'NCIS' recap by Donna Kauffman: It's a night of Tony goodness!

We've been on a roll thus far this 12th season. One of the best in recent years. Will tonight's episode continue the Gibbs & Crew fabulosity? Let's jump right in and find out, shall we?

And jump right in we do. We waste no time getting to our murder of the week. In fact, it appears to have already happened before we've even started. We see a blue tarp being dragged into the woods in the wee hours, where upon the body wrapped inside is rolled out and dumped, face up. We get a close-up of an RMA class ring, then we get a lot of face time looking into sightless eyes, then it's daybreak and a guy with a backpack is motioning cops over to where the dead body lies, more eyes eerily open … and enough with that already, Show! They mercifully agree as we pop directly into our happening theme song and opening credits!

We're in the Special Agent Bullpen with Tony and McGee already hard at work as Bishop and hubby, Jake Malloy, come strolling in, gym clothes on, totes slung over shoulders. Ooh, could this be the episode where we find out that Mr. Malloy isn't simply some NSA analyst? I don't know. What I do know is, Bishop and Malloy talk about how they've been taking couples classes to help keep their marriage strong. First, it was couples massage and now couples yoga, both of which get the stankface from Bishop. So they've decided to take a break from couples classes and instead want to take McGee and Tony out to dinner so Malloy can get to know her teammates. Tony is skeptical, then laughs when Malloy adds that he plans to ask Gibbs to join in, too. He reminds them that their boss hasn't exactly been full of warmth and fun of late, what with the ex-wife dying and a terrorist still after him and all. McGee says there is no way he'll agree to be there, as (natch) Gibbs strolls in and says, "Already have. Expecting you to be there." While Tony and McGee stammer their instant RSVPs, Gibbs rounds the team up to go look into those unseeing eyes and the body of the Marine that goes with them, still parked on the forest floor.

Frivolity time is over as we're back on the ring close-up as McGee tells us our unseeing, ring-wearing Marine is only 19, still has his wallet, watch and cash, but no cell phone. Ducky arrives, grousing about the early hour and the rugged terrain, wishing Jimmy wasn't on maternity leave. He unzips the dead Marine's jacket, only to discover a victim covered in blood with multiple wounds, only no blood on his back. I know all this only because he tells me so, given the moment he started to reveal gory body trauma, I shifted my gaze to my computer screen and kept it there. Yes, I am a gore wuss with a shallow gag reflex. Trust me when I say it's better this way for all of us.

Gibbs notes a drag trail of blood, as Ducky reads the Latin inscription on the ring, which Tony translates to "Truth, Valor, Duty." Ducky is surprised at his knowledge, but Tony tells us it's only because it's the motto of Remington Military Academy, the last prep school he went to. As McGee ruminates over the joy he'd get in seeing Tony in uniform, Tony discovers our dead Marine has something clutched in his hand. It's a photo, but so soaked with blood it's unreadable.

Back from commercial, Tony and Bishop are tracking the blood trail through the woods, while our probie does a little probing into Tony's military school background. He tells her it was Senior's "hail Mary" after Tony was kicked out of six boarding schools in four years. The convo ends when Tony finds the blue tarp, or what's left of it, in the remains of a fire. Bishop finds tire tracks, leading them to surmise someone took the fire road in, dumped the body, tried to burn the evidence.

Back in Ducky's Digs, he's reminiscing with our mercifully closed-eyed Marine corpse about his love for his Latin classes back in ye olde school days of yore. Yore and gore, that's our Ducky! In comes Gibbs for his report. Ducky tells us our Young Dead Marine was stabbed 20 times, mostly in the upper abs, but it was a cut to the carotid artery in the neck that killed him. Murder weapon was a straight-edged blade, six inches. Left a distinctive mark in a few places, possibly from the hilt, which Abby is looking into. He also notes there were no defensive wounds on the hands, meaning someone caught him by surprise to do what they did, given his training. Ducky surmises most likely by someone he knew.

