Part 4
NCISWashington, D.C.
1420 LocalMac gave her name to the receptionist and then retreated to one of stylishly uncomfortable lobby chairs. Although she had told Agent Todd that it would be fine to meet at NCIS, she wasn't all that crazy about showing up in the lions' den. Chegwidden hadn't been all that pleased to let her go either but, with all the pressure of preparing for his wedding, he was rarely pleased about anything. Mac had been surprised that he had let Jen Coates take charge of the arrangements. The young petty officer wouldn't have been her first choice for that delicate an assignment. Her private opinion that this would come back and bite him in the ass had every indication of being borne out. Jen was a nice girl and was becoming quite an asset around the office but when all was said and done, she had zero experience and there was at least a thirty year difference between her and the engaged couple. Mac rather doubted that their priorities were the same. At any rate, despite the possible fiasco looming on the horizon, Chegwidden still realized that a meeting with NCIS was necessary and he definitely preferred keeping them off his turf. That much Mac got out of his brusque acceptance and dismissal." Colonel MacKenzie."Mac looked up to see Kate Todd standing in front of her. "Agent Todd." Getting up, she followed the shorter brunette to a conference room down the hall. Settling in a chair much more comfortable than those in the lobby, she declined the NCIS agent's offer of something to drink and waited.Kate looked at Mac for a moment and then opened the file folder she'd brought in, "Thank you for coming in, Colonel. I'll try not to take up too much of your time."Mac gave her a wry look, "I doubt it would be possible. I'm afraid I don't have a tremendous amount of information." She leaned forward and folded her hands on the table, better to get this over with as quickly as possible. "I met Tia Mallory at the Baylor Shelter. She was a battered wife but all I was able to do for her was file the divorce papers. She left right after that, telling me she was going to stay with a friend in Philadelphia. That's about all I know."" You never met Sergeant Mallory?" Kate tapped her pencil on the table." No. I checked into his records. There was enough there to see that Tia was telling the truth about being abused. Unfortunately, by the time I'd met her, she just wanted out." Mac debated with herself for a moment, part of her wanted to end this as quickly as possible. She sighed a little, "I know that Tia's probably your best suspect but I really don't think she did this."Kate raised an eyebrow and sat back, "She had the most reason to kill him and, for all intents and purposes, she seems to have vanished. Taken together, that makes for compelling suspicion."Mac let her gaze drift around the room for a moment before reluctantly focusing again on the NCIS agent. Dammit, she had enough stress in her life without resurrecting old ghosts, "She had the most obvious reason and her disappearing into the woodwork is actually pretty common. Women who have escaped their abusers are more than leery about being found." Her own mother had certainly vanished without a trace." All the more reason for Mrs. Mallory to have killed him. She had to keep him from finding her."" Look, you don't understand how oppressive her life was. That kind of abuse wears you down. Tia found just enough strength to run away, I doubt if she had enough left to actually confront her husband. Murdering him in cold blood doesn't make sense."" Unless, of course, she did what she thought she had to to ensure her safety. Even the most frightened woman is capable of killing if she's desperate enough."Exasperated, Mac leaned back, "Oh come on, if Tia Mallory was going to kill her husband, don't you think she would have done it before bothering to file for divorce?! I met the woman. She would never go willingly back into that man's presence. He scared the hell out of her."Steely-eyed, Kate glared at the Marine Colonel, "So you're saying Mrs. Mallory is incapable of murder?"" No, I'm not saying that. I happen to think everyone is capable of murder if the circumstances are right. And that's my point, these weren't the right circumstances for Tia to have killed her husband." Mac tapped a finger on the table, "Have you considered any other theories besides 'The Ex-wife Must Have Done It'?"Kate clenched her jaw. Damn, this was like talking to Gibbs. Was it a Marine thing? "Not yet, I'm still looking into Sergeant Mallory's background. It would be nice if we could eliminate Mrs. Mallory as a suspect altogether. Have you had any contact with her since you filed the papers? The address in Philadelphia was bogus." She eyed Mac narrowly, "You knew that already, didn't you?"Mac shook her head, "I suspected as much. I didn't push her about it because I was hoping she would trust me enough to keep in touch." She sighed, looking down at the table, "Unfortunately, Tia had very little faith left in the justice system or the military, for that matter. The only reason I met her was because of the pro bono work I do down at the Baylor Shelter. I don't think she was all that thrilled to find I was a Marine officer, she never contacted me again."" Would she have kept in touch with anyone at the Shelter?" Kate echoed Mac's sigh, this was certainly going nowhere fast." I don't know. I'm not down there on a regular basis. I can only go when my