Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply, NCIS is owned by other people, no copyright infringement is intended, no money is being made.

A/N: Many thanks go to my beta Rinne, for her patience; ZivaFan and ResearchGeek for their suggestions

Chapter Three

Petty Officer Turner and her husband, Lieutenant Wayne Turner, lived in a modest house on the base. The petty officer's sister was staying at the house with the couple's 4-year-old daughter until the lieutenant returned from Iraq. Melinda Rogers was still in shock over her sister's murder. She rambled around the kitchen, looking lost, trying to answer the questions the two agents had for her.

"Miss Rogers," McGee tried to get the young woman's attention, "did your sister say anything about where she was going yesterday evening?"

Melinda looked at McGee, her expression dazed, and shook her head. "Not much, just that she needed to get out for a while. She's been under a lot of stress, worrying about Wayne, she needed to let some steam off."

"Did she go to bars or clubs frequently?" asked Tony.

Again the young woman shook her head. "No, she's not really the clubbing type, that's more my scene. She really just wanted to go out and listen to some live music, maybe dance a little. She was just going for a few drinks with someone from her office."

"Do you know the name of this person?" McGee asked.

"No, just someone she worked with, you'd have to ask around her office." Melinda's eyes drifted over to the playroom. "When Wendy came home, she seemed so relaxed, like she had had a good time. She said I should stay overnight, but I wanted to get home, I had a running date with a friend the next morning. Maybe if I had stayed here, she'd still be alive." The young woman's eyes filled with tears.

"You don't know that," Tony said, kindly. "You could just as easily have been another victim." He looked toward the playroom. "Do you mind if I talk to your niece?"

Melinda shook her head. "Just don't frighten her, okay? I'm not sure she understands what's going on. I tried to tell her, but how do you tell a little girl that her mommy is never coming home again?"

"I don't know," replied Tony softly. He walked over to the playroom and stopped in the doorway, watching the child sitting at a table, having a tea party with her stuffed animals. Quietly, he entered the room.

Tony crouched down next to the small table, making sure he didn't tower over the little girl.

"Hello," he said softly, "what's your name?"

The little girl looked up shyly, examining his face carefully. Apparently satisfied that this large man was not frightening, she whispered, "Hannah."

Tony smiled. "That's a pretty name," he said. "My name's Tony." The agent looked at the items on the table and asked, "Are you having tea?"

Hannah nodded.

"May I join you?"

Regarding him solemnly, Hannah considered his request, finally nodding her approval. Tony carefully perched on one of the small chairs, his knees sticking up awkwardly. The little girl began pouring imaginary tea into the small china cups. She looked up at her guest and asked, "One lump, or two?"

Tony could barely make out the soft words, his heart breaking at the seriousness of the child. "One, please. Thank you," he said, as she dropped the imaginary sugar cube into his teacup. The young man picked the cup up carefully with his thumb and forefinger, holding his pinky out as any well-bred young person would do. Sipping delicately, he sighed softly. "This tea is wonderful, Hannah. Did you make it yourself?"

Hannah nodded, her red curls bouncing. She sipped some of her 'tea' and looked up at Tony. Her voice was stronger when she asked, "Would you like a cookie?"

"I would," Tony replied. "Thank you very much." Solemnly accepting the cookie she handed him, Tony took a bite. "Mmmm, this is delicious. Did you bake these?"

Hannah's eyes filled with tears as she shook her head. "Mommy made them."

Wincing inwardly at bringing up the memory, Tony said, "Your mommy was a good baker."

Hannah nodded. "I helped," she whispered.

"I bet you're a good helper." The little girl nodded.

She looked up at him and said in a small voice, "My mommy went to heaven."

Tony smiled sadly. "I know, sweetie. I'm very sorry she's not with you. I'm going to find out what happened."

"A bad man made her go to sleep." Hannah's voice was barely audible, Tony had to lean close to hear the words.

"Did you see the bad man?" he asked, his heart beating faster at the nod of her head. "What did he look like?"

"Like you."

