Chapter Nine: Piecing Together the Puzzle

Tony and Ziva walked into the JAG bullpen shortly after eight in the morning California time. They met with Commander Betz and agreed to meet with the Admiral together first, then split into two rooms and interview the rest of the staff. Ensign Glousten led them to the Admiral's door and let them in.

Tony shook hands with the man first then Ziva followed suit. They then both took a seat in front of his desk. The Admiral leaned against his high backed chair and folded his hands in his lap.

"I'm Admiral Dillon P. Morse. I head up the JAG office in this sector. How can I help NCIS today?"

"You were informed of Lt. Commander Conrad?" Tony asked leaning forward in the chair. They watched as the sadness clouded the Admiral's expression as he nodded once.

"We are trying to find out if someone she knew here would have motive to kill her," Ziva continued. The Admiral looked at her.

"Johanna was a smart lady. She was friendly, didn't have any enemies in the office. She lived her life around her daughter. It was mainly the fact that Nicole was the only piece of Eddie she had left," Admiral Morse replied.

"Eddie?" Tony asked.

"Yes her husband. He was a marine. Died in Somalia in 1993, eight months before Nicole was born."

"You knew Commander Conrad well?" Ziva asked sitting up a little straighter in the chair. "So far we've gotten the idea she didn't share her private life."

"Not with many people. But I've known Johanna for a long time," he continued. His face fell more when he realized that he should have said had. He looked back up at Tony.

"How much did she share with you?" Tony asked.

"We talked regularly," Morse replied.

"About what?" Ziva prompted. Admiral Morse looked at her a moment, deciding what he should share. "She's gone, Admiral, I don't think life secrets matter any longer."

"It's not that," he said softly. "I'm just trying to see what I missed. We talked almost nightly right here in this office. About everything, how she was handling her cases, her life at home, how Nicole was getting older."

"Her dating life?" Tony asked.

"She didn't see many men if that's what you're asking. She would go on the occasional date, but I think she ultimately always compared them to Eddie. After all these years he is on such a high pedestal, that no one comes close."

"Do you know who she was seeing a couple months ago?" Ziva asked. She saw the flash in his eyes as he looked down. There was something there. Ziva thought she was going to have to push for it but then the Admiral continued.

"She was seeing a Captain. I can't remember his name, he is a marine stationed here. What was his name, oh I think it was Jacob. But I don't remember. I just know that she told him it wasn't working."

"Did she tell you why?" Ziva asked.

"He didn't stack up I guess," Admiral Morse said with a shrug.

"Seems like she was still pretty hung up on her dead husband," Tony said sitting deeper into the chair. The Admiral glanced at him with a long look before sitting back and put his arms along the rests of the chair.

"They were each other's life. They were truly in love. He was sent to a far away land and didn't return. It almost killed her career. She almost dumped the Navy. But I convinced her to stay, told her it would help in the healing."

"You knew her back then?" Ziva asked a little surprised.

"Yes. I was a Lt. Commander then. She was a lieutenant," he said with a nod.

"How did you first meet?" Tony asked.

"We were posted together when she was a junior officer. She was fresh from law school and got put second chair to me. We sparked a friendship and it went from there. I then met Eddie and became friends with him as well."

"Any idea who would want to hurt her?" Tony asked cocking his head to the side.

"No, I'm still trying to figure out how I missed it. When she asked for a transfer she went through Marie. That shocked me. But I knew that it was simply she didn't want to have to explain her reasoning to me. She knew Marie would follow through for her and gain her the transfer. I would refuse until she spilled the entire story. I guess I should have fought harder," he said looking down at his hands as he finished. Ziva thought she saw tears coming to his eyes. When he looked up again they were gone.

"That's all we have for you right now, Admiral, thank you for your time," Tony said standing. Ziva followed suit and the Admiral rose to his feet as well.

"I just hope you catch who did this. What happens to Nicole now?"

"You're the second person to ask that," Ziva said.

"She is a special girl. Many of us spent a lot of time with her. But for me it goes back to when she was born," Admiral Morse stated. Ziva simply nodded.

"She's in the custody of NCIS for now. When the case is closed she'll go to child services in the DC area," Tony said, repeating with McGee had said yesterday.

"I hope she is in good hands," he said as he opened the door for them.

"Couldn't be in better ones," Tony said with a smile and stepped through as Ziva followed. The met up with Commander Betz and were led to two interview rooms. Tony took one while Ziva set up in the other. Betz sent the first two into the rooms.

