'NCIS': DiNozzo Jr. and Sr. face off

We're back after a two-week break and the show is rewarding our patience with something fun. Yep, DiNozzo Senior is back and you know that spells the most delicious kind of trouble. So let's not waste any time diving in to the Crime of the Week goodness, shall we?

We open after hours in a Department of the Navy building, with the resident janitor giving his young son mopping tips and a reminder to take pride in his work. The friendly father-son banter is interrupted by a crashing sound in one of the offices. Janitor sends son to a back office to call security while he investigates. We hear a distant door slam as Janitor comes to the only open door in an adjacent hall, and finds a Navy lieutenant dead on the floor amidst a pile of broken coffee table glass.

Cue opening credits and amazing theme song!

Very Special Agent Tony DiNozzo trots into the Special Agent bullpen, all set to do the last bit of work and clock out. He shares his joy of being caught up on his paperwork and the hot, bread-baking date he has with ATF Agent Zoe later that evening. "I'm evolving," he crows. And, well, we all know where that's going. Yep, enter Gibbs with news of the dead Navy lieutenant. As Tony puts Operation Sourdough on hold, we learn the Navy building in question is the DLA. The Defense Logistics Agency. Oh goodie, something new!

Shift to the scene of the murder. Tim tells us our Dead Louie was an aide to a vice admiral, and it's her office he's gotten all messy with brain matter and blood and all. That won't look good on his annual employee report. Gibbs wants to talk to the admiral, and is told she didn't respond to phone calls, so they've sent an agent to her home to collect her. Tony comes in and says the janitor's son saw a blue sedan pulling out from the office window and got a partial plate. And, in walks Ducky with a report on fellow medical examiner Palmer's baby daughter, who has a low-grade fever. He tells Gibbs his thoughts have been scattered by "grandfatherly worries" and when Gibbs questions that last part, we find out that when Baby Victoria is old enough to talk, she'll be calling him Grandducky. HA!

Ducky tells us Dead Louie died from blunt-force trauma to the head which sent him onto the glass coffee table. McGee says the computer hasn't been touched in five days, so it wasn't about stealing digital information and Tony confirms there was no signs of robbery as a motive either. Bishop calls Rule 20 — always look under — into play and finds a small white box wrapped in ribbon under the office chair. "Rule 20. Rarely quoted, widely interpreted." That from Tony. Heh. Inside is a velvet box containing a fancy silver pen. Gibbs directs her to get it in for processing, then turns to Tony, saying he knows Tony has worked late for two weeks, and that the paperwork that kept him late was his own fault. Tony agrees with both points. Then Gibbs adds, "Go home. Evolve. Start fresh in the morning." HA! I love it when Gibbs gets all fatherly. Maybe it was the Grandducky moment that softened him up.

We have Tony calling Zoe to tell her Operation Sourdough is back on, and they're still chatting as he enters his apartment, turns on the lights … and finds Senior sitting on his couch, garbed surprisingly casually in black sweats, his feet bare. Have we ever seen the normally dashing elder DiNozzo so scruffy? Blues are playing, he's drinking. He tells his son that the building manager let him in. "Don't worry, I didn't sleep with her." Our amusement is brief because Senior looks like hell. Tony realizes his father is listening to his own "break-up mix" — heh — then finds out that his father's wedding is off, what with the bride-to-be leaving him and all. Yeah, Operation Evolving Through Sourdough? Indefinitely postponed. Senior always did have excellent timing.

Back in the bullpen, Tony is telling McGee and Bishop about his dad and the runaway bride, and Bishop learns that Senior isn't so much a businessman as a high-dollar con man. We also learn those weren't sweats Senior was wearing, but silk pajamas. That's more like it! McGee thinks they just need to give Senior a task to distract him from his misery, like when McGee had Tony come help him with his Tron wallpaper when Ziva went overseas. This conversation ends abruptly with the arrival of Gibbs and we go to the Screen of All Knowing, and a run-down on Dead Louie. The blue sedan seen leaving the premises turns out to have been loaded with the kind of technology that disabled various electronic roadblocks between entry to the grounds and the vice admiral's office. The vice admiral deals with managing supplies to naval warships, so Dead Louie would also have had access to that kind of information. The admiral is presently on board a ship docked in Florida and will be calling in. Dead Louie had no obvious enemies, and his girlfriend is now waiting in the conference room.

