Everything In Time
Chapter 18
Friday, January 26, 2007
National Naval Medical Center, Doctor's Lounge
Bethesda, MD
As Emma drove away, she called, "Claire, I just spotted Bonifilo parked outside the hospital at Bethesda in a black Crown Vic'." She gave the Virginia license Plate number. "Get ready to follow her"
Claire Keats was sitting in her own unmarked car parked in the medical center's parking lot in a spot that enabled her to look through the parking entrance. She looked through her set of binoculars and replied, "Okay I have eyes on her. I'll follow her if she leaves or walks into the center. She's never met me before; but I'll still keep my distance."
Claire picked up her portable radio to call, "Mike, are you ready to follow our current favorite cop?"
Michaela Quinn, parked in her own unmarked car parked outside the medical center responded, "Yeah, I got my eyes on her to. I'm ready to follow."
"Got you, I'll coordinate with Emma."
The three agents set up to put their surveillance plan into action.
Bonifilo may have been a detective, but she was not street smart. Early in her "police career" as a rookie beat cop, she was partnered with a "police lifer" who only taught her how to "coop-out" on the job. She and he would always find a place to park their patrol car away from residential areas in their patrol sector or on the side of a highway behind a billboard. He would pull out a paperback book and start reading while Pia monitored the radio or slept in the backseat. In the summers, when she was assigned as a beach patrol officer in shorts and a tight shirt, she did more flirting with the buffed male beach goers than actually doing her job. When she became a detective based on her sleeping with her watch commander, she spent her time in the office working the computer. It looked like she was doing police work, but in reality, she was surfing the internet looking for information regarding Vivian, Jennifer and the other legal weenies who let Vince die in prison. She was never involved in any stationary or mobile stakeout. As a result, she wasn't aware that experienced operatives were surveilling her in their own mobile stakeout.
Bonifilo waited in her car watching the Employees' Parking Lot entrance for Jennifer. In her quest for revenge, she knew that because she knew Jennifer back in her "grifting" days, Pia couldn't get to her like she got to Vivian. As she went after Vivian, she got close and developed her as a "trusted" colleague", ingratiating herself with her, drawing her in before she took her out. With Jennifer she had to try another approach. She needed to follow Jennifer Rabb as she left the medical center to learn her route to her home in McLean. From that, she could learn the best way to take her.
Bonifilo had a special torture in mind for Jennifer; much different from what she did to the skanky NCIS agent. She would tie her wrists behind her and hang her in a strappado or reverse hanging position by a rope attached to her wrists. She delightedly thought of the weights she would hang from her victim's nipples and genitals to intensify the effect and increase the pain. Whipping, caning, electric shocking and phallic raping would be done as well.
'Oh yes, Coates would feel a lot of pain.' Bonifilo thought to herself.
Now it was late in the day. She watched the Staff Entrance through the parking lot and saw Jennifer leave and get into a crimson Jeep Grand Cherokee.
"That'll be easy to follow."
Jennifer pulled out of the parking lot onto the avenue and set off for McLean. Emma, Claire and Mike followed alternating keeping her in sight so that Bonifilo would not detect a tail. It was made easier that Jennifer followed a set route home. Jen stopped once in McLean at her favorite local market to pick up some groceries. When Jen she got home, she met her baby sitter and sent her on her way.
Bonifilo watched from up the block as Jen went into her house and the baby sitter left.
"So, she doesn't take her brats to a daycare center. That's good. It'll be easier to take her without them in the car," Bonifilo mused out loud.
Further down the block, Emma watched Bonifilo sitting in her car. Mike was parked further down the block behind her. She looked up when Claire pulled her car up behind hers, got out and got in the other side. "What do you think Emms?"
"I think she's going to try to take Jen on the way home from or on the way to work. Either way we have to alert Director Rabb. We may need to put a protection detail on Jen and her family."
"Sounds good to me Emms. The director will not take kindly to anyone threatening her family. Look on how she took care of Khalil Fahd."
Emma smiled at that.
As Claire said that, they saw Bonifilo pull out and drive away. Then they saw Mike Quinn's car following a few seconds behind.
"Okay Claire, you and Mike stay on Bonifilo. I'm gonna get your Tech Assistant Kai Ashe to download my Lojack & Easy Pass data to trace the route we took here. That way he can call up some highway cameras for photos of Bonifilo's car. That way we'll mark that Bonifilo followed Jen home."
