FREEZE FRAME 4: Dead Man Talking
DISCLAIMERS: I do not own NCIS.
Previously:
Gibbs musses on his life and relationship with Marley and Gill. He is supported and encouraged by the ghosts of his past. On finding out NCIS's latest murder victim, Patrick Devlin, is Marley's father, Gibbs decides to keep everything as normal as possible for Marley, including disciplining her for getting the Semper Fi gang to steal evidence. He deals with the boys and warns them to stay out of the investigation.
The other characters so far: Because it is hard to keep up with things when there are so many OC in this story, especially when you are trying to follow a case. So from FF1 to FF4 here they are and the relationship to Patrick Devlin's murder case:
Marley Rose Hanson, now Riggs: main OC and in protective custody of the NCIS and the United States Marshal Witness Protection Program. Gibbs and Gill are guardians. FF1
Rose Louise Hanson: Marley's mother, (DEC). see FF1- SUSPECT. Unaccounted for the night on the murder)
Gillian Riggs: Marley's case worker and Rose's councillor, romantic interest for Gibbs. FF1
Nic Hanson: Marley's Uncle, who works as an undercover operative for the military. Officially listed as deceased. SUSPECT (though alibi has been verified). FF3
Jonathan Hanson: Marley's ex- marine grandfather, (DEC). SUSPECT.
Louise Marie Hanson, nee Cameron: Marley's maternal grandmother, (DEC). FF2
Patrick Devlin: cold case missing persons victim, discovered murdered. He was Marley's biological father.
Angus Devlin: Patrick's father. Potential SUSPECT.
Lilith Devlin: Patrick's mother.
Arielle Lau Quing: Patrick's fiancé. Potential SUSPECT.
Henry Lau Quing:– Chinese businessman and father of Patrick's fiancé. Potential SUSPECT.
Riker, Monahan, Fitzgerald (Daniel: DEC and Potential SUSPECT) Hanson ( Nic), Ramirez, Phelan, Rovetto, and Jefferson : The poker buddies.
Ben, Ethan, and Jessica Lindsey; Tom, Sam and Jarrod ( Australian); The Semper Fi Gang. FF3
Chelsea Gillard (Jarrod's Mother) and Melissa Quinn: Gill's friends. FF1
Add to your clues….
Nic's alibi stacks up. There will be more by the end.
Chapter 7: ROE; Rules Of Engagement.
FREEZE FRAME: Extreme close-up of Gibbs's fingers holding the edges of a photograph. The image depicts long slender feminie arms holding a baby of approximately six months old. Convert black and white. Cut.
Fade into NCIS headquarters; long shot of the bullpen. The ping of the elevator can be heard before the doors open, and Gibbs exits, to an almost empty space … except for his team, who have come into work on a Sunday afternoon. Ziva and Tim are at their work stations.
"You two been here all day?" barked Gibbs.
Tim stood up and rounded his desk, while Ziva remained seated and watched. "No, Boss, we all met up for lunch with Abby after she'd been to church. Then Ziva and I came here to go over the new findings and update files. Tony left to pick up the Devlins. Abby is in her lab, and Ducky's just finishing up the written report on Patrick Devlin's autopsy, in case you need it for the interview this afternoon."
Gibbs nodded and continued to stare at McGee in silence. Tim wondered what he must have left out. Ziva coughed, and moved around to join the pair. "Findings, McGee?" She interpreted for her boss giving Tim a little nudge.
"Oh, right." Tim flicked the large screen up, and a bunch of numbers appeared at lightning speed on the screen. "Devlin's phone records over April of 1999. Most of them are traceable to either his family or friends. The night of his altercation with Nic Hanson, he had an incoming from Nic, then outgoings to his parents' home and Arielle Lau Quing, his fiancé. There was an incoming from Daniel Fitzgerald at 0200 that appears to have gone unanswered. Then several unanswered incoming calls between the 23rd and 30th, which is probably when his battery went dead."
"And most likely he was dead. They were probably calls from people looking for him." said Ziva.
