Laney Alimonte’s bedroom
Laney Alimonte: No… No way… Dr. Pershing, hi. You're not gonna believe this. I don't know if I even believe it, but maybe you'll believe it, 'cause you did it. I don't know how you did it, but you did. I... Slept... Through the night. Kind of freaking out a little bit right now. I... Feel... I don't really know how I feel. I guess this is what it's like to feel rested, so I just wanted to say... Thank you, thank you, thank you. Bye. Bye.
She finds a gun in her fridge.
Gibbs gets out of this house.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Hey, kid. Kid, hold up… Lose something? What's your name?
Phineas: Phineas.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Hey, Phineas.
Phineas: How are you?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: I'm Jethro Gibbs. You just move in across the street?
Phineas: Mm-hmm.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: You on your way to school? Don't be late… It's for my job… Yeah, McGee.
Phineas: I'm really sorry, Jethro Gibbs. I'll buy you a new window.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Don't worry about it… Yeah, give me an address.
Laney Alimonte’s kitchen
Eleanor Bishop: I take it that's not yours… Corporal Alimonte?
Laney Alimonte: Um, Laney.
Eleanor Bishop: Did you touch it?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Nine millimeter with suppressor… Possible one round expended… Blood on the barrel.
Laney Alimonte: This is not happening.
Eleanor Bishop: I know this is stressful, but we have a few more questions to ask you.
Timothy McGee: Well, no sign of a break-in. Security cameras outside aren't hooked up to anything. The apartment manager never got around to them, apparently.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: All right. Run the serial number.
Timothy McGee: Got it.
Eleanor Bishop: Hey, Laney, we're gonna need your help to figure out how that gun got in there.
Laney Alimonte: I don't know about the weapon. I don't know how it got in my fridge, I don't know anything!
Laney Alimonte’s bathroom
Nicholas Torres: Lots and lots of drugs… Wow… Depression, anxiety, insomnia. Well, you got one for everything.
Timothy McGee: Who are you talking to?
Nicholas Torres: You. You. Come on, man. Heard you come in.
Timothy McGee: Uh-huh.
Nicholas Torres: Dude, she's got, like, four prescriptions just to help her go to sleep. Bro, I hit the bed, and I'm actually...
Laney Alimonte’s living room
Timothy McGee: Got a hit on the nine millimeter. It's registered to a Joe Cortez.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Hey. You know Joe Cortez?
Timothy McGee: Lives about two miles from here, just up Route 87.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Bishop, go. Nick...
Eleanor Bishop: Okay.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Go with her.
Joe Cortez’s porch
Nicholas Torres: NCIS! Anyone home? Yo, Mr. Cortez! We have something that belongs to... Ooh, what was that? Birds?
Eleanor Bishop: I'm gonna go with crows.
Nicholas Torres: Who has crows for pets? How do you know that?
Eleanor Bishop: "Crowtez."
Nicholas Torres: Oh, so he's clearly single. And home... And ignoring us. Yo, Cortez?!
Eleanor Bishop: It's actually unlocked.
Nicholas Torres: Good enough for me… Time's up! Coming in!
Joe Cortez’s living room
Nicholas Torres: Yeah, he's definitely single.
Eleanor Bishop: A lot of peanut shells.
Nicholas Torres: Doesn't own a vacuum? Polly wants a cracker?
Eleanor Bishop: Ask them if they know where their owner is.
Nicholas Torres: I don't have to… I'm guessing this is Mr. Cortez? A very dead Mr. Cortez. Must have been laying here for hours. Narrow entry wound, small-caliber weapon.
Eleanor Bishop: Nine millimeter? Now where have I seen one of those before?
NCIS: bullpen
Timothy McGee: Marines are sending over her file now, but I already got this.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: The corporal's being discharged?
Timothy McGee: More like kicked out. Paperwork was filed last week. Official reason given is, "Failing to meet all expectations of conduct."
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: What's the unofficial reason?
Timothy McGee: Don't know. Her C.O. is out at a funeral today. But it's an "other than honourable" discharge, so, clearly, there's more to the story.
Nicholas Torres: Kasie's running ballistics on the gun that we found next to the Cool Whip. Pretty soon, we'll find out if it's the gun that killed our victim.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Got a time of death?
Nicholas Torres: Between midnight and 3:00 a.m.
Timothy McGee: Same time Corporal Alimonte claims to be sleeping.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: All right, our victim... What do we know?
Timothy McGee: Well, Joe Cortez, 38 years old. Hosted a social media channel called... I am not kidding... The Low Joe Crow Show.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Any record?
Timothy McGee: Nada.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Any connection to the corporal?
Nicholas Torres: None that we can find.
Timothy McGee: Bishop tracked down a half-sister. She lives in Maryland.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Well, then have Bishop bring her in.
Nicholas Torres: Got it.
