All characters and all rights at 'NCIS: Los Angeles' belong to CBS and Shane Brennan Productions. The following story does not serve any commercial purposes, but was written only for the pleasure of fans. An injury of Copyright is not intended. All further persons belong to the authoress.
English is my second language, if you find any mistakes in my story please send them back to me for correction.
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Chapter 2 - Dead Men Don't Talk
"Kensi!" Surprised and a little suspicious Joann looked at her friend. Since the great quarrel two weeks ago, their relationship was a little tense. "Didn't the doctor take you off the streets for any longer?"
"I wasn't able to take it at home any longer. Hetty agreed that I start again, but I'm only allowed to be on office duty." Kensi smiled weakly. "Anything is better than staying in." Then she hesitated. "Do you have a moment for me?"
Joann was stunned. Kensi has avoided being alone with her. If they had seen each other, always Deeks and Callen had been present. "Sure."
They sought a quiet place for themselves. "Jo, I'm sorry that I hurled all the insults at you. I just was hacked off and vented my frustration on you. And on Marty. All the time you have you cared about me and I've been a creep in appreciation of that. Can you forgive me?" Kensi was truly contrite.
Spontaneously Joann clasped Kensi in her arms. "Of course. I know, how you felt." Relieved Kensi hugged Joann back. But then Joann stepped back and looked very seriously at Kensi. "But if you ever treat Marty so bad again, then I'll give you the hell. Then you'll wish for yourself that we never would have met each other."
Kensi could see it in Joann, that she was absolutely serious. She had to swallow hard and just nodded.
"Okay." Joann smiled again. "Anyway, I'm glad you're here. Tell me, how did you bear with the men in the time before I started working with you? They just were a pain in the neck!"
Now also Kensi laughed. "I was quick at repartee, in every sense of the word."
Joann chuckled, and then she brought Kensi on the current status. In addition to the professional facts Joann also told a little gossip. They conveniently overlooked the men. Their conversation was cut short by Eric's usual high-pitched whistle.
…
"We may have a serial killer. Over the past six months, nine former Navy members were found dead under suspicious circumstances. There is no obvious connection between the victims except for the fact that they had served in the Navy. They have worked in different areas, didn't know each others, and have different backgrounds."
Eric let appear a lot of files on the monitors: personnel records of the victims, photographs and sketches of crime scenes, autopsy reports. Carefully all peered at the information.
"Why do we get these cases but now?" Thoughtful Callen considered the amount of data.
"Lack of communication." Nell entered the Ops. "As they were no active Navy members, the murders have been processed by the police. The victims were killed in different districts, so that no one noticed anything. In the last case there was a clever detective who has launched a request for similar cases. Thereby he has stumbled across the eight other victims. In his opinion the connection between the cases is the Navy. Therefore, we were brought in."
"Can we talk to the detective?" Deeks turned to Nell, but Hetty answered.
"I already arranged that. In one hour you will be expected in the boathouse."
"What about the other detectives? Can we speak with them, too? "Ray looked questioningly at Hetty.
"That is the task of Mr. Deeks as our liaison officer." Given the face that Deeks made, Hetty smiled faintly amused to herself. "I suggest that you see about that after the conversation with Detective Fisher."
Deeks muttered something to himself, that no one did understand, but it was clear that he was not pleased by the situation. With his colleagues and friends from the NCIS he worked together well and with pleasure, but with his colleagues from the L.A.P.D. there were always problems. That's why he usually avoided the contact, despite his official title. In the meantime, a grin had appeared on all other faces. But before the colleagues were able to get started with stupid sayings, Ray was asking the next question.
"Can we also get insight into the personnel files of the investigators?"
"Why do you want to have that?" Callen was stunned.
Ray shrugged his shoulders. "It might be important to know something about the individual investigators. Finally, only one of nine had has the idea to look for similar cases. And no one has solved his particular case."
For a moment Callen thoughtfully looked at the Junior Agent, then nodded. "We will await the conversation with Detective Fischer. If you're then still of the opinion that this is necessary, we will see what we can do. Okay?"
Ray nodded. "Thanks, Callen."
Joann smiled to herself. The quiet, introverted beginner became a confident agent who had enough trust in himself and his colleagues, to rely only on his gut feeling. Even Sam's nagging had become much less now and Ray hit back at him.
…
"Detective." Callen hid his astonishment when he stretched out his hand, which was shaken with a firm grip. Four of the five team members were not less amazed. Only Ray bit back a grin. Still with a neutral facial expression Callen presented his unit. Everyone had expected an older, experienced and especially male detective. Towards them, there was a very young and very attractive woman.
