-
Part 17
Saturday Harm's Apartment North of Union Station 2023 Local
Two tired adults and one bouncing teenager climbed out of the SUV. "I had such a great time!" Mattie flung her arms around Mac and hugged her, "Thanks again for inviting us. Wasn't JP the coolest? And Claire was so nice... JP invited me to a dance at his school. It's formal so I'm going to need a new dress. Wait'll I tell Jen!" She bounded into the building and up the stairs while Mac stood there with a bemused expression.
She looked over see Harm standing with the cooler half out of the back of the SUV, his patented 'Rabb in the Headlights' look firmly in place. He shifted his gaze from the building to Mac, "She's going where? With who? She needs what?"
Mac shook her head, smiling, and walked over to the back of the car. "A dance. JP. An evening gown." She slipped a hand under his elbow and tugged, "C'mon, Dad. You knew this was going to happen."
"But... but... Wait a minute! A date?! She's only fifteen! How old is this guy?" Harm started to sputter as they headed into the building.
"JP's only seventeen and aren't you always telling me how mature Mattie is for her age? It'll be fine, Harm. Jen and I can handle the dress shopping, you only need to provide the plastic." Mac kept her tone matter-of-fact. If she started laughing like she really wanted to do, Harm would just get defensive and irritated. "The Trescotts seem like a very nice family. The kids weren't obnoxious. You liked them, you told me so yourself. This will be a good experience for Mattie."
"Maybe, and I said I liked them before we started playing volleyball - if that's what you want to call what happened." Mac didn't say anything. She could tell by his tone that he was grousing for form's sake. Mattie going on a real date had caught him by surprise. They got out of the elevator and Mac walked ahead to unlock the apartment door. She held it open and then followed him in.
"I still think Mike was biased towards the kids," Harm grumbled as he deposited the cooler on the floor by kitchen island. The Congresswoman and Emma had volunteered to take turns being referee when the one volleyball game had turned into a series. The serious play hadn't lasted long and silliness had taken over. Justin Trescott had led the charge by offering to give Emma a yacht in return for an in-bounds ruling. Marnie Terschulte countered by offering to influence a nameless member of Congress into renaming the Washington Monument after her. Dave Russo gave Mike a quarter to look the other way while he pulled the net down so his wife's serve would go over. Mac promised the Congresswoman her very own tank for a do-over when her spike went wide. By the time they were done, Vicky Hamman was wearing JP's old football helmet, the Clearys were armed with lacrosse sticks, Mac was only allowed to touch the ball using a teddy bear and Harm was wearing swimfins and mittens to compensate for his 'abnormal and grotesque height advantage'.
Mac rolled her eyes, "Would your first clue be the fact that the Trescott kids called her Auntie Mike or that she gave them 'style points'? She looked down at her knees and grimaced, "I think these grass stains are going to be permanently embedded in my skin." She pulled out a stool and sat down, resting her elbows on the counter, "Where do you keep the ibuprofen?"
Harm reached into a cupboard and lobbed the bottle over his shoulder at Mac, "Get some out for me, too." He went to the fridge and pulled out two bottles of water and then settled himself next to her.
Mac handed him the pills and downed hers with a quick swig of water. She went back to resting her elbows on the counter and said dryly, "Aren't we pathetic? A couple games of volleyball and we're both ready for wheelchairs."
"A couple? I swear it was more like three hundred and eighty-five!" He gave her a mildly indignant look, "At least they didn't make you wear flipper feet. I'm surprised I didn't kill myself."
Mac chuckled, "You and me both, mister. Just be glad they didn't do worse. Louise Trescott told me later that Justin still has a gorilla costume from a couple of Halloweens ago."
"Oh god," Harm looked horrified at hearing of his near escape. They both lapsed into a comfortable silence for a few minutes.
"It was fun, though," Mac spoke quietly, giving him a smile.
"Yeah, it was."
She propped her head on her hand and looked at him, "So what do you think?"
"Not sure." Harm rolled his bottle of water back and forth in his hands, "Romblin was the blonde that kept to himself?"
"Yeah," Mac looked frustrated. "Kate wanted me to see if I could get him to talk about his sister but how do you get into that sort of conversation when he limits his sentences to one or two words? 'Hi Alan, it's good to see you here.' 'Thanks.' 'Alan, are you enjoying yourself? 'Uh-huh.' 'Alan, have some barbecue and oh, by the way, was your sister's death actually because your parents were abusive?'"
"Yeah, that's probably not the best approach. Who else are you looking at?"
She sighed, "I suppose Dave Garrick would be another possible. Only child, not married and his mother is in New Bern, North Carolina. Gives him an excuse to be in the area and Lejeune is only a couple of hours away. I don't know... Did you talk to him at all?"
"Garrick...?" Harm tapped his chin and smiled, "Was he the short, dark-haired guy in the green t-shirt that said 'Mom, Dad, I'm Gaelic'?"
"No, that was Bill Fosling, a friend of the Trescotts. Garrick was wearing the Redskins t-shirt."
