Mommy Dearest

Chapter 49
Gone Fishing

Harm cast a dismayed and shocked look after the fast-retreating figure of Barbara Saunders and even took a step back in her direction, only to be stopped by Mac's hand on his sleeve, "She looks to be in somewhat of hurry, Harm," she said with masterly understatement as the visiting Commander practically ran out of the building. "I don't think we'll get any answers there. Come, on, I'll make you a coffee and you can grill Tiner!"

Harm was about to protest when the good sense of Mac's words sank in, and with a disgruntled and reluctant, "Yeah, you're probably right." He entered the elevator and punched the button to take them up to the JAG Ops level.

Stepping out into the hall the second the elevator doors opened, Harm passed his cover and briefcase to Mac with a hurried, "Take these, thanks!" and veered off in the direction of the Admiral's offices.

Mac glared after him and muttered, "What am I? Your damned Sherpa, or something?" before shrugging and succumbing to the grin that was spreading all over her face. Shaking her head indulgently she deposited Harm's cover and briefcase along with her cover and purse in her office before heading to the galley to brew the promised cup of coffee for Harm and for herself.

Harm hurried across to Tiner's desk, the Yeoman jumping to his feet as he entered the small ante-office, "Good morning, sir!"

"Tiner, what the hell's the story with Commander Turner?" Harm demanded, completely ignoring the young Petty Officer's greeting.

Tiner threw him a reproachful glance. "I'm not entirely sure, sir. A message came in overnight saying that the Commander has had an accident. Apparently he was trapped in his car when it went off the road in the highlands, and it was some time before it was seen by another driver, and even longer before his car could be recovered, Commander Turner was alive but unconscious. The Commander was taken to a civilian medical facility where he regained consciousness and was then transferred to the Tripler army hospital. And that's all I know sir."

Harm grimaced, "Dammit I knew something was wrong! Thanks, Tiner. Is the Admiral in?"

"Yes, sir, but…" Harm stopped listening to the Yeoman and had turned to the Admiral's door and banged twice on the door jamb, listening keenly for the response.

"Enter!"

Harm crossed the carpet and came to a halt in front of the desk that dominated the room almost to the same extent as the two-star former Seal who sat behind it. "Sir, request permission to…"

"Denied, Commander!"

"B…b… but, sir… I… I haven't…"

"I said, permission denied Commander. I will not allow you to travel to Pearl to find out what happened to Commander Turner."

"But… with respect, sir, how did you know…?"

Chegwidden just gave him a pitying look and gently shook his head.

"But, sir," Harm gathered the scattered threads of his confidence and hastily re-wove it, "You know it make sense for someone to go to Pearl and investigate. I'm sure that Pearl has got excellent investigators, but it may be more than just coincidence that Commander Turner was sent out there to investigate a JAG officer, and almost the minute he sets foot on the island his car ends up of a mountain road and Commander Turner lands in hospital!"

"I agree, Commander. That is why I have turned the investigation over to NCIS at Pearl, and why I have ordered Commander Saunders to Pearl to liaise with NCIS and to maintain a watching brief on the investigation and to take a statement concerning his initial investigation from Commander Turner. So, Commander Saunders will be involving herself in Turner's original inquiry, which is linked to the impending Lindsey case, from which you have been severed, and that is why you're not going; I have already covered the bases!"

"Sir, I…"

"That is all, Commander, dismissed!"

A chagrined Harm had no other option than to comply with the order, but his "Aye, aye, sir!" of acknowledgement was almost hissed out between clenched teeth.

Tiner had enough sense to keep his face expressionless as Harm strode out through Admiral's office door and swept through the ante-office into the bull pen, but once his back was safely turned Tiner drew his breath in through his teeth and shook his head. If Tiner was any judge, and he was, so he told himself, then it would make damn good sense to stand off a cable length or two clear of Commander Rabb until he'd calmed down.

Despite his attempts to remain impassive, Harm failed, badly. Although his face was set in an impassive mask his body language and the manner in which he stalked across the bull pen screamed out his anger and his outrage. Reaching the sanctuary of his office he closed the door behind and shut the blinds, recognised signals within JAG that the occupant of the office did not wish to be disturbed. On this occasion however, Harm was about to have his wishes disregarded as a double tap on the door jamb was followed by the opening of the door and the entrance of Loren with the promised mug of coffee and a wrapped sandwich in hand.

