"Am I free to go?" She questions.
"I need to ask you a few questions," he reveals.
"I have a few questions of my own."
"Who was with your daughter?" He quizzes.
"I believe that you already know that."
He studies the hardnosed Marine who wears stars on her shoulders.
"Can you tell me why my house is a crime scene, now?"
"Your neighbors called in local law enforcement after they heard shots being fired."
"And now you're here?"
"They called us," he confirms.
"The only people who were supposed to be at my house were my daughter, and her father."
"I know."
"Now there is crime scene tape up in my driveway, and a NCIS team in my house."
"I'm sorry."
"What happened?"
"He had an ID in his pocket. You will have to come down to the morgue at some point and identify the body."
She purses her lips, and nods her heads, "Okay," she says flatly.
He scrutinizes her facial expression, "Do you understand what I'm telling you?"
"He's dead," she responds matter-of-factly still failing to show any emotion at all. He makes note of her response to the news.
"How long have you lived here?" He probes.
"Seven years."
"Were you happily married?"
"Blissfully separated," she retorts.
"Custody disputes?"
"No. We agreed to do what is best for our child."
"I am going to need a number where I can contact you."
"Agent Gibbs I already gave my phone number to Agent McGee. I believe that you know where to find me if you need to contact me if you have any more questions."
"I'm not done."
"What do you want to know?"
"Where were you?"
"I was stuck in traffic for an hour. If you're looking for a confession you won't find one."
"You're telling me that you had no motive?"
"I had plenty of motive, every woman who has been married for any amount of time does. I didn't kill him. I wouldn't kill him with my child in the house."
"Which is it, you wouldn't kill him, or you wouldn't kill him with your child in the house?"
"I wouldn't kill him, period."
"You were separated. Divorces can be ugly," he points out.
"I didn't kill him."
"Do you know who did?"
"He was a naval officer with a contract at the Pentagon. He has a long list of enemies."
"Any one in particular stand out to you?"
"No."
"Can you tell me where to start?"
"He had an uncanny ability to piss people off."
"I need something more to go on."
"The top right hand drawer of the desk in his office. There is a list of cases he has tried. There are a few other names on that list. Potential enemies are highlighted in yellow."
"No one sticks out in your mind?"
"I am done here. My daughter needs to go to bed," she opens the car door.
He grips her arm, she turns her head in his direction
"I get that you're a General, and a lawyer, but that doesn't mean that this conversation is over."
"Understood," she nods as she climbs into the car.
He stands in the squad room sipping his cup of coffee. He shoots his glance in McGee's direction. McGee instinctively meets his gaze.
"Any luck with that list, McGee?"
"I am sifting through that list boss. I haven't managed to track down all of the names yet, but I have eliminated quite a few, who are still incarcerated."
He shifts his attention to Agent DiNozzo's desk. DiNozzo starts without a single word from Jethro.
"I have reviewed their financials for the past ten years."
"Anything unusual?"
"Do you know what their biggest expense was?"
"I assume their house."
"And their second biggest expense?"
"Probably their cars."
"Wrong, boss. Their second biggest expense was fertility treatments. Seven years ago they started spending large sums of money on fertility treatments, and tests. They spent five years and hundreds of thousands of dollars."
"Is there something else?"
"Something that just doesn't sit right with me, I guess," he admits.
"Spit it out."
"If you spent that much time, money, and effort trying to create a family why would you separate once you succeeded?"
Before Gibbs can ponder the question his phone begins ringing. He pulls the silver flip phone out of his pocket, and puts hit to his ear.
"What have you got, Abby? Okay, I'll be right down," he hangs up.
He enters the lab with Caf Pow in hand. He places the caffeine filled cup on the stainless steel table between Abby, and her computer. She grins at him.
"What have you got for me?"
"Ballistics on the gun found at the crime scene match the bullets retrieved from the weapon."
"Fingerprints?"
"Absolutely."
"DNA?"
"Of course."
"Do you have a match?"
"Would I have called if I didn't?"
"Who is it?"
"Gibbs…" she begins.
"Abby, I'm waiting."
She presses a button on her keyboard, and a familiar face pops onto the screen.
"General…"
He cuts her off, "I know who she is. Do you know what this means?"
"Yes."
She studies his facial expression, "Something wrong?"
"The evidence that you're showing me points to her."
"And?"
"What DiNozzo found makes her look suspicious."
"But?"
"I guess that I'll just have to convince my gut."
"Is there something I can do to help?"
"This is a sensitive case. Abby, make sure that you dot all of your I's and cross all your t's."
"I always do."