Disclaimer: NCIS and all its characters are property of CBS and D. P. Bellisario

A/N:This is the second installment of a series. The first one is HEARTKILL and it's necessary to read that one first.

I got the idea for this story before I even wrote HeartKill. It first struck me while I was making an NCIS video.

I'm sorry about potential mistakes. I'm trying my best so there wouldn't be any but something would always slip through.

Faves, follows, and especially reviews are very appreciated, critique too as long as it's constructive.

BLOODLINES

Saturday, August 21st 2004

A battered red and white '67 Ford Mustang pulled to a stop on top of the hill, near a lone oak tree growing by the edge of the slope. The driver, a sunny blonde in her late thirties, got out and motioned for her passenger, a few years younger brunette to follow. The two leaned against the hood and took a moment to admire the view.

"Wow!" gasped Kate Todd, gazing at the town downhill bathed in the orange glow of the sunset.

"I knew you'd like it," the blonde replied with a smile.

Her name was Susan, and her friendship with Kate went back to the times when they were both Secret Service Agents. She quit the job a couple of years before Kate, after she nearly lost her life protecting the President, and now lived with her husband in a small town in Pennsylvania.

The two of them kept in touch through the years and when Susan suggested she take a break from work to come to visit her in the countryside, Kate took the offer without a second thought. She had been missing Susan and was curious to finally meet her husband, and hoped that getting away from DC for a while would help her get over yet another heartbreak, the worse she sustained so far.

She still remembered that sunny day in late May when her boyfriend, NCIS Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, quite unexpectedly informed her in rather harsh terms that their relationship was over.

Kate had been dumped at least a couple of times before but never had it hurt so bad, perhaps because of the reason he gave for breaking up with her, or perhaps because what she had with Gibbs was more than just a fling, at least for her.

When she arrived at Susan's earlier in the day, the former agent sensed right away there was something different about her friend. Intent on finding out what was going on, she took Kate to the oak tree on the hill, where far from her nosy neighbors starving for some fresh gossip she could squeeze the truth out of her.

"I may not be a profiler like you, but I can tell when someone's got a problem," she said. "Is it about the job? That Fornell guy giving you a hard time?"

"No, I'm doing fine at the FBI," Kate replied.

"Then it's gotta be about a guy." Susan was well aware of Kate's weakness for men, especially a certain type of men. "Who is he? How did you meet him?"

"He's a Fed too. We met over a dead body of a Navy Commander."

"How romantic!"

Kate giggled at Susan's comment and then explained how she had met Gibbs during an investigation of a suspicious death aboard Air Force One and fell for him on the spot.

"It was just like..." She snapped her fingers to illustrate her point.

Susan inquired further and Kate told her about how she had refused Gibbs's job offer and went to work for the FBI instead, how they met again several months later on the V-day killer case, how they eventually began seeing each other, and how all of a sudden Gibbs broke up with her.

"I know it hurts," Susan rubbed Kate's back comfortingly, "but give it time. Eventually, you'll get over him."

"You don't simply get over one Leroy Jethro Gibbs," Kate argued.

Susan chuckled and then asked, "Is he really that special?"

"One of a kind."

Susan just threw her hands in the air in surrender. Apparently, Kate's infatuation with this Gibbs guy was stronger than she had imagined.

"You know what Sus," Kate said gazing at the darkening sky, "you're probably right. I have to move on and just forget about him."

"That's my girl!" Susan smiled and gave her an approving pat on the shoulder.

"I mean, it's not like he was Mister Perfect! The list of his flaws could fill up an encyclopedia!"

Why do I have a feeling you loved each and every one of them, Susan thought but remained silent.

"He once told me that I deserved better than him, and you know what, he was damn right!" Kate fumed. "I do deserve better!"

"Let's drink to that!" Susan went to retrieve a bottle of Jack from the trunk.

She uncorked the bottle, took a long swig and passed it over to Kate who did the same and declared:

"Never again will I let myself get upset because of a blue-eyed bastard of an ex-marine"

§§§

Chapter 1

Thursday, August 26th 2004

It was almost eight in the morning. The elevator binged and Special Agents Tony DiNozzo and Tim McGee strode into the NCIS squad room, and entering the bullpen found Gibbs already at his post. As soon as the silver-haired agent noticed them, he straightened up in his chair and quickly stashed something in his desk drawer.

