So sorry for the wait, life is a hectic as ever. Anyway here is my next chapter and we find out more about why Jasper's prints are involved in the murder case.

Chapter 7

Jenny sat in her office, unopened case files on her desk, the lukewarm coffee Gibbs had bought her over an hour ago sat untouched on the corner of her desk. Jenny couldn't bring herself to touch anything. Gibbs had been in the interview for over half an hour and Jenny was panicking. She called for her ever faithful assistant.

"Cynthia?"

"Yes Director?"

"Is there any word from Special Agent Gibbs or any of his team?"

"Not yet." Cynthia had been filled in on the case and its particular toll on the director from Abby. "I'll let you know as soon as I know anything."
"Thank you Cynthia, could you ask Doctor Mallard to come up please?"

"Certainly Director." Jenny shrugged her shoulders and took off her glasses. She knew that there was no way she could get any work done until Gibbs or someone came to talk to her.

It took Ducky all of 5 minutes to leave autopsy and get to Jenny's office. He had managed to grab Abby on the way knowing that Jenny could use all her friends right now.

"Ducky, what do I say?" Abby asked as they entered Cynthia's part of the office.

"I don't know Abby, I don't know." Ducky said with a solemn tone as he knocked and opened the door. Jenny was standing looking out of the window her back to the door.

"Jennifer?" Ducky asked closing the door behind himself and Abby.

"Jenny?" Abby asked, her usual cheerful tone was gone and replaced with a quiet and small tone, completely unlike Abby. Jenny turned to her friends.

"Hi." She was quiet. Abby ran over and hugged her. Jenny hugged back.

"You need to get out of here Jennifer." Jenny nodded at Ducky suggestion.

"I feel like the walls are closing in on me." Abby pulled Jenny's coat off the back of her chair and helped her slip it over her shoulders.

"Come on, early lunch?" Abby suggested. Jenny nodded. Ducky pulled his honorary daughter to him and hugged her.

"Tell your driver to meet us at the back entrance to autopsy. We'll head down in the elevator so that you won't see him." Jenny nodded again and, picking up her purse, they left her office.

"Cynthia, I'll be on my cell if you need me." Cynthia left her seat and hugged Jenny.

"I'll get Special Agent Gibbs to call you when he's finished." Jenny hugged her faithful assistant back, and whispered 'Thank you' in her ear.

After stopping at Abby's lab to get her coat and bag, the trio made their way to autopsy where Ducky disappeared for two seconds to get his coat and hat from the back room. Jimmy entered autopsy soon after they did.

"Oh hi director, Abby."

"Hey Jimmy. What are you doing now?" Jimmy looked confused.

"Erm nothing?"

"Good," Abby grabbed him by the arm. "You're coming to lunch with us."

"Lunch, Abby it's only quarter to 12. We don't break till 1."

"We're taking lunch early Mr Palmer." Ducky said emerging with his coat and hat on, holding Jimmy's coat in his other hand. Jimmy looked at Jenny who nodded, and putting on his coat, accepted Abby's invitation.

Sitting in Jenny's town car, Ducky in the front, Palmer, Abby and Jenny in the back, Abby pulled out her phone and sent a quick text to McGee.

Abby to McGee: "Hey Timmy, tell our fearless leader that we have Jenny and we've gone to lunch."

McGee to Abby: "Will do Abs, how is the director?"

Abby to McGee: "Not good, but we'll cheer her up. Any word from Gibbs?"

McGee to Abby: "Who's we? And no not yet, he's still in there. He banned all of us from watching about 5 mins into the interview."

Abby to McGee: "Me, Ducky and Palmer. And let me know as soon as you know anything!"

McGee to Abby: "You know I will Abs :)"

Abby smiled as she put away her phone.

"Anything?" Jenny asked. Abby shook her head. Jenny slumped a little in her seat.

"So where are we going then Ducky?" Abby called to the front.

"It's a little French place I know." Ducky said with a smile. Jenny caught the intention behind his words and smiled.