schedule allows." Mac started to get up, "If that's all, I need to get back to headquarters."Kate held up a hand, "One more question - who should I talk to at the Shelter?"" Emma Fine." Mac couldn't help the slight grin at the thought of NCIS banging heads with Emma, "She's one of the supervisors. She works the midnight to nine shift but her weekly schedule changes every month. I'm not sure which nights she's working right now."Kate stood up and offered Mac her hand and a small smile, "Thank you, Colonel. I appreciate your efforts in this matter."Mac took Kate's hand feeling slightly bemused, this was certainly different from the last experience she'd had with NCIS. "Good luck with your investigation." She shook her head when Kate started to walk around the table, "Don't bother, I'm sure I can find my way out." Mac headed for the door and then, on impulse, stopped and turned around, "If it's not too much trouble, would you let me know how the case turns out?"Kate nodded, "Sure, I don't think that'll be a problem." She watched as the brunette walked out and disappeared down the hallway. A few moments later Tony appeared, his head still swiveled to look down the hallway. Kate let out an exasperated sigh, sometimes his macho act was irritating as hell. She crossed her arms and loudly cleared her throat. When he finally turned towards her, she gave him a sardonic look, "She's out of your league, Tony."Two Days Later
1845 LocalHarm brought the ball in and after drifting left, set his shoulders and drove for a lay-up from the right. Sturgis went up with him but Harm's superior height gave him the edge as he put the ball through the hoop. Sturgis retrieved it and then signaled time-out, "Let's take a break, Harm. I need some water."Harm grinned at him, "You'll need more than that tonight, old man."Sturgis tossed the ball at the aviator and shook his head as he picked up his water bottle, "Man, if that's the best you can do for trash-talking, maybe you should take up knitting. Those old ladies can probably dish it out almost as well." He sat down on the bleachers and ran a towel over his face.Harm stood in front, absently twirling the ball in his hands. "What time does Varese get in?"" Her flight comes into Reagan at 22:35." He squinted up at Harm, "When does the concert end?"" 2300. I'll pick Mattie and her friends up and probably stop somewhere for pizza." He grimaced slightly at the thought of riding herd on four giggly teenagers. He was used to having women pay attention to him but it was a little unnerving for 15 year-olds to be giving him the eye." Why don't you call Mac and see if she'll lend a hand?" Sturgis kept his expression as innocent as possible. He wasn't above giving Harm a kick off dead-center. It seemed fairly obvious that Rabb was thinking about regaining the relationship he had shared with Mac. Unfortunately, it also seemed that he was no faster or brighter about it than he had been the first time. Sturgis didn't want to go through that turmoil again.Harm gave his friend a jaundiced look, "She's probably on a date. She was out of the office at 1700."Sturgis smiled, "She had a dinner date..." He waited a beat and then added, "...with Emma Fine." He ducked as the ball suddenly came his way and then laughed, "She's probably got her cell, call her." He refrained from adding 'You big dope.'American Cafe
Washington, D.C.
1850 LocalEmma dabbed at her lips with a napkin and leaned back with a smile, "I still don't know how you do that. I wouldn't be able to fit through the door if I ate that much."Mac gave the older woman a grin and a shrug as she polished off another forkful of the Yankee pot roast. "Fast metabolism. How is everything down at the Shelter?"" Chaotic, as usual. We're stuffed to the gills. I'm networking with other shelters to make sure no one gets turned away." She shook her head, "Maybe I'm just getting old, but it seems like people have less control over themselves these days."" I don't know about that," Mac tilted her head thoughtfully, "I think, perhaps, women are finally realizing that they don't have to endure it anymore." She fell quiet again, staring absently at her plate.Emma watched her carefully. She knew Sarah had overcome an abusive childhood and alcoholism although she rarely alluded to it. She didn't deny it when asked but she didn't volunteer the information very often either. She, also, (and wrongly, Emma thought) didn't seem to put much stock in her own personal accomplishments. Egotistical was not a word one applied to Sarah MacKenzie. Putting her napkin down, Emma folded her hands and leaned forward. She knew that Sarah appreciated directness. "A Kate Todd came to see me yesterday. She was looking for Tia Mallory. She said you gave her my name."Mac shot Emma a quick look, trying to decide if she was angry or not, "I did. It seemed the fastest way to get this cleared up. I don't believe Tia would come back to DC just to murder her ex-husband."Emma nodded, "That's about what I figured. Ordinarily, I don't give that sort of information to any agency."" Have you been in contact with Tia?" Mac felt relieved that Emma wasn't annoyed at her actions. She knew the older woman could be fierce in protecting her people." I have. I called her while Agent Todd was sitting in the office. Tia's employed with a real estate agency in Hartford, Connecticut as a receptionist/office clerk. Ellie Nichols did some networking and found her the job. Tia worked