Chapter 4

Jim stood on one side of the one-way glass with Manus looking at Steve sitting alone in the interrogation room. She waited patiently for him to process his thoughts and tell her what was on his mind. After a few minutes, Jim said, "I can't imagine giving up so quickly if my girlfriend was pulled out of a bar like Kriege was." He lapsed into silence again, not moving a muscle as he stared through the window.

Manus broke the silence to ask, "What would you do?"

"I'd have fought for her from the start."

"But he was knocked off balance and she was gone before he got back to his feet," she countered.

"Doesn't matter. If you love someone, you fight for them, no matter what."

"So, go ask him why he didn't," she encouraged. "I'm sure you can get something out of him. In the meantime, I've sent a couple of officers to track down Whistler. The Guard classified him AWOL, so they're going to help from their end. Maybe we'll get lucky."

Jim nodded, then sauntered into the interview room. Steve looked up as he came in, "Where's my lawyer?"

"I don't know. You called him," Jim replied as he sat down. He placed his coffee mug and a file on the table and handed Steve a paper cup with water. "Thought you might need this after all the crying earlier."

Steve didn't touch the cup, saying instead, "You're an ass."

Jim shrugged it off. "Yep, but that doesn't change anything, does it? You're still under arrest and your girlfriend's still dead."

Steve sat back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. "I still don't get why I'm under arrest."

"I can't talk to you without your lawyer present," Jim replied, sipping his coffee. He watched Steve decide if he could hold his tongue until the attorney showed up. He almost smiled when he saw Steve wet his lips in preparation to saying something.

"What if I want to talk?" he asked.

Jim opened the file and slid a piece of paper and pen towards Steve. "You sign that, saying you waive your right to counsel." Steve took a few moments to think about it, then quickly signed his name and pushed the paper back across the table.

"So, why did you arrest me?"

"Because you're lying."

Steve didn't say a word. He just waited for Jim to continue. It soon became a contest of wills and Steve didn't have as much practice at it as Jim did. He finally caved and said, "I didn't lie."

"Sure you did," Jim replied. "You said you ran outside and looked around for Kriege and Whistler, but didn't see them so you returned to the table to get her phone. We have the video from that night, you weren't seen on the tapes until about five minutes after they went past the front door."

"So, I got the timing wrong. He pushed me and I fell down. Guess it took longer for me to get up than I thought it did."

"Or, maybe you didn't really try to go after her and now you're feeling guilty about it."

"Of course I'm feeling guilty!" Steve shouted. "The love of my life is dead and if I'd done more to stop him, she might still be alive."

"Very true," Jim agreed. "Why were you so calm?"

"Calm? I was anything but calm!"

"The video shows you only going out the front door and looking towards the pier, but then you walked back inside. No jerky motion, no running around trying to figure out which way they went. Nothing. You just stood there and then walked back inside."

Steve shook his head in denial. "Maybe you were looking at a different guy."

"Maybe, but I don't think so." Jim closed the file folder and grabbed his mug. "Since you won't tell me the truth, I'll have to move you to lock up until your lawyer gets here and can talk some sense into you." He opened the door and when Steve didn't say anything, he walked through and told the officer outside, "Take him to lock up."

Jim got into his car without really thinking about where he was going. Before he knew it, he was parked in front of Callie's house. Her car was still in the driveway, so he figured she was inside, but he didn't know what kind of reception he'd get if he knocked on the door. He was about to start up the engine, when the door opened. Jeff bounded out and jumped the front steps, running over to Jim's car.

"Did you hear?" he yelled. "My dad's coming home!"

Jim got out of the car and spotted Callie standing in the doorway watching him. "Yeah, your mom told me."

"Isn't that great?" Jeff fairly danced around Jim in his excitement.

Jim put a hand on Jeff's shoulder and said truthfully, "I'm happy for you. I know you've missed having him around."

"Thanks. I can't wait until we can go out shooting and play hoops and everything!" His exuberance was a sight to see. He didn't notice the sadness in Jim's eyes or the way his shoulders drooped a little with each comment about things they had done together, but now probably wouldn't. He finished in a rush, "I gotta go tell Kevin about this. See ya!"

Jim called out to his retreating back, "See ya." He then turned towards Callie. He walked slowly up to the house, but stood just in front of the porch, not taking the final steps to her door. "Hi."

Callie pushed the screen door open and said, "Hi. Wanna come in?"

Jim gladly climbed those three steps and walked into the house. He looked behind to make sure Jeff wasn't around and leaned in to kiss Callie's delectable lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. Before it got too intense, she took a half step back and checked the door again.

"I'm sorry."

Jim gave her a smile and touched her cheek again, "I'm not." Taking another step back, he dropped his hand and said, "I'm sorry too. I didn't mean to come over here."

"So, big case?" she asked with amusement in her voice. They'd been here before, Jim showing up without warning and ignoring their obvious tension in favor of bouncing ideas off her.

"Yeah. Sorta." He moved into the kitchen and pulled a beer from the fridge. After opening it, he offered it to her first, before taking a long pull.

She sat down and asked, "Wanna talk about it?"

"Not as much as I wanted to kiss you," he replied with a smile breaking across his face. She gave him an answering grin. Sobering up a moment later, he said, "I'm not sure what to think about this case."