"Makes sense," stated Gibbs. "What about these other numbers?"
"These aren't phone numbers," indicated Tim, pointing to a common set of numbers splattered amongst the long list. "However, they are transmissions from the phone. Unidentified at this time; we're running them against any known Intel radio activity at that time, but so far nothing. The battery had a hidden chip in it. It transmitted all phone calls and conversations that Patrick would have had. The only time it wasn't transmitting was when the battery needed re-charging. It had an unusually long life compared with the technology at the time. It also transmitted when the phone was in use or not; a very sophisticated bug."
"What are these numbers about?" Gibbs wanted Tim's take on the findings. Frank's case was closed and classified. There were clear indications that Patrick had information that was important. Whether Patrick knew about it was another kettle of fish.
"Not sure, but my guess is there was some sort of Intel tracking device. Someone was listening into Patrick's conversations twenty four seven, but its only one way. Frank's notes suggest that Patrick's linguistic division was under investigation for leaking classified information. It may have been internal, or a National Security operative checking out all its linguistic operators… Or Patrick was the leak. The numbers don't match up with any of our receivers used at the time, but then we don't have a lot of access to the deeper uncover operations either and probably never will," surmised Tim.
Ziva let her thinking and interpretation roll of her lips. "It makes sense why the investigation into Patrick's missing person case was closed. Perhaps they found out he was the leak, or wanted to suppress the knowledge that there was even a leak at all."
Gibbs frowned. That's all they needed, a young linguistic officer, Marley's father, and a young man whose parents have been wondering all these years what had happened to him, only to find out the kid was a spy. "Get an interview with his CO, find out what they learned."
"All ready on it, Boss," said Ziva. "Here…" Ziva grabbed two files off her desk and handed them to Gibbs. "These are Mike Frank's interview notes with Patrick's parents and his investigation including a dossier on Angus Devlin. He is an import and export agent. At the time of Patrick's disappearance, he was setting up operations in Shanghai. With the pass back of Hong Kong to the Chinese there was an increase in growth and overhaul of the Shanghai ports. Actually, they have been trying to tidy up the port for the last twenty years and create a new Hong Kong. As it turned out, with all the banter and conjecture of what would happen in 1997 when the Chinese took Hong Kong back a lot of importers and exporters set up new business in Shanghai. The Chinese government encouraged it, needing the finances to re-develop the port. But they only allowed import/export businesses where at least half of the ownership of the business was by Chinese nationalists.
"So Patrick's upcoming marriage was going to be a marriage of convenience for his father, at least." commented Tim.
"Yes, it would seem so. Although, Frank's interview with Arielle has her coming across as sincere and very much in love with Patrick."
"We'll never know," Gibbs quipped bluntly. "What about Arielle's father?"
"That's in the second file, ID; Henry Lau Qing background and Franks 1999 interview."
Tim pulled up a picture of Henry Lau Quing and continued to fill Gibbs in on the information they had on him. "Lau Quing was Angus Devlin's business partner. In fact, he owned 50% of the company. From 1995 to 1999 they became the parent company for several smaller companies that did not meet the required national ownership laws. It was slow going at first, as many of the smaller companies still had export rights in Hong Kong. Lau Quing and Devlin concentrated their efforts on the smaller business coming out of Singapore. The bigger companies were wary of the move and the political unrest in the South East Asia pacific region. However, they convinced a business to export and import from there. When it got closer to 1997 a lot of the Hong Kong business added sister companies under their canopy in case the Chinese put heavy restrictions on the non-national companies there"
Gibbs stared at the face of Henry Lau Quing. A distinguished and jolly looking man in his early sixties, though it was always a hard to tell the age with the Chinese. Their skin was so impeccably wrinkle free. "So; Henry and Angus were setting up a multibillion dollar business in Shanghai. They needed clients from Hong Kong and South East Asia who were willing to take the gamble as long as they had a safe fall, from either political unrest or new acquisition laws of communist china."
