Lying Eyes Part 7

by joykatleen


Gibbs and DiNozzo arrived back at Bethesda just after 4:00. Ziva was still working on tracking the pre-paid cell and not getting very far. McGee had called Tony to say Abby was awake. After a visit to Lt. Hanson in Abby's lab, Gibbs had a remote recording and broadcasting set up that would work through DiNozzo's PDA. Gibbs would listen in from down the hall while DiNozzo talked to Abby.

"Tell McGee to go home, get some dinner and get cleaned up, then I want him helping Ziva," Gibbs told DiNozzo. "Talk to Abby, figure out what she's afraid of, why she doesn't want me on this. When you're ready to move on to the attack, call me. She doesn't need to know I've been listening."

"Got it, Boss."

"Give me a radio check." He stuck the tiny speaker into his ear. DiNozzo flipped open his PDA and set it up so it would audio record and transmit while he took notes. The broadcast range was limited, but it would do for their purpose.

"How's this?" he asked. Gibbs flinched at the volume.

"A little less would be good."

"Sorry, Boss." DiNozzo moved the PDA to arm's length.

"This thing gonna interfere with the equipment in there?"

"Don't think so."

"Good. Be nice to her, DiNozzo. Remember I'm listening, and you're already on my list."

"Will do."

Gibbs took his coffee into the lounge up the hall from Abby's room while DiNozzo continued on.


In the room, McGee was still sitting in the chair he'd been dozing in. Ducky was sitting on the opposite side of the bed, holding Abby's hand and talking in low tones. She was mostly upright against the reclining bed. The black teddy bear was lying on the covers next to her. She looked miserable.

"Hey Abs. How're you feeling?" DiNozzo asked.

"Beat up," Abby said. Her voice was rougher than usual.

"What does the doctor say?" he asked.

"Everything looks good so far," Ducky supplied. "The surgeon says the spleen repair went perfectly. She'll be able to go home in the morning."

"That's really great to hear, Abby." DiNozzo looked over at McGee and frowned.

"You should go home." He sniffed the air. "And take a shower."

"When Gibbs relieves me, I will," McGee said firmly.

"Which reminds me. Gibbs says you're relieved. He wants you back at the office working with Ziva on the evidence we collected. After you get cleaned up." He looked at McGee hard, telling him not to ask questions.

"You have more evidence on the rapes? I should be there working on it," Abby said, suddenly more animated.

"You're stuck here until morning, Abby. Then you're going to take a few days off," DiNozzo said.

"But I should be there," Abby said again. "That's my job."

"You take care of getting better, my dear," Ducky said. "That's your only job right now."

Abby frowned, biting her lip.

"It's alright, Abby," McGee said. He got up and stepped closer to the bed. He took hold of her other hand and squeezed it gently. "I'll see you later, okay?"

Abby nodded.

"I must be going as well, Abby," Ducky said. "I've got a few things to do back at the office, and mother doesn't like it when I'm late getting her dinner. I'll check in with you tomorrow." He kissed the back of her hand and lay it next to her, then turned to go.

As McGee passed DiNozzo, he took Tony's hand and gently slapped something into it. DiNozzo glanced down: A digital camera memory card. DiNozzo understood immediately and closed his hand around the small piece of electronics, nodding. McGee nodded in response and left. DiNozzo pocketed the card and closed the door behind them. He took the chair McGee had vacated.

"I've got a few questions to ask you, Abs," he said when he was settled. He opened his PDA and made sure the microphone side was facing her.

"I bet you do," Abby mumbled, and looked away from him. "Did Gibbs send you?"

"He did," DiNozzo said. "He's a little worried about why you don't want to talk to him. And so am I." He felt silent, waiting to see if she'd offer an explanation.

"I didn't say I didn't want to talk to him," Abby said. She turned her head back. "Is that what he thinks?"

"You told McGee not to call him last night."

"That's because I knew he'd been working extra long hours. I didn't want McGee to wake him up in the middle of the night. That's all." DiNozzo was amazed at how quickly the lie rolled off her tongue. Because it was clearly a lie. She wouldn't meet his eyes, looking instead at his right ear, and she was still biting her lip.

"Abby…" DiNozzo said reproachfully. He waited, but she didn't continue. He tried another tactic.

"Do you remember having a nightmare this afternoon?" he asked. She frowned.

