Langston and Bishop were back, with Langston wearing a new pair of Wranglers and a new burgundy long sleeve Washington Football Team shirt. The rest of the team had quickly learned early on, that Langston loved football, hockey, and baseball, and didn't care who was playing, as long as she could get to the bar, or the stadium, and yell.
"You have a call waiting for you in MTAC," McGee told Langston. At her questioning look, he grinned. "It's your brother. Gibbs is waiting for you."
Langston tore up the stairs, only to suddenly dash back down, run to her desk, and grab her notebook and pen, then run back up the stairs, swearing, causing the rest of the team to grin in amusement.
In MTAC, after successfully getting past the iris scanner, was Gibbs. On the large screen was Johnny, Lance Corporal Jackson, and an unfamiliar man.
"About time," Gibbs said.
"You're late t' the party," Johnny teased, grinning at her. "Just like th' day you were born."
"Sez th' feller who was damn near late t' his own high school graduation, an' only woke up on time 'cause I found th' airhorn?" Langston shot back. "An' shall I mention th' part about nearly gittin' sunblistered uh-huh's?"
While the lance corporal and the unfamiliar man sniggered, with Gibbs smirking in amusement, Johnny's ears went red as he blushed. "Still got that sass, don'cha?"
"An' th' badge t' go wit it. Now, I recognize Lance Corporal Jackson, but who's th' other feller?" Langston asked.
"Agent Bill Walters, NCIS agent on site," the man said. "Since this is an NCIS case, your brother figured I'd better sit in for this."
"Good call," Gibbs said. "Lance Corporal Jackson, I understand this isn't going to be easy, but what do you know about the Wentworths?"
A scowl crossed Jackson's face. "I'm not normally the sort of person to wish bad on someone, but with regards to the Wentworths, I hope they have their own room in Hell waiting for them," he said. "We weren't kids there, we were slaves. Anything could set those two monsters off, and Robert? He had a fondness for the girls, the way no adult should have. No one did anything to stop them, no one listened to us, and I was so damned glad to get out of there. I joined the Marines as soon as I could, because I figured what I might have to go through during boot camp would be paradise compared to the Wentworths. I have a scar on my back because of May, a burn mark, because I didn't duck fast enough when she threw her boiling cup of coffee at me." He held up a badly worn photograph of two kids, one considerably younger than the other. "This is me and my baby brother, Paulie. He disappeared when we were with them, one day when I was in school. May said he'd been transferred to another foster home, and I got the hell beaten out of me when I tried to find him."
Gibbs and Langston shared a look. "Did he have a shirt with He-Man and the Masters of the Universe on it?" Gibbs asked.
Jackson nodded. "He loved that shirt. Why?"
Gibbs glanced at Langston, and nodded subtly. He wanted to see how she handled this situation, which would require a gentle touch.
"We are investigating th' murder of Petty Officer Adam Scotto," Langston said. "Jest 'fore he left his ship, he wrote a letter tha' basically said th' same thing yer sayin' 'bout th' Wentworths. He also mentioned witnessing th' death of a little girl by th' name of Amanda. Records show y' were wit th' Wentworths 'round that time."
Jackson rubbed his face with his hands as he remembered. "I don't remember how or when she disappeared, but I do remember Amanda. I think she had Down's. I know May hated her, was always yelling at her for one thing or another."
"What about Julia Wentworth?" Gibbs asked.
"Very pretty girl, nothing like her parents. Think she tried to shield us, but one day she vanished. We were told she'd run away. Always hung around this other kid, Tommy, I think," Jackson said.
"Okay. During th' course of our investigation, we uncovered three bodies buried at th' old Wentworth house," Langston admitted. "One we suspect is Julia, and th' other is quite possibly Amanda. The third is a little boy, not quite six but older than two. He was found wearing a He-Man an' th' Masters of th' Universe shirt. We have not been able t' verify his identity yet, but wit' yer permission, we'd like t' do a DNA comparison."
Eyes wide, hands on his face, Jackson nodded vigorously. "You think," he swallowed hard, "you think you found Paulie?"
"We found somebody," Langston admitted. "An' I don't like coincidences in an investigation, so we're askin'."