We shift to the bullpen and the Screen of All Knowing. Our YDM was on scholarship to RMA, top of his class, joined the Marines three days after his graduation, and was a top student there as well. Due to ship out of Norfolk, but five days previous he received a call on his cell. Cleaned out his bank account, went UA (unexcused absence), didn't use his phone or credit cards after that. Bishop has traced the last call he received, which was from a house phone at one of the RMA dorms. Gibbs sends Bishop and Tony to go to RMA and do some digging, only to have Tony go all, "Do you really need both of us up there, boss, all the way in Rhode Island?" This prompts Gibbs to go off the Gibbsian reservation (my favorite kinds of Gibbs forays) as he remarks that if Tony is so bothered by returning to his alma mater, hey, let's go grab a cup of coffee, hash it out. Heh. Alarmed, Tony makes it clear he needs no hashing, coffee fueled or otherwise. Which … leaves him on the road to Rhode Island. Just as Gibbs planned.

We cut to McGee strolling into Abby Lab, where she cuts off whatever he came for, telling him she has no time for chitchat, then runs down the dizzying list of all the various tasks she has yet to perform, only to have McGee inform her he came to offer his help. He helps dab blood off the photo, ruminating that if it takes long enough, he can get out of dinner with Bishop and Malloy, then stutters as he realizes that Abby might be insulted that she wasn't invited. She assures him that she and Bert (yay! Park Police Hottie is still on the scene!) spend plenty of time with the former NSA couple, they even took a class together. "Please tell me it wasn't couples massage." She merely smiles and tells him to keep dabbing. Heh. And potentially ew.

We shift to Bishop and Tony on the road to RI, driving in the rain, as the cleaned-up photo comes through on Bishop's phone. It's a young woman in an RMA uniform. They'll get the school to confirm the identity. Bishop asks if he's nervous about going back, and he informs her he's a grown man. "Takes a little bit more than a visit to my old school to make me nervous." Yet, as he pulls through the gates, he goes into flashback about his initial arrival at RMA, as his academy employee driver tells him he might be the first cadet to get limo service from the train station. (Also? I love the actor playing his driver! Nice to see ya, Steve Harris!) As they get out, driver quotes a line from The Godfather, only to have Tony give him a blank look. He tells him it's a classic line, but Tony just shrugs. Ahh! Are we to finally learn the history of Tony's love of movies? Driver escorts him to his room, tells him the first night is the hardest and if needed, he's just down the hall. As one would expect, Tony tells him to back off, buddy. He's swiftly informed he's not buddy. He's Mr. Tanner. And from now on, Tony is Cadet DiNozzo. Way to make friends and influence folks there, Young Tony.

We shift to current day as Tony and Bishop enter the academy only to be happily greeted by Mr. Tanner. (As "Anthony freaking DiNozzo." Heh.) Whew! I thought maybe the backstory was going to contain some sad story about Tanner's demise making Young Tony into a man. Glad to see I was wrong. Tony calls him Coach, but he asks to be called Gerald, and after hearing their NCIS creds, he tells Bishop he always knew DiNozzo would do him proud. Tony asks Coach about the photo. He names the girl, but tells them they can't talk to her, seeing as she's dead. Ruh roh.

Coach Gerald tells them that our Dead Female Cadet was a Dean's List student — just like DiNozzo — on track to be their first female valedictorian. We learn that DFC's behavior recently changed. She became withdrawn, dropped out of sports, grades lagged, then a fellow cadet found her dead in her room, OD'd on pills. When asked if they didn't see the signs, Coach G says most of the students are at RMA because they were in some kind of trouble. The academy hopes to turn them around, but it doesn't always work.

Coach G goes on to say that our YDM was also a class leader, and that the dead female cadet was one of 40 cadets under his command his last year in school. Tony gives him the "come on" look and reminds him the guy died with her photo clutched in his hand. Surely she was more to him than his other 39 cadets. Coach says that the school has been co-ed since '95, however, dating amongst the ranks was strictly forbidden. Tony asks if YDM had come back to campus recently. Coach says not that he's aware of.

