Chapter 10 Tony
I met Gibbs outside interrogation after witnessing the whole ordeal between him and Kelly. I didn't understand why Gibbs was being so hard on her: she didn't know where her father was or who took him.
"You know she's innocent." I said, leaning against the wall.
"I do," came the brief response as he walked down the hall.
"Then why did you grill her like that?" I asked, falling two steps behind him.
"She knows more than she's letting on."
"I don't think so."
Gibbs stopped dead in his tracks, waiting for me to continue, to prove him wrong. What had I gotten myself into? Everyone knows that you don't call Gibbs out; you just tell him what you know and move on. Yet, I completely threw down the gauntlet.
I'm a dead man.
"She kept mentioning 'they' haveher father. Joshua Zimmerman was never the intended target. Mr. Miller was and Josh was in the way."
"DiNozzo," he growled.
Right, to the point. "What if 'they' are using Kelly to get her father to cooperate with them? The have camera's in her house; obviously, to keep tabs on what she's doing and who she is interacting with. Why else hasn't she called the police? She's scared they'll hurt her father."
"What do they want with Mr. Miller?" Gibbs challenged.
I opened my mouth and promptly closed it when I realized I didn't know what these people wanted with the Commander. What were they working on that they weren't allowed to talk to us about?
"Still working on that, Boss."
Gibbs started walking again, expecting McGee and Ziva to have more answers then I did: all I seemed to do was dig up questions, question that weren't bring us closer to helping the Commander. I let out a sigh and jogged after him, not wanting to miss a thing and, of course, wanting to help the case any way possible.
We strolled into the squad room to find both Ziva and McGee absent. I took a hesitant step back realizing we were down two agents and I didn't want to feel Gibbs' wrath since his two agents were MIA.
"Are you going to let Kelly go?"
Gibbs spun around, glaring at me at the thought for letting our only lead go. Stupid, why did you even ask such a question? Are you trying to piss the grizzly bear off? The answer: apparently.
"She's the only lead in this case and she can help us get to her father. Why would I let her go?" Gibbs asked, his voice taking on a hard edge.
"Because we don't have anything on her, so we can't keep her in interrogation. You should send someone down to make sure she has calmed down. You know she's blaming herself for the Petty Officer's death."
"Go watch her. Call me when she coherent."
I nodded my head and headed down toward interrogation, wondering why I was challenging Gibbs. I know I do it every once in a while, because I have my own gut feeling about a case, but lately I was just being stubborn. Ever since this case started, things have been too weird. The fact that I know the girl can't be a coincidence and that scared me. I scoffed at that idea. DiNozzo's are never scared; then why was I feeling like this case will be the death of me? I shook my head, trying to get the absurd idea from my head. This was my job, this was what I signed up for and I'd be damned if I let these people get away with what they'd done.
I stepped into the observation room and watched the woman who looked troubled. Kelly was still sitting in her chair, her face in her hand. A few tears slipped down her face, but she was no longer hysterical or rocking back and forth, which was good. She looked tired; her shoulders looked like they were sagging because of an invisible weight that was bringing her down until she could no longer stand it. Kelly looked like she wanted nothing more than to curl up in bed and forget the world; instead she was here, being questioned.
The door opened and Gibbs stepped in, taking a seat in front of Kelly. She didn't look up from the table, but swiped at her eyes, trying to hide the fact she was crying.
"Where were you that morning?"
"I was visiting my doctor. I was there all morning."
"Does this doctor have a name? A number?"
"Doctor Lindsey Nash."
"Her number?" he asked, pushing the notepad toward Kelly.
She glanced down at the blank paper, slowly picked up the pen, and scribbled the number down that would prove if she was innocent or not.
"You'll stay in NCIS while we check this out." Gibbs stood and was just about out the door when Kelly called him back.
"I just remembered something. This note was attached to Josh's… body," she said as she pulled out a folded up paper and handed it to Gibbs.
