Panda: Hello, all! This is a story I started a while back so the style might be a little different than what I've been doing, so bear with it, please!
Panda-Chan: It might not be all that different, though. More along the lines of Valentine Hints, than Let's Play a Game.
Panda: We hope you find it interesting, anyways!
Panda-Chan: Panda does not own NCIS or anything else recognizable in this fic.
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Timothy McGee was staring at his computer screen in shock, his mind registering the familiar picture but his brain unable to compute it.
Diana Higg.
The name, along with the picture of her, both alive and on the autopsy table, spurred him to open the cold case file that was more than five years old. He held his breath until the page opened and he began to read.
Diana Higg 1962-1999
Lead Agent: Special Agent Thomas
Leading M.E.: Dr. Donald Mallard
Assistant M.E.: N/A
Forensics: Mallorey Lenfolly (Stand In)
Found by a camping couple in a river at Shenandoah State Park where her dress got caught on a few submerged branches. M.E. Donald Mallard found ligature marks on neck, suggesting strangulation, and upon further inspection found a small pinprick at the base of the neck. Toxicology report showed that the victim was injected with a paralyzing agent that would have rendered her immobile for hours. Further inspection of the area proved useless as the area was completely clean and untouched. It's believed that the unsub injected her with the agent, strangled her and then moved the body to Shenandoah State park. Upon searching for the victim's last place of residence we found that she had been homeless for a number of years. She had one son, given up to an adoption agency when he was three, and her husband, Petty Officer George Higg, was K.I.A in Desert Storm. Investigation lasted for a week before placed in the Cold Case Files.
Signature of Filer: Thomas Dunvane
It wasn't a long file and almost nothing had been found but McGee knew that he had to take it, after all she was his mother.
Retired NCIS Agent Thomas Dunvane was resting at home when the phone beside his armchair began ringing. He sighed as he set down his book and picked up the phone, putting it to his ear he spoke,
"Dunvane."
"Thomas Dunvane? Retired NCIS Agent?"
The voice on the phone was male and definitely younger than his 63 years of age and held a tone of determination in it that seemed out of place.
"This is he."
"Hello, sir, my name is Timothy McGee and I am an NCIS Special Agent stationed in D.C. I'm calling to ask you about one your cases that took place about five and a half years ago."
"Well, son, I'll try my best to answer but I might not be very trustworthy. I have a hard time remembering what I had for breakfast last week."
"That's alright sir, anything you can remember will be helpful."
"If you say so."
"Ok. The victim's name is Diana Higg."
The name froze him, flashes of a beautiful woman in a river with bruises on her neck assaulting his mind as he sat motionless. He definitely remembered that case."
"Yeah, I know it. Last case I took before my retirement. It ticked me off that I couldn't find any evidence to convict anyone. I looked for a week before I had to put it away in the Cold Case Files. Never could get any real sleep after that."
"So you never found anything that could help solve her murder?"
"Nope. No matter how hard we looked we just couldn't find anything that was out of place. You could try looking for phone records or if she had a place that she stayed a lot because back then we didn't have nearly as much as we have these days."
"Alright. Thank you, Mr. Dunvane."
"You're welcome and if you find who did it could you let me know?"
"Yes, I will. Good-bye."
"Bye."
He hung up the phone and rubbed his face wearily, hoping the kid would be able to find more than he had.
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Tim returned the phone to its hook and stood up heading to the elevator so he could get down to the evidence garage. He was especially happy that Gibbs had a day full of meetings and they didn't have a case because that means that Tony wouldn't be at his desk most of the day and Kate would likely not be paying attention to anything around her as she read or sketched. Tim was able to get to the elevator without anyone noticing and he was on the way down to the Evidence Garage before he was finally able to relax.
This case wasn't one that he wanted to share with the rest of his team unless he absolutely had to. Truthfully he wasn't even supposed to be working this case seeing as the victim was his birth mother but he had to, he had to know how she died.
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Tim made it to the Evidence Garage and got out of the elevator as he made his way to the fenced in part where the evidence was kept. He input the pass-code and started his search, happy for the alphabetizing when he came across Higg, Diana. The box wasn't big and all it held was the dress she had been wearing when she died along with a cross necklace and a ring. His vague recollections of his birth mother showed him that she had always had the necklace as it was something he played with a lot when she held him as a baby. Those memories brought up others, most of his father holding him as a child and letting him wear his uniform hat.
