AN: Loving all the comments from you guys about possible suspects. I think — since this started posting — I've only seen one person mention the actual killer as his/her suspect. I can't wait to see what you think when you find out who — and why. I was going to wait until tomorrow to post this, but I feel like celebrating: My first book's on sale for 99 cents, so more people are buying it, which makes me happy. I finished an emotionally brutal scene in novel revisions, the kind that makes me tear up writing it. And I'm getting close to finishing this mini-epic — just 3.5 chapters left to write! (The final one is already written.) So here's the latest — hope you enjoy!
Chapter 25
Tony looked around the bullpen at the team after Balboa walked out. "Looks like I rate a second shot by this guy." He kept his tone light, but couldn't wondering. "We've got two Gibbs stand-ins, two for me and two for McGee. Who's next?"
"That is an excellent question," Ziva said. "Does that mean you three are first on his list?"
"No." Gibbs didn't say anything more.
Tony stared at the Boss for a second before it clicked. "He's trying to get revenge on Gibbs, so Gibbs is last. The guy's going to torment him by killing the rest of us first."
"So does that make you and McGee last on his list?" Ziva replied.
"My dear, if we could understand this madman's method, we would be much closer to catching him," Ducky said.
"Somebody needs to catch him," Jimmy said. "This makes four bodies in 24 hours — at this rate we'll all be dead in two days."
Tony couldn't disagree. "Boss had a good plan upstairs. Let's stick with it." He watched Abby and McWizard head for the elevator, Ducky and Jimmy not far behind. Brad had followed them out of Vance's office, but stayed upstairs. Tony had a feeling the doctor was reporting in to the director on how they were doing, but he wasn't going to worry about that now. They would get the dirtbag, then they could rest.
Gibbs settled in behind his desk, so Tony motioned for Ziva and Dorney to join him around the plasma.
"This does not make sense," Ziva said. "There is no method, so reason to what he is doing."
"Which is why he's managed to kill sixteen people in the last six years and we still haven't caught him," Tony retorted. "We know he's clever."
"There's one thing I don't get," Dorneget said.
"One thing?" Ziva asked.
Tony refrained from making a "Clue" reference — it wasn't worth the time to explain. "What's that, Dorney?"
"If Boone died five years ago, and he was arrested 10 years before that, why is this guy just going nuts now?" The probationary agent looked around. "Or am I the only one wondering that?"
"No, that's a good point," Tony said. "Ziva, do we have a list of each of the bodies and when they were killed?"
She nodded and went over to the computer to put it up on the screen. "What are you thinking, Tony?"
He studied the screen for a minute, then pointed to the first part of the list. "These first seven bodies, including the two Abby found yesterday, were spread over almost five years — from six months after Boone died until about six months ago. And they include everybody who original on this version of Team Gibbs, plus McGee, Nikki Jardine and Paula Cassidy."
"Paula makes sense," Ziva said. "Her role in Boone's final days would have made her a target. Nikki is the one I do not understand."
"Yeah, why isn't she down here with us?" Dorneget asked. "You guys warned people I've never heard of, but not her."
Ziva held up a finger, then looked around and motioned them closer. Her voice was low as she said, "Nikki was in the coffee shop this morning, which seems unusual for her."
Tony leaned in. "With all those germs?"
"Exactly." Ziva crossed her arms. "She is in the building, so she had access to all of us. And if she is frequenting the coffee shop, she has the ability to see us there as well, and eavesdrop."
Tony still couldn't buy it. "Maybe she's a source of information for our killer, but I can't see her doing it. Too many germs. Besides, she would have been a kid when Boone was killing. That doesn't make any sense." Still, he looked over the list of names and dates again. "Maybe our killer is using her, and he targeted a victim like her to keep her off our radar." He scanned the names again. "Dorney, can you make a list of everybody who was in the coffeeshop this morning?"
"I can try, Agent DiNozzo." The probie went to sit at the desk he'd been using. Tony stared at the names some more. "Ziva, if you were targeting us, who would you go after next?"
She hesitated, then tapped the screen next to one of the early names. "I think if somebody was trying to hurt Gibbs, Abby would be first on his list. She also is the only one who has skills the rest of us do not. Losing her forensic ability would slow us down even more."
"Maybe that's the answer," Tony said. "We know this guy is watching us, whoever he is. What if we send Abby out — alone — to the coffee shop as bait."
"No." The word from behind Tony made him flinch.
"Boss, listen for a minute," he said, turning to look at the team leader. "Look, we know this guy has used poison at least a couple of times. If we send Abby alone for a Caf-Pow, and if she is careful to set it down a couple of times while she talks to people, we give the killer a chance to spike it. Then, when she gets it back here and we test it, we've narrowed our suspect list down to eight or 10 people, instead of the hundreds we have on all of these lists."
Ziva looked up from her desk. "I know the perfect ruse, too," she said. Tony listened as she explained about the bruising she'd seen on the barista. As she finished, she added, "Abby has some experience with these support groups, does she not? She could try to talk to Aaron, and that would give our killer plenty of time to spike the drink."
Tony looked to Gibbs, who was looking marginally less like he was going to eviscerate Tony for suggesting the idea. "Boss?"
"What do we know about this sister?" The team leader looked from one to the other.
"We'll find out, Boss." Tony headed for his desk. "Ziva, while I run background on the sister, can you figure out all the possible surveillance if we do run this op? We can't watch from the street — this guy's too smart."
She nodded and bent back over her computer as Tony pulled up the base security logs to find out what Aaron's last name was.
~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~
McGee followed Abby to her lab, unsurprised that she shut the door for once.
"Ready for this to be over?" he asked.
"Yes, McGee!" Abby whirled to face him, a pigtail smacking her in the eye as she spun. "This guy's creepy and smart and he needs to stop, before we all get dead."
She pulled up a list on her screen. "Now, let's check our two lists, see which matches we get."
McGee tapped away on his keyboard and soon the screens had lines of text whirring by as the computers compared the names. "It's going to take a while, Abs — a lot of the social media names have maiden names, or use nicknames. I had to set the match parameters pretty loosely, and that's going to give us a lot of extra names."
She nodded. "I've got a lot of evidence to run through my babies while we're waiting. You can help." She handed him a pair of rubber gloves, and McGee ditched his jacket before pulling them on.
They worked in silence for a while, only commenting when Abby was telling him what to do, but it was comfortable. McGee let Abby get lost in the science of her work. If he kept his eyes moving, watching the windows and listening for unusual sounds, nobody had to know that but him.
When he heard somebody at the door, McGee moved to block Abby from the doorway, just in case. But it was just Gibbs and the rest of the team, the grim smile on Tony's face at odds with their relaxed posture.
"Another body?" he asked.
Tony shook his head. "We've got a plan to try and trap him, but it means Abby needs to be bait."
McGee was about to protest, but if Gibbs was OK with it, there must be a good reason. He turned to look at Abby, who bit down on her lip. She looked around the room.
"What do I need to do?"
~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~
The day goes slow as I wait for my time to be free again, to hunt the last of my decoys. Tomorrow, I will enjoy the dessert phase, the fruits of my labor. I strike first to demoralize, then to disable. Each of the final three bodies will raise the stakes, until the great Leroy Jethro Gibbs is left with nobody except the incapable and the man who will force the almighty one to sacrifice himself. Gibbs will go mad waiting for the final blow to fall, watching the two bumblers as though I would care about them. And I will vanish back into obscurity, my goal complete