"Mac asked me to bring you your coffee and a sandwich, seeing as you haven't had lunch yet, Harm," she said before he had more than raised his eyebrows. "I take it that your talk with the Admiral didn't go too well?"

"No! It Goddamned well didn't!" he retorted, and then picking up his mug of coffee took too large a gulp of its steaming contents and spent the next few seconds in acute discomfort as he desperately swilled the too hot beverage around his mouth before it was cool enough to swallow.

Harm glared furiously at Loren who was making a not too successful attempt to disguise her amusement at his plight, "Damn it, Loren!" he finally gasped, "It's not Goddamned funny!"

"Oh, it is from where I'm sitting!" Loren replied with a grin, "but that's not so important right now. What is important is that you get over whatever the Admiral said or did to get up your nose, before you terrify half the staff into going UA!"

"Loren, it's not that simple! The old ba… the Admiral has refused to let me fly to Pearl and find out what happened, how Sturgis ended up in hospital… instead he's passed the investigation on to NCIS, and sent that damn Saunders woman to follow up on Sturgis' original investigation into the Pearson case!"

Loren shrugged, "Makes sense Harm. You can't get involved in the Pearson case; you know that! But someone from this end has got to investigate what happened there, and it might as well be the someone who'll be prosecuting the entire mess. So why send two people to investigate two different, but possibly linked cases, and how could he justify the cost when NCIS have agents already on station?"

Harm gave a short bark of cynical laughter, "Damn it Loren, I hate it when you're so… so… logical and so damned right!"

"I know," Loren smirked complacently, getting to her feet and smoothing her skirt. She paused her hand on the door handle and glanced back over her shoulder at Harm, "Now don't let your coffee get cold!" she admonished him and whisked out of the door leaving him temporarily speechless and almost gobbling like a turkey-cock.

Harm took an ill-tempered sip of his still-hot coffee and then shook his head ruefully, "Dammit! It's just like I said the other day – it is like having two wives!"

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Jen groaned and putting her hands in the small of her back pushed forward with them, gaining a little temporary relief from the nagging back-ache she'd had since getting out of her car that morning.

Angela looked up from her work station, "Getting to you now is it?"

Jen nodded glumly, "Don't get me wrong, I want this baby, and up until a few weeks ago I was really enjoying being pregnant, and then I had that awful month of morning sickness – oh, and if you see Harm, it was just morning sickness, right? There's no need for him to know it went on most of the day!"

"Right," Angela agreed with a conspiratorial wink, "there are some things that the men-folk just don't need to know!"

"Got it in one!" Jen agreed, sitting down and opening her desk drawer, "Want one?" she asked holding up a Nutty Buddy wafer bar.

"Nope, you keep 'em!" Angela answered, "You're the one eating for two!"

"Apparently we're not supposed to do that anymore!" Jen announced as she leaned back in her chair and unwrapped the treat, "but do you know what is really frustrating? I've developed a real taste for these things, and normally I can't stand marshmallow!"

Angela laughed, "Not even roasted over a campfire, or in hot chocolate? That's practically un-American!"

"M'mm…" Jen mumbled through a mouthful of sticky chocolate and wafer, and then swallowed before replying, "So, sue me!"

Angela stopped laughing, and then rather diffidently said, "Jen, that reminds me… I hope you don't mind me asking, but has Harm said anything about when he might be coming to talk to me about… about… well… you know…"

Jen stopped chewing and swallowed, "Uh… no, sorry, I don't… I should have said something last week, I'm sorry…It seems that because you're involved, and so is Loren, that they reckon that Harm is too closely involved to be able to take an impartial, detached view, so he's been removed from the case and replaced by another attorney."

Angel's mouth dropped open, "Loren – that's the blonde Lieutenant with the baby, right? I can understand him being removed if she is involved, but me?"

"Yeah, apparently in this sort of case, everything has got to be seen to be clean above board, and because we're friends, that's sufficient enough cause for Harm to have been severed. He wasn't best pleased about it either!"

Angela shrugged, "Does it make a difference? I mean, if he was removed, then someone senior to him must have ordered it…"

Jen nodded as she swallowed the last of her snack bar, "Yeah, that's true, but attorneys have a different way of looking at things. As an officer he did what he was told, so nothing on his military record, but his professional record will show him as having been removed from a case, and no matter what's written down as the reason, there's always someone who'll point fingers and whisper behind the backs of their hands that the real reason was something discreditable!"

