SEASON SEVEN EPISODE FIVE

The Halloween episode. It wasn't anywhere near as good as Chimera, but that would take some beating, but I thought it was pretty much on par with Witch Hunt. And we had a real case - a case involving a Marine; a case. NCIS have finally remembered what the initials stand for. So much yayness on that front; Also we had Jimmy, which is always lovely - I just think it's such a shame that BD has never been 'promoted' to the main cast, he deserves it so much.

I'm sad to say (I really hoped I wouldn't be saying it this season) that I wanted to throttle DiNozzo *sighs* He wasn't exactly nasty, but he was just obnoxious at times and unbelievably cocky and although not nasty the way he was treating McGee and Ziva wasn't nice and it was getting close to the edge of crossing the line between acceptable banter and unpleasantness. The nice, friendly banter and gentle teasing seems to be racing away at high speed *sighs*

As for Gibbs I just don't know. Okay, so he was physically there a bit more, but he's not Gibbs; he's just not 'there'. He's distant from just about everyone, his interaction with the team is not as it was and quite frankly my feeling is he doesn't want to be there. Is MH really pissed with SB and it's coming over? Yet we've been told by SB than Gibbs is smiling more this season and is more relaxed, well, I'm sorry, but I haven't seen it at all. Not at all. This is akin to the Gibbs at the beginning of S4, but even worse. What on earth is going on?

The case was fairly interesting and mostly held my attention. The fact that DiNozzo was so sure it was the wife meant categorically that it couldn't be, even when we had a twist, you just knew he was going to be wrong. And you knew because the writers had, once again, gone OTT with his 'gut feeling' and how sure he was and how pushy he was about it all and how cocky he was; you just knew (because it's happened before) he was going to be wrong. Other than that there were some reasonable red herrings, the killer tweaked me upon first sight and carried on doing so, although I thought it might have been for a different reason and I also thought she wasn't acting alone, so that was good.

There was some good banter, some nice ship moments for several pairings, but it also seemed bitty in parts, especially how Gibbs kept swapping and changing who he sent with whom or took with him - that doesn't usually happen. The whole 'Probie' thing reached the edge of being overdone, and teetered on that edge. There were some fun moments.

We begin with kids filming a house; at first by their behaviour and comments about the person who lived in the house I thought they were thugs and vandals. They hear music and talk about crashing Korby's party and then they throw things at his car, but he doesn't get out. Then they see the hose going from the exhaust into the car; they open the door and there is Korby - that sobers them up, PDQ.

At the office DiNozzo arrives talking into his mobile phone about a bet he has. He tells McGee and Ziva that each year the Baltimore PD have a larceny lotto and each person throws in $200 and bets how many mischief calls there will be on the night before Halloween and on Halloween itself. McGee reminds DiNozzo that he hates Halloween (a nice bit of continuity going back to when DiNozzo tells McGee the story from when he was a kid and cut up a very, very expensive piece of his father's clothing to make a trick or treat suit and how he got smacked several times once he got home). DiNozzo agrees but says he loves money. McGee starts to talk about his time on the base as a child and how they used to call it Devil's Night and starts to tell about some of things he and other Marine kids had done, including getting all the furniture out of a Marine's house.

Gibbs arrives says: "Lock and load," and tells them they have a dead Marine. He gives Ziva the car keys and tells her she is driving; he makes a point of calling her Agent David and she smiles. A nice little touch.

At the crime scene McGee tells Gibbs who the dead man is (Lance Corporal James Korby) and that he's back from Afghanistan. Ziva tells him there is no blood in the car of signs of a struggle; it looks like suicide.

Ducky and Jimmy arrive and Ducky tells Ziva that looks can be deceiving; he too calls her Agent David and she waves to him (again nice). He tells Gibbs there is no way Korby killed himself in the car. Gibbs comments about Ducky being able to see detail that far and Jimmy says even he can't. Ducky says he doesn't need to; if Korby had died from carbon monoxide poisoning, his skin would have been cherry red - it isn't. The body was staged to look like a suicide.

DiNozzo is talking to the three kids who found the body. They are telling him that Korby lived for Halloween and always had great pranks and tricks. Ziva goes over and also speaks to them and DiNozzo calls her Probie and says he'll handle the questioning and returns to talking to the kids. A man called Ted Rogers then arrives; he lives across the street and clearly he had no time for Korby as he drove the neighbourhood crazy with all his pranks. DiNozzo compliments him on his sweater. A nice bit of character consistency, actually, because he did the same to the female detective a couple of weeks ago. Hmm, DiNozzo has a fetish for woollen clothing, maybe *g* It was a nice little, totally unnecessary but fun, interjection. DiNozzo say he'll have to take the kids camera.

