4.

"There were bound to have been other attacks, but this is the first that I'm certain is tied to the same attacker. Consuela Lopez was a waitress at Jake's Bar and Grill, just four blocks away from where Gonzalez was killed. A youngish guy, barely legal, was trying to press his attention where it wasn't wanted. After he grabbed her, Consuela broke away. The owner, Jake Trenton, and his bartender, Trini Orajo, had to rescue the girl when the suspect tried again. They tossed him out on his ear." Tony flipped through his notes.

"Who filed the police report?"

"Trenton. He said the guy was threatening all of them. He took it seriously enough to make an official complaint." Tony directed Gibbs to the address.

The building was an example of pre-depression architecture. The paint had weathered out of the fading letters of the sign over the front entrance. Tony and Gibbs pushed through the double doors, pausing to survey the interior. It was as drab and ordinary as its patrons, but remarkably clean.

Tony sauntered over to the bar, waiting for the man with two muscular arms wedged into a black T-shirt to make his way over.

"What can I get you?" the bartender asked.

"Some information." Tony showed the man his badge. "Detective Anthony DiNozzo, Baltimore Police. This is Special Agent Gibbs, NCIS. We're here about the attack on Ms. Lopez from a couple of years ago. Can we speak to Jake Trenton?"

"You're the cop who called yesterday?"

After Tony admitted that he was, he and Gibbs were ushered to the back of the business. Once all three men settled into a well-patched booth, the bartender introduced himself as Trenton.

"Tell us about the guy who attacked Ms. Lopez."

Trenton huffed. "Snotty little bastard. And I do mean little. He seemed to think he could do whatever the hell he wanted. Kept going on and on that we'd be sorry."

"Did he say what he meant?" Gibbs asked.

"No, but I took it as a threat. Trini and I didn't really listen to the specifics, we just gave him the bum's rush. Although…"

Tony leaned forward. "What?"

"It might not be connected. This isn't the best neighborhood in the world."

"Let us make that decision."

"There were some incidents for a couple of weeks following. Cars were keyed, antennas broken off. And we had a flurry of police visits."

"Police visits? Did they say why they were here?"

"I gathered that there were a bunch of 911 calls claiming there was a fight here. I don't know much more than that. All I know is that the cops were getting really pissed about coming out here for nothing."

"Can you remember the specific dates? I know it's been a while ago."

"Date and time," Trenton replied. "After the second call, I started putting them on my calendar. Be right back." The owner slid out of the booth, heading to his office.

"Our suspect?"

Tony grinned. "Oh yeah. And a big mistake on his part. We can pull the 911 recordings and, once we've got the bastard, do a voice comparison."

"Why can't we get an address for the caller?" Gibbs asked.

"We still can't recognize cell phone numbers on our emergency system. And if he used a disposable phone, we really wouldn't."

The two men fell silent when Trenton returned with his calendar. He read off the dates and times while Tony took notes.

"Mr. Trenton, did you or your employees give information for sketch of the suspect?" Tony asked.

"Not a sketch, no. We did give a description but that's all."

"Okay, thank you. Do you think you'd recognize this guy if you saw him?"

Trenton sighed, shrugging. "Frankly, I don't think I could. Not enough for a court of law. It was night and the bar is pretty dark. The only reason I bothered to make the report is because he scared my waitress with his ranting and raving."

"Thank you for your time, Mr. Trenton." Preparing to leave, Tony started to scoot out of the booth, then stopped, turning back to face the bar owner. "What about Ms. Lopez? Is she still working here?"

Jake Trenton shook his head. "Consuela left after her car was vandalized for the second time. Tell you the truth, she was getting a little paranoid the last week she worked here."

"What do you mean?" Gibbs was suddenly alert.

"Connie thought someone was following her, watching her. I mean, I checked. I never saw anyone suspicious."

"Do you have a forwarding address for Ms. Lopez?"

"No, I'm sorry. She sent her brother to pick up her final check. That's the last I've heard from her."

"Thank you, sir."

Back out in the sunshine, Tony pulled his sunglasses out, slipping them over his narrowed green eyes. "She felt somebody watching her."

"Her car was vandalized twice. Sounds like he was trying to send her a message."

"A message she seems to have gotten. We need to find her."

"Let's get today's interviews over with and we'll see what we can find."

~NCIS~

Three interviews later, Gibbs and Tony were knocking on the door of the first rape victim, Lavonia Montgomery. A waitress at the local Dunkin' Donuts, had been attacked while walking to the bus stop, just like Faith Lindsey.

An intercom on the wall beside the door crackled to life. "What do you want?"

"I'm Detective Tony DiNozzo, Baltimore Police Department. This is my partner, Special Agent Gibbs. We're looking for Ms. Lavonia Montgomery."

"Hold your badges up to the eye hole," responded the female voice.

Tony and Gibbs did so, giving the woman time to inspect them. Finally the door began to open, very slowly. Lavonia's eyes were filled with fear and mistrust, but after reexamining the badges and identification once more, she opened the door wider, allowing the two men to enter her house. She ushered them to her living room, the nervous sweat beginning to glisten on her ebony features.

"Is this about my rape?" she asked suspiciously.

"Yes, ma'am. We're looking into a new lead." Tony had decided to be honest with the woman. After all she had been through, beaten and raped before being beaten once again, almost to the point of death, she deserved the truth.

"What type of lead?"

"We believe that the man who attacked you also attacked others." Tony gently reached over and touched the fingers tightly clenched on the sofa cushion. He ignored the slight shying away, but removed his hand nonetheless. "We need your help."

She shivered, but nodded. "I wondered. I had heard…well, I've heard some rumors about other rapes in the area. But Detective Lebowicz never told me that they might have been connected with mine."

"Can you help us, Ms Montgomery? Lavonia?"

