Fic: A Long December 5/8
Fandom: NCIS
Title: A Long December - Chapter Four
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.
It was 06:00 when Gibbs shook Tony awake the following morning. Tony had barely woken up when they’d arrived home and Gibbs had led him into the house and practically put him to bed.
“Up and at ‘em, DiNozzo. Car’s picking us up at 07:00, breakfast will be ready in twenty minutes.”
“It doesn’t feel like five minutes since I went to bed. Come to think of it I don’t even remember getting into bed.” He looked up at Gibbs suspiciously, groaning as he saw Gibbs’ grin. “Okay, getting up now.” He stretched and pushed the covers back pulling a face at Gibbs’ back as the older man left the room with a chuckle.
They had breakfast quickly and were ready and waiting by the time the car picked them up at 07:00, although surprised to see that their driver was Sam Mitchell.
“Hey Mitch, you moonlighting as a cabbie now?” Tony asked with a grin.
“I was called in to do those background searches Gibbs asked for on Tucker so I thought the easiest thing to do would be to offer to drive you both to Quantico, then I could bring the information and warrants with me and fill you in at the same time,” Mitch replied with a grin, handing Tony a thin file. “I’ve got you an arrest warrant and a search warrant for the apartment too just in case.”
“Good thinking, Mitch. What have you found?”
“William Tucker is his real name. He’s the son of Reginald Tucker who’s the semi-retired owner and managing director of Tucker Thompson Enterprises, an import/export business. William is listed as the senior sales manager. The apartment at Rittenhouse Square is registered to Reginald Tucker but he actually lives in the suburbs of Philly, has an estate on Chestnut Hill, an old stone Norman mansion built in 1927 set in 4.94 acres with pool, tennis court and a three bedroom guest cottage - nice place, this guy is loaded.” Mitch recited from memory as he headed for Quantico where a chopper had been arranged to fly them to the Philadelphia Naval Complex.
“Reginald Tucker is 68 and has been married and divorced four times. William is 30 and is the youngest of five sons, he also has three daughters. All of the sons are directors of Tucker Thompson. That’s the straightforward information,” Mitch advised them. “William also has some business ventures of his own under the company name of WLT Holdings, which include several restaurants and clubs including Maxims which is...”
“A fairly exclusive BDSM club catering to the gay market,” Tony interrupted. “I’m familiar with it. I was at Philly PD for eighteen months before Baltimore.” He explained for Mitch’s benefit.
“Then you may know that the club was in trouble a few years back,” Mitch started.
“Yeah, I know. I was part of the undercover operation. They were dealing drugs and teenage boys of the street, training them up as subs to sell on. It wasn’t pretty.” He concluded quietly.
Mitch caught Gibbs eye and the senior agent shook his head, warning him not to go there. Mitch nodded back in understanding before changing the subject, they were almost at the end of their journey.
“Well, your chopper should be waiting for you. It’ll drop you at the Philadelphia Naval Complex and I’ve arranged for a car to be waiting for you. As long as the weather doesn’t deteriorate too badly the chopper will be waiting to bring you back when you’re ready. Luckily it’s a clear day after all the snow last night otherwise they wouldn’t be flying at all, it was pretty thick at one point during the early hours.”
“Yeah, I know, we were out in it,” Gibbs reminded him.
“Okay, so here you go. I’m going back to the Yard. Give me a call if you need anything further. Oh and Abby had just arrived as I was leaving so she’s going through the security tapes as we speak so you’ll probably hear from her by the time you get to Philly.” Mitch pulled to a stop as a Marine appeared to meet them.
“Thanks for your help Mitch and for the ride, I’ll speak to you later.” Gibbs called back as he climbed out of the sedan. Mitch sketched a salute in return as he drove off and Gibbs and Tony turned to the waiting Marine.
“Morning Sirs, your bird’s just warming up. There’s fresh coffee in the office if you want to help yourselves.” He informed them.
“Thanks Corporal, we’ll do that.” Gibbs turned for the office with Tony trailing behind him.
“So is there anything else in that file that Mitch didn’t tell us?” Gibbs asked as they entered the office, knowing that Tony had been reading through the file as they drove.
“Not really, it just goes into more detail but I think he’s told us the important bits. Looks more and more like this was accidental, a scene gone wrong, maybe Paulson enjoyed breath play and Tucker wasn’t experienced or just went too far, ended up strangling him instead, then panicked and dumped the body. How did he get it out of the hotel room to his car though,” Tony questioned.
“I guess we’ll have to see what Abby pulls off the security tapes and what kind of luggage he had with him,” Gibbs replied, sipping his drink. “Do you need to use the head, chopper doesn’t have restrooms,” he reminded Tony with a grin.
Tony ducked his head before disappearing to use the facilities. He really did need to go and was a little embarrassed that Gibbs had needed to remind him as if he was a little kid. By the time he came out, the Marine was back to tell them that the chopper was ready.
