Chapter 4

As the two sailors were pulled out of the water, Chris and Pride joined Dabi and Brody.

"Let you bozos in on a little something; Dabi's dad, he's a federal agent. You better hope like hell he doesn't decide to nail your nuts to the dock after the way you just spoke to his daughter!" Chris grinned as he watched the two young men pale at the implied implications.

Chief Petty Officer Seever smiled at the two women. "Nice punch ladies. Couldn't have done it better myself." Then he glared at the two seamen. "Get showered and dried up, boys, and get yourselves back to work, double time!"

"Yes sir!"

A young man dressed in a Navy uniform approached them. With dark brown hair, brown eyes, and a somber attitude, he appeared to have something on his mind.

"I'm Seaman James. I understand you were looking for me?" he asked.

"That we are. I'm Agent Pride and these are Agents LaSalle and Brody. This is Dabi, a consultant," said Pride. "We'd like to ask you a few questions about Seaman Adders. I understand the two of you were buddies but got in to a minor dust up."

"That was my fault, sir. Ryan was trying to stop me from pounding my sister's boyfriend to death and he was right to do so. I was just so blind stinkin' mad I wasn't thinking straight," James admitted, looking a bit sheepish.

"You were trying to protect your sister," said Chris.

"Word is Ryan's dead," said James. "What happened?"

"We're not sure yet, but early indicators are suggesting he was beaten to death," said Pride.

"What can you tell us about him?" Brody asked.

"Just an all-around good guy," said James. "Tried to help people, had dreams of working at an outreach center for underprivileged and at-risk kids once he was done in the Navy, the sort of guy you could count on to watch your back but kick you in the ass if he felt you needed it."

"Do you know where he might have gone last night?" Brody asked.

"I got a text message from him about eight last night, saying he was stopping at a coffee shop on the way back, just to get the booze out of his system. That was the last time I heard from him," James admitted. "When I didn't see him in his bunk this morning, I got a real bad feeling. Looks like I was right."

"Do you know if he was with anyone, or if anyone might have wanted to hurt him?" Chris asked.

"Not to my knowledge. He was a great guy, but he was also real quiet. Tended to keep things to himself. I know he kept a journal in his locker; said the writing helped him think things through," James replied.

"One thing we noticed; someone withdrew a hundred in cash from his account last night, and there was a transaction at a bar called 'Joey's'. Can you think of why that might be?" Brody asked. "Maybe he was trying to help someone, or even maybe buy someone?"

"Help, more than likely. Buy, like a prostitute, not a chance. They were one of the ones he wanted to help," said James, very emphatically.

"Okay, Chris, you and Brody go check out Adders' locker. Dabi and I are going to go pay a visit to Loretta and Sebastian. Hopefully they'll have some more answers for us," said Pride.

"Got it. We'll meet you back at Headquarters," said Chris.

"Loretta, the Medical Examiner Leo and I met last time?" Dabi asked Pride as they made their way back to the cars.

"One and the same. Sebastian is our forensic specialist. He's a nice enough kid, just a bit cracked in a few places," said Pride.

"Sounds like a few people I know," Dabi grunted.

At the medical examiners' office, Loretta had preliminary results for them.

"He was beaten to death," said Loretta, pulling up x-rays on one of the main screens. "He's got broken bones in a dozen places, including his knuckles, but mostly his ribs and his face and head area."

"Broken knuckles. So he fought back," said Pride.

"From the looks of his knuckles, I'd say he broke someone's tooth," Loretta said.

"May I take a guess at something, ma'am?" Dabi asked politely, studying the x-rays.

"By all means, my dear," said Loretta.

"I've seen these types of breaks before," Dabi admitted. "Sat with Dr. Mallard a few times in an autopsy. One fellow was the victim of a gang beating and the weapon turned out to be a two-by-six from a nearby construction site the victim had been working at."

"And you think that's what was used on this poor fellow here?" Loretta asked, clearly impressed.

"Well, he's a big man. Say he was trying to defend someone, like his buddy, James, suggested, and someone jumps in the fight with a piece of wood. Things are going to get real ugly, real fast, especially if they think they're teaching him a lesson."

"A lesson that got out of hand," said Pride, nodding.

"And you would be right. Someone got their punches in, but the final blows were to the head with a large, flat object, made of wood," said Loretta, smiling. "I found slivers of wood in his head. Thanks to the water, though, no DNA evidence."

"Sebastian?" Pride asked.

The flushing young man stepped forward, shoving his glasses up his face. He glanced at Dabi, and Pride was sure they were going to have to get a fire extinguisher in there pretty quick.

"Um, I was um, I was able to dry out the paper you guys found in the victim's wallet," Sebastian stammered.

"And?" Pride asked.

Sebastian quickly tapped his tablet and an image came up on the screen. "I had to use different wavelengths of light to, umm, restore the umm, paper," he said. "But, but I got it. It looks like an ATM receipt."

"Right; different light colours have different wavelength spectrums, and different things can be seen under different spectrums, including ink," said Dabi. When Sebastian stared at her, eyes wide, she just grinned. "One of my best friends is a forensic specialist. I hang with her when I can."

"I think I'm in love," Sebastian moaned.

Pride looked at him with raised eyebrows and he quickly looked down at his tablet, his face flushing.

Dabi moved closer to the screen, studying the image. "Hundred from his checking account at about nine-twenty-three last night. Matches what you guys found in his account."

"I also found a, umm, a phone number on the back," Sebastian admitted, tapping his tablet and bring up what was the back of the receipt. A phone number was written across it.

"You match it to anybody?" Pride asked.

"A. Allen, but no address, just a P.O. box," Sebastian replied.

"Convenient," Pride said, scowling. He glanced at Dabi. "What are you thinking?"

Dabi blinked. "Well, by all accounts Seaman Adders was the kind of guy who wanted to help people. One of his last transactions was at a bar, and he was beaten to death, right? So I'm thinking what if he tried to help a prostitute? What if he gave her the money, not to buy her services, but to try and help her get out of the business?"

"And her pimp, or pimps, didn't care for that," said Pride, nodding and grinning. Yup, she was Gibbs' daughter all right.

"Dad's told me a few stories about that happening, where a pimp would rather beat or kill his girl than let her go to a better life," Dabi admitted. "He once investigated a Marine after he put this guy in hospital. Turned out he was protecting his pregnant wife from her former pimp. He loved the Marines, but he loved his wife and their baby more."

"What happened to him?" Sebastian asked, eyes wide.

"Guy was discharged and Mary, my contractor and my business partner's wife, needed muscle. He's now working on his contracting licence," Dabi said.

Pride chuckled. "Nice. So you think the same thing happened here?"

"I do. Seems to me the next logical step is to check out Joey's," said Dabi. "What's the legal age for a drink around here?"

"Twenty-one, if you're on your own," said Pride. "If you have someone with you who's over the age of twenty-one, and you're under the age of twenty-one but over the age of eighteen, most places will allow you to have a drink, as long as you stay with the older person."

"Okay, so if need be, I can go with you guys to this bar?" Dabi asked.

"If need be, yes," said Pride.

"Good. What the hell is a screwdriver, aside from a tool?" Dabi asked. "The only drinks I've ever had are Dad's bourbon."

Sebastian's eyes went wide and Loretta laughed. "My dear, we have a few things to teach you before you leave," she said.

"Why not? King's already promised to teach me how to make gumbo, and I want at least one recipe to add to the bakery, one that's guaranteed New Orleans flavor," said Dabi.

"Oh, I can think of a few recipes to show you," said Loretta, nodding.