Tony and McGee exchanged a knowing glance that didn't go unnoticed.

"What?!" Gibbs snapped.

"You slept at the office again boss?" Tony asked a bit nervously, sliding behind his desk.

"That bothering you DiNozzo?"

"We're just a bit worried for you, boss," McGee said taking his own seat.

"I'm fine."

The hell he was, both Tony and McGee thought. Since he was shot Gibbs hadn't been the same and his unexpected break-up with Kate a few months later only made things worse. As much as Gibbs would deny it, they knew it had hurt him to the bone and were all concerned about him, especially Ducky, who had been the one to push Gibbs into starting a relationship with Kate in the first place and now blamed himself for indirectly causing his friend yet another heartache.

All of a sudden the phone on Gibbs's desk rang.

"Gibbs, NCIS," he picked up. "Uh-huh. Got it."

"Dead Marine boss?" Tony asked, grabbing his gear.

"Sailor," Gibbs corrected, getting up from his desk. "They fished him out of Lake Whitehurst in Norfolk."

"I'll call Ducky," McGee offered and started dialing.

"Tony," Gibbs threw him the car keys, "gas the truck."

A few hours later they arrived in Norfolk. Tony and McGee got on to photos and sketches while Gibbs went to talk to the local LEOs who had found the body.

"There was an accident on Azalea Garden Road yesterday," Officer Ward of the Norfolk PD told him. "A car went off the road and into the lake. We've been searching for the wreck and found him instead." He pointed with his head at the cadaver of a young man in a Navy uniform.

"Did you identify him?" Gibbs asked.

"No, sir. When we saw he was Navy we called NCIS right away. We thought you'd rather we didn't touch the body more than necessary."

"Thank you, Officer. We'll take it from here," Gibbs said, glad that for once he came across someone competent.

Ward nodded in agreement and left to join his colleagues while Gibbs came over to the cadaver Ducky and Palmer had already started examining.

"This poor fellow has been in the water for quite a while," Ducky noted. "Based on the deterioration of the body, I'd say about four months."

"Cause of death?" Gibbs inquired.

"He could've drowned but the injuries at the back of his head would suggest blunt force trauma. I can't tell you which one it was until after the autopsy."

Gibbs nodded, and putting his gloves on, he searched the body for some identification. He didn't find an ID and the dog tags were missing too.

§§§

"Do we know who our floater is yet?" Gibbs asked, entering the bullpen, a fresh cup of coffee in hand.

"Yes we do," Tony announced proudly, putting up an ID on the plasma. "Petty Officer William Dunn, age 33, joined the US Navy right after graduation, last deployed on USS Kennedy."

"Dunn was reported missing last March," McGee added, putting up more files on the screen. "He was scheduled to serve a second tour on the Kennedy, but never showed up."

"Who worked the case back then?"

"Agent Pacci's team," McGee informed him and Gibbs felt his gut tighten at the sound of the dead agent's name.

"They suspected he ran off with his girlfriend, Julie Harper, who also disappeared around the same time," Tony continued. "They never found any of them, and eventually Dunn was proclaimed a deserter and dishonorably discharged."

"Now we know it didn't quite go that way," Gibbs commented gruffly and headed for the elevator. "Keep digging!"

A couple of minutes later he entered autopsy intent on talking to Ducky.

"Hello Jethro," the old ME greeted him. "Your visit is a bit premature as our examination of the body is not yet complete."

"Can you at least tell me a cause of death?" Gibbs asked.

"Yes, that I can tell you," Ducky assured him with a small smile. "This young man most certainly drowned."

"There was water in his lungs, which means he was still alive when he got into the lake," Palmer, Ducky's new assistant cut in. "Isn't it ironic that a sailor would die by drowning? It's like in that joke about... Nevermind." Palmer shut up instantly as two pairs of blue eyes gave him a hard stare.