Tim smiled at the memories before sobering up and signing for the evidence, he could recollect when he had figured this case out. He took one last look inside the box, put the lid back on and picked it up as he left.
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Abigail Scuito was in her lab, her music loud and thumping; the way she liked it. It had been really quiet the last few days, no one had died and no one asking her to go over some cold case evidence so it suffices to say that she was bored. Well, she was, until Timothy McGee walked into her lab bearing a box of old evidence.
"Timmy! What brings you down into my lair? Do we have another case? Not that I mean to sound happy about that or anything, because I don't, but it's just so boring down here with nothing to do and a girl can only go so long before she starts to believe she's crazy for talking to machines that don't talk back."
"No, Abby, we don't have another case but I do have a Cold Case that I'd like you to take a look at."
"Really? Who is it?"
"Victim's name is Diana Higg. It's a Cold Case from about 5½ years ago. Whoever killed her was a professional and he didn't leave any clue as to who he was behind it. All we know is that she was injected with a paralyzing agent, killed by strangulation and then dumped into a river in Shenandoah State Park."
"Ok..So what makes you think that I'm going to be able to get anything when the other forensic scientist didn't?"
"Because you're Abby Scuito, and you're the most amazing Forensic Scientist in the world?"
"Aww, McGee, you really know how to make a girl feel special. Ok, I'll look at it but I won't promise you that I'm going to find anything."
"All I'm asking is for you to look at it, Abby, that's all I want you to do."
"Alright, McGee, I'll call you if I get anything."
Tim gave her a kiss on the check before turning to walk out.
"You're the greatest, Abbs."
Abby smiled at his retreating back but couldn't help but feel the smallest amount of confusion to why this was so important to him.
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Tim made it back to his desk without alerting Tony or Kate, the senior agent having made it back to his desk in the time that Tim had been gone. Looking over at Tony's computer he saw that the jokester was enthralled in a game of Tetris, the speed of the game indicating he was on a rather high level. Deciding to leave the other male alone he looked over at their female team member and saw her still reading, a significant amount of pages having been turned since he had left.
Seeing that his teammate's attentions were not on him he turned back to his computer and started looking for Diana Higg's last phone records. It wasn't easy as it had been quite a few years and Diana hadn't had a recognized place of living when she had died. After about2 hours of searching, however, he was able to find some phone records from about a week before Diana lost her apartment. She had only made five phone calls that week and upon further inspection he found they were all to a hotel that was on the outskirts of Norfolk. He could see now why Mr. Dunvane's team didn't find anything from her phone records as they were from a few years before she was found dead.
Stranding up he reached into his drawer and took out his gun and badge, attaching them both to his belt. Starting to leave he paused for a moment, wondering if he should take back up just in case. Sighing he walked over to Kate's desk and waited for her attention, it didn't take long for her to set her book down and look up at Tim.
"Can I help you, McGee?"
"Uh, yeah, I was looking into a Cold Case and I found a lead and I was wondering if you would like to join me. I mean, I'll understand if you don't want to but I just thought that I would ask."
Kate stared at him for a few minutes, mulling over the idea in her head, before answering.
"Sure, McGee, I'm feeling a bit bored at the moment anyways."
"Great."
Tim stood there and waited while Kate grabbed her gun and badge as well and they started to leave when she had them attached to her belt. They didn't get very far, however, as Tony's voice drew their attention away from the task a hand.
"What, you're just going to leave me here? Now that hurts, Probie."
Tim sighed and turned around, seeing Tony standing there, gun and badge already attached to his hip, with a pathetic pleading look on his face.
"Fine, you can come. But just let me ask the questions ok? This is really important to me."
"Sure, Probie, but why is it so important to you?"
"I can't tell you now, but I will when I figure this case out."
"Promise, McGee?"
"Yeah, I promise Kate."
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The Norfolk Lodge had been on the outskirts of Norfolk for going on 15 years and looked as though it had seen better days. The sign, once proudly proclaiming the name of the motel, was now barely hanging on to the rusted hooks and the ceiling looked as if the slightest pressure would bring it down in seconds. Despite all of that, however, it was still open and the bell above the door rang when the three NCIS Agents entered.
"Hello, welcome to the Norfolk Lodge, how may I help you?"
The old man behind the counter greeted them cheerfully, his thick glasses magnifying his eyes to a high degree and hinting at how poor his eyesight was. McGee took the initiative and showed the man his badge.
