Incident at Potomac Park, a JAG-NCIS Story

by TnJAGAz

Byrhthelm and I came up with this little idea one day while discussing how we thought Loren Singer's demise, though helping to launch NCIS, might have been handled a different way. This story deviates from canon starting the night that Harm and Loren Singer have their infamous fight over whose baby the Lieutenant is carrying. Anymore, and I'll be giving away the plot.

9. Chapter 8

Chapter VIII - Incident at Potomac Park

1142 Local_1642 Zulu
Lieutenant Bud Robert's Office
JAG Headquarters
Falls Church, Virginia

Bud Roberts was at his desk. He had his artificial leg or as he liked to call it 'his plastic composite leg' on the desk pad as he tried unsuccessfully to glue one of his Velcro straps back onto the leg. The glue simply did not want to adhere to the plastic.

"This will never work," he grumbled and took the leg off the desk. As he put it on the floor, he heard a knock at his closed door.

"Just a minute," he called out as he hurriedly strapped the leg back on and pulled down his pants leg.

Reseating himself at his desk, he picked up a case folder. "Come in," he called out.

The door opened to reveal the JAGMan team assigned by the SACNAV to investigate the attack on Lieutenant Singer.

Faith Coleman and Jack McBurney stood just inside his office as Jack shut the door. "Lieutenant Roberts, we'd like to speak with you for a few moments, if you don't mind."

Bud gave them an affable smile. "Not at all, Commander, Major. Please come in and have a seat."

"We just have a few questions we need to ask you, Lieutenant, regarding our investigation." Faith replied.

Bud smiled pleasantly at the mention that it would only be a few questions. "All right, so what did you need to ask?"

Jack got right to the meat of the matter. "Lieutenant, the day before Lieutenant Singer went missing, did you witness an encounter between her and Commander Rabb?"

Bud's smile faded as he looked at the two investigators. He had really hoped he wasn't going to be asked about that, but as a lawyer/investigator he knew he would have asked the same thing. "I-I overheard a conversation, sir," the Lieutenant said hesitantly.

Faith wasn't much warmer in her questioning unfortunately. "Do you recall what was said in that conversation, Lieutenant?"

That didn't help relax Bud any. He stammered. Would his comments here put the Commander in a bad light? Probably. "Well–Uh, the Commander wanted to see the Lieutenant after work to talk…"

The SJA Major zeroed in on his discomfort. "Did she refuse him?"

Would the Commander want him to lie for him? Absolutely not. He'd want Bud to tell the truth. "At first, yes…"

Faith though wasn't so much interested in finding out if Bud would lie for a friend and senior officer, she was more curious about what took place between Lieutenant Singer and Harmon Rabb. "What happened then, Lieutenant?"

Bud took a breath and closed his eyes as he thought back to what he saw that afternoon. He remembered watching through the glass doors that lead into the bullpen at the Commander talking intently with Lieutenant Singer. Let's..let's have dinner, then suddenly said, I'm not hungry… and Loren turned away from him. I'm sorry, sir. I just don't have the time…

He could see the irritation on the Commander's face and then his had grabbed her arm. Loren turned on him as if he had slapped her. Then a glass of milk….The Commander had suggested.

Jack McBurney was perturbed to hear what Harmon Rabb had done. Grabbing a junior officer's arm could be construed as harassment. "Is it the Commander's practice to go around grabbing junior officers?"

Bud was offended by what the SJA Major was suggesting "No, sir, absolutely not!"

The Marine attorney decided to goad the Lieutenant to see if he could make him tell anything he was holding back. "So, it was just this one."

Bud tried to answer the question. "Yes. I mean, no-" But then realized how his answer sounded. It made the Commander look guilty.

Faith didn't like doing the Major doing this, but if it got the Lieutenant to tell them something they didn't already know, then she guessed it was worth it.

Jack pounced on his hedging. "Which one, Lieutenant?" he snapped impatiently.

Bud looked directly into the Major's eyes. Superior officer or not, he didn't like the way he was conducting this interview. Using what the Commander and Colonel had taught him, he focused all his attention on the SJA Major and making him uncomfortable. "The Commander does not make it a habit to grab anyone," Bud shot back lawyer-esque irritation. "Just this once, he was agitated. It's not unusual with Lieutenant Singer."

Faith would have smiled if she weren't part of the Major's JAGMan team. The Lieutenant had fired a shot across his bow and dared him to try that again. But in his haste to defend Commander Rabb he had let something slip out. "What do you mean by not unusual with Lieutenant Singer, Lieutenant?"

