AIRPORT
Tony and Cate stood at the airport, Tony shaking his head. "We really need our own plane," Tony muttered to her. "FBI, CIA, DEA, ATF, even NYPD have private jets."
The agents all piled onto the one plane, and the door was shut. "We're going to Washington first," the pilot called. "Then we'll take you out to Ohio."
Danny threw him the thumbs up. As the plane taxied, he grinned. "Bet you don't have this at NCIS."
Samantha tried to keep from rolling her eyes, despite her amusement. What was it with males always trying to outdo each other? She looked up briefly to see Agent Todd's face, which wore the same look of exasperation.
"Oh...no...we don't," Tony replied. "We generally try to...hitch rides on Air Force One when we can."
"Riiiight," Danny replied, obviously not buying it.
"Oh, yeah, it was just us," Tony said as brightly as he could. "Us and our dead body. AF1 pilot was taking us back to Washington." At the incredulous looks from Danny and Martin, he shrugged. "What?"
Cate just shook her head in amusement.
NYC FBI OFFICE
Vivian reappeared in the office, looking around at the empty bullpen. "Where is everyone?" she asked as she approached the table. "Jack?"
"They all headed out already - the three guys to Washington, and Sam and Agent Todd to Ohio," Jack replied, looking up.
"Mmm." Vivian chuckled as she sat. "They were getting in your hair?"
"Yeah, those two and that NCIS agent DiNozzo," Jack muttered. "Thank God I don't have to deal with them all together. I don't think I could deal with that."
"Yep," Vivian replied as she continued to lay out the different reports. "You might turn into Larabee."
Jack chuckled. "That's a scary thought." He handed her a report. "Take a look at this."
"What is it?" Vivian asked.
"This is the forensics report on the uniforms," Jack replied said, indicating the flipped open folder. "We were banking on something - some pollen, maybe a smoke smell, something on those uniforms to direct us to where she was."
"There's nothing, is there," Vivian muttered, seeing the look on his face.
"Nothing. Each one has been dry cleaned. The only prints on there are hers."
"So our Major isn't really a major," Vivian said, looking at Jack. "She can't even put on her own ribbons right."
"Or somebody else used gloves," Gibbs commented as he appeared out of nowhere and sat down.
"Yeah," Jack agreed, "but that means that she wasn't the one who got the uniforms dry cleaned. If it was some kind of dry cleaners on base, I doubt they would've gotten the ribbons mixed up. If it were some local dry cleaners, I'm guessing the major would have reattached the ribbons herself, and she wouldn't have put them in the wrong order."
"So either way somebody else is involved," Vivian replied.
"Do we know which dry cleaner's?" Gibbs asked.
"No," Jack replied. "No tags, no receipts anywhere on the uniforms or in any other part of the apartment. But if we can find out who had them dry cleaned...." He left the rest unspoken.
"I've got the list of all the dry cleaner's within an hour's radius of here," Vivian replied. "Plus within an hour's radius of her apartment down near Washington. I've got somebody looking through those now."
Gibbs held up the authorization. "The happy news continues. Marine's going to bring the surveillance tapes for the station. Here's the authorization."
WASHINGTON, DC FBI OFFICE
"So?" Martin shrugged, looking over the report and then looking at the FBI agent. "This doesn't say anything."
The FBI agent sighed theatrically. "I know."
"Agent Fitzgerald, Agent Taylor," called a voice, and the three agents looked up to see a balding, gray-haired man come around. "Agent DiNozzo," he replied, amusement and distaste both mixed in his voice. "What are you doing here?"
"Seeing the sights," Tony replied with a defiant grin.
"You know each other?" Danny asked.
"I threw his butt out on the Beltway," Fornell replied before Tony could. "You two should've done it when you had the chance," he continued, looking at them.
"Unfortunately for them, I was driving," Tony replied with a smirk.
"Yeah, unfortunately on several counts," Martin muttered, suddenly looking a little queasy.
