When Gibbs called to check in with his team he nearly bit off McGee’s head when the other agent began to stammer nervously. It was Ziva who ultimately told Gibbs that Fornell had found Abby in her lab and was holding her for questioning at the Navy Yard. Gibbs was unclear why she was even at NCIS headquarters until McGee confessed she’d gone after some additional equipment he thought might make their efforts to hack into the FBI files easier to accomplish.
Gibbs would have preferred Abby not bear the brunt of Fornell’s investigation, but he knew she could hold her own. With the possible exception of Tony, she could give Fornell the run around like no one else on his team. In her case it wouldn’t even necessarily be deliberate; her hyper nature, odd point of view on things and tendency to start in the middle was bound to befuddle and confuse. Gibbs was somewhat relieved that she was going to be occupied for several hours. At least he wouldn’t have to explain to her how he’d gotten to see Tony and speak to him, but hadn’t fixed anything yet. Abby was so confident he could bring Tony home, Gibbs didn’t want to disappoint her.
Unlike Abby, McGee, Ducky and Ziva wouldn’t question him about his progress…or lack there of…when it came to Tony. They also wouldn’t question---at least not to his face---why he wanted them to share information with a team of detectives in Houston that they’d never met. As Tony had pointed out, Gibbs wasn’t exactly known for his willingness to cooperate with other agencies or departments, but in this case, he knew he didn’t have a choice. His desire to solve the case took a back seat to making sure Tony wasn’t accused again for a murder he hadn’t committed. And Gibbs really didn’t want Lundy to think he’d lied when he said he wanted to help. He got the distinct impression the Texas cop was a lot like him in that regard---he wouldn’t accept anything less than Gibbs’ best effort.
The team of people Lundy assembled made it clear they had only one objective. They were intent on taking care of one of their own. Gibbs understood that no one and nothing would be allowed to get in their way. The last thing he wanted was to be perceived as an enemy or obstacle to be removed.
While Lundy made phone calls to whatever contacts he had, Gibbs coordinated having his team share what they had so far. The Houston forensics expert, Annie Hartung, was every bit as competent and capable as Abby, even if she was nothing like her. Over the years Gibbs had grown used to Abby’s Goth style, tattoos and fascination with the macabre. He’d forgotten that not everyone working in forensics had similar quirks. But it wasn’t Annie’s professional attire or demeanor that surprised him, it was her wheelchair. Not being able to use her legs clearly hadn’t affected her cognitive ability. She had no difficulty keeping up with the techno babble McGee spouted off or creating an interface that allowed them to video conference and share information as easily as if they were in the same room.
That information share worked well for Ducky to confer with Dr. Amos Sixkiller, the local coroner. Sixkiller was of Native American descent and like Annie seemed capable and competent. He and Ducky had no trouble working together. Not that Gibbs expected they would. Ducky got along well with most people.
The ‘conference’ also worked well for bringing Carol Dewing and Roberto Mendez up to speed. Gibbs’ first thought when Lundy introduced Detective Dewing was ‘barbie doll’. She certainly had the looks, but her sober expression and obvious intelligence made it clear she was no air-head bimbo. Other than a hard look and a cold smile, she didn’t voice any objection to Gibbs’ involvement.
He wished Tony’s partner had been as accepting. Mendez had vehemently objected to Gibbs presence, dark eyes flashing with fire whenever he looked at former Marine. It was only Lundy’s firm stance that Gibbs could stay as long as he was useful that got the younger cop to grudgingly tolerate his presence.
After several hours, Lundy whistled sharply, halting all conversation. “Okay people, let’s review what we got.”
“By the numbers?” Dewing asked.
“By the numbers,” Lundy confirmed. Gibbs wasn’t entirely sure what that meant, but knew better than to ask. He simply waited, watching the others in the room.
“Cause of death,” Sixkiller said, “was a single gun shot to the head. The location, powder burns and stippling are consistent with a self inflicted wound. Initial autopsy called it as a suicide.”
Lundy leaned back in his chair, balancing on two legs. He crossed his arms over his chest. “You agree with that call?”
Sixkiller shrugged, giving Lundy a helpless look. “With only photos and no body to work with it’s hard to make a case for either suicide or foul play.”
“There is a bruise on the back of his hand,” Ducky offered, his voice carrying easily through the mic on the computer monitor. Ziva added her theory on where it might have come from. Demonstrating for the group exactly what a ‘love tap’ was and how it worked on McGee.
