Death of an agent part 2
"Theo" Tim called out to him as they arrived at the Cartwright family estate in Reston. Theo was working in the tool shed at the back of the property, which was where Tim had lead Gibbs immediately, rather than in through the house.
"Tim!" He replied and Gibbs watched as the young man immediately stopped work and hugged his 'brother' tightly. His body shook and Gibbs could hear the muffled cries of the victim's son.
"Theo," Tim said softly, redirecting his attention back to the situation. "This is my boss, Agent Gibbs. He's in charge of the investigation." Tim advised him.
"Any relation to Kelly?" He asked Tim with a raised eyebrow. Tim glared at his friend. "What?! Mama told me about the girl. Mama said you were serious about her. Mama always knew about whatever mischief we getting up to. You didn't really think you had Mama fooled, did you?"
"We're here to talk about your mother," Gibbs told him with a smirk. "Not here to talk about Agent McGee and who he may or may not be seeing."
"Pfft, McGee!" Theo scoffed. "You should be a Cartwright, anyway. Mama would have preferred that and you'd be free of that tyrannical arsehole."
"Your Mother, Theo?" Tim redirected his friend firmly.
"Right!" He exclaimed. "Mama left home for work yesterday at 0700, as normal, with her bag and her weapon. Nothing out of the ordinary, she called at 1800 and said she was working late, to grab cookie money for pizza and to make sure that I fed Lucy too. I didn't realise anything was wrong until Dad called early this morning."
"You told me she was being treated for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder? How was it going?" He asked his friend, the man he thought of as a brother.
"She was taking her meds, if that's what you mean, Tim." Theo confirmed. Gibbs had taken a backseat to the questioning as Tim had intimate knowledge of the family and it's dynamics. He was surprised with what he'd learnt so far, especially about the young probationary agent he had assigned to him. "She skipped out on a couple of therapy appointments, but that's the life of being an NCIS agent, right Tim? Work comes first." Theo said, bristly.
"Can you think of anyone who would want to hurt Agent Cartwright?" Tim asked, using her title, instead of her name, trying to disassociate his professional feelings from his personal feelings.
"Mama was loved by all. You know that, Tim!" Theo told him, chastising him in the process. "Mama had a heart of gold, everyone loved her. She would do anything for anyone."
"We need to cover all our bases, Theo." Gibbs told him. "Can we look through her office? They're might be some clues in there as to what happened."
"Sure, have you got the code?" Theo asked. "Mama always kept her office door locked. I don't have the code."
"I know it." Tim whispered to his boss. "Mama Lols, use to let me use it for work when I stayed here too."
"See, man we were meant to be brothers! Mama trusted you more than her own son." Theo jested. "Part of the family."
Gibbs and Tim made their way into Loretta's home office. Tim entered his access code and they were immediately granted entry. Gibbs looked around the room, he noted the various artworks that hung on the wall, with names and ages printed underneath them. He saw a drawing of a hand turkey and in a child's handwriting read 'Happy Thanksgiving, Mama Lols. Lots of love from Timmo' Underneath it in an adult's handwriting it had the year 1981 written and Gibbs smiled. He hadn't believed it at first, but Tim really was ingrained into this family as much as the husband Rick and son Theo had claimed he was. "Is this you?" Gibbs asked, pointing to a small boy in the family portrait on the wall by the window.
"Yeah, that's me." Tim smiled whistfully. "That's Rick and Lols, Lucy, Sam, Evie and that's Theo. Not sure where we were going, maybe a promotion dinner on base." Tim said. Gibbs thought Tim looked to be barely seven years old and he was trying to hide from the camera.
"Where were your parents?" Gibbs asked, curiously. He knew that Tim's mother was deceased, but he didn't know when she had died.
"The Admiral was probably at sea, ah, he was a captain then, but still probably at sea. Mum was already gone by then." Tim told Gibbs truthfully. Tim tapped another photo on the opposite wall. The photo was of a small boy, barely five years old with the woman who's death they were investigating. "That was taken the morning of my mother's funeral." He whispered, trying to hold his tears in.
"It's ok, Tim." Gibbs said softly, patting the young man on his back. "Get justice, grieve later. You'll feel better, I promise."
Tim and Gibbs refocused their efforts on searching the office for clues. "Got a laptop here." Gibbs commented, spying it laying on the floor beside the sofa. "Know the password?"