The flight didn’t take long and, as Mitch had promised, a car was waiting for them at the other end and they were soon making their way into the centre of Philadelphia. While Gibbs was driving Tony quickly called Abby to see what progress she had made with the tapes before updating Gibbs.
“She’s finished the tape from the camera in the car park. Tucker obviously didn’t realize that his car was in a direct line of sight,” Tony explained. “It shows him arriving with just a suit bag and one of those large wheeled duffel bags which he lifted out of the trunk quite easily. However, when he left he really struggled to get the duffle back into the trunk and the suit bag looked like it was stuffed full of not just a suit. Boss, those bags are pretty big, if he curled Paulson up before rigor set in he could easily have got him in there, Paulson was only five eight and slightly built,” Tony mused. “She’s still going over the other cameras but has confirmed that Tucker and Paulson did walk through reception at twenty past midnight. She still going through the others. Looks pretty conclusive though,” he finished with a rueful grin.
“Yeah it does. Still we need to see what Tucker has to say. Never assume.” Gibbs replied as he pulled up to the junction only to discover he couldn’t take a left turn where he wanted to.
Tony fell quiet as Gibbs grumbled about the one way streets but it didn’t take long to find the correct address, luckily there was room to park on the street outside the impressive apartment complex. Getting past the security guard on the door was a little harder but they were soon past that hurdle and were escorted up in the elevator to the Tucker apartment on the sixth floor.
“Good afternoon gentlemen, I’m Pearson how may I be of assistance to you.” Gibbs wasn’t entirely surprised when they were greeted as they exited the elevator, the security guard on the ground floor had obviously alerted someone in the apartment to the impending visitors. From the cultured English accent and mannerisms Gibbs guessed the man was a butler.
“Good afternoon, Pearson.” Tony stepped forward and Gibbs allowed him to lead. From what he knew of his agent’s background Tony would be well used to dealing with someone of Pearson’s standing. “I’m Agent DiNozzo and this is Agent Gibbs, we’re with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and would like to speak to William Tucker about an incident which took place in Washington on Friday night. We do have a warrant to search and enter these premises.”
Pearson looked critically at both men and Gibbs realized immediately that Tony knew exactly what he was doing when he dressed that morning. The expensive suit and tie and soft Italian shoes spoke of quality, the type of quality that spoke volumes to a man such as Pearson.
“Please come into the apartment, Mr Tucker has already left for work but I can direct you to his office or contact him if you wish.”
“Thank you Pearson, although you may be able to assist us,” Tony looked questioningly at Gibbs who guessed where the young man was leading and nodded briefly. “Would you mind if we ask you a few questions?”
“Are you going to explain why?” the elderly man asked, leading them into a well appointed reception room where they all took a seat.
“How long have you worked for William Tucker,” Tony took out his notebook and flipped it to a fresh page.
“I don’t. I work for his father Reginald Tucker and have done so for forty years,” he sighed and Gibbs could see him visibly opening up. “Mr Reginald has long been concerned about his youngest son’s ‘activities’. He allows him to live here as he prefers to reside on his estate in Chestnut Hill. My wife and I stay here with Mr William, ostensibly to look after him and the apartment but also to keep an eye on Mr William for Mr Reginald,” he explained. “I do not approve of Mr William’s activities but Mr Reginald pays well, he was convinced that his son would get into trouble, serious trouble, one day. What has he done?” He looked between the two agents, a look of sorrow on his face.
“William Tucker was seen meeting his man, 23 year old Petty Officer Vincent Paulson, at 23:50 on Friday night, they walked back to where Tucker was staying at The Fairfax and were seen entering the hotel at 00:20 Friday morning, Paulson wasn’t seen to leave but Tucker left in a hurry at 03:00 and his luggage appears to have been a lot heavier than when he arrived. Paulson’s body was found at 06:00 Friday morning in an alley off P Street about five minutes away, the time of death was 02:00. The cause of death was strangulation, although Paulson had been restrained by both wrists and ankles and had been whipped pretty well prior to his death.”
Pearson dropped his head with a sigh.
“When Mr William returned he seemed a little flustered. We hadn’t been expecting him back yesterday so were surprised to see him. Vincent was an old friend of Mr William’s, despite the age difference. His parents work for Mr Reginald, in fact that’s how they met, and the boys have been friends since Vincent was very small. Mr William had been looking forward to seeing him again, he was proud of him when he joined the Navy and they always tried to get together whenever he had leave.” He rose to his feet. “If you’ll come with me gentlemen.” He didn’t say any more but turned and left the room. Tony looked at Gibbs startled but Gibbs just shrugged his shoulders as he followed Pearson out of the room.
“This is Mr William’s ‘playroom’, it was originally a music room and is soundproofed,” he informed them as he opened the door.
As they stepped into the room Tony shuddered and Gibbs moved slightly closer to the younger man, guessing at the memories that the equipment brought back. A sturdy wooden cross stood over near the far wall, a spanking bench beside it. Hooks were fitted in various places in the walls and various whips and floggers were displayed on another wall between the two large windows. Pearson walked over to the wall pointing out, but not touching, one of the whips.
