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1638 ZULU
Marine Corps Base Hawaii
Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii
The warm sunrays and the saline air slowly helped to Harm emerge from his haze. His rumbling headache reminded him of last night. He'd been drinking beer with Bud, discussing the latest prowess of little AJ, when he had heard Mac's yelling. Even though he couldn't recognise the words she had been using, he could guess by her angry intonation that she was talking about him. He hadn't wanted to confront her, so he stayed on the porch, gulping down ale after ale, until his hand could only find empty bottles in the box.
Through the thick fog of his mind, he recognised Mac's laughter in the early morning hour. A sound so refreshing, yet painful with all the melancholic memories it carried. Harm needed a few minutes to understand that she wasn't alone. The other laughs, undoubtedly masculine, were not Bud's. At this realisation, he tumbled out of bed and dragged himself towards the kitchen. She was standing there, wearing a tank top and shorts, brewing coffee and chatting cheerfully with Major Alberts. They both had their backs turned to Harm, unaware of his presence, and he decided to keep it that way and to listen to their conversation.
"Do you always get up that early?" Alberts asked, biting his toast.
"Only when there are nice landscapes to look at," Mac answered, pouring coffee for the two of them, "and invigorating waters to set my mind straight."
"Any problem you care to share?" he offered, kindly.
"Not particularly," she said, shrugging. "Let's just say I ate too much chocolate yesterday night and I wanted to burn some calories, okay?"
"Chocolate, really?" he teased her. "That's not the kind of thing I expected coming from a Marine, Colonel."
"Sneakers, no ranks and no Ma'ams here, we're not in a courtroom," she stopped him. "And chocolate is an excellent substitute for..." She brought her hand to her lips and became suddenly silent. Harm observed her neck turn scarlet and imagined the same blush on her face, shocked by what she had just said. "Please, tell me I didn't say that out loud," she continued awkwardly, hiding her visage behind her hands sheepishly.
"I wish I could," Sneakers answered, his shoulders shaking slightly from laughter. "But I'm used to this kind of discourse anyway. My older sisters were saying that all the time. I just hope you enjoyed it."
Eyes wide open, Harm couldn't believe Mac was having that type of conversation with a pure stranger so he headed back to his bedroom to get ready for the phone conference with the admiral.
* * * * *
1733 ZULU
JAG Headquarters
Falls Church, Virginia
[Sir, you have a phone call from Lieutenant Roberts on line three,] the yeoman announced in the intercom.
"Pass it through, Coates," the admiral ordered. "Roberts, I hope you have some results for me."
[Well, Admiral, we now know Major Graham's cause of death,] Bud started, jumping to the essential. [She died of cardiac arrest caused by a lack of oxygen, possibly provoked by strangulation, according to the marks on her neck. The physician on base hasn't been able to conduct the autopsy yet, so we're waiting for the NCIS team to have the final results. They should be in here by tomorrow.]
"Colonel, any suspects?"
[We do have one, sir,] Mac answered. [Major Graham's ex-husband, Captain Christopher Lewin. He had threatened to kill her not so long ago. I think he succeeded, sir.]
"Any evidence yet?"
[Nothing, sir,] Harm responded. [Except for his past history, nothing tends to incriminate him.]
[I'm sure the autopsy will give us interesting findings, and may possibly link him to the crime, sir,] Mac cut in, her voice a little annoyed.
"The convening authority on base wants this crime to be solved rapidly. As soon as you have physical evidence, call an Article 32 immediately. Colonel, you'll be prosecuting with the help of Major Alberts. Rabb, you and Roberts will defend. That'll be all."
[Aye, aye, sir,] answered four voices at the other end of the line before it went dead.
The admiral hung up the phone, and Coates entered his office at the same moment. "Sir, I think there might be a problem with the Graham case."
"What is it?" he sighed, leaning back in his chair, joining his hands behind his head.
"We just received a fax from the Provost Marshall of the Marine Corps Base Hawaii. Captain Lewin escaped from the brig a few minutes ago."
