One Hour Later
Gibbs and Rizzoli sat in observation waiting for Jereld French to give Gibbs the signal to start. He was acting like he had no worries in the world. To Gibbs it could mean two things. He was guilty, baiting the police and waiting for the detectives to make their move or he was innocent and waiting again to tell them that. Gibbs had to admit French was a cool cucumber.
Jane was beginning to get antsy just watching their suspect. "What are we looking for here? He's just acting normal. He's been in there now for an hour. Let's go get him."
Gibbs smiled as he wondered at her hurriedness. "He keeps looking to his left. He's trying out lies in his head. He's also trying to hide the fact that this is pretty common place for him. How many times has he been arrested?"
Jane took a moment to check his file. "Twice, one here in Boston for DUI and one in Chatham for breaking and entering at his place of employment. It seems he borrowed a few tools and never returned them. The owner took exception to it."
Gibbs chuckled out loud.
Jane turned to him and wondered what was so funny. "Care to share, Superman?"
Gibbs looked to his partner on this one. "Every piece of equipment in a boat builders shop is expensive. Some of the chisels they have can go as high as a couple hundred dollars or more. He had every right to be pissed. Some of my tools are priceless." Gibbs again watched French. "He's made up his mind how he'll play this. It's time to pay him a visit."
Rizzoli and Gibbs walked into the interrogation room and Gibbs took the seat this time. Jane went to the corner and watched French's face. She wasn't quite sure what she looked for but she'd know when it happened.
Gibbs spread out the file on French and examined it. He'd read through it before but was using the pretense as a tool to shake French's composure. He turned each page slowly and read each line or at least seemed to.
The time going by shook French a little and Jane began to see sweat on his brow.
French was beginning to get exasperated with the two cops in front of him, a little angry as well, and it showed on his face. Gibbs noticed it. "Got someplace to be?"
French just laughed. "If I did would you let me go?"
Gibbs just gave him the steely glare that made most criminals cringe, but not French. "We've got a few questions for you first. I see you work in demolitions. What do you know about C4?"
French gave him a look that Jane had a hard time reading. "That's what I figured. Look, I work in demo, I know about C4 and I don't use it. It's unstable to do the jobs we do. We use dynamite and some other explosives but not C4. My boss doesn't even have it in the warehouse. Why do you ask?"
Gibbs moved on. "I see you've done boat building, why'd you leave that job?"
French let out a sharp laugh. "The owner was slow paying me. I was good at my job and he shafted me out of a month's salary."
Gibbs chuckled back at him. "That made you mad didn't it?"
French shook his head. "Yeah, I had a room-mate who needed my rent money and I needed to eat and put gas in my car. Yeah it made me mad."
Gibbs had him at righteous indignation. "Mad enough to steal from him, take some of his tools to sell? You needed money and you were angry that he wouldn't pay you. You didn't count on him having you arrested, did you? Had you sold the tools yet?"
French looked down at his hands. "No I hadn't. I couldn't make myself do it. I asked him for my money in exchange for the tools and the bastard had me arrested. I didn't have money to pay the fine, so I gave the tools to the cops and they returned them. I'm still waiting for my pay from him but I'm not holding my hand on my ass waiting. I'll never see that money. That's why I left the Cape and moved to Boston. I have a nice job and I'm damn good at what I do."
Gibbs looked back at the file. "Could you draw plans for the boats you worked on?" He then looked back at Jereld French in a way that said prove it.
French looked back at Gibbs with a quizzical look. "You don't believe me? For my apprenticeship I had to draw out plans for dories and Boston Whalers that my boss made. He said I did a good job. Why do you ask?"
Gibbs watched his face and mannerisms closely. "Someone placed a bomb on a wooden sailing ship that belongs to the Navy. That's why I'm here. The boat is in Detective Rizzoli's jurisdiction and that is why she's here. Do you know anyone that might have done it? You do move in a small circle of people with the knowhow for that kind of thing."