"Agent Fornell. I spoke with your supervising agent two days ago," the man supplied, holding out a hand to Danny, introducing himself. "Agent Taylor," he greeted before turning to Martin. "Agent Fitzgerald," he said as he extended a hand to him. "It's nice to meet you, finally." He extended a hand to the agent, who looked at him warily but shook it. "Did you speak with your father?"
"I'm here on a case," Martin replied, his voice going cold. "Not on a pleasure trip."
Tony furrowed his brow, looking between Martin and Fornell.
"So...can we help you?" Danny cut in, looking at Fornell.
"Man was found dead three blocks from Major Lin's apartment," Fornell replied, giving Fitzgerald a strange look. "They found a slip of paper with what appears to be some kind of code name on it, which we're guessing is your missing major's. Thought you might want to take a look." He turned and started heading out, Martin following.
"Danny?" Tony hurried to catch up to the FBI agent. "Why did Martin look so mad about the comment about his father?" he asked in a low voice.
Danny put on his jacket and leaned over, speaking in a low voice. "Martin's father is the Deputy Director of the FBI," he said quietly. Tony's eyes widened. "Fitzy's good, he doesn't milk it, but don't ask him about it. Touchy subject."
Tony nodded.
HOME OF LINS
Samantha and Cate exchanged looks, and then Samantha reached into her pocket and pulled out a copy of the photo she had found in the major's New York apartment. "Can you tell us who this man is?" she asked, handing them the photo.
He took the photo grimly. When his wife saw the expression on his face, she came over from the spot where their triplets were playing on the floor. An older child was drawing nearby. "Peter?"
He held up the photo to show her, and she gave a small gasp.
"Who is it?" Cate asked, a little more directly and urgently.
"This...he was my sister's fiance," the man finally replied. "Jeff Quinn."
"'Was'?" Samantha asked.
"He died about...seven years ago," he explained quietly. "From the date...this...was most likely the last photo they'd taken together. Just two months before."
"What can you tell us about him?" Cate asked.
"Kate had met him when he came to the DIA for some help," he replied. "I'm not sure on the details. He was State Department, although we all know what that means, considering Kate's line of work." He heaved a sigh. "They hit it off, and - according to her - they started seeing each other a few months after the assignment ended. He called her."
"How'd he die?"
Peter Lin shook his head. "We don't know." He saw the two agents exchange looks, and then quickly corrected himself. "Kate knows. It - need-to-know, and obviously we don't. Actually, Kate only found out..." he turned to his wife. "Five years ago or so?"
His wife nodded. "Right before we bought the house."
The man nodded. "Uh, one of her contacts at the CIA had access to the records, and he told her what happened to Jeff."
"He wasn't supposed to?"
The man shook his head. "Which is why she won't say anything else." He shrugged. "Uh, Jeff's parents might know. Kate kept in contact with them, even after Jeff died."
The two agents looked surprised. "She did?" Samantha asked, and got a definitive nod.
Just then the phone rang, and his wife got up to go get it. She was back in just a minute. "Pete, it's for you."
"Excuse me." He got up and headed to the back room, and they could hear his voice over the phone. "Hello?"
His wife returned to her chair, and nervously ran her hands over her face.
NYC FBI OFFICE
"Hey," Vivian greeted the harried looking technician at the desk. "Anything yet?"
He shook his head. "Right now every face that's appeared on the tapes has been identified as somebody with the station. But there's a lot of tape to go through. I'm taking out pictures of all the people who were linked to the major and were on base at the same times she was, plus any unidentified civilians." He pointed to the pile. "That's what we've got so far."
"That's a lot," Vivian commented.
The tech guy looked at her with a pained expression. "Agent Gibbs is...thorough," he said as diplomatically as he could.
Vivian laughed. "Code for crazy," she chuckled as she began looking through some of the photos while keeping an eye on the video. "How're Naomi and the kids?"
"Oh, they're doing great. Charlotte loves her ballet class." The tech guy grinned. "Reggie and Marcus?"
"They're all right. Marcus might be voted onto tenure track, so we'll see." Vivian watched the tapes. "Hey, who's that?"
