Jethro's team was always pretty good about redirects and it really didn't take much to get them back on task when they'd veered. A fact that Jethro definitely appreciated at times like this. "McGee, phone call to the hotel."
"Traced the number," McGee quickly informed him. "Call came from a courtesy phone in an outlet mall in Fillmore, Maryland."
"That's two hours from here," DiNozzo commented. "If our mystery woman was at the hotel, how did she get out there?"
"Find her," he said. "Find out."
"Pulling mall security footage now," McGee said.
While McGee was doing that, Jethro quickly briefed the director on the case and made his way down to autopsy to see if Ducky had anything new for him. His friend hadn't called him yet but he figured the medical examiner would, at least, have a few more preliminary findings for him.
He walked into autopsy in time to hear Mr. Slater being rather rude to Ducky. "Maybe. But, uh, as much as you talk, this poor guy can hardly get a word in edgewise, huh?"
Mr. Slater laughed at his own bad joke again, Palmer looking as though he was stuck in between a rock and a hard place as he laughed awkwardly.
"I think it best if you two wait outside," Ducky stated simply, clearly unimpressed with the mocking tone and comments from Mr. Slater.
"Yeah," Jethro jumped in curtly, "I'll second that." He didn't overly mind being heckled himself but he was less than impressed with Ducky being mocked by the jerk. Plus, if he played it up, it would give Palmer the out he was so clearly looking for. He was also unimpressed but didn't want to fight with Mr. Slater. He got it. The young man's father had been abusive and he desperately wanted to win Mr. Slater over as a result.
"Look..." Mr. Slater said, trying to defend himself.
"Motion carried," Palmer retorted, putting an arm around Mr. Slater. "A lot of things to see." The young man guided Mr. Slater towards the door. "This is fun, huh?"
Once Palmer and his monster-in-law were gone, Jethro turned to his long-time friend to get down to work. "Doc, what d'ya got?"
"Confirmation of cause of death," Ducky informed him, "and this. When I took off the captain's clothes, I found it stuffed deep in a pants pocket."
"Dried blood," he said as he looked at the evidence bag with what looked to be a piece of cloth or something inside it. "His?"
"Well," the medical examiner commented, "that's up to Abby. But apart from the bullet wounds, which are fresh, there's no other exterior signs of trauma anywhere."
"Blood could be from our missing woman," he suggested.
"Well," Ducky replied, "if it were, it would suggest that in addition to being on the run, she could also be wounded."
Jethro's phone started to ring. "Abs?"
"Can you come to the lab?" she requested.
"Yeah," he agreed readily, "I'm on my way."
Jethro walked into Abby's lab a few minutes later, not at all surprised to hear that the goth had techno-Christmas music blaring from her speakers. It was pretty catchy and was completely like Abby. What did surprise him was that he couldn't see the forensic scientist anywhere in the lab. "Abs? Abby?"
He heard whispering coming from behind a cabinet. "Back here."
The usually bubbly goth glanced around the lab and then stepped out from behind the cabinet she had taken cover behind. "Oh, thank goodness it's just you. Jimmy and his grinch-in-law have been stalking the halls spreading ill-will and yuletide yuck-ness."
Well, she wasn't wrong. The man didn't seem to care who he offended and seemingly held a low opinion of any and all government workers.
Abby switched to ASL, the CODA often doing that with him when she wanted to have a private conversation. "Hey, did he try to pick a fight with you in the squad room?"
"No," he signed back. "He was just being..."
The goth gave him a pointed look. "Unseasonably, unreasonably rude."
"He's being a father-in-law-to-be," Jethro countered. As a father himself, he was a bit sympathetic to Mr. Slater's situation, but the man was seriously crossing a line. Abby wasn't wrong. And it wasn't fair to anyone, especially Palmer.
She eyed him and switched back to English. "If he knows what's good for him, he's not gonna come a-wassailing within at least twenty feet of my leaves of green."
