Sams Suicide
Chapter One: Come Home
"I'm sorry to disturb you, sir, but Dr. Jackson's on the phone. He says it's urgent." Jack looked at his assistant's head poking through the crack between the door and doorframe.
"It will only take a minute, Minister." Jack looked away from the dignitary sitting across from his desk as he picked up the telephone receiver. "Daniel?"
"You need to come home, Jack." Daniel's tone was tense.
"I am home, Daniel."
"Get on the first flight out here…and take off the rest of this week. You might need next week too."
"It's not that easy, Daniel. What's going on?" Jack was losing his patience with Daniel. He was hiding his displeasure from the minister of defense patiently sitting across from him.
"I…I can't tell you over the phone. Just get here ASAP."
"When did you start using acronyms?" Jack smirked.
"Now, Jack!" Daniel hung up. The hairs on the back of Jack's neck were standing on end.
"I'm sorry minister. I'm afraid we will need to reschedule our meeting." Jack rose from his chair and walked towards his office door. The minister stood but reluctantly remained in front of his chair.
"It's taken three weeks to get in to see you, and I am leaving town tomorrow. Can we not finish?" The minister wasn't the type of man accustomed to being asked to reschedule.
"No, we can not. I'm sorry. I'll see you again when you get back to town." Jack opened the door and escorted the minister to his assistant's desk. She heard the tail end of the conversation and pulled out the general's calendar. As the minister leaned over to reschedule his appointment Jack remembered Daniel's full request.
"And Sergeant, please clear my calendar for the rest of the week as well." Jack ducked into his office before the young woman could protest. Jack called in a few favors and got a flight to Colorado leaving in forty minutes. It was tight, but he'd make it to the airport if he left immediately. Jack grabbed his hat and briefcase. When he reached Sergeant Wilkin's desk the minister was gone.
"Sir, you're supposed to meet with the Russian and Chinese delegations on Friday. Are you sure you want me to cancel?"
Jack briefly hesitated. "Yes, Sergeant."
She grimaced at his response. Jack knew it was going to be difficult to rearrange that meeting because it had taken over a week and three negotiators to get it arranged.
"Do you still want me to keep your calendar clear for next week?" She looked up at him with expectation and hope in her eyes. He knew if she could move this week's items into next week's open spaces her job would be much simpler.
"I'm not going to let Daniel's surprise ruin my trip to the cabin. I haven't been in over a year, and that's too long to be away. So yes, please keep that week open." Jack's words disappointed the young sergeant but she nodded.
"Yes, sir."
"I'm on my way to the airport. You can reach me on my cell."
"I hope everything is alright sir."
"So do I."
It was a long flight for Jack. He tried calling Sam and Teal'c from the plane, but neither of them answered. Walter said Landry was out and avoided all of Jack's probing questions. Jack knew something was up and he doubted he'd be happy to hear the news.
A car was waiting for Jack when he got to the airport. The young airman opened the door for him and closed it without a word. Jack figured he could thank Walter for setting up his ride. The car pulled up to the SGC entrance. The driver tried to race around the car to open the door for Jack, but Jack didn't care about protocol. He hopped out and headed straight for the first security check.
"It's good to see you, General. You're cleared to enter." Jack nodded his thanks and headed to the elevator. Jack decided to hunt for Daniel so he pressed the button for level 19 and waited as the elevator descended.
"SG-1 report to the briefing room. SG-1 report to the briefing room." Jack punched the button for level 27 before the announcement was finished. He knew the answer to why he was here would be found in the briefing room, not Daniel's office.
Jack assumed since he was already in the elevator he would beat SG-1 to the briefing room, but thanks to stops on three different floors he was wrong. Mitchell, Teal'c, Daniel, and Landry were already in the room as Jack entered. A captain and lieutenant Jack didn't know were sitting in the chairs across from SG-1. Jack glanced out the window but the shield was down to prevent the visitors from seeing the stargate.
"Good timing, Jack. Have a seat." Landry waved Jack towards an available chair. "Captain Taylor and Lieutenant Mayes are here to update us."
"Where's Carter?" Jack didn't take the seat and instead looked around the table. Everyone except Teal'c looked down at the table. Jack's stomach clenched.
"Colonel Carter was found deceased in her home this morning." Teal'c's calm words made Jack's head spin.
"What?" Jack whispered his question.
"I'm sorry, Jack, but I couldn't tell you over the phone." Daniel looked away from Jack.
"What happened?" Jack swallowed to keep the bile from rising too high.
