6x11 – Silent Night
Taylor House: porch
Greg: I can't. I'm still working. Hey, this is my big week, man. I made more tips today than all last month. Yeah, I got four more deliveries. Yeah, I'll hook up with you around 7:00. Yeah, whatever.
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NCIS: Squad room
Leon Vance: I used to love this game as a kid.
Ziva David: Oh, me, too. My mother preferred I played with dolls. My favorite was G.I. Joe.
Leon Vance: David, thank you.
Ziva David: My pleasure. I enjoy shopping... Especially when it's not my money.
Leon Vance: Good.
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Timothy McGee: That was security. A Detective Kemp is on his way up. Anyone know where Gibbs is?
Anthony DiNozzo: Detective Justin Kemp?
Timothy McGee: That's the one. Metro Homicide. Why, do you know him?
Anthony DiNozzo: Um, sort of... You know...
Ziva David: What does that mean?
Anthony DiNozzo: We have a mutual friend... I used to date Kemp's wife.
Timothy McGee: How, uh... How many dates we talking about here?
Anthony DiNozzo: Guys, what's it matter? I don't know.
Ziva David: Like two, or three?
Anthony DiNozzo: Four.
Timothy McGee: Oh, that's... Not a big deal.
Anthony DiNozzo: Four months. At least four months.
Ziva David: Oh, that is...
Timothy McGee: That is a big deal.
Anthony DiNozzo: So what's Kemp doing here?
Timothy McGee: Uh, investigating a home invasion robbery. Double homicide... It's an older couple.
Anthony DiNozzo: And how does that involve us?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: They don't want to discuss it on the phone.
Anthony DiNozzo: Close your mouth, Ziva. He's married... Kemp.
Justin Kemp: DiNozzo.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Special Agent Gibbs.
Justin Kemp: Sorry to ruin your Christmas.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: It's December 23. We're not going anywhere.
Justin Kemp: Found fingerprints at the crime scene. Ran them through AFIS... I got a hit... A Ned Quinn. A former petty officer. Vietnam vet. We had a witness... A delivery boy. Worked with our sketch artist.
Ziva David: Looks like an older version of... Him.
Timothy McGee: Can't be. Quinn died in a fire in 1991.
Justin Kemp: That's why I'm here. According to V.A.records, Quinn's buried at Arlington.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: McGee, pull a copy of the death certificate.
Timothy McGee: Boss, this is not good.
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NCIS: Autopsy room
Donald Mallard: It's a sixpence.
Abigael Scuito: What does it have to do with Christmas?
Donald Mallard: Everything, Abby. It's a tradition. That coin has been baked, well, steamed actually, into every Mallard Christmas pudding since the 1850s. It brings good fortune and luck in the coming year to whoever finds it on their plate.
Abigael Scuito: Assuming they don't choke to death on it.
Donald Mallard: Sadly, with no extended family here, I've let the tradition lapse.
Abigael Scuito: Next year, Ducky,you and me... We're going to make Christmas pudding.
Donald Mallard: I'd like that.
Abigael Scuito: I like everything about Christmas. Except for that Chipmunk song. And shopping... I hate shopping. I never know what do get anyone... Specially Gibbs. What do you get for the guy that has nothing and wants nothing?
Donald Mallard: Some squeaky shoes.
Abigael Scuito: Hi, Gibbs! Bye, Gibbs.
Donald Mallard: Something wrong, Jethro?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Fingerprints found at a double homicide yesterday... Belong to a petty officer who's supposed to have been dead 17 years... His death certificate.
Donald Mallard: Oh, dear. Someone's in trouble... I signed it?
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NCIS: Squad room
Timothy McGee: Ned Quinn. Graduated with honors from the University of Virginia. He was accepted to its medical school, but didn't go. Enlisted in the Navy. Became a corpsman instead. Attached to the First Battalion, Ninth Marines.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: The walking dead.
Timothy McGee: Came home from Vietnam in 1972. Was treated at V.A.for post traumatic stress disorder.
Ziva David: Quinn became addicted to methamphetamine and was in and out of rehab. His wife divorced him in 1980, and got full custody of their three-year-old daughter Melissa.
Timothy McGee: He started living on the streets and supposedly died with seven others in a fire at a halfway house on Canal Street. There was nothing to hint that Quinn was alive until yesterday's murders.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: A lot of years in between. Where's the ex-wife and the daughter now?