"Mr Palmer here has a point," Ducky reluctantly agreed. "Petty Officer Dunn must have been a swimmer, but shortly before his death he suffered a severe head trauma, which most certainly rendered him unconscious and by that unable to swim his way out."

"Any ideas on what he'd been hit with?"

"Some sort of blunt object. Abby is examining the traces we found in his head wound as we speak," Palmer informed him.

"What has me perplexed though, my dear Jethro," Ducky continued, "is this peculiar abrasion on the Petty Officer's face." The ME pointed to a shallow scratch that ran across the remains of Dunn's cheek, and up to his nose. "I cannot fathom what caused it, and how he got it in the first place."

"Call me when you figure it out," Gibbs told him and left to check in with Abby.

"What have you got Abs?" he yelled over the blasting music as he entered the lab.

"Oh, hi Gibbs!" the goth chirped, turning around. "Didn't hear you coming."

No wonder, Gibbs thought, grabbing the remote and turning the stereo down a bit.

"I examined the shards Ducky found in Dunn's wound. It's glass," Abby told him.

"Any special kind of glass?"

"It's brown colored and thick, but other than that it's just... glass."

"Anything else?" Gibbs asked.

"We have no prints and no DNA. I'm still checking out his clothes, but the only interesting thing that I found so far is this piece of paper that was inside his shirt pocket. " Abby showed him a bagged and tagged paper slip. "I'm not sure what it is yet since the water dissolved the ink, but I'll find out."

"I know," Gibbs said and drew a Caf-Pow! cup from behind his back.

"A bribe!" Abby snatched the drink into her hands and took a large gulp. "Those always work!"

Gibbs just smiled and headed back to the squad room.

"Boss, I think we can rule out the Kennedy crew members as potential suspects," Tony said as soon as Gibbs entered the bullpen. "I've been through the Navy service records. Most of them had been scheduled for a second tour on the Kennedy, a few had been assigned to other ships. The point is, they were all at sea at the time of Dunn's murder."

"Dunn's closest living relative is his sister, Carol Dunn, 31, lives in their hometown in Pennsylvania," McGee took over. "She stated she had come to Norfolk to see her brother before his next deployment but he was a no-show. When she was informed he didn't report on the ship either, she told the NCIS agents Dunn could've escaped with Julie Harper."

"Why would the two of them have to escape?" Gibbs inquired.

"According to the sister, Julie's father strongly disapproved of their relationship," McGee told him. "Perhaps he found out about their escape plan and tried to stop them."

"He would've killed his own daughter?" Tony expressed his doubts.

"We don't know if Julie's dead."

"Where is she then?"

"We have to get to the bottom of it," Gibbs said thoughtfully. "Let's start by talking to the sister."

"Road trip boss?" Tony asked much less excitedly than one would expect.

"We're leaving in an hour," Gibbs announced and headed for the elevator, Tony and McGee trailing behind him.

"Agent Gibbs," Palmer's voice stopped them.

"What is it?" Gibbs asked the ME assistant staring at him expectedly.

"I... I just... Doctor Mallard wa... wanted me to tell you," stuttered Palmer, looking seriously intimidated.

"Spit it out autopsy gremlin," Tony rushed him.

"We made a miscalculation in estimating Petty Officer Dunn's time of death," Palmer finally said.

"He was dead for more than four months?" Gibbs asked him.

"Five, even up to six."

"That places his death around the time of his disappearance," Tony noted.

"The Kennedy was in port back then," McGee pointed out, throwing Tony a glance. "Dunn's killer could be someone from the ship."

"DiNozzo," Gibbs addressed the Italian.

"Yes boss?"

"Take over that angle. Get in touch with the Kennedy, find out if Dunn was in conflict with anyone on the ship."

"I'm right on it boss!" Tony agreed happily and ran back to the bullpen.

"He didn't seem too upset about missing the road trip," McGee told Gibbs as they stepped into the elevator. "I guess he really hates the boondocks"

"Ah, it isn't just about that," Gibbs smirked. "He knows that the first person he's going to be talking to is NCIS Special Agent Paula Cassidy."

"Let me guess boss, she's hot and Tony had been drooling over her at some point?"

"Yes and yes. We met her at Gitmo before you joined us. She's currently the Agent Afloat on USS Kennedy."