"When Colonel Carter didn't arrive for this morning's briefing and didn't answer her phone I sent the rest of SG-1 to her home." Landry locked eyes with Jack as he spoke.
"Her house was locked tight but Jackson had a key. We let ourselves in and searched every room." Mitchell took a deep breath before he continued. "We found her in her bedroom. She'd been shot. She'd been dead a while by the time we arrived."
"What the hell happened?" Jack slapped the table and sat in the closest chair. "Who did it? Who killed Carter?" Jack's shock was hidden behind his military mask but his friends felt his despair.
Captain Taylor cleared his throat. "We're processing the evidence we collected earlier today. It will be a couple weeks before an official report is complete but we suspect it was a self-inflicted gunshot wound. "
"There's no way in hell!" Jack pushed himself up from the chair as he screamed. The captain shrank back in his chair. "Tell him damn it!" Jack sought support from Daniel and Teal'c.
"I concur with O'Neill. Colonel Carter would not take her own life." Teal'c nodded his head once.
"Exactly!" Jack waved his hand in Teal'c's direction. "Find another answer!" Jack glared at the captain.
"We will explore all the possibilities, sir. My team is thorough and we go where the evidence takes us. I assure you we won't jump to any conclusions." The captain sat taller as he defended himself and his forensics team.
"Sit down, Jack…please." Landry appealed to Jack. Jack hesitated.
"Fine, but I'm telling you she'd never kill herself. Never!" Jack sat down and began loudly drumming his fingers on the table. He was barely keeping himself restrained. Jack glanced back at the window, wishing he could see the stargate.
"Captain, please tell us what you've found so far." Landry looked at the slightly shell shocked captain as he spoke.
Captain Taylor opened a manila folder and scanned the pages inside. "Colonel Carter's approximate time of death was early Saturday morning. We estimate she died between 0200 and 0600, but that's a rough estimate. There was an entrance wound just left of her sternum. The exit wound was in her back and a 45 slug was found in the wall behind her bed. Colonel Carter was found partially sitting up on her bed. An autopsy will be performed here at the SGC to determine the exact cause of death, although the evidence suggests exsanguination due to explosive heart failure."
Daniel's brow creased in confusion. "Heart failure as in heart attack?"
"No, Daniel! As in a bullet punched a big hole in her heart and all the blood in her body flowed out." Jack's temper flared.
"Oh." Daniel looked back down at the table.
"Please continue, Captain." Landry ignored Jack's outburst. If Jack hadn't done it Mitchell would have and then Landry wouldn't have been able to avoid giving some kind of verbal reprimand.
"Yes, sir. A colt 45 was clutched in Colonel Carter's right hand. Tests indicate the weapon had been recently fired. There was also gunpowder residue on Colonel Carter's hand, indicating she recently fired a weapon."
"Not uncommon in her line of work." Jack glared at the Captain.
"Of course, sir." The Captain nodded. "No items appear to be missing from Colonel Carter's home, but I would appreciate it if you could go through her belongs and confirm all items are accounted for. I also wanted to take this opportunity to go back over a few details with you gentlemen, since you found Colonel Carter."
Teal'c, Daniel, and Mitchell all nodded in unison.
"How did you gain entrance to Colonel Carter's home?" Lieutenant Mayes took notes as Captain Taylor asked questions.
"I used my key." Daniel answered without looking up.
"How long have you had a key to Colonel Carter's home?"
"Seven or eight years at least." Daniel looked over at Jack as he answered.
"How often have you used it to gain entrance to her home?"
"It's been pretty rare actually. I think three, maybe four times." Daniel nodded his head.
The lieutenant kept writing as the captain continues to ask questions. "Does anyone else have a key?"
"We all do." Jack grumbled his response.
"Well…actually…I don't." Mitchell offered.
"Nor do I." Landry avoided Jack's stare as he spoke.
"What about family, other friends, or perhaps a boyfriend?"
"I don't know if her brother has a key. He's her only living relative…I mean like blood relative. Cassie has a key…but she's at college." Daniel rambled through his answer.
"Does she know?" Jack looked at the table, avoiding Daniel's eyes.
"I called her, but she wasn't in. I didn't want to leave a message." Daniel watched Jack avoiding eye contact.
"She should be told in person. You oughta go there tonight and bring her back." Jack sighed after he spoke.
"You should come with me. I don't want to be the one who has to tell her she's lost another mother." Daniel stared at Jack.