“It is not exactly conclusive, of course.” Ducky sighed heavily. “As Dr. Sixkiller already noted, we don’t have a body to examine in greater detail. It leaves us at a serious disadvantage for arguing for or against foul play.”
“Definitely generates some reasonable doubt.” Dewing pointed out. “Particularly in light of the first conclusion being suicide and apparently no other examination of the body being performed. At least not that we’ve found.” She grimaced. “Although, reasonable doubt only counts if the FBI plays fair.”
Lundy snorted. “You know better than to expect that, Legs.”
Gibbs blinked at the nickname. Kate would never have tolerated being referred that way. Ziva either. Clearly Lundy’s people had a different view on such things. Gibbs wondered if everyone got a nickname. He clenched his jaw remembering Tony already had one. If it was a mark of membership….Gibbs forced his mind back on the case and away from how to get Tony to come back to NCIS. One thing at a time.
Lundy pursed his lips, his expression thoughtful. “Time of death?”
“It is notoriously difficult to be precise about that when it comes to floaters, especially if they’ve been in saltwater.” Sixkiller shook his head. “At best, they can say he’d been dead at least two days before they fished him out of the bay. The only reason they could possibly narrow it down any further was because they had a fairly solid time frame for when he was last seen alive. They wouldn’t even have that if it weren’t for NCIS involvement because I doubt the CIA would freely tell the FBI anything at all about their pet arms dealer.”
Roberto glared at Gibbs. Gibbs ignored him. It wasn’t his fault Shepard had a vendetta and had used Tony to try and make good on it, or that Rene Benoit had come to her for help thinking NCIS might be his only hope of getting out of the arms business. A little voice inside of him argued that if he hadn’t gone to Mexico none of this would have happened. If he’d questioned Tony directly about what he was doing and gotten involved sooner the out come could have been a lot different. If he’d just taken a closer look after he knew Jenny was obsessed with La Grenouille and made an honest effort to rein her in.
“So giving or getting an iron clad alibi is unlikely?” Lundy looked at Sixkiller but it was Ducky who answered the question.
“Short of being incarcerated and monitored continuously, it would be impossible to have a witness to one’s whereabouts for what amounts to nearly a twelve hour block of time.”
Lundy sighed. “What do we know about the weapon?”
“Based on the wound and the bullet found in his skull, Rene Benoit definitely died from a 9mm round.” Hartung repositioned her wheelchair so she was closer to Lundy, handing him a copy of the ballistics report. “According to that the gun they recovered near the scene was definitely used to shoot Rene Benoit. Can’t confirm that without testing it myself,” Hartung gave Lundy an apologetic look, “but I doubt the FBI would screw up such a basic test.”
“Any prints?”
“Not a one.” Hartung held up both hands in helpless gesture. “It was in the water long enough to obliterate or obscure any prints on the gun. But the serial number was easy to read. It’s registered to Jennifer Shepard.”
That little bit of news didn’t really surprise Gibbs. He’d suspected her from the beginning. Unfortunately, it being her gun didn’t automatically make her guilty. Gibbs said as much.
“But it should make her more of a suspect than Tony,” Dewing countered, cornflower blue eyes flickering toward Gibbs before dismissing him. “She certainly had motive and the means. And given how fuzzy our time of death is, she definitely had opportunity.”
“Agreed.” Lundy nodded. “What about the scene?”
“FBI believes he was killed on his boat, but other than a single casing there was no real evidence that is where it happened. No blood. No sign of a struggle.” McGee cleared his throat. “We ran a simulation and if he was shot on the boat, there are places where he could have been standing that would have left no blood splatter and would have resulted in his body being in the bay.”
“There would be places on the dock that would work just as well,” Roberto pointed out.
“Casing was on the boat,” Gibbs reminded him quietly, getting a dark look in return.
“None of Tony’s prints were found on the boat, although they did ID a number of other people,” Lundy said.
“That’s not in the case file.” McGee observed, his image on the monitor moving out of camera range as he went to double check his notes. “How do you know•“
“Talked to one of their techs,” Lundy replied, not giving McGee a chance to finish his question. “They didn’t dust until after they’d ID’d Benoit’s body which took two days.”
“Bloated fingers can be very difficult to work with,” Ducky stated with calm assurance.
