Chapter Ten - "Remaining Silent"
Ziva sat there staring at nothing in the conference room. Everyone had seemed to have gone to do something. The conversation she just had with Tony did not sit well with her. She knew she could not dwell on it, she just hoped if Tony had an issue he would come to her. Then again that was what this was all about, her having an issue and not going to Tony. She could not tell if he was talking about the case or not. She just needed to think about something else. All this waiting around was not something she did not do very well. Ziva got up from the chair and walked back over to the window. She looked out the window, and there she saw peace and stillness. The view from the window reminded her of the view from Lily's apartment. You could see the street and sidewalks full of people, yet Lily could see the calm through the ciaos. She remembered one time when Lily was knocking at her door at 3am in the morning, and telling her to come to the window. Lily was showing Ziva how the silence was much louder than the noise made during the day with the cars and the people. It was almost like Lily was woken up by the silence of the night. That was always one thing she loved about Lily, she wasn't afraid to be who she was. Ziva knew Lily always brought the best out in her. There was just something about the first time they meet.
"Can I help you?" Ziva said as she closed her door. She had seen this woman who was about the same height as her trying to lift far more then she could. Ziva had a feeling things might not end well.
"I have it" the women said as she tried to get the boxed into the door.
"Are you sure?" Ziva questioned. "It looks like you still have a lot to carry. I do not mind."
"Maybe can you just grab one box?" the women ask Ziva. Ziva walked over and instead of taking one from the floor, she took the one on top of the two the women was trying to carry. The women then opened the door and then two walked into the apartment. "As you can see I'm new here."
"I am Ziva" Ziva said to her with a small smile. The women put down the box on the floor to what looked like a living room. It at least for right now didn't have much in it, but a bookcase. Ziva put the box down next to the other one. "I live across the hall"
"Lily" Lily said to Ziva. "Thank you for the help."
"I did not feel right leaving you with all these boxes you could not carry. It was bond to end badly, I would know" Ziva said to her.
"Same thing happened to you?" Lily asked her.
"Kind of" Ziva said to her. "I have moved in and out of a couple apartments over the years."
"And I thought moving cross country was bad" Lily said to her. "But of course you don't want to listen to any of this. I'm sure you were on your way somewhere."
"Actually I was just meeting a co-worker for lunch, but they will understand" Ziva said to her. "Like I said I do not mind, plus it is a big bag scary place out there."
"Do you have any idea what you are trying to say right now?" Lily said with a laugh and of course Ziva couldn't help but laugh too.
"I sometimes get some phrases mixed up" Ziva said to her. "So you'll have to bare with me."
"I think I can do that" Lily said with a smile. "And I'm glad I have someone like you looking out for me Ziva."
"I am I not doing thing right?" Ziva questioned her.
"No you're doing fine" Lily said to her with a laugh. "I expected most people to ignore me, not to this."
"Why?" Ziva said confused.
"No one likes a new girl" Lily said to her. "But it doesn't matter to me, never did and never will." Lily said with a smile.
"Okay okay now the rules are simple all you have to do is drink if the answer is yes and if it's no then you don't drink" Lily said to Abby and Ziva who were sitting across from her. Ziva and Lily had planned a girl's night out and Ziva had asked Abby to come along. She figured the more people the more fun the night would turn out to be and she knew Lily would be more than thrilled to have Abby with them.
"I still do not understand" Ziva said to her, Lily and Abby just laughed. From the minute the girls all met at the bar they had hit it off. Ziva was glad that Lily and Abby had liked each other right away. And she could tell Abby was happy to be part of this night as well.
"Okay we are just going to go around asking have you ever and you just answer yes or no but with drinks" Abby said trying to explain it to her. "Like have you ever danced on a table and I'll say yes so I'll drink."
"And I'll say yes so I will drink too" Lily said and both her and Abby downed two shots.
"Okay I think I understand now. I will learn these American games" Ziva said to them.
"So now have you ever slept with a co-worker" Lily said. Without a word both Ziva and Abby picked up a shot and downed it. Abby looked at Ziva in shock.
"I want details" Abby said to her.
"It was a long time ago" Ziva said to her.
"Abby's right I want details too" Lily said.
"We are here to enjoy and not talk about work" Ziva said trying to avoid the conversation.
"It was Tony wasn't it" Abby said with smirk on her face.
"Abby" Ziva said her.
"It was so Tony" Lily said to Abby. The two looked at each other and agreed.
"We are now moving out" Ziva said to them.
"On" Lily said correcting her with a laugh. "You mean moving on."
