Part 5: Crushed by the Weight of Her Guilt

Several hours later, a subdued director and a somber team leader returned to NCIS after paying a visit to the Israeli embassy to inform Ziva's countrymen of her passing and a visit to the FBI to arrange for the use of their forensics experts until the time when NCIS would have found a replacement for Abby. As Jenny made her way up to her office, Gibbs turned to the bullpen and the remaining member of his team. Without a word he nodded to Tim, sank into his seat, and stared at his computer.

Tim debated with himself as to whether he should speak with Gibbs. On the one hand, he wanted to offer consolation; the two agents and forensic scientist had been like children to Gibbs. On the other hand, there was no way he would ever find the right words to say at a time like this. But on the next hand, if there were ever any time that Gibbs would open up, it would be now when the losses were so fresh. But on the hand after that, Gibbs could have learned the evil eye from some tribal witch doctor and …

"McGee, when did you grow extra arms?"

Tim looked down at the hands he'd been using to weigh his options and blushed. Two new arms had sprouted from his sides. Hiding the extra appendages behind his back he decided to speak.

"We did everything we could for Abby, boss, but as soon as she heard the news, she was gone. Now that Ducky's had some time to review the X-rays, he sees evidence that this was a disaster waiting to happen; the cracks had been there for a while. He dates the earliest ones to the time of Kate's passing and they seem to have deepened when Cassie died. There was already too much damage to her heart to sustain her when she heard today's news."

"She always said she'd go nuts if another one of us got hurt. I was expecting her to be in a straitjacket when we returned, not in autopsy." Gibbs still wouldn't look up from his computer.

There was a moment of silence before Tim spoke again. "I'm sorry about Ziva. I've read about radiant occularitia, and it isn't an easy way to die. But what about Tony, do you think he felt any pain?"

"He was grinning like a goat eating briars when I saw him. He's probably not even aware he's dead, yet."

"Well, if he could have chosen, I'm sure Tony would have liked to go that way." Tim's voice wavered a little, so he paused to get it under control. "It's been a bad day."

"When it rains it pours." Instantly they heard a crash of lightning, then the sky grew dark and a torrent of rain came pouring down.

"That's strange." Tim stared at the suddenly black sky.

"No, it's overdue. To fit the mood of the day, it should have been raining hours ago."

"How is the director?"

"She's not saying much. I think she's feeling responsible for the deaths of Tony and Ziva and maybe even Jeanne Benoit because she called for the meeting that set off this chain of events."

"Who knew a simple shopping trip would turn into a quadruple homicide?" Tim asked rhetorically. "What are we going to do about the cases?"

"Since I was present, we can't work on the deaths of Ziva, Jeanne Benoit, or Le Grenouille. Strombakis' team is going to take those investigations; they should be simple enough. Footage from a security camera in the shop shows Jeanne Benoit attacking Ziva. And as strange as his death was, Ducky should be able to confirm that Le Grenouille died of natural causes."

"Natural?" Tim was skeptical.

"He can at least confirm that neither Jenny nor I had anything to do with it." Gibbs continued. "We need to look into Tony's death. I don't want to leave it up to IA, some of those guys…"

Gibbs was cut off by loud crash. The men stared at each other and Tim spoke first. "That wasn't thunder."

"Come on, it came from Jenny's office." Gibbs started to run.

"How could we have heard it all the way down here?" Tim was confused.

"Don't wonder, just run."

They reached the director's office, threw open the door, and skidded to a halt in front of her desk.

"Marshmallows!" Tim turned green and looked away.

"Chocolate Bars!" Gibbs turned white and couldn't stop staring.

A figure recognizable as the director only by the clothes she wore was crushed beneath an anvil. Gibbs looked around the room. There was no evidence of anything else unusual; everything was in order except for the area around the desk. He walked closer to look at the anvil and to see how it had been suspended. There were no wires or ropes visible, so he turned to the anvil itself. It seemed to be a standard blacksmith's tool, but it bore the inscription "Acme Anvils: Guilt Model."

"McGee, call Ducky. We've another crime scene to process." Gibbs said heavily.