In this story, Harm won the toss but decided after two years that he was ready for a new challenge and started a children's advocacy firm in DC. Mac is back at JAG, this time as a judge.
It will be a cross-over.
January 2010
DC 2210 local
"Let's get away for the weekend soon, you've been going non-stop on the Connelly case for weeks now." Mac suggested to Harm as they got ready for bed. Mattie and Josh will watch the boys for us."
"Sounds good to me, where should we go? Snow or sun?" Harm said, realizing that he and Mac had not had many waking hours to themselves in the last six months.
"I'm tired of the snow, didn't think that DC could get this much snow, I have time that needs to be used, if you can get leave why don't we make it a real vacation, make it a long weekend, leave on a Thursday morning, and get back Tuesday afternoon."
"So, do we want the Bahamas, Florida or SoCal." Her eyes brightened."You know, I've been through Palm Springs, but have never stayed there." Mac said, relishing the idea of heat on her skin instead of layers of clothing.
"Palm Springs it is, let's check our schedules in the morning." Harm said as he turned out the lamp on the bed-stand.
The next morning, upon checking with her Petty Officer and his administrative assistant, they found that, in three weeks, they were free to get out of town. Mattie and Josh readily agreed to the extra time with Tom, age four, Harm and Mac's little miracle, and three and a half year old Jared, who'd been adopted by the Rabb's at birth. Tom Johnson, Mattie's father, had a brief affair with a fellow bar-fly Lily, in a sober moment, the couple had already decided to give the baby up for adoption, thankfully it appeared that Jared's biological mother had laid off the booze somewhat and Jared had been spared Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Tom and Lily had perished in a multi-car accident, when ironically both were sober.
Mattie's injuries had kept her from attending Annapolis, so she'd attended George Mason University instead where she met Josh Pendry and fell in love, they were engaged and planned to marry within the year. Harm figured that watching the boys would be a deterrent to having grandchildren anytime soon.
Three weeks later, and forty degrees warmer
Harm and Mac had arrived in Palm Springs, Harm was getting some looks from some shady looking characters, it seemed, to him, to take longer than usual in checking into the resort hotel. They didn't notice one man in the lobby of the posh hotel go over to the bank of public telephones and make a phone call.
"I'm going to get into my swim suit, and soak up some Vitamin D." Mac said once they were ensconced in their suite."I'll be by the pool." She said as she sashayed out, wearing a terry cover up that hid her electric blue bikini.
"I'm going to call Mom while we're in the same time zone, and I'll be down in several minutes." Mac knew that when Harm did call his Mom, it could be either a quick call or quite lengthy, depending on her mother-in-law's schedule. She hoped to be that busy in her mid-seventies. Before he called her he called room service for a fruit-plate, to tide him over until they went out for supper.
Trish was still busy with the gallery so the phone call was necessarily brief. He'd just hung up when there was a knock He expected to hear room service, so he called out, "come on in.
"Police. Hands where I can see them," was the brusque command of a man who appeared to be of Latin heritage."
"I think you have the wrong man, detective." Harm said stunned at the rude entrance.
"I don't think so West, I've been keeping an eye on you, and your family. How you got out of lock-up is beyond me, but I will find out." The detective said as he had another officer join him in the room. "I don't need a warrant to search for an escaped prisoner."
"But you do for any personal belongings" Harm said, but he might has well have saved his breath the detective wasn't listening.
"Already have that covered." He handed Harm a piece of paper and he looked at it carefully. It was for their room, and their belongings.
Whoever this West was, Harm figured he was some sort of scoundrel, since Mac and he hadn't even been in town for an hour.
"So you're into identity theft now, You'd think with a name like Wolfgang you'd find a better alias. Harmon Rabb, Junior.' Detective Mac said. "You are under arrest."
Harm decided that between being called Harmon and being called Wolfgang, he had the better name.
"I AM Harmon Rabb, I'm an attorney in Virginia, and I will sue you and the department for false arrest, if there were such a thing as criminal stupidity I'd sue for that too." Harm was stunned, but knew he'd better not resist. He was glad Mac had her phone and wallet with her, he'd use his phone call to his wife.
He was hustled down to the waiting squad car, Mac was oblivious to the events as she was poolside watching the antics of a girl about the age of her boys. Realizing the time difference, she knew she needed to call soon, before their bedtime. Looking into her tote she realized that her cell-phone was upstairs in her suitcase. She got up from the chaise lounge and headed back to the room.
"You can't come in here, it's a crime scene," a patrol officer said as she started to open the door.
"What do you mean, what happened to my husband, what happened to Harm?" she said, she would not panic, she was a Marine, but some of the children Harm had helped had enemies that had vowed revenge on Harm.
If you haven't figured it out yet the cross over is Scoundrel's DJE's new show. I don't own either show.