Gibbs asks Ducky for the time of death and Ducky is very surprised by what his liver probe is telling him; the body should be warm, but it's not; it's cold - indeed it's frigid.

DiNozzo and Ziva go into the garage and we see lots and lots of Korby's joke stuff. DiNozzo say there had been a struggle, Ziva asks how he knows as the place is a mess. DiNozzo points to a smashed mirror and says Korby wouldn't mess up his own stuff. Nicely done; a sign of the competent DiNozzo I really love - a really good touch.

Ducky and Jimmy now have Korby sitting on the car and he appears to be in full rigour. Jimmy makes a joke that doesn't go down well with Ducky who actually looks in some concern at Gibbs; it's almost as if he was expecting Gibbs to reprimand Jimmy and was telling him that he didn't approve either. Again with character consistency as we've seen flashes of Jimmy's inappropriate humour before and seen Ducky flash the same look at Gibbs. Ducky and Jimmy start to push Korby down to free the rigour and we hear noises coming from the body. The body is actually brittle. Ducky asks for the forceps and he pulls out a piece of Korby's throat *shudders*. The body is indeed frozen; Jimmy suggests dry ice, Ducky liquid nitrogen. Ducky adds that whatever it was, it was the cause of death.

Back at HQ, DiNozzo is checking out Baltimore PD's list of calls to see how he's doing with his bet. McGee suggests DiNozzo concentrate on a case over which they have jurisdiction - nice one McGee - and DiNozzo to his full credit immediately goes and joins McGee. Now this was a really nice piece of interaction, very back to eps 1 & 2. McGee tells how Korby had one blot on his service record for disorderly conduct. He then brings up a picture of Korby's widow (he also had a step daughter) and DiNozzo immediately declares that she killed her husband. McGee asks if they should carry on with the case or just arrest her - again a nice little moment between them. And McGee tells DiNozzo how Mrs. Korby (Sara) was at a hotel on the night of Korby's murder. Again DiNozzo says that she did it, because otherwise why would she be in a hotel a few days after her husband returned from Afghanistan.

Then we see DiNozzo with Sara and whom we presume is her daughter Rachael in the conference room and this was when I got my first little feeling that something was amiss. Having ruled out Sara as the killer (because of DiNozzo's certainty is was her and as I said the writers wouldn't have allowed that to be the case) it had to focus on Rachael. Sara tells him how Korby loved jokes and pranks; they were his passion. She admits to having been at a hotel in Virginia Beach and Rachael was at a friends - but everyone had got very drunk. She tells how a few years ago she and Korby came to a deal; he'd have 'his' night pre-Halloween working on his projects and she'd go to a spa. She hadn't wanted to go that year as he'd just returned. We then learn that, actually, Rachael is step-daughter to both of them. Her mother died when she was young and Sara married her father who was killed in Iraq five years ago. They tell DiNozzo that everyone liked Korby, even if they didn't have a sense of humour. He asks about Rogers and Sara admits he and Korby had had words.

Down in Autopsy Ducky comments to Jimmy that it was an interesting night for such a ghoulish demise. In turn Jimmy makes a comment about it being a 'cool way to go' and Ducky calls him on it; asking if he's taking advantage of the death. Jimmy assures him he isn't, he seems a wee bit hurt by Ducky's 'accusation' and says no, it was as Ducky had said, and how it also reminded him of a few pranks he wasn't proud off.

Ducky: "In that case, perhaps you should refrain from discussing them."
Gibbs (arriving on cue): "What can we discuss then, Duck?"