"Hello, I'm Special Agent Timothy McGee with NCIS and these are my colleagues Special Agents Anthony DiNozzo and Caitlin Todd, we have a few questions we'd like to ask you concerning a women who may have stayed here a number of years ago by the name of Diana Higg."
Considering how old the man looked most people may have suspected him to not remember the name of one of surely many women who had stayed at the Lodge over the years but by the widening of the man's eyes the agents could see that he remembered her.
"Yes, Diana Higg, I remember her well. She was a friend of the family, her and George; they helped us through a number of hard times over the years until George was killed in Desert Storm. We were wondering when someone would be coming for her things. We've been holding onto them since she was murdered."
"You mean you have some of her things here? Why didn't you take them to the police when you heard that she had died?"
"I had actually been about to take them in that day but this strange fellow came in, told us that he'd give us $500 if we kept the stuff and didn't let anyone know that we had it. I know that it was wrong of me to do it but we were having trouble getting customers and food was getting scarce in the kitchen."
"Well we would like to have the box, please, and a description if you can remember anything about him."
The old man nodded his head before picking up the phone and dialing a number. He started speaking when someone picked up the other line.
"Mary, it's time that we gave Diana's stuff to the police. There are a few officers here to collect it now so why don't you bring it out. Alright, bye."
He hung up the phone and turned back to the NCIS agents with a small smile.
"Mary will be bringing it out from the storage room. Now what else was it that you needed?"
"We were hoping that you could give us a description of the man who paid you to keep the box."
The old man thought for a moment before shaking his head with an apologetic smile.
"Sorry, he was wearing a mask the whole time along with sunglasses. I'm afraid I can't remember how tall or large he was, either."
Before they could respond the door opened and an old Lady came through carrying a box marked Diana.
"Ah, this here is my wife, Mary. Mary, honey these are Special Agents McGee, DiNozzo and Todd; they've come to collect Diana's things."
Mary looked at them all for a matter of minutes, her gaze stopping and staying on Tim. She moved closer to him and he felt as if he were under a microscope and she was trying to figure out what made him, him.
"You have her eyes."
The words were said so softly that only Tim could here and he drew in a quick breath of air.
"You will bring the murderer to justice, won't you?"
This time her words were louder, so that everyone could here, and the three agents nodded an affirmative. She looked at them, trying to decide if they were lying or not, before smiling slightly and handing the box to Tim.
"Nothing has been touched inside since the day that Diana died. She always kept her stuff in here."
The three agents nodded again and, with a nod, left the old couple in their run down motel.
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McGee received weird looks and covert glances from Tony and Kate on the ride back to the Navy Base and on the way down to Abby Lab. He had hoped that they would have given up and that his promise to tell them everything later would have gotten them to back off a little but, if anything, the fact that they had to get him to make the promise caused them to latch on even harder. They were still giving him glances and looks when they entered Abby's Lab.
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Abby had just finished looking over the dress that had been in the box that Tim brought up from the basement when Time entered her lab; followed quickly by Tony and Kate. Tim set the box of Diana's things on the table in the lab and donned a pair of gloves, his fellow agents doing the same, and he opened the box to find many papers, pictures and a few pieces of jewelry and string. He reached in and picked up a few pictures of his mother and father and even a few of him and his parents.
It took everything he had not to tear up and give even more reason for his co workers to ask questions so he set the pictures aside and picked up a paper that looked like a letter.
"Wow, Timmy, did you magically find some evidence somewhere?"
Abby's question brought a little smile to his lips as he answered.
"No. I found her phone records and the only once she had made in the last two years since she had a phone was a motel in Norfolk. So we went and they said that they had been given $500 to keep it and not hand it to the police."
"Man, must have been some hard times, huh?"
"Yeah, I guess it must have."
The three agents started going through the contents of the box and putting things into piles for Abby to search for prints and other things that couldn't be seen with the naked eye. Tim had stopped to stare at a photo when Tony's voice called his attention.
"Hey, Probie, I think I might know who killed our victim. This letter looks to be more of a death threat than anything else, this guy says that she should forget everything she saw unless she wants some 'misfortune to befall her'."
Tony air-quoted and then handed the letter Tim who read it as Kate read over his shoulder. Tim handed the paper to Abby.
"See if you can get any prints off this and anything else in here, would you, Abbs?"
"Of course, Timmy, I'll call with the resuts."
The Agents finished going through the box and went back upstairs to work on their own things and wait for the results to come in.
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They had hardly been upstairs for an hour when Abby came running in with a piece of paper and a smile on her face.
