Chapter 5

The trip to Joey's wound up getting canceled when it was discovered the video from the bar had been sent over and both Brody and Chris were studying it.

"That's Adders," said Chris. "Looks like he's trying to grab a girl and she's not too happy with him. Can't make out what's being said though."

Dabi watched the video with a critical eye. "He's trying to help her. He knows she's afraid of someone but he wants to help her. She's trying to tell him that he can't help her but he's saying he can get her out of there and some place safe."

"Really?" Chris asked, curious. "How can you tell?"

"Look at the way he has his hands. They're up, fingers spread, almost palm down, like he's trying to calm her down. I've seen my dad do that a few times when he's trying to calm someone down. Here, he doesn't grab her hard, but he does have a grip on her under her elbow, like he's trying to stop her without hurting her. She wants to believe him. See the hesitation in her steps and her movements there? It's like she's torn between what she wants and what she knows could happen," Dabi explained, mimicking the movements. "And there's the knuckle to the lips. That's indecision." She gestured at the screen. "There. He's putting the money in her purse. He's trying to help her."

"What about the way she's looking around?" Chris asked.

"She thinks someone's watching, maybe her pimp," said Dabi. The action moved off-camera but a moment later, the girl runs by, panic and fear on her young face. "She saw what happened and she ran for it. My guess is she's in hiding now."

"She looks young, like you," said Brody.

"Another lost girl caught in a real ugly mess," said Pride. "We'd better find her before they do, whoever they are."

Then Pride's phone rang. It was the New Orleans police department and they had someone who was refusing to leave the station until someone from NCIS arrived. Apparently this girl, for it was a girl, knew something about a recent possible murder and was terrified for her life.

"Looks like she found us," said Pride, hanging up. "Go get her, bring her here."

"I have an idea," Dabi offered. "It looks like she's about my age. Instead of putting her in the interrogation room, why not put her in the kitchen? She might feel safer if I'm there, especially if I'm doing some more baking."

"Bake and blab," said Brody, grinning. "I like that idea."

"And so does my stomach," said Chris, also grinning.

"Do it," said Pride, smiling.

Dabi headed for the kitchen and Chris and Brody headed for the NOPD building.

As Dabi gathered her ingredients, Pride watched. "What are you going to make?" he asked.

"Thought I'd start with challah; it's a Jewish bread recipe Pop-Pop taught me that was passed down through his family. It takes about two hours to rise, so while that's rising, I can do some buttermilk biscuits with raisins. That's a recipe Grandma Joann taught me when she came to meet me just after Dad and I found each other."

"Grandma Joann?"

"Joann Fielding; Shannon's mom, Dad's first wife," Dabi explained.

Pride thought for a moment, trying to recall what he knew about Gibbs' wives. "I thought that was Stephanie?"

"No, she was wife number two. Shannon was wife number one, and they had a daughter, Kelly. Dad doesn't like to talk about them very often because they were both murdered by some guy with the Mexican cartel after Shannon had agreed to testify against him after witnessing him murder a Marine," Dabi explained. "Kelly was eight at the time and Dad was in Iraq when it happened."

Pride winced. "And the bastard who murdered them?"

"He has his own room in Hell, if I understand correctly."

Pride nodded. That fit in with what he knew about Gibbs.

The girl, Kate Hart, was about eighteen, skinny as a rail, and dressed in scruffy jeans, runners, and an oversized sweatshirt, with her brown hair in a ball cap. She kept her arms wrapped around herself and her eyes constantly darted around the room as Chris and Brody lead her through the building.

"Have a seat," Dabi offered, starting to work the challah bread.

"I thought I was going to the interrogation room," Kate said, sitting down at the counter cautiously.

"This is much better," said Pride, pouring a cup of coffee. "Coffee or tea?" he asked.

"Tea, if you don't mind," Kate replied hesitantly.

"You like honey or milk in it?"

"Honey," Kate said. When Pride handed her the mug, she wrapped her hands around it. "So I guess you wanna know about what happened to Ryan Adders," she said.

