2.
Gibbs drove DiNozzo back to the station after they left the hospital. He was amused that the detective didn't complain, just strapped himself in place and grabbed hold of the "oh crap" handle.
"You willing to share?" Tony asked.
"Dead Marine. NCIS case."
"Not arguing." The blare of horns as Gibbs swerved around a semi had Tony holding his breath. "I want in."
"Why?"
"Because someone attacked Faith Lindsey. Not Gonzalez, based on the size of the hand that grabbed her so forcefully. But some jackwad who has her terrified did, and probably killed Gonzalez as well. I want this S.O.B."
Gibbs had intended to take over the case, but now found himself reconsidering. His first opinion of Detective DiNozzo hadn't been favorable, based on his almost GQ clothes and his model good looks. Yet there was something in his eyes, a fire that had Gibbs hesitating.
"Well, do you agree?" Tony prodded.
"What if I say no?"
The detective grinned mischievously. "You'll be seeing or hearing about me everywhere you go." He sobered. "I'm working this case, with or without your cooperation. I just think it would be easier if we weren't butting heads."
Gibbs pulled into the visitors' parking area at the Baltimore Police Station Tony worked out of, putting the vehicle in park. "How long have you been a detective?"
Tony blinked at the sudden shift in topic. "Here? About two years."
Gibbs smiled. "Agreed."
"Okay. If you'll pull your records on Gonzalez, I'll check on Faith's background. I'll also see whether there have been other attacks in that general area."
Tony got out of the car with a cheery wave. He heard the squeal of tires from behind him as Gibbs left. He headed into the station, only to be stopped by the desk sergeant.
"DiNozzo, the captain left word he wants to see you asap."
"Thanks, Del."
Tony took the stairs two at a time, making his way through the old battered metal desks of the detective division. He knocked on the well-worn doorframe, waiting impatiently for the order to enter. It was a power play by his captain to make his men wait, especially Tony. Captain Tidwell had taken an instant dislike to him from the moment he arrived at the station, although Tony didn't know why.
"Enter." Tidwell was looking down at a sheath of papers on his desk, drawing out the annoying game. A tall, distinguished-looking man in his late forties, Tidwell was carefully groomed. The smart money said he wanted a political career. He finally put the papers down, turning his attention to his waiting detective. "You had a death related to a failed rape attempt?"
"Yes, sir."
"Why isn't the case closed?"
"I have some questions regarding the circumstances. There are some inconsistencies."
Pushing his bottom lip forward in thought, Tidwell considered the situation. "Fine. Two more days, then you close it. Understood?"
"I understand." Tony quickly left the office before Tidwell could question him regarding the mysterious soaping of his precious vintage Porsche.
Several heads raised when Tony left the captain's inner sanctum. He settled behind his own desk, booting up his antiquated computer. He hated using it, not only because the light grey characters on the black background gave him a headache, but due to the machine's lack of speed.
He began his search on Faith Lindsey's background. At the same time he called records for information on attacks in the area. He pulled a candy bar from his desk and started munching during his research time.
Three hours later, Tony had some answers and one big question. He was just about to call Special Agent Gibbs when the man appeared in front of his desk. "Geez, Gibbs, where the hell did you come from? I was just going to…"
"What do you have?" Gibbs interrupted him.
"There have been six reported attacks over the last two years. Based on the fact that some women won't report an attack, I think we can safely assume there are many more. These were all committed within a six block area of Faith's attack."
"Suspects?" Gibbs pulled a chair up beside Tony's, looking at the map filled with red and blue marking pen splotches.
Tony glanced around the room, lowering his voice. "Officially, none. And considering how detailed some of the descriptions were, I don't understand how there couldn't be." He paused for a moment. "No one was ever arrested. Hell, no one was even seriously questioned, based on what was entered into the system. I need to pull the actual case files."
"Want some help?"
"Wouldn't mind it." Tony rubbed at his bloodshot eyes.
