The episode is written by George Schenck and Frank Cardea, directed by Dennis Smith and registered 18.98 million viewers following airing.
[1] A contract killer who has evaded arrest over a lengthy period of time flees a news camera crew, but lapses into a coma when struck by a passing van, eventually dying from his injuries.
Evidence found on the assassin's body identify his next victim as Navy Lieutenant Commander Geoffrey Brett, a naval officer working as a legislative aide on Capitol Hill.
At the same time, Tony, a film aficionado, remembers that "George Kaplan" was a phony identity created in the 1950s movie North by Northwest.
In a final interrogation scene, Brett confesses to accepting large kickbacks from defense contractors in exchange for his influence on Capitol Hill, but insists he was accumulating the money for his daughter's medical care, not for himself.
This revelation leaves Abby stunned and so distracted by the thought of her parents giving a child up for adoption that she can't focus on the case, even forgetting to do the simple things like running evidence.