Programa de TV: NCIS - 20x11
(tires screech) Tony!
I know you're here!
You snively little runt!
I know you're in there, you bastard!
Be a man and face me!
What the hell, Sheila?
Hey!
Would you calm down?
Get out here, Kaytlynn with a K and two Ys and two Ns.
Give me a break.
What are you doing?
Hey.
Grande salted caramel Americano, right?
Okay.
Uh, look, it's...
it's not you, all right?
It's me.
Okay?
It's all me.
I-I...
I just want more from life.
What more can the barista give you-- extra foam?
Well, she actually pays attention enough to know when I need that!
You have more needs than a toddler.
TONY: A toddler?
Only a toddler runs around like a Tasmanian...
You know what, that's it.
I'm done with the therapy.
I'm done with the self-help seminars.
And I'm done with you.
What are you doing?
What are you do...
Sh-Sheila, no, no, no, no!
Hey, hey.
Be careful, that...
that's not a toy.
I don't really care.
(cleaning lady screams) (whimpers) Oh!
(whimpering) ♪ ♪ Who's down for a coffee break?
Yes, please.
I could use a caffeine kick to get me through my cleaning checklist today.
Well, don't strain yourself because you have a date night coming up, if I recall.
The next Codename: Fury movie.
I should probably get tickets before they sell out.
Mm.
What do you think if I get three?
Three tickets?
Is someone joining us on our date night?
Well, maybe we could bring Victoria along.
I mean, didn't you say how she's been looking forward to the next Codename movie?
Oh, that is so sweet.
Yeah, but I already got her a sitter.
Well, sitters have cancellation policies.
It's just been so long since Victoria got to have a tea party with Sara, you know, I'd hate to disappoint her.
Would you want to ask Victoria first?
Um, Sara is an influencer who hosts Wonder Woman tea parties on TikTok.
I mean, we can't compete with that.
Wonder Woman?
Can I ditch date night and go to that party?
(laughs) Besides, I was kind of looking forward to just hanging out with you, you know?
I-I can go see the movie again with Victoria another day.
(phones chime) Uh, it's Parker.
We have a body.
Guess that second coat of steel polish will have to wait.
(door closes) KNIGHT: It's probably nothing.
It's just...
it almost felt like Jimmy was feeling a little hesitant about me spending more time Victoria.
Or maybe Jimmy was feeling hesitant about you.
Ever thought of that?
No, but thanks for sharing.
Hey, just one man's opinion.
Wait.
Did he say something?
No.
And yet you have an opinion.
Not really.
My mouth sometimes just says stuff.
I've noticed.
Hey, but like you said, it's probably nothing.
Damn.
Looks like a hurricane came through here.
The victim put up a hell of a fight.
Who is she?
Ensign Ashley Watts.
She's stationed in D.C., lives in Fairfax Village.
Why would she crash at a sleazy motel just a few miles away from her home?
PARKER: Could be what most people do in a sleazy motel.
Dirty deeds they don't want others knowing about.
Perimortem bruising suggests manual strangulation, and lividity tells us that she's been here at least 12 hours.
An out-of-the-way motel, a struggle and a girl choked to death.
Classic crime of passion.
Which means we're looking for a lover.
Or a spouse who wasn't a fan of the lover.
All right, scour the room for prints and DNA.
Find out who she was here with.
This place doesn't have cameras or even a front desk.
Who booked the room?
I contacted the online reservation hub as soon as I arrived.
Should be hearing from them soon.
(phone dings) Well, that's them.
Well, we got two options on that reservation.
Either Ensign Watts, or, uh, the person she was hooking up with.
What is it?
The room wasn't booked by Watts or the person she was meeting up with, at least I hope not.
What's that supposed to mean?
The room was booked by you.
Me?
Yeah, credit card and reservation are under the name Alden Parker.
Yeah.
That's me.
So, you come here often, or...
Hey, hey, here's an idea.
Skip lunch today.
I need this done now.
TORRES: Man, I'd be pissed, too.
PARKER: Really?
Yeah, identity theft is no joke.
All those credit cards to cancel, passwords to reset.
PARKER: What are you talking about?
Just shoot me.
Someone cloned my credit card once.
Went on a shopping spree at Bob's Big Tall Formalwear.
PARKER: Oh, come on!
If I'm ever in Cleveland and I see a six-foot, ten-inch dude wearing a blue velvet tuxedo, oh, oh, oh.
Well, at least somebody's happy.
Everything okay?
It is for my accountant.
I have to cancel my entire life but he gets to charge overtime.
Well, maybe you can bill whoever really booked that motel room.
(sighs) What else have they been up to with your identity?
Uh, besides framing you for murder.
Kasie is digging into my digital life now.
Luckily for me, I've got an alibi about last night.
Sorry I couldn't make it easy for you.
Speaking of not easy, there wasn't a single print in the room.
It's been wiped clean.
McGEE: Yeah, presumably by the killer.
As for the victim...
TORRES: Hey, Parker, are you sure you don't know her?
Never saw her before in my life.
Details.
KNIGHT: Ensign Watts was an accountant with Naval Sea Systems Command.
They build and maintain every ship in the fleet.
C.O.
said she was a solid officer, very by-the-book.
Well, she wasn't going by the book at that hush-hush motel.
She was doing something on the D.L.
Dig into her life and find out who she was doing it with.
This isn't happening.
(woman sighs) Sorry for your loss.
Are-are you sure?
Are-are you sure it's Ashley?
Unfortunately, yeah.
(door closes) She's downstairs when you're ready to see her.
Oh, John.
It's okay, sweetheart.
No.
No.
TORRES: Or we can just, um, sit here and talk for a bit.
Yeah, let's go with that.
Was Ashley your only child?
Yes, but-but she didn't come into our lives until she was 13.
I couldn't get pregnant.
We had tried for years, but...
it just didn't work.
When we finally decided to adopt, word came about this teen in the system that needed a foster home.
We just thought it was gonna be temporary.
But, um...
The moment that Ashley walked through that door...
...she was the missing piece that completed our family.
Not many people would adopt a teen.
We finally became the family we always wanted.
Can you think of anyone who would have had reason to harm Ashley?
Oh.
Good Lord, no.
She was the sweetest girl.
Everyone loved her.
This place that you-you found her-- it was, um, a motel here in D.C.?
Yeah.
What was she doing at a motel so close to home?
Maybe she was meeting up with Travis?
Who's Travis?
Travis Jacobs.
He was a new...
friend.
Ashley had roommates, and...
they may have just wanted to be alone?
Any idea where this Travis lives?
He's a few hours away in Wilmington.
We met him once at brunch.
You don't think that Travis has something to do with this, do you?
I think that if Travis was in that motel with Ashley...
Why haven't we heard from him?
Hey, can I get some extra mayo with that?
Okay, great.
Thanks.
See you in 20.
I'm suddenly in the mood for a crab roll sandwich.
In the middle of an autopsy.
That is not at all disgusting.
No bites for you.
I will settle for an update on Ensign Watts.
Right.
Official cause of death was forced compression of the larynx, which obstructed airflow and led to asphyxiation.
Mm, that is a lot of words to say "strangled to death."
Her last meal is actually the reason why I'm hungry right now.
It was a crab roll using very high-quality Maryland blue crab.
I am never eating again.
I'm around death all day.
I take inspiration where I can get it.
Anything else?
And please, not of the stomach-churning variety.
Right.
Her extensive bruising would tell us that she fought the good fight until her last dying breath.
Her elbows, arms and knees all show injuries at precise contact points.
Oh, looks like me after a martial arts sparring session.
JIMMY: Good eye.
I think that our victim probably had training-- extensive training-- from the look of things.
But she was a bean counter.
Nowhere on her file does it indicate that she had any kind of combat training.
