Fic: Figuring it Out (Ch 9)
Chapter Nine
Gibbs walked into the office at a brisk pace, coffee in hand, wearing worn jeans and an old NIS sweatshirt.
“What do we got?”
Tim looked up from his computer screen and quickly stood, making his way over to the older man. Tony stayed at his desk, talking to someone on the phone but held up his hand to tell Tim to start without him.
Gibbs looked at Tim expectantly.
“I’m assuming Tony told you what we found out about the Barker/Matthews case.”
“That’s why I’m here, McGee.” Gibbs said as he glared at Tim to continue.
“Of course. I was able to contact Plaket, Inc. and they were more than willing to cooperate. We got lucky on their employment records. They had someone working for them through a high school internship program that manually inputted all of their paper files to their system. Which you couldn’t care less about.”
“You think?”
“Right. Short version. Barker worked for them for just over five years and although he did deliveries in a lot of areas, he was their main go-to guy for deliveries out to DC. He logged more hours for DC deliveries than any of their other workers combined.”
“What about the day Laura Taylor was murdered?”
“Barker and Moss drove a shipment to DC that day. It was a heavy load of appliances, so they required two people. According to their logs they didn’t return the truck until the next day.”
“Something else you want to tell me?”
“Gibbs, Moss quit the job the morning they returned the truck.”
“But Barker stayed on.”
“Yes, sir. He was fired a year later for stealing merchandise off of a couple of their trucks.”
Tony approached the two men after he got off the phone.
“I just spoke with Susan Moss’ mom. I asked her if she remembered anything about the jewelry that was stolen the day her daughter was killed. She could only tell me details about her wedding ring.”
Gibbs’ face tightened, but he nodded his head for Tony to continue.
“It was a platinum band, no adornments or stones on it. But, boss, there was an inscription on the inside, in Latin…”
“Semper Fi,” Gibbs said quietly.
Tony nodded. “Susan told her mom that the ring was Henry’s mother’s wedding ring and that his father was in the marines. I searched the database and there’s no Clayton Montgomery Moss listed as having ever been a marine.”
“Do I need to ask what Laura Taylor’s wedding ring looked like?”
Tony said nothing, knowing that Gibbs didn’t really expect an answer.
“Dammit,” Gibbs said angrily as he slammed his coffee cup into a nearby garbage can.
Tim and Tony looked at each other, slightly confused.
“I should have known.”
“Should have known what?” Tim asked tentatively.
“Peter Taylor came every week, like clockwork, to get updates. He did it for almost three years. Then he just stopped. I asked Martinez why. He said Peter was getting help and moving on with his life. He still wanted monthly updates, but he told Martinez he wouldn’t be coming by anymore.”
“You went to see him,” Tony stated.
He nodded. “He told me that it was time for him to move on. That Laura wouldn’t want him to keep doing what he was doing.”
“Did you believe him?”
“He seemed to have found his peace. Who was I to question that?”
Gibbs stared at the plasma screen with the information about Laura Taylor’s murder that Tim had put up earlier still displayed.
His face resolute, he made a decision and turned to his two team members. “Grab your gear. We’re going to go talk to Taylor.”
9-9-9-9-9-9-9
They arrived at a pretty house with a flagpole in the front yard, its flag set at half-mast. Pretty flowers lined the walkway, a reminder of the woman who had planted them many years ago. Peter Taylor still lived in the same house he had shared with Laura.
The three men stood on the front porch and waited for someone to answer their knock.
About a minute passed before the door opened to reveal a man in his early forties. He looked at the trio curiously until his gaze settled on the man standing in the center, a look of recognition crossing his face.
“Agent Gibbs. It’s been a while.”
“It has. How’ve you been?”
“Good. Better than good. It took a long time, but I’m happy again. What are you doing here?”
“Can we come in?”
He hesitated for only a moment before opening the door wider, granting them entrance. He directed them into the living room and followed in their wake.
Tony looked around discretely, noticing the framed photographs of a smiling Laura Taylor and a much younger Peter. There were some recent photos, but most of them were of the couple, including a portrait taken on their wedding day that held a place of honor above the mantle.
“She was a lovely bride,” Gibbs said quietly.
Peter looked at the picture, adoration clear on his face, as was the reverence in his voice as he said, “She was.”
He turned to Gibbs and said, “She was the love of my life. I’m sure you understand that.”
Gibbs said nothing as he took a seat, the two younger agents following suit.
Peter remained standing. “Can I offer you something to drink? I just have to go into the kitchen to turn off the stove. I was making dinner when I heard your knock.”
“No, we’re fine. We’ve come to talk about the case.”
“Just give me a second. I’ll be right back,” he replied, his voice fading as he walked away.
A moment later, the men heard the sound of a slamming door.
The three agents quickly got to their feet and drew out their weapons. Gibbs motioned for Tim to go up the stairs, Tony to go out the front door while he went through the house to the back door.
