PHYSICIAN HEAL THYSELF PART 6

NCIS LA and all its characters belong to Shane Brennan. Jordan Harris is the only character that's mine.

Bull Pen:

G. Callen sat at his desk going through e-mails and working through the small pile of over- due reports. Putting down his pen he sat back in his chair, looking around the bull pen. Sam was at his desk working on his own reports; Kensi was typing on her laptop and Deeks was away from his desk at the moment. Pushing himself away from his desk, he strolled out of the bullpen and headed for the coffee table to get some tea.

Nearing the table, he saw Jordan standing there with her back to him.

"Hi," Callen said, standing by her side.

"Hey," she said, turning her head to greet him with a smile. "Guess we had the same idea."

"Looks like it," he said, returning her smile.

She picked up a small, ornate, metal box off the table. Inspecting the box; she lifted the lid to peer inside.

"That's one of Hetty's specialty teas. She's always leaving some here for us to try," Callen warned, pouring hot water into his Styrofoam cup.

Jordan grimaced, obviously remembering the last time she had that particular tea, and quickly closed the lid. She then put the box back where she found it.

"It's an acquired taste, "he said with a smirk, dropping an ` English tea time' tea bag into his cup.

"Don't think I'll be acquiring it any time soon," she said with a chuckle, looking over the assortment of teas. Finding one to her liking and taking it out of the protective cover, she dropped the bag into her cup of hot water. She then turned to face Callen, "Well, guess I'll see you later." She said with a soft smile.

"Later," he grinned, watching her as she moved around him to head for the stairs.

"You should ask her out," Deeks said, as he suddenly appeared next to Callen.

Callen just turned his eyes to the other man.

Deeks continued, "It's obvious you two like each other. No sense in dragging out these things."

Callen raised an eyebrow at him incredulous and then just shook his head as he made his way back to his desk.

"What?" Deeks called out to Callen's retreating back.


An hour later and one more report to go; Callen's thoughts went to Jordan Harris again. He'd found himself thinking about her a lot lately. What was is about her that just got to him? He'd be lying if he said he wasn't physically attracted to her, she was probably the sexiest woman he'd ever met. But, the more time he spent with Jordan, the more things he found to like. He liked her intelligence; smart women had always been a turn on for him. He liked her sense of humor, beautiful smile and those incredible eyes. In the short time that he'd known her, had it been a week already, he saw her as a woman who was strong, confident and comfortable in her own skin.

She'd wanted him to tell her something about himself, but what could he really say? That his entire family had been murdered because of a decades old blood feud; that he'd lived in 37 different foster homes since the age of five, that until a few years ago he'd been basically homeless. Would she even want to know the real him if he told her?

A shrill whistle broke Callen out of his thoughts. Looking up at the top of the stairs, he saw Eric Beale.

"Everyone up to ops; we've got another body."

OPS:

The team stood against the long island table, focusing their attention on Nell as she moved to the smart board. Eric uploaded the picture of the victim, which showed a young woman dressed in full naval uniform. She had tan skin, small light brown eyes, narrow nose and a square jaw. Her jet black hair was pulled into a tight bun at the back of her head.

"The victim is, Ensign Annette Gallagher age 24…" Nell said reading from her tablet. "After completing a tour in Iraq she went on to begin a career as a Navy paralegal for the assistant J.A.G. in San Diego."

Nell then pulled up the crime scene photos; it showed Ensign Gallagher lying on her back on what looked like shag carpeting, her eyes and tongue had been mutilated, "Ensign Gallagher's body was found early this morning at her home by Ensign Lisa Santoro who had arrived to drive the both of them to work. Ensign Santoro is also a paralegal at the same office. The CSI team found no trace evidence at the scene. There was also no forced entry or signs of struggle.

"Family?" Callen asked; his gaze focused on the photos.

