A/N: Well, here's my next chapter, have fun, and don't forget to review pleeeease. :P

PS to Liz: Aww, it's okay! Lol, you had us completely confused after that one, but now we get it :P lol. We forgive you! Mwah:P

Kate's camera flashed over the dead corpse of a beautiful young woman. Crimson blood matted down the straight blonde hair, staining it a deep red. Kate's stomach lurched at the sight. She had seen this before, but every time someone's life was taken away like this, without choice, it made her sick. It was the fact that people had enough hate in them to do this to each other. She leaned forward and took a photograph of the bloodstains on the woman's pink tank top. Kate stepped back, from the body, to get a full out picture of the crime.

"From the temperature of the liver, I'd say time of death was about 1700 hours last night." Ducky stated, sitting up from the thermometer. He passed it to his assistant, Jimmy Palmer, who carefully wiped it down, before setting it back in the box, ready to sterilize it when they returned to the morgue.

Kate nodded, as she snapped another picture of the defensive wounds on the woman's hands. A broken nail lay next to her hand, her perfectly manicured hand. It was obvious to Kate that she had been looked after well. She brought her own hand up, and frowned at her own chewed fingernails.

"Name is – Wow." Tony DiNozzo said, walking into the house through the front door, and stopping at the woman's feet.

Kate looked up from analyzing her nails, to see Tony quickly dart his eyes over to the body of the woman. He raised his eyebrow and grinned in true DiNozzo appreciation fashion. "It's always a shame when the world looses someone so gorgeous." He sighed.

Kate scoffed at him, with a look of disgust. "Tony, you're hitting on a dead woman."

Tony frowned playfully. "I'm appreciating her beauty Kate."

Kate rolled her eyes, and turned back to her camera. "What's her name DiNozzo?"

Tony let out a silent sigh of relief, as Kate turned her attention back to the crime scene. Thankfully, she hadn't noticed that he was saying wow about her. It was just something about the way the sunlight came in through the front window and gently kissed her dark brown hair. It was surprising to see a hint of self-doubt in her expression as she studied her nails, but maybe that was one of the depths of her personality.

Tony looked down on his notepad and flipped a page back over. "Her name is Marissa Howard. She's the wife of Lt. James Howard, who's currently on a business trip in Texas. He's cutting it short to meet with us tomorrow."

Gibbs entered the room in true Gibbs fashion, barking out a polite, "TOB Duck?" as he walked past Tony, to stand beside Ducky at the head of Marissa.

Ducky looked up from unpacking the body bag out of his kit. "1700 hours last night Jethro."

"COD?"

"Well, as you know, I won't be positive until the autopsy, but I right now I would say that it had something to do with these four stab wounds." Ducky pointed a rubber-gloved finger at the four deep wounds into her chest. His strong hand moved up to her head, circling the single wound on her head. "And this blow to the head didn't help much either."

"Who found her?" Kate asked, hanging her camera around her neck.

"Ah, that'd be the neighbour, Mrs. Little. Apparently she always takes over her extra freshly baked bread early on Saturday mornings, because Marissa goes out late Saturday morning." Tony filled in.

"Uh, boss?" McGee stepped out from the doorway to the kitchen, which was behind Kate, and made her jump slightly. Tony snickered playfully at her, and she shot him a deadly glare.

McGee looked at both of them, confused at what was going on, before Gibbs caught his attention. "McGee!"

"Yes boss?" McGee said, making a startled jump of his own.

Gibbs softened his tone slightly. "What did you want to tell me?"

McGee shivered under the icy blue stare Gibbs was giving him, and he stumbled to hold up a small black book. "I-I-I found her day planner, boss."

Kate let out a smile. "Ah, her little black book." She smirked, as she took it from McGee, and flipped through to the day before. "And she started her day at the Duis'"

"Duis'?" Tony echoed with confusion.

Kate looked up at him; surprised he didn't know where that place was or what it was. "Wow Tony, I would have thought that this would be one of your hot places to meet gorgeous women."

Tony gave her a playful glare, as Gibbs barked at Kate, "What the hell is this place?"

Kate fumbled to explain. "Oh, it's a low key spa type thing. They only do facials, manicures, pedicures, hair, and make-up."

"That's low key?" McGee asked, as they all stepped back to let Jimmy and Ducky carry out the body.

Gibbs followed the body out of the house, while Tony took a step forward. McGee rolled his eyes as he noticed that Tony had on his 'Probie-doesn't-know-anything-about-women' look. Tony gave him a smile, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Probie, Probie, Probie… you don't even want to know what a 'high key' spa is."

Kate rolled her eyes again, as she packed up her kit, after placing Marissa's day planner in a bag and tagging it.

Gibbs wanted to kill him. He could just imagine it now, his rough Marine hands wrapped around this man's throat. He knew he would never do it, this man hadn't done anything other than annoy the hell out of him. But that didn't mean he had to stand here and listen to him talk and talk about things that Gibbs cared absolutely nothing about. And that's why he turned around and walked away, deciding to get away from this man, and his annoying… self.

Freddie Duis scoffed at Gibbs after he had gone out of earshot. He turned to Kate with a disgusted look on his face. "Is he always this rude?"

Kate wanted to laugh. He was the complete stereotypical male hair salon owner, and he certainly was proud of it. He looked back at her with his deep brown eyes wide; he was waiting for her answer. She turned her open mouth into a nice smile, before nodding, "Oh, he's just like that. So, can you tell me anything about Marissa Howard?" she repeated her question.

Freddie's mouth curved into a wide smile. "Of course I can! Marissa is one of my best clients – she's here every Saturday at 10 o'clock."

"So you two are close?" Kate's hazel eyes looked over and spotted Tony talking to a 'witness' who just happened to be a brunette with long legs and big boobs. She shook her head at him, and turned her attention back to Freddie, wondering why she was the one who had gotten stuck interviewing him.

"Not really – I only do her highlights. But my wife – Justine!" he called through the salon.

Kate felt Tony beside her before she saw him. She liked that feeling – it was warm and sparkly…if that was possible. She pushed her thoughts of her head, as a woman with almost black hair approached them. Her eyes were icy blue, almost bluer than Gibbs. Kate could tell that they were obviously contacts, but Tony couldn't take his eyes off her. She wore next to nothing – a pink bikini top and a short skirt with heels. A white coat covered her up mostly, but Kate still couldn't help but let the word 'whore' come across her mind. She scolded herself, saying that she didn't even know this woman. But for some reason, the way that Tony was looking at her made this feeling come bubbling up inside her.

Freddie looked at the woman lovingly, as the woman returned the look. "This is my wife, Justine. Justine, they're from NCIS – they're investigating Marissa Howard's death."

Justine's perfectly pouty mouth dropped in shock. "Marissa? O my gosh, Marissa was such a lovely girl!"

"Yes…" Freddie gently rubbed his wife's back.

"Um, Mrs. Duis we need ask you a few questions concerning Marissa, if we could have a word?"

Justine nodded her head. "Of course, anything to help you."

Before Kate could say anything, she felt Tony walk past her, to lead Justine over to the empty office. She could feel that feeling bubbling over again, and she pushed it back down. This is Tony she reminded herself. He's a co-worker and nothing more.