Ziva David: Wife lives in Alexandria and the daughter lives in Clearfield.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: McGee, go with her.
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NCIS: Autopsy room
Donald Mallard: Massive charring. Pugilistic contractions of the extremities. Heat fractions. Evulsion of the brain... Large and small intestines.
Donald Mallard: My voice had a deeper timbre in those days.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: You make a mistake, Duck?
Donald Mallard: The city M.E. was unable to make a positive identification from the charred remains. So I was called in in the hope that Quinn's military medical and dental records could confirm his identity. Unfortunately, due to the victim's heavy drug use, he suffered from meth mouth. Which deteriorated his teeth and made a dental match impossible.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: DNA?
Donald Mallard: That was not an option back then. All I had to go by was an examination of the skull and measurement of the bones. From which I determined only that it was a male, Caucasian, about 40 years old and six-foot, two.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Well, fit Quinn's description then.
Donald Mallard: And since the remains were found in Quinn's room with all of Quinn's personal effects, we both naturally reached a circumstantial and logical conclusion. What's more, nobody turned up claiming to be Quinn.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Well, if it wasn't him, then maybe he killed someone and covered it up with the fire.
Donald Mallard: In Quinn's file, it says that he was treated for his PTSD at Bethesda. By a psychiatrist... One Dr... Dr. Pryor. Yes. As I recall, he's still there. I need to talk to him.
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Melissa's house: living room
Melissa Fox: Thanks for coming over, Mom. I just have to get a few stocking stuffers.
Connie Wheeler: Go, go, go, go. As long as I'm home by 6:30 to help your father brine the turkey. You know how he gets.
Melissa Fox: Have you seen my car keys? Jordie, did you take my keys?
Connie Wheeler: I'll get it. Hang on, hang on. You stay here, my sweet boy.
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Melissa's house: Front door
Timothy McGee: Afternoon. NCIS. I'm Special Agent Timothy McGee looking for Melissa Fox.
Melissa Fox: Who is it, Mom?
Ziva David: Are you Connie Wheeler?
Connie Wheeler: Yes.
Timothy McGee: We need to ask you some questions about your former husband, Ned Quinn.
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Melissa's house: living room
Timothy McGee: Fingerprints found at a crime scene match his.
Connie Wheeler: Well, that can't be. He's been dead for 20 years.
Ziva David: If he were alive, do you have any idea where he might be?
Connie Wheeler: I couldn't even offer a clue. He's been out of our lives since the divorce.
Ziva David: Melissa, have you had any contact with your father?
Connie Wheeler: Her father is my husband Ed. He raised Melissa since she was four years old. Ned Quinn has never been a part of her life.
Melissa Fox: I only have vague memories of him.
Connie Wheeler: If he is still alive, I don't want him to know where we are. He's already destroyed our lives once.
Jordie Fox: Mommy, Mommy, I'm done.
Melissa Fox: I'm sorry, excuse me.
Connie Wheeler: When he came back from Vietnam... He was a drug addict. I tried, but he didn't want my help. I moved on... We both moved on.
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NCIS: Autopsy room
Dr. Pryor: I don't remember Quinn. Apparently we treated him over a three year period... 1979 to '82.
Donald Mallard: What were you treating him for?
Dr. Pryor: He suffered from survivor guilt. Blamed himself for a buddy's death.
Abigael Scuito: Oh,my God. I heard there was a Santa in the building.
Donald Mallard: Abby...
Abigael Scuito: He's great. Rosy cheeks, wire-rim glasses. Your beard looks so real...
Dr. Pryor: That's because it is.
Donald Mallard: Abigail, Dr. Pryor is a psychiatrist.He's here to help me find...
Abigael Scuito: To find out who's naughty and who's nice. Hello? You think I could get a picture?
Donald Mallard: Abigail. Why did Quinn blame himself for his friend's death?
Dr. Pryor: Well, he and another corpsman switched patrols a week before their tour was to end. The other guy got killed in an ambush.
Donald Mallard: You last saw him in '82. The fire was in '91. Have you any idea of anything that happened in the intervening years?
Dr. Pryor: No. Like a lot of those guys, he stopped coming. They give up.
Donald Mallard: Did he have any violent tendencies?
Dr. Pryor: I don't remember. I have to be at the Children's Hospital party in 30 minutes. Anything that I once knew about the man is in here.
