So. Sorry about the long time between posts. Don't think I've ever waited that long. To be fair though, I blame it on the transformer that burst outside my bedroom window in spectacular display of sparks last week. But now, things are looking up. Got my power back, lights, heat, running water. So happy to be living in the 21st century again.
Oh and there's a little T rated nooky, just so you know.
Oh and once again. I don't own these characters. I'm just taking them out for a spin.
X
Elizabeth Whitcomb sighed and sat back against an antique rose patterned settee. "You said my granddaughter's husband is dead?"
"You're relieved." Gibbs said.
She fingered a large cross that hung around her neck. "I am."
Calloway looked around the room before making eye contact with Mrs. Whitcomb. She'd never understand why people felt the need to mount animal heads and guns on the wall. She'd stake money that none of the unfortunate creatures had appeared as fierce in the wild as they did, restuffed and hung on a wall. "Anything you can tell us would be helpful."
Gibbs held out the framed photo he'd swiped from the bookshelf. "Is this Erich Weiss?"
Mrs. Whitcomb's crayoned on eyebrows drew together in concentration. "This was taken just after Meg met James. It was such a stormy relationship."
"Violent?" asked Camie.
"No. It was more like they enjoyed the drama of fighting." She pulled a cotton handkerchief from up her sleeve and dabbed her eyes. "After one particularly loud fight Meg had a fling with Erich Weiss. She's certain she got pregnant by him. She wanted to marry him but he refused."
She made another pass at her eyes with the handkerchief before stuffing it back up her sleeve. "If her parents had ever found out she'd conceived out of wedlock they'd have made her give up the baby, and the thought of it broke her heart. So she went back to James, said she was pregnant with his child. He proposed on the spot. They got married later that week."
She smoothed the hem of her housedress. "Two weeks after Mary was born I came downstairs early one morning and I spooked Shawn. He was scrubbing the floor. I never saw what it was, but he told me it concerned James and that if I valued Meg's safety I'd never say a word. That was the day Erich went missing."
"Do you recognize this?" Gibbs reached into his pocket and held out the key he'd discovered in the back of the frame. Small, black and wrought iron, it looked like a museum piece.
"Yes."
"What does it go to Mrs. Whitcomb?" Calloway asked.
"That." She pointed to a wrought iron grillwork cabinet containing several antique rifles. "They belonged to my late husband. He was something of a collector. All the firing pins have been removed years ago. They've never worked."
The locked turned stiffly as Gibbs keyed it open. The door groaned with disuse.
A cursory glance didn't reveal anything out of place, save a tiny strand of hair plastered to the end of one of the dusty rifle butts. Gibbs flipped open his phone. "DiNozzo. Get out of bed and get the lumalight. I don't care what your mother in law says."
X
"Oh yeah boss. Blood spatter on the gun butt." Tony hefted one of the rifles in his gloved hands. "You think maybe this is the murder weapon?"
"Ya think?"
"With out Abby's magic to back us up, I'd say so." He slid the gun into a cardboard sleeve for safe transport back to Abby's lab.
Ziva paced the room. "Mrs. Whitcomb, where did you see Shawn cleaning?"
Mrs. Whitcomb pointed to a section of wide wood plank flooring in front of the fireplace. "Right about here."
Ziva pulled luminol from the kit by Tony's feet.
He grabbed her forearm. "I don't think that's a good idea."
"Excuse me?"
He plucked the bottle from her grasp. "What if there are some chemicals in this that aren't good for the baby? Maybe you should just go sit down."
"Why don't I just leave and let you do your job." She said. "If you want me I'll be upstairs gestating." She turned on her heel and Sarah followed her out.
Gibbs clapped him on the back. "It's the end of the world DiNozzo."
Tony sighed inwardly and wondered how much farther beyond totally screwed he could get. Work now. Worry about the end of the world later, DiNozzo.
He focused his attention on the spot Mrs. Whitcomb had indicated and sprayed it. It glowed a familiar blue. He worked the area and a long hidden blood trail emerged, leading across the room to the hall, and out the back door.
He stood with Calloway and Gibbs and an agitated Mrs. Whitcomb on the back stoop of the inn. At the edge of the brown expanse of lawn the ocean pummeled the shore. "Looks like he was hit on the head in there and dragged, bleeding out the back door." Tony said. "Put on his boat by Liptak or Marner. Dumped at sea."
"Only his boat was found drifting." Mrs. Whitcomb said.
