He found Erin sitting in the cockpit and polishing brass.
"Hey, always busy?"
"Why not? This is fun."
"Is it? Never looked at it that way. I like the effect but not the process."
Erin looked up and gave him a little whimsical smile.
"We could share it then: I enjoy the work and you enjoy the looks."
Gibbs returned the smile implying a touch of innuendo.
"I most definitely enjoy the looks! And I have to admit that though it's not very gentlemanly,
I like the concept."
He noticed her blush and look away.
"She got it," he thought. But, since he loved this game of verbal teasing and didn't want to
discourage her, he decided on changing the subject.
"I got the forms here we need for your new ID."
Erin suddenly felt alienated. Did he want her to leave?
"I'll feel much better once I can be sure that you stay because you want to and not because
you have to."
That took a load off her mind. But how had he known what she thought?
When Erin didn't react at all, Gibbs felt the need to dig a little deeper.
"Did you change your mind about staying and moving to my house with me?"
Erin shook her head.
"No." But she knew it was not her decision.
He was relieved to hear that.
"I'll bring some laundry up to the club-house. You could finish what you're doing and then
we can fill out these forms, ok?"
"Sure."
When Gibbs was back they sat at the table in the cockpit and he took the first sheet of paper.
"Let's see. I think we start with the easy ones….Height?"
"Five-foot-nine."
"Eye-colour? Pretty blue, I'd say, right?"
"Yep!"
"Colour of hair?"
"Dark-blonde."
"Do you know where you were born?"
"First city I remember is Dallas, Texas."
"Want to make that your birthplace?"
"Why not?"
"Date of birth?"
"I don't know."
"Pick a date. The year could be 1970, or would you rather be a little younger?"
"No, 1970 is fine. Easy to remember."
"We need a month and a day."
Erin thought about it for a while.
"I'll take October, 12th."
Gibbs didn't need a second to figure out why she chose that date. It was then they had met at
the scene of the accident.
"I love you, Erin," he thought.
He gave her a warm smile.
"Now, that's a date that I can easily remember."
Erin wondered how he could make her feel so good, just by looking at her.
"On we go….Christian name?...You stick with Erin?"
"Yes,"
"Would you like a second one?"
"No, not really."
"Good….Last name?"
"I can not just take someone's last name as mine!"
"I think most last names are shared by many different people, not necessarily being relatives.
Maybe you shouldn't choose Rockefeller or Mozart or Picasso, but other than that…."
"There was an old couple I sailed with several times. They were really friendly and I guess
they wouldn't mind if I borrowed their last name. It would be Parker then."
"Erin Parker…not bad. Want me to write that down?"
"Yeah, sure."
"Ok, so far, so good. This will take a while, but the temporary driver's licence should be
ready by Tuesday."
"That easy?"
"If you know the right people…"
They had just finished the paper-work, when the Jones' came walking along the foot-bridge.
They agreed on Erin taking care of the 'Spirit of Endeavour' and that she could use her for
day sailing trips with tourists on the Chesapeake Bay. The Jones' wanted to go on a last
sailing trip for the next two days before they started the preparations for their relocation, so
Erin would be in charge from Tuesday on.
When they were sitting outside with their first mug of coffee the next morning, Gibbs' cell-
phone rang.
"Gibbs….Yes Sir….I understand….Yes Sir, I'll be there in about an hour."
Gibbs looked at Erin.
"Holidays are over. I need to go back to the office today. We have a case that obviously needs
to be taken care of fast."
Erin could see that he wasn't too sad about having to go back to work.
"Do you want me to drop you off at the house or would you rather stay here and I pick you up
in the evening?"
"I think I'll stay. I'll clean the 'Glory' and fix everything up."
"Good. I don't know when I'll be back. You can call me any time from the club-house. Have
you still got my card?"
He made a mental note to supply Erin with a cell-phone.
"Yes."
"Ok then. I got to go. I have to drop by at home and change into bureau clothes."
Gibbs had been ordered to go directly to the scene of the crime where he met the rest of his
team.
"Hey, Gibbs. Good to have you back!" Kate greeted him.
"Kate, Tony. What have we got here?"
"Female officer, found dead by Mr. Schuhmaker over there who took his dog for a walk. Call
came in one and a half hours ago. No witnesses and as far as we can say by now, no useful
evidence. Maybe Ducky's got something."
As Gibbs went over to Ducky who was examining the corpse, Kate turned to Tony.
"Wow! He's really happy to see us!"
"Yeah, eloquent and cheerful as ever."
Gibbs kneeled down beside Ducky.
"Hi, Duck, how's it goin'"
"Well, Jethro. Opposed to this young lady here, I'm doing fine."
"Anything you can tell me by now?"
"Time of death approximately 2230. Cause of death is the severe injury of the skull. Much
more damage has been done, but this fracture was lethal."
Gibbs looked at the dead officer. He didn't have to ask. The torn clothes and clearly visible
bruises told him what he wanted to know.
"Cover her up, Ducky, will you? I'll talk to Mr. Schuhmaker for a moment."
Not being able to find anything helpful, they headed back to the headquarters where Ducky
would try to find something that could be a lead.
They all gathered in Abby's lab to sum up what they knew so far.
"Ok, Kate. The first victim was found….."
"October, 22nd at 2320 on the South Carolina Ave.. It was a proven suicide but autopsy
showed that she'd been raped and beat up quite bad shortly before."
"Or maybe she had lived out strange sexual fantasies and didn't like the outcome." Tony
ventured.
Gibbs' look would have sent anyone with a lower self-esteem running.
"The next incident took place two days later?"
Again Kate reported after having checked her hand-held.
"October 24th. The victim survived and made it to the emergency on her own. The raid
happened around 2200 from what she recalled. She couldn't describe the attacker except of
that he was white, over six feet tall, was clad in black and wore a mask, gloves and used a
condom. And that he told her to, quote: 'Tell them the Benjiman is back'"
"Those two don't necessarily have to be connected," Gibbs stated.
Tony tried to make up for his faux-pas before.
"True. At that time it was just a mental note of two women, both serving at the naval
academy, having been raped in the same area, by an attacker that left no trace. But now, with
the third victim being a Navy officer, raped like the other two, no DNA or fibres or anything
found it's hard to believe it's not the same guy. There was no coverage in the press so I don't
think it was a copycat."