Rats! The junior JAGC officer and attorney hadn't meant for that to slip out. Oh well, they were going to find out anyway and just maybe telling this would help the Commander. "She had the tendency to rub people the wrong way, ma'am," Bud said obliquely.

The Navy JAG Commander was intrigued. "Like who, Lieutenant?"

Bud was ready this time. "Well, there's Commander Turner, Commander Rabb, Colonel MacKenzie, Commander Manetti, Yeoman 1 Tiner, Legalman 2 Coates, Legalman 1 Riggs -"

Jack held up his hand. "We get the idea, Lieutenant." He said wearily. So much for a quick end to this investigation. It seemed Loren Singer was good at pissing off just about everyone. But he wasn't finished yet. "Let's back up a couple of steps. You said he was agitated, by agitated, you mean, angry? Right Lieutenant?"

"Yes, but I mean that-" Bud began to explain what he meant. He didn't want to just leave it at 'yes' that would make the Commander appear hot headed.

However Jack McBurney had gotten what he needed. "Thank you, Lieutenant," he said brusquely cutting him off. "We'll be in touch."

Bud stood up and came to attention as they stood up and turned to leave. He looked helplessly at the SJA Major and then at the Commander as she paused at the door. Faith Coleman regarded him for a moment and then turned to head out into the bullpen.

1209 Local_ 1709 Zulu
Bethesda Naval Hospital
Bethesda, Maryland

Loren had woken up briefly after her latest dream/nightmare hoping to see Dr. Mallard or James sitting with her. When she opened her eyes, though, she saw no one present. Her room, except for her and her unborn child was empty and silent.

She felt a little like Jimmy Stewart in 'It's a Wonderful Life' or Ebenezer Scrooge. Had she really been that bad? Or was it just her jumbled up memory playing tricks on her for some oddball psychological reason? The more Loren Singer thought about it, though, she knew deep down there was some truth to these image fragments and she was seeing who she had been.

Her nasal congestion along with the achiness along the sides of her abdomen told her she was not the same hot shot naval attorney, Lieutenant Loren Singer. Now she was five months pregnant – at least that's how the doctor who came in Dr. Mallard yesterday had described where she was in her pregnancy and what she might experience. She had up to this point thought the stuffy nose was something left over from her time in the water.

Pregnant and…no memory – not even an inkling of who was the father of her child. She was quite alone…. As tears started to leak out of her eyes, and she felt an overwhelming need to close them….

'Working late, Lieutenant?' the Admiral asked her as she was standing at the copy machine.

'I always work late, Sir,' she said turning around. Loren figured she was trying to impress him.

'Singer…you should get a life,' he told her kindly. But the words hit her like bricks. She knew what she had said to him next about getting his own life, but that wasn't important right now.

Loren woke again. She did need to get a life. A different life than the one she had now.

1329 Local_1829 Zulu
JAG Headquarters
Falls Church, Virginia

Faith Coleman walked out of Conference Room One closely followed Jack McBurney.

"Tell me again; why are we talking with Lieutenant Sims?" he asked her back.

Faith turned to face him. He was doing this to goad her. She knew it, but she wasn't going to let him win this test of wills. "Because like Commander Rabb and the others, Lieutenant Harriet Sims had, at best an antagonistic relationship with Lieutenant Singer."

The SJA Major nodded like a slow child finally understanding a concept. But he was doing this because he wanted her to admit this interview wasn't necessary. "And you're inferring this
from-"

"What Lieutenant Roberts told us," she replied. It was the second time she had told him this.

"Wait, you don't think she could have done this, do you?" Finally. He got it or was he just yanking her chain again? He seemed to like doing that to her for some reason.

"I won't know until we question her, Major," she said primly as she turned and walked into the bullpen with the Major trailing after her. He made an effort to get up beside her as they walked through the work area.

They both walked over to Harriet Sims's workstation. The Lieutenant rose from her seat. "Yes sir, ma'am?" She asked cautiously.

Faith regarded the Inspector General Office's liaison to JAGC clinically. Jack cleared his throat. "Ah, Lieutenant, we need to ask you a few questions regarding Lieutenant Singer."

Harriet stood straighter if that was possible. "Uh y-yes sir." She gulped.

"Would you follow us to the conference room please?" Faith Coleman said without emotion.

Harriet nodded stoically. "Aye, ma'am,"

Heads turned to watch as the three headed back into Conference Room One and closed the door.