“Mr William took this whip with him when he went to Washington, along with two pairs of leather cuffs and some other toys so you may wish to take this as evidence. I do not handle any of Mr William’s equipment or toys so you should only find his prints on it, although if the whipping was a harsh one you may find Vincent’s blood on it,” he suggested.
Tony snapped on his gloves and removed the whip gingerly. “Do you know which cuffs he took?” He asked turning back to Pearson.
“I’m not sure but whatever he took should be in this chest. So you may wish to take the chest.” He pointed to a wooden chest in another corner of the room where a couch and chaise longue also sat.
“Thank you, Pearson. You’re being very helpful.” Gibbs phrased it almost as a question and Pearson didn’t miss the implications.
“My loyalty is to Mr Reginald. I do not particularly like or approve of Mr William’s lifestyle, my wife and I only stay on Mr Reginald’s behalf, he was always sure that his son would go too far one day and I do not believe in covering up a crime, Agent Gibbs. If Mr William has killed Vincent then justice needs to be done. Vincent was a kind lad, easily led, he looked up to Mr William. We were all pleased when he joined the Navy as we thought it would get him away from Mr William’s influence. Unfortunately, it was not to be.” He shook his head sadly. “Was there anything else you needed to see, if not would you like to come through to our suite for some refreshment?”
“There is one more thing. The wheeled duffle that Tucker took with him to DC, may we see that,” Tony asked.
Pearson’s eyes grew wide. “You think that’s how he removed Vincent’s body from the hotel.” It wasn’t a question, that much was obvious from realization which dawned in his eyes. “Please come with me, I unpacked it when Mr William returned, his clothes were all screwed up, as if they had been stuffed in rather than carefully packed as he would usually do.”
He led them along a short corridor and into another room, obviously used for storage. The duffle, along with matching suitcases and a smaller matching duffle, sat along one wall. As he still had gloves on, Tony lifted the duffle flat and opened it, looking closely at the zipper and pockets inside.
“Have you got evidence bags, Boss?” Tony was studying the bottom section of the zip carefully and when Gibbs held out an evidence bag he plucked off a couple of hairs and dropped them into the bag. “It’s fair, same as Paulson, looks like it got trapped in the zip when he did it up. We’ll need to take the duffle with us as well,” he informed Pearson. “Have you got a large trash bag?”
“Of course Sir, one moment and I’ll fetch one.” He turned and left the room, leaving Tony and Gibbs staring at each other.
“Good thinking, Tony. Well done.” Gibbs murmured as they heard Pearson returning.
“Here you are, Sir.” He handed two sacks to Tony who placed the whip inside the duffle and then slipped one sack over the top and one from the bottom, luckily they were generous sized sacks and by using both of them he managed to cover the duffle completely.
“Thanks Pearson. Did you mention coffee?” Gibbs asked finally.
An hour later, fully caffeinated, they pulled into the parking garage for Tucker Thompson Enterprises. Pearson, it turned out, also acted as William Tucker’s chauffeur for business meetings and the like and had access to not only the parking garage but the offices as well. With him as their escort Gibbs and Tony very quickly found themselves in William Tucker’s outer office facing a very intimidated looking young security guard.
“Mr Tucker is on his own but he is on the telephone to a client in Japan, you can’t interrupt him,” he said nervously to Gibbs who was giving him his best glare.
“Well if you let us know as soon as he comes off the phone we’ll speak to him then,” Gibbs said slowly. “Can you do that?”
“Yes, Sir, I can,” he replied with relief.
Pearson waited patiently by the door and Gibbs stood and stared at the phone. Tony wandered around the office, projecting a relaxed casualness that Gibbs knew he was not feeling. After about ten minutes Gibbs was starting to look as if his patience was beginning to run out, fortunately a couple of minutes later the guard announced that Tucker had finished his telephone call.
Putting a hand up to stop Pearson from entering the inner office Gibbs opened the door and stormed in, Tony close on his heels with his hand resting on his gun.
“William Tucker, you’re under arrest for the murder of Vincent Paulson. DiNozzo read him his rights,” Gibbs finished as Tony cuffed Tucker.
“Hey you can’t just barge in here and arrest me, what the hell are you talking about, I haven’t killed anyone. I want my lawyer here now,” he demanded.
“You’re coming back with us to Washington. Your lawyer can meet you there.” Gibbs informed him as they walked out.
Tony led Tucker out and waited by the elevator as Gibbs spoke briefly to Pearson, leaving his card so he could contact Tucker’s lawyer and thanking him again for his help.
They quickly left the building and were soon on their way back to the Philadelphia Naval Complex, with Tucker complaining the whole way.
