Chapter VI - Incident at Potomac Park
1050 Local_1550 Zulu
Autopsy
NCIS Headquarters
Washington, DC
"This is quite unusual for me; I'm not normally working with those that are still breathing. It's quite refreshing, actually," Ducky said referring to working with Loren Singer as he pulled open a drawer and peered at a body in the cold storage unit.
Vivienne wasn't much for this part of the job. In fact, it made her a little green around the gills. The guy looked like he was asleep. But she knew that he wasn't. She forced herself to focus on the case. "Ducky, did you match Rabb's DNA to the fetus?"
Ducky was busily examining the body. "I didn't have to." He turned to her. "We didn't always have DNA, you know. And we didn't always have television. You're too young to remember, but in many ways, radio was much more fascinating-" He said reminiscing.
"Okay Ducky-" she began trying to get him to focus on the here and now, so she could get out of here as soon as possible. She didn't want to 'blow chunks' in front of the NCIS ME.
"You had to use your imagination-" he continued oblivious to her discomfort.
"Ducky," she said firmly, finally getting his attention. "Why didn't you have to?"
He sighed and looked at her. Sometimes the younger ones were a bit clueless. "I checked Commander Rabb's blood type, that's legal. There's no way he could have fathered Loren Singer unborn female child."
"A girl…" Vivienne said slowly. She wondered if Rabb were primitive enough to kill Loren because she hadn't given him a boy. It wasn't unheard of. Still, maybe she hadn't even told him.
That unspoken theory was quickly squashed by Ducky. "Yes, I haven't told her yet, sometimes it's better not know until time. You know, some people like it that way – more traditional."
He made a notation on his chart and then opened the cadaver's mouth and examined his teeth. When he was finished, he looked back at her. "You sure you won't have dinner with me tonight, Viv?"
The thought that he had just finished fishing around inside a dead man's mouth almost made her stomach turn flips. "Oh Ducky," Vivienne said afraid she was going to hurl at any moment.
"The pursuit of sex is an affirmation of life, Vivienne," he said replying to her supposed reluctance. "That's why older men are so lascivious." She started to leave.
"Hey. Hey, why don't we discuss that over dinner?" He added as she turned away.
"Not tonight," she said evasively as she hurriedly left autopsy. God, she needed fresh air…quick!
He looked down at the body and smiled. "Well she didn't say no." As if talking to a friend. "Just not tonight."
xxvixx
Loren felt the tall Navy officer grab her arm roughly. He wasn't trying to hurt her, but it was obvious he wanted to talk to her
'Let's…Let's have dinner,' he suggested hurriedly.
Loren heard herself say, 'I'm not hungry,' She sounded like she was not pleased with him and wanted him to go away. But why? What had he done?
The tall officer searched her eyes. His intent look made her uncomfortable. 'Then a glass of milk' he said… That was an odd comment. Why did he say that?
That memory faded into another…
This time it was a perky blond female with a short sassy haircut in a dark Navy uniform. Loren could tell she was upset with her 'I wish you would stop kicking us on your way to the top, we would all have less bruises, and you would be less alone.'
The words stung but somehow she knew the woman was right. Then she was running – she had on a jogging outfit – it was some kind of race or contest and she was crying?
The image dissolved into another where the sassy Navy Lieutenant was standing next to another Navy Lieutenant. This one was shorter, a little on the stocky side. He was smiling at Loren.
'Lieutenant Singer, you said you were going to kick my ass, and I think you did a pretty good job. Want to join us?'
She heard herself say, 'How does he *do* that?' and the sassy blond almost immediately responded.
'You'd need a heart transplant to understand that, Ma'am….'
Loren woke up and felt more convinced than ever that she needed to make some changes in her life.
While she was pretty sure the person who tried to kill her was a male, she didn't feel very comfortable about her run-ins with the perky Lieutenant.
xxvixx
Today it was sunny, unlike the previous day when it had threatened to snow, and the wind had less of a bite to it, but it was still bitterly cold. They had been out here nearly four hours, and they still hadn't found anything useful. Ken Dobbs sighed as he watched the Marine recruits from Quantico begin again their methodical search of the riverbanks, starting at the pedestrian bridge and working their way down.
They had found Lieutenant Singer's purse, but Gibbs was sure there was other evidence here that they needed for the case. So here they were again, looking around rocks and among the weeds for anything that looked out of the ordinary - anything that didn't belong…a scrap of a uniform, a shoe, a cover….