"Oh yeah, okay." Harm paused for a moment in thought, "You know, I don't think he liked me very much. Wherever I was, he seemed to wind up in the farthest group." He gave Mac a wry look, "Think it was something I said?"
"I don't know, was the something 'Beat it', 'Get lost', 'Go away'?" Mac grinned at him.
Harm leaned sideways a little and cocked an eyebrow at her, "My, aren't we feeling feisty. I guess the ibuprofen is kicking in." He turned back to the counter, "Seriously though, was it just a personality clash or the fact that I'm in the military... or because I came with you?"
That sobered Mac up, Coster and Dalton Lowne immediately springing to mind. Harm saw and inwardly cursed. He should have thought before saying anything out loud. The last thing he wanted was to resurrect old ghosts. Carefully, he set about repairing the damage, "Mac, if this killer is following your life then he already knows we've been involved. If he found it that upsetting, don't you think he'd have made some sort of move by now?" She didn't say anything and so he pressed on, "Actually, when you think about it, this guy WANTS you to be happy. That's why he's trying to rewrite your childhood in his own convoluted way. It could very well be that he's given us his stamp of approval."
Mac stared at him incredulously, "That has got to be the creepiest way of making me feel better that you've ever used."
Harm made a show of polishing his fingernails on his shirt and gave her a comically smug look, "Amazing, ain't I?"
She shook her head, "That's one way of putting it." She was silent for a moment, "You know, Louise Trescott said something odd." Harm raised an eyebrow in inquiry. Mac rubbed her jaw and looked at him, "You remember that Mike's parents were killed in a house fire when she was in college?" He nodded and she continued, "I didn't think too much about it, aside from the 'how awful, poor Mike' reaction. I mean it was almost twenty years ago and Mike has never mentioned it. Anyway, Louise said that it was probably the best thing to have happened to her, that her parents were horrible people."
"You're kidding," Harm looked thoughtful, "That's a helluva thing to say to someone you hardly know. Why do you suppose... ?" He drummed his fingers on the counter, "So she had a miserable childhood... You realize that the Congresswoman is sounding more and more like you?"
"Yeah, I know, except that she's the one person who's father was Navy, not Marine." Mac swept a hand through her hair, "Does that make her a suspect anyway? Mike doesn't have any more motive than I do. Hell, she's had more success. She's a United States Congresswoman. Why jeopardize all that? Maybe Louise Trescott isn't the friend that she appears to be."
"That's certainly possible. It could be that Trescott is jealous of how well Elbert's done." Harm leaned back, folding his arms. He could see Mac's point. You could take the same arguments that absolved Mac of suspicion and apply them to the Congresswoman. The only difference was that Mac had ironclad alibis and they didn't know if Elbert did or not. He eyed Mac, "You like Elbert, don't you?"
Mac stared at the counter and nodded, "Yeah, I do. I didn't think I was going to, especially after the way she got me involved but she's a hard woman to dislike."
"So she went to some trouble to make sure it was you that assisted her?" A little alarm was going off in Harm's head. He knew Mac had been pissed when this assignment first came up but had assumed that it had to do with her aversion to politicians and their games.
"Yeah, we talked for a bit at Emma's party. Actually, Emma made a point of introducing us. I guess she thought we'd be a good fit." Mac propped her elbows on the counter and rested her chin. "We do work well together. Actually, my only problem was lack of time. I told her we were swamped and that I didn't think Chegwidden could spare any attorney just then." She turned a little and gave him a sideways look, "Mike's used to getting what she wants. She bypassed the Admiral and went straight for the SecNav. We had a discussion about that my first day."
Harm gave her a wide-eyed stare and grin, "Wow, and she's still alive."
Mac answered with a light slap on his arm and a mock scowl, "Which will be more than anyone will be able to say about you, smart guy." She stood up and tugged at his arm, "That's it. You've messed with the Corps too many times, Commander, and you know what that means."
Harm climbed to his feet, trying unsuccessfully to appear serious, "We're going to exchange opinions?"
"That's one way to describe it," Mac's own grin was slipping out as she angled him towards the bedroom. "I'm afraid I need to teach you a lesson."
Harm looked back over his shoulder as he let her push him along. His eyes twinkled, "I hope you've got enough time. I'm a pretty slow learner."
Monday NCIS Washington, D.C.
1740 Local
Mac walked up to Kate's desk and looked around. The brunette wasn't anywhere to be seen. When she saw a young, brown-haired man watching her, she walked over to his desk. "Hi, is Kate here?"
"No... well, yes... I mean she's not right here... She's down in the morgue... well, not actually IN the morgue, she's talking to Ducky... Dr. Mallard..." He finally petered out, looking somewhat flustered.
Mac hid a smile with difficulty. He sounded exactly like a young Bud Roberts. Going by Kate's description... She held out a hand, "You must be Agent McGee. I'm Lt. Colonel... "
"MacKenzie," he finished for her, shaking her hand with enthusiasm. "It's an honor to meet you ma'am."
"Thank you," Mac smiled while gently easing her hand out of his grasp. He was still happily pumping it. "Kate's had good things to say about you too. I hear you can do amazing things with a computer. You're helping her with the serial killer case, aren't you?"
