Authors Note: let me see, crap, nope…still own nadda. sigh
Also, sorry for the delay in the update….I had writer's block.
Thank you to everyone once again who has reviewed, alerted, and favorite my story! It means a lot! Also, once again, I want to thank my beta WAYAMY27NARF – you are SO awesome!
At 0800, Tony pulled up in front of Ziva's apartment building. Before he left his own apartment, he made sure he had his gear, an overnight bag, and some additional things that they might need. He parked the car as close as he could, turned the ignition off, and climbed out to go see if Ziva was ready. As soon as he made it to the door to enter the building, his tan exotic beauty stepped out with her gear and overnight bag.
"Ready to hit the road Zee-vah?" DiNozzo asked while grabbing one of her bags.
"Yes, but I'm driving." Ziva replied while walking over to the car with DiNozzo.
"Fine, I'll try to take a nap." DiNozzo replied yawning as he was stowing Ziva's things along with his in the back of the car.
As soon as the bags were stored and the two agents climbed in the car and headed out to the wild and wonderful mountain state of West Virginia. The normal four hour drive took only two hours due to Ziva's 'pedal to the floor' driving, despite many complaints from Tony.
"Tony, if you did not act like such a little toddler, you might find you enjoy my driving." Ziva huffed as she parked the car in the parking lot of West Virginia University.
"It's baby, Ziva." Realizing what DiNozzo said, he quickly added, "The saying is acting like a baby. As for your driving, I don't think I, or anyone else, will ever call that driving, much less, enjoy it."
The shrill sound of a cell phone interrupted their moment of bickering.
"DiNozzo. Oh hey boss. Hold on and I'll put you on speaker phone." Both agents got back into the car so that way they could hear Gibbs on the other end.
"Tony and Ziva! Tony and Ziva! Tony and Ziva!" The agents looked at each other with the same vision in their head – a hyperactive goth all caffeinated up by Caf-Pow bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet.
"Hi Abby!" The pair replied into the phone.
"Say hi, McGee." Abby said in the background.
"Hi." McGee's voice came over the phone.
"Well, hello McTalkative." Tony replied.
"Whaddya got?" Gibbs guffly barked into the phone.
"Nothing yet, Gibbs. We have just arrived." Ziva spoke before Tony could say anything. "We would have been here sooner if someone had not complained and whined so much." She stared holes into Tony as she spoke.
"McGee and Abby, tell them what we have. After that, call me when you get done at WVU." Gibbs ordered into the phone.
"First of all, did you know that in September of 2011, it became a felony to burn couches in Morgantown?" McGee rattled off the little known fact.
"Good thing we don't have a couch loaded into the car, McBurn." DiNozzo said with his signature grin.
"Wait, why would they feel the need to make that law?" Ziva asked slightly curious to the odd law.
"Apparently, burning couches is a University tradition that has gotten way out of hand, so it was banned." McGee replied.
"Moving on," Abby said after the momentary lapse of silence. "We are still running evidence, but we have found some things out. First of all, McGee ran the cell phone. "
"It belongs to the victim's mistress Roxie. However, there were many calls made to and from the victim. Not only that, but calls were made to and from the victim's ex-wife and her new husband." McGee took over.
"Here is where it gets a little hinky." Abby cut back in. "The hair that was found in the towel, does not match any of our people. This is just first glance. The tests are still running, but soon, I will have something for you."
"Thanks Abbs." Tony replied through the phone.
"No problem. And Ziva, we are still on for Friday, right?" Abby asked hopeful that their plans were still a go.
"Yes, we are. I am looking forward to it!" Ziva exclaimed watching the curious face of one Anthony DiNozzo.
"Good! See you both tomorrow." Abby said wrapping up the conversation.
"Well, shall we go talk to the professor then head down to Princeton?" Tony asked shutting his phone closed.
"Let us go." Ziva replied getting out of the car for the second time that day.
They walked up the stairs side by side into Woodburn Hall. Since it was Thursday, they knew from the online site that Professor Nicholas Richard Hammond would have a class here from 1130 to 1220. Once they found the room, they were in luck because there were no students and only the professor.
"Professor Nicholas Hammond?" DiNozzo asked while he, and Ziva, both pulled out their ids.
"Yes, but please call me Nick. What can I do for you?" He asked looking up from his papers.
"Special Agents Anthony DiNozzo and Ziva David, NCIS." DiNozzo replied while the agents held out their ids for Nick to view.
While motioning for the agents to sit down, Nick asked, "What can I do for NCIS?"
"We understand that Command Sergeant Major Roger Snead was supposed to present a lecture to one of your classes, yes?" Ziva asked while they took seats.