1650 Local_2150 Zulu
JAG Headquarters
Falls Church, Virginia
Gibbs spoke as he put the tape recorder in front of Jennifer Coates as all three met in the JAG Corps conference room. "This is the NCIS interview #12 - Singer disappearance investigation; Special Agents L. Jethro Gibbs and Anthony D. DiNozzo's interview of Petty Officer/Legalman 2 Jennifer Coates, JAG Corps Headquarters."
Gibbs sat on one side of the pretty young Petty Officer, Tony sat on the other. "We had a conversation with the bartender at Benzinger's. He recalls you being there that evening."
LN2 Coates opted for a vague response as she glanced at the Head of the MCRT. "I have been to Benzinger's a couple of times this month, sir."
Gibbs turned to her. "This time you were in a booth behind Commander Rabb and Lieutenant Singer."
Jennifer Coates turned to face her accuser. "I make an effort not to listen in on other people's conversations," she said smartly.
Tony got up and leaned in from the other side like a devil's advocate. "Nah, this conversation was so heated it got the bartender's attention across the room."
The pretty young Petty Officer's eyes flitted nervously from Tony to Gibbs. She sighed because she hated doing this to a man who saved her from throwing her life away, but she knew she had to do the right thing – no matter how hard it hurt and even if he was her mentor. He would have wanted it that way. "I-I may have heard a few things…" she said quietly.
1801 Local_2301 Zulu
Gallery Place Metro Station
Washington, DC
Harm stepped out of the Metro stairwell at Gallery Place/Chinatown. Normally he would drive his Lexus SUV or Corvette from his loft apartment to Falls Church, but tonight he needed to put some distance between his residence and the phone call he was going to make.
He walked over to a set of phone booths and finding one that was operational, began dialing the number he had memorized and waited.
At the Aeroflot heliport, a heavy snow began falling as Sergei Zhukov walked away from a civilian version of Mil-8 'Hip' helicopter. When Sergei's cellular phone began ringing, he stopped and fished it out of his greatcoat.
The Russian helo pilot smiled as he noted who was calling just before he answered. "Da Brother! How are you?"
Harm looked around to make sure no one was observing him. All he saw were commuters making their way home for the day. He relaxed. "Hey, I'm good," he said cheerfully. "How's Galena?"
Sergei's smile grew even wider as he chuckled. "Galena is wonderful. What is wrong, brother?"
Harm got right to the point. "Sergei, did you see Loren Singer when you were in DC?"
The Russian Aeroflot helo pilot was puzzled by his query. "Loren? No."
He continued with rapid fire questions. "Did you talk to her on the phone?"
Sergei felt a little uneasy about all these questions concerning a woman the Russian was sure was out of his life. "Not since that night you made her call me about the baby."
Harm really hoped he got a positive answer to his next question. "Did you really believe her when she said it wasn't yours?"
He should have known what Sergei's answer was going to be. "Yes. Is she now saying…the baby is mine?" And that he was worried that the opposite was true.
Harm hated to be the bearer of more bad news, but Sergei had to know. "Lieutenant Singer is missing."
Just in case… "Bozhe Moi!" The young Russian swore. "You think I had something to do with it?" Sergei Zhukov said in an astonished voice.
The Navy aviator/lawyer was quick to reassure his Russian half-brother. "No, of course not. But the investigators might if they think you were the father…and you having just left town with Galena when she went missing."
Sergei though, wasn't feeling very relieved. "Always the big brother, hmm? Always protecting me."
Harm tried to glib about it. "Hey, that's what big brothers are for." But deep down he was worried about what might happen next.
xxvixx
'That was cheap and sleazy, even for you, Singer,' The shorter Navy officer said to her, she couldn't remember quite who was…and then the name came to her…Bud…so why did he say that to her…what did she do to elicit that kind of response?
'Are you familiar with the expression sore loser?' She could hear herself say. That just made things more confusing. Maybe she was trying to banter with him, but from his expression, she didn't think so….
'I'm not concerned about myself. It's my client,' Bud says to her. There's anger and indignation in his voice.
'Oh, right. You're the hot shot,' she said stopping in the double doorway to the bullpen. 'Mr. Fast Track.' Mr. Fast Track…why did she call him that?
'Spare me, Roberts,' she felt as if she's angry and exasperated with him. Bud Roberts, that's his name…so why am I exasperated with him?
'Look, I don't give a damn about myself here,' Bud tells her, grabbing her arm. She could tell he was frustrated with her. Just like that tall Naval Commander who wanted to have dinner with her.
"No, that's right," she hears herself say sneering. "You don't have to give a damn. You can phone it in because you have so many people working overtime to promote your sorry ass.' There was bitterness in her voice and anger as she pulled herself away from him.
