Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters to NCIS. They're owned by MSNBC.
Because of the snow and ice, progress was slow. Many business and military facilities shut down and more snow was in the forecast in the next few days. As they tried to get in touch with the victim's friends and family, McGee was pondering something. The husband, Lt. Andrew Walker, the name was familiar, but he couldn't put the face to the event. When they arrived back at the office, McGee went to his computer and let the search engine work its magic. Beside him DiNozzo had taken off his jacket and tossed it over the back of his chair. "Whatcha doin', probie?" Tony asked.
"Something about the Lt. Andrew Walker," McGee said not taking his eyes off the computer, "THERE!" the search engine came through with a several pages of links all addressing the same event. Coming over to see for himself, Tony watched with wide eyes as McGee clicked the first link to YouTube. It was a cellphone video from at the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor on a beautiful clear day. It was about two minutes long, and from the start grossly overweight man was running about the interior of the white walled memorial screaming at the top of his lungs about someone out to get him and that this place was cursed, but much of what he said couldn't be understood as it was more roar than actual words. He flailed about as if being attacked by hundreds of angry, invisible, bees. Others try to calm him down and even grappled to restrain him, but he broke free and launched himself out of one of the memorial's open view ports and into the water and onto the submerged deck of the broken battleship.
"Oh, geez" Tony winced at the man's belly flop. Still flailing when he surface, apparently he couldn't swim either.
Moments later a man jumps in and swims towards the drowning man, but instead of taking the help, the fat man begins fighting and tries to swim towards the Arizona's #3 turret ring, the only part of the ship that is still above the waterline. He tries climbing out of the water and into the turret ring that would take him into the bowels of the doomed ship, but the good Samaritan doesn't give up and pulls him back into the water by wrapping his arms around his ankles and pulling him back. They struggle, but the rescuer deals several right hooks that stuns the man enough for him to be dragged back towards the dock on the East end of the memorial. Right as they reach it, the man tries to fight again to escape screaming that there's something in the water trying to kill him. Other people rush to the dock and haul the pudgy man out of the water. When he tries to fight them, a sailor comes and delivers a right hook so powerful that it knocks him out cold. The good Samaritan is helped out as well to the applause of others. He sits for a moment on the wet dock staring into the water before looking up and staring at the cellphone.
"That's the lieutenant!" Tony pointed out.
"I knew it" McGee smiled and clapped his hands.
DiNozzo straightened his back and looked down at him, "So, what's that mean?"
Looking up McGee began, "Because of this," pointing at the video, "The man was banned for life from Pearl Harbor.
Nodding for a moment that did sound interesting, "But, what are you getting at? You think that nut ball is somehow connected to his murder?"
"Perhaps" McGee responded, "The man was identified as Calvin Hart, a man with a long history of mental problems. He one time set his backyard on fire saying that Indian zombies were rising up from their graves because his house was built on a Native American burial ground."
That made Tony scoff while shoving his hands into his pant's pockets, "Any of that true?"
"No, because he was living in a van down by the boat docks. He burned the ground around it and a nearby house to ash. He was arrested, charged with arson, and sent to a mental facility for five years. When this happened at Pearl, Mr. Hart tried filing lawsuits against the Navy, the Department of Defense, Pearl Harbor itself, and against Lt. Walker. All of them were denied, and the defense hinged partly on this video showing his mental state. All of his finances dried up, his parents disowned him, and he was forced back into a mental halfway house in Missouri."
Drawing a deep breath and letting it out with a mocking sigh Tony wasn't convinced, "See, Probie. That's all well and good, but how does a man with no money and living in Missouri kill two lieutenants in their house in Virginia?" McGee was stumped and couldn't answer. Clapping a hand on his counterpart's shoulder Tony jested, "Don't worry. We all have misfires."
A few moments later Ziva returned from her mission. Draping her coat over her chair and holding a warm cup of coffee in one hand she approached the two and asked if they got anything interesting. "Nothing special" Tony said, "But...Probie here has a video you might like."
"A video? It better not be porn again, Tony" Ziva coldly warned.
"It's not. I swear," Tony scoffed and held up both hands at chest level. Backing away to give Ziva room she looked at the video as McGee pressed play. Watching the man fall into the water and then struggle and fight she pulled her head back surprised and asked, "Where is that?"
"The USS Arizona Memorial" McGee said.
"OH! That's in Pearl Harbor, right?" Ziva asked looking at McGee. She was still learning about American history. "That's where the Germans attacked on Christmas?"