Angela looked startled, "Surely you're kidding!"

"Nope, you know how scuttlebutt works, Angie, and attorneys are some of the world's worst gossips," Jen replied grimly.

"Oh, wow… are they really that poisonous?"

"Seems so, and that is why Harm can't even talk to you until the whole thing is squared away."

"Uh-huh, but you can still talk to him, right?"

"Well, yeah, of course… I am his wife!"

"Well… could you maybe, like get him to remind that whoever has taken over the case that I'm still here, still waiting…"

Despite her misgivings about the propriety of such a request, Jen answered, "I'll try… but I can't promise anything!"

Angela smiled weakly, "Thanks, Jen, you're a pal!"

'I hope so,' Jen thought, 'I really hope so.'

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Harm decided to keep his door and blinds shut while he worked off his annoyance with life in general and the admiral in particular, and to keep free from interruptions while he worked on his presentation to the judge for the James article thirty two hearing which was to be held in the near future. His plans however were spoiled by a further rap on his office door frame.

With an impatient sigh he threw his pen down and grunted, "Come!"

The door opened a crack to reveal the grinning face of Mac, "Hi, sailor, I see Loren wasn't joking when she said something about bears and sore heads. May I come in?"

"What the hell," Harm grunted in disgust, "you've already disturbed me, why not?"

Mac opened the door wide and left it like that as she deposited Harm's cover and briefcase on the corner of his desk before she seated herself in one the visitors' chairs, carefully crossing her legs so that her skirt rode up and revealed a goodly expanse of thigh.

Despite himself, Harm's eyes were drawn to her legs, just as Mac had intended, but she was hardly prepared for the crack of cynical laughter that broke from his lips, nor the "Put it away, Mac! It ain't gonna work!"

"Oh… I don't know… it got a half a smile, and that's better than thundercloud that was on your face when I opened the door." Mac grinned as she readjusted her position to expose less of her legs. "To be honest, at that point I didn't know whether you were going to invite me in, throw me out or just throw something at me!"

"H'mph! Can't do that!" he snorted, "I made a promise I wouldn't push your buttons anymore!"

"Rabb! Do you mean to tell me that all this playing nice recently was because you made a promise?"

"Yep!" he replied, the hint of a grin just beginning to curl the corners of his mouth.

"Ohh!" Mac ground out between her teeth, "And just to whom did you make this promise?"

Harm leaned back in his chair, his eyes half closed in an attempt to prevent Mac from seeing his sudden amusement, "Does it matter?" he asked, "After all I've never made a promise I didn't mean to keep."

"Yes! It damn well does!" Mac exclaimed in a voice overflowing with frustration as she slammed an open palm down on the desk top for emphasis.

"Oh, well, if it's that important to you, then I will tell you…" Harm let the end of sentence hang.

"And?" Mac inquired dangerously.

"If you must know," Harm sighed with a long-suffering air, "I made the promise to… me!"

Mac looked at him incredulously for long seconds, then threw her head back and let go with a gurgle of laughter, "Harmon Rabb! You are impossible!" she accused him through her laughter.

"Nope, not impossible, just a bit difficult at times – so Jen tells me – but I don't really think that's the case!" Harm grinned. It was amazing, despite their ups and downs and their fights and bitter, bitter arguments and mutual disappointment with each other, Mac had still managed to break his sour mood and bring him to the verge of laughter in a few minutes.

He smiled openly at her as she came right back with, "No… she's absolutely right!" and then sobering slightly, continued, "How's she coping with the baby?"

"Well, up until Saturday night everything was fine, and then Loren had a date and we offered to babysit Sasha for the whole night! That kid has a sense of timing almost as accurate as yours. We were up every two hours during the night, and Jen had a bit of a confidence loss on Sunday, but she's gotten over that, I think, so we should be back on track."

"I'm sure she'll be a great mom." Mac assured him and then a shadow flitted across her face as she remembered her own mother.

His answering smile wasn't the hundred mega-watt flyboy grin that Mac had come to think of as being quintessentially Harm, but was something less brash, more introspective and infinitely more tender as he nodded and said, "Yes, she will be."