"Don't you think Tony could... you know... be his usual self?"

"Oh, I know he will."

"And don't you mind that?" McGee had heard the infamous rule 12 quoted in relation to Tony more than once.

"I'm trusting Paula's better judgment on this one."

§§§

"Boss, I think we got lost," said McGee, glancing at Gibbs nervously.

"No, we didn't. I know exactly where we're going," Gibbs replied, trying hard to keep his cool.

They were in the middle of nowhere, the GPS signal died out a while ago, and Gibbs had an uncanny feeling he had already driven by that ash tree by the road. Twice.

"There should be a map in the glove compartment," he told McGee, finally admitting defeat.

McGee retrieved the map and studied it attentively, hoping Gibbs wouldn't notice his distress. This wasn't quite the same as reading a digital map, he couldn't zoom in and out, couldn't click on anything to get additional information, and most importantly, there was no blinking dot pointing out their current location.

"I think we're almost there," McGee finally said without much conviction. "Just drive straight forward boss."

It's not like I have much of a choice, Gibbs thought grimly, as he sped past the fields stretching on both sides of the road.

They drove for another few miles when suddenly McGee exclaimed, "Boss, look!" He pointed out to a structure that appeared in the distance. "There's a gas station. We can go ask for some directions."

Gibbs just nodded and slowed down until he eventually pulled to a stop next to an old fuel pump. There was another car parked nearby and Gibbs spotted a couple of people inside the small convenience store in the back.

"Go find out where the hell are we," he ordered McGee, who grabbed the map and ran to the store.

As he filled up the gas tank, Gibbs watched the younger agent talk to the store clerk showing him something on the map. Then a woman he had noticed earlier joined in and after a short conversation she came out of the store with McGee and they walked towards him.

The woman was young, about thirty, and rather attractive. She was tall and slender, with sparkling green eyes and shoulder length, strawberry blonde hair.

"Hi," she said sweetly, eyeing Gibbs from head to toe. "Your friend here told me you guys got lost. Luckily I happen to be going the same direction, so you can just follow my car. By the way, I'm Carol."

"Carol? Carol Dunn?" McGee asked as he suddenly realized why she seemed so familiar. He had seen her face only a few hours before on her driving license photo, but didn't recognize her right away with the different haircut and make-up.

"Yes," she confirmed. "Do we know each other?"

"Not really," Gibbs said flashing her his ID. "I'm Special Agent Jethro Gibbs, this is Special Agent Timothy McGee, NCIS. We were on our way to talk to you Miss Dunn."

"About what?" she asked worriedly, glancing in between the two agents.

"We found Petty Officer Dunn," McGee informed her.

"William? Where is he?"

"Miss Dunn," Gibbs began softly, "your brother is dead. His body was retrieved from Lake Whitehurst this morning."

"Are you sure it's him?"

"We have DNA confirmation."

"Oh, God!" Carol burst in tears and threw herself onto Gibbs's chest.

The two agents exchanged bemused looks over Carol's shoulder.

"I'm... I'm sorry for your loss," Gibbs stuttered patting her awkwardly on the back, still a bit thrown off by her behavior.

"Miss Dunn," he started to say when the woman finally let go of him, but she cut him off.

"Please, call me Carol," she said

Gibbs just nodded and continued:

"Carol, could we go talk someplace private? We would like to ask you a few questions about your brother."

"Ah, yes of course. We can go to my place. I'll lead the way, just follow my car."

Gibbs and McGee nodded in agreement and they all got into their respective vehicles and drove off.

§§§

"Would you like something to drink?" Carol offered, leading Gibbs and McGee into a spacious, well-lit kitchen.

Both agents eagerly accepted and sat at the table, while Carol busied herself preparing the drinks.

"When was the last time you saw your brother?" Gibbs began, observing the woman.

"Over a year ago," she replied and continued, "We were supposed to meet again when the Kennedy sailed back to port, but we never did. When I arrived to Norfolk his house was empty, but I thought he had to deploy earlier. Then I found out he didn't report back on the ship."

"In your last statement you suggested William could've run off with Julie Harper," McGee pointed out. "Could you elaborate on that?"

