Exclusive NCIS: Hawai’i Sneak Peek: ‘Newlyweds’ Lucy and Kate Dig Into a Military Resort Murder

That provocative one-word #Kacy tease that NCIS: Hawai’i front woman Vanessa Lachey gave TVLine at the start of the season reveals itself in the next episode of the island-based procedural.

Speaking with TVLine in January, in a joint Zoom with Season 3 addition LL Cool J, Lachey offered up the word “newlyweds” to preview what was ahead for Special Agents Lucy Tara and Kate Whistler (played by Yasmine Al-Bustami and Tori Anderson)– though she cautioned that those tantalizing three syllables might not mean what ‘shippers think they mean.

The conventional wisdom was that Lucy and her partner Kate would go undercover as bride and bride, and sure enough, that is the case in the episode “Dead on Arrival,” airing this Monday at 10/9c on CBS.

Setting up this simulated hitching: When a Navy pilot is found murdered at a local military resort, the team goes undercover to discover a criminal enterprise hiding in plain sight.

The already-released clip below lays the foundation for the undercover op — watch Lucy’s eyes light up when Jane suggests she partner with Kate for the “newlyweds” cover. (Said clip also teases a new layer to the suspicion surrounding Sam Hanna’s ongoing presence in Hawai’i, seeing as he’s apparently formed a “text buddies” bond with one team member.)

But in TVLine’s exclusive sneak peek above, we see Lucy and Kate bellying up to the aforementioned resort’s bar, where they catch the attention of a military vet who offers to guess to which branch of the service Lucy, for one, belongs. Press play above to see if this guy has lush-maned, tattoo-free Lucy’s number, as well as find out what he is able to share about the murder #Kacy inquires about.