A/N: Thank you all for your patience in waiting for me to update :) Hope you like chapter 4!
Sarai: Thanks, I'm glad you like it. Keep reading, and enjoy the rest!
Anonymous: Well I'm happy you are enjoying it and hope you like this chapter!
Hundan: Well thank you. Yes, I want to keep the Tony and Ziva situation innocent (at first, haha). I'm glad you're liking it. Enjoy!
KoteDiM: Thanks, I'm glad you like it. Hope you enjoy this chapter!
Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS or any original characters, just my own.
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The car ride to Kristi Markson's house had started off silent. Tony had beaten Ziva out once again for the driver's seat, although she secretly had let him beat her. The Markson residence was a good fifteen minutes away from NCIS headquarters, and after the first five minutes of awkward silence, Ziva felt it was time to break it.
"Tony, do you want to talk?" she asked.
"About what?" he responded. Ziva held back a smile.
"Last night," she replied. She tried to read Tony's facial expression, but it didn't change.
"What about it?" he asked innocently, looking her way and flashing her a big smile and winking his right eye before turning back to the road. Ziva, too, smiled and said nothing more about the topic. The rest of the ride to Kristi Markson's house was silent, but it was not an awkward silence, and Ziva felt at ease in the car.
Finally, they pulled up to their destination. Ziva looked out the passenger side window at the house they were about to enter. When she had been there the day before, she had not noticed how beautiful the house and neighborhood were. Granted, she had been there only to investigate a murder. The house was two-stories, white, with a wrap-around porch and a very ornate entry. On the left side of the second level, there were French doors that opened up to a balcony that overlooked a pond. All around the house was a garden full of beautiful flowers, statues, and other garden decorations. There was also a huge lawn of perfectly green grass. The surrounding houses appeared to be just as nice in outward appearance. Ziva sighed inwardly, wondering when she would ever get a house of her own with her own family, and if she would ever have such a perfect looking house. All of a sudden, her car door opened and she came out of her thoughts.
"You okay?" Tony asked. "Or were you just waiting for me to open your door?" Ziva smiled up at him.
"Yes, I am fine," she replied and stepped out of the car. Tony slammed her door shut and the two of them walked up the sidewalk to the porch. Ziva knocked on the door and waited about a minute. When no one answered, she knocked again.
"Mrs. Markson?" she called. "Open the door! It's Officer David from NCIS!" Still, no one answered. Normally, at this time Ziva would have kicked in the door, but she subconsciously felt her hand lead itself to the doorknob and turn it. "Tony, it's unlocked."
"Sure, leave your house unlocked the day after your husband was murdered here. Great idea," he muttered sarcastically. Ziva pushed the door open, her gun held out in front of her. She entered the house, Tony right behind her with his gun out as well. As they entered the living room, they saw it was empty. Ziva continued into the kitchen while Tony started down the hallway. She looked in the kitchen and in the dining room and found nothing.
"Clear!" she called. Tony looked in all four rooms down the hallway; a bathroom, an office, and two bedrooms, one of which had belonged to Lexi Markson. He didn't find anything in any of the rooms.
"Clear!" he called back. He went back to the living room and rejoined his partner. "Maybe she's not here." Just then, they heard a noise above them, and they both looked up at the ceiling. Ziva rushed to the other side of the living room where the staircase was and ran up the stairs. Tony followed. At the top of the stairs, they stood and listened to see if they could hear anything. They heard voices coming from the room all the way at the end of the hallway. Slowly, they made their way down the hall until they reached the door. Ziva and Tony looked at each other, silently communicating what happened next. After a nod from Ziva, Tony kicked the door open and Ziva dashed into the room, holding her gun in front of her.
"Federal agents!" she hollered. The two people in the room screamed, and Ziva lowered her gun when she recognized Kristi Markson.
"Officer David," Kristi said, surprised at her visitor. Tony entered the room as well. "Agent DiNozzo."
"Not a smart idea, Kristi," Tony began. "Leaving your door unlocked, that is." Kristi didn't respond, but she looked down at the floor.