"Yes ma'am. Would you like to see what I've got so far?" He dropped into his chair and started tapping keys, not waiting for a response. Mac stifled a sigh as she moved behind him to look over his shoulder, she really wanted to check in with Kate. McGee glanced back at her, "Okay, going with the premise that the suspect is in Congresswoman Elbert's office, we've got these names." He pulled up a window showing the ten people. "And we have their families... I left off anyone under 18 or over 70 and we got this." Another window came up showing twenty-three names. "And finally... this was the hard part because I had to stop at some point or most of North America would be on our suspect list. It's that 7 degrees of relativity thing... Anyway, we have this." A third window came up with at least seventy-five names on it.
"Oh damn." Mac breathed, looking at all the names. Nothing like computer graphics to hammer home the fact that you were nowhere in your investigation. More depressing was that their theory that the killer was connected to Mike's office could also be completely off-base.
McGee shot her a quick look, "It seems like a lot, but Abby and I went through and started eliminating everyone who didn't fit the timeframe of the killings. This is our final list." He hit a key and a last window popped up with five names.
Mac blinked, "These?" She leaned in for a closer look. Alan Romblin, Dave Garrick, Anna Joost, Bob Sabatino and Michelle Elbert. She raised an eyebrow at McGee, "Congresswoman Elbert is on your list?"
He looked apologetic, "Yes ma'am, but only because she fits in the timeframe. She was a State Senator before she ran for Congress, so she was in North Carolina at the times of the first killings." He waved a hand at the screen, "We couldn't check alibis, so our parameters were time, location and connection to the military. I guess you and Agent Todd will have to figure out the rest."
Mac nodded and then pointed to the screen, "Who are Joost and Sabatino?" She hadn't really thought about a woman being the killer and was annoyed with herself. Shooting the victims had seemed like a guy thing. 'Way to keep an open mind, MacKenzie.'
McGee's fingers flew over the keyboard, pulling up two more windows, "Anna Joost is the wife of Lisa Cleary's brother-in-law. She's from Goldsboro, North Carolina and moved up to DC about two years ago. Her mother died when she was two and her father was a Marine sergeant. He was killed in a training mishap and she spent a good deal of her childhood in foster care." He gave Mac a sober look, "I don't think it was a good thing, it looks like she was bounced from family to family. She ran away a lot." McGee turned back to the screen, "Sabatino is a friend of Dave Russo. Both his parents were in the Marines. They're retired and living Wilmington, North Carolina. His mother's family is from down there. Sabatino lives in Baltimore now. Get this, he's a bounty hunter." He glanced back at Mac to see her reaction.
"Wow," Mac patted McGee on the shoulder, "Great work. I gather that Kate's seen this already?"
"Yes ma'am," McGee nodded, "I sent it over to her this morning. I don't know if she's had time to check anything yet."
"Okay," Mac looked around the room again, "Where's the morgue?"
McGee pointed to the elevators, "Basement level. Do you want me to show you?" He blushed a little.
Mac smiled at him. He was so much like Bud that she was beginning to wonder if they might be related. "No thanks, I'm sure I can find it." She gave him a final pat and nodded towards the screen, "That is an excellent piece of work, Agent McGee. Thank you." She walked over to the elevator and had just pressed the button when the doors opened revealing Kate and Ducky.
Kate looked at Mac in surprise and then checked her watch, "Mac! I'm sorry. I had no idea it was getting that late. Have you been here long?"
Mac tilted her head slightly towards the bullpen, "Long enough." She directed a warm smile towards the NCIS medical examiner, "Hi Ducky."
"Sarah, how good to see you again." Ducky flashed his own winning smile, "Tell me, have you tired of the vagaries of youth?"
Mac chuckled as she shook her head, "Not yet." She and Ducky played at flirting with each other. The Doctor was a charming man and it amused her to no end to hear of Harm being referred to as some sort of callow youth.
Ducky gave an exaggerated sigh, "Pity." He looked over at Kate, "Well, if you need me... " he took a moment to give Mac a significant look, "... I'll be in the lab. I need to speak with Abby."
Mac returned the look, "I'll keep that in mind."
Kate rolled her eyes as the two women walked to her desk, "You two." She chuckled quietly, "You know it's driving Tony crazy. He can't decide how serious you are. Ducky won't give him a straight answer." She sat down at her computer and glanced over at McGee, "Tim fill you in?"
"Yeah," Mac leaned back in her chair, "You haven't had time to chase down alibis yet, have you?"
Kate tapped a pencil on her desk and gestured to the screen, "Actually, I'm thinking that this calls for a road trip." She gave Mac a pointed look, "I think we need to go to North Carolina."
Mac's eyebrows rose in surprise and then she frowned, "I think you're right but I don't see how I can get down there with you. The Admiral's barely tolerating my involvement as it is and I've got my work with Elbert."
Kate leaned forward, resting her elbows and folding her hands, "Tell you what, let me take a crack at Chegwidden and you talk to the Congresswoman. I'm sure she'll understand how important this is." When Mac looked undecided, Kate leaned in further and lowered her voice, "Mac, I need you down there. I need someone I can rely on. With Gibbs still out, Tony is overwhelmed and it would be far better having McGee here working on the research. He doesn't have much field experience and if we can close in on this guy, I don't think there'll be room for mistakes. Let me talk to your Admiral, I'm sure I can convince him."
