McGee sniffed the stale air in Robert Earnshaw's studio apartment and wondered why he'd been so eager to escape the traffic jam that had delayed their arrival. The place was small, dingy and overcrowded with boxes and drab furniture. Gray light filtered through thin, dirty curtains, doing little to reveal any details other than dust particles stirred up when they'd cleared the room a few minutes earlier floating lazily through the air. He set his bag down carefully and looked for a light switch.
Gibbs bumped into his back as he came through the door. "Waiting for an invitation, McGee? Start looking around this damn place." He was in a foul mood after the holdup on the road. They'd gone back to NCIS to drop off the evidence from the Zoo for analysis and to change from the truck to a car. The ten-minute side trip had ensured their getting stuck not only in rush hour traffic, but also in a complete stoppage of rush hour traffic due to an accident somewhere on the highway.
The tie-up had apparently affected Ziva's route to the hospital as well; she had yet to call with an update on Tony's condition. Unless he wasn't as badly injured as he'd looked and they were…McGee inhaled the unpleasant air to clear his mind as soon as it found the words 'naughty nurse.' His eyes finally settled on a desktop in a dark corner. "I'll, um, I think I see a computer on the desk over there."
Gibbs turned on the lights, creating little added illumination. "Don't bother starting it. Just take it back and you and Abby can play with it later."
"Right, boss." McGee flicked on a small lamp, creating a circle of light in his little corner of the room. He scanned the desk and collected a few loose disks and CDs in an evidence bag before kneeling to reach under the desk to disconnect the CPU. It was too far back for him to reach the cables. He adjusted his hat and took a deep breath, lying on the floor and scooting his body toward the wall.
At the counter, Gibbs recited a litany of letters from creditors, "Past due, final notice, please remit, we are coming to break your legs…" The sound of crinkling plastic was followed by that of drawers opening. "Huh. Funny how a guy with this much in his checking account can't be bothered to pay his bills."
McGee didn't answer. He was halfway through the numerous connections when he had to breathe. Finishing the rest of the job quickly, he sat up, barely noticing the fact that he'd hit his head on the desk in his rush to get off the rug.
Gibbs stood at the kitchen counter looking at a checkbook, having bagged a pile of Earnshaw's unopened mail. "You okay, McGee?"
"Um, yeah. Just didn't think we'd be going somewhere today that made me miss the smell of the elephants." He leaned down and picked up the CPU. The unit was old and heavy. It hadn't even been connected to a phone or cable line, though based on what Gibbs had said about unpaid bills, it was possible he'd recently lost some utility services.
"Some guys can't handle the housekeeping when they find themselves living alone again." Gibbs dropped the checkbook into a bag and labeled it.
"You do okay, boss." His statement was met with a glare. "I just meant that your house is, well, it doesn't smell like…" he stopped as he heard his phone begin to ring. "I should probably get that." He placed the CPU on the counter next to Gibbs and pressed the answer button, taking a few steps across the room. "McGee."
"Hey, McGee," Abby greeted him brightly. "How are things at casa de Earnshaw?"
"Stinky. How are things at the lab?"
"Now, when you say 'stinky,' do you mean things aren't going well or things actually have a bad odor?"
"Mostly the latter."
Her tone became serious. "Then I'm sorry to lay this on you, Timmy, but I've got bad news."
He walked out the front door and leaned against the side of the building. "Is that why you called me instead of Gibbs?"
"I thought he might take it better if it came from you."
"It must be bad if you're telling a lie that transparent."
She didn't even deny it, but immediately asked, "Have you found another gun in Earnshaw's apartment?"
"No, but we haven't done much looking yet. Don't tell me…"
"Sorry. I performed ballistics on the Beretta and it's not the weapon used to kill Lt. Miller."
McGee sighed and peeked around the corner to look at the tiny apartment. Even with a thorough search, there was no guarantee the murder weapon would even be in small space. He pulled his head out again. "Gibbs is not gonna be happy."
"Yeah, and I haven't even told you the bad news yet."
"There's something worse?" McGee's brain automatically went to Tony. Maybe the doctors had discovered some terrible hidden injury and that's why Ziva hadn't called – she was too distraught and the hospital had just called NCIS directly.
He plugged the ear not pressed to the phone to shut out the sounds of traffic speeding past on the busy road just beyond a bare strip of grass. Abby continued, "Well, Ducky and I were comparing some of the images on the video to Robert Earnshaw and we…" McGee could hear her taking a deep breath, but he didn't encourage her to go on. He wasn't sure he wanted to hear whatever he was going to have to tell Gibbs. She finally said, "We don't think he shot Miller."
McGee sighed twice, first with relief that there wasn't some major problem with Tony and again with exasperation. "But Earnshaw confessed! He told Ziva he didn't mean to kill Miller before he shot himself! People heard him say it!"
Abby yelled back, "Hey, this isn't my fault! Whoever the guy in the video is looks a lot like Earnshaw, but it's not him. He's at least two inches taller and has a mole on his neck under his right ear. We can't decide if the noses are different too, but I think it might just be the angle and the light…"
"Abby!" McGee tried not to shout, but he couldn't help himself. Gibbs was already standing in the doorway looking at him expectantly. "Are you sure?"
"Of course I'm sure, McGee."
"Sorry, I just…ugh. Heard anything about Tony?"
"Not yet. Say hi to Gibbs for me." There was a click followed by silence.
Gibbs raised his eyebrows. "Well?"
McGee swallowed hard. "We've got a problem."