"Will and Julie were very close, but Julie's father, Frank, always had a problem with that," Carol explained. "The Harpers own a local logging company and Julie is their only child. Frank wanted her to marry one of the guys who work for him, so the company could've been passed over to the next generation."

"We'll need the Harpers' exact address," Gibbs said making some notes.

"Sure." Carol leaned over the table, snatched the notepad and pen from Gibbs's hands and scribbled down the requested information. Then she got up, took two steaming cups from the counter and placed one in front of each agent.

"How did you know what our favorite coffee is?" McGee wondered, sipping his foamy triple-pop half-caf vanilla latte.

"I work at a bar. I can tell your favorite drink with just a glance," Carol laughed. "You struck me as quiet, creative and a bit geeky. Definitely vanilla-latte type. As for you," she turned back to Gibbs, "any man with that haircut would take his coffee black and strong. By any chance, have you ever served Agent Gibbs?"

"US Marines," Gibbs replied.

"What specialty?" she purred, locking eyes with him.

"Sniper," he replied, looking back.

Watching their little exchange, McGee was struck by a very unsettling sense of deja-vu. Last winter he had witnessed a nearly identical situation when he and Gibbs went to talk to a certain Melissa Dorn, who behaved as if she wanted nothing else than to get into Gibbs's pants. Funny thing was, she was their dead marine's half-sister and also a redhead.

What was it about Gibbs and the redheads anyway, McGee thought. It wasn't just that Gibbs had a thing for them, apparently, they had a thing for Gibbs as well!

"Besides Frank Harper, can you think of anyone else who may have had issues with your brother?" Gibbs asked Carol, getting the conversation back on track.

"I could name a few people."

"I'm listening."

"You know, it's kinda late." Carol glanced at her watch. "I've gotta be at work in twenty, but I may have an idea. How about you two come to the bar tonight? It's Susie Q's birthday and there's a small party planned. The whole town's gonna be there and I can show you everyone who may have had anything to do with Will's murder."

"We never said he was murdered." Gibbs set his eyes on the woman.

"If he hadn't, you guys wouldn't be here asking me about his enemies," she explained, apparently unaffected by Gibbs's scrutiny.

"You've got a point," he admitted.

"So?" Carol gave both agents a questioning glance. "Are you gonna come by the bar tonight or not?"

Gibbs exchanged looks with McGee, considering the idea. Blended into the crowd, they could observe their potential suspects without making themselves known. There was only one problem.

"Is there's a motel around here?" Gibbs asked the redhead.

"None I would know of," she replied with a devious smile, "but you could just crash here for the night. It's a big house, I have a couple of spare bedrooms you could use."

"It's probably not a good idea," Gibbs had a bad feeling about this.

"My brother is dead and I want to help find his killer," Carol said passionately. "Getting you a room to stay is the least I could do."

"Boss, it'd save us a seven-hour drive to Washington and back," McGee pointed out.

Ah, what the hell, Gibbs thought, finally giving up. It's not like they would be staying at a suspect's house.

"Okay," Gibbs nodded once and turning to Carol he said in a rather formal tone, "Thank you, Miss Dunn, we appreciate it."

"Didn't I tell you to call me by my given name?" she retorted.

"Force of habit." Gibbs flashed her a half-smile. "Thank you, Carol."

"It's my pleasure, Agent Gibbs." She smiled back at him and then headed upstairs waving at both agents to follow.

Having shown Gibbs and McGee to their rooms, given them a spare key to the house and instructed them how to get to the bar where they would join her later in the evening, Carol changed into her work outfit: black shorts and t-shirt with a crown logo up front, and left for work. Once she was gone, the two agents retrieved their gear from the car and brought it all up to the larger of the two rooms Carol had let them use.

"McGee, set up a connection with Washington," Gibbs commanded, placing the grey briefcase concealing a portable computer on the desk and retreating to the bathroom.

"On it boss!" McGee got to work his magic and in about ten minutes he was on live video chat with Abby's lab.

"Hey, McGee!" greeted him the goth. "How was the road trip?"

"We got lost," McGee told her, "but then we ran into Carol Dunn at a gas station and she helped us out."