"I don't know who this Harm person is, but we found an known felon in this hotel room." the officer replied, not giving away any pertinent information.
"If you check with the desk, you will find that the room is registered to Harmon and Sarah Rabb, if you will let me get my wallet out, I will show you proof of who I am." When the officer nodded she slowly got her wallet out. The officer took it and looked at her driver's license and her military ID. He also noted several pictures of Harm and her, one being a photo from their wedding. In which Harm was wearing his dress whites. He also noted the JAG emblem on Harm's uniform, and her military ID card. He saw the pictures of the Rabb children, who, for the most part, were much younger than the West brood. He realized that Sergeant Mack had made a big mistake.
He relaxed his posture, and allowed her into the room. "Your husband has an uncanny resemblance to one of Palm Springs, shall we say 'headaches', I think that Mack jumped the gun this time, I was here, he said that your husband was dealing in stolen identities, and didn't believe your husband. If you don't mind, I'm going to call and verify this information."
A few moments later, and with a sheepish look on his face, he returned her wallet to her. "You both check out, I'm sorry for the mix up, I'll call the Sergeant and inform him of the error."
"If this Mack character had checked" Mac said with an evil grin, "he'd have realized his error. Where did he take my husband? I think this needs to be taken care of at the precinct. So that we can enjoy the rest of our long weekend."
"I'll meet you down in the lobby, give you a chance to change, I want to see you fry Mack on this, he's always going after the family on some alleged charge or another.
He left the room, taking the police tape down, giving Mac a chance to put on a pair of white linen pants and a blouse, she wore the heels that went with the dress she was planning on wearing that night, to give her added height, she wanted every advantage when she met Mack.
Harm was keeping his cool in the back of the squad car, wondering just how stupid the detective was, they were just about to the precinct when he realized that when his Mac realized what happened, Mack the detective would be lucky to be chopped liver by the time she was done with him. As soon as they ran his prints the truth would come out, and as the saying goes the truth would set him free.
Mack was taking his sweet time in processing Harm, letting every DUI and petty offender go before him. He was relishing this moment. He finally had the information to send Wolfgang West away for a long time, and if he looked into it further, mostly likely a good portion of the West family with him.
Harm was put into the drunk tank, 'accidentally' and had more than one temporary resident there say to him. "Whatcha in for this time Wolf." He didn't answer anyone.
Meanwhile Mac had arrived at the precinct, followed very shortly by the officer who'd realized what a mess Detective Mack had got himself into. She went directly up to the desk sergeant and stated in a clear voice. "I'm Colonel Sarah MacKenzie, JAG, you have my client, Harmon Rabb here, I want to see him, NOW."
The desk Sergeant entered the information into the system."There is no Rabb in the system here, are you sure he was brought here." He thought that whomever this Rabb was, he had a fine looking attorney.
"Sergeant Hardy, you'll find him in booking, Mack's messed up big time, he thinks that West is the Rabb character. I've called the jail, West's just were he's supposed to be." The officer who'd been at the hotel when Harm was arrested said, he was tired of dealing with Mack and the Wests.
Hardy knew the police officer wouldn't have stated it so publicly if it weren't true. "If you'll follow me, I'll take you to him." He wondered just how much this was going to cost the city of Palm Springs. The poor economy had hit the upscale town as much as the rest of the country.
In one of the interrogation rooms, newly minted attorney Logan West was finishing up with his client and was dealing with the ever present paper-work involved as an attorney.
"Okay, West, it's your turn" Mack said to Harm, when Harm didn't respond Mack grabbed his arm to push him toward the fingerprint processing area. Harm nearly bit his tongue in effort to not say anything or do anything that would actually land him in jail. The truth was about to set him free.
It didn't take very long, because of a problem with the software of the camera he hadn't yet his mug-shot.
A woman who looked to be about the same age as Mattie looked at the results and then read them twice to verify. She then printed it off. "Mack, I think you might want to see this.
"So do we" said Hardy as he and Mac entered the room.
"I think that you will find that the fingerprints show that he is Harmon Rabb, Junior. A member of the bar in several states, including here in California." Mac stated.
Harm realized this was not quite the time to let them know she was his wife.
"Does he have any priors?" Hardy asked.
"Yes, but he was cleared of those charges." Alvarez commented. "It also states that he's a retired JAG officer."
Harm wiped the stain of the ink off his hand with the towel that Alvarez supplied. "If the city of Palm Springs pays for our entire stay, and publicly apologizes for the screw-up, we will not press charges."
Hardy, as the ranking officer in the room knew that the city was getting off easily, as an attorney Rabb could bankrupt the city if he were inclined to in retribution. "I think that the city will agree to that."
