AN: I don't own NCIS although I wish I did. I don't own any characters that belong to NCIS. Characters were inspired by a few of my friends. They know who they are.
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"We can't keep doing this forever!"
"We're not going to do it forever. Just until he pays us the money he owes us. Then we're out. It'll be like we were never here."
"I never wanted to do this in the 1st place. If my girlfriend finds out…….."
"She won't find out unless you tell her so keep your mouth shut and you'll be fine."
"Shut up. I think I heard something." The three arguing men tensed and waited. Their reward was a large squirrel jumping to another tree branch. They visibly relaxed and continued their argument. They parted ways just before midnight; each going in a separate direction. The man who had never wanted to get involved in the first place found his way home safely while the man who sounded to be the leader made a stop first. Slipping an envelope into the curbside mailbox he looked up at the dark house. There were no lights on but that didn't mean nobody was home. After all, it was nearly midnight. The man who couldn't stop whining made it home but he didn't sleep that night.
All three men were close in age; their birthdays in the same year. The first was about 5'7" with dark hair and a medium build. He thought his life was pretty good: he had a loving girlfriend, a home to go to every night, and a fairly steady job. As he crawled into bed that night he couldn't help but feel that something was going to happen. The second; who had placed the envelope in the box was also dark haired, just a smidge shorter, and fairly skinny but not lacking in muscle. He could get the job done when needed. He was the self proclaimed leader of the group. He came up with the ideas and was the computer wiz. The third man however could be confused for a goon. He was taller than the other two but had the same dark hair. Standing at about 5'9" he had a stocky build with a good deal of muscle that was disguised as bulk. This man, although goonish, was not dumb. He knew that their plans were changing and he wasn't going to be around when they did.
In the wee hours of the morning, nearly 3 a.m. the leader changed his mind about the envelope and their plan and returned to the house.
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It was going to be a good day for Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo. All of their cases had been closed and all of his paperwork was done. He looked across the bullpen to where Ziva David sat reading before glancing over to his right. There he saw Special Agent Timothy McGee bent over a paper writing something.
"What are you writing McGemcity?" DiNozzo asked.
"Give me a minute" he replied. DiNozzo stared at his watch and at 60 seconds stood up. McGee glanced at him and relented, showing him what was written on the paper.
"What is this Probie?" Tony asked looking at it.
"The address Gibbs wants us at 10 minutes ago" he replied.
"Right, uh, gear up" Tony said.
"I'll get the car" Ziva said and left the bullpen with her bag.
"I'll get the truck. With me Probie" Tony said and walked the opposite way with his bag slung over his shoulder and his gun attached at the hip.
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"Where have you been?" Gibbs asked as they finally arrived at the scene.
"Traffic, boss" Tony lied.
"Come on" Gibbs waved them into the house.
"Wow, what happened in here?" Tony asked.
"What do you think happened, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked. The agents looked around the room. Blood was smeared and spattered on the walls with a trail leading to somewhere else in the house.
"McGee pictures, Tony evidence, Ziva, find the bodies" Gibbs said.
"Bodies?" Ziva asked emphasizing the plural.
"Yea, with all this blood there's gotta be more than one" Gibbs said and walked away.
"Right" Ziva muttered and began to follow the blood trails. She ended up in the backyard where the blood led away from the house. There was a fairly wide section of grass that was bent over streaking from where the patio ended to a small forest that acted as a fence 30 feet away.
"McGee" Ziva called into the house.
"Yea?" he called back.
"I need the camera". McGee appeared in the patio doorway and followed her, taking pictures of the pressed grass and the small traces of blood they found there. They followed it to the forest where someone had tried to cover up their drag trails.
"I guess they didn't count on the grass staying bent" McGee said.
"Who were our victims?" Ziva asked.
"Lieutenant John M. Lawthorne and his wife. At least, that's who lives here, we'll find out as soon as you find the bodies Ziva" Tony said the last part a little louder than was necessary. Ziva moved throughout the small forest following the drag path until she reached a tree.
"Dead end" Ziva said.
"Are you sure?" McGee asked and took a few pictures. Ziva crouched down and looked around her.
"What are you doing?" Tony asked. She pressed her fist into the dirt in a few places. Most of the dirt was packed down from years of hikers stamping on it but when the dirt felt looser than the rest she pulled a trowel from her bag.
"You carry a trowel?" Tony asked.
