Part 8

Disclaimer: I do not own the JAG characters nor do I receive any money for doing this.

JAG Headquarters

Harm had barely stepped off the elevator when he ran into Mac and Teresa.

"Harm, you have to hear this." Mac said excitedly.

Teresa held up the report she had just received, "I just got back the results on the animal blood. I tested for dog and cat. It came up dog."

"What does that mean?" Harm asked, leading the small group towards his office.

"It means that there was a dog in Jordan's quarters on the night of her death."

"There was one in the opposite unit." Mac added.

"That's right." Harm agreed as he placed his cover and briefcase on top of his desk.

"Let's find out if it was injured." Teresa said, excited now that they had a tangible lead.

"Let me grab a cup of coffee and then we can drive over there and see." Harm said, once more reaching for his cover.

While Harm got his coffee, Mac commandeered a car and the three of them drove over to Quantico to revisit Mrs. Maples.

Maples Residence

"Mr. Lynch didn't visit Commander Parker on the night before she died. He was in St. Louis." Harm stated.

Mrs. Maples gave him a look of relief as she sat in her chair petting her dog,"Thank God-Oh, I genuinely liked him."

"You didn't see him?" Teresa asked.

"No, I guess not." She agreed. "I'm very sorry. I spent most of the year in the hospital. I don't think I'm quite with it yet. So I hope I didn't waste your time."

"Hey, there…" Teresa said as she reached out to pet the dog only to get snapped at.

"He can get a little feisty." Mrs. Maples warned indicating the dog.

Teresa took note of the abrasion on the dogs leg, "Looks like he's got something going on there." She said indicating the spot that was red and looked as if it had been recently bleeding."

"He has a skin infection." Mrs. Maples agreed.

"He's been scratching it." Teresa added.

"Yeah, I'm afraid it's time to put him in one of those collars. He'll hate it." She replied sadly.

"So, when you say you weren't quiet with it Mrs. Maples, are you saying you saw somebody else that night." Harm sated.

"I didn't see anyone."

Harm drew in a breath. They were so close he could feel it. "Really, I was under the impression that you'd seen somebody."

Jenny Maples looked from Harm, to Teresa, and then back to Mac, "Look, I was confused." She finally stated, her voice starting to crack.

"Or you are protecting somebody."

"Where was your husband that night?" Mac asked

A frightened look crossed Jenny's face as she began to faultier, "Here…in the…he takes care of me."

"He didn't leave at some point that evening?" Harm asked.

Mrs. Maples shook her head no, "No, maybe, I don't know." She said, close to tears by this point.

"Which is it, ma'am?" Harm demanded.

"Did Lt. Colonel Maples visit Commander Parker that night? Mac asked, looking for some sort of clarification.

Harm turned towards the colonel and addressed him, "Colonel were you having an affair with Lt. Commander Parker?" He asked

"What the hell are you talking about?" The colonel asked as he reached over to take the dog from his wife's arms.

"We know you were with Jordan before she died." Mac interjected.

"We have a witness, Colonel." Harm added after Maples had taken too long to answer.

"Yes." The colonel finally conceded. "I was in her quarters but we weren't having an affair." The colonel finally conceded.

"Then why were you there?" Mac asked.

"I was seeing her for counseling. I went 2 to 3 times a week. It was informal–we would talk in her living room."

"What about?" Harm asked.

"My wife, she's unstable. Capable of irrational even violent behavior. In and out of institutions over the last eight years. It's becoming increasingly difficult for me. I was discussing putting her away permanently. Obviously, I didn't want her to know about this so I would visit Commander Parker after Jenny had gone to bed. Who was it that saw me in her quarters?"

Everyone looked in the direction of Jenny Maples.

"Oh dear God….." Peter Maples whispered as it dawned on him who the real killer was.

"Frank needed to go out…" Jenny explained as she nervously picked at a blanket that had been placed over her lap. "He kept scratching at the bed until he woke me up. So I took him outside. As I was heading back, I saw Peter heading out of Jordan's quarters, when he went to the bathroom I snuck back into bed."

