Twisted Timing
Chapter 13
Monday, April 14, 1997
0830 Local Time
JAG Headquarters
Washington Navy Yard, SE
After the Osborn incident, JAG Headquarters settled down to handle the same routine cases of Navy and Marine miscreants. AJ saw in its aftermath that his staff started to work a bit more diligently. No one wanted to disappoint him in the course of their duties. He also brought in Matt Simms, Tom Larkin as well as Sarah and Harm to personally thank them for their support.
A week had gone by as Sarah was working on in her office in Legal and Administration. She was still exercising her hand with the ten pound hammer. She put the hammer down when she heard the intercom buzz.
"Yes Chief?"
"Ma'am there is a Christopher Ragle to see you," Chief Petty Officer Janine Ryerson replied.
Sarah was startled at that as she replied, "Uhm send him in Chief."
Sarah stood to walk around to the front of her desk. She wasn't looking forward to seeing her step-brother. She knew his presence would bring back very bad memories. After her mother's and his father's funerals, Chris wasn't a very happy child. He didn't like the fact that he had to leave the first stable home he was ever in.
Ragle came through the door after Chief Ryerson held it open for him. He was dressed in a light gray sport coat and dark slacks with a respectable looking shirt and tie. Sarah smiled a small smile as he approached her with open arms. They shared a brief, but loose hug as he gently kissed her cheek.
When they broke apart, Sarah motioned to one of the guest chairs saying, "Chris, have a seat."
As she sat down on the other guest chair she said, "It's good to see you. How have you been?"
"Well I loved living with Grandma Lil. Not too long after I went to live with her we moved to Baltimore where she found work in Johns Hopkins as a cafeteria worker. After I graduated high school I went to a local community college managed to get an associate's degree in auto mechanics."
"So you used the money mom left you to good use." Sarah replied admiringly.
"Yeah I did. I went to work for a Shell gas station in Baltimore as a mechanic."
"That's nice and how is Grandma Lil?"
"Uhm she passed away just after I graduated the college. She was in a car accident."
"Oh Chris I'm so sorry to hear that. She was a nice lady."
"Yeah she was. She also left me a bit of an inheritance from her 401K account and the insurance death benefit payout. I used that to invest with a partner in our own garage over in Columbia Heights."
"Well that's great Chris."
"Thanks, what I'd really like to know if you will have dinner with me? You know to catch up a little more than we can do in your office?"
"Well the guy I'm seeing is out of town on a case and won't be back until tomorrow night so I'm free. Where do you want to meet?"
Ragle was a bit downcast about hearing that Mac was seeing a guy, but he hid it well as he replied, "Come to my apartment. It's in Pleasant Hill, near Catholic University. We can go to a restaurant from there."
"Okay, about 7:00 PM?"
"Yeah that's fine. Here's my address."
Ragle wrote it on a pad which Mac got from her desk.
"Okay I'll see you at 7:00," Ragle said as he got up to shake hands. Mac let him lean in for a kiss on the cheek.
1855 Local Time
Chris Ragle's Apartment
Pleasant Hill, NW
Sarah decided on a pair of skinny jeans and a nice red blouse under her trench coat. She managed to find a parking spot for her Corvette on the same block as Chris' apartment building. As she walked into the lobby she thought, "Hmm nice building. Not too shabby."
She found his apartment number on the entrance listing and rang his apartment. Chris buzzed her into the building and she rode the elevator up to the 3rd floor and walked to his corner apartment.
When Chris let her in she saw that his dining room table was set for dinner for two. The apartment was laid out so that the dining area was in the foyer outside the kitchen before you entered the living room. The bedroom was down a small hallway to the left of the living room entrance.
"I thought we were going out?" Mac asked.
"Well I thought about that and I thought that we could have a better time catching up with a bit more privacy. Do you mind?" Chris asked nervously.
"No that's fine," Sarah said acquiescing to the change of plans. She sat down on the sofa in the living room.
"Would you like a drink? I have some white wine or a beer," Chris offered.
"A bit of white wine would be nice. Not too much though. I drove here."
Chris brought the wine over to the coffee table and set it before Sarah. She picked it up and took a small sip and put it back down. She turned to face the other side of the sofa where Chris was now sitting holding a glass of beer.
"So Sarah, how have you been? You've seen to have done fairly well in the Marines," Chris offered as an ice breaker. He had seen out his window when she pulled up and got out of her red Corvette.
"It's been interesting. After Okinawa I went to law school after the commanding officer from my billet recommended me. After I graduated law school, I was in Bosnia. I received a Purple Heart after a rocket exploded near me and sent me flying and I broke my wrist. (She showed the surgical scar.) After that I was assigned to 8th & I. After I helped Diane, her husband and another officer retrieve a fake Declaration of Independence from Uncle Matt I was assigned to JAG Headquarters in the Navy Yard."