"You knew it, didn't you?" Joann whispered softly to Ray. "You have informed yourself about the detectives, haven't you?"
"I had a brief conversation with Matt Bernhart." Ray grinned. "No particular reason, just out of curiosity."
Joann softly laughed to herself, and then focused again on Detective Fisher.
"No, I do not suffer from boredom, Agent Blye. On the basis of my age I was removed in a fairly quiet precinct, so I can gain experience." Detective Fisher frowned and for a brief moment you could see anger flicker across her face before her expression became neutral again. "That means there are only few capital crimes. If I want to have a career someday, I have to work on these few cases more than thoroughly. Therefore, I checked everything I could think of. So I came across the other cases."
"And then you have contacted the NCIS." Sam surveyed the young woman.
"Of course. Apart from the fact that the circumstances of all victims were more than strange, there was only one thing in common: the Navy. It's obvious that I contact the NCIS then." The look that Detective Fisher glanced at Sam was not very flattering.
"I think we should concentrate on the details of the case." Callen stepped in before Sam could say something inappropriate. "According to the reports you had been on site yourself. I would like to hear your own impressions. Things that are not in the very detailed reports."
After she had thrown an even pretty cool look at Sam, Detective Fisher turned to G with a beaming smile. "Of course, Agent Callen. What do you want to know?"
The team spent the next hour trying to get additional information and to become acquainted with the detective. Finally, the young woman said good-bye, by smiling radiantly at Callen and nodding coolly at the rest of the team.
…
"What do you think?" Callen threw a quick glance around.
"She's attractive, intelligent and extremely ambitious. I don't want to assume that she would be willing to sleep her way up to the top. But she definitely has no inhibitions, to leverage her feminine." As usual Joann got to the heart of her impressions.
Callen smiled. "But what do you think about her job skills?"
"She knows what she's doing, has an eye for details. Very meticulous when it comes to forensic evidence. Doesn't think only in the beaten path." Joann shrugged her shoulders. "Certainly it isn't without reason that she is even now detective." Joann then frowned.
"What, Jo?" Attentively, G looked at his girlfriend.
"Her ambition...I don't rightly know. A certain amount is necessary to advance in one's job. As a woman you even need a larger portion than a man. But with her..." Joann shook her head. "It's almost too much. I'm pretty sure sometime this ambition will be in her way. Currently, however, it is useful to us. Without it, the murders wouldn't still be linked together. Let's get support wherever we can get it."
"You're not convinced, Jo." Callen asked no question.
"Just as you, G."
The two exchanged a brief, understanding glance.
"You have a point." Sam looked thoughtfully at G and Joann. "There is something about this woman, that's not right. Nevertheless, in this case she really did a good job." Sam shrugged his shoulders and glanced at Ray. "We should have screened her."
Callen nodded. "Can't hurt in any way." He picked up the phone.
"Jones."
"Nell, I need a complete background check on Detective Tamy Fisher."
"I'm in."
"Deeks, Ray, have a look at the last crime scene. Take Eric along with you, he shall make video shots, very detailed. I want Kensi go over them later. We three go back to headquarters."
…
Amazed Joann looked at the mountain of files, among which Kensi barely was visible. "Kensi, what are you doing?"
"These are the reports of all cases. I try to discover common characteristics."
"And, already found something?"
"No, nothing." Kensi was pretty frustrated.
"Okay, Kensi, then tell me what you don't have." Joann sat down and looked expectantly at Kensi.
"All victims are male, members of different races, different ages. Each of them served in the Navy, but in completely different positions and areas. They all applied for their discharge voluntarily. Even all family circumstances are represented: single, married, divorced, with and without a girlfriend." Kensi sighed.
"What about the crime scenes? If there are no similarities with the victims, maybe there." Joann looked questioningly at Kensi. Sam and Callen listened attentively.
Kensi sighed again before she went on. "That's the problem. They are only finding places, no crime scenes. The victims were clearly killed in another location and the offenders only stored the bodies at the sites of the finds. There are no DNA evidences, no fingerprints, no fibers, no footprints, no tire marks from any vehicles. Nothing at all. The men were strangled, stabbed, shot and slain. With the same mode of death there were different weapons. No information about the offenders, such as size, weight, gender, handedness. There were only two things in common: all of the victims were tortured and mutilated in some way." Kensi took a deep breath.
