.
But...
Nevertheless, I thought I could update you on Refgate 2024. "
Refgate"?
Oh, yeah, I also like "Scandalball."
Yeah, Curtis told me about your little championship confusion, and I realized that what you need is VAR.
Video assisted referee?
Exactly.
So, I uploaded all the social media videos of the game into a simulator, and it generated a 3D reenactment of the disputed play.
Kasie, this is-- About as sporty as I get.
I was a clumsy child.
Um, I still can't tell if the ball crossed the goal line.
Hmm.
Wait for it.
It crossed.
They scored?
Which means...
Jimmy and I were wrong.
We made a bad call.
So, what are you gonna do?
Ooh, got a hit on the prints.
Okay, so, meet Harold Lamb.
Retired Navy.
Now a private investigator.
And...
oh.
Guess what kind of vehicle is registered to his name?
A white van.
Mm-hmm.
Do we know where he is now?
Someone's inside.
Federal agents!
Open up!
Out of the van!
What?
Headphones off!
Out of the van!
Okay.
Let's go!
Turn around.
I'm just an intern, I'm doing this for school credit.
Daniel Simmons.
Goes to Waverly University.
No sign of Amber.
Who?
Where's Lamb?
He's undercover in the bar next door.
He's on a case.
So are we.
Pull him out.
Now.
Oh, man.
You got some nerve, burning me like that.
Do you know how many weeks it took for me to set up this undercover?
And what the hell does NCIS want with me anyway?
I've been retired from the Navy for 30 years.
Oh.
Now I get it.
Lover boy's a Fed.
Okay, now is this the point where we shut off the camera and we all go and look for my teeth?
Where is she?
How should I know?
I mean, I hate to break it to you, Casanova, but, ten to one, she probably tuck-tailed and went back to her husband.
So if you want to find her, you can ask him.
Yeah, well, he's not talking, Harry.
Oh.
Hmm.
Well...
that explains why I haven't gotten paid.
Wait a minute.
Is that why I'm here?
'Cause you think I did this?
We've got your van at the park where Carnahan was killed.
And we got your van at the diner where Amber was kidnapped.
Well, I don't know anything about that, but that's not my van.
Looks like your van.
Yeah, but it's not.
I mean, there are a whole lot of white vans out there.
Why do you think I use 'em for surveillance?
Now, listen, Carnahan hired me ten days ago because he thought he was being two-timed by her and he wanted me to tail her.
Which I did.
That's it.
End of story.
What about the beginning?
What?
When did you first meet him?
I told you, about ten days ago.
Wrong answer.
You met him a year ago.
You did his background investigation before he joined ONR.
Government work is classified.
So it's not a lie if Uncle Sam says it isn't.
Hmm.
Well, it is a crime to falsify the report.
What?
What are you talking about?
Carnahan was clean as a whistle.
I got news for you, Harry-- before he was murdered, Carnahan stole top secret research.
But you already knew that, didn't you?
And you painted a pretty picture with this report, which got Carnahan in the door at ONR.
And then you two hatched a plan to steal and sell the MAD Falcon.
You think this is funny?
No.
I think it's a setup.
And I think that broad has got her hooks so deep into you that you can't even see it.
We got a problem.
Oof, actually, more than one.
I've been processing the van, and the P.I.'s hidden camera confirms that he was in that bar for the last five hours.
So he couldn't have abducted Amber.
And we are looking for a different white van.
What's the other problem?
I've been trying to track Amber's phone, and when I accessed her cloud account, I found two files.
The first is the guest list for SECNAV's party, where she and Torres met.
How the hell did she get that?
And the second is Torres' classified NCIS file.
How the hell'd she get that?
I don't know how, but I know when she got it-- a whole week before she and Torres had their meet-cute.
Lamb's right.
This is a setup.
Amber's been playing us the whole time.
Amber's got to be one hell of a hacker to pull SECNAV's party list from a DoD server.
And she would've had to hack one of our own to get Nick's personnel file.
Got Curtis looking into it now.
We're missing something.
Amber's a TV pitchwoman.
She sells mops and Chia Pets, not hypersonic missiles.
Don't sell her short.
Before movingto D.C., Amber workedin L.A.
for the Buy Now Home Shopping Channel.
And as part of her job, she spent a lot of time in China working with suppliers.
Especially this man.
Zhao Ming, a deputy minister of Chinese State Security.
