Chapter Six
Recap for the Road

"Our chief suspect back then," Pride tells his team, knowing he's also bringing Gibbs' up to date on aspects of the distant past, "was the boyfriend, a then twenty five year old ex-jock by the name of..."

"Jerome Devlin," DiNozzo supplies.

"With a bad attitude and a short temper. But though the case never went beyond trying to track her movements and we later called for information from the public, describing her as a Missing Person. There was no evidence of foul play or anything else. The case went cold after about four months but we did a full workup on Devlin. We went over him, his car, his apartment house from basement to roof, never found anything. We found his prints at her house, the McGregor Mansion, particularly in her bedroom; her prints everywhere in the apartment he lived in with his family, in his room; her hair... other things," he finishes discreetly with a pan of Meredith, Michelle and Ziva.

"I'm married," Michelle says.

"I never was a Shrinking Violet," Meredith reminds her boss.

"I could curl your hairs," Ziva assures him.

"But though it was clear," he continues smoothly, "that they were having a relationship we never found anything, not even family or neighbor testimony, that said there was anything wrong."

"There was no blood," Gibbs says, the open file on the desk before him, "nothing to show anything had happened to her. His alibi held up. The last person to see her on base, the Sentry at the gate, let her out at 1814 and she was missed after 0800 the next morning. Devlin was confirmed by several witnesses to be in the apartment with his family during that night."

"Since it was Game Night at Casa Devlin," Pride resumes the narrative, "the witnesses included relatives from the mother's side of the family. Saunders' family came home after midnight but Annette wasn't there and Paul was unattended - he was nine – and the staff didn't live on site. That didn't raise any red flags because she worked with a Volunteer Ambulance Service. But in the morning her father called and she had never gone in for an 1800 to 0600 shift."

"We checked out her family, him, his family," Gibbs says. "Nothing."

x

"Devlin's now married," DiNozzo says as he brings up on the plasma screen the Virginia Driver's License of a thin and mustached face, "for six years to the former Debbie Reynolds. No relation. No children." There's something of cruelty in the eyes. Gibbs recalls having not been at all impressed by the man two decades ago when he was brown and young, and if personality can be engraved into the features then this is a bad man.

"It was definitely a May/December wedding," Tony opines. "Debbie would have been in kindergarten when Saunders disappeared."

"Any Record?"

"I'm sure you mean since the Fed Five looked into them and that's a definite 'yes'. Arrests include one for ADW four years ago, three for Possession, the first two were fifteen and seven years back. The most recent Possession was eight months ago; he plead out and received a month. The ADW charge netted him six months.

"There have been some Complaints by neighbors of disturbances but no arrests made on any of them, nothing substantiated. The only thing impressive about him is a slew of traffic tickets; his vehicle has been booted sixteen times. I have to check to see if that's a DC record, I happen to know it's not a New York one. A few other Misdemeanor Charges thrown into the mix, but it's the ADW four years back that's the most dramatic."

"Why?"

"It was against the local Scout Master. McWebelos, you'll be interested in this."

"Why?" Tim echoes.

"A rumor went around that the local Scout Master over at Our Lady of Pompeii was gay. The BSA takes a dim view of that, as I'm sure you know. The Scout Master tried to call an Open Meeting of parents to address the issue. Turned out that was a very bad idea, Security was a wash since Devlin, with no kids, shouldn't have even gotten in the door. A fight broke out, went to six parents pretty much mopping the floor with the guy before other Scout reps broke it up. Devlin used the opportunity to whack him over the head with a Coke bottle. On reflection, they should have served plastic."

x

McGee gives him a look as though to say 'And I should be interested why?' "I remember hearing about that. And he wasn't."

Gibbs doesn't care. He glances to his old partner. "Let's see if twenty years have improved his memory." Gibbs knows this won't be so. More likely he'll have forgotten his alibi, which can be far more useful to the Investigators. "What's he doing now?" he asks DiNozzo.

"He's an Assistant Manager at the Food Court in the Braddock Mall."

Some places come back like bad pennies. That's where, several years ago, Lt. Cmdr. Amanda Wilkinson had been kidnapped and locked into a car trunk by Ross Logan, head of 'Perverts Brought to Justice'. "Anything on that Volunteer Ambulance? Aventine, wasn't it?" There hadn't been much back then, because she hadn't been scheduled to work for several days before.

"Nada," Tony declares. "Whole new crew." Twenty one years is too long.

"Track them down."

"Rabbit out of the hat. On it, boss."

"Go down there," he directs. "Take Ziva and LaSalle. Brody, you're with McGee and Palmer. Take Sewells Point."

Sewells Point is in Norfolk Navy Base. McGee looks to the window. True it doesn't get dark until around nine at night, but "Boss, that's two hundred miles away."

