Part 2
Disclaimer: I do not own the JAG characters nor do I receive any money for doing this.
2317 hours Local Time
Officer's Housing, MCCDC
Quantico, VA
Harm was both physically and emotionally exhausted by the time he reached the officer's housing complex where Jordan had been living. As he approached the crime scene, he heard a voice say…
"I was bringing our laundry back to the complex and when I arrived my wife was calling 911. She said that she had heard something that sounded like a gunshot…."
As Harm closed in, he could see that the voice belonged to a Lieutenant Colonel, who was in the process of being questioned by an NCIS agent. Likely, the same agent he had spoken with on the phone earlier. It was about that time that the NCIS agent took notice of him and turned to address him.
"Commander Rabb?"
Harm nodded indicating that he was correct in his assumption.
"I'll be with you in a moment." The agent said and then returned his attention back to the witnesses, Lt. Colonel Maples and his wife Jane Maples, whom he was currently questioning. "What time did you hear this sound, Mrs. Maples?" He asked.
Harm noticed that the woman seemed rather rattled but chocked it up to her being in shock after witnessing such a horrific event.
"I ah…it was around 6:30….it startled me. I saw a male service member going down the steps. It startled me…"
"Did you happen to notice what sort of uniform he was wearing?"
"No…I…ah…" The woman looked up at her husband who currently had is arm protectively around her shoulders as an outward show of his support. Taking note of his wife's obvious distress, and having some inside knowledge of her current mental status he knew that she was walking a fine line between keeping it together and losing it completely. So, he decided to put a stop to the questioning before things got totally out of hand and the whole world became privy to the secret that he had been so desperately tying to hide.
"My wife didn't really see anything. Do you mind if we continue this inside." He asked, hoping to buy some time to get her calmed down.
Kenworth sighed, "Sure that will be fine." He said, knowing first hand that if you pushed to hard witnesses had a way of closing up and it was always best to get witness statements as close to the time of the event as possible. Otherwise, they had a way of becoming contaminated by other outside influences.
While Harm waited to speak to the NCIS agent, he caught sight of the waiting ambulance and then Jordan's body as it was being wheeled outside. His mind drifted back to the day he had first met Jordan after she had been involved in a small fender bender on base. He remembered how he had been desperate to find someone to spend Christmas with and just like a welcomed answer to a prayer, she was there.
"Commander…Commander…."
The sound of his rank being called out intruded into his thoughts and he was suddenly brought back to the present and the reality that Jordan was dead. He would never talk to her again…"Oh, I'm sorry Agent. What did you find out?" Harm asked.
"How well did you know Commander Parker?" The commander was in the military, had a romantic relationship with the victim….that was enough to put him on the agent's mental list of suspects.
"I knew her pretty well." Harm answered honestly. "We dated. I haven't seen her in over a year. What exactly happened?" Harm asked trying to fish for answers.
"Why were you calling her?" The agent asked and Harm knew for sure that this was the same agent that he had spoken to earlier on the phone.
"I was returning her call. She left me a message. It was the first time that I had heard she was back from Spain. "Harm dipped his hand into the pocket of his trench coat and pulled out a micro-cassette tape, "I brought the tape." he said as he handed the tape over to the NCIS agent.
Agent Kenworthy took the tape and nodded, "Good." He said as he dropped the tape into his own pocket.
"As a JAG attorney, I would like to offer any and all assistance." Harm stated.
"Why was she calling you?" Kenworthy asked again.
"She wasn't specific." Harm sighed as irritation complied by his exhaustive state of mind began to creep in. "Was she murdered?" He finally asked.
"That would be my preliminary opinion."
"Under what circumstances." Harm asked.
This was an area that the NCIS agent wasn't about to get into with a potential suspect, "This might take a while. Let me finish up here and we can go somewhere where we can talk.
Harm watched as the ambulance that contained Jordan's body pulled away from the scene. He was done answering questions and he didn't think that he was going to get any more out of NCIS Special Agent Kenworthy. So, he let out a loud sigh of frustration before turning and walking back towards where he had parked his car. On the way home, the radio played in the background but Harm wasn't really listening. He was too busy trying to wrap his mind around what had happened.
A little over an hour later he pulled into the parking lot in front of his apartment building and noticed that Renee's car was gone, and he felt more relieved then anything. Sighing, he got out of the car, locked up, and then made his way up to his now dark and lonely apartment. Once inside, he tossed his keys on top of the bookshelf and then took off his coat and dumped it on the back of the couch. He toed off his shoes before checking the clock on the stove in the kitchen. It was already nearing 0400 hours. So much for getting any sleep, he thought.
He was thankful that Renee wasn't there. The last thing he wanted to do was deal with her. He took off his dress clothes and without giving them much thought, he tossed them into a heap on the floor. His mother would have been so proud. Dressed only in his boxers he set the alarm and then got into bed.
Two hours later the alarm went off and it was all Harm could to do to get himself up and out of bed. Work was calling, although he knew it was unlikely that he would work the whole day he did want to speak with Admiral Chegwidden about getting a JAGMAN investigation started.