The trip back to Washington was uneventful, if you didn’t count Gibbs threatening to gag Tucker, and they arrived back at the Navy Yard at around 16:00. Gibbs called ahead and Pacci and Bennett met them in the evidence garage and took Tucker up to stew in an interrogation room while Gibbs and Tony unloaded the evidence and took it up to Abby for analysis.
“Hi, Abs. What else did you find on the security tapes?” Gibbs shouted as they entered the lab.
Abby quickly turned down the volume. “Hey Gibbs, Tony. I’ve been through all the tapes Tucker arrived on Thursday at 21:00 with his suit bag and the duffle which at this point looks pretty lightweight. Here,” she cued the clip and let it run. “Then we see him, with his luggage, checking in a few minutes later. The security camera on the fourth floor then picks him up as he exits the elevator and walk down to his room. He doesn’t appear again on the camera until 11:00 the next morning.”
“That ties in with the bill we got from the hotel, he checked in at 21:05, ordered room service at 22:00 and again at 09:30 the following morning, so he didn’t come out for either of those meals.” Tony looked up and back at Abby, who nodded at him.
“Right, so we see him again at 11:00 when the camera by the elevator picks him up, then the one in the lobby and he goes out of the front door this time. He comes back in at 18:00 and goes out again at 22:30.”
“He ordered room service again at 20:30, obviously keeps himself to himself,” Tony observed.
“Okay, so the next time we see him is at 00:20 when he comes in the front entrance with Paulson, we see them come out of the elevator on the fourth floor and down to Tucker’s room. We next see Tucker coming out of the room at 02:45 with the duffle and the heavily packed suit bag, you can clearly see that he’s got an awful lot stuffed in there and he’s struggling with the duffle, even though it’s on wheels. He’s also looking pretty anxious. He then appears five minutes later in the parking garage, so he must have taken the elevator straight down to the basement to load his car. He then returns to the room and ten minutes later appears again by the fourth floor elevator and goes down to reception to checkout.” She turned to them triumphantly.
“Yes, he checked out at 03:05 exactly.” Tony agreed.
“I’ve been through all the tapes Gibbs, they go way past the 06:00 when the body was found and Paulson does not exit the hotel, the only way he could have left is either by jumping out of the window or in that duffle.” She finished with a pleased smile. “And is that what you have for me there?” She pointed towards the large, trash sack covered object.
“It is, along with a whip which Tucker’s butler confirmed he had with him and a couple of hairs which I found caught in the zip.” Tony told her.
“Let me have them. I take it you’ve brought Tucker back with you?” She asked.
“Yeah, so you’ll have prints and DNA soon, Pacci and Bennett are seeing to that now.” Gibbs replied.
“Already done, Abby. Dan Bennett walked in just at that moment with the samples.
“Okay, out everyone and let me get to work.”
They left the lab, grinning at her enthusiasm.
“Tucker give you any trouble Dan?” Tony asked.
“No, wasn’t overly keen at giving up his DNA but Chris pretended to be puzzled and asked him why he wasn’t keen to give up his DNA when he was insistent of his innocence as that would be the easiest way to clear him. He didn’t have an answer to that.” Bennett replied with a laugh.
“Is his lawyer here yet?” Gibbs exited the elevator and turned towards his desk.
“He wasn’t when I came down, but then he probably hasn’t got access to a chopper.” Bennett replied with a grin.
“That’s true.” Gibbs sat at his desk and pulled out a notepad. “Okay, I think we’d got everything now, is there anything that doesn’t add up?”
“I don’t think so, Boss. I think everything ties up nicely, it all makes sense anyway. The timings are all right and the evidence all seems to back up and confirm everything we’ve been told.” Tony replied as Gibbs’ phone rang.
Tony filled Dan in on their findings in Philadelphia while Gibbs spoke on the phone for a few minutes before replacing the receiver with a crash.
“Tucker’s lawyer’s skidded off the road just north of Baltimore, he’s not going to get here until the morning. We’ll have to hold him overnight. Bennett, let Pacci know and take him to a holding cell. DiNozzo, go down and see if Abby’s got any results for us yet.
“On it, Boss.” Both younger men quickly disappeared and Gibbs was left alone in the solitude of the bullpen.
By the time Tony returned Pacci and Bennett had left and Gibbs was just finishing up.
“Hey, Boss, DNA matches are complete. The whip was definitely used on Paulson and Tucker did have sex with him prior to his death and the hair caught in zipper of the duffle was Paulson’s. Tucker doesn’t have a leg to stand on,” he reported, yawning widely.
“Shame we have to wait for his lawyer, we could have wrapped the case up tonight,” Gibbs remarked. “Come on, there’s nothing more we can do until the morning. Let’s go home.”
They picked up takeout on the way home, both men too tired with the few hours’ sleep they’d managed the previous night to want to bother preparing something once they got home. Tony was quiet and reflective while they ate and Gibbs didn’t push him, knowing his young companion would talk when he was ready and Gibbs wandered down to the basement after cleaning knowing that Tony would follow when he was ready to talk.
