Chapter 45
"Maggie I am so pumped that you get to spend the day with me," Abby said excitedly. There were no new cases, and Gibbs had given Maggie permission to assist Abby with a special project she had been hoping to have enough time to complete. "So here's the deal," Abby said as she began to explain how Maggie's part of the process would work. "I have everything tagged with either a blue, red, green, yellow or purple flaggie thingie. Enter each item into the system according to the list I've prepared, and I'll take it from there," Abby said with a smile.
"Okay," Maggie consented with a hesitant smile. "I can do that."
"It'll be fun!" Abby insisted. Her enthusiasm was contagious, and soon Abby's forensics lab sounded more like a slumber party than a work day. Loud music with an upbeat, driving beat accompanied fingers flying across keys, girl talk and almost uncontrollable laughter. This was the scene that greeted Gibbs when he came down to check on them, carrying a Caff-Pow! and a coffee.
"I come bearing gifts!" he shouted over the music.
"Gibbs!" Abby exclaimed. "Thank you so much for letting Maggie help me today," she rushed over and gave him a big hug.
"The music, Abs!" Gibbs crinkled his brow in discomfort. Maggie turned the music down, and then crossed the room to join the other two. Gibbs handed her a cup of coffee.
"Thanks, Jethro," she said with a smile as he kissed her on the cheek. Abby cocked an eyebrow.
"Abs?" he invited her to take the Caff-Pow!
"Why, thank you," Abby said, accepting both the oversized beverage and his kiss on her cheek. "What's up?" she asked.
"Some reason you don't want me here, Abs?" Gibbs asked.
"Of course, not," Abby said. "Although you should be willing to do anything I ask after what you said to me during the whole thing with Anderson last month," Abby turned away from him.
"You're never going to let me live that down," Gibbs smiled. "I couldn't fire you, Abs. It would take seven people to replace you, and you know it."
"I guess I'll let you off the hook," Abby teased. "After all, you did say you were sorry." Gibbs grinned.
"That I did," he added. He looked first at one girl, and then the other. "I'm gonna go check in with Ducky," he said. "Let me know if there's anything I can do to help with your project, Abs," he called as he walked out of the office.
Abby leveled Maggie a long, knowing look. "MmmHmmm…" she said.
"What?" Maggie asked.
"Since when do you call him Jethro?" she asked. Maggie blushed.
"Since we've been sleeping together for eight months," Maggie dropped the bombshell.
"What!?!" Abby was shocked. "No way," she shook her head in denial. "There is no way you've been knockin' boots with Gibbs since two months after you came to work here, without my knowledge. No way. I have a sense about these things," Abby continued. "If that were true, that would mean you're as good at lying as Gibbs is, and…" her voice trailed off as she continuing working things out in her mind. "But why would you say something like that if it weren't true? And what about Jeff? Wait…Jeff… Jethro…Oh my gosh, Maggie!" she shouted, hitting her in the arm. She then squealed and gave her a huge hug. "I'm so excited!"
"We want to keep it a secret for a little longer, but we decided to tell you first," Maggie said with a smile.
"So, is he any good?" Abby asked. Maggie laughed.
"What do you think?" Maggie countered.
"Trust me, you don't want to know what I think," Abby wagged her eyebrows. "And I have definitely thought about it. A girl would have to be dead not to have ‘gone there' if you know what I mean," Abby finished on a sigh. Maggie chuckled.
"I know exactly what you mean," she agreed.
"So, is it serious?" Abby asked, and then immediately rushed on. "Eight months is a long time for a casual affair."
"Yeah, it's the real deal," Maggie answered with a sigh.
"Wow," Abby's smile lit up the room. "It couldn't happen to two better people."
"Except you and Tim," Maggie interjected.
"Well, of course," she agreed with a grin.
"Just because you can't close the deal, doesn't mean it can't be closed," Ziva taunted Tony.
"Ahhh…" Tony shook his finger at her. "You said ‘can't'. You should have said ‘didn't'. I most definitely ‘can'," he said flirtatiously as he approached her desk.
"Put it in your pants, DiNozzo, and grab your gear," Gibbs barked as he hung up the phone. "Reston 911 received a distress call from a marine wife last night. She claimed her dead husband abducted their son."
"Why are we just finding out?" Tony asked.