"Yep, basically that's it in a nut shell, Boss."
"As simple as Tony's love life," added Ziva. When she received an annoyed raised eyebrow and expression from Gibbs, she quickly retracted, "As simple as … FUDGE or MUD…or whatever?"
Gibbs released his frown and turned back to the monitor, again looking into the eyes of the face on the screen. "This Henry Lau Quing, was he in Washington when Patrick disappeared?"
"Yes, he flew in the night of Patrick's fight with Nick. Singapore Airlines have him arriving at 2300."
Gibbs turned his head and asked Tim, "do we have his phone records?'
"No, but we can get them. We can get a trace through Angus Devlin's phone listings from '99. Quing's number is not on Patrick's list."
"Get them, and check for any unusual transmissions," ordered Gibbs dryly.
"Of course…" Ziva clicked her fingers. "The bug may not have been a military spy or internal affairs investigation. It could be industrial…it's possible."
"Very possible," said Tim, "businesses would want guarantees to set up in an area. South East Asia area politically was unstable… the Bojinka investigation in Singapore and the Al-Qaida connections would have definitely put prospective businesses off."
"Check it out, people. It's a theory at this point. Find out where those transmissions went to. I want an interview with Lau Quing. Do it."
"On it," Ziva and Tim snapped in unison, coinciding with the ping of the elevator.
Tony stepped out of the elevator and nodded in Gibbs's direction before he guided a distinguished, older couple wearing pensive expressions from the car. Angus and Lilith Devlin were dressed casual, yet smart in appearance. Angus was tall; at least 6'4" with broad shoulders and slightly greying hair, which was unusual considering his age. His posture and expression emanated confidence, an impeccable stereotypical image of a retired and wealthy businessman. He wore tailored casual grey pants, shirt and ochre cashmere pullover. His sports jacket, checked with similar tones, added a polite casual appearance. Angus Devlin stood straight with a perceptive eye as he scanned the work area, making a brief stop when he came across the three figures eyeing him from the workspace close by.
Lilith, on the other hand, was small and petite. Her hair revealed hints of the auburn colour of her youth with tasteful streaks of blonde and white strands that framed her gentle features. Yet, there was no mistaking the glint of grief that still lay in her eyes. She, too, had dressed comfortably for their Sunday flight from Connecticut. Her tidy attire; comfortable looking slacks, white shirt, and lemon vest, added softness to her 5'1" frame. She smiled, her rosy cheeks showing an appreciation of the efforts the young agent was making to ease her nervousness.
Gibbs knew what it felt like to lose a child. Even though their child was an adult, he had no doubt that their closure would ever really come. He hoped, at least, that by the end of the week they would have answers to the circumstances of Patrick's disappearance and death. A pang of guilt hit him as he thought about Marley and the knowledge of her existence might mean to them. Perhaps it would help in their healing. Would it be fair to keep that knowledge from them? He quickly dismissed it for the time being, aware that it may be in her best interests for Marley to keep that information in her sealed files. To be truthful that was, after all, his first priority. He had made a personal commitment months ago, though it felt like years. But, if Marley wanted to make contact, he would not be the one to deny it.
Gibbs moved towards the couple and introduced himself. "Mr and Mrs Devlin, Special Agent Gibbs…" he held out his hand and shook the large man's hand firmly. He smiled very briefly at the woman standing next to her husband. "Agent Di Nozzo will show you to the conference room. We would like to go over some of details from the time of your son's disappearance." Gibbs gestured towards the long hallway.
Tony nodded and invited the couple to follow him.
The couple nodded and turned in the direction Gibbs indicated. "Thank you, Agent Gibbs," said Devlin.
"Special Agent, Angus," corrected Lilith, and then turned to Gibbs. "Thank you, I hope we can help in your investigations."
"I hope we can help you," said Gibbs, softly.
The couple smiled and walked towards the hallway, stopping to wait for Tony when they got to the door of the conference room.
Gibbs handed Tony the files. "Here, play catch up while you're waiting. I'll be back in five. Abby's got something for me."