"If Detective Mack will meet us back at the hotel, in twenty minutes to publicly apologize to the management of the hotel and the guests for his hasty action, I think we are free to go." He put his arm around Mac and they walked out of the processing room to the entrance of the precinct.
Neither he nor Mac noticed the blond attorney follow them with more than a bit of interest on his face. Logan West followed got into his car, noticing Harm give the woman a kiss. "I've never seen Dad kiss another woman, I know that he's a bit of a scoundrel, but he's never cheated on Mom." Following the Rabb's he waited until they were back at their hotel before making several phone calls to his siblings asking for them to meet him in half an hour at this hotel.
Cheating may be a way of life for his family, and he might be carrying on an affair, but his dad cheating on his Mom, that was just a little too close to home."
Harm and Mac had discussed what had happened, and what they expected Mack to say to the manager. They waited in their car until they saw him pull up and park nearby.
The three other West offspring had been quite surprised to get the phone call from their brother, the part they believe was that their father had been released from his sentence years early and with very little fanfare. The part they really were having difficulty with was that Wolfgang West was being all lovey-dovey with someone who was obviously not Cheryl West. The two older ones made excuses of a family emergency, and by the look on their faces they were believed. Hope, the youngest, was thankfully off for the day as it was a teacher's in-service day. They were each making haste to join Logan in the parking lot of the upscale resort hotel.
Harm knew that the valet had seen him hauled away in a squad car less than an hour previously and why he seemed wary of taking the keys from him but the college student knew to keep his opinions to himself and took the car so that they could go back into the hotel. Harm and Mac waited for Detective Mac, and Sergeant Hardy to arrive at the hotel. Harm really hadn't had a chance to enjoy the warm air that had been sadly lacking in DC in recent months.
Mac was about to say something when she muttered, 'it never rains but it pours." Stepping out of a car not twenty feet from them was no other than Renee Peterson and her husband Cyrus. Cyrus, who had a good memory when it came to faces, told his wife he saw someone she might recognize. Renee froze for a moment when she realized whom Cyrus had seen. They told their valet to continue unpacking the trunk and walked over to say hi.
"Harm, Mac it's been a long time," The two men shook hands, and in Hollywood fashion, Renee gave Mac an air kiss. "How long have you two been together." Renee said, giving her husband a re-assuring squeeze of her hand. Harm was in her past. He didn't need to worry.
"We'll be married five years come July." Mac replied. Renee hoped to find out more but both Harm and Mac seemed preoccupied. Renee was wondering who the four men who were coming toward them were, as three were obviously law enforcement, she could see their badges.
"Mr. Rabb, Ms McKenzie, this is Chief of Police Paul Caine, and the attorney for Palm Springs, Peter Blaisdell." Hardy introduced the two officials to the Rabbs. While conferring with the chief of police and the city attorney over what had just happened he'd looked up Harm on the internet and found out all about the couple, or at least all he'd been able to find in the few minutes before heading to the hotel. He had transferred the information to his cell phone and showed the results to the two men who hadn't been very happy to hear that the city was now paying the bill for a 5 night stay at one of the better hotels in town. When they found out that Rabb was an attorney they realized they'd actually gotten off easy. Mack would be suspended for this if the chief had anything to say about it. It would reinforce to other officers to be vigilant and not so hasty to arrest on a coincidence.
Meanwhile, the manager of the hotel had been trying to decide how to quietly evict the Rabbs when he'd received the phone call from the city attorney ten minutes earlier.
"One of our detectives was too hasty in making an arrest about an hour ago, and arrested someone else. That person is registered in your hotel. A Harmon Rabb and his wife Sarah, both are attorney's and could sue the pants off the city if they were so inclined. A public apology at the hotel will suffice, and the bill for their stay is to go to the city."
Dane Capwell, the manager thanked his lucky stars that he hadn't yet ordered the removal of the Rabb belongings. He'd spent the last several minutes looking over the footage of the past few hours. His staff had behaved professionally. He straightened his tie and walked to the entrance of the hotel where he saw the small group grow larger as the delegation from the city joined them.
"Ladies, and gentlemen, if you will follow me inside, let's get this over with." Capwell wanted this over so that the hotel could go back to normal, or what stood for normal. Renee and Cyrus were curious as to what was going on and followed the group of men and Mac inside.
Meanwhile there was a sudden influx of vehicles in the car as the West's were converging on the location. what they couldn't know was that Cheryl West, their mother, had returned home to change before heading to the hotel. She'd been invited to join Jolene, a fellow employee who'd won a nice amount at the casino and was repaying Cheryl's kindness with a massage at the hotel's renowned spa.
"It looks like Dad's out of jail, and he came here with some woman. I have no idea what he has planned, or why he hasn't contacted any of us." Logan said which caused his siblings to ask questions, which he tried his best to answer. One redeeming quality Wolf West had was the love and devotion he had for Cheryl his wife. "Since the rest of you aren't exactly dressed for a place like this, don't get caught" Logan warned.
