Chapter 14: Killer on the Road
Disclaimer: Yeah, NCIS was mine, this would be a script not a fanfiction.
Author's Note: This is another Gibbs/McGee/Beau chapter. The next one will be the killer, then we'll go back to Tony/Ziva. I've got some interesting things planned for Tony and Ziva...(read: "Dot Dot Dot")
Riders on the storm
Riders on the storm
Into this house we're born
Into this world we're thrown
Like a dog without a bone
An actor out on lone
Riders on the storm
The next morning, Gibbs and McGee met with Brice, Gary, Sturgis and Beau back at Hector before heading up to the campsite where Lance Corporal Stewart and Justin had been staying.
You could feel the tension in the air following the makeshift armada of SUVs that drove purposefully to the scene. The air felt heavy, like the weather preceding a storm front.
Once there, Gibbs stepped out and glanced around. His commanding aura and resolute atmosphere made his presence known, like a tornado.
Without hesitation, he found the spots where the tire tracks had been lifted, then proceeded to comb the site for anything that the others may have missed. McGee following on his tail, like a faithful hound.
After about forty-five minutes of Gibbs looking over every possible route of escape or suspicious looking anything, the sharp crackle of Beau's radio called out.
He stepped aside to speak to the caller, then came back and called to Gibbs.
Gibbs looked at him, steady-faced.
"That was about your BOLO, Special Agent Gibbs. There's been a hit. A man who runs a convenience store in Jerusalem says that he saw a truck matching that description come by the day before yesterday," Beau stated.
"Where the hell is Jerusalem?" Gibbs asked, "And if you say 'Israel', I'll kick your ass from here to Jerusalem...the one in Israel."
Beau gave a brief smirk before replying, "It's about 10 miles east of Hector."
"Is there anything left to see here?" Gibbs asked, looking at the park rangers.
They shook their heads.
"Alright, then. McGee, you're with me. Lieutenant Sampson, can you drive us to the store?"
Beau nodded.
"One of you," Gibbs motioned between Sturgis and Brice, "Take our vehicle back to Hector."
Brice nodded and took the keys from Gibbs.
There's a killer on the road
His brain is squirmin' like a toad
Take a long holiday
Let your children play
If you give this man a ride
Sweet family will die
Killer on the road
They reached the small gas station in Jerusalem and walked in, five older men were gathered around a table, drinking coffee. Most of the men were wearing blue jeans and plaid, button-up shirts with trucker hats advertising farm supply stores, hardware stores and various other rural businesses.
There was a counter with a register and a warmer filled with biscuits and fried chicken, but no one was behind the counter.
Gibbs and Beau looked around. McGee looked between Gibbs and Beau.
A tall, thin man who looked to be in his late 50's or early 60's stood up from the table and said, "Can I help you fellas with anything?"
"We're here about a report that someone here saw a blue Dodge Ram 1500, two days ago," Beau said.
"Oh, you're the police," the man said, he held out a weathered hand, "Richard Ferguson. I'm the man that saw the truck."
Gibbs shook his hand, "Special Agent Jethro Gibbs, NCIS."
"Special Agent Timothy McGee, NCIS."
"Lieutenant Beau Sampson, Arkansas State Police."
"Well, come on over and have a seat," Richard motioned them over to a table away from where the men were having their coffee, "Can I get you folks anything?"
None of the three had ate any breakfast and McGee's stomach loudly protested its abuse.
Beau chuckled, "Whaddiya got?"
"Sausage biscuit, ham biscuit, sausage and cheese, ham and cheese, ham and egg, sausage and egg, biscuits and gravy, fried chicken," Richard listed off, looking at the warmer on the counter.
"Just a cup of coffee, black, no decaf," Gibbs said.
"I'll have a cup of coffee, too, but I take cream and sugar in mine. And a biscuit and sausage," McGee ordered.
"Black coffee and biscuits and gravy, please," Beau replied.
Richard left for a moment, then brought back three mugs, a coffee pot and some packets of creamer and sugar for McGee, then returned with the food.
"Mr. Ferguson, did you see the driver of the vehicle?" Gibbs asked.
"Well, that vehicle pulled up at the same time as a church van did, so it was pretty crazy in here. I might know the guy if I saw him, but I couldn't tell you what he looked like," Richard recollected.
"Were any of those gentlemen in here when the vehicle was here?" Beau asked, spearing a chunk of biscuit with a plastic fork.
"Naw, all them's gone by ten o' clock," Richard said, waving his hand dismissively, "This is pro'lly 'round 'bout one in the afternoon."
"Do you have a security camera?" McGee asked, assuming the answer was 'no'. Quite frankly the place was several things, but high-tech was not one of them.
"Yeah, we got a camera out front. We got broke into last year and my boy, Eddie, tol' me that a camera woulda helped out with the police and the insurance and all that."
"Does it record to a computer or to a tape?" McGee asked.
"It doesn't take tapes," Richard said.
McGee nodded, "Do you mind if I took a look at that?"
"Naw, go right ahead!" Richard said, standing up and motioning for McGee to follow him.
Back behind the counter in a small office was a computer displaying an image of the gas pumps out front.
McGee sat down at the computer and began to work.
While McGee worked, Gibbs and Beau spoke to the men at the table. They were mostly interested in knowing what was going on and if they had any leads. You could tell that this was really rocking this sleepy region.
After about twenty minutes, McGee called for Gibbs and Beau to come take a look.
"It's not much," he said, playing the video.
