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Chapter 04

Although his face was like a mask, his eyes spoke volumes. The sparks that danced in DiNozzo's green iris seemed to be willing to jump off and burn out the carpet.

"Here, the preliminary report from the coroner's office" Marcus said holding out the folder with a stern gesture - there was something not quite right about Tony's eagerness.

"Don't tell me," the younger man said hopping off the chair and quickly closing the gap between the two of them. He grabbed the folder with an avid expression on his face and started reading it right away. "Same MO?"

"As far as we know."

"Jane Doe... No ID yet?"

"Working on it," Marcus said sinking down into the chair that Tony had just vacated. It was still warm and he let a pleased smile spread over his features. "How are you holding up, in this parody of punishment cell of yours?"

Silence answered the question and Marcus looked over his shoulder to see that Tony had remained in the same spot with his back to him. The young detective was looking through the papers with great interest and seemed to have blocked all external stimuli. After a few minutes, he turned around and walked to the desk, not diverting his attention from the information he was looking at.

"About 20 years" Tony murmured to himself lost in thought. He looked up with a frown and absently sat on the edge of the desk letting the folder rest on his thighs.

"She must have been kidnapped two years ago or so. If you followed the timeline, that is," he said, finally addressing Marcus. "We should be looking into missing persons from that time."

Marcus nodded making a mental note to himself to tell that bit of information to the officers in charge of the searching.

"Which one is she? The fourth?"

"No, the fifth one. Although she could be the sixth or the seventh, for all we know." Tony said and then pointed at the photos he had taped onto the far wall. "Samantha Waters 14, Linda Summerson 17, Claire Silverts 19, Rita Way 20, and now, our Jane Doe."

Marcus got up from the chair with some effort and approached the wall. DiNozzo had drawn a timeline with the dates of the abductions and deaths, adding the locations where the corpses were found just bellow each picture. Marcus made a short halt in front of each photo, trying to perceive the similarities between the faces. In some strange way, that wall looked like a shrine: following the stages of a person's life through its full growth. The veteran agent scratched his chin, where a 5 o'clock shadow was making its appearance. He wasn't sure if he was seeing things influenced by his friend's words, or there really was something in there.

"The captain would go off in a fit if you prove yourself right," he said turning his attention back to the younger man. "Maybe you'll be able to turn a punishment into the case of your life."

"He wouldn't be very happy. That I can foresee…" Tony said grinning with satisfaction and some mischievousness, but he became serious almost immediately. "This case... Is yours?"

Marcus' face turned grim and he looked Tony in the eye. The young detective stood still and made no attempt to divert his gaze. Marcus was the first to give in and, releasing a deep sigh, he shook his head.

"Right now I'm with the Morrison's case and also with the guy we found in the park with this lady," he pointed at the folder Tony still held in his hands. "If the captain finds out that I gave you this without his permission, I'll end up my days directing traffic."

"He would be an idiot if he does that," Tony growled resentfully. "He is going to give the lead to that brown-nose of Dunlap."

"Watch your mouth" Marcus murmured, but a smile of agreement crept its way to his lips. "You asked for it. What possessed you to ask out the captain's favorite niece?"

Tony raised his arms in the air in a gesture of innocence.

"How could I've known that? In my defense I must say that, when I found out about that little detail you guys kept from me, I break up with her."

"That's the problem," Marcus snorted. "You dumped her, nobody had done that in the past. You should have waited for her to dump you and not the other way around. After all, that's what she's done with half the precinct."

"What do you mean?"

Marcus head jerked toward his partner. Tony had left the folder on the table and was looking at him, the word *ignorance* written all over his face.

"Don't you know it?"

"Know what" the young detective asked frowning with confusion. He drew himself up to his full height, crossed the room with two long strides and stood mere inches from the older man. "Tell me."

"Well," Marcus hesitated, uncomfortable with the sudden lack of personal space. "Ok, so rumor has it that Anna is a free spirit who likes authority figures. In plain words, she's made almost every male officer in this building. You really didn't know that?"