"Timmy, Timmy, I got your bad guy! His name is Roy Janks and he's been arrested quite a few times for theft and vandalism and, get this, he's suspected of being a Gun For Hire."
Her exclamation was met with wide eyes as the Agents clipped their guns and badges on and speed walked to the elevator, Tim grabbing the paper from Abby's hand and giving her a kiss on the cheek as he went by.
"Good Luck!"
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Roy Janks wasn't a particularly hard man to find, once they had gotten his landlord to answer a few questions. They found him downtown in a seedy bar, watching half naked women dancing on stage and drinking his beer as he yelled derogatory comments.
"You kiss your mother with that mouth, Mr. Janks?"
Tony had gotten to him first and his question worked to get Roy Janks to his feet.
"Yeah, I do. Who wants to know?"
"I'm Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo and these are my colleagues Agents Todd and McGee, NCIS."
Tim had been expecting him to try and run sometime but when he did he didn't get far, thanks to McGee rather quick tackle run.
"Way to go, Probie, that was awesome."
"I must admit, McGee, that you've really improved since you started working here."
Though Tim blushed at the praise and complements paid to him by he fellow Agents; he was still on the ground struggling with Roy Janks.
"Uh, thanks guys, but do you think you could help me?"
Tony and Kate made sheepish faces but they got down and hoisted Roy Janks up and put cuffs on him before leading him out of the club.
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"Come on! You can't keep me in here like this! Hello? Hey!"
His bought of screaming was cut off when the door opened and he turned to see Tim standing in the door way.
"Sit."
It was said in such a way that Janks felt that it was in his best interests to listen and he quickly sat down. Tim walked over to the table and sat down; he placed the folder he had in his hand on the table and opened it. He took out two pictures, one of Diana when she was living and one of her on the Autopsy table.
"Diana Higg. Killed 5 ½ years ago, found in a stream in Shenandoah State Park."
Tim pushed the pictures closer to Janks and the suspect looked at them for a moment before turning his head away from them.
"Never heard of her."
"Oh? Then can you explain why these threatening letters we found in Diana's stuff have your fingerprints all over them?"
Janks looked at the letter and turned a shade of red in his anger.
"You shouldn't have that! I-"
"Paid the couple who did have it a large sum of money so they wouldn't turn it in? And here I thought you'd never heard of her."
"Fine, I've heard of her and, yeah, I sent the letter, but you can't prove that I had anything to do with her death."
"Can't I?"
Tim stood up and walked behind Janks and leaned down to whisper harshly in his ear.
"I will track down every friend, landlord and acquaintance that you have ever had and I'm sure, with the right incentive, that they will be more than happy to give me any information on you that they may hold. And If I have to get my answers that way, you'll be in even more trouble than you are right now. Do you understand me?"
"They wouldn't tell you anything."
"I'm sure that, faced with the options of jail or ratting you out, they'll make the right decision."
Janks sat there and thought about his options, mulling it all over in his head before sagging with a defeated sigh.
"Alright. Alright! I killed her, but I wasn't the only one that wanted her dead. There was this other guy, rich type, he paid me to kill her. That's what the letter was about, too. Apparently she saw something that she wasn't suppose to and he wanted her dead."
"Name?"
"Christian Newwork. He lives in the fancy district of Anacostia."
Tim packed up the papers and photos back into the folder, stood up and left.
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Behind the mirror, Tony and Kate were stunned at the change that had come over the youngest Agent on their team. It was like he was channeling Gibbs and they wanted to know why.
"There's something about this case that's personal to him."
"I agree, but if he doesn't open up about it then we'll never know what it is."
Tony thought about Kate's words and wondered about how to get Tim to open up because, contrary to popular thought, Tim was a friend and he worried about him. Their conversation was unable to continue as Tim left the rooms and reappeared in observation a few moments later looking ready to go.
"Come on, I'll track down the name upstairs."
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It didn't take that long at all for Tim to find Christian Newwork's address and they were once again on their way, this time driving to Anacostia. Tony drove this time and, after having spent so many years on Gibbs' team, picked up his driving habits as well and they were there in no time. Pulling up outside Newworks house they saw security cameras and guards everywhere along the exterior.
"They defiantly don't want people sneaking into this place."
Tim and Kate nodded in agreement and they all go out and walked to the front door, where they were stopped by one of the numerous guards.
"May I help you?"
