Original subtitles

You know, it's kind of sad to see this place close.

As a kid, I came here every week to mail a letter to my pen pal.

He lived on a lettuce farm in Yuma, can you imagine?

God, I love fresh produce.

- Wow. - -Babe. - We'll be able

to fit way more tables in here once we rip this wall out.

Come help me with this thing. It's bolted to the studs.

Listen, I've been thinking,

we really can't call this place a vegetarian restaurant

if you insist on serving bacon.

(high-pitched): What?

You're killing the thing they sorted mail in?

If I was killing it, you'd know.

- Hey. What's that? - Dust bunny.

Straight to the lungs.

It's a letter.

Must've fallen behind the shelf.

Look at the date.

1970.

So it's been sitting back there all this time?

It's addressed to a lady on Lockwood Lane.

- Hi. Can I help you? - Are you Claire Hall?

Yes.

We were clearing out the old post office, and we found this.

My God.

This is from my husband when he was in Vietnam.

He used to send me audio tapes.

He died in that war.

DANIEL (on tape): Claire. (sobs)

I love you more than I know how to say in words.

Claire, please forgive me for what I'm about to tell you.

\

- Tên ep - Ah, I'm glad you guys are here.

I feel like I'm going crazy.

She gets like this when she's hungry.

- Here, give her some of your muffin. - No, no. It's too delicious.

Have you heard this? MAN (recorded): Laurel.

What the hell was that?

It's that thing that had everyone fighting

over what word it was saying.

Well, see, that's what I don't get.

I-I don't understand how any normal human being

can hear anything other than the word "Laurel."

MAN (recorded): Laurel. Laurel.

"Yanny." I hear "Yanny." "Yanny."

(scoffs) No, you don't. McGee?

I don't know why we're even talking about this.

It's old news; it went viral months ago.

Well, it must've been when I unplugged

for three days for my annual mental reset.

Oh, that must've been when I, when I unplugged, too.

Oh, uh, you know, for cooler reasons

in a completely different location.

JIMMY: You guys. Word on the basement street is: it's official.

Has he, uh, made an announcement yet?

Has who made what announcement?

Everyone. May I have your attention, please?

As you all know, Ms. Hines has proven herself

indispensable over the last five months.

So, as her temporary employment ends here...

...I'm pleased to announce that she rose to the top

of our candidate pool and is now

our permanent forensic scientist.

Ms. Hines, welcome to the team.

Thank you, sir.

All right.

Oh, wow, and clapping, too.

DANIEL (on tape): I wanted to have it in me to lead,

but I don't.

I can't carry this anymore, so today is my last.

I decided I'm done.

(voice breaking): But you're right here with me, Claire.

And I will keep you next to my heart,

as I say good-bye. I love you.

I love you, and I'm so sorry.

My husband. He was saying good-bye.

He killed himself, Agent Gibbs.

- He was a Marine? - Yes.

First Lieutenant Daniel Hall.

Instead of letters, we sent recordings back and forth

when he was overseas.

These are all from him.

- Ma'am... - Claire.

Claire.

I am sorry for your loss, but I am not seeing

anything to investigate here.

There's a man, another Marine.

His name is Ray Jennings.

He's serving life in prison

for the murder of my husband in Vietnam.

But if Danny committed suicide...

A Marine... is serving time for a crime he did not commit.

48 years, Agent Gibbs.

He's been locked up for the last 48 years.

Hey, guys. Guess what.

Ooh, those look good. Get your own, Bishop.

If you want your own, go to the muffin guy

selling them across the street.

It's my second one today.

They're too delicious to share.

Fine. Enjoy.

No, I found this article online, it said that

"Laurel" hits on the lower frequencies,

and "Yanny" hits on the higher ones.

Dude. You are still on that?

Yes, because now that I understand the mechanics,

I can get myself to hear

whichever one I'm thinking about.

Ah, makes sense. I've always been able to hear both.

Yeah, they say that people who hear both are operating on,

like, full brain capacity or something.

- Oh, like me. - Hmm.

- Let me hear it again. - Okay.

MAN (recorded): Laurel.

Hmm. I still hear "Yanny." Let me focus.

(clears throat) "Laurel." (imitates man): Laurel.

Okay, go.

MAN (recorded): Laurel. - Okay, you know what?

My-my brain works just fine.

Prove it, Torres.

Update. First Lieutenant Daniel Hall.

At the time of his death in 1970,

he was a rising star, leading a team of five Marines

on a recon mission in Vietnam.

They were gathering Intel on Vietcong movements

near the fire support base where they were assigned.

- Where at? - I Corps, Quang Tri Province.

Lieutenant Hall was killed by a Marine under his command.

McGEE: Lance Corporal Ray Jennings.

He was the baby of the group, just 18 at the time.

Murder weapon was a grenade.

The radio operator was an eyewitness to the murder,

a Corporal Thomas Fletcher, but because Ray Jennings

pled guilty, there was no trial.

And update out.