McGee and Bishop take off on follow-up missions, leaving Gibbs and Tony in the bullpen as Tony fields a call from Senior. He's hoping Tony can bring him some nice paper so he can write a please-come-back-to-me note to Runaway Bride. Tony mouths to Gibbs that it's his dad, and Gibbs tells him to give Senior an activity. Ha. On the spur, Tony tells Senior he needs his … um … tub caulked. Yeah, that's it! Gibbs shakes his head, as do we, and as does Senior. Handyman skills aren't exactly his strong suit. Not even his silk pajama suit. But, desperate times … Senior says he can handle it. This should be interesting.

In the conference room we learn the girlfriend of four months was a foster kid and Dead Louie had no family, so they bonded quickly. She suspects something work related was going on but doesn't know what. She fears because DL has no family, he will fall through the cracks, so makes it clear she'll be standing up for him. McGee and Bishop reassure her they're on it. We shift to the call from the admiral to Gibbs in MTAC. She tells him she's in Florida to congratulate a friend on a new commission and that the pen was a gift she'd forgotten and asked Dead L to pick up and bring with him. He was supposed to join the admiral that morning. She's feeling guilt for DL's death.

Cut to Abby Lab where Abs is making Senior a second pair of pajama pants. With a lovely skull pattern I'm sure the senior DiNozzo will rock. They get a smile from Gibbs at any rate. Abby gives Gibbs her crime scene report. Turns out it's all pretty much what it seems … until you look at the painting on the wall. On loan from the Navy's art collection, the blood spatter from our DL mysteriously has spattered right up to the edge of, but not on, the painting. She's also determined that for a painting done in 1962, the paint isn't nearly that old, and the gallery tag on the back has been aged with tea. It's a forgery. So, the break-in was to steal the painting. Yoo hoo, Senior! I think we've found the perfect distraction for our elder con man. This wins Abby a kiss on the cheek and a suggestion that she make another pair of those snazzy skull pj's for the Grand Duck. Ha!

As the team essentially reiterates what we already know in front of the Screen of All Knowing, in strolls a pretty ragged-looking Senior, who has only managed to don a coat over his silk pj's. He assures Tony the tub caulking is all done. He used Tony's spare cash to hire a kid at the hardware store to do it. Heh. Spare cash he found in Tony's "moisturizer drawer." Double heh! As they discuss what Senior should do next, lo and behold, he notices the painting … and we're off and running! Apparently a magazine article on the painter increased the worth of his work, making the stolen painting a valuable commodity. Senior tells them that during one of his European tours he got quite a peek at the underground art world and offers to give them a tutorial. Tony tries to circumvent this, but Gibbs intervenes and Senior is on the team!

We come back from commercial to find Senior once again nattily attired and giving the team — minus Tony, who arrives late — the down low on the underground art scene. Tony is a bit disturbed to see items from his desk now set up in front of Senior like a makeshift command station in the conference room. Back to his charming self, Senior says they just need to put someone into the game who offers more for the painting than whatever the current buyer is offering. Senior has put "feelers" out saying he's interested in buying that particular painting. The art thief will "come to your papa" Senior tells an increasingly alarmed Tony, who was thisclose to getting his dad into a waiting cab. McGee tells Tony no cab needed as Senior will be working with him. They're off to see an art forger pal of his to see if they can get any leads from showing him the forged painting.

Down in Ducky's Digs we have DL on the table as we get an art lesson on the painting from Grandducky. He tells Gibbs the murder weapon had a rounded edge to it, then adds to DL's history. Turns out DL was in a bad car accident as a child, an accident which killed his parents and sister. He's incensed that after overcoming all of that, DL was killed for a painting that was meant to inspire goodness, not greed.

