Chapter 9: A name
"Wait, Abby, go back," he heard McGee say, but was still too much in his own head to react. He knew however, he needed to snap out of it.
"What is it, McGee?" he asked him and really had to concentrate to keep his composure.
"I was wondering the whole time who would let a thirteen year old go alone to her mother's funeral. But she's not alone," the agent pointed out. For a second a woman could be seen before Joelle walked up to the casket. "She is also sitting next to her," he went on and showed them the picture that had been taken during the mass.
"That's Noemi, Jenny's housekeeper," he recognized her immediately.
"Is she still in town?" McGee asked.
"I don't know. Find out McGee and get me her address," he ordered and left Abby's lab.
He couldn't bring himself to compliment them on the good job at the moment. The expression in Joelle's eyes was still too vivid in his mind. Needing a moment of silence he stepped into the elevator and flipped the switch, bringing it to an abrupt halt. He leaned back against the cold wall and closed his eyes. What had Jenny told her daughter that she hated him that much? How was a child her age even able to feel so much hatred? There was still the possibility that she was his child, too and he couldn't bear the thought that his daughter hated him. His daughter. He had never thought he would associate these words with any other child than Kelly. For a while he stood there and tried to calm himself down by taking deep steady breaths. It helped a bit and after several minutes he set the elevator into motion again.
"Boss, we already thought you were stuck for real this time," DiNozzo greeted him when he stepped out.
"Where's Ziva?" he asked, not answering the unspoken question.
"Bathroom. Her father left and she's pretty shaken," he got his answer.
"Gibbs," Vance interrupted their talk.
"Go, get her, Tony," he got another word in before the director had descended the stairs completely. "Eli David gone?" he turned back to the Director.
"Yes, once he realized I wasn't giving him any information," Vance nodded. "I'm feeling guilty for sending Jenny to him all these years ago. I should have picked someone else," he added then and he could see that he was being honest about his regrets.
"How did you even know him back then?" he wanted to know.
"I had worked with Ari for a while. That's how I met the family," Leon told him.
"I hope he stays away from here from now on," he said and the anger back.
"He was an exceptional agent. Did whatever needed to be done," Vance found something positive to say about Eli David.
"But he is not a good man. And an even worse father," ZIva, who just came back to the bullpen with Tony, said. She looked just as angry as he felt. His cell phone rang then and McGee told him the address of Jenny's former housekeeper.
"Ziva, Tony, you're with me. We're gonna talk to Noemi," he decided. Vance nodded, understanding why he took two of his against with him. It was simply too dangerous to go with only one of them.
Noemi lived in a small apartment building in the middle of the city. They stopped their car directly in front of it and then stepped out.
"Gibbs, maybe you should have stayed at NCIS," Ziva thought out loud. She looked worried ever since he had updated them on the newest developments of the case.
"If she kills me, she kills me. We, however, will not kill her," he emphasized again, mostly for DiNozzo's sake.
"I could never hurt her," Ziva replied.
"I highly doubt that," Tony disagreed. When she looked at him, not understanding what he was getting at, he spelled it out for her. "You killed your own brother, Ziva."
"Yeah, to save me, DiNozzo. And how the hell do you know about that?" he barked, both surprised and angry.
"Jenny told me. She knew," he shrugged.
"How?" he requested again.
"I told Livvy. She must have told Jenny," Ziva admitted.
"So much for secrets," he said disapprovingly. Automatically they got themselves into position once he rang the doorbell. Tony was standing behind him, Ziva beside him. It only took a moment until Noemi opened her door.
"Agent Gibbs, that is a surprise," she smiled when she saw him.
"How are you, Noemi?" he asked her, really interested how she had been since Jenny's death.
"I'm fine, thank you. I got married last year to an American," she told him.
"So I heard," he smiled back and then became serious again. He couldn't afford it to forget for a second why they were there. "Noemi, has Joelle contacted you recently?" he asked her and as soon as the girls name had left his mouth Noemi's eyes got wide and she looked torn.
"Agent Gibbs, I..." she started, and it seemed like she wasn't sure if she should deny it all or admit it.
"We all know about Joelle, Noemi," Ziva assured her.
"But the Senora always said that..." the former housekeeper started again and was this time interrupted by him.
"We need to know if she was here or has contacted you. It's really important, Noemi, she is in danger," he told her.