Not my department.
Well, it is my department.
So thank you.
I'm gonna go update the team.
And I'm gonna go enjoy my crab roll.
Was there anything else you needed?
Mm.
No, that's it.
And yet you're still here.
(clears throat) We're good, right?
You and me?
Uh, you and me good how?
I mean, you know, like, you like that-- you-you and me?
Well, you and me as in "us" you and me?
Yup.
That.
Well, yeah, of course.
Why are you even asking?
Oh, it's...
You know, I'm just checking in.
It's a thing people do.
Well, I'm good if you are.
Great.
I'm great.
(short chuckle) Okay, um, so I'm gonna stop being awkward now and leave.
Hey.
Oh.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
(laughs softly) KASIE: So, good news for me, bad news for you.
How is my identity being stolen good for you?
Because in dissecting your digital life to find the thief, I was able to update my future blackmail file on you.
Next time I put in for a vacation, my dates best be approved.
I'll take that under consideration.
So, the bad news is that you have a blackmail file on me.
No.
Your bad news is a complete stranger apparently also knows everything about you-- driver's license number, mom's maiden name, your first pet.
How was my personal info hacked?
I mean, I'm hardened against all the usual vectors.
Rootkit malware?
(scoffs) Please.
Decryption worm?
Forget about it.
That's because you weren't hacked, at least not in the traditional way.
What is the non-traditional way?
Our perp played the security questions angle.
You know, those annoying questions you get asked when you forget your password?
I never forgot my password, but just, uh, go on.
Our perp started by making "lost password" claims to your least secure accounts first-- the Pastry of the Month Club, Virginia Ornithology Association.
Also some rants you dropped on an old Sopranos blog?
I was working FBI Organized Crime.
Those writers were trying to make us into imbeciles.
Either way, once the hacker got their tentacles into your world, they were able to piece together your more important log-ins and passwords.
Just by answering my security questions?
Whoever did this knows very personal things about you.
Yeah, personal things from my past.
Which means maybe our hacker is someone from your past, which brings me to the bad, bad news.
You never said anything about there being bad, bad news.
Oh, my bad.
PARKER: So, in addition to charging the motel mini-bar to me, the person who stole my identity also used it to access the DoD mainframe.
Wait, as in the...
Department of Defense, yes.
They get anything good?
Yeah.
Files of Navy personnel.
They pulled background details on hundreds of sailors.
Wow.
More identities to steal?
PARKER: I don't think so.
They dug around for a while, but they were awfully interested in one name in particular.
Ensign Watts.
Who's dead now.
That's not a coincidence.
What about our victim's new boyfriend, Travis from Wilmington?
You mean her new boyfriend that we can't locate because there's no record of a Travis Jacobs who matches his description?
Yeah.
If that isn't sketchy enough, turns out Travis, uh, magically popped up in Watts' life the very next day after her file was accessed.
Well, that doesn't sound like a coincidence, either.
Whoever this Travis guy is disappeared.
Sounds like we got a ghost.
Well, then call me a Ghostbuster, 'cause I got a hit on our mystery man.
The restaurant where Ashley and her parents had brunch with Travis at has cameras.
Well, the ghost is doing a good job playing the loving boyfriend.
All right, running facial rec now.
Something about this guy looks...
McGEE: Okay, got a hit.
Travis' real name is Ryan Aaronson.
And, uh, big shocker-- he's got a record.
You got to be kidding me.
Parker, you know this guy?
No.
But I know Ryan's mother.
He is the son of Joy Aaronson, but I know her as Joy Sullivan.
And who's Joy Sullivan?
She was...
my first love when I was just a kid.
Unfortunately, your, uh, first love's son is now our prime murder suspect.
Joy Sullivan.
She sounds sweet. "
Sweet" is not how I would describe Joy.
She was a force of nature.
Hey, Parker, seems like you have a type.
She reminds me a lot of your ex-wife.
Vivian?
Yeah, we kind of assumed that she was the one you still carried the torch for.
Okay, so how did you mess things up with this one?
Wait a minute.
Why-why are you assuming it was his fault?
Look at that face, that hair.
Of course Parker was a heartbreaker.
(sighs) Joy and I grew up back in Philly.
We're talking peas-in-a-pod, inseparable until, uh...
her family moved away junior year.
You didn't stay in touch?
Well, not for lack of trying.
I mean, I wrote...
wrote her every week for, um...
(scoffs) a long time, and she never wrote me back.
Mm, Knight's right.
You did something.
Well, if I did, I don't know what, so I took the hint and stopped writing.
Mm, but you never stopped thinking about her.
Or cyberstalking her.
Come on.
You pulled up Joy's profile like, uh, you had it on speed dial.
Sue me for wanting an ambient awareness of her life over the years.
Mm, were you aware that she was divorced?
Yes, I am aware.
And were you also aware that she lives just outside of Maryland?
And why haven't you reached out?
Because every time I thought I might...
I just...
I chickened out.
(laughs softly) Fate took her away, so, why tempt fate?
Well, fate brought her back into your orbit.
No, not fate.
This kid heard about me from Joy.
What do you know about him?
KNIGHT: Well, it looks like Ryan spent time in juvie, followed by arrests for forgery, wire fraud.
Mainly cheap, money-making scams.
TORRES: Yeah, toss in identity theft, and you have a classic con.
Looks like Ashley was his next mark.
A mark that ended up dead.
I never imagined if I saw her again, I'd be breaking the news that her son might be a killer con man.
Knight, Torres, see if you can find Ryan.
McGee.
With me.
Time to tempt fate.
Something wrong?
No.
It just hit me is all.
It's been decades since I've seen her.
You're nervous.
What?
No, of course not.
(sighs) (exhales) Do you need me to ring the bell for you?
No, I got it.
Okay.
Go get 'em, tiger.
Been a long time, Joy.
(grunts) Ooh.
(groans) You want some, too?
No, no, no, I'm good.
(Parker coughs) PARKER: Ugh.
You had that coming to you for 40 years, Park.
Ruined my life.
How exactly did I do that?
I loved my life in Philly and I was ripped away from it because of you.
Yeah, you definitely did something.
More like what didn't he do.
Couldn't say no to trouble if you paid him to.
Uh, as I recall, you were attached to my hip for most of that trouble.
Exactly.
My poor parents-- couldn't have the neighborhood bad boy corrupt their daughter.
Cream, two sugars, if I recall?
Are you saying that your parents moved away because of me?
Yeah, dummy.
What exactly did you think would happen after what you did at the St.
Paddy's Day celebration?
I...
McGEE: Mm.
What did he do at the St.
Paddy's Day celebration?
Uh, the details don't matter.
I would love to hear the details.
What matters is that my parents decided that night that I couldn't be around you anymore.
They knew they couldn't keep me from you unless we left Philly.
Joy, look, I'm-I'm sorry.
I had no idea.
Well, if it's any consolation, the lesson didn't stick, because you were the first in a long line of men that I should not have dated.
Well, speaking of, uh, men that are trouble, that's why we're here.
My deadbeat ex-husband-- yeah, he's in prison.
I'll give you directions.
We're not here about him.
Oh, God.
Ryan?
What did he do now?
He stole my identity.
Apparently, you were talking about me, and you told him enough that he hacked into my, uh...
No offense, but I haven't spoken about you to anyone for the last 20 years.
Offense taken.
But somehow, your son knows details that only a small group of people knew.
Ryan doesn't come around here much anymore, but he did visit a few weeks ago.
Needed to do laundry?
Uh, funnily enough, no.
He didn't ask for money, either.
Although I should have realized something was up.
Take it you're missing something?
Ryan took my letters.
The ones you wrote to me.
You kept them?
Yeah.
Why didn't you ever write me back?
Because I was angry, and I was hurt that you didn't come back after me.