- What? - It's a catchphrase that Torres

is trying to start to signify the end of an update.

It's not exactly catching on.

I asked for details of the incident itself.

Boss, we pieced everything together from plea documents.

NIS investigated at the time,

but their report isn't in the system.

JAGMAN investigation? We are thinking

that both reports are probably together.

Together where? Why aren't they in the system, Torres?

- I'll get on it. Gibbs, remember.

Ray Jennings pled guilty, so even without the reports,

it's looking like an open-and-shut case of fragging.

Fragging.

The murder of a superior officer by someone under their command.

The term was coined during the Vietnam War,

when the number of fraggings soared.

The word comes from the weapon of choice in such attacks:

the fragmentation grenade.

- Plentiful, deadly, and... - And grenades can't be traced,

which makes it almost impossible to find the killer.

Uh... Am I right?

Yes, but, it's... (stammers)

Oh, no, I'm off my cue.

Sorry, sorry, that's-that's my bad.

I tend to get super invested in multimedia presentations.

Uh, okay.

Oh, here's where I'm gonna talk about

the protests going on at home.

Um, an unpopular war meant low morale within the military.

Oh, and civil rights.

There was rampant racial discrimination.

Which only contributed to motive.

Exactly. Some fraggings were the result of racism,

some were because of drug use.

Others were seen as a way to stop a superior

who was seen as too eager for combat.

But let's face it:

fragging is just one small part

of what made that war so brutal.

Lieutenant Danny Hall here, coming to you

from a very sweaty Midsummer Night's Nightmare.

Oh, did you like that one?

MAN: Yeah, that was pretty good.

Yeah, he's the only one that laughs

at my jokes, this one. MAN: I got to.

Oh, yeah? Why's...

- Hmm. That's a beauty. - Yeah, right?

I dug it out of our old technology graveyard downstairs.

Oh, I found a phone for you down there, too,

if you ever want to upgrade.

(sighs): Yeah. What are you thinking?

Uh, I'm starting from the beginning,

listening to them in order. - Trying for a read.

The lieutenant's state of mind.

So far, he's not nearly suicidal,

but it's still early on in his second tour.

He did two back-to-back.

He had a lot to say.

He was going to be a reporter when he got out.

These tapes were correspondence with his wife for sure,

but he was also doing it to hone his craft.

Documenting and interviewing.

You got that look, Jack.

You know me so well, Gibbs.

Just listen to this again, okay?

Yeah, he's the only one that laughs at my jokes, this one.

MAN: I got to.

Oh, yeah? Why's that?

MAN: I need your help. My roof just caved in again.

The guy laughing with the lieutenant,

it's the same guy who supposedly killed him.

Ray Jennings. They were friends.

Claire mentioned that.

Yes, but it was much deeper than that.

These two had a real bond; they were almost like brothers.

I'm telling you, Gibbs.

This does not fit the typical profile of a fragging.

Maybe it wasn't.

We're here because of a development in your case.

A recording surfaced. It was lost up until now.

It's a suicide message from Lieutenant Daniel Hall.

Mr. Jennings?

If you'd like to listen to the tape, we can make that happen.

What do you want from me?

We'd like to hear your side of the story.

In light of newly discovered evidence,

NCIS is gonna reopen your case.

You're wasting your time.

Guard, I'm done here.

- Wait, Mr. Jennings... - I said...

you're wasting your time.

I killed him.

Morning, team. How's it going?

- It's going. - Hey, so I was just

moseying by, you know, trying to stay on top of the case.

You got a question,

or is your head just gonna keep on floating like that?

Well, since Ray Jennings pled guilty

and said again yesterday that he committed the murder,

I mean, do we even have cause to investigate?

We got a suicide tape

and two missing incident reports.

Plus, the way Jennings shut us down,

he's hiding something.

I'm not gonna stop working until we find out what.

Did anyone else just get chills?

You have cause to investigate,

I'll give you that, but not enough cause to exhume the body.

You got to be kidding me.

Unfortunately, I'm not.

Your request for exhumation has been denied.

Yeah, by you.

Gibbs, exhuming a body isn't cheap.

Leon, you've been out of the office a long time.

Watch your step, Gibbs.

Maybe you forget,

I don't give a damn about the budget.

My priority is ensuring...

Ensuring that justice is served.

Yeah, I know. I read it in your request,

which, as you damn well know, is lacking evidence,

and is therefore denied.

Looking for a fight on this, Leon?

Because I'll give you one.

All right, good news and bad news, people.

It's heavy in here.

You got my answer on this, Gibbs.

Please tell me I didn't miss one of them taking a swing.

Hey, Torres.

Gibbs, I found the reports. That's the good news.

The bad news is that they were in a flood.

Is that why they weren't scanned into the system?

Yeah, they're warped, moldy and disgusting.

Good luck, dude.

Wh-Why are you giving these to me?

Because reading makes you happy.

- This is Bishop. - Boss, I got these.