Harriet Sims sat down across from the two military attorneys. Everyone in JAG Corps Headquarters had been rattled by NCIS questioning everyone about Singer, and the concurrent JAGMan investigation wasn't helping the situation. NCIS hadn't questioned her, but maybe that was because they thought Commander Coleman and Major McBurney would be able to find out something they couldn't. Harriet tried her best not to appear flustered.

Both Jack and Faith noticed how ill at ease Lieutenant Sims appeared. Maybe it was just general nerves about being questioned. But then again, this was an investigation into an assault on a fellow officer. If she was guilty, they would soon find out.

Jack interlaced his hands, thumbs pointing toward her. "Lieutenant, how would you describe your working relationship with Lieutenant Singer?" he began.

"My working relationship, Sir?" She rephrased the question, causing Jack and Faith to glance at each other. The way they did made Harriet even more unnerved.

"Yeah, you know, any problems, tensions, fights?" Jack said affably. He was trying to draw her out.

Faith was less congenial. "We know about Lieutenant Singer's black eye, Lieutenant."

"She ran into a door, ma'am," Harriet said automatically without hesitation.

"Lieutenant, surely you know that lying during the course of investigation is chargeable offense," the SJA Major replied casually.

Harriet nodded gravely. "Yes sir, I do."

"Did you hit the Lieutenant?" Faith repeated.

Harriet sighed. She might as well talk about this now – they were just going to keep asking her. If she tried to avoid answering the question, that would make her even more suspect. "There was an altercation. The Lieutenant had been disparaging my husband in the office. I asked to speak to her privately. She agreed. We walked into the room, the Lieutenant slipped and I tried to catch her, but she hit the door." Harriet finished her explanation, satisfied that would quench their curiosity about this incident.

Far from it.

"You tried to catch her with your fist?" Jack quipped, hoping it would cause her to slip up and ruin her carefully prepared story.

But anger made Harriet more focused than scattered. "The Lieutenant hit the door, sir," she replied firmly.

Faith looked down at her notes and turned a page. "That is what she said in her official statement," she said confirming what Lieutenant Singer had said about the incident. So their stories matched to a tee.

Harriet had been around JAG long enough to know what they were doing. Well, she'd just show them that there was another side to Lieutenant Harriet Beaumont Sims. "Ma'am, sir, the Lieutenant and I were never the best of friends, but she did come to my house during the holidays. She was invited by me."

"Why Lieutenant?" Faith asked. Jack wanted to add 'on earth' to that statement. To both of them it didn't seem like a real smart idea considering their history.

"It was Christmas, ma'am," Harriet said, hoping the answer was obvious to her.

Peace and goodwill toward all men and all that. Yes, Faith was well aware what Christmas meant to most people. But she was more interested in what Harriet Sims thought of Loren Singer. "I see; and what did you think about the Lieutenant thinking that then Electronic Tech 3rd class Jennifer Coates had stolen her bracelet?"

Faith had done her research. She knew that Jason Tiner, Jennifer Coates, and Harriet Sims worked closely together in the office. Was it possible that the Electronic Tech and JAGC staff officer became mutual allies against Singer at that party?

But Harriet was ready for this and what Faith Coleman was hoping to uncover. It simply didn't exist. "A misunderstanding ma'am. My son had borrowed the bracelet."

Now Jack was curious why the Lieutenant was bringing up an incident from the past and not something more recent. "Lieutenant while that was very heartwarming, it all took place in 2001. What about this past Christmas, was she invited to your house again?"

Harriet at this point thought honesty wouldn't hurt. "The Lieutenant had become distant…from all of us. She indicated that while she would like to come, she had a prior commitment."

Faith and Jack exchanged another glance. It was true. Others had verified that Lieutenant Singer had distanced herself from all of them over the holidays. It wasn't just directed at Harriet Sims. It seemed as though Loren Singer was distancing herself from everyone at JAG Corps Headquarters.

"Lieutenant, where were you on the evening of January fifth?" Faith asked.

"My husband and I were at home watching television. We were trying to find something to get our minds off of my husband's petition to the Physical Evaluation Board for permanent limited active duty."

"Do you remember the program you watched?" Jack asked.

Harriet shook her head. "Not specifically, but my husband, Lieutenant Roberts might."

The Navy Commander looked down and made a notation on her papers, then back at her. "Is there anyone else that can corroborate you and your husband's story, Lieutenant?"

"No," Harriet said glumly. It did look bad.

