Chapter 5
Gibbs strode back into NCIS and dropped a thick pile of papers on his desk. "We got the manuscript," he said.
"Anything interesting?" McGee asked.
"Something about a mission gone wrong in 1965," Gibbs said. "Eight SEALs, three Navy officers, suspected spy in Palestine. Five people died that night."
"Wow," Bishop said.
"Where's Nurse Mackenzie?" Torres asked.
"Getting some coffee with Sloane," Gibbs said. "Update."
Bishop, Torres, and McGee joined Gibbs around the plasma. "Okay, so we met April Kent. Fake boobs, fake eyelashes, fake tears, very money hungry, and going to be very, very cranky in the near future. Admiral Kent's life insurance lists Lieutenant Kent as his beneficiary, and it's to the tune of over five grand," Torres said. "Saw a card for a lawyer when I was going through his desk and Bishop reached out to the law firm."
"Admiral Kent's lawyer is on his way over," Bishop said. "We explained the situation, and he agreed to let us take a peek at the will. Short of the long, though, April Kent gets nothing and Lieutenant Kent gets everything. Oh, and when I asked about Nurse Mackenzie, the lawyer did admit she gets some jewelry that belonged to Admiral Kent's wife. Beyond that, lock, stock, and house go to the admiral's grandson."
"Hard drive was wiped completely clean, beyond what I can do," McGee said.
"Oh, and you might want to ask Nurse Mackenzie about the nature of her relationship with Lieutenant Kent," Bishop said. She toggled the clicker, and the photos that April had shown her and Torres earlier came up.
"Looking real couply there," Torres said.
"When were these taken?" Gibbs asked.
"Don't know, but if that's the movie poster for Christopher Robin I'm seeing there, which came out in August, then I would say some time between August and September," Torres said.
"Been running a background on Nurse Mackenzie," McGee said. "So far nothing unusual in her finances, but she's been getting a lot of text messages from a number originating in Afghanistan, where Lieutenant Kent is currently stationed."
"What kind of text messages?" Gibbs asked.
McGee brought up a screen image. "If I didn't know better, without seeing those pictures, I'd say Nurse Mackenzie and Lieutenant Kent were dating," he said. "These look like the same kind of messages I send to Deliah," he continued, referring to his wife.
"Including the bedroom references?" Bishop teased.
"Hey, don't knock it 'till you tried it," McGee shot back. "Besides, you were married once, remember?"
"I'd like to forget, thank you very much," Bishop groused.
"Back on track. Does Mac have anything to gain by Admiral Kent's death?" Gibbs asked.
"So far, no," McGee said. "But if she's in a relationship with Admiral Kent's grandson, that could change things."
"Mac said April had a restraining order against Admiral Kent," Gibbs said.
"She does. Not allowed anywhere near the admiral, his house, Nurse Mackenzie, or her work place," Torres said. "Police report says she slapped Admiral Kent and Nurse Mackenzie stepped in. She got nailed with domestic assault charges and the restraining order."
"She wanted to know when we'd be releasing Admiral Kent's body so she could start planning his funeral," Bishop said. "Oh, and she was sure the house was worth a fortune on the market right now."
"Not for her, it ain't," McGee said.
"Keep digging. If Mac has anything to do with the admiral's death, I want to know about it," Gibbs said, going to his desk to call Sloane and have her bring Mac to an interrogation room.
"And if she doesn't?" McGee asked.
"Then we start looking at what happened in 1965 and find out why five guys died during a mission that was supposedly covered up," Gibbs shot back.
In the interrogation room, Gibbs didn't let Mac get too comfortable before pouncing.
"Explain these," he said, slapping copies of April's pictures down in front of Mac. "Were you involved with Lieutenant Kent?" he demanded.
Seated next to him, Sloane watched Mac carefully. She had to give Mac credit; she didn't flinch or back down. Instead, Sloane saw longing come into her eyes, as if she was missing the lieutenant, as she studied the pictures.
"Not were, am," Mac corrected, taking out her cell phone and showing Gibbs and Sloane a rather sexy picture of a bare chested Lieutenant Kent, who had an equally sexy grin on his face, and was possibly wearing nothing under the sheet that was draped low around his waist, as he reclined on a rumpled bed. "And yes, I think the admiral knew. In fact, I'm pretty sure he had a hand in it," she continued, showing them a selfie shot of her and Lieutenant Kent, both grinning at the camera, their arms around each other. It was a typical couple selfie shot, Sloane realized, one that spoke volumes about the relationship.
"What do you mean?" Gibbs asked.
"You saw the family photos at his place, right?" Gibbs nodded. "Well, shortly after I started working with Admiral Kent, we were talking about family one day and he showed me a really nice photo of Tom in his Navy uniform, doing the typical grandfather brag thing. I admitted I thought Tom was cute, and the old bugger got that gleam in his eye, the one I later realized that meant he was up to something."
"He set you up," Sloane guessed.
"He did, I'm sure of it. A few days later, his computer chimes and he asks me to get it. Turns out it was Tom, calling to Skype with his grandfather." Mac grinned as she remembered. "He comes on, and he just stares at me, like he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Then he says 'Wow.' And my face catches fire." Sloane grinned. "He makes some crack about when did his grandfather hire a maid, because if he did, he'd be coming home more often. I told him to watch his mouth because I was his grandfather's nurse, not his maid, and if he wasn't careful, I'd figure out how to get an enema prescribed to him. He asked if I knew he was a SEAL, and I said, 'So?' He may be Mister Macho Man, but wait until I have a needle, and he has to drop his pants. One SEAL I did that to, he did a face-plant when he saw the needle, so don't talk to me about being tough when a quarter of his guys are still screaming pussies around needles. Tom almost fell off his chair laughing."