"Do it. Please. Please find out if you've found my baby brother," Jackson begged. "I need to know. I'll sign whatever papers you need, but please, please find out."
Langston got out her phone and, after putting it on speaker, called Kasie. "Hey, gurl. Y' run th' little boy yet?" she asked.
"Running him now, but it could take a while," Kasie admitted. "Might help if I had someone to compare him to."
"Got a name fer y' t' try. Lance Corporal John James Jackson. Says his baby brother, Paulie, disappeared while wit th' Wentworths," Langston said. "An' he was known fer wearin' th' shirt tha' was found."
"Give me a sec," Kasie said, doing some fast typing in the background. "Okay, pulling his profile up now, and…. You found him. DNA is saying the little guy is indeed related to Lance Corporal Jackson, close enough to be his brother."
"Thanks, Kasie. I'll get y' his dets in a bit." Langston ended the call. "Lance Corporal Jackson, it's confirmed, an' I'm very sorry fer yer loss."
"Thank you," Jackson whispered hoarsely. "Thank you for finding him."
"Since you're confirmed next of kin, Lance Corporal, you'll need to come here as soon as possible," Gibbs said. "We'll set you up with someone from Family Services to help you."
"Do you know what happened to him? What happened to Paulie?" Jackson asked.
"Do you really want t' know, sir, or would y' rather jest take comfort in th' fact that he's been found? Tha' we have a pretty good idea who wuz involved, an' we're continuing t' investigate?" Langston asked. "Tha' the people who hurt y', an' a lotta other kids, are gonna have t' answer fer what they did?"
"She's right, man. Paulie's been found, an' that's all that matters," Johnny said, putting a soothing hand on Jackson's shoulder. "Th' Wentworths will get their due, one way or another."
Jackson nodded.
"Does the name Bridget Everest mean anything to you?" Gibbs asked.
Jackson scowled. "She was their favorite, especially with Robert," he said, wiping his eyes. "Saw her coming out of his bedroom one night, looking pretty pleased with herself." He shook his head. "I don't know what happened to her after I left the Wentworths, and I don't care."
"Fair enough," Langston said. "Is there anyone who y' can think of who might wanta keep things buried? Maybe keep Amanda buried?"
"Yeah, Bridget," Jackson said, without hesitation. "Remember I said she was their favorite? Well, she was loyal as hell to them. Would get crazy mad at the rest of us kids if we tried to say anything bad about them. If May said it, Bridget enforced it. And if Robert or May wanted one of us punished, and we fought, Bridget would help hold us down. She was just as evil as they were, as far as I'm concerned."
"Do you think she would kill?" Gibbs asked.
"If the Wentworths asked her to do it, she would do it without a second's hesitation," Jackson said. "There was a social worker who dealt with them a lot. Nasty woman."
"Shirley Brax?" Langston asked, checking her notes.
"Could be. I don't really remember her name, so much as her face," Jackson admitted.
"Okay, we'll look at 'em, an' I'll rig up tha' snare pole," Langston said, snapping her notebook shut.
"For the dog or the lady?" Gibbs asked, having filled her in on what happened with May Wentworth.
"Would I be a bitch ifin I offered fer both?" Langston asked innocently, causing Gibbs to smirk in amusement and the others to snigger.
"That bad?" Walters asked, grinning.
"From what I heard, that bad," Langston said. "Johnny, we'll chinwag more, later, but I gotta run some names, so we'll catch up later."
"Sure thing, but I got one question," Johnny said.
"Okay?" Langston asked.
"What's with the bandages on your face?" Johnny asked.
"Took down a suspect tha' took all five of us, plus four cops, jest t' take 'im down. Things got jest a little bit rough," Langston said.
"You're kidding," Walters said, eyes going wide. "What was the moron on?"
"Dunno, don't care. Pissy part is it's gonna take 'least twenty-four t' forty-eight hours fer 'im t' come down," Langston said, scowling. "Catch ya on th' fly."
Downstairs, McGee was talking to Joshua Cole and Carla Hill, who had been shocked that NCIS was reaching out to them, and more so about the Wentworths.
Via video conference, they were both on McGee's computer monitor.
"I appreciate you talking to us," McGee said. "I understand you were both fostered by May and Robert Wentworth when you were kids?"