"You look like crap, DiNozzo," Gibbs said.
"Yeah, well, I've only had about two hours sleep in the last three days."
"Must've been a hell of a party."
"I wish. Nah, no party, no date. I've been working a double homicide. Two gangbangers killed by a third member of their happy little family over who would take control of the local drug trade after the original leader died. I was staking out the killer's baby mama's place."
"Alone?"
Tony shrugged. "I was the only detective available."
Gibbs looked around the room at the six other detectives currently at work. He knew there was much more to the story than that, but let it go for now. "Go home. Get some sleep. You're no good to anyone if you're too tired to think."
"We've got bunks in the back. I'll sack out for a couple of hours, be back to my usual handsome and brilliant self in no time. C'mon, I'll check the file boxes out and you can get started." Tony got slowly to his feet, gesturing for Gibbs to follow. He took the list of case file numbers with him.
They stopped by the break room to get Gibbs a large cup of hot, overly strong coffee from the always percolating urn. Proceeding onto Records, Tony chatted with the sergeant in charge while helping him search for the evidence boxes.
Gibbs found himself watching the way the detective easily pretended to be totally alert and wide awake while listening to stories about the old days as related by the records sergeant. The man was obviously nearing retirement, marking time until he could get his full pension.
"Hey, Gibbs, want to help me out here?" Tony stood in the doorway, surrounded by ten file boxes. "Tompkins and I can't do it all."
"Sure. I thought you said there were six other attacks."
"There were. But I also found four other incidents from the same general area that I wanted a closer look at." Tony balanced four of the boxes in his arms, followed down the hallway by Gibbs carrying four more boxes. Trailing behind was Sgt. Tompkins with the last two boxes.
"We can use conference room A. It's one of the few rooms around here with a lock on the door. There are only two keys and I'll get them both. Put the boxes over here," Tony instructed the other two men.
Once Tompkins left, with Tony's thanks, Gibbs looked around the room. "We'll need supplies."
"I'm on it. I'll be right back."
Tony returned with pads of paper, pens and markers, as well as both keys and a large map of the neighborhood where the suspected attacks occurred. He handed Gibbs one of the keys before he pinned the map to the wall. "You and I will be the only people with access to this room. If what I suspect is true, we'll need to restrict the number of individuals who can come in here." Tony was overcome by a jaw-cracking yawn.
"DiNozzo, go. Get some sleep."
"I'm going, I'm going." With a weary wave, Tony headed to the small gray storage room in the back of the stationhouse. The room was crammed full of bathroom supplies, broken office equipment, and two sets of rusty metal bunk beds, faded gray blankets folded neatly at the foot. Tony dropped onto the musty mattress of one, almost immediately asleep.
~NCIS~
Gibbs quickly began to see the pattern that DiNozzo had spotted as he read through the case files. He had pages of notes with some follow-up questions in the margins. He also had the same suspicions regarding the investigations. Someone was preventing any arrests. Beyond that, someone was blocking even the mention of a viable suspect. Gibbs listed the full names of the investigating officers and, on a hunch, made another note to ask his Baltimore partner the names of their immediate supervisors.
Discovering his mug was empty, Gibbs grabbed it and the conference room key and went in search of a refill, carefully locking the door behind him. As he headed down the hall to the break room, he was stopped by a man who reminded him of a politician, slick and a bit slimy.
"Who the hell are you?"
"Special Agent Gibbs, NCIS." Seeing the lack of comprehension on the other man's face, he explained. "Naval Criminal Investigative Service."
"Captain Robert Tidwell. Is there something Baltimore P.D. can do for NCSI?"
"NCIS. I'm working with Detective DiNozzo."
"Regarding which case, Agent Gibbs?"
"The Lindsey attack, Captain." Tony DiNozzo appeared behind Tidwell. "The dead guy was a Marine."
Tidwell turned, transferring his gaze to his detective. "You didn't mention that NCIS was taking over."