Chapter Five
Title: A Long December - Chapter Four
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.
It was 06:00 when Gibbs shook Tony awake the following morning. Tony had barely woken up when they’d arrived home and Gibbs had led him into the house and practically put him to bed.
“Up and at ‘em, DiNozzo. Car’s picking us up at 07:00, breakfast will be ready in twenty minutes.”
“It doesn’t feel like five minutes since I went to bed. Come to think of it I don’t even remember getting into bed.” He looked up at Gibbs suspiciously, groaning as he saw Gibbs’ grin. “Okay, getting up now.” He stretched and pushed the covers back pulling a face at Gibbs’ back as the older man left the room with a chuckle.
They had breakfast quickly and were ready and waiting by the time the car picked them up at 07:00, although surprised to see that their driver was Sam Mitchell.
“Hey Mitch, you moonlighting as a cabbie now?” Tony asked with a grin.
“I was called in to do those background searches Gibbs asked for on Tucker so I thought the easiest thing to do would be to offer to drive you both to Quantico, then I could bring the information and warrants with me and fill you in at the same time,” Mitch replied with a grin, handing Tony a thin file. “I’ve got you an arrest warrant and a search warrant for the apartment too just in case.”
“Good thinking, Mitch. What have you found?”
“William Tucker is his real name. He’s the son of Reginald Tucker who’s the semi-retired owner and managing director of Tucker Thompson Enterprises, an import/export business. William is listed as the senior sales manager. The apartment at Rittenhouse Square is registered to Reginald Tucker but he actually lives in the suburbs of Philly, has an estate on Chestnut Hill, an old stone Norman mansion built in 1927 set in 4.94 acres with pool, tennis court and a three bedroom guest cottage - nice place, this guy is loaded.” Mitch recited from memory as he headed for Quantico where a chopper had been arranged to fly them to the Philadelphia Naval Complex.
“Reginald Tucker is 68 and has been married and divorced four times. William is 30 and is the youngest of five sons, he also has three daughters. All of the sons are directors of Tucker Thompson. That’s the straightforward information,” Mitch advised them. “William also has some business ventures of his own under the company name of WLT Holdings, which include several restaurants and clubs including Maxims which is...”
“A fairly exclusive BDSM club catering to the gay market,” Tony interrupted. “I’m familiar with it. I was at Philly PD for eighteen months before Baltimore.” He explained for Mitch’s benefit.
“Then you may know that the club was in trouble a few years back,” Mitch started.
“Yeah, I know. I was part of the undercover operation. They were dealing drugs and teenage boys of the street, training them up as subs to sell on. It wasn’t pretty.” He concluded quietly.
Mitch caught Gibbs eye and the senior agent shook his head, warning him not to go there. Mitch nodded back in understanding before changing the subject, they were almost at the end of their journey.
“Well, your chopper should be waiting for you. It’ll drop you at the Philadelphia Naval Complex and I’ve arranged for a car to be waiting for you. As long as the weather doesn’t deteriorate too badly the chopper will be waiting to bring you back when you’re ready. Luckily it’s a clear day after all the snow last night otherwise they wouldn’t be flying at all, it was pretty thick at one point during the early hours.”
“Yeah, I know, we were out in it,” Gibbs reminded him.
“Okay, so here you go. I’m going back to the Yard. Give me a call if you need anything further. Oh and Abby had just arrived as I was leaving so she’s going through the security tapes as we speak so you’ll probably hear from her by the time you get to Philly.” Mitch pulled to a stop as a Marine appeared to meet them.
“Thanks for your help Mitch and for the ride, I’ll speak to you later.” Gibbs called back as he climbed out of the sedan. Mitch sketched a salute in return as he drove off and Gibbs and Tony turned to the waiting Marine.
“Morning Sirs, your bird’s just warming up. There’s fresh coffee in the office if you want to help yourselves.” He informed them.
“Thanks Corporal, we’ll do that.” Gibbs turned for the office with Tony trailing behind him.
“So is there anything else in that file that Mitch didn’t tell us?” Gibbs asked as they entered the office, knowing that Tony had been reading through the file as they drove.
“Not really, it just goes into more detail but I think he’s told us the important bits. Looks more and more like this was accidental, a scene gone wrong, maybe Paulson enjoyed breath play and Tucker wasn’t experienced or just went too far, ended up strangling him instead, then panicked and dumped the body. How did he get it out of the hotel room to his car though,” Tony questioned.
“I guess we’ll have to see what Abby pulls off the security tapes and what kind of luggage he had with him,” Gibbs replied, sipping his drink. “Do you need to use the head, chopper doesn’t have restrooms,” he reminded Tony with a grin.
Tony ducked his head before disappearing to use the facilities. He really did need to go and was a little embarrassed that Gibbs had needed to remind him as if he was a little kid. By the time he came out, the Marine was back to tell them that the chopper was ready.