But Harriet didn't know just how bad.

Jack McBurney leaned forward, any trace of friendliness gone from his face. "Let me tell you how I see it happening, Lieutenant. You and Lieutenant Singer got into another disagreement- maybe it was about your husband maybe it was about something else, but you did fight and you got angry enough to hit her. She hits her head on the bridge railing and she goes unconscious. There's a lot of blood, you panic. You can't pick her up and throw her over the side, so you take her down to the banks of the river and shove her in – maybe even your husband helps you."

It was a gamble but maybe this bluff would unnerve her to the point of confessing.

Harriet couldn't believe what she was hearing. She knew that she might be possible suspect but she figured that would be quickly discounted.

There were rare times when the proud debutante in Harriet came out, but her indignation and anger got the better of her this time. That and the fact she would never ever do anything like they were suggesting. "I would never do anything like that, Major! We had our differences, I won't deny that, but I did not and would not try to kill her!"

Faith and Jack glanced at each other again. Jack could tell that Faith Coleman somehow knew that Harriet Sims was telling the truth. For his part, he couldn't tell that she was hiding anything from them. If she was lying, she was good.

"Okay, Lieutenant, thank you for your time." The SJA Major said dismissing her.

Harriet though was still miffed. "Aye, aye, sir, ma'am," she snapped out curtly as she stood and came to attention, and then pivoted and headed out the conference room door.

When she was gone, Jack turned to her partner. "Well?"

Faith Coleman made several notations on her papers. "Means and motive, but not opportunity," she replied. To the SJA Major she sounded…disappointed. Maybe she had been hoping for a quick end to this case as well.

xxviiixx

"Okay, drop the resisting, she pleads to UA, thirty days confinement, she returns the Santa suit," The tall Navy Commander haggled with her as the Petty Officer from the party followed them from an office to the courtroom. UA? About the only thing she understood from this conversation was confinement and Santa suit…maybe the Petty Officer stole a Santa suit?

"Sixty days plus reduction in rate to E-4," she returned. Loren guessed that was stiffer penalty for what the Petty Officer had done.

"That's kind of steep, Loren, for a first infraction," the tall Commander argued. Loren knew he was right and she could see that the tall Commander didn't like the counteroffer.

"First charge," she clarified. "Petty Officer Coates was previously officially reprimanded at captain's mast for gambling aboard the USS Gainesville." So this Petty Officer…Coates had been in trouble before. Maybe that's why she was being so hard on her….

"Like I was the first sailor to ever play poker, Ma'am," Petty Officer Coates piped up in her own defense.

"That'll be enough, Petty Officer," the tall Commander instructed her. Loren could see this Commander obviously didn't want the Petty Officer saying anything else to hurt her case.

"She also bet on the anchor pool," Loren heard herself commenting. Anchor pool? What were you betting on?

"I've done that, Lieutenant," the Commander replied, obviously remembering a past incident.

"But you never yelled 'man overboard' to delay the anchor drop to win a bet," she revealed. Loren now understood. This Petty Officer Coates had yelled 'man overboard' to delay the ship dropping the anchor so she'd win the bet. That was pretty clever.

Loren awoke smiling for the first time in a while. Part of her wanted to meet this Petty Officer Coates…if she wasn't in jail. It was funny, but the tall Commander seemed genuine in his defense of the Petty Officer. But then why was he so angry with her? And why did he want to have a glass of milk with her? Was it some kind of code?

1509 Local_2009 Zulu
Conference Room One
JAG Headquarters
Falls Church, Virginia

Yeoman 1, Jason Tiner took a seat across from Jack McBurney and Faith Coleman. He wasn't sure what kind of questions they would ask him about Lieutenant Singer, but then he figured everyone was being questioned to see if anything unusual popped up that would lead them to her assailant.

"So tell us, Yeoman, how is your work relationship with Lieutenant Loren Singer?" Jack said smiling.

Jason was thrown off by his question. "My relationship sir? Well, uh, since I'm the Admiral's Yeoman, I primarily work for him." He had expected an immediate grilling over his incidents with Loren Singer, not a general-type question.

Faith glanced down at her notes and back at the Petty Officer. "But you did cut her travel orders, arranged meetings for her, did you not?"

Jason found himself nodding even before she finished her question. "Yes ma'am, I did. I do that for everyone here in the office, the attorneys, I mean, ma'am."

"Didn't she assume command as acting JAG late last spring?" Jack asked in an off the cuff manner.

