Original subtitles

It all started on a lonely Wednesday night.

Well, it all started with Ducky, actually.

He just finished up his first official day as head medical examiner in the D

office. Dr. Magnus retired the day before.

So, by the time Ducky got home, he was dying for some more talk with a live

human.

San Diego Medical Examiner's Office, Dr. Tangerfad speaking.

Dr. Tanglecat, how delightful you answered.

It's Donald Mallard. We met when I had the pleasure of visiting Camp Pendleton

and lending a hand on the... Dr. Mallard, how's it going?

Ducky asked Tango's advice on the case he worked that day, and he was pretty

excited when Tango called him the next week to do the same. Don't stay up too

late. Not good for your pancreas.

Night, Eleanor.

Night.

Couple of weeks in, they decided to make it a standing call.

Every Wednesday night.

They discussed the ups and downs of medical examining.

Right on time, Dr. Tanglecat.

It's good to hear your voice, man. I have much to recount from my week. You

certainly sound as if you've had quite a day.

Decapitation by steel beam.

Dear God.

Partial or complete?

Ducky didn't have many friends in D .C.

And there was a hole in Tango's life, too, without his favorite niece, Tish,

around.

So, they stayed on the phone longer.

Ducky told Tango how to make a damn good cup of English tea.

Tango answered all of Ducky's burning questions about the Pai and Coichem

They talked about family, their mothers, their paths, their stories.

They became friends.

But one Wednesday night, something happened.

And by then, Ducky knew his friend well enough to know

Tango wouldn't miss their Wednesday night call for anything.

What are you doing here?

I don't want you to go.

I got a surprise for you. Good morning.

What? I didn't know how you liked your eggs.

You don't even eat breakfast.

I made it for you.

Oh.

The scar.

How'd you get it?

Manny, you can't do the things you do to me and then not tell me how you got

stabbed.

Was it an initiation?

How old were you?

You gotta try the French toast.

Oh, wow.

Yeah. Oh, wow.

You have some skills, dude.

Maybe I can make you dinner sometime.

Like with... Courses. Like a real date?

But I don't know.

I never know when Flaco needs me.

So I can't really plan it anyway.

I present to you the extra key to the fancy, unpickable cloth lock on

my door.

Surprises me sometimes.

I always come home from work eventually.

What would your work guys think?

My work guys think you are a model citizen named Johnny.

Johnny's probably a big -time chef.

Yeah, but I like Manny better.

Yeah?

Oh, come on.

Morning, Mary Jo.

You just missed your wife. What? She was here?

No, Gibbs.

She called from L .A. Remember, honey? She works there now. Yeah, I just didn't

know what you...

She's probably calling me back. She wasn't there when I called her last

This dang thing.

Earl from IT took my answering machine and switched me to this new voicemail

crap. What's a voicemail? Exactly.

I got to crack a numeric code just to get my messages.

Woo! We made the newsletter.

Really? What newsletter?

The NIS newsletter.

They distribute it to every NIS office in the country. Nobody here reads it

because it's only ever about the big dogs in D .C. Mary Jill!

Did my divorce lawyer leave a message last night? I don't know, Cliff. I'm

working on it. We're in the NAS newsletter.

What?

Included in the Fed Five are two members of the NAS Pendleton team, Mike Franks

and Elroy Gibbs.

They misspelled your name. But who cares? You're immortal now, buddy.

Morning. We made the NAS newsletter.

No. Our team.

Careful. Don't rip it. I swear to God, if Earl doesn't give me back my answer

machine, we're going to have words.

Elroy Gibbs? They didn't even get your name right.

Randy, this is like a dream come true for you. Where's your name? Oh, please.

Randolph's not named. This publication's for serious agents only.

I'm serious.

You do stand -up, Randolph.

You also frolic too much. I've never seen you stand still. It's concerning.

Oh, my God. Frank, you need to get down to Mesa Detention Center.