Over at the art forgers, Senior tells McGee that his business associates don't know his son is a federal agent. He tells them his son is a catalog model. Ha! Also, he'll be telling his flamboyant forger pal that McGee is his son. Um … K. Flamboyant Forger is all thrilled to meet the famous model, and asks McGee to strike a catalog pose. Love! With some urging McGee unleashes his Blue Steel, which is more, uh, Blue Magnesium, but FlamForger is happy with it. Our FF reveals he's not so much in demand anymore, and says the phony gallery tag was actually from a template he created back in the day. There is brief alarm over the fact that the painting is in a police evidence bag. McGee quickly covers that he bought it online to preserve the evidence, because the man who painted it stole his model girlfriend. McGee wants to find him, and hurt him. So violent, Zoolander. A commiserating FF is on board with that plan. Oh boy.

Back in the bullpen, Palmer comes in, baby is fine, parents are exhausted, especially dad who is all cried out with the stress of it all. Tony commiserates as he brings Palmer up to speed on the case and his dad's involvement. "Pretty much torture." He wants to believe Senior is changing and they're getting closer, but seeing him in con man mode reminds Tony it could all be a scam. Palmer tells him that fatherhood is hard and to cut Senior some slack, talk to him. Tony is all, "No, we can't talk until he's been here two days and screwed up something huge." But, you know, good talk. He tells Palmer he's his hero for having it all and keeping it together, then heads out to follow up on the blue sedan, leaving a stuttering Palmer in his wake.

Next up is the alley where Gibbs has the blue sedan plates, recovered from the cart of a homeless guy, but no car. Homeless guy found them in the dumpster where the killer tossed them, leading Tony to cringe, assuming he's the on-duty dumpster diver. Much to his relief, Bishop pops up from the dumpster wielding the frame from the original painting. She dives back in and Tony thanks Gibbs for getting them a probie. Heh. She unearths a long-handled flashlight. The round-edged murder weapon we presume. Back at the lab, Abby proves it, but no hits on the fingerprints. However, she does find a second blood type on the frame in addition to DL's. Turns out the second blood profile belongs to a dead CIA agent. The plot thickens!

Back from commercial we're in the bullpen with Tony and Bishop as Tony muses on the effect that prolonged exposure to Senior might be having on McGee. At the Screen of All Knowing, Bishop updates Gibbs on the dead CIA agent who was killed overseas while undercover infiltrating a tech-savvy terrorist group. The same kind of tech-savvy stuff used to bypass the electronics to get into the DLA building. As it turns out, the same painting was hanging in the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad when our dead CIA guy was there. Bad luck painting! Gibbs and Bishop head off to talk to Dead CIA's superior. Back at Tony's place, Senior and McGee come in, congratulating themselves on their good teamwork. As they check Senior's e-mails to see if there are any bites on his painting feeler, Senior confides that he's wanted his whole life to make his son proud of him, and he thought his marriage to Runaway Bride was going to do that. With the wedding off, it's still an elusive goal. McGee tells a pining Senior that maybe if he promises RB he won't pull cons anymore, she'd forgive him and come back. Senior is confused, and wonders why RB thinks he's conning someone. McGee stutters, realizing Senior isn't self-admitting his scam lifestyle, and tries, badly, to redirect the conversation. Senior tells him that RB left because she met a wealthy architect, then looks crushed thinking his son tells people his dad is a con man. McGee exits stage left, leaving us all to ponder the inevitable showdown this little convo is going to lead them all toward.

We shift to Gibbs and Bishop, meeting up with Dead CIA's boss. They learn DC's last mission was to go in to the U.S. Embassy with the terrorist group to plant some kind of device there. DC managed to alert his boss, but his mission mates realized what he was up to and killed him. The leader of that group is still at large and no devices were found in the embassy afterward. They don't know what type of technology was going to be planted, but given none was found, DC was credited with thwarting the mission. His boss has his doubts about that. Back at Abby Lab, she confirms those doubts. They did plant a bug, a voice-activated recording device "smaller than a hamster's bowtie." Heh. It can't be remotely accessed, though, it has to be physically retrieved. Abby is able to determine that the location of the bug was where the painting was hanging. It's not on the frame she now has in evidence nor does it look like it was ever on the frame, so it must still be with the painting somehow. She also found out the painting hung in the secretary of Defense's office for two months, so the recording device could have all kinds of sensitive information on it.