Timothy McGee: Listen, boss, I got one other thing, came in about an hour ago, but it's, uh... It's not related to the case.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Yeah? About what?
Timothy McGee: Fornell's daughter. How's she doing, by the way?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: She's making progress.
Timothy McGee: Well, I think I found a lead on the counterfeit opioids that you mentioned were coming in from Canada. On a whim, I put in a BOLO on the NCIC. It was flagged...
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Tim, give it to the DEA.
Timothy McGee: Are you sure, boss? You... You don't want to check with Fornell?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: He wants to move on. Give it to the DEA. It's theirs, anyway.
NCIS: briefing room
Louisa Banner: Who is she? Some rando who Joe met on that dating app?
Eleanor Bishop: Which dating app is that?
Louisa Banner: All of them. He struck out with pretty much the whole Internet.
Eleanor Bishop: We found your brother's gun at her house.
Louisa Banner: My half brother.
Eleanor Bishop: Your dead half brother's gun.
Louisa Banner: So did she kill him?
Eleanor Bishop: She says she didn't, and as far as we can tell, her and Joe didn't even know each other.
Louisa Banner: Well, he didn't have many friends, except for those damned birds.
Eleanor Bishop: Can you think of anyone who may have wanted to see him dead?
Louisa Banner: You mean besides himself? He tried suicide once. Of course, he failed at that, too.
Eleanor Bishop: Okay, so I take it you two weren't close?
Louisa Banner: How'd you guess? The only reason I drove all the way out here is so dear old Dad can get his ring back.
Eleanor Bishop: What ring would that be?
Louisa Banner: Dad's signet ring. Joe never took it off; they were both all sentimental like that.
Eleanor Bishop: Joe wasn't wearing a ring when we found him.
Louisa Banner: Even in death, he finds a way to screw me… I need to take this. Hey, baby. Oh, I missed your voice.
NCIS: Kasie’s lab
Jimmy Palmer: You know, you don't have to test it again.
Kasie Hine: This is the last time.
Jimmy Palmer: That is what you said last time. And the last time before that. Come on, Kase. Trust your results.
Kasie Hine: If I'm boring you, you're free to leave.
Jimmy Palmer: To be honest, yes, I'm a little bored.
Kasie Hine: Yeah, I picked up on that by the way you're totally annoying me.
Nicholas Torres: Whoa. What are you doing?
Kasie Hine: Running ballistics on the fridge gun.
Nicholas Torres: Yeah, I see that, but who taught you how to fire a gun?
Kasie Hine: People, back off and let me do my thing… Okay. I did my thing.
NCIS: Kasie’s lab
Kasie Hine: So, the bullet on the right is from our victim. The one on the left is the one I just fired into the tank.
Nicholas Torres: The striations are identical.
Kasie Hine: Which means our fridge gun is the murder weapon.
Jimmy Palmer: All we need now is the murderer.
Kasie Hine: Well, I found some fingerprints on the nine millimeter's grip.
Nicholas Torres: Whose?
Kasie Hine: Someone's I didn't want to find. Corporal Alimonte.
Nicholas Torres: That makes no sense.
NCIS: hallway
Jacqueline Sloane: Why on earth would she kill someone, stash the murder weapon in her fridge and then call the cops on herself?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Why you asking me? Nuts is your department.
Jacqueline Sloane: I have a theory, actually. The corporal may be suffering from some sort of mental illness.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: She's suffering from something.
Jacqueline Sloane: Her file lists erratic behaviour, breaches in protocol. Tack on severe insomnia, and all signs point to a psychological disorder that the Marines may not even be aware of.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: A disorder that makes you kill people?
Jacqueline Sloane: I don't know. But it's a reason to tread carefully in there.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Jack, like I said, your department.
NCIS: interview room
Laney Alimonte: Why am I here? Why am I here? I didn't do anything.
Jacqueline Sloane: Hi, Laney. I'm Special Agent Jack Sloane, and you already know Sp...
Laney Alimonte: I shouldn't be here. There's been a mistake. So tell him. Tell him there's been a mistake… Who's that?
Jacqueline Sloane: That is Joe Cortez. He owned the gun you found in your fridge.
Laney Alimonte: Did you ask him how it got there?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: No.
Laney Alimonte: Why not?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Because he was killed with it five hours before you found it.
Jacqueline Sloane: Laney, your fingerprints were on the murder weapon.
Laney Alimonte: That's... Impossible. I never touched it.
Jacqueline Sloane: And we found the victim's signet ring in your car.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Suppose you never touched that either?
Jacqueline Sloane: Laney? Hey, Laney?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Corporal!
Laney Alimonte: Yes, sir.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Did you kill Joe Cortez?
Laney Alimonte: Maybe.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Maybe?
Laney Alimonte: I'm looking at the same evidence you are. And, to be honest, I don't remember anything after I spoke to Dr. Pershing.