Resigned, Mac finally nodded. It was quite possible that Kate would be able to get her way with Chegwidden but there would be a price and she was pretty sure she knew who was going to pay it. All that paled though when she thought of Harm's probable reaction. As worried as he was about this case, he was going to have apoplexy at the thought of her being out of his sight. At least she wasn't leaving the country and this wasn't a CIA mission. She would have to hammer those two points home.
Next Day Congresswoman Elbert's office Washington, D.C.
0940 Local
"She ought to done in a few more minutes, Colonel." Karen, Mike's receptionist, said brightly.
Mac nodded her thanks and continued her examination of the paintings in the outer office. She'd hoped to see Mike earlier but the Congresswoman had been in meetings since 0730. Karen told her that there'd be a bit of gap around 0930 or so. She wondered how Kate was doing with Admiral Chegwidden and then decided she'd rather not think about it just yet. Headquarters would probably be a bit tense this afternoon. She'd decided not to say anything to Harm until she knew for sure if she was going. If Chegwidden allowed the trip, hopefully she'd be lucky enough not to have Harm pick up on it until she could talk to him outside of JAG. Not that she thought he would pitch a fit in the office, his sense of decorum was too strong for that, but it could get unpleasant.
She turned when she heard the door to Mike's office open. Two men and a woman walked out and a few moments later, Mike appeared at the doorway, "Mac? You wanted to see me?" She looked tired.
"I'd appreciate a few minutes of your time, ma'am."
Mike's eyebrows rose, "'Ma'am', is it? Well, this must be important. Come in." She ushered Mac into the office and looked over at Karen, "Hold my calls for a few minutes, would you? Thanks." She entered to find Mac standing in front of her desk, "For heaven's sakes, Mac, sit down. You're making me nervous." She dropped into her own chair and idly swiveled back and forth, "What is it?"
"I may need to take some days off from your investigation."
"That's it?" Mike grinned, "Good grief, woman. I was expecting some sort of national crisis. Of course, you can have the days. Another big court case coming up?"
Mac shook her head, relieved that Elbert hadn't decided to be obnoxious about it, "No, I'm assisting NCIS on a murder investigation. The lead agent wants my help down at Camp Lejeune." She smiled in a depreciating manner, "Probably because I speak 'Marine'. Whether I go will depend upon my CO giving permission."
"Murder? At Lejeune?" Mike looked surprised, "That's my neck of the woods. I hadn't heard of any Marines being murdered down there." Her surprise turned into a scowl, "Park Hayden is supposed to keep me informed of things like this." She started to reach for her phone, "Dammit, I'll have his head."
"Mike, wait," Mac held up a hand, "These murders occurred several years ago. That's why you haven't heard about them. We think they're tied to murders in this area."
"Tied to murders here? ...Wait, wasn't there a Marine murdered at a liquor store a couple of weeks ago? I thought the papers said it was a robbery gone bad." Elbert's eyes narrowed, "... Are we talking about a serial killer?"
Damn, the woman was quick. "I'm afraid all we have are theories right now. That's one of the reasons I have to go to Lejeune. No one connected the murders down there and it's possible that evidence was overlooked." It was hard not to divulge any pertinent information. The Congresswoman had a keen intellect and Mac had learned to value her input. She had to remind herself that the woman sitting across from her was, technically, a suspect.
"Is this going to be dangerous?" Mike's brows drew together in worry. "It doesn't sound like you know who you're looking for. What if the killer is down there and you stumble across him without realizing it? Will you be safe? ...This NCIS agent, is he a big guy?"
"No, actually SHE is a bit shorter than I am." Mac chuckled, "Don't worry, we'll be fine."
Mike continued to frown, "I don't know... The last time you were gone a couple of days, you came back looking like the losing end of a prizefight."
"I know, but this will be pretty cut and dried. We're going to review the old evidence and see if we can find and re-interview witnesses."
Mike rubbed her chin, eyeing Mac silently for a few seconds, "It might not be as easy as all that. I know how the local police departments can be down there. They're going to get defensive and difficult when they think you're accusing them of incompetence and that's exactly how they're going to take a visit from NCIS and JAG. Would it help if, say, some government official who was familiar with the area came down to help smooth the bureaucratic waters?"
Mac looked surprised, "That's kind of you to offer but no, I think it'll be okay. I'll warn Kate that we'll have to tread lightly. We'll only be gone a couple of days."
Still looking doubtful, Mike sat back in her chair, her fingers steepled, "Okay, Mac, just let me know when... or if... you'll be gone."
Hearing the implicit dismissal, Mac rose, "Thank you, Mike. I'll call as soon as I know for sure."
She turned and walked out. Mike watched her leave and then sat for a few moments, tapping her fingers. Finally, she picked up the phone and hit a button, "Karen? See what you can clear from my schedule for the next four or five days. I think it's time to visit my constituents."
