Abigail hung out with the Major Critical Response Team that day. Mostly because her people were still working the crime scene. Abigail also liked being around the MCRT in general. They treated her like a sister. Appreciated her. It was lovely.

But...

She still wound up going to the morgue. Her fingers were crossed for a good update.


"Jethro, your timing is as impeccable as ever!" Ducky said merrily when he heard the autopsy doors open.

Abigail grinned in amusement. "Leroy is upstairs."

Ducky and Palmer looked up from the body on the slab, startled. Neither had been expected anyone besides the NCIS agent in charge.

But Ducky remained merry. "Agent Abigail! What brings you to our humble abode?"

"Curiosity." Abigail joined her friends. "My team is occupied. Abby is occupied. Everyone in the bullpen is occupied. So I thought I'd come check on you guys. Has there been any headway?"

"Indeed—we have discovered a cause of death."

Abigail arched one eyebrow. "Go on. That means you have more of a theory than a rock making contact with the side of her head. It didn't actually kill her, did it?"

"Correct." said Palmer. "The impact certainly blindsided her, but... it triggered one catastrophic seizure. We're thinking that this is what caused her to hit her head in the first place."

"And is the seizure what caused the blackout?"

"Yes. That in turn caused her to not wake from the convulsions."

"My people also noticed that Lieutenant Wheelwright also had an insulin pump." Abigail recalled. "Is there anything of note in that department?"

Palmer shook his head and held out an evidence bag. "No, but check this out."

Abigail took the evidence bag for herself and examined it. There was an evident crack in the device's outer structure. Another person had caused this damage. On purpose.

"Two more steps back." Abigail signed for the evidence. "It looks like someone in this case is running around with a serious ax to grind."

"Let us try not to spiral down too much." Ducky handed her an evidence bag with a golden saint necklace inside. "Here we have Saint Valentine, the patron saint of epilepsy."

Abigail quickly signed for this bag and held it tighter than the other one. "Perhaps she kept it for comfort. This gold looks real, though. How did I miss it?"

Palmer tapped his chest. "It was under her shirt."

"My dear," Ducky said to Abigail. "We also think that the gold is real. If it is, then perhaps the necklace can be traced to whoever sold it to our poor soul on the slab here. Will you go run the possibility by Abby, pease?"

So Abigail departed from the morgue and made haste for Abby's lab.


"Hey!" Abby said in surprise when she saw her other half. "This is usually the part when Jimmy shows up bearing evidence for me."

"I am not the beloved 'autopsy gremlin,' but I definitely have gifts of the forensic evidence variety." Abigail set them down on the primary work table. "Both items here were found on our victim."

Abby slipped on a fresh pair of gloves and examined the evidence bag with the insulin pump. "Something did a real number on this. Looks deliberate."

"Yep. That's the conclusion that Ducky and Palmer came to. I support it." said Abigail. "Can you tell me what made the damage?"

"My knowledge as a forensics expert would bring me to say a bullet, but… Did your guys talk to any witnesses that heard anything like a gunshot?"

"Uh-uh. It was early." Abigail told her. "Not too many people would be around any park in these parts at this time of year for fun."

"That's a good point. All I'm saying for now is that the hole in the pump looks like a bullet hole. What did we get ourselves into, Red?"

Abigail shrugged. "I've been asking myself that since I first heard Luna. Why don't you see what's in the other bag?"

Abby examined it. "This looks like a Saint Valentine necklace. I had to study the saints in school when I was a kid. He was the patron of—oh..."

She had made the correct connection.

"Ducky and Palmer are saying it looks like Tulip Wheelwright definitely, at some point during her attack, was hit by a rock. It triggered a seizure that she didn't wake up from." Abigail cleared her throat. "We were also hoping if you can confirm whether or not the gold necklace is real. Tracking a seller would be the next step if it is."

Abby perked back up again. "Okay. I can definitely work on that. Just a second."

In rather a blur of motion (to Abigail), Abby fed the parameters of the necklace into both her major mass spectrometer and her external research program on her main computer. She wanted to cover every base possible.

Abby returned to the table with a miniature tool kit and then removed insulin pump from the evidence bag. Abigail followed her lead and put on a pair of latex gloves for herself. Now she was glad she had left the bullpen upstairs. Helping down here was fun.

"Will you hold the pump steady for me?" Abby asked her.

"You got it."

Abigail did as asked while Abby used her tools to unscrew the pump and pry it open. This was easier said than done.

But suddenly—

"Oh!" cried Abby.

Even Abigail's hands shook in surprise as she dropped the pump.

Lodged inside was a singular bullet. Someone actually had fired at Tulip Wheelwright.


There was also something of an epiphany happening in autopsy.

"Come have a look at this, Mister Palmer." Ducky said to his assistant after a great length of quiet.

Palmer strolled over from where he had been preparing samples for the lab. "Yes, doctor?"

"What do you make of these abrasions?"

Palmer looked to where his boss was indicating. The victim's hands and wrists, as well as both of her knees were scuffed. As if…

"It seems as though Tulip Wheelwright tripped, but more to the point, like someone pushed her. Maybe. Have you found any defensive wounds?"

Ducky shook his head. "No, which is quite startling because she had her baby with her. I think… that she was blitzed."

Palmer furrowed his brow as he thought fast. "Doctor... what if she was blitzed first, and that's what caused her to hit her head? Because of the fall?"

"I would say let us both go to the lab."

They left the morgue and boarded the lab, where they were met by Gibbs, Tony, Ziva, and McGee. Each seemed to have a particular goal in mind.

"We were coming to see you guys," Tony said as they made room for them. "But let me guess—a lead was found, huh?"

Ducky nodded as the doors closed and someone pressed the button for lift to go up one floor. "Yes. A jarring one. What about you lot?"

McGee replied, "The same."

"We found a suspect." Gibbs added. "Now we're going to see if Abby will do some deep-dive researching for us."

"Is Abigail still about?" Ziva wondered aloud. "She will want to know."

"Actually," Palmer said when the lift opened and they piled out. "We just sent her to the lab with different pieces of evidence for Abby to analyze."

"Like wha… uh-oh…"

The traveling party had walked in to the lab to find both Abigails looking slightly stunned. Before them on the table was the now-open insulin pump.

Gibbs addressed them with caution. "Abbsez, what's wrong?"

"You guys have to see this." Abigail said.

Abby waved a hand over the insulin pump. "We investigated this piece closely because it appears to have taken some damage."

"From what?" McGee said in a puzzled tone.

Abigail pointed. "One bullet."

New chatter broke out amongst the others.

Just what had they gotten themselves into?