"Yes, her father Max Gallagher and a younger brother Will Gallagher; both live in Dallas, Texas. She also has a boyfriend Sean Walker. Here's the interesting thing, there was a domestic dispute, police were called to the Walker residence about two months ago but no charges filed," Nell said.

"What can you tell us about Sean Walker?" Callen asked.

Sean Walker's picture was displayed on screen. Sean Walker was 32 years old and strikingly handsome in a spray tanned sort of way. He had longish, dark brown hair; an aristocratic nose and hooded black eyes beneath straight, heavy brows.

"He works as a photographer at Blaze studios in Santa Monica; has lived here for the past six years and no priors." Nell said. Looking back at her tablet, "M.E.'s report says cause of death a crushed trachea, just like the other victims. The report also says that she'd been dead for about 12 hours. That would put time of death at 9:30 last night."

"Were there any defensive wounds?" Jordan asked.

"No, just a clean kill." Nell said, looking at the group.

"Kensi, you and Deeks talk with Ensign Santoro. We'll check out Sean Walker," Callen said.


Ensign Santoro lived at the Villa Del Sol apartment complex in Santa Ana, California. Kensi pulled the car into the parking lot next to the building.

"Nice," Deeks said, taking in the Spanish style of the building structure as he exited the passenger side of the car.

"I don't think it's too pricey here. Thinking about giving up your place?" Kensi asked, getting out on her side and closing the door.

"Only if they accept Monty the wonder dog here," he grinned.

Making their way across the cobblestone walkway, they went to the door with the number 114. Kensi knocked, a moment later a woman answered the door. Ensign Lisa Santoro 28 years old, fair skinned with large blue-gray eyes set in a round face. Her ink black hair was up in a ponytail. Her tall, lean frame was dressed in white tank top and blue jeans.

"Lisa Santoro? I'm Agent Blye, NCIS." Kensi said, showing her badge and identification, "This is Officer Deeks," she said, indicating Deeks who also showed his badge. "We spoke earlier on the phone," Kensi said.

As if coming out of a daze, the other woman responded, "Yes…yes of course. Come on in," Lisa said, opening the door wider and stepping aside to let the two agents in the apartment. She then led them to a small kitchen and had them sit at the breakfast nook. Kensi and Deeks sat beside each other.

"Can I get you anything? Coffee…juice…" Lisa asked.

"No thank you," Deeks replied while Kensi just shook her head.

Lisa poured herself some coffee from the keurig coffee maker that was on the center island. Bringing her mug with her, she sat on the other side of the table.

"I want to say we're very sorry for your loss." Kensi started, her gaze focused on Lisa, "You were the one who found Annette Gallagher this morning?"

Taking a shuddering breath, Lisa replied, "Yeah, we would carpool to work every morning. We worked at the same office. When I got to her place at seven this morning I noticed the door was slightly open. I called out to her and there was no answer. Then I opened the door all the way and that's when I saw her on the floor like that." Lisa finished, visibly shaking at the memory.

"Was there anyone she was having problems with? Anyone you can think of who'd want to hurt her?" Deeks asked in a soothing tone.

"I've been thinking about that. You see, Annette and I were really close, practically sisters and would tell each other everything," Lisa said, taking a deep breath she started again, "She started seeing this guy, Sean Walker, about 3 years ago. She was head over heels for him, and for a while everything was fine. I'd met him and thought that he seemed like a nice guy who was crazy about her, but..."

"But what?" Kensi said, gently prompting the other woman to continue.

"Sometimes he'd make these remarks, about her being in the Navy. Sort of making fun of her; then he'd say he was just joking. Annette told me once that he'd tried to join the Navy when he finished College; but they rejected him for a medical reason." Lisa said, stopping for a moment to drink another sip of her coffee.

"For a while things seemed fine. Then they started to fight a lot. One night he'd been drinking heavily and they got into this huge argument. He slapped her so hard that he fractured her jaw. She had to go to the Navy medical center afterwards. She told the doctors that she'd been accidently hit in the face with a ball during a game."