"What about the weapons? Were there any shells or bullets? With what have the victims be stabbed or beaten?" Asking Sam looked at Kensi. "Haven't the mutilations partly be similar?"
"The bullets were removed, no shells were found. The pathologists were not sure about the stabbing weapons. In one case, it seems to have been an ordinary steak knife, and the pathologist assumes that for the other victim a letter opener was used. The victims were slain with the famous 'blunt object'. No similarities. Well, the mutilations..." Kensi sighed and let appear a few photos on the monitor. "Cut-out tongues, gouged-out eyes, cut-off hands, a cut-out heart, cut-off genitals. The heart is unique, the other mutilations are found twice. However, different objects were used for removal. As I said, no similarities."
"However, there are." Baffled everybody turned around to Callen. "The offender or the offenders have notion of forensics. They left no traces, even removed the bullets from the bodies. There someone knows exactly what he or she does. This professionalism goes beyond what can be learned from the television by a layman."
Sam nodded. "Yeah, there is definitely a connection with law enforcement authorities. However, that doesn't exactly reduce the number of suspects: police, lawyers, prosecutors, court staff, judges, employees of Legal Medicine, federal agents, correctional officers, civilian employees in all areas. Or just their spouses or friends." He shook his head. "This doesn't help us yet. We need more clues."
"That's what I'm trying to find all the time." Now Kensi was slightly annoyed.
"We know that, Kensi." Sam smiled at her reassuringly. Then he frowned. Still there was something. Once again he activated the photos of the victims.
"Eric shall make video shots of the last finding place. I want you to look at them." Callen looked at his watch. "He should be on the spot now, Deeks and Ray are with him." For a moment Callen considered about it. "Maybe he can send the shots as a live stream, then he has the opportunity to go into detail where you are particularly interested."
Kensi got up. "I go into the ops and talk with Nell."
"I'll go with you, Kensi." Joann also rose, threw a withering glance to the mountain of files and followed Kensi.
…
Callen watched his partner. After Sam had stared at the photos of the victims for a while, he now rummaged through the mountain of files on Kensi's table.
"Always when you really need it, the police aren't able to record their documents electronically. Damn paperwork!" Sam grumbled under his breath.
"Sam, what's going on?"
"I think I know one of the victims, G. But the L.A.P.D. has not digitized the entire file. What I'm interested in is in there." Sam pointed to the mountain of files.
"Which victim, Sam?" Callen stepped up to the monitor.
Sam pointed to one of the photos. "James Heritage."
Together they searched for relevant files. Finally, they had together the documents and engrossed themselves into the files.
…
In the ops everyone looked at the big screen and followed Eric's camera work.
"Eric, take a step back. Yeah, and now slightly to the left above. Stop! Zoom that in. Thank you. Nell, make a screenshot for me and put it on the other monitor." With a furrowed brow Kensi looked at the picture and then turned back to the live stream. "Eric, when you have finished there, please, got to the parking garage and show me the place from the top."
Locally, Ray and Deeks also kept a very close eye on the place, while Kensi directed Eric.
"In the evening one can be pretty safe from detection. The parking garage belongs to the company over there. They have quitting time at the latest at 6 pm. There are no shops, bars and clubs, so it's deserted after business hours. Employees, who use the parking garage, certainly don't look out at the back when they come or go. And the bus stop is on the other side." Ray looked around. "I think that apart from the homeless who are looking for a dry, warm place to stay, no one hangs out at the parking garage. The place is perfect to dispose of a corpse."
"According to forensic medicine and forensic science, the victim has laid here about a week before it was found." Deeks looked at his smart phone. "That was just a coincidence. One of the employees had brought her dog to work and let it go for a walk here during her lunch break. The dog found the body. Without the dog the body would probably still be here."
"Guys, I'm done here and now will go to the parking garage. Kensi wants a shot from above." Eric did not wait for a response from his two colleagues, but immediately hit the road.
"It's not that easy to come here with a car." Deeks looked around and then pointed to their car, Kensi's Cadillac SRX Crossover, they had have to park a long way away. "This is just for a small car, a really small compact car. What complicates the transport of a corpse."
"But it also makes the offender more inconspicuous. No one pays attention on compact cars." Ray looked around. "Not a bad idea."
"Have the other sites been similar?" Deeks built on Ray's ability to detect every detail in pictures and especially to remember all the photos.
Ray thought about it and then nodded. "They were all near companies, shops or warehouses, but still secluded and poorly visible. In all cases the bodies were found by chance, between three days and two weeks after the death of the victim."