"What was Uncle Matt doing with a fake declaration and if it was fake, why did you have to retrieve it?"
"Well at the time we didn't know it was fake," Sarah replied before she told the rest of the story.
"Hmm that was interesting. So who is the guy you're dating? You made it sound like he's a lawyer as well?" Chris asked.
"Yeah he was the other officer that helped us on that case. We began dating between the time after that case and when I was assigned to JAG Headquarters. Our CO doesn't have a problem with it as long as we keep it out of the office. But enough about me, tell me how you're doing," Sarah said affectionately.
"Well like I said before, I'm an auto mechanic at a garage in Columbia Heights. My partner and I are running it, but it's tough. You have to stay on top of all the accounting, the suppliers and the staff. But I'm having a good time with it. It helps me enjoy the two luxuries that I need."
"What two luxuries are they?" Sarah asked.
Chris stuck his tongue firmly in his cheek as he replied, "Well eating and living indoors."
At first Sarah looked at him askance, but she saw him smile at his gotcha moment and she started to laugh along with him.
"Okay you got me there. So are we going to eat or not?"
Chuckling, Chris said, "Yeah I have Grandma Lil's homemade marinara sauce simmering. Let me put on the spaghetti and we'll eat. Can you help me with the salad and the semolina garlic bread?"
"Sure." Sarah said as they got up to prepare their meal.
After they ate they sat at the table and talked a little more "catch-up. It wasn't long before Sarah said, "It's getting late and my CO has me giving my department report at tomorrow's staff meeting and I want to go in early to make sure that my presentation is ready."
"Well good luck with that. We have to get together with Diane and her family. Why don't I call you later this week to arrange something?"
"Sure Chris that will be fine," Sarah replied as Chris walked her to the door.
They shared a cheek to cheek kiss and a warm embrace before Sarah turned and walked to the elevator.
Wednesday, April 23, 1997
1645 Local Time
JAG Headquarters
Navy Yard, SE
No sooner had Harm reported in for duty that morning from his case, he was assigned to work with Congresswoman Roberta "Bobbi" Latham on an allegation that Marines used Sarin gas during the Gulf War. AJ would have assigned Matt Simms to that task, but he knew that Matt and Latham did not have a good history dealing with other; so it went to Harm as a neutral party. Harm would be working late into the evening with Latham
So again, Sarah was without a dinner companion. She was planning to have a self-indulgent evening, curling up with a good book after a long hot bath.
She was just getting ready to secure for the day at 1700 when her DID (Dial In Direct) line rang. Without looking at the caller identification screen she picked it up saying, "Legal & Administration, Major Mackenzie?"
"Sarah can you come over to my place again tonight?" She heard Chris say.
"Chris is everything alright?"
"Uhm I just need your advice about something. Say about the same time as Tuesday night?"
"Ah sure; Chris what's wrong?"
"Nothing that your advice can't fix; I'll give you details tonight."
"Okay sure see you about 7:00," Sarah said before she hung up. She went about securing her office for the evening.
Sarah was a little peeved as she left the office. Her relaxing evening was shot to hell. She barely acknowledged her brother-in-law Tom Larkin wish her a good night as they met at the Lobby Reception desk to hand in their building passes.
Traffic was tight as she made her way across from the Navy Yard to her Georgetown apartment. When she arrived home she changed into a pair of comfortable jeans and a pull over sweat shirt. Then she went to Chris' apartment.
When she buzzed to the apartment from the lobby, she was a bit annoyed to not get any answer from Chris. She was able to get in when another person came out to leave. When she arrived at the apartment, she saw that the door was ajar. She assumed that Chris left it open for her. As she entered the apartment, she saw a pair of feet sticking out from behind the living room wall.
As Sarah went over to look, she didn't see the tall man come from the kitchen and sneak up behind her. Before she could bend over to check on the body, she felt a crushing blow to the back of her head and then she saw only blackness.
The man grunted in satisfaction as he saw Sarah crumble to the floor in front of him. He went to stand over her and nudged her side to make sure she was out. When he was satisfied that she was unconscious, he reached down and took hold of her wrists and dragged her into the living room. He positioned Sarah's body so that she was facing the unconscious man lying on his side also facing Sarah. The man reached into his pocket and withdrew a cheap .38 revolver. He placed it in Sarah's hand, with her finger on the trigger. He held her hand to the gun as he aimed at the chest of the man then he pulled the trigger. The bullet fired out and entered into Chris Ragle's chest on the left side, piercing his heart, killing him instantly. Then man then left the apartment as quickly as he could. He was grateful that he had the foresight to wear gloves. He didn't have to waste time to stop and wipe away any fingerprints.