We shift to Abby sticking knives in a gelatinous dummy as Gibbs comes in and comments, "Remind me never to piss you off." Heh. He asks if she's having any luck. She tells him no luck narrowing down the knife, so he asks about tracing YDM's movements before he died, and she says his cell phone was off. This is followed by one of my favorite Gibbs comments of the season: "Then, uh, can we hack into his … GPS REM … thingie? And back trace his … memory deal?" Oh, Gibbs. You're so cute when you try to be hip. Abby scrunches up her face and gently explains, "None of those things … are … things." She mumbles that one of them is a band (HA!) and that when a phone is off, it's off, but as she keeps muttering, Gibbs gets that "See? I knew you'd figure it out" look in his baby blues. And, indeed, she does. She remotely turns the phone back on so she can track its "memory deal" and in comes McGee to tell Gibbs that they found out which cadet made the call to YDM. He used a calling card given to cadets, and they traced it to the user. Abby succeeds in tracking YDM's phone, to an address in Richmond, Virginia. All kinds of leads popping up. But we're not even at the halfway mark, so … don't get too excited.

Coach G tells Tony and Bishop that the guy who made the call is the current Senior Cadet, which means he's the highest-ranking cadet on campus as, we recall, was YDM. Bishop asks if Tony was Senior Cadet, but Coach tells her he was too busy "shakin' and bakin'" on the basketball court, but that he was a flag bearer. Coach tells them where they can find the Senior Cadet and begs off for a faculty meeting. He wants to meet up after, but Tony tells him they are heading back. He's sorry for that, but exits. I'm really hoping Coach stays a good guy in all this. Bishop spies Tony in a black-and-white photo on the wall, as a flag bearer. She tells him he looked dashing. He smiles, saying it's a prerequisite for flag bearers. Good casting on 17-year-old DiNozzo, by the way.

We're still in the dark about why Tony didn't want to come back, but as Bishop takes a photo of the photo, Tony wanders to the door, and we go to flashback again. He recalls doing morning PT and trying to come to the aid of a fellow cadet known as Piggy who is having issues trying to keep up. Tony tries to help him, only to have his immediate superior jump down Tony's throat and order him to follow command if he knows what's good for him. "Well, one thing's for sure," Tony tells him. "I've never known what's good for me."

Back in current time, Senior Cadet tells Tony he called YDM to tell him about DFC's death, figuring he should know. He hesitates to explain why, but Tony reminds him it's a murder investigation, not code of conduct infractions. SC admits the two dated when YDM was Senior Cadet and continued after his graduation. He says YDM never came back to campus after his graduation, but that the two — the current SC and YDM — stayed close. Bishop gives him her card, then the Senior Cadet turns to Tony and salutes him, saying it's cadets like him who make the school proud. Tony just looks bemused until Bishop urges him to salute back. We get what barely passes as a motion of hand to forehead, then the SC returns to his duties. During this convo, Tony notices a maintenance guy in the background unloading a shovel from the back of a pickup, but he's gone when he finally looks back.

We shift to Gibbs in Richmond, tracking the cell phone. He's led into a residential car garage by the owner, saying he didn't even know it was there until it came on a few hours ago. He says that YDM came to see him, but he didn't know he was UA. He bitches about a new table saw he can't make work right, then explains he was YDM's mentor, an RMA grad himself. Claims it saved his life, made him a man. He went into the corps after graduation, like YDM, then business. He started a scholarship to help give back, picks one kid each year, and YDM was one of his scholarship picks. He says YDM was very upset when he came to see him over his friend's suicide so he tried to guide him. Gibbs asks where he might have gone afterward, but Mentor says he doesn't know. Says YDM's family is gone, that he came from a tough, gang-controlled neighborhood. Said he fought his whole life to get away from there.

