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In the lab.....................
Tim looked at the computer before him and shook his head.
"Come on, Tim." he muttered under his breath. "Find it."
"Find what?"
McGee looked up from his computer screen to glance at Abby.
"Nothing."
"Aw, come on McGee." Abby said as she came closer. "You can tell me. I won't tell anyone."
"Not nothing as in I can't tell you, Abby." McGee said, shaking his head. "I mean nothing as in....I'm literally trying to find.......'nothing'."
Abby frowned at him in confusion. "How can you find nothing, McGee?"
"I can't, Abby." he replied. "That's the problem."
When he didn't explain further, Abby crossed her arms over her chest.
"Explain, McGee!" she demanded.
McGee sighed, turning his attention back to Abby.
"I can't find it." he said.
Abby looked at him confused. "Find what?"
"It." McGee replied. "I can't find...'it'."
Tim rose to his feet and started pacing in front of the computers as he continued talking.
"Why, you ask?" He said. "Because I don't know what 'it' is. I don't know what I'm looking for...or if there's even something to look for. All I know is that to everyone else...this case is closed, but my gut says we're missing something."
"Wait....is this about the Cena case?" Abby asked, straightening. "I agr..."
"But how can we be missing something?" McGee continued, ignoring Abby.
"McGee....I found..." Abby tried interrupting again.
For a second time, McGee ignored the gothic princess and continued venting his thoughts.
"I mean....the guy confessed." he said.
Abby's mouth opened again, but as McGee continued, it slowly closed to listen.
"We have his fingerprints, video.....everything points to him. And everything he's said so far pans out." McGee paused and turned to Abby. "So why does my gut say he didn't do it?"
"Because he didn't, Timothy."
Abby and Tim turned towards the door as Ducky made his way over.
"At least, not by himself." Ducky said.
"Well we know that Ducky." Tim said, confused. "He gave us all the names he was working with."
"I don't think we're looking for another member of his team, Timothy." Ducky said. "When Abigail called about her test results, I did some further checking into the past of our ghost and found a couple of surprising things."
Tim looked over at Abby. "Test? What test? What's he talking about?"
"I tried to tell you, McGee." Abby said. "But it's hard to finish a thought when you're in Gibbs mode."
Tim gave Abby a sheepish smile and nodded apologetically. "Sorry."
Abby grinned. "It's okay. It was kinda hot."
At that, McGee's demeanor changed.
"Oh yeah?" he asked, wiggling his brows. "How hot?"
"Focus on the case, Timothy." Ducky admonished. "You can focus on Abigail later."
A blush covered Tim's cheeks as he dipped his head in apology. "Sorry, Ducky."
Abby hid a laugh at the chastised expression on McGee's face. Tim wrinkled his nose at her before returning his attention to the doctor.
"What were you saying about the test?" he asked.
Before Ducky could respond, a question came from behind them.
"What test?"
Abby, Tim and Ducky turned, seeing Gibbs walking towards them.
"I was just about to call you, Jethro." Ducky said. "I know that the FBI closed the Cena case..."
"It's re-opened, Duck." Gibbs cut in as he placed a caf-pow in Abby's hand. Abby smiled, mouthing her thanks as Ducky nodded in approval at Jethro's words.
"Good, good." Ducky said. "At least now our new information will be useful."
"What information, Duck?" Gibbs asked.
"Abby ran a new test on the letters, Boss." McGee said, putting in the only thing he knew.
Gibbs turned towards Abby. "What test?"
"Well, after the guy confessed, I was putting the evidence back in their bags and I just got this feeling that I'd missed something. " Abby explained as she pulled out an evidence bag. "So I went over the letters again and that's when I noticed this."
Abby handed the bag to Gibbs and pointed out a stain on one of the letters.
"At first I thought maybe something had spilled on it, like coffee or something like that, but then I thought....what if it's not? What if it's something totally amazing?" Abby said. "What if that spot, right there, was so significant that it totally changed the outcome of this case? What if it proves that Mr. Rawlins didn't do it? That someone else..."
"Abby." Gibbs interrupted. "What did the test say?"
"Well, nothing, Gibbs." Abby sighed. "I was right the first time. It was coffee.....well, more cream than coffee actually....hazelnut to be exact."
When Gibbs opened his mouth to reply, Abby hurried on.
"But..." she said, "I did find something else." Abby moved to her computer and let her fingers move over the keyboard. Within seconds the results of her test came up on the screen. "Chlorine."
Gibbs looked confused. "Chlorine?" Gibbs brought the letter forward for a closer inspection.
"That doesn't make any sense. Why would there be chlorine on the letters, Abby?" Tim asked.
"Well, I couldn't figure it out at first, but then I did a little bit of research. Listen to this." she said as she began to read her computer screen. "Non-powdered gloves are dipped in a chlorine solution that adheres to the latex and changes its texture for easy on and off use."
Abby paused and looked up. "In other words, the chlorine solution is a substitute for the powder they put inside latex gloves so they don't stick to your hand."
"Okay, but that still doesn't explain how the chlorine residue got on the letter." Tim said. "If the chlorine was used to make the gloves not stick to your fingers, then the chlorine would be on the inside of the glove and not the outside."
"Well, normally, yes." Abby admitted. "In order for the gloves to have chlorine outside, they'd have to have been soaked and not just sprayed. When I found that out, I did some research and found 6 companies that soak their gloves in a chlorine solution. I requested a sample from each and ran a test to see if the residue on the glove matched the residue I found on the letter."
Gibbs looked up, passing the letter onto McGee.
"Let me guess." He said. "You found a match."
Abby nodded, holding up a pair of gloves to him. "I did. These are the gloves we're looking for. They're made by WeHon Medical Supply. All their latex gloves are soaked in that solution."
"I don't know how that helps, Abby." Tim sighed. "All it does is prove Rawlins used that type of latex glove."
"Actually, Timothy, it proves no such thing." Ducky said. "You see...our Mr. Rawlins is allergic to latex."