Ducky confirms his earlier hypothesis as to cause of Korby's death; it was liquid nitrogen. Jimmy has moved across Autopsy leaving Gibbs and Ducky together and as he moves we see there is a pumpkin. I was wondering just why Ducky would have a pumpkin in Autopsy, even though it was Halloween, it seemed very OOC - but all was soon revealed. Ducky explains how when liquid nitrogen comes into contact with something warm it boils. Jimmy now has thick rubber long gloves on and we learn that the pumpkin is a stomach stand-in. Ducky tells Jimmy to do the honours and as Jimmy is about to pour some liquid nitrogen into the pumpkin, Ducky touches Gibbs and urges him to move back a bit (*smiles happily*). Ducky then talks more about Korby and how he had old scar tissue in his throat that was a prior injury; he doesn't know what yet. Interestingly, whilst Korby ingested enough liquid nitrogen to freeze his organs, it was not the cause of death. Gibbs asks what was and Jimmy tells him: "Breathing." He takes the lid off of the pumpkin and we see a lot of liquid gas (rather like dry ice). It had got into Korby's lungs and had suffocated him.

Duck tells Gibbs that Korby would have lived for a few minutes before he died and that that time of death was between 10:00 p.m. and midnight. As Ducky and Gibbs, standing nice and close and exchanging looks, are talking Jimmy manages to drop the pumpkin on the floor and it smashes; he starts to clear it up. Gibbs and Ducky ignore him and go on talking. Ducky suggests that Korby may have been force-fed the liquid nitrogen, Gibbs says he might have been caught off guard. Whatever the method was, it was murder - not a suicide. I guess they ruled out that he deliberately took it after rigging the car up, got in and waited to die. I can't see that many people, if any, would choose liquid nitrogen as a suicide method, but actually it couldn't be totally ruled out that Korby did choose such an awful method. Well, except if he had then there was no case to investigate.

Up in the squad room McGee and Ziva are watching the kids' video. McGee is impressed with something on the video, Ziva isn't (I didn't get McGee's enthusiasm either). McGee tells her it's a cultural thing and tells her to ask DiNozzo. DiNozzo was on the phone, asking for Sara's file to be sent over. Ziva asks him if his gut ever gives him stomach ache.

At that moment Gibbs arrives carrying three styrofoam cups and hands one to each of them, starting with Ziva which I thought was a nice touch; for all his 'rough edges' Gibbs is the kind of man who would give the woman the drink first. They are surprised (who wouldn't be?) and ask if he's brought them coffee (actually they also seem a tad suspicious, again which was fun) and they sniff it. It's not coffee; it's apple cider. Gibbs then calls 'Happy Halloween' they take a sip and he tells them break's over. Nice, very Gibbs with the break's over after a mere second or two. A fun little scene.

Gibbs joins McGee and Ziva at the scene and we learn that multiple neighbours had filed complaints about Korby, but only one had filed multiple complaints: Ted Rogers. DiNozzo is commenting on the apple cider and starting to describe it, when Gibbs whisks it from his hand and also takes Ziva's and tells them to go and see Rogers.

They get there and ring the bell; Rogers calls out there isn't any candy, but they tell him it's NCIS and he comes to the door (in the background we see and hear kiddies trick or treating). DiNozzo again comments on his cardigan and he says it's his work attire; when they express surprise that he's just going to work, he explains how he works from how, dealing with the Asian markets; thus his day is just beginning. DiNozzo points out that having the porch light on is Halloween etiquette for 'I have candy'. Rogers turns it off. They talk about Korby and what he'd cost Rogers over the years with his pranks. We learn that a college girl-friend of Rogers took out a restraining order against him; thus it implies he can get very angry. He asks if they are accusing him of killing Korby and DiNozzo says no, they are asking very nicely if he did and he does ask. Rogers says he didn't and that he was on-line the previous evening dealing with the Shanghai office and a camera on his computer can prove it. To be honest Rogers was never even a hint of a hint of a red herring.

At that moment two little girls come up and demand trick or treat. Rogers after a second or two gives them an energy drink each. (Note: whilst the UK doesn't go in for Halloween in the same way as the States do, it is becoming generally more popular across the country and my part of Scotland has always done the trick or treat thing - BUT the kiddies have to earn their treat. They have to do a little 'turn'. Tell a joke, sing, play a musical instrument, etc. Only then do they get their treat - I think it's a grand thing, they don't just get something for doing nothing. J and I were very surprised the first year when we opened to door and were sung at *g*).

