Hicks swears he was framed during the joint NCIS/FBI investigation.
The best witness, a woman selling fruit near the bank, was never found.
(Ducky was out of town during the initial autopsy, which was handled by a city ME.)
Credit: Bill Inoshita/CBS
You guessed it; he’s a righty.
A familiar face worked the case for the FBI 11 years ago: Fornell!
When Torres and McGee examine the original murder scene, they discover new evidence.
Abby confirms that blood smeared across the license picture belonged to O’Connell.
He seems flattered that his reputation traveled all the way to California but otherwise declines to comment.
(Jack said no such thing; Torres just likes messing with Ellie.
It’s an understandable reaction.)
But the employee, Ray, takes one look at Torres and bolts.
Torres gives chase and eagerly throws himself into hand-to-hand combat to bring Ray down.
At NCIS HQ, Gibbs asks Torres to handle Ray’s investigation solo and forge a connection.
Torres does a bang-up job, complaining that they both have old man bosses and complimenting Ray’s boxing.
Ray doesn’t know where she is now, but he provides her name: Mary Smith.
He told her to walk away or she’d regret it.
As Hicks is white and much younger, Gibbs asks why Mary didn’t tell anyone 11 years ago.
Oh, but she did; she told the FBI agent, Fornell.
Gibbs confronts Fornell, who admits to knowing Mary’s whereabouts and covering it up.
Then he accuses Gibbs of hypocrisy for being upset that Fornell took it upon himself to condemn Hicks.
Then Gibbs kicks him out of his house.
Gibbs and Fornell have always had an Odd Couple-style friendship.
But if he lies, he’s resentencing an innocent man to death.
Jack then points to the wooden cabinet that’s just been delivered to her office.
“I think you’re trying to distract me with a hand-crafted piece of furniture,” Gibbs says.
But she launches into a story: Her dad made it for her mom before they were married.
It’s the response to those mistakes that defines us.
Cut to Gibbs on the stand the following day at Hicks' retrial.
Gibbs then says that Mary gave the same statement 11 years ago to Tobias Fornell.
“Vanilla, wasn’t it?”
Hicks shrugs off his mistake, but the truth slams Gibbs right in his fabled gut.
Knowing they’re watching, Hicks transitions from right-hand batting to left-hand batting.
He’s a switch hitter, and he played them.
Steely eyed, Gibbs declares, “Game’s not over.”