Both Joshua and Carla nodded. "Worst time of our lives," Carla admitted. "I've tried not to think about that place for years, but every now and then, something will pop up. When Joshua and I got married, we swore we'd never do to our kids what May and Robert did to us."
"I understand. Do you remember a little girl by the name of Amanda?" McGee asked.
"I think so," Joshua said. "I never understood until I got older, but her facial features weren't quite right, but she was always laughing, always happy about something."
"What about Adam Scotto?" McGee asked.
The couple glanced at each other. "The name's familiar," Carla admitted.
"We're investigating his murder," McGee said. "Just before he left his ship, he wrote a letter stating he'd witnessed Amanda's murder at the hands of the Wentworths." The couple shared another look, this one with wide eyes. "Here's the thing; we found Amanda's remains buried behind the old Wentworth house yesterday. Our medical examiner found evidence of a skull fracture. If you know anything about what happened, now is the time to tell us."
"You found Amanda?" Carla asked, raising a shaking hand to her lips.
"We did. The reason her facial features weren't quite right was because she had Down's syndrome," McGee said. "Do you know what happened to her?"
"We do, and it's haunted us for years," Joshua finally admitted. Carla nodded. "We never told anyone because we didn't think anyone would believe us. We were just kids."
"From what I understand, the Wentworths used a lot of intimidation and fear tactics with the kids they fostered, and that Amanda wasn't the only victim," McGee said.
Carla nodded. "Robert liked us girls, in ways he shouldn't have. It took me a long time to deal with that, and the only reason I did was because of Joshua." Joshua put an arm around his wife and kissed her temple as she took a shaking breath. "I was up stairs, looking through the balcony railings, like we always did when May started yelling at someone, especially late at night. This time she was yelling at Amanda, who was crying. Then she hit her with the back of her hand, and Amanda fell against the stone fireplace that was in the living room. You could see it from the railings. And when Amanda fell and hit her head, she didn't move, even when May kicked her. I'm ashamed to admit I ran back to my room and hid under the blankets, because I was so afraid she would come after us. I was fifteen, and I couldn't protect Amanda, couldn't protect any of the younger kids."
"If we tried, we suffered worse," Joshua admitted. "I didn't see what happened to Amanda, but I did see Robert, Bridget, and Tommy carrying a shovel and a little bundle into the woods later that night. Could that have been Amanda?"
"It sounds like it," McGee said. "As for Bridget and Tommy, are you referring to Bridget Everest and Tommy Montenegro?"
Both Carla and Joshua nodded. "Bridget was a favorite of Robert and May," Carla admitted. "She always boasted about it, and they treated her way, way better than they did any of us. I think she was even willingly sleeping with, or at least messing around with, Robert, because I saw her coming out of his bedroom a few times, looking pleased as punch about something." "One time they went for a drive; I saw them in an alley and she was bouncing in his lap," Joshua admitted.
"So it's fair to say that Bridget was pretty loyal to the Wentworths?" McGee asked, his stomach churning at the mental images.
"That would be an understatement," Carla said, with Joshua nodding.
"Okay, would she be willing to kill for them?" McGee asked.
"Who knows? I wouldn't say yes, but I would be very reluctant to say no," Joshua admitted.
"I don't know if it helps any, but I heard rumors from another foster kid that Bridget was pregnant at one point," Carla said. "Rumor had it the baby was Robert's."
"What about Julia Wentworth?" McGee asked.
"I think I remember her," Carla admitted. "She and Tommy were pretty tight for a while, then she supposedly ran away. Tommy was never quite right after that."
Joshua nodded. "I saw him once, after the Wentworths, and he was pretty drunk. Kept mumbling something about Julia and a baby."
"Okay, would you two mind writing everything you can think of, out, and emailing it to me?" McGee asked. "A witness statement, so to speak?"
"Gladly," Joshua said, with Carla nodding. "On one condition."
"I'm listening."
"Will you please let us know what happens to Amanda? And the Wentworths?" Joshua asked.
"I can do that," McGee said. "Carla, I understand you're a popular blogger. Maybe this is one story you can finally tell."
Carla smiled at that. "You're right. And maybe I should tell it. I don't know if I can do anything about the Wentworths, but maybe I can get other foster kids to speak up, break the silence, so to speak."