KASIE: Me. Hello. Uh, over here, volunteering to help you scrape off the mold.

- Yeah. Let's go. - Okay.

You know, mold is actually a very hardworking fungus

that gets a really bad rap.

Thanks. Uh, Gibbs,

I tracked down our eyewitness to the fragging, Thomas Fletcher.

He was a corporal back then,

and a retired master sergeant now.

Take Torres.

And I do believe this bike is gonna ride like the wind.

Mr. Fletcher. Yeah, can I help you?

NCIS.

We need to talk to you about Lieutenant Daniel Hall.

Daniel Hall-- well, there's a name I haven't heard in a long time.

My God, and there's Ray Jennings.

It's amazing.

He and I were the only ones to make it out of there alive.

The other three Marines here

were killed about a year later in the war.

And I'm assuming you both know

what happened to the lieutenant, right?

Well, plea documents say you were an eyewitness.

Mr. Fletcher, we know this isn't easy to talk about,

but we need to know exactly what you saw.

The night before, Ray and the lieutenant

went out on a scout.

By the time they got back the next morning,

things were different.

Things were-were really off between them.

But then again, we were all off.

Our radio went down,

and the VC could have gutted us

without thinking twice.

But all I could do is

work as hard as I could to try to fix that radio.

Damn it. JENNINGS: L.T.

I saw Ray and the lieutenant walking.

Hey, I don't know how I'm gonna get this working without a new whip.

L.T., hold up. Jennings,

I said I was done talking about this.

Wait. L.T., hold up. No...

I couldn't tell what the hell they were talking about.

Then things got real quiet.

That's when Ray ran out.

- Get down! - No!

And the lieutenant was gone.

Look, I know Ray did wrong,

but when you think about the jungle and the war...

the war itself was enough to break any man.

Mr. Fletcher, are you saying that you didn't actually see

Ray Jennings throw the grenade?

No, I didn't.

Wait a minute, I don't understand something.

I thought Ray Jennings confessed.

Fletcher, you all right?

Fletcher, check in!

Fletcher! Good to go, sir!

All right, hey, stay down. Hey! Stay down over there. Stay down!

Jennings, you got a visual?

JENNINGS: Negative, sir.

(whooping) That was close. That was close.

They ain't playing. People at home, laying in bed,

you want to know what war is?

This is war.

Kasie wasn't messing around with this presentation.

You all right?

Yeah.

Different war.

Still, it's... oof.

Yeah, me, too.

(clears throat) I'll spare you the rest.

Turned out okay.

Yeah, except it didn't, Jack.

No. Of course. You're right.

There's no way Lieutenant Hall wasn't affected

by what he experienced out there.

I mean, look at us. Our hearts were pounding just hearing it.

This was Hall's second to last tape.

He was stressed-- you heard him--

but he was keeping it together. He wasn't suicidal.

- His last tape, he was. - Right.

So the question is what happened between those two tapes?

The last scout with Ray Jennings.

Right, but what happened?

Hey. What's with the...? Oh, my God.

Why didn't anyone tell me what's going on back here?

We got a sealed subwoofer with a passive radiator.

McGee, the reports.

Right. Kasie tried to de-mold as best she could.

The JAGMAN was beyond repair.

But I was able to read part of the NIS Report of Investigation.

- Anything? - Yep. Ray Jennings changed his story.

What do you mean?

Well, at first he said he threw the grenade

into the lieutenant's hooch from outside, at a distance.

And then later, he said that he was in the actual hooch

when he threw it, then ran outside, like Fletcher said.

So he was insistent in saying that he did it.

Why would he change his story about where he was standing?

You think you can get him to talk?

We'll find out.

Boss. I'd like to go back with you, if that's okay.

You got a reason? Yeah.

You know, my father was only 19 when he went to Vietnam.

He ended his career a four-star admiral.

Well, he didn't really end it, he passed away,

about four years ago now.

You know, he did two tours in Vietnam,

and I can't tell you what his job was at the time.

Well, he sure wasn't much good to you, was he?

Excuse me?

Well, any father worth his salt

would teach his kid how to shut his damn mouth in a library.

- Mr. Jennings... - I don't know who you're talking to.

I was never a mister.

I was a lance corporal, then I was a nothing.

I was just trying to... Y'all trying to trick me

into talking about that jungle.

Ray, if you don't belong here, we can help you.

I belong here.

Look around you, what do you see?

Other guys use their comm money for cookies,

I use mine for books.

When I got here, every last one of them

was a waste of paper between two covers.

I mean, no-no Tolstoy, no Ellison, no nothing.

"All alone and free in the soft sands of the beach."

That's Kerouac.

That's escape, and that's something.

I'm gonna die in here.

I've made my peace with it.

Now you need to walk on out of here and do the same.

DANIEL (on tape): Lieutenant Danny Hall here,

coming to you from a very sweaty Midsummer Night's Nightmare.

Oh, did you like that one?

JENNINGS: Yeah, that was pretty good.