Gibbs allowed himself a lengthy look at a Windjammer slowly winding its way up the coast. "They used two boats. One man dropped off the body and left the boat to drift. The second picked him up."
X
In the noisy din of the bar's after dinner crowd, Calloway raised her glass. "Cheers Gibbs. You're not so much of a bastard as you'd have people believe you know. If you're ever in Florida look me up."
He clinked his glass against hers and said nothing.
She laughed and downed her whiskey. "My thoughts exactly."
X
Sarah had lost track of how many times she'd reread the same line in her book, trying in vain to tune out the soft strains of Tony and Ziva's discussion flowing out of the bedroom.
I told you I wanted the top. You try to concentrate flat on your back with your head between the toilet and garbage can.
Zee-vah. There's only so long I'm actually going to be able to get on top. We could have done it in the shower.
Please. Camel spit has more water pressure.
There was a pause where she figured Ziva had either broken something of his or….
She didn't want to think of what else. She exhaled when Tony started to speak again. The relief was short lived.
God. You're so tight…
She pushed her hands to her ears. While she had no qualms with her daughter's sex life, she had no desire to actually hear it.
X
They kissed lazily, facing each other in bed, her leg thrown over his hip. A movie droned in the background.
She slid her hand between their bodies to tease him. "Want to go again?"
"Yes." He pressed himself into her hand. "Want to call room service and have them send up some ice cream? Maybe a little chocolate sauce? Whipped cream?" He stroked her side down to cup her bottom.
She pulled away from him and sat up. His hand landed on the mattress.
"No. But now that you mention it I am hungry. I saw a little Thai Place in town. I think I could definitely go for some Pad Thai."
He lay back against the pillow staring at the canopy. "You're kidding, right?"
"No."
"I'm sorry. I'm still wondering how you got from horny to hungry so fast."
"Pregnant."
"I've noticed." He sat up and pulled her hair aside. One hand cupped her tummy as he kissed the nape of her neck, her skin soft and sweet under his lips. "Do you want to check the room service menu and see if there's something you want?
"No. I want Pad Thai."
"I know you do."
She tilted her neck to let him kiss her and for a blissful moment he thought she'd forgotten about it. "We have a four poster bed." She said.
"Uh huh." He sucked at her neck.
She tugged at the cloth tie restraining the bed curtain to one of the posts. "And there are four of these."
"Uh Huh.
She smoothed her hand down his stomach to grasp him. Her fingers worked his length. "And you have four limbs."
"Ah hah."
Her last touch was feather soft. "I'm going to take a bath. If there's Pad Thai here when I get out I'll make the wait worth your while."
Zipping up his jeans was a struggle.
X
Sarah's cell phone rang. Her steady voice didn't betray her fear. "What do you want Hannah?"
Hannah laughed low in her throat and Sarah shuddered to think she'd once found the sound light and beautiful.
"I think you know."
"You are not getting Ziva." I will die before that happens.
"Oh. I don't want her. Just the baby."
X
Gibbs flipped open his phone. "What?"
"I know how Special Agent Swift was murdered." Ducky said. "It was ingenious really. Or perhaps it was just a stroke of luck. It was much like a case at Scotland Yard that had them baffled a while back. There was a man whose wives kept drowning in the bathtub. They knew it must be foul play but could never prove it until one day two agents assigned…"
"Ducky?"
"Swift was relaxing in the tub and had her eyes closed. Liptak jerked her legs straight down then up, in sort of a scooping swooshing motion, not unlike that Nike Logo. The water rushed up her nostrils and into her lungs before she knew what was happening she was gone. Didn't have a chance to fight back."
"Good work Ducky." He clicked the phone closed and returned his attention to Camie. "You like boats?"
X
Ziva sank into the warm bath, her fingers splayed across her stomach. I swear it popped out over night. She leaned her head against the back of the tub and closed her eyes. At least Tony thinks the belly is sexy. I think he means it too.
The lock on the bathroom door clicked shut. She opened her eyes and grinned into the darkness. He'd always been insatiable, but something about her new appearance spurred him into over drive. She had to admit, the new world of pregnant sex was something she enjoyed. "You back already? Were they closed?"
A cold breeze blew threw the room. "Close the window, will you?"
Strong hands grabbed her ankles. "Not funny Tony." She said just before her brain registered. Not his touch.
She heard the crack of her skull as it bounced against porcelain tub. She twisted her head and held her breath as she was yanked, feet first straight into the air. A trickle of water slid down her throat.
X
Thank you for reading and as always, I love to hear from you, so let me know what you thought. Thanks. Jeanne.