Chapter Six: Who?

Tony had never been so embarrassed. He'd told someone his whole past. And, as if that wasn't enough, the person he told had to be his boss. The man he most respected had just learned he wasn't as competent as he once thought. If Gibbs had known something was wrong, that meant he wasn't working well under the circumstances. If that was true, it was bad. Tony had learned long ago not to show what you're feeling because nobody would care about you and it just made you weak. Hell, maybe he had gone soft. He cursed himself as he remembered something his father had told him once: Just smile and say you're fine because nobody really cares anyway. They're just pretending. Was that true? God, why was it so hard? He walked back into the squad room before Gibbs, and his arrival caused Kate to look up.

"What was that about?" she asked.

"None of your business," he mumbled as Gibbs walked in.

"Get back to work. That means you too, DiNozzo," Gibbs said as Tony was sitting, just sitting, lost in his own mind. Tony nodded numbly as he settled back into the work wheel. Gibbs looked at him silently, thinking it wasn't over yet.

"Oh, Gibbs! I found out something else about Michael Taylor," Kate addressed him.

"What?" Gibbs looked up.

"He went to jail in '99 for child abuse. He had just gotten out the day before he was murdered. How's that for a irony? He survived prison only to be stabbed when he got home," Kate explained.


Gibbs got up from his desk, saying, "Kate, did you bring Rose and Dane in yet?"

"Um, yeah. They're in interrogation," Kate answered.

Gibbs nodded. "DiNozzo, I want you to talk to Dane."

"What about Rose?" Tony asked lazily. He looked up at Gibbs, and answered his own question. "You're gonna talk to Rose. I knew that."

Gibbs nodded again, saying, "Kate. I want you to talk to the siblings again. See if they knew anything about their brother?"

"Yeah," Kate said, standing and walking to the elevator.


Kate met Alex Taylor and Lindsay O'Connor at a quaint little coffee shop.

"So, you wanna talk about our brother again? Because we kind of already discussed it with the other agent," Alex told her.

"My partner, yeah, I know. We just found out more information on your brother, and I need to ask you a few more questions," Kate told them.

"Sure. We want to help in any way we can," Lindsay told her.

"Thank you. Um, so my partner told me, you both said your brother was sort of...independent?" Kate asked.

"Uh, yeah! You could say that. He was more like he didn't want anything to do with us," Alex told.

"After your parents died?" Kate wondered.

"No," Lindsay clarified. "Not specific to that. He was just always in his room, and, if anyone went in there, he would flip. He was, like, super private."

Kate nodded in understanding. "Would it surprise either of you if I told you that Michael's son has a file with social services. Suspected accounts of child abuse?"

"Noah?" Alex asked in shock.

"Yes. Did you keep in touch with Michael?" Kate asked.

"No. I learned that from his wife. Saw her in the supermarket once, remembered her from Mike's high school graduation where she told me they were going steady. Later I found out they eloped. But, anyway, she said they were still married and had a son, Noah," Alex explained.

"So?" Kate said.

"Does that surprise me? Yes! Very much so. I mean, I knew he was a little...batty, but I never thought he would do that," Alex expressed.

Kate turned to Lindsay who looked as though she had a different answer on her mind. "What about you, Lindsay? Did it surprise you?"

Finally, Lindsay shook her head. "No, it doesn't."

"Lin?" Alex asked.

"No. Remember that one time?" Lindsay turned away from her brother back to Kate. "I think I was maybe five years old. That would've made Michael ten. Mom had told me to go get Michael for dinner while she was finishing the cooking and Alex was setting the table. I don't remember where Daddy was. But, I went down the stairs to Michael's room to tell him. I knocked on the door and I guess I just opened the door and walked in. Michael lost it. He ran at me and pushed me to the ground. He kicked me in my stomach and back. He...He said to me Don't ever come in my room again, you little bitch. Then, he pulled me up by my hair and dragged me halfway up the stairs. Then, dropped my hair so Mom wouldn't know. So, yeah. I'd believe that in a heartbeat."

"Lin," Alex tried, "he was just a kid then. That doesn't make him a child abuser."
"It proves he had anger issues. And, besides that, you wouldn't even know! You were four years older than him and almost double his size. He wasn't stupid. He wasn't gonna do anything to or around anyone that could take him. He wasn't stupid, but he was a coward," Lindsay finished.

"Lin! Don't speak that way," Alex told her. "She's exaggerating."

"I'm not. Alex, he traumatized me my whole life, everyday," Lindsay explained.

"She's only telling her side. She would aggravate him, and he'd get mad. It wasn't his fault," Alex said.

"Whatever," Lindsay said, getting up from the table and walking away.

"Thank you," Kate said to Alex, who got up and walked back to his car. Kate caught up with Lindsay and said, "So, you think Michael had anger issues?"

Lindsay turned around, tears in her eyes. "He did," she said, slightly reserved.

"What?" Kate asked suddenly.