What? Dr. Freeman left a message saying Dr. Tango is in jail. He got pulled over

for a DUI. Tango's driving hammered? The hell didn't he use his one phone call

to have me come get him?

Probably with me.

Boss, here.

Excuse me, ma 'am.

We're here to post bail for a detainee named Temet Tengelkamp.

Bail's not set for taking line yet.

There's a mix -up with the magistrate. I need to refile for the hearing.

We're going to need to see him, then. Where's the sign in?

Visiting hours don't start till 10.

What are you boys?

FBI?

That nice ass.

You're the one that brung him in. Yeah.

Joseph Sanders, NPS ranger. I arrested Tank and Lodge just outside Mission

National Park. You got a warrant to see him? His name is Tangle Cat, and he's

family. You don't look like his family.

You look like a cowboy to his Indians. Okay.

How about you tell us what happened out there? He's a damn park guy, Proby. He's

out there breaking up squirrel fights. I'm a federal agent, just like you. Do

you even have cause to arrest him?

Okay, now it's starting to make sense.

You made up a cause, didn't you? Tango don't ever get behind the wheel drunk.

Okay, I think you got your wires crossed here.

This wasn't a DUI.

I picked your guy up for stealing a body.

Stealing a body? The man's in that meat.

Transporting dead folks is what he does. Puts the remains in the back of his own

personal vehicle and fled the scene.

You got any witnesses to that?

Just so you know, a guy showed up with a warrant for the body a few minutes ago.

Who?

Greetings, dear gentlemen.

Hey. Those circumstances may be dire. Your shining faces are just what the

doctor ordered.

What are you doing here? I was Dr. Tanglecat's one phone call. Well, didn't

call us?

I assumed you were already aware.

Besides, there was no time to chat.

Dr. Tanglecat asked me to drop everything and fly here straight away to

with the situation. You think you can talk some sense into that Ranger Rick?

He's trying to claim that Tango stole a body.

Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings, but I'm afraid he did.

He popped the remains in here and drove off like the Dickens.

Son of a bitch.

Wait, hold on. Are you saying Tango actually stole a body, or is the Ranger

dude trying to frame him? No, Tango definitely drove off with it, but it's

of a skeleton.

Why would he steal a skeleton?

Tell them I say hello, would you? Oh, my God, is that Dr.

Mallard? We love you so much. You're not doing my business, honey. Gibbs, ask

him if we can call him Ducky, and tell him congrats on becoming Head M .E.

you're Head M .E. now? Yeah, I was in the newsletter.

Nothing, really.

Oh, it's nearly 10 o 'clock.

The Sanders guy is being a real ass.

He's having the receptionist make us wait until 10 to see Tango. Why don't

just talk to the corrections officer?

Frank did.

The two of them got into it.

Yes, Michael is rather on edge due to his adoration for Dr.

Tanglecat. We're trying to give him some space.

You know, like we do with Wheeler when he eats lactose. I'm standing right

Gibbs.

Sorry, sir.

We'll keep you posted.

Ma 'am.

I think it's 10 o 'clock. From where I'm sitting, it's 9 .59.

Moira? Looks like 9 .59 to me.

Don't you got an office in the woods somewhere?

These are community desks.

And I want to make sure that nobody tries to jump above the law, seeing as

my detainee has friends who don't think the rules should apply to them.

It's 10 o 'clock.

Visiting hours have started.

Sign yourselves in.

Did you get it all done? Are the remains legally in your custody? Yes, I did

exactly as you want.

Thank you. Now, I need you to take them to forensics and have them dated. Hang

on there, Chief. You want to tell us what the hell happened last night?

A call came in.

Some youth rangers were camping in Mission Park and they found a skeleton

was dug up by an animal.

Corner vans were all out on call, so I took my own car.

Dr. Friedman was going to meet you there later with a van?

That's right.

Then I get there and I see the skeleton.

It's old.

