Fic: A Long December - 4/8
Fandom: NCIS
Title: A Long December - Chapter Three
Author: Starbucks Sue
Genre: General
Rating: FRM
Characters: Mainly Jethro Gibbs, Anthony DiNozzo with a few others making short appearances
Summary: On a snowy December morning a body turns up in an alley in DC. Will Gibbs and his new Field Agent Anthony DiNozzo be able to solve the case before Christmas?
Spoilers: Although this is set pre-series there are spoilers for those who have not seen the early episodes as information not known in the early seasons is used in this story. You will find the characters a little different than in the series as this is set two years prior to Yankee White and the relationships would naturally have evolved in that time.
This is a sequel to my previous story 'Raining in Baltimore' found here
Disclaimer: NCIS and the characters portrayed in this story do not belong to me and no copyright infringement is intended.
As Gibbs pulled in outside the Raddison he was glad that he’d brought his truck rather than one of the agency sedans as the snow was falling heavily again. The warmth of the foyer made a welcome change to the cold of the truck’s cab, the short journey along P Street not being far enough for the vehicle’s heater to make any difference to the freezing temperature of the cab.
As he approached the reception desk Gibbs held out his identification, introducing himself to the young man behind the desk and asking to speak to the duty manager. The young man looked wide eyed at first but quickly picked up the phone. A few minutes later an older gentleman arrived and ushered them into his office.
“Good evening, I’m Paul Benson, please have a seat. What is NCIS and how can I help?” He asked smoothly sitting down himself.
“Naval Criminal Investigative Service. We’re investigating a murder which took place last night and believe that the last person to see the victim alive may have been staying in a hotel locally as they both left The Ministry on foot at around 23:50. We were hoping that we could speak to your staff and see whether they remember seeing either of these two men.” Gibbs explained as Tony removed the photos from the envelope he was carrying.
“Of course, was the victim found on P Street? Was that the incident that had part of the street closed off this morning?” Benson asked, suddenly seeing the connection.
“That’s correct. We don’t know whether the two of them came back to a hotel together or whether they separated soon after leaving the club. This man was the last to see him alive though so we really need to speak to him in connection with our investigation.”
Benson nodded. “We have two members of staff on the night shift, Colin Ash and Linda Clarkson, they’ve literally just come on duty so you’ve timed it perfectly. Bear with me one moment and I’ll bring them in one at a time.” He rose gracefully and left the office, returning a few minutes later with the young man they had already seen.
“Hi Colin,” Tony took the lead with the obviously nervous young man. “I don’t know what your manager’s told you but we’re investigating the death of a Petty Officer who was found in the early hours of this morning, do you recognize either of these men? We believe one of them was staying in a hotel in this area.” Tony explained laying out the photos of Paulson and his unnamed friend on the table. Colin looked at them closely before shaking his head.
“No, I don’t think I’ve seen either of these men before, sorry.” He looked up at Tony with a look of regret.
“What hours are you on duty?” Tony asked.
“I start at midnight and work through until seven, it’s a quiet shift and not very busy but there are two of us so it’s not so bad, we occasionally get requests from the rooms so one of us will stay on the desk and the other runs the errands, we take it in turns. I arrived at about half eleven last night and was in reception talking to Claire, who’s on the evening shift. She’d had a few requests from one of the guests so was giving me a quick update before she left.”
“Okay, thanks Colin, we appreciate your help.” Tony smiled and the younger man relaxed as he rose and exited the room.
Gibbs and DiNozzo were quickly joined a few minutes later by a woman in her late twenties or early thirties.
“Hi, you must be Linda, please have a seat,” Tony smiled at her before continuing. “We’re investigating the murder of a Petty Officer whose body was found further up P Street early this morning. We believe the friend he was with earlier in the evening was staying at a local hotel so would like to ask if you recognize either of these men.” Tony pointed at the pictures which were still sitting on the desk.
Linda frowned and looked closely at both pictures.
“I think I’ve seen these men,” she said slowly. “Not here but I walk here from the Metro Station at Dupont Circle and I’m sure I saw them at the junction of P Street and 21st, I’m pretty certain they turned and went up 21st, towards Massachusetts Avenue. The scarf is definitely familiar but I’m sure these are the same two men.” She looked up at Tony. “I usually get to work around quarter to midnight but I was running late last night as my daughter was ill and I didn’t get here until just after, so it must have been around midnight when I saw them.”
Tony looked at Gibbs with raised eyebrows and got a nod in return.
“That’s really helpful Linda, the times are about right. We know both men left The Citadel club at around ten to midnight so that makes sense.”