I didn't know you wanted me to.
You're such an idiot.
I know not writing back was petty, but I was young.
And, you know, then the rest of life happened.
Oh, your, uh...
your son must have used the information in those letters to hijack Agent Parker's identity.
Then used my DoD access to target a Naval officer.
And that officer is now dead.
No way.
Ryan does not have a violent bone in his body.
Joy, he took the letters.
He's clearly the one that stole my identity.
I'm telling you, Ryan is not smart enough to pull that off alone.
I...
What-Whatever's going on, Todd is behind it.
That bastard.
Who's Todd?
He's my ex's partner.
He's a con man.
When my ex got pinched, Todd set his sights on Ryan as his replacement partner.
I told Ryan that Todd was bad news, but, hey, that kid-- he takes after his father.
Do you know where we could find Todd?
He's got a pool hall in Hampden, but he'll-he'll make you out as feds as soon as you walk through the door.
But he might talk to you if I'm with you.
Uh, that's not gonna happen, Joy.
You want another punch to the gut?
Just try and keep me from helping my kid.
(door opens) Yeah, you were right.
Not exactly what I would describe as "sweet."
♪ ♪ Double or nothing, I can sink that four-ball next.
What do you say, Father?
I wouldn't take that bet.
Not because the Bible says the love of money is the root of all evil, but because he's setting you up.
Really, Joy?
You come in here dragging a pair of cops behind you?
Uh, Mr.
Mercer, I'm Agent Parker, NCIS.
This is Agent McGee.
We've got some questions that we want to ask you.
What did you get Ryan mixed up in?
Uh, we're the ones conducting the interview here.
But we are here about Ryan.
What about him?
You dragged him into some con, and you got a woman killed.
Okay.
You might want to muzzle that one.
I ain't seen Ryan in days, and I don't know nothing about no dead woman.
How dare you take advantage of my son!
Hey, hey, hey, hey!
This isn't good cop, bad Joy, okay?
If you're done with the theatrics, I've got some work to do.
(sighs) No, almost done.
One more question, but it's not for you.
Ah.
How much jail time is this guy looking at?
Mandatory minimum, 30 years without the possibility of parole.
(short chuckle) Nice try.
Identity theft caps out at one year.
Who said anything about identity theft?
Did he just incriminate himself, Agent McGee?
I believe he did, Agent Parker.
I was talking about first-degree felony murder, which you're about to be charged with in about ten seconds.
Yeah, unless you can do better than "I don't know."
Or we can just step away and let Joy kick your ass.
But how did he get her to hand over her passwords for NAVSEA?
How's it going?
Well, apparently, Todd was pulling the old CIA recruiter con.
My favorite.
I've done it twice.
How'd this one work?
Ryan convinced Ensign Watts that he was recruiting her for the CIA.
And once he had her believing that, he tricked her into giving him access to the accounting system at NAVSEA.
And then it was just a simple matter of adding my pool hall to their payroll ledger.
And you just sat back and cashed the checks as they came in?
I was just trying to get my piece of that government pork.
But I don't know nothing about that.
Whatever happened there is between Ryan and her.
You have any idea where Ryan might be?
I haven't heard a word from him since he tried to shut me down.
PARKER: Wait.
Wait.
What's that supposed mean?
Ryan wanted to call things off.
Why?
Because he didn't want to get Ashley in trouble with the Navy.
Ryan broke the first rule of the game-- never fall for your mark.
And he was, what-- in love with Ashley?
Those were his exact words.
You know, maybe she found out he played her and things got ugly, which wouldn't surprise me at all.
And why is that?
There was something about that girl.
Something like what?
Ryan brought her around once to play pool, and I can tell from the moment I met her she had an angle.
A con can tell when someone's keeping secrets, and she was keeping something from Ryan.
TORRES: Are we sure this guy isn't just trying to save his own ass by pinning Ashley's murder on Ryan?
He's got an alibi.
He was with his podiatrist getting a corn removed when Ashley was killed.
What do you think he meant by, uh, Ashley having secrets?
I don't know, but I don't trust a con man.
You cannot play the game if you're not skilled in reading human behavior.
Well, maybe we should focus less on Ryan and have a closer look at Ashley.
Just spoke to her neighbor.
They saw her roughly eight hours before she was killed.
Said she looked frazzled, left in a hurry.
TORRES: Eight hours?
That's a lot of missing time.
PARKER: All right.
Let's track her phone, see where she went.
Ah, don't bother.
She left it in her apartment.
I'd leave my eyeballs behind before I left my phone.
Maybe she ditched it on purpose, to drop off the grid.
Are you saying that Ashley isn't just an innocent victim here?
I'm thinking we need to know what happened between her leaving home, eating a delicious crab roll, and then ending up dead.
Did Ryan mention anything to his mother about Ashley?
Joy said she never met her, though I could go see if there's anything she overlooked. "
Go see" as in, like...
house call?
An official NCIS interview.
Like, back at her house?
Tonight?
Well, I'm sure that she would appreciate, uh, an update, given the sensitive nature of the investigation.
Right, and it's...
You know, what's better than a face-to-face?
It's the proper thing to do.
Mm.
JOY: Park, uh, what are...
what are you doing?
I know I should have called first, but...
I just thought I'd...
check up, see how you're doing.
I'm fine.
RYAN: Hey, Mom, when'd you switch to stupid deca...
What is he doing here?
Did you turn me in?
I swear, I didn't even know he was coming.
Are you aiding and abetting my suspect?
You mean my son.
Relax.
I was still gonna call you.
What?
Mom, I came to you for help.
He's the only one who can help you now.
She's right.
If you had nothing to do with Ashley's murder, you need to talk to me.
Don't you dare break your mother's heart.
Okay, Ryan, you know the drill.
You're gonna talk to Agent Parker and you're gonna do what you're not good at.
You're gonna tell the truth.
Don't let this fall on his head, Park.
He's saveable, just like you were.
I swear on my mother's life, I didn't kill Ashley.
I loved her.
You know, she was...
the one.
That's why I tried to stop Todd.
(sighs) But he went behind your back and pulled off the con anyway.
And as soon I found out, I went straight to Ashley and I told her everything.
You know, who I really was.
What I'd done.
Oh, I'm sure that went over well.
You're wrong.
She forgave me.
You duped her half a dozen ways, and she said, what-- "It's all good"?
It's the truth.
She told me that she loved me, too, and she was gonna find a way to make things right so we could be together.
Make things right?
With who, the Navy?
That's what I thought at first.
She was gonna find some way to undo what Todd did, but then, uh, something felt...
off.
Off how?
I'm not quite sure.
Because, suddenly, she went all cloak-and-dagger and told me to arrange the motel room and to use an alias.
Aka mine.
When I got to the motel, she was already...
I took off when I saw her lying there.
That's all I know.
Look, you guys have to believe me.
I loved her, and she loved me, too.
I would never hurt Ashley.
Well, we would love to believe you.
But the one thing missing here is proof that any of this is true.
(sighs) Wait!
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
I, uh...
I-I still have the voice mail that she left me.
What voice mail?
ASHLEY: Text me the room code and wait exactly ten minutes for my call.
It's imperative you don't call me back.
It's too dangerous.
I know you have questions, but I'll answer them later.
I love you.
That sounds pretty cloak-and-daggery to me.
She also sounds very scared.
Yeah, but who was she scared of?
And why would our Navy officer use a burner phone to leave messages?
Well, it looks like Todd was right-- Ashley had some secrets of her own.
If we're gonna find her killer, we need to know what Ashley was doing in those eight hours.
Knight, call Kasie and see if she can pull anything else from this voice mail, okay?
Parker, can I ask you something real quick?
Yeah.
Are you sure that we don't already have the killer in our holding cell, and that Ryan's mom isn't just playing us?