Sea shells on the ribcage. Remnants of a necklace.

It's a style popular with my tribe. From my family clan.

Those are the remains of a Pionkowicz man.

He needs a proper burial. His spirit needs to rest.

The commission won't act without proof.

Commission? What commission?

NAGPRA, correct?

Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.

If we could give the commission definitive proof the remains of Pion

that we return to the tribe.

If not, the remains will be auctioned off to the highest bidder.

Is there much of a market for that?

Oh, yes, J3.

Museums and collectors pay exorbitant amounts for such things. I knew if I

didn't get the remains home to the reservation, they'd end up on display in

museum.

I wasn't thinking.

I just reacted.

I made it a mile before that ranger stopped me.

You know what bringing my ancestor home means to me.

Yes, I remember what you told me about your father.

Mike?

We must start gathering proof.

I'll get the remains to forensics for dating.

I won't let you down, Doctor.

Go on, Grover.

Take Dominguez and Rando back to the scene. See if you can find any other

stuff that can help us prove this.

Look, I know what this would have meant to your daddy, but you could get fired

for this, Chief.

I'm not concerned about that.

Then I'll be concerned for you.

Failing has been said.

I'm going to wait for that Ranger to get back, and I'm going to convince him to

drop the charges.

How do I look at Orange?

Graves Heights just passed that tree line.

So, you're looking for some Native American stuff? We're also going to need

names of anyone who was around last night.

It's possible someone unknowingly removed evidence.

Were those people here at that time?

Uh, no.

A couple of youth rangers are the ones that found the bones.

But I can get you a list of everyone that was camping here. I like your art.

It's a lot of cans.

Don't touch it.

Not slaughtered yet.

Here's a question.

Do you guys think Wheeler was right about me not being serious enough to

the newsletter?

You're still typing all the case files into the computer, aren't you?

That's something? Yeah.

Yeah.

We asked Diane what she thinks. We finally get a hold of her. I value her

opinion.

What the hell?

Okay. You can ask Johnny, too. Seems like a serious kind of guy, right? What

does he do again?

He's a chef.

Really? Never mind.

Forget I brought it up.

A serious agent would be making a game plan for searching the gravesite for

Biomcoichum artifacts.

Your table could use some soldering, too.

Sorry.

We're going to take that list to the campers. Yeah.

We'll be at the grave site if you think of anything else.

Leave it.

I'm never going to make the newsletter.

Brando, let's go.

Yeah.

Did you find something?

Got some blood.

They must have missed it in the dark last night. Gibbs is following the

Someone gets hurt at the grave.

Staggers this way, losing blood.

He grabbed the tree here. There's more up there.

Guy.

No way Doc Tango knew about this part, right?

He was murdered over the remains?

Looks that way.

Guess an animal didn't dig up them bones after all.

And there was a blood trail?

I didn't see it. I didn't know.

It's dark out.

Plus, you're all caught up trying to get your guy's skeleton to the reservation.

Look, team's gonna get that murder solved. Ducky's taking care of the

and me, we gotta focus on getting you out of here with your job.

I told you that's not... Listen, that park ranger, he heard about the body. He

circled over there. I told Dominguez to send him back here to talk to us.

I'm thinking...

You know, once he sees who you are... He knows I'm an M .E. You arrested me

anyways. No, I mean... What?

He was butchering your name on purpose.

And then he's sitting here in the community desk watching over you like a

The man don't like Indians.

Probably not black folks either or anybody with a shake of pepper in them.

gotta show him... You're just like a white person, only more native to the

or whatnot.

Okay, Mike.

Chief, I'm telling you, you got to make him understand why you took them bones.

You got to tell him about your daddy. The only way he's going to drop the

charges.

Agent Frank, your people said you were looking to see me. Yes, sir, that's

right. Have a seat.

Take a load off.

The youth rangers who found the bones, they heard some UFO kind of sounds

beforehand.

I'm guessing that had something to do with this new murder we got.