He then drew a deep, shuddering breath and grinned sideways at Mac, "Well, you've cheered me up, is that what you came for?"

"Yeah, right! As if!" she scoffed but then became more serious, "I'm glad I've managed to pull you out of the doldrums. Honestly Harm, you really seem to have no idea how Harmon Rabb in a bad mood upsets the whole of Ops! But I confess, I did come to see you with an ulterior motive."

"Go on," he said resignedly.

"The James case. Can you give me anything I can take back to him and try to get him to agree to a deal?"

Harm indicated the legal pad on his desk, "I was just working up my opening argument for the article thirty-two hearing, to tell the judge that government is pressing for a court-martial because it intends to demand the maximum penalty in this case, with regard to the charge of treason during time of war."

"Harm that's the death penalty you'll be asking for!" Mac objected.

"Yeah, it is." Harm solemnly agreed. "I gave him a chance this morning, hell, you were there when I told him to give up the names of the others to whom he sold the rest of the weapons, and I'd take the death penalty off the table. I seem to remember him spitting on the floor and telling me to go to hell. So… like I said at the time, no names means the death penalty is what I'll be asking for."

"Harm, I know that what he did could be classified as treason and/or sedition, but it's a hell of a stretch…"

Harm shook his head. "Not really, I've already spoken to the convening officer and he's quite happy to lay those charges against Master Gunnery Sergeant James."

Mac tried again, "Harm, I've never known you to call for the death penalty, and I'm pretty sure you won't really be asking for it, so come on, bend a little. You've got him backed into a corner; give me something I can work with?"

"As soon as he gives up the names, I drop the death penalty. EOM, Mac."

"Is that your final word, Harm?"

"Yep. He gives me the names, and I go for life without parole at hard labour. Otherwise he gets the needle!"

Mac shook her head as she stood and carefully smoothed her skirt, her face troubled, "This isn't like you, Harm."

"If you say so, Mac." Harm stood as she left the office, throwing another troubled look back at him over her shoulder.

Mac resumed his seat and called up the Navy Directory on his VDU, scrolling rapidly down until he reached the section for Pearl Harbour, and glancing at his watch; he made a quick calculation and punched in the number for Tripler Army Medical Centre on Oahu.

"Tripler Medical Centre."

"This is Commander Rabb at Navy JAG Corps Headquarters in DC. I'm trying to trace one of our officers who I believe was brought in this morning as the result of an MVA. His name is Turner, Commander Turner, Peter U, USN JAG Corps."

"One moment, sir." Harm could hear the faint hiss of static on the line as he waited for a long thirty seconds or so, before the cheerful voice of the operator came back on the line, "Commander Turner was admitted to the ER earlier this morning for evaluation, and has been transferred to an orthopaedic ward, sir. Would you like me to put you through to the ward?"

"Yes thank you."

"Rodger Young Ward, Lieutenant O'Hara, sir." The voice was female and sounded very young to Harm's ears.

For a moment the name rocked Harm back on his heels, and he couldn't help asking, "Uh… Lieutenant are you by any chance related to Colonel Mathew O'Hara, USMC?"

"Who is this I am speaking with?" The voice had lost its friendly, professional calm and had developed a distinctly icy edge.

"Oh… I'm sorry, Lieutenant, I didn't mean to be rude… but your name kinda took me by surprise… I work with his niece, and I was just curious."

"And does Mister Curiosity have a name?" The voice was still frosty.

"Yes, of course, more apologies, Lieutenant. I'm Commander Rabb, Navy JAG Corps HQ in DC, I'm calling to get an update on one of our officers, Commander Turner; he was admitted earlier today?"

"Sir! Sorry, sir! I meant no disrespect!"

"It's alright, Lieutenant, at ease! You weren't to know, and I'm afraid I was startled into an inappropriate personal question."

"Thank you sir! No, as far as I am aware, I am not related to any officers, Marine or otherwise. Commander Turner you said, sir? H'mm… yes. He is on our ward, and he's resting comfortably, considering his injuries."

"What are his injuries, Lieutenant, is he badly hurt?"

"I shouldn't really tell, you, sir. There are a couple of NCIS Agents sitting by his bed, waiting for him to wake up, but as you're the only person to have called… you're not a relative are you, sir?"