Gibbs was impressed by how Tony would adjust his approach based on the person he would be speaking to. He wondered just how much undercover work the Baltimore detective had done.

~NCIS~

Tony was dragging by the time he and Gibbs returned to the Navy Yard. He dropped his aching body into the desk chair, leaning over to dig through his backpack for a pick-me-up, a candy bar. Gibbs had disappeared shortly after growling "coffee". He was gone before Tony could explain how he liked his own coffee, heavily sugared with a dollop of hazelnut flavored creamer.

With a shrug, the police detective ripped open the chocolate and took a big bite. Pulling up a blank document on the computer, he began typing a report on the six interviews he and Gibbs had conducted.

He was finishing by the time Gibbs returned, only one cup in his hand. Tony snorted. "Why, thank you, Special Agent Gibbs, I would like a cup of coffee. Thank you so much for thinking of me."

Gibbs' mouth curved into an unconscious smile. "Vending machines are down the hall, DiNozzo." He waved his hand toward the small break room. "Help yourself."

Tony glanced at his watch. "I'd rather have a real meal. C'mon, Gibbs, it's late and I'm hungry. I haven't eaten all day. It's your town. Pick a place and I'll buy."

"Report's done?"

"Yes, Gibbs. I've written up interview reports before."

Before Gibbs could respond, Ducky Mallard walked to where the men were glaring at each other. "Ah, Detective DiNozzo, you're still here." He beamed down at the young man. "Have you eaten?"

"We were just discussing that very subject, Doctor Mallard. And please call me Tony."

"I rather like Anthony, a most interesting name. It means 'worthy of praise'."

"Not according to Gibbs," Tony muttered.

Ducky continued speaking as if he hadn't heard the younger man's complaints. "The actual origin of the name is unknown, although it is believed to be Etruscan. There were two very famous saints named Anthony, Saint Anthony the Great who…"

"Ducky," Gibbs interrupted. "Did you come up here for a particular reason?"

"Ah, of course, Jethro. I thought I would ask you and young Anthony to join me for dinner."

"What about your mother?"

"Mother is busy with her book club this evening, leaving me free to treat you two gentlemen to a wonderful meal at Hannigans."

"Ducky, you don't have to do that. If you and…" Tony swallowed his laughter. "…Jethro want, I can grab a quick bite somewhere else."

"Nonsense. I want to get to know more about you. It isn't often that Jethro works so closely with another agency, particularly the Baltimore Police Department. That makes you unique."

"Huh." Tony tried to keep his skepticism to himself, but could see by the glare sent his way by Gibbs that he wasn't entirely successful. Luckily the medical examiner didn't seem to be aware of it.

After some further discussion, the three men proceeded to the restaurant. They made their meal and drink selections quickly, handing their menus to the waiter.

Snapping his maroon napkin open before placing it on his lap, Ducky spoke. "Did you find out anything to clear the young man currently in my care?"

Tony leaned forward in an effort to keep the discussion private. "We've been given similar descriptions from everyone we've spoken to today. Even Lavonia Montgomery, the first rape victim, gave the same basic ID. I've arranged for those in this general area to see the department sketch artist."

"Blond, small stature, very strong, arrogant," Gibbs said. "Why the hell didn't the Baltimore cops notice?"

A pained expression was Tony's only response. He was wondering the same thing. Although all the victims and witnesses spoken to claimed to have given descriptions, only three files contained them.

"Something else as well, Duck. With the first two possibles, both originally put down as simple bar fights, there seems to have been some anonymous retaliation." Gibbs sipped at his coffee.

"Calls to 911 and nuisance vandalism at the first place. Tip calls to Narcotics with the second," Tony explained. He paused, waiting until the food was served and their beverages refilled, the waiter finally gone. "Then there's the sudden windfalls."

Ducky's eyebrows raised inquiringly. "Windfalls?"

"Lavonia was offered a job clear across the country, a chance to be a manager at a new Dunkin' Donuts in Taos, New Mexico. At the time she thought it was a Godsend, a way to start over. A lawyer visited Lavonia the day she got home from the hospital, implied it was a settlement from her employer to keep her from suing them."

"It wasn't?"

"Nope. When I contacted Dunkin' Donuts, they denied any type of settlement. They were gracious enough to check into the Taos franchise. It was arranged and paid for the day before Lavonia was released from the hospital. In cash." Tony handed Ducky the medical files, turning his attention to his beer-battered fish and chips.

Ducky flipped through the paperwork, leaving his own chicken Caesar salad to read the evaluations of Lavonia Montgomery's medical condition. "The poor young woman was horribly beaten. I doubt that she would have been able to travel immediately."

"She wasn't. Got out of the hospital after three days, stayed home for about a week recovering, another week packing up her belongings for shipment to Taos. Seems the so-called settlement even included transportation of her household items as well as an apartment. She stuck it out for a year, but finally moved back here to be near her family."

"The next victim, a Lois Brennan, found herself the recipient of a full scholarship to a college in Des Plaines, Illinois, less than two weeks after she was raped," Gibbs said.

"We're still trying to find Trina Henderson, Precious Gunia, and Brenda Trott. Based on what happened with the first two women, I have to think someone is trying to buy everyone off."

"I believe you said that there were seven victims of attack? Who is missing?"

"Rebecca Malone. She was attacked, but fought the guy off. No payoff or bribe here, but that might be because she didn't really get a good look at her attacker. She may have done him some serious damage however. Rebecca swore that he was bleeding when he fled." Tony sighed. "She may still have the jacket she was wearing that night. Rebecca said she tossed it in a box in the garage. She's gonna look. I don't know if we'll be able to get any DNA off of it, might not provide more than the blood type."

"Every little bit helps, DiNozzo. Finish your fish."