"Who are these people, Kristi?" asked the man sitting next to her. Kristi and the man were sitting on a king sized bed, leaning against the headboard. From the size of the room, and the fact that there was a bathroom in the corner near the French doors that Ziva had seen from the car, Ziva concluded that they were in the master bedroom.
"I'm Officer Ziva David and this is Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo," Ziva answered. "We are investigating the murder of Kristi Markson's husband Robert and their daughter Lexi."
"Better question," Tony said, taking a step toward the bed. "Who are you?" The man on the bed looked back and forth between Tony and Ziva for a moment, and Ziva took in his appearance. He looked to be about thirty years old with dark brown hair, although it was shaved into a buzz cut, and piercing green eyes. His arms were very muscular as well. This man was definitely very attractive.
"Patrick Lansing," he responded. Tony's eyes widened briefly from surprise, but he quickly recovered.
"We're going to need to take you both in for questioning," Tony said.
"You think we had something to do with Rob's death?" Lansing asked, anger rising in his voice.
"We're not jumping to conclusions," Tony replied. "But we need to know everything that you two knew about him and anything you could possibly tell us." Reluctantly, Kristi and Lansing rose from the bed and allowed Tony and Ziva to lead them out of the house and take them back to NCIS headquarters.
Meanwhile, Gibbs and McGee pulled up to the address that McGee had found to be the home address of Joshua Barge. It was a nice looking one-story brick house in an average looking neighborhood. There was a small garden growing around it but nothing too fancy. The two agents walked up the sidewalk and Gibbs pounded on the door. After a moment, the door opened and Gibbs and McGee saw a very attractive young woman standing before them. She looked like she was in her early to mid twenties and had long blonde hair and big blue eyes. McGee noticed that the woman was also very well endowed on top and had a very curvy figure. She was wearing a white low cut tank top and a black mini skirt. He felt his eyes widen but was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard words being exchanged.
"Can I help you?" the woman asked.
"Special Agent Gibbs," Gibbs introduced himself, showing his badge. "If there is a Joshua Barge here, Agent McGee and I would like to talk to him for a moment." Gibbs gestured toward McGee.
"Come on in," the woman offered hesitantly after a moment. "I'll get him for you." Gibbs and McGee walked in and waited in the living room while the young woman exited to retrieve Barge.
"McGee," Gibbs said, turning to face the other agent. "Keep your eyes in your head when we're here to question a potential suspect."
"Uh, yes, Boss. Sorry, Boss," McGee stammered, flustered. After a couple of minutes, the woman returned with a man in his late twenties. Gibbs assumed he was Joshua Barge.
"Joshua Barge?" Gibbs asked. The man nodded. "NCIS. I'd like you to come down for some questioning."
"What for?" the man asked.
"I have some questions for you regarding the death of a fellow naval-" Gibbs was interrupted by Barge.
"You think I killed him?" Barge nearly hollered. Gibbs stared into the man's eyes for a moment silently. His glare penetrated into the young man's soul, and Gibbs could feel Barge's discomfort.
"I'd like to ask you a few questions," Gibbs repeated sternly, and Barge reluctantly obliged. Gibbs and McGee led him to the car and took him back to headquarters.
At headquarters, the team was standing in an observation room discussing what they had learned. On the other side of the glass, Kristi Markson sat at the table looking very distraught.
"When we got to her house, we found her upstairs with Lansing," Tony explained. "They were in her bedroom, Boss."
"You thinking they were having an affair, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked. Tony shrugged.
"It's possible," he replied. "Maybe Lansing was in love with Kristi and killed her husband so he could be with her instead."
"How would he have gotten Barge's gun?" McGee asked. Tony snapped his head in McGee's direction and glared at him for questioning the theory.
"I think we should hear what everyone has to say before we jump to any conclusions," Ziva intervened. Gibbs nodded and left his team. He entered the interrogation room moments later and sat across from Kristi Markson.
"Water?" he offered her a bottle of Dasani water that she accept and thanked him.
"What's this about?" she asked. "I didn't kill my husband."