"I can't tell you. I have a family to think about. I have to go," Lindsay told her, hurrying to her car.

Kate followed her quickly. "Lindsay. We can protect you and your family, but you need to tell me."

"No. I know you. The police, they always say they can protect you. Look what happened to Michael!" Lindsay said, close to hysterics.

"Just come down to the NCIS building. You will be safe there. You can stay there until your brother's killer is caught. But, sweetie, I need to know," Kate told her.

"I want my whole family brought there, if I do this," Lindsay told her.

"I can do that. We can stop by your house on the way and tell your husband to follow us to the navy yard. Okay?" Kate agreed.

Lindsay thought. Eventually, she relented, nodding, "Okay."


"Miss Dane," Tony began. "Sorry, is it Mrs. or Miss?"

"Dr.," she answered.

"Ookay," Tony said.

"Why am here, Agent?"

"DiNozzo," Tony introduced himself. "You and I are here to discuss one of your patients."

Dr. Dane looked confused. "Which patient?"

"Noah Taylor," Tony answered. "You know him?"

"Yeah, he's my patient. He's a good kid. A sweet kid," she told him.

"Yep. I met him. Great kid. Sad kid. I trust you're the doctor who first noticed his bruises?"

She nodded slowly. "That was four years ago."

"Yes. Who did you think inflicted them?" Tony asked.

"His father. He was horrible. Acted like he was a good father. Pretended," she said.

"Do you still believe that he did it?"

"Yes. Why?" she wondered.

"'Cause he's dead. Know of anyone that would kill him?" Tony asked.

"No. Wait. Do you think I did it?" she asked, appalled.

"Thinkin' about it," Tony told her. "What happened after you saw the bruises?"

"I called my associate, Dr. Hailey Rose. She's a...child abuse pediatrician. I asked her what she thought," Dane told.

"What did she say?" Tony asked.

"She said her job wasn't to say who did or didn't do it. Her job was to evaluate the child," she told him.

"But you didn't end it there. You needed some sort of answer. What did she tell you?" he pressed.

"I asked what the percentage of child abuse was inflicted by a parent," she continued.

"And what did she say?" Tony asked once again.

She looked Tony in the eyes and said, "About 80% of child abuse involve at least one parent as the perpetrator."

"So, you made up your mind there?" Tony asked.

"80% is a pretty high percentage. And it made sense. He was on leave, so he was with Noah all day. His wife, Hannah, she worked the dayshift," she explained.

"Fair enough. But, you made an assumption that Michael Taylor was abusing his son? No one else could've done it?" Tony asked.

"I don't know of anyone. Why?" she asked.

"Because I talked to Noah. He told me he purchased many expensive items with his dad's credit card."

"So?"

"So," Tony continued, "if the marine was a child abuser, don't you think that would've set him off? Made him mad? Make him want to hurt the small child that would do something like that?"

"I guess. Did he?"

"No. He ignored it. Does that sound like a child abuser?" Tony asked.

"Could be neglect. You don't think he's an abuser?"

Tony thought about that. "No. I think he sounds like a tired father who didn't want to fight with his son after everything that happened."

"Well, Agent DiNozzo," she said, "to each his own."

"Right," Tony murmured. "Dr. Dane, why did you call Private Taylor?"

Dane looked confused. "Well, I didn't call him."

"No?" Tony inquired. "Because we have Michael Taylor's phone records. It states three calls from one Olivia Dane. Care to explain that?"

Dane closed her eyes. "I didn't kill him."

"Wasn't my question," Tony told her.

"I did call him. But, it was only because I thought he was a child abuser. I kept calling because nobody was answering. We called social services back in 1999, and Michael went to court. Jury voted him guilty. Four years in jail was the sentence. Well, Agent DiNozzo, it's four years later. I was calling for Noah to make sure he was okay. But, I guess the phone was unplugged because after I called three times, I couldn't even reach the answering machine."


"Agent Gibbs," Gibbs said, walking into the interrogation room.

Dr. Rose nodded. "Why exactly am I here?"

"To talk about one of your patients, Noah Taylor."

Her eyebrows knit in confusion. "That's not my patient. He's Dr. Dane's patient."

"That's odd then because Dr. Dane said that you helped her out," Gibbs said.

"Well, I did. Four years ago. See, I'm a child abuse pediatrician. I'm only called when there's a suspicion of child abuse. Olivia had suspicions about Noah due to his bruises, so she called me," she answered.

"So, what did you tell her?" Gibbs asked.

"Well, I told her I definitely thought it was child abuse. But, she only wanted to know who I thought the abuser was. I told her I couldn't ethically tell her my opinion. But she wanted to know the percentage of abusers that were parents, so I told her it was 80%. That's all I told her. It's not my job to pronounce people guilty or not guilty," she explained.

"Off the record, did you think Michael Taylor abused Noah?" Gibbs inquired.

