Disclaimer: I own nothing...just Jess.

Thanks to all of you who have read this or commented. Please keep them coming.

"So what's Abby like?" Jessica asked.

"Oh, she's a sweetheart; you'll never meet another like her." Duckie said, smiling.

"Well, I have met a lot of people." She said.

"No one like our Abigail, I assure you."

"So, what is it like working with Mr. Palmer?" Jessica asked. '"He seems like a strange one."

"Mr. Palmer is kind enough." Duckie said. "But he still has much to learn."

"Well, he couldn't have a better teacher." Jessica said, giving Duckie's arm an affectionate squeeze.

Duckie patted her arm, laughing. "Always one to flatter but hates when people flatter her."

"You know me well, Duckie." She said with a smile.

"Yes, well, here we are." Duckie said, as the automatic door opened.

"Abigail?"

"Duckie?"

"Jess." Jessica muttered. Duckie chuckled at her but didn't say anything else.

Jessica looked around as a woman, possibly in her late twenties; early thirties came out from the next room.

"Who's this?" Abby asked.

"I'm Jessica Shepard." She said, "The Director's Niece."

"Oh, are you visiting?" Abby asked.

"No. I'm here to assist you." Jess said.

"What? I told them, I don't do well with help, I can do it alone!" Abby said.

Duckie had slipped out of the room silently.

"Listen, I don't know what's happening. My aunt called and I can't just tell her 'no'. Hence why I am here." Jess said her hands on her hips.

"You have a lot of spunk." Abby said. "I think we might get along. Do you like caffeine?"

Jess laughed. "I drank four cappuccinos on the way here."

"What kind of music do you like?"

"Well, I do listen to everything but rap." Jess said.

"I listen to heavy stuff." Abby said, hitting the play button on her stereo.

The song that blasted out was one that Jess knew rather well.

"Green Bastard!" she yelled to Abby.

Abby turned off the stereo. "You know 'The Claw'?"

"Yeah, I met them. They're really cool." She said.

"Oh my gosh, that's awesome!" Abby said.

Jess smiled. "So what are you working on?"

"Oh, I'm analyzing the things in this man's wallet. He was bludgeoned to death with a crow bar."

"Ouch." Jess said, rubbing her head.

"Yeah, I know, right!" Abby said, typing on her computer.

"Right now, I'm looking at a picture that was in his wallet."

"What was his name?"

"Sargent Edward Jones."

"Oh my God." Jess said, leaning on the table.

"What?"

"I dated him." She said, holding her head.

"Well…this is kinda odd." Abby said, looking at Jess.

"What?"

"The picture in his wallet…it's of you." Abby said.

Jess looked at the screen. "I gave him that when I graduated high school." She said.

"There's writing on the back." Abby said, a little uncomfortably.

"I never wrote on it."

"It looks like a man's writing." Abby said, pulling up the scan of the writing on the back.

On the back of the picture it said, in sloppy handwriting. "You hurt my girl…your time is gone."

"That's strange." Jess said, suddenly recalling something. "I got that picture back when we broke up."

"Did you give it to someone else?"

"No…but it vanished a few weeks later."

"So we have a dead end for now." Abby said.

"It would seem that way." Jess said. "I need to talk to Gibbs."