"Maybe. Sort of."

"You were begging McGee to stop Gibbs from hurting you."

"What?" Abby said, her voice jumping half an octave. "No. I didn't. I wasn't. Gibbs would never hurt me. Never!"

"So what do you suppose you were talking about?"

"I don't know," she said. "But Gibbs didn't do this. He wouldn't!" Her breath was coming fast, and on the monitor above the bed, her heart rate was climbing.

"Okay, Abs. Calm down. It's alright. I'm just trying to figure this out. You were really scared when you woke up."

Abby worked to catch her breath, grimacing in pain. After a minute, she continued. "I know. I remember, being scared. But not of Gibbs."

"What then?"

"I think…" she took a few shallow breaths. "I think I was scared he'd do something. Something bad."

"Bad how?" DiNozzo asked. She chewed on her bottom lip.

"I was dreaming. I remember I was dreaming. He was hurting someone. Not me," she added quickly, looking Tony in the eye. "A man. I was afraid he was going to kill him. I wanted him to stop. He wouldn't. That must have been what I was saying when I woke up. Stop him from hurting the man. I was scared. Not of him. For him. I think I was afraid he was going to get into trouble for hurting the man."

"And why didn't you want McGee to call him last night?" DiNozzo asked again. She looked away.

"I told you, Tony. I just didn't want McGee to wake him up."

DiNozzo sighed. "Abby…"

"What?" she asked.

"Why are you lying to me, Abs?" DiNozzo asked gently.

"What makes you think I'm lying?" she asked. DiNozzo watched her carefully. She was clearly nervous. But why?

"Abby, you know you can tell me anything, right?" DiNozzo said. Abby nodded, but didn't speak. After a minute, DiNozzo went on. "If you're afraid of Gibbs…"

"I'm not," Abby interrupted. "I could never be afraid of him."

"But if you were, you know all you'd have to do is talk to me, and I'd take care of it, right?"

"I know, Tony. But I'm not. Gibbs doesn't scare me."

"Okay. He's somewhere in the hospital, having coffee. He wants to talk to you himself. Is that alright?"

"He's here? He shouldn't be here. He's got a homicidal rapist to catch. What's he doing here?" She went from nervous to completely freaked in a flash, and DiNozzo couldn't imagine why.

"He's worried about you, Abs. Of course he's here. Don't you want to see him?"

Abby was chewing on her lip again. Her expression was mixed. DiNozzo could see hope, fear, and… shame?

"I wish you'd tell me what's wrong, Abby," he said. "I want to help."

"I know, Tony." She seemed to come to a decision, and nodded once. "Yes. I want to see him," she said.

"Okay, I'll give him a call. I'll stay here while he talks to you, if that's okay," DiNozzo said.

"You don't have to," Abby said. "Really. It's alright if you have to go."

"I'll call him. We'll see what he says." DiNozzo took out his cell and called Gibbs.


In the lounge, Gibbs had heard the whole conversation, loud and clear. He'd been glad to hear Abby defend him so vehemently. He was concerned at the tone of her voice when DiNozzo asked her about not calling him. Even over the wireless he could tell she was lying and he couldn't figure why. But it came together when she told DiNozzo what she was dreaming about: she hadn't wanted him called because she was afraid of what he would do to the bastard who'd hurt her. It was probably the same reason she'd denied being hurt in the lab the day before.

Gibbs remembered the day he found out that lunatic Mawher had been stalking her. He'd asked her why she didn't come to him when she filed a restraining order against Mawher, and her response had been that she wanted him restrained, not beaten to a pulp with a baseball bat. What else had she said that day? That she was embarrassed because of her bad taste in boyfriends. It made some kind of bizarre sense. She'd lied to him, and asked McGee not to call him, because she didn't want him to know. Like a teenager trying to hide from the one person who might be able to help. Like every other victim of domestic violence too afraid or too embarrassed to say 'I'm hurting.' If someone had been beating on her, which the doctor had suspected and Gibbs knew beyond a doubt, she'd been hiding this for awhile.

"God, Abby. Why didn't you tell me?" he said to the empty room. Then he heard Abby's voice change again when DiNozzo told her he was in the hospital. It sounded even stranger than before. She clearly still didn't want him to be there and she was just as clearly upset that he was. Surely she knew the jig was up, that they were going to figure out what had happened. Why was she still so insistent he not know? He heard Abby finally agree to see him and DiNozzo talk about calling him and he pulled the earpiece out, dropping it into his pocket as his cell rang.

