With the decision made to call O'Neill, Gibbs found a bench to sit on, pulled out his cell phone and reached for the blue mini card with the contact number. O'Neill said to call so he was calling. He hadn't thought to have McGee check the number and now that he looked at it, he realized it was a cell phone number. Wondering who would answer, maybe the captain, or one of the other aides, generals had more than one or two usually, Gibbs punched in the number. It was 1015.
He counted five rings and heard, "Good morning, Special Agent Gibbs."
It was the general's voice. Why was he surprised?
"Same to you, General O'Neill. You said call if I needed anything."
"Actually, I said call for another short appointment if you have questions." A short pause and, "What can I do for you?"
Gibbs couldn't help but like O'Neill. His phone number usually came up as restricted or unavailable with respect to the caller ID feature, but somehow O'Neill knew it was him. He put it out of his mind vowing to think more about it later and talk to McGee.
"Just some clarification. The last time you were at the house alone with Mrs. Wheeler was when you went to dinner?" Thinking a reminder would jog the man's memory, Gibbs threw out, "You said you ate meatloaf and mashed potatoes."
O'Neill replied, "No, Special Agent Gibbs. That was a time in the recent past when I was there."
Before he could respond, Gibbs heard O'Neill mutter something like "can't believe they still think" before he heard an emphatic, "The last time I was alone with my friend was Tuesday after her husband died."
Gibbs' brain scrambled to remember the conversation. McGee did say to name a more recent time. He did not say last time. O'Neill hadn't lied or misled them on that. Maybe most people would relate the last time they did something, but it didn't mean they all would and the general was definitely different from most people. As long as he seemed up for talking, Gibbs decided to go for it.
"I need to talk to the people, besides you, who saw General Wheeler the morning before he died."
O'Neill didn't hesitate. "Tuesday, 1100, Captain Taylor will have them in the same conference room you and Special Agent McGee used on Wednesday."
Okay. That was almost too easy.
"Why not tomorrow or Monday? Or give me their names and I'll send agents to their homes to talk to them."
O'Neill almost sounded amused. Almost. "Tuesday, 1100."
Gibbs couldn't fault O'Neill. Not really. He and McGee should have asked for their names or to speak to them when they were at The Pentagon on Wednesday. Why hadn't they asked for the people who saw the General and talked to him? Everything about the case was messed up.
"I can charge you with obstruction?"
"Go ahead. Otherwise I'll see you at 1100 on Tuesday."
Gibbs decided to let it go. "My team is also working on the timeline for the events after General Wheeler collapsed." He purposely didn't say died or passed away. He was after all, trying to determine O'Neill's honesty and complicity. "Do you remember what time you were notified?"
"It was 1221."
Gibbs frowned and said skeptically, "You remember the exact time."
"I was in a meeting and the text came in on my personal cell phone."
Gibbs had a thought. "Is that the same phone you just answered?"
"No."
"May I have that number too?"
"No."
Gibbs wasn't blind to O'Neill refusing. But without a warrant...
Okay. The time?
"You remember 1221?"
O'Neill responded with just a hint of annoyance. "I looked at the display. It was a palindrome."
Gibbs was sure he knew what a palindrome was so why couldn't he put it together?
O'Neill added, "Like star rats, 2002 and evil olive."
SMACK. Words, verses, sentences and numbers that read the same forward and backward. "Yeah, I got it."
"Who called to tell you about your friend, General?"
"Elizabeth Wheeler sent me a text message."
Telling the truth. DiNozzo and David hadn't said if they had asked to look at the lance corporal's phone. He would ask them when he returned to the squad room.
"What did the text message say?"
Gibbs couldn't understand why he hadn't questioned O'Neill about this before.
"It said Ron had been taken to the hospital."
Gibbs knew there was more to it than that.
"You received a phone call too?"
"Yes, but you already know that. I got the text first and the voicemail when I was in the car."
"What did the voicemail say?"
O'Neill sounded frustrated. "Same thing the text did."
Gibbs wasn't sure how he knew, but O'Neill was walking or maybe pacing as he talked. It was very chilly and Gibbs' backside was cold sitting on a frozen bench so he decided to get up and at least stand if not walk around too.
"Where was she when she called?"
"On her way to the hospital."
There had been no hesitation at all. O'Neill was forthcoming. Gibbs just needed to ask the right questions in the right way. "What did you do after she called?"
O'Neill chuckled lightly. "I get the feeling you already know all the answers. I left the meeting and went to GW."
"Who was your meeting with?"
Silence. Gibbs would swear he heard wheels turning in O'Neill's head.
Finally. "I can't tell you that."
Gibbs knew there was something. "Where was the meeting?"
"I can't tell you that either."
Gibbs took a chance. "I'd like to see the text message and listen to the voice message."
Long pause. "I'll get them to you after I ask Mrs. Wheeler. I won't share private messages without permission." A mirthless laugh. "Oh, wait a minute. Don't tell me you already got a warrant and you're testing me."