"Yes, and I was very disappointed that he blew us off," Nick stood up and walked over to the open door to shut it for privacy, "I never thought in a million years that he could do this to me. Why are you asking about him?"
"Sorry to say, Nick, that he didn't blow you off." DiNozzo waiting until Nick sat back down before he delivered the news. "He was murdered in his hotel room."
"Wh-What happened?" Nick started reaching for a tissue, "We have been best friends since we were little."
"Sorry, but since this is an active investigation, we can't go into details." DiNozzo replied feeling sorry for Nick.
Ziva interrupted the brief silence as if they paused to give respect to the victim, "But please, tell us all you can about him."
Nick leaned back in his chair, "There are so many things that I could tell you. Like I said before, we grew up together, and were, and still, best friends. We are both originally from Princeton, West Virginia. We both had done some stupid things, I was fortunate and didn't get arrested. Unfortunately, he did. When he met Ellie, he completely changed. They married young and he joined the military. We always kept in touch. About 20 years ago, they started having problems, and he started cheating on her. His mistress, Roxie, is a known prostitute and now, a stalker. She split Ellie and Rog up, but Rog dumped Roxie right after the divorce, but apparently Roxie didn't take that very well. According to Rog, she was calling and harassing him as well as his ex-wife."
"Do you know if he was working on anything special or what some of his duties included?" DiNozzo asked to keep the interview on track.
"I don't know a whole lot, but the one thing that I do know, is that he was in charge of making sure everyone retired when they reached the mandatory age. I know this because he once told me that he hated thinking about leaving the military when it was his life. He also liked to come once a year and do a presentation for me to my students."
"Was there anyone who was disgruntled with him that you know of?" Ziva asked the next question.
"When we talked last, there was." He took off his glasses to clean them, "I was never told his names. All I know, is that he accused Rog of being unfair. He also thought that Rob was out to get him just because he is 3 years over the mandatory retirement age."
"Can you think of anything else that might help us?" Tony asked.
"No, sorry. But if I do, I will be more than happy to let you know. If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to contact me at any of these numbers." Nick wrote down several numbers and handed the paper to DiNozzo.
"One more thing. We have to ask…" Ziva started to ask the question everyone hated answering.
"My alibi." Nick said interrupting Ziva. "Of course, anything to help find the killer of my dearest friend. I was out shopping with my wife. We were at Morgantown Mall from 5 to 8. We are having an anniversary party, and we were getting things for the party. From there, we went to eat at Applebees, which the time was about 8:30 to 10 PM because it was crowded still at that time. After that, we went to Walmart to pick up some groceries, and didn't get out of there until about 11 or 11:30. From there, we went straight home, unpacked groceries, and went to bed." He took out receipts from the mall, restaurant, and store and gave them to Ziva.
Ziva replied by saying, "Thank you. Of course, we do have to verify your whereabouts, but we do appreciate the cooperation. We will be in touch if we need anything else."
"Thank you," Nick said standing up. "Please, if you can. Let me know what you find out at the end of your investigation."
"We will do what we can." DiNozzo said as they were all walking to the door.
One final handshake, DiNozzo and Ziva were headed back out into the sunshine and back to the car.
"I'm driving this time." DiNozzo said holding out his hand for the keys.
"If I let you drive, will you quit whining?" Ziva asked dangling the keys over Tony's outstretched hand.
"Yes." DiNozzo replied while grabbing them.
"We should probably call Gibbs before we go." Ziva said while dialing her cell phone.
After a few short rings, DiNozzo and Ziva hear the famous "Gibbs" barked over the phone.
"We just got finished interviewing Professor Nicholas Hammond. He told us that they had gotten in mischief when they were younger which resulted in our victim getting a record. Also, he told us about the victim and his ex-wife split was caused by the victim and his mistress. The victim dumped the mistress right after the divorce." Ziva gave the report over the phone.
"Good job Ziver, did he give anything else up when you talked to him?" Gibbs replied
"He gave us his alibi and receipts for everything which is time stamped. I do believe him. But he did tell us about the only thing that he knew about our victim's job. He said the victim was in charge of making sure people retired when they reached that mandatory age." Ziva summed up.
"But there was one guy who the victim had issues with. The guy said that he believed the victim was out to get him. He also said that the victim felt sorry even though the guy was older than the mandatory age. He knew what it was like to have the military being everything to him." DiNozzo cut Ziva's report off to get his words in.
"Good job guys. Send McGee a copy of the receipts so he can verify, and head towards…" Gibbs was giving his orders.
"Princeton?" DiNozzo jumped in and asked.
"Gee, ya think DiNozzo?" Gibbs replied annoyed. "Ziva, do the honors."
SMACK
"Yes boss. Thank you boss." Tony said glaring at a smiling Ziva who pretended to blow smoke off her hand.
