Chapter 5

"I think I might have something, Boss." McGee said as Gibbs walked in.

"I'm waiting." Gibbs replied.

"A death index listing an "L. Garrett" with a death date of July 1996."

"Index?"

"Early days of computers." McGee told him. "At least, as far as government records are concerned."

"So what do we do?"

"I take the record number to the courthouse and look through their files."

"Manual labor?" DiNozzo chided. "You sure you can handle it?"

McGee was about to respond when Gibbs cut him off.

"You can't do it from your desk." He said. "So why are still sitting in it?"

"On my way, Boss." McGee said as Gibbs tossed him the keys.

"There are several things I have to clarify." Rachel said as she sat down opposite Leslie. "First, you claim that you don't know how LeAnn died…yet, when the police found you, you were muttering "They can't hurt you anymore.""

Leslie just stared at her.

"Who's "they", Leslie?"

"Alright, look." Leslie began after a few seconds. "My mother told me some things."

"What kind of things?

"Keep in mind that, by this time, my mother was having issues." Leslie said.

"Alright."

"She never wanted LeAnn." Leslie continued. "I think she felt that LeAnn was a way for my father to control her."

"So the task for caring for LeAnn was left to you." Rachel said.

Leslie just shrugged.

"Where was your father during all this?"

Leslie chuckled. "Making a name for himself." She said. "The Navy was his family…not us."

"Did your mother hurt LeAnn?"

"If you're thinking child abuse and bruises…no." Leslie replied. "It was more…neglect…than anything else. LeAnn was a nuisance…and I tried to keep her as far away from my mother as possible."

"That's a lot of responsibility for a ten year old." Rachel observed.

Again, Leslie just shrugged.

"But that doesn't explain what you meant by "they"." Rachel continued.

Leslie sighed. "According to my mother, my father killed LeAnn."

"Did she say how?" Rachel asked.

"She said he drowned her."

"OK." Rachel said. "The second thing I need to clarify is that you said that your father was present when Leslie died…your mother even claimed that he killed her."

Leslie just nodded.

"Yet you say he was deployed when your mother buried her in the back yard." Rachel continued. "Did they not report the death?"

"They called an ambulance and took her to the hospital." Leslie said. "So I assume that her death was reported."

"Then how do you explain the burial?" Rachel asked.

"I never thought about it." Leslie shrugged. "All I know is that my father deployed a few days after the funeral and my mother woke me up that night to help dig the hole."

"There was a funeral?" Rachel asked.

Leslie nodded.

Rachel now understood why Gibbs was confused. If there was a funeral, why wasn't LeAnn buried in a cemetery?

"I want you to think very carefully about this next question." Rachel said. "Do you remember anything that your mother might have said that would tell us why LeAnn was buried in the back yard…and not a cemetery?"

Leslie thought about this for a few moments.

"I seem to remember her saying that she would not let my father dictate where she would be buried." She answered, then looked at Rachel. "Or, at least something along those lines. Keep in mind; I was crushed when they told me LeAnn had died." Leslie's eyes became wet with tears. "She meant everything to me, and she depended on me to protect her…but I wasn't there when she needed me the most."

"Blaming yourself for what happened is a natural tendency when we assume responsibility for someone." Rachel replied, then started shaking her head. "But what happened was in no way your fault. It seems to me that you did the best you could, but, if it hadn't happened then, it would have happened some other time, and you couldn't watch her twenty four hours a day."

"But I should have been able to." Leslie countered.

"You went to school?" Rachel asked.

Leslie wiped her eyes with the palm of her hand and nodded.

"It could just as easily have happened while you were there." Rachel told her. "You where ten years old…you did what you could, but some things are outside of our control…especially for one so young."

Leslie half smiled and wiped her eyes again.

"Got a copy of the death certificate, Boss." McGee said as he rounded the corner. "Official cause of death…"Accidental drowning"."

"You get a copy of the autopsy report?" Gibbs asked.

"I put in a request for it." McGee replied. "They said I could pick it up tomorrow morning."

"Take it straight to Ducky." Gibbs ordered.

"Roger that."

After lunch, Rachel walked up to Gibbs desk.

"A very productive day." She said.

"Glad someone had one." Gibbs replied. "What you got?"

"For starters…a cause of death."

"Drowning?" Gibbs asked.

Rachel stared at him. "How do you do that?" She asked.

"Get used to it." DiNozzo interrupted. "He's the director of this film."

"I thought I was." Vance said as walked past, headed for the stairs.

"You're the executive producer, Director." DiNozzo replied. "Everybody is at your beck and call."

"I wish everybody got that email." Vance said as he glanced to Gibbs.

Rachel turned back to Gibbs.

"McGee tracked down a death certificate." Gibbs said after Vance was gone. "Accidental drowning."