"Thanks Ducky."

Meanwhile in the interview Gibbs was sitting across from Jasper Shepard a folder sitting on the table between them. There had been silence between the two for about 10 minutes. Jasper finally picked up the courage to ask Gibbs his question.

"How's Jennifer?"

"I'm supposed to ask the questions."

"I just wanted to know how my daughter is." Jasper asked to a solemn Gibbs.

"She's as good as she can be." Gibbs answered him. Silence filled to room again. Jasper stared at his fingers. Gibbs sipped his coffee.

"Ok," Gibbs said placing his coffee down on the table. He knew that if he got mad then he would do something he would regret, and even if Jenny hated her father at this point in time, she wouldn't be too happy if he attacked her father.

"Why did we find your prints on the murder weapon?" Gibbs said showing Jasper a picture of the knife used to stab the petty office Ducky had down in autopsy.

"Because it's my knife." Gibbs looked at Jasper.
"I thought you were trying to prove that you were innocent?"

"I am. Look that knife was a present from my wife years ago. I kept it when I died as a reminder of her. Jennifer must have told you that she died when Jenny was young, and this was all I had left of her. I kept the knife for protection. You have no idea how many times I have thought I was being followed over the years. You have no idea what it is like to keep looking behind your shoulder every day waiting for someone to catch up with you and kill you for real."

"Yes I do." Gibbs muttered quietly to himself. Jasper sighed.

"I know this looks bad Mr Gibbs, but I give you my word as ex army solider, I did not kill that man."

"There's no such thing as an ex solider." Gibbs said with a strong tone to his voice. Jasper looked up at Gibbs, their eyes meeting.

"You can put me through any test that you like; I will prove that I didn't kill that man." Gibbs ruffled his hand through his hair. 'This was going to be a long interview' he thought.

"So how did your knife end up at the crime scene?" Gibbs asked.

"The office, James Morris, I was a friend of his fathers a long time ago. He must have spotted me about town this last couple of days as he found the motel I'm staying at and came to see me."

"When?"

"About 3 days ago. Said he needed help."

"Why?"

"I don't know. He told me that he needed help, and that I was the only person he could trust. So he asked me to meet him, and I did."
"At the construction site?"

"At the construction site. It was a little after 8 when I got there and he was waiting for me just like he said he would be. When I got out of my car he came up to me and started acting weird. Almost as if he was on drugs Gibbs. He kept telling me that I couldn't be there, I was dead, and that they were playing with him again."

"Who's they?" Gibbs asked making a note to himself to get Abby to test the officer's blood when she got a chance.

"I don't know, before I could ask, he started to attack me. I pulled out my knife to defend myself. I think I got him in the hand possibly his arm, but I knew that it wouldn't have killed him." Jasper ruffled his hair.
"Then what?" Gibbs pressured.

"I got up from the ground and was just going to see if he needed help when I heard a car coming up behind us. I knew if I was found then I wouldn't be able to explain what I was doing, so I ran. Got back in my car and left him there."
"Did you see the car?"
"Not brilliantly, but I could tell that it was big, like a 4-by-4, and I'm pretty sure it was a dark grey colour."
"Licence plate?"
"Sorry, I thought I could make out a 5 and a 7, but I wouldn't hold me to it." Gibbs sighed leaning back in his chair.

"Gibbs, I swear to you on the life I have been living for the last god knows how many years, I didn't kill that marine."

Gibbs hated to admit it to himself, but his gut was telling him to believe Jasper. The man had come in voluntarily.

"Would you be willing to give a sample of your DNA for comparison to DNA found under the victims nails?"

"If it will clear me then yes. What could I need to do?"

"Wait here." Gibbs got up and left the room.

Ziva was waiting outside.

"Well?"

"Keep an eye on him; I'm going to get Abby."

"Gibbs she went out with Ducky, Jimmy and the Director a little time ago. Something about an early lunch." Gibbs smiled; at least they were looking out for Jenny. He pulled out his phone and called Abby.