"She didn't press charges?" Kensi asked, shocked and sickened by what she'd just heard.

Deeks was silently seething, wishing he could have just five minutes with this creep.

"No. She still loved him. He was so apologetic that she took him back. I begged her not to, but she wouldn't listen. I think she might have been a little ashamed too. Then everything seemed fine again until two months ago they got into a screaming match. I guess the neighbors called to complain, because the police showed up. No charges were filed, but I guess she finally decided she'd had enough and moved out."

"Did he threaten her?" Kensi asked.

"He came by the office one day about a week ago wanting to talk to her. She told him to leave, that she needed to think things through. I was about to call security when he decided to leave. Then he gave her this look and said she'd regret this."

"Regret what? Breaking up with him?" Deeks asked.

"I think so, or for not talking to him," Lisa replied.

"Did she seem fearful or anxious at all after the break up," asked Deeks.

"I'd say wary. She was trying to pick up the pieces and move on."

"Thank you for your time and again we're sorry for your loss." Kensi said, as both she and Deeks got up to leave.

"Thank you," Lisa said, rising up from her own seat. "If it turns out that Sean did this, could you do one thing for me please?"

"What?" Kensi asked.

"Tell him I said go to hell."


"You ok?" Kensi asked, taking her eyes off the road for a moment to look at her partner. He'd been silent for the past 10 minutes during the drive which was unusual for Deeks.

"Yeah, just thinking about what Lisa told us. Made me think about my mom and how my dad used to beat her and us."

She knew some of Deeks's history and knew he didn't like to talk about his past much.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that," Kensi replied.

"Sometimes I worry that I'll become him and…"

"You won't," Kensi said with conviction in her voice.

A wry smile came to his face, "How can you be so sure."

"I'm a good judge of people, I have good instincts. You're a good man. Besides, I'd kick your ass if you ever turned out that way," she finished with a sidelong glance.

Deeks glanced at her, his smile growing bigger, "Thanks Fern."

"Uggh! Don't call me Fern!"


Interrogation Room:

Jordan sat in the boat shed watching the interrogation on the monitor. In the interrogation room Sean Walker was dressed in jeans and white, button down shirt open at the collar. He sat on one side of the table while Sam and Callen sat next to each other on the opposite side.

"What's this all about?" Walker asked, eyeing both agents.

"This is about your girlfriend, Annette Gallagher," Callen said, his expression blank. Kensi had phoned earlier and had given him the lowdown on what Santoro had told her and Deeks.

"What about her? Has she or that bitch Lisa been complaining about me again?"

"Again?" Callen asked, studying the man. He thought Walker's eyes were like two bottomless black pools.

"Look, I just wanted to talk to her, so I went by the office to try to work things out with Annette. Of course Lisa had to interfere," Walker said as his mouth twisted in distaste at saying Lisa's name.

"Oh, you were just trying to get her to come back to you," Sam said.

"Yeah, that friend of hers has been filling her head with all sorts of crap about me. We still love each other and I know we can work it out if Annette would just talk to me. "

"Or she'll regret it," Callen said.

"Is that what Annette told you?" Walker asked, leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms over his chest.

"She's not saying anything right now or ever," Callen said coldly.

"What do you mean," Walker asked, looking confused.

"She's dead; her body was found this morning at her home." Sam replied.

Walker looked from Callen to Sam, his face a mask of shock, "W…what do you mean she's dead?!"

Callen picked up the file that was on the table, opened it to pull out the crime scene photo of Annette Gallagher. He then placed the photo in front of Walker, "She was murdered last night."

Walker was transfixed on the photo, his eyes wide as if unable to comprehend what he was looking at, "OH MY G…what happened to her face!"

"Her eyes and tongue were burned, right after her trachea was crushed," Callen said, studying the other man. "Where were you between nine and ten last night?"

Tearing his gaze from the gruesome photo, Walker glared at both agents with wet eyes, "You can't think I did this! I loved her! I'd never hurt her!"

