::  Murder In Baltimore  ::

Chapter Thirty-Three

It was nearly 1000 before AJ could break away from the crime scene. He had been on the phone no less that six times with the Secretary of the Navy and twice with the Secretary of the Army, who wanted to know why he had been kept in the dark. AJ had managed to keep his frayed temper under control, but it was getting harder and harder. He finally suggested that the two Secretaries get together to discuss how they wanted to handle the situation and then to let him know. The Secretary of the Army hung up on him. AJ silently cursed and contemplated throwing the phone as far as he could.

She had seen him only sporadically since the scene at the ambulance. She knew if he was half as tired as she, he was on his last nerve. She had not meant to overhear his phone conversation, but it had not sounded good and she knew that anyone he addressed as "Mr. Secretary" probably didn’t appreciate the tone that AJ was reduced to using, no matter how appropriate it was.

She walked up to him, and touched him gently on the arm. Even after the kiss last night, <<<Early this morning?>>> she was uncertain how he would react to her touching him. He angrily jerked around, but when he saw her, he allowed a faint, tired smile to crease his face. "Hi." Such a simple word, but it made her suddenly less tired.

"Hi, yourself. You heading out?" She responded quietly.

He nodded. "Yeah. I’m going to the hospital. Check on my client."

She looked to the ground for a minute and then looked up shyly. "Mind if I hitch a ride?" Instantly, she hoped that the reminder of their earlier ride together would not stir up bad thoughts. Her face fell when he replied evenly.

"Sorry, I can’t."

Softly she replied, "That’s okay, I understand."

She turned away, but his hand on her arm stopped her. He smiled at her. "I hitched a ride here myself. I left my car at the hospital."

Her grin lit her face and she yelled, "Straight!"

The tall blond agent from the equipment van turned at hearing her name. She had just finished checking all the equipment back in. "Yeah, Ryan. What’s up?"

"There a car for me to use?"

Agent Straight thought for a moment then spoke into her two-way, listened for a moment and then talked again. In less than a minute a young male agent came running up and handed over a set of keys. AJ heard the blond agent thank the man and then yelled, "Hey, Cassie! Heads up!" The next thing he knew, the keys were flying through the air toward her. As they sailed over her head and nearly past his, he neatly reached up and snagged them. They heard Straight laugh, "OOPS!" and then turn back to her paperwork.

Cassie glared at the two people so much taller than she and asked sarcastically, "Which grey Taurus is it?"

The young agent who had originally had the keys overheard the request and ran up. "Sorry, Agent Ryan. Actually it’s a black one. It’s parked one block over and it’s the third one down the street." He told them the license plate number, which surprised Cassie to no end. She wondered if she had ever been that young and enthusiastic. Together, she and AJ walked down the street, past the inquiring eyes of the local residents. Fortunately, most of the reporters had already left. The ones that remained were at an impromptu press conference by the Mayor. She hoped that Assistant Chief Miller would get the credit he deserved and that they would all leave Anderson alone. But at this point she was too tired to worry about the politics of the matter. Whatever the fallout with Anderson, she would use her not inconsiderable clout to protect him.

They approached the car and Cassie hit the remote door locks. She looked over at the Admiral and marveled at his appearance. She wasn’t sure how long he had been in that uniform, but it was still surprising neat. This was in direct contrast to her disheveled look. They paused at the front bumper and she asked, "Want to flip to see who drives?"

He looked down at her, smiled and walked to the passenger door. "Nope. Your car, you can drive." She watched as he strapped in and reclined the seat back and appeared to close his eyes.

She snorted and walked to the driver’s door. She got in so that she was sitting, slightly turned toward him. She noticed that he was peering at her through his eyelashes. <<< Such really sexy eyelashes>>> "So much for chivalry." She said archly.

He laughed, "Chivalry, hell. Madam, I’ll have you know that I am a feminist through and through and I respect the…" His reply was cut off by her mouth on his. The kiss was fierce and he immediately returned it, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. His response was hindered by the fact that he was strapped in, and slightly reclined. He opened his lips to her and she gently teased his tongue with hers.

When she broke the kiss, he looked at her questioningly. She grinned wickedly. "Well it worked for you last night didn’t it." He raised his eyebrow, then laid back, smiled and slid his cover over his eyes. She sat back in her seat, strapped in, started the engine and proceeded to the hospital.

As they walked into the ICU unit, Cassie was surprised to still see Marine guards at various spots and looked at AJ questioningly. He took a moment to tell her about Detective Bush and her eyes grew wide.