You think Joy is trying to throw us off Ryan's scent?
Well, it's been done before.
She's just protecting her kid.
I'm told that's what parents do.
Well, within reason, yeah.
Well, she's protecting him because she's trusting me to do the job.
We see this thing through, even if it lands at Ryan's feet, right?
Right.
Look, I'm-I'm not saying that Joy is some kind of saint, but, back in the day, she refused to turn her back on me when everybody else did.
Her faith was the kick in the ass I needed to start turning my life around.
Even when her parents moved her away, I wasn't about to let her down.
Not then, not now.
ASHLEY: Text me the room code and wait exactly ten minutes for my call.
It's imperative you don't call me back...
Any updates on the voice mail that Ashley left?
Uh, I am running it through an audio scrubber right now.
It ought to enhance any background noise that might help us ID her location when she left it.
This might take a minute.
I can call you when I have something.
Okay, girl, spill.
Has Jimmy mentioned anything lately, you know, about him and...
me?
Um, why are you asking?
Something's up with Jimmy.
And I hate feeling like I'm back in high school worrying that my crush isn't crushing back.
Oh!
But I love picturing high school Jess with butterflies.
(laughs) Okay.
I wasn't even that high school girl when I was in high school.
I didn't crush and I didn't do butterflies and I didn't, you know, put notes in peoples' lockers.
So why are you suddenly twisting yourself into knots over Jimmy?
Okay, let's not go that far.
I'm just saying, Jimmy had a really weird reaction when I suggested that we invite Victoria to movie night.
Ooh, movie night?
Yes, please.
What are we seeing?
(chuckles) Okay, Jimmy and I are gonna go see the next Codename: Fury.
Yeah.
That movie goes way back.
And I think I know what's up with Jimmy.
(computer dings) Ooh.
It's the ambient dialogue filter.
Looks like it pulled some background audio from the call.
ASHLEY: ...call me back.
It's too dangerous.
(chime sounds) MAN (over P.A.): Next stop Shady Grove, end of the line.
ASHLEY: I know you have questions, but I'll answer them later.
That's a Metro train.
It sounds like Ashley was on the Red Line when she called Ryan.
Heading out of the city and into the boonies.
But what was she doing way out there?
Ashley first boarded the Red Line in D.C., then exited the Shady Grove station and headed east on foot.
The last camera that spotted her was just outside of a restaurant called Blue's Crab Shack.
Which boasts the best Maryland blue crab roll in the city.
Which was also Ashley's last meal, according to Jimmy.
I love me a good crab roll, but, uh, after running scared from her apartment, then leaving that voice mail to Ryan, it's hard to swallow she went all the way out there just for a crustacean.
She didn't.
KNIGHT: The restaurant's across the street from a self-storage lot.
McGEE: We did some checking, and it turns out Ashley has a unit there.
A unit that she visited mere hours before she was murdered, according to the logs that we were sent.
Must be something pretty important in that unit.
Torres, Knight, find out what.
So, what do we have in here?
This is all a bunch of crap.
Who knows what she actually came here for.
Does this place feel a little small to you?
The rental agreement says it's 300 square feet.
Hey.
This stain looks like it's coming from the other side.
It's hollow.
Hey, Knight?
What in the Assassin's Creed?
KNIGHT: Whoa.
We have foreign currency here.
And I've got some passports.
I think we just figured out why Ashley forgave our con man for lying about who he was.
She was lying to him, too.
Given everything that we've collected from Ashley's secret room, she's got to be a spy, right?
Or some sort of con artist herself.
That might explain the multiple passports in multiple names.
But not the arsenal of high-powered weapons.
Okay, spy it is, but who is she working for?
And what was her mission?
Well, we know she lobbied hard to get herself assigned to NAVSEA.
It's a smart place for a hostile power to have an asset.
And lots of intel on what keeps our navy afloat.
Yeah, and imagine her surprise when she was approached by Ryan to join the CIA.
Oh, she would have jumped at that chance.
PARKER: Embed a spy within the company.
That's the Holy Grail for a foreign intelligence agency.
Except it was all a lie.
Talk about ironic.
A deceitful con man targets a bona fide spy trained in the art of deceit?
Yeah, but according to Ryan, love conquered all for them.
A real life The Spy Who Loved Me.
If Ryan didn't kill Ashley, I may have an idea who did.
Spies have handlers, and handlers don't like it when their spies get compromised.
Kind of a cardinal sin for a secret agent.
Ashley was afraid on that voice mail.
She knew that she and Ryan were in danger.
So, whoever killed Ashley might still be after Ryan.
That could be an advantage for us.
Use him to flush them out.
Think he's up for it?
RYAN: Look, I'll do it.
No, you won't!
Not a chance in hell are you using my kid as bait to catch some spy-killing spy.
Joy, if he helps us, I can talk to the D.A., maybe he avoids prison.
Yeah, aside from that...
for once, Mom, I'd kind of like to do the right thing.
Though avoiding prison does sound pretty good.
No way.
PARKER: Joy, listen to me.
Listen to me.
He's saveable, okay?
This is how we save him.
Well, that's my third cup of coffee.
Gonna have to pee soon.
Nobody forced you to drink that many lattes.
RYAN: I don't understand how this handler dude is supposed to just find me here.
KNIGHT: We asked the Office of Naval Intelligence to flood the zone with chatter that you're back in town.
If you have a target on your back, the handler will find you.
(scoffs) Looks like Ashley's parents found me first.
Which isn't very likely.
Hello, Travis.
Or is it Ryan now?
Unless those aren't actually Ashley's parents.
Let's move in.
RENÉE: Da.
PARKER: Freeze!
NCIS!
Hands up!
Up!
Up!
KNIGHT: Thumbs out.
Not exactly the family next door.
(handcuffs clicking) Can't believe that Ashley's adoptive parents were Russian sleeper spies.
Oh, and that was just their cover.
Looks like the three of them popped up ten years ago posing as typical Americans.
Ah.
They confess to her murder?
Well, with their op blown, they're cooperating.
Safest place for them now is an American supermax.
Sounds like a plotline to a Codename: Fury movie.
(both laugh) Actually, uh, I think that's something that we should talk about.
It's not an easy thing for me to bring up.
Oh, no.
We're still on for our date night, aren't we?
(chuckles) Well, I remember you mentioned that those movies were a family favorite with you and Victoria and Breena.
And I realized yesterday that this is gonna be the first time that you're seeing one of those movies without your wife.
Yeah.
It's another bridge to cross, you know?
I have crossed plenty by now.
Right.
Like your first Thanksgiving without Breena.
And your first Christmas.
Each one of those had to have hurt.
But there is one more bridge for you to cross.
And I think that one's gonna hurt the most.
It's, um...
It's me being a part of your daughter's life.
That's the last bridge.
A final symbol that Breena is really gone.
And I think you feel like you're saying goodbye to her for good, and I know that has to hurt.
And I don't want to push you.
I feel really bad for having pushed you.
Jessica, stop, stop.
Just...
stop.
Y-You have nothing to apologize for, okay?
You're right.
This is something that I have to do, and, um...
It's just really hard.
I, uh...
I really want to, um...
Come here.
Oh.
I know this must be hard for you.
I've been there.
The love of my life was a foreign agent murdered by her own country.
I don't think you've been there.
No, not exactly.
But back in the day, I was on the wrong path, just like you.
Friends with all the wrong people.
Price I paid was losing your mother.
Look, Ryan, I'm just saying, that, uh, if you keep walking the path you're on, today is just the appetizer.
You ain't close to the bottom yet, but you'll eventually get there.
Or...
you can take all that skill as a con, crook, hustler, swindler, cheat...
and you can actually turn it into something good.
How?
