NCIS

Hey, welcome to Bruin's Full Service Car Wash,

where we make your car shine. Now pull on up.

Yeah, I'll just take the express wash.

Well, uh, you know, the best is only, uh, five dollars more,

and it covers the rainbow glaze.

No, I'll just take the express wash.

Okay, but that won't include the undercarriage.

- That's fine. - Oh, and with the best,

I can throw in our, uh, premium air fresheners.

You know, none of this cheesy pine scent for a man of your...

- Pine scent is fine. - Okay.

But I promise you our Coco Cabana scent will make it...

Look, I don't want the Coco Cabana or the undercarriage

washed or the damn glaze.

All I want is a simple wash.

The express.

Is that so hard to understand?!

The express, yeah, you got it.

Um, I'll just meet you

at the end of the tunnel in case you, uh...

change your mind.

Okay, pull forward.

Um, I just, I need you to pull forward.

So I can take care of this, okay?

Okay. Hey, hey, can you pull forward?

Hello?

Are you good? Are you...?

Whoa. Uh...

What the...?

I'm pretty sure my mailman was giving me the stink-eye.

Well, no wonder. Looks like you haven't emptied your mailbox

- in, like, a month. - Two weeks.

And with our caseload, I haven't done my laundry yet either.

Tsk-tsk. What would Abuela say?

Hey, man, what are you - doing here so early? - My job.

Performance reviews were last week.

And I passed with flying colors.

- Lunch is on me today. - Raincheck. I have got...

Oh...

I have mail to sort through.

I use a shredder instead.

It's much more efficient.

Oh, wait.

I think these are from that, uh,

wedding you went to last month.

Actual paper photos.

Ooh, interesting photos, too.

Well, you know, my cousin, she's old-school. She likes...

paper photos and thank-you notes.

Yeah, no, it looks like, uh,

looks like you and Jimmy had a fun time.

Wow, let me see?

It was all right.

Oh, I don't know, with these big, bright smiles,

it says that you had more than

an "all right" time.

Guys?

It was a wedding. Cold food,

mediocre music, happy tears, the usual.

I don't know, I think - there's more to the story. - What are you,

- a psychic now? - Just reading the room.

You do seem agitated.

- What? - What happened?

You get wasted?

You caught the bouquet?

Jimmy step on your toes while you two were dancing?

It has something to do with Jimmy!

Wrong. Give me these.

Where is Parker anyway?

HR. He's, uh, reveling

in some more leadership training.

And you're changing the subject.

You know, Dr. Grace says that's a defense mechanism.

- Mm. - Nick?

I get my own dose of Dr. Grace.

I don't need yours, too.

Just saying, you'd feel much better if you talk about it.

There is nothing to talk about.

Oh, look, Parker.

Got a body. Let's go.

- Classic avoidance. - Mm.

I mean, I've seen dozens of dead bodies before.

Well, on-on TV. I mean, they say the first 48 hours

are crucial to catching a killer.

That's right.

Now, you're sure there was no one else in the van?

No, no, he was completely alone.

And totally grouchy, if you ask me.

- What makes you say that? - Oh, I'm very observant.

I mean, that's important if you want to be a cop, right?

I'm still weighing all my options, but...

I think I'd make a good one, you know?

Morning, Jimmy. Body's in the van if you want to get started.

Yeah, sure. Um, hey, Jess, um...

you're somewhat of a coffee connoisseur, right?

Well, I wouldn't call myself that, but...

I do know my arabicas from my robustas.

Well, uh, there's a new place

that just opened up a couple blocks from work.

They name their drinks after celebrities.

You know, like, like Al Cappuccino...

or Elvis Presso.

I thought maybe you might want to check it out later?

Yeah, sounds great. I'll let the guys know.

The guys. Yeah, yeah...

Wait, wait, did you mean, did you mean just...

just the two of us?

No, no, no, no. Yes,

that's what I meant, but it's okay...

I didn't realize Where are we at

- with the body? - Uh, uh, right over here.

Mm-hmm.

Nothing to talk about, huh?

Navy Reservist John Murphy, 35.

Just finished drill weekend.

He must've driven over a skunk.

Because the van still stinks.

Went into the tunnel alive, came out dead.

No murder weapon and, uh, no sign of struggle.

McAnd no water inside the van, which means the...

doors and windows were shut the entire time.

Like a locked-room mystery. How'd the killer get inside?

Maybe he didn't have to.

I mean, there's no external wounds here.

- So where'd the blood come from? - If I had to guess...

I'd say it was hematemesis.

Right, in English, uh...

he vomited the blood.

- I'm sorry I asked. - Hematemesis this bad is usually caused

by some kind of poison, so we'll have to run a tox screen

- to figure out which kind. - McAll right, thanks.

Okay, we got a hit on the plate.

Van came from a rental company.

What's Murphy doing with it?

Uh, I think I might have an idea.

What's a Navy reservist doing with a bunch of slot machines?

I don't know, but whatever it was...

Who wants to finish that sentence?

Looks like his luck ran out.

Mm.

Mc John Murphy. Investigative journalist

and Navy Reservist. Widowed last year; no kids.

After a tour in Iraq, he wrote a piece

on how our servicemen cope with post-traumatic stress.

It got him a job as a reporter

with the Navy Herald.

And reporters chase controversy.

Could've made him a target.

Except he's not a reporter anymore.

He was fired three weeks ago.

We know why?

What about the slot machines? Where'd he get them?

Still working on it. Kasie says that they're, uh,

supposed to have GPS trackers attached, but they are missing.

We suspect the machines were stolen.

The question is why.

Why else? To make money.

Tim, may I?Yeah.

So it looks like Murphy has a cash-flow problem.

His house is in foreclosure, big credit card debt,

and he hasn't paid his car loan in months.

Maybe he went into business for himself.

Running an illegal gambling operation?

- From a rental van? - McGee, Torres, talk to his old boss.

Find out why he was fired. Knight, the slots.

Where'd they come from? Where were they going?

And Palmer...

I was just about to come down and check in.

But looks like we got - an urgent update. - Uh, urgent, yes. Update, no.

I-I've got to sneak away for a couple hours.

Not to worry though, Dr. Mallard said he'd fill in for me.

- Everything all right? - Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

I-I just got an emergency call request

from a volunteer medical network I joined after Breena died.

Uh, we help to deliver

organs to patients who are awaiting transplants.

Oh, that's great, Jimmy, nice.

Yeah, yeah, my-my part in it

is pretty small, you know? I basically pick an organ up

from one hospital, I deliver it to another.

Why are you so nervous, man? You got this.

It's my first time. What if there's traffic?

Well, I'm sure the hospital accounts for that.

Of course, but, you guys...

I'll just say it. I'm not a strong navigator.

You know, if I take a wrong turn,

I could end up losing precious minutes.

You know, protocol says that one person should drive

while another person monitors the organ.

I'm flying solo on this one, so who's gonna monitor

the organ if I get a flat tire?

Okay, so sir, we have plenty

of hands on this case. Maybe we can spare one?

I'll go.

I mean...

unless you were trying to volunteer, Nick?

Not at all.

Aw, Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy.

This does not go next to the scalpels.

It goes here.