"No, no I'm not…" Harm couldn't keep the disappointment out of his voice, "But we've been buddies for nearly twenty years, since we were at the academy together…" he let his voice trail off hopefully.

"I really shouldn't tell you," Lieutenant O'Hara said doubtfully, "But… he has multiple fractures of his left arm, both above and below the elbow, a fracture of his right upper leg and a pretty severe concussion. The concussion was a bit worrying at first, but he's had a CT scan and everything looks good. As soon as the swelling in his arm and leg subsides we'll reduce the fractures, put him in a cast and he should be fit enough to travel in about ten days. Barring complications, of course," she added as a caveat.

"Thank you, Lieutenant," Harm acknowledged the young woman's help, "Any idea what time Commander Turner might wake up? I'd really like to speak with him, if only for a couple of minutes."

Harm could almost hear the shrug in Lieutenant O'Hara's voice, "With head injuries like his, it's anyone's guess sir. We are monitoring him pretty closely to make sure he's in normal sleep and hasn't slipped into a coma, and he does wake up from time to and is responsive when he wakes… but really, rest and sleep are about the best therapy he can get at the moment, so we don't wake him. But I'll tell him you called when he does wake?"

"OK, thanks, Lieutenant. Can you just make a note of this number for when he does?" Ham read out and had the young woman repeat his office, home and cell 'phone numbers, before, with a final thanks, he hung up the 'phone.

Although the 'phone call had answered some of his questions, there were others to which Harm wanted answers. Sturgis was a more than merely competent driver; he'd been stationed at Pearl for nearly four years, so he ought to have known the roads. The car he was driving was, more than likely, a JAG Motor Pool sedan, so not exactly a high-performance muscle car. Why then had he gone off the road? The more Harm thought about it, the more certain he became that Sturgis' accident wasn't an accident at all. Barbara Saunders wouldn't be arriving at Pearl for hours yet, but one his first calls tomorrow would be to her, to find out if the wreckage was being forensically examined, and if not to urge her to get that done ASAP.

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Harm's fretting seemed to have a strange effect on his perception of time for the rest of the day, on the one hand it made the afternoon drag on as if the hands of the clock were deliberately moving slowly, yet although he'd accomplished a lot seventeen hundred hours seemed to come so quickly that he still hadn't finished all he'd meant to do when Loren stuck her head around the door frame.

"Temper on the mend?" she asked sunnily.

"Yeah… all better now," Harm managed a shame-faced grin. "A bear with a sore head, was it?" he challenged her.

"Something of that ilk," Loren agreed, leaning against the door frame, "But what I really came to ask is, are you ready to leave, or should I wait for a while, or should I get a ride home from someone else?"

"Oh… no… give me five minutes to secure everything and I'll be ready. Today has been a b… a bear, and I'll be glad to get home and relax."

Loren grimaced apologetically, "Uh… it's not quite over yet… I need to stop at the pharmacy on the way home… somebody needs more diapers!"

Harm grinned, "Now… that's a word, I've suddenly become much less fond of!"

"Oh, really? since when?" Loren wanted to know.

"Since last Saturday!" Harm said decisively

"Yeah… I thought you might say that!" Loren grinned.

"I thought you thought I might!" Harm quipped. "Do you have any particular pharmacy in mind?"

"The one on Wilson Boulevard, just before the Sleepy Hollow Road turn-off."

"Yeah, that's not a problem," Harm agreed as he locked his files away, and then picking up his cover and briefcase he turned to Loren, "Madam, will you walk?"

"I most certainly will, and even talk with you, if you want!" Loren agreed merrily.

"And even if I don't want!" Harm growled, and then catching Loren's expression out of the corner of his eye added hastily and with a totally spurious air of innocence, "Of course, I'm always happy to hear what you've got to say…"

Loren peered at him suspiciously As he thumbed the elevator call button, "Yeah, right! And the moon is made of green cheese!"

Harm grinned as the elevator doors opened, and he stood back, "After you, Lieutenant!"

Loren stepped into the elevator with a "Thanks, Harm!"

For a second Harm debated with himself whether or not to tell Loren that he merely reacted instinctively to naval protocol where the junior officer was always first in, last out of the boat or car, and then decided on the balance of things that the momentary triumph wouldn't be worth the hours of domestic hell he'd catch if he actually told her that!

