The crisp New York air seemed to blow through NCIS Special Agent Danny McRoe's clothes as he stood in front of the yellow crime scene tape, sipping his coffee. Behind him, the rest of his team fumbled with their gear. Despite the coldness and the forming crowds, McRoe could smell the stench of death in the air.
Ducking under the tape, he strolled forward, flashing his badge at a young red-faced police officer who stepped forward to stop him from entering. Upon seeing the badge, the police officer stepped to the side. As he grew closer, the soft murmurs of the medical examiner filled his ears.
"This reminds me of a time when-"
"What do you have, Doctor Mallard?" McRoe asked, stopping the young man who was kneeling next to the body of a newly deceased Gunnery Sergeant. The man in question stopped in the middle of his sentence and looked towards the agent with a smile.
"Honestly Daniel, call me Ducky, most people do."
"You don't look like a duck," McRoe replied nonchalantly as he leaned down to examine the body. Doctor Donlad "Ducky" Mallard paused, taking in the appearance of the man in front of him. Dark circles created a shadow under his sharp brown eyes, causing the medical examiner to shake his head.
"When was the last time you slept, dear friend?"
"I didn't ask you about me; I was asking about the body, doctor."
Ducky remained silent as he stared at the man who returned his gaze head on. After a few moments of silence, McRoe finally broke. "I'm fine," he mumbled as he turned back to the body, leaning down to get a closer look at it. Ducky stayed silent for a second longer, until he finally turned towards the body.
"This is Lt. Jacklynn Mann, a beautiful young girl," Ducky added as he held up a wallet. "This was found on her body."
McRoe took the wallet from the man and examined the contents. The drivers license showed the smiling face of a woman with long brown hair and vibrant green eyes. Her name and date of birth were printed next to the photo. Staring at her age, McRoe shook his head.
"She's just turned twenty," he announced.
"You poor child," Ducky said solemnly.
"Cause of death?"
Ducky took a moment to respond as he looked over the body again. "From my preliminary assessment, I would say strangulation. You can tell from the marks around her neck. With the amount of blood, I would need to get her back to autopsy to give you a last answer."
McRoe stood to his full height, turning to see his team busy completing different tasks. As he looked around the scene, he mentally took note of all the people present. It wasn't until his eyes found another green pair that he froze. The eyes studied him closely before dropping to the ground.
"Fredericks," McRoe called out, waiting for the man to come over. NCIS Special Agent Michael Fredericks, senior field agent for team McRoe came running over.
"Yeah?"
McRoe nodded his head towards the green eyes. "Who is that?"
Fredericks looked in the direction his boss indicated before he nodded in understanding. "That is a," he paused as he whipped out his notebook. "Mrs. Elizabeth DiNozzo, she found the body. I figured you wanted to speak to the witnesses. I told her you would be over soon; she's been waiting."
McRoe nodded and dismissed the agent before he started making his way over to the green eyes which were still staring at him. McRoe preferred to interview the witnesses himself for two reasons: one, by interviewing the witnesses, he has a better time understanding the scene and how it was before the investigators came and disrupted it, and two; the last time he allowed his probie, NCIS Special Agent Virginia Reed, to interrogate the witness, very little information was gathered and the witness skipped town, only to be discovered to be the murderer later on.
With a shake of his head, McRoe shook the memories from his mind as he made his final approach.
"Good afternoon, ma'am, my name is Special Agent McRoe, do you mind if I ask you a few questions?" he asked smoothly as he came to a halt in front of her. Elizabeth DiNozzo shifted her weight from one foot to the other as she nodded her head.
"Sure, if we make this quick," she grunted kindly, before wincing.
McRoe was about to ask if she was okay, but her hands drew his attention to the obvious sign of her discomfort. Her hands landed on her bulging belly as she rubbed it gently. "Sorry," she said quickly when she noticed he was staring at her belly.
McRoe reacted instantly. Moving forward, he found the nearest patrol car and yanked open the passenger side door before returning and taking her hand gently. Without a word, he guided her easily towards the vehicle, helping her into the seat. When her butt hit the seat, she released a sigh.
Kneeling, he looked into those green eyes. "I'm sorry I kept you waiting. My agent should have had you wait in a warm place."
Lifting a hand, she waved him off. "It's quite alright," she said with a smile. When she smiled, her eyes narrowed slightly, but even when narrowed, McRoe noticed a sparkle in her eyes, as if there was mischief hiding behind them.
