Chapter 3 - Something Crazy
"Got anything new for us, Duck?" Gibbs asked, as the group of agents breezed into autopsy.
The old Doctor looked up from the body, where he was observing Jimmy, who was busy utilizing the finer points that Ducky had taught him, of a flawlessly good stitch-up of the Y-incision.
"The best we can tell you is that she did not die from complications arising from bulimia. She most likely did not die from complications arising from anorexia, either. Nor did she die from excessive abuse from another person, or an intestinal parasitic infestation. She died from massive organ failure, brought on by severe and chronic malnutrition. Her heart simply gave out, Jethro."
"What we can't figure out is why she was even malnourished in the first place," Jimmy said, looking up from his task. "I mean, there are no signs of anything obvious, or unusual."
"Is it possible it was something she ate?" Tony was only half joking. "I mean, could she have been poisoned or something? Whatever it is that killed her, it isn't obvious."
"Oh…" Jimmy said, glancing at Ducky, a look of sudden comprehension in his eyes. "Tony, you're brilliant. Tim, remember that book you loaned to me last month?"
McGee gave Jimmy an odd look, then nodded as his green eyes lit up in recollection. "Yeah. I think I see where you're going with this." Gibbs, Ziva, Tony, and Ducky looked on, utterly confused.
"Well, enough with the cryptic geek-speak, guys," Tony finally said. "What are you thinking?"
"If I know Jimmy, he's thinking something crazy," McGee said, crossing his arms and giving his colleagues a satisfied grin.
"Dr. Mallard, we need to send blood samples and stomach content samples over to Abby for testing, as soon as possible," Jimmy said. Ducky cocked his head, smiling slightly, then the two morgue personnel got to work gathering the samples they needed.
"Well, are you gonna fill us in, or what?" Gibbs said, losing patience. "McGee, if Palmer isn't gonna spill it, you'd better talk fast."
"I think what Jimmy's thinking Boss, is that maybe Lt. Stanford was poisoned, like Tony suggested."
"Poisoned?" Gibbs seemed incredulous, but interested in the theory nonetheless. "With what?"
McGee sighed, thinking a moment, trying to figure out how to explain it in layman's terms. "Well Boss, there are certain toxins that block nutrient absorption… the seeds of the wild sweet pea, for example. It could explain why she had a kitchen full of food, I mean, maybe, she was trying to gain weight back, but no matter how much she ate, her body couldn't absorb the nutrients. She was starving to death with a house full of food. Maybe. It's just a theory right now."
"A good one, better than we've had sofar," Tony noted, nodding appreciatively. "Maybe that's why she had all those nutritional supplement drinks in the fridge. She was too weak to cook, but she knew she needed something beneficial. Boss, we need to go back to her house," he said.
Gibbs nodded, at Tony, waving his team out of the morgue. "I want every drop of beverage, every crumb of food, every pill, every damn stick of gum, brought back here and gone over with every test Abby and Ducky and Jimmy can think of."
"Hey, Abs," McGee greeted Abby, as he stepped into her lair. "Got anything yet?"
Abby gave him a playful glare. "Got anything yet, please?" he modified, with a sheepish expression. "Better," she teased. "But not quite there yet."
"Got anything yet, please, my beautiful Gothic Princess?"
"Bingo," she grinned at him, then waggled a finger to summon him over. "I found traces of a toxin in her system. You and Jimmy were right, she was being poisoned, and the toxin was blocking her body from absorbing nutrients. Now, I've narrowed it down to a particular plant. It grows in Alaska, it's the Hedysarum mackenzii."
McGee nodded. "Wild Sweet Pea."
"How did you guys know, anyway?" Abby asked, reaching for her Caf-Pow. McGee shrugged and grinned.
"A book we both read, once. But we never would have thought of that if Tony hadn't brought up the possibility that she was poisoned. Okay, so does this plant only grow in Alaska?"
Abby smiled at him as she wheeled her chair over to one of the computers. "It's native to Alaska. I suppose maybe it can be grown elsewhere… it is a sweet pea, after all. A garden plant I suppose, as well?"
