AN: Finally got back over to this story today, after a weekend detour in NCIS:LA fic. I still have to polish my original piece for tonight's open mic for my writer's group, but enough of you were asking about the next chapter of this that I figured I'd better do this first. :) My plot bunnies need their own personal organizer.
Chapter 14
McGee left Dorneget unloading the crime scene equipment and joined Tony at the body to start bagging and tagging.
"It's our guy, isn't it?" He could tell by the look on the senior field agent's face.
Tony pointed to the metal hearts on the ground. "Who takes out a SEAL?"
McGee looked over at Gibbs, still talking to the MPs. "I don't know, but we'd better get everything else bagged and tagged so as soon as Ducky's done with the body we can be out of here before the game gets out."
Tony nodded and took half the numbered markers. He placed one next to the hip of the victim, then pointed to the guy's pocket. "Must have been at the game."
McGee nodded and called the stadium to get security footage. He put in a call to the front gate as well, gave both his email address. "That should be in my inbox when we get done here."
Tony nodded. "Let's finish up." The two agents tagged everything, then Tony shot photos of it as McGee started bagging the evidence.
"What can I do?" Dorneget stood a few feet from the body.
"Load up the van with the evidence," McGee said. "We need to be able to move quickly once Ducky-" He broke off as Jimmy pulled up and the two medical examiners got out of the truck.
"At least this time they didn't get lost," Tony muttered.
McGee snorted, then hid his smile.
"Ah, Jethro," Ducky said. "Such an-"
"Gotta move quick, Duck." Gibbs looked over. "TOD, examine, then get him back to Autopsy before the game ends. Gotta keep a lid on this."
Ducky nodded and bent over the body. McGee focused on getting the rest of the evidence labeled and back in the truck, along with Tony and Dorneget. There wasn't a lot, and McGee began to wonder if they would ever catch a break on this case.
~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~
Gibbs waited as Ducky and Palmer examined the body.
"TOD, Duck?"
"Between and hour and two hours, Jethro, but beyond that I'm unable to narrow that down." Ducky pointed to the front pocket of the SEAL's jeans. "That looks to be a ticket to a ballgame, so if Timothy can get footage from the stadium cameras, between that and the MP's information about when they discovered the body, you'll probably be able to narrow it down more."
"Why leave the game before it's over?" Palmer looked up. "If he was there, he must have liked baseball. Especially if he drove all the way up here from Little Creek."
"Good question, Palmer." Gibbs looked over at the stadium. "Gotta move, Duck, before we get a crowd of people over here."
Ducky pushed himself to standing. "I believe all the other work we need to do on our friend here can wait until we return him to Autopsy." He motioned to the van. "The gurney, Mr. Palmer."
Gibbs left them to it and joined the other men at the crime scene truck. "Everything in?"
McGee nodded. "We just finished."
"DiNozzo, you and Dorneget get this back to Abby and Ziva. McGee, get surveillance footage from the stadium, see when our SEAL left the game."
McGee nodded again. "Already on it, Boss. I'm getting the videos from the gates here, too, and the logs. If I look at who entered and left at the right times, we might be able to narrow this down."
Gibbs didn't bother replying. "DiNozzo, once you unload the evidence, you and Ziva come upstairs. We need to figure out how the hell this bastard managed to kill a SEAL on the Navy Yard. Dorneget can stay with Abby."
"On it, Boss."
They split into two pairs, Gibbs and McGee headed back to the NCIS building at a pace just short of a run.
~NICS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~
As they walked, McGee headed to his desk and pulled up the footage. He wasn't surprised when Gibbs moved behind him to watch over his shoulder, but tried to block out the team leader's presence and focus on the video. He could feel the intensity radiating off Gibbs — the man was pissed.
McGee started the stadium footage from the earliest point Ducky had mentioned for a TOD and started watching. "There he is." He pointed to the screen and noted the timestamp.
"2037," Gibbs said. "Not very far into the game."
"Third inning, maybe." McGee made a note on the pad on his desk. "Even the Nats don't get blown out badly enough that early that you'd leave the game."
"Not after a three-hour drive," Gibbs said. "He meeting somebody?"
McGee zoomed in. "He's talking on a cell." A few key taps had a search for the sailor's phone records running in the background. "Let me see where he goes." He switched among the tapes until he found footage of Rosenbaum heading into the Navy Yard. From there, he could use cameras on base to track him until he reached the parking lot where he'd died.
"Where'd he go, McGee?"
"Blind spot, Boss." McGee pulled up a plan for the Yard. "There are a few parking lots that aren't covered by the cameras, and that's one of them. Either our killer got lucky-"
"Or he or she planned this out to get our SEAL and we need to figure out how Rosenbaum ended up in this lot." McGee frowned and switched to the cell logs. "Looks like the call was to Rosenbaum, but it was a burn phone. Third call to him from that number this week."
Gibbs growled. "Victim or accomplice?"
McGee's hands faltered on the keys. "Would a SEAL help with this?"
"Rosenbaum's mother was Israeli. Maybe he has a grudge against Eli and he didn't realize Eli and Ziva aren't really on speaking terms."
Before McGee could figure out what to say to that, Gibbs' cell rang.
"Yeah, Gibbs." He paused. "Be right there, Duck." He looked over. "Come on, McGee."
~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~
Ducky looked up as McGee and Gibbs walked into Autopsy. "Our killer was a clever fellow, indeed, Jethro," he said. "In fact, he rather reminds me of a man I used to know when-"
"Duck, whatcha got."
"Ah, right." Ducky pointed to the man's arms. "Note the lack of defensive wounds. There are a few, but far fewer than I would expect from a sailor trained in special operations." He pointed at the eyes. "Also, despite the lateness of the hour, the man's pupils are rather small."
"Duck."
"Yes, well, I believe somebody drugged our SEAL and that impaired his ability to fight back." Ducky pointed to a mark on the jeans covering one knee. "Our killer likely subdued Lt. Rosenbaum from behind with ether or a similar substance, dropping him to his knees. Whatever he had previously been drugged with hampered his reflexes so that he couldn't fight back. Finally, our killer garroted him and left him for us to find."
He looked up to see Jethro examining the body.
"I've sent samples to Abby for toxicology, and once we get him open, I'll send the stomach contents to her for analysis. I would venture to guess that the first drug was administered at least an hour before the final attack." Ducky reached for the scalpel. "It will be a couple of hours before we know any more."
"Thanks, Duck." Gibbs stared at the body.
"Boss, if we can figure out where the first drug came from, we might be able to connect Rosenbaum and the person who called him." McGee paced. "That has to be where the drug came from, which makes Rosenbaum the victim."
"Or an accomplice that the killer needed to get rid of." Gibbs headed out the door., McGee following. "Thanks, Duck."
Ducky looked across the body at Jimmy. "We must work quickly, Mr. Palmer, before this madman goes after anybody else."
~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~
I watched the great Leroy Jethro Gibbs at work this time. I selected the site for this death carefully, one where I could kill without being observed. And one where I could wait and watch, safe from discovery, as Leroy Jethro Gibbs and his team tried to figure out what I had done and how. They are careful now, always in pairs. I noticed that earlier today. But that will not save them. My time is limited now. They will begin to close in before long. Now that this body is complete, I must head to my next mission, my next victim. One tomorrow, two more the next day. By that night, they will realize that they are next.