Donald Mallard: Thank you, Dr. Pryor.
Dr. Pryor: Ho, ho, ho. Merry Christmas.
Abigael Scuito: Thank you, Santa.
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NCIS: Squad room
Donald Mallard: I just suffered for hours through the good doctor's rambling notes. There is nothing to suggest aggressive or impulsive behavior.
Timothy McGee: Per his service record, Quinn left Vietnam on December 30, 1972. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall listed 58,000 plus names of the dead and missing in chronological order. According to its Web site, 17 military personnel died that week. Of that number, two were in Long Khanh Province where Quinn was stationed. Only one was a Navy corpsman. Roger Laurence Grant.
Donald Mallard: Yeah... After the Vietnam Memorial was dedicated, Quinn went regularly to the wall to pay tribute to his fallen friend. If Quinn is still alive, there's a chance he might honor Roger Grant's memory by visiting the Memorial on the anniversary of his death... December 24.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Tomorrow.
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Vietnam Memorial: parking
Ziva David: He does not dress like a cop.
Anthony DiNozzo: Who?
Ziva David: Your Detective Kemp.
Anthony DiNozzo: You are a little fascinated by him.
Ziva David: He come from money?
Anthony DiNozzo: Married it. We're missing the office Christmas party.
Ziva David: That could have been you. What is her name?
Anthony DiNozzo: Guy in the blue hoodie. Could be Quinn... Go check him out.
Ziva David: Too young, too fat, too female. Answer my question. She pretty?
Anthony DiNozzo: Gorgeous... She was perfect, okay? Witty, smart. That was 12 years ago. She's had kids, God knows what she looks like now.
Ziva David: So... What happened? You ever, um, regret... Not having a wife and kids? Especially during this time of year. Hanukkah is all about family. Is it not the same with Christmas?
Anthony DiNozzo: I'm gonna check out the guy in the blue hoodie.
Ziva David: It is a woman!
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NCIS: Squad room
Abigael Scuito: Hey, Gibbs. The party's starting to wind down up there. Hollander had to be sent home in a cab... Fourth year in a row. I brought you and McGee some eggnog... Right. Two for McGee... Speaking of McGee... And Ziva... And Tony...
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Abs, it's Christmas Eve. Go home.
Abigael Scuito: I can't. I have to go shopping.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Then do it.
Abigael Scuito: I don't know what to get anybody. What do you think Tony needs?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: An attitude adjustment.
Abigael Scuito: Gibbs, you're not helping.
Timothy McGee: Right this way, please.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Abs. Merry Christmas.
Timothy McGee: Boss, this is Melissa Fox, Ned Quinn's daughter. Melissa, this is Special Agent Gibbs. He's in charge of the case.
Melissa Fox: Hi.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Hi.
Melissa Fox: Thank you for seeing me, Agent Gibbs... I just wanted to make it clear that my mother doesn't speak for me... She wants no part of my father... I do. I have all these childhood memories of him. Maybe they're just fantasies, but... Don't get me wrong. My stepfather is wonderful... But I hoped one day to connect with my biological father.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Did you try?
Melissa Fox: My mother protected me from him. She didn't even tell me when he died.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: How'd you find out?
Melissa Fox: I did a search when I was 21.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Excuse me...
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NCIS: Squad room / Vietnam Memorial: parking
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Yeah.
Anthony DiNozzo: He's here. Should we take him down?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: No. I'm on my way. Thanks.
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NCIS: Squad room
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Sorry about that.
Melissa Fox: I'm still reeling from the possibility that he might be alive... Unlike my mother, I'd very much like to see him. It's like a piece of me is missing.
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Vietnam Memorial
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: No matter how many times I come here, it still gets to me... You look at a name, you have to look at a reflection of yourself. You are among the fallen.
Ned Quinn: Yeah. Difference is you can leave... The names don't.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: No. Death is permanent. Except in your case, Ned Quinn.
Ned Quinn: It's been a long time since anybody's called me that.
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NCIS: Observation room
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: He hasn't said a word since we brought him in here.
Donald Mallard: Not surprising for a man who spent 17 years hiding. Skin and eyes clear, good hygiene, no tremors. Clean and sober.
Ziva David: All he had on him was eight dollars and a key to a long-term downtown hotel room. No ID.