Gibbs glanced at the paper, nodded his head, and held the door open for her. Kelly walked out and followed Gibbs down the hall. I took the stairs and sat at my desk as the elevator doors opened; I busied myself on the computer and tried to look like the good senior field agent that I was. As Gibbs made his way toward us Ziva slipped into her chair and pretended to work.
"Where were you?" I mouthed.
She shook her head as just as Gibbs came into view.
"Ziva, watch Miss. Miller. DiNozzo with me."
I grabbed my backpack and SIG from my desk drawer and followed Gibbs to the elevator.
"Where are we going?"
"To talk to Kelly's doctor."
"Do you think she will tell us something?"
He gave me a look, instantly shutting me up as we headed toward the car.
~/~/~
We pulled up to the office building and parked the car before walking in. The Directory said she was on the first floor, so we didn't have far to go. We walked into the small waiting room, causing the secretary to glance up from painting her nails.
"How can I help you two?" she asked.
"We are here to see Doctor Nash." I replied, approaching the desk.
The woman, whose nametag said she was Jennifer Franklin, gave me a smile. "The doctors busy and you don't have an appointment."
"We aren't here for therapy." Gibbs said, flashing his badge.
Jennifer glanced at the intimidating man before her and quickly picked up the phone, dialing the good doctor. She mumbled a few things to the woman before hanging up and gave us another one of her smiles.
"Why don't you have a seat? She'll be with you in a minute."
I watched the woman from the corner of my eye and notice how she fluffed her hair and applied a little bit of lip gloss to her lips. Good lord, this woman thought she was the prettiest and most important thing on this planet, and, the funny thing was, she wasn't. At one point in time I would have tried to charm her and inflate her ego some more, but lately I haven't felt like flirting. I was bored of trying to get to know someone just for them to lie to you. I was done with lying.
I took a seat in the hard, metal chair with cushions that matched the drapes and tried my best to get comfortable. I shifted in my seat, trying to find a spot where I didn't feel like my butt would go numb before realizing it was a futile attempt, as no one could ever get comfortable in these chairs.
"What do you hope to find out from Doctor Nash?" I asked Gibbs.
"I'm checking her alibi."
"Right and I'm the Queen of England." I replied sarcastically,
Gibbs shot me look which caused me to rethink my comment. "You have something up your sleeve, Gibbs. You usually call to check the alibi: you don't come here in person."
Just then a woman in her mid-thirties walked in her auburn hair pulled back into a tight bun, making her look more like a librarian than a doctor. She wore a pair of wrinkle-free, black slacks and a nice cotton pressed, white blouse. From what I could tell, this woman was a neat-freak, a bit controlling, and ever the perfectionist. She hated stuff she couldn't control and loved having everything perfect. She hated imperfections and tried to help those who had them: probably why she became a therapist.
"Doctor Nash?" Gibbs asked rising.
"Yes, Agent…" the doctor answered trailing off.
"Gibbs and this is DiNozzo. Do you have somewhere we can talk?"
"My office: nobody is in there right now. Please, follow me."
We followed the doctor down a small hall and past multiple closed doors until we reached the door at the end of the hall. She opened the door, revealing a small closet sized room jammed with bookshelves full of books and filing cabinets. The desk was covered in books. It almost looked like the bookshelves threw-up on it: so much on my theory for her being a neat freak.
"Sorry about the mess: I have to do research on some of my patients," she explained, taking a seat behind the desk that was piled with textbooks and papers.
Gibbs and I took our seats across from Mrs. Nash and took out our notepads.
"Is one of your patients Kelly Miller?"
"Yes, she is. She's been seeing me for about a month now. Why? Is something wrong?"
"What can you tell me about Kelly, doctor?" Gibbs asked, ignoring the doctor's question.
"She's a sweet girl. She's been lost ever since she had trouble a month back and that's why she needed my help."
"What sort of trouble?" I asked, my curiosity spiking,
"You know I'm not allowed to go into my sessions without Kelly's consent. Doctor patient confidentiality prevents me from saying anything."
