Tuesday

Chapter 8

After talking with a Geologist at the closest University all night, the team is now in Lower Pennsylvania at the Zinc mine where the underground river is. They search the perimeter a bit as Gibbs walks off to the edge of the hill so that he can look out over the valley. Ziva and McGee walk to where Gibbs is standing. Tony just sits on the rock close to the mine's entrance.

"See anything?" McGee asked.

"Do you two see that way over there?" Gibbs asked as he points off in the distance.

"It looks like a clearing. Possibly a house is there." Ziva stated.

"The Geologist said to look for a clearing cuz plants don't have much chance of survival in soil that's rich with Zinc." Gibbs said.

"What about that clearing over there?" McGee asked has he pointed somewhere else.

Tony finally walks over to the team. As soon as Tony walked over, they hear the motor from a dirt-bike. A man on the dirt-bike stops in front of the Zinc mine. He walks over to the mine while holding a bag over his shoulder. The team watches and finally makes a move on the person. The man is trying to move a loose wooden board from the mine entrance. The team surrounds the man.

"I don't think it's open for business." Ziva stated.

Geez! Don't sneak up on a man like that." The man said as he was slightly startled.

"Who are you? You from around here?" Gibbs asked.

"My name is Mark. I live a couple miles from here." Mark said.

"What's in the bag?" McGee asked.

"It's my dead cat."

"Why are you bringing your dead cat here?" Tony asked.

"I'd prefer to not use the dumping cave. What does it matter? Am I gonna be fined? Cuz this Zinc mine hasn't been operational in a couple decades. And what are you people doing here?"

"We're students at the University of Maryland and we're studying the effects of Zinc on the surrounding environment." Gibbs stated.

"Oh… Well, as you can see the plant life around the mine itself basically doesn't exist. But I'm guessing when the mine first started, it destroyed the plant roots."

"We're more interested in knowing about the underground river." McGee said.

"No one really knows where the river goes cuz after the cave-in occurred, the mine was closed. The area was pretty much forgotten."

"We're interested." Ziva said.

"All I really know is that this is a Zinc mine."

"Did you know it's hard for plants to survive in soil that's rich with Zinc?" Gibbs asked.

"That would explain the lack of plants in the immediate area."

"Where'd you go to school Mark?" Tony asked.

"I go to Marywood University. It's in Scranton Pennsylvania. Why?"

"Just wondering." Tony said.

"I know a lot of people in Pennsylvania, mostly high school students from the middle of nowhere don't end up going to college. So I'm not an uneducated Pennsylvania fool if that's what you were thinking."

"You mentioned a dumping cave. What is that exactly?" Ziva asked.

"Follow me." Mark said as he leads the team to the edge of the hill in order to look out.

Mark points to the small clearing that McGee pointed to a little while ago.

"That's the dumping cave. When dead animals are scrapped off the road or pets die, most people toss the dead animals into that cave." Mark stated.

"Why aren't you dumping your cat there?" McGee asked.

"When I was younger, I brought my dog to the dumping cave. I was really choked about losing him, so as I was about to toss him in there, I slipped and fell in. It's not a pretty site down there. And ever since that day, I can't bring myself to get near it. So that's why I brought my cat here."

"Do you think a person could've stashed bodies down there?" Tony asked.

"It's possible. I was the only one who was ever down there but that's was only cuz I slipped. But with the stench of the dead animals… I wouldn't be surprised." Mark stated. "Wait… Why are you interested in dead bodies?"

"I only came for moral support. I'm a Criminal Justice major." Tony said.

"Oh… Well… If you ever come across a case where bodies are missing, I'd suggest checking out the dumping cave."

"The underground river that runs along the Zinc of this mine, did you happen to notice it running through the dumping cave?"

"Now that you mention it… Actually, the dumping cave is much larger then one would think. Since I had time to explore it a bit, toward the back the cave slants downward, like a little pathway. It was quite dark. But I did feel around a bit and came across a pool of water. I could also hear the faint sounds of running water behind the rocks. It definitely sounded like it kept going, like it didn't stop there."

"What's that other clearing much further away? If it's just a house, then we'd waste our time going there to take soil samples." Gibbs asked as he pointed off in the distance.

"That's just empty land. No house has ever been there."

"So most likely, the ending of the underground river goes to that clearing, so it's not habitable enough for plant life due to a high concentration of Zinc." McGee stated.

"And at least we now know the route the underground river takes in order to get from the Zinc mine to the clearing." Gibbs said.

"Are you actually gonna go into the dumping cave to study that pool of water?" Mark asked.

"Yes." Gibbs answered.

"Can you do me a favor? Can you bring my cat there?" Mark holds the bag out for one of the team to grab.

"You helped us out, so we'd be happy to." Gibbs stated. "McGee, take the bag from our friend."

McGee hesitantly takes the bag and holds it away from him as far as he could.

"Thank you all so much." Mark said.

"It's our… Pleasure." McGee stated as he looks at the bag in disgust.

Mark walks to his dirt-bike. He gets on and starts the motor. He turns the bike and jets down the road.