Jacqueline Sloane: Is that who prescribed you all those sleeping pills?
Laney Alimonte: No, he's my therapist. My hypnotherapist. Uh... He says he can help me go to sleep without all the drugs. He says I'm... A great subject.
Jacqueline Sloane: Did he, by any chance, hypnotize you last night?
Laney Alimonte: Yes. We had a video chat session. One second, I'm... Counting back, and... Next thing I know, it's morning. I thought that I slept through the night… But what if I didn't?
Jacqueline Sloane: Are you suggesting you might have shot Joe Cortez while under hypnosis?
Laney Alimonte: I need you to believe me… I would never murder anyone… But if I did, Dr. Pershing must have made me do it.
NCIS: hallway
Timothy McGee: Hypno-homicide? Hard to believe that you could hypnotize someone to commit a murder. But Sloane seems pretty adamant that you meet this new expert she found.
NCIS: Jack Sloane’s office
Grace Confalone: Oh, hi, Popeye.
Timothy McGee: Dr. Grace. Nice to see you.
Grace Confalone: Good to see you, too, Tim. Imagine my surprise when Jack called, asking if I knew any certified hypnotherapists. Turns out I do.
Jacqueline Sloane: Just hear her out, Gibbs. Hypnosis has been a grossly misrepresented phenomenon, so Grace is here to help you, you know, understand.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Understand what?
Timothy McGee: I should get back.
Jacqueline Sloane: No, no, no, no. Tim, please, stay. You're the only one on the team who's been hypnotized before. I need you.
Timothy McGee: Well, that was... That was a long time ago. I was... Trying to remember the details of a murder I witnessed.
Grace Confalone: And as I understand it, it worked and you caught the guy?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Oh, come on, Doc.
Grace Confalone: Gibbs, hypnosis is nothing more than a state of focused attention, where a subject is highly suggestible. That's why hypnotherapists can help people quit smoking, conquer phobias, beat insomnia.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: We're not talking about insomnia, Doc.
Grace Confalone: Look, I get it. You don't believe that anyone could convince a law-abiding person to shoot someone. But a hypnotist can change a subject's perception of reality.
Jacqueline Sloane: That's right. For example, one could create an imaginative scene where that same law-abiding person must shoot a bear that is attacking to save their child. You know what I mean? No? Okay, Grace, maybe it would be helpful
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: A bear?
Jacqueline Sloane: If you could demonstrate hypnosis for us.
Grace Confalone: What a great idea. All I need is a subject. Hey, McGee.
Timothy McGee: Sorry, what?
Eleanor Bishop: Ah. Hey, Gibbs. Uh, we tracked down Laney's hypnotherapist.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Took two of you to tell me that?
Nicholas Torres: Well, maybe we heard that someone was being hypnotized in here.
Eleanor Bishop: Did we miss it?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: McGee, come on.
Jacqueline Sloane: Wait. I wish he could've stayed for the demo.
Nicholas Torres: Mm.
Eleanor Bishop: Mm.
Grace Confalone: Oh!
Nicholas Torres: Oh. No. No, no, no. I'm not gonna play somebody's voodoo doll.
Jacqueline Sloane: What about you, Ellie?
Eleanor Bishop: Come on, Jack. I mean, you really believe Corporal Alimonte was hypnotized to kill?
Jacqueline Sloane: I don't know what to believe. That's why I need to see with my own eyes what a hypnotist can and cannot do.
Grace Confalone: And you know what, Ellie? Skeptics make the best subjects.
Eleanor Bishop: Okay. Fine. I'm in.
Jacqueline Sloane: Yay!
Eleanor Bishop: Maybe you can suggest I... Stop biting my nails while you're in my head.
Grace Confalone: Okay.
Nicholas Torres: Yeah, buddy.
Eleanor Bishop: Hmm.
Wayne Pershing’s practice: waiting room
Roger: Excuse me! I'm next.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: NCIS.
Roger: You still can't go in. You have to activate the red light. To let Dr. Pershing know you're here.
Timothy McGee: Got it, boss.
Wayne Pershing’s practice: office
Wayne Pershing: Excuse me, you can't just barge in here...
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: NCIS.
Timothy McGee: Ma'am. Ma'am, are you okay?
Wayne Pershing: She's fine. It's part of her primal therapy session.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: What?
Timothy McGee: Is she hypnotized?
Wayne Pershing: Yes.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Session's over. We need to talk.
Wayne Pershing: Okay, one moment… All right, Audrey, we're going to stop now. When I count to three, you're going to wake up.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Primal therapy, my ass.
Timothy McGee: I've actually heard of it, boss. Big empty chair represents a person that has wronged them. So they yell at it over... You don't care about this.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: No, I do not.
Timothy McGee: Okay.
Wayne Pershing: ... And three. You're awake.
