Ch 7

Returning home Friday night, Ziva was looking forward to an unhurried meal and a good book. They'd closed the case of the missing petty officer that afternoon. He'd been ready to confront the leader of the gang he believed was responsible for his brother's death. Gibbs had halted any bloodshed and they'd returned him to base.

A knock brought her to the door where she found a courier delivering a package from one of her contacts. Ziva tipped him and after he left, she opened it to find Pemberton Medical Analysis' records of their technicians' logs, files, and reports. As she looked through the package, she even found floor plans and security system specs. She wasn't sure what story her contact had given Pemberton to get this information without a warrant. Ziva smiled, David didn't always go through official channels; perhaps Pemberton didn't even know they'd provided it.

The next day was Saturday and though the MCRT wasn't on call, Ziva arrived at NCIS headquarters in the morning. Early on she'd made a point of showing up occasionally on the weekends. She'd told people that having the liaison position meant reporting to two bosses and she was using the weekend time to fill out reports for Tel Aviv. That came in handy now; no one questioned her presence.

Starting up the computer, she sorted the data and started matching up chain of evidence records with Chip's whereabouts. It was slow going; she should have asked for McGee's help, but she was reluctant to explain the origin of the files to him. However, by afternoon she had positively identified three more cases where Chip was in the same laboratory with evidence that proved insufficient to convict a Salinitri family member.

This was the reason Chip took the plea deal without trying to fight the charges and it was something Gibbs would be interested in. He would know whom to alert to see if some of those tests could be re-run. If the samples themselves weren't tampered with, there could be enough evidence to reopen those cases. As she began to pack up for the night, Ziva had a feeling that she was missing something. Chip had proven he was a careful planner; it was merely an aberration that he'd given into his emotions on the night of the attack. Could he be plotting something else from behind bars?


"Charles, this should be our last session before we make our decision concerning your place in the program. I have some final questions for you. But first, do you have any questions for me?" Dr. Werlin opened their session.

"How am I doing?" Charles smiled.

"Well, I haven't seen any of the test results. To avoid any possible bias, the program is set up with a second psychologist to evaluate those. But you know how well our sessions have gone; that should give you some indication."

"Will I get in?"

"It's highly probable. Very few people who qualify for testing have been excluded from the program. Of course, you were convicted of aggravated assault and battery; we usually don't allow people who have committed violent crimes in the program. However, we made an exception in your case because the victim wasn't badly injured and because of your willingness to plead guilty. Accepting personal responsibility for your actions a big step in any rehabilitation program. Once you've acknowledged that you are responsible, no matter that you were provoked, you've made a major step." Dr. Werlin paused. "Shall we talk about that now? We need to do it sometime today."

"Alright." Charles sighed.

"Let's start with your relationship with Ms. Scuito. You were her assistant. What kind of work did you do?"

"I did forensic analyses of all sorts. The lab serves all NCIS agents in the Northeastern US, and as the lab at headquarters we consult on cases all over the world. Physical evidence in every sort of crime comes through the lab. It's a very busy place. As much as Abby does not want an assistant, she really needs one there."

"What kind of attitude did she have toward you?"

"At the beginning it was extremely negative. She's a self-confessed control freak. I was not permitted to touch the equipment until a direct order from a superior forced her to allow me. During that first week I filled out paperwork, fetched supplies, picked up deliveries, and disposed hazardous waste. There was no real work unless you count the hours of porn she made me watch."

"Excuse me?" Dr. Werlin looked as if he hadn't heard Charles correctly.

"It was for a case. A snuff film looked like it was more than a staged thing when the woman in the movie had disappeared. We were looking for clues as to the identity of the perpetrator in pornographic footage of the two women involved in the business. It was not the best way to bond."

"No, I'd say not. What about once you started working forensics?"

"We did better, and really Abby is so overworked that she had to accept help. Still, she never fully accepted me. She would push me out the door at the end of the workday, even if more work remained and it often did."

"Did you resent that treatment?"

"Of course. I'm a capable scientist. I do good work. I can be trusted not to break her equipment or mess up the results. She treated me like a half-trained puppy who might mess up her lab at any time."

"What about the events leading up to the attack?"

Charles had carefully rehearsed a story with just enough truth to make it believable, but not so much to make it damaging. "A Jane Doe, or part of one, had appeared. The legs were the only parts found, but she appeared to be a victim of a sexual predator. All of the evidence began to point toward Agent DiNozzo but none of the MCRT could believe it to be true."

"As the forensic scientists, we were under quite a bit of stress trying to clear Agent DiNozzo. Abby wasn't sleeping and she wasn't allowing me to help. Her mental state was slightly unbalanced due to her physical state and her worry. Even after George Stewart had been arrested she was obsessed with finding answers. She was convinced that there was more to it than Stewart's revenge." Charles took a deep breath. "I heard her calling Pemberton and I knew my name would come up. My presence would look highly suspicious and they would have accused me of being involved with Stewart. I panicked."