Gibbs walked back to Ziva and Tim, who had watched the meeting, trying to read the body language of the couple and Gibbs's reaction. But as usual, they could not read anything from their boss' neutral and dry expression. Tony's was another kettle of fish. With empathy written all over his face, Ziva suspected he had connected with the mother and was probably recoiling over the pristine detachment of her husband. But then men, in Ziva's opinion, were not always open to their emotions.
Cut away to mid shot of Abby's in her lab. Abby is, as usual, rocking away to loud music. In this case, as it is Sunday, Rufio's rendition of 'Like a Prayer' is blaring.
"Abbs?"
"Gibbs, Gibbs, Gibbbssss!" Abby turned around and ran into Gibbs arms. "Carpet and wood . . . ."
"What…Carpet and …. What… Abbs!" Gibbs yelled, pointing to the CD player.
"Oh!" Abby pulled the remote from her short pinafore pocket and switched the machine off. "Carpet and wood, Gibbs."
"Okay, carpet and wood, Abbs."
"Yep, that's what I've got. But I haven't got it all yet, Gibbs. Why are you here?"
"What have you got, Abbs?"
"Ducky hasn't finished his autopsy report yet. He's not happy, Gibbs; you know how he gets. Something, might be little, but it just keeps niggling at him. He keeps talking to Patrick, looking at him, checking his tests, sending me stuff, little stuff, just looking for that needle in a haystack, you know?"
"Yeah, I know, so wood and carpet. Where, Abbs?"
"Ducky sent me down some of Patrick's hair. You know, hair doesn't ever fully decompose and Patrick had a lot of it. It was greying, but not as grey as you Gibbs. Well anyway, besides having lots of DNA and other goodies in it, it had Patrick's blood from the head wound and carpet and wood. Which means Patrick received the injury indoors, a room obviously with carpet on the floor. The wood was most likely from the murder weapon. It's hard wood, not found in the national park. It could have been a baseball bat or a club of some kind. But the indent in Patrick's skull wasn't rounded, or elongated. It was sharp, see…" Abby flicked up an enlarged image of Patrick's scull. "Ducky and I concur on this, Gibbs. We're a great team, great minds think alike…"
"Yes, Abbs, you work well together, more."
"Well, it's a pyramid shape, sharp and angular… Like on some sort of carving, or perhaps a desk corner. Ducky likes that one best. I was thinking more of an ancient wooden carving like the male fertility gods where their 'you know whatx' are long and the tips shaped like…"
"Okay, Abbs, got the idea."
"Yes, well, a carving of some sort. So we don't concur one hundred percent, but I'm running tests to try and find exactly what type of wood. That's what I meant when I said I wasn't completely finished. But, I will be, in moments maybe even seconds, Gibbs. You know ten years ago we wouldn't have been able to do much with it. The splinter, I mean. It's well aged, but technology has changed, Gibbs. It's better, more accurate, and faster… so much faster. But then, I guess if we had found Patrick's body ten years ago the wood splinters would have newer, and it probably would have been just as fast."
"Not if you were explaining it," quipped Gibbs.
"Huh?"
"The carpet, Abbs!"
"Yes, the carpet fibers were found in Patrick's hair, his jacket and his shirt. His jacket was put on him after the injury. We knew that from the lack of blood stains. The carpet fibers belong to a reproduction Oriental Rug. There were enough of the fibers to get an idea of the color and design. We are just searching through the computer now and have about ten possible designs. The most probable is a copy of an Antique Ningxia rug, a very rare design with nine blue dogs on an ochre background. It's a reproduction. The original would have the fibers being over 100 years old. These fibers are only twenty years old. I traced the manufacturers of this particular design to a Chinese company that exported the rugs. The reproductions were popular during the 1990's, here and in other western countries. Find the rug; find the murder scene, Gibbs."
"Yep…Ideas?"
"I sure do. They were imported by wholesalers who dealt with hotels in the DC area. They were also popular with in some board rooms and in business centers, including our state offices."