Gibbs felt a shift in Rizzoli's stance. She'd crossed her arms over her chest. Gibbs laughed to himself. For a petite woman she could be imposing. He saw her face from the corner of his eye and he saw the minute flicker of her eyes as French spoke. Something was bothering her. He'd been noticing the sideward glances that French gave at the end of each of his sentences. That was usually a tale tell sign that not everything he was telling was the truth. The rub here was what exactly was the truth and what wasn't?
Gibbs rose from the table, picked up the file and headed for the door with Jane following him. "What's with the eyes? Something about our boy in there got you spooked?"
Jane looked past him, down the precinct hallway and past all the officers that walked it. "You don't feel he's leaving stuff out or trying to lead us down the proverbial garden path?"
Jethro grinned like the proverbial Cheshire Cat and laughed out loud. "Yah think? From the moment he started talking he's been trying to evade us. I have a few more questions and then we'll see where he leads us and where we can take it from there, alright?"
Jane nodded and led the way back into interrogation. Gibbs dropped the file back on the table without opening it. Rizzoli pulled up a chair and sat next to Gibbs at the table. She intended to watch French for any indication of the truth or of lies.
Gibbs read the notes in front of him. Every once in a while he let his left eyebrow rise as if something interested him. "I hear your friends down at Marty's on Congress Street had a plan for the Constitution. Maybe throw a type of tea party only this time they'd burn it to the water line."
French didn't even look shocked as most Americans would. He had an angry glare focused on Gibbs. He pulled back the glare and replaced it with a half-smile. "I don't go to Congress Street bars. They're too expensive. I hang with my buddies on Willys Street at Monty's Bar and Grill. The booze is cheaper and the food is better.
Gibbs nodded his acceptance but still held his ground. "I get that going out is expensive."
Jane's expression never changed but Gibbs felt the frustration coming off of her in waves. "How do your friends feel about the United States?"
French's eyes now showed a wary, suspicious look. "Most of my buddies have been with me most of my life. I grew up here. They all love and respect our country. Why do you ask?"
Gibbs looked like he was coming in for the kill. Jane watched both men, anxious to see how this turned out. "Well someone with shipbuilding skills and knowledge of explosives left a bomb on the USS Constitution. We think you helped with that."
Anger filled French's face and he exploded in anger. "I served in the Navy for God's Sake. Why would I do that?"
Gibbs gave one of his signature smirks. "Yeah about that service⦠you received a dishonorable discharge in year two for threatening an officer with decapitation." Gibbs smiled a smile that made most people worry. "Nice!" Then he got serious again. "Your job in the Navy was munitions distribution. See where I'm coming from now?"
French began to sweat anew. This time they might actually have him. "Yeah I see, but I didn't do it. I drew up plans for the Constitution as a test of my skills. I gave them to my boss who was going to frame them. He's a boat nut. I wouldn't do that to that ship. She's a beauty."
Gibbs sat back in his chair and looked at French. He believed him but something didn't sit well with him. "Okay, wait here. We'll be back." He rose from the table, motioning to Jane to follow him.
Jane followed him into the hallway once more but this time her face was confused and angry. "Why aren't we slapping cuffs on him and arresting him? He knows about this."
Gibbs turned to her with a deadly glare. "Oh really? You can prove it? Where's the evidence? If we arrest him now we got nothing. This case will be thrown out so fast our heads will spin. All we have is suspicion of his guilt."
Jane looked around the station. She'd made a rookie mistake in front of this man. "You're right but how can we get him to tell us the truth. He knows something."
Gibbs reached out and tweaked her nose and then gave her one of his most charming smiles. "We let him go."
Jane stood there aghast. Had she heard him right? "What are you talking about? We can't let him go. He knows something and we need to get it out of him."
Jethro nodded and waited for her to calm down. "We put a tracker on him and tail him. He'll lead us to our perp. I've got a plan."
Jane felt at odds with this idea but was willing to listen. "Okay Superman, what's your plan?"