The tech guy slowly paused the tape and clicked on the one man's face, enlarging it. He stopped short. "I've never seen that one before."
"No," Vivian replied slowly. "Print out a picture for me. I'm going to run it by Jack."
STREET IN DC
"Hi Ducky, Gerald!" Tony grinned as the elderly ME came in.
"Ah, Tony, I'd like to know how you got me past the wall over there," Ducky replied, nodding at the myriad of FBI agents swarming the old building alleyway. "I wasn't sure what to do after the local coroner backed out on me."
Tony grinned. "Let me guess, he won't be getting anything this Christmas."
"Those entrance passes to the Scottish golf club won't be going to him," Ducky huffed as he slowly kneeled beside the body.
Tony and Gerald exchanged grins.
"They were to the Kingsbarns course, too," Ducky continued. "That course is perhaps the most beautiful of them all," the ME commented brightly, looking up at the NCIS agent. "The view of the sea it gives could distract even the likes of Ben Hogan or Arnold Palmer," he went on, then furrowed his brow slightly as he thought. "Who is it you young people watch these days? Jack Nicklaus?"
Gerald laughed as he took photos. "Tiger Woods."
Ducky looked up. "What kind of name is 'Tiger'?" he asked.
"What kind of name is 'Ducky'?" Tony grinned.
"My name is Donald. I can't help it if everyone calls me Ducky."
"How'd he die, Duck?"
"Please, Tony, I just met the deceased! You're picking up on Gibbs' impatience. Pick up on something else, for goodness' sake," the ME chastised as he leaned over to swab the wound. "You really should meet the man," he addressed the body. "Gibbs is one of our best, but the man always wants instant this. Instant that. He would make instant autopsies and instant agents if he could."
Gerald and Tony exchanged amused looks.
"Huh," Ducky commented, straightening as he thought about it. "Though, it is strange.... Gibbs hates instant coffee."
As Ducky rambled on about Gibbs' impatience, Tony worked his sketches, then stopped when he felt two people standing behind him. "Don't worry, we've got this part handled," he said, as he looked up at the two FBI agents. He stood up when he saw their faces. "What?"
"Your ME," Martin said in a low voice. "He's talking. To the BODY." He raised an eyebrow at Tony, who looked from his deadpan face to Danny's, which sported a smirk.
"Well, young fellow," Ducky replied as he stood to his feet. "If you were dead, wouldn't you rather be talked to rather than about?" He smiled as the two seemed slightly taken aback. "I don't believe Tony's introduced us. Ducky, and this is Gerald," he said, indicating his assistant.
"Agent Martin Fitzgerald," Martin replied, extending a hand and shaking the ME's. "Agent Danny Taylor." He indicated his coworker. "Dr. Mallard, do you need any help?"
"Oh no, I'm just fine. And please, it's Ducky to my associates," Ducky replied warmly. He looked at them carefully. "Ah. FBI. We're working this one with them?" He looked at Tony, who nodded. The silence became a tense one, but Ducky quickly managed to dispel it. "Gibbs didn't shoot them first?"
"They" Tony indicated the two FBI agents "got you past the 'wall' back there." The ME made a little face at the hassle he had gotten from the other LEOs at first. "I told them that if they didn't want to deal with some smug stuck-in-the-mud, they should let you two and Abby in on this. They're Missing Persons."
"Ohhh," Ducky nodded in understanding sympathy. "The crime scene agents weren't very happy with you, hmm?" He got grins out of the two younger men. "Well, I'll be ready in a bit. Gerald - the gurney."
Tony followed the two FBI agents some ways off. "We got anything?"
Martin held up an ID, which had a photo of the dead man, and a ring of keys. "Jacob Wittenstein. We've got an address."
"Let's go."
LINS' OHIO HOME
"Mrs. Lin?" Cate asked gently.
"I just...I'm sorry." Jaime quickly assessed their two cups of water and reached over to the pitcher to pour more for them. "I just...I can't believe Kate's MISSING."
"She's never disappeared before?" Samantha asked. "I think it would be common in her line of work."