Slowly Deeks wandered around. "To leave no traces here is easy and difficult at the same time. That's the work of an expert, someone who knows exactly what he or she is doing." Thoughtfully, he frowned. He had not realized the conversation in the headquarters, but reached the same conclusion.
"Yeah, I agree. I would also like to see the other crime scenes. I'll bet, they are more similarities."
"These are not 'crime scenes', Ray. These are only 'finding places'. The men were not killed here, only stored." Without knowing it, Deeks had just given Kensi's explanation.
Ray glanced at his watch. "We could manage one or two more, what do you think, Eric?" When Ray got no answer, he looked around. "Deeks, where is Eric?"
"He ought to make any close-ups for Kensi...Kensi, where is Eric? He does not answer when we call him." Worried Deeks looked around. He could have sworn that Eric had been directly behind him.
"Where are you, Deeks? Eric went to the parking garage to take shots from above. You should stay with him and keep an eye on him!" Kensi grabbed her cell phone and dialed Eric's number. "Why doesn't Eric have an earwig, Nell?"
"He has, Kensi, I won't let him go without!" Nell was outraged.
"Deeks, Ray, look for him! Eric also does not answer the phone!" Kensi took a strong line.
"What's going on here?" Hetty entered the ops. "Shouldn't a video transmission from the finding place of the last victim take place here?"
"I have asked Eric to make shots from the upper deck of the parking garage. He has interrupted the transmission to go there. Now we can't reach him anymore."
"Mr. Deeks and Mr. Wingate had the task of taking care of Mr. Beale. What went wrong?" The sharpness in Hetty's voice startled everyone.
"We are still trying to figure that out, Hetty." Joann turned to Nell. "There must be surveillance cameras, Nell. Tap them. Immediately. Ray, Marty, where are you? I want a status report. Now!"
"We are in the parking garage, Joann. From where did Eric want to take the pictures?"
"The top level, Ray." Joann left the ops and approached the balustrade. She saw Sam and Callen sitting in the bullpen and searching the files. Her shrill whistle made them to look up. Joann waved them upstairs.
"Deeks, he is over there!"
The two agents ran to their colleague, however, they did not forget to give each other cover. Eric was on the floor and did not move. Deeks felt his pulse. Relieved, he nodded to Ray.
"We have found Eric, he is alive. Someone has knocked him out and taken the camera. We need an ambulance."
"It's on its way, Deeks, it will be with you in a few minutes." Nell was swift to react.
Callen and Sam silently followed the ongoing. The women seemed to have the situation under control.
…
Eric stirred and groaned.
"Slowly, Eric, very carefully. You have a nasty bruise." Ray helped his colleague to sit up. "Do you know what has happened?"
Eric made the mistake of shaking his head. He became dizzy and nauseous.
"Be careful, Eric. Take your head between your knees and breathe slowly and deeply in and out." While he took care of Eric, Ray looked around for Deeks, who controlled the parking deck. "Have you found something?"
"No, Ray, nothing. Whoever it was is gone and has left no traces. At least none that I can discover. What about Eric?"
After a brief look at the still groaning Eric, Ray shrugged his shoulders. "He will survive. Maybe he has a concussion, but nothing more has happened to him."
Deeks nodded.
…
"Sam, we go out there and look at this. Nell, concentrate on the surveillance cameras. I want to know who went after Eric." Callen was almost out of the ops, as he turned around again. "Kensi, have the shots done something?"
"Maybe, G. I've got to watch the one or other once more a bit closer. A comparison with the other sites would make sense. And of course, the top view."
Callen nodded. "Nell, give Joann a camera. Jo, you're coming with us and make the shots that Kensi still wants to have. Hurry up, Sam and I wait!"
…
When they reached the parking garage, the ambulance had already arrived and the paramedics took care of Eric. Callen took a grim look at Ray and Deeks. But before he came to grips with them, he went to Eric.
"Everything okay with you?"
"I'm really sorry, Callen, I haven't seen or heard anyone. Whoever this was, totally surprised me." Eric was very pale and contrite.
"That wasn't your fault, Eric. It was Ray's and Deeks' task to prevent such a thing. I wanted to know how you are."
"Headache. I probably need an aspirin."
"The patient has felt nauseated and he has complained about short-term vision. He should be examined in the hospital." One of the paramedics interfered in the conversation.
Callen nodded. "Of course. Deeks, you accompany Eric to the hospital. Ray, you are looking at the other finding places with Joann when she is finished here." After a brief look at Eric, he continued. "Everything else we will resolve later at headquarters."
No one contradicted him.