"Beats me, DiNozzo. But we're gonna find out. They're sending a copy of the call through. McGee; stay here, and get the recording to Abby as soon as it gets here. I want to know everything there is to know about this marine by the time we get back. Call with any pertinent info you get while we're questioning the wife. The rest of you are with me. Ziva, call Sullivan! Let's roll!"
Gibbs parked the car in front in the driveway of the Montgomery house, and Diamond pulled in behind him. Noah froze outside the door of the house, a bizarre expression on his face. The team halted, turning toward him for an explanation.
"What is it, Diamond?" Gibbs asked.
"The child was abducted six or seven hours ago by a vampire," he said softly, his head still turned slightly to the right as if focusing on something unseen.
"Maggie, check out the back to see if you can find his trail," Gibbs ordered. Maggie immediately began to make her way to the back of the house.
Callie Montgomery answered the door a perfect picture of grace under pressure.
"Ms. Montgomery?" Gibbs asked. At her nod, he continued, "Special Agents Gibbs, DiNozzo, Diamond, David," he introduced as they flashed their badges.
"Please come in," she welcomed them. "Have a seat," she motioned to the sofa and loveseat in the living room, as she sat in the wing chair.
"You don't mind if Agents DiNozzo and David look at your son's room while we talk?" Gibbs asked, as Tony and Ziva began making their way down the hall. "We'll need to treat the room as a crime scene, and take some photos and measurements."
"That's fine," she agreed. "Anything to help me find Brogan." Her voice broke as she pronounced her son's name, fresh tears moistening her eyes and running down her cheeks.
"Tell us about your late husband," Gibbs led her into some basic questions, from which they learned that her husband was Gunnery Sergeant Jonathan Montgomery. He had been reported killed in action in Iraq seven months prior. His body was recovered, but was identified by another soldier. Due to the condition of the body and the amount of time it took to transport him back to the states, she had not been allowed to see her husband's body. They would have celebrated their tenth wedding anniversary in November, if he had not been killed. When he was not deployed, Jonathan would spend time volunteering at the local homeless shelter. He had a heart for people, and would spend time with strangers – listening to their stories and providing assistance in any way he could.
"Did you ever resent the time he didn't spend with you and your son?" Noah asked, hoping to get her mind on something different.
"Oh, no," she denied. "Jon was this way when I met him, and I had no desire to change him. He was a drummer in a rock band, and sometimes the whole band would spend weekends with the homeless finding ways to minister to their needs."
"Do you know if you husband had any dark hobbies?" Gibbs asked.
"I'm not sure what you mean," she admitted, a confused expression marring her otherwise flawless face. Noah turned the full force of his smile toward her. "Were any of his friends Goth, or did they imagine themselves to be vampires, or have some other fascination with things like that?" he rephrased Gibbs' question.
"Well, I'm not certain," she began. "Like I mentioned before, he knew all kinds of people."
"Did he ever mention a man by the name of Cyrus Bocelli?" Noah asked.
Ms. Montgomery gave him a sideways look, surprise registering on her face. "Cyrus is a good friend of Jon's. Are you saying…?"
"There's no reason to be alarmed, Ms. Montgomery," Noah soothed. "We're just gathering information. Cyrus is a friend, and I think he may be able to help."
"Callie," Gibbs began with a smile. "Before this happened, did you have any reason to believe your husband was still alive?"
Her tears began again, her shoulders softly trembling. "I never got to say goodbye," she said, her voice breaking.
"Ms. Montgomery?" Gibbs interrupted.
"I'm sorry," she said, regaining her composure. "My lack of closure left me with an unease in the pit of my stomach. And I've often felt a presence, like someone was watching me," she explained. "Last week I received an email from Jon," she said. "I know it sounds crazy, and I didn't think it was him at first. He said he wanted me and Brogan back. I replied as if it were a crank email, and hoped not to hear from him again. Since that time, I've received several messages, the last of which included a threat to take Brogan if I didn't agree to meet him. I hadn't yet decided how to respond. When I awoke this morning, Brogan was gone," she finished, still crying.
"Do you mind if we take your computer back to our offices so we can try to trace the origin of the messages?" Gibbs asked politely.
"That's fine," she agreed without hesitation. "Like I said, anything that will get my son back."
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