"Any way of getting a list?"
"Yep working on it., But I'm not a hundred percent sure on the style, Gibbs. I'm just following a hunch."
"It's a good hunch, Abbs." Gibbs kissed her on her forehead.
The sudden tweet of an alert had them turn to see Ducky's face appearing on the video comm that sat next to Abby's computer.
"Ahh, Jethro, just the man I want to see."
"What's the trouble, Duck?"
"Nothing, well something, but I can't confirm anything. It's just a hypothesis."
"The autopsy report?"
"Done; all the facts and the tests results. But I'd rather you not release the body yet. Young Patrick here has bounced a few ideas around in my mind. Ideas that I just can't get from the numbers, Gibbs."
"I understand your methods, Duck. What's the problem?"
"Very well, but first the facts… A head trauma was the cause of Patrick's death. It was inflicted indoors, possibly a study of some kind, before he was dressed in his coat and taken to the national forest and a bullet was put through his skull. From all reports, Patrick was fit and well on the night he disappeared, other than most likely some minor bruising from his encounter with Nic Hanson. The head injury sustained is consistent with a sharp blow from what I would suggest he got from falling on to a hard wooden edge of an object, rather than someone actually hitting him with an ancient fertility statue, as is the theory favored by Miss Sciuto. Whatever the circumstance concerning that blow, my examination and subsequent research of head injuries to that part of the skull indicates that the blow may not have killed him instantaneously. He would have been unconscious or semi-conscious at best. However, it would have caused a brain injury, a slow bleed. If indeed Patrick's head injury was an accident, the neglect of any medical intervention was, in the end, the cause of his death."
"Was he dead when he was shot?"
"I'm almost certain that he had died prior to that shot. However, it would have only just have happened. By my calculations, he could have been alive for at least three hours before he was re-located. Had he had medical attention, he…"
"He would have survived?"
"I believe so. Find the gun, the carpet the fibers came from or the wooden object which the splinters come from, and we have our killer and the place in which that took place."
"Maybe not, but it would be a great place to start."
"Jethro, you're interviewing the Devlin's. I would like to sit in."
"Sure, Ducky, but we keep a lot of the details of your report quiet until we're done."
"Of course Jethro, I'll take your lead on that. But I'd like to get a read these people."
"What is your gut telling you, Duck?"
"Probably the same as yours, Jethro. But voicing them out loud may cause some hindrance, defence blocks, let's say."
"And have us looking in the wrong place. Okay, Duck, I'm heading up there now."
Ducky's image nodded briefly before he turned off his screen.
"Told ya he wasn't happy," said Abby.
Gibbs stood silent for a while, and then tapped the bench. "Abbs, Gill and Marley are turning up at six. Could you keep Marley down here with you?"
"Sure, Daddy-O."
"Oh and, Abbs, pull out Rose Hanson's personal archives. Have a look through it for journals, photos, letters; anything that might tell us if she had any contact with Patrick the night he went missing."
"On it, but, Gibbs…" Abby stuttered.
Gibbs turned, raising his eyebrow at the nervous Goth.
Abby pulled on her fingers before gesticulating, "There were a couple of journals, and some pictures, but Marley's got them. "
"What? You handed over evidence to a minor!"
"No, No, Gibbs, I signed them over. Nic Hanson signed for them, for Marley while they were here before the service. It's all by the book, Gibbs. Rose's case was closed. The journals are by rights her family's property. Is she a suspect? I mean really I couldn't have foreseen…"
"Yeah, Abbs, okay. We'll get a look at them. I'd like to be able to rule her out, just like Nic Hanson. But this case is full of blocked investigations and dead suspects…"
"Which could come in handy as a cover up for the real varmints, hey sheriff?"
"Yup, deputy dog," quipped Gibbs as he headed for the door.
"Deputy Dog? Jessh, just how old are you…" whispered Abby.
"Older than you, who cannot whisper," mumbled Gibbs, who had suddenly appeared back beside Abby.