"Well, according to Leslie, it wasn't so…accidental." Rachel told him.

"She's accusing someone?" Gibbs asked.

"Nothing that would stand up in court." Rachel admitted. "Says the mother told her the father did it…but you have to take that with a grain of salt."

"Why is that?" Gibbs asked.

"Leslie also says that, by that time, even she could tell that her mother was having…as Leslie put it…"issues"."

"What is today?" Gibbs asked.

Rachel gave him a puzzled look. "Thursday…why?"

"You sure it isn't Monday?" Gibbs asked.

"I'm going to see her one more time…tomorrow." Rachel laughed. "Ziva can accompany me, if you want."

"Any word on her being released?" Gibbs nodded.

"I am going to recommend Monday morning." Rachel told him. "She seems to be doing alright but, in situations like this, it is preferred to observe them for seven days."

Gibbs thought for a few seconds.

"DiNozzo, you're with me." He said.

"Where to, Boss?"

"To see Admiral Garrett." Gibbs replied. "I have a few questions for him." He looked at Ziva. "Ziva, pull Admiral Garrett's military file."

"On it." She replied.

After they were gone, Rachel walked over to McGee's desk and picked up the paperclip holder Sarah had made.

"It's very beautiful." She said.

"It was a gift." McGee said as he grabbed it from her hands and put it back where it had been.

"You miss her." Rachel began. "Don't you?"

McGee just looked at her.

"As Father Bailey said," She continued, "she touched everyone who knew her." She leaned in closer. "Some more than others?"

"She…" He began, but wasn't sure how to say what he was thinking. "She grew on you." He looked at Rachel. "You know what I mean?"

"I do." Rachel agreed. "I was very fond of her, myself. But you were different…she had a crush on you."

McGee blushed.

"And you were embarrassed by it, at first." She continued. "But then you accepted it, and you assumed a…big brother role with her."

"I felt sorry for her." McGee explained.

"I'm sure that's why you didn't initially brush off her affection for you." Rachel replied. "But by the time Matthew was shot, it was a little more than that." She smiled. "I seem to recall that you took her on the only date she ever had."

"She didn't deserve what happened." McGee said.

"No one will argue with you there." She said. "But she touched more people in her thirteen years than most people do in a lifetime."

"And I miss her." McGee admitted, looking over at the window. "Do you know how many times I've looked up, hoping to see her come around the corner again?"

"It's natural to grieve for a lost loved one." She said and tilted her head in front of his vision, forcing him to look at her. "But first we have to admit to ourselves that we did love them…only then can we begin the healing process."

"Would you excuse me?" McGee said as he stood up and headed to the men's room.

Rachel watched him go, then turned to Ziva.

"Would you excuse me, too?" Ziva asked as she stood up. "I have to go get something from Abby."

Rachel just stared at her.

"Alright, look." Ziva began. "That little girl touched me in a way that very few people ever have. And believe me, I am mourning for her."

"You just refuse to let other people see it." Rachel observed.

Ziva stared at her for a few seconds before replying. "I really do have to go see Abby." She said as she headed to the elevator.

"I apologize, gentlemen." Admiral Garrett said as he closed the door. "I only have a few minutes."

"We won't take long, Admiral." Gibbs said. "Thank you for seeing us."

"How can I be of service?" Garrett smiled as he offered them a seat, then sat down.

"The skeleton found at your old house." Gibbs started. "Do you have any idea who it might be?"

"Like I told you before." Garrett shrugged. "I don't have a clue."

"We have reason to believe it might be that of your daughter." DiNozzo said. "LeAnn."

Garrett stared at him for so long, DiNozzo was about to repeat the sentence.

"Why do you have such a belief?" Garrett finally asked.

"It's who Leslie says it is." Gibbs replied.

"There has to be a mistake."

"Why is that, sir?" DiNozzo asked.

"We buried LeAnn at our church." Garrett told him.

Gibbs and DiNozzo looked at each other.

"What church was that?" DiNozzo asked.

"St. Timothy's." Garrett told him.

"We'll check it out." Gibbs said as he stood. "Thank you for your time, Admiral."

"If there's anything else, please don't hesitate to ask." Garrett told them.

"We won't." Gibbs promised as he opened the door. "Again, thank you."

"Boss? You didn't ask him about the drowning?" DiNozzo asked as they walked to the car.

"Want to wait and see what Ducky has to say, first." Gibbs replied. "Like Rachel pointed out, the mother was having issues. I don't want to accuse one of the Navy's most senior officers of anything without first having my facts straight."

"Are you getting soft with age?" DiNozzo smiled.

Gibbs just stopped and looked at him.

"I mean…good strategy, Boss." DiNozzo corrected.