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NCIS: Interrogation room
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Metro P.D. is on the way to pick you up. You'll be their problem... That's your buddy. Petty Officer Grant. Corpsman. Just like you... Corpsman saved my life once.
Ned Quinn: So you're a former Marine, huh?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: So what happened at the Taylor house then? Your fingerprints were all over the place.
Ned Quinn: I didn't kill them.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: You were there. Why?
Ned Quinn: I was out on the street with my sign, looking for work, and the Taylors picked me up. They needed help decorating their house for the holidays.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: You never met them before?
Ned Quinn: No, they said it was their traditional way of extending a helping hand to those less fortunate.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Well, if you didn't kill them, who did?
Ned Quinn: I don't know. I was in the garage. I was digging decorations out of boxes. When I got back, I found them. There was blood everywhere. The husband was already dead. The wife was on the couch. I put her on the floor, I tried to administer CPR. But it was too late.
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NCIS: Observation room
Donald Mallard: I'll be back.
Ziva David: Where you going?
Donald Mallard: I want to catch the city M.E. before he leaves his office. Wish me luck.
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NCIS: Interrogation room
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Why'd you run?
Ned Quinn: I'd been dead for 17 years. Who's gonna believe me?
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Hotel: hallway
Anthony DiNozzo: How long has Quinn lived here?
Hector: Who?
Anthony DiNozzo: The guy in this room.
Hector: Rembrandt?
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Hotel: bedroom
Hector: I've been here 12 years. He's been here longer than that.
Timothy McGee: Rembrandt ever give you any trouble?
Hector: Never. Pays his rent every Saturday, in cash. Keeps to himself.
Anthony DiNozzo: All right. We'll say goodbye to you downstairs.
Hector: Bye.
Anthony DiNozzo: Downstairs. Thanks. Wow, guy's got some personality.
Timothy McGee: Check this out.
Anthony DiNozzo: That's pretty good.
Timothy McGee: Not what I expected to find.
Anthony DiNozzo: Not what I expected to be doing on Christmas Eve.
Timothy McGee: What did you expect to be doing?
Anthony DiNozzo: Not this.
Timothy McGee: You had no plans.
Anthony DiNozzo: I had plans. I had big plans. Big, big plans.
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NCIS: Interrogation room
Ned Quinn: I was ten blocks away when the fire broke out.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: So who died in your room?
Ned Quinn: Another tweaker. I didn't know him. He told me where I could cop. I told him he could crash there till I got back. When I did, there were fire engines and cop cars all over the place.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Why didn't you just identify yourself?
Ned Quinn: I realized they thought I was in the room. And in a rare, lucid moment, it occurred to me that my ex-wife and my daughter might be better off if I was dead and they could receive my military benefits. That was the only decent thing I ever did for them.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: So you disappeared. You hid.
Ned Quinn: It's not hard if no one's looking for you. You work for cash, you pay cash for what you buy, you don't need a name.
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NCIS: Observation room
Abigael Scuito: Ziva.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Did you leave D.C.?
Ned Quinn: Thought about it, but never did.
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NCIS: Hallway
Ziva David: Abby, I thought you went home.
Abigael Scuito: Did Gibbs tell him that his daughter was here and she wants to meet him?
Ziva David: No.
Abigael Scuito: He has to. It means everything to her.
Ziva David: Abby, this is not a lost puppy for you to rescue. You cannot make this better. This is a murder investigation.
Abigael Scuito:I think Gibbs should tell him.
Ziva David: And I think... You should stay out of this.
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NCIS: Squad room
Anthony DiNozzo: Missed the party, don't have to miss the food. Hey, Ducky, I found these in the conference room. They're pretty de-lish. You might want to try some of this, Ducky. It's pretty good stuff.
Donald Mallard: No, thank you.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: What'd you find out at his place?
Anthony DiNozzo: Nothing to tie him to the murders. Appears to have led a, uh, non-criminal and invisible life.
Timothy McGee: Actually,uh,he's an artist... Sketches. Pretty good stuff.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: You catch the M.E.?
Donald Mallard: Yes. Mr. Taylor died of blunt force trauma to the head from what appears to be several strikes of a hammer. Mrs. Taylor, heart attack. Uh, ligature marks on her wrists suggest that she was restrained by handcuffs. But what is much more interesting: our suspect is telling the truth. He was trying to save Mrs. Taylor.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: How do you know that?