Back at HQ Gibbs goes down to see Abby and as he strides into her lab, all kinds of things start moving and making noises. She explains it is stuff from Korby's, most of which is movement sensitive and until she's processed it all, Gibbs had better move carefully - he does. He comments that she doesn't have a costume and she explains that after last year's Jonas Brothers debacle , Vance banned costumes. She then tells Gibbs she has a glimpse of a car on the kids' video, but she can't make out the licence plate or get a glimpse of the driver. However, upon enhancing it, Gibbs spots a number on the side; it's a Quantico delivery car - it had to have been booked out by a Marine. He is about to go, setting off the various things again, when Abby stops him. She has more. As well as liquid nitrogen, she also found traces of turpentine, benzine and acetone, better known (as Gibbs tells us) as paint stripper, in Korby's skin and it was that not the liquid nitrogen that caused Korby's ulcerated stomach. Someone tried to poison him a couple of months ago, whilst he was in Afghanistan.

Up in the squad room, McGee has a bag on sweets and DiNozzo swipes one and tells Ziva and McGee it's his reward. He's discovered that Sara had been married three times and her previous two husbands were also Marines and also died and had juicy life assurance policies, thus she's a rich black widow. Ziva informs him that the previous two died in the line of duty, thus he has no reason to think she killed the third.

DiNozzo: "But I've got -"
Gibbs (arriving): "Evidence?"
DiNozzo: "Not to speak of, boss."
Gibbs: "Then stop speaking."

A fun little exchange, very Gibbs and very DiNozzo too. But DiNozzo's obsession with Sara being guilty was already starting to grate on me and by now it was totally obvious there was no way it was going to be her. As has been done many times - but not this season until now - the writers went OTT with this 'theme'.

Gibbs then leans over Ziva (cue Gibbs/Ziva moment). He then asks McGee if he's found the car - McGee hasn't, but he assures Gibbs he will do so. Gibbs want Korby's file and the unit's files from Afghanistan; DiNozzo says it's too early, they haven't been freed yet, he's waiting. Gibbs tells him to wait faster, again so Gibbs. Ziva tells Gibbs that Korby's squadron leader is there. He takes her with him to interview the man.

The man is Sergeant Barnes and he's up for promotion, so was Korby, but Barnes hadn't given him a glowing report. Ziva reads some of it out, but Barnes comes back and says he'd also said he was an excellent Marine, it was just that at times his jokes and sense of humour got out of hand and he took them into battle. Gibbs who is wandering around talks about how all Marines are different; how some like to keep things light, whilst others want to focus all the time. Barnes says that half the Marines liked Korby, half didn't, but says no one really had a major problem with him. He says he never left the base all night, that he was doing paperwork. When he won't give them a name, Gibbs tells Ziva to put a hold on all promotions. At that point Barnes gives them the name Private David Singer.

Gibbs and DiNozzo go out to the training ground where Singer is working out. He's a very muscular Marine and has clearly been working very hard. Gibbs asks about the falling out Singer and Korby had; Singer says he had told Korby he didn't like the pranks. When asked where he was the previous night, Singer says he was in Norfolk. DiNozzo then accuses him (albeit not in so many words) of doing drugs, which Singer vehemently denies. Finally he says he was with a High School buddy. He also says that no one would go as far as killing Korby; Gibbs asks how far it did go.

They get back to HQ and McGee is waiting; he hasn't found the car, but he has managed to have a chat with the base commander out in Afghanistan up in MTAC. DiNozzo tells him not to brag; McGee and Gibbs ignore him and Gibbs tells McGee to talk. The information was that the unit was in chaos; there had been multiple transfer requests, etc. but it only started very recently - after Korby's poisoning. Before that, the unit was exemplary. They ponder what could have caused the fall out. McGee suggests a lack of discipline; Gibbs suggest too much.

Down in Autopsy again we see Ducky and Jimmy looking at a smallish particle. Ducky is talking about how we take 18,000 breathes a day, thus it isn't surprising that we inhale all kinds of things. Gibbs arrives and Ducky sends Jimmy off to take the particle up to Abby.

Ducky: "I'm glad you're here, Jethro." *Smiles happily*
Gibbs: "Body was beaten, Duck."

Ducky has found evidence of multiple contusions on Korby's body. He explains how he normally does an autopsy from the outside in, but because of Korby's frozen state, he'd done it the other way. He and Gibbs go across to where Ducky has x-rays and he shows Gibbs the evidence of broken and healed ribs, that had been sustained before the poisoning. Nothing really dangerous had been done to Korby i.e. no damage to the kidneys, etc; Gibbs comments he'd been hurt without really being hurt. Ducky says that Gibbs has seen it before, Gibbs concurs: it's known as 'Code Red' and we also learn that Korby had been restrained by his ankles and wrists and Ducky has evidence that it wasn't just someone who did it, but at least four someones.