He has a history of grooming American assets.
You're saying that Amber might be a spy?
Well, if that's true, maybe her kidnapping wasn't a kidnapping.
Maybe it was an extraction disguised as a kidnapping.
Kind of like a murder disguised as a suicide.
I'm telling you, we're missing something.
Nick, listen, you may not want to hear this, but everything that she has done all points to her playing the long game.
But what game?
Why come to me?
Why...
why tip me off on a crime she's about to commit?
Look, I'm not saying that she's innocent.
I'm just saying...
We're missing something.
Well, we better find her, get some answers.
I think I know who might be able to help.
Oh, wow.
So he-he just walked out naked?
Mm-hmm.
And what'd you do?
Well, my job.
Took the pictures.
Uh, client never used 'em though, I guess, because the target's a senator now, so...
That's a warrant for all of your surveillance on Amber Carnahan.
I see.
So, first you accuse me of murder and kidnapping, but now you want my help, right?
The sooner we find her, the sooner you get your van back.
We just need help going through all of this.
Anything that might tell us where she's going.
Oh, so she wasn't kidnapped, hmm?
Whew.
Ah.
I think that's the last of it.
Man, Harry, you got a whole office back there.
Yeah.
Office, bedroom, occasionally a bathroom, you know?
Yeah, I, uh...
I-I found the jars.
Oh!
I also found this.
It was buried under a stack of folders.
Wow, that's a Bronze Star.
That's got to be a story.
Yeah, not really.
Listen, I-I think that my intern would do a better job of this than me, so--He's already back at Waverly.
Stop stalling.
Let's get this over with.
Hold the elevator!
Thanks.
Hey.
What you still doing here?
Oh, just finished my autopsy report.
What about you?
Any luck finding Mrs.
Carnahan?
Uh, unfortunately not.
Yeah, I feel for Nick.
Having someone you trust betray you like that, I can't imagine.
Mm.
Listen, Jimmy, about the game...
What are you doing?
Tim, I saw the reenactment Kasie made.
So you know?
Did you tell anyone?
No.
Um...
but don't you think we should?
Absolutely not.
Tim, you know these parents.
We reverse our decision, we'll never hear the end of it.
They will question every call we make.
Our days of reffing will be over.
Yeah, but what about the kids that should've won?
I mean, don't you think they deserve to know?
Kids are resilient.
Trust me.
It's the parents who are fragile.
All right.
Well...
whatever you decide, Jimmy, I-I got your back.
Thank you, Ref.
Oh, you got to flip the...
Hmm?
Oh, right.
Never done that before.
Quite the power move.
All right, what about this?
She ate lunch alone at a café two days in a row.
She interact with anyone?
No.
Did she leave anything?
No.
Did you take any photos?
No, because her husband wanted me to get a picture of her in the act, not while she's eating a croissant!
You know what, I'm done with this.
This is just a waste of time.
Sit down, Harry.
Or what?
You gonna arrest me?
I said, sit down.
Okay, maybe we should take a break.
You know what your problem is, Torres?
You broke the first rule of surveillance-- never get too close.
'Cause when you get too close, you get burned.
What happened to you, man?
You served your country.
You know, they only give these to heroes.
Look at you.
Yeah.
I served, all right.
And you know what I got?
I got screwed over.
So...
I guess, me and you, we got a lot more in common than we thought.
Nick.
Hey.
Don't listen to him.
Why not?
He's right.
She played me.
She read my file.
She knew about the man who hurt my mother.
She knew what buttons to push.
Someone came to you, asking for help.
And what did you do?
You helped them.
Because that's who you are and that's who you've always been.
Nick, you didn't do anything wrong.
So get out of your head.
We got a two-timing broad to catch.
Well, maybe this'll help.
A GPS tracker?
Yeah.
I put it on Amber's car.
I didn't say anything because...
Because it's illegal?
What was Amber doing in a place like this?
You hear that sound?
It's coming from in there.
Ready?
Three, two...
Dr.
Lythcott?
What's she doing here?
Not breathing.
I found the van!
Is he gone?
Who?
The man who kidnapped me.
He had me locked in there for hours.
I knew you'd come.
Drop the act.
What act?
I know you targeted me.
What are you talking about?
The MAD Falcon.
You and your hubby stole the plans.
I have no idea what you're talking about.
I found something that might jog her memory.
Is that a 3D printer?
Yeah.
Check it out.