The goth closed the door to her lab.
He switched back to English as well, following Abby over towards her computer so they could discuss the case. "What have we got?"
"Mall security footage," she replied. "Courtesy of McGee and the kind people at the Carroll County Outlet Shoppes, the jewel of Carroll County." She gave him an amused look. "I don't think there's a lot to do in Carroll County."
"Did you find our female caller?" he asked.
Abby gave him a boisterous grin. "Granting you your first Christmas wish, Gibbs." The goth then turned back to her computer and pulled up some video surveillance footage that she wanted him to see. It was of a blonde woman with her hair up in a ponytail. If Jethro had to guess, the girl seemed military. "That is her, calling the hotel. Now, if the blood on the rag that Ducky found is hers, she doesn't appear wounded."
Well, that's something, at least. "Get an ID?"
"No," Abby admitted, "But I think I know where she is." She swiftly directed him back to the video footage. "Watch when she turns towards the camera. 'If you are who you say, you will figure it out.'"
Jethro noted that the blonde looked directly at the camera and held up a shopping bag with a logo and it when she said it. "Bag?"
"Yeah," the goth agreed. "It's from a women's clothing store. She knew that we would watch the security footage. She wants you to come find her, Gibbs."
"Nice work," he praised, giving Abby a peck on the cheek. He turned and walked with purpose over to the door. "Tell DiNozzo to have local P.D. meet us there." He needed one of the local LEOs to make sure the woman didn't leave while they drove down.
Jethro, DiNozzo, and Ziva all swiftly geared up, grabbed some hoagies for lunch, and made the two-hour drive out to the outlet mall, the expected snowstorm starting. The NCIS agents met a young LEO from the Carroll County Sheriff's Office at the clothing store. The officer instantly came across as way too young and green to be left alone working without a partner or some sort of oversight.
"Welcome to Carroll County," the very green officer greeted them. "You must be NCIS. Snow is really coming down out there, huh?"
DiNozzo voiced what they were all thinking. "So they, uh, sent a mall cop, huh?"
The young man shook his head. "No, Sir. I'm a county deputy. Officer Billy McCormick. I was the only one on duty when you called."
A deputy with no experience. Perfect. "You got an update, Deputy?"
"Yes, Sir!" the officer responded confidently. "I canvassed the store but I haven't found anyone in distress. Whoever you're looking for must have left already."
"How hard did you look?" DiNozzo asked.
The young man shrugged. "I talked to every single solitary person."
"What about in the dressing rooms?" Ziva asked.
"Well, no." And just as expected, the green officer had made a huge mistake and had not properly canvased. "This is a women's clothing store, so..."
"Yeah. Yeah," DiNozzo said. "We are looking for a woman, though."
He sighed and eyed DiNozzo. "Get everybody out of here."
His Senior Field Agent nodded. "Will do, Boss." DiNozzo eyed the green deputy. "Good job, though. Good job."
DiNozzo evicted all the customers while Jethro and Ziva canvased the dressing rooms. It didn't take long before they managed to find the woman, who was heavily pregnant, brandishing a pipe.
Jethro flashed his badge. "NCIS."
"Yeah," the woman said. "I've seen fake credentials before. Hand over your weapons."
He shot the blonde a pointed look. "There's only one way to get a Marine's weapon."
"What do you know about it?" the woman pressed. "You a leatherneck?"
He smirked at the blonde. "Where d'ya think I got this haircut?"
The woman visibly relented and Ziva was trying not to laugh at his comment.
Stepping out of the dressing room she'd hidden in, the blonde eyed him. "If you aren't the ones that killed Jake, that means they're still out there."
"You think they're after you too?" he asked.
"I know they are," the blonde said. "Jake wasn't the target. I am."
Well, things had certainly just got interesting. Now they had a young pregnant woman in need of a protective detail. In the middle of a snowstorm to boot.