"Don't interrupt me." Gibbs said. "Stay on top of it." With that, the phone conversation ended.
"Teacher's pet." DiNozzo mumbled under his breath while climbing into the car for the next four hour trip.
"I am not a teacher's pet, Tony. How can I be when I am not a dog, cat, or any other type of animal?" Ziva asked confused.
"It's just a saying that means the teacher likes you better than me, Zee-vah." Tony said while getting back on the road.
"That is not the case Tony." Ziva said rolling her eyes and taking pictures of all the receipts with her phone to send to McGee.
About an hour into the drive to Princeton, the two agents found themselves playing the license plate game. After Ziva understood the rules, she was kicking Tony's butt much to Tony's surprise. "You know, I'm letting you win. I'm just that type of guy." Tony said.
"Sure you are." Ziva said rolling her eyes. "You enjoy having your pants handed to you by women, yes?" Ziva asked enjoying this.
"Its butt not pants. And, uh, I mean…" Tony stammered looking for a good response that would make him sound manly. Tony was saved from the shrill of Ziva's cell phone.
"It's McGee." Ziva said looking at the caller id. She opened her phone and put it on speaker.
"Ziva David…" Ziva said
"And very special agent Anthony DiNozzo." Tony interrupted and put in himself into the call.
"Hey guys." McGee said of the phone. "The professor and his wife's alibi check out. I've also been seeing where our remaining suspects are. Ellie and her new husband are actually out of town. They are in Virginia near Fort Myer. Gibbs wants you to talk to them on your way back."
"Gee, McBossy. We haven't even made it to Princeton yet." Tony said teasing McGee – he thought, Well, hey, if I'm not there to pick on him, I can at least find ways to do so from the car.
"Thank you McGee." Ziva said interrupting Tony's banter. "Have you figured out who was giving the victim a rough time?" She asked curious.
"I am still working on that. That list is a lot bigger than you realize." McGee said.
"Keep us posted." Ziva said.
"Will do. Good luck Ziva." McGee said clicking off the phone before Tony had a chance to add anything.
"He must have been in a hurry." Tony said while concentrating on picking a toll booth to go through.
"Sure, that is it." Ziva said sarcastically.
Apparently Tony missed that because he thought of another game. The dynamic duo played a few more car games that passed the last two hours rather quickly. Shortly, they pulled up to a small apartment that sat behind a house. The two agents climbed out and stretched their tired legs quickly before walking over to the door.
"Can I help you?" A woman opened the door in a sports bra and booty shorts.
"Why yes you can…..." Tony said while moving closer.
"Roxie." She replied.
"I'm Very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo, and this is my partner Special Agent Ziva David. Can we come in?" They held their id's out for inspection while Ziva was boring a glare into the back of Tony's head.
"Please, come in. I was just about to go for a run." She seductively turned around and walked in leaving the agents following her. "Please sit down."
Once everyone was seated, she picked a seat near DiNozzo, and this left Ziva fuming.
"Do you know a Command Sergeant Major Roger Snead?" Ziva asked with a voice that was forced to be somewhat friendly.
"No, sorry to say I don't." Roxie replied never even acknowledging Ziva. This made her fume even more.
"How come your cell phone was in the crime scene?" Ziva asked again, enjoying the look of panic that came over her face. Ziva asked again, enjoying the look of panic that came over her face.
"What do you mean crime scene?" Roxie asked still not acknowledging Ziva.
"What I mean, is that we have reports of you stalking the victim, harassing his ex-wife, being a part time prostitute, and being at the scene of a crime." Ziva snapped, but enjoyed the outcome of seeing Roxie finally looking at her while the color was going out of her face.
"Fine. I do know the victim. He and I were intimate – used to be." She made a point to look at DiNozzo which bothered Ziva again. "But we hadn't seen or talked to each other for a few years. I don't know who told you that I was a prostitute, but that is crazy. Also, being at a crime scene is crazy. I haven't left my house for a few days – I've been so sick." She replied color coming back into her face.
"Ok. Well, we have your cell phone, which has you calling the victim everyday up until the day he was killed. So, why don't we try this again." Ziva said starting to enjoy herself.
"Fine. I was wanting to try and get back together with Rog, because I still had feeling for him. He never answered, so I just tried every day at different times so I could talk to him.
"How do you explain the phone being at our crime scene?" Ziva asked.
"Ok, I had a business meeting with a client, and after my meeting, I couldn't find it. I figured I lost it sometime during the day." Roxie said starting to fidget.
"Who was your client? What was your meeting about?" Ziva asked again.
"He was someone in the military. Let me see, a guy by the name of Duane Roger. And it's none of your business." Roxie replied.