Before going to the room, Gibbs freshened his coffee from the vending machine in the lounge. He had to make it take longer than walking from two doors down, and he wanted a moment to consider his next move. What he wanted to do was go in there and demand that Abby tell him who the son-of-a-bitch was. But he knew that wouldn't work. Abby would tell him what she was ready to tell him and nothing more. And all the posturing in the world wasn't going to help, because unlike the suspects he could so easily manipulate, Abby wasn't afraid of him.

"Hey Abs," Gibbs said as he pushed through the doorway. "Okay if I come in?"

"You don't have to ask, Gibbs. What, no Caf-Pow?" She forced a laugh, which fell into a groan.

"A little advice? You're not going to want to be laughing for awhile." He went to the bed and bent over it, kissing her on the cheek. He was pleased to note she didn't shy away from him this time. "Docs wouldn't let me bring you any anyway." Her nose twitched and she scrunched up her face in a look of mock disgust.

"What?" he asked.

"Coffee breath," she said and smiled. Gibbs returned it.

"Long day," he replied. He took a pack of gum from his breast pocket and slid out a piece one handed, offering her one. She shook her head a little. He folded the gum into his mouth, returned the pack to his pocket, and chewed a few times before she spoke again.

"I'm sorry they called you last night, Gibbs. I told McGee not to bug you in the middle of the night." He shook his head and ran his index finger under her lower lip, stopping her from biting it.

"I would not have been happy with either of them if they hadn't. And you know how much they hate it when I'm unhappy." He smiled at her, and she managed one back.

"Didn't think of that," she admitted. She gave an abbreviated sigh. "Shouldn't you be at work?"

"I should be right here, Abby. Talking to you." He set his coffee on the side table and turned to sit on the edge of the bed by Abby's covered legs. He noticed her hair was tied up in rough and uneven braids. Clearly she hadn't done it herself. Gibbs' money was on Ducky. DiNozzo hadn't had the time, and McGee had a little sister: he would have done a better job. The bruise on her cheek had darkened, and swelling under her eye gave her face a slightly lopsided appearance. Her left arm was resting on her chest under the blankets, her right arm out and holding the Goth teddy bear. Her arm where it was exposed by the hospital gown was covered with bruises in various stages of healing. Around her upper arm was a fresh set in the clear shape of four fingers. Someone had grabbed her hard.

"So tell me what happened last night," Gibbs said when she began to grow nervous under his gaze.

"I couldn't sleep, so I went out to the all-night drug store, for some more Tylenols. I was just getting home. I unlocked the door and a guy pushed me from behind. I fell into the house, and he started kicking me."

Gibbs internal polygraph told him she was telling the truth, so far. He continued. "Did you get a look at him?"

"Not really. I didn't see his face. He was wearing a mask." Her eyes flicked to DiNozzo, then back to Gibbs. That was a lie.

"What kind of mask?"

"A balaclava. Like for skiing, you know?" She looked at him earnestly. Another lie. She was clearly well-versed in Gibbs rule #7: Always be specific when you lie. He held back a sigh.

"Then what happened?" Gibbs asked.

"I tried to get away, but he was too strong. He punched me, and kicked me. I hit my face on the hall table. I was really scared." She brought her hand up to the bruise on her cheekbone. Gibbs caught her hand and held it, tracing her pulse with his thumb. Tears began to well in her eyes.

"Then what?" he asked softly.

"I fell over the kitchen table. The chair broke. I knocked the flowers you gave me off the counter. I'm sorry, Gibbs. They were so nice."

"I'll get you some more," he said.

"No! It's alright," she said, and he felt a spike in her pulse. His eyes flicked up to the monitor above, which echoed the increased rate he could feel.

"What's wrong, Abs? What aren't you telling me?" he asked. She shook her head.

"Nothing, Gibbs. Just, you don't have to buy me more flowers. It's alright." This time, Gibbs did sigh.

"So the flowers got knocked over. Then what?"

"He kept hitting me and kicking me. Every time I tried to get up, he knocked me back down again." The tears overflowed and ran down her cheeks to drip onto her gown. "I almost made it back to the door, but he grabbed my arm and dragged me back into the house. It really hurt. I thought he was gonna rip my arm off."