"No warrant for phones yet."
Longer pause. He knew O'Neill was thinking about what warrants NCIS had already secured. "I will ask her."
Gibbs heard someone else in the background of the call, but couldn't make out what they were saying. "Where are you, General?"
O'Neill replied sarcastically, "I'm hanging around Washington. Where are you?"
Gibbs smiled. "The same."
O'Neill asked impatiently, "What else do you want to know?"
"Who else was at the meeting?"
"Ask about something else, Special Agent Gibbs."
"You saw General Wheeler the morning before he died. What time was that?"
"About 0830."
"You didn't see him between 0830 and when you got to the hospital?"
"No."
"Can anyone verify that?"
"Yes, Special Agent Gibbs, there are folks who can verify that. Gotta go."
"Gen.."
Gibbs stared at his phone.
Aboard the USS George Hammond -
O'Neill leaned against the bulkhead, glad he'd ended the call. The cell phone had worked the way the scientists promised it would. The reception had been great. Jacobs said Gibbs would call and he'd been right. Trying to understand Gibbs' motivation, O'Neill thought about Wheeler's death. Why was it taking so long for NCIS to determine the death was from natural causes? The initial blood tests should have been clean, the man certainly didn't use drugs and rarely drank alcohol and wouldn't have had anything at all since the weekend. He knew they must be running more tests and he needed to find out why. Heart attack, stroke, aneurysm, all would have been easily detected and confirmed at autopsy.
He knew why someone would want to delay the release of the test results. They needed to keep the investigation going. O'Neill and Jacobs knew who. It had to be Jarvis or Vance. Gibbs got the case from them and he got his orders from them. The question they didn't have an answer to was who was holding back the test results? The only conclusion was that it was a NCIS forensic scientist which meant it wasn't just someone snooping and trying to find out things they shouldn't. It was a conspiracy.
As for the questions Gibbs had asked, he knew it was a test. Gibbs wanted to confirm his alibi. He had needed one all along, but after the phone call there was no doubt at all. And if he needed an alibi, then Elizabeth and maybe several others did too. Alibi for what was the question? NCIS didn't have a cause of death yet. He needed to talk to Jacobs and made a mental note to do it as soon as he got a chance. For now, there was something more important.
The short trip would take only a few minutes to get the ship into position above Cheyenne Mountain. Eight enlisted and five officers, plus O'Neill and Davis, were making the trip to Stargate Command in addition to the five enlisted and two officers who had already been picked up from Area 51. Many hadn't been to Colorado Springs in a long time and most had never been on The Hammond.
The official memorial service and funeral would happen as soon as NCIS released Wheeler's body. The ceremony this morning was for Stargate Program people who wanted to attend whether they knew the General well or not. The program had always taken care of its own and today would be no different. Landry had reported that two SG Teams made it back on time so nobody was off world and potentially left out. The memorial service and reception would last two or three hours with food and drink provided. No alcohol, but the people weren't attending to get plastered or lose themselves. They were part of a close-knit community and just gathering together to share stories and memories was all any of them wanted or expected.
O'Neill and Landry decided on Saturday for the memorial because they wouldn't have to worry about anyone noticing so many of them not being at work at the same time. It was amazing what Pentagon security officers and security check point guards noticed. And it was easier to get everyone to a planned rendezvous away from The Pentagon or other building with video surveillance and/or requiring sign in. This morning it had been a long-term parking garage where the security cameras were disabled and the people climbed into the back of a big panel truck. They were inventive if nothing else.
Davis heard O'Neill's side of the exchange and scrutinized the man. He looked tired even though it was only about 1030 and he also looked concerned. He could see the General was deep in thought so he waited almost a minute before speaking to him. "Sir?"
General O'Neill, aware of Colonel Davis watching him, picked up on the concern and knew he needed to nip it in the bud right away. He waved his hand to dismiss the close attention and pushed a button to contact the bridge. "Commander, we're ready to leave now."
"C'mon, Colonel Davis," Jack O'Neill told the younger man as he started back to where the others were waiting. "Let's go honor General Wheeler."
NCIS~SG~NCIS
Gibbs was feeling chilled, but not cold. He enjoyed most Spring mornings even early in the season. The air was crisp, but the sky was clear and the sun bright. He walked along noticing tiny footprints from birds, squirrels and mice dotting the leftover snow along the sidewalk. His mind went back to the conversation with O'Neill. It had cleared up a couple of things, but the doubt he'd been feeling was starting to crush him.
He returned to the bull pen to see what everyone had found out, only to head out less than an hour later. They were all still focused on an affair and getting nowhere so he sent them home, hoping they wouldn't be called out before Monday at 0630.
As he pulled into his driveway, he remembered that he should have asked McGee about O'Neill's phone.
tbc
Thanks for reading.