Come to work for the good guys.
I pulled some strings w
I know you're here!
You snively little runt!
I know you're in there, you bastard!
Be a man and face me!
What the hell, Sheila?
Hey!
Would you calm down?
Get out here, Kaytlynn with a K and two Ys and two Ns.
Give me a break.
What are you doing?
Hey.
Grande salted caramel Americano, right?
Okay.
Uh, look, it's...
it's not you, all right?
It's me.
Okay?
It's all me.
I-I...
I just want more from life.
What more can the barista give you-- extra foam?
Well, she actually pays attention enough to know when I need that!
You have more needs than a toddler.
TONY: A toddler?
Only a toddler runs around like a Tasmanian...
You know what, that's it.
I'm done with the therapy.
I'm done with the self-help seminars.
And I'm done with you.
What are you doing?
What are you do...
Sh-Sheila, no, no, no, no!
Hey, hey.
Be careful, that...
that's not a toy.
I don't really care.
(cleaning lady screams) (whimpers) Oh!
(whimpering) ♪ ♪ Who's down for a coffee break?
Yes, please.
I could use a caffeine kick to get me through my cleaning checklist today.
Well, don't strain yourself because you have a date night coming up, if I recall.
The next Codename: Fury movie.
I should probably get tickets before they sell out.
Mm.
What do you think if I get three?
Three tickets?
Is someone joining us on our date night?
Well, maybe we could bring Victoria along.
I mean, didn't you say how she's been looking forward to the next Codename movie?
Oh, that is so sweet.
Yeah, but I already got her a sitter.
Well, sitters have cancellation policies.
It's just been so long since Victoria got to have a tea party with Sara, you know, I'd hate to disappoint her.
Would you want to ask Victoria first?
Um, Sara is an influencer who hosts Wonder Woman tea parties on TikTok.
I mean, we can't compete with that.
Wonder Woman?
Can I ditch date night and go to that party?
(laughs) Besides, I was kind of looking forward to just hanging out with you, you know?
I-I can go see the movie again with Victoria another day.
(phones chime) Uh, it's Parker.
We have a body.
Guess that second coat of steel polish will have to wait.
(door closes) KNIGHT: It's probably nothing.
It's just...
it almost felt like Jimmy was feeling a little hesitant about me spending more time Victoria.
Or maybe Jimmy was feeling hesitant about you.
Ever thought of that?
No, but thanks for sharing.
Hey, just one man's opinion.
Wait.
Did he say something?
No.
And yet you have an opinion.
Not really.
My mouth sometimes just says stuff.
I've noticed.
Hey, but like you said, it's probably nothing.
Damn.
Looks like a hurricane came through here.
The victim put up a hell of a fight.
Who is she?
Ensign Ashley Watts.
She's stationed in D.C., lives in Fairfax Village.
Why would she crash at a sleazy motel just a few miles away from her home?
PARKER: Could be what most people do in a sleazy motel.
Dirty deeds they don't want others knowing about.
Perimortem bruising suggests manual strangulation, and lividity tells us that she's been here at least 12 hours.
An out-of-the-way motel, a struggle and a girl choked to death.
Classic crime of passion.
Which means we're looking for a lover.
Or a spouse who wasn't a fan of the lover.
All right, scour the room for prints and DNA.
Find out who she was here with.
This place doesn't have cameras or even a front desk.
Who booked the room?
I contacted the online reservation hub as soon as I arrived.
Should be hearing from them soon.
(phone dings) Well, that's them.
Well, we got two options on that reservation.
Either Ensign Watts, or, uh, the person she was hooking up with.
What is it?
The room wasn't booked by Watts or the person she was meeting up with, at least I hope not.
What's that supposed to mean?
The room was booked by you.
Me?
Yeah, credit card and reservation are under the name Alden Parker.
Yeah.
That's me.
So, you come here often, or...
Hey, hey, here's an idea.
Skip lunch today.
I need this done now.
TORRES: Man, I'd be pissed, too.
PARKER: Really?
Yeah, identity theft is no joke.
All those credit cards to cancel, passwords to reset.
PARKER: What are you talking about?
Just shoot me.
Someone cloned my credit card once.
Went on a shopping spree at Bob's Big Tall Formalwear.
PARKER: Oh, come on!
If I'm ever in Cleveland and I see a six-foot, ten-inch dude wearing a blue velvet tuxedo, oh, oh, oh.
Well, at least somebody's happy.
Everything okay?
It is for my accountant.
I have to cancel my entire life but he gets to charge overtime.
Well, maybe you can bill whoever really booked that motel room.
(sighs) What else have they been up to with your identity?
Uh, besides framing you for murder.
Kasie is digging into my digital life now.
Luckily for me, I've got an alibi about last night.
Sorry I couldn't make it easy for you.
Speaking of not easy, there wasn't a single print in the room.
It's been wiped clean.
McGEE: Yeah, presumably by the killer.
As for the victim...
TORRES: Hey, Parker, are you sure you don't know her?
Never saw her before in my life.
Details.
KNIGHT: Ensign Watts was an accountant with Naval Sea Systems Command.
They build and maintain every ship in the fleet.
C.O.
said she was a solid officer, very by-the-book.
Well, she wasn't going by the book at that hush-hush motel.
She was doing something on the D.L.
Dig into her life and find out who she was doing it with.
This isn't happening.
(woman sighs) Sorry for your loss.
Are-are you sure?
Are-are you sure it's Ashley?
Unfortunately, yeah.
(door closes) She's downstairs when you're ready to see her.
Oh, John.
It's okay, sweetheart.
No.
No.
TORRES: Or we can just, um, sit here and talk for a bit.
Yeah, let's go with that.
Was Ashley your only child?
Yes, but-but she didn't come into our lives until she was 13.
I couldn't get pregnant.
We had tried for years, but...
it just didn't work.
When we finally decided to adopt, word came about this teen in the system that needed a foster home.
We just thought it was gonna be temporary.
But, um...
The moment that Ashley walked through that door...
...she was the missing piece that completed our family.
Not many people would adopt a teen.
We finally became the family we always wanted.
Can you think of anyone who would have had reason to harm Ashley?
Oh.
Good Lord, no.
She was the sweetest girl.
Everyone loved her.
This place that you-you found her-- it was, um, a motel here in D.C.?
Yeah.
What was she doing at a motel so close to home?
Maybe she was meeting up with Travis?
Who's Travis?
Travis Jacobs.
He was a new...
friend.
Ashley had roommates, and...
they may have just wanted to be alone?
Any idea where this Travis lives?
He's a few hours away in Wilmington.
We met him once at brunch.
You don't think that Travis has something to do with this, do you?
I think that if Travis was in that motel with Ashley...
Why haven't we heard from him?
Hey, can I get some extra mayo with that?
Okay, great.
Thanks.
See you in 20.
I'm suddenly in the mood for a crab roll sandwich.
In the middle of an autopsy.
That is not at all disgusting.
No bites for you.
I will settle for an update on Ensign Watts.
Right.
Official cause of death was forced compression of the larynx, which obstructed airflow and led to asphyxiation.
Mm, that is a lot of words to say "strangled to death."
Her last meal is actually the reason why I'm hungry right now.
It was a crab roll using very high-quality Maryland blue crab.
I am never eating again.
I'm around death all day.
I take inspiration where I can get it.
Anything else?
And please, not of the stomach-churning variety.
Right.
Her extensive bruising would tell us that she fought the good fight until her last dying breath.
Her elbows, arms and knees all show injuries at precise contact points.
Oh, looks like me after a martial arts sparring session.
JIMMY: Good eye.
I think that our victim probably had training-- extensive training-- from the look of things.
But she was a bean counter.
Nowhere on her file does it indicate that she had any kind of combat training.
Not my department.
Well, it is my department.