We shift to Bishop and Tony, driving back to D.C. as Tony makes her swear not to reveal anything to McGee of what she learned about Tony when he was a cadet. She's surprised, given he was a good cadet who'd obviously earned respect, and asks him why it bothers him. Tony gives her a look, and she says he has to own up to his past, it's part of who he is, he can't duck it, and he's all, "Watch me." Then tells her if she says anything to McGee, he'll spill what song she sings in the shower. At her look of "What the … how do you…?" he tells her, "Cheap motel walls." Heh. He unenthusiastically encourages her to hurry or they'll miss the couples dinner, only to get a call from someone back at RMA telling them they don't know the whole story about YDM and DFC. The caller doesn't want to talk on the phone, wants to meet at a local hardware store, which is back in Rhode Island, natch, just as they are pulling in to D.C. I'm thinking the caller is the maintenance guy.

So, back to Rhode Island they go, as Bishop calls Malloy to let him there won't be a dinner. We see Malloy and Gibbs at a table at Gibbs' diner as Tony is calling Gibbs to update him. Gibbs tells him to follow the case, as Malloy tells his wife the same. He's very nebbish in this ep, and now I'm thinking he's exactly what he says he is. Ah well. We see McGee enter in the back, but when he hears Malloy say, "Well, looks like it's just the two of us," he exits stage right without being seen. Ha! I'm thinking it's nice to have a bit of levity after some of the heavier episodes we've had of late, baby-birthing notwithstanding. Gibbs wants to ask Malloy something. Malloy jokingly asks if it requires top clearance to answer, and Gibbs says, yes, it does, but that it will stay between them. Unfazed, Malloy smiles and waits for the question. Gibbs asks him what he knows about Russian-Palestinian relations. Ahh … going after our Big Bad. Malloy smiles, and leans in …

… But that's all we get as we shift back to Bishop and Tony, sitting on a dark, rain-slicked street, waiting for their contact. Up pulls the pickup and, yep, maintenance guy, who warns them someone could be watching. Tony asks who that would be, then realizes who the maintenance guy is. It's Piggy! He tells Tony no one calls him that anymore, then tells them to get in his truck, that it's not safe. Dun dun dun!

We return from break to find Bishop, Tony and The Man Formerly Known As Piggy descending into what Bishop thinks is a condemned property, but discovers is FormerPiggy's home. Oh. And ew. He's clearly paranoid, looking out the small basement window, not wanting the lights on. He tells them that DFC was pushed to commit suicide by something called Honor Corps. Tony flashes back to the time that same Honor Corps attempted to deliver his punishment for breaking the code of conduct rules. He stands up to them, but before things get interesting, Coach G interrupts and tells the Honor Corps dudes that they'll have to make due without DiNozzo as he has basketball practice. We discover that actually, Tony wasn't on the basketball team. Yet. But he is officially on it as of that moment. Back in current mode, Tony tells FPiggy he thought Coach G ended Honor Corps, but FP assures him that they've always been around, just quieter, that Tony didn't know because they leave the basketball players alone. Bishop asks FP what happened to DFC. FP tells her that the Honor Corps disciplined her every night for a month before she died. He also tells them that he told YDM the whole story. He said he doesn't know who is in Honor Corps now, but that YDM seemed to know who he was going after. Tony steps forward and tells Travis (FP) that he didn't know what Honor Corps had been doing to him, and Travis says, simply, "You never asked."

Back at HQ, McGee tells Bishop via phone that they have footage showing YDM was on campus the night he died. Bishop asks if anything happened at dinner the night before as she hasn't heard from her hubby, and McGee comes clean that he didn't stick around. He hangs up, then hears a wolf whistle sound over and over and discovers Malloy's phone on Gibbs' desk, ringing as Bishop tries once again to track him down. McGee answers, then asks Bishop why Malloy calls his wife Ellie Belly. Heh. McGee wisely senses Sensei Gibbs is behind him and hangs up without getting an answer. He turns around, all, "What's up, boss?" And Gibbs tells him he found out that DFC filed a stalking report over winter break. Turns out, it's current Senior Cadet.