"Nope," Tim said popping the 'p'. "But that's never stopped me before." Tim answered as he set himself to work, bypassing the security measures to get them access to her laptop. "Master's in Computer Forensics, remember? Won't even break a sweat."
Gibbs was impressed with the young man and his skills, who he was beginning to see was an asset. "You in, already?" He asked incredulously and he saw Tim nod to the affirmative. "What have you got?"
"A note." Tim told him and Gibbs read the typed out note that was on the screen over McGee's shoulder.
'Theo, you're my wonderfully talented young man, gifted and skilled with your hands. Everything you touch is a work of art.
Sam, you serve your country honourably, with courage and integrity. You serve for you, not your ego. You are my noble man.
Lucy, my beautiful girl, my precious star. You are a gift and a pleasure, the light of my life.
Evie, my precious angel in heaven above. Your life was tragically cut short. It should have been me, not you. Soon we will reunited together, forever. I never forgave myself for letting go of you.
Tim, not my son by blood, but you are in my heart of hearts. Your mother would be so proud of you and the man you've become. You've accomplished so much in this world already, just remember to find love and happiness too. I've never met anyone else like, you're smart, but you don't lord it over those you meet. I am blessed for having done my part in raising you.
Rick, I love you, the love of my life. We were blessed with five children each wonderful and spectacular in their own unique way. Take care of them for me.
I wish I could stay, but the pain and the guilt is too much to bear. I wish I was strong enough to stay, strong enough to fight the darkness. But I'm tired and I'm weak. From up above I can protect you all. I am ready for my eternal life. It's time to make peace with myself. Remember you are all loved.
Mama/Lols'
"Suicide note." He told Tim. "When we finish here, we'll check in with Ducky and see if his findings align with the note. We keep investigating, either way."
"I wish I'd have known, I could of helped." Tim whispered, feeling helpless.
"Tim," Gibbs replied in a whisper. "She didn't want help, she made her peace with it. She was ready to go. There wasn't anything you, or anyone else could have done, son."
Gibbs and Tim bagged the laptop as well as some NCIS files and Gibbs bagged a secret file that he'd found while Tim had been speaking with the son again. It seemed that Agent Loretta Cartwright was investigating Admiral McGee. He kept the file hidden amongst the NCIS files as not to draw Tim's attention to it. "Wait Gibbs!" Tim said, halting Gibbs and forcing the supervisory agent to refocus his attention on his subordinate. "Did you want to look in the safe?" Tim asked, moving the ottoman and removing a square carpet tile to reveal a floor safe.
"Don't suppose you can crack into that?"Gibbs asked Tim.
"Not exactly." Tim answered, "but I do know the combination."
There wasn't much inside, some more papers, NCIS files and it looked like DNA test results. There was no names on the subject, it just referred to them as subject A and subject B. Gibbs bagged it all and took it with him, knowing that regardless of Ducky's findings he and Ducky would be spending the evening reconstructing these files.
"Ducky?" Gibbs asked as he and Tim entered autopsy. Ducky was cleaning up after his examination of Loretta. Her body already stowed away and Tim was thankful. After the day he had already had, he didn't think he'd have been able to handle seeing Loretta like that.
"Ah Jethro and Timothy, come on in." He ushered, "Jimmy has just taken some samples up to Abby. I believe our dear Agent Cartwright took her own life. She died from a gunshot wound to the heart. Her death was instantaneous."
Gibbs pat Tim's shoulder in support, the young man had been doing a great job of holding it together, so far. "I'll go and see where Kate and Tony are at." Tim offered, wanting a minute alone with his thoughts.
"He seems to be holding himself together quite well, considering." Ducky told Gibbs as soon as Timothy had left autopsy.
"Yes," Gibbs agreed. "Can you give me a hand tonight?" Gibbs asked. "It looked as if Agent Cartwright was working on something involving Admiral John McGee. I don't wish to tell Agent McGee anything until I am sure of it."
"Absolutely Jethro." Ducky said. "It would be devastating to drive a wedge between the father and son for no reason."
"There's already an ocean between the two. His father is a jerk. He admitted in front of myself and Director Morrow that his son is 'a waste of space.'
"That's horrible." Ducky stated, "he seems like a bright young man."
"Smart as a whip too. My house, 1900."
"I'll be there." Ducky replied.
"Ducky definitely ruled it a suicide." Gibbs said, striding back into the bullpen. "Where's McGee?"