Gibbs: "Whole squad wanted this guy gone, Duck." And he goes. A nice Gibbs/Ducky scene (or Gibbs & Ducky) with closeness, looks and this way they have of being able to know what the other is thinking and even finishing sentences, etc. Again character consistent with the entire series. But even with Ducky, Gibbs isn't quite the Gibbs we've known in previous seasons; even with Ducky his interaction is off kilter.

Up in the squad room DiNozzo tells McGee and Ziva they are having a mobile camp fire and he calls them both Probies. He goes into the men's room and tells them to speak up. Finally, Ziva has had enough and raising her voice reminds him that McGee has been there six years and she four and they aren't - Cue Gibbs coming out of men's room, he calls her and asks if she has a problem being called Probie and reminds her that she's only been an NCIS agent for a week; her time as Mossad Liaison Officer is in the past. He then yells of a mobile camp fire (which was a nice little touch) and DiNozzo hurries out - without washing his hands. Tut; tut. They still haven't found the car (this did seem a tad odd to me that a Marine car is still AWOL). McGee says they have tracked down six of Korby's fellow Marines in the area and Gibbs tells McGee to take Ziva and go and interview them.

Gibbs then goes to Abby again and she is praising Korby, saying how he is a genius and how he kept details of everything he did and how she wishes she had more time, because she could try some of the things out. She then tries to reach for a Caf-Pow! but Gibbs takes it out of reach and pulls her back on focus. She tells him they haven't found the liquid nitrogen yet, but there are a lot of people including a Haz Mat team looking for it. Jimmy arrives at that moment with the liquid nitrogen he and Ducky had borrowed. Abby comments that she'd told him no refills and again tries to get the Caf-Pow. Gibbs still won't hand it over.

So Abby tells Jimmy that the substance he and Ducky had found was odd as it contained traces of chicken stock and coffee, but nothing like that was found in Korby's stomach. Jimmy suggests it was residue from the container used to carry the liquid nitrogen in and suggests a thermos flask as it is the perfect size and that's how the residue got into Korby's lungs. Abby tells him he's a genius and adds that she can now tell the Haz Mat team what to look for. Gibbs hands over the flask, gives her a kiss on the cheek (Gibbs/Abby or Gibbs & Abby) moment and then half cuffs Jimmy round the head and half cups it and adds: "Both of you." I'm not quite sure what Jimmy was expecting from Gibbs, but he kind of half leaned towares him after Gibbs had kissed Abby. Go Jimmy - well done. Gibbs goes and Abby offers a beaming Jimmy a sip of her Caf-Pow! he sensibly declines. A really nice little scene and how lovely that it was Jimmy who came up with the 'solution'.

DiNozzo is now at his most obnoxious and this is where I really wanted to slap him when he goes to visit Sara and Rachael. He basically does accuse her of murdering her husband for the money and asks if they are clearing up the scene of the crime. She says he is getting rid of old memories. He asks if Korby talked about what went on overseas; she says no, so he makes out how unusual that was and how that proves they didn't have much to talk about. Of course Korby wouldn't have told her, a) he's not the kind of man who would and b) he wouldn't want to have to admit he was being bullied because of his love or pranks, there is nothing unusual at all in him not telling his wife what went on. We learn that Sara came from a military family. DiNozzo goes on accusing her of killing Korby, pointing out she got half a million from the previous two deaths and a quarter now. At that moment Singer appears with a bouquet of flowers which gets DiNozzo's interest. Singer says he's just there to pay his respects and whilst he and Korby had their disagreements, he's sorry he's dead. Sara pointedly asks DiNozzo if they were done and he goes. It was clear that Singer and Sara did indeed know one another and his visit wasn't quite the 'just paying my respects'.

Back at the squad room DiNozzo is leaning right back in his chair staring at the ceiling (which we've seen him do before). McGee and Ziva return and McGee asks if the sky is falling in. DiNozzo says that Sara might be telling the truth, so yes, it is. He then calls McGee and Ziva a Probie sandwich and when Ziva asks if his killer instinct was wrong, he says it was temporary misguided. He asks what they had found. They spoke to the squad members and whilst they all admitted the prank problems no one knew about Code Red or the poison - they're all covering for one another.

