I spent the next hour formulating a list of possible “suspects”. It included Tony, Jimmy, Wes (who worked down in evidence storage), Gibbs, Ducky, and Tim. Quite a list, I thought. I would need some help. I picked up the phone and hit a button.
“Special Agent David” , Ziva said on the other side of the phone. She listened for a minute, then said,
“ I will be right there, Abby” Hanging up the phone, Ziva got up, getting a questioning glance from Tony, she walked to the elevator and headed down to Abby's lab. As the elevator doors opened she could hear the music pulsing from the lab.
I heard the ding of the doors and knew that Ziva was here. Turning form my computer I greeted her.
“Hey,Ziva. Thanks for coming.” She walked over and stood next to me.
“Not a problem,Abby. What can I do for you?” Just then I saw her eyes wonder to the brooch on my lapel. Her eyes widened slightly and she smiled. She reached out and touched it.
“What a beautiful pin. Where did you get it?” I smiled and for the hundredth time since pinning to my lab coat I brushed my fingers over the petals, over the spider and down the stem.
“Well, Zee. That is the reason you are here. I need your help.” I went on to explain to her how I had found the box on my desk this morning and I showed her the small note that was in the box. She held the note and began tapping it on her fingers as I talked.
“So,” I said, “ what do you think?” Ziva glanced from me to the brooch a few times, them a slow smile creased her face. She placed the card back on desk next to me keyboard. After a few minutes she spoke.
“Where is your list of suspects?” I pulled up a private folder on my computer screen.
“Here” I said. She glanced over it.
“How did you narrow it down the these? Maybe it is someone you don't work with.”
I shook me head slowly. “ It has to be, Ziva, It was on my desk in my office this morning. Only employees can get down here and have access.” Ziva nodded her head in agreement.
“So what is your plan? And how can I help?” she said. I squealed and hugged her. I just knew she would help. After about a half hour we had our plan all worked out. First we figured that whoever it was didn't write the note himself. So he had to have had help. We figured we would start at the top of the list, and that meant Gibbs. Now with Gibbs the best way was straight forward. Besides I could always tell if he was lying. Just as we where trying to figure out how to get him down to the lab, the phone rang. It was Gibbs, yup he definitely had ESP. I smiled at Ziva and hit the speaker button.
“Hello, Oh Great One. What can I do for you?”
“You can send Ziva back up here. We have a case” Came his gruff response. A dial tone sounded before I could answer. Ziva nodded at me and said,” when we get back the game will be on, yes?”
“Yup,” I said. As she left I went back to studying my list. All the while absently stroking my new brooch. An hour later the ding of the elevator shook me out of my haze. I turned around to see Ziva,Tony, and Tim carrying boxes and evidence bags in to my lab. I leapt off my chair and ruched over to the lab table. Tony raised his head and gave me a quizzical look, he smiled his DiNozzo smile and said,” Well, hello Abby. And just how many Caf-Pows have you had this morning?” I tilted my head to the side, thinking. I realized I hadn't had any. Weird.
“Actually, Tony. I haven't had any.” He looked at me, his eyes huge in mock surpise. Then he laughed.
“Oh, don't tell me you are quitting caffeine again. Cuz if you are I am gonna take a few days off. Cuz you without caffeine is not good.” He laughed again and shook his head. I looked over at Ziva and caught her staring at Tony, hmmm,i thought, put that in my mental notebook for later. Just as I was about to respond, Tim came out from behind the table and placed a Caf-Pow in front of me.
“ Here ya go, Abby.”
“Awwwww, thanks Timmy. See Tony, McGee knows how to get on a womans' good side.” McGee stood there smiling at Tony, like a kid. Tony scoffed and said,” You've just trained McGoo well.” I let that statement slide. There was work to be done, and we all knew Gibbs would be down soon enough, so I said,” Well what have you got for me?” Ziva briefed me on the case of a Marine Lt. Who had been found in the park. After I signed all the evidence bags, the boys left. Each waving goodbye. Ziva waited until she was sure they where gone and then said,” So how do we get Gibbs down here?”
“ He will come down when I have results, so I better get busy.” Ziva nodded and left the lab.
Meanwhile back in the bullpen area..........
Tony and McGee where at their desks when Tony looked up and said,” Hey, probi wan kanobi, did you notice anything different about Abby today?” McGee thought about it for a minute and then smiling slightly he said,” well it is Abby.” Tony chuckled. “ True. But don't ya think she was a bit..... distracted. Plus did you see that pin she had on her lab coat? She kept rubbing it while she talked.” Ziva turned the corner just in time to hear Tony. She stopped and squatting down by the copier she listened. McGee stopped typing for a minute and looked at Tony, formulating his answer before he spoke.”She was distracted because she hasn't had any Caf-Pow yet this morning. You know how she can get.” With that he went back to typing. A slight smile on his face. Tony rolled his eyes and went back to work. Ziva silently stood up and came around to her desk. Opening am instant message chat window she wrote: Abby, I heard Tony mention the brooch to McGee. She hit send and silently hoped Tony wasn't the one who had sent Abby the brooch. She glanced up at him. Oh, she really hoped it wasn't him. Anyone but him. She tried to rationalize that even if it had been Tony, Abby's birthday was a week away and maybe that was all it was a present. She dismissed that almost immediately after remembering the note. Suddenly in a bad mood, she went to work.
Next chapter I promise I will eliminate someone on the list. Hope you all like it so far.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.