You know anything about that?

UFO sounds?

You don't know nothing about this. He was called to the scene after, just like

you.

Tell him.

I was called to the scene after.

Tell him about your dad.

1971.

The highway is being built.

Fourteen of my people's remains were dug up and sold to the highest bidders.

My father dedicated his life to trying to bring them home

into the reservation.

A proper burial.

He fought with everything in him.

He died trying.

You hear that?

Tango was just trying to do right by his daddy.

You got a daddy, don't you?

You fall charges against this man, he's as good as fire.

That is a loss to everyone in this damn county.

I'm postponing a magistrate hearing.

But only to complete my own investigation.

See if I need to charge him with something more than grave robbing.

Come on, he ain't done nothing else and you know it.

You'll be waiting for what you've got on this new body, and we'll see what I

think.

Son of a bitch.

You, good sir, have been identified through the contents of your wallet as

-year -old Marine veteran Dennis Moore.

I hear you lived a few miles from base, and judging by the tools and amenities

inside your tent, I gather you very much enjoyed solo camping.

and unearthing forgotten relics.

But tell me, Mr. Moore, when you were inside said tent, did you feel at

home?

I've never seen anyone talk to the bodies before.

Forgive me, Dr.

Friedman. I'm on your dance floor. Oh, no, please.

I'm stoked to finally meet you.

Tango's constantly bragging about your phone calls.

Was he doing okay when you saw him?

What do we got, duck?

Did you say duck or doc?

I'll listen to whoever's talking.

Would you mind talking while I dig? Just the thought of Tango getting canned is

just making me come off abnormal.

I don't mind at all.

Mr. Moore was stabbed to death, Jethro.

The murder weapon was unusual.

It made an exceptionally clean cut, but when striking the rib, a fragment of the

weapon chipped off inside the wound. And I am trying to get it out.

But it is jammed.

Son of a motherless ovary.

I could give it a go if you like.

Sorry, I'm just worried about Tango.

Thank you.

Oh, I'm going to give Woody a call and see how he's doing on dating those

remains. And congrats on making head M .E.

You must be kicking some autopsy ass in D .C.

Head M .E. is not a good thing? What?

Yes, yes, of course it is. Yeah.

It's just, Mother, she lives with me, you know, and my promotion has made her

feel as if, well, our time in D .C. is permanent.

So, truth be told, she doesn't have many friends there.

Oh, Jethro, I meant to tell you.

I was so tickled to receive your thank -you note for the ship in a bottle.

I'm building one now.

The ship in a bottle?

A boat in a shed.

You're joking.

Been able to work on it more now that Diane is in L .A.

Diane is... She's my wife.

Your wife?

Blimey.

You're building a boat for her?

No. I don't know.

I don't know why I'm building it.

Why do you think I'm building it?

I've got it!

Look at that.

It appears to be some sort of black stone.

Do you mind?

I'll get it to Woody.

Brilliant. Oh, and if you hear from Bernard and Cecilia, do let me know.

found a map amongst Moore's camping things, and I sent them to an old

friend to have a look at it.

Friend is a strong word, actually. He's more of an acquaintance.

But he is the most knowledgeable chap I know when it comes to native

antiquities.

He actually has an office on Camp Pendleton. The base was built on native

you know.

Professor Edwin Wilde is his name. And I dare say I've not always enjoyed his

company. He wears an ascot religiously. And frankly speaking, Jethro, the man

never shuts up.

He loves to hear himself talk.

Downright exasperating.

Dr. Mallard told me all about your case.

More than I needed to know, actually.

Man loves to hear himself talk. It's exasperating.

Ah, I got that copy bar at an estate sale in Santiago de Leon de Caracas.

It all started when I was researching... Sorry, Professor.

Can I jump in? We don't have a ton of time.

What do you think about the map?

Ah, yeah, the map. Well, it's definitely old.

It's not very detailed.

