At the end of the night, Gibbs found himself in his basement trying to clear his mind. Saw dust filled the air, and the heat of a glass of bourbon still burned in his throat. There was something about this case that bothered him. If his team had made a mistake and wrongly arrested Rory Adler, then why would she escape from her holding cell only to hang around D.C.? Why wouldn't she flee?
Gibbs heard his front door open and close. He looked up when he heard heavy footsteps descending the stairs into the basement. Ducky offered him a small smile as he approached the work table. Gibbs refilled his glass, and poured a fresh one for Ducky.
"What can I do for you, Duck?" Gibbs asked as he sipped his bourbon.
"Well, I wanted to come by and see how you were doing," Ducky explained.
"You wanted to see how I was doing?" Gibbs asked.
"Yes, Jethro. I wanted to see how you were doing. Is that a crime?"
Gibbs chuckled. "No, Duck. That's not a crime."
Ducky swirled his bourbon around in the glass before taking a small sip. "To be honest, Jethro, I'm here because I know this case has had an effect on you."
"And what kind of effect is that?"
"Well, normally you have little trouble reading people. You can almost always tell when someone is lying to you. But there's something about Miss Adler that makes her hard to read. You can't tell what her next move is, and I can tell it's bothering you. You feel guilty that you may have wrongly arrested Rory Adler, but at the same time, you feel angry by the way she's handling the situation," Ducky said confidently.
"I just love having my head probed, Duck."
"Yes, well if there's anyone in this world who can probe your head, it's me. But I'm right, aren't I?" Ducky asked as he finished his bourbon.
Gibbs began to pace back and forth. "It's like she thinks this is a game or something. She has the answers I need, but I can't get to her. She always manages to slip away at the last minute, Duck. Vance is putting pressure on me to solve this case, and her trail is about to turn cold."
"If it helps at all, I've done a profile on Martin Armando," Ducky said quietly.
"What do you got?"
"Based on what I learned about Rory Adler, I've determined that she's smart, and she's driven but she doesn't have the resources to pull off some of the things she's done. Martin Armando has to be helping her. He's a well-known advocate of organized crime here in D.C., he's obviously got friends in high places. He knows which strings to pull to get what he wants. He's possessive of Adler. I'd bet anything that he was responsible for Adler's escape from the Navy Yard holding cell."
"But what about the clues, Duck?" Gibbs asked. "She's leaving me clues, is he involved in that?"
"No, I don't think he even knows about the clues. Which makes me wonder why she's leaving them. Martin Armando obviously has a temper, hence the 7-Eleven explosion last year. Why would she risk setting him off?" Ducky asked.
Something flashed in Gibbs' eyes. Understanding.
"Because he framed her, Duck. He framed her for the murder of that Marine last month to punish her for something, and then he busted her out of the holding cell. You're right, Duck. He's been pulling the strings all along, and now she's trying to prove her innocence."
"Possessive to a fault," Ducky said quietly.
"You're a lifesaver, Duck."
Ducky chuckled as he set his empty glass down, and turned to leave.
The next morning Gibbs strode into the bullpen, determined to make substantial progress with the case.
"McGee!" Gibbs barked. "Track Martin Armando's phone records, and bank accounts. DiNozzo, Bishop, I want Martin Armando's home address, and current location. Now."
"Did you find something new, Boss?" Tony asked apprehensively.
"Martin Armando framed Rory Adler the first time around, and then he arranged for her escape from the holding cell. Once Abby's done processing the gun Adler left behind, we'll get a warrant to search Armando's house."
"What are we trying to find at his house, Boss?" Bishop asked.
"Something that will lead us to Rory Adler. And Rory Adler is going to give us the answers we need. She won't slip away again."
