Dinozzo and McGee arrived at the witness's house in twenty minutes, eager to find out what she saw.
"Come in," Miss Whitmore said, as she opened the door and the agents had shown their badges. "Would you like some coffee?"
"That would be great," Tony replied, stepping into the living room.
"Sit down and I'll be right back, I've just made a pot."
Dinozzo and McGee sat next to each other on one of the sofas and scanned the room both wondering what Miss Whitmore would say.
"She seems nice," McGee said after a minute.
"That doesn't mean a thing probie."
"I wasn't sure if you took sugar or creamer so I bought both with me, please take whatever you need," Miss Whitmore explained as she came back into the room carrying a tray.
"Thank you," both agents replied, helping themselves.
"So, Miss Whitmore, could you tell us what you witnessed," Tony asked, after taking a long sip of his coffee.
"I haven't been sleeping lately and I find that a walk helps to relax me. I headed out at about 0330 and arrived at the park in ten minutes. I normally park the car and then walk around the perimeter, and then once I'm finished I drive home and go to bed. That day I took my normal route and as I was approaching the seated area I noticed a van parked at the edge of the park. It was unusual to find anyone else out at the same time as me so I stopped and had a look," Miss Whitmore paused to have a drink of her coffee, while the agents waited patiently. "As I looked over the drivers door opened and a man got out, he walked to the back of the van and was joined by a second man who I guess got out of the passengers seat. They opened the vans back doors and a third man appeared. By this time I was a little worried, they didn't look the type to be in the park for a good reason at that time in the morning, so I hid. Once I'd hidden myself I looked back in time to see them pulling a man from the back. They dragged him over the grass and placed him beside a row of trees, and then looked around, I guess to make sure they didn't have any witnesses. They talked for a minute and then they went back to the van and drove off. As soon as the van was far enough away I went over to the man they'd dumped, to see if he was still alive. Once I got close enough I could see that he was dead and the whole thing just scared me. That's why I didn't call the police straight away, I knew someone would find him, and I didn't want to get involved."
"If you're worried about the men that did this, then we can protect you Miss Whitmore," Tony said, hoping that the witness would be able to identify the men from the van.
"Mandy please," she replied, draining her coffee cup.
"Do you remember anything about the men, any distinguishing features?" McGee asked, thinking the same things as Tony.
"They were all tall, wearing baseball caps and coats so I didn't get a good look at them, I was standing quite far away."
"Ok, what about the van, anything there?"
"It was white, although it looked quite dirty, there was no writing I'm afraid, and I never got to see the back end head on so I didn't see the number plate."
"Is there anything else…. That .. you can ….. think of?" Tony asked, his words slurring a little as if he'd had too much to drink.
"No sorry. Are you alright?"
"I'm, not …. sure."
"Tony, you don't look so good," McGee said, turning to get a better look at his partner. "What's wrong?"
"Don't … know."
"We need to…" McGee trailed off, suddenly feeling light headed. "We…."
"I'm afraid you boys aren't going anywhere," Mandy said, rising from her seat to go to where the two agents were sitting. She the turned her head to the side. "You can come in now."
"What…" McGee tried to get out, but he was having trouble keeping his eyes open.
"Don't worry sweetie it isn't you we want!" Mandy exclaimed, taking both agents guns with ease. "Let's get this done quickly and get out of here."
The two guys who walked into the room nodded and headed towards the sofa, stopping in front of Agent McGee.
"What about him?" the taller of the two asked.
"Leave him, when he wakes up he'll phone his boss and they can have fun trying to find their friend."
The two guys laughed and reached down to pick up Tony, who had lost his battle with consciousness. They picked him up easily and carried him back the way they'd come and out the back door.
McGee was trying desperately to stay awake; he knew if he let Tony be taken then he was a good as dead. He'd told the boss that he'd watch Tony's six, and there he was lying out of it, letting him down.
"You tell your boss that he'd better find a new agent, cos once his daddy's done with him they'll be nothing left."