"You go visit with Galindez, I want to make a phone call. It sounds suspicious and I want to tell Anderson."

AJ watched as she went into the waiting room and pulled out her cell phone. He touched his lips lightly and smiled. <<<Oh yeah, Chegwidden, you definitely got it bad.>>> He sighed deeply then. He knew it would be a bumpy ride. The red in her hair promised that.

He turned then and approached Galindez’s room. He was surprised to see two people standing next to the bed. He was even more surprised to see Lieutenant Harriet Simms talking to the Marine Guard. When the guard saw AJ he immediately came to attention. Harriet turned and smiled at him.

"Admiral, I’m really glad that you are here. Gunny is doing so much better. I picked up Mr. & Mrs. Galindez at Reagan this morning. Sir, it’s wonderful, he is really doing quite well, Nurse Danvers said so."

At the mention of the night nurse’s name, AJ looked at his Lieutenant questioningly. "Just how long have you been here, Harriet?

"Just about an hour, sir. Why?" She had a puzzled expression on her face, not only from his look but his tone.

Just then from behind him he heard a gentle voice say, "I told you I wouldn’t let anything happen to him, didn’t I?" He turned and saw the nurse in question standing before him. She had circles under her eyes, but she had fresh uniform on and looked like she could take him, if push came to shove. "I grabbed a few hours in the nurses' lounge. You left me responsible after all."

AJ looked at her guiltily now. He remembered what he had said and responded. "I can’t thank you enough for staying with him. But, I’m sorry too that I imposed so rashly."

She snorted. "No you’re not. Besides, don’t worry about it. It’s not the first time. I got someone to switch with me and I’m going home at 3:00 PM. I believe that is 1500 hours in your language, Admiral." She didn’t tell either the Admiral or the nice young Lieutenant that the patient intrigued her.

Just then a small stout woman stepped out of the room. She walked up to Danvers and shook her hand. "Thank you nurse, for letting us see our son together." She then looked over at AJ. "You must be Admiral Chegwidden. Victor has spoken so highly of you. Not just right now either. I am his mother, Martha Galindez." She held out her hand and AJ gravely took it.

"Mrs. Galindez, it is an honor to meet you. I am sorry it is under such awful circumstances."

Martha Galindez nodded her agreement. "You know, of course, that my Victor did not do that bad thing to Sherilee?"

AJ gently let go of her hand and replied. "Mrs. Galindez, I promise you, when Victor leaves here, it will be as a free man. We have mounting evidence that someone else killed your son."

He looked up in surprise when he heard Harriet say. "Oh yes, sir. We already know. Commander Rabb and Mr. Webb let Bud know everything that happened last night."

AJ’s look of complete confusion reminded Harriet that he still might not know what happened at his house last night. Just then the woman she recognized as that nice Detective O’Brien came up behind AJ and smiled shyly at the group. Harriet finally noted the badge, still hanging around her neck that very clearly read FBI. She looked at the woman, but before she could say anything, AJ introduced them. "Lieutenant Harriet Simms, please meet Special Agent Cassandra Ryan, who you may remember as Detective O’Brien."

Understanding finally dawned on Harriet’s face. "Oh. Oh, my." She didn’t know what to say but was saved from further comment, by a movement behind her.

She turned and saw the taller, older version of Victor Galindez exit the ICU room. He walked up to the Admiral and held out his hand. "Admiral Chegwidden, I am Tomas Galindez. Thank you for what you are trying to do for my son."

Once again AJ responded with soothing words and this time he introduced Cassie to Victor’s parents. "If you will excuse me, I want to see my client for a moment." He left the group and silently entered Galindez’s room. Victor appeared to be sleeping, but the movement caused him to open his eyes. When he saw who it was, training and instinct caused him to try and sit up straighter. AJ rushed forward and put his hand on his shoulder. "Easy, Marine. No cause to pull a stitch." Victor tried to talk, but his mouth was dry. He looked over to the ice chips and AJ immediately fed him some.

Victor was finally able to whisper, "Sir, I can’t thank you enough. I’m really sorry what happened to your house and all."

AJ was really beginning to get worried, but he just patted his shoulder some more. "Don’t worry about it, Gunny. You just get better. I have it on very good authority that we may soon catch the real murderer."

He was surprised when Victor nodded. "Yes sir I know. Lieutenant Simms told him what happened last night."

Completely bemused now, AJ turned and studied the small blond Navy officer who was talking earnestly to Cassie. Just then, Cassie looked up, caught his eye and smiled gently at him. He smiled back at her and turned back to Victor. "Son, is there anything you need?"