"Yes, I'm Agent McGee and these are Agent Todd and Agent DiNozzo, NCIS. We would like to speak with Christian Newwork please."
The guard took out a walkie and said a few words into it too low for the Agents to hear and only let them in when he got an answer back.
"Right this way, please."
They were lead past an extravagant lobby and down several long hallways, all adorned with fancy and expensive pieces of artwork, until they got to a large set of double doors. The guard pushed the doors open and led the Agents inside what they learned was a bedroom that had a sick looking man laying in the bed with a physician looking after him.
"Ah, N-NCIS. I h-had wondered wh-when you would f-finally come looking for m-me."
The man's words where punctuated with coughing fits but he maintained eye contact with the Agents the whole time he was talking.
"Mr. Newwork we're hear to talk to you about Di-"
"Diana Higg, yes, I-I know. I had her k-killed, quite a few ye-years ago. That's what you wan-wanted to ask me, yes?"
"Yes, but why admit to it so freely?"
"I am dying. I have had cancer for many years, a punishment for the many crimes that I have committed in my life. Now, though, my life is fading away."
Tim looked at the man, old and frail, his body nothing but skin and bones. He felt anger towards this man, the one that indirectly killed his mother, but he also felt a great bit of sympathy for him as well. He met Newwork's eyes for a moment and then turned away and began to leave.
"Come on. Let's get back."
Tony and Kate looked confused but followed anyways, almost out the door when Newwork spoke again.
"You're her son, aren't you?"
His question caused Tim to pause in his steps and he turned back. Meeting his eyes once again Tim nodded slightly. Tony and Kate where watching the exchange and were wide eyed at what they were learning.
"You have the s-same fire in your e-eyes that she ha-had."
Tim nodded once more and left without a backwards glance, his co-workers following after silently.
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They did their reports in the silence of the Bull Pen, it being almost 11:00 at night by the time they had gotten back to the base. They were almost all finished when Gibbs and Director Morrow came down the steps, the surprise on their faces at seeing the three Agents still at their desks and working shining through.
"You three should be home by now, what's up?"
The question from Gibbs drew their attention and Kate and Tony shared looks before looking at McGee. Tim caught the looks and sighed, knowing he would have to tell Gibbs about the case.
"We finished a case, Boss, a five year old cold case for a woman named Diana Higg. We were able to track down some of her stuff and eventually found the man that killed her. He's already been picked up by the authorities."
Director Morrow looked hard at Tim, who refused to meet his eyes, and walked to the younger man's desk.
"Tim, are you alright?"
Tim sighed wearily and looked up at the Director, the other Agents confused at the Directors actions.
"I'm fine, Uncle Tom. Just glad that I finally know what happened to her."
"Uncle Tom?"
Gibbs couldn't hold in his curiosity and asked the obvious question they were all thinking.
"Yes, Jethro. Timothy here is my nephew and his mother, Diana Higg, was my sister. After George died she used the money she received from the Navy to pay off debts that they owed and by the time she was through with that she was almost poor. Diana had to give Tim up for adoption."
"Wait. George Higg? Died in Desert Storm?"
"Yea, that's him. Did you know him?"
"He was my Platoon Leader and a good man. I was sorry to hear he had died."
"Weren't we all. Come on, Tim, I'll take you home."
Tom helped Tim up by the arm and waited for him to pack while his co-workers went about packing up their own things. They were all in the elevator before someone spoke again.
"So why did you let Newwork go, McGee? He admitted to hiring Janks to kill your mother. Shouldn't you have wanted to arrest him?"
"I did at first, but then I looked at him and saw how withered he looked. He wouldn't have survived the first week in jail and he may not even make it that long as it is. And, besides, I got what I wanted."
"Yeah? What's that Probie?"
"I got to learn how my mother died."
The others gave him pats on the back and smiles before getting off when the elevator reached the garage. Tim followed Tom to his car but before he got in he could have sworn he saw an image of his parents, standing side by side and holding hands, smiling at him from across the garage. He smiled back and got into the car when a voice whispered in his ear.
'We love you.'
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Panda: All done with that one! And I must say that that was one of the longest things that I have ever written! Woo, for me!
Panda-Chan: It was a little Blah, though. Some parts of it were good and other parts were just, not good.
Panda: I know, I tried to make it as good as I possibly could but I just don't know what happened. T.T
Panda-Chan: Hmm, well maybe they won't mind so much. Leave a Review and let us know what you thought of this fic and if we need to change anything.
Panda: Reviews are love! Mwah!