"I never said you did," Gibbs said. "I just want to know anything you can tell us that has any relevance to your husband's death."
"I don't know how much help I can be, Agent Gibbs," Kristi replied. "I wasn't even there."
"Which brings me to my first question," Gibbs began. "Where were you yesterday when your husband and daughter were attacked?"
"I already told your agents I was at the grocery store," Kristi replied, a hint of annoyance in her voice.
"What did you get at the grocery store?" Gibbs asked. Kristi stared at him, clearly confused.
"Uh, I don't know, milk, cheese, bread. What does it matter?" she asked.
"Mrs. Markson, when you returned to your house yesterday, you had no groceries with you," Gibbs pointed out.
"I saw all the cars and the ambulance," Kristi said. "I forgot about the groceries. I just wanted to see what happened to my family!" Gibbs nodded and wrote in his notepad.
"Mrs. Markson," he continued. "What is your relationship with Patrick Lansing?" Kristi looked stunned. Her mouth dropped open.
"We-we're just friends, Agent Gibbs," she stuttered.
"Well according to my agents, you certainly appeared to be rather friendly with each other this afternoon," Gibbs said in reference to Tony and Ziva finding them in her bedroom together. Kristi shook her head, her mouth still open.
"No," she replied. "No. I know what it must have looked like, but no. Patrick and I are just friends, and he is helping me grieve. I just lost my husband and daughter for God's sake, and you want to accuse me of cheating?"
"Mrs. Markson," Gibbs pressed on, taking note of Kristi's reaction. "Do you know if Lansing has recently been to a doctor or hospital?" The blood found in the tee shirt had belonged to Lansing, and Gibbs was curious as to what Kristi would say.
"Um…No, Agent Gibbs," she replied. "Not to my knowledge." Gibbs nodded and wrote in his notepad again.
"One more thing for now, Mrs. Markson," he said, looking up at her from his notes. "What was the relationship between Patrick Lansing and your husband?"
"They were cousins, Agent Gibbs," she replied.
Gibbs reentered the observation room to a perplexed looking team.
"Do you think she had anything to do with the crime?" Ziva asked. Gibbs shrugged.
"I think she's making up being at the grocery store," Gibbs replied. "I want to know where she really was."
"Do you think you can find out from Lansing?" Tony asked. Gibbs smiled before turning and leaving his team again. He entered the interrogation room where Patrick Lansing had been waiting.
"Look, sir, I know it doesn't look good for me, but I swear I would never have hurt Rob," Lansing blurted out before Gibbs had even sat down.
"Let me start by introducing myself," Gibbs said, ignoring his suspect's outburst. "I'm Special Agent Gibbs. You haven't been accused of anything yet. I just want to ask you some questions." Lansing took a deep breath, clearly feeling uncomfortable.
"Okay," he said.
"Where were you yesterday afternoon?" Gibbs asked. Lansing's eyes widened and began looking frantically around the table. Gibbs took note of this.
"Uh, I was at home, Agent Gibbs," he replied and fidgeted slightly in his chair.
"Is there anyone who can confirm that?" Gibbs continued.
"Um, well," Lansing stuttered. "I guess not. I mean, maybe my neighbors, sir." Gibbs nodded.
"Tell me about your relationship with Kristi Markson," Gibbs instructed. Lansing froze.
"W-what do you mean 'relationship'? We-we're just friends, Agent Gibbs," Lansing replied.
"Well, your body language and her answers tell me otherwise," Gibbs said. "I've already spoken with Mrs. Markson, and I suggest that you tell me the truth." Lansing looked around the interrogation room frantically and stammered nonsense for a few moments before taking a deep breath and deciding to comply with what Gibbs had said.
"Fine," Lansing agreed calmly. "Kristi and I were not having an affair. She loved Rob, and he was my cousin. But one day, two days ago actually, the day before he was killed, Rob went out to dinner with some of his buddies. I stopped over to see him 'cause I didn't know he was gone. Kristi said he was gone for a couple hours and invited me in for a drink. So she hit on me, Agent Gibbs!"
"Just finish your story," Gibbs instructed. Lansing nodded.