Gibbs cursed himself silently for allowing Taylor to leave the room. He approached the door and noted that the deadbolt was undone. He turned the knob and opened the door, sweeping the back porch with his eyes and gun.
“Taylor! We just want to talk. You’re making it harder for yourself.”
He continued to scan the area, making his way to the front of the house. He met Tony on the front lawn, both shaking their heads indicating that they had seen no sign of their suspect.
Suddenly, they heard yelling and the sounds of a fight from inside the house.
“McGee!” “Tim!” Both agents yelled as they ran back inside the house.
They stopped short as they saw the two other men coming down the stairs. Tim was in front, shielding Peter from the agents below, a gun held to his head, blood trickling down from his temple.
“Sorry, boss.”
“Not your fault, McGee. He’s a trained marine, remember?”
Tony stared at McGee’s too white face that made the contusions and marks from the fight more pronounced. Fear threatened to overwhelm him but he kept his gun steady and aimed at Taylor.
“Put your guns down and I want your hands where I can see them.”
“Not going to happen,” Gibbs replied.
“If you don’t, he’s a goner.”
“Laura wouldn’t want you to do this,” Gibbs said in an attempt to reason with the distraught marine.
“What do you know what Laura would have wanted? You didn’t know her.”
“I know something about her. I’ve read the file, talked to her friends and family. She was a good person.”
“She was. Those bastards killed her, took her away from me. They deserved what they got. Fuckers. That’s why you’re here, isn’t it. You finally figured it out.”
“Barker and Moss.”
“Figures. You couldn’t find Laura’s killer for fifteen years, but their killer, you find.”
“You withheld information from us.”
“I did your job, Agent Gibbs. You should have found out who was driving the truck, traced it like I did. Took me three years, but I figured it out. It took you fifteen.”
“It wasn’t my case, Taylor, you know that.”
“Doesn’t matter. I found them, made them pay.”
“How do you figure that?” Gibbs asked. “You didn’t even touch Henry.”
“I wanted him to suffer, the way I did. Watched and waited. After he got married, I knew it was only a matter of time before his whore got pregnant. Set him up at the bar and got out before the cops came. When he was in the tank, I killed her. Took back my wife’s wedding ring. Asshole gave it to that slut.”
Peter shifted his left hand to reveal the necklace he wore around his neck. Tony could see the ring that hung as a pendant.
“He knew. The fucker knew as soon as he found out what happened to her, he knew that it was me. He couldn’t even point the finger. Coward. He wouldn’t confess to his own crime to get justice for his wife. Bastard shot himself a year later. He couldn’t live with the guilt. I win.”
“Matthews and Barker?” Gibbs asked, stalling for time.
“No point in waiting for that faggot to procreate. As soon as I found out it was him, I went for it. Made him watch while I did to his lover what he did to my Laura. Then I let him have it. They deserved it. They all deserved it!” He took another step towards the landing, his hold on Tim tightening and he pressed the gun more firmly to the side of his head.
“I can’t take the shot, boss.” Tony whispered, his voice tinged with fear.
Gibbs gave an imperceptible nod and growled, “If you shoot him, I shoot you. Nobody wins.”
“I don’t care. And you’re wrong. I’ve already won. You’re not locking me up for what I did. They deserved what they got.”
“What about Jake Matthews and Susan Moss. They didn’t do anything to your wife.”
“They don’t matter. Their own fault for hooking up with fucking murderers.”
Tony didn’t chance looking at Tim again, afraid to see the fear that must be twisting his gut. He fought to push down his own panic and instead kept his focus on the gunman.
He could see the look in Peter’s eyes clearly, the desperation and the finality. He was prepared for how this was going to end - the inevitable suicide by law enforcement.
Hell if I’m going to let the bastard take Tim with him, Tony thought to himself.
He kept his gun trained on Peter and asked, voice firm, but calm, “What about Susan’s daughter, Miranda? Does she deserve to grow up without a mother?”
Wild eyes turned to look at Tony.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“You were so focused on Henry, you didn’t even think about the woman, the human being that you brutalized and killed. The family that she left behind. You didn’t bother finding out anything about her, did you? What did you care that there was a little girl who got woken up at 3 in the morning to be told that her mother was gone.”
Tony paused as he tried to gauge Peter’s reaction. He saw something like guilt flicker briefly in his eyes, so he continued,
“She’s going to have to live with that for the rest of her life. You think losing Laura ate away at your insides? You’re a grown man. She was an eight-year old little girl. For over a year she kept asking her grandmother when her mom was coming to see her. She’s almost fourteen now.”
Tony stared straight into Peter’s eyes. He noted how they clouded over briefly with sadness and took a chance, hoping that this would bring him back from the desperate edge he was standing on.
“She’s about the same age as your unborn child would have been.”
Something about those words struck Peter and his breath hitched. Thinking that maybe he was getting through, Tony lowered his weapon. He watched as Peter changed his grip on McGee and shifted his gun hand slightly.
Tony barely had time to yell “No!” before he heard the sound of the gun firing and then blood was everywhere.