"Between you and me? I did not. He was caring. I've been a child abuse doctor long enough to know and recognize fake caring and fake sympathy. He was real. He cared. That's why he brought Noah in. See, most abusers want their children to hide bruises and injuries. Michael Taylor brought his son in because he saw the bruises and Noah wouldn't say what happened. Olivia basically accused him of child abuse. He adamantly told her he didn't know who would do that to his little boy, especially not himself. There was that, and the child is typically fearful of their abuser. Noah ran straight into his dad's arms after his examination."

"So, who do you think it was? Unofficially," Gibbs hinted.

"I honestly don't know. The only people Noah's life that I met were his mom and his dad, and my professional opinion is that Noah was loved, at least by Michael and Hannah. I don't believe either of them would hurt him," Rose told him.

"One more question," Gibbs asked. "Did you kill Michael Taylor?"

"No," Rose said right away.

"Really because your prints are on the murder weapon. Care to explain," Gibbs inquired.

"I don't know why. I've never even seen Private Taylor outside the hospital," she told him. "I swear I didn't. Don't you believe me?"

"Evidence doesn't lie, people do," Gibbs opined, ending any following conversation. "Stick around."


As Tony and Gibbs were walking Dr. Dane to the elevator, they noticed five children, ranging from about four to twelve years of age, standing by who they assumed were their parents.

"Lindsay?" Tony said. He turned to Gibbs and said, "That's Taylor's sister."

"Kate?" Gibbs looked to Kate who was standing by the family.

"This is the O'Connor family." Kate walked closer so the family could no longer hear. "Lindsay knows something. She's scared, though, for her family. She thinks whoever killed Michael might come after her and her family. So, I offered her protection here until his killer is caught."

Gibbs nodded. "Take her to the conference room."

Kate nodded back, saying, "Alright. But, Gibbs, I think it'd be better if I talked to her, you know, woman to woman. I think she would open up more to me."

Gibbs smiled. "That was my plan."

"Oh."


"Lindsay, what did you wanna tell me?" Kate asked, after they arrived in the conference room and took their seats across from one another.

"Where's my family? Who's with them?" Lindsay wondered worriedly.

"Agent DiNozzo you met. He's with them. And Agent Gibbs is a seasoned special agent. He's there too. They're just in the squad room, safe," Kate insisted. "Lindsay, I need to know. It's crucial that you tell me anything that might help us."

Lindsay took a deep breath. "Yes. Okay. Michael...wasn't a hot-headed monster."

"But, you said-"

"I know. I lied. Had to. I couldn't say right then," Lindsay hurried on. "Michael was only scared. That's why he hid in his room all the time. Sometimes I hid in there with him. I wasn't scared of Michael. That time I told you about? Some of it's true. He did push me to the ground and he kicked me, but it was only because he thought I was someone else. When he realized, he helped me up and apologized. He was a good big brother. I was told to say Michael was a psychotic monster or I would be next."

"By whom?" Kate dared.

"My brother. Alex," Lindsay announced.

"Alex? But, why would he-?"

"Because he was the monster. He traumatized me and Michael. He would punch us, kick us, beat us up. He was physical. But, he was also emotional. He'd say to Michael Calling you stupid would be an insult to stupid people. Or he'd say to me Every girl has the right to be ugly, but you abused the privilege. But, I think the reason Michael finally ran away was because of what Alex did and said the night of his high school graduation. We were sitting in the backyard, the three of us. Alex actually told Michael he loved him and that he was proud of him. We thought Alex might've actually turned over a new leaf, maybe. Then, Alex had said he was going to the restroom. We didn't think anything of it. So, me and Michael were just sitting there talking when a big rock was thrown into Mikey's nose. It started bleeding," Lindsay said, tearing up. As she wiped her eyes on her sleeve, she continued, "Then, Alex ran in from nowhere and tackled him onto the ground. He started hitting him. Then, I remember clearly, he said to Michael I can't believe you really thought I loved you! Who could love you? I mean, if I were to kill everybody who hates you, it wouldn't be murder; it'd be genocide! And that was the last day I saw Mikey."

"Alex? You think Alex would kill Michael?" Kate asked quickly.

Lindsay looked at her. "Agent Todd, I thought he was gonna kill Mike that night. I know he's capable. And I heard from Mike the day before he was killed. He called me up. He told me to watch out and be on the look out because he'd learned something about Alex and that I wasn't safe."

Kate calmly asked, "What did he learn?"

Lindsay finally said, "I don't know. He hung up before I could ask. But, it scares me."

"Okay, come on. I'll take you back down to your family," Kate said, standing up.

As they walked toward the squad room, they heard a voice say, "Where the hell is Lindsay?! Bring her to me now! Or else one of you will die! Maybe all of you, I don't know."

Kate motioned for Lindsay to stay where she was and looked around the corner, swiftly drawing her gun, then turned back around the corner. There were only nine people in the bullpen. Lindsay's husband and their five kids, Gibbs and DiNozzo, both guns drawn, and another man with a gun pointed directly at Tony.

It was Alex.