Donald Mallard: Quinn's bloody fingerprints knew what they were doing. And compression bruises on her chest suggest he was trying to perform CPR, Jethro. And he knew to put her on a hard surface, the floor.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Yeah.
Timothy McGee: Kill the husband, try and save the wife? Doesn't make sense.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Kemp's here to pick up Quinn.
Ziva David: I will go get him.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Keep him here till I get back.
Donald Mallard: How can he eat those things?
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NCIS: Director's office
Leon Vance: Yeah? Nice work finding Quinn so fast.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Well, I got a lot of help from Ducky.
Leon Vance: Same guy that declared him dead 17 years ago. Well, Jackie is furious. I was supposed to be home hours ago. All right,time to start the Christmas holiday... You're not here to wish me a merry Christmas, are you?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: I can't get a handle on Quinn. He faked his own death and we can place him at the crime scene.
Leon Vance: But you don't think he did it?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: I think we may be handing over an innocent man to Metro.
Leon Vance: And you're concerned they think they've got a slam-dunk case. They're not gonna look any further.
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NCIS: Squad room
Justin Kemp: This was taken last Christmas.
Ziva David: Is that your wife? Nobody looks that good in a bikini after two kids.
Timothy McGee: That hotel is awesome. Is that a Ritz-Carlton?
Justin Kemp: No, no, that's, uh, that's my father-in-law's villa. So, uh, where's Gibbs? I need to get Quinn downtown.
Leon Vance: We're gonna hold him here, Detective Kemp. Leon Vance.
Justin Kemp: Director.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: The Navy's got unfinished business with former Petty Officer Quinn.
Justin Kemp: What exactly?
Leon Vance: Faked his death. His family collected death benefits.
Justin Kemp: With all due respect,Director, I've got him for a double homicide. Not even close.
Leon Vance: You know you won't be able to get Quinn in front of a judge for days. Relax. Enjoy a little family time.
Justin Kemp: What am I missing? Why is NCIS interfering with a Metro case? Fine. Tomorrow's Christmas. I've got two bikes and a dollhouse to put together. We'll be back with a court order day after tomorrow... Let's go.
Leon Vance: You asked for it. You better work fast. You only have a day.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Merry Christmas.
Abigael Scuito: Hey, guys. What's up?
Leon Vance: I hope no one has plans.
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Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Keep Quinn in interrogation. We'll watch him in shifts.
Abigael Scuito: What do I do?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: You and Duck go home. It's late. Get some sleep.
Abigael Scuito: Oh, I haven't slept on Christmas Eve since I was,like,four. Since I started camping out in front of the fireplace trying to catch Santa. I should have pulled a fingerprint off his milk glass.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: I may need you both tomorrow.
Donald Mallard: Yes, I have to go visit Mother in her new home. May I walk you to your car?
Abigael Scuito: How is she?
Donald Mallard: Driving the nurses crazy.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Kemp Is focused on Quinn's fingerprints. He's not looking at anything else.
Timothy McGee: Do our own investigation.
Ziva David: Visit the crime scene?
Anthony DiNozzo: Kemp will go ballistic.
Timothy McGee: Boss, I Googled the dead couple for background information. Found something interesting here. Six months ago, the husband, Avery Taylor, filed a multimillion-dollar patent-infringement lawsuit against Paradigm Industries.
Anthony DiNozzo: Get out of town.
Ziva David: What?
Anthony DiNozzo: Paradigm Industries is owned by Gary Vanderlicht. Metro Detective Justin Kemp's filthy-rich father-in-law?
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NCIS: Observation room
Timothy McGee: All right, that's it. I know when I'm beaten.
Ziva David: How are we going to get the game back in the box and make it look like it was never opened?
Timothy McGee: I am an expert at repacking and rewrapping. Christmas mornings, I knew what was in each present under the tree.
Ziva David: You peeked?
Ned Quinn: Is anybody in there? Agent Gibbs?
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NCIS: Interrogation room
Ned Quinn: When are the police coming to pick me up?
Ziva David: Not for a while. Because of the holiday, shifts are not fully staffed.
Ned Quinn: I think you know more than you're telling me.
Ziva David: Are you hungry? Do you need anything?
Ned Quinn: A pencil and paper. I can't sleep. Sketching relaxes me... Oh, yeah, I know, sharp object... I promise I won't stab myself.