Audrey: What's going on, Doctor?
Wayne Pershing: Audrey, if you could just give me a few moments with these gentlemen, all right? There better be a fire...
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Corporal Alimonte. Are you treating her?
Wayne Pershing: I'm sorry. I can't discuss patient histories without a signed...
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: HIPAA release form. Signed and notarized.
Wayne Pershing: Okay. I... What do you want to know?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Did you hypnotize her last night?
Wayne Pershing: Yes.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Why?
Wayne Pershing: In addition to several other serious issues, she's been dealing with crippling insomnia. I was trying to help her sleep.
Timothy McGee: You suggest anything to her other than sleep? Plant a posthypnotic suggestion?
Wayne Pershing: Actually, yes. I told she should call me the minute she woke up. Which she did. What is going on here? Is Laney okay?
Timothy McGee: Not really. But she is doing better than Joe Cortez.
Wayne Pershing: Okay, I give up. Who is that?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: That's the guy she killed this morning.
Wayne Pershing: Wh... Uh, uh, no. Uh, Laney is a lot of things, but she's no killer.
Timothy McGee: That's what she said. Right before she accused you of forcing her to do it.
Wayne Pershing: Gentlemen, hypnosis doesn't work like that. It's not some magic spell that sends subjects into a robotic trance, blindly following orders. It's hard enough to get a person to quit smoking, for God's sake. I certainly can't force someone to commit a crime.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Did you ever try?
Wayne Pershing: No. And unless you have any evidence to the contrary, I have patients to see… Don't let the door hit you on your way out.
NCIS: Jack Sloane’s office
Grace Confalone: And you're falling deeper and deeper into a state of calm and focus and deeper into a state of relaxation.
Eleanor Bishop: I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I just... I don't know. I was tingly, and then...
Grace Confalone: It's okay, Ellie.
Eleanor Bishop: Yeah, well, I'm just bummed it didn't work, because my manicure bill is off the charts.
Jacqueline Sloane: Actually, it worked perfectly.
Eleanor Bishop: No way. Nick? Is he really hypnotized? Nick. Hey, McGee is stealing your protein powder.
Grace Confalone: It's actually not uncommon for observers to go under without knowing it.
Eleanor Bishop: Oh, this day just got way more interesting. So, what happens now?
Grace Confalone: Well...
Jacqueline Sloane: No, no. Please don't tell us. Show us.
Eleanor Bishop: Huh.
Gibbs’s kitchen / NCIS: bullpen
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Yeah, Bishop. What's up?
Eleanor Bishop: Hey, Gibbs. I'm starting to think the hypno-homicide theory may be a little bit more legit than it seems.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Ha.
Eleanor Bishop: I know. I know. I was a skeptic, too. But then Dr. Grace hypnotized Torres and got him to do all kinds of weird stuff.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Oh, yeah? He commit any felonies?
Eleanor Bishop: Well, only if you consider butchering a Beyoncé song a felony. So, unless you have any other theories...
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Yeah. Well, how 'bout that Laney's playing us?
Eleanor Bishop: What if she's not?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Well, then prove it.
Eleanor Bishop: How? When we can't even get a warrant for the hypnotherapist.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Bishop, you do not need a warrant to dig up dirt on people. Check his Facegram page. Or his Instachat. I got to go.
Eleanor Bishop: "Facegram"? Okay.
Sarah’s porch
Sarah: Can I help you?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: You Phineas's mom?
Sarah: What'd he do now?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Nothing. Just wanted to return this.
Sarah: Sorry, I don't understand. What's this about?
Phineas: Jethro Gibbs! I said not to tell her. She gets mad.
Sarah: Oh, love. Wait. Uh... Phineas? Phineas, get back here and apologize right now! My ex had custody for the first half of his life, and... Well, let's just say manners weren't a big part of it… Sorry.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Yeah. Have a nice night.
Sarah: Uh, wait. Who are you?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Uh... Jethro Gibbs. I live across the street.
Sarah: Ah.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Phineas... Introduced himself to me this morning.
Sarah: He broke your window, didn't he?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: It's already fixed.
Sarah: This is his second one this week. Boys at his new school, they all play baseball during recess and he's decided he wants to learn.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Yeah, well, we can all use a little practice.
Sarah: I wish I could help him, but with my two jobs and his dad out of the picture... This is $3.50. His lunch money. Well, um, thank you for... I don't know, not being a jerk. It's tough being the new kid.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: He's a southpaw, huh? Left hand?
Sarah: Oh, uh, no, he's, um, right-handed. Why?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Hmm… Nothing. Uh, nice meeting you… Phineas. See you.
NCIS: bullpen
Eleanor Bishop: This is the lamest social media profile I have ever seen.
Nicholas Torres: Yeah. But look how many leads we got. That therapist lived in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina and North Carolina. And Kasie even tracked him down in Missouri 12 years ago.