"Well, after about an hour, Kristi asked me if I could fix something on Lexi's bike because Rob hadn't been able to get around to it yet," Lansing continued. "I followed her out back to the shed, and when we got inside, she closed the door. I didn't mean to, Agent Gibbs, but we'd both had some alcohol, and she practically threw herself at me."
"So you slept with her?" Gibbs asked.
"Yes," Lansing admitted. "We were out in the shed having sex, and all of a sudden, the door flew open and Rob was standing there. He was pissed, which is understandable."
"What happened then?" Gibbs urged him to continue, writing down what was being said.
"I tried to reason with him and calm him down," Lansing explained. "He was too angry though. He stormed over to his tool box and grabbed a hammer. He started beating me with the hammer. Not in the head, just the shoulders mainly. He shoved me against the wall, and my right shoulder hit the window. It shattered on my arm, cutting my shoulder up pretty badly. He kept hitting me with that damn hammer, not hard enough to do severe damage or anything. He was kind of a wreck and was losing his strength. But it still hurt like a bitch. Finally, Kristi pulled him back and got him to stop. He told me to leave and never come back. I promised him I wouldn't, and I left. I felt awful, Agent Gibbs. He was my cousin. When I left, he was sobbing."
"Yeah, well imagine if you walked in on the love of your life, the mother of your child, sleeping with your cousin," Gibbs said. Lansing bowed his head in shame. "Speaking of Lexi, where was she during all of this?"
"Kristi said that Lexi was staying the night at her friend Brianna's house," Lansing replied.
"Did you ever return to the Markson residence?" Gibbs asked. Lansing shook his head.
"No, sir," he replied. "Absolutely not. Not after what happened in the shed."
"Did you go to a doctor after that?" Gibbs asked. Lansing nodded.
"I went to the ER. I told them I was working in my basement and fell down the stairs," he explained. "The x-rays showed nothing was broken, which I was expecting because Rob wasn't hitting me with much force. I mainly went because of how the window cut up my arm." Gibbs nodded and stood. "Can I go?"
"Not yet," Gibbs replied and left the room. He reentered the interrogation room where he had left Kristi Markson and sat down across from her. He glared at her straight in the eyes for quite a long moment before she looked away.
"You lied to me," Gibbs growled at her.
"I did not!" Kristi protested.
"Oh?" Gibbs asked. "Lansing just told me everything. He told me about the incident in the shed. Anything you want to clear up, Mrs. Markson?" His glare was piercing, and he could feel how uncomfortable he was making Kristi feel. Finally, she broke down crying.
"Okay, okay," she sobbed. "We had sex once. In the shed, like he told you. Rob beat him with a hammer. After Patrick left, Rob took off his tee shirt and wrapped the hammer in it and threw it in the trashcan. He didn't speak to me the rest of the night. It was awful. He was so hurt, Agent Gibbs, that he didn't yell at me or anything. He wouldn't look at me or speak to me."
"So where were you really at when your husband was killed?" Gibbs inquired. Kristi wiped her face and looked at Gibbs with pure fury in her eyes.
"I had gone to Patrick's house to tell him that what had happened between us was just a one-time thing. It was a mistake, and there wasn't anything there," she explained. "He wasn't happy. He said he felt like he was falling in love with me."
"Then what happened?" Gibbs pressed on.
"I left," Kristi replied.
"Then you went home? Where you saw your house had turned into a crime scene?" Gibbs asked. Kristi hesitated.
"Y-yes," she replied. Gibbs raised his eyebrows, silently telling her to tell the truth. "Well, after I left Patrick's house, I stopped at a coffee shop and had tea and coffee cake. I had to clear my mind. Then I went home."
"How long after you left Lansing's house did you return home?" Gibbs asked.
"Maybe an hour at the absolute most," Kristi replied. Gibbs stood and left the room. He went into the observation room where his team was to discuss the case with them.
"You think Lansing killed Markson while his wife was at the coffee shop?" Tony asked when Gibbs entered.