Linda nodded. “If they were aiming for a hotel I would guess it would be The Fairfax, it’s just the other end of 21st Street on the corner of Massachusetts Avenue, definitely within walking distance. They’d have already walked past The Palomar and Residence Inn and if they were going to the Hilton it would be quicker to have continued along P Street and then up 20th.”
Gibbs nodded. “Yeah I agree. Thanks for your help, Linda. We’ll make The Fairfax our next stop.” He rose and she stood and, saying her goodbyes, left the room.
“Well that’s a start, it must be them the timings are just too good and how many people would have been walking around at that time of night, especially wearing that very same scarf.” Tony remarked hopefully as Benson rejoined them.
“Thank you Mr Benson, we really appreciate your assistance, it looks like Linda actually passed these two men on her way in to work so hopefully that gives us an idea of where they went.”
“You’re welcome, can I get you anything before you leave?”
“You don’t do coffee to go do you?” Gibbs asked hopefully.
Benson smiled. “I can do that for you Agent Gibbs, how do you like it?”
“Strong and black, thank you. DiNozzo has cream and sugar.” Tony nodded his thanks at the manager as he turned to leave the office.
“It won’t take more than a few minutes, I put a fresh pot on just in case. I’ll bring it out to reception for you.” He left the office and the two agents made their way back to the reception area.
“I’m just going to use the facilities,” Tony said shyly, nodding over to where he saw the sign for the restrooms. He heard Gibbs chuckle softly as he departed and pulled a face. He still couldn’t understand how Gibbs was able to drink as much coffee as he did and not need to use the facilities at every turn.
Tony and Benson returned at around the same time and thanking the staff once more, the agents left, Tony yawning widely while Gibbs inhaled the freshly brewed coffee with a smile.
It didn’t take long to drive to The Fairfax but even so, it was past 01:00 when they arrived. The snow was still falling, casting an eerie silence over the city. Gibbs finished off his coffee and climbed out of the truck with Tony following sleepily. Gibbs decided this would definitely be their last stop of the evening.
The main doors were opened for them by a doorman and they entered into a tastefully grand foyer, richly decorated for the holiday season with a large tree positioned next to a sweeping staircase.
“This is an expensive place, Boss,” Tony spoke quietly. “It was described as a luxury hotel and sure looks like it. I don’t think they’re going to be very happy with us if we suggest someone was murdered here,” he finished with a chuckle.
They walked up to the reception desk, with Gibbs having his identification out and ready.
“Agents Gibbs and DiNozzo, NCIS, we need to speak to your manager,” he said quietly.
She looked at the identification. “One moment please, Sir.” She turned and entered an office which led off the reception area and a moment later a woman who looked to be in her late forties walked out, addressing Gibbs immediately.
“I’m Melissa Wentworth, Agent Gibbs, what is NCIS and how may I assist you?” She asked.
“Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Ma’am. We’re investigating the death of a Petty Officer who was found in the early hours of yesterday morning. We believe that the last person he was seen with was staying in a nearby hotel, they were seen at around midnight heading up 21st Street from P Street and we’d like to know if any of your staff recognize either of the men.” Gibbs explained.
She nodded. “Please come through to the office gentlemen.” She pointed to a door at the end of the reception counter. “I’ll come round and let you in.”
She let them into a small office and through to a larger room beyond.
“Please have a seat, can I offer you tea or coffee?” She asked politely.
“Coffee would be appreciated; it’s been a very long day.” Gibbs acknowledged as she rose to pour the drinks from the machine in the corner of the room.
“Thank you,” Tony smiled up at her as he added cream and sugar to his drink before taking the photos out of their envelope again.
“These are the two men in question,” he began. “Vincent Paulson was found in an alley off P Street not far from the junction with 21st Street at around 06:00 yesterday morning, our ME confirmed the time of death was 02:00. He was seen leaving The Ministry at 23:50 with this man, who met him in the foyer and they were seen walking up P Street and turning into 21st Street at around midnight. We don’t know who this man is but we believe he may have been staying in a hotel locally. As they were on foot heading up 21st Street we came here first.” He finished.
“I don’t recognize this man, your victim right?” she looked at Tony for confirmation, at his nod she looked to the other picture. “This man, however, does look vaguely familiar and I’m sure I recognize that scarf, it’s Armani, my husband has one the same. Let me speak to Tessa, she was on duty last night. We don’t get very many guests come in after midnight during the week so hopefully she will remember if they did come back here.” She stood and went back out to the reception desk, coming back with the woman who had first greeted them.