But this X here seems to indicate the location of your buried skeleton.

So Moore follows the map to an unmarked grave.

How does he end up dead?

I'm afraid that's beyond my area of expertise.

How's your search coming along, Agent Dominguez? I can't seem to find anything

in here that matches the necklace.

Dr. Mallard was hoping it'd help us get the remains back to Tango's tribe.

Well, I have seen jewelry like that linked to the pie in Coichem, but I'm

Dr. Mallard was mistaken. A few shells won't be enough to convince the Niagara

Commission.

Can I borrow this?

My tomes.

have a way of disappearing if I don't label them.

Years ago, I had a student who borrowed an illuminated manuscript I acquired on

my sabbatical in the independent state of Papua New Guinea, which reminds me of

a story.

It was a beautiful morning, unseasonably warm.

Yes, that's why I'm calling, Francis, because when I go to use the bathroom, I

don't want the lobby door locking behind me. Get rid of the friggin' auto lock,

Francis!

Leroy Gibbs?

Yeah, we're ready to see you now.

No, leave it. You can get on your way out.

Gibbs, thanks for waiting. Come on in.

Everything all right?

Phone call sounded pretty intense.

Yeah, a new auto lock in the lobby is giving me a case of lab rage.

Yeah, you spend all day in here. By the time 8 o 'clock rolls around, you got a

lot of unchecked anger.

Yeah. Anyway, how's the wife?

She's fine.

Yeah, none of those L .A. men found their way into her bed yet?

No.

How do you know?

Okay, let's take a look here at the bone fragment we found in your dead guy's

stab wound here. It's black obsidian.

And if you just want my two cents, Diane's got to get hit on, what, eight

twelve times a day in L .A.? You know, but I don't see her succumbing to the

temptation. What about the skeleton?

Well, Dr.

Mallard said this gentleman died of blunt force trauma to the head, likely

during the Mexican -American War. We dated the remains to approximately 150

years old.

The black obsidian stone fragment, the residue on it is also 150 years old,

which means your murder weapon is probably something that was buried along

the skeleton.

He's not saying anything?

Yeah. He gets quiet when he's thinking.

It's like he's listening to his gut or something.

You want to summarize it for him?

Yeah. So... Someone sees Moore digging up the remains, kills him with the 150

-year -old murder weapon from the dig site, takes off with him.

Yeah. That.

Bye, Gib.

Thank God I'm not socially awkward like he is. Could you imagine?

Hey, don't give me anything in there.

Yeah. You want me to get back down to the office? I'll give you a file, huh?

You think I should make a special kind of one of these for Ranger Rick? I gotta

get him to drop the charges on Tango.

Auto -lock.

Watch.

Go.

Yeah, go.

This guy tried to steal the skeleton and then Phil suppressed him. Where's the

woman? What woman? We heard a woman screaming.

That was me.

I go into my upper register whenever Phil lays down the boom.

Put up a fight, but, uh, had a lot of pent -up lab rage.

Who the hell is he?

Eugene

Cooper.

Do I have the emphasis on the right syllable? Is it...

Eugene or Eugene?

I'll go by Gene.

Gene. Even better. I like that. Listen, Gene, I'm going to catch Agent Dominguez

up on what you did. Stop me if I get anything wrong, okay?

Okay. Okay. So he breaks into forensics. Like the side door? Yeah. And he tries

to steal the skeleton.

The one that's worth a ton of money? Yeah. And then Phil karate traps him.

I'm picturing him like... No, he was like... No,

he was like...

It's not funny, Gene.

You broke into a federal building. Someone could have gotten hurt.

I did get hurt.

How'd you know we had the skeleton?

Police scanner.

I heard an M .E. stole remains from a national park.

I know stuff about artifacts.

A native M .E. in an area known for Native American treasure?

I did the math.

Oh.

You did the math. I did the math.

So what was the plan then?

Sell the skeleton to the highest bidder?