Gibbs arrives at that moment, pointedly asks DiNozzo if he's taking a break; DiNozzo says he's studying the sprinklers. Gibbs has the paperwork - clever Gibbs. And we discover Barnes lied; he did leave the base. McGee says he lied further, he'd been turned down for promotion on the grounds of unsatisfactory leadership - three months ago in Afghanistan, before Korby's poisoning. Gibbs sends DiNozzo and Ziva out to get Barnes.

They find Barnes eating with some fellow Marines outside. He wants to do it later; they refuse; he knocks over a waitress; Ziva has him face down in a bowl of rice (or something); DiNozzo extracts Barnes's wallet and hands over some notes to the waitress to pay and they take Barnes away. Very smoothly done.

In the interrogation room Gibbs is with Barnes and he says that it was Korby who cost Barnes his promotion; Barnes poisoned him and then finished the job a couple of nights before. Barnes admits to the poisoning, but says he did it for the good of the unit. Korby was a great Marine, but they pranks were too much. There had been an incident when the unit was trying to keep under the enemies radar and Barnes had turned to see Korby's flack jacket on fire. It was faulty ammo, but no one believe it. He did know about the Code Red and hoped that would put things straight. But it didn't; so he put a drop of paint stripper into Korby's coffee because he wanted him shipped home on medical grounds. The others Marines found out and lost all respect for Barnes. Gibbs asks about the night of the murder and Barnes now admits he'd been at a strip club trying to get his promotion back.

Up in the squad room Gibbs is with McGee and DiNozzo. DiNozzo asks if there is any more cider, which earns him a Gibbs glare. Whilst McGee tells Gibbs Barnes's alibi checks out; DiNozzo, meanwhile, still maintains that Sara is holding something back. Now that I would agree with; she didn't murder her husband, but there was something she wasn't telling NCIS.

Gibbs: "Marine vehicle was at the scene, DiNozzo. That does suggest a Marine."

I did wonder, at more than one point, if in fact Korby had been abusing Rachael and Rachael killed him with help from someone (not Sara), Sara found out and knew about the abuse and so was covering it up.

There was no log as to who took the vehicle, just that it had been taken - is that really likely? McGee tells Gibbs he might not have found the car, but he has found something. He'd been running finance checks and discovered that Singer had used his credit card and it was at the same hotel as Sara had been staying.

DiNozzo has Singer in the interrogation room and is telling him how they know Sara was there. He also says that the hotel valet said the car had gone all night, but was back in the morning and DiNozzo now accuses Singer of leaving Sara and going off to kill her husband. Singer is silent. DiNozzo says that innocent men explain; guilty ones object and that Singer might be one of the third: those who cover for their lovers.

Gibbs and Ziva are watching and Ziva says if DiNozzo is correct about Sara, she'll never live it down. Gibbs smiles - he knows (as do the viewers) that DiNozzo will not be right. However, at that moment McGee appears to say that Sara's credit card had been used to buy a garden hose and duct tape. Gibbs says to bring Sara in - Ziva doesn't believe it; nor did I.

Gibbs is talking to Sara with DiNozzo watching. He tells her they know about the affair with Singer (again DiNozzo talks to her as he did in her garage). She says Singer didn't kill Korby because it was she who took the car. She'd realised she couldn't go through with the affair and had gone home to tell Korby the truth. But when she got there, she couldn't go in so sat outside before driving away and going back to the hotel to tell Singer it was over. Er, a minute or so earlier we'd been told the car hadn't arrived back until the morning. So did she drive around all night and then go back? Or are they that bad at continuity? Or was the valet mistaken as he'd slipped off duty?

DiNozzo is still pushing, indeed he goes so far as to pull out his cuffs and start to arrest her - without Gibbs's say so! Gibbs, however, is just looking at the photos of Korby and suddenly says 'no'. And orders DiNozzo to meet him in the evidence garage. He goes leaving a very bamboozled DiNozzo.

Gibbs goes to McGee and we have a nice Gibbs/McGee moment when he leans over him and asks to see the footage from the kids' camera again. He sees something and asks McGee to clean it up. McGee does and it shows Korby's car in the street; but when they found him, it had been in the drive. Gibbs then pats McGee says: "Nice," and goes.

Meanwhile in the garage DiNozzo and Ziva are together. DiNozzo is showing off, but actually not in a way that irritated me, just in 'DiNozzo style' telling Ziva she needed say anything about him being right about the wife (but you aren't) so she says "Okay." Nice one, Ziva. Gibbs arrives and tells DiNozzo to get into the driver's seat. Not knowing why, but doing so, DiNozzo gets in, but the seat is too far forward and it hasn't been moved since the murder. Gibbs then tells them about the footage showing the car on the street and how it had been moved to the drive. And he tells them to pull the financial records for Sara's second husband.