McGee nodded. "Thanks, Sweet Pea," he smiled, leaning over to give her a quick peck on the cheek. "I'll pass this on to the others. Now that we've confirmed what it is, we know what to look for."
Abby's grinning gaze followed him out as he left the lab. Then, her smile quickly faded, as she said, "Hey McGee, aren't you gonna help me test all this stuff from her house?"
McGee gave her a mischievous grin as the doors closed. "Maybe later, Abs. I've gotta work this from the squad room first."
Abby frowned and sagged slightly as she surveyed the tables full of pantry items, canned beverages, and over-the–counter pharmaceuticals. "Men. Get what they want and they're outta here," she muttered to herself.
"Abby's working on the stuff from Stanford's house," McGee said, as he strolled purposefully into the squad room, heading straight for his desk. "In the meantime, we need to check nurseries in the D.C. area that might have a certain wild sweet pea."
Tony looked over at him curiously. "Wild sweet pea?"
McGee nodded. "The toxin that Abby found in her system comes from a plant native to Alaska. But it's possible that it may have been brought south for use in gardens and landscaping. So we need to check the nurseries."
Gibbs walked in, coffee in hand. "What've you got, boys?"
"Abby confirmed the presence of a toxin in Heidi Stanford's system. Her stomach contents, to be precise. Tony was right on the money with that," McGee said, standing up and walking over to Gibbs' desk. Gibbs glanced approvingly at Tony as his Senior Agent grinned charmingly.
"Abby's got a pile of stuff to go through yet," McGee said, as he sat down at his desk. "So now we know Lt. Stanford was poisoned, and we know what she was poisoned with."
"All we're missing is means, motive, and a suspect," Tony said, thoughtfully, as he picked up his phone. "I'm calling the local nurseries," he said, as he started calling the numbers displayed on his computer screen, courtesy of a search engine.
Gibbs sat down at his desk, looking somewhere on the wrong side of grouchy – which, for Gibbs, wasn't an unusual state, by any stretch of the imagination. McGee glanced over at him, seeming to weigh the importance of what he had to say. Finally, he spoke.
"Boss, maybe we should go back to the Lieutenant's house. Take a look at the neighbouring yards, talk to them, see if they saw anyone unusual. That toxin had to get into her food supply somehow."
McGee swallowed slightly, not sure what to expect from their Boss. He was somewhat relieved when Gibbs nodded, saying, "Good thinking, McGee. Talk to that Mrs…" he paused, glancing at his file, "Mrs. Younger. She seems like a typical nosy old lady."
McGee nodded. "Boss, I've kind've had a feeling about her… like she knows more than she's telling us. I can't explain it, really." He glanced at Tony, who was busy writing things down as he talked on the phone.
Gibbs grinned briefly. "I can explain it, McGee. That's your gut talking. Grab Tony and Ziva and head over there."
McGee nodded, as Tony hung up his phone. "None of the local greenhouses carry that particular plant, they say it doesn't do well here, the climate's too warm for it. But they did say that it's possible that someone could have acquired the seeds and tried to cultivate them on their own."
"McGee, would you recognize that plant if you saw it?" Gibbs asked. McGee paused a moment, as Tony said, "I would, Boss. I think. I used a search engine to get the list of greenhouses. I also did a search on wild sweet peas."
McGee nodded at Tony, "Image search too?" Tony nodded affirmatively, holding up a printed copy of the picture he'd found. McGee nodded, satisfied. "I would, too, Boss. So would Palmer, for that matter," he added, choosing not to elaborate unnecessarily.
"Well, what're ya waiting for, an engraved invitation? Go, find Ziva and get yourselves back to Stanford's neighbourhood." Gibbs tried to hide a grin behind a crotchety glare as he nodded his agents out of the squad room.
"On it, Boss," McGee and Tony said in unison, as Ziva breezed back in.
Tony reached out, grasping her arm, and spun her around in a strange hurried dance. "You're with us, Zivsters," he said, as she glanced at him, confused. She looked up at McGee for explanation, but was only met with an angelic expression and an enigmatic smile.