Pretty much.

You have another theory. I can tell.

What is it?

Gene sees Dennis Moore digging up the bones, so he kills him to take him for

himself. But before he can feel them, he hears the youth rangers coming and he

runs. Right.

And then he breaks into our lab to finish what he started.

Hold on.

I didn't kill anybody.

What were the UFO sounds going on in the forest when you were out there last

night? I wasn't in the forest! Hey!

No need to get aggressive, Jean.

I'm going to have to give Phil a call.

I'm just kidding, man. You're safe here.

Getting kind of silly in there.

It's a bozo routine.

Works when the guy's a dumbass.

What's going to convince Ranger Rick to drop the charges more, words or

pictures? If you want it to be good, you should ask Mary Jo to help you. No,

this one's personal.

Tango's old future's riding on this.

The order of information, the wording.

It all needs to be perfect. That's why you should ask Mary Jo.

I was nowhere near the forest.

My neighbors can vouch for me. This guy's hiding something.

Who? The dumbass, Eugene Cooper.

Okay, Gene.

We're going to move you to another room while we talk to your neighbors.

They're putting him in holding.

He's making my brain hurt.

Come on, Flo.

Go ask Mary Jo for help.

Mary Jo, meet me and my dad.

How's your day, Mary Jo? Fine, thanks.

John basically got my answering machine back for me. That's great. Meet me at my

desk. Frank, Admiral Keen has called me twice, asking when he's getting his M

.E. back. Where is Dr. Mallard?

Ducky is in the house, as they say.

Yes, I'm just acquainting myself with Professor Wilde's book.

I can practically feel his pompous self -importance dripping off the pages.

What is all that?

File to get Tango's charges dropped.

Mary Jo, you've got to project Tango's territory.

Okay, breathe, baby. I got you.

Eureka! I've found our murder weapon.

Well, a photo of what I believe it to be anyway. The Black Obsidian Blade.

It says here that tribes of Southern California were known to use it in

So we'll just need to confirm with Dr. Tanglecat that it's Pyamka Weecham.

have to wait till morning.

No, no, Admiral Kane is anxious to have you back at your post. It's better to go

now. No, we can't. Sanders rallied all the corrections officers against us.

Visiting hours aren't till 10 a .m. Wait, Joe Sanders?

He's still on the job?

I had a run -in with him on a case in Mission Park back when I was in the

Worst case of my life, thanks to him and his god -awful secretary.

I'm pretty sure that she hid my evidence log in her beehive.

Does she have big hair? Yeah. Was her name Moira? Yeah, Moira. Is she still

working for him? She's manning the desk at the detention center now.

And her and this Sanders?

I still think it's these.

Pretty much.

Why?

Moira!

How are you, dear?

Lovely to see you again on what I hope to be a magnificent day for one and all.

Agent Sanders is out on patrol. He told me to radio him if there was any funny

business. Make sure he gets there, will you please?

It's important.

And this is for you. For me?

No, from our secretary.

Right, I see that it's 9 .57, so we'll just make ourselves comfortable for

more minutes.

Oh, your prisoner friend is visiting with his mother.

Mama Deng will get you.

It's not even 10 o 'clock yet. She seemed like a nice lady, so I made an

exception.

I look at you, and I see your father, stubborn as a

mule. The night before he died, he was still making plans to get those remains

back to the reservation, like there was any hope.

He would have been so proud of you, Timet.

But what kind of mother would I be if I let you go down the same path?

Our ancestors came home to sacrifice.

This life you built, honoring all the dead, that's sacred too,

Timet.

You need to protect it.

Mama Tangle Calf.

Oh, Mikey.

Oh, Mikey.

Oh.

Artish still loves you to death.

Still over to... Mama, this is Dr.

Miller. Hi, your Wednesday phone call.

Forgive me. I'm at a loss for words. Your son has told me so many wonderful

stories about you. I'm a bit starstruck.