"Yes sir, she did." Straightforward question deserved a straightforward answer.

"And how did that work out?" Faith inquired.

Tiner was ready for her. "Well, everybody's first time in charge as ADMIN OIC is a little rough, ma'am," Tiner hedged. He just hoped it didn't seem like hedging.

Jack McBurney smirked, as did Faith. "A little rough Yeoman? You reported to the Admiral that she ordered a…a fire drill…did you not?"

Jason Tiner wasn't sure what they were up to, but decided to show that he could be objective about what happened. "Yes ma'am, I did, but in her defense, the Admiral said it was long overdue."

"So he was pleased with her," the SJA Major replied. Faith made a notation on her papers.

Jason worked hard to keep his eyes from focusing for too long on the papers the Commander had in front of her. They were full of notes. "Yes sir, she also updated the NLCS Instructions, audited the TAD budget, sent reports to the VCNO and SECNAV's AA, which he was pleased…with."

The Major acted as if he hadn't heard that stumble.

Faith Coleman gave the Yeoman a thin smile. "That sounds impressive, Yeoman, but she really didn't do it all herself, now did she?"

She was baiting him, he knew it. He had seen Commander Rabb and the other attorneys do this many a time to guilty parties.

He hoped he was giving them the right answer. "Well, no, ma'am, she enlisted help from the office staff." It was the truth.

"Which meant all of you put in a lot of overtime, regular work had to be put aside to work on these special projects, right, Yeoman?" Now it was the Major's turn to try it. Still, the only way to answer this question was honestly.

"Yes sir." Jason replied.

"Did she specifically order Lieutenant Sims to update all the JAG Instructions?" Faith asked.

"Yes ma'am." Again, what else could he say?

"But not without some grumbling about it," Jack added artfully.

"There was an awful lot to update, sir," Jason admitted.

"So it would be safe to say that you and Lieutenant Sims didn't really appreciate the extra work assigned to you," Faith said blandly.

Her frankness was unnerving to him. Still, if he was going to go on and become a JAG attorney as planned he had to be prepared on how to handle these kinds of questions. "Well no ma'am, I mean yes ma'am, uh, personally…It was an order and we carried it out ma'am. Orders are orders." Whew, finally, he got it right.

Jack worked hard not to snort at his bobbled answer. He had read Tiner's file – planned to go to become a JAG attorney. "I see," He said seeming to think aloud. "No resentment on your part of her treatment of either you or Lieutenant Sims."

Tiner snapped on the bait like a hungry bass. "She and Lieutenant Singer had their differences, but Lieutenant Sims worked hard to overcome those," Tiner said trying to appear helpful.

This time Jack did snort. "Come on, Yeoman, you really didn't like the way she treated the Lieutenant and she rode you pretty hard every chance she got, right?"

Tiner was flabbergasted. "Sir?" How had he walked into that one?

Jack didn't wait for him to explain. He pressed on. "In fact, you decided to talk to her about that, didn't you? You couldn't understand why she felt like the staff was beneath her-"

Now Jason saw just how big of a mistake he had made. "No sir, I never-"

Jack's smirk disappeared. "You had a fight with her about it, didn't you, Yeoman. That's why Legalman Coates was reluctant to talk to NCIS about the incident. In fact, she blamed it on the Commander to protect you, didn't she?"

This was much worse that he had realized. They suspected him of being the person that threw Loren Singer in the Potomac River. "N-no Sir! Legalman Coates wouldn't lie about that! Lieutenant Singer was tenacious, ambitious, and a bit overzealous at times, but she was an officer and we followed her orders, sir, ma'am. Whether we liked them or not." Jason wished he could have taken that last part back. But it was too late now – the words were out there.

The SJA Major and JAG Corps Commander glanced at each other for a moment as if an unspoken conversation was taking place. Jason thought it was odd what they were doing, but it was just like those glances Commander Rabb and Colonel MacKenzie often shared.

After a moment, Faith picked up her papers and shuffled them so that they all fell into perfect alignment. "All right Yeoman, thank you for your time," she said coolly.

Jason didn't know what else to say. Yelling he was innocent wouldn't help. They knew based on his earlier statement to the NCIS agents where he was that evening. Though it was a little white lie, it was close enough to the truth that NCIS hadn't bothered with digging into it – he wondered if this JAGMan team would treat that so casually.

He stood and came to attention. "Aye sir, ma'am." He pivoted and exited the room wondering if he had said too much.

-TBC…