"Got you boss," Claire replied without thinking. She got out of the car too quickly for Emma to offer a contradiction. She started her own car and drove home. On the way she called Ashe to have him do the route tracing she wanted. She also asked him to perform one other check.
Saturday, January 27, 2007
1200 Local Time
Gardiner Residence
Annandale, VA
The evening before, as Emma drove to her own home, she called Diane Rabb to apprise her of the investigation of Bonifilo. Diane instructed her, "Emma stay exclusively on that. I already told Summerskill and Gibbs that you, Quinn and Keats will stay on Bonifilo until we catch her. Use more agents if you think you need to."
"Copy that. Do you believe that she killed Vivian, Director?"
"Based on her background information and on what Jennifer told you of her, yeah, I do. But you know as well as I do, belief is not proof. I want her ready to be gift wrapped when we bring her in. So, make sure that what we get is solid. No asshole-mother-fucking-crooked-cop is gonna mess with my people or my family and get away with it."
"I copy that, Director." Emma said they ended the call with a smile before she said out loud, "She's real sailor alright. The mouth on her would make a DI blush."
Now she was watching her husband Michael as he helped their daughter Teresa with a school project. She turned away from that when her business cellphone rang.
"Gardiner."
"Emms, it's Mike. Bonifilo is in a house in Landover, Maryland near the football stadium."
"She didn't go back to Virginia Beach last night?"
"No, she didn't. I followed her here last night. While she was there, a couple of guys, bikers by the look of their leather jackets and the Harleys they rode in on, met her there. They left her there about 2330. Claire relieved me about 12:00M. I went home and got some sleep. I relieved her about 0900. Her vehicle is still parked in the driveway of the Landover house."
"Any chance she'll move today?"
"Doubtful, still who knows what's in her twisted mind."
"Okay Mike, keep me posted. Be careful. Judging by what she did to Vivian, she's a twisted bitch. Okay?"
"I copy that Emms. I'll keep my distance until I have back-up."
"Good girl. See you later."
No sooner did Emma hang up, then the phone rang again. "Gardiner?"
"Agent Gardiner, Ducky here. I received a report from Ms. Sciutto about the blonde hairs from Rico that you wanted to check."
"What did Abby find out Ducky?"
They are a match for the hair from Vivian's crime scene that Detective Bonifilo said was hers."
"Really! Now we have probable cause to bring her in for an interview."
"Possibly. When you do, let know so that I can observe the interview."
"You got it Ducky. See you then."
As soon as she disconnected her call with Ducky, her phone rang again.
"Oh, the bats are out the belfry today," Emma muttered to herself before she answered with, "Gardiner!"
"Emms, it's Ashe. I have something on that check you asked me to do."
"What do you have Kai?"
When Ashe told her, Emma whistled and said, "Thanks Kai. Now I have more to go on."
When Emma disconnected the call, she said, "Now I got you, you bitch."
She immediately called, "Mike, can you and Claire keep your eye on Bonifilo for the weekend? I'm going to call her in for an interview on Monday and I need to get some things straightened out between now and then."
"Do you want Claire and I to bring her in?"
"No, I'll call her in myself. Let's let Bonifilo think that she's still getting over on us. Maybe she'll trip up. Just follow her and let me know if she goes anywhere near Jen's place in McLean."
"Copy Emms. Mike and I will do our best. If you want, I'll call in Michelle Weatherly to give us a hand. Vivian was her friend and she wants a piece of whoever killed her."
"That's fine Claire. Do it, Director Rabb will approve it. The more hands we have on this the better. Just make sure Bonifilo doesn't recognize her."
"Copy Emms."
At that Emma ended the call.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
1100 Local Time
NCIS Headquarters
Washington Navy Yard, NE, DC
All through the weekend, Mike, Claire and Michelle did shift work in keeping Bonifilo under surveillance. Oddly enough she didn't go anywhere near Jennifer Rabb's home. When she left the house in Landover, she went to her apartment in Virginia Beach on Sunday night. She stayed there until she went into her job on Monday morning and worked her shift and went home.
Meanwhile, it took the weekend and all-day Monday for all Emma wanted done to be completed. So late on Monday afternoon she put a call out to, "Detective Bonifilo? Agent Gardiner here, we have a break in Agent Blackadder's murder case. I think you'll be interested to see what we have. Can you be here tomorrow?"