"Why not? It is one of my favorite gardening tools" Ziva said.
"You garden?" Tony asked and crouched next to her.
"Not important DiNozzo. What have you got Ziva?" Gibbs asked.
"I will know in a minute" Ziva said and began to dig. The dirt was all fairly loose. She didn't have to dig very far before hitting something. She started moving the dirt with her hands and found a shoe.
"We have a body Gibbs" Ziva said feeling that the shoe was attached to a leg. Gibbs called for a few more shovels and Ziva, Tony and Tim began to dig the bodies out. Ducky arrived shortly after they finished uncovering the wife.
"Oh dear, what have we here?" Ducky asked and bent over the Lieutenant.
"Cause of death Duck?" Gibbs asked.
"I've only been here for 30 seconds Jethro! Not even I work that quickly" Ducky replied.
"Let me know" Gibbs said and walked off as he usually did.
"Mr. Palmer, if you would be so kind as to get the gurneys" Ducky said.
"Right away doctor" Jimmy replied.
"What story do you have to tell us?" Ducky asked the dead couple. McGee went back to the scene taking pictures as Tony and Ziva gathered evidence.
"Ziva, take swabs of the blood on the walls" Gibbs said.
"Hey boss. I think I found something" Tony yelled from the kitchen.
"What is it DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked.
"I think we just found our murder weapon" he said and held up a knife.
"What makes you think that?" Gibbs asked.
"Because I found it in the dishwasher" DiNozzo said "And it was the only thing in there……….And the whole inside of the thing is tinted red. I'm guessing the murderer tried to wash it."
"Ziva, take a swap from the inside of the dishwasher" Gibbs said and left the house to go back to Ducky. The team spent near 2 hours collecting evidence and re-creating the murder. Best they could tell was that the Lieutenant and his wife were killed for no reason. There was nothing they found in the house that would lead them to believe the Lieutenant was involved in anything. Just as McGee was packing everything up and Tony was the taking the last of the witness statements a car pulled into the next driveway. When the women stepped out curiosity got the better of her and she walked over.
"What's going on?" the women asked.
"NCIS! Did you know the Lieutenant and his wife?" Tony asked with his pen poised on the paper.
"Yea. Are they alright? Doesn't NCIS investigate murders?" she asked.
"The Lieutenant and his wife were murdered last night. Can you tell me where you've been?" Gibbs asked approaching them.
"I was at work. I was called in around 3:30 this morning" the women said.
"Duck estimates the murder to have been around 3" Gibbs whispered to Tony.
"What's your name?" Tony asked.
"Sarah. Sarah Miller. I don't understand. Who would want to kill the Presit's?" Sarah asked.
"That's what we're going to find out. Wait, Presit?" Tony asked and looked at Gibbs.
"Lieutenant Presit and his wife just moved in a few weeks ago. I helped them move things around."
"What happened to Lieutenant Lawthorne?" Gibbs asked.
"I'm not sure. His wife only told me that they had a family emergency. They asked me to collect their mail. That was about a month ago. Then the Presit's moved in. I assumed the Lawthorne's sold the house" Sarah said.
"We'll need to see all the mail for the Lawthorne's you have. I'll need you to come with us to the base for questioning" Gibbs said.
"Am I a suspect?" Sarah asked.
"If your alibi checks out then no; you said you were called into work around 3:30. Did you see anything when you left?" Gibbs asked.
"There was a light on but it wasn't very bright. Almost like it was a dying flashlight or something. I know for a fact that the Presit's always turn off all the lights in the house. Mrs. Presit can't sleep with even a little light. She even complains about the street lamps" Sarah said. Just then her phone rang. She looked at the caller i.d. "I'm sorry, it's work. I have to take this" she said and stepped back a bit. "Miller" she said into the mouthpiece. "Yes sir. I'm there right now I just got home……..Of course sir" Sarah hung up her phone and pulled something from her pocket. She slid the badge and case along the belt on her cargo pants. "My boss just assigned me to help you."
"PD?" Tony asked.
"If by PD you mean Private Detective then yes. I was called in this morning when a few men I've been watching were spotted in a park not far from here. They've got some kind of blackmailing operation going on" Sarah said.
"Blackmail? Doesn't sound like it needs a detective" Tony said.
"It usually wouldn't except 2 of them have extensive criminal backgrounds" Sarah replied.
"I'll need their names and anything else you can give us" Gibbs said.
