'NCIS' Season 10, Episode 15: 'Hereafter' Recap

‘NCIS’, season 10, episode 15, ‘Hereafter’

On a training course, a group of Marines compete to finish first. The man, Lance Corporal Gabe Crowe, in the lead climbs the wall, his nose begins to bleed, and he falls down dead.

In the office, DiNozzo complains about Deputy Director Jerome Craig. Ziva and McGee tell him he’s his boss, but DiNozzo says that Vance is his boss. Gibbs arrives with their new case. Dead marine at Quantico.

At his home, the still-mourning Vance remembers the night his wife was killed. He goes through her files and finds a bank statement and a set of keys to a safety deposit box. His kids see him, and offer to help, but he declines. They ask him if he’s going to go back to work.

On the obstacle course, no one reports knowing what happened. McGee identifies him as Lance Corporal Gabe Crowe, 23. Ducky doesn’t think the fall killed him, and points out defensive wounds, strange cuts, and an injury to the head.

In the bank, Vance can’t access his wife’s account. He isn’t an authorizes signer on the account. He needs his wife’s signature to close the account. But he does have access to the safety deposit box. Inside is their marriage certificate, legal documents, jewelry, and a wad of money.

In the office, they determine Crowe seemed anxious. His mother reported that he sounded ‘agitated’ the last they spoke. Private David Holland from the base comes to talk to Gibbs. He says Crowe was involved in illegal fighting for money. Holland saw him sneak off base the night before his death and come back beat up.

Vance talks to his wife’s lawyer, asking why she had documents to separate their property. The lawyer says he can’t discuss it, despite her death. Vance leaves, and makes a call arranging to have his kids picked up from school.

In the morgue, Ducky determines the cause of death to be a cerebral hemorrhage, caused by repeated blows to the head. He also finds several wounds, but one is fresh. Ducky found plastic embedded in it. He also noticed his fingernails were split, likely from defense.

Gibbs expresses his concern over Vance to Ducky.

McGee finds videos of the illegal fights, and they determine the location to be Williams Fruit Company. Deputy Director Craig tells Gibbs he needs something to tell the base commander, when Vance walks in, saying he’s ready to work. But not as Director. As an agent. Gibbs makes sure he’s ready for it, and Vance confirms he is.

DiNozzo and Gibbs visit the fruit company and talk to the owner. He claims ignorance, but recognizes the location in the video. And the man. Chucky Bang. Gibbs and DiNozzo bring him in for questioning.

Chucky recognizes Crowe, but says he hasn’t seen him in 3 months. He says he didn’t do it, and he was in the ER last night. He says Crowe had quit fighting anyway.

DiNozzo is able to confirm Chucky’s alibi when Vance says that Holland has a history of violence, and has been written up twice for fighting with Crowe, the most recent incident being 3 days before he died. They also confirm that Holland called for the ambulance, but he waited 30 minutes after Crowe was dead.

Vance and Gibbs go to the base and pick up Holland. In interrogation, he says that the reports are wrong, and he’d never fight one of his brothers. He said he waited to call the ambulance because he was scared. Gibbs asks to see his arms, and there are no scratch marks or defensive wounds.

Gibbs pays Abby a visit. She determines that Crowe was stabbed by something made from fiberglass. A jagged tool of sorts. She also determines that he did his own stitches, repeatedly. She questions how he kept getting injured in the same spot, and stitching it up himself over and over again.

Gibbs has McGee search Holland’s records for any medical training. Vance shows up and says he sent DiNozzo and Ziva to watch his kids. Gibbs tells Vance to go home and get some rest, but he doesn’t. Deputy Director Craig questions Gibbs’ judgment and suggests Vance might not be ready to come back, but Gibbs assures him he just needs time.

DiNozzo and Ziva babysit his kids, DiNozzo obviously uncomfortable around kids.

Gibbs finds Vance in the break room, and Vance tells Gibbs about his wife’s paperwork he found. Gibbs says that digging around is never good. Vance wants answers. Gibbs reassures him that his wife loved him and tells him to go home and hug his kids, and not to come back until he’s ready to be there.

McGee shows Gibbs that Holland and Crowe had a lot of text correspondences, and they seemed hostile. They also find that Holland gained access to the weapons cache the night that Crowe died.

Vance returns home to find DiNozzo and Ziva chasing the kids around, laughing. Ziva expresses her guilt over his wife’s death, and had it not been for her father, she’d still be alive. Vance tells her not to worry. He thanks DiNozzo and Ziva and sends them back.

On base, Gibbs and McGee go to pick up Holland, but find him dead in his bathroom.

Ducky determines that Holland was beaten similar to Crowe, but not as bad. He bled to death when his spleen ruptured after a beating. He also had a similar puncture wound to that of Crowe. Gibbs has McGee check the medical records and finds 3 other Marines with identical injuries.

Gibbs has him check the CO, and find that this is Jonah Ellis’ first command since returning from Afghanistan. Ellis’ brother was captured, tortured, and killed there. The photos from the scene reveal identical injuries to that of the victims. Ducky believes it to be emotional transference.

Vance and Gibbs visit the base to question Ellis, but his unit backs him up. He says that he was just preparing his men for the hell they are going to face overseas. He didn’t want a repeat of what happened to his brother.

Back at the office, Vance pays Deputy Director Craig a visit and says he’ll be in touch.

Vance pays Gibbs a visit in his basement. Gibbs tells Vance that his wife increased life insurance policies on him after he went overseas, worried he wouldn’t return. He tells Vance that Vance’s wife was just worried after the attacks at NCIS 9 months ago, and that she was trying to prepare for life without him just in case.

Gibbs urges Vance to get better for his kids. And Gibbs says if Vance’s wife told him what she was doing, then Vance would have left the job he loved. Vance thanks him.