Before Loren could try to make sense of that, another vision swam into her brain….this time she was facing a female Navy Lieutenant Commander…and she looked just as irritated as Bud had.
'The difference between you and your client is that he never meant to hurt me. He gets my forgiveness. You get my contempt.'
Loren woke and was glad to see her darkened room was empty. She sat up on her side, trying to make sense of images she had just seen. Unfortunately, like all the others, nothing made sense. All she knew was that Loren Singer seemed to be pretty good at irritating people.
0802 Local_1302 Zulu
JAG Headquarters
Falls Church, Virginia
AJ Chegwidden eyed the two junior attorneys standing in front of him through his reading glasses. John Michael 'Jack' McBurney, Major, United States Marine Corps, had been the NCIS liaison since Atef brothers' affair in late spring of 2002. U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander Faith Coleman, TAD from North Island NAS, chosen to be his partner in this JAGMan investigation had nine convictions, but was still largely an unknown to the Navy/Marine Corps JAG.
"I assume both of you are aware of the severity of your assignment," he said glancing up at them.
"Understood sir," they both replied as they stood at attention.
The JAG nodded and handed each of them a fairly thick folder. "You have both been detailed by SECNAV and COM NAVDIST Washington to this case."
Faith glanced at her new partner. "Admiral, sir, forgive me for having to say this, but I'm sure you understand-"
AJ knew where she was going with this. "I have no intention of interfering in your case," The JAG said brusquely, as he dropped his pen on his desk pad and looked up at her to indicate his displeasure with her insinuation. "I've got more than enough to keep me busy right now."
Faith though, was unfazed by his posturing. She exchanged another look with Major McBurney. "We have every confidence of that, sir. But we need to know your staff won't either." Her voice had a little quaver, but not much. She had moxie, he'd give her that.
The two-star Navy Admiral gave her a paternal smile. "You have my word that they won't. Since you're not usually privy to our schedules, I'll tell you what's on our plates as of the moment."
AJ picked up a sheet from his desk pad and began reading. "Lieutenant Roberts has just been cleared by the Medical Board for permanent limited active duty; Colonel MacKenzie and Commander Rabb just concluded an Article 32 Hearing against General Cuban, CO of the 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade. Commander Turner is between assignments."
He neglected to tell them that in less than two weeks, Commanders Rabb and Turner would be recognized for their acts of heroism in the Indian Ocean which lead to the foiling of Kabir Atef's dirty missile attack against USS Seahawk. But then, the Admiral was figuring they would clear his staff of troubleshooters before then. There really wasn't anyone in his Command that would have done this, right? So why didn't he feel more confident of that assessment? Maybe it was because of his set-to with Commander Rabb in his office.
"I don't believe that I need to tell both you that you need to proceed as quickly and surgically as possible." He looked over at Faith. "Are you ready to proceed?"
Faith nodded. "Caught a red-eye from San Diego as soon as I was notified, had the files from the case faxed so I could study them on the plane. I have a short list of notes I made pertinent to the case."
Jack McBurney's cell phone chose that moment to buzz. The stunned two-star watched as the SJA Major fumbled in his pocket for his cell, then realizing who was standing in front of went ram-rod straight again as the phone continued angrily buzzing like a bee trapped in his jacket breast pocket.
The former SEAL gave an annoyed sigh and waved at him. "Go ahead and take it, Major, it might be pertinent to the case…."
A crimson faced Major nodded and walked over to the far end of the room. Faith fought hard not to burst out laughing at the faux pas.
"Is there something amusing, Commander?" AJ growled at her, catching the glint of amusement in her eyes. Truthfully he couldn't blame her for laughing at the situation. If it were another time and place, he might have joined her. But right now he was an irritated two star with two very junior attorneys who weren't impressing him very much.
Faith Coleman gulped audibly and shook her head. "No sir, nothing at all, sir!" she shot back quickly and then continued to stand at attention.
In the meantime Jack had finished his ill-timed phone conversation. He walked back over and reported what he had learned. "Uh, sir, it seems that NCIS already has an investigative team in San Diego looking at Lieutenant Singer's apartment."
AJ stood up and took his reading glasses off. "Well, Major, what do you think you two should do? After all, this is your investigation…." The Admiral's voice was calm, but full of potential fury at this goat-screw of an investigation.
Major McBurney understood he was in the spotlight and he'd better start tap dancing, fast. "We need to go to San Diego on the next available transport, sir, and learn what they found. We can—we will be back here at 0800 tomorrow morning, sir."
AJ gave him a faint smile. "That sounds like the proper thing to do, Major. We'll try this again tomorrow at 0800."