"I'd got no idea," Tony muttered taking a few steps back and reaching blindly for the chair. "I'm so screwed."

"Don't worry, DiNozzo, you just have to wait until she lays eyes onto another fine officer of the law and the power of love heals her broken little heart." Marcus said with an ironic smile tugging up the corners of his lips and one hand over his chest in a dramatic pose.

"Bite me. This isn't funny"

"Yes, it is."

"Do you know that she still calls me? I think I've seen her near my building the other day. Well, at least her car was near my building."

Marcus pursed his lips, trying hard to contain the laugh that was threatening to leave his throat. This kind of things only happened to the young man.

"You've made quite the impression, kiddo. Now I'm beginning to see the full power of that DiNozzo's charm you don't stop bragging about."

"Shut up." Tony said good-naturally.

He turned his focus to the folder again, the smile melting away as it has been just a mirage. He took the autopsy photo, holding it up. The girl had short bob hair just below the ears that had been pulled back to reveal a childish face. She had wide, high cheekbones and full lips. She wasn't very pretty by Tony's standards, but she had big eyes that surely would have lighted when she smiled.

"She died two weeks ago," Tony said checking again the notes to make sure he hadn't misread anything. "It seems that she was buried yesterday."

"Yeah, I know," Marcus murmured, and a shiver ran down his spine when the image of the girl took the front seat in his mind. Like a frozen princess, her lips purple, her skin blue; it seemed that the mere touch would have shattered her into a million pieces, and vanished completely. "The cold" he added shaking his head to free it from those dark thoughts.

Tony nodded absently, not sensing the distress in his friend's tone.

"What are you going to do?" Marcus asked, breaking the young man concentration and hoping for something else to think about.

Tony let out a sigh and looked over his shoulder to the photos.

"I really don't know" he said, a sad expression on his face. "If I prove myself right, I'd get kick off the case; but if I don't, this guy will get away with it."

Marcus nodded in understanding.

"I guess you'll have to choose the better of two evils."

"Yeah..." Tony draw himself to the wall, a vacant look set in his eyes. He raised one arm and laid a long finger on the face the first picture showed – Samantha Waters. His next words were just a murmur not meant to be heard. "What should I choose in fact".

Samantha was was smiling - teeth encased in braces - to the person who took the photo. Someone had combed her hair in two long plaits that framed her high cheekbones. She was an only child and his disappearance had devastated the Waters' marriage. Tony could remember perfectly well when they learned that their daughter would never ask for another ride to the park. The mother's tears of despair and the father's hollow stare, like someone had turn off all the lights in his head. Although it had been almost nine years since her abduction, the couple hadn't lost their hope to see her daughter walking through the door again.

"If Dunlap gets the case it won't leave his desk tray," Tony muttered, rage dripping from each word. "I can't risk for it to become a paperweight."

There was a short silence and Tony's features hardened. He extended all the fingers, encircling the little girl face and then closed them into a fist.

"I'm gonna catch that son of bitch," he said letting his arm drop by his side.

There was such heat in the young man's words that Marcus couldn't help but feel like a hand clutching his chest. Silence filled the room and the big man took advantage of his friend absence of mind to study his features. Tony was looking at the victims like he was promising he wouldn't let them down. Marcus sighed quietly and rubbed his neck self-consciously. What he was planning to do for his friend would probably cost him a reprimand, and maybe it'd be for nothing, but he had to try. He couldn't let it rest, not after seeing that girl's face when they had opened the plastic bag. Once the decision was made, he took a step forward.

"I'm going to withhold this report as long as possible," Marcus said locking his eyes with Tony's green ones. "Try every trick you now, get all the information you can muster. When this girl-" Marcus tapped with one chubby finger on the folder Tony held to emphasize his words, "-get a name, it'll be impossible to keep it under McPherson's radar. So, get your act together and make this case yours."

Marcus gave a brief squeeze to Tony's shoulder and left the office with a parting nod. Tony stood, baffled, looking at the door with wide eyes and unable to utter a sound.

.

TBC