Tony nearly fell over laughing. McGee tried to keep himself composed because Ziva could break him in two. "No" trying not to laugh, "No, Ziva. It...it was the Japanese and it on a Sunday, the 7th of December," he face falling into his hands as he nearly lost it.
Ziva looked at the two stunned for a moment then asked, "Why would the Japanese attack Hawaii? It's a lovely place."
"It was for the pineapples" Tony coughed having nearly suffocated from the lack of air while launching into his coat.
"You're mocking me, aren't you?" Ziva said coldly narrowing her eyes at the Italian. Tony immediately walked away. Looking back at McGee she asked, "Does this have to do with the case at all, McGee?"
"Well, I think it might be..." he began to say. "Because of this, the man was banned from Pearl Harbor for life, and all of his lawsuits failed. He is broke and forced to live in a halfway house for patients with mental disorders. Once more, Lt. Walker received the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for saving his life."
Ziva nodded and looked at the screen once again as it paused on the Lieutenant as he was looking at the water. Something was happening in this picture, something that the others had missed, but she couldn't put her finger on it. The only person who would know was now dead. "Well, aside from all of this, what else have you found out about the couple?"
"That's just it," McGee said slumping into his chair with a sigh, "Those that we were able to get a hold of all said the same thing, that the couple were happily married, they loved their jobs, and everyone liked them."
"Except for that guy" Ziva candidly pointed at the computer screen.
"Yes" McGee frowned.
"So, there's a couple that loved by everyone," said DiNozzo. "Then why are they dead?"
"That's why we're here, DiNozzo" said a cold voice. Tony jerked himself straight as Gibbs walked in without a jacket. It was said that he couldn't resist the cold because of his experience in the Corps. "What do you got for me?"
Ziva smiled and backed away towards her desk and beckoned the others to come look at the larger computer screen that was over Gibbs's desk. She had planned everything using her cellphone on the way up to show the others. "That's the thing" Ziva raised a finger then pressed the power button. The screen flashed blue for a moment before Ziva began the program, "Andrew Walker started out with the Navy's new PTSD rehabilitation program. That's where he met his wife, then known as Emily Dillard, who was a substance abuse councilor at the same facility. When they were married one of them had to be transferred out to another unit in order to prevent favoritism, and that was Emily. She was sent to the hospital doing rehabilitation to wounded Sailors and Marines. I was on the phone with one of their old friends. He said that there was one former employee had an ax to grind with both of them."
Tony was surprised. He looked at the glowing screen shaking his head lightly, "No one mentioned any trouble."
"It was before their time," Ziva continued, "This person is Shelly O'Malley," pressing another button that brought up her picture. She was a woman in her fifties with slightly sagging jowls, dark rings under her eyes, and frizzled gray hair. "She was a PTSD councilor along with Mr. Walker for about a year before she was fired for ranting that several of her coworkers were conspiring against her, saying that they were preventing her from being promoted. I talked to her former boss who said the reason she was fired was because she attacked one of her patients and then spent more time ranting that everyone was against her than actually doing her job. Good news is, she only lives a few miles from here."
"Ziva. Get her in here. Don't tell her why. Just say we have some questions for her" Gibbs said. Then he turned towards McGee and Tony silently asking for answers.
"Well...Boss," McGee said and waved for him to watch the video as well. In watching it they could see Gibb's stone face slowly turn into a murderous frown as he clenched both firsts hard enough that they shook. Looking out the corner of his eye McGee could see this and tried slowly moving his chair away from the old man as Tony stepped away towards Ziva's desk.
"Who is this idiot?" Gibbs growled as he finished the video.
"Well, his name is...Calvin Hart."
"And you think he's involved in this, McGee?" Gibbs slowly stood erect and stared down with his icy blue eyes and chilled the man to the bone.
"Well, sir. He tried suing Walker, the Navy, and others, but they were all rejected. He's broke, his family disowned him, and he's living in a mental halfway house. I think that he stands for revenge against Mr. Walker for everything that he lost."
"Good" Gibbs nodded slightly. Now they had two persons of interest. "McGee, DiNozzo..."
Tony was silently praying that Gibbs didn't send them to miserable Missouri, then came the words, "Contact whoever you have to, get to the bottom of this. Clear him or find out more about him."
Tony let out a long sigh, "On it, boss" as he felt the weight of the world off his shoulders.