They were printing parts for a Falcon missile prototype.
Coming back to you?
Nick, it's not what it looks like.
She's right.
They didn't steal plans for a missile.
Behold the MAD Falcon.
A vacuum cleaner?
Please, I can explain.
You've got it all wrong.
Well, half wrong.
See, it turns out you and your husband didn't steal the MAD Falcon.
That's what I'm trying to tell you.
But you and Dr.
Lythcott did.
Phone calls and emails between you and Dr.
Lythcott going back months.
The two of were accomplices.
She stole the plans for the Falcon, and you used NCIS to frame your husband for it.
Lythcott killed him, then you killed her.
No!
No.
I would never.
I lied when I told you that I didn't have any friends here.
I had one: Wendy Lythcott.
And she told me everything about the MAD Falcon.
Would that be the missile or the vacuum?
The missile was a dud.
After five years and billions of dollars, it didn't work.
When my husband joined ONR, he shelved the project.
And how did Wendy feel about that?
How do you think?
She poured her heart and soul into the Falcon.
One night, we were drowning our sorrows over a bottle of wine, and she told me everything. "
High-speed vortex," "cyclonic separation."
I don't know what they mean, but I have said those words a thousand times when I was selling vacuums on TV.
So, you weren't gonna sell the Falcon to a foreign power.
You were gonna put them on store shelves.
It was simple.
Wendy designs it, and I use my home-shopping contacts to get it to market.
But they were still Navy property.
You're telling me that this was worth committing treason?
It was worth it if it meant I finally got away from him.
He was a monster!
The Falcon was my ticket out.
I know what you're thinking, but I didn't kill him.
Then who did?
I don't know!
Someone found out about our plan.
He killed Roger, then he kidnapped me.
Then he contacted Wendy and told her, if she didn't give up the Falcon, he would put a bullet in my head.
But I'm guessing your kidnapper wasn't too thrilled when he learned that the Falcon missile was nothing but a high-priced Hoover.
He got angry.
He shot Wendy and got away with a copy of the Falcon.
Please, you have to believe me.
Nick!
Tell them!
Nick, please!
Please tell them.
You know me!
You know I'm not a killer!
Nick, please.
What do you think?
Hey, she's lying.
Wasn't talking to you.
Sit down, please.
I believe her.
After everything she's done?
Yeah.
Amber's not a murderer.
Somebody else killed them.
Man, seriously, the more I study this thing, the more I want one.
Here.
Check it out.
Okay.
It uses the missile's impeller technology to compress and expel air, bypassing the need for internal combustion.
Kasie.
No.
Hold on now.
Wait a minute.
People talk about building a better mousetrap, but damn, this thing could suck up mice like candy.
Kasie!
Oh, yes!
Sorry.
Killer on the loose.
Okay, here we go.
So...
I processed the van that you recovered from the warehouse.
According to the VIN, it was stolen three days ago.
Now, I found Amber's hair, Amber's fingerprints, Amber's DNA, but no one else's.
Whoever they are, they are smart.
Okay, but you're smarter, right?
Listen, I'm sorry, Nick, but all I can tell you about the killer is what radio station they liked.
'Cause it was playing when I started the van. "
WVUY, the official station of..."
Waverly University.
See, Kasie, I told you you were smarter.
Hey, Tim.
Is Harry still with you?
When did he leave?
Hey, Harry, what's on the schedule?
Hey, kid.
Uh, well, no cases today, just a...
just a business opportunity.
Vacuums.
Excuse me?
Come on, kid.
Don't act dumb.
I know what you did.
I was looking at the surveillance of Amber last night, and I saw gaps and missing reports, all of which happened when you were working solo on your shift.
No.
Your van's a mess, Harry.
You probably lost 'em.
No, I don't think so.
No, I think that you overheard Amber talking about stealing the Falcon, and you decided to cash in.
The only thing was, you didn't count on becoming a vacuum salesman, but, uh, I can help you with that.
No, you're crazy.
I'm out of here.
Or I could turn you in to NCIS.
I leach off Amber's plan, now you leach off mine?
That it?
Way of the world, kid.
Only question is, why did you kill Carnahan, hmm?
He was a loose end.
Ah.
Leaving him alive was the biggest flaw in Amber's plan.
But I...
thought of everything.
Get in the van.
How many times I got to tell you, kid?
Always bring backup.
Drop the gun, Danny.