"I think it's a possibility," Gibbs replied. "Except the little girl said the man who killed her father was yelling at him about money. As far as we know, Markson didn't owe Lansing any money."
"Well maybe he did, but Lansing hasn't told us," McGee suggested.
"It would make sense," Ziva chirped in.
"DiNozzo," Gibbs said, turning to his senior field agent.
"Yes, Boss," DiNozzo replied.
"I want you to question Barge," Gibbs said.
"What do you want me to find out?" Tony asked and immediately wished he hadn't. He closed his eyes and accepted the Gibbs slap to the back of his head.
"Where he was when it happened, his relationship to Markson, his relationship to Kristi, if Markson owed him money," Gibbs listed. "Anything of any relevance."
"Boss, you brought him in, why don't you want to be the one to question him?" Tony asked.
"Because it was his gun that killed Markson and his daughter," Gibbs replied. "If he admits to being the one that pulled the trigger, I don't want to kill him in interrogation." Tony nodded his understanding and walked out and in to the interrogation room where Joshua Barge was waiting.
"Good afternoon," Tony said with a sly smile.
"I don't know why I'm here," Barge said bluntly. "I didn't do anything wrong."
"I'll be the judge of that," Tony said, taking a seat across from Barge. "Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo. Where were you yesterday afternoon?"
"At the gym," Barge replied shortly.
"Witnesses?" Tony asked.
"Tons of them," Barge replied.
"I'll need names," Tony said and pushed a piece of paper and a pen toward Barge. Barge hesitated a moment before writing down four names.
"Why don't we start with your relationship with Robert Markson," Tony suggested.
"He was my best friend, sir," Barge replied a bit more courteously than he had spoken before.
"And your relationship with his wife?" Tony asked. Barge cocked his eyebrows in confusion.
"I'd only met Kristi a handful of times," Barge replied. "She seemed nice, but we were only acquaintances."
"Had you and Robert Markson gotten in any type of argument or disagreement recently?" Tony asked. Barge shook his head.
"No, sir," Barge replied. "Rob and I never fought."
"Well, that seems strange to me on account of your history of domestic violence," Tony said, opening the folder in front of him.
"That was a long time ago," Barge insisted defensively.
"Four years ago, cops were called to your house by neighbors who heard loud yelling," Tony read. "You admitted to having a verbal argument with the woman who was mentioned and admitted to shoving her against the wall."
"I found out she cheated on me," Barge explained. "We'd been dating for four months."
"Two years ago, cops were called to your house again by neighbors hearing loud yelling," Tony continued. "This time, you and the woman both had marks on you, but neither of you filed charges."
"Different woman," Barge explained. "We'd had some to drink and got into a fight. Not a big deal. We're married now and couldn't be happier."
"Not a big deal?" Tony repeated and closed the folder. "I've gotten angry at my fair share of women, but I've never touched them out of anger. When you have two domestic disputes in two years, that's a big deal. You're a violent man."
"No," Barge protested. "You've got it all wrong. I admit I have a bad temper, but those incidents are in my past. I'm not like that now. Rob and I never fought!" Tony was silent for a moment and looked down. Just then, something under the table caught his eye.
"You're wearing new shoes," Tony observed.
"Uh, yeah," Barge replied, clearly confused. "Why is that relevant?"
"Well, at the crime scene there were bloody footprints in the kitchen that led outside from the body," Tony explained. "And you suddenly have brand new, perfectly white shoes."
"You want to call me a murderer because I'm wearing new shoes?" Barge hollered.
"I am just trying to figure out what happened," Tony said.
"Well you're talking to the wrong person," Barge told him. "I don't know anything about it. I wasn't there!"
"Our evidence shows otherwise," Tony replied calmly.
"Well then you've made a mistake," Barge reasoned. Tony smiled and leaned back in his chair.
"Not possible," he said. "We don't make mistakes."
"Well you're making one right now if you think I had anything to do with this," Barge said very angrily. Tony paused for a moment and sat up in his chair, looking Barge in the eyes.
"Can you tell me, if you were not at the scene of the crime, how your gun got there?" Tony asked. Barge did not try hiding his shocked expression.