"Disappear, all the time, but not like this," she replied quietly. "Kate is pretty much unreachable; she never answers her phone, really. We generally end up talking to her machine and then getting a call from her later. But there was always somewhere to call, who knew where she was, in case of emergencies."
"Who - well, where?" Cate asked.
"I don't know. The number changed every time." She paused for a moment. "And she wasn't always doing this. The disappearing didn't really start until after Jeff died."
"You two were close?" Samantha asked gently.
"No." Jaime laughed nervously. "Kate is...very hard to get close to."
"How so?" Cate straightened in her chair.
"From what Peter had said...she always was very quiet, very detached by personality already," Jaime replied. "Very...cold. And that was before she even got into...whatever she's doing now. Kate...Peter's the only family she has left, and I've never heard her say to him that she loves him or something."
"What's their relationship like?" Samantha asked.
She shrugged for a moment as she tried to piece her thoughts together. "Their mother...was kind of sickly," she replied. "Their father died when Peter was ten. In some ways I think Kate became a parent to Peter, especially with their age difference."
"Did she ever say anything recently that struck you as strange?"
Jaime thought for a moment, then shook her head. As she did, though, she suddenly stopped. "Last time she was here. It was about a year ago, she came by after an assignment."
Jaime pauses at the top of the stairwell, looking down into the living room. On the sofa sits the major, with a small toddler in her lap.
"...and that?" Lin asks gently, smiling as she points at something in a book.
"Dog!" the tot declares, then beams up at his aunt.
Lin smiles, then quickly looks up to the staircase almost as if reacting to an intruder in the house. She sees her sister-in-law, and Jaime sighs a little and comes down into the living room. "Did we wake you?" Lin asks.
Jaime smiles and shakes her head. "No. It's about time to get up, anyhow."
Lin makes a face. "It's 8 am on a Saturday morning, Jaime."
Jaime chuckles as she watches her son sitting in his aunt's lap, looking at the cartoon characters in the big book. "Richard Scarry, huh?" She sees a rare, trace smile on Lin's face.
The tot climbs off his aunt's lap and takes the book. "'Nother book, A'ntie Kate!"
"All right," Lin agrees, and the small child scampers off.
Jaime smiles as she watches her son leave, then turns back to the older woman. She looks as if she isn't sure whether or not to say anything, then ventures bravely, "You're good with him."
A blank look drops over the other woman's face, and she shrugs. "He's a well-mannered kid." There's a silence, and Jaime shifts uncomfortably under his sister-in-law's careful watching. "Peter's lucky to have you."
There is obvious surprise on Jaime's face. "What?"
"Peter's lucky to have you - you and the kids. He's settled. He has his own home."
Jaime straightens. "Kate, you're always welcome here," she says earnestly. "You're part of the family."
The major raises an inquisitive eyebrow for a moment, then chuckles as understanding registers on her face. "No, I meant that I finally don't have to worry about him anymore," she replies. "You're shrewd enough to keep his naive butt out of trouble."
Jaime smiles reassuringly in agreement, but just until Lin settles on the sofa, putting her head back onto the top of the sofa, looking up at the ceiling. The younger woman then looks at her sister-in-law with a slightly puzzled expression.
"She was always so...on alert." Jaime concluded, shaking her head. "Watchful. Wary."
"She seems to like you." Samantha smiled.
"When we first met, she was pretty cold towards me. Polite, cordial, but nothing else." Jaime chuckled a little. "I always kind of hoped that Kate would eventually approve of me, but that wasn't quite the response I think I'd get." She chuckled nervously, then thought for a moment. "Or in that context."
"Do you have problems with her when she visits?" Samantha asked.
Jaime shook her head firmly. "No. Never. She's always...when she visits she helps to watch the kids, to cook, to clean," she replied. "Despite Peter and my efforts to get her to feel otherwise, she always acts as though she's a guest."
"She sounds as though she thinks something might happen to her," Cate replied. "Did she give you any hint of what was going on?"
Jaime shook her head. "She never tells us anything, but I wonder if it isn't getting...more dangerous, given what she said."