* * * * *
1804 ZULU
Marine Corps Base Hawaii
Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii
It was real chaos when Mac entered the detention centre, followed closely by the three other lawyers. Furniture was thrown everywhere in the hallway and corpsmen were taking care of an unconscious sergeant. "What the hell happened here, Chief?" she asked.
"Honestly, Ma'am, I don't know. I was in the other room down the hall brewing coffee when the phone rang. Sergeant Rogers picked it up and I heard him say it was for Captain Lewin. All I know is, when I came back, the sergeant was lying on the floor and Lewin was gone."
"Any idea who called him?" Harm questioned.
"Sorry sir, but no. We don't have caller ID on those phones, and Sergeant Rogers didn't have time to file the phone call in the logbook before the prisoner hit him at the back of the head."
"Bud," Mac ordered with her pure command voice, "call security and make sure Lewin won't be able to cross the gates and send an investigation team at his house. Sneakers, contact his ex-mother-in-law and tell her to be careful. Call me on my cell phone if you find anything. Harm, you come with me, I'm sure you would prefer to be present when I find your client."
"Where are we going?" Harm inquired, right behind her heels.
"To Major Graham's house. Her mother is staying there with Marty, and I'm sure that's where Lewin is gone."
There was a deadly silence in the car during the five-minute ride to the house. Mac had her eyes glued to the road and Harm was looking at the side window, fiddling with his hat. Once out of the car, Mac opened the trunk and took her sidearm while Harm just headed towards the door. "Hey, Mac," he remarked in a low voice, "the door is slightly ajar." He opened it slowly, under Mac's attentive cover. "Ms Graham?" he called, carefully, "we're from the JAG corps, we'd like to talk to you."
Mac surreptitiously entered the residence and cursed under her breath. "I think we're too late, Harm," she told him. A glass of milk was spilled over the counter, furniture was pushed aside and the phone was hanging out of its cradle. "Look at the mess – they must have left in a hurry."
"But there's still a car in the driveway, so either he had a vehicle, or they are by foot and it will be impossible for him to leave the base with them."
"Look, Harm. He tried to strangle me, so do you really think he would be afraid of an old woman?" Mac questioned, but before Harm could reply, they were interrupted by her cell phone. "Mackenzie. Sneakers, what did you find? WHAT? Is NCIS here yet? As soon as they arrive, send them to Major Graham's house, and make sure they search Captain Lewin's place thoroughly too. Call security and tell them to wait for us, we're coming." She flipped her cell phone shut and addressed Harm. "They found him. He's at the hospital."
"Why? What happened?" Harm asked, concerned.
"The call Lewin received probably came from his ex-mother-in-law. She called an ambulance last night because Marty was not feeling well. He is now in the ICU and the captain is at his bedside. Security is waiting for us before they apprehend him."
Ten minutes later, Harm and Mac were welcomed by Bud, Sneakers and four MPs at the main entrance of the hospital. After getting the indications for the right room from a nurse, Mac led to way and opened the door to find Captain Lewin sitting on a chair beside Marty's bed, and an old woman standing by the window. "Take him, and this time, make sure he won't be able to escape," she ordered.
The four guards obeyed and escorted Lewin out of the room. He didn't try to protest; he just kept staring at his son, pleading, "I'm sorry, Marty. I wish I could have been better. Please, forgive me."
Under his oxygen mask, tears were flowing on his cheeks as he was extending his arms towards his father, begging him to stay. "Daddy, don't go away again, please Daddy!"
"Bud, go with him," Mac suggested. "This man will certainly need legal advice." Then she walked slowly towards the old woman now sitting on the bed next to Marty, trying to calm the little boy by holding him tightly in her arms. "Ms Graham," she started on a soothing tone, "would you please explain to us what happened?" She sat down on the chair previously occupied by Lewin, and Harm took a seat a few feet behind her. Major Alberts was standing near the door, silent.
