Chapter 2
"Boss, we just got a call-out. Dead Navy officer in an alley," Tony DiNozzo said as Gibbs headed for his desk.
"That's got to be the one Dabi told me about!" Abby said frantically, right behind Gibbs.
Gibbs made a decision. "Abby, find your friend, bring her here. Process her if you can, but stay in touch. Everyone else, grab your gear."
"We got a witness already, boss?" Tim asked, grabbing his bag.
"Looks that way."
Traffic was a nightmare. Part of it was due to it being lunch time and part of it was due to spring break tourist season.
The MCRT van had an easier time of it due to their flashing lights, but Abby and her red truck were soon left behind.
Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard and his assistant, Jimmy Palmer, arrived right behind Gibbs and his team.
"What do we got, Duck?" Gibbs asked.
"I'm afraid this young man received a rather vicious beating with a blunt object," Ducky said. "With what, I won't be able to say until we get him on my table.
Palmer removed the liver temperature reader and studied it. "As for the when, less than an hour ago," he said.
"And the marks on his clothes and shoes suggest he did not come to this spot without help," Ducky said.
"Yeah, there's blood on the ground over there," Gibbs said, where Tony and Tim were photographing.
"Hey boss! Looks like we got foot prints in the blood, possibly animal and human," Tony said.
"The bank security guard did say a young woman with a dog alerted him to the victim and that the dog was wearing a bright orange vest, possibly a working dog," Ziva David said, joining them from speaking with the bank security officer. "He has agreed to bring us the video from the bank cameras so that we may possibly identify this person."
"Hey boss?" Tim called quietly.
"Yeah?"
"Your one o'clock. We got a watcher, and she's got a dog."
Gibbs looked up and quickly spotted the young woman peeking around the corner, away from the crime scene and cops. She had red hair in a pony tail, and wore a very large denim jacket, with some kind of cartoony messenger bag over her shoulder and chest. Seated next to her was a Golden Retriever wearing an orange vest. Was this Abby's friend, Dabi, and her dog?
"DiNozzo..." Gibbs said.
"I see her, boss," Tony said, already moving to try and go around her. He got half-way there when she bolted, forcing him to give chase. "Stop!" he yelled, not that it did any good.
Half-way down the block he caught up to her and grabbed her by the upper arms.
That was a mistake.
Crying out in fear, the girl reached behind her and managed to grab the crotch of his pants and a very valuable part of his male anatomy. She squeezed, hard, and Tony howled in pain, letting her go.
By that time Tim had caught up to them and made a grab at the girl. He was rewarded with a kick that had him joining Tony on the street in pain.
Ziva nearly had her when a sharp pain lanced though the back of her knee and she tumbled to the ground, a victim of a mean bite from the dog, who seemed intent on protecting his mistress.
Gibbs was able to grab her and swing her around, but when he saw her face, he froze. Frightened grey eyes looked back at him amid wavy dark red hair. It was a face he could have sworn he'd once seen, years ago.
His hesitation was rewarded by a punch from the girl that caught him across the jaw and sent him reeling. It was a lucky shot and a good one, but he recovered quickly enough to make another grab at the girl, this time around the upper arms in a backwards bear grip. He lifted her up off her feet and narrowly avoided being bitten by her growling, barking canine companion, thanks to Ziva, who had recovered enough to grab the dog's leash and collar.
"Let me go! Let me go!" the girl yelled, kicking and wiggling frantically, just as two cops were about to join in on the fight.
Suddenly, Abby's truck squealed to a stop in front of them and Abby all but fell out of the truck.
"Stop!" Abby cried, her hands flying at the same time, talking to both Gibbs and the girl. "It's okay! It's okay! Gibbs, that's Dabi, my friend! Stop! Stop fighting! They won't hurt you, I promise!"
"Abby! What's going on? Why were they chasing me? I don't understand what's going on!" Dabi said, no longer struggling against Gibbs, but she was breathing hard and straining.
"Gibbs?" Abby asked.
"We saw her at the crime scene with her dog and there's evidence of a dog at the crime scene," Gibbs explained, not letting Dabi go just yet. He watched as Abby signed to Dabi. "She didn't stop when DiNozzo told her to so we believed she might be a suspect."
"Even if Tony had used a bullhorn to yell, it wouldn't have done any good," Abby explained. "Dabi's deaf and Azan is her hearing dog. She's the one I told you that saw the murder."
Gibbs let Dabi go and she turned to face him, as Ziva approached, bringing a whining and barking Azan with her. When he saw his mistress, Azan barked happily, Ziva let him go, and Dabi crouched down, hugging her dog when he ran up to her, tail wagging eagerly.
"I'm sorry," she mumbled, signing and talking, while burying her face in her dog's neck. "When I saw that guy coming after me, I got scared. I don't know what NCIS is, or MCRT. You guys don't look like cops."
Gibbs tapped her on the shoulder and signed, "We are, but we're Navy and Marine cops." He took out his badge and showed her.
"How do you know them, Abby?" Dabi asked, standing up and beginning to unconsciously rub Azan's ears. Azan responded by leaning his head against her leg and closing his eyes. This was a familiar ritual for both of them.
"I work as a forensic specialist for NCIS, which means Naval Criminal Investigative Services," Abby explained gently. "Gibbs is kind of my boss. He's the supervisory agent for the Major Crimes Response Team, which handles murder investigations." She gestured towards Ziva and said, "That's Ziva David, an agent with NCIS."
"And the guys I nailed back there?" Dabi asked worriedly.
"Sounds like Tony DiNozzo and Timmy McGee," Abby said. She put her arm around her friend. "Go with Gibbs and tell him what happened. He won't hurt you, I promise. And then afterwards, if Gibbs says it's okay, I'll show you my lab."
Dabi nodded, but worried her lip. "Nana and Pop-pop are going to be worried about me. I was due back at the bakery by now but I didn't want to risk that guy following me back to them. They're the only family I have."
"We'll let them know what's going on," Gibbs promised. "Ziva?"
Dabi gave her the bakery's address and Ziva promised to take care of the matter right away. Abby left to park her truck some place safe and Gibbs took Dabi back to the scene.
Back at the scene, both Tony and Tim were sitting inside the back of the MCRT truck, their faces ashen as they held packs of ice over their groin while Ducky looked on. Palmer was loading the victim in to the coroner van, ready for the trip to Ducky's morgue for an autopsy.
Dabi cringed when she saw Tony and Tim, realizing the extent of the pain she had inflicted. "And I'm wearing steel toes," she mumbled, signing.
"And you, my dear, apparently have quite the grip," Ducky said. "As Tony no doubt knows by now."
Dabi glanced at Gibbs, who translated for her in sign. Her lip reading skills were good, but the elderly gentleman seemed to have some kind of accent, making him a little hard read.
"I work in a bakery with my grandparents," she admitted. "I help out with the heavy stuff a lot these days."
"Ah! Well, that certainly explains the most wonderful smell of cinnamon and nutmeg I do believe I can smell on you," Ducky said, coming closer, with Gibbs signing.
"We did off-load a large box of ground cinnamon and nutmeg this morning," Dabi admitted. "Plus I helped load a delivery of apple pies and apple fritters to one of our customers."
"Yummy," said Jimmy, overhearing.
"Tell me what happened," Gibbs coaxed, leading her to the truck. They were probably going to have to take her clothes for evidence examination, as well as check the dog over.
Glancing at Tony and Tim and cringing, Dabi began to talk.