The driver never looked toward the camera, but they could clearly see that it was the truck from Abby's description. All they could tell about the driver was that he was about six feet tall, maybe a little taller. Other than that, he was hidden under a plain baseball cap.
When the truck drove away, you couldn't see it's license plate, but you could tell that it left in the direction of town.
They decided to go hit up more local businesses to see if anyone else had saw the truck.
After they paid for breakfast and thanked Richard, they drove into town.
They stopped at some houses and businesses along the highway and asked if anyone had saw the truck, none had noticed.
They stopped at a cafe and asked about the truck, but no one recognized it. Although this was not fruitless, they did manage to get in lunch.
Next, they stopped in a grocery store. They talked to a cashier named Crystal, who recommended that they talk to the manager, Marshall Sanders.
They walked back to Marshall's office. It was mostly just an enclosed area of the stockroom with a computer and security monitor on a desk.
Marshall was a tall, blond, heavyset man in his late thirties with a bald spot to the back of his head. Dressed in a wrinkled white shirt and stained blue tie, he gave the appearance of someone who believed his job was much more important than what it was.
They introduced themselves and asked about the truck, Marshall said that he had no idea, but they were more than welcome to check the surveillance footage. McGee took him up on that offer.
After about thirty minutes, McGee called Beau and Gibbs over to see what he had found. The video showed the truck pulling up and the driver getting out and looking at the newspaper dispenser then walking into the store. There were several times when the driver faced the camera, but they were too grainy to make out. The driver then left the store, bought a newspaper and drove off. However, this time, his license plate was clearly visible.
Beau pulled out his cell phone and left the building, McGee asked if he could use Marshall's computer, he agreed.
McGee emailed the captures of the driver's face to Abby in hopes that she could give them some clarity.
Gibbs and McGee both thanked Marshall and left.
They exited the building just as Beau hung up his phone.
"I just talked to Veronica," he said, " I had her run those plates. They belong to a 'Cade Cooper' of Judson Hill."
"Judson Hill? Hey, Boss, isn't that where Tony and Ziva are?" McGee asked.
"That's also where Lance Corporal Stewart was working," Gibbs said, pulling out his phone and dialing Tony's number.
"Yeah, Boss?" Tony answered.
"DiNozzo, did you talk to a student named Cade Cooper?"
"No, why? You got a suspect?"
"Maybe."
"Whaddiya mean 'maybe'? Where are you?"
"Jerusalem."
"Jerusalem?! What?! Why-Whu-"
"Jerusalem, Arkansas, DiNozzo."
"They have one of those?"
"Apparently. Now, did you talk to anyone named Cooper?"
Gibbs heard Tony and Ziva discuss something off the phone, then Tony said, "Ziva overheard the principal and the counselor talking about a student named David Cooper, who's not been at school since Justin disappeared. He's got a brother who's going to Iraq, can you see if Cade Cooper is in the military? If he is, then you might be looking for David, not Cade."
"David Cooper? Good job."
"Boss...did you just congratulate me?"
"No, I congratulated Ziva, but I know you put the phone on speaker, so..."
"Right..."
"You two follow any leads that you get on David Cooper, we'll talk to the crime lab and see if Cade Cooper is in the military, then get back to you. Stay focused, DiNozzo."
Ziva chuckled, not remembering that Tony had the phone on speaker.
"You're as bad as he is, David."
"She learned from the best, Boss."
"Oh, please," Ziva scoffed.
"Let me repeat myself. Stay focused on your jobs. Break my rules on your own time."
"Boss- we- uh...," Tony stuttered.
"Work," Gibbs said, simply, hanging up the phone.
"Can you get back in touch with Veronica?" Gibbs asked Beau.
"Yeah, what do you need?"
"To know if Cade Cooper is in the military."
Beau made a short phone call and then hung up and smiled, "I did you one better. I had her check some other stuff. Cade Cooper is a Marine, his parents died last year and he has one dependent, an eighteen-year-old brother named David."
Gibbs called back Tony and told him what Beau had just told them.
It looked like now, it was just a matter of finding David Cooper.
A.N.: Oooh, all that foreshadowing at the beginning of this chapter. Sounds like someone's in for a storm, huh? But who? And is it literal or figurative?
Next, I've never been to Jerusalem, AR...or Jerusalem, Israel, for that matter. But I just found it on a map of the Ozark National Forest and the surrounding area and thought "Ooh, that could make for some laughs," so I set it in Jerusalem. So if you've ever been to Jerusalem, AR, lived in Jerusalem, AR, or anything of that nature; I made it all up. I'm sorry. I know of it's existence, but that's it.
Do y'all like Beau? Because I kinda like Beau, he turned out to be a really cool character to write for. He's like a friendlier Gibbs. I like how proper they both are with each other's titles and that they both drink black coffee and freak out McGee.
The breakfast! That is traditional gas station breakfast around here. Just to be clear, when I say biscuit, I mean big, fluffy Southern American style biscuits. Like buttermilk biscuits. With white gravy...mmMmm! But not sausage gravy, yuk!
Oh, and what do you think? Is David the killer? If you're right, you get a hypothetical cookie! (You get one if you're wrong, too. No need to be greedy.)
Another hypothetical cookie if you know what the Dot Dot Dot line means or is from. We took my grandmother to see it for her birthday. And I'm not sure if I really mean that I'll make Tony and Ziva...(Dot Dot Dot)
Hey, and Jim Morrison and Walker (who used to look like Jim Morrison, until he cut his hair) want you to review. But I've been helping wrangle a Vacation Bible School class of 3rd and 4th graders, so they want you to review with the enthusiasm of a 3rd or 4th grader! YAY!