"So?"

By Gibbs' driving, it's only a little over two hours, but by the posted limit it's more than three each way. The look he exchanges with Michelle is one of 'might as well give up'. Brody may not know yet what she's getting into unless she's made the Washington – Norfolk run, but she's about to find out.

x

"Rule 3." Michelle says only loudly enough for her associates to hear as she, McGee and Brody turn corner from the bullpen and start down the short hall.

"Don't believe what you're told, double check?" Tim asks. That does cover this phase of the Investigation, at least in a sense.

"My Rule 3," she clarifies as they reach the elevator. "When it looks like you'll have an easy day, pack a toothbrush. But maybe we'll get lucky and avoid a traffic light."

McGee gives a heavy sigh. "Forgot my phone. Be right back."

Left alone with Michelle, Meredith gives her a confidential smile. "This your first?"

Michelle's confused by the thought she sees in the taller woman's eyes. "First what?"

"You're glowing."

Her heart turns over. Brody's certainty is too certain, but there's one likely explanation. "Are you a Witch?" she whispers in broad apprehension. Only a fellow psychic should be able to–

"A what-ch?"

"A Witch!"

Momentary confusion is wiped away by a glance down at the previously unnoted silver five pointed star enclosed within a circle, the whole uncommonly enclosing a cross, all suspended by a thin silver chain to rest before Michelle's breasts. "No, hon," she assures her. "I'm sorry but it's all over your face. You have that 'new mother glow' and–."

"Shhhhhh - shhhhhhh - shhhhhh! Be quiet!" she whispers. "No one knows!"

"Knows what?" McGee's voice behind her makes her jump and she whirls while forcing her expression to innocence.

"I'm a Lesbian, and Sammy Sky and I are moving in together. Abby can have Jimmy."

Tim's face freezes and it takes several seconds to force anything through as Meredith presses the elevator button. "Ohhhhh..." the bell above their heads rings, "kayyyy."

xxx

Gibbs and Pride, in Gibbs' yellow and black Hemi, arrive in Friendship Heights at the home of Debbie and Jerome Devlin, but the lights in the suburban two story are off and the half and full curtains are drawn. The early afternoon sun shines on the front of the light green building, being quite some time before it will move to the back. Leaving the car, Gibbs wishes he could dispense with the regulation black cap as the 99 degree day threatens again to cross that last painful line. They walk along the flagstone path past the well maintained lawn, their manners projecting casual images neither feels. Though always alert for danger, this is a fact-finding mission to the Person of Interest against whom nothing had been identified twenty one years ago.

Pride knocks on the door and, a few moments later a woman's contralto voice calls through the wood "Who is it?"

"Federal Agents, NCIS," he tells her, but it's more than ten seconds before the lock clicks off. The chain only allows the door to open a six inch space, letting them see a portion of a young Caucasian face.

x

The former Debbie Reynolds, according to the records DiNozzo had pulled, is closing on twenty five and stands an inch shorter than Abby without the towering boots. Her complexion speaks of spending much of the summer in the sunlight; short brown hair frames her face but the suspicion in her brown eyes screams at them. "What do you want?"

"Is your husband home?"

"He works. What do you want?"

They identify themselves again. "We need to speak to your husband about a Naval Officer–"

"I don't know anything about that. Please go away." She shuts the door and gives the lock a sharp snap.

Pride looks to his old partner. "Well, that went like I expected. She's going to call him, let him know we're interested."

"I hope so, especially since she wouldn't let us tell her anything. Make him start out a little nervous. I want to talk to him while he knows something's up but before he has too much time to prepare."

x

As they walk back along the flagstones a man and woman, each in their early thirties, await them at the curb. "Are you men Police Officers?" the woman asks. "Detectives?"

"Federal Agents," Pride replies. Since they're wearing the regulation white on black caps, it's a curious misunderstanding.

"Naval Criminal Investigative Service," Gibbs clarifies the initials. They display their shields and IDs.

"Are you here to do something about Debbie?" Gibbs gives her his 'tell me more' expression. "We've called the Police a dozen of times. It never does any good."

"Who are you?"

"Oh," the man says, "sorry. I'm Derek Willis, this is Mindy. We live over there." He points left toward a similar house to the Devlin home, this one done in pine green with white trim, on the other side of a driveway. The walls are no more than twenty five feet apart.

"Why do you call the Police?" Pride asks.

"Because he beats the hell out of her," Mindy declares, outrage kindled and building to what they expect will be a hearty blaze. "Two, three times a week we hear the most horrible screaming." From their angle on the sidewalk the agents can see two windows on the pine green house face the light green one (Homeowners Commission at work?), and it's likely from the similarity of the houses that two also face back. "We call, the Police come, a few minutes later they walk out, get in their car and ride away. A dozen or more times and they don't arrest him."