"Abs?"
"Gibbs? What is it?"

"I need you back here Abs, need to run some of your tests." He heard a muttering that sound like she was telling someone to get the bill.

"Ok we'll be back within 20 minutes."

"Make it 15 Abs." And he hung up.

Later that afternoon Gibbs and the team were huddled in Abby's lab as they waited for the results of Abby's latest test to come through. Tony and Ziva were huddled together talking in low tones, Ducky and Palmer were talking about the findings of the autopsy and McGee was helping Abby with another of her tests. Gibbs had his arm around Jenny's waist and she was snuggled into his chest.

"So you think maybe he is innocent?" She asked, her voice staying quiet.

"I don't know Jen. I wanna say he's a son of a bitch for what he did to you, but…" Jenny placed a finger on his lips.

"But your famous gut is telling you he's innocent." Gibbs nodded. It was then they heard the ding of Abby's machine.

"And we have a winner!" Abby announced.

"And for those of us who can't mind read Abby." Tony joked. Gibbs hand connected with his head.

"He had high levels of Diazepam in his system." Abby explained.

"In too much of a dose, Diazepam can cause hallucinations." Ducky added.

"Maybe Jasper was telling the truth boss." McGee said slowly.

"Well his story would explain some of the officer's wounds." Jimmy said. Gibbs looked for a developed explanation.

"The victim had a slash wound on his arm, which to me looked like self defence."

"So what killed him?" Jenny asked, snuggling into Gibbs more.

"A stab wound to his heart. Although he has another 3 wounds on his chest."

"So this guy was stabbed more than once?" Ziva asked. Ducky nodded.

"It appears so Ziva."

"Could my father have caused these wounds Ducky?"

"Well, logically speaking yes, but I reviewed the interview tapes you gave me Jethro and in my personal opinion as a psychologist, I don't think Jasper Shepard could have killed the officer. It just doesn't add up."

"It would also explain the skin cells under the victim's fingers." Abby said pulling out another piece of paper from her printer.

"Explain Abs." Gibbs said.

"One set of skin cells belongs to Jasper Shepard's sample he gave up, but there is another sample on top which I haven't been able to identify."

"So what you're saying is that my father and the victim fought, but he fought with someone else just before he died?" Jenny asked her voice getting louder. Abby nodded. Jenny lowered her gaze and Gibbs pulled her into a hug.

"He didn't kill him Jethro. He didn't kill him." Jenny sobbed quietly into Gibbs shirt. Gibbs pulled Jenny closer and took her out of the room.

"Ziva," he called behind him. "Release Jasper Shepard." Ziva nodded and she and Tony left to give Jasper the good news.

"Ziva?" Jenny called out coming back into the room. She handed Ziva a small white piece of paper, which the team recognised as her card.

"Give him this, and tell him to call me tomorrow."

"Are you sure Jen?" Jenny nodded. Jenny and Gibbs left for her office and Ziva and Tony had gone, Abby turned to McGee and gave him a hug. He hugged her back. He kissed the top of her head and Abby snuggled into him.

"Do you think Gibbs knows about us?" McGee asked.

"Yes, but he won't say anything." Abby said. McGee smiled.

"So if Jasper didn't kill the officer, who did?"

"Well who ever it was they were pretty keen to make sure they did the job." Abby said turning her attention to the picture of the body she had on her computer.

"They meant business." McGee agreed.

"Stabby Mc Stab Stab!" Abby said. McGee laughed.

And there is the next chapter done, and a little McAbby to end. I love the two of them as a couple. I really want them to get back together. And all credit for the 'Stabby Mc Stab Stab' line goes to one of my best friends Sam, who without a doubt cheers me up whenever I need it. She has a couple of stories on here under then name WingedSquirrel, so check her out. Until the next time, as always read and review, it really makes my day to hear what you guys have to say about my writing. (The 'Stabby Mc Stab Stab' line is defiantly my favourite out of all of my stories so far.) ^_^

Happy reading!
Beth