“I recognize him,” Tessa agreed. “He was a guest here, I’m not sure exactly when he arrived as I wasn’t on duty then but I think he came in soon after midnight with another man, I didn’t see the other man leave but didn’t think anything of it as I did have two breaks between midnight and six when I finished but he left early yesterday around three in the morning. He was in a hurry and seemed particularly stressed when he came down, I remember asking if he needed assistance with his luggage and he said he’d already loaded it into his car. He said that he had been called back to his office because of an important overseas deal that they needed his expertise on,” she explained as she rose to her feet. “I’ll go and find his details for you.”
She walked back out to the reception desk as Melissa Wentworth topped up their coffees and quickly returned with a couple of sheets of paper.
“Here’s the printout of his booking arrangements. His name is William Tucker and he arrived on Thursday, he’d booked in for three nights originally but had to cut his visit short as I mentioned earlier. He stayed in room 412, it hasn’t been in use since but obviously would have been cleaned although the housekeeping staff would have reported if they had found anything suspicious. The address he gave us is an apartment at 1830 Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia,” she read out before handing the printout to Gibbs.
“Nothing has been reported by housekeeping but I can have all the security tapes exchanged and delivered to you within a couple of hours,” Melissa Wentworth offered.
“That would be helpful. Here’s my card could you get them delivered to this address, I’ll let my forensic specialist know you’re sending them over.” He stopped to dig out his cell so Tony took up the conversation.
“Thank you for your help ladies, it’s very much appreciated. I’m sorry we’ve taken up so much of your time,” Tony winced as he realized that it was past 02:00, no wonder he felt exhausted, he yawned again as Gibbs spoke quietly to the 24 hour dispatch desk.
“You’re welcome. Please let us know if we can be of any further help.” Melissa smiled warmly as she walked them out. “Goodnight.”
“Come on, Tony, let’s go home.” Gibbs patted his sleepy agent on the back as they walked over to the truck.
“Haven’t we got to go to Philly,” Tony asked.
“Not going to get there by road, dispatch are trying to arrange a flight for us in the morning. In the meantime I suggest you get some sleep,” Gibbs recommended.
Tony nodded, yawning widely again, and by the time Gibbs had guided the truck onto I-395 his passenger was fast asleep.
Chapter Four
Title: A Long December - Chapter Three
Author: Starbucks Sue
Genre: General
Rating: FRM
Characters: Mainly Jethro Gibbs, Anthony DiNozzo with a few others making short appearances
Summary: On a snowy December morning a body turns up in an alley in DC. Will Gibbs and his new Field Agent Anthony DiNozzo be able to solve the case before Christmas?
Spoilers: Although this is set pre-series there are spoilers for those who have not seen the early episodes as information not known in the early seasons is used in this story. You will find the characters a little different than in the series as this is set two years prior to Yankee White and the relationships would naturally have evolved in that time.
This is a sequel to my previous story 'Raining in Baltimore' found here
Disclaimer: NCIS and the characters portrayed in this story do not belong to me and no copyright infringement is intended.
As Gibbs pulled in outside the Raddison he was glad that he’d brought his truck rather than one of the agency sedans as the snow was falling heavily again. The warmth of the foyer made a welcome change to the cold of the truck’s cab, the short journey along P Street not being far enough for the vehicle’s heater to make any difference to the freezing temperature of the cab.
As he approached the reception desk Gibbs held out his identification, introducing himself to the young man behind the desk and asking to speak to the duty manager. The young man looked wide eyed at first but quickly picked up the phone. A few minutes later an older gentleman arrived and ushered them into his office.
“Good evening, I’m Paul Benson, please have a seat. What is NCIS and how can I help?” He asked smoothly sitting down himself.
“Naval Criminal Investigative Service. We’re investigating a murder which took place last night and believe that the last person to see the victim alive may have been staying in a hotel locally as they both left The Ministry on foot at around 23:50. We were hoping that we could speak to your staff and see whether they remember seeing either of these two men.” Gibbs explained as Tony removed the photos from the envelope he was carrying.
“Of course, was the victim found on P Street? Was that the incident that had part of the street closed off this morning?” Benson asked, suddenly seeing the connection.
“That’s correct. We don’t know whether the two of them came back to a hotel together or whether they separated soon after leaving the club. This man was the last to see him alive though so we really need to speak to him in connection with our investigation.”
