The next day saw a haze over the lake, the early morning mist giving a blanket over the surroundings. Fornell woke. He wondered where he was, his head hurt, and then he remembered. It was turning out not to be a good idea. He listened for noises…….none. Where were Gibbs, and Jack,…….how was he going to wash…..more important……….toilet. Then he heard the laughter. Rising from the rear bed, he opened the curtain, took his hand and brushed the condensation from the window, to see father and son cooking breakfast. Gibbs looked up and waved.
“Sleeping Beauty awakes dad.”
“’Bout time son………..was snoring like a hog in shit when I got up………must be the air.” Jackson replied, as they saw Fornell exit the trailer.
“Coffee, Tobias?” Jethro asked, shaking the pot.
“What time is it Gibbs?” Fornell growled.
“Oh I would say 04.30……….Dad and I are going to test the waters……….if you want to freshen up, there’s hot water in the kettle………or the washrooms are behind those trees.” as Gibbs pointed to the horizon.
It was at that moment there was a shot, a bang. Tobias went for his gun and hit the deck, Gibbs and his father jumped and then laughed, “Backfire Tobias, happens all the time.”
“What you think had happened, a murder.” Jackson asked, “Mind in the hunting season it has been known…….one way of ending disputes, and revenge, that sort of thing.”
“No, I just got edgy, not used to the country sounds.” Tobias replied now picking himself up and accepting the coffee Gibbs offered.
“You gonna get dressed ‘cos dad and I are gonna hire a boat and head off for the far side of the lake. If you are good I’ll not make you row.” Gibbs smiled.
“You are joking?” Tobias asked before he slunk off to the RV to get changed into something warmer. He returned about 15 minutes later wearing jeans a set of waders Jack had left out.
“I look stupid,” he snorted.
“If you say so Tobias, but can you swim? Because if you fall in, and the water fills the boots, you’ll may be lucky to get ashore alive.” Gibbs laughed.
“Leroy, he’ll do fine, and look Tobias, Leroy got us a boat,” pointing to the fishing cruiser, albeit only 15 feet but it had a cabin and a couple of benches for stretching out on. The outboard was slung outback.
“Ok, and by the smell of you two, I got to go with the flow?” Fornell now asked.
“Smell, what smell? All I can smell is water and fish.” Gibbs replied, as he turned and headed for the boat followed by his father, and then a very reluctant Fornell.
WEE
“So I put this on the hook and then cast it into the water?” Tobias asked, looking down at the bait.
“Sure thing,………all in the wrist action.” Jack began to say, as he flicked his wrist back, the line just missing Tobias’ face.
“Hey watch what you are doing, could have someone’s eye out, with a shot like that.” Tobias had growled.
“Tobias, I have been fishin’ since I was knee high to a grasshopper……………..and they grow pretty big where I grew up, and no I never took their eye out, usually I took them out………………caught some mighty big fish with a grasshopper……………….and if you say great son, you’re dead.” Jack replied.
“Great.” Fornell whispered casting the line.
The bait and the line hit the water. The circles from the cast emanated from the point of entry, Fornell watched as Gibbs and Jackson teased the line.
“See, you have to make the fish think they are going for live food. If something just lay there it would be dead.” Gibbs started to say.
“And dead ain’t good.” Jackson replied, as he watched Fornell cast his line.
Tobias watched as Gibbs and his father just quietly cast and recast, reeled in and cast again.
“Does it get any better than this?” Tobias whined.
“Ssshhhhh, you’ll frighten the fish.” Gibbs whispered, as he watched his line catch something and then as Fornell’s line also snagged a fish.
“I caught something,” Tobias began to shout, “Hey and by the weight of the pull something big.”
“Here son, I’ll help you reel in your catch,” Jackson began to say, placing his own gear down and begin to help Tobias, he watched Gibbs also began to reel in his catch, but what appeared was not what anyone was expecting……a body yes but not a fish but a human.
“Great,” was all Fornell could say, as he watched Gibbs grab the boat-hook and pull the corpse to the side of the boat, rolling it over.
"
So what we got?” Fornell asked, “Time of death?”
“Well after the base time period………….a body will rise off the bottom in 4 and a half days.” Jethro began to say.
“Great.” Fornell replied, as Jack began to think that was all he could say.
“But………..you got to add 24 hours for every 2 degrees F below 50 degrees of the water temp.” Gibbs continued.
“So looking at this body, it has been in the water 5 days?” Fornell finally surmised.
“Not so fast Tobias, then subtract 8 hours for every 5 degree over 55-deg water temp,” as Gibbs looked at Fornell’s face, “Then add 2 days if he was thin build, or underweight, or subtract 12 hours for every 25 lbs overweight.”
“So, how long?” Tobias growled how he hated this.
“Not finished Tobias, finally you got to reduce this time by 15% if they ate within the last 3 hours and 20% if there was beer involved…………” Gibbs laughed looking at the serious face of his friend.
“You know this?” Tobias questioned gruffly.
“Oh yeah, Duks told me.” Jethro answered shrugging his shoulders.
“Great.” Fornell replied, looking out over the lake, “But give me a rough idea.”
As Gibbs smiled and moved his head to one side, “5 days should do it.”
“Got a cause of death?” Tobias now asked.
“Well Tobias, since half his face isn’t there I would say shotgun……..that and the crabs.” Jethro added.
“Great.”
“That all you can say son?” Gibbs father now asked, “When I was in the Airforce, we used to call those lost at sea “Crab-fat”, never got the bodies but the crabs sure got fattened up.”
“That Jackson, is something I didn’t want to hear.” Tobias retorted, “In fact you just put me off seafood.”
“What you boys going to do with the body?” Jackson now asked, “Not gonna drag on board I hope.”
“Need to get the local LEOs dad, but not sure if I can get a signal……..you got a signal Tobias?” Gibbs asked now looking at Fornell.
“Just….what you want me to say?” Tobias now questioned.
“Hell, Tobias, you never taken a call from a member of the public about a body?” Gibbs shouted.
“Sure but I’ve never had to make one.” Fornell replied back.
“Hey boys, give me the cell, I’ll call 911,” as Jack now took the cell and dialled, “Hey, yeah, name of Jackson Gibbs fishing out of Lake Chillisquaque, me and my boys just hooked us a body……. I don’t know……male, 180LBS……half his face blown away……..my boys say been in the water maybe 5 days………..how they know this…one works for NCIS, the other’s a Feeb,…………..yeah I know but we’re on vacation…………OK, we’ll hang about then.”
“What they say Dad?” Jethro asked.
“Oh you know usual, don’t leave the crime scene, don’t touch the body, you know the usual stuff you guys say.” Jackson replied.
“Great,” was all Gibbs and Fornell could say in unison, smiling at each other.
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