WITTENSTEIN'S APARTMENT, DC
As the three men entered the dead man's apartment, Tony's eyes flickered briefly, and then he said quietly, "OK, let's roll. I'll take the bedroom."
Martin and Danny exchanged looks, and then Martin headed for the kitchen.
Danny started flipping around, but he didn't see anything. There were a few family photos of Wittenstein with his parents, but that was it. Nothing about Lin.
He wandered into the kitchen. "What've we got?"
"Jiffy peanut butter," Martin commented as he held up a jar, then replaced it in the refrigerator and shut the door. He then opened another cabinet door to reveal five more jars. "A lot of it. You?"
"Nothing. Although," Danny got a little pensive, "that might be something. He's got no mention of Lin anywhere in here. No photos, no name - I checked in his personal phonebook. Nothing. Kind of odd if he's her boyfriend."
Martin groaned.
"I think I got something," came Tony's voice as he came in, grinning like the cat who'd just eaten the canary. He held up an evidence bag.
Inside was a small bottle of Bellagio.
NYC FBI OFFICE
Two photos dropped onto the table in front of the two men, who both looked up.
"What's this?" Jack asked, looking at the printout of the surveillance photo.
"I don't know," Vivian replied as she slid into the seat. "We know Stockwell, and it's not him. Martin just sent in the photo of the dead man they found, Jacob Wittenstein, and it's not him. And it doesn't match her dead fiance's face, either."
Jack looked amused. "Should it have been?"
Vivian shrugged. "Never hurts to check."
"You never know with these intelligence types," came Gibbs comment, earning him two puzzled looks as he continued to examine the photo closely. "Not military; well, either that or he's got family money."
"That's got to be an expensive suit," Jack muttered in agreement, squinting at the man in the photo. Those the image was fuzzy, the man's long coat was open wide enough to reveal a three-piece suit.
"Do we have him logged on the entrance records to the base?" Gibbs asked, finally looking up.
"I still need to check on that. Right now he's the only one that's unaccounted for."
LIN'S APARTMENT, DC
Martin suddenly stopped the superintendent of the apartment building. "Wait." He held up a photo of Wittenstein. "Does he look familiar?"
"Sure, he's her boyfriend. Ran into him the other day, he was comin' by to get some things for her. Said she was in New York."
Tony and Danny exchanged looks.
Martin moved toward the door and pulled out the keys he'd found on Wittenstein and tried the first house key. It didn't work. He tried the second.
The door to the apartment slowly swung open.
The super nodded. "He's got a key to her place. That's how he got in."
"We're going to need a surveillance tape covering everyone who entered and left your building in the last week," Tony said. The super nodded and hurried off as the three men headed in and began searching.
Inside her bedroom, Tony flipped through everything, but the only thing he could find was a fine layer of dust. It was entirely un-lived in, and it did give him the creeps a little.
"Find anything?" Martin called as he came in from the kitchen, looking around her bedroom. He walked over to the window and looked out to see a cherry blossom tree several feet away; not close enough to block sunlight, but close enough to be enjoyable. "Nice view."
"Yep to the view," Tony replied, dropping the mattress back down. "But no your question. Nothing in there."
"Yeah, I didn't find anything either. Nothing but an unopened box of Cheez-its."
Tony shook his head as he and Martin headed out to the living room. "Place is pretty clean. Fits the report, if she's been in New York for the past six months."
"Yeah. Didn't find any Bellagio or anything with a scent, either," Martin mumbled. "Where's Danny?"
"Right here," Danny replied, coming in with a smirk.
"Find anything?"
"A round that was fired. It was stuck in the couch. Seems like it went through some stuff, lost velocity as it went through the wall, and stuck into the couch." Danny held up the bag, a big grin on his face.
"Hi Jack," Samantha said the car whirled down the highway. "Cate and I are going to head over into Illinois. Her fiance's parents are there, and we're going to talk to them. ... Yeah. ... OK, bye." She hung up and shut the door.
Cate started up the car and pulled out of the parking lot. "What do you think?"