"Did you confront him?" Mac asked.

"I hadn't been much of a wife. I've been sick ya-know….but I understood that he might have…." She hesitated for a moment as she tried to come up with the right word. "Impulses." She finally said.

"How did you feel about Commander Parker?" Mac asked.

Jenny sighed, "Less sympathetic."

It was apparent she was aware that her husband had needs but was not happy about who she preserved him to be satisfying those needs with.

"Did you visit her?" Mac asked.

Jenny nodded her head yes, "The next night. When Peter was out doing the laundry. I went over there…she answered the door, said hello. I said….I was so upset to answer that and I…this frightened her because…anyway, she said that she was busy. She couldn't talk to me just then and I remember thinking, you need to make it very clear how you feel."

"What did you do?" Mac asked.

"I pushed my way in."

"Did she react?" Mac asked a note of disbelief in her voice.

"She tried to calm me down at first but I felt so familiar with those tactics. I slapped her and I think that's when she went to her drawer and got her gun. She told me to leave."

"Did you take the gun from her?" Mac asked.

"No." Jenny replied sadly. "Fred ran in and started barking. I think it startled her because she fell back into the chair. Dropped the gun right there by her feet. I picked it up and held it to her chest. This was to warn her. It went off and I let go of it. I just didn't know what to do so I left. I just…"

Not believing what he was hearing Peter Maples sunk down onto a vacant chair. Teresa stayed with Jenny while Harm made a call to the MP's. She was arrested for Jordan's murder. She was admitted to a mental institution for the criminally insane, where she would spend the rest of her life or until she was deemed not be a threat to herself or those around her.

One week later….

1630 Local time

North of Union Station

Harm checked his mail and found a letter post marked from Jordan. It had apparently gotten lost and had taken it's time getting there. He slowly opened the letter and read…

Harm,

I left a message on your machine today but then I thought you'd probably moved on and didn't want to call me back. So I'm sending you this note. Even after I left I have to admit I remained in conflict about you. Until this morning. I woke with a sense that our relationship was not lost opportunity, but a gift. I'm a better person for having known you and I hope you feel the same way about me. I've been seeing someone but feel the need to be with myself for a time. This is a good thing. I don't know what choices you've made but I can only hope that you are embracing them with the same confidence.

My best wishes always,

Love

Jordan

Harm sunk down on the couch as the emotions he hadn't realized he'd been holding in came pouring out. He realized for the first time just how much he had been ignoring Renee of late. He wouldn't blame her if she up and decided to end it with him. A part of him wanted to continue with her in his life. It was easy with her, she filled up a void left by… he didn't want to think about Mac. As long as Mac remained in his life, he didn't think he'd be able to fully commit to Renee. At least not the way she wanted him to. The same could be said for Jordan and every other woman in his life, since he'd first met Mac and it was obvious that she was moving on without him–could he do the same? He had no answer for that particular question–did he have a choice? Was there a way he could change Mac's mind. Get her to say no to Brumby and yes to him. There was a time when he would have answered yes to those questions but now he wasn't so sure.

He picked up the phone and dialed Renee's number.

"Hey." He said as soon as she picked up.

"What's up, Harm?" Renee asked.

"I was wondering if you were up to watching a move with me."

Rene sighed, "The movie is already gone, Harm."

"I wasn't talking about that movie. I have a different movie in mind."

They talked for a few minutes more. Before they hung up Renee agreed to come over.

While he waited for Renee to get there, he put the letter from Jordan in his desk for safe keeping. He pulled out a couple of old movie reals and the old projector that his mother had sent. He then set about popping up a big bowl of popcorn for them to eat. As soon as Renee arrived, Harm started the home movies…there would never be a time when he would be able to fully commit to Renee. Not as long as Mac remained in the fabric of his life. She may not know it but Mac had his heart. If she wanted Brumby, he wouldn't stand in her way.

Renee wasn't Mac, they were not even in the same league, but the relationship he had with Renee was comfortable…easy even. If it made Renee happy, he was happy to show her a little insight into what made him…him. If only it was that easy with Mac.