Gibbs clenched his jaw, struggling to hold in his anger. While waiting for Fornell someone had made Director Shepard aware that Jeanne Benoit was in the building. Gibbs planned to find out just who that someone was and beat the crap out of him or her as soon as he had a chance, but right now he couldn’t mete out justice. The Director had taken it upon herself to question Dr. Benoit, and Gibbs had to watch to make sure Shepard didn’t railroad Tony into the electric chair.
He didn’t think she would, but he couldn’t be certain. That fact alone made Gibbs want to storm into the interrogation room and strangle Jenny for pulling this stupid stunt. It wouldn’t help the situation, but Gibbs was confident it would make him feel better.
Unfortunately, once she started questioning Benoit, it was better not to interrupt. Gibbs knew better than most how important it was to have control of the room and the stream of information; any break in the rhythm or flow would give the suspect a chance to recover his or her equilibrium. Storming in now would do more harm than good, especially when it looked like Shepard was trying to do exactly what Gibbs had planned to do•discredit Benoit’s statement.
Gibbs watched the younger woman’s face and body language carefully even has he glared daggers at the back of Shepard’s head. As much as he hated her right now, Gibbs had to admit Shepard knew how to approach the Benoit. She should, Gibbs thought with a mental snarl, Jenny knows all about plotting and scheming for revenge. She obviously could relate to what Benoit had felt for her father and how she felt about his death.
Glancing to his left, Gibbs noticed Fornell watching Shepard just as closely as he was. Fornell’s eyes were narrowed, his expression predatory. It didn’t really surprise Gibbs. This was Fornell’s case after all.
Despite his plans with Tony to keep the team safe from the fallout of Shepard’s actions, for just a moment, Gibbs seriously considered giving her to Fornell on a silver platter. If she had killed Rene Benoit, Shepard deserved to go down for murder. Gibbs sighed silently, unable to ignore the irony of his belief. He’d let Franks get away with murder and hadn’t given it a second thought. Hell, he’d killed the man who’d murdered his wife and daughter, lying in wait for to take him out with a long range sniper rifle. Gibbs knew he couldn’t lay claim to the moral high ground, but it still grated on his nerves that to save the rest of his team letting Shepard get away with it might well be necessary.
“Your father invited you to go with him, didn’t he?” Shepard asked. “He all but begged you. He wanted to keep you out of harm’s way.”
Gibbs kept his face impassive even though Shepard’s tone made him want to sneer. It was gentle, encouraging, even seductive. He could almost see Benoit starting to trust her, lulled by the compassion and sympathy Shepard projected.
“Yes. After Tony’s car blew up…Daddy thought it best to leave.” Benoit’s eyes were bright with unshed tears. “He was…we were going to head for the Bahamas . He wanted to take the yacht. He said it would be safer.”
“You didn’t want go with him, did you?” It was a rhetorical question. Shepard’s voice was confident, knowing and full of understanding as she kept speaking, not giving Benoit time to answer. “You thought about it. You gave it serious consideration because he was your father and you loved him, in spite of everything. But there was too much you had to come to terms with. So much you hadn’t forgiven him for.”
Benoit opened her mouth and then closed it. She looked grief stricken and guilty at the same time.
“You were angry with him. Too angry to want to spend any time alone with him, afraid of what you might say.”
Benoit’s lower lip quivered. “There was so much he hadn’t told me. So much…He lied to me. For years!” Her voice was laced with anger and anguish in equal measure.
Benoit wiped away angrily at tears that had started to fall. “I became a doctor because I want to help people and he paid for my education with blood money. How many people are dead because of my father? How many died to pay for the things I took for granted? The house in Paris . His private plane. The cars and fine clothes. That goddamn yacht!”
“That yacht was going to take him to safety.” Shepard pointed out.
“It was.” Benoit confirmed Shepard's assertion, her back straightening. “If it hadn’t been for Tony---.”
“How so?” Sheppard cocked her head to one side.