"That would be good," McGee said. He gave them his email address and they signed off, with promises to stay in touch.
"Wow," Bishop said, having been listening in.
"So it's looking like we have a suspect; Bridget Everest," Torres said.
"I can add to that," said a male voice. The team looked up and Bishop recognized the man standing near their desk, wearing a visitor's badge; it was Tyler Strathford. Unlike last time, when he looked exactly like a rich businessman, this time he was in jeans and worn leather jacket, looking like he'd been on a two-day drinking binge. He smiled tiredly at them. "I heard you found Amanda, and I remember promising Agent Bishop and Langston that if you did, I would tell you everything I knew about the Wentworths."
"You did, and thank you for coming," Bishop said, going to him. "You don't look too good."
"Old memories and a bottle of Jack's are a bad combination," Tyler admitted.
"That it would be," Torres said.
"What do you want to know?" Tyler asked.
"Fer starters, would Bridget Everest be capable of killin' if th' Wentworths asked her t'?" Langston asked, coming down the stairs.
"Willingly, cheerfully, and without asking," Tyler said. "She was their favorite, and we all knew it. She was boning Robert, and May was quite happy to let her."
"What about Julia Wentworth?" Gibbs asked.
"Beautiful girl, spent quite a lot of time with another kid by the name of Tommy," Tyler admitted. "She gave birth to a baby boy, who was put up for adoption, and then she supposedly ran away from home."
"No, she didn't," Langston said. "We found her, and Amanda, and a little boy by the name of Paulie Jackson, who was the baby brother of Lance Corporal John Jackson."
"May hit Amanda. She hit that poor girl so hard she fell and hit her head against the stone fireplace in the living room. Tommy and Bridget and Robert, they took her away. I didn't know where, but I saw them taking a bundle out into the woods behind the house, and the next day nobody, and I mean nobody, was allowed to talk about Amanda again," Tyler said, tears forming in his eyes. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a bunch of pastel green legal pad papers, which he handed to McGee, who was closest. "After you two left, I wrote down everything I could think of, including a few things I'd forgotten I knew."
"You bought the Wentworth house. Why?" Gibbs asked.
"When I came to the Wentworths, I had nothing but the clothes on my back," Tyler admitted. "When I left, I swore that what happened there would never happen to any other kid again, so I bought the house just to spite those bastards, because Robert would constantly say I'd never amount to anything. Well guess what, Robert? My net worth is over five million, and growing. How's that for amounting to nothing?" Torres whistled in appreciation. "I bought the house when they got hit with foreclosure on the house." He smirked. "Bought it for pennies, from the bank, and deliberately rubbed it in their face."
"Don't blame you," Langston said.
"We need to get back to the house and check that fireplace," Bishop said.
"When you're done with the house, let me know, because the first chance I get, it's coming down, and I'm going to build something there that will completely erase the memories of the Wentworths," Tyler said.
"Why not build another house, but one dedicated to foster kids? A place where kids can be safe," Torres suggested. "A lot of foster kids, especially the older ones, fall between the cracks, and by the time they get aged out of the system, they have no support network, nothing to fall back on, no help, nada."
A thoughtful look crossed Tyler's face. "I could do that. Turn something bad into something good, give kids the chance some of us never got. I wonder…." He looked at the team eagerly. "I'm sorry to impose on you, but could I please make use of a table and a pad and pen? If I don't write this down, it's going to bug the hell out of me until I do."
Gibbs smirked. "Conference room," he said. Once Tyler was taken to the conference room, he turned to the rest of the team. "Update."
"Okay, I was able to video conference with Joshua and Carla," McGee said, going to the whiteboard and writing something on it. "Carla witnessed Amanda's murder as well; said the same thing as Tyler, that May hit her and she fell and hit her head against the stone fireplace in the living room. Joshua saw Bridget, Robert, and Tommy taking a bundle out to the woods later that night. They're sending me a written statement via email. They also confirmed that Bridget was the Wentworth golden child, and apparently Bridget was having sexual relations with Robert."