"Ladies and Gentleman, may I have your attention" Manager Dane Capwell said when the group arrived in the lobby.
"Detective Mack has something to say, and I'd like for all to hear it, so he doesn't have to repeat it."
It was obvious who was Detective Mack, he was the one who looked like he was attending his own execution."I'm here to apologize to..."
Detective Mack did not like the looks of disgust coming from the police chief or the city attorney. His throat felt as dry as Death Valley at noon in July. He started to apologize, and felt several eyes boring into him. Especially the eyes belonging to the man who was a carbon copy to his living nightmare. Why couldn't this Rabb character be some lowlife, or be someone wanted on some outstanding federal warrant? No he'd made a huge mistake arresting Rabb, especially when he could have verified Rabb's identification with a phone call. "I overstepped the bounds of my position and arrested the wrong man. This man" he pointed toward Harm. "This man is not who I thought he was, in fact he is a well-known advocate for children and a highly decorated military officer. Please give him a warm California welcome, and again the city of Palm Springs apologizes for my egregious error."
"As a member of the bar here in California, I will make sure that an error like this never happens to anyone else, what you did, Detective Mack," and the honorific was said with more than a bit of scorn, "was unconscionable". She got into his face and poked him with her manicured fingernail. "As someone with the nickname of Mac, you are a complete and utter disgrace. Finally, as the spouse of the accused, I want to find the nearest scorpion and feed you to it, bite by bite."
There were several people witnessing this announcement, including Logan West. This man, who looked exactly like his father, was getting the royal treatment, when his father had been hounded by the department for years.
He hoped that the rest of the clan had stayed back at their cars while he'd gone inside. He reached for his cellphone and called his twin brother. "Cal, this guy is not Dad, looks just like him, but it isn't, and the gal with him is apparently his wife, not his lawyer. She's really giving it to Mack, couldn't happen to a nicer guy. Go home now, I need to get back to the office."
Logan was able to get back to the law firm that had hired him, not aware of his family's criminal connection. "I'm sorry I was so long, there was an incident, while I was at the jail, and I went to see if the accused was interested in the services of our firm. He wasn't at this time. I will get back to him."
Without attracting too much attention, Cal was able to diver his sisters, Hope and Heather, from also going into the lobby. "False alarm, let's go home, I'll let Logan explain it when we get there."
The West offspring were stunned when they got home and saw the note that their mother left. In all the excitement, none of the kids noticed their mother Cheryl go into the spa with her friend for a few hours of pampering.
"I'm at the Spa at the Rubicon enjoying some time with a friend from school. There's a casserole in the freezer for supper. Love Mom."
The apology was over, Harm and Mac started to head to their hotel room. Renee was dying of curiosity as to what had occurred, and planned to ask either Harm or Mac, later. Meanwhile, she and her husband needed to check in, and then call her in-laws to talk to the their children.
"I will be at your room in, let's say ten minutes, and tell you what the resort will do for you to make up for the beginning of your stay" Dane Capwell didn't want this to ruin the hotel.
"That will be fine, I do believe that my wife would like the use of the spa in the morning" Harm said, "and we both would like a masseuse in our room as soon as possible." Harm wasn't the stepson of Francis Burnett for nothing, he could do imperious when he wanted to. He just didn't use the San Diego Day School graduate tone often. However, Capwell recognized the tone, and he realized that Rabb had access to serious money. This was not good for the resort. "My mother, Trish Burnett, has spoken often about the spa." Actually she'd mentioned it once in passing years earlier. They were escorted by Capwell's personal assistant back to their room where they were happy to see everything had been put back in order, including their suitcases.
"I don't want what happened today to ruin our weekend, I still plan on dancing the night away." Harm said when they finally were alone in their room. "Let's call Mattie and the boys, before it get's any later. I don't want her to hear about this on you-tube before we can tell her."
"You call your Mom right after, I'm sure that there was someone from LaJolla in the lobby, one of the blue-haired ladies looked like the mother of one of their neighbors." Mac said, kicking off her heels and relaxing in one of the chairs before while Harm got his cellphone out and dialed.
Mattie was astonished at what had happened and vowed never to visit Palm Springs while Mack was living there. She wished them fun and then put her younger brothers on to talk with Mommy and Daddy. "It's five more sleeps before we come home, you can have put a star on the calendar we made for you both before we left."
Trish gave her two cents worth about the incident. "I think you two need to..." She gave them several ideas of what to do while at the resort, and in the area of Palm Springs. "See you Monday night" she said as Harm ended the call, Capwell was at the door.
Meanwhile, Detective Mack had been forced to turn over his badge and gun while he served his suspension. However, he was determined to keep an eye on this duplicate of Wolfgang West.