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Outside Taylor House
Anthony DiNozzo: Not a happy Christmas morning for the Taylors. Hey, wanna make this interesting? I bet you five bucks I can crack the alarm code before you can pick the lock, boss.
Ziva David: I will take that bet.
Anthony DiNozzo: Okay... Ta-da!
Ziva David: How did you do that?
Anthony DiNozzo: The one, the four, theeven and the nine are worn. The code had to be a combination of those four numbers. People like to choose numbers that are easy to rember: address, anniversary, birthday, birth year. Being a Boy Scout, I came prepared. The Taylors were born in 1947. Five bucks... Sore loser.
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Taylor House: living room
Anthony DiNozzo: What do we think the police missed?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: If we believe Quinn, he found the wife's body on the couch and moved it on the floor. They wouldn't have known that.
Ziva David: Got it.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Kemp's investigation focused on the fingerprint evidence and the couple's bodies, which were found here and here. Let's check out the rest of the house.
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NCIS: Interrogation room
Timothy McGee: That's good. So were the sketches in your room... Did you take art classes in college?
Ned Quinn: No. Rehab.
Timothy McGee: I guess being pre-med, you don't really have a lot of time to take electives. You wanted to be a doctor.
Ned Quinn: 'Nam changed things.
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Taylor House: office
Anthony DiNozzo: Looks like a chair was moved.
Ziva David: Found fibers, hair and...
Anthony DiNozzo: Watch!
Ziva David: A button.
Anthony DiNozzo: Found the chair... Looks like somebody wanted to get something on the upper shelf. It's a safe. It's empty. I'm guessing Metro police got it wrong. The robbery netted more than just the jewelry the wife was wearing and the husband's cash.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Dust it.
Harvey Ames: Security patrol... Uh, who are you guys?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: NCIS.
Harvey Ames: We received an alarm.
Ziva David: I thought you turned it off?
Harvey Ames: It's our top-of-the-line HS 3000 system. It's a double-redundant. If you don't punch in the code twice, it sends a silent alarm.
Anthony DiNozzo: Double redundancy, how could I know that?
Harvey Ames: Thought the police, uh, had a suspect. What are you guys doing here?
Anthony DiNozzo: They asked for our help.
Harvey Ames: They didn't tell us.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: We got work to do.
Harvey Ames: NCIS... Heard about you guys. I've been in the private security business for three years... Doesn't pay very well. Does NCIS take applications?
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NCIS: Observation room
Timothy McGee: Abby...
Abigael Scuito: Merry Christmas, Tiny Tim!
Timothy McGee: What are you doing here?
Abigael Scuito: Well, today's Christmas. I just came from church. I didn't have anything planned and I wanted to be with my team. Where is everybody?
Timothy McGee: In the field.
Abigael Scuito: How's he doin'?
Timothy McGee: Ah, you know.
Abigael Scuito: Has he, um, mentioned his daughter?
Timothy McGee: No.
Abigael Scuito: You think he'd like to see her?
Timothy McGee: I don't know. Why are you asking?
Abigael Scuito: Because Melissa's in the lobby and she wants to see him.
Timothy McGee: How did she know that we found him?
Abigael Scuito: Well, she might have figured it out when I called her and told her.
Timothy McGee: Abby, what, what are you doing? You called her? Gibbs, Gibbs is gonna kill you!
Abigael Scuito: No, he won't. Think about it, Tim. This is the greatest fairy tale ever. There's a little girl and her dad leaves. And then he lives on the streets. And then he dies. And she's never gonna see him again. She's never gonna get to say all the things that a daughter wants to say to her father. And then she grows up and she has a child of her own, and then wonder of all wonders, he comes back from the dead and they get reunited... On Christmas!
Timothy McGee: Abby, are you finished?
Abigael Scuito: Please, please, please, pretty please? Do it for me, okay? Just, just tell him Melissa's here. You'll understand when you see the sparkle in his eye.
Timothy McGee: All right.
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NCIS: Interrogation room
Timothy McGee: You have a visitor.
Ned Quinn: Who?
Timothy McGee: Melissa, your daughter.
Ned Quinn: She's here?
Timothy McGee: Yep. Wants to talk to you.
Ned Quinn: I don't want to see her. And you tell her that she was better off when I was dead.
Timothy McGee: Okay.