Gibbs gaze intensified. Finally they were getting somewhere. Next to him, LaFiamma tensed. Until then, Gibbs had forgotten the man was even in the room. Tony’s cousin reminded Gibbs of a big cat watching its prey, but Gibbs couldn’t tell who the man was assessing for a kill, Benoit or Shepard. For all Gibbs knew it could be both.
“Tony shot my father.”
Gibbs bit back a growl at her accusation. It was calmly delivered and her gaze never wavered. If not for the small tic in her cheek when she said it and his absolute faith that Tony hadn’t shot Rene Benoit, Gibbs would have found almost thought her credible.
“No, he didn’t.” Shepard countered.
“I was there!” Benoit protested hotly. “I know what I saw.”
“How could you see anything?” Shepard asked softly. “You never went to the marina.”
“Yes, I did.” Benoit insisted. “I was on the dock. It was raining. Tony and Daddy were on the deck•“
“Oh, you thought about going. I have no doubt about that.” Shepard assured her even as she cut Benoit off. “You were going to confront your father with your anger and his lies. You were going to demand he explain it all to you. You wanted to know all about the life that he’d kept hidden from you for years. All those secrets and lies that brought Tony into your life and caused you even more pain. But at the last minute, you changed your mind. Didn’t you?”
Benoit looked away. Shepard leaned forward. “It’s understandable. You loved him for a long time. But you weren’t sure you were ready to hear everything he might have to say. What if it was worse than you imagined? What if he just kept lying to you? How would you know what was truth and what wasn’t? So you decided not to join him at the marina. You just needed some time maybe you could accept what you found out, come to terms with what you knew. If you gave it some time, maybe he could explain it to you when you were able to listen to what he had to say.”
“I needed time to think.” Benoit agreed. She sniffed, her hands shaking as she wiped away tears again. “There was just so much. The explosion….Daddy…Tony…it was raining…I was scared. I just wanted to run away and pretend none of this happened.”
“I know.” Shepard soothed. “It was a lot to take in.”
Benoit swallowed hard. “I thought I’d have more time.”
“We all think that.” Shepard sighed. “None of us ever has as much time as we want or need.”
Gibbs frowned. That wasn’t a lie from Shepard---even without seeing her face, Gibbs knew she wasn’t just sympathizing with Benoit. There was empathy; Shepard was speaking from personal experience.
What exactly did Shepard think she’d have more time for? She’d let La Grenouille go once when the CIA forced it, but she could have just as easily let Ziva shoot him in Canada. She obviously wasn’t intent on seeing the man brought to justice---so why not kill him at the first opportunity? What happened since then to make her feel the need to shoot him herself when she had? La Grenouille was on the run…one of his enemies could have taken him out, or his former allies at the CIA would have done the deed. Was Shepard just determined to do the deed herself before someone else beat her to it, or was there more to it than that?
Fornell’s interest was clearly piqued by Shepard’s statement as well. Gibbs wondered what the FBI agent made of it…if anything at all. LaFiamma’s focused expression remained unchanged. If anything struck him as odd about what Shepard had said, it didn’t show. He might be better at poker than Lundy thought.
“I should have had more time.” Benoit hissed, anger infusing her face with color, altering her good looks into something far less attractive. “If Tony hadn’t--“
“Your father was dealing in weapons before Tony was even born. He made dozens of enemies along the way.” Shepard’s tone went flat for a moment before once more becoming soft and encouraging. “That Tony pretended to be a film professor, rather than telling you he was a federal agent, whether or not his feelings for you were real or not, none of that fundamentally changes who or what your father was.”
Shepard sat back, head cocked slightly to one side. “And that’s really the issue isn’t it? Your father wasn’t who you thought he was, and you never got the chance to find out just what sort of man he truly was.”
“My father was a good man.” Benioit snapped back with righteous anger.
“So is Tony. He didn’t kill your father and you know it.” Shepard’s voice became insistent as she pushed harder. “You didn’t see him at the marina. You didn’t see him pull the trigger.”
Benoit was crying again. “He should have been there…he should have stopped it. Tony said he was trying to help. He said he thought there might be a chance for everything to work out. He said Daddy was in deep with the CIA. They wouldn’t let him get hurt.”
