CHAPTER 7

The team is in the sedan on their way to Norfolk with Gibbs driving as badly as usual. Tony decides to speak up. "Hey boss, why are we all going? Me and Kate could have handled this." Gibbs' response is to push down a bit harder on the accelerator. Tony looks over at Kate looking for back-up on this one.

Kate sighs. "Tony's right. We could have done this ourselves."

Tony and McGee whip their heads to look at Kate. "Who are you, and what have you done with Kate?" McGee asks.

Gibbs shakes his head. "I know you could have done this, but there's something wrong about it. This whole case is a bit…hinky." The whole team stares at Gibbs with their mouths open. They knew there were some changes in Gibbs when he married Abby, and even more when he found out he would be a father, but he never showed the changes at work. 'Gibbs never explains himself' everyone is thinking.

"What's going on today?" Tony asks. "First Kate, now you." Kate elbows Tony in the stomach. "Ow! Well, at least you're back to normal."

Gibbs stares at Tony and Tony asks, "So what's hinky about the case boss?"

"Ask Kate."

Tony looks at Kate and looks for answers.

"The murder itself is…hinky. Strangling generally is a crime of passion and committed by men. Women find other methods like poison or shooting, methods that don't require as much brute strength to do. There were also two different marks on the Petty Officer's throat, almost like the original attempt by the shorter person didn't work and the victim was either pushed to his knees or a taller person took over."

"You think there was an accomplice?" McGee asks.

"It's a possibility we shouldn't rule out." Gibbs says as he pushes on the gas again and the team grab on for dear life.

Abby arrives at NCIS and walks into the building. The security guard looks up at her and smiles as she comes in the door. "Abby, I thought you were staying at home and resting for the bun."

"Yeah, I was, but the latest case the team has is bugging me. I had to come here to work through some stuff in my head."

"Well, don't let me stop you, but if Gibbs asks, I didn't see you."

"Thanks Mark." Abby laughs and continues to the elevator. When the elevator doors open again she is looking at the doors to her lab. "Home, sweet home." She says and giggles to herself. The doors to the lab open and she hears relative silence. 'How can anyone work like that?' she thinks.

"Can I help you Miss? Oh! Omigod! Abby?" a very flustered Sean asks.

"In the flesh." Abby replies. "Now, show me to the evidence!"

"Um….oh…yeah. Right over here. But…you…knew….that."

Abby laughs. "Take a deep breathe, now let it out, and tell me what you have since we talked on the phone."

"Nothing yet. No hits in AFIS, still running through CODIS. Oh, and Gibbs and the team are on their way to Norfolk." Sean is breathing a bit better now and sounds all business.

"Well then. Let's get started!"

"Started?"

"On going over everything until something pops out at us." Abby flashes out her fingers as she says this.

A short while later, a computer beeps and Sean walks over to it. "We have a partial match in CODIS. 7 alleles in common."

"Ooooh! A sister." Abby says from her mass spectrometer. "Who's sister?'

"Lilah Harris, sister to Jeffrey White."

Abby becomes paler if that's possible. "Jeffrey White. Oh no! I have to call Gibbs."

"Who is he?" Sean asks.

"He tried to kill Tony over a year ago, but Tony shot him. He was a suspect in an investigation involving a stolen ancient Iraqi sculpture." Abby dials Gibbs' cell phone. "Gibbs, Gibbs! We found out who the woman is." Abby says quickly.

"Abby, slow down. Who is she, and why are you at the lab?" Gibbs asks.

"Because I am, and it's Jeffrey White's sister Lilah Harris."

"He had a sister? Look we're at the house of the last person to call Tom Lynch. I'll call you after we finish up here, and we are going to have a talk about you being…" Gibbs gets cut off by gunshots.

"Gibbs!" Abby yells into the phone as the connection on the other side is lost.