"Don't worry your secrets safe with us" Abby said to Ziva with a little wink.
"So you remember that guy I told you about?" Lily said as they walked into her apartment. Ziva had remembered Lily had mentioned this guy she had been talking too, but never thought it was anything more than just some random guy hitting on her.
"Yes" Ziva said to her. They walked into Lily's living room and sat down on the couch. Lily turned to face Ziva.
"Well he finally asked me out" Lily said to Ziva with a big smile on her face. "He's everything I ever wanted Ziva. He's sweet, caring, has come back to the coffee shop every morning just to see me. His personality, he's almost too good to be true."
"Maybe he is" Ziva said more as a joke. She was happy that Lily was happy.
"Trust me I am looking for that flaw, but there isn't one." Lily said to her. "I won't go as far as saying he's the one; I'll give him a month or two before I say that. If things work out I'd really like you to meet him. I trust your opinion more than anything."
"You might regret that" Ziva with a small laugh.
"Never" Lily said to her. "You have a good sense of people. But let me get through a couple dates."
"I hope all works out for you Lily" Ziva said to her.
"Thanks" Lily said giving her a big smile. "I don't know what I did to get a friend like you, but I'm glad I have you." Lily then pulled Ziva into a hug.
"Ziva" a voice pulled her back to reality. Ziva turned around to see McGee standing not far from the door. She slightly wondered how long he had been standing there.
"McGee" Ziva said to him.
"We caught him" McGee said to her. Ziva honestly didn't expect to hear those words for another couple of days. Or maybe just being locked in a room with her thoughts made her think it would take longer than it did.
"I want to see him" Ziva said to him. She started to move closer to McGee.
"Ziva" McGee said almost as a you know I can't do that response.
"I can prove that is really him" Ziva said to him, trying to give him a good reason why to let her see Matt. "I know I am the only one that truly knows what he looks like."
"Gibbs wants to make sure you stay here" McGee said to her. "I can't Ziva."
"McGee I need to know that is really him" Ziva said to him almost pleading with him. She moved even closer to him. "I will not get in the way and Gibbs will never know."
"Okay fine, just for a few minutes" McGee said to her. "But if anyone asks you threatened me."
"Thank you McGee" Ziva said to him.
"Don't thank me yet" McGee said to her. He and Ziva then headed out of the conference room.
"I don't need a lawyer, you ain't got nothing on me" Matt said to them. Tony and Gibbs just looked at each other before looking back at him.
"You're right, we don't have anything on you" Gibbs said to him. Matt just leaned back in the chair as if he didn't have a care in the world.
"But that is why we arrested you" Tony said to him. Tony got up from his chair, took the folder in front of him and walked over so he was next to Matt. He placed the folder down and opened it. He then picked up two pictures and placed then right in front of Matt. "See we have you going into the apartment here and leaving the apartment here around the time of Lillian Carters murder. I have a few guys at metro who own me favors, so they are running a few things for me and once they get back to me. It's going to prove you killed her."
"But we got nothing on him" Gibbs said to Tony.
"That's right" Matt said to them. He looked at the photos and back to Tony. "I know for a fact this Lillian you speak off lived in this apartment" He said pointing to the other apartment in the picture. "Or at least what they said in the news report and see I'm going into the other one. I had friends who lived there, so was visiting them."
"So you don't know Lillian Carter?" Gibbs questioned him.
"Should I?" Matt questioned back. They knew exactly what he was doing.
"We have a source that says you and Lillian were involved." Tony asked him. "And you were living together up in till two weeks before her death."
"Your source is clearly mistaken me for something else. Don't know here and never did" Matt said to him.
"Really?" Tony said questioning his story. "We'll have to check that story, but in the mean time you don't know any of these women?" Tony said laying out all the photos of the victims, including one of Ziva. Tony hated she had to be added to the mix, but as of now it was to see if he'd give anything up.
"I know they are all smokin" Matt said to him. Both Gibbs and Tony noticed he was looking at Ziva picture a lot longer than any of the other women. "Why should I?"
"They are all the women you murder" Tony said to him, getting right in his face.
"I didn't do anything" Matt said to him.
"I guess we have the wrong guy then" Gibbs said.
"I guess so" Matt said to him.
"Let's go DiNozzo, we got nothing" Gibbs said to him as he got up from the chair. "We are a little backed up, so it will be a bit before you go home."
"Don't worry the guards will keep you company" Tony said to him. He picked up all the picture and put them back in the folder. He picked up the folder and then headed out of the interrogation room with Gibbs.