"In her deposition, she claims you confessed to setting up both DiNozzo and Stewart."

"No, I never confessed. She misinterpreted me; like I said, she was tired and not thinking clearly. I did say something like, 'Yes, I did it. You have to admit I did a pretty good job.' But I said it sarcastically; I didn't think she'd take me seriously. Maybe she would have recognized that if she'd been more alert."

"But you knew she wasn't."

"Yes, that was my mistake. Like I said, I panicked."

"Is this when you threatened her with the knife?"

"I just wanted to scare her until I could get away. No one at NCIS liked me. No one would have believed my innocence."

"Did you start the fight?"

"Truthfully, I'm not sure what happened. We wrestled and smashed some glass bottles containing noxious chemicals. I became kind of lightheaded and the next thing I knew I found myself wrapped up in duct tape."

"What are your feelings now?"

"I'd be lying if I said I liked her or even wished her well. I don't like her and I don't want to see her again. But it doesn't mean I think that this is all her fault. I should have gone to the director or another superior and tried to explain myself. I was innocent, and I should have trusted them to find the truth. If I could go back, I'd do it differently. I didn't want to hurt her. I don't want to hurt her now."


"Is there anyone home?" Nate knocked on the door jam of the open laboratory entrance.

"Nate, is that you?" Abby's voice came from deep inside the lab.

"Yep." Nate did a double take. "You look, ah, nice, but different."

"It's my court suit. I hate it; but juries don't take me seriously without it and the lawyer would have a fit if I showed up wearing my usual clothing." Abby was dressed in a blue pantsuit.

"I have that thermocoupler. It shouldn't take too much work to change it out."

"Great. I have to go, but you don't need me here. I'll just sign your work order now."

"Thanks."

Left alone in lab, Nate worked quickly. Changing the thermocoupler was the work of a few minutes. That accomplished, he carried his bag over to desk where Bert the hippo sat. Nate put on some gloves, carefully pulled the new animal out, and set it down beside Bert.

There was a problem. They hadn't worried about simulating wear on the new animal; for all the use Bert received, there were no characteristic frayed areas. But looking at them side by side, Nate could see the difference in shade between the new animal and the old. There was not much he could do now; he wouldn't be able to get the new animal past the guards to replace it later. Nate just had to hope that Abby would not notice it until it was too late. He packed up Bert and enabled bomb, then backed away carefully and left the laboratory quickly.


Tuesday morning the MCRT was in the lab to hear about Abby's discoveries. They'd caught a home invasion at an Admiral's home on Monday morning and the man had been hounding them for results since they arrived at the crime scene. Abby had run prints lifted from the home through AFIS; several of them matched the Admiral's immediate subordinates.

As Abby moved on, a beeping sound distracted Ziva. She looked for the source of the noise and saw flashing lights on the gas chromatograph, it seemed to be up and running. Nate must have come in yesterday when Abby was away to fix it. An entirely different sort of alarm was sounding in her head. Ziva turned around slowly and checked the lab, but nothing seemed out of place.

"Ziva?"

"Yes?" Ziva saw Abby looking at her expectantly. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"I just asked if you'd spoken with Lt. Adams yesterday, but it seems like you're in a bit of a daze."

"Sorry, I was distracted. Is there something different about the lab today?"

"I'm glad you noticed. I switched my music selection from Perforated Heart to Violent Aphids; they're my new favorite group."

"Really? I couldn't tell the difference." Tony winced.

"Of course you can, silly. Violent Aphids sounds much more like industrial grunge and the lead singer is a tenor not a baritone. He's good at hitting the high notes."

"I can tell." Tim grimaced.

Abby continued to explain the nuances of her new favorite band, while Ziva slowly scanned the laboratory. Just as Abby was organizing a night out for all of them to see Violent Aphids, Ziva interrupted her to Tim and Tony's relief. "Abby, have you given Bert a bath?"

"No, I haven't. I keep him clean and I don't like to get him wet unless I have to. Why?"

"He looks lighter than usual, as if he had been cleaned recently."

"What do you mean?"

Abby reached for him and suddenly Ziva knew was wrong in the lab. That wasn't Bert. This new animal could be a simple replacement, contain a joke or a camera, or be something much more sinister. Ziva didn't know, but she was certain that Abby shouldn't touch it until they knew.

Moving quickly, Ziva knocked Abby away from the animal, but it was too late. Bert rocked backwards and as he fell behind the desk, Ziva pushed Abby to the ground and fell on top of her. They could all laugh about it later if she were overreacting, but the explosion from behind the desk drowned out any protests.