Tony and Laurie met face to face for the first time at the seventh floor nurses' station. "Nurse Bradford, please." Tony used his "boss" voice at its sternest.
"I'm Laurie Bradford, what can I do for you?" Tony looked down into her mossy green eyes and caught a glimpse of awareness for what was about to happen.
"Nurse Bradford? Special Agent DiNozzo." Tony gave her and her colleagues a practiced flip of his badge and ID. "I understand you've been accused of drugging a patient here, Special Agent Gibbs." It was a statement and not a question.
Laurie nodded in response. "Accused, yes. But the patient saw an intruder in his room. The patient has accused that man of drugging him."
"An intruder no one else saw, Nurse Bradford."
Laurie inclined her head. "I will grant you that the drug does cause confusion. He mistook Angie, the phlebotomist, for a woman named Kate. But it is highly unlikely that he mistook his nurse for a male intruder."
"What, precisely, happened?" Tony was unable to keep the sudden coldness from his voice.
Laurie recounted the entire night for the agent, in detail, taking her time while he took copious notes.
At the end of her narrative, he looked at her speculatively. "You seem to have left out one detail. I understand that you have knowledge of, and access to, the drug which he was given." It was a hard statement, one that he saw Laurie try to defend against.
"Everyone here has potential access to any drug, and knowledge can be found in a two minute search and scan of the internet." She said it flatly, but it was clear to both of them that she was in trouble.
Tony glanced around at the onlookers, making sure he had everyone's attention. The conversation certainly hadn't been quiet, but now he cleared his throat and used a harsher tone of voice as he spoke. "Nonetheless, Nurse Bradford, I think it would be in both our best interests if you were to accompany me back to NCIS for further questioning. I think you're holding back on me and I want answers."