“Not to mention the critters that might have been sampling.” Sixkiller added. “And his face…well, you’ve all seen the photos. His own mother might have had trouble recognizing him.”
“So what we’ve got is a crap case,” Hartung grimaced, shaking her head and frowning.
“That about sums it up.” Lundy nodded.
“Why are they even pursing this?”
“Because Benoit was important to some people and it would look bad if they didn’t.” Lundy sighed. “Not to mention the fact that Jeanne Benoit accused Tony of murdering him.”
“Her statement is all that makes him a suspect.” Mendez rolled his eyes. “Morons.”
On that, Gibbs could agree with Mendez. In light of all the evidence or lack thereof, any case against Tony would be weak at best. They stood a better chance of nailing Shepard since it was her gun. And Gibbs knew for a fact if he hadn’t taken the bullets out of her gun she would have shot him right there in her den. Fornell was no fool. Why tell Gibbs he was after Tony…unless he was hoping Gibbs would do exactly what he had set his team to do before he left…find conclusive proof about who killed Rene Benoit. The bastard, Gibbs nearly crushed his coffee cup. Fornell wanted Gibbs to solve the case for him.
“What about the daughter’s statement?” Lundy looked toward Dewing, once more drawing Gibbs attention back to the case. “Is it solid?”
She shook her head. “It’s got holes big enough to drive a truck through.”
“Line it out for me.”
“For starters, she didn’t tell the FBI he was murdered until after the informed her he was dead. One of the agents she spoke to said she seemed shocked to find out he was dead but rallied very quickly to give her story. His observations were later dismissed.”
“How did you find out that information?” Ziva asked, the monitor not diminishing the intensity of her gaze.
“Lundy got the original case notes faxed over.”
Lundy gave Ziva a smile and a two finger salute. “Pays to know people who know people.”
Dewing tapped a few keys, brining up a three dimensional image on her computer, turning the screen so everyone could see it “Assuming Rene was killed on his yacht…we reviewed the schematic of the dock and checked all possible light sources as well as line of sight. Lighting is limited, as are clear views of the deck of his yacht. It was also raining the night he died. So for her to see clearly enough to identify the man putting a gun to her father’s head, Jeanne would've had to have been on the yacht. But she clearly states she saw everything from the pier. It doesn’t wash.”
Dewing cocked her head to one side. “Knowing she couldn’t have ID’d Tony from the pier---then we’d have to assume she was on the yacht. And if she was, she’d have been close enough to the action to try and stop it. Nothing in her statement suggests she got involved. Which begs the question, why didn’t she?”
“Fear.” Ducky offered. “It’s been known to incapacitate many people.”
Lundy shook his head. “Tony said she had nerves of steel when it came to facing down an armed junky in the morgue at the hospital. Can’t think she’d suddenly freeze up when it came to protecting her daddy. Especially since everyone says she adored the man. Most people don’t let a loved one go down with out a fight.”
Gibbs frowned. Junky in the morgue? When did that happen? Why hadn’t Tony said anything to him about it?
Hartung held up another page from the FBI file. “Her prints weren’t found on the boat. Find it hard to believe she didn’t touch something on that yacht. She wasn’t exactly an experienced sailor. She’d have gripped the railing at least once, braced herself on against the wall…something.”
“But he was seen boarding the yacht with a young woman,” McGee said. They’d all assumed at the time that it was Jeanne.
“According to Tony, Benoit had a pretty little number in his employ who went everywhere with him.” Lundy balanced precariously on his chair to reach and then hold up a photo of the blonde woman they’d seen with La Grenouille in Canada . “More likely it was her rather than the daughter.”
Gibbs kept the thought that the woman seen with Rene could have been Shepard to himself. From a distance it would be hard to tell her true age and she could easily have been mistaken for ‘young’.
“Why wouldn’t it be Jeanne?” McGee frowned, clearly puzzled.
“Because they tried to kill her by blowing up Tony’s car,” Gibbs stated, mentally cursing his lack of foresight. “He would have known having her stay close would be continuing to put her at risk.”
“That fits with the FBI’s theory on why Tony killed Rene.” Dewing rolled her eyes. “Supposedly offing Rene would keep Jeanne safe.”
“Can’t argue against his being dead definitely making it safer for her. She hasn’t been a person of interest for anyone since he died.” Mendez made a meaningless gesture with one hand. “But I can’t see Tony taking out her old man and then letting the love of his life just vanish without making sure she was going to be okay wherever she went.”