Tony interviewed Lt. Patricia Boone while Ziva questioned Lt. Andrew Gorle. Neither one had much to add to what had already been discussed. The interviews were over in short time and Lt. Paul Tanner was sent to Tony's room while Ziva got Lt. j. g. Joseph Crawford.

Ziva was bored with Lt. j. g. Crawford. He hardly knew Commander Conrad except in the professional sense that they both worked in the same office. He usually didn't work with her though, generally being assigned second chair to Lt. Commander Blake.

Tony was sitting across from Lt. Paul Tanner. The man wore a sorrowful look on his features as he fidgeted with the buttons on his uniform. Tony sat back in the chair and eyeballed the man waiting for him to look up. When he finally did, Tony narrowed his eyes at the man.

"Are we going to start soon?" Tanner asked. Tony tipped his head back and waited a moment.

"Sure," he said flatly. He then sat forward in his chair and leaned on his elbows against the table.

"You want to know about Commander Conrad right?"

"You guessed right," Tony said. "How well did you know her?"

"As well as the rest of them I guess. She was quiet, pretty, kept company with Commander Blake a lot."

"How so?" Tony asked.

"They just hung around together a lot. Breaks, lunch, after work, that sort of thing. Nothing like dating, just really good friends."

"And how about your relationship with her?"

"Relationship? We just worked together. She wasn't the type of person I generally hung around with. I'm a more outgoing up beat kinda guy."

"Did she have any issues with anyone? Maybe on a case, or someone here at the office? Maybe someone on base?"

"Not that I know of. I don't even think she knew many people outside the office here. Except her neighbors. But I could be wrong. Though I did overhear a conversation she had about a month ago," he said thoughtfully as the memory came to him.

"What kind of conversation?" Tony asked.

"The kind that when you overhear you duck your head and move along quickly," he said as he raised his eyebrows and smiled. "She was not happy with the person on the other end of the phone."

"Could she have been yelling at her daughter?" Tony continued.

"Oh no. This was not the kind of conversation you have with a child. No she was defiantly mad at an adult and she was letting them know it on the phone."

"Did she know you overheard?"

"No, I bee lined for the door soon as I heard her hissing."

"Hissing?" Tony asked sitting back in the chair and crossing his arms over his chest.

"You know when they're yelling at you in a whisper. Sounds like hissing."

"Right. And she didn't say a name or anything while she was on the phone?"

"I don't recall. I'm thinking no, I took off so," he said with a shrug. Tony nodded.

"Alright, thank you for your time, Lt. Tanner."

The man stood and left the room. Ziva came in through the door shortly after he had left. She slumped down into a chair and propped her feet up on the table. She took a deep breath and stared at Tony.

"Tough interviews?" Tony asked with a smile. Ziva closed her eyes and put up a fake smile then shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest.

"This people are supposed to be smart, they have degrees in law," Ziva said. Tony laughed. He looked up when a head popped into the doorway.

"Can I help you?" Tony asked.

"Commander Betz said you'd like to speak with me," the young man said stepping into the room.

"Thought we were done," Ziva said with a groan. The young man looked down sheepishly like he had done something wrong.

"Sorry," he said. Tony looked at Ziva and smiled. He then motioned for the man to sit.

"Have a seat, I'm Special Agent DiNozzo and that is Officer David."

"Ensign Juan Torres," the young man said as he sat down across from them.

The interview yielded nothing more than the others and soon Ensign Juan Torres was out of the room. Commander Betz came in shortly after Torres was gone and sat down across from Tony and Ziva. She crossed her arms on the table.

"That's everyone except Lt. Commander Michael Kurtz. He is Johanna's replacement though and didn't start until after she was gone."

"We don't need to interview him then," Ziva said with a wave of her hand. Betz nodded. She then stood and exited the room leaving Tony and Ziva alone.

"I think after today's interviews that we need to find the mystery man she was seeing," Tony said leaning back into the chair. Ziva looked at him.

"Seems to be a common thread. Maybe she dumped him and he got possessive?"

"I don't know. But Admiral Morse gave us the best lead on that. A marine possibly named Jacob," Tony said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Worth looking into," Ziva said. "We should see what McGee found out today."

"Sounds good to me, then we need to call Gibbs," Tony said with a deep breath.

"No you need to call Gibbs," Ziva said with a smile.

TBC…