Victor managed to shake his head, but AJ could see that the effort was beginning to take its toll. "Then I’ll head out now. I need to speak with Simms for a moment." With that he walked out of the room and up to Harriet. "Lieutenant, I think we need to talk."

"Yes, sir." Harriet followed her boss into the now empty waiting room.

Neither saw Cassie walk softly into the patient’s room. She stood and watched the man she had nearly gotten killed. He lay so quiet, his chest moving rhythmically. She moved to gently touch the hand that had IV tubes running from it. A single tear ran down her cheek and she whispered. "I’m so very, very sorry Gunnery Sergeant."

She was startled to hear the croaked whisper. "Yes, ma’am, I know. Jake…Agent Hobson, I mean, stopped by this morning and told me how sorry you both were. He told me everything that happened. He told me about what that man said last night too. I figure that it was a good trade. A stay in the hospital for all those guns." Though his eyes were open, his voice finally ran out.

Cassie got very close to his ear and said, "No, Sergeant. It wasn’t a fair trade, but thank you for saying so. Now you get some sleep, I’m sure your mom wants to come back in." He didn’t even nod but closed his eyes again and Cassie turned and went out the door.

Just then she saw AJ come out of the waiting room and look over at her, his expression tense. As she came up to him, he said, "I have to go. I just found out that my house was broken into last night and one of my officers was attacked." He walked toward the elevator and pushed the button. She followed him and when the doors opened, stepped onto the elevator with him.

They rode in silence and when they reached the ground floor she went through the hospital doors ahead of him. They walked quickly, because though the sun was high in the sky, the noon breeze still chilled them. Upon reached the parking lot she asked, "So are you going back to Falls Church or to your house in McLean?"

He was no longer surprised at how much she knew about him. "McLean, I think. I want to check the damage down. Though, I will need to get to the office. I talked to my people on the phone and evidently, we have corroborating evidence to Smith’s accusation last night.

She started to say something when her cell phone chirped. She pulled it from her jacket pocket and stared at it, her expression one of complete exasperation. Finally she snapped the cover open. "Ryan."

AJ’s eyes never left her face. Her eyes grew wide; her mouth pursed so tightly that it looked like hundreds of little lines radiated for her lips. Finally her eyes shut tightly but not before he saw the pain there. Without ever saying a word, she closed the phone. He waited patiently, keeping his fear at bay. She took in a massive gulp of air and raggedly let it out. "Anderson just found Grayson’s body - at his house. According to Anderson it’s really bad."

He made a quick decision and reached out and took her by the arm. She allowed him to lead her to his Expedition. He opened the passenger door and she stepped up and sat in the seat. He ran to the driver’s side and climbed in. Once he was in traffic he glanced over at her. She was staring out the window, deep in thought. Gently, he demanded. "Tell me."

For a moment he thought she would ignore him, but finally, she began in a strained, almost dead tone. "Last night while you and Jacobs were surveying the ‘loot’, Anderson and I were interviewing the surviving gang members. We found Tino’s right hand man, Tommy Lee Thompson, AKA Spike and in a bid for some consideration he told us a rather nasty little tale."

She closed her eyes, remembering the scene last night. The noise and the smoke and the scurrying agents and cops. They had found a small deserted room and had sat Mr. Thompson down on an upturned crate and waited while he told his story. "According to Mr. Spike, ‘Tino’ met Sherilee shortly after she had arrived from Chicago. She had a particular service to sell and she wanted a manager. Spike wasn’t sure, but he thought that maybe she came with a recommendation from some mobster."

AJ cleared his throat and she cocked her head to look at him. "I think that if you contact your SAC at the Chicago field office, he might shed some light on the mobster involved. Rabb was told that it was ‘Big Tommy’ Agurra."

Cassie let out a low whistle. "Now that was some recommendation. I wonder if we can see him in his jail cell?" She looked back out the window and pulled her thoughts back to last night. "Evidently, Sherilee made a living from her joy of rough and humiliating sex. Not your normal bondage stuff either. According to Spike, she had a mean, vicious streak that the boys in the gang learned not to bring out. It seems that for about six months, Sherilee and Tino worked really well together. They made good money just from her ‘sales’. Then Sherilee convinced Tino they could make even more money in the blackmail game. They would have too, had Grayson not arrested her the first time they tried it. They tried it on one of the johns that she had first serviced when she got into town. He was an aide at the mayor’s office. He was also a friend of Grayson. He had Grayson track down Sherilee to set her straight. Evidently, it was Sherilee who