"When are you coming back? I miss you!"

"Tomorrow."

"Where are you gonna sleep?"

"At Carol's."

"Really?" Abby's brows rose an inch and a mischievous smirk appeared on her lips.

"Abby," McGee lowered his voice, "you should've seen her before with Gibbs. She was all nice and sweet and looked at him in THAT kind of way, and she's also a redhead. Wouldn't be surprised, if she offered us a place to stay just so she could try and hit on him, or even sneak into his room at night and..." McGee suddenly noticed the change in Abby's expression. "He's behind me, isn't he?"

"You worried about my virtue McGee?" Gibbs sneered. "I'm touched."

"Boss, I really didn't mean..."

"Relax McGee," Abby laughed. "The boss has lots of experience in handling horny redheads, don't you Gibbs?"

"Oh yeah!" Gibbs rolled his eyes and continued on a more serious note, "Anything new Abs?"

"Ducky's done with the autopsy, nothing hinky popped up, but we still can't figure out what Dunn scratched his face with," Abby replied. "I found some residue under his shoes. It's just dirt but there was also a hair glued to the sole with a piece of chewing gum he must've stepped on. It's very long, red and wavy."

"Julie Harper has long red wavy hair," McGee observed, bringing to his mind the missing girl's photo. "It could be hers."

Gibbs nodded in agreement. It'd make perfect sense with what they knew so far.

"Hi boss, hi Probie!" Tony strode into the lab, a wide grin on his face. "How're the boondocks?

"What have you got DiNozzo?" Gibbs ignored Tony's question.

"So much for small talk," Tony sighed. "I talked to those few sailors assigned to ships other than the Kennedy via satellite. None of them was particularly close to Dunn, they all said he was an okay guy, did his job well, never caused any trouble."

"What about the Kennedy crew?"

"The ship has just sailed to port in Rota, Spain. I talked to Pau-, I mean, Agent Cassidy and we agreed I'd be flying over tonight to interview everyone first thing tomorrow morning."

"This explains why you're so perky," McGee remarked with a giggle, thinking about how many possibilities to hook up with this Paula girl Tony would have in Rota.

"Guys, you know how much I love Rota!"

"Do you now DiNozzo?" Gibbs furrowed his brow. "Get back to us as soon as you find something."

"Tony," McGee cut in, "there's no reception in here, but in case of emergency you can call Carol's." McGee dictated him the number.

"Anything else?"

"Yeah, ask those sailors if they know anything about Dunn's private life, in particular, his relationship with Julie Harper," Gibbs said.

"Sure thing boss!"

Gibbs and McGee disconnected and only then Tony realized something.

"Wait a sec!" he gasped. "Did Probie just tell me to call them at Carol Dunn's place?"

"Yup!" Abby confirmed and shared with Tony everything she'd learned from McGee.

§§§

Gibbs drove his sedan into a small parking area next to a one-story building with a neon banner on the roof saying: Quinn's Bar and Grill.

The place was full of people drinking, talking, some of them even dancing to the music playing in the background. Gibbs and McGee elbowed they way to the counter and took a seat on the high stools.

"I started to think you changed your minds and wouldn't come." Carol appeared before them. "What can I get you?"

They both ordered a beer and then took a look around. The interior of the bar was all stone and wood. There were various objects hung on the walls including posters, photos, even a beautiful example of deer horns complete with skull, and behind the counter, in a protective glass box, there was a familiar looking Winchester rifle.

"See that guy over there?" Carol pointed out to a man in his late fifties sitting in one of the diner-style booths along the windows. "That's Frank Harper. The guy who's with him is Benny Tucker." The agents' attention moved to the other man while Carol continued, "The two of them have been buds since forever and both would've wanted for their kids to marry each other. Tucker's son, Scott has been working at Harper's since he graduated high school and would've been the perfect candidate to take over the company in the future."

"And did he like the idea?" Gibbs asked her.

"Are you kidding me?" Carol sniggered. "After years of breaking his back for Harper he would've killed to get his hands on the business!"

Gibbs and McGee exchanged looks while Carol scanned the room in search of Scott.

