Testament to Murder

**This story immediately follows "Friend or Foe?"**

CHAPTER 1

"Mrs. Parsons-Houston?" The nurse smiled at CJ and Matt as they headed back for the ultrasound. CJ was seventeen weeks pregnant with their first child. They had teased each other about the sex of the baby ever since CJ found out she was pregnant. As they walked down the hall, CJ flashed a smile at her husband. "Boy."

"Nope – girl." Matt was smiling broadly.

She shook her head. "A mother knows, Matt."

"Okay CJ, have a seat up here on the table and Marsha will be with you in just a minute." The nurse closed the door behind her as she left. Matt helped his wife step up and get on the table, giving her a kiss. "I love you, babe." He rubbed her cheek.

"Love you, too, hon. I can't wait to see this little guy." She patted on her belly.

"Little lady, you mean." Matt wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in for another kiss.

The technician walked in the door. "Okay you two, that's enough." She smiled at the couple. Matt blushed and CJ giggled. He stepped toward the right side of the table to be out of the technician's way.

"Alright, are you comfortable?" Marsha pulled a swiveling stool over to the side of the table and began inputting CJ's information into the machine. "I'll need you push your pants down over your belly so we can get a good picture of the little one." She finished typing and reached for a tube of gel. "You're lucky – it's had time to warm up this morning." The technician squirted the gel onto CJ's baby bump and rolled the ultrasound transducer around, spreading the gel.

Matt found himself holding his breath and reached over and squeezed CJ's hand. She squeezed back. There on the screen was their baby. All Matt could say was, "Wow!"

"It's amazing, isn't it?" Marsha never got tired of this part of the job. She took a few still shots of the baby, then started making the measurements.

"How's he doing in there?" CJ was so amazed she couldn't take her eyes off of the screen.

"Right on target. It looks like this little one will be arriving in June." She smiled over at the couple.

CJ kept trying to see if it was a boy or girl but it was too hard to make out. "Can you tell if it's a boy?"

The technician kept trying to get the baby to turn so that they could see, but it kept turning its back to them.

"I can't believe this kid is mooning me before she's even born!" Matt was laughing. "Guess she's high spirited like her mama." He squeezed CJ's hand again.

"No Matt, I'm telling you it's a boy." She squeezed his hand and as the technician turned off the machine, CJ looked at her husband who was wearing the biggest smile on his face that she had ever seen. He stood up and kissed her.

"Love you, babe."

"Love you, too. But I still say it's a boy."

The technician laughed and handed CJ some tissues to wipe the gel off of her belly. "Okay, you're all set. And here you go." She handed over a strip of pictures of the baby and a DVD. "Time to show off your baby."

They thanked her, then headed back down the hall and out into the lobby of the doctor's building. "I'll pick you up out front." Matt pulled the keys from his pocket.

"No, I'll walk. I need the exercise." CJ took him by the arm and they headed back out to the truck.