Callen leaned forward on the table, "Yeah, you loved her so much you sent her to the hospital with a broken jaw," he said, his voice low and deadly.

Walker sighed and ran a hand through his lengthy hair. He then closed his eyes as if bringing himself back into control, "Look, I'm not proud of what I did. I'd had a little too much to drink and we'd been arguing and she just kept going at me…"

"Oh, so you just wanted to show her whose boss. Get her to shut that trap," Sam said his expression dark.

"Your studio is only an hour from where she lived. Maybe you went there trying to talk to her again. Maybe she pissed you off again and you killed her!" said Callen.

"No! I… I admit I hit her, but I'm not a murderer!" Walker insisted, running his hands over his face, "Last night I was at the studio developing prints of a photo shoot that I'd done that morning. I was there till ten, and then I went home; had a beer and went straight to bed. I'll take a lie detector test if you want!"

"Was there anyone with you at the studio last night?" Callen asked.

Walker sighed, "No. My assistant left around eight last night. I was the last one to lock up."

"So basically you have no alibi." Callen said.

Walker sat quietly for a moment, "Do I need a lawyer?"

"Don't leave town." Sam said.


Later that evening:

Boathouse:

Jordan was sitting on the couch with her laptop, which was nestled on a cushion, resting on top of her legs. She reached down to grab a small packet of candy that was on the coffee table.

"Gummy bears?" Callen said, eyeing the brand name on the bag with distaste.

Jordan looked up at him, pushing her glasses up to the top of her head, "Hey, don't go insulting my snack," she said in mock anger.

"Yes ma'am, "Callen replied with a smirk before sitting down on the couch beside her. "Just didn't figure you for one to eat junk food."

"Oh yeah, what did you figure me for?" Jordan asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I don't know; you seem to eat pretty healthy. Yogurt, maybe tofu?"

Jordan's eyes widened, "Yogurt sometimes and only the Greek kind. Tofu? Never, it's against my religion."

"What religion is that?" Callen asked.

"One that doesn't allow things like tofu," Jordan replied, with a smirk.

Callen chuckled at that.

Glancing at Jordan's computer screen, he saw that she'd been studying the recent crime scene photos of Annette Gallagher.

"What was your take on Walker today," Callen asked.

"That he's a creep and a waste of valuable oxygen. He fits the profile, but I'm not completely sold on him being the killer. His reaction to the crime scene photo seemed genuine," Jordan replied.

"Could he have faked it?" Callen asked.

"Possible. A psychopath, who I believe is what this killer is, can mimic certain emotions and gain people's trust."

"Walker is in the number one slot for suspects. Then there's also Collins. Kensi and Deeks are still keeping tabs on him."

"Good. You know something jumped out at me while looking at the photos. Annette's body was close to the front entrance."

Jordan put her laptop on the coffee table and got up from the couch to stand in the middle of the room.

"I'm five foot eight; the same height as Annette Gallagher. How tall are you, Callen?" Jordan said.

"Five foot eleven," Callen replied, wondering what Jordan was thinking.

"Stand in front of me please," she said.

Callen got up from the couch to stand in front of Jordan. She placed her hands on his arms to position him the way she wanted. He found himself hating it when she removed her hands.

"There was no forced entry. What if she let the killer in?" Jordan said, mimicking opening a door. "She lets him in," Jordan said, stepping back as if allowing Callen to come inside. "Her head was toward the door. So maybe she turned her back on him."

"He grabs her throat," Callen said, throwing his right arm across Jordan's neck as Jordan instinctively grabs his wrist with her hands. "He overpowers her and crushes her trachea." Jordan says as Callen drops his arm.

Jordan turned and looked into Callen's eyes, "It may or may not have been Walker, but I think Annette knew her killer."

It would be another week before the killer made his next move.

TBC.

Hope you all liked this chapter. Please review. Next chapter coming soon.