"No offence, Gibbs," stuttered Abby. "Ow!"
"None taken." Gibbs strode out of the lab, with a smirk well hidden behind Abby's back.
"None taken, my ass," groused Abby, then quickly turned her head, flipping her pigtails left then right, just to make sure Gibbs hadn't returned or heard that last remark.
"I HEARD THAT," yelled Gibbs before the elevator doors closed.
Cross fade to close up of the conference room door. Zoom out to mid shot as Ducky joins Gibbs at the door. They enter. Pan to long shot POV from the door, to find the Devlin's on one side of the long table, Tony sitting opposite, and Leon Vance seated at the top.
Angus Devlin immediately stood, as did Tony, when Gibbs entered the room with Ducky. "Special Agent Gibbs," the man nodded in recognition.
"This is Doctor Mallard, our medical examiner."
"Doctor Mallard," Angus extended his hand as Lilith stood up and met Ducky's eyes.
"How do you do," said Ducky, lightly shaking the offered hand, and then smiled at his petite wife. "Mrs Devlin, nice to meet you."
"Please everybody, sit down," invited Vance.
Gibbs and Ducky joined Tony as Angus Devlin addressed Leon. "I must say, Director Vance, you have a dedicated team here; working so late on a Sunday afternoon."
"It's a common occurrence, Mr Devlin. We take the death of our military personal very seriously."
"And you, Director, do you oversee every part of the investigation?"
"No. I was here this afternoon catching up on some paper work and noted your interview booking. Truth be known, my in laws are in town, and well, the excitement is a little too much," said Vance with a smirk, trying to lighten the atmosphere. "Special Agent Gibbs is in charge of the investigation. I'm here merely as an observer and, of course, to provide support for the family. We will do everything possible to solve your son's case."
"Can we take him home?" asked Mrs Devlin.
Ducky spoke gently to the mother in front of him. "Patrick will be home very soon, I hope. There are a few more tests, and reports that need consolidation. I envisage that by the end of the week NCIS can release the body."
Lilith Devlin smiled kindly at the older man. His sincere manner caught her off guard a little. She expected the interview this afternoon to be clinical, and in some respects, offhand. She had never gotten over the disappearance of her son, and now that his body had been discovered had found no more closure. However, she had not expected others to care so much. It was all she could do to dip her head in appreciation and keep twelve years of tears at bay.
Angus Devlin squeezed his wife's hand in support and gave her a look of hope. "Thank you. We will be staying in town. Take as long as you need."
"At the Belvedere?" asked Gibbs.
"Yes. I still have business dealings in DC, and that's where we usually stay when we are here."
"It has such a nice homey feel about it. Old world, I guess." said Lilith.
"What about in 1999? Did you often stay in town to do business?" asked Gibbs.
"No, we lived just east of Georgetown. The trip into DC only took about twenty minutes."
"On a good day," laughed Tony.
Angus appreciated the humor to some degree, though he felt as if they were under suspicion. Perhaps there was new evidence that came with the discovery of Patricks remains. "Yes, that's true, but they were mostly good days. A lot of my work was done from my home office. But many of my business luncheons were held in DC. What's this all about, Agent Gibbs?" Frowned Angus.
"Just re-establishing old facts, Mr Devlin. Tell us about the last time you saw Patrick," asked Gibbs, ignoring the man's obvious annoyance.
"The last time I saw him, Agent Gibbs, was the weekend before his engagement party. We spoke on the phone several times. We had a lot to organize. He was excited, but very busy at work, and we didn't get a lot of time to meet that week. Most of the organizing was done through Arielle and me," answered Lilith.
"What about you, Mr Devlin? When was the last time you spoke to or saw Patrick?"
"I ran into him briefly at lunch Tuesday at 'Nine Dogs and A Dragon' on 14th Street. I had a business luncheon, and had taken Arielle in to meet him for lunch. They had decided to do a bit of shopping while he had a free hour or two. I picked up Arielle at about five and left Patrick. He was headed back to work; they had a big job going on."