Gibbs sends Tony and McGee back to the forger's loft to see what he's found, leading to at least one of the convo's we knew was coming. Tony is amused to find out that Senior tells folks his son is a model, and even more amused when he finds out McGee posed as Senior's son, to think that the forger assumes McGee is a model. He prods a quieter-than-usual McGee, and here comes the other convo we knew was coming. McGee tells Tony about his nice chat with Senior that led to the whole con man thing. Tony isn't upset about the con man part, he's upset that McGee had a nice talk with Senior after only an hour together, when it takes him at least two days to get to that part. FF enters and interrupts, wonders if Tony — who introduces himself as Timothy McGeekerson — is a fellow model. "No, just a nerd." Heh. FF tells them he couldn't find anything, as Tony digs a slip of paper with his name/McGee's cellphone number on it out of the trash. He confronts FF, special agent style, trades a few "and he bought you as a model?" barbs with McGee, all while telling FF to not even think about moving. They realize FF knew all along who the artist was. Turns out the painting was done by a woman FF had helped to train. A woman who just happens to be DL's foster-care-kid girlfriend! Ruh roh. The two race back to Tony's apartment as McGee gets confirmation that GF's phone pinged in that exact area. They come in to find two wine glasses, one with lipstick on the rim … and no Senior. No GF. Fade to black and white.

Back in the special agent bullpen of orangey goodness, Gibbs gets an update on GF and her global art gallery and multiple e-mail accounts/names background. Seems she steals from the galleries she's worked for, swapping out the real paintings with her fakes. We also learn they can't track Senior because he left his cellphone at the apartment and GF has turned hers off. Abby rushes in all five-Gibbsing and tells the team she's matched a fingerprint from the wineglass to the one on the murder weapon, upping Tony's concern for his dad's safety. McGee finds the e-mails between GF and the wannabe painting owner, which were routed through the same server used by the terrorist group our DC was in while undercover. Abby jumps in and finds out the guy behind the e-mail convo with GF is none other than the leader of the terrorist cell who killed DC. He wants his bug back, and GF just thinks he's an art collector. Bad news all around.

Tony fields a call from Senior, who is at a fancy bar with GF. He's all, "I can charm the painting out of her," and Tony's all, "Dad, she's a killer." Which is when Senior spies the gun in her purse. "Junior, you better get down here." You think? Senior goes back to chatting up GF, and when Gibbs enters, he introduces him as Leroy Gibbs, his accountant. Heh. The two head away from the table to "talk numbers" and Tony comes in, takes a seat at the bar, as McGee and Bishop run the op from a back room command center. Gibbs wants Senior to head to the bar's security office, but he's having none of that. Tony tells Gibbs through his ear piece to get his dad's ass in the security office, then the two exchange a few barbed comments about Senior's con man skills and nice talks with McGee via Gibbs' ear piece until he puts an end to the exchange. Ha!

Bishop interrupts to tell them a man has approached GF's table. It's our friendly neighborhood terrorist leader, come to call. GF calls Senior back over to the table. Gibbs slings his arm around Senior's shoulders, tells him to keep his mouth shut, that the code word is "precious" and to break if he hears that word. Turns out GF has set up a little auction between her two buyer wannabes. Neighborhood Terrorist is way not amused, but what can he do? Senior charms GF into telling him how she came to retrieve the painting and she confesses all. Nicely done. She and NT have a little back and forth on who owes what to whom, ending with her smiling and telling him he needs to make an opening bid. He thinks it would be easier to eliminate his competition and pulls a gun under the table, aimed at Senior. Tony, still at the bar, relays this to Bishop and McGee, and Gibbs. GF informs NT she has friends nearby, some noticeable, some not so much, prompting NT and our team to glance about. Tony relays the location of one "friend" to Gibbs. Then Gibbs mentions he has a friend, one who paid his dad's hotel bill when Dad couldn't cover it (alluding to a former episode with Senior and Tony). He asked why the guy paid it, when his dad never did anything for him. Gibbs recalls his friend's expression. "He had more love on his face than I ever saw." He guessed his friend's dad meant more to him than his father ever knew, and we're all wondering where Gibbs is going with this. A sentiment NT shares out loud. Gibbs smiles, says, "It's precious." And all hell breaks loose.