So thank you.
I'm gonna go update the team.
And I'm gonna go enjoy my crab roll.
Was there anything else you needed?
Mm.
No, that's it.
And yet you're still here.
(clears throat) We're good, right?
You and me?
Uh, you and me good how?
I mean, you know, like, you like that-- you-you and me?
Well, you and me as in "us" you and me?
Yup.
That.
Well, yeah, of course.
Why are you even asking?
Oh, it's...
You know, I'm just checking in.
It's a thing people do.
Well, I'm good if you are.
Great.
I'm great.
(short chuckle) Okay, um, so I'm gonna stop being awkward now and leave.
Hey.
Oh.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
(laughs softly) KASIE: So, good news for me, bad news for you.
How is my identity being stolen good for you?
Because in dissecting your digital life to find the thief, I was able to update my future blackmail file on you.
Next time I put in for a vacation, my dates best be approved.
I'll take that under consideration.
So, the bad news is that you have a blackmail file on me.
No.
Your bad news is a complete stranger apparently also knows everything about you-- driver's license number, mom's maiden name, your first pet.
How was my personal info hacked?
I mean, I'm hardened against all the usual vectors.
Rootkit malware?
(scoffs) Please.
Decryption worm?
Forget about it.
That's because you weren't hacked, at least not in the traditional way.
What is the non-traditional way?
Our perp played the security questions angle.
You know, those annoying questions you get asked when you forget your password?
I never forgot my password, but just, uh, go on.
Our perp started by making "lost password" claims to your least secure accounts first-- the Pastry of the Month Club, Virginia Ornithology Association.
Also some rants you dropped on an old Sopranos blog?
I was working FBI Organized Crime.
Those writers were trying to make us into imbeciles.
Either way, once the hacker got their tentacles into your world, they were able to piece together your more important log-ins and passwords.
Just by answering my security questions?
Whoever did this knows very personal things about you.
Yeah, personal things from my past.
Which means maybe our hacker is someone from your past, which brings me to the bad, bad news.
You never said anything about there being bad, bad news.
Oh, my bad.
PARKER: So, in addition to charging the motel mini-bar to me, the person who stole my identity also used it to access the DoD mainframe.
Wait, as in the...
Department of Defense, yes.
They get anything good?
Yeah.
Files of Navy personnel.
They pulled background details on hundreds of sailors.
Wow.
More identities to steal?
PARKER: I don't think so.
They dug around for a while, but they were awfully interested in one name in particular.
Ensign Watts.
Who's dead now.
That's not a coincidence.
What about our victim's new boyfriend, Travis from Wilmington?
You mean her new boyfriend that we can't locate because there's no record of a Travis Jacobs who matches his description?
Yeah.
If that isn't sketchy enough, turns out Travis, uh, magically popped up in Watts' life the very next day after her file was accessed.
Well, that doesn't sound like a coincidence, either.
Whoever this Travis guy is disappeared.
Sounds like we got a ghost.
Well, then call me a Ghostbuster, 'cause I got a hit on our mystery man.
The restaurant where Ashley and her parents had brunch with Travis at has cameras.
Well, the ghost is doing a good job playing the loving boyfriend.
All right, running facial rec now.
Something about this guy looks...
McGEE: Okay, got a hit.
Travis' real name is Ryan Aaronson.
And, uh, big shocker-- he's got a record.
You got to be kidding me.
Parker, you know this guy?
No.
But I know Ryan's mother.
He is the son of Joy Aaronson, but I know her as Joy Sullivan.
And who's Joy Sullivan?
She was...
my first love when I was just a kid.
Unfortunately, your, uh, first love's son is now our prime murder suspect.
Joy Sullivan.
She sounds sweet. "
Sweet" is not how I would describe Joy.
She was a force of nature.
Hey, Parker, seems like you have a type.
She reminds me a lot of your ex-wife.
Vivian?
Yeah, we kind of assumed that she was the one you still carried the torch for.
Okay, so how did you mess things up with this one?
Wait a minute.
Why-why are you assuming it was his fault?
Look at that face, that hair.
Of course Parker was a heartbreaker.
(sighs) Joy and I grew up back in Philly.
We're talking peas-in-a-pod, inseparable until, uh...
her family moved away junior year.
You didn't stay in touch?
Well, not for lack of trying.
I mean, I wrote...
wrote her every week for, um...
(scoffs) a long time, and she never wrote me back.
Mm, Knight's right.
You did something.
Well, if I did, I don't know what, so I took the hint and stopped writing.
Mm, but you never stopped thinking about her.
Or cyberstalking her.
Come on.
You pulled up Joy's profile like, uh, you had it on speed dial.
Sue me for wanting an ambient awareness of her life over the years.
Mm, were you aware that she was divorced?
Yes, I am aware.
And were you also aware that she lives just outside of Maryland?
And why haven't you reached out?
Because every time I thought I might...
I just...
I chickened out.
(laughs softly) Fate took her away, so, why tempt fate?
Well, fate brought her back into your orbit.
No, not fate.
This kid heard about me from Joy.
What do you know about him?
KNIGHT: Well, it looks like Ryan spent time in juvie, followed by arrests for forgery, wire fraud.
Mainly cheap, money-making scams.
TORRES: Yeah, toss in identity theft, and you have a classic con.
Looks like Ashley was his next mark.
A mark that ended up dead.
I never imagined if I saw her again, I'd be breaking the news that her son might be a killer con man.
Knight, Torres, see if you can find Ryan.
McGee.
With me.
Time to tempt fate.
Something wrong?
No.
It just hit me is all.
It's been decades since I've seen her.
You're nervous.
What?
No, of course not.
(sighs) (exhales) Do you need me to ring the bell for you?
No, I got it.
Okay.
Go get 'em, tiger.
Been a long time, Joy.
(grunts) Ooh.
(groans) You want some, too?
No, no, no, I'm good.
(Parker coughs) PARKER: Ugh.
You had that coming to you for 40 years, Park.
Ruined my life.
How exactly did I do that?
I loved my life in Philly and I was ripped away from it because of you.
Yeah, you definitely did something.
More like what didn't he do.
Couldn't say no to trouble if you paid him to.
Uh, as I recall, you were attached to my hip for most of that trouble.
Exactly.
My poor parents-- couldn't have the neighborhood bad boy corrupt their daughter.
Cream, two sugars, if I recall?
Are you saying that your parents moved away because of me?
Yeah, dummy.
What exactly did you think would happen after what you did at the St.
Paddy's Day celebration?
I...
McGEE: Mm.
What did he do at the St.
Paddy's Day celebration?
Uh, the details don't matter.
I would love to hear the details.
What matters is that my parents decided that night that I couldn't be around you anymore.
They knew they couldn't keep me from you unless we left Philly.
Joy, look, I'm-I'm sorry.
I had no idea.
Well, if it's any consolation, the lesson didn't stick, because you were the first in a long line of men that I should not have dated.
Well, speaking of, uh, men that are trouble, that's why we're here.
My deadbeat ex-husband-- yeah, he's in prison.
I'll give you directions.
We're not here about him.
Oh, God.
Ryan?
What did he do now?
He stole my identity.
Apparently, you were talking about me, and you told him enough that he hacked into my, uh...
No offense, but I haven't spoken about you to anyone for the last 20 years.
Offense taken.
But somehow, your son knows details that only a small group of people knew.
Ryan doesn't come around here much anymore, but he did visit a few weeks ago.
Needed to do laundry?
Uh, funnily enough, no.
He didn't ask for money, either.
Although I should have realized something was up.
Take it you're missing something?
Ryan took my letters.
The ones you wrote to me.
You kept them?
Yeah.
Why didn't you ever write me back?
Because I was angry, and I was hurt that you didn't come back after me.