"Anything I have on the case is your to look over. My boss said that I'm to stick with you and help until the case is closed" Sarah said.
"Great" Gibbs muttered. Sarah turned away a little put off at his tone and spotted the mailbox. She narrowed her eyes at it and walked to the curb. She pulled out some latex gloves and examined carefully.
"What are you looking at?" Tony asked.
"The flag is up" Sarah said.
"So" Tony replied.
"Flag up means mail and the mail carrier doesn't come around for another 2 hours. Dust for prints" Sarah said.
"You're not my…"
"Do it DiNozzo" Gibbs said. Tony grumbled for a minute before taking the case McGee attempted to carry past him. He opened it and dusted for prints. They pulled 6 prints from it before Sarah opened it.
"I think you should see this Agent Gibbs" Sarah called as she pulled a manilla envelope from the box. "This changes things" she muttered.
"What does it change?" Tony asked.
"I haven't had to get mail for the Lawthorne's since the Presit's moved in. The letter is addressed to Lieutenant Lawthorne. I'm guessing that whoever put it here didn't know that the Lawthorne's don't live here anymore" Sarah said.
"What makes you think it wasn't delivered by the mailman?" Tony asked.
"No stamp, address or return address. Just a name" Sarah said. Tony received a slap on the back of the head by Gibbs.
"Sorry for not being more observant boss" Tony said.
"Bag it" Gibbs said. Sarah placed the envelope in the bag Tony offered and felt eyes on the back of her head. She turned and looked down the street.
"Duck" Sarah shouted.
"He left already" Tony barely managed to say before she pushed him to the ground. She pulled out her gun and managed to fire a shot down the street at the man who had his gun aimed at them. At the same time he also fired. A slight burst of wind altered both of the bullets trajectories. Sarah's lodged itself in the man's arm before he could turn and flee while his grazed her arm and embedded itself in the car behind her.
"Are you alright?" Gibbs asked.
"Fine; it just grazed me" Sarah said and looked at the small gash on her upper arm. She looked toward where the man had been standing and saw him running away. He was too far to catch. She jogged to where he fired from and picked up the shell still wearing her latex gloves. A man she didn't know offered a plastic container to her and she dropped in it.
"I'm Special Agent Timothy McGee" he introduced himself.
"Detective Sarah Miller" she replied.
"McGee, find out who that man was. You'll find the bullet in that car. I think it's time you can with us" Gibbs said to Sarah.
"I can take care of myself" Sarah assured.
"That may be but until you're alibi is cleared I need to know where you are" Gibbs said.
"I can understand that" Sarah relented. She allowed Gibbs to lead her to his car where she stumbled just a bit.
"You alright?" he asked.
"Yea, just a little dizzy" she replied.
"Your sleeve is soaked in blood" Gibbs noticed. Sarah looked at it and pulled her short sleeve up.
"I've had worse. It can wait" Sarah replied.
"Once we get back to NCIS I want my doctor to have a look at that" Gibbs said and allowed her sit in the front seat of the car. "What?" he asked the team as they looked at him.
"We've just never seen you act compassionate before" Tony said but Ziva elbowed him in the stomach.
"Ziva, get in the car. DiNozzo, McGee bring the truck back and take everything to Abby" Gibbs said.
"On it boss" Tony replied. Ziva got in the car and Gibbs drove off. Tony and McGee weren't far behind.
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"Hey Duck. Can you take a look at Detective Millers arm?" Gibbs asked as he and Sarah emerged from the elevator into autopsy.
"Certainly" Ducky said
"Mr. Palmer, if you'd be so kind as to lend a hand". They both removed their gloves and cover-ups only to put new gloves on.
"Hop up here" Gibbs said indicating an empty autopsy table.
"An autopsy table?" Sarah questioned but sat herself down on it.
"Let's see what we have here" Ducky said. He pulled her sleeve up.
"How did you receive this wound?" Ducky asked.
"I was shot at" Sarah said. Ducky looked to Gibbs for a clearer explanation but not really expecting to get one; he didn't.
"Come back tomorrow to so I can change the bandage. Until then keep it clean and dry and no infection should set in" Ducky said.
"Thanks Dr. Mallard" Sarah said and stood up.
"Please, call me Ducky" he said.
"Is that why Tony said you weren't at the scene? I told him to duck and he replied that you weren't there" Sarah said.
