Chapter 3

Sarah Lavery knew how to reach Ami, and, with Sloane, McGee, and Gibbs listening in, called the other woman.

"Hey Sarah, what's up?" a gentle female voice asked when she answered the phone.

"I'm afraid I have some bad news about Michael," Sarah said.

There was silence for a moment, then Ami asked, "Who'd he piss off this time?"

Sloane, Gibbs, and McGee's eyes went wide. Sarah just gave a watery chuckle. "I don't know, sweetie, but NCIS is investigating. They need to talk to you."

"Of course they do," Ami said sarcastically. She sighed heavily. "All right, well, I'm at a job site right now, and I will be for a few more hours. If you see them before I do, tell them to call me and leave a message."

"I will," Sarah said.

"And Sarah? I'm sorry for your loss," Ami said.

"So am I, sweetie, for both of us." And both women hung up.

"Wow," McGee said.

"Like I said, something happened about a month after the wedding, but Ami never told me what. She's a very private person," Sarah said. "Whenever Michael was around, she was pushed into the woodworks, and she and I didn't spend as much time together as I would have liked. Be gentle with her. She may appear to be tough and cold on the outside, but the truth is, I think Michael hurt her very badly, and I think something happened in her past."

"Of course," Sloane said.

"Your husband is waiting for you downstairs," Gibbs said.

"And I shall go do my dutiful duties as a wife of a respected, retired Navy captain," Sarah said. She smiled softly. "If there's anything you need, please let me know. You may find me easier to deal with than my husband."

"I already did," Gibbs muttered as Sarah left the room. "Let's go catch up with the others."

On the way, McGee let Torres and Bishop know that Ami had been notified and the conversation between her and Sarah.

"Wow," Bishop said.

"Yeah. We've been advised that if we do approach her, and sooner or later, we're going to have to, play nice. She may act tough, but Sarah figures Ami's been hurt real bad and does the tough act to protect herself," McGee said.

"Been there, done that," Torres said.

"Gibbs left a message, so we'll see what happens," McGee said. "And as soon as we get back, we start running her phone."

"Understood," Torres said.

In Room 114, Kasie and the team got to work.

"Fortunately Housekeeping missed a few spots, and Pete, the manager's son, says they haven't rented this room out since Commander Lavery was here," Bishop told Gibbs.

"We get any prints?" Gibbs asked.

"Found some on the light switch in the bathroom and on the toilet handle, but the main room light switch was wiped down. I'm thinking the killer panicked," McGee said. "Carpet's been replaced, so nothing new, but we did get the old one."

"And from the amount of blood on it, Commander Lavery was definitely killed in here," Torres said. "Also, check this out." He turned on the t.v., which was in front of the bed, and blood spatter suddenly became visible on the screen. "The table is over here. Commander Lavery and his companion, or lover were eating here, then something happened, and the commander wound up down on the floor, being attacked by his lover."

"Makes sense," Bishop said. "And if the commander's car was parked nearby, and the camera disabled, it wouldn't have taken much to move the body."

"Would have been quite a walk back for whoever dumped the body, though," McGee said.

"And don't even ask the manager about identifying any cars in the parking lot because, according to him, he doesn't get paid enough to care," Bishop said.

"Of course," Gibbs said.

In the end, they got blood spatter, some prints, the garbage, the carpet, the blankets, the credit card slip, and the video from the cameras.

"We are going to have some major fun," Kasie said, grinning broadly.

"Have you seen the size of the carpet?" Torres asked, jerking his thumb at the rolled up carpet. "We are talking about a cheap-ass hotel." He grinned at her. "I don't even want to think about what's crawling in there."

Kasie's face dropped. "I hate you." And she walked away, shivering in disgust, leaving Torres to snicker.

Gibbs looked at him and said, "And you get to help her."

Torres face dropped. "Can I wear a biohazard suit?"

Back at NCIS, Ami finally replied to the message Gibbs had left, agreeing to meet them at NCIS.

She was not a tall woman, but she was well-built, and judging by the burn mark scars on her hands, she was not a stranger to hard work. Her jeans and her shirt were well-worn, and she wore no makeup or jewelry, other than a little diamond pendant that looked possibly like Minnie Mouse, that just peeked out of the collar of her shirt.

"What do you want from me, Agent Gibbs?" she asked, accepting the coffee he handed her.

"First, we're sorry for your loss," Bishop said.

"Don't be. Despite what Daddy Dearest might tell you, Michael was a lying, manipulative, selfish son of a bitch," Ami said, "and frankly, I'm surprised someone didn't try and kill him sooner."

"If your relationship was that bad, why didn't you leave?" Gibbs asked.