Benson nodded. “We have two members of staff on the night shift, Colin Ash and Linda Clarkson, they’ve literally just come on duty so you’ve timed it perfectly. Bear with me one moment and I’ll bring them in one at a time.” He rose gracefully and left the office, returning a few minutes later with the young man they had already seen.
“Hi Colin,” Tony took the lead with the obviously nervous young man. “I don’t know what your manager’s told you but we’re investigating the death of a Petty Officer who was found in the early hours of this morning, do you recognize either of these men? We believe one of them was staying in a hotel in this area.” Tony explained laying out the photos of Paulson and his unnamed friend on the table. Colin looked at them closely before shaking his head.
“No, I don’t think I’ve seen either of these men before, sorry.” He looked up at Tony with a look of regret.
“What hours are you on duty?” Tony asked.
“I start at midnight and work through until seven, it’s a quiet shift and not very busy but there are two of us so it’s not so bad, we occasionally get requests from the rooms so one of us will stay on the desk and the other runs the errands, we take it in turns. I arrived at about half eleven last night and was in reception talking to Claire, who’s on the evening shift. She’d had a few requests from one of the guests so was giving me a quick update before she left.”
“Okay, thanks Colin, we appreciate your help.” Tony smiled and the younger man relaxed as he rose and exited the room.
Gibbs and DiNozzo were quickly joined a few minutes later by a woman in her late twenties or early thirties.
“Hi, you must be Linda, please have a seat,” Tony smiled at her before continuing. “We’re investigating the murder of a Petty Officer whose body was found further up P Street early this morning. We believe the friend he was with earlier in the evening was staying at a local hotel so would like to ask if you recognize either of these men.” Tony pointed at the pictures which were still sitting on the desk.
Linda frowned and looked closely at both pictures.
“I think I’ve seen these men,” she said slowly. “Not here but I walk here from the Metro Station at Dupont Circle and I’m sure I saw them at the junction of P Street and 21st, I’m pretty certain they turned and went up 21st, towards Massachusetts Avenue. The scarf is definitely familiar but I’m sure these are the same two men.” She looked up at Tony. “I usually get to work around quarter to midnight but I was running late last night as my daughter was ill and I didn’t get here until just after, so it must have been around midnight when I saw them.”
Tony looked at Gibbs with raised eyebrows and got a nod in return.
“That’s really helpful Linda, the times are about right. We know both men left The Citadel club at around ten to midnight so that makes sense.”
Linda nodded. “If they were aiming for a hotel I would guess it would be The Fairfax, it’s just the other end of 21st Street on the corner of Massachusetts Avenue, definitely within walking distance. They’d have already walked past The Palomar and Residence Inn and if they were going to the Hilton it would be quicker to have continued along P Street and then up 20th.”
Gibbs nodded. “Yeah I agree. Thanks for your help, Linda. We’ll make The Fairfax our next stop.” He rose and she stood and, saying her goodbyes, left the room.
“Well that’s a start, it must be them the timings are just too good and how many people would have been walking around at that time of night, especially wearing that very same scarf.” Tony remarked hopefully as Benson rejoined them.
“Thank you Mr Benson, we really appreciate your assistance, it looks like Linda actually passed these two men on her way in to work so hopefully that gives us an idea of where they went.”
“You’re welcome, can I get you anything before you leave?”
“You don’t do coffee to go do you?” Gibbs asked hopefully.
Benson smiled. “I can do that for you Agent Gibbs, how do you like it?”
“Strong and black, thank you. DiNozzo has cream and sugar.” Tony nodded his thanks at the manager as he turned to leave the office.
“It won’t take more than a few minutes, I put a fresh pot on just in case. I’ll bring it out to reception for you.” He left the office and the two agents made their way back to the reception area.
“I’m just going to use the facilities,” Tony said shyly, nodding over to where he saw the sign for the restrooms. He heard Gibbs chuckle softly as he departed and pulled a face. He still couldn’t understand how Gibbs was able to drink as much coffee as he did and not need to use the facilities at every turn.
Tony and Benson returned at around the same time and thanking the staff once more, the agents left, Tony yawning widely while Gibbs inhaled the freshly brewed coffee with a smile.
It didn’t take long to drive to The Fairfax but even so, it was past 01:00 when they arrived. The snow was still falling, casting an eerie silence over the city. Gibbs finished off his coffee and climbed out of the truck with Tony following sleepily. Gibbs decided this would definitely be their last stop of the evening.
The main doors were opened for them by a doorman and they entered into a tastefully grand foyer, richly decorated for the holiday season with a large tree positioned next to a sweeping staircase.
