CHAPTER 17
With the troops re-assembled, they started go through the photos and evidence collected. The external lab they were using was under strict instructions to call one of the burn phones when they had any results. Vance had called them personally to ensure this case was their highest priority.
Abby appeared in the doorway "Don't shut me out of this"
McGee looked up from the photo he was studying "Abby, you really don't want to see this"
Her voice hardened "Yeah, McGee, I really do"
McGee looked at Gibbs, who nodded and stepped to the side to give Abby access to the table, slipping his hand onto her hip.
She spent a long time staring at each photo intently, silently. When she looked up at the team her eyes blazed with anger. "Everything, everything that's me, destroyed"
"Abs, no, that's just stuff, everything that's you, it's here and here" Gibbs said softly touching her briefly on her chest and her head.
Ziva, who had been looking at the photos as Abby discarded them said suddenly "I think they've made their first mistake"
Everyone turned to her, hope in every face.
"The victims blood is mainly in the living room and bedroom, but look here, along the edge of the glass from the bathroom cabinet, looks like blood to me"
Tony tore the photo from her hands and stared at it. The he dialled the lab.
"This is Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo, the crime scene evidence we sent over, there is a piece of glass collected from the bathroom, we believe it has blood on it" he paused while the tech was finding the correct evidence bag.
"Got it? Run DNA, compare it to the victim, if it doesn't match let me know as soon as possible"
The team stayed where they were a tense silence filling the room, they were all watching Tony's cell, willing it to ring, willing the answer to be the one they wanted.
When a knock came from the front door, everyone of them jumped and pulled their weapons. Gibbs, moved silently and quickly through the house, Ziva close behind him.
It was one of the mail clerks from the office, with Vance's copy of the smuggling / child porn case that appeared to be at the root of all their current problems.
Gibbs didn't have time to read more than the summary before Tony's cell rang. He hesitated before answering it, hope that they were about to catch a break and fear that this was another dead end warring inside him.
He breathed a sigh of relief as he listened to the tech and hung up after saying simply "thank you"
He took a deep breath before turning to his team, "No match, the blood doesn't belong to the victim or to Abby, he checked that too just to be safe"
The whole team shared Tony's relief.
"Now we pray we can get an ID"
While they waited Gibbs read through the file Vance had sent over, while Ziva went through Abby's neighbours statement with her, focusing on the descriptions with no real intention other than to pass the time.
By unspoken agreement they had all stayed in Gibbs place Palmer and Ducky joining them when they had finished the autopsy. They were all crammed into the living room, half asleep.
When Tony's cell rang in the early hours of the morning, they were all startled into alertness.
Wiping his hands and licking his lips nervously Tony answered, said "thank you " once again and hung up.
"Anne Brooks" he said to the waiting team.
Gibbs immediately lifted Vance's file and flicked through it "That's the woman Gow was sleeping with"