Drowning

Thank you for everyone's kind reviews.

I'd like to preface this chapter by saying that I'm personally devastated by the bushfires that have ripped through Victoria yesterday and today. The worst affected area, Kinglake, is just north of us. Close friends and acquaintances have lost their houses but some have also been isolated due to road closures and the fires that are still burning. I feel really hopeless because there's nothing I can do to help at the moment. The current death toll is 84 and rising. Many, many hundreds have lost their homes. And the fires are still burning. Please keep those affected in your thoughts. Zan

Chapter 19

Tony pulled up outside 'Fortune's Fool' and felt a tinge of disappointment that the journey had come to an end. It had been an absolute joy to drive his own car, on his own, and cough whenever he damn well felt like it. Abby had driven him to his place so that he could collect his own car and had nagged him the entire way about warm clothing and staying out of trouble. She had even waited outside his apartment until he had brought out the heavy jacket he was now reaching for, and a scarf and gloves. The weather is turning bitter, Tony, she had reminded him. What if you end up having to follow someone outside? If you come back frozen stiff, I'll kill you. And if I don't, Gibbs will! Tony left the gloves and scarf in the car. He doubted he'd need them inside Vay's shop.

Jacket slung over his shoulder, Tony moved quickly to the shop entrance and let himself in. A bell tinkled to announce the entrance of a probable customer.

'Agent Dinozzo,' came the calm voice of Madame Vay from toward the back of the establishment. It was too impossible to detect any particular emotion in her even tone. Tony took a moment to adjust his eyes to the dim lighting before seeing that she was sitting at a small table.

'Madame Vay,' he said by way of greeting as he approached the table.

There was silence between them for a few moments. Tony was interested in what her first comment or question would be. Just as he was about to break the silence, Vay spoke.

'Have you come for a private reading?' she asked, indicating the wrapped pack of cards she had placed in the centre of the table. He knew that she knew he hadn't come for a tarot reading, but he decided to play along for a little while.

'No, I thought I'd try something else,' he said jovially. 'Maybe you could read my palm. Or tea leaves! I am kinda thirsty. We could kill two birds with one stone. Or I could just sit here and you could tell me what I'm thinking. What do you think?'

Vay regarded him impassively and waited for him to continue.

'I'm frankly a bit disappointed,' continued Tony as he looked closely at a beautiful mobile that was suspended from the ceiling. 'You should be able to tell me the real reason I'm here. You being the psychic and all.'

'I have no idea why you're here,' she told him, her voice still even. 'I'm not omniscient.'

Tony finished his inspection of the mobile, pulled out the chair opposite Vay, and sat down.

'I know who the woman is that you had a vision of,' he told her, his green eyes keenly observing her for any reaction. 'The woman you described to Abby,' he added, when she raised a questioning eyebrow.

'Did you receive a response from someone?' she asked him.

'No,' said Tony. 'I worked out who she is. She's Officer Partington.'

'I really don't know what you're getting at,' said Vay, her voice finally showing a little impatience.

'It's Partington,' repeated Tony. 'Different hair color. Different hair style. Glasses. But it's Partington.'

'Well,' said Vay, 'that simply fits in with what your Director said Partington put in her letter about wanting to opt out of her life.'

'Mmm, conveniently,' said Tony.

'How do you know that it isn't someone who helped her to disappear?' asked Vay.

'Maybe she's a friend who happens to have a similar facial structure to her.'

'Experience, a healthy dose of cynicism, and my gut,' said Tony, fixing her eyes with his own.

'Why are you still investigating Partington's disappearance?' asked Vay. 'Director Shephard said the parents had decided the case was solved.'

'We're not convinced she's okay,' said Tony.

'Alright,' said Vay, leaning forward and resting her folded hands on the table. 'The parents and the letter they received aside, the only reason you're convinced she is not safe is because of feelings in your gut. That's hardly a conventional investigative method.'

'Neither's consulting a psychic,' countered Tony. 'I'd back Gibbs' gut against a psychic's word any time.'

Vay regarded Tony thoughtfully for a few moments.

'Do you not believe in my abilities at all?' she asked him.

'I think you're a skilled profiler,' said Tony. 'I had a partner once who was great at profiling. She could work out a lot about a suspect or victim just by watching them.'

'And now she's dead. Killed,' said Vay knowingly.

'Did your psychic ability tell you that?' asked Tony as he felt the all too familiar twist in his chest at the memory of Kate's demise.'

'No, you're eyes did,' countered Vay. 'They reveal a lot about your past.'

Sensing that Vay was wanting to take their conversation in a direction he was definitely not comfortable with, Tony played his main card, watching the woman's face carefully for any reaction.

'When was the last time you saw your nephew, Matthew Brogan?' Tony asked. He was rewarded when Vay's pupils appeared to dilate.

'I do not keep in touch with my sister's child,' she told Tony, her voice a little harder.

'Well, he's person of interest in the Partington case at the moment,' said Tony. 'Pretty freaky when he just so happens to be related to you.'

'I assure you, Agent Dinozzo,' said Vay, 'that I have nothing to do with Matthew. I'm also very sure that Officer Partington is safe and sound and happy to be out of her parents' lives.'

Tony met her gaze for a few moments before standing up.

'Well, we'll stop investigating when Gibbs' and my respective guts are satisfied,' said Tony. 'Let us know if Brogan decides to pay his aunt a social visit.'

He walked to the door, but turned back when Vay called out to him.

'He was just as scared for you in that river as you were for him in that car,' she said. 'He just didn't reveal his feelings as much as you did. It doesn't mean his feelings were not as intense.'

Tony felt the hairs rise on the back of his neck but didn't say anything. He had no answer to that.

……………………………………………..

Gibbs pushed the tray of food away from him and huffed impatiently. The nurse said she'd bring food, and instead she'd brought pureed fruit and jello. Worse, she'd brought no coffee. Why the hell they couldn't just discharge him now that the anaesthetic had worn off was beyond him. Yes he'd been shot, but his legs worked and his brain was functioning. He's barely been in the hospital room 24 hours and the nurses were driving him crazy. Why did they have to be so damn cheery? And why hadn't Dinozzo rung in with details about the case?

As if on cue, his reverie was interrupted by the arrival of Tony himself.

'Hey Boss,' was Tony's hushed greeting as he poked his head into the room. 'You up for a visit?'

'Get your ass in here, Dinozzo!' Gibbs told him. 'And you'd better have coffee!'

Smiling, Tony quickly entered the room and shut the door quietly behind him. He removed the 'food' from Gibbs's tray and replaced it with a paper bag filled with something delicious, and a coffee from Gibbs' favorite cafe.

'Your review's looking good,' Gibbs told his agent, appreciatively. He picked up the bag and peered inside.

'What's this?' he asked.

'Calzone,' Tony told him. 'It's kinda like a pizza but…'

'Don't care,' said Gibbs. 'Smells good. Sit.'

Tony pulled up a chair and watched happily while Gibbs munched on the food and sipped the coffee as though it was ambrosia. His boss looked much better than he had that morning. The younger agent felt the tension he had stored in his shoulders melt away. The food finished, Gibbs sighed with physical contentment and pushed the tray away.

'Are you gonna tell me how the case is going or are you gonna just sit there?' he asked Tony. He had unsuccessfully attempted a gruff tone. Tony grinned and began to give Gibbs a run down on the events of the case.