"So tell me."

"Woman is shot around 2 AM and her body left by the pier. There are two possible suspects. A boyfriend and a husband."

"Did they know about each other?" she asked.

"Not until a couple of days ago."

"Have you talked to both yet?"

"No. We can't find the husband. He's National Guard Reserves and been classified AWOL as of this morning."

Callie mulled over what Jim was and wasn't saying, then got it. "The husband just got home from deployment, didn't he?" Jim nodded. "How long had she been seeing the boyfriend?"

"Almost a year."

"Ah," she replied, seeing the parallels between Jim's case and their relationship. "Had she asked for a divorce?"

"Yeah, served him papers while he was overseas."

Callie winced and mumbled, "Either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid." She paused then looked at Jim, "Obviously incredibly stupid since she's dead."

"Maybe or maybe not," he answered. "I get the feeling the boyfriend isn't telling me everything and his story doesn't quite match with the facts on hand."

"What are they? The facts, I mean."

"Boyfriend and vic were out for the evening and ended up at a bar. Husband came home from deployment and tracked them down. After knocking boyfriend down, he grabbed her and took her outside. Last time we see them, they're on the pier arguing."

"Where was the boyfriend in all this?"

"See? That's what I mean by not matching. He claims he came running out and, after not seeing her, he went back inside to get her cell phone. He said he wanted to call the husband's cell and locate them by the ring."

"Did he actually look for her?"

"Not that we saw. He stepped out of the bar's door, looked towards the pier and then went back inside."

"Was he frantic?"

"Nope."

"Weird. Did you check her phone records?"

"Daniel's working on that."

Callie took the beer from Jim's hand and took a sip, then asked, "If he really loved her, like he said he did, wouldn't he have done more to find her before giving up?"

Taking the bottle back, he agreed, "Yeah, that's my thought. I can't imagine not fighting for the woman in my life, just allowing someone else to take her away." Realizing what he said, he looked into Callie's eyes. "I would fight for her, no matter what it took."

She reached across the table and put her hand on his. "I know you would. Will. That's what makes you who you are."

Jim turned his hand over and folded his fingers over hers. After giving himself a few minutes of contact, he pulled his hand away and had to clear to his throat twice before he could go back to their original topic of discussion. "Would a married woman risk everything for man who would give up without a fight?"

"I know I wouldn't," she answered, giving him a meaningful look. "But maybe she didn't know he was that kind of man. Maybe there'd been no reason for her to believe he wasn't as committed to her as she was to him. Do you know if there were problems between them before the husband returned?"

"Hadn't gotten that far. Just finished talking to him. Then my car drove me over here." He smiled when she gave him a half-raised eyebrow. "Well, it did!" Then he laughed. She joined him. "I better go and see if Daniel found out anything."

They both stood up and walked to the front door. After a quick glance towards the street, Jim leaned down to brush Callie's lips quickly with his own. Involuntarily, the kiss deepened to something that sent sparks into them both. Jim's hand crept to her waist to steady her as he pressed his lips more firmly onto hers. He felt her hand caress his face when he heard footfalls clatter up the front steps.

"HEY!" a young voice shouted.

Jim and Callie immediately broke apart and turned to see Jeff standing on the porch with his mouth open. Callie was the first to move as she shoved Jim out of her way to fling open the screen door. "Jeff," she began, one arm outstretched.

"Don't!" he yelled, backing away from her. "Dad's coming home and you decide it's a good idea to kiss…him?" Jeff didn't wait for a reply, he spun on his heel and fled their presence.

Callie started to run after him, when Jim flashed past her, sprinting after her son. "JEFF," he called out as his long legs closed the distance between him and the boy. "JEFF, STOP!"

Jeff darted between two houses and through an open gate. He threw it shut behind him, stalling Jim's headlong dash for a few critical seconds. By the time Jim got the gate opened, Jeff was gone. He pulled himself up to the top of the fence and looked around. He saw other yards and a small alley between the row of houses, but no Jeff. "Damn," he muttered to himself before going back the way he came.

He found Callie coming back up the street looking equal parts distraught and angry. Jim trotted up to her and said, "He got away."

"Jim," she cried, "he's got to be so hurt."

"I know. I'll go find him."

He pulled out his car keys and started to walk away, when he heard Callie say firmly, "No. You won't." As he turned to face her, she continued, "He won't talk to you, even if you did find him. He's angry and heartbroken. It'll be hard enough for me to talk to him." She shook her head sadly. "I can't believe he saw that."

Jim stayed where he was, but softly apologized, "I'm so sorry, Cal. I never meant for him to find out, not like that."

"I know, Jim. It's my fault. I knew he could be coming home and still I kissed you." She gave him a sorrowful look. "I think it would be best if you didn't come around for a while. I need to make this right with my son. He's got to come first."

"I know. If you think it'll help for me to talk to him…" he trailed off, knowing that as much as he wanted it, he wasn't truly a part of their family, and looking at Callie shaking her head, it didn't look like it would happen anytime soon. "Call if you need me." She nodded distractedly as she walked back into the house. Jim watched her close the door and got into his car to drive away.