"Were you screaming?" he asked.

"A little. Mostly I was scared. I kept asking him what he wanted, begging him to stop."

"What did he say?" She looked away.

"Nothing. He just kept hurting me." Her eyes told him her attacker had said plenty.

"And you don't know why?" Gibbs asked.

"No. I don't." She held his gaze with watery eyes. He stayed silent, waiting. She didn't flinch. After a moment, he took another breath.

"What's his name, Abby?" Gibbs asked.

"Whose name?" Abby said.

"Abby," Gibbs said reproachfully.

"Why would I know his name, Gibbs? He didn't exactly introduce himself before he started beating me up last night."

"But this isn't the first time he's done this," Gibbs stated. Abby blinked once, then again.

"Why do you say that?" she asked and started chewing on her lip again. Gibbs let the silence hang for a full minute this time. Then he used his free thumb to pull her lower lip out from between her teeth.

"Why didn't you go to the clinic yesterday?" he asked. She frowned and looked over at DiNozzo. He just looked back at her. His face was encouraging, but not sympathetic. She would get no relief from that front.

"I didn't want to," she said. He narrowed his gaze. "Come on, Gibbs, don't be that way," she said.

"You lied to me, Abs. I don't like that."

Her mouth twisted in a familiar expression. She was embarrassed. And still scared. She looked up at him from under her eyelashes. "I'm sorry. Does Director Shepard know?"

"Not yet." He shook his head.

"Are you going to tell her?"

"If it comes up. I'm more worried about why you're lying to us."

"I just didn't want to go," Abby said. "Those clinic doctors are creepy. I was a little sore, and I knew what they would say anyway. So I just went home. I knew you'd be mad. I'm really sorry."

"I'm not mad. Just disappointed." Her expression crumbled a little, and he got the idea that she'd rather he be pissed.

"Was that the first time he hurt you?" Gibbs asked.

"No. I mean, he didn't…" she stumbled to a stop. Gibbs watched her struggle with it, then shook his head in frustration.

"Abby, who's Phil?" he asked. Her eyes widened, then a look passed over her face too fast to track. For a second Gibbs thought she looked almost relieved and he wondered if he'd made a misstep.

"He's a guy who did some research for me a couple weeks ago. Why?"

"There was a torn-up card in your kitchen trash from him, apologizing for being a jerk," Gibbs said. She frowned, looked over at DiNozzo, then back at Gibbs.

"You went through my trash?" she asked.

"Ziva and I did, Abs," DiNozzo said. "We had to work the crime scene."

"You worked my apartment? Went through all my stuff? How could you do that?" She'd gone from startled to pissed off, just that fast.

"I told them to, Abby," Gibbs said. "You were the victim of an assault. We have to find out who did it."

"By going through my house? Looking through all my stuff?" She pulled her hand loose from his and swiped at her eyes.

"Abby, that's how it works. You know that. They were very careful, I promise," Gibbs said.

"That's not the point, Gibbs." Abby said. On the monitor, her heart rate was climbing again, but this time he thought it was emotion, not lies. "That's my space. My house. How would you like it if I came over to your house and started going through everything? You shouldn't have done that without asking me."

Gibbs was working for an explanation, an apology, something, when he realized what had just happened: Abby had avoided his question, turned the conversation around, completely changed the subject, all without him noticing. God, he ought to hire her as an interrogator.

"Abby, tell me about Phil. What's his last name?"

"Harrison," she said tightly, still upset. "He works over at the Library of Congress. I asked him to do some hard book research for me a couple weeks ago. He found what I needed, then asked me out. I went out with him once, and he was a total jerk. He sent me a card to apologize." She shrugged with one shoulder. "I didn't call him back. That's all."

"Is he the one who attacked you?" Gibbs asked.

"No way," she said.

"How do you know, if the man was wearing a mask?" Gibbs asked.

Abby rolled her eyes. "Phil's, like, a runt. He's smaller than me, even when I'm not wearing platforms. I could take him easy, Gibbs."

"So who was it?" he asked.

"A big guy. Strong." She stopped, closed her eyes. She took a couple of shallow breaths.

"I was so scared," she said, without opening her eyes. "He kept kicking me, hitting me. I thought he was going to… It really hurt, Gibbs." Her voice cracked and she opened her eyes. Fresh tears tracked down her face.