"Did you know much about his work?" asked Vance.
"He had a very important job," proudly declared Lilith. "He was a translator for you people."
"We knew what sort of work he did, but we were not aware of the specifics. Patrick had made it clear that it was highly classified. If this has anything to do with the other investigation, I…"
"You were aware of another investigation, Mr. Devlin?"
"Yes, but again not the details. It didn't take a genius to get the inference, Agent Gibbs. There was some government agents asking about Patrick's involvement with my business. Obviously, me being connected to the Shanghai project and Patrick being in linguistics, specifically the South East Asian region, they suspected that some sort of internal leak must have taken place. I was happy to help, Agent Gibbs. Patrick made it very clear that he would not discuss anything that he was translating in that area to anyone but his superiors, not us or Arielle or anyone. They were welcome to ask as many questions as they liked and investigate. I opened my files to them."
"But some of the information would have been of interest to you, surely," asked Vance.
Gibbs looked hard at Vance until the other man returned his glare. Their silent communication left no doubt in any of the minds of the NCIS personable in the room that Vance had indeed been in all afternoon going over files; in particular, Patrick Devlin's files.
Angus Devlin broke the silence. "Henry Lau Quing and I, would have been interested, yes. But we didn't have the information, and neither of us pressed Patrick for any. I would not have compromised his position, or the national security of this country, Director. We took the gambles in developing that area. We had started well before Patrick went missing and well before these alleged leaks."
"Is that why they stopped looking for him, Agent Gibbs? The nice agent at the time said the case just went cold. That happens, he said, and often we just have to wait. I've waited twelve years Agent Gibbs. What happened to my boy?"
"He was murdered," said Vance. "His body was then taken to the national park and left in his car."
Both Devlin's looked at their entwined hands and then at each other. Mrs Devlin looked up a sincere plea glistening in the one small tear in her eye. "How was he…"
Gibbs nodded to Ducky. "Mrs and Mrs Devlin, Patrick died as the result of a head wound. The circumstances as to how he ascertained that are not yet clear. But the perpetrators then moved his body, in hope that it would never be found or if found it would appear as a suicide."
"Suicide…" Lilith Devlin was aghast. "Patrick would not have committed suicide. He was happy. He was about to be married. The family were all coming in for the party planned for the following weekend. Arielle's father was due to arrive."
Angus Devlin calmed his wife, again gently clasping her hand in his. "Anyone who knew Patrick, Agent Gibbs would not have set up that scene. They would have known that the scenario was just not plausible."
"It was very easy to disprove," said Ducky. "Your son did not take his own life."
Gibbs nodded at the couple, then coughed. "You say he was very happy. We have reason to believe there was an altercation between one of his friends that night. Do you know of anything that would have upset him? Caused to have a falling out with his buddies?"
Tony, Ducky and Vance both sat a little straighter at this statement, eyeing the Devlin's reactions.
"No," said Angus.
"Yes," said Lilith.
Gibbs raised his eyebrows at the contradiction.
"Well, we don't know for sure Agent Gibbs, but I'm a mother. The last time I had heard from Patrick was the Wednesday night before he disappeared. I hadn't spoken to him personally, but he called Arielle on her cell phone while we were out shopping. I didn't hear what he said, but I could tell by Arielle's expression that it was something important. Arielle hung up and said that Patrick wanted to speak to her and us, and that he would met us at home in two hours."
"I was picking up Henry at the airport. He usually stayed in town. But he wanted to meet up with Arielle, so we went back to our home. The girls came home about two hours later and told me Patrick was coming over, that he wanted to see us about something. Arielle said he sounded nervous and upset."
"But he never came home, Agent Gibbs. We waited until three in the morning."
"Do you know if he ever contacted Arielle or her father after that?"
"No. they never said so. Arielle was very upset after he didn't show for the engagement party. At first she just thought that he'd gotten cold feet. They had a minor break up about three months before, but everything was worked out and they seemed both committed to the relationship," assured Lilith Devlin.
