Tony was still examining the kitchen when Gibbs came in.
"Have you looked over everything?" Tony indicated the empty kitchen.
"I think I've seen it all." He said with a hint of sarcasm.
"Under the fridge?"
"Yes Boss."
"In the cupboards?" Tony was half way through a nod before he held up a finger.
"One moment." He went to the fridge and opened the cupboards above it. He came back over to Gibbs again. "Yeah I got nothing." Gibbs nodded and turned to leave the kitchen."Hey boss!" Gibbs turned. "Could…can I go back, to check on Ziva?"
"She'll wonder why you're back there at about 7:15 on a Sunday." Tony frowned at this sudden bout of logic in their recently erratic and unusual events.
"I'll give her some kind of bull." He said firmly. Gibbs had to let him go. Hell, if he said no he'd go anyway. Thus far they'd been doing this under the table, so he wouldn't be breaking any rules. Gibbs shook his head and sighed. He waived Tony away.
"Go, go." Tony nodded and left at almost a run. Gibbs sighed and turned around again, only to run into Ducky. Literally. "And what did you find, Ducky?" He said flatly. He wanted to go and yell at Ziva until she spilled everything. He knew she'd more likely kill them first. He'd have to settle for information from Ducky.
"Well, whoever is doing this enjoys seeing Ziva suffer." Ducky, ever the blunt one.
"Do I need to ask?" Ducky held up papers, they had been rolled up tightly and still mostly retained their shape. "Tightly rolled paper? This is the answer to the mysterious goings on?" Ducky unrolled the papers and held them up so Gibbs could see them. Gibbs gave something between a sigh and a gasp. He didn't want so show that he was surprised. "Is…is that Ziva?" The quick stutter on the first word was all that gave away that Gibbs was unsettled by the two photos before him. One showed Ziva's back, her head being force to turn so it was also looking at the camera. The hand twisting her head was visible in the upper right corner. Every inch of her was bloodied and beaten. Her face was still marked, though substantially less. He couldn't believe she'd come to work like this. They only had one day off a week and she hadn't taken any leave recently. He couldn't believe he'd missed this.
Ducky moved the other picture to the front. This one showed the bottom of Ziva's face, her lip split, and her shoulders. On her collarbone were the letters SW, burned into the skin.
"Is that…"
"It's a brand, Jethro. Fairly basic, most likely a thick wire twisted into the desired shape and heated, before being pressed into the skin." Gibbs sighed, and grabbed the photos. He rolled them up and put them in an inner pocket.
"Where did you find them?" He asked Ducky.
"Behind the mirror, in an envelope." Ducky held up the envelope in the other hand. Gibbs was happy to notice that he had been wearing gloves this whole time. Gibbs nodded. He headed for the door.
"Let's go! I want to check on Ziva and Tony before we turn in for the ni- uff!" Gibbs let out a breath at the impact of running into McGee. "I can see why Ziva moved out; this place isn't big enough for hamsters!" He walked out the front door. McGee glanced at Abby and Ducky, who had gathered in the entry hall.
"Hamsters?" McGee asked. Ducky shook his head.
"Don't try to understand him Timothy. I thought you would know that by now."