"Fine. If you don't tell me, I am going to arrest you for obstructing an investigation. Stand up." Ziva had had enough and stood up taking her handcuffs out of her belt.
"You bitch. You can't arrest me." Roxie replied standing up as well.
"Try me." Was all Ziva said before a forgotten Tony stood up and broke them apart.
"Ladies. Look Roxie, just tell us what we need to know, and we will leave." DiNozzo said trying to calm down an ex-Mossad assassin, which always proved to be a challenge.
"Fine, for you I will." Roxie turned back her sickenly sweet attitude for DiNozzo. "I needed some money since I've been off work sick. I took a date last weekend with this guy, and one thing led to the other. He paid me triple what I make in a day at my job as a receptionist. Now if that is all, I really need to get my run in before it gets dark." Roxie replied starting to get up. "If you have any questions, please feel free to stop back by," Roxie look at DiNozzo the told Ziva, "You, can stay away."
"One more thing. What were you doing Monday between the hours of 4 PM and Tuesday 4 AM?" Ziva asked not yet moved from her seat.
"I was here, sick. And before you ask, no one was here, no one came over, and of course no one called since I couldn't find my phone. I didn't get a new phone until yesterday. Anything else?" Roxie asked ready to be released from this.
"Not at this time." Ziva said firmly and walked out the door.
"We will be in touch." DiNozzo said while briskly walking after her.
By the time, Tony caught up with Ziva, she had calmed down. "What was that about?" DiNozzo asked.
"She just rubbed me the wrong way. She would screw anything she could if she got paid enough." Ziva said standing by the car.
"Ziva David, you got jealous." DiNozzo said when it clicked.
"No I am not. I just do not see why she would not answer the questions or even acknowledge me." Ziva said leaning against the car.
"Moving on. On our way out of town, let's stop at the police station and see if they have anything on her, Ellie, and Presley." DiNozzo said dropping the subject. "But just so you know, she isn't my type."
Before Ziva could answer, DiNozzo was on the phone giving the report to Gibbs.
MEANWHILE
"Yeah, we see them." A man hunkered down in a car staring at the two agents said through the phone.
"Good. Make sure they don't get close to me. Do whatever you have to do." A man said on the other end.
"If we kill them, it will be extra." Another hunkered down man in the car said.
"Fine. Whatever. Call me when you have something." The man said then clicked off.
"What are we going to do?" The one hunkered down guy asked.
"They have to stop sometime to sleep. We will keep following them, and then kill them." The first hunkered down man said watching the movement of the two agents. "The woman we keep alive for our pleasure first."
BACK TO OUR AGENTS
DiNozzo got back behind the wheel and started the car while Ziva climbed into the passenger side. They started to drive away, neither one noticing the ratty car that pulled out a few car lengths behind them.
"Let's stop here for the night." DiNozzo said pulling into the Super 8 motel. "We can hit the police station early and head towards Virginia tomorrow."
"Sounds good." Ziva agreed. Both agents climbed out of the car into the evening air.
They snagged the two last remaining rooms, which luck would have it, were right across the hall from each other. Once situated the agents walked over to Texas Steakhouse for a meal.
"What are you getting Zee-vah?" Tony asked engrossed in the menu.
"I think I might get grilled tilapia with rice, corn, and a side salad. How about you?" Ziva asked listening to her stomach growl.
"The porterhouse steak with baked potato, corn, and a salad. I think I might get a beer too." Tony said leaning back in the booth.
"I think I will join you on that." Ziva said seductively.
Their waiter Sam, interrupted, "can I take your order?"
"I will have the grilled tilapia with rice and corn." Ziva said eyeing the rolls that were set in between of her and Tony.
"What kind of dressing and what to drink?" Sam asked ready to jot it down.
"Italian dressing, and a Budweiser beer. Can I also have a glass of water?"
"Sure thing. For you sir?" Sam looked at Tony.
"I'll have the Porterhouse steak, medium, with a baked potato (butter and sour cream), corn, and a salad." Tony said grabbing a roll.
"What kind of dressing and what to drink?" Same asked.
"Same thing as she has." Tony said.
"Will do. I will get your order right up, bring your drinks, and your salads to you." Sam said collecting the menus.
Two hours later, Tony and Ziva walked back to their hotel with bellies full. It was going on 2200 hours, and the morning would come quickly. Once they were at their respected doors, Tony was the first to break the short silence.
"Well, goodnight Ziva. Sweet dreams." He said putting his key card in the slot.
"Thank you Tony. Goodnight and sweet dreams. See you in the morning." Ziva said following suit with her key card.
Authors notes: Yes, that law in Morgantown is real, and you can read more about it at .
Also, thank you SO much for hanging in there with me! I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Now, please review, alert, favorite, and repeat…or tell you friends.