March 28
A dear friend is wealth added to your treasure chest of experiences.
"A treasure hunt!" Ducky exclaimed, staring intently at his latest guest. "Do you know why treasure hunts originated, Mr. Palmer?"
"Oh, I know this one," Palmer replied from the other side of the table. "Pirates buried their treasure to keep it safe, and made maps so they could find it later."
"That's a very romanticized view," Ducky noted, continuing to study the body in front of him.
"I always wanted to be a pirate," Palmer admitted. "Sailing the high seas, fighting and dueling, finding treasure… but then I realized I'd die from diabetes within a week. And I get really seasick."
Ducky shook his head slightly. Young people today… "Pirates still exist, but they are certainly not romantic. They use AK47s, not swords and pistols. They kill many people and injure a great deal more."
"I don't want to be a modern-day pirate," Palmer objected. "I don't like guns. But a treasure hunt would be fun!"
"Well," Ducky mused. "There does seem to be buried treasure connected to this case somehow."
"And this man," Palmer indicated the body on the table, "Died while hunting for it!"
"Now, now," Ducky cautioned. "We don't know that yet."
"But Tony told me that Gibbs managed to get their suspect to crack and confess to murdering this man because he wanted the buried treasure all to himself!"
Ducky sighed. "We do not make assumptions. The man could be lying. We will work out what really happened."
Palmer nodded in agreement. "Ignore Tony. Got it."
Ducky smiled as he reached for his scalpel. He really should keep young Palmer away from Tony…