Eleanor Bishop: Hmm...
Nicholas Torres: What?
Eleanor Bishop: Nothing. We've just been doing this for hours, and we've got zilch. I mean, I am... Frustrated, hungry and cross-eyed. Aren't you tired?
Nicholas Torres: Nope. I'm ready to go. Grace said I would wake up, uh... You know, energized and refreshed, and I did. Hypnosis is the bomb, baby… What the hell? I lost my blade.
Eleanor Bishop: No, you didn't lose it. You... Gave it to me... While you were under.
Nicholas Torres: Nobody touches my blade.
Eleanor Bishop: And that is why Sloane had Grace ask you to give it to me. To demonstrate.
Nicholas Torres: Demonstrate what?
Eleanor Bishop: That you could be influenced to do something that you wouldn't normally do.
Nicholas Torres: That's so not cool… Wait. What... What else did I do that I normally wouldn't do? Okay, hold on, wait, wait, wait. Wait a minute. Time out. Did I do something else?
Kasie Hines: Got something! Somebody give me the clicker. I'm ready to click. Missouri came through. St. Louis. 2007. College kid steals a case of beer from a convenience store. He tells cops his roommate "hypnotically" forced him to do it. Cops don't believe him. Charge him with a misdemeanour. He pays a fine. Hey... Bob's your uncle.
Eleanor Bishop: My uncle's name is Jeffrey.
Nicholas Torres: Francisco Javier.
Kasie Hines: It's an expression. Look. The police report contained a surveillance image of the robbery. That's the thief with the beer getting into the car, but look who's driving.
Nicholas Torres: Is that Dr. Pershing?
Kasie Hines: 12 years younger, but... Yeah.
Eleanor Bishop: Wait, he told Gibbs that hypnotizing someone to commit a crime was impossible.
Kasie Hines: He lied.
Nicholas Torres: What else did he lie about?
NCIS: hallway
Nicholas Torres: You're taking lead in the interrogation, yeah? Yeah, you're taking lead.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: You got a problem, Torres?
Nicholas Torres: Uh, wha... No. What? No problem, no.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: He's not gonna hypnotize you.
Nicholas Torres: Oh, you think I'm worried that this guy's gonna hyp... Hypno... No. No, I'm cool.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Cool.
Nicholas Torres: Cool. All right, let's do this.
NCIS: interview room
Wayne Pershing: Whoa, whoa, what... What the hell is this?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: It's an interrogation.
Wayne Pershing: For what? I didn't do anything.
Nicholas Torres: Well, you lied to federal agents.
Wayne Pershing: No, I most definitely did not do that.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: You said you can't hypnotize someone to commit a crime.
Wayne Pershing: You can't.
Nicholas Torres: Well, your college roommate says you did exactly that.
Wayne Pershing: What?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: You want to change your story, Doctor?
Wayne Pershing: Okay, you can't really think that... This was 12 years ago… Okay, I... I was just learning hypnosis. I needed to practice, so I tried it out on my willing roommate.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: You told him to rob a liquor store.
Wayne Pershing: Well, he just used me as an excuse once the cops busted him.
Nicholas Torres: Would he have robbed that liquor store if you didn't hypnotize him?
Wayne Pershing: All this proves is that my roommate really wanted some beer. It was easy to influence him to steal it.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Corporal Alimonte.
Nicholas Torres: Was she easy to influence, too?
Wayne Pershing: Okay, if Laney killed someone, that was her idea, not mine.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Yeah, but you said she wasn't homicidal.
Wayne Pershing: Yes, but she doesn't sleep, she loses time... Maybe she snapped and repressed the memory.
Nicholas Torres: Well, maybe you hypnotized her into thinking she had to shoot a bear to protect herself.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: And by "bear," he means Joe Cortez.
Wayne Pershing: I still don't know who that is… Um... I want a lawyer. Now.
Nicholas Torres: Whoa, what are you doing? You're-you're gonna stay here? You, um... Okay, you're leaving.
NCIS: observation room
Jacqueline Sloane: Well? What do you think?
Leon Vance: I think we are not going to turn 200 years of murder statute upside down by charging a hypnotist with homicide. Last time I checked, The Manchurian Candidate was just a movie, right? Right?
Grace Confalone: Sometimes life imitates art, Director.
Leon Vance: The evidence says Corporal Alimonte pulled the trigger.
Jacqueline Sloane: Yes, but what if he convinced her to do it?
Leon Vance: Come on, Jack.
Jacqueline Sloane: Look. We already have him on record hypnotizing one person to commit a crime.
Leon Vance: Yeah, but stealing beer is not the same as committing murder. Help me out here, Dr. Grace. Do you believe in mind-control murder?