"And it went from there?" Gibbs asked, with Sloane sniggering at the mental image of a big, muscular SEAL fainting at the sight of a needle.
Mac nodded. "Tom got the admiral to give him my private email address and it went from friendly flirting to some pretty racy pictures. It got to the point that we were exchanging emails pretty much every day, then texting, talking about anything, everything, and Skyping every chance we got. When he came home about a month before his birthday, he stayed with the admiral and I was invited over for dinner. It was fun trying to sneak out of the admiral's place the next morning."
Sloane grinned at the blush on Mac's face. "He got an early birthday present, huh?" she guessed.
Mac nodded. "It was easier to talk to Tom about the admiral than it was April, especially after she was slapped with the restraining order. Trust me, she didn't take kindly to that, trying to start a fight with me at the office, or get me fired. Good thing Bunny already knew what was going on, and banned her from any of the offices. The admiral later told me he had set up his life insurance policy so that his next of kin was Tom, not April, and that on his death, Tom would inherit everything. April would get absolutely nothing, not even a say in his funeral arrangements."
"Ouch," Sloane said, as Gibbs made a note. "Why the hate?"
"Aside from the general entitlement thing, I have no idea. Tom had no love for her either, mentioned she slapped him around a few times as a teenager when he got a tad mouthy with her, but..." Mac said, shrugging. "From what I understand, Jonathan married April when Tom was about ten, and from what both Tom's said, April was a real piece of work," Mac said. "Having tangled with her, I'm inclined to agree. When she looked at the admiral, she didn't see an old man, she saw dollar signs."
"Did she know about the book?" Sloane asked.
"I don't know. The restraining order was issued about three months ago and, after Bunny called the cops on her the last time, she pretty much left us alone. Tom started working on the book about two months ago," Mac said. "He was obsessed with finishing it. Have you had a chance to read it?"
"We're going through it now," Sloane said.
Mac nodded. "Look, maybe getting involved with Tom Junior could be considered an ethics violation, and if that's the case, then fine, I'll take my lumps, but as for me and Admiral Tom, I was genuinely very fond of him. He was like a favourite elderly uncle or grandfather. I would have never hurt him, ever. I just know that he was determined to tell the truth about something, something that he said cost five good guys their lives." Mac fingered in of the photos, one that showed her and Lieutenant Kent in a tender embrace, with him smiling down at her. "Would it be possible, if you don't mind, if I could get a copy of this? I think Tom might like it too."
"We'll see what we can do," Gibbs said, gathering up the pictures.
Gibbs and Sloane left the interrogation room. "What do you think?" Gibbs asked.
"There's no hesitation in her voice or mannerisms," Sloane said. "No finger pointing, just statement of facts, and genuine emotions when she talks about both Kents. That blush? That's the blush that comes from remembering something very erotic. I see it on Bishop's face when I remind her of the time she saw Torres shirtless. And that photo? Whoo, that grin screams promises of hot nights and hotter sex."
Gibbs snorted in amusement. "Yeah, she's telling the truth," he said, trusting his gut. "She cared about Admiral Kent."
"And April Kent?"
"Trouble, and a possible suspect."
"Nothing like a woman scorned."
"Trust me, I know all about that," he said sourly. At Sloane's puzzled look, he explained. "One of my ex-wives tried to use my head for golf practice."
"She must've been teed off," Sloane quipped, laughing at the glare Gibbs gave her.
Then his phone dinged, signalling an incoming message. It was from Mac.
"She wants to know if she could say good-bye to the admiral," he said to Sloane.
"Let her. See what she does. I don't think she had anything to do with his murder, but I could be wrong," Sloane said, "and she could be a damn good liar."
"If that's the case, then we're both in trouble," Gibbs said, going back into the room.
In the morgue, Gibbs watched as Palmer lead Mac to the table where Admiral Kent lay, his body covered up to his shoulders.
Then both men watched as Mac, her eyes filling with tears, gently brushed Admiral Kent's hair to one side.
"You crazy old fool. I knew you missed Megan, but did you have to be in such a hurry to leave that you didn't give me time to tell you how much I cared about you? You were the father I'd always wanted, and the friend whose company I always enjoyed," she whispered, tears rolling down her face. She looked up when she felt Palmer's gently hand on her shoulder. "As a nurse, we're taught to not get close, emotionally, to our patients but ask any of us, and we'll all tell you there's always that one patient that manages to get your guard down," she said to him.
"And Admiral Kent did," Palmer guessed.
"And it's going to hurt for a long, long, long time," Mac said, sobbing. Then she yelled at the body, jabbing a finger at it. "You bastard! You had better damn well be waiting for me when it's my turn, or, I swear, when I finally catch up to you, I am going to rip wide surgical tape off your furry chest until you're bare!"
Neither Gibbs nor Palmer could help themselves; they both cringed.
"Somehow," Palmer said gently, putting his arm around the nurse's shoulders, "I don't think that's going to be a problem. He'd be too afraid not to."