"What are you talking about?" he asked.
"We traced the shell from Markson's body to the gun that it came from," Tony explained. "It's your gun."
"No, no you've got to be making a mistake!" Barge yelled. "I'm telling you, Agent DiNozzo, I had nothing to do with this!"
"Then who else had access to your gun?" Tony demanded..
"No one!" Barge exclaimed. "I don't know what happened, but you had to have made a mistake, damn it!" Tony was silent for a moment before he stood and walked toward the door.
"Wait here a moment to calm down," he instructed to Barge before leaving. He joined the rest of the team in the observation room they were in and handed McGee the list of names that Barge had given him. Without another word, McGee headed to his desk to look up their telephone numbers and check Barge's alibi.
"What do you think, Boss?" Tony asked. Gibbs sighed.
"I think he might be telling the truth, DiNozzo," Gibbs replied.
"But what about his gun?" Tony asked.
"Someone else had to have had access to it," Ziva reasoned. "Do you believe that he doesn't know who could have gotten it?"
"I'm not sure," Gibbs admitted. "DiNozzo, when you go back in there, find out if Markson owed Barge any money."
"Yes, Boss," Tony replied.
"I'm gonna go get a refill," Gibbs said, gesturing to his coffee cup. He walked out of the room and closed the door, leaving Tony and Ziva alone. It was silent for a moment before Ziva broke it.
"Tony, I do no want things to be strange between us," she said.
"Strange?" he asked, taking a step closer to her. "I didn't realize they were."
"Well, you know I care about you," Ziva continued. "But last night…" Tony had inched closer to her while she had been talking and was standing just inches away from her at that point.
"What about it?" he asked softly. Ziva felt her knees go weak as Tony raised his right hand up to her neck and pulled her lips into his. They shared another long, passionate kiss and pulled away only when they heard the doorknob turn.
"I checked with all-" McGee stopped when he saw Tony and Ziva standing alone, very close together. "Sorry, uh, was I interrupt-"
"No, probie," Tony said, walking toward him. "Whatcha got?" McGee looked again from Tony to Ziva before continuing.
"Well, I called the people Barge had listed," McGee explained. "His alibi checks out, Tony. They all said he was at the gym at that time." Tony sighed.
"So who the hell took his gun?" he wondered out loud before leaving the room to reenter the interrogation room again. Tony crossed the room and sat across from Barge again.
"Ok," he began. "I believe you were at the gym."
"Thank you," Barge sighed.
"But it still doesn't explain how your gun was used to kill him," Tony continued. Barge sighed, clearly getting annoyed again. "Did Markson owe you any money?" Barge looked rather taken aback by Tony's question.
"No, why?" he asked. Tony shrugged.
"Just curious," he replied. A bitter smile crossed Barge's face.
"You know, Agent DiNozzo," he began, "I really shouldn't help you out since you repeatedly accused me of killing my best friend, but I will share some information with you. I'm only doing it for Rob though."
"Go on," Tony said, taking out his notepad.
"If you want to find Rob's killer, I suggest you focus on Patrick Lansing and Max Markson," Barge told him.
"His brother and his cousin?" Tony asked. "Why's that?"
"Max was pissed at Rob because apparently Rob ripped Max off somehow regarding their father's death," Barge explained. "And Lansing has always been pretty much up Max's ass, he'd go along with anything Max says." Tony nodded.
"Thanks for your cooperation," he said as he rose from the table and exited the room before Barge could speak another word. When he reentered the observation room again, Gibbs was back with a full cup of coffee.
"Now what do you do, Boss?" Tony asked.
"Let them all go home," Gibbs instructed. "We don't have anything to charge them with." Tony nodded.
"On it, Boss," he said and turned.
"Wait," Gibbs said. Tony turned back to him. "DiNozzo, Ziva, you two go get Max Markson. I want to see what he has to say about his brother's death."
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A/N: Well, there's chapter 4….and I'm aware that it was incredibly long. I just really enjoy detail! And this story seems to have a lot of detail haha. Well, I hope you all enjoyed. Please review :)