When Tony and Bishop question him, SC says he pursued her as any assertive, smart, captain of the football team SC kind of guy might, but got the message when he was tossed in a holding cell for his efforts. He said he left her alone after that. Bishop claims he used Honor Corps to punish her instead, and SC starts in on how it's a folk tale, a myth. Only Tony snags the gray armband out of his closet, which he knows from personal experience is the "uniform" of the Honor Corps. SC is all, "She knew the rules, she broke the code," only Tony quietly gets in his face and is all, "You made up a reason. I know guys like you," not buying it for a second. Still in his face, Tony tells him that outside of school, in the real world, yeah, nobody cares about Honor Corps. SC is all about how they can't nail him for DFC's suicide, but they make it clear they're there to nail YDM's killer, and that they know YDM came to RMA after Mr. Assertive, Smart, Captain of the Football Team, SC.

Reality starts to sink in for SC, and he admits that YDM did confront him, was furious and rightfully so. SC admits he pushed DFC too far, made her kill herself. Gosh, SC, ya think? YDM was going to punish him, but Coach G stopped him before he could.

Back at Abby Lab, she's matched tire tracks to a discontinued tire model from the '70s. Turns out, it's a remake of that tire, custom-done for a 1972 Citroen DS. Then we're back at the academy and … aww. Yeah. I knew if he was still alive, then it was going to be a bad story thing instead of a sad story thing. Well, I guess it's both. So, yeah, that Citroen? Belongs to Coach G. He's all fired up that Tony questioned one of his students, and Tony fires right back to open the trunk of his car, or they'll get a warrant to do so. We still have a good chunk of air time left ... so this won't be simple. And maybe a red herring. I hope so. He opens the trunk, and Bishop performs the blood test and there it is … a whole lot of blood. Which is when Tony arrests him for the murder of YDM. Dangit.

Back from commercial, Tony is looking through the window into the interrogation room as Coach G awaits questioning. He flashes back to the night when he tried to hotwire Coach's Citroen, only to be caught in the act. Coach G gives him a speech about not running, about staying, belonging, how he protects his guys so Tony is safe from Honor Corps, but also how he's going to change things, including ending Honor Corps. He tells Tony to take a stand, and he'll stand with him. Now Tony is watching him as Gibbs comes in to stand beside him. "He was a mentor," Tony says. Gibbs asks him if he'd rather Gibbs do the interview, but Tony says no, he's not going to run.

Tony enters the room, tosses photos of our YDM on the table, and wants to know why Coach lied about saying he didn't see him on campus that night. He says he doesn't know how the blood got in his car, that he wanted to end Honor Corps, but RMA is all hung up on its traditions. Tony tells him HC isn't a tradition, and Coach responds that he didn't get to be provost by effecting change. Tony sits, asks him what happened the night YDM confronted him. Coach says he stopped him from beating up the SC and got him into his office, told him that exposing HC would shine a bad light on the school. "At least you had your priorities straight," Tony says, disgusted. Coach tells him he told YDM to step back, they'd work it out. Tony says YDM knew he was lying, whereupon Coach tells him that the school has saved so many kids, Tony included, that doesn't that outweigh the loss of a few lost causes? Tony rubs a hand over his face, tells him that DFC wasn't a lost cause, that none of them were, they were just kids who needed help. Just like him. Coach denies killing YDM, stands by not knowing how the blood got in his car. He reminds Tony that his car is always in the same spot, and everyone knows where the spare key is, which, in flashback, we learn, includes Tony. Coach beseeches him, Does Tony really think he'd do such a thing? Tony says he left RMA a long time ago, doesn't talk about it, because it's not who he is. But that he still had hope, that the code — truth, valor, duty — meant something. "But that's gone now," he tells Coach. Along with DFC. And YDM.