Grace Confalone: Here's what I'll say. If a corrupt hypnotist spent months building trust with the right patient, used multilayered suggestions and embedded commands over the course of many sessions, there's a greater- than-zero chance that someone ends up dead.
Leon Vance: If this happened... And that is a gigantic if... How would we even prove it?
Jacqueline Sloane: I don't know. It's literally the perfect murder.
NCIS: hallway
Timothy McGee: Dr. Pershing's lawyer?
Eleanor Bishop: Yep. And the way this is going, he's gonna need one.
Timothy McGee: What? You, too? I-I thought you were in Camp Skeptics with me.
Eleanor Bishop: I was, until yesterday, when I saw Torres eat an entire apple fritter.
NCIS: bullpen
Timothy McGee: What?
Eleanor Bishop: Grace hypnotized him, told him it was a protein bar.
Timothy McGee: And he believed it?
Eleanor Bishop: That is what I'm saying, McGee... If a hypnotist can alter someone's perception of reality that much, who knows how far it could go?
Timothy McGee: Okay, you're telling me that-that Mr. Muscle Boy took a doughnut, put it in his mouth and chewed it? I would have loved to have seen that.
Eleanor Bishop: That is why I took a picture.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Picture of what?
Timothy McGee: A picture of... Motive, boss. We-we still can't find any. I mean, even if we assume that Dr. Pershing was able to hypnotize Corporal Alimonte into committing a murder for him, we still don't have a motive.
Eleanor Bishop: That cuts both ways. As far as we know, Corporal Alimonte and our victim are complete strangers. There's no connection so no motive, either.
Timothy McGee: She shot him in the heart. There's a connection.
Eleanor Bishop: McGee, does she really seem capable of murder? Without being hypnotized?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Enough! You talk to her C.O. yet?
Timothy McGee: He, uh, returned to Quantico about an hour ago.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Go! Both of you. Go fight in the car.
Eleanor Bishop: Uh, did you go shopping? Like, a shopping mall? Did Dr. Grace hypnotize you?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Quantico!
Eleanor Bishop: On my way.
Quantico: Rick Romero’s office
Rick Romero: Corporal Alimonte worked by my side through two duty stations. She was an invaluable asset to the Corps.
Eleanor Bishop: So invaluable you're discharging her?
Rick Romero: Wasn't my decision, ma'am. But it was the right one.
Timothy McGee: So, what happened?
Rick Romero: You know about her insomnia? So I tried to be accommodating. Little mistakes, I'd overlook, but... They got bigger.
Timothy McGee: So you recommended a medical exam.
Rick Romero: Yes, sir. But she got worse, not better. And last week I found her catatonic, shoving scissors into that wall. I intervened, and she... Threatened me.
Eleanor Bishop: So you wrote her up for office hours.
Rick Romero: Correct. When the captain heard what happened... He put her on limited duty and recommended the OTH discharge.
Eleanor Bishop: Back to the threat. What... What exactly did she say to you? Didn't say anything.
Rick Romero: She came after me with those scissors.
Laney Alimonte’s dream
Jacqueline Sloane: Laney? Laney?
NCIS: Jack Sloane’s office
Jacqueline Sloane: Laney. Hey, Laney? Can you hear me?
Laney Alimonte: Agent Sloane.
Jacqueline Sloane: Are you okay?
Laney Alimonte: I don't know.
Jacqueline Sloane: Did you get any sleep at all last night?
Laney Alimonte: I kept thinking about Tracey's orchid… Tracey's my neighbour; she's on vacation. I told her I would water it. It's beautiful… Purple flowers but it's very delicate and I have to remember to water it tonight.
Jacqueline Sloane: I don't think you're gonna be going home tonight, Laney.
Laney Alimonte: Maybe you could water it?
Jacqueline Sloane: I know that you have insomnia. But I think there's something else going on with you. Something only a medical doctor can diagnose, not a hypnotherapist. Speaking of Dr. Pershing, he claims, unsurprisingly, that he did not ask you to kill anyone. But without evidence to the contrary, and your fingerprints on the gun... Have you thought any more about that night he hypnotized you? Did he do or say anything unusual?
Laney Alimonte: The man who died... Did he have a family?
Jacqueline Sloane: Uh, yeah.
Laney Alimonte: Can you tell them that I'm sorry? I don't remember what happened but that I'm sorry. You believe me, right?
Jacqueline Sloane: Yeah, I do.
NCIS: Kasie’s lab
Kasie Hines: We've got a ginormous problem, which is why I called you right away, so you can see it right away, so that you can do something right away. The murder weapon with Laney's fingerprints on the grip. I've highlighted them so you can see.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Yeah, I see.
Kasie Hines: Three fingerprints on the left side of the grip, a partial thumbprint above them, which leaves one finger for the trigger.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: It's a normal pattern.