"Maybe our Major found somebody new," Samantha replied. "It's possible."
"Likely?" Cate commented.
Samantha looked over at the NCIS agent, then shrugged. "It's possible to move on with somebody else after a first relationship ends badly," she replied. "You'd most likely be more gun-shy, but if it's the right guy."
Cate looked over at her passenger briefly, as if trying to figure out what the comment meant. Then, "Yeah, but likely? The way the Lins were describing the major, it doesn't seem like she moved on."
"Well," Samantha shrugged. "A lot of families have secrets." She took care to ignore purposely the brief look Cate again gave her and sat back in her seat before she changed the subject. "This is nice. A nice, normal driver for a change."
Cate laughed outright. "I'm accused of being slow."
Samantha sat up and looked at the speedometer. "At 10 miles over the speed limit?" she asked incredulously.
"The response was, and I quote, 'What good is it being an armed federal agent if you can't drive fast?'"
Samantha chuckled. "I hate it when guys take a 'little car ride' and try to beat their best time. I'm not a GOOD driver, but at least I don't speed."
"It must be hell when you're driving in New York," Cate replied sympathetically.
"Oh yeah," Samantha nodded. "What about you?"
"Generally we don't have to go into Washington proper, so that's not the problem. The problem is that Gibbs lets Tony drive all the time. I swear, Gibbs does it just because he knows it annoys me," Cate grumbled.
Samantha chuckled as she looked over at the other woman's face. Despite the slight scowl on her face, there was no venom behind her words, and Samantha had seen enough to know that Cate wasn't really annoyed with either of her two coworkers. Although, she could use backup in dealing with them. "Agent Gibbs likes to push your buttons?"
"Not as much as Tony, but when he does - " Cate made a face.
"He goes for quality over quantity, huh." Samantha barely suppressed her amusement.
NCIS HQ LAB ROOM
"Hey Abby, what've we got?" Tony asked as he wandered in. As the lab technician whirled around in her chair to greet him, he grinned at her. "Lookin' good without us around to keep you on your toes."
Abby laughed. "How was New York?"
"It's fast-paced, always on the move," Tony grinned. "I like that energy. Gibbs and Cate hate it. Gibbs and his d - n no power boatbuilding and Cate's 'small town Americana' stuff."
Abby chuckled. "You come down here by yourself?"
"Nope." Just then the door opened, and Abby and Tony both turned. In the next room were Martin and Danny, making their way towards her lab.
"Wow. You're keeping cuter company than usual," Abby commented. "Too bad they're FBI."
Tony just gave her a look.
"Not that Gibbs and Cate aren't cute," Abby replied hurriedly in correction, although misinterpreting Tony's look. "Just that Gibbs...is old enough to be my dad, and Cate is...well, female."
"I thought you were into older guys," Tony teased.
"Yeah, but dating Gibbs would be like...dating my dad," Abby replied, shuddering. "Ugh."
"Hi," Martin greeted as he came in. "We're looking for...."
"Abby? That's me." Abby grinned as she twirled around in her chair.
Martin and Danny tried to recover from their surprise at seeing the lab tech. If the bow-tie wearing, story-spouting, body-conversing ME wasn't enough, the NCIS lab tech was even more surprising. She had on black boots, black pants, black shirt...with pinky holes on the sleeves.
"Abby, what've you got?" Tony asked pointedly, shooting the FBI agents a dark look.
"The cologne you found in Wittenstein's apartment matched the scent on the bedsheets you'd bagged and brought down here," Abby began. "And considering how much is in the bottle, I'd guess that's where he got it from."
"So our boyfriend is driving in from Washington," Martin murmured.
QUINN HOME, ILLINOIS
"...very quiet," Mrs. Quinn said softly, looking down. "Katie was not really a talker, but always polite."
"Jeff loved her," her husband continued, "and she was a good kid. He was our only son."
"How did he die?" Samantha asked gently.
The Quinns looked at each other, then Mr. Quinn said quietly, "We don't know."
Cate looked surprised. "You don't."
