NCIS: The mystery. Chapter 1: Abby.

“Abby, Abby!?” Cynthia called.

I blinked; my eyes snapped back into focus, I turned my head to look at Cynthia.

“You may go in now Abby, are you ok?” she asked.

“Yeah I’m fine, thanks” I replied.

I opened the door and entered the office. Gibbs and Jenny were stood there waiting for me. I was shocked to see Gibbs as I thought he would be in the squad room.

“Director, Gibbs, what is it you need me for?” I enquired.

“Well Abby, we need to talk to you about the case that we are about to open.” The director said calmly.

“Abz it involves someone you know, they were the victim of an Al Qaeda assassination operation yesterday evening in NorstonPark” Gibbs said as he walked towards me. I was racking my brain, trying to think of whom it could have been, my mind went blank. My face must have gone pale as well because Jenny told me to sit down.

“Who?” I asked anxiously.

“Your friend, Georgie McAlister” Gibbs said softly as he sat down beside me.

I blinked hard hoping it was all a dream. Staring blankly into space. I couldn’t believe what they were telling me, Georgie was my best friend. She was assigned to NCIS Norfolk office, where she worked as a forensic pathologist and field agent. I had worked with her on cases several times a year and we often went out bowling together. And now…she was gone. The director just looked at me, with comforting eyes; she had her head tilted as if to say it’s all going to be okay. But I knew I it wasn’t. I’d lost her, she’d vanished. But she hadn’t just gone. She’d been murdered.

“Abby, talk it out, tell me what’s going through your head.” Gibbs said to me calmly.

I had no response to what Gibbs or anyone else said to me. I looked down, I stared at my hands. They had gone clammy with sweat; it was the nerves of going to see the director. Suddenly I felt a cold hand on my face; it was Gibbs. I turned my head and looked at him. His face was all blurred, so I blinked so I could get my vision back into focus. As I blinked a warm tear rolled down my cheek. Jenny came and sat the other side of me, she put her arm round me and squeezed my shoulder. Gibbs wiped the tear off my face and moved my head into his shoulder, as he did this Jenny got up and left the office. I think she knows that Gibbs could talk to me more than she could. I stayed on his shoulder, just thinking about what they had just told me. I shut my eyes and thought about her, about Georgie.

I sat there in Norfolk NCIS quarters, and thought about Abby. I was going to be seeing her tomorrow; we were to start work on the rape case from Fresh Springs. There was a young girl aged seventeen raped and murdered in HannandalePark. There was no evidence at the scene apart from the body, a carpet fibre and a strand of hair. The rest of the Norfolk team widened the search and found some LSD about 200 metres from the poor girl. I felt so sorry for her, what a horrible way to die. But I was looking forward to working with Abby. I hadn’t seen her in about three weeks. I was called in on a 911 the week we were supposed to go bowling, and Abby was called in on a 911 the week after. I can’t wait to see her…

I opened my eyes after a while, and then her voice just vanished. I sat up and looked at Gibbs. He looked into my eyes, his eyes were warm and caring. My eyes filled up again and I blinked, I couldn’t stop myself and the salty water just poured down my face, like a river into the sea.

“Abz, talk to me, I can help you through this” Gibbs said softly. I chocked back the tears, and prepared to talk to him.

“Oh Gibbs, she’s gone and it’s my entire fault” I sobbed.

“Abby, this is in no way your fault, you haven’t done anything wrong” he replied calmly.

“But Gibbs I have…this is my entire fault…” I shrieked.

“Abby, did you follow her? No. Did you shoot her? No. So how is this your fault?” he questioned.

“I was supposed to meet her yesterday but I cancelled on her because I had to meet up with my mum, if I hadn’t of cancelled this wouldn’t have happened. She wouldn’t be lying on a cold slab downstairs with Ducky. If anyone it should have been me. I was walking through that park on my way back to the car.” I sobbed.

He looked into my eyes again and could see my distress, I sobbed and sobbed, and Gibbs pulled me into his shoulder and made soft ‘hush’ sounds. I stayed there and closed my eyes again.

As I awaited the results of the fingerprints I was running through AFIS I emailed Abby. After I finished typing I read it aloud to make sure it made sense:

Abby!

How are you?!? I’m good, just waiting for results on a fingerprint. Running it through AFIS now. I don’t think it’s going to be that simple though, I think I might have to run it through INTERPOL. Really looking forward to seeing you on Thursday at Jenny’s party! I got a new enhancement program called Digi-Flec yesterday. It’s amazing!! I used it to filter a ransom note that had really bad handwriting, and it was in invisible ink. Really bad invisible ink! But I got the little boy back to his father. This is what makes our job worthwhile, helping others!

Can’t wait to see you!!

Love Gee!

I finished reading it and went on and sent it to Abby, and then I got a match on the fingerprints…

I must have fallen asleep because when I opened my eyes I was still in the director’s office, but Gibbs wasn’t there…I was alone. Unfortunately I then remembered what they had told me. Hastily I stood up and practically ran out of the director’s office. I slowed down to a power walk through the waiting area and it’s a good job I did; because Tony was stood there waiting for me and I almost ran straight into him.

“Abby, the team knows, I just want to talk to you about it...” Tony said as we walked out of the waiting area and onto the top floor that overlooks the squad room.

“Well I don’t want to talk about it Tony. I have to get to work on finding her killer.”  I snapped.

“That’s what we need to talk about Abz, we don’t know whether you should be working the case or not, we’re worried tha-…”

“You don’t know whether I should be working the case or not?! There is no option, I WILL be working the case whether you guys like it or not. I am not letting some amateur forensic dweeb take over this murder case.” I shouted. Gibbs was in the squad room and he heard me, he looked up with a worried expression on his face. I glanced down and saw him looking at me at which point I then walked down the stairs to the elevator; I practically punched the button to head down. I got in the elevator and hit the button for my lab. I slumped in the elevator and put my head on the wall. I began punching the inside of the elevator. I heard the doors begin to close but then they re-opened. It was Gibbs. I raised my fist to hit the wall again but he grabbed my arm and pulled me to face him.

I looked at his expression. It was half caring and half anger. I looked at the floor and then I just collapsed in anger and grief. I was sat on the floor with tears streaming down my face. I looked up and Gibbs wasn’t there. He was sat beside me, he put his arm around me and whispered into my ear:

“We’re going to catch the bastard Abz. We will get him.” I hoped he was right.