“Damn,” LaFiamma muttered. “She thinks Tony not saving the bastard is the same as if he’d pulled the trigger. Never would have guessed that was part of this equation.”
Gibbs bit back the urge to sigh heavily. He never seriously considered Benoit’s motive for accusing Tony of murder was anything but her being a ‘woman scorned’. Even after three divorces and several more failed relationships Gibbs was still surprised by how complex women could be.
“Tony wasn’t there, Jeanne, was he?”
Benoit shook her head.
“And neither were you.”
“No, I wasn’t there. I didn’t go to the marina.”
Shepard reached a hand across the table, taking Benoit’s. “There was nothing he could have done.”
“Tony should have been there. He should have kept him safe,” Benoit irrationally insisted, her shoulders hitching as she fought back a sob. Her voiced dropped to a whisper. “I should have been there.”
“That’s why you feel guilty, isn’t it?” Shepard asked. “You weren’t there with him.”
“My father died thinking I hated him and that I didn’t want to see him or speak to him ever again.” Benoit took a shaky breath. “I didn’t get to tell him I still loved him.”
“I’m sure he knew.” Shepard released Benoit’s hand.
Gibbs was certain Benoit had spent the last few months in Africa thinking about what to say to her father when she saw him. She had no idea he was dead, and that she’d never get the chance to deliver the carefully rehearsed speech she’d likely composed. It was no wonder the FBI contacting her about his death came as a surprise to her. Someone had to be blamed for the truth she never got to hear, for the explanations never made, for the opportunity lost. And like most people, Benoit opted to pass the buck and blamed the first person she thought of---a person who’d hurt her.
“My father was murdered.” Benoit’s chin came up. “I may not have seen it, but I know he would not have committed suicide.”
“You might be right about that, but it wasn’t Tony DiNozzo who killed him.” Shepard stood up. “Accusing him of murder isn’t getting you any closer to finding the person responsible.”
Gibbs snorted. Technically, accusing Tony had gotten Benoit damned close to the person most likely to have killed her father. She just didn’t know it.
“You satisfied, Tobias?”
“Not even close.” Fornell grimaced, shaking his head. “All we know now is that she didn’t actually see anyone shoot her father because she wasn’t there.”
“Could have told you that from the start,” LaFiamma rolled his eyes. “But then I’m pretty sure you already knew that.”
Fornell smirked. He didn’t deny it. That made Gibbs want to smack him.
LaFiamma nodded toward where Benoit still sat. “You going to keep her around?”
Fornell’s eyebrows rose. “At least until we get an accurate statement, why?”
“I’d like you to hold her until Tony can speak with her.”
Fornell snorted. “I don’t arrange lovers’ trysts.”
“No, you just threaten to wrongfully imprison a man for a murder you never really thought he committed.” LaFiamma smiled tightly. “Hold her. You owe him that much.”
Fornell pursed his lips and looked like he might refuse on general principle. Gibbs had a feeling his old adversary hadn’t realized yet just how formidable Tony’s cousin could be. LaFiamma wasn’t someone who took no for an answer when it came to Tony’s well being. Lundy wouldn’t either.
“Tobias, just do it.” Gibbs shook his head.
Fornell looked at him, arching an eyebrow.
“Pick your battles.” Gibbs advised Fornell, smirking. “He can and will kick your ass.”
Physically, financially, intellectually---any or all---Gibbs was certain LaFiamma could do more than hold his own against the likes of Fornell and the FBI. And if LaFiamma couldn’t do it alone, Lundy would be there to back him up in spades. Gibbs couldn’t get a firm handle on that man, and he was sure Fornell wouldn’t be able to either. And God only knows who else might owe Lundy a favor that he could call in, Gibbs thought with dark humor. It was a sure bet Lundy has someone in his pocket who could make Fornell’s life a living hell.
“We’ll keep her here for a couple of hours.” Fornell glared. “No more than that.”
“Don’t act like you are going out of your way.” LaFiamma gave Fornell a pointed look. “You’d have her here that long just to deal with the paperwork.”
