Chapter 26
As Abby headed out an hour later, McGee resisted the urge to follow her. Instead, he went back to the lab, dragging Dorneget with him, and focused in on the search he had started running earlier. He had seen Dr. Cranston headed for the bullpen, right behind Brad, and he really didn't feel like dealing with her right now, even though he knew she meant well.
McGee printed out the partial list of results and started scanning, looking to see which were true matches. He was able to cross off about two-thirds of the names right away. The computer dinged when the full search finished, and McGee printed the rest of the names. As he read through, he found about the same ratio of false positives. Once he was sure he had the final list, he turned to find Dorneget sitting on a chair, scanning from the windows to the door, then back, much as McGee had done earlier with Abby.
"Dorney, I need your help." McGee printed out a fresh copy of the smaller list. "We've got a list of people here that we need to get more information on, particularly if they had any direct connection to any of Boone's victims."
He laid out the list:
Richard Michael Dawkins
Kristen Anne Hatter
Steven Lopes-Gomez
Boswell Mitchell Cabot
Melissa Kelly Watters
Jacob Stonecipher
Ronald J. O'Leary
Carol Lynch Sotelli
Patrick Firestone
Lisa Marie Mitchell
Thomas K. Waznewski
He marked a spot halfway down the list. "You take the top part, and I'll start here."
"OK, McGee."
~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~
Abby headed for the coffee shop, alone for the first time in a few days. It was weird, nobody to talk with, and she wished she could have brought somebody. But then their creepy killer wouldn't take the bait and they needed him to, before somebody else wound up dead. She tried to relax her shoulders and look like she was just out for a break to get recaffeinated.
When she got to the coffee shop, she could see a girl over with Aaron trying to show her how to work the espresso machine. That must be the flake the guys had mentioned. Chris was at the register.
"Another Caf-Pow already?" he asked, grin tugging at his lips.
"Hey, science needs fuel," she replied as she handed over some cash.
She headed down to the pick-up window, wondering how she was going to get Aaron's attention with the new girl there. Abby craned her neck to see the nametag. Carol. Abby wrinkled her nose. This Carol was nowhere near as cool as her friend Carol — that wasn't fair to the name. Not like Abigail Borin, who was cool enough to be another Abby, once they got to know her.
Abby tried not to roll her eyes as she watched this Carol botch two coffee orders. When Chris finally called her over to the register, Aaron's whole body seemed to relax.
"Here you go, Abby," he said, handing over the Caf-Pow. He lowered his voice. "Don't worry, even she can't screw up a Caf-Pow."
"Better not," Abby said. "Just ask Tony and McGee what I do to people who mess with my Caf-Pow." She kept the smile on her face, so Aaron would know she was kidding, and set the drink down on the counter just behind her. "Hey, Ziva mentioned your sister." She leaned in. "I've done a lot of work with some groups, including a place that is dedicated to helping out guys in your situation. I can give you some names, or take you over there."
Aaron shook his head. "It's nothing, Abby. I shouldn't have said anything to Ziva about it, really." He backed away. "Better go get your science fuel back to the lab."
Abby stepped back and picked up the drink. "If you change your mind, let me know." She turned and walked out, remembering not to take her usual big sip of the drink. She did lift it as though she was about to drink, then lowered it to push open the door. They couldn't let the killer know she was bait.
She headed back to the agency, and went straight to her lab, determined to run the tests first thing.
~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~
Tony resisted the urge to follow Abby to the coffee shop — they couldn't afford to have the killer see anybody other than Abby. Brad and Dr. Cranston had offered to go to the coffee shop, but Vance had pointed out that the killer had likely stalked the team long enough to know both of them. Gibbs had unleashed his glare at that point, and Tony and Ziva fled to the relative safety of the bullpen.
"What are you doing," Ziva asked, walking close enough to lean over his shoulder.
"Dancing the cha-cha," Tony retorted. "Investigating, Ziva."
"Do not bite my foot off."
"Head, Ziva."
"Foot, head, arm, whatever." She put a hand on his shoulder. "I am worried, too, Tony."
"You're not the one who sent Abby out as bait."
"No, but I am the person who gave her the reason." Ziva squeezed his shoulder. "I can only hope that we have not set her up to also be a target for Aaron's sister."
Tony shook his head. "If she had that big a rage problem, somebody would have reported something by now. If she's like most abusers, she's very controlled — and controlling — in public. It's only when she's inside the house that she lets loose."
"Why would you still go visit a relative who behaves like that to you?" Ziva moved to the side of the desk and sat on the edge. "A spouse, I understand. But this is a sister."
"You think this time it will be different. You think maybe you've done the right thing, made yourself the person they want you to be." Tony turned to face her. "After you saw what your father had done to Ari, heard it in Ari's own words, how often did you go see him?"
Ziva's cheeks flushed and she looked away. Tony winced. He hadn't meant to hit that closely. "Sorry, my little ninja chick."
"You did not see your father for many years." She looked at him. "How did you find the strength?"
"Not tough to stay away from somebody who doesn't want you around, and who never notices if you're there or not." He kept his tone light. "Now, let's see what we can find out about Aaron's sister."
"Did you get his last name?" Ziva asked.
Tony nodded. "Kelly — makes sense. He looks like Black Irish."
"The Irish are white, Tony."
Tony couldn't help the laugh that escaped, as grim as today was. "It's a term, Ziva, for the Irish people with the very dark hair, pale skin and blue eyes. Palmer's not Irish, but it's close to his coloring."
"Oh, yes." Ziva nodded. "Aaron does indeed have pale skin, almost as much as Abby's. That is part of how I noticed all the marks. So have you found his sister?"
"Getting there," he said. "It's not exactly an uncommon name."
As he tapped away and narrowed it down, he whistled when he found the right woman. He sent her photo to the plasma just as the elevator dinged. Tony looked over to see if Abby was back.
~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~
McGee made his way through his half of the list, looking for anything that might explain what was going on. But at the end of the names, he hadn't found any clear connection between the names and a victim of Boone's. Some classmates, a few neighbors or people who were in the same club as a victim. But a lot were different years.
"Anything, Dorney?" He looked over at the probationary agent.
"Three of the people on my list are deployed outside the region right now," he said, pointing to Dawkins, Hatter and Cabot.
McGee marked them off on his list, then paused. "Wait — you're sure none of them are on leave?"
Dorneget nodded. "I checked, and they're all where they're supposed to be."
"Sotelli and Firestone are the only two on my half that look like possibles," McGee said. "Come on, let's go compare notes with Tony and Ziva."
They headed upstairs, and McGee wondered how Abby was faring. He looked for her as they walked off the elevator, but all he saw was Tony and Ziva in the bullpen, looking at-
"DiNozzo, how did you guys narrow it down to her so quickly?" McGee asked.
~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~
The day grows late, the sky begins to darken. Leroy Jethro Gibbs and his team are not even close. They have not begun to ask the right questions. In another hour, they won't be asking those questions. They will be reacting, not thinking. Obsessing. Stepping into the abyss where sanity is nowhere to be found. They will teeter on the edge. And I will be the one to push them over it, the one to decide who is lucky enough to die and who must stay alive to face what is left when I am done. I hold all the power in my hands for the first time. I will be a legend until the end of days. I will surpass my hero; I will be the first to best Leroy Jethro Gibbs, the only one to break him. I will claim victory