I didn't know you wanted me to.
You're such an idiot.
I know not writing back was petty, but I was young.
And, you know, then the rest of life happened.
Oh, your, uh...
your son must have used the information in those letters to hijack Agent Parker's identity.
Then used my DoD access to target a Naval officer.
And that officer is now dead.
No way.
Ryan does not have a violent bone in his body.
Joy, he took the letters.
He's clearly the one that stole my identity.
I'm telling you, Ryan is not smart enough to pull that off alone.
I...
What-Whatever's going on, Todd is behind it.
That bastard.
Who's Todd?
He's my ex's partner.
He's a con man.
When my ex got pinched, Todd set his sights on Ryan as his replacement partner.
I told Ryan that Todd was bad news, but, hey, that kid-- he takes after his father.
Do you know where we could find Todd?
He's got a pool hall in Hampden, but he'll-he'll make you out as feds as soon as you walk through the door.
But he might talk to you if I'm with you.
Uh, that's not gonna happen, Joy.
You want another punch to the gut?
Just try and keep me from helping my kid.
(door opens) Yeah, you were right.
Not exactly what I would describe as "sweet."
♪ ♪ Double or nothing, I can sink that four-ball next.
What do you say, Father?
I wouldn't take that bet.
Not because the Bible says the love of money is the root of all evil, but because he's setting you up.
Really, Joy?
You come in here dragging a pair of cops behind you?
Uh, Mr.
Mercer, I'm Agent Parker, NCIS.
This is Agent McGee.
We've got some questions that we want to ask you.
What did you get Ryan mixed up in?
Uh, we're the ones conducting the interview here.
But we are here about Ryan.
What about him?
You dragged him into some con, and you got a woman killed.
Okay.
You might want to muzzle that one.
I ain't seen Ryan in days, and I don't know nothing about no dead woman.
How dare you take advantage of my son!
Hey, hey, hey, hey!
This isn't good cop, bad Joy, okay?
If you're done with the theatrics, I've got some work to do.
(sighs) No, almost done.
One more question, but it's not for you.
Ah.
How much jail time is this guy looking at?
Mandatory minimum, 30 years without the possibility of parole.
(short chuckle) Nice try.
Identity theft caps out at one year.
Who said anything about identity theft?
Did he just incriminate himself, Agent McGee?
I believe he did, Agent Parker.
I was talking about first-degree felony murder, which you're about to be charged with in about ten seconds.
Yeah, unless you can do better than "I don't know."
Or we can just step away and let Joy kick your ass.
But how did he get her to hand over her passwords for NAVSEA?
How's it going?
Well, apparently, Todd was pulling the old CIA recruiter con.
My favorite.
I've done it twice.
How'd this one work?
Ryan convinced Ensign Watts that he was recruiting her for the CIA.
And once he had her believing that, he tricked her into giving him access to the accounting system at NAVSEA.
And then it was just a simple matter of adding my pool hall to their payroll ledger.
And you just sat back and cashed the checks as they came in?
I was just trying to get my piece of that government pork.
But I don't know nothing about that.
Whatever happened there is between Ryan and her.
You have any idea where Ryan might be?
I haven't heard a word from him since he tried to shut me down.
PARKER: Wait.
Wait.
What's that supposed mean?
Ryan wanted to call things off.
Why?
Because he didn't want to get Ashley in trouble with the Navy.
Ryan broke the first rule of the game-- never fall for your mark.
And he was, what-- in love with Ashley?
Those were his exact words.
You know, maybe she found out he played her and things got ugly, which wouldn't surprise me at all.
And why is that?
There was something about that girl.
Something like what?
Ryan brought her around once to play pool, and I can tell from the moment I met her she had an angle.
A con can tell when someone's keeping secrets, and she was keeping something from Ryan.
TORRES: Are we sure this guy isn't just trying to save his own ass by pinning Ashley's murder on Ryan?
He's got an alibi.
He was with his podiatrist getting a corn removed when Ashley was killed.
What do you think he meant by, uh, Ashley having secrets?
I don't know, but I don't trust a con man.
You cannot play the game if you're not skilled in reading human behavior.
Well, maybe we should focus less on Ryan and have a closer look at Ashley.
Just spoke to her neighbor.
They saw her roughly eight hours before she was killed.
Said she looked frazzled, left in a hurry.
TORRES: Eight hours?
That's a lot of missing time.
PARKER: All right.
Let's track her phone, see where she went.
Ah, don't bother.
She left it in her apartment.
I'd leave my eyeballs behind before I left my phone.
Maybe she ditched it on purpose, to drop off the grid.
Are you saying that Ashley isn't just an innocent victim here?
I'm thinking we need to know what happened between her leaving home, eating a delicious crab roll, and then ending up dead.
Did Ryan mention anything to his mother about Ashley?
Joy said she never met her, though I could go see if there's anything she overlooked. "
Go see" as in, like...
house call?
An official NCIS interview.
Like, back at her house?
Tonight?
Well, I'm sure that she would appreciate, uh, an update, given the sensitive nature of the investigation.
Right, and it's...
You know, what's better than a face-to-face?
It's the proper thing to do.
Mm.
JOY: Park, uh, what are...
what are you doing?
I know I should have called first, but...
I just thought I'd...
check up, see how you're doing.
I'm fine.
RYAN: Hey, Mom, when'd you switch to stupid deca...
What is he doing here?
Did you turn me in?
I swear, I didn't even know he was coming.
Are you aiding and abetting my suspect?
You mean my son.
Relax.
I was still gonna call you.
What?
Mom, I came to you for help.
He's the only one who can help you now.
She's right.
If you had nothing to do with Ashley's murder, you need to talk to me.
Don't you dare break your mother's heart.
Okay, Ryan, you know the drill.
You're gonna talk to Agent Parker and you're gonna do what you're not good at.
You're gonna tell the truth.
Don't let this fall on his head, Park.
He's saveable, just like you were.
I swear on my mother's life, I didn't kill Ashley.
I loved her.
You know, she was...
the one.
That's why I tried to stop Todd.
(sighs) But he went behind your back and pulled off the con anyway.
And as soon I found out, I went straight to Ashley and I told her everything.
You know, who I really was.
What I'd done.
Oh, I'm sure that went over well.
You're wrong.
She forgave me.
You duped her half a dozen ways, and she said, what-- "It's all good"?
It's the truth.
She told me that she loved me, too, and she was gonna find a way to make things right so we could be together.
Make things right?
With who, the Navy?
That's what I thought at first.
She was gonna find some way to undo what Todd did, but then, uh, something felt...
off.
Off how?
I'm not quite sure.
Because, suddenly, she went all cloak-and-dagger and told me to arrange the motel room and to use an alias.
Aka mine.
When I got to the motel, she was already...
I took off when I saw her lying there.
That's all I know.
Look, you guys have to believe me.
I loved her, and she loved me, too.
I would never hurt Ashley.
Well, we would love to believe you.
But the one thing missing here is proof that any of this is true.
(sighs) Wait!
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
I, uh...
I-I still have the voice mail that she left me.
What voice mail?
ASHLEY: Text me the room code and wait exactly ten minutes for my call.
It's imperative you don't call me back.
It's too dangerous.
I know you have questions, but I'll answer them later.
I love you.
That sounds pretty cloak-and-daggery to me.
She also sounds very scared.
Yeah, but who was she scared of?
And why would our Navy officer use a burner phone to leave messages?
Well, it looks like Todd was right-- Ashley had some secrets of her own.
If we're gonna find her killer, we need to know what Ashley was doing in those eight hours.
Knight, call Kasie and see if she can pull anything else from this voice mail, okay?
Parker, can I ask you something real quick?
Yeah.
Are you sure that we don't already have the killer in our holding cell, and that Ryan's mom isn't just playing us?