"At first, I thought Marty had a cold," the old lady started explaining. "He's been coughing ever since I got here, and he had a fever for the last two days. I wanted to give him some Tylenol, but I couldn't find any in the house, so I gave him vitamins. He said his mother used to take them when she felt sick last week. But instead of improving, his condition just got worse. Last night, he didn't want to go to bed, he said he couldn't breathe when he was lying down, so I called an ambulance and early this morning, I called Christopher. He is still his father, so I thought he needed to know."
"Did the doctor tell you anything, Ma'am?" Harm asked, leaning forward.
"He said Marty had pulmonary oedema. He also said that the pH of his blood was too low and that his potassium level was really low too. Tell me what it means, please!" she implored, silent tears rolling on her cheeks, invisible to the child she was holding.
"Acidosis and hypokalemia, exactly like his mother," Mac noticed. "Ms Graham, did you notice anything special in your daughter's house?"
"No, everything seemed in order. Uh... wait a minute... I did find it surprising that the vitamins were not in their original package. They were in an old drug bottle, with the single word "vitamins" written on a piece of masking tape. And they smelled bizarre, like Sambuca."
"Sneakers," Mac addressed the major, "I want you to go in Major Graham's house, retrieve the vitamins bottle and bring them to the lab personally. Tell them we need the results ASAP." Then she returned her attention to the old woman. "Ma'am, do you mind if I ask Marty some questions?"
"As long as it's not too long, because the doctor wants him to rest."
"Marty." Mac was using her sweetest voice, reaching to grab the child's hand. "My name is Mac, and the tall guy over there is Harm. We have some questions for you – do you think you can answer them for us?" The young boy moved his head up and down, nodding his agreement, so Mac continued. "Please tell me what happened on the beach the other day."
"Mommy was pulling my canoe into the waves, and I decided to jump in the water with her," Marty answered proudly. "But after that, all I remember is sitting beside Mommy on the beach." The child's voice was muffled by his mask, but still clearly understandable.
"Someone heard you on the beach, when you were beside your mommy. You were asking your daddy for help," Mac kept on. "Why?"
"Mommy was sleeping and Daddy should have waked her up."
"And why did you tell him 'don't go away again' a few minutes ago?" Harm asked, guessing Mac's line of thought.
"'Cause I don't want Daddy to leave me alone like he did on the beach!" Marty cried out, burying his face in his grandmother's arms.
Harm and Mac looked at each other, understanding dawning in their mind. Mac spoke first. "Marty, I know this is extremely hard, but I need you to answer a last question. Are you telling us your father was on the beach when your mother died?"
The boy only nodded and returned to his grandmother's embrace. Both lawyers slowly rose from their seat and approached the bed. "You are a big boy," Harm said, tousling his hair softly.
"And you are very courageous," Mac continued, before she turned to face his grandmother. "If you need anything, just give us a call." The old woman inclined her head in agreement and the two officers left the room.
"Mac, do you understand what that means?" Harm asked his co-worker, walking down the hall towards the hospital doors.
"Oh yes I do," she answered with her all-business tone. "This little boy just gave me the elements I needed to pin your client down in jail for at least five years. Now, I would suggest you to meet your client with Bud and try to patch the Titanic, while I'll discuss the charges with Sneakers. I'll see you in court tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" Harm asked, surprised. "Aren't you sleeping at the cabin tonight?"
"Sneakers invited me to go snorkelling with him under the moonlight. He wanted to show me a very interesting spot with plenty of corals and shoals of fishes. He invited the girls too, if you give Mattie the authorisation, naturally. He insisted on the fact that one of the most important rules in diving is the buddy system, so if Mattie can't come, Chloe will have to stay home too. We'll probably light a campfire, grill marshmallows and sleep on the beach."
"Mattie is old enough to decide what she wants to do," Harm answered, looking away from her, before mumbling, "And I won't give you the opportunity to go out without a chaperone."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