“There won’t be any paperwork.”
“She led you on a wild goose chase.” LaFiamma snorted. “You might not charge her with obstruction of justice or falsifying a police report, but I doubt you’re going to just let her walk away from this without some sort of payback.”
Fornell smiled coldly. “I’m not that petty.”
“Yes, you are.” LaFiamma retorted; his smile little more than a baring of his teeth.
A knock at the door was a timely interruption Gibbs hadn’t expected and he found himself being torn between feeling grateful and annoyed. He and Fornell were friends…sort of. But at the moment, Gibbs felt more loyalty to LaFiamma even though he didn’t honestly like him. If Fornell and LaFiamma came to blows, Gibbs would be hard pressed to decided if he should step in or not, and on whose side. Still…there was some part of him that would have liked to have seen them take a swing at each other.
Shepard stepped into the room. She made eye contact with Gibbs before looking away. He wasn’t quite sure what to make of that, but he hadn’t felt confident in his ability to read her accurately since finding out about La Grenouille. And he could barely stand to be in the same room with her any more after Tony left NCIS.
Shepard frowned when she saw LaFiamma. His suit was obviously too expensive for a government employee, and with his jacket open it was hard to miss the shoulder harness he was wearing. Lawyers didn’t normally carry weapons. Unable to figure out exactly what LaFiamma was or why he was there, Gibbs could almost see Shepard opting to ignore him. He’d taught her better than that. A good agent never ignored anything that was such a clear contradiction and begged for an explanation.
Her focus shifted to Fornell. “You heard everything?”
“I did.”
“Good. Now maybe you can stop harassing my staff and anyone who used to work for me.”
“I don’t think so, Director.” Fornell shook his head. “All you managed to do was discredit Jeanne Benoit as a witness. We still have a murder to investigate.”
“Are you even sure it is murder?” Shepard arched an eyebrow.
It was a valid question. Without Jeanne Benoit’s statement, there was very little that indicated any foul play in Rene Benoit’s death. It wasn’t necessarily a homicide.
Shepard smiled. “Despite what his daughter says, suicide is still a possibility.”
“Until I know definitively one way or another, we’ll continue to treat this as a murder investigation.”
Which is how it should be treated, Gibbs thought grimly. Why the FBI hadn’t done that initially was the real question. They’d been lazy and sloppy. They were trying to make up for it now. Franks had told him once, ‘Sloppy people never have enough time to do it right but always plenty of time to do it over’.
Shepard’s eyes narrowed, measuring Fornell. “I’d rather you didn’t keep playing games with my staff--.”
“Then maybe you should have told me DiNozzo quit months ago.”
Shepard shrugged. “You didn’t ask.”
“You deliberately withheld•“
“No, I did not.” Shepard’s spine stiffened. “I gave you everything you requested, Special Agent Fornell. You weren’t exactly clear as to who or what you were investigating until today. I’m not a mind reader.”
Fornell snorted. “Like Gibbs hadn’t already told you.”
Shepard’s eyes flickered toward Gibbs. It was surprisingly easy to read the betrayal she felt before it was masked. He stared back at her unapologetic.
Gibbs hadn’t mentioned Fornell stopping by his place, what the FBI was after or what he’d put his team to work on. He hadn’t even told her he was going to Houston to get Tony. He didn’t feel bad about it either. She interfered with his team, and even if by some slim chance she hadn’t killed Rene Benoit, she had put them all in an awkward position with her obsession. Everyone in the agency was at risk of facing serious consequences over her actions. But more importantly to Gibbs, she’d been the final straw that forced Tony into leaving.
“Gibbs didn’t tell me anything,” Shepard said softly, her focus once more on Fornell. “It appears I’m more out of the loop than I thought.”
“Then maybe you and I need to have a more detailed conversation.”
It was obviously not a suggestion. Shepard glared at Fornell. “My office.”
“I’m thinking another interrogation room would be better.”
Her chin came up. “Am I suspect?”
“Yes, Ma’am, you are.”