Gibbs pulls Senior down as NT jumps up from his chair. Gibbs knocks his weapon away and pulls his hands behind his back to cuff him as Tony takes down the "friend." McGee comes in to clean that up as Bishop sweeps Senior to a back room. Tony tells GF he's going to need that painting now. Heh. Senior and Bishop re-emerge. Father and son share a look, a smile.

Then we're in Abby Lab and Palmer is worrying about life as a father again as Abby scans the real painting looking for the bug. Turns out Palmer's jabbering is at the behest of Abby, as it heats up the voice-activated tracker, allowing her to finally locate the device on an infrared scanner. She finds it behind some paint, just as Gibbs and DC's CIA boss enter, and Abby is asked to turn over the device to the bossman. Bummer, no play time with it for Abby. CIA bossman calls Abby and Palmer heroes. Something to impress his daughter with, Abby points out with a smile.

Back at Tony's place, Operation Sourdough is once again under discussion via cellphone as Senior is rolling his packed bag and coat toward the apartment door. Tony offers to give Senior a ride, but the taxi is on the way. He expresses concern about Senior being home alone, but Senior tells him all the art talk has encouraged him to head back across the pond for another "European wingding." Tony smiles, all "sounds like fun," only Senior stays serious, says he needs to tell Tony something. Tony tries to shrug them both past an awkward moment, but Senior is insistent. He tells Tony that, taking all his history in stride, he is not a con artist, he is an entrepreneur. He explains the difference is that an entrepreneur believes in the dreams he's selling. Whether they go big or go bust, they were all hopeful plans that Senior fully believed in, not a con or a scam. Then he gets all glassy eyed when he finally sees that look Gibbs was talking about on his son's face, smiling as he cups Junior's cheek. Junior, who is smiling, and a little glassy eyed himself, claps his hand on his father's shoulder. Fade to black and white.

Another good one in the can, folks! Just one last thing to do now. In my last recap I put audiobook copies of my latest Blueberry Cove series: Pelican Point, Half Moon Harbor and Sandpiper Island, up for grabs. And, boy, are you guys grabby! Have I mentioned how much I like that about you? The winners are: Angela Reinhart, Joanna Sarf and Fonda Lee! To claim your prize drop a note to me at dmkauffman1@gmail.com and I'll send you your Audible.com code and all the info on how to claim your prize.

I know all you Not-Angelas, Joannas or Fondas are all done with the polite golf clapping and are already wondering what's up for grabs next. Well, shhhh! Don't tell anyone, but I have my hands on a copy of my brand new, not-yet-released book, Sea Glass Sunrise, and somebody is going to be the first one on their block to snag it. I know! Book comes complete with signature by me, and all the advance copy, no-one-else-has-it-but-me bragging rights contained therein. It's all too delicious to contemplate, really.

How to enter? Simple. Send an e-mail to me at dmkauffman1@gmail.com with "That copy of Sea Glass Sunrise is MINE!" in the subject line. That's it! Giveaway open to readers and NCIS fans everywhere. As always, feel free to include all the NCIS dish you want! I'll announce the winner right here when we're back again in two weeks. (I know, I know, again with the waiting and the patience!) Until then, why not drop in over at my Facebook Fan Page where all the day-to-day jocularity is going on, not to mention more weekly giveaways and our regularly scheduled Mark Harmon Moments. I know, and you've been missing out! So hurry up and come on over already! See you there!