Nonsense. Come sit with us.

No, we've got to get back to it. We just... Oh, yes, yes, right.

The black obsidian blade.

We're hoping to confirm it's Pionkowichum.

It is.

I've seen ones like this in many of our records.

Do you think it'll be enough to convince the commission to return the remains to

us?

I do.

Wonderful. If we can find this blade, we'll get the remains of proper burial

likely solve our murder to boot. What do you say? Should we leave these good

people and embark on a little obsidian blade hunting?

Edwin Wilde.

How do you know him?

Yes, I had the displeasure of meeting him.

He's an expert on Indian artifacts.

He also stops at nothing to hunt them down and sell them.

He's made a fortune off our heirlooms.

Be careful of him.

And his partner, too.

A man named Eugene Cooper.

Knock, knock, Professor Wilde.

No, I'm Ned. I'm his TA. Can I help you with something?

Where is he?

Donald Mallard.

Look at that. You let me get two words in.

Miraculous. Hello, Edwin. Still torturing that poor ascot, I see. Oh, I

say the same thing about your bow tie.

Okay, I ain't got time for you two to be slapping each other with your fancy

gloves. We caught your partner, Eugene, trying to steal them remains from our

lab. I don't know anyone by that name. What about stealing heirlooms from

folks? You know something about that?

Everything I have, I've acquired legally.

All right, talk about legal.

Talk about moral.

Listen here, Wild, you are going to stand here in front of God and Ned and

me every wrong you've done, every Indian nation, from here to China, we're going

to have ourselves a problem.

All right, Michael, come on. Let's take him in for questioning, shall we?

Ned, hand me a tissue, will you?

Last thing I needed was to be spat on over some overvalued old bones.

How dare you? Hey!

Those bones are not overvalued, you ignorant toad.

I don't understand what I'm doing in here.

I'm the victim.

The break -in at our lab. How many times do I have to tell you? I had nothing to

do with that.

How long have you and Eugene Cooper been working together?

I don't know anyone by that name. I have no idea who that is.

What's up, Wild?

Who's this?

Oh, no, he's lying. She pulled that out of me.

What?

She's good.

Following Lala's extracted confession from Eugene Cooper, Wild admitted they

a pre -established... Excuse me.

A pre -existing business partnership... Hold up, Randolph.

What's going on with you?

Are you trying to be serious?

Sir, there's no trying.

I am serious.

Okay, cut it out. You look like you're about to pass a stone.

Okay, um, so basically, what happened was after we went to Professor Wilde to

ask about the map, he sent his partner Eugene to try to steal the remains from

the lab.

So which one of them killed Moore?

Plot twist.

Neither.

Wilde and Cooper, they had nothing to do with the original dig or Moore's

murder. I know, right?

Freaking nuts.

But Professor Wilde... He did tell us that treasure hunters, they usually work

in pairs. So, our new theory is Moore had a partner that got greedy,

and he flicked him with the obsidian blade.

What? Oh, oh, oh.

We also figured out Moore's map.

It's inaccurate.

No. Yes!

It's from after the highway was built. You can't tell anything from it about

1800s. So that couldn't be how Moore figured out where to dig for the

Wilde, he just told us that to buy himself more time so he could steal it.

how did Moore know where to dig? We're working on that now.

Stay tuned for the next update.

Randolph.

That was the most engaging set rep I've experienced in a long time.

Newsletter, be damned. Keep doing what you're doing.

Copy, sir.

And send Dr.

Mallard in, will you? Admiral Kane wants an ETA on his return.

Shoot, I forgot to mention that part.

There was a kerfuffle at the professor's office, and his TA decided to press

charges against Dr. Mallard for assault.

Dr. Mallard assaulted a student? No, no, no.

He really only punched the professor.

The TA just got shoved in the kerfuffle, but since the professor's office is on

base, they sent Ducky to federal holding to await bail.

What?

Pity they didn't have any tea, isn't it?