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Outside Taylor House
Harvey Ames: Here, let me, let me help you with that.
Ziva David: Got it. Thanks.
Harvey Ames: So how'd you hook up with NCIS?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: See if DiNozzo is finished in the garage.
Harvey Ames: She's cute... So, maybe I could, uh, you know... Well, good luck with the case.
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Taylor House: alley
Anthony DiNozzo: Think we just got a Christmas present.
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NCIS: Squad room / Vance's house: garden
Leon Vance: What the hell is going on? Metro Police Chief just gave me an earful. Claims you broke into their crime scene and corrupted the chain of evidence. Tell me you didn't do that.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: How'd he find out?
Leon Vance: Metro got a call from the home-security firm.
Kayla Vance: Come on, Daddy!
Leon Vance: This how you spend your Christmas, Gibbs? Most people are home opening presents.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Yeah, most people.
Leon Vance: Cops are on their way to pick up Quinn.
Jackie Vance: Leon, we're late.
Leon Vance: Get him ready.
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NCIS: Squad room
Abigael Scuito: Hey, Gibbs.
Anthony DiNozzo: Looks like we got the murder weapon. Blood on the hammer matches the victim's type.
Abigael Scuito: You're not gonna like this, Gibbs. The prints on the handle belong to the victim. And to Ned Quinn.
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NCIS: Interrogation room
Ned Quinn: It looks like mine.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Your prints are on it.
Ned Quinn: Look, the Taylors hired me to help them decorate their house. I brought my toolbox. When I left, I was in a hurry. I didn't stop to see if I brought my hammer.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: You said you were in their garage. That's where the hammer was found.
Ned Quinn: I don't know how it got... What do you want me to tell you?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: You know, you're getting harder and harder to believe.
Ned Quinn: Right, Sherlock. Vietnam Vet, stoner, a man with no name. It's got to be me.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Metro police are here. I will have McGee bring you down.
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NCIS: Squad room
Justin Kemp: You make it a habit, keeping people waiting?
Anthony DiNozzo: What's the rush, Kemp?
Justin Kemp: It's Christmas. Maybe if you had a family, DiNozzo, you'd understand.
Ziva David: How did your daughter like the dollhouse?
Justin Kemp: Oh, she loved it. Yeah, she took it with her when she left this morning.
Ziva David: Where did she go?
Justin Kemp: A family tradition. Yeah, we spend the week between Christmas and New Year's at the villa. Yeah, right now they're on my father-in-law's G5. Thanks to you guys, the Chief's on my ass, wouldn't let me leave. And if I'm lucky I'm getting out of here late tonight.
Anthony DiNozzo: Well, I really feel for you, Kemp. Life's tough.
Justin Kemp: Where's Quinn?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: On the way.
Justin Kemp: You gonna explain to me why you broke into the crime scene?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Are you gonna explain to me why you didn't remove yourself from this case?
Justin Kemp: Why would I do that?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Avery Taylor was suing your father-in-law. You have no business investigating Taylor's murder.
Justin Kemp: What are you talking about?
Anthony DiNozzo: Paradigm Industries? A little case of patent-infringement?
Justin Kemp: All right,let me tell you a couple things. Okay, one: My father-in-law is the CEO of a holding company that owns over a dozen multimillion-dollar companies. And two: He never discusses business with me... I don't like what you're insinuating.
Timothy McGee: He's all yours.
Anthony DiNozzo: Are you going to tell him we found the murder weapon?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: He never asked.
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NCIS: Abby's lab
Abigael Scuito: Ah, thanks, I was running on empty... Oh, yuck! They put nutmeg in it for the holidays.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: What do you got, Abs?
Abigael Scuito: Um, the hair on the couch belonged to Mrs. Taylor. I'm still working on the fibers. As for the button Ziva found, it was made exclusively for a clothing manufacturer in Scranton, Pennsylvania, who specializes exclusively in military and police uniforms. Dusting the safe produced an unknown print... Mistletoe.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: AFIS?
Abigael Scuito: No. I didn't say it was a fingerprint.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Well, what was it, Abby?
Abigael Scuito: It was a fabric print. Most likely made from a glove. Should've worn latex. Leather and fabric gloves have a distinct weave, grain, wear and stitching pattern. In this case, an old leather one with U-shaped scuff and a frayed seam. You bring me a glove, and I'll tell you if it left a print on the safe.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: You might've redeemed yourself, Abs.
