Tony stepped out of the passenger seat of the car, walking unsteadily and feigning sickness. Ziva just shut the driver's side door and glared at him playfully, knowing he was just teasing her. Gibbs and McGee had driven behind them, and were just getting out of their car. The team walked over to their crime scene, a middle-class blue house with a perfect yard, and ducking under the crime scene tape, made their way inside to get the information from the police who had arrived first.

Gibbs walked up to a large, gruff-looking officer who was obviously the man in charge as he was confidently barking orders to the other officers at the scene. The officer noticed Gibbs walking toward him and loudly said, "Aha! You must be NCIS! I'm Brad Thompson", spitting as he spoke.

"What happened here?" asked Gibbs in a voice that made even the haughty Officer Thompson sober up and comply.

"Well, the next door neighbors heard screaming and called 911. We got here a few minutes later and found the woman who lives here lying dead in the living room. Looks like she was stabbed to death."

Gibbs turned to walk away. "We'll let our medical examiner figure that out."


Ducky approached the site where he was told he would find the body and found Ziva taking pictures while Tony collected evidence.

"Good morning, you two!" He cheerfully said as he bent down to take a look at the body. "Now, what have we here?" He stuck a liver probe into the body to check its temperature.

Gibbs walked up behind Ducky just as he pulled out the probe, and asked how long ago the woman had died. Ducky looked up at his long-time friend and told him, "About two hours ago, Jethro. However, I will know more once I get her to the morgue." Gibbs walked away as Ducky turned to find his assistant. "Mister Palmer, we are in here!" he exclaimed when he noticed Palmer walking around, looking quite lost.

"Oh, sorry Doctor Mallard. Nobody would tell me where to find the body!"

"That is quite alright Mister Palmer, now could you please fetch the gurney? And please do not get lost this time."

Ziva saw Palmer run out the door to get the gurney and noticed a piece of paper stuck to the top of the door frame. She stood on her toes to retrieve it, pulling it off the wood where it was attached by a piece of chewed gum. She unfolded the paper, but became frustrated that she could not understand the message written on it. Slipping it and the gum into evidence bags, she went on her way to find Gibbs and show the note to him.


A few hours later, Ziva was on the phone attempting to retrieve the woman's medical records, whileTony sifted through information on his computer. Gibbs walked into the bullpen and immediately Tony stood up.

"What've you got?" asked Gibbs in a voice that sounded more like a command than a question.

"Well boss, the victim's name is Monica Hanson. Her husband, Garret Hanson, is a marine and was in Florida when she was killed."

"There is nothing outstanding about her, she has a perfect record, no medical problems, and her neighbors say she and her husband were both very pleasant people." Ziva piped in.

"Well, she was murdered for some reason, so find it!" barked Gibbs as he made his way toward the elevator. He took the elevator to autopsy and walked in to find Ducky staring intently at an X-Ray on the wall. He moved to stand next to him and looked at the image, trying to figure out why it was so interesting that Ducky did not even look away from it to acknowledge his presence. Finally Ducky did look away with a frustrated sigh, and turned to face his old friend.

"What have you found, Duck?"

"Well, for starters, this poor woman's time of death was earlier than I had originally determined. She was killed around four o'clock in the morning, and I am ashamed that I was so far off, but it is because her body seems to have been stored in ice until about an hour before she was found."

"That it?"

"Oh heavens no, Jethro. I am just getting started! There is much more to tell. For example, even though it may look it, this woman was not stabbed to death. Why, it reminds me of a time when I was brought a headless body, and the police were sure-"

"Duck!"

"Oh, right. Well, every stab wound was inflicted post-mortem, but I cannot figure out what really did kill her! I have been looking at her X-Rays, and there is a strange tear in her bone that her medical records do not account for, however I cannot determine its cause!"

"Hey! Gibbs!" the webcam Abby used to connect her lab with Ducky's lit up and both men turned toward it. "I've got something! C'mon! And don't forget the Caff-Pow, please." The screen once again went black.

Gibbs took one last look at the X-Ray before exiting the morgue, heading up toward Abby's lab where she would be busy processing evidence with the help of Special Agent McGee.

"Well, it looks like it's just you and me again…Ah! I must tell you the story of the headless body I received. The case slightly resembles your own, and I think you will enjoy it. I was brought a headless body, and the police were sure the woman who's body I had received was poisoned, and that the poison had caused her demise…"