"We're not. I'm merely here to assist Detective DiNozzo in his investigation."
"I see." His mouth thinning with displeasure, Tidwell considered the two men. "Remember, detective, two days."
"Got it, Captain."
Unable to foist the case onto the federal agency and unwilling to respond to the edge of distain in his man's voice in front of a third party, Tidwell spun about and stalked back to his office.
"Two days?"
"Tidwell gave me a deadline to finish with this case."
"That mess in there will take longer than two days, DiNozzo," Gibbs said, gesturing toward the locked conference room.
"Don't worry about it." Jauntily he cocked his brunette head to one side. "You're here to assist me? Does that mean I'm your boss?"
Gibbs snorted. "Dream on, DiNozzo."
Tony broke into an open, friendly smile. "Were you looking for me?"
"Coffee."
"Ah, I see." Tony laughed, letting himself back into their make-do command center. Checking through Gibbs' notes, Tony grabbed a pen and jotted some answers to a few of the special agent's questions.
The names of the detectives were read carefully over. For the ten cases, there were a total of five. He considered the list. Tony knew only one of the men well, three by name, and the last not at all. He went through the first folder, making his own notes.
Gibbs returned with fresh coffee, settling at the table across from Tony. The men worked in relative silence for the next two hours, only the rustle of paper and occasional scritch of a pen heard.
Tony's stomach growled, breaking the silence. "I need food. I don't even know what time it is, but I need food now."
"Where's your watch?"
"In the shop. The crystal got busted during a fight."
When Tony didn't elaborate, Gibbs glanced at his watch. "It's late afternoon. Might be a good time to break. Anyplace good to eat around here?"
"Hot and filling diner food, strong coffee and great desserts at a reasonable price. Sound good?"
"Sounds perfect." A smile ruffled Gibbs' mouth.
Locking the conference room behind them, the two men headed out of the station, unconsciously falling into step as they walked side by side down the street.
~NCIS~
Gibbs leaned back in his chair, relaxing over his empty pie plate and a freshened cup of coffee. He found himself amused by the detective's whole-hearted enjoyment of the diner, from the food to the waitress, a grandmotherly type who seemed amused by DiNozzo's flirting, to the ambiance of the authentic 1930s place.
"Need anything else, handsome?"
"Nah, I'm full, Louise. Thanks for the extra ice cream on my apple cobbler." Tony patted his stomach.
"We owe you, Anthony DiNozzo. Extra ice cream doesn't begin to repay that debt," Louise said softly, her eyes narrowing. "Especially since you won't let us feed you for free."
Tony just took the check from her, waving off Gibbs' move to pull out his wallet. "I've got this. You can spring for a pizza tonight."
They remained at the diner, discussing the cases as Gibbs finished his coffee.
"The basic descriptions of the attacker appear almost identical in four of the six core cases. Compact frame, well-muscled, a thick crop of yellow hair."
"Two victims mentioned a polished veneer, one swore he was wearing a high-end suit," Tony said gloomily. "The follow-ups were meager, no viable suspect was named in any of the reports."
"Bribery?"
"Or threats. I don't know who, but I think I can guess some of the generalities."
"Let's hear it." Gibbs was curious as to how much they agreed on the basics.
"Rich, powerful or from a powerful family, fairly young. Anger management issues. We probably would find a juvenile record for violence if they weren't sealed."
"Might even be expunged if your guess about the rich and powerful is right. What else?"
"I'm no profiler."
"You're an experienced cop."
Tony blew his breath out, before continuing. "Small in stature, no more than five foot eight inches. That also fits with the marks on Faith's arm. A small hand grabbed her, not the wide hands and thick fingers of our corporal."
"Compensating for inadequacies?"
"That's my guess." Tilting his head, Tony watched Gibbs considering that assessment. He was relieved when the older man inclined his silver gray head in agreement.
"We have a basic description. Now all we have to do is put a name to this killer."