"Which is what Lance Corporal Jackson said," Langston said. "He claimed th' Wentworths were verbally an' physically abusive towards 'im an' pretty much every kid there. His baby brother, Paulie, disappeared while there. Kasie was able t' match th' little boy we found, t' Lance Corporal Jackson, confirming tha' we found Paulie. Seems he was 'bout three when he disappeared, an' when Lance Corporal Jackson tried t' find 'im, he was beaten fer it."
"Damn," Torres muttered.
"He also named Bridget as a suspect, sayin' she was loyal as hell t' the Wentworths," Langston said. "Said th' same thing as Tyler; she was bouncing Robert."
"What about what Joshua said; that she had a kid by him?" Torres asked.
"Checking now," McGee said, doing some fast typing. "Well, she definitely had a kid, but the father's not named," he said, a moment later. "That would explain some of the insults May was hurling at Bridget the last time."
"Colorful?" Langston asked.
"You remember what you said when that teenage kid accidentally caused you to spill your coffee all over your pants last week?" McGee asked.
"Reluctantly, yes," Langston said, blushing.
"Along those lines, but with a few words I would get slapped for, added in," McGee said.
"Woof," Langston said, grinning. "We need t' look at Shirley Brax. She was th' social worker fer th' Wentworths an' may have turned a blind eye t' what was going on."
"Charlie Dover, over at CPS, said some of the other caseworkers called her Battle Axe Brax, because she was, apparently, pretty harsh with the foster kids, especially the teens, and they responded by pushing back any way they could," Torres said.
"That's right," Langston said.
"Bring her in, find out what she knows, but so far, our witnesses are saying May killed Amanda, which is fine, but we don't know who killed Petty Officer Scotto," Gibbs said.
"Someone who cut their hand on the porch post that was used on his head," Kasie said, joining them. She handed Gibbs a report. "I found Petty Officer Scotto's blood on the post, and a second contributor on a nail that was sticking out of the post; no match in CODIS, but it's female. I also found it smeared on the driver's side of Petty Officer Scotto's rental car, where someone forgot to wipe it off. Also, on the inside of his car, on the tools that were in there, was his blood. Someone tried to wrap his head to stop the blood from getting everywhere, but they weren't that good."
"Prints?" Gibbs asked.
"Ah, and this is where things get interesting," Kasie said. "Robbie Everest. He's about sixteen, and his prints were on the rearview mirror, where they might be if someone was adjusting it. He's done a little time for picking up prostitutes, or at least trying to."
"Seriously?" McGee asked, a look of disgust on his face.
"Seriously. His reason for that, according to the arresting officer, was because none of the girls at his school would have sex with him," Kasie said. "I had a look at his mug; I wouldn't even have sex with him even if I was completely, blind-stinking, blackout, drunk. And even then, I doubt it."
"Meyouch," Langston said, grinning at her friend. "Isn't sixteen kinda young t' be drivin'?"
"At sixteen, you can get a learner's permit in DC," McGee said. "Catch is, you can only drive between six a.m. and nine p.m."
"Didn't Palmer say Petty Officer Scotto was killed between six and eight p.m.?" Bishop asked. "Robbie could have done the driving then."
"But he was dumped around one a.m.," Torres pointed out. "Cops could have easily pulled him over."
Kasie tossed McGee a memory stick. "Not this dude. They would have ignored him, as long as he behaved himself on the road."
McGee pulled up a mugshot that the caption identified as Robbie Everest, and put it on the plasma. "Well, his stats say he's big and strong enough to move a body the size and weight of Petty Officer Scotto."
"Jayezus cherist," Langston said, looking at the mugshot. "He didn't jest git hit wit th' ugly stick, th' whole danged tree fell on 'im. He looks like he got pulled through a knothole, backwards! Cops wouldn't 'ave ignored 'im, they woulda prayed they never saw 'im!"
"Find him, bring him in," Gibbs said. "Same with his mother. And Kasie, you go back to the house, check the fireplace. Witnesses say Amanda hit her head on it. Verify it."
"I'll need someone to go with me," Kasie said.
"Langston, go," Gibbs said.
"Goin'," Langston said. "Need t' stop by a hardware store anyway."
"Why?" Bishop asked, curious.
"Seems I need t' make up two snare poles," Langston said, grinning. "One fer th' dog an' one fer May."
"I would pay to see that," McGee grumbled.