"Aye, aye, sir!" They chorused. They may be the lead on a JAGMan investigation into wrongdoing at JAG Headquarters, but it was in the Admiral's own backyard that they were going to be tramping around in, so they had be respectful of that.
"And we'll pick up where we left off on our little discussion at 0800 tomorrow. Agreed?" AJ tried hard not to appear intimidating, but a thin cruel smile graced his lips. He knew they would be suffering from jet lag and lack of sleep, but if they had cooperated more closely with Special Agent Gibbs in the first place, this wouldn't have happened.
"Aye sir!" Both officers chorused again.
AJ sat down again. "Dismissed."
They both pivoted and left his office, quietly closing his door.
AJ sighed and scrubbed his hand across his face as he put his reading glasses on his desk pad. A twenty-four hour reprieve.
Gibbs was already making waves throughout the bullpen with his investigation and had the JAGC office rumor mill running overtime. Petty Officer Jennifer Coates had gone on sick call this morning, no doubt due to Special Agent Gibbs' grilling yesterday. Hell, he knew it was rough on her and rest of them, but dammit, he wanted to know who on his staff had tried to kill Lieutenant Singer, too.
Since Gibbs and his team wasn't coming by today, maybe he could get his staff to focus on their jobs for twenty-four hours. Then the real storm would begin.
0924 Local_ 1424 Zulu
Bethesda Naval Hospital
Bethesda, Maryland
James Garrel had just entered the elevator to go downstairs to the vending machines. As his elevator doors closed, the adjoining set opened revealing Dr. Mallard and Vivienne Blackadder.
"So, Jethro will be coming by later today?" Ducky asked at they walked towards Loren's room.
"Yeah, Ducky," Vivienne said with a slight smile. She wanted him to know that whether or not Gibbs appreciated his efforts, she certainly did. "He thought she had had time enough to maybe remember something. By the way, he wanted to thank you for keeping him in the loop on her progress – he usually doesn't let a victim languish like this-"
Dr. Mallard gently interrupted her explanation. "I know, Viv," Dr. Mallard said in an understanding voice, "Jethro has had his hands full with coordinating the investigation with Major McBurney's JAGMan team and interviewing the JAG Corps staff. That's quite a lot for three agents to do."
"Gibbs doesn't think so," Vivienne admitted with slight grumble in her voice. The guard at Loren Singer's door looked toward them as they approached.
"Jethro is under a lot of pressure on this one, Viv," Ducky explained as he acknowledged the guard. "If Commander Rabb is one who did this, he has be sure and not damage relations between JAG and NCIS any further. Director Morrow's predecessors didn't give a single thought about that, which lead to the current state of affairs between these two agencies."
The former FBI Agent suddenly made the connection between the current problems they were facing in this investigation. "So that's why we got the cold reception at JAG Corps Headquarters? I just thought that was the way these things went when you investigated an organization within the military – kinda like law enforcement internal affairs."
Ducky shook his head. "Oh, not at all, Viv – in fact before 1995, the Office of the JAG and NCIS had a very cordial and cooperative relationship…until the Lieutenant Diane Schonke murder investigation…."
Vivienne nodded, she remembered hearing about that case while she was at FLETC. The NCIS 'Agent Afloat' Turkey experience became a cautionary lesson for how not to carry out a murder investigation. "I read about that one, they didn't catch her killer until years later…."
"And it was Lieutenant Commander Harmon Rabb and Staff Judge Advocate Major Sarah MacKenzie who caught the man," Ducky revealed.
Vivienne couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Harmon Rabb? The same Harmon Rabb we talked to?"
Dr. Mallard nodded unhappily. "I'm afraid so. The very same person, Viv. Agent Turkey made quite a mess of things." She and Ducky showed their NCIS wallet IDs to the soldier who nodded his approval and opened the door for them.
When they went in, Ducky could see that Loren was asleep again. As soon as she heard movement in the room though, she opened her eyes.
"Dr. Mallard," Loren said smiling, and then her smile faded a little as she looked at the woman who accompanied him.
"Good morning, Loren," Ducky said cheerfully, "This is Special Agent Vivienne Blackadder. She works with me and would like to ask you a few questions, if that is all right…"
"Sure Doctor," Loren replied putting on a smile, but Ducky could tell it was forced. For some reason Loren was nervous about this interview.
"Good morning, Lieutenant, how are you feeling this morning?" Vivienne said as she sat down next to her bed.
"A little better each day," Loren said trying to sound cheerful but deliberately vague for some reason. Ducky wasn't sure why she was acting this way.
