Rule 39: There Is No Such Thing As Coincidence (Tony DiNozzo Love Story)

That's The Guy

Tony's POV

"Local PD is on scene, Gibbs," McGee says as Gibbs speeds down the street.

"How is Erin?" I ask.

"Tell them I don't want them moving anything? It's our crime scene, our case. Tell them not to take Erin into custody," Gibbs says as he accelerates more.

"Gibbs, I think you should—," Ziva starts and Gibbs turns hard to the right to get onto his street. Up ahead we can see four squad cars and an ambulance blocking the area in front of Gibbs' house. We break to a hard stop and before the car is in park I am jumping out of it.

"NCIS, let me through," I say as I push past the local cops and up towards the house.

"Where is she?" Gibbs asks quickly behind me.

"The woman is upstairs in her bedroom, she refused to leave," one of the officers says, once I heard him say upstairs I was jumping them two at a time.

"Erin," I call.

"Tony?" She calls back, as if she's not sure its really me. There are three officers standing at her bedroom doorway and I push past them and see Erin sitting on her bed in her robe and her hair damp. I notice the two bodies laying on the floor and I look towards them and immediately recognize the man as the one I saw in the ice cream shop the other day. The woman I don't recognize, she has tan skin and long black hair.

"Hey, who are you?" One of the officers asks.

"NCIS, this is my house and our crime scene for a case we are working," Gibbs replies. "I called you to secure the scene, but we'll take it from here."

"Hey, I don't think so," the officer begins to argue and not a moment too soon before his phone begins to ring and he answers it. The quick and short conversation on the line sums it up as he looks at us discouragingly before nodding towards the other officers and heading down the stairs.

"Erin, what happened?" I ask as I walk around the two dead on the floor and over to her.

"I told you I didn't need therapy," she says and we all look at her.

"Wait, that's your therapist? Dr. Payne?" Gibbs asks, I turn and look at the guy on the ground.

"That's the guy from the ice cream shop," I say as I look from the guy towards Erin. She nods.

"I know. I knew from the first meeting I met with him."

"But how did—," McGee starts before Erin cuts in.

"Director Shepherd accompanied me to my questioning with the VP and SecDef, he said that she had made a note that I hadn't said how many Ghosts were still active. The Director told me before my first session that she wouldn't provide any information to the therapist because it wasn't really her that was requesting it. It was SecDef that was."

"And the woman?" Ziva asks.

"Matilda Whitaker, AKA Bookie, she has a daughter and is married to a senator in upstate New York," Erin replies.

"A senator? How are we going to explain this to him?" Ziva asks.

"With the truth," Gibbs replies. "Why'd you keep going if you knew this was one of our guys?"

"I had to know what his game was. Clearly it was meant to see what I knew and what I was telling you all."

"Tony how didn't you see this guy earlier when you took Erin to her appointment?"

"I didn't, he opened the door to the office but was behind the door. All I heard was his voice but at the ice cream shop I hadn't heard him speak, just saw his face."

"Is she the same woman you saw at the ice cream shop?" McGee asks and Erin nods.

"Her eyes are what gave it away. She wore a wig and did some makeup to change her features but that's her."

"So how many Ghosts does this leave us?" Gibbs asks.

"Well, Milo there was supposed to be dead. Ironically he and three others were the first of the Ghosts to get me started, only one of them is still alive as far as I know. So as far as I know there are still eight of them alive, but I thought he was dead so I don't really know for sure," Erin says.