The flight didn’t take long and, as Mitch had promised, a car was waiting for them at the other end and they were soon making their way into the centre of Philadelphia. While Gibbs was driving Tony quickly called Abby to see what progress she had made with the tapes before updating Gibbs.
“She’s finished the tape from the camera in the car park. Tucker obviously didn’t realize that his car was in a direct line of sight,” Tony explained. “It shows him arriving with just a suit bag and one of those large wheeled duffel bags which he lifted out of the trunk quite easily. However, when he left he really struggled to get the duffle back into the trunk and the suit bag looked like it was stuffed full of not just a suit. Boss, those bags are pretty big, if he curled Paulson up before rigor set in he could easily have got him in there, Paulson was only five eight and slightly built,” Tony mused. “She’s still going over the other cameras but has confirmed that Tucker and Paulson did walk through reception at twenty past midnight. She still going through the others. Looks pretty conclusive though,” he finished with a rueful grin.
“Yeah it does. Still we need to see what Tucker has to say. Never assume.” Gibbs replied as he pulled up to the junction only to discover he couldn’t take a left turn where he wanted to.
Tony fell quiet as Gibbs grumbled about the one way streets but it didn’t take long to find the correct address, luckily there was room to park on the street outside the impressive apartment complex. Getting past the security guard on the door was a little harder but they were soon past that hurdle and were escorted up in the elevator to the Tucker apartment on the sixth floor.
“Good afternoon gentlemen, I’m Pearson how may I be of assistance to you.” Gibbs wasn’t entirely surprised when they were greeted as they exited the elevator, the security guard on the ground floor had obviously alerted someone in the apartment to the impending visitors. From the cultured English accent and mannerisms Gibbs guessed the man was a butler.
“Good afternoon, Pearson.” Tony stepped forward and Gibbs allowed him to lead. From what he knew of his agent’s background Tony would be well used to dealing with someone of Pearson’s standing. “I’m Agent DiNozzo and this is Agent Gibbs, we’re with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and would like to speak to William Tucker about an incident which took place in Washington on Friday night. We do have a warrant to search and enter these premises.”
Pearson looked critically at both men and Gibbs realized immediately that Tony knew exactly what he was doing when he dressed that morning. The expensive suit and tie and soft Italian shoes spoke of quality, the type of quality that spoke volumes to a man such as Pearson.
“Please come into the apartment, Mr Tucker has already left for work but I can direct you to his office or contact him if you wish.”
“Thank you Pearson, although you may be able to assist us,” Tony looked questioningly at Gibbs who guessed where the young man was leading and nodded briefly. “Would you mind if we ask you a few questions?”
“Are you going to explain why?” the elderly man asked, leading them into a well appointed reception room where they all took a seat.
“How long have you worked for William Tucker,” Tony took out his notebook and flipped it to a fresh page.
“I don’t. I work for his father Reginald Tucker and have done so for forty years,” he sighed and Gibbs could see him visibly opening up. “Mr Reginald has long been concerned about his youngest son’s ‘activities’. He allows him to live here as he prefers to reside on his estate in Chestnut Hill. My wife and I stay here with Mr William, ostensibly to look after him and the apartment but also to keep an eye on Mr William for Mr Reginald,” he explained. “I do not approve of Mr William’s activities but Mr Reginald pays well, he was convinced that his son would get into trouble, serious trouble, one day. What has he done?” He looked between the two agents, a look of sorrow on his face.
“William Tucker was seen meeting his man, 23 year old Petty Officer Vincent Paulson, at 23:50 on Friday night, they walked back to where Tucker was staying at The Fairfax and were seen entering the hotel at 00:20 Friday morning, Paulson wasn’t seen to leave but Tucker left in a hurry at 03:00 and his luggage appears to have been a lot heavier than when he arrived. Paulson’s body was found at 06:00 Friday morning in an alley off P Street about five minutes away, the time of death was 02:00. The cause of death was strangulation, although Paulson had been restrained by both wrists and ankles and had been whipped pretty well prior to his death.”
Pearson dropped his head with a sigh.
“When Mr William returned he seemed a little flustered. We hadn’t been expecting him back yesterday so were surprised to see him. Vincent was an old friend of Mr William’s, despite the age difference. His parents work for Mr Reginald, in fact that’s how they met, and the boys have been friends since Vincent was very small. Mr William had been looking forward to seeing him again, he was proud of him when he joined the Navy and they always tried to get together whenever he had leave.” He rose to his feet. “If you’ll come with me gentlemen.” He didn’t say any more but turned and left the room. Tony looked at Gibbs startled but Gibbs just shrugged his shoulders as he followed Pearson out of the room.
“This is Mr William’s ‘playroom’, it was originally a music room and is soundproofed,” he informed them as he opened the door.
As they stepped into the room Tony shuddered and Gibbs moved slightly closer to the younger man, guessing at the memories that the equipment brought back. A sturdy wooden cross stood over near the far wall, a spanking bench beside it. Hooks were fitted in various places in the walls and various whips and floggers were displayed on another wall between the two large windows. Pearson walked over to the wall pointing out, but not touching, one of the whips.