"What do you remember about what happened to you?" Agent Blackadder asked getting out a little notebook and scribbling down some notes.
Ducky could tell that Loren was watching her every move. She was especially interested in the notes the NCIS Agent made. Loren made an effected sigh for Vivienne's benefit. "Not much really." She shifted in bed so that she laid on her side a little more comfortably. "I was arguing with a Navy man-"
"Do you remember what you were arguing about? His rank? Any distinguishing features about him?" Vivienne interrupted, firing a battery of questions at her.
Loren glanced at Ducky like she was speaking a foreign language and then back at her. "No," she said flatly.
Vivienne nodded making another note on her pad. "Okay, so what happened next?"
Loren relayed the same story she had told Ducky and Sergeant Garrel. It seemed rehearsed, but in fact for her it was the only mostly complete memory that she had at this moment in time. "I fell or was pushed from a…a bridge…into the water…somehow I hit my head…and that's all I remember about what happened. I was rescued from the water by a Marine Sergeant, James Garrel. The next thing I knew I woke up here and Dr. Mallard told me he was taking care of me."
Vivienne turned and gave Ducky a half smile before turning back to her. "Yeah, he's very good at that. Can you remember anything else?" It may have been all she could remember, but it was very little to go on for trying to find and arrest a suspect.
"Other than I was arguing with a Navy man and then nearly drowning in the water, no." Another dead-end.
Vivienne looked at Loren's baby bump and then gave her a smile. "So how far are you along?"
Loren looked blankly at the NCIS ME and then back at her. "Dr. Mallard says I'm in my fifth month."
Vivienne was mildly surprised. Ducky hadn't mentioned anything about her not remembering anything about her pregnancy.
Vivienne gave Ducky a curious glance before looking at Loren. "Do you know who the father is?"
Loren shook her head and tears appeared in the corners of her eyes. "No, I don't. I wish I did; I'd like very much to know who is the father of my child," she said with a quiver in her voice.
Vivienne felt that was the most honest statement she had heard from her today. Maybe if she pushed her just a little… "Lieutenant, think hard. Can you think of anyone who might want to have hurt you, had a grudge against you-"
Loren held up a hand to stop her and shook her head. "Look, Agent Blackadder, I wish I could help you, but other than it being Navy man…an officer, I think, I really can't tell you anything else. I thought Dr. Mallard would have informed you that I have no memory of anything previous to that night."
Vivienne sat back in her chair. This was not going at all like she expected. Still, she had to give it one more try. Gibbs would want her to. "He did, but sometimes when you ask someone cold, a name or face comes to mind," she explained hoping that would trigger something.
But it didn't. In fact, it had the opposite effect. Loren sighed heavily. "I'd really like to help you, ma'am. Really I would. But, all I have are fragments of memories of my life, and really that's just what they are…fragments. I'm pretty much a blank slate at this point."
Vivienne put her notepad away and pulled out her PDA. After tapping on it for a few moments, she put it back in the breast pocket of her jacket and pulled out a card. "Okay, well, here's my card, if you think of anything…" The red headed NCIS Agent handed her card to Loren.
Loren nodded and took the card, putting it on her nightstand. "I'll let Dr. Mallard know. Thank you."
Ducky looked over at Loren sympathetically as Vivienne stood up. "I'll be back in moment," he said to her.
Loren nodded as the two left the room.
Vivienne gave Ducky a hard look when they got out in the hall, away from the door. "Okay Ducky, how much of what she told me in there is the truth?"
Ducky sighed. "It's not that simple, Viv. Lieutenant Singer has suffered significant trauma to the base of her skull, resulting in hairline fracture at the impact point. Fortunately, there weren't any contusions on the brain that they've found. But there was some damage which resulted in post-traumatic amnesia which is dominated by what appears to be severe retrograde amnesia."
Viv's eyebrows knitted up in confusion. "Retrograde amnesia?"
"Yes, there are several types, fascinating, really. What our Lieutenant seems to be suffering from is a severe loss of pre-existing memories. The fact that she can remember bits and pieces means it may not be permanent and in time the brain will heal itself."
Vivienne wanted him to cut to the chase. "How long might this take, her recovery?"
Ducky was brutally honest with her. "Oh, it could take days, weeks, months, even years, why I remember a case where a young lad-"
Vivienne couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Ducky, we don't have weeks! If we're going to find who's trying to kill her, we'll have to do it ourselves!"
Dr. Mallard nodded his head sadly in agreement. "I'm afraid that's true, Viv. We'll have to find out who tried to kill the Lieutenant, without her help."
-TBC...