"Agent Cartwright's husband has arrived. He said to send you up." Kate told Gibbs. "Is McGee ok?"
"He's fine, Kate. Gibbs replied, "don't you two have reports to write?"
Gibbs took himself up to the conference room and Agent Rodriquez was standing guard. "They've just gone in, less than a minute ago." He whispered to Gibbs.
"Rick, this is Agent Gibbs." Tim introduced the older agent. "He is leading the investigation."
"Thank you, Agent McGee. You can go now." Gibbs told him, dismissing the younger man. "Report on my desk before you leave tonight."
"I didn't want to ask in front of the Admiral, but are you any relation to the young lady Gibbs that my godson is seeing?" Rick asked Gibbs.
"I am not aware who Agent McGee may or may not be seeing. We are here to discuss your wife." Gibbs told him. "Agent Loretta Cartwright."
"NCIS did everything they could to support Lols, after 9/11. She resisted the help. Theo tried, he had her going to her therapist and taking her meds. Something set her off. My wife took her own life, didn't she?" Rick told Gibbs.
"It looks that way, we're still wrapping up the investigation. Why was your wife investigating Admiral McGee?" Gibbs asked.
"She wasn't investigating him per se, she was keeping tabs on him. John all but dumped Tim on Lols, when Nikki died. Tim hadn't turned six yet, Theo was six, Sam was two and Lols was pregnant with the twins. Don't get me wrong, we love Tim like one of our own. However Lols, grieved hard for Nikki, Lols was pregnant and she'd been left to raise Nikki's son. Nikki and Lols use to dream that they were sister-wives and that we were all one big family. But I knew that it could never be, John would never have allowed it."
"When did your wife meet Nikki McGee?" Gibbs wondered.
"Oh, I think they met in pre-school, or kindergarten perhaps. They were young. Apparently they were inseparable from the day they met. I met Lols through Nikki. That's how I met John too."
"What's John McGee's problem with his son?" Gibbs asked, genuinely curious.
"Truthfully, I don't know. One of my sons is a carpenter and the other is in the USMC. I'm proud of them, no matter what they do. But to John, all that ever mattered was Tim joining the Navy. Tim gets sick on the water, he has since he was 6. There was no way that boy would ever join the navy." Rick told Gibbs. "No matter how many degrees or how smart Tim is, it's never good enough in his father's eyes."
"Can I ask you a completely irrelevant question?" Gibbs asked, gauging the Commander's character. Rick nodded, not really thinking about what Gibbs was about to ask him. "Were you ever unfaithful to your wife?"
"What kind of a question is that?" Rick asked Gibbs, skirting around the actual question.
"Did you ever cheat on Agent Loretta Cartwright?" Gibbs asked again, more direct and forceful.
"Not exactly." He mumbled, but Gibbs' supersonic hearing heard it.
"Explain!" Gibbs demanded.
"With my wife's blessing, I helped a friend conceive a child." Rick explained. "This friend, not even her husband knows the child's true paternity."
"Is that child Tim?" Gibbs asked and Rick looked defeated.
"Yes." He told Gibbs in a small voice. "Nikki was desperate to have a child. Lols was newly pregnant with Theo and her and John had been already been trying to conceive for over two years by that point. My wife and Nikki cooked up this idea. We booked a room at a motel downtown, John was on manoeuvres and she was ovulating. We had unprotected sex, eight times in thirty six hours. John came home the following morning and Nikki seduced him. Bam! She was pregnant. John never questioned the timing of the pregnancy. Are you going to tell Tim?"
"It's not my place to say anything, but the truth always has a way of getting out." Gibbs advised him.
"I'll think about saying something, just let me bury my wife first." Rick begged.
"How sure are you, that you're the father of Nikki's child? All it takes is one sperm?" Gibbs asked.
"Lols ran Tim's DNA when he cut himself in the kitchen at Thanksgiving seven years ago." He told Gibbs. "She had a DNA comparison ran to me. It was a match."
"Duck," Gibbs said softly into the phone as he waited by the coffee cart for his order. "Cancel tonight. I got the full scoop from Commander Cartwright."
"Oh I see," Ducky answered vaguely.
"You have company and can not talk." Gibbs surmised. "Tony, Kate or McGee?"
"The latter," Ducky answered. "Can I call you back later?"
"Does he suspect something?" Gibbs asked, worrying.
"Yes Jethro." Ducky confirmed. "I shall call you back later on."