I never took you for a hothead, Dr. Mallard.

Neither did I.

But very much like you and the so -called theft that started this whole

wasn't thinking.

I just reacted.

I'm chalking it up to a bit of M .E. rage.

I chalk it up to you being a hell of a friend.

Hey, we'll be out of here tomorrow.

I know Frank's is worried, but neither one of us is getting fired without a

fight.

It's not that. I think if I was to get sacked, a rather large part of me would

actually be relieved.

You don't want to be Chief Emmy?

I've been telling myself that Mother is lonely in D .C., but the truth is, she's

incredibly social. The woman's never at a loss for a brunch invitation.

It's me who's alone.

And getting promoted makes DC permanent for you.

Yes, exactly.

America is my home now.

It doesn't exactly feel like home. I never even bought a proper couch.

How can I commit to a whole life in a place where I feel so alone?

Some sage advice?

Really? Is that a bit of wisdom passed down through generations?

It is, actually.

You build a home, other people passing by, see a light on.

They knock on the door, and they have to come inside.

And if they don't, here's the Wednesday night.

Well, enough about my trial.

Here we are.

A pair of seasoned M .E .s with a 150 -year -old case of blunt force trauma

the Mexican -American War, and we have yet to discuss it.

Blunt force trauma?

Yes. The impact of the skull. Didn't you notice it?

Yes, but it wasn't blunt force that caused it.

He was shot.

The musket ball was inside of the skull.

It must have fallen out in the boot of your car.

That is how Moore and his partner found the remains. They didn't need a map.

The musket ball was metal.

Those UFO sounds the youth rangers heard were from a regular old metal detector.

Provided we use this information to track down the obsidian weapon, we'll

the evidence we need to convince the commission to send your ancestors'

home and the means to arrest our killer.

Which leaves but one lingering loose thread for us, Dr. Tanglecare.

The question of our own fate.

You got my note?

Oh.

Are you Mary Jo?

The one and only.

The file Agent Franks left on Dr. Tango?

I read it, like you asked.

It was compelling.

Ranger Sanders?

People think he doesn't like them for one reason or another.

Truth is, the man's a lifelong park ranger.

That amounts to years of people poking fun, years of...

Being disrespected by other agencies was enough to turn us both into a couple of

hard asses. Honey, we know a little something about being disrespected.

No one knows what the heck NIS even is.

And our office just made the agency newsletter for the first time in 20

This thing with Dr.

Tango, it all started with a whole group of people being disrespected.

You've worked with Sanders a long time.

You worked that long with a man.

I'm guessing he probably listened to you about dropping Dr. Tango's charges.

I'll see what I can do.

Thank you.

Now, there's another M .E. in for assault.

I think you can work that, too.

Ducky and Tango both got a verbal warning.

But neither of them lost their jobs.

That Wednesday night missed call ended with them walking out of the Mesa

Detention Center like a couple of champs. But they weren't the only ones

got to go home.

The remains of Tango's ancestor were returned to his tribe.

To us, it felt like at least one thing in the world was set right.

To us, it felt like one sacred moment of peace.

A moment none of us would ever forget.

Bye,

Ducky. I love your nickname so much.

Until next time, young Jethro.

Before Ducky headed back to D .C., he told Lala I was building a boat.

That made her want to see it for herself.

You probably thought she knew me well enough to answer my question about why I

was building it in the first place.

Nice to have one thing that isn't going anywhere.

This is Gibbs. Leave a message.

Hey, it's Diane.

Darn it.

It's been a day, and I was really hoping to talk to you tonight.

But I guess I missed you again.

You build a home.

Other people passing by see a light on.

They knock on the door and ask to come inside.

That's what Tango said to Ducky.

Back then, I don't think I understood what Tango meant by that.

But now I do.

Far as I'm concerned, if you're looking to build a home, there's no better way

to start.

There was one thing that isn't going anywhere.