"Did you treat Kelly Monday morning?"
"Yes, I did. I remember because she didn't have an appointment and the secretary wouldn't allow her to see me. She's new and still hasn't gotten use to the idea that not all my patients need appointments and that most of them just walk in. Kelly stops by because she needs someone who can listen to her and give her advice. We just talk. She arrived at eight after having breakfast with her friend Megan and then left at ten. What's this all about, Agent Gibbs?"
"Do you think Kelly's capable of killing anyone?"
"No. She's stable and not a threat to herself or others," Doctor Nash explained.
"Meaning?" Gibbs asked.
"I don't think she could kill anyone," The doctor clarified, her voice taking on a hard edge.
"Does Kelly come here often?"
"Yes. She comes in ever Monday and Wednesday at six a.m. as that's when her father leaves for work. Lately, though, she's been seeing me more and more which can help some patients who need someone to lean on. Monday was nothing unusual. I won't answer any more questions until I know what's going on."
"We are investigating Kelly's alibi, making sure she was where she said she was and that she didn't kill anyone."
"You think Kelly-" The doctor paled at the thought.
"Thank you, doctor, for your time. We'll be in touch." Gibbs said, handing her his card.
"Yes, of course," she mumbled, her mind still occupied with the idea that her patient might be a murderer.
We left the building and got back into our car. What was wrong with Kelly that she needs to see a shrink almost every day? Is Kelly suicidal? The doctor says she's not, but even stable people have a breaking point.
"Do you think Kelly murdered the Petty Officer?" I asked.
I didn't think she did. I felt like she was at the wrong place at the wrong time and that 'they' were using her because of it. Though that may be the case, Gibbs' gut might tell him something else, something that we don't know.
"No, but someone wants us to believe she did."
"Why? It doesn't make any sense."
Gibbs was silent in response; even he didn't know the answer. Gibbs pulled out his phone just as it rang, and I couldn't help but stare at in disbelief.
"Gibbs…I'll be right there."
I glanced at Gibbs as he slammed on the gas wondering if that was McGee or Ziva who just called. I'd guess McGee.
"They found the scene where Kelly got shot."
~/~/~
We arrived at the deserted parking garage and found the party in full swing. Police tape was already around the crime scene as police made sure nobody contaminated the area. Gibbs and I left the car and flashed our badges before meeting up with Ziva and McGee who were busy snapping pictures and taking measurements. Two bodies lay on the pavement, pools of blood around them from where they fell. Ducky was examining them making sure the cause of death was the gun shot from Kelly's weapon which lay forgotten where she fell. The vehicle the two used to follow Kelly was punctured with bullet holes as it was used as a shield. One can only imagine that Kelly's car held the same about of damage.
"Looks like Kelly put up one hell of a fight," I pointed out.
"She took out both of them with a couple shots. Three shots to the man's chest before he could get a round off and, from what we gathered, she unloaded half a clip into the door before reloading. Kelly hid behind her door as the woman unloaded a full clip into the car." McGee explained as he snapped pictures.
"Kelly fired blindly at first and then emerged from behind her car and headed toward the woman. As Kelly fired, the woman fired also, which is the bullet in Kelly's shoulder," Ziva finished.
"You gathered all that from the crime scene?" I asked, mildly impressed.
"That and we talked to Kelly. Abby's running through her car now," McGee said.
"When you're done here, head back to the Commanders office and grab the Commanders car. DiNozzo, with me." Gibbs barked the orders to his two junior field agents before heading back toward the car.
"On you six, boss," I called as I followed him.
In this investigation to find the Commander, we have gathered, which isn't much, that some goons are after Kelly to help move matters along with her father. Who took them? No idea. Where's he being held? No clue. And the million dollar question: what do they want with him? In the time the Commander has been gone, there have been a total of three bodies, two wrecked cars, an injured woman, and more questions than answers.
I stepped into the car and glanced out the window, watching my colleges bagging and tagging evidence that might help the investigation. For Kelly's sake, I hope it did.