"Sure, what time tomorrow?"
"Let's say about 11:00AM.
"Okay I'll see you then."
Bonifilo hung up on Emma saying smugly to herself, "Those bitches got nothing. Still, I can steer them where I need them to go."
When Pia arrived at NCIS Headquarters, she was ushered into an interview room, where Emma was waiting for her.
"Detective Bonifilo, thank you for coming. Have a seat please."
"If I didn't know better, I'd think that I was a suspect," Bonifilo said sitting down.
"No, it's just that the evidence we gathered is very confidential," Emma lied casting the hook.
"So, what do you have to show me?"
"Detective, we found Vivian's car."
"Oh yeah, where?"
"At Norfolk International Airport's parking garage."
Pia had to take an iron hold on her control as she asked, "Really, who drove it there?"
"The person in this photo," Emma replied taking the photo from the folder and pushing across the table in front of Pia on the table.
The photo showed a Caucasian woman behind the wheel of the NCIS Intrepid as it came up a ramp directly at a surveillance camera. Pia visibly paled as she saw her face in the photo.
"Oh, and here's another one of that same female in the taxi queue. We traced the number of the taxi. (Emma showed a photo of the cab's Virginia license plate and its dome light number.) The cab company's dispatcher was very nice to pull that cab's ride log. The female was dropped off at an abandoned sheet-metal factory in Portsmouth. We got a search warrant and sent a forensic team to process the place. We found Vivian's blood in a puddle on the floor in its silo."
Emma made a show of looking between Bonifilo and photo of her behind the wheel of the Intrepid and on the taxi queue before she said, "You know, the woman in these photos looks a lot like you."
"Everybody's got twin out there. Hell, I hear your director has a twin sister."
"How the fuck would you know you bitch?" Diane muttered low from behind the one-way-glass in the observation room. Ducky and Jennifer stood next to her and smiled at her sailor's language. They continued watching the interview that turned into an interrogation.
"Possibly. Here's something else that may be a coincidence. We found these blonde hairs mixed in with Rico's pubic hair. Here's the report detailing whose they matched." She pushed the report to Pia.
Pia paled as she read, 'The blonde pubic hairs are a DNA match to the blonde hair found on the bed where Agent Blackadder was killed which Virginia Beach Police Detective Pia Bonifilo declared was hers.'
"Oh, and here are more hairs we found in Vivian's Intrepid. They were on the driver's seat back. It seems that that female may have an Alopecia problem. There's the report detailing whose hairs they matched. Oh, it says that they match yours as well. Would you care to comment detective?"
Bonifilo sat in stony silence.
"No comment? Okay let me go on then. Here's the forensic report on the rest of the car. (She pushed it in front of Bonifilo.) It details that there was blood on the floor of the trunk. It was Vivian's. You were smart enough not to transport her in your car."
Bonifilo still sat in silence glaring at Emma.
"We also found your fingerprints in the Intrepid. You wanna guess where?"
"I wouldn't care to, no."
"On the inside of the door handles on the driver's side and passenger's side doors as well on the inside of the trunk lid."
Pia sat there glaring, thinking, 'I gotta get out of here.'
"Oh, and one more thing. We also found this at the silo." Emma made a "come in" motion to the mirror. She and Bonifilo booth looked as Diane came in and placed a plastic evidence bag for clothing on the table.
"That's your shirt. And that's Vivian's blood on the front. We also found more of your hairs in and on the shirt.
Diane stood back as Michelle Weatherly and Claire Keats came in with their firearm's drawn, pointing at Bonifilo.
Diane declared, "Pia Bonifilo, you are under arrest for the murder of NCIS Special Agent Vivian Blackadder. Place your hands together behind your head and stand up."
Bonifilo complied. Diane went behind her and taking the crooked detective's own set of handcuffs, expertly restrained her. Michelle and Claire came forward and relieved Bonifilo of her firearm and emptied her pockets of her other police accoutrements, such as her handcuff keys, badge and other personal belongings.
When Michelle and Claire completed that and they turned to take Bonifilo out, Diane got right up into her face.
"In case you forgot your penal law training, when you murder a Federal Agent, that brings the death penalty into play. We have a strong enough case to convict you. So, I want you to know that when they give the injection, I'll be in the witness room, in the first-row waving 'bye-bye'."
Diane stepped aside as Claire and Michelle led Bonifilo out of the room.