"I know it did, Abby. I know." He brushed his hand over her hair, straightening it, then used the backs of his fingers to wipe at her tears. After a minute, he pulled his left knee up onto the bed so he could turn and fully face her. He held his hands up in front of his chest.

"Abby," he said aloud, and drew her attention to his hands.

"Did he force you to have sex?" Gibbs asked silently. Her eyes widened and she shook her head quickly. "You sure?" he signed. "It's just me and you here." She nodded and answered aloud.

"I thought he was going to. I thought he would. But he didn't. He kicked me, he hit me, he hurt my arm really bad. He yelled at me. Then he left." He held her watery look for a moment, then smiled slightly. She was telling the truth.

"I'm so glad, Abby," he said aloud. She nodded, then used her good hand to sign: "Me too."

"Tell me what else you know about him," Gibbs asked. He glanced over at DiNozzo, who was looking confused about the change to sign language. Gibbs shook his head slightly. Later.

"He's tall," Abby began. "White. He has big hands." She reached for Gibbs's hand and pressed her fingers against his. "Bigger than yours."

"Is he younger than me?" Gibbs asked. From the other side of the bed, DiNozzo gave a snicker that died a hard death at Gibbs' glare.

Abby half smiled. "Yeah. Maybe a little older than me. Like Tony's age?"

"How tall is he?" Gibbs asked. He laced his fingers through hers. He kept asking his questions in the present tense, and she didn't correct him. She knew who had attacked her. No doubt.

"He's a little taller than you. Maybe six three or four."

"What about his build? Thin or heavy?"

"He's heavy. But not fat, just built strong. Hard." She smiled up at him. "Like Tony." Gibbs growled at her a little, and she smiled through her tears.

"How about his eyes?" he asked. He modulated his tone of voice to be off-hand.

"He has nice eyes. I noticed that right away."

"What color?"

"Brown," she said immediately.

"Where'd you meet him?" Gibbs said in the same tone.

"At the…" she stopped and her eyes widened. "No."

"Abby?"

"No. I don't know. I don't know anything else. I swear, Gibbs." She pulled her hand away again and grabbed the teddy bear. She hugged it to her chest.

"Abby, you've got to tell me. I can't help if I don't know what's going on." Gibbs said. She was shaking her head.

"No. I can't. I don't have anything else to tell you. Really." She looked at him, but he noticed she was avoiding his eyes again. What had her so scared she was going to these lengths to keep them out of it?

"Abby, whatever it is, if you tell me, I'll fix it. I promise."

"You can't fix this, Gibbs. You can't." She squeezed the bear tightly and stifled a moan of pain.

"Could you guys leave me alone for awhile?" She turned to look at DiNozzo. Tony looked at Gibbs. Gibbs looked down at Abby, trying to read her.

"Alright Abby. For now." He got off the bed. "I talked to Gloria earlier. Told her I'd set up a TDY from here."

"Later?" she asked. He heard the unspoken request to avoid talking to her mother for the moment.

"Okay. I'll be back tonight, okay?"

"You don't have to come back. I'll be okay." Again, Gibbs heard the strangeness in her voice that he'd heard when DiNozzo first told her he was in the hospital. She didn't want him here. And he was definitely missing something. But what?

"Tony will be outside the room. If you need anything, you call out. He'll hear you." She nodded. Gibbs stepped away and gestured to DiNozzo. Tony followed him out.

"What do you make of it, Boss?" DiNozzo asked. Gibbs shook his head and moved them further down the hall. They could still see the door to Abby's room, but they were out of earshot.

"I don't know yet, but I'm sure as hell going to find out. You didn't find anything at the house that would tell us who this dirtbag is?"

"We told you everything we found, Boss."

"What about her computers?"

"She only has a laptop at home. We brought it in with the rest of the stuff from her house."

Gibbs nodded. "Stay with her. In the room or in sight of the door. Keep your eyes open. If he comes to visit, he might see you and try to bail. I want this guy."

"Got it."

"Call me if she decides to talk." He started down the hall.

"Hey Gibbs, wait," DiNozzo said. He held out the memory card McGee had given him. "From McGee." Gibbs took it and looked at it for a moment before pocketing it. He nodded and left.


to be continued

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