Kasie Hines: With one abnormal distinction, which I noticed when I was scanning the prints for evidence archives. The print of her ring finger is backwards, as if she's holding the murder weapon like this. Which is physiologically impossible. So either she's got a really weird fingerprint birth defect or...
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Someone planted her fingerprints on the weapon.
Jimmy Palmer: Gibbs, we've got a problem.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Yeah, we do.
Jimmy Palmer: Laney is at risk for anaphylaxis… Right, you're not a doctor. Uh, I-I was just, uh, reviewing Laney's medical records, and... Actually, Kasie, your thoroughness with the ballistics test really inspired me.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Palmer!
Jimmy Palmer: Sorry. Uh, anaphylaxis is a very serious allergic reaction that sometimes results in...
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Skip to the end.
Jimmy Palmer: Corporal Alimonte is allergic to peanuts.
Kasie Hines: But they were all over the crime scene.
Jimmy Palmer: Exactly. And her condition is so severe, that if she'd even walked into that house...
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: She wouldn't have walked out.
Jimmy Palmer: Laney didn't kill Joe Cortez.
Kasie Hines: She was framed.
NCIS: bullpen
Nicholas Torres: Well, we still have a murder victim. But we lost our murderer.
Timothy McGee: Actually, we've got two victims now. Someone tried to frame Laney.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Can't arrest a "someone."
Timothy McGee: Well, you can narrow it down to "someone" that knew her well.
Nicholas Torres: Yeah, someone who knew she was taking sleeping pills, knew her routine.
Timothy McGee: And since Laney didn't do it, we can rule out Dr. Pershing, too.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Well, enough ruling out. Anybody we can rule in?
Eleanor Bishop: I got someone. Our victim had a girlfriend.
Timothy McGee: So?
Eleanor Bishop: A married girlfriend.
Nicholas Torres: Ooh.
Eleanor Bishop: Jealous husband, anyone?
Nicholas Torres: I like it already.
Eleanor Bishop: Well, I finally got administrator access to Cortez's bird channel, and I found hundreds of private messages from this woman and they are steamy.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: She got a name?
Eleanor Bishop: Just a screen name, for now."HiHoBirdie." So, according to these messages, she and Cortez would meet up at his place. Nothing, like, unusual, but take a look at this message from last week.
Timothy McGee: "Gotta be discreet, he almost caught us tonight."
Eleanor Bishop: Yeah, so "he" is the husband. Presumably the jealous husband.
Timothy McGee: What does "gnsdily" mean?
Eleanor Bishop&Nicholas Torres: Good night, sweet dreams, I love you.
Eleanor Bishop: Um...
Nicholas Torres: It's, um... Everyone knows that.
Eleanor Bishop: It's a common texting shorthand.
Nicholas Torres: Very common, yeah.
Eleanor Bishop: Mm-hmm. Um, anyway, check out this message a day later.
Nicholas Torres: "If he knew about us, he'd kill you."
Timothy McGee: Yeah, that sounds like a suspect.
Eleanor Bishop: And this time with motive.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: What is the last message she sent? What-what is that? Is that even English?
Eleanor Bishop: Uh, "Where are you? Text me back." That was three hours ago.
Timothy McGee: She doesn't know he's dead.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Well, so let's text her back.
Eleanor Bishop: Uh...
Timothy McGee: No, whoa, whoa, boss, no.
Nicholas Torres: No. Maybe-maybe we-we should do it.
Eleanor Bishop: Yeah. Uh, you sort of have to know the lingo.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Well, then somebody lingo.
Eleanor Bishop: Okay. Um, "Need 2CU. Come over." What do you think?
Nicholas Torres: No, it needs this.
Timothy McGee: Oh, you are a real Casanova.
Nicholas Torres: Yeah. Every Thursdays, I teach a class.
Eleanor Bishop: Oh, she already texted back.
Timothy McGee: "Okay, be right there."
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: McGee, Torres. Get there first.
Joe Cortez’s porch
Mrs. Ponziak: Joey! Joey, baby! I don't have a lot of time. Okay? Roger's gonna be back pretty soon.
Timothy McGee: HiHo, Birdie.
Mrs. Ponziak: Who, uh, who are you?
Timothy McGee: Funny, I was just about to ask you the same question. I am NCIS Special Agent Timothy McGee.
Mrs. Ponziak: I'm sorry, I... I must have the wrong house.
Nicholas Torres: Special Agent Nick Torres. Well, you've seen our I.D.s.
Timothy McGee: So let's see yours.
Mrs. Ponziak: Um... What-What's going on?
Timothy McGee: Well, Mrs. Ponziak, does your husband know where you are?
Nicholas Torres: We know about you and Joe Cortez.
Mrs. Ponziak: Yeah, so? I'm having an affair. Okay? It's not a crime.
Timothy McGee: Actually, in the state of Virginia, it is. And so is murder.
Mrs. Ponziak: Murder? Where's Joe?