until 6 pm and then went out with her co-workers the night her ex was killed. She was back in the office by 8 am. There wasn't enough time for her to have traveled to DC and been back at work. The office manager corroborated her story."" So Tia's off the suspect list. That's wonderful." Mac leaned back in relief. Although she really didn't think Tia was capable of such a crime, it was nice to have confirmation. Of course, that meant there was still a murderer out there somewhere but it was Agent Todd's problem, not hers. Considering the type of man Sergeant Mallory was, it was hard to work up any kind of outrage over his death. She looked at Emma, "How did she take the news of the murder?"" Shocked a little, I think, but not surprised. It sounded like he was belligerent with a lot of people. I imagine her feelings will be all over the board for a while. I told her to call me when she needed to talk about it." Emma leaned back and regarded Mac thoughtfully, "Now would you like to tell me what's been bothering you?"Mac hesitated for a moment, then lifted a shoulder in a one-sided shrug, her expression weary, "Personally or professionally?"Emma's eyebrows rose a little. Sarah was always guarded about her life but seldom had she sounded bitter about it. She wasn't given to complaining, but Emma was never quite sure if it was because the younger woman never thought anyone was truly interested. Thinking it over, Emma surprised Mac by signaling for the check. She gave the Marine Colonel a reassuring smile, "This discussion sounds like it needs privacy, coffee and some sinfully delicious chocolate cake, and not necessarily in that order. Let's take this back to my place."Mac started to protest but gave up at the look on Emma's face. Maybe this was what she needed - a friendly ear. Mac knew she had a tendency to circle the wagons when life got tough. The problem was that it was becoming harder and harder to come out from behind her defenses. It had been years since she had felt so vulnerable on so many levels.She'd been at loose ends for someone to talk to about things. The therapist she'd seen after 'Archangel' had relocated to Chicago, following her husband's career move and she'd had neither the time nor inclination to seek out another. Harm was out of the picture and even if he wasn't - how would she discuss her problems with him? Half the problem WAS him and she didn't need a fight or an attitude every time she opened her mouth. Clay was good for some stuff but certainly not everything. During those early months when Harm was off God-knew-where, she would take an occasional weekend and go out to see Annabel Simpson. While she couldn't talk to Annabel about Paraguay, she did find a certain amount of peace at Avis' grave site. Fortunately, Annabel found it perfectly normal to discuss things with the deceased. She would visit her husband while Mac went to see Avis. The irony of talking to a headstone was not lost on Mac.They were almost to Mac's car when her cellphone went off. Pulling it out with an apology to Emma, she saw with surprise that it was Harm's cell number on the ID. Why would he be calling her? She felt a brief flash of anxiety, was something wrong? Taking a deep breath, she flipped it open, "Harm?"" Hey, Mac. Did I catch you at a bad time?" She had sounded a little funny... Harm turned around, putting his back to Sturgis. This was probably a stupid idea.Mac glanced over at Emma, "No, no. It's okay, I was just a little surprised. Is everything all right?"" What? Oh sure, everything's fine. Well... almost, anyway." He took a deep breath, why was this so hard? "I was just wondering if you'd mind giving me a hand with a bunch of teenagers tonight?" Brilliant way to ease into that, Rabb. He put a smile on, hoping she would hear it in his voice, "There's a pizza in it for you, Marine." There, that sounded better.Mac couldn't help smiling, "What have you gotten yourself into?" Obviously, this had Mattie written all over it." Mattie went to a concert with some friends from school and I'm supposed to pick them up and take them for pizza afterwards." His voice dropped into the pleading range, "Look, I know it's short notice but I need reinforcements, Mac. I'm going to be surrounded by four teenage girls. I'm not sure I'll survive."" Harm, I'm with Emma right now... "He cut in quickly, "I know, I know, but the concert doesn't end until 2300. You should be finished by then, right?" He hesitated for a moment, "Unless you think you'll be too tired... or you just don't feel like dealing with noisy teenagers. It's okay, I understand. I know this wouldn't be my first choice for a fun evening... "" Harm, stop. I haven't said no. Let me check with Emma." Mac pulled the phone away from her ear and looked over at Emma with a smile, "Harm got himself roped into taking his ward and her teenage girlfriends out for pizza later tonight. He's looking for back-up. It won't be until after 2300."Emma gave her a puzzled look, "His ward? When... ?" She shook her head, "It seems I have a lot of catching up to do." She waved a hand and smiled, "Tell him yes if that's what you want. No man should be left to the mercy of teenage girls. We can chat until you have to leave." Emma regarded Mac thoughtfully as the younger woman confirmed that she'd meet Harm at the pizza parlor at 2315. It didn't take a genius to see that part - a large part, perhaps - of Sarah's problems revolved around one Harmon Rabb, Jr.