Part 17
Saturday Harm's Apartment North of Union Station 2023 Local
Two tired adults and one bouncing teenager climbed out of the SUV. "I had such a great time!" Mattie flung her arms around Mac and hugged her, "Thanks again for inviting us. Wasn't JP the coolest? And Claire was so nice... JP invited me to a dance at his school. It's formal so I'm going to need a new dress. Wait'll I tell Jen!" She bounded into the building and up the stairs while Mac stood there with a bemused expression.
She looked over see Harm standing with the cooler half out of the back of the SUV, his patented 'Rabb in the Headlights' look firmly in place. He shifted his gaze from the building to Mac, "She's going where? With who? She needs what?"
Mac shook her head, smiling, and walked over to the back of the car. "A dance. JP. An evening gown." She slipped a hand under his elbow and tugged, "C'mon, Dad. You knew this was going to happen."
"But... but... Wait a minute! A date?! She's only fifteen! How old is this guy?" Harm started to sputter as they headed into the building.
"JP's only seventeen and aren't you always telling me how mature Mattie is for her age? It'll be fine, Harm. Jen and I can handle the dress shopping, you only need to provide the plastic." Mac kept her tone matter-of-fact. If she started laughing like she really wanted to do, Harm would just get defensive and irritated. "The Trescotts seem like a very nice family. The kids weren't obnoxious. You liked them, you told me so yourself. This will be a good experience for Mattie."
"Maybe, and I said I liked them before we started playing volleyball - if that's what you want to call what happened." Mac didn't say anything. She could tell by his tone that he was grousing for form's sake. Mattie going on a real date had caught him by surprise. They got out of the elevator and Mac walked ahead to unlock the apartment door. She held it open and then followed him in.
"I still think Mike was biased towards the kids," Harm grumbled as he deposited the cooler on the floor by kitchen island. The Congresswoman and Emma had volunteered to take turns being referee when the one volleyball game had turned into a series. The serious play hadn't lasted long and silliness had taken over. Justin Trescott had led the charge by offering to give Emma a yacht in return for an in-bounds ruling. Marnie Terschulte countered by offering to influence a nameless member of Congress into renaming the Washington Monument after her. Dave Russo gave Mike a quarter to look the other way while he pulled the net down so his wife's serve would go over. Mac promised the Congresswoman her very own tank for a do-over when her spike went wide. By the time they were done, Vicky Hamman was wearing JP's old football helmet, the Clearys were armed with lacrosse sticks, Mac was only allowed to touch the ball using a teddy bear and Harm was wearing swimfins and mittens to compensate for his 'abnormal and grotesque height advantage'.
Mac rolled her eyes, "Would your first clue be the fact that the Trescott kids called her Auntie Mike or that she gave them 'style points'? She looked down at her knees and grimaced, "I think these grass stains are going to be permanently embedded in my skin." She pulled out a stool and sat down, resting her elbows on the counter, "Where do you keep the ibuprofen?"
Harm reached into a cupboard and lobbed the bottle over his shoulder at Mac, "Get some out for me, too." He went to the fridge and pulled out two bottles of water and then settled himself next to her.
Mac handed him the pills and downed hers with a quick swig of water. She went back to resting her elbows on the counter and said dryly, "Aren't we pathetic? A couple games of volleyball and we're both ready for wheelchairs."
"A couple? I swear it was more like three hundred and eighty-five!" He gave her a mildly indignant look, "At least they didn't make you wear flipper feet. I'm surprised I didn't kill myself."
Mac chuckled, "You and me both, mister. Just be glad they didn't do worse. Louise Trescott told me later that Justin still has a gorilla costume from a couple of Halloweens ago."
"Oh god," Harm looked horrified at hearing of his near escape. They both lapsed into a comfortable silence for a few minutes.
"It was fun, though," Mac spoke quietly, giving him a smile.
"Yeah, it was."
She propped her head on her hand and looked at him, "So what do you think?"
"Not sure." Harm rolled his bottle of water back and forth in his hands, "Romblin was the blonde that kept to himself?"
"Yeah," Mac looked frustrated. "Kate wanted me to see if I could get him to talk about his sister but how do you get into that sort of conversation when he limits his sentences to one or two words? 'Hi Alan, it's good to see you here.' 'Thanks.' 'Alan, are you enjoying yourself? 'Uh-huh.' 'Alan, have some barbecue and oh, by the way, was your sister's death actually because your parents were abusive?'"
"Yeah, that's probably not the best approach. Who else are you looking at?"
She sighed, "I suppose Dave Garrick would be another possible. Only child, not married and his mother is in New Bern, North Carolina. Gives him an excuse to be in the area and Lejeune is only a couple of hours away. I don't know... Did you talk to him at all?"
"Garrick...?" Harm tapped his chin and smiled, "Was he the short, dark-haired guy in the green t-shirt that said 'Mom, Dad, I'm Gaelic'?"
"No, that was Bill Fosling, a friend of the Trescotts. Garrick was wearing the Redskins t-shirt."
