DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NCIS OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS!
MASK OF INNOCENCE
CH 5
Tim sat his desk wondering where Gibbs and his other partner were. He turned on his computer attempting to keep things as status quo as possible. He prepared for the questions he knew would be coming.
"McGee?" Gibbs barked entering the bullpen noticing the empty desks.
"Yeah Boss," he looked up expectantly.
"Where are Ziva and DiNozzo?"
"They weren't here when I got here," Tim shrugged. Seeing that wasn't the answer the lead agent was seeking he picked up his phone. "I'll call their cells and see if I can reach them."
Gibbs nodded at his agent. Something wasn't right he could sense it. Tim seemed edgy. The kind of nervousness one tried to cover up when trying to hide something. It was subtle and if Gibbs wasn't as observant of his team he might not have noticed it at all.
When Tim hung up saying, "Well I found one of them," his smile faltered at the scrutinizing look of his boss.
Tim woke with the sun. His breathing was slightly fast as he'd escaped the grip of his nightmare, before he saw his father's death-stilled face.
No other death at his hands had been so personal. He struggled to comprehend that he'd not only committed such an act, but had gotten away with it as well.
The second victim had been easier to evade suspicion. His cleverness and intelligence had been the root of that success. This current one may be a bit too close for comfort. Though he doubted anyone could attest to his personal dislike of the lieutenant, he was going to have to admit to being in proximity if they pinpointed the time and day of death.
Still is should appear accidental. It was the angle he was striving to create. Hopefully the investigation would stop at the man's drunken state and not look any further.
He got out of bed and prepared for work. No sense letting himself get ahead of the game. When he arrived at his office there was a message taped to his door stating that Lieutenant Gary Leonard had been reported UA and that Tim should do a search to see where he may have gone.
"McGee. Good you got the message," his supervisor spoke gruffly.
"UA Sir?" Tim managed to keep his voice steady despite the acceleration of his heartbeat. "How long has he been missing?"
"He left the officer's club last night and didn't report for his duty this morning at 0500."
"It seems rather early to be labeling him UA. Doesn't it?" Tim could barely swallow, but must've covered his fear because it went unnoticed.
"Probably but his wife is the daughter of the Commodore and swears he never neglected to come home. She spoke to him around midnight. When he didn't get home within a half hour she tried calling his phone, but he didn't answer."
Tim nodded. He didn't have any idea this was going to affect someone so high up in command. Still all he could was his job.
"If I can get his cell number, I can try to use the GPS to gain his coordinates," Tim opened his door and went to warm up his computer.
"Good thinking. It should be on record in his file. You can access it in the database."
Tim said, "I'll get right to it, sir."
"Call me as soon as you find out anything," his boss ordered, and then left him to do his search.
Tim logged in and got the number he needed. The GPS came out with no detection- no surprise there, really. It could be explained by the phone being turned off or possible dead battery, but Tim knew the real reason. He did a call search to see the last calls made to and from the lieutenant's phone.
When he traced the second to last call he smiled. It belonged to a Petty Officer Lauren Witt. It would at least give the appearance that Leonard was planning to meet up with her.
He made up a report of his findings and delivered them to his superior. After a few days the car was discovered and NCIS was officially called in.
Tim was disappointed that it was a team led by someone other than Gibbs. He shared his findings and let them do their investigation.
In the end the investigation concluded that neither Leonard's wife nor the petty officer were responsible for whatever had happened to the lieutenant. It took under a week for their 'evidence' to rule the death an accident due to alcohol consumption.
As it happened a new case had surfaced concerning national security and the lieutenant's case appeared open and shut. Tim found himself once again assigned to the team coming from Washington to investigate.
He could hardly believe his fortune that the first case was going to be closed so quickly and the MCRT he'd been waiting to be a part of would soon be on his turf. He was going to do everything in his power to make them take notice of him. This was the beginning of his future.