"Because I had nowhere to go, and in case you didn't notice, Michael was a lawyer, and when I demanded a divorce, he threatened to run me into the ground. I would have come across as the most selfish, self-centered bitch ever, possibly screwing around on him, and I would have likely wound up paying him alimony, or whatever it was he demanded," Ami explained. "He would have made sure I lost everything, including my name and my reputation in the trades, and without my trade, I have nothing."

"So what did you do?" Gibbs asked.

"We basically maintained separate bedrooms and separate lives, and i stayed as far away from him and the captain as I could," Ami said. "He didn't care what I did, as long as I didn't step into his precious spotlight."

"Did you know he was having an affair?" Bishop asked.

"Yes. Did I care? Yes. Could I do anything about it? No. He held all the damn cards," Ami said bitterly. "Even the damn house was in his name. The only thing that was mine was my truck, which he hated, but couldn't do anything about because I paid for it, and I had the paperwork to prove it."

"Where were you two days ago?" Gibbs asked.

"I was at a job site from eight am to about six pm," Ami said. "Like I have been for about the past month. If you want witnesses, ask any of the dozen guys I've been working with. Not that I care."

"You don't really seem to care that your husband is dead," Gibbs said. "Now that he's dead, you don't have to live with someone you hate, or worry about a costly divorce. Real convenient."

As Gibbs watched, Ami's eyes turned hard and cold.

"You're right, Agent Gibbs, I really don't care that Michael is dead. Why should I? I was two days away from serving him divorce papers," Ami said. "and yes, I hated him. I admit, I have done a lot of things I'm not proud of, but the one thing I did not do was kill Michael. As far as I'm concerned, that was merciful compared to what I was going to do to him if he didn't give me my divorce on my terms."

"I thought you said he had you by your neck in terms of getting a divorce," Gibbs said.

Ami smiled coldly. "Thanks to that asshole, I learned a few things about playing dirty. He didn't want Daddy Dearest or his so-called friends knowing he was gay and that his marriage was less than perfect."

"You were going to threaten him with that knowledge," Bishop said.

"And I had proof," Ami said. "The kind of proof judges really like."

"We'd like to see that proof," Gibbs said. "Might help us find a suspect."

"You want that, you talk to my lawyer." She reached into the back of her jeans and pulled out her cellphone, which had a heavy-duty cover on it. Thumbing through it, she found what she was looking for, before writing down a number on Gibbs' notepad. Then she stood up, tugging her battered denim Minnie Mouse hat on her head sharply. She then planted her hands on the table and leaned forward. "Word of warning; if you come after me, thinking I'm a suspect in Michael's murder, you will not like my lawyer. Also, if that sonovabitch of a captain comes after me, which I think he will, I. Will. Bury. Him."

"Would you like to see his body?" Bishop asked, as Ami straightened up.

Ami laughed bitterly. "I didn't want to see him when he was alive. Why the hell would I want to see him now? Besides, I might be too tempted to put something sharp through his chest, just to make sure he's really dead." She smiled nastily. "Just out of curiosity, when the medical examiner cracked open his chest, did they find an actual heart, or a block of ice? Or maybe even a piece of metal where his damned heart should have been?"

After Ami was escorted out of the room, Bishop looked at Gibbs, eyes wide.

"That is one angry woman," she said.

"A scorned woman is a pissed woman," Gibbs said. "No telling what she'll do."

"Still a suspect?"

"Until we find one better," Gibbs said.

"Did she at least tell us who her lawyer was?" Bishop asked.

Gibbs picked up his phone and dialed a very familiar-looking number. After two rings, someone answered.

"Chegwidden," a male voice said.

Gibbs eyebrows shot up. "It's Gibbs," he said. "Is one of your clients Ami 'with an I' Lavery, wife to Commander Michael Lavery, JAG?" he asked.

"How the hell do you know?" Chegwidden asked, clearly shocked.

"Because Commander Lavery is dead, and she just finished telling us that if we want a suspect other than her, to talk to her lawyer, which just happens to be you," Gibbs said.

Chegwidden went silent for a moment. Then he said, "You know about attorney-client privilege, right?"

"I do."

"Let me talk to my client, and see what she says, and I'll get back to you. Be warned, Gibbs, we may be friends, but Ami Lavery is my client, and I will defend her accordingly," Chegwidden said, before hanging up.

Gibbs snapped his phone shut. "A.J. Chegwidden," he said.

"Chegwidden is Ami's lawyer?" Bishop asked, eyes wide. "We're either really screwed, or we're about to get really lucky."

"Rule 13; never, ever involve lawyers," Gibbs said.

"Right," Bishop said.