“This is an expensive place, Boss,” Tony spoke quietly. “It was described as a luxury hotel and sure looks like it. I don’t think they’re going to be very happy with us if we suggest someone was murdered here,” he finished with a chuckle.
They walked up to the reception desk, with Gibbs having his identification out and ready.
“Agents Gibbs and DiNozzo, NCIS, we need to speak to your manager,” he said quietly.
She looked at the identification. “One moment please, Sir.” She turned and entered an office which led off the reception area and a moment later a woman who looked to be in her late forties walked out, addressing Gibbs immediately.
“I’m Melissa Wentworth, Agent Gibbs, what is NCIS and how may I assist you?” She asked.
“Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Ma’am. We’re investigating the death of a Petty Officer who was found in the early hours of yesterday morning. We believe that the last person he was seen with was staying in a nearby hotel, they were seen at around midnight heading up 21st Street from P Street and we’d like to know if any of your staff recognize either of the men.” Gibbs explained.
She nodded. “Please come through to the office gentlemen.” She pointed to a door at the end of the reception counter. “I’ll come round and let you in.”
She let them into a small office and through to a larger room beyond.
“Please have a seat, can I offer you tea or coffee?” She asked politely.
“Coffee would be appreciated; it’s been a very long day.” Gibbs acknowledged as she rose to pour the drinks from the machine in the corner of the room.
“Thank you,” Tony smiled up at her as he added cream and sugar to his drink before taking the photos out of their envelope again.
“These are the two men in question,” he began. “Vincent Paulson was found in an alley off P Street not far from the junction with 21st Street at around 06:00 yesterday morning, our ME confirmed the time of death was 02:00. He was seen leaving The Ministry at 23:50 with this man, who met him in the foyer and they were seen walking up P Street and turning into 21st Street at around midnight. We don’t know who this man is but we believe he may have been staying in a hotel locally. As they were on foot heading up 21st Street we came here first.” He finished.
“I don’t recognize this man, your victim right?” she looked at Tony for confirmation, at his nod she looked to the other picture. “This man, however, does look vaguely familiar and I’m sure I recognize that scarf, it’s Armani, my husband has one the same. Let me speak to Tessa, she was on duty last night. We don’t get very many guests come in after midnight during the week so hopefully she will remember if they did come back here.” She stood and went back out to the reception desk, coming back with the woman who had first greeted them.
“I recognize him,” Tessa agreed. “He was a guest here, I’m not sure exactly when he arrived as I wasn’t on duty then but I think he came in soon after midnight with another man, I didn’t see the other man leave but didn’t think anything of it as I did have two breaks between midnight and six when I finished but he left early yesterday around three in the morning. He was in a hurry and seemed particularly stressed when he came down, I remember asking if he needed assistance with his luggage and he said he’d already loaded it into his car. He said that he had been called back to his office because of an important overseas deal that they needed his expertise on,” she explained as she rose to her feet. “I’ll go and find his details for you.”
She walked back out to the reception desk as Melissa Wentworth topped up their coffees and quickly returned with a couple of sheets of paper.
“Here’s the printout of his booking arrangements. His name is William Tucker and he arrived on Thursday, he’d booked in for three nights originally but had to cut his visit short as I mentioned earlier. He stayed in room 412, it hasn’t been in use since but obviously would have been cleaned although the housekeeping staff would have reported if they had found anything suspicious. The address he gave us is an apartment at 1830 Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia,” she read out before handing the printout to Gibbs.
“Nothing has been reported by housekeeping but I can have all the security tapes exchanged and delivered to you within a couple of hours,” Melissa Wentworth offered.
“That would be helpful. Here’s my card could you get them delivered to this address, I’ll let my forensic specialist know you’re sending them over.” He stopped to dig out his cell so Tony took up the conversation.
“Thank you for your help ladies, it’s very much appreciated. I’m sorry we’ve taken up so much of your time,” Tony winced as he realized that it was past 02:00, no wonder he felt exhausted, he yawned again as Gibbs spoke quietly to the 24 hour dispatch desk.
“You’re welcome. Please let us know if we can be of any further help.” Melissa smiled warmly as she walked them out. “Goodnight.”
“Come on, Tony, let’s go home.” Gibbs patted his sleepy agent on the back as they walked over to the truck.
“Haven’t we got to go to Philly,” Tony asked.
“Not going to get there by road, dispatch are trying to arrange a flight for us in the morning. In the meantime I suggest you get some sleep,” Gibbs recommended.
Tony nodded, yawning widely again, and by the time Gibbs had guided the truck onto I-395 his passenger was fast asleep.
Chapter Four