"Oh yeah, okay." Harm paused for a moment in thought, "You know, I don't think he liked me very much. Wherever I was, he seemed to wind up in the farthest group." He gave Mac a wry look, "Think it was something I said?"
"I don't know, was the something 'Beat it', 'Get lost', 'Go away'?" Mac grinned at him.
Harm leaned sideways a little and cocked an eyebrow at her, "My, aren't we feeling feisty. I guess the ibuprofen is kicking in." He turned back to the counter, "Seriously though, was it just a personality clash or the fact that I'm in the military... or because I came with you?"
That sobered Mac up, Coster and Dalton Lowne immediately springing to mind. Harm saw and inwardly cursed. He should have thought before saying anything out loud. The last thing he wanted was to resurrect old ghosts. Carefully, he set about repairing the damage, "Mac, if this killer is following your life then he already knows we've been involved. If he found it that upsetting, don't you think he'd have made some sort of move by now?" She didn't say anything and so he pressed on, "Actually, when you think about it, this guy WANTS you to be happy. That's why he's trying to rewrite your childhood in his own convoluted way. It could very well be that he's given us his stamp of approval."
Mac stared at him incredulously, "That has got to be the creepiest way of making me feel better that you've ever used."
Harm made a show of polishing his fingernails on his shirt and gave her a comically smug look, "Amazing, ain't I?"
She shook her head, "That's one way of putting it." She was silent for a moment, "You know, Louise Trescott said something odd." Harm raised an eyebrow in inquiry. Mac rubbed her jaw and looked at him, "You remember that Mike's parents were killed in a house fire when she was in college?" He nodded and she continued, "I didn't think too much about it, aside from the 'how awful, poor Mike' reaction. I mean it was almost twenty years ago and Mike has never mentioned it. Anyway, Louise said that it was probably the best thing to have happened to her, that her parents were horrible people."
"You're kidding," Harm looked thoughtful, "That's a helluva thing to say to someone you hardly know. Why do you suppose... ?" He drummed his fingers on the counter, "So she had a miserable childhood... You realize that the Congresswoman is sounding more and more like you?"
"Yeah, I know, except that she's the one person who's father was Navy, not Marine." Mac swept a hand through her hair, "Does that make her a suspect anyway? Mike doesn't have any more motive than I do. Hell, she's had more success. She's a United States Congresswoman. Why jeopardize all that? Maybe Louise Trescott isn't the friend that she appears to be."
"That's certainly possible. It could be that Trescott is jealous of how well Elbert's done." Harm leaned back, folding his arms. He could see Mac's point. You could take the same arguments that absolved Mac of suspicion and apply them to the Congresswoman. The only difference was that Mac had ironclad alibis and they didn't know if Elbert did or not. He eyed Mac, "You like Elbert, don't you?"
Mac stared at the counter and nodded, "Yeah, I do. I didn't think I was going to, especially after the way she got me involved but she's a hard woman to dislike."
"So she went to some trouble to make sure it was you that assisted her?" A little alarm was going off in Harm's head. He knew Mac had been pissed when this assignment first came up but had assumed that it had to do with her aversion to politicians and their games.
"Yeah, we talked for a bit at Emma's party. Actually, Emma made a point of introducing us. I guess she thought we'd be a good fit." Mac propped her elbows on the counter and rested her chin. "We do work well together. Actually, my only problem was lack of time. I told her we were swamped and that I didn't think Chegwidden could spare any attorney just then." She turned a little and gave him a sideways look, "Mike's used to getting what she wants. She bypassed the Admiral and went straight for the SecNav. We had a discussion about that my first day."
Harm gave her a wide-eyed stare and grin, "Wow, and she's still alive."
Mac answered with a light slap on his arm and a mock scowl, "Which will be more than anyone will be able to say about you, smart guy." She stood up and tugged at his arm, "That's it. You've messed with the Corps too many times, Commander, and you know what that means."
Harm climbed to his feet, trying unsuccessfully to appear serious, "We're going to exchange opinions?"
"That's one way to describe it," Mac's own grin was slipping out as she angled him towards the bedroom. "I'm afraid I need to teach you a lesson."
Harm looked back over his shoulder as he let her push him along. His eyes twinkled, "I hope you've got enough time. I'm a pretty slow learner."
Monday NCIS Washington, D.C.
1740 Local
Mac walked up to Kate's desk and looked around. The brunette wasn't anywhere to be seen. When she saw a young, brown-haired man watching her, she walked over to his desk. "Hi, is Kate here?"
"No... well, yes... I mean she's not right here... She's down in the morgue... well, not actually IN the morgue, she's talking to Ducky... Dr. Mallard..." He finally petered out, looking somewhat flustered.
Mac hid a smile with difficulty. He sounded exactly like a young Bud Roberts. Going by Kate's description... She held out a hand, "You must be Agent McGee. I'm Lt. Colonel... "
"MacKenzie," he finished for her, shaking her hand with enthusiasm. "It's an honor to meet you ma'am."
"Thank you," Mac smiled while gently easing her hand out of his grasp. He was still happily pumping it. "Kate's had good things to say about you too. I hear you can do amazing things with a computer. You're helping her with the serial killer case, aren't you?"