"Joelle came here two days ago and surprised me. I didn't even know she was in the country," Noemi finally spilled the facts. "She looked upset and she was scared, I could tell. She took a shower here, slept a few hours and then left again. She said her hotel reservation had been lost, but I did not believe her. Her eyes were so empty, Agent Gibbs. She scared me," she admitted.
"Did she tell you anything, where she might go or what her plans are?"
"No, she just said that she would not go back to Israel. I asked her about her school and what Mr. David would say to that and she told me that everything was taken care of," Noemi explained. "That's why I was very confused when Mr. David stopped by earlier and asked me if I had seen her."
"My father was here?" Ziva was alarmed. "What did you tell him?"
"I told him I hadn't seen her. I knew that was wrong, I shouldn't have lied, but there was something in his eyes... And the Senora always said that the less he knows the better," Noemi admitted panicked.
"It was the right thing to do, Noemi, don't worry," he calmed her. "And congratulations on your wedding," he added, because he couldn't remember if he had said it earlier already.
"Thank you Agent Gibbs," she smiled and they turned to leave.
"Noemi," Ziva stopped the woman from closing the door. "If Livvy stops by again or contacts you, could you tell her that she should contact me. My name is Ziva."
"Sure, Miss. Does she have your number?" Noemi asked.
"I'm sure she knows how to find me," Ziva replied and then they all left.
"Boss, while you were out I tried tracking Jenny's inheritance again. I was able to find something for the house at least," McGee said when they were all back in the bullpen.
"What did you find?" he asked while they all took their gear off.
"The director, former director, had her last will tied to a vault in Switzerland. She had to call them every three months with a certain password. If she didn't call a whole machinery went into action. All the instructions said however was that they were managing the property until someone else called the bank with yet another password. That password was the stop sign and every cent Jenny owned, as well as all property documents were handed over to the bank. The name of the one inheriting everything was yet secured by another password. Only the legitimate heir knew the two passwords," he summed it up.
"Joelle," he knew.
"Exactly. There is only one thing she did not inherit: The house," the young agent went on.
"Who did it go to?" he wondered.
"You, boss. You are the owner of Jenny's house," came the reply.
"I don't know anything about that. Obviously the plan failed, then," he said. Where was the sense in giving him the house when he never knew he owned it?
"It did not," McGee shook his head. "It said that you shouldn't be informed. Only if you called or went there and asked for the information, you would be told."
"Meaning you could only know if Joelle told you to go there," Tony made the connection.
"How do you know all that, McGee?" he asked him, already suspecting that he had hacked into some secret database again.
"I found the money Jenny had owned and then called the bank to ask for more information. When I said 'This is agent McGee of NCIS and my boss, Leroy Jethro Gibbs wants to know' I was suddenly connected to another department and they told me all of this. Obviously your password was your own name," he grinned.
"Very clever Jen'... Not trusting me to figure out a damn password," he muttered and shook his head. He couldn't help but be amused by it, though, it was just so much Jenny to do something like that.
Around five they were all still going through every detail of Jenny's will, trying to find clues for other places Joelle might know in town.
"Hey, Zee-vah, can I ask you a question?" DiNozzo was the one who broke the silence.
"You can try, Toh-ney," she replied without looking up from her screen.
"I was just wondering why Jenny called her daughter Livvy, when her name is actually Joelle,"he said.
"DiNozzo, don't you have work to do? Her name is Joelle Liv, so it's just a damn nickname," he replied in Ziva's place.
"Actually Gibbs, you're only half right. Before she came to Israel Jenny called her 'Jo'. Once she learned Hebrew though, she found that Livvy, what could be used as a nickname for 'Liv', means 'my heart'. That's why Jenny called her 'Livvy'," Ziva gave them the full explanation and Tony looked smug. Over Ziva's talk they had missed the director coming down to them.
"I just got a call from Mossad. After he left here Eli sent his protection details off and went looking for Joelle alone. They suspect he had arranged a meeting with her," Vance said.
"Then she is dead now," Ziva said and closed her eyes as the defeat washed over her.
"I don't know about that, Miss David, but your father hasn't been back since. His cell phone was switched off and the tracking device he wore for his own safety was found in an empty park. It seems like he found her. He is missing," Leon Vance said.
Damn it, he thought and slammed his fist down on his desk. There was no way anymore this could end well for her now. They were too late.
TBC
