𝐍𝐎 𝐑𝐔𝐋𝐄𝐒 ━━ 𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐳𝐳𝐨

TWENTY FOUR | pay my respects

"A maze of maize."

"What?"

"Maize. It's the Indian word for corn."

"Native American, you dork."

The N.C.I.S. team approaches the realistic scarecrow perched on a wooden stake, blood of the victim staining his clothes.

"DiNozzo, process this." Gibbs tilts down his cap.

"Gibbs, several sets of footprints, some of them very small." Ziva gestures to the dirt below.

I tap the end of my pen on the notebook. "That would be the pair of kids who found him."

"These aren't kids' footprints." Tony crosses over to the back of the scarecrow. "Over here, those are big ones. Come from that direction."

"We've got drag marks, too."

"Which means that when they pulled our Marine, he was dead already."

At the sight of fresh corn, Ducky brings up the Thanksgiving dinner he'll be hosting in his home. . .although with the late notice, we've all made plans.

"Based on the viscosity of the blood, I'd say this is a recent demise." Ducky fiddles with the victim's dog tags. "My instinct tells me he was not shot here."

"Boss, this is Marine Lance Corporal Trevor Lozada, stationed out of Quantico." McGee reads off of his smartphone.

Lifting a sleeve of the flannel, the medical examiner reveals a bloody stub. "The corporal is missing a hand. He was killed prior to it being removed."

"Maybe the crows carried it off."

While Tony mimics the caws of a crow, Ziva tickles him in the inner ear with a black feather, startling him humorously.

"Eva, get on DiNozzo's shoulders."

"Huh?"

"What?"

The grey-haired man flashes a silent look, and all of a sudden. . .I'm perched on top of Tony's shoulders.

"West."

"I see our vehicles among police cars."

"North."

"A farmer riding a tractor."

"East."

"A barn. . .around two hundred yards away."

"This is like that movie about the chef with the rat in his hat." Tony mutters to me as the others discuss the crime scene.

"Are you calling me a rat, DiNozzo?"

". . .not at all, sweetheart."

At the building following McGee settling into his informative role by providing a descriptive background on the victim, Gibbs splits us up: him and Tony visit Sattler Institute while Ziva, McGee, and I head over to Lozada's current address.

But by the time we return, a sixth member's been added to the team.

"Water, soda, gummy bears, and every kind of chocolate."

I dump the contents of the grocery bag, sending sugary delicacies sprawling across my desk. A proud grin crosses my features when Angela reaches for a Hershey's kiss.

"So, have you ever killed anybody?"

"Of course not. The gun's just for show."

Her brow quips as I shove the weapon away into the first drawer. The deskphone chimes with an incoming call from Gibbs, who asks me to bring the young girl to the elevator.