"Yes ma'am. Would you like to see what I've got so far?" He dropped into his chair and started tapping keys, not waiting for a response. Mac stifled a sigh as she moved behind him to look over his shoulder, she really wanted to check in with Kate. McGee glanced back at her, "Okay, going with the premise that the suspect is in Congresswoman Elbert's office, we've got these names." He pulled up a window showing the ten people. "And we have their families... I left off anyone under 18 or over 70 and we got this." Another window came up showing twenty-three names. "And finally... this was the hard part because I had to stop at some point or most of North America would be on our suspect list. It's that 7 degrees of relativity thing... Anyway, we have this." A third window came up with at least seventy-five names on it.
"Oh damn." Mac breathed, looking at all the names. Nothing like computer graphics to hammer home the fact that you were nowhere in your investigation. More depressing was that their theory that the killer was connected to Mike's office could also be completely off-base.
McGee shot her a quick look, "It seems like a lot, but Abby and I went through and started eliminating everyone who didn't fit the timeframe of the killings. This is our final list." He hit a key and a last window popped up with five names.
Mac blinked, "These?" She leaned in for a closer look. Alan Romblin, Dave Garrick, Anna Joost, Bob Sabatino and Michelle Elbert. She raised an eyebrow at McGee, "Congresswoman Elbert is on your list?"
He looked apologetic, "Yes ma'am, but only because she fits in the timeframe. She was a State Senator before she ran for Congress, so she was in North Carolina at the times of the first killings." He waved a hand at the screen, "We couldn't check alibis, so our parameters were time, location and connection to the military. I guess you and Agent Todd will have to figure out the rest."
Mac nodded and then pointed to the screen, "Who are Joost and Sabatino?" She hadn't really thought about a woman being the killer and was annoyed with herself. Shooting the victims had seemed like a guy thing. 'Way to keep an open mind, MacKenzie.'
McGee's fingers flew over the keyboard, pulling up two more windows, "Anna Joost is the wife of Lisa Cleary's brother-in-law. She's from Goldsboro, North Carolina and moved up to DC about two years ago. Her mother died when she was two and her father was a Marine sergeant. He was killed in a training mishap and she spent a good deal of her childhood in foster care." He gave Mac a sober look, "I don't think it was a good thing, it looks like she was bounced from family to family. She ran away a lot." McGee turned back to the screen, "Sabatino is a friend of Dave Russo. Both his parents were in the Marines. They're retired and living Wilmington, North Carolina. His mother's family is from down there. Sabatino lives in Baltimore now. Get this, he's a bounty hunter." He glanced back at Mac to see her reaction.
"Wow," Mac patted McGee on the shoulder, "Great work. I gather that Kate's seen this already?"
"Yes ma'am," McGee nodded, "I sent it over to her this morning. I don't know if she's had time to check anything yet."
"Okay," Mac looked around the room again, "Where's the morgue?"
McGee pointed to the elevators, "Basement level. Do you want me to show you?" He blushed a little.
Mac smiled at him. He was so much like Bud that she was beginning to wonder if they might be related. "No thanks, I'm sure I can find it." She gave him a final pat and nodded towards the screen, "That is an excellent piece of work, Agent McGee. Thank you." She walked over to the elevator and had just pressed the button when the doors opened revealing Kate and Ducky.
Kate looked at Mac in surprise and then checked her watch, "Mac! I'm sorry. I had no idea it was getting that late. Have you been here long?"
Mac tilted her head slightly towards the bullpen, "Long enough." She directed a warm smile towards the NCIS medical examiner, "Hi Ducky."
"Sarah, how good to see you again." Ducky flashed his own winning smile, "Tell me, have you tired of the vagaries of youth?"
Mac chuckled as she shook her head, "Not yet." She and Ducky played at flirting with each other. The Doctor was a charming man and it amused her to no end to hear of Harm being referred to as some sort of callow youth.
Ducky gave an exaggerated sigh, "Pity." He looked over at Kate, "Well, if you need me... " he took a moment to give Mac a significant look, "... I'll be in the lab. I need to speak with Abby."
Mac returned the look, "I'll keep that in mind."
Kate rolled her eyes as the two women walked to her desk, "You two." She chuckled quietly, "You know it's driving Tony crazy. He can't decide how serious you are. Ducky won't give him a straight answer." She sat down at her computer and glanced over at McGee, "Tim fill you in?"
"Yeah," Mac leaned back in her chair, "You haven't had time to chase down alibis yet, have you?"
Kate tapped a pencil on her desk and gestured to the screen, "Actually, I'm thinking that this calls for a road trip." She gave Mac a pointed look, "I think we need to go to North Carolina."
Mac's eyebrows rose in surprise and then she frowned, "I think you're right but I don't see how I can get down there with you. The Admiral's barely tolerating my involvement as it is and I've got my work with Elbert."
Kate leaned forward, resting her elbows and folding her hands, "Tell you what, let me take a crack at Chegwidden and you talk to the Congresswoman. I'm sure she'll understand how important this is." When Mac looked undecided, Kate leaned in further and lowered her voice, "Mac, I need you down there. I need someone I can rely on. With Gibbs still out, Tony is overwhelmed and it would be far better having McGee here working on the research. He doesn't have much field experience and if we can close in on this guy, I don't think there'll be room for mistakes. Let me talk to your Admiral, I'm sure I can convince him."