"I'm the executor of Carter's will. I need to stay here and begin working on the details." Jack used his finger to trace a pattern on the table, avoiding Daniel's gaping mouth and bug-eyed stare.
"Details!" Daniel glared at Jack.
"I'm sorry, sir, but who is Cassie?" The Captain drew Daniel's attention away from Jack.
Jack and Daniel both looked at Captain Taylor. Daniel spoke first. "Janet adopted Cassie several years ago after Cassie's family died. Cassie went to live with Sam after Janet died. She still goes to Sam's when comes home on break."
"I see. How did Janet and Cassie's parents die?" The Lieutenant was writing as quickly as the Captain asked questions. The scratch of the pen was annoying Jack.
"Oh, for crying out loud! Cassie didn't have anything to do with this. Her parents died from disease and Dr. Fraiser was killed in the line of duty." Jack huffed and scowled.
"I'm sorry I had to ask General, but it's part of being thorough." The Captain looked up from his folder as he spoke to Jack.
"Thorough is important." Jack grumbled. "It's especially important when you're thoroughly finding out who murdered Carter." Jack's fists balled on the table but he restrained his desire to hit something.
"I will need access to Colonel Carter's personnel file, sir." Captain Taylor addressed General Landry.
"Of course. I'll instruct Sergeant Ayers to grant you access to the database. Everything you need should be in there." Landry nodded grimly.
"Will that include her medical files?"
"I'll call the infirmary. Our CMO can let you have access to anything relevant."
"I'll need everything."
"I'm afraid that isn't possible, Captain. There are parts of Colonel Carter's medical history that are classified."
The captain grimaced. "Then I request that your CMO be assigned to my forensics team for the time being. That way he or she will have access to our investigation and can share what is relevant from both the autopsy as well as Colonel Carter's medical history. If your CMO is not part of the investigation they might unknowingly hold back information that could be useful."
Landry nodded in agreement as the captain spoke. "That's acceptable. I'll let her know. I think we all need some down time. I expect everyone to return tomorrow at 1600 for another briefing. In the meantime, I want SG-1 to go through Colonel Carter's home. Remove any classified information and make sure nothing is missing. Dismissed."
Jack blocked Captain Taylor's path to the door. "I want to see her."
"After the autopsy tomorrow morning you can see her. Until then we have to preserve the chain of custody and prevent contamination." Jack didn't respond verbally but his face tightened. "I'm sorry, sir, but I have to do this if you want the truth." Captain Taylor stood tall.
Jack nodded and let Captain Taylor continue to the door.
"You can stay at my place tonight, Jack." Daniel moved next to Jack and touched his elbow.
"We can stop at Carter's on the way." Jack turned towards the door.
"What?" Daniel followed Jack out the door. "Are you sure you want to do that?"
"Positive." Jack hit the elevator call button harder then necessary. Daniel glanced at Teal'c. They both followed Jack onto the elevator.
Few words were exchanged on the drive. Teal'c slowly pulled up in front of Sam's house. All three men stared the young airman stationed at the door.
Daniel leaned forward from the back seat. "It's bad Jack."
"I know." Jack opened his door. Daniel and Teal'c climbed out of the car after him.
"Real bad."
"I get it Daniel."
The airman checked their identification badges before allowing them into Sam's house, not because he didn't know them, but because he knew it was expected. He was determined to show he was doing his job well. Until the house was cleared of all potentially classified items an airmen had to remain stationed at the door to prevent all people without the appropriate clearance from entering.
Jack walked through the foyer, down the hall and past the living room. Daniel and Teal'c followed closely. Jack slowed as he got closer to her bedroom.
"You don't have to do this right now Jack." Daniel's words spurred Jack forward. The door to her bedroom was open. Jack stood in the doorway and surveyed the bed and wall behind the headboard. The sheets and covers from Sam's bed were missing, probably collected as evidence. The mattress remained. The large bloodstain near the top edge of the mattress was only one indicator of how much blood Sam had lost. The blood had dripped off the bed leaving large pools on the floor. Blood and tissue was sprayed across the wall. Jack leaned against the doorframe.
Daniel put his hand on Jack's shoulder. "Let's go home and get some rest. Tomorrow will be a long day."
Jack nodded. "I'll call Mike. He'll get a team in here as soon as we get them clearance."
"Mike?"
"His cleaning service specializes in…tough jobs." Jack closed his eyes.
"Oh. Even…this…tough?"
"Yeah, I've worked with him before." Daniel winced, sorry he brought up old memories. Jack pulled out his cell as the three men walked back to the SUV.
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