Abigael Scuito: What'd I do?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Called Quinn's daughter. McGee!
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NCIS: Squad room
Timothy McGee: Got it, Boss. Taylors' home-security system interfaces with the company's central dispatch via the internet. Your hunch was right. The alarm was deactivated at 2:17 AM this morning. Between the time Kemp sealed the house and you...
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Broke in.
Timothy McGee: Well, I was gonna say gained unauthorized access. Alarm was reactivated four and a half minutes later.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: DiNozzo, call your ex-girlfriend's husband. Have him meet us at the Taylors'. Ziva, get the car.
Anthony DiNozzo: How about Ziva makes the call and I get the car? Or not. I'll do it.
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Outside Taylor House
Justin Kemp: You guys really don't have lives, do you? What are we doing here?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Arresting the murder.
Justin Kemp: He's in a holding cell, downtown, Gibbs. What is it with you people? First you declare him dead and now you're trying to help him beat a double-homicide rap? This was a home invasion.
Anthony DiNozzo: But not for the wife's jewelry or pocket change. It was all about the safe.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: DiNozzo, break in.
Anthony DiNozzo: With great pleasure, sir.
Justin Kemp: What safe?
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Taylor House's office
Anthony DiNozzo: I guess you missed this.
Justin Kemp: Okay. So,what? It was Quinn. His bloody prints were all over the place.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Yeah, because he was trying to save the couple's lives.
Anthony DiNozzo: He was in the garage at the time of the murders.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Last night, while Quinn was in our custody, somebody deactivated the alarm and planted the murder weapon.
Anthony DiNozzo: A hammer. in the garage.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Trying to seal the case against Quinn.
Justin Kemp: Wait, you had a murder weapon and didn't tell me?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Who knew about the alarm code other than the Taylors?
Ziva David: We have company.
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Outside Taylor House
Timothy McGee: Hi, Harvey.
Harvey Ames: Hey, what's going on?
Ziva David: Lose a button? Looks just like the ones on your shirt... Found it on the couch. Where you handcuffed Mrs. Taylor.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Other thing you left behind was a print on the safe. You didn't know that gloves could leave prints, did you, Harvey? Are those yours right there?
Timothy McGee: Look at that. Frayed seams.
Anthony DiNozzo: That's a TASER, Harvey.
Ziva David: You only have one shot. Non-fatal.
Timothy McGee: There's five of us.
Ziva David: Don't move!
Anthony DiNozzo: Just breathe through it.
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NCIS: MTAC
Donald Mallard: God! He confessed?
Timothy McGee: He knew they kept cash and jewelry in their safe. Didn't know that Quinn was in the garage. When the wife panicked...
Donald Mallard: She went into cardiac arrest.
Timothy McGee: Hmm, the husband freaked, attacked the security guard with the only weapon he could find. Quinn's hammer. The guard overpowered and killed him.
Ziva David: Oh,Abby, it's gorgeous.
Donald Mallard: Hmm, a cotton-ball bouquet. See what I got. Cufflinks,made out of...
Ziva David: Spent nine-millimeter slugs.
Anthony DiNozzo: Friction makes us static.
Timothy McGee: Would you stop that? I'm still humming from the TASER.
Anthony DiNozzo: Ladies and gentlemen, tonight you're all going to share in a DiNozzo family tradition. Caramel popcorn, hot mulled cider and the greatest, greatest Christmas movie of all time. It's a Wonderful Life!
Abigael Scuito: Yay!
Donald Mallard: Wonderful.
Abigael Scuito: We can't start until Gibbs gets here.
Ziva David: Oh, he said not to wait for him.
Donald Mallard: Where is he?
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Gibbs's car
Ned Quinn: Where are we?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Melissa's house.
Ned Quinn: No, Gibbs. You don't know me. I ruin lives; I am poison.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Give yourself some credit. You're not the same person that dropped out of her life when she was three years old. You've changed.
Ned Quinn: I don't need this. I don't.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: She does.
Ned Quinn: There's too much time that's passed.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: If I had one wish for Christmas, it would be to hug my daughter... That can never be. You have that chance.
Ned Quinn: Thank you.
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Jackson Gibbs: Hello?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Merry Christmas, Dad.
Jackson Gibbs: Merry Christmas, Son.