Pride started work on some New Orleans-style chicken, knowing people tended to think better on a full stomach, and besides, it was almost supper time anyway.

"We know he was beaten to death," said Brody, joining them. "We know he was trying to protect you and that he gave you money without expecting services."

Kate nodded. "I've been too afraid to touch it. Feels like blood money." She watched Dabi knead the bread. "How do you do that?" she asked.

"Been doing it for a long time. My grandpa, Pop-Pop, taught me this particular recipe when about fifteen," Dabi explained. "It's a Jewish bread called challah and it's been handed down through his family. Once I'm done kneading it, it has to rise for about two hours. While it does that, I'll start on some buttermilk biscuits with raisins." She smiled sadly. "Pop-Pop died of a heart attack earlier this year and I miss him, but this is my way of remembering him."

"What about your mom and dad?" Kate asked.

"I lost my mom to a drunk driver when I was eleven. Nana and Pop-Pop practically raised me, even though they have no actual relation to me. Mom was a worker at their bakery and she lived with them while she was pregnant with me. Then, after I was born, we stayed with them. Until I was eighteen, that was all I knew," Dabi explained. "Then I met Dad over the body of a dead Navy officer and my best friend, Abby, ran a DNA test through the CODIS system and realized I was a match to Dad, who's also an NCIS agent."

"Yikes," said Kate.

"Yeah. After Pop-Pop died, I inherited his half of the bakery, and then Nana decided to retire, and she turned over the business to me completely," said Dabi.

"You own your own bakery?" Kate asked, eyes wide.

"I have a business partner, Owen, that my boyfriend, Leo, introduced me to. Owen's a former Navy officer with PTSD. He's a good guy." She looked at Kate. "So. You wanna tell us what happened?"

"Ryan knew I worked at this bar, Joey's. He gave me money, told me I could go with him and be safe. That I didn't have to stay there," Kate admitted, looking down as memories flooded her. "But I was afraid of Jack and his guys. The other girls have a story about a girl who tried to run. They found her body, half-eaten by gators, a few days later. Plus, there was another girl who tried to rat them out. Jake said she got eaten by rats as punishment."

"Good reason to be afraid," said Dabi. Chris, Pride, and Brody had backed off, sensing a rapport developing between the two girls. "Was it Jack that beat Adders to death?"

Kate nodded. "I saw them coming and Ryan tried to confront them and I hid. I think they know that I know because I've gotten a few text messages from Jake, demanding to know where I am."

"Have you answered?" Dabi asked.

Kate shook her head. "I've mostly kept my phone off in case they try to track me with a GPS thingie, like they've threatened to if we ever try to run."

"Smart. Do you know if they used a weapon against Adders?" Dabi asked, testing her.

Kate nodded. "A piece of wood, a big one. One of the guys, this big football player-type guy, used it on Ryan's head. I saw him toss it in a dumpster, but I grabbed it afterwards."

"Why?"

"Because Ryan tried to do right by me and no one's ever done that before. So I'm trying to do right by him."

"Where's the wood now?"

"I hid it in a plastic garbage bag in the back room of the bar, with a bunch of other junk," said Kate. "The owner, Jacob, he gets paid to turn a blind eye to us." She looked at Pride, who was coming back from popping some chicken on the barbeque out on the patio. "Are you gonna get them?"

"We're going to do our best," Pride said. "If you can give us some names and faces, we'll go from there."

"I'll give you everything I've got, if you promise me Ryan will get his justice."

"That I can promise," Pride said.

Kate nodded, satisfied. Then she tilted her head, seeing something in the patio.

"What's up?" Chris asked, seeing the motion.

"I thought I saw something," said Kate, sliding off her seat and heading for the patio.

She got down on her knees and started wiggling in the underbush. A moment later she crawled back out, cradling a tiny, scruffy-looking kitten that wasn't much bigger than her hands. It was shivering and sniffing the air at the same time. Multi-coloured, it had one patch of white on its' eye, giving it a reverse-pirate look.

"Aren't you a pretty little baby?" Kate crooned. "You must be hungry." She looked up at the agents hopefully.

"I think I have something in the fridge," said Pride.