"I promise, I won't keep you long; I just need to know what happened."
Elizabeth nodded, taking in a breath. "I was leaving the store, picking up some last-minute supplies," she said with a shy smile as she gazed fondly down at her pregnant belly. "Well, I had my dog with me, his name is Chance, like the dog from the movie, Homeward Bound. Have you seen it?"
"No, I can't say that I have," McRoe answered honestly. Elizabeth's eyes sparkled as she looked at him in disbelief.
"It's about these three pets; two dogs and a cat. Their owners go away on a trip, and they believe they got left behind, so they go on an adventure to find them. You need to see it sometime."
"I might, but you said you were with your dog Chance?" McRoe mentioned trying to get the woman back on track. Something told him that she could talk for hours about movies.
"Ah yes, I was. Chance, and normally he's a good boy, but today he just took off down the street. I called after him and tried to follow him. I came up this way, because I thought he might be here, but all I found was her, just lying there. There was just so much blood…"
McRoe noticed how her voice slowly trailed off after she mentioned the blood. Looking up at her, he found her face slowly growing pale. "We can stop if you'd like."
Elizabeth shook her head. "No, please continue; will this help you find whoever did this to that poor girl?"
"It could," McRoe answered honestly.
Elizabeth nodded with determination. "Then I would like to continue."
"Okay," McRoe nodded. "When you arrived near the body, did you notice anything? Any footprints, anything that you consider out of the ordinary."
Elizabeth thought for a moment but shook her head. "No, I just remember the body and all the blood."
"That's all right, I'm sure it was traumatic for you. I'm sorry you had to experience that."
Elizabeth opened her mouth to say something but shouting in the distance caught both of their attention. They both looked towards the yellow tape as more people started moving towards it. Off to the side, McRoe found one of his agents. "Phillips, what's going on?"
"Not sure yet boss."
McRoe turned to Elizabeth and gave her a serious look. "Stay in the car." Not waiting for her to respond, he shut the door on her and pushed towards the noise. His hand automatically found his sidearm as the voice grew louder.
"...I don't care!"
"Sir, we cannot permit you to cross this tape," came the leveled response of Fredericks.
"This is outrageous!"
McRoe broke through the crowd only to see Fredericks standing face to face, toe to toe with a man in a suit. His brown hair whipped wildly in the wind as it blew. A mean scowl graced his face as he clenched and unclenched his fist. Red creeped up the neck of the man before exploding across his face.
Shoving forward, McRoe spoke up. "What is going on here?"
Fredericks glanced at him before taking a step back. Lifting a hand, he waved it in the direction of the man. "I was just trying to explain to this gentleman that he was not permitted to go beyond the yellow tape, despite his insistence."
"And I told you, I will!" The man shouted, releasing little globs of spit in the process. He staggered a little and it was at that moment McRoe realized the man's speech was also slurred. Shaking his head, he stepped forward.
"Sir, I believe you should go home. This is a crime scene, show some respect."
The man's eyes found McRoe and he glared. "NO!"
Before McRoe could say anything, another voice rang out. "Anthony!"
All eyes turned towards the sound as Elizabeth came waddling through the crowd. Disbelief filled her face before it slowly turned to rage. Placing hands on her hips she stomped forward, keeping her eyes on the man.
"Lizzy," the man hiccupped.
"Ma'am do you know this man?" an officer asked as he walked up, handcuffs in hand.
"Yes sir, this is my husband, Anthony DiNozzo."
"Lizzy, come on." the man, Anthony, summoned with a wave of his hands. As he waved them, a pair of keys jingled. "Let's get you home."
"I don't think so," McRoe called out. "You aren't driving."
"You can't keep us here. We did nothing wrong."
"You've been drinking; you're not driving anywhere."
Anthony bristled at that, stepping towards the man, but Elizabeth stepped between them. "It's okay, I can drive," she said calmly as she extracted the keys from him. Turning to McRoe, she tilted her head, her green eyes sparking with curiosity. "Is there anything else you need, agent?"
"No, ma'am." Reaching into his pocket, he produced a business card and handed it to her. "If you remember anything, give me a call."
Elizabeth nodded and began directing her drunk husband away from the scene but before she got too far, she turned back, looking McRoe right in the eyes.
"I do remember that after finding the body and before going to get help, I felt…I felt as if I was being watched. Like whoever did it was still there, watching me."