"We used to let it go, not say anything, but things got so bad we started calling," Derek says.

"Fat lot of good it does."

"Do you get Incident Report numbers?" Gibbs asks.

"Yeah," Derek confirms. "We follow up, the answer's always the same. 'Unfounded'."

The agents don't need much more, though they're certain they'll get it. If the woman doesn't press charges, whatever ones might apply, there is nothing the uniformed LEOs can do. They can advise, offer directions to Services, but beyond that their hands are tied.

x

"I don't know him," Mindy says, "barely know her. She's nice, can't be half his age. Looks about twenty, twenty five tops." The agents consider this notable, since Devlin had been 25 when he'd dated Saunders 21 years ago and she had been 22 when she'd disappeared. DiNozzo had already characterized this current relationship as a May / December one, for the former Debbie Reynolds is approaching 25. She'd been less than 4 when things had gone wrong for Saunders.

"Really beautiful brunette," Derek continues, "kind of looks like the woman from that 92021 show, you know, after she got done with that School kid show. Anyway, there was a Block Party about three weeks ago; she was there, he wasn't. Anyway, she was wearing this loose dress, so when she bent down naturally I looked, you know? Her tits were all covered with bruises, like he used them for punching bags, you know?"

"We stopped the cops once," Mindy says, her color high, "but they said there was nothing they could do. She won't complain about him. Can we complain?"

"You could file for 'Disturbing the Peace'," Pride tells her, "but if she's not going to press Charges against him there's little you can do on the assaults. The Police can watch closely, but without a Complainant..."

"Figures. Well, thanks anyway," she finishes with no kindness and stalks back to her house. Derek, left behind, shrugs and follows.

Rather than being put out by the abortive interview with the wife and not finding Devlin at home, this conversation has led to a wealth of detail, and an aspect they hadn't had any evidence on so long ago. "Let's see how things are at work," Pride suggests.

xxx

The trip to Norfolk is 200 miles, over three hours at the posted speed, but while Tim must concentrate on driving the women at his right and behind him are under no such constraint.

"Really?" Meredith Brody exclaims from the back seat over the struggling air conditioning, inspired admiration in her tone at Michelle's revelation, and he sets up for a little ego boost. "I have all three, though I bought the third based on the author name before finding out it wasn't an NCIS novel, but I never realized the connection. How did 'Thom E. Gemcity' come about?"

He smiles. "It's an anagram of Timothy McGee. My publisher's sense of humor."

"Everyone's in the books," Michelle says. "I'm Shelly Jalmer - I don't know who I was before I got married," she says with a bating look to Tim but he doesn't answer, "and Una Eilidh Nimah, the Queen's Handmaiden and girlfriend - then girlfriend - of Aylfryd Cuidightheach Ceallair – and if you don't think that took practice..."

"I can imagine."

"He's working on his fourth book, and it's about–"

"Michelle." Not time for this.

"No, it's not about me," she assures the woman, ignoring Tim's tone. "It's about Samantha Sky. Oops, I mean 'Sabrina Shore'."

"Michelle."

"Samantha Sky. Where have I heard that name before?"

"She's Ducky's new Medical Examiner-Apprentice. Part time, when Jimmy's off."

"Oh."

"She and Jimmy do Autopsies together. And if I catch her being naughty with him she's going to need an Autopsy."

"I don't think you have anything to worry about."

"In his new book–"

"Michelle."

"He took it from a real life case. Sammy was accused of murder, so a few name changes and situations–"

"MichELLE!"

"And a whole lot of kinky sex."

"All right, that's enough. You know I don't like information spread around before the publishing."

"Come on, Tim, who's she gonna tell?"

"The only thing I'd tell Dwayne and Chris is that you're writing a new book with a lot of kinky sex."

"There's not that much of it. Besides, it's not my idea, it's my Publisher's. She insists sex sells."

"It does. What part are you up to?"

"The really kinky sex," Michelle quips.

x

He gives up, knowing there's no hope. Revelations about future books was the price exacted for writing them with Tibbs, Tommy, Lisa and the others preserved. The others haven't read the work in progress, 'Spoiler-Alert Palmer' has only seen a bit of it because he needed some technical information on her Wiccan stuff and he regrets that lapse now, but he supposes he's going to have to show Sammy the first draft if only to be fair. She'd lived the case he's dramatizing.

Only Shav withholds her permission, having appeared only in Cearbhall's Quest before she forbade him from using a modified version of her as McGregor's wife, but the others all have final approval before he can publish. "The Arraignment scene," he admits with a glance at his watch.

Five more hours in this car.