Fornell’s blunt answer surprised Gibbs. He expected him to play it out a little longer. He heard LaFiamma mumble what sounded like ‘about damn time’.
Fornell’s expression was mild, but his tone was implacable. “I’ve got a few questions you need to answer.”
Shepard pursed her lips obviously annoyed. She had sense enough not to argue. “Fine.”
“I don’t need to tell you to stay out of the observation room, do I, Jethro?” Fornell gave Gibbs a pointed look. “I’ll want to talk to you too at some point.”
Gibbs resisted the urge to roll his eyes, nodding as he left the room. LaFiamma followed silently behind. Neither of them even gave Sacks, who was standing near the door, a second look.
Fornell’s warning was unnecessary. Gibbs couldn’t be an alibi for Shepard and he didn’t need one for himself. The security cameras at NCIS documented his every move on the day La Grenouille had likely died and for several days afterwards. And what wasn’t recorded, his team was with him---with the exception of Tony.
But he understood why Fornell felt compelled to make the point. The potential existed for anyone working for Shepard to be considered a suspect. It wasn’t a huge stretch for someone looking in from the outside to claim an agent could have taken out Rene Benoit on Shepard’s orders, or had done it out of some misplaced loyalty. As far-fetched and stupid as Gibbs thought such a theory was, it would nicely explain how Shepard’s gun came to be used. The agents most likely to be considered were those known to be involved---Gibbs’ team.
Fornell had already held Abby for several hours for questioning. He would have done the same with McGee, Ziva and Ducky if they hadn’t managed to be unavailable long enough to hack into the FBI’s files and review the case with Lundy and his team. The distraction with Tony’s return, and then Jeanne Benoit had given them more time to work.
Had Tony been around, and it was business as usual, Fornell could have easily isolated the team and questioned them one by one. Gibbs was confident Fornell had already dispatched a team to Tony’s old apartment before he’d come by Gibbs’ place. Tony’s absence had thrown Fornell off his game long enough for Gibbs to get to the others and get them working on the case while he headed for Houston.
If they’d been in custody, with Tony the prime suspect, Gibbs and his team would have reacted very differently to the threat Fornell posed. They would probably have focused more on finding out who had killed La Grenouille as a way of saving one of their own---essentially doing Fornell’s job for him. But Lundy and his team had taken a different approach, focusing on the evidence and weaknesses of the case, using that to cast doubt on Benoit’s accusation. And while it hadn’t been Gibbs who’d hammered the final nail in, Shepard had done exactly what he’d planned to accomplish.
Gibbs stopped and turned to look at LaFiamma. LaFiamma already had his cellphone in his hand.
“You calling Lundy?”
“Yes.” LaFiamma held the phone up to his ear. “We should run the numbers again.”
Gibbs now understood what the Houston cop meant by that phrase. He wanted go over the case again and assess what they knew in a systematic way. Gibbs nodded. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to summarize what they’d accomplished, and what still needed to be done.
McGee had better have found Kort. It was looking like they were definitely going to need him to get everyone out of this cluster. The FBI wasn’t going to drop the case without definitive proof as to what happened to Rene Benoit. Fornell could be every bit as tenacious as Gibbs when he wanted to be.
“Yeah, we’re done…Yes…No…Better I fill you in face to face.” LaFiamma’s lips curled upward in a wry smile. “Something like that.” He chuckled over whatever Lundy said before nodding once. “We’ll meet you there.”
LaFiamma closed his phone and returned it to the clip on his belt. “They want to meet up in Abby’s lab. I’m assuming you know the way.”
Gibbs nodded. “We’ll get Ziva along the way.”
“I figured as much.” LaFiamma waved a hand. “After you.”
Gibbs resisted the urge to belt him one. He simply strode purposefully down the hall toward the bullpen. If he could get things moving the right way soon enough, he should have time get Ziva and Ducky alone to find out how their conversations with Tony went. Resolving the case wasn’t the only thing Gibbs hoped to accomplish today.
Author's Chapter Notes:
The interrogation of Jeanne Benoit.