Monday night’s episode of NCIS was all about memories, some really recent, others decades old.
And it was all wrapped around the murder of a Navy reservist, who turned up dead in the backseat of a junky car parked on a gun range.
It was the first NCIS episode after a three-week hiatus. Writers called it Peacekeeper. The episode offered us glimpses of the gun culture scene, even taking viewers to an all female get-together. Jess (Katrina Law) says “[It’s] like a Tupperware party, but with handguns for women.”
Here’s how it all unfolded. Folks were on a gun range, shooting at mannequins and an old car. Chuck, the gun range owner, sent his son to pick up the mannequins. That’s when the son found the dead guy. When Jimmy (Brian Dietzen) and the other NCIS agents arrive on the scene, the medical examiner announced the obvious. With a body chock full of bullets, it’s going to be difficult to find the one that caused the fatal wound.
The victim was Victor, who everyone called Peacekeeper. He was a bouncer at a bar. The agents figured out that Victor’s death happened overnight, before the range opened. And Jimmy noticed the lack of blood in the car, meaning Victor died before someone placed his body in the car.
NCIS agents immediately started interviewing people in Victor’s background. They started with his wife, who hosted gun parties. That’s when Jess and Parker (Gary Cole) ran into Kasie, who was thinking about buying a gun. Kasie admits she wants a gun because she’s suffering anxiety after being held hostage by a hitman/serial killer.
The agents next visit a gun expo, where Victor worked security. That’s where they meet Pete (Don Swayze) who sold antique guns. He griped that Victor gave the prime selling spots inside to Doris. But is that a reason to murder Victor? Next, the agents talk to the guy who is selling illegal ammo in the parking lot. He wasn’t the killer, either.
All the drama triggered Jess’ memories of losing her whole NCIS team in an explosion. Like Kasie, she has job-induced anxiety.
So who killed Victor? Let’s circle back. Jimmy and Kasie figured out that the fatal bullet wound was from the same kind of gun Hitler used to kill himself. So they go back to chat with Pete. Yes, Pete has records of selling the type of gun used to kill Victor. Harry, Victor’s boss at the bar, bought one three weeks ago.
Harry admitted that he confronted Victor because he discovered $300 was missing from the cover charge money. He said Victor started screaming, so he tried to use his new gun to scare him. Instead, the gun went off and hit Victor in his pulmonary artery. Harry tried to rush Victor to the hospital, but Victor died before he could get to the ER. So Harry dumped Victor’s body at the gun range. He found the $300 the next day.
What were the other memories brought up in the new episode? Torres (Wilmer Valderrama) loves old cars like the one at the gun range. They remind him of the one he drove back in high school. He called the car Stella, the name of his first love.
Torres bought the junky car and plans to restore it in his garage. And yes, there were lots of references to Gibbs’ boat in the basement, another pleasant NCIS memory.