Timothy McGee: He's dead.
Nicholas Torres: Shot dead, actually.
Mrs. Ponziak: He did it. He really did it.
Timothy McGee: Your husband?
Mrs. Ponziak: He threatened to, but I didn't take him seriously.
Nicholas Torres: Where's Mr. Ponziak now?
Mrs. Ponziak: At his OCD therapy session.
Timothy McGee: With Dr. Pershing?
Mrs. Ponziak: Yeah.
Wayne Pershing’s practice: office
Wayne Pershing: Yes, take a deep, cleansing breath.
Eleanor Bishop: NCIS!
Wayne Pershing: Oh, please, not again.
Eleanor Bishop: Mr. Ponziak, hands where we can see them.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: He hypnotized?
Wayne Pershing: Yeah. It's what I do.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Wake him up.
Wayne Pershing: And, apparently, what you do is arrest all my patients.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Wake him up! Now.
Wayne Pershing: Okay. On the count of three, Roger, we're going to...
Eleanor Bishop: W-W-Wait. Actually, before you bring him out of it, can you ask him a few questions?
NCIS: observation room
Nicholas Torres: Wait, you left him hypnotized?
Eleanor Bishop: No, of course not. Gibbs wouldn't let me.
Nicholas Torres: Maybe you should have. He's not talking.
NCIS: interview room
Timothy McGee: You found out about your wife's affair. You went to Cortez's house and confronted him. Then you shot him with his own gun. Or maybe you just wanted to talk, but he pulled a gun. There was a struggle, and it went off. Roger, you could have a case for self-defense here… Roger.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Oh! Sorry. What a mess. Look what I did. Sorry. You know who else is dirty? Joe Cortez.
Timothy McGee: Oh, yeah. His house was a disaster. Peanuts and seeds all over the floor. Your wife probably tracked it into your house. All ground up into your carpet.
Roger: Look at this. It was disgusting! It was like an infestation of-of husks and shells.
Timothy McGee: So you took care of it. No more Cortez, no more dirty house.
Roger: Exactly. Y-You understand me.
Timothy McGee: I do. I completely understand that you couldn't take the blame.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: And you had an exceptional patsy in Corporal Laney Alimonte.
Timothy McGee: The two of you had back-to-back therapy sessions. You overheard everything through those thin walls. How did you know she was gonna be hypnotized that night?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: How'd you get her house keys? I mean, how'd you get her fingerprints?
Roger: She left her purse in the waiting room. Who does that? And-and then I, I took the...
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Write it down. Write it down… Great.
NCIS: hallway
Nicholas Torres: Gotta give it to Gibbs. He makes them confess and write it down.
Eleanor Bishop: Hey, speaking of writing, you wrote some very touching things in your little note to me yesterday.
Nicholas Torres: What? I didn't write you a note.
Eleanor Bishop: Oh, really? Because... This... Sure looks like your handwriting.
Nicholas Torres: What the hell? Oh, I'm never getting hypnotized again.
Eleanor Bishop: Hmm.
Nicholas Torres: What did I write?
Eleanor Bishop: Personal stuff. It was actually very touching.
Nicholas Torres: Seriously, give it back.
Eleanor Bishop: Seriously, no.
Nicholas Torres: Okay, fine. Keep it. Read it every day. Think about me.
NCIS: bullpen
Nicholas Torres: Tell me what it says.
Eleanor Bishop: Mm-mm.
Jacqueline Sloane: Hey.
Eleanor Bishop: Hey.
Nicholas Torres: Hey.
Jacqueline Sloane: I just finished Laney's release paperwork. But, before she goes, she wanted to say thank you.
Eleanor Bishop: For accusing you of murder?
Laney Alimonte: No. Uh, because of you guys, the Corps is reviewing my discharge. Looks like they're gonna upgrade it from OTH to general.
Nicholas Torres: Well, that's great.
Jacqueline Sloane: SECNAV recently issued a directive for Marines with mental health issues, so that the system will give them a fair shake.
Laney Alimonte: A general discharge means I get VA health benefits, no questions asked.
Jacqueline Sloane: And can see a medical doctor to get the help that you deserve. She wants to tell Gibbs. Where is he?
Eleanor Bishop: Oh, he just left. Uh, he raced out of interrogation.
Street
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: That's for you. Okay, now this one should fit you better. Glove goes on your left, so you can throw with your right.
Phineas: This is awesome.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Yeah. Let's see how it works… Oops. Squeeze it. All right, hit me in the chest. Aim for my chest. Right here. Aim for my chest. Whoa!
Phineas: Sorry, Jethro Gibbs.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Phineas. Okay. Yeah, whoa. We got a little work to do. Right here. That's it. Step, throw. Follow through. Ah, no. You're good. You're good. All right. Yeah, man. You're a natural. Good. Step with your leg.