DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NCIS OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS!

DISPROVING A LEGEND

Abby stood staring at her monitor. Her eyes impossibly large, not quite believing what she was seeing. She recovered enough to utter, "She didn't do it." She shook her head repeating, "She really didn't do it."

"What didn't she do, Abs?" Gibbs asked placing a Caf-Pow by her keyboard. He squinted at the screen trying to determine what had her so stunned.

"Lizzie Borden." Abby turned her head to look at Gibbs, "She didn't whack anyone!"

Gibbs looked at her wearily. Not because he thought she was being difficult, but it certainly wasn't a case they were working on.

"Don't look at me like that Gibbs," she frowned. "Look at these forensics and it'll prove there was no way she did it."

Gibbs put his free hand not holding his coffee, out palm up, and cocked his head silently giving her the message that he didn't see it.

"Right. I'll explain," she smiled.

"I'm all ears," Gibbs was interested in hearing how she could overturn a case from so long ago.

Abby got into her report mode. "First off, look at the blood splatter," she pointed to a picture taken of the crime scene. She had enhanced the aged photo and enlarged the evidence she was referring to. "This shows her mother was standing when the ax hit her."

She looked at Gibbs waiting for him to see what was so obvious to her.

He nodded for her to continue, saving his opinion until she concluded her presentation.

Frustrated at his silence, but more determined to prove her findings she went on, "Next this first whack was made in a downward arc. The angle and force could only have been done by Lizzie if she was six inches taller. Then these injuries here," she brought up an image showing Mrs. Borden's shoulders, "She would've had to have been standing on her abdomen to cause these types of wounds, but there's no bruising where her feet would've been; not to mention she probably would've broken a few of her ribs.

"If you take into consideration the entire scenario, there had to be at least two assailants. This wasn't a silent murder, so there had to be someone keeping Lizzie and her father from interfering, escaping or in some way coming to her aid."

"Maybe Lizzie held her father while her boyfriend killed her mother," Gibbs played devil's advocate.

Abby emphatically shook her head. "Not possible Gibbs. Her father could easily have gotten free of her. I think there was a presence that intimidated him or perhaps a weapon held at him. The Bordens didn't own any weapons and none were found at the scene."

Gibbs rolled his hand encouraging her to go on with her explanation. He had to appreciate her in depth research into the crime.

"Let's look at the father's injuries," she switched to a picture where the father's body was found. "Again the splatter indicates a taller person though the swings came lower then those made at her mother. Not unusual from someone who had been swinging hard and fast at her mother, surely whoever did it had tired somewhat."

Gibbs sipped his coffee. "Okay. What about Lizzie?" he asked.

Abby smiled, "She was covered in both her parents' blood. Incriminating- true. She was petrified. For whatever reasons, the murderers forced her to witness the slaughter of her parents. Maybe she was next, but they had to rush out. Best guess they planned to make her the fall guy- girl. Who better to frame up? A daughter that for all intents and purposes was over the edge. Not crazy from killing them, but from seeing them killed. They may have even convinced her that she did it. She was mentally not to mention emotionally and psychologically vulnerable. They put the ax in her hands, maybe even had her take a couple swings at the bodies causing the wounds that weren't so deep. In her mind she was responsible for hurting them."

Abby was convinced she was right and stared at Gibbs waiting for him to see she was as well. Slowly he took it all in, nodded and kissed her cheek, "Good job, Abs."

Her smile grew with his approval, until he turned back as he was leaving saying, "Now if you could get working on our current case, maybe we could solve it too."

She saluted and rushed to get the evidence analyzed. No doubt she would get the results he required. Abigail Sciuto always finds the truth.