You think Joy is trying to throw us off Ryan's scent?
Well, it's been done before.
She's just protecting her kid.
I'm told that's what parents do.
Well, within reason, yeah.
Well, she's protecting him because she's trusting me to do the job.
We see this thing through, even if it lands at Ryan's feet, right?
Right.
Look, I'm-I'm not saying that Joy is some kind of saint, but, back in the day, she refused to turn her back on me when everybody else did.
Her faith was the kick in the ass I needed to start turning my life around.
Even when her parents moved her away, I wasn't about to let her down.
Not then, not now.
ASHLEY: Text me the room code and wait exactly ten minutes for my call.
It's imperative you don't call me back...
Any updates on the voice mail that Ashley left?
Uh, I am running it through an audio scrubber right now.
It ought to enhance any background noise that might help us ID her location when she left it.
This might take a minute.
I can call you when I have something.
Okay, girl, spill.
Has Jimmy mentioned anything lately, you know, about him and...
me?
Um, why are you asking?
Something's up with Jimmy.
And I hate feeling like I'm back in high school worrying that my crush isn't crushing back.
Oh!
But I love picturing high school Jess with butterflies.
(laughs) Okay.
I wasn't even that high school girl when I was in high school.
I didn't crush and I didn't do butterflies and I didn't, you know, put notes in peoples' lockers.
So why are you suddenly twisting yourself into knots over Jimmy?
Okay, let's not go that far.
I'm just saying, Jimmy had a really weird reaction when I suggested that we invite Victoria to movie night.
Ooh, movie night?
Yes, please.
What are we seeing?
(chuckles) Okay, Jimmy and I are gonna go see the next Codename: Fury.
Yeah.
That movie goes way back.
And I think I know what's up with Jimmy.
(computer dings) Ooh.
It's the ambient dialogue filter.
Looks like it pulled some background audio from the call.
ASHLEY: ...call me back.
It's too dangerous.
(chime sounds) MAN (over P.A.): Next stop Shady Grove, end of the line.
ASHLEY: I know you have questions, but I'll answer them later.
That's a Metro train.
It sounds like Ashley was on the Red Line when she called Ryan.
Heading out of the city and into the boonies.
But what was she doing way out there?
Ashley first boarded the Red Line in D.C., then exited the Shady Grove station and headed east on foot.
The last camera that spotted her was just outside of a restaurant called Blue's Crab Shack.
Which boasts the best Maryland blue crab roll in the city.
Which was also Ashley's last meal, according to Jimmy.
I love me a good crab roll, but, uh, after running scared from her apartment, then leaving that voice mail to Ryan, it's hard to swallow she went all the way out there just for a crustacean.
She didn't.
KNIGHT: The restaurant's across the street from a self-storage lot.
McGEE: We did some checking, and it turns out Ashley has a unit there.
A unit that she visited mere hours before she was murdered, according to the logs that we were sent.
Must be something pretty important in that unit.
Torres, Knight, find out what.
So, what do we have in here?
This is all a bunch of crap.
Who knows what she actually came here for.
Does this place feel a little small to you?
The rental agreement says it's 300 square feet.
Hey.
This stain looks like it's coming from the other side.
It's hollow.
Hey, Knight?
What in the Assassin's Creed?
KNIGHT: Whoa.
We have foreign currency here.
And I've got some passports.
I think we just figured out why Ashley forgave our con man for lying about who he was.
She was lying to him, too.
Given everything that we've collected from Ashley's secret room, she's got to be a spy, right?
Or some sort of con artist herself.
That might explain the multiple passports in multiple names.
But not the arsenal of high-powered weapons.
Okay, spy it is, but who is she working for?
And what was her mission?
Well, we know she lobbied hard to get herself assigned to NAVSEA.
It's a smart place for a hostile power to have an asset.
And lots of intel on what keeps our navy afloat.
Yeah, and imagine her surprise when she was approached by Ryan to join the CIA.
Oh, she would have jumped at that chance.
PARKER: Embed a spy within the company.
That's the Holy Grail for a foreign intelligence agency.
Except it was all a lie.
Talk about ironic.
A deceitful con man targets a bona fide spy trained in the art of deceit?
Yeah, but according to Ryan, love conquered all for them.
A real life The Spy Who Loved Me.
If Ryan didn't kill Ashley, I may have an idea who did.
Spies have handlers, and handlers don't like it when their spies get compromised.
Kind of a cardinal sin for a secret agent.
Ashley was afraid on that voice mail.
She knew that she and Ryan were in danger.
So, whoever killed Ashley might still be after Ryan.
That could be an advantage for us.
Use him to flush them out.
Think he's up for it?
RYAN: Look, I'll do it.
No, you won't!
Not a chance in hell are you using my kid as bait to catch some spy-killing spy.
Joy, if he helps us, I can talk to the D.A., maybe he avoids prison.
Yeah, aside from that...
for once, Mom, I'd kind of like to do the right thing.
Though avoiding prison does sound pretty good.
No way.
PARKER: Joy, listen to me.
Listen to me.
He's saveable, okay?
This is how we save him.
Well, that's my third cup of coffee.
Gonna have to pee soon.
Nobody forced you to drink that many lattes.
RYAN: I don't understand how this handler dude is supposed to just find me here.
KNIGHT: We asked the Office of Naval Intelligence to flood the zone with chatter that you're back in town.
If you have a target on your back, the handler will find you.
(scoffs) Looks like Ashley's parents found me first.
Which isn't very likely.
Hello, Travis.
Or is it Ryan now?
Unless those aren't actually Ashley's parents.
Let's move in.
RENÉE: Da.
PARKER: Freeze!
NCIS!
Hands up!
Up!
Up!
KNIGHT: Thumbs out.
Not exactly the family next door.
(handcuffs clicking) Can't believe that Ashley's adoptive parents were Russian sleeper spies.
Oh, and that was just their cover.
Looks like the three of them popped up ten years ago posing as typical Americans.
Ah.
They confess to her murder?
Well, with their op blown, they're cooperating.
Safest place for them now is an American supermax.
Sounds like a plotline to a Codename: Fury movie.
(both laugh) Actually, uh, I think that's something that we should talk about.
It's not an easy thing for me to bring up.
Oh, no.
We're still on for our date night, aren't we?
(chuckles) Well, I remember you mentioned that those movies were a family favorite with you and Victoria and Breena.
And I realized yesterday that this is gonna be the first time that you're seeing one of those movies without your wife.
Yeah.
It's another bridge to cross, you know?
I have crossed plenty by now.
Right.
Like your first Thanksgiving without Breena.
And your first Christmas.
Each one of those had to have hurt.
But there is one more bridge for you to cross.
And I think that one's gonna hurt the most.
It's, um...
It's me being a part of your daughter's life.
That's the last bridge.
A final symbol that Breena is really gone.
And I think you feel like you're saying goodbye to her for good, and I know that has to hurt.
And I don't want to push you.
I feel really bad for having pushed you.
Jessica, stop, stop.
Just...
stop.
Y-You have nothing to apologize for, okay?
You're right.
This is something that I have to do, and, um...
It's just really hard.
I, uh...
I really want to, um...
Come here.
Oh.
I know this must be hard for you.
I've been there.
The love of my life was a foreign agent murdered by her own country.
I don't think you've been there.
No, not exactly.
But back in the day, I was on the wrong path, just like you.
Friends with all the wrong people.
Price I paid was losing your mother.
Look, Ryan, I'm just saying, that, uh, if you keep walking the path you're on, today is just the appetizer.
You ain't close to the bottom yet, but you'll eventually get there.
Or...
you can take all that skill as a con, crook, hustler, swindler, cheat...
and you can actually turn it into something good.
How?
Come to work for the good guys.
I pulled some strings w