We shift to Abby Lab who finds the spare key in the Citroen, along with YDM's fingerprints all over the steering wheel. Seems YDM took the car and the killer brought it back. So … who is the killer? Not Coach. Not SC. Who? And then Abby tells Gibbs she didn't find other DNA, but she did find paraffin wax, and wonders if anyone they've come across was a carpenter. Ruh roh. So, now we know. Gibbs asks for surveillance footage from the bus station after YDM died, seeing as the killer would need a way home. Yep, it's Mr. Mentor.

We shift to Gibbs entering Mentor's garage, who makes a lame attempt at pretending he doesn't know why Gibbs is there, but once Gibbs puts the kibosh on that, Mentor says he won't give him any trouble. Gibbs wraps up the murder weapon as Mentor continues. Turns out, he has no wife, no kids, RMA was his legacy, and he couldn't let YDM taint that by exposing Honor Corps. "Even if the legacy is broken?" Gibbs asks. Mentor persists that Honor Corps works, weeds out the weak, sets a standard, pushes the others to excel. That it made a man out of him, taught him to respect truth, valor, and duty, and that YDM betrayed that. Really? Just how screwed up (insert other word of choice) is that thinking? Seems to me YDM was standing up for all three. Gibbs says, No, YDM lived up to that motto. "You betrayed him." You tell him, Gibbs.

Back at HQ, Tony runs into Coach as he's leaving. He pauses, tells Tony he was right, that he let him down, all the kids down. He tells him that, for what it's worth, he is proud of the man Tony has become, then walks to the elevator. Tony exhales a deep breath, but simply walks back to his desk. Bishop asks him if he's OK and gets the stock "never better" response. She tells him she has something for him. She hands him the photo she took of him as a flag bearer. He tells her it's the past, but she counters that it's his past, and it's a good one. He says he has a tricky relationship with the past. He says he either buries it, or fixates on it. That he's still working out the kinks. And if you're like me, your thoughts immediately go to Ziva. Sigh. Bishop smiles and tells him that whatever happened in his past makes him the awesome guy he is today, which gets her a blushing smile. And then in strolls Malloy. He tells Bishop he couldn't call because he was in closed-door NSA meetings all day. He says he left the phone in the diner and Gibbs said he'd keep it for him. She apologizes for him having to sit through dinner with Gibbs, only Malloy is all perky about how great it was, how easy Gibbs is to talk to. Bishop and Tony look confused by this. Heh. She wants to know what they talked about, but he's all, "What happens in the diner, stays in the diner." The Marrieds take their leave, and Tony looks back down at the photo, then tacks it up to his bulletin board. Then he calls Travis, offers to meet him halfway in New Jersey for dinner, to catch up. It's a date. Fade to black.

Great ep! So yes, the season 12 goodness, it continues.

Let's continue with some giveaway goodness, shall we? Thanks to all who jumped at the chance to win a copy of the first two books in my Blueberry Cove series. You're a jumpy bunch and I like that about you! Winners this week are: for Pelican Point, it's Jennifer Brown and Jeannie Devereaux! For Half Moon Harbor: L Lam and Robin Driscoll! Congratulations! Winners, e-mail me at dmkauffman1@gmail.com with an address and your books will go out to you!

Are you as grabby as you are jumpy? Well, I hope so! What's up for grabs this week, you ask? How about a copy of my newest release, Sandpiper Island, and some fabulous swag from Cotton Thistle to go with? Designer Joyce Taber created an exclusive bookmark charm for this release, as well as the gorgeous goodies for the other books in the Blueberry Cove collection. (Seriously, go check them out!) Want in? Drop an e-mail to dmkauffman1@gmail.com with "I love swag & books set in coastal Maine!" in the subject line. (The "especially if I don't have to drive there right now" part is a given. : ) ) I'll announce the winner here in next week's recap! If you want to dish about tonight's episode, please do! I'm a dishy sort. But you probably got that already.

In the meantime, for all the current fun, frivolity and additional chances to win cool stuff, head on over to my Facebook Fan Page and join on in!