He turned his head against the sun and closed his eyes. The sun felt warm and wonderful on his face, and he leaned back and enjoyed his first weekend off in a month.
"So, did you bring it?"
The old hoarse voice brought Tony back to reality and he sat up and looked over at his grandfather. The old man looked at him over the brim of his glasses. Tony smiled and reached into the pocket of his jacket. He pulled out a pack of cigarettes and held it up in front of him.
"Have I ever forgotten your cigarettes? You would bite my head of if I did"
"Don't flash'em around like that", Giovanni ‘Big G' DiNozzo said and snatched ‘em out of Tony's hand, "The nurses are like the goddamn Gestapo, when it comes to these". He scanned his surroundings and stuffed them in his own west.
Tony laughed and took a big sip from his lemonade. The two of them were sitting in the garden of the nursing home, where Giovanni had lived for the past 5 years. It was Sunday and the garden was filled with residents and their relatives. Tony observed them and smiled. Half these people didn't even want to be there. They only came out of obligation or guilt; and to keep their place in the will.
Tony came because he wanted to. His grandfather was the only one in the family he still had contact with. Giovanni never approved that his own son had cut Tony from the will. He couldn't do anything about it, but the relationship between father and son was never the same.
Tony tried to visit a least once a month. Mostly because he liked his grandfathers company, but also to deliver the cigarettes. Giovanni DiNozzo didn't smoke a lot, but he liked the occasional smoke with his espresso, or he would use them as chips in their poker games. Cigarettes were hard to come by. Tony would sit in on their poker games when ever he had the time, which wasn't often with Gibbs as his boss.
"So, how's life, Big G?" Tony asked, turning his face against the sun once again.
Giovanni humpfed, and Tony looked back at him; "Not much". Giovanni looked up at Tony. It was easy to see where Tony had gotten his beautiful eyes.
"You still with those navy cops?"
Tony eyed his grandfather. Giovanni usually never asked about his work. He didn't really like cops. Tony never knew why, but suspected something happened back in ‘the good old days' as Giovanni would always call them.
"Yes. Why do you ask?" asked Tony suspiciously.
"Nothing" Giovanni replied. He was avoiding Tony's stare and looked down. "Jerry died yesterday".
"Jerry Holmes?" Tony raised his eyebrows, "I'm sorry to hear that. I always hoped I would beat him at poker some day".
Giovanni looked around. He leaned in over the table and with his index finger asked Tony to do the same. "I don't thing it was natural" he whispered.
Tony looked surprised, "Why not?"
"Jerry came to me ‘bout 3 days ago. Said he had something important to tell me. He was all jumpy and kept looking around. I followed his gaze but didn't see anything."
"What did he say?"
"Not much. He didn't really make much sense. Kept rambling on about some family house that was unprotected, and how they were all out to get him. Then he said if anything should happen to him, that I should find the key. I thought for a minute that this place had finally gotten to him and he'd gone of the deep end. He was never all right in the head, you know?"
Tony couldn't help laugh as he remembered the poker games with Jerry. The guy was one hell of poker player. He was an old con artist with a bad case of paranoia, who hated everything official or anything connected to the government, and he always looked over his shoulder, like he was being followed. He always had some new theory ‘bout how the government was doing the whole ‘Big Brother's watching'-thing.
"Sure it wasn't just one of Jerry's old tricks again?" Tony asked.
"At first I did, but then he looked me in the eye, and I'm telling you, my boy, he was scared".
Tony didn't really believe it, "Scared of what?"
Giovanni raised his shoulders, "I don't know. All I know is that one minute he's rambling on about being followed and the next he's dead. I'm telling you, Anthony. He was fine the night before".
"Did they do an autopsy?"
"Ha, autopsy!?! On an old guy like Jerry? Everybody around here dies of old age according to them. They just threw his in a box and cleared the room out for the next. No respect I tell you, no respect".
"So what do you want me to do exactly?" Tony asked.
"Well, to do you cop thing! Do me the favour of checking out, how the old con really died. Isn't that what you do every day?" Giovanni gesticulated like a true Italian, waving his arms about to emphasize every word.
"Easy there, Big G. Don't strain your self", Tony teased. But then he saw the seriousness in his grandfather's eyes. Giovanni usually never asked for anything. Didn't like to be in dept to people. But this time he was asking in his own way.
"Okay" Tony said, "I'll see what I can find. Where is Jerry now?"
"The Fisher funeral home. The funeral is on Wednesday".
"Okay. Any idea what he was talking about when he told you to find the key?" Tony asked, as he got up.
"No idea, but that's where it gets misterioso. I sneaked in when they were packing up his stuff. I asked if they'd found a key, but they said his son already picked up all of his stuff but that they never saw a key".
"Yeah, so?" Tony didn't really see the point.
"Jerry didn't have a son" Giovanni answered, a hint of triumph in his voice.
Tony nodded, "I see. Well I'll see what I can find, thought I doubt I'll find anything. It's probably just Jerry's final joke".
"Maybe" Giovanni got up to give his grandson short handshake. The DiNozzo's were not big on closeness. Tony gave him a smile and turned to leave.
"Tony…." He turned to look at his grandfather,
"Thank you…"
____________________________________________________________
Monday arrived way too fast and they were all back at the office. There were no new cases, which suited Tony fine, ‘cause then he would have time to visit Abby. He'd gone by the funeral on his way home yesterday to flash his badge, and get a blood sample from the late Jerry Holmes. It took some convincing and a lot of threats about warrants and a full search. When he heard the word search, he disappeared down to the basement, and came back with a blood sample. Leaving, Tony couldn't help wonder, if they were hiding anything else but dead people in the cooler.
The familiar beep of the lab door opening made the Goth look up from her work. A smile spread across her face when she saw Tony entering. She smiled even more, when she saw the caff-pow in his hand.
"You want something, don't you?" she eyed him as he handed her the caff-pow.
He gave her a brilliant smile and kissed her on the cheek, "What?!? I can't bring you something without an ulterior motive?"
"You would", Abby took a big sip, "but not this time. No, you want something".
Tony laughed, "Guilty as charged" he reached into his jacket and pulled out the blood sample, "I need you to check this for me"
"That's it?!?" Abby took the sample and went to work, "I didn't know we had a case"
"We don't…"
Abby stopped her work and faced Tony.
"Then what is it?"
Tony sighed, "could we call it a personal favour? It's probably nothing. I just need you to check it for me"
"Then what am I looking for?"
"Anything hinky…"
Abby frowned. This was not like Tony to keep thing from her. He usually told her everything. Even the details she didn't need to hear. But for Tony to be this short for information was not normal. It made her worry.
Tony noticed her hesitation. "Really, Abs. It's nothing. Just a favour for someone".
Abby wasn't satisfied, "Are you sick or something?"
Tony couldn't help laugh, "No no. It's not my blood. It's an old guy's. I just need to see if there's anything hinky about it, okay?"
"Okay" Abby answered reluctantly, "I'll have the results in a few hours".
"Thank you, Abs". He walked up close to her, "and if you could….."
"…not tell Gibbs? I won't; if you promise me to tell me that nothing's wrong"
"Nothing's wrong, Abs. Really"
Story Notes:
I hate the title, but that's all I could think of. Hope you like it:-)
Author's Chapter Notes:
Tony investigates the death of his Grandfather's friend...
Chapter End Notes:
I hate the title, but that's all I could think of. Hope you like it:-)