"There he is!" she finally said looking to the right, towards a group of young men gathered around a pool table. "He's the guy in the blue checkered shirt."

Gibbs and McGee checked out the young man. He appeared to be having a good time laughing with his friends and groping some blonde chick in a skirt so short it could be mistaken for a belt.

"He doesn't look too upset," McGee observed with a sneer.

Carol leaned down and said in a hushed tone, "Rumor says that now that Julie's gone, Frank and Old Tuck are working the papers so in case of Frank's death Scott would inherit the company anyway."

"That explains a lot," Gibbs muttered taking another sip of his beer.

"How did Scott feel about Julie?" McGee inquired.

"I don't think he loved her, if that's what you're asking me," Carol replied, "but she was a nice girl, sweet and kind and very pretty too. He sure wouldn't have minded marrying her."

Someone called for a drink and Carol left them for a moment to attend to the customer.

"What do you think McGee?" Gibbs asked the younger agent, first making sure no one was paying them attention.

"Not sure boss. All three men had a motive to get rid of Dunn. It could be of help if we knew what happened to Julie."

"How so?" Gibbs prompted McGee to elaborate.

"Harper had no reason to get rid of Julie and I want to believe he wouldn't have killed his own daughter. If she's dead, it's more likely the culprit is one of the Tuckers. Neither of them cared about Julie in the least, not even Scott, so they could've killed her to get what they wanted."

"What if she's alive and managed to escape?"

"Then she might be an eyewitness."

"They've been looking for her for months without any success. Even if she's alive, we probably can't count on her testimony."

"We could use it though."

"Yeah," Gibbs sighed tiredly. McGee was right. All they had so far was theories and they needed proof to back it up if they wanted to nail Dunn's killer.

In the meantime, Carol got back and Gibbs beckoned her closer with his finger. She leaned low over the counter, showing off a good piece of her cleavage and gave him a questioning look.

"Carol," Gibbs said quietly, "is there anyone else who may have been involved in William's death?"

"Well," she began, "I guess you could count up all of Harper's loggers. If he was the one behind this, he probably wouldn't get his own hands dirty but rather pay off one of his men to do it. Then there's also..." she stopped as if unsure if she was doing the right thing.

"Who?" Gibbs urged her to talk.

"My ex, Thomas Wells," Carol finally said, looking embarrassed.

"Why would he want to kill your brother?" McGee wanted to know.

"Will was strongly against my involvement with Tom. The two of them were sworn enemies since they were kids and Will tried to talk me out of the relationship countless times. Tom always feared that he may eventually succeed."

"Apparently he did," McGee commented.

"No." Carol shook her head. "I broke up with Tom only after Will's disappearance and for my own reasons, not because my brother had told me to do so."

Gibbs asked himself if Wells could be a potential suspect. His motive was dubious but he'd seen people kill for even less. It would't hurt to check him out.

"Which one is Wells?" he asked Carol.

She looked around the bar and finally pointed out far to her right.

"He's the guy in the leather jacket talking to the brunette woman."

Gibbs took a look at the man, but then his attention was caught by the woman. She had dark hair falling in soft waves halfway down her back and the denim shorts she wore accentuated her shapely butt and showed off a pair of slim legs.

"Who's the woman?"

"Some city slicker," Carol replied, clearly annoyed by Gibbs's interest in the brunette. "She came down a few days ago to visit Susie. They were friends back when she was in the Secret Service or something."

Just as Gibbs's mind registered the words 'Secret Service' the mysterious brunette turned around to face him and he felt his body go numb and his brain shut down.

It was Kate Todd.

§§§

A/N: Please don't kill me for making Gibbs and Kate break up. I swear there is a reason behind all this and it will come out later in the story.

There's gonna be no Fornell in this story (he will return in #3) but we have a special guest appearance from Agent Paula Cassidy.

1. Thank guys for helping me out with the glove compartment. Appreciate it!

2. McGee's triple-pop half-caf vanilla latte - I took this one from s02e12 Doppelganger (the scene where Miller brings everyone coffee) but I'm not 100% sure if I got it right. If anyone knows what the hell does he drink please tell me and I'll correct it.