Dewing nodded in agreement with Mendez. “Nothing in her statement suggests she been in contact with Tony since the night Rene was killed. And he hasn’t tried to find her.”
“Anything else about her statement that sent up a flag for you, Legs?”
“If she was scared, as Dr. Mallard suggested…scared enough to do nothing and then run off to hide…what suddenly changed to give her enough courage to accuse Tony? Why come forward now?”
“Maybe she found out Tony wasn’t with NCIS,” McGee suggested.
Lundy shook his head. “FBI didn’t even know Tony had moved on. Doubtful Jeanne would have known any more than they did.”
“And if she really was afraid of him, she wouldn’t have agreed to go to D.C.” Ziva pursed her lips thoughtfully. “She certainly didn’t trust that the authorities would keep her safe months ago, why would she suddenly trust them now?”
“The whole thing just smacks of jilted lover or woman scorned.” Dewing shrugged one shoulder. “She didn’t see who killed her father; she’s accusing the one person she holds responsible for him being gone, the man who ruined her neat little world where Daddy was the good guy he always claimed to be.”
“Options?” Lundy asked.
Sixkiller spoke first. “The case is crap, but given that they are going to pursue it, I’d say Tony’s best bet is to face the FBI head on.”
Hartung nodded. “They have nothing which would really point to Tony that a good attorney couldn’t pick apart in ten seconds the same way we did, but it would be better for him not to be charged at all.”
Dewing and Mendez stated similar views. Neither looked happy with the idea of Tony going back to D.C., but both agreed it would be better for him to show up of his own volition rather than have the FBI come for him.
“All right.” Lundy nodded, setting his chair squarely on four legs. “Annie, you tape all this?”
“Every word.” She held up a flash drive. “Loaded all the pictures and documents too.”
“Good.” Lundy took it from her and put it in his shirt pocket. “Won’t take much to bring Tony up to speed then.”
Gibbs was suddenly reminded of Tony’s ‘campfires’. He wondered if Tony had gotten the idea from them or if they’d gotten it from him. Gibbs would grudgingly admit this sort of ‘round robin’ discussion certainly worked well for review of the evidence and brainstorming. He added it to the list of things he needed to say to Tony.
“Okay, people, we do not want the FBI to know we’ve looked into this. So•“
“Shred the hard copies and make sure they are incinerated,” Dewing finished for him. She and Sixkiller began gathering up all the documents and photos that had been printed out.
“Deleting soft copy now,” Hartung said. “The only copy you’ll have will be what NCIS has and what’s on the flash drive I gave you.”
“Thank you, Annie.” Lundy gave her a smile before facing Gibbs. “Gibbs, you want to use the connection to confer with your team before we cut it?”
“Yes, please.”
Lundy dipped his head. “When you’re done, you can meet me in the hall.”
“We’re going to see Tony then?”
“After I talk to Beaumont . Need to bring her up to speed before we get too far down the road.” Lundy gave him a hard edged grin. “By the time we get to the ranch, Tony will have talked to Joe, and he might not be quite so pissed at you. Wouldn’t bet on that though.”
“I’m not that easily intimidated.”
“Good.”
“Good?” Gibbs frowned. He really wished he could get a handle on Lundy. The man confused him.
“Tony needs someone who can step up to the plate.” Lundy gave Gibbs a measuring look. “He’s already had plenty who quit when the going got a little rough. It’s one of the reasons he worked so many places before he signed on with you. When he stayed so long at NCIS, I thought you might be different.”
Gibbs straightened his spine, reacting to the disappointed tone. “I am different.”
“We’ll see.” Lundy pointed to the monitor. “Talk to your team. I’ll be outside.”
Gibbs grimaced. He had no idea what to say. But he had to tell them something.
Gibbs took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Ducky’s advice before he’d left came back to him, ‘honesty without hostility’. Maybe now would be a good time to apply that bit of wisdom. He nodded to himself. It wasn’t like he had any other ideas to try, and he couldn’t see Lundy waiting indefinitely for him to take care of business. He’d tell them the truth, give them a new set of tasks to focus on and hope for the best.
Suck it up, Marine, he told himself, you got work to do.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Gibbs works the case with Lundy and his team.
Chapter End Notes:
Major spoilers for Internal Affairs