"Was Henry Lau Quing happy about their engagement?" asked Gibbs.
"Very happy. Patrick observed their customs, the rules of engagement so to speak but such a union offered…"
"Advantages for your company should the Chinese government change company ownership rules again," Interjected Vance.
"Only if Patrick took over the business or became a partner, but neither Arielle nor Patrick spoke of such plans or broached us on that subject. Had he wanted to take over my share I would have gladly offered him a position. He had a good business head, and was fluent in the language."
Lilith leant forward speaking Directly to Gibbs. "Henry worshipped his daughter, Mr Gibbs. He was a widower. Arielle was his only child, a product of the one child policy. He was happy she found love, even happier with the prospect that he could have more than one grandchild. The policy exempts certain minority groups and interracial marriages."
"Minority groups; you mean the lower class and non Han heritage groups. I've often wondered if the policy was really designed to build a master race, low in numbers but with lots more money, well educated and in the right jobs to control the country," interceded Ducky, unable to curtail his political opinion.
Gibbs jotted down a few quick notes, flipped his small spirax pad closed, then tucked neatly under his palms. "Where did Henry stay while he was in town?"
"The Belvedere always had a room for him, but he often stayed at our home."
Gibbs nodded. He slipped his note pad into his coat pocket, then started to close his folder, gathering up the evidences they had so far. He wanted to confer with Ducky as soon as possible. He was also going to find out why Vance was so interested in this case all of a sudden.
"Do you know of anybody that would have wanted to do Patrick harm?" asked Ducky.
"No," answered both Angus and Lilith.
"But, Agent Gibbs?" Lilith asked pensively. "There is something you may able to help us with. It doesn't have anything to do with Patrick's disappearance, and it only came to our attention…" Lilith picked up her handbag and started rummaging through it, looking for something.
"Lilith, I don't think we need to go over this again. You are only distressing yourself. The private detective didn't find anything out ten years ago. And I hardly think that It's relevant or even possible that these people could find out the truth, or that they really need to waste their time on it…
"You never know," interrupted Tony. He liked this woman and felt a pang of sadness for her. "Evidence and clues come in all shapes and sizes."
Lilith smiled at the young man. She often smiled at young men. She wondered sometimes if they thought her some devious crazy old lady. But, she often imagined when she ran across nice young men like this Agent Di Nozzo, whether Patrick would have been like him. If her guess was right, he would have been about the same age. She knew Angus thought she was grasping at straws, looking for Patrick in so many other ways and trying to ignite the light that had dimmed so many years ago. Ignoring her husband, she bought an envelope out of her purse. Opening it, she pulled out a photo and placed it on the desk. She almost caressed the glossy paper before she slid it over to the other side of the long table. She didn't let go until Gibbs picked it up to take a closer look.
"About a year after Patrick went missing, his friend Daniel visited before he left to go on tour. He returned a box of Patrick's things, just little things, like his poker chips and letters that he had received. Some of them were sent well after he disappeared. This was in one of them. No letter, no details, just the photograph and 'MR' written on the back. It's a picture of my grandchild, Agent Gibbs. I'm certain of it. The child has Patrick's eyes."
FREEZE FRAME: Extreme close-up of Gibbs's fingers holding the edges of a photograph. The image depicts long slender feminie arms holding a baby of approximately six months old. Convert black and white Cut.
TBC Chapter 8 : JTF – Joint Task Force.
Mata Hari, Marley and Tokyo Rose, Abby put their heads together.
A.N. A bit of a boring chapter, but I needed to get rid of most of the evidence. It's not too complicated; clear as fudge. More should come to light with the poker buddies, Patrick's CO and the internal investigation and of course Henry Lau Quing, Though finding him may be a problem. So add to your clues and inconsistencies… there's one in the last paragraph… Fitzgerald delivered Patrick's belongings to the Devlin's not Monahan as Nic first thought…
More with Marley and the team next chapter I promise. A big "Oorah" to Harliquinn, for being so nice and telling me this wasn't boring