"It's need to know," Mrs. Quinn replied.
"When was the last time you saw Major Lin?" Samantha asked.
"Seven...seven years ago," Mrs. Quinn replied, her eyes beginning to fill with tears. "At Jeffrey's funeral."
"...Amen." As the minister closes, a little girl drops a few flowers onto the casket already in the ground. People are crying.
To the side stands the major in a dark coat, watching quietly. She doesn't move, doesn't speak. Next to her stands her brother and his wife, who both keep looking at her with sidelong glances, but keep quiet.
The mourners begin to disband, and many come over to the Quinns to talk to them; a few greet the major, who smiles at them and talks just a little.
Soon the only ones left are the Quinns and Major Lin, her brother and his sister-in-law some distance away.
"Kate," Mrs. Quinn murmurs through her tears, reaching up to hug the younger woman, who awkwardly hugs her back. "I'm sorry."
"So am I," she says quietly, in a voice devoid of anything. She nods to them and turns away, disappearing among th eothers at the funeral. The Quinns are a little taken aback.
"Her fiance was just killed and she didn't cry?" Samantha asked incredulously. "Did it look like she had been?"
The man shook his head, causing Samantha and Cate to exchange looks. "We thought it was weird, too." He sighed. "But, you know...Kate keeps in touch."
"She does?" This was getting stranger and stranger.
"Every Christmas, there comes a card from her. There's never very much on it. But, uh, she's like clockwork about Christmas. And our birthdays." The couple exchanged looks. "It's just nice to be remembered," the woman finished softly.
NCIS HQ LAB
Abby moved over to her computer. "I'm going to look over the surveillance tapes again, but I'm pretty sure I didn't miss it." She called up one section of the tape. "The tape's been tampered with."
"What?"
"Somebody taped a section of the empty exit door over the surveillance tape. It's a loop of about five minutes."
"How can you tell?" Tony asked.
Abby chuckled and pointed at the corner of the screen. "Watch as the little kitty struts the catwalk...three times." She grinned with satisfaction. "Problem is, this looping occurs only once - last Tuesday."
"That's over a week ago," Danny muttered in frustration. "Way before she went missing."
"Oh, but here's what's - "
" - hinky?" Tony finished.
Abby grinned. "The tape of her NYC apartment you brought down? It was looped twice. Same deal - 5 minute sections. I would've missed it this time if I hadn't been looking for it. There wasn't a cat helping me this time."
The three chuckled in spite of themselves.
"What about the rounds?"
As Abby turned in her chair back to the computer monitor, her long black pants whished over a chain hanging from the beltloop. Danny and Martin exchanged looks. Danny leaned over. "Is it just me, or is she in all black...with a dog collar?" he whispered as softly as he could.
Martin nodded. "Not you."
"The bullet from the victim was in pretty good shape," Abby replied, pointing at the weapon. "One shot, killed him instantly, if that's any comfort. I'd say the round was most likely from a Baretta. 21. I think."
"His whole face was...screwed up," Danny replied in disagreement. "Only one shot? Did the guy pistol whip him before?"
"Not according to Ducky," Tony replied shortly, a little put off by the tone of distrust in the FBI agent's voice.
"The gun can misfire sometimes if you don't clock somebody just right," Abby replied from her spot in front of the computer. "That wouldn't be smart if you wanted a clean job, which is what this guy did. I think he most likely just fired the one shot. The thing is, once a bullet enters a body, everything's game. They can pierce your shoulder and wind up in your nose or something. If the bullet's small enough, they can even go through your blood vessels without killing you."
"Ugh." Tony shuddered.
"So the one bullet could have traveled and then...messed up his face like that?" Martin asked.
"Yup."
"What about the round that we brought in from Lin's apartment?" Danny asked.
"Certainly a Baretta, and I'd say the same model." Abby replied. "This bullet is in way better condition than the first."
"Baretta 21, huh?"
Abby nodded.
Chapter End Notes:
"Nine Lives, Part II" is "NCIS" only. posted to FF.net 3/21-4/2/04