A chill ran down Tony's spine. "You mean he was tall, like me?" Hannah nodded. "Did he have dark hair, like me?" Another nod. "Did he say anything? Did he have a loud voice?"

Hannah shook her head. Looking at Tony, she said, "He had mean eyes. Not like you. He was mean looking."

Concerned, Tony asked, "Did he see you?"

Hannah shook her head. "But I could see him. He had lots of teeth, and he laughed."

Feeling the anger rise at the thought of the killer laughing as he murdered the child's mother, Tony paused to collect himself. "What was he wearing, Hannah?" he asked.

The little girl shrugged and started to play with her hair, twirling it. "He had a snake," she offered, softly.

"A snake?"

"Here." Hannah reached out and touched Tony's forearm.

"He had a picture of a snake on his arm?" The little girl nodded.

"Did you see him take your mommy away?"

The little girl nodded. "He carried her to his car."

"What color was his car, Hannah?"

"He had a black Grand Cherokee."

Tony looked surprised. "You know about cars?"

Hannah nodded. "My daddy likes cars. He took me to a car show when he was home and we picked the car we wanted."

"And it was a Grand Cherokee?"

The little girl nodded again. "We were going to go high up in the mountains and sleep outside and watch the stars. Mommy liked to go camping too." Her eyes filled with tears. "Mommy won't go camping with us anymore." She looked up at Tony, her bottom lip quivering. "Do you think she's up in the stars now?"

"I'm sure she is." He stroked the silky red hair. "Thank you, Hannah. Thank you for the tea and the cookie and for talking to me."

Hannah smiled shyly and handed him another cookie. Accepting it with a smile, Tony said, "One for the road, thank you very much." Hannah giggled as Tony struggled to stand up from the awkward position.

Tony put on a hurt expression. "You think that's funny?" The little girl nodded. He laughed. "You're right, it was," he said, giving her a wink. "Enjoy your tea party, Hannah."

McGee was standing in the doorway. "Did you hear that, Probie?"

"Yeah, I did." The two walked back into the kitchen where Hannah's aunt was preparing lunch for her niece. "Thank you, Miss Rogers," Tony said. "We'll be in touch." The young woman barely acknowledged them,

The two agents drove in silence for a while, each one deep in thought. Finally, McGee broke the silence.

"I thought you weren't good with children," said McGee.

"Kids love me," Tony said indignantly.

McGee chuckled. "Maybe it's because you're a big kid yourself."

"Maybe," agreed Tony amiably. "Maybe that's why you're so good with the nerds and geeks."

"Yeah, right, Tony." McGee paused, then continued, "She was cute. I mean the little girl. She looked like her mother."

"Mmm hm," agreed Tony, "she's a sweet little kid."

"She seemed to like you, Tony, or at least trust you."

Tony nodded. "You know me and the ladies," he said lightly.

" She shared her cookies. That's more than I can say for you, though," continued McGee. "You had two cookies."

"Just looking out for your waistline, Probie."

McGee huffed indignantly. The car was quiet again and McGee began to get uncomfortable with Tony's uncharacteristic silence. He tried to get the older agent talking.

"So, have you been to many tea parties, Tony?"

Tony snorted softly, the corner of his mouth quirked upward slightly. "Not exactly. We had a housekeeper once, a very proper British lady. Every day at 4:00, everything stopped and she sat down for a cup of tea and some pastries and little sandwiches. I was usually pestering her or the rest of the staff about something, so she'd make me join her and learn how to behave like a 'young gentleman'."

"She must not have been very successful," replied McGee.

"Funny, McGee, did you learn your social skills at Star Trek conventions?"

"Star Wars, actually," McGee shot back.

"Seriously, Tony," he continued, "you were really good with Hannah. I was kind of surprised."

Tony glanced over at him. "Why surprised?"

McGee shrugged. "I don't know, you didn't hit it off too well with Zach at first. Okay, the two of you got along better later, but you just don't strike me as the kid-loving type."

"I love kids," Tony said softly. "They're honest and they accept you for what you are. You don't have to put on an act to impress them. Usually they'll see right through that anyway."

The rest of the ride was taken in silence.

To be continued…