We then see Rachael in the garage calling out to Sara that she got her text. The door opens and there are Gibbs and DiNozzo - it was the latter who sent the text. Gibbs shows her the thermos flask they found in her friend's dustbin and says how everyone at the party must have been too drunk to see her leave and her prints are on it. And she bought the hose and tape with Sara's credit card.She tried to frame her step-mother for her step-father's murder; she took him a drink and he drank it.

She tries to deny it saying Korby and Sara are all she has; but they 'remind' her about her trust fund; the one her father left her, in trust with Sara until she was 25. And then it's said that had Sara gone to jail Rachael could have got it earlier than that - is that likely? I guess it depends on the wording of the fund; I can see it if Sara had died, but in prison? She'd get a quarter of a million from that, plus a quarter of a million from Korby's life assurance. She then complains about her step-parents saying how Korby was a juvenile delinquent and how Sara would marry anything in uniform and how she uses men and had used her father. DiNozzo cuffs her and she asks about the fund - they affirm she'll get it when she's 25.

DiNozzo: "It's gonna go a long way in the prison gift shop."

Okay, so the whole car thing. Who was in it when it was on the street? And how did it get onto the driveway? No one could have been sitting in it as it was and couldn't have driven it. Who moved it to the drive? Did Rachael after she'd fed him the liquid nitrogen? And then move the seat into the position it was? Why did Korby get into the car like that if he got in himself? The whole thing about the car totally confused me and while I can see that Gibbs saw something because of the position of Korby's body and how far forward the seat was, it doesn't actually add up as to how it got from street to driveway, how and why Korby was in it with the seat in that position.

We then have the final scene. McGee arrives and Ziva hands him coffee and he smiles. He sits down and starts to type and foam comes up from out of his keyboard and he says: "Abby." At that moment DiNozzo arrives and says how much he loves pranks and how Halloween is is favourite holiday (but at the beginning you hated it). Although I can easily buy this, for DiNozzo Halloween must be a wonderful, superb time as he does indeed love his pranks. We then learn he won the larceny lottery but that he gave it to charity - an urban youth group - as he won't make a profit from his gut. Now that was a really lovely gesture that he did that.

Ziva then goes over to him and somewhat demurely says the wants to acknowledge her place as junior agent and gives him a cup of coffee, and his as, DiNozzo cuts in with: "Superior in every way." After a second or two, Ziva nods. She begs him not to call her Probie and he says it's done with love (which I'm sure made the DiNozzo/Ziva fen happy for a moment) and he asks what she'll do if he refuses. She says he's the senior field agent and she's entirely at his mercy. He tells her she should be and sips the coffee and grins and . . . His teeth are blue. A really fun way to end the episode, the expert prankster has been caught in a prank.

OVERALL

Not a bad episode overall; an okay one. It wasn't anything special - but at least it had a case for which I am very grateful. It had its plot holes, but it was a real naval case.

Some good banter and nice scenes.

Jimmy! Always good.

A reasonable amount of Ducky.

Some nice ship moments for various ships. (Gibbs/Ducky, Gibbs/McGee, Gibbs/Jimmy, Gibbs/Abby, Gibbs/Ziva, DiNozzo/Ziva).

Irksome things:

DiNozzo a lot of the time *sighs* So sad. I want the DiNozzo the season began with back - please! And again it seems to be totally now that Ziva is back. He was not like this in episodes one and two.

Gibbs being non-Gibbs and his change in the way he interacts.

The whole thing about the Korby's car was just weird and didn't add up.

The fact that the Marine car hadn't been found until two days later seemed weird. Plus, DiNozzo told Singer the valet said the car had been gone all night, but Sara said she'd left the house and returned to the hotel.

Best scenes:

- The pumpkin demonstration.
- Jimmy coming up with the solution re: the flask.
- Gibbs and Ducky in Autopsy.
- Gibbs giving the field team the cider and seconds later taking it away from them.
- The final one.

Ship of the week:

Gibbs/Ducky

Character of the week:

Jimmy

Actor/Actress of the week:

Brian Dietzen

Storyline: 7:00

Enjoyment: 7.00

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