Resigned, Mac finally nodded. It was quite possible that Kate would be able to get her way with Chegwidden but there would be a price and she was pretty sure she knew who was going to pay it. All that paled though when she thought of Harm's probable reaction. As worried as he was about this case, he was going to have apoplexy at the thought of her being out of his sight. At least she wasn't leaving the country and this wasn't a CIA mission. She would have to hammer those two points home.
Next Day Congresswoman Elbert's office Washington, D.C.
0940 Local
"She ought to done in a few more minutes, Colonel." Karen, Mike's receptionist, said brightly.
Mac nodded her thanks and continued her examination of the paintings in the outer office. She'd hoped to see Mike earlier but the Congresswoman had been in meetings since 0730. Karen told her that there'd be a bit of gap around 0930 or so. She wondered how Kate was doing with Admiral Chegwidden and then decided she'd rather not think about it just yet. Headquarters would probably be a bit tense this afternoon. She'd decided not to say anything to Harm until she knew for sure if she was going. If Chegwidden allowed the trip, hopefully she'd be lucky enough not to have Harm pick up on it until she could talk to him outside of JAG. Not that she thought he would pitch a fit in the office, his sense of decorum was too strong for that, but it could get unpleasant.
She turned when she heard the door to Mike's office open. Two men and a woman walked out and a few moments later, Mike appeared at the doorway, "Mac? You wanted to see me?" She looked tired.
"I'd appreciate a few minutes of your time, ma'am."
Mike's eyebrows rose, "'Ma'am', is it? Well, this must be important. Come in." She ushered Mac into the office and looked over at Karen, "Hold my calls for a few minutes, would you? Thanks." She entered to find Mac standing in front of her desk, "For heaven's sakes, Mac, sit down. You're making me nervous." She dropped into her own chair and idly swiveled back and forth, "What is it?"
"I may need to take some days off from your investigation."
"That's it?" Mike grinned, "Good grief, woman. I was expecting some sort of national crisis. Of course, you can have the days. Another big court case coming up?"
Mac shook her head, relieved that Elbert hadn't decided to be obnoxious about it, "No, I'm assisting NCIS on a murder investigation. The lead agent wants my help down at Camp Lejeune." She smiled in a depreciating manner, "Probably because I speak 'Marine'. Whether I go will depend upon my CO giving permission."
"Murder? At Lejeune?" Mike looked surprised, "That's my neck of the woods. I hadn't heard of any Marines being murdered down there." Her surprise turned into a scowl, "Park Hayden is supposed to keep me informed of things like this." She started to reach for her phone, "Dammit, I'll have his head."
"Mike, wait," Mac held up a hand, "These murders occurred several years ago. That's why you haven't heard about them. We think they're tied to murders in this area."
"Tied to murders here? ...Wait, wasn't there a Marine murdered at a liquor store a couple of weeks ago? I thought the papers said it was a robbery gone bad." Elbert's eyes narrowed, "... Are we talking about a serial killer?"
Damn, the woman was quick. "I'm afraid all we have are theories right now. That's one of the reasons I have to go to Lejeune. No one connected the murders down there and it's possible that evidence was overlooked." It was hard not to divulge any pertinent information. The Congresswoman had a keen intellect and Mac had learned to value her input. She had to remind herself that the woman sitting across from her was, technically, a suspect.
"Is this going to be dangerous?" Mike's brows drew together in worry. "It doesn't sound like you know who you're looking for. What if the killer is down there and you stumble across him without realizing it? Will you be safe? ...This NCIS agent, is he a big guy?"
"No, actually SHE is a bit shorter than I am." Mac chuckled, "Don't worry, we'll be fine."
Mike continued to frown, "I don't know... The last time you were gone a couple of days, you came back looking like the losing end of a prizefight."
"I know, but this will be pretty cut and dried. We're going to review the old evidence and see if we can find and re-interview witnesses."
Mike rubbed her chin, eyeing Mac silently for a few seconds, "It might not be as easy as all that. I know how the local police departments can be down there. They're going to get defensive and difficult when they think you're accusing them of incompetence and that's exactly how they're going to take a visit from NCIS and JAG. Would it help if, say, some government official who was familiar with the area came down to help smooth the bureaucratic waters?"
Mac looked surprised, "That's kind of you to offer but no, I think it'll be okay. I'll warn Kate that we'll have to tread lightly. We'll only be gone a couple of days."
Still looking doubtful, Mike sat back in her chair, her fingers steepled, "Okay, Mac, just let me know when... or if... you'll be gone."
Hearing the implicit dismissal, Mac rose, "Thank you, Mike. I'll call as soon as I know for sure."
She turned and walked out. Mike watched her leave and then sat for a few moments, tapping her fingers. Finally, she picked up the phone and hit a button, "Karen? See what you can clear from my schedule for the next four or five days. I think it's time to visit my constituents."