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Loren had protested that there was no need for Harm to accompany her into the store and promised that she wouldn't keep him waiting long, and she was as good as her word, reappearing in just under five minutes with her arms fully occupied with two giant economy sized packs of diapers. Harm leaped out of the car, opened the rear luggage hatch and relived her of her burden.

"That was quick work!" he congratulated her as with both of them safely buckled in to their seats, he edged the Lexus back out into the busy end-of-day traffic stream.

"Well, I knew exactly where in the store they were, and they were the only things I wanted, and then I caught a break at the check-out. I've known exactly the same errand take me up to twenty minutes at this time of day, if there's a line at the check-out!"

Harm nodded in acknowledgement of her explanation. Since getting married he had spent more time in stores – especially grocery stores – than he had beforehand, and he had had his fair share of standing in line at the check-out.

The remainder of the drive home was passed in desultory talk, although Loren passed one or two bitter animadversions on the sheer amount of scuttlebutt that was percolating through JAG and which she had very little hesitation in placing the source as Seaman Elizabeth Hawkins.

"Hawkins? Which one is that?" Harm asked, to make conversation, after all, he was only half-interested at best.

"She's a Personnelman, one of Tiner's friends – as if he wasn't bad enough on his own – brunette, curly hair, dark eyes, looks a bit Hispanic, slightly olive skin tone?"

Harm shook his head, "Nope, no bells ringing here!"

"Oh Harm! Of course you know her! She's the one with the pneumatic bust; with the double-stitched, reinforced buttons on her blouse!"

"Oh… That one!" Harm said with an air of just having been enlightened.

"Yeah, as if you didn't know!" Loren grinned.

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Jen put her knife and fork down neatly on her plate and took a sip of water from her glass as she regarded Harm solemnly along the length of the kitchen table, as she wondered whether or not to air her concerns on Angela's behalf, especially as she was pretty sure that something was bothering Harm too. Feeling her eyes on him, Harm looked up with an inquiring arch to his right eyebrow.

"Yes?" he asked.

Jen hesitated and Harm smiled, "Come on Jen, it's as plain as the nose on your face that something's been bugging you ever since I got home. So, give; what is it?"

Jen nodded, grateful once again for Harm's perception, "Yeah, there is something niggling at me, but I'm not sure I can ask you about it."

"Why not? Jen, you know you can ask me about anything!" Harm said in surprise.

"Yeah, I know, normally, I can… but this is to do with the Lindsey case."

"Well, you can ask, but I can't give you much in the way of answers, sweetheart, not only have I been severed from the case, but I handed all my notes to the new prosecutor this morning. And now she's had to leave town in a hurry!"

Jen nodded, and despite the gravity of the situation, something in Harm's words sparked a mischievous memory, "The posse hot on her trail?"

Harm gave a crack of laughter, but sobered quickly. "No… Well, you know Sturgis went out to Pearl to find out about the pressure being put on Pearson?"

Jen nodded, "Well, Sturgis' car went off the road in a mountain area and he's in the army hospital at Pearl. His injuries aren't that serious apparently, except for a heavy concussion. Anyway, the Admiral sent this new prosecutor, a Commander Saunders, out there to pick up on Sturgis' investigation, and passed the investigation into Sturgis' mishap to the local NCIS office."

Jen was quick to realise the implications, "So… there's no-one available to come and take Angela's deposition… she's getting a bit edgy with the waiting, and if something doesn't happen soon, I've a feeling that she might change her mind about testifying!"

"Dammit, that can't happen! Try not to frighten her, Jen, but drop a hint that refusing to testify could lead up to her being charged with obstruction of a JAGMan investigation!"

"Harm! You wouldn't! She's my friend remember!"

"Yes, I do remember, and no I wouldn't do that. But I don't have enough of a handle on this Saunders woman to tell you which way she'd jump!"

"Saunders?" Jen queried.

"Yeah, Commander Barbara Saunders, the new prosecutor," Harm explained.

"Oh…" Jen reflected as she took in this new information, and then something that had struck a chord when Harm had mentioned it, but that then been temporarily shelved in her anxiety over Angela, came swimming back up to the surface, "Harm… you said 'mishap' when you mentioned Sturgis car going off the road, wasn't it an accident?"

"I don't know, Jen," Harm said spreading his hands, "But Sturge is a damn good driver, on a road he should know well. Let's just say I've got my suspicions!"