"Yes, well, Jethro is the only one who calls me Duck" the good doctor said before he and Palmer got back to work.
"Okay then" Sarah muttered more to herself than Gibbs. He led her back to the elevator and up to the bullpen.
"Ziva, find Detective Miller a clean shirt" Gibbs said.
"Alright; come with me" Ziva said and led Sarah through the building. They reached the locker room and Ziva went through a pile of clean t-shirts with NCIS printed on the front.
"Here, this should fit you" Ziva said and handed Sarah a shirt. She slipped it on and removed her bloody shirt in the span of about 30 seconds.
"You have obviously done this before?" Ziva noticed.
"I took gymnastics for most of my life and I didn't like the other girls watching me so I learned how to change quickly" Sarah said. She rolled the bloodied shirt up and tossed it into the garbage can.
"That was my favorite shirt too" she muttered.
"We should get back to Gibbs" Ziva said.
"Right" Sarah said. She pulled the hair tie out of her hair as they walked. The shirt hung fairly loose on her so she tied the back end and tucked it under; the shirt sat closer to her body. With the removal of her hair tie McGee did a double take they re-entered the bullpen. Her hair had previously been in a loose bun but now that it hung loose it reached her lower back. You could see the author wheels turning in his head as he searched for the best way to describe the inspiration for his next character. Even DiNozzo seemed speechless.
"Have you never seen a girl before?" Sarah asked the two speechless men.
"DiNozzo, McGee; shut your mouths" Gibbs barked.
"Shutting my mouth boss" DiNozzo said.
"Detective Miller; Come with me" Gibbs said and picked up a folder.
"Call me Sarah" she said as she followed him.
"Fine; Sarah it's time for some questions" Gibbs said. The rest of the team seemed to know where they were going and followed them. Sarah sat patiently in the interrogation room. After all, she had interrogated her fair share of criminals; and she had nothing to hide.
"Alright Sarah, why don't you start from the beginning; when the Lawthorne's moved out" Gibbs said letting the folder he had drop to the table. Sarah talked for almost a straight hour telling them everything she knew about the Lawthorne's and the Presit's.
"Can I have a drink of water? My mouth is dry" Sarah said.
"I'll get it" Ziva said and left the room. They asked her a few questions before Ziva came back with a bottle of water. Sarah didn't open it right away but started talking again running her hands along the bottle. After half an hour she unscrewed the cap and took a long drink before finishing her tale. Gibbs and DiNozzo left the room.
"Check out her alibi DiNozzo" Gibbs said.
"Sure thing Boss" DiNozzo said and left the hallway. Gibbs entered the other side of the interrogation room and watched Ziva's interaction with Sarah. They talked about Sarah's history as a Detective. Gibbs left them at it until DiNozzo rejoined him.
"Alibi checks out boss. She was called around 0320 this morning and reported in at 0340. She spent 2 hours at the station going over statements from people who claimed to see 3 suspicious looking men the park not far from our victim's house. After that she picked up one of the men at his house and questioned him for three hours. During those three hours of her intense questioning the man spilled his guts about his friends and their blackmailing scheme. The only piece of information she wasn't able to get out him was the name and address of the person being blackmailed" DiNozzo said.
"Good work DiNozzo" Gibbs said and left the room.
"Gibbs" Vance said.
"Yes?" Gibbs asked.
"I've just spoken with Jeremy Thane. Lead Detective and Detective Millers boss. He has guaranteed us her cooperation until she is no longer a help" Vance said.
"You had my full cooperation anyway" a voice said behind him.
"Why'd you let her out Ziva?" Gibbs asked.
"Tony said her alibi checked out" Ziva said.
"I'll need to go to my home to collect the mail and my case files" Sarah said.
"Ziva, you and DiNozzo escort her there" Gibbs said.
"Don't let her out of your site" Gibbs muttered before they could leave. Ziva didn't question him as she grabbed Tony and the three of them left.
"Are you driving Ziva?" Tony asked.
"Yes" she said simply.
"I call shotgun" Sarah said.
"If that's what you want" Tony said and smiled behind her. Sarah got into the front seat as Ziva entered the drivers side.
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"Yea Gibbs" Gibbs said answering his ringing phone.
"Hey Gibbs; it's Abby. I checked the blood from the walls and the dish washer and matched it to our victims. I also ran a check just to see which couple we were dealing with. It's the Presit's" Abby said.
"Thanks Abs" Gibbs said and hung up.
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