On Episode 9 of “NCIS,” The team investigates a curious case of a Navy officer, who is on a mission to clear his name in the murder of his ex-girlfriend. Elsewhere, Ellie Bishop’s (Emily Wickersham) marriage falls apart, and her colleagues try to support her during the difficult time.

Navy petty officer Kyle Friedgen (guest star Kelly Blatz) is in the middle of a controversial murder trial. He has been accused of brutally killing his ex-girlfriend, Joy Vanatter.

Due to a technical mistake in the warrant that was used to search his car, major evidence against him is dismissed. A syringe containing the victim’s DNA that was found in his car, was deemed inadmissible in court. He is set free, but due to the very public trial, his life is ruined. All of his fellow Navy officers believe him to be guilty. The worst part is that his pregnant wife left him.

He and his lawyer approach Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon) and he volunteers to be arrested and investigated by the NCIS. Friedman is hopeful that the NCIS will look at other suspects instead of the way that the Baltimore police treated him as guilty, right from the beginning of the investigation.

Gibbs is enraged when he finds out that Friedman lied about seeing the victim just days before the murder. It turns out that Vanratter was blackmailing him for money. However, he insists that he paid her off to keep her away from his wife, but that doesn’t mean that he killed her.

A little bit of forensics analysis determined that the syringe found in his car, and one from a very old case, were both planted. Vanratter was arrested in a drug bust several years ago, and the syringe that was found in that case was recently replaced with a new one, while it is sitting in the evidence archives. The common factor between both of Vanratter’s cases is that trial attorney Alan Wyner was handling both of them.

The team finds out that he has been having an affair with the victim and that he decides to shut her up. To cover up his crime, he chose officer Friedman to be his fall guy. The NCIS team clears the Navy officer’s name and arrests Wyner.

With the case closed, a different kind of investigation is brewing at the NCIS office. Bishop is seeing some changes in her husband, Jake. She feels like he has been distant and that they have not been spending enough time together.

She makes a conscious effort to spend more time with him, but ends up spotting him at their favourite restaurant with a woman called Taylor Matthews. She works for internal affairs and Bishop knows that she has been working with Jake in the past.

She initially suspects a possible affair, but immediately dismisses the idea. She comes to the conclusion that her husband is facing some trouble at work. Because he is involved with some highly classified cases, she knows why he can’t tell her everything that’s going on.

She takes time off work to try to talk to him and offer her support. She tells him that she knows something is going on at work and that he can open up to her. Unfortunately, he does come clean and it isn’t what she wants to hear. Jake tells her that there is nothing wrong at work, but he is in fact having an affair with Taylor.

Bishop is devastated. Gibbs, McGee and DiNozzo are all very concerned about her. When Jake tries to see her at the office, the NCIS guys all come to her defense. She decides to head home to Oklahoma for the Thanksgiving holidays, just to get away from him and the situation.

Catch the “NCIS” Thanksgiving special on Tuesday, Nov. 24, at 8:00 pm ET on CBS.

Contact the writer at feedback@ibtimes.com.au or leave a comment below.

RELATED STORIES