“Mr William took this whip with him when he went to Washington, along with two pairs of leather cuffs and some other toys so you may wish to take this as evidence. I do not handle any of Mr William’s equipment or toys so you should only find his prints on it, although if the whipping was a harsh one you may find Vincent’s blood on it,” he suggested.
Tony snapped on his gloves and removed the whip gingerly. “Do you know which cuffs he took?” He asked turning back to Pearson.
“I’m not sure but whatever he took should be in this chest. So you may wish to take the chest.” He pointed to a wooden chest in another corner of the room where a couch and chaise longue also sat.
“Thank you, Pearson. You’re being very helpful.” Gibbs phrased it almost as a question and Pearson didn’t miss the implications.
“My loyalty is to Mr Reginald. I do not particularly like or approve of Mr William’s lifestyle, my wife and I only stay on Mr Reginald’s behalf, he was always sure that his son would go too far one day and I do not believe in covering up a crime, Agent Gibbs. If Mr William has killed Vincent then justice needs to be done. Vincent was a kind lad, easily led, he looked up to Mr William. We were all pleased when he joined the Navy as we thought it would get him away from Mr William’s influence. Unfortunately, it was not to be.” He shook his head sadly. “Was there anything else you needed to see, if not would you like to come through to our suite for some refreshment?”
“There is one more thing. The wheeled duffle that Tucker took with him to DC, may we see that,” Tony asked.
Pearson’s eyes grew wide. “You think that’s how he removed Vincent’s body from the hotel.” It wasn’t a question, that much was obvious from realization which dawned in his eyes. “Please come with me, I unpacked it when Mr William returned, his clothes were all screwed up, as if they had been stuffed in rather than carefully packed as he would usually do.”
He led them along a short corridor and into another room, obviously used for storage. The duffle, along with matching suitcases and a smaller matching duffle, sat along one wall. As he still had gloves on, Tony lifted the duffle flat and opened it, looking closely at the zipper and pockets inside.
“Have you got evidence bags, Boss?” Tony was studying the bottom section of the zip carefully and when Gibbs held out an evidence bag he plucked off a couple of hairs and dropped them into the bag. “It’s fair, same as Paulson, looks like it got trapped in the zip when he did it up. We’ll need to take the duffle with us as well,” he informed Pearson. “Have you got a large trash bag?”
“Of course Sir, one moment and I’ll fetch one.” He turned and left the room, leaving Tony and Gibbs staring at each other.
“Good thinking, Tony. Well done.” Gibbs murmured as they heard Pearson returning.
“Here you are, Sir.” He handed two sacks to Tony who placed the whip inside the duffle and then slipped one sack over the top and one from the bottom, luckily they were generous sized sacks and by using both of them he managed to cover the duffle completely.
“Thanks Pearson. Did you mention coffee?” Gibbs asked finally.
An hour later, fully caffeinated, they pulled into the parking garage for Tucker Thompson Enterprises. Pearson, it turned out, also acted as William Tucker’s chauffeur for business meetings and the like and had access to not only the parking garage but the offices as well. With him as their escort Gibbs and Tony very quickly found themselves in William Tucker’s outer office facing a very intimidated looking young security guard.
“Mr Tucker is on his own but he is on the telephone to a client in Japan, you can’t interrupt him,” he said nervously to Gibbs who was giving him his best glare.
“Well if you let us know as soon as he comes off the phone we’ll speak to him then,” Gibbs said slowly. “Can you do that?”
“Yes, Sir, I can,” he replied with relief.
Pearson waited patiently by the door and Gibbs stood and stared at the phone. Tony wandered around the office, projecting a relaxed casualness that Gibbs knew he was not feeling. After about ten minutes Gibbs was starting to look as if his patience was beginning to run out, fortunately a couple of minutes later the guard announced that Tucker had finished his telephone call.
Putting a hand up to stop Pearson from entering the inner office Gibbs opened the door and stormed in, Tony close on his heels with his hand resting on his gun.
“William Tucker, you’re under arrest for the murder of Vincent Paulson. DiNozzo read him his rights,” Gibbs finished as Tony cuffed Tucker.
“Hey you can’t just barge in here and arrest me, what the hell are you talking about, I haven’t killed anyone. I want my lawyer here now,” he demanded.
“You’re coming back with us to Washington. Your lawyer can meet you there.” Gibbs informed him as they walked out.
Tony led Tucker out and waited by the elevator as Gibbs spoke briefly to Pearson, leaving his card so he could contact Tucker’s lawyer and thanking him again for his help.
They quickly left the building and were soon on their way back to the Philadelphia Naval Complex, with Tucker complaining the whole way.
The trip back to Washington was uneventful, if you didn’t count Gibbs threatening to gag Tucker, and they arrived back at the Navy Yard at around 16:00. Gibbs called ahead and Pacci and Bennett met them in the evidence garage and took Tucker up to stew in an interrogation room while Gibbs and Tony unloaded the evidence and took it up to Abby for analysis.
“Hi, Abs. What else did you find on the security tapes?” Gibbs shouted as they entered the lab.
Abby quickly turned down the volume. “Hey Gibbs, Tony. I’ve been through all the tapes Tucker arrived on Thursday at 21:00 with his suit bag and the duffle which at this point looks pretty lightweight. Here,” she cued the clip and let it run. “Then we see him, with his luggage, checking in a few minutes later. The security camera on the fourth floor then picks him up as he exits the elevator and walk down to his room. He doesn’t appear again on the camera until 11:00 the next morning.”
“That ties in with the bill we got from the hotel, he checked in at 21:05, ordered room service at 22:00 and again at 09:30 the following morning, so he didn’t come out for either of those meals.” Tony looked up and back at Abby, who nodded at him.
“Right, so we see him again at 11:00 when the camera by the elevator picks him up, then the one in the lobby and he goes out of the front door this time. He comes back in at 18:00 and goes out again at 22:30.”
“He ordered room service again at 20:30, obviously keeps himself to himself,” Tony observed.
“Okay, so the next time we see him is at 00:20 when he comes in the front entrance with Paulson, we see them come out of the elevator on the fourth floor and down to Tucker’s room. We next see Tucker coming out of the room at 02:45 with the duffle and the heavily packed suit bag, you can clearly see that he’s got an awful lot stuffed in there and he’s struggling with the duffle, even though it’s on wheels. He’s also looking pretty anxious. He then appears five minutes later in the parking garage, so he must have taken the elevator straight down to the basement to load his car. He then returns to the room and ten minutes later appears again by the fourth floor elevator and goes down to reception to checkout.” She turned to them triumphantly.
“Yes, he checked out at 03:05 exactly.” Tony agreed.
“I’ve been through all the tapes Gibbs, they go way past the 06:00 when the body was found and Paulson does not exit the hotel, the only way he could have left is either by jumping out of the window or in that duffle.” She finished with a pleased smile. “And is that what you have for me there?” She pointed towards the large, trash sack covered object.
“It is, along with a whip which Tucker’s butler confirmed he had with him and a couple of hairs which I found caught in the zip.” Tony told her.
“Let me have them. I take it you’ve brought Tucker back with you?” She asked.
“Yeah, so you’ll have prints and DNA soon, Pacci and Bennett are seeing to that now.” Gibbs replied.
“Already done, Abby. Dan Bennett walked in just at that moment with the samples.
“Okay, out everyone and let me get to work.”
They left the lab, grinning at her enthusiasm.
“Tucker give you any trouble Dan?” Tony asked.
“No, wasn’t overly keen at giving up his DNA but Chris pretended to be puzzled and asked him why he wasn’t keen to give up his DNA when he was insistent of his innocence as that would be the easiest way to clear him. He didn’t have an answer to that.” Bennett replied with a laugh.
“Is his lawyer here yet?” Gibbs exited the elevator and turned towards his desk.
“He wasn’t when I came down, but then he probably hasn’t got access to a chopper.” Bennett replied with a grin.
“That’s true.” Gibbs sat at his desk and pulled out a notepad. “Okay, I think we’d got everything now, is there anything that doesn’t add up?”
“I don’t think so, Boss. I think everything ties up nicely, it all makes sense anyway. The timings are all right and the evidence all seems to back up and confirm everything we’ve been told.” Tony replied as Gibbs’ phone rang.
Tony filled Dan in on their findings in Philadelphia while Gibbs spoke on the phone for a few minutes before replacing the receiver with a crash.
“Tucker’s lawyer’s skidded off the road just north of Baltimore, he’s not going to get here until the morning. We’ll have to hold him overnight. Bennett, let Pacci know and take him to a holding cell. DiNozzo, go down and see if Abby’s got any results for us yet.
“On it, Boss.” Both younger men quickly disappeared and Gibbs was left alone in the solitude of the bullpen.
By the time Tony returned Pacci and Bennett had left and Gibbs was just finishing up.
“Hey, Boss, DNA matches are complete. The whip was definitely used on Paulson and Tucker did have sex with him prior to his death and the hair caught in zipper of the duffle was Paulson’s. Tucker doesn’t have a leg to stand on,” he reported, yawning widely.
“Shame we have to wait for his lawyer, we could have wrapped the case up tonight,” Gibbs remarked. “Come on, there’s nothing more we can do until the morning. Let’s go home.”
They picked up takeout on the way home, both men too tired with the few hours’ sleep they’d managed the previous night to want to bother preparing something once they got home. Tony was quiet and reflective while they ate and Gibbs didn’t push him, knowing his young companion would talk when he was ready and Gibbs wandered down to the basement after cleaning knowing that Tony would follow when he was ready to talk.
Chapter Five