(make sure to keep my) distance

Chapter Seventy-Nine {Ravenous}

They approached Wes Rowan, who ran the store. "NCIS," Tony flashed his badge. "You here about the sailor eaten by the bear?" "Yeah, I guess since his car is in your parking lot."  Wes eyed Beckett before nodding, "Yup. Uh figured someone would show up for it. I charge park visitors ten bucks a day. I guess I'm gonna have a hard time collecting.... Jason, keys to the Cherokee." Ziva and Beckett looked at each other and Ziva looked to the man, "Jason, Edom?" She reaches over snatching the keys from his hand as Beckett thanks him. "I know you ladies?" Ziva shook her head, "Not yet." Beckett nodded towards the two men, "You see anyone with Petty Officer Riley when he dropped that off?" "No, you?" "No. You're wasting your time sweetheart, I don't date your kind," Edom said pointing to Ziva when he noticed her necklace, the star of David. Beckett raised her eyebrow at him as Ziva laughed, "What is your kind, Mr. Edom? Breathing?" "I'd date her," he winked at Beckett making Tony edge closer to her. Wes got in Edom's face, "You want to keep working here, you better learn to keep your mouth shut.... sorry about that ladies. Boy's a little on the touchy side." Tony nodded stiffly, "Yeah, I'd say so. Thank you for your help," he walks out with a tight grip on Beckett's pinky as McGee pulls along an offended Ziva. In autopsy the next morning, Ducky didn't find any evidence of slashing or wounds on his hand or forearm, meaning he didn't defend himself. Worse, bear claws and teeth have rounded edges that pierce flesh, but when Ducky was examining his heart he learned that Petty Officer Riley was killed with a flat blade. Death would have been instantaneous, so he was dead before the bear starting eating him. Beckett walked back in the bullpen after visiting Abby, since it was her birthday. She got her a large bouquet of black roses (as did Tony and McGee) along with a black rhino that farted, complete with a studded collar. Although she spent most of the time making Abby feel better. Every year Gibbs takes Abby out to dinner the night before her birthday, and he didn't this time making Abby feel like he forgot.

Beckett knew that wasn't the case, Gibbs wasn't the type of person to forget important things like this. Right? Ziva ran in quickly and Tony was nice enough to point out that she was late. "I almost forgot it was Abby's birthday. You think she'll like them?" She held up a gold box with a few black roses inside and before Beckett could speak up Ziva already left. "Think we should have told her?" McGee asked before shaking his head no with Tony, but Beckett disagreed. Tony turned around quickly, "What if, we're not looking for a damsel in distress here? Hmm? No one saw our missing Jane Doe. Not the rangers when Riley checked in, or the hillbillies when he parked his car." "She didn't want to be seen." "Could be dealing with a black widow here." Ziva walked in smiling wide, "Lions and spiders and bears. Oh, my! What? Mr. Movie doesn't know The Wizard of Oz?" Tony cleared his throat approaching her at her desk, "I'm talking about a predatory female here, Ziva. Mates, then kills. Reminds me of my father's second wife." Beckett smiled, reaching over to rub the back of his head. Ziva shook her head at them, "Don't buy your theory." "Well what's to buy? She lured him out to the woods, made love to him, and then whacked him while he was sleeping." Beckett looked up when Gibbs got off the elevator holding a coffee already as he unzipped his jacket. Ziva shrugged, "Or ran off while Riley was being stabbed to death." "How about neither?" Gibbs asked going right to his desk. Tony stood beside Beckett with slightly raised eyebrows, "Rough night boss?" "Well yeah DiNozzo. Spent it tracking our missing woman with a bunch of volunteers in Shenandoah Park." Beckett nodded her head, now knowing why he didn't take Abby to dinner. She'll understand. McGee walked up to Gibbs desk, "You found her?" "No." "So she's still out there?" "Park service thinks so Ziva. Here McGee," Gibbs handed him his camera, "Take the film deweywhacker out of there and put it up there on the plasma." "Well uh, boss actually this is a digital camera, and they use memory cards now..... I'll put the deweywhacker in."

Gibbs picked up the remote pointing it at the screen above Beckett's desk, "There wasn't a sign or track of a ladies' size seven leaving that campground." "How'd she get out of there boss?" "Like this," he zoomed in on a picture of a pine cone before flipping through to other pictures of the forest floor. Tony furrowed his eyebrows as he pursed his lips for a moment, "So, what's this?" Beckett crossed her arms, "Snipers call that a ghost." Gibbs nodded flipping through more pictures showing twigs just bent or slight tracks, "Someone who could move through the woods almost undetected. I followed them for 300 meters before I lost them. Only left two obvious signs; the back edge of a military boot heel, and this," he zoomed in on a diamond or rhinestone sitting on the ground. McGee raised an eyebrow, "Jewelry?" Gibbs pulled the bag containing it from his pocket, "I don't know. Get it to Abby." "So someone carried her out." Ziva looked at Beckett, "Really?" "Well Ziva I think she didn't just float out of that campsite. We need to find out who she is," Gibbs stated in his grumpy manner. Tony nodded holding up a file and Beckett finished for him, "Right. I talked to the guys Riley worked with at the Navy Yard. Only one of them, a Seaman Brad Phillips knew he was going camping," "Riley mentioned taking a girl he met a couple of weeks ago. Never caught her name." "Riley's phone records?" Ziva sat up straighter, "Did it. He has a cell phone he doesn't use much. Went back two weeks, made a couple of phone calls to his family in New York, and the rest were to local businesses and government agencies." "Check out his room." Beckett raised her hand slightly to Gibbs, "Went through his room at the Navy Yard. Nothing unusual and no sign of a girlfriend." Gibbs was working on his computer and didn't look up, "Rangers set up a temporary aid center inside Jackrabbit Slim's for volunteers. I want you three there. I had them pull the files of all other deaths that happened in that park." The team grabbed their gear as Gibbs walked off somewhere and Beckett smiled widley at the two, "Well looks like you both get another chance to hit on those cute rangers, huh?" Ziva laughed agreeing, and Beckett reached over pinching Tony's butt.