The sun was beating down relentlessly as Gibbs and Ziva pulled up in front of the Sheriff's office. Walking toward the ramshackle building, the two automatically checked their belts for their weapons. Gibbs held the door open for Ziva and the two entered the office.

"We're looking for Sheriff Nelson," Gibbs said to the young woman at the front desk, holding up his NCIS identification.

The clerk examined his ID. "The Sheriff's not in right now, Special Agent Gibbs," she said.

"When do you expect him in?"

"I don't know, sir; I'm sorry."

Gibbs' patience was wearing thin. "I've been trying to reach him since yesterday afternoon. Is there any way you can contact him by radio?"

"I can try, sir," she said, turning to the radio controls behind her desk. "Sheriff Nelson, this is dispatch, can you read me?"

There was silence, the clerk tried again. Finally they heard crackling and a tinny voice said, "This is Nelson, what is it Bonnie?"

"Sheriff, there's a Special Agent Gibbs here looking for you. Says he's been trying to call you since yesterday."

"Is that right? I'm about five minutes away, tell him to make himself at home, I'll be right there."

"Roger, Sheriff." She turned to Gibbs and Ziva. "Can I offer you some coffee?"

Gibbs smiled. "Coffee would be great, thank you."

"Nothing for me, thank you," Ziva said.

"Have a seat, please, I'll be right with you." The clerk indicated two wooden chairs and went back into the kitchen area.

True to his word Sheriff Nelson and Deputy Johnson arrived at the office a few minutes later.

"Come on into my office," Nelson said, after greeting Gibbs and Ziva. The four of them went into the small room. "What can I do for you, Agent Gibbs?" he asked.

"One of my agents has gone missing. He was in town to interview a Navy corporal who was home on leave. He never came back to the office. We checked with the hospitals between here and DC. Yours was the only local police department we haven't been able to talk to." Gibbs kept his tone neutral.

"You called last night?" Nelson asked. At Gibbs' nod, he continued, "I'm sorry, but we have a new night clerk. Jamie's not too smart; he's the Mayor's son, we had to hire him."

"That's very interesting," Gibbs interrupted, "but we've wasted almost half a day trying to reach your department."

The sheriff nodded understandingly. "I hear ya, and I'm sorry. Do you have a picture of your agent? Something my men can show around town?"

Gibbs pulled out Tony's picture and handed it to Nelson, who handed it to his deputy. "Luther, make copies of this. You and Joe go ask around, see if anybody's seen this guy."

"Sure thing, Sheriff." Johnson took the picture and left the office.

Nelson leaned back in his chair. "I can tell you right now, Agent Gibbs, there hasn't been an accident in this county recently. At least, none that have been reported to us. Could your boy just be off joyriding?"

"Special Agent DiNozzo does not joyride," Gibbs said, glaring at the other man. "He called in to tell me he was on his way back to headquarters, but he never showed up."

Nelson nodded. "Okay, then. Really, I don't know what to tell you. We'll ask around, see if anyone in town's seen him. Want us to pull together a search party for you?"

"If you don't mind, I'd like to ask around myself," Gibbs replied.

"Sure, no problem. People here are kinda close-mouthed with strangers, though," said Nelson. "I could come with you, get 'em to open up."

"No thank you," Gibbs replied, "we'll call you if we need help. Let us know if your men turn up anything." He handed Nelson his card. "You can reach me on my cell."

"Sure thing," Nelson said, rising from his seat as Gibbs and Ziva stood. "I'll be around."

"I don't trust him," Ziva said as she and Gibbs headed back to their car.

"Me neither," agreed Gibbs. He drove into the small town, pulling up in front of the only eating establishment in sight.

"Are we going to stop to eat?" Ziva asked in surprise.

"Knowing Tony, what do you think he did before he set off on a three-hour drive back to headquarters?" Gibbs asked.

"Stopped to get something to eat," Ziva said firmly, smiling at Gibbs as she followed him into the diner.

The diner had a few of what could be called the morning breakfast crowd left. Gibbs and Ziva chose an empty booth and sat down. After a few minutes one of the two waitresses came up to them.

"What can I get you?" asked Sarah. She was an older woman, in her mid-fifties, her salt-and-pepper hair pulled back and tucked into a hairnet.

"Coffee, please," Gibbs said politely, flashing the woman a friendly smile.

"No food?" Sarah looked annoyed.

"Sure, how about a couple of eggs, over easy, hash browns, and sausage," Gibbs said.

"I'll have the same," Ziva said, "but no sausage, please."

Sarah nodded and shuffled off.

"I thought we weren't going to eat," Ziva said under her breath.

"We can't just start off asking questions, Officer David," replied Gibbs, softly. "People will shut down if you push them too much, too fast."

Sarah came back with their coffee. "Food'll be up in a minute," she said shortly.

"Thank you." Gibbs smiled at her again. Ziva watched in amusement as the older woman seemed to soften a bit.

"I see Tony's not the only one who charms the ladies," she said softly, after the waitress had left.

Gibbs chuckled. "I have my moments," he said.

"Mmmmm, how many wives?" Ziva asked playfully.

"Never mind."

Sarah returned with the food. "Here ya go. Can I get you anything else?" She was making eye contact now, and smiled.

"No, thank you Sarah," Gibbs said, "this looks delicious." Sarah smiled broadly and returned to the kitchen.

"Now what?" asked Ziva.

"Now we eat," Gibbs replied, "and watch. Have you noticed anything since we came in?"

"We got a few stares," Ziva said, taking a bite of hash browns and looking around casually, "but that's probably because we're strangers."

Gibbs nodded, digging into his food. "Anything else?"

"That other waitress is watching us. She doesn't look very friendly."

Gibbs took a sip of his coffee. "Mmm hmmm," he said, "does she look like someone Tony would chat up?"

"Young, pretty, amply endowed... yes, I can see Tony flirting with her," Ziva said.

Gibbs and Ziva ate in silence for a while, keenly aware of everything going on around them. Sarah came up with a pot of coffee. "Care for more coffee?" she asked.

"Yes, please," Gibbs said. "Thank you, Sarah," he said as she filled his cup. Reaching into his folder, he pulled out Tony's picture. "Sarah, have you seen this man?"

Sarah looked at the picture, her eyes narrowing for a moment. "No, I don't think so," she said thoughtfully.

"He would have been in here yesterday," prompted Gibbs.

Sarah shook her head. "I wasn't working yesterday. I was home with a sick kid, Sally worked the whole day on her own." She waved Sally over to their table.

"Sally, you see this guy yesterday?" she asked the younger woman.

Sally pursed her lips and examined the photo closely. "Let me think. Oh, yeah, he was here. Ordered the burger and fries. Left a good tip." She smiled at Gibbs.

"Do you remember what time he left?" asked Gibbs.

"'bout 12, 12:30."

"Did he leave alone?" Ziva spoke up.

Sally looked at Ziva appraisingly. "Yeah, he did," she said coldly.

"Did he say anything about where he was going?"

"He wasn't much of a talker," Sally said, "I got the impression he was in a hurry."

"Sally, Sarah, we got other customers," Clem yelled from the kitchen.

"Thanks for your help," Gibbs said, pulling out his wallet and paying the bill. He nodded at Clem as he and Ziva left the diner.

"She was lying," Ziva said.

"What tipped you off," Gibbs said, snorting sarcastically, "the line about DiNozzo not being much of a talker?" He stood by the car, looking around. "Let's take a walk."