Chapter 7

After Kenneth McCloud being released from custody and Gibbs disappearing without anyone knowing where he is or what he's doing, Tony, Ziva and McGee enter into the Forensics Lab. Abby is working on something as they enter. Her back is facing the doorway so she doesn't see them enter.

"Abs…" Tony tries to get her attention. "We need to go over the physical evidence."

"It's all on the table over there." Abby points to the table.

"What are you doing over here?" McGee asked as he walks toward the computer.

"Nothing!" Abby exclaimed as she runs over and turns the monitor off so they don't see what she showed Gibbs earlier. "Every girl has her secrets, McGee. And you would do well to not ask, especially if you wanna keep your manhood."

"You're not putting a picture of me into Photoshop and making it look all weird, are you?" McGee wondered.

"I'm making you look like one of the Village People." Abby grins.

"I'll need a copy of that when you're done." Tony stated.

"Please tell me you're joking, Abby." McGee said.

"If you don't go to the table where you should be, then you looking like one of the Village People will become a reality."

McGee walks away from the computer area. He goes to the table and starts looking over the physical evidence with Tony and Ziva.

"If she actually made McGee look like one of the Village People… I can't even begin to imagine what you would do with it." Ziva said.

"I'd post it on the NCIS Most Wanted wall." Tony grins.

"Gibbs wants us to find one more piece of evidence that connects Kenny to Jamar's murder." Tony stated. "We have the tire tracks… The garden rake… And the chain with Jamar's blood and Kenny fingerprints on it. We know the two families have an ongoing feud, Kenny is a racist and has gotten into a couple fights with Jamar…" He thinks out loud. "Seriously, what more does Gibbs want."

"Maybe we're missing something." McGee said.

"It's all here, Probie." Tony said. "There's nothing we're missing. Even if there was, Gibbs would tell us."

"Unless he knows something we don't." Ziva added.

"Maybe he's testing us." McGee said. "You know, sharpening our investigative skills."

"Abs, is there anything Gibbs is holding back from us?" Tony wondered. "I mean… Was there anything odd about Vanessa's autopsy that Gibbs doesn't want us to know?"

"Nothing." Abby responded with a lie. "The wounds on Vanessa's wrists are consistent with doing it herself."

"Vanessa was depressed for three months…" Tony begins to say.

"If you're gonna ask, there are no signs of drug use or any type of evidence that she was taking anti-depressants." Abby stated.

"I can see why she killed herself now." Tony said.

"After the garden rake and chain being found, Gibbs arrested Kenny, but never charged him." McGee stated.

"I did find that to be rather odd." Ziva said.

"Whatever Gibbs wants us to find, I don't see how Vanessa's suicide connects to Jamar's murder." McGee said.

"Maybe they were lovers." Ziva stated.

"That's a possibility." Tony said. "But maybe we have to think about this differently. With Vanessa being depressed for three months and Kenny not knowing why… It's possible that he's not telling the truth. Maybe he does know the reason." He added. "Maybe we're looking at the wrong motive."

"What other motive would Kenny have?" Ziva wondered.

"What are reasons that a girl would be depressed?" Tony wants them to guess what he's thinking.

"A boy she really likes doesn't like her." McGee answered.

"We're not talking about a teenager. We're talking about reasons for a girl in her early twenties to be depressed." Tony stated.

"A boyfriend dumping her… Someone close to her dying…" McGee begins to create a list. "Problems at school, maybe she failed. Not getting into the college she wanted or not having the money to do so. A friend backstabbing her…" He notices Tony is giving him a weird look. "What?"

"Just stop talking." Tony said. "Think more outside of the box for a minute."

"Kenny found out that Jamar raped his sister." Ziva stated. "So he killed Jamar for it."

"Exactly…" Tony said. "Most rapes are never reported."

"Vanessa must have confided in someone about it." McGee stated.

"And whoever she confided in must have told Kenny." Ziva said.

"You guys are so far out of the box at this point." Abby stated. "But it is a possible motive."

"We're gonna work both angles." Tony said. "Angle one… We find out if anybody knows if Jamar and Vanessa were lovers or not. Angle two… We find out if anybody knows if Jamar raped Vanessa." He looks toward Ziva and McGee. "Both of you need to go back to the crime-scene. Expand the original perimeter search. Then question family, friends and everybody on the entire street where she lived."

"What are you gonna do?" Ziva wondered.

"I'll check if she has any prescriptions in her name…" Tony begins to say.

"How come you get to stay here?" McGee asked.

"Look at the time, McGee. I can't go to West Virginia." Tony replied. "In an hour I have to pick-up Chioke from school."

"Oh…" McGee recognized the time.

"I know it's inconvenient, but I don't have a choice. I'll do what I can from here." Tony said. "In the case she didn't see a psychologist, I'll also contact the local church cuz maybe she talked to a priest." He added. "Gibbs wants us to find one more piece of evidence to link Kenny to the murder… He never said it had to be physical evidence."

"Which means a different motive is should be sufficient, especially if we find it to be true." "McGee agreed.

Tony, Ziva and McGee leave the lab. Abby takes hold of Bert the Farting Hippo. The hippo farts as Abby hugs it and turns the computer monitor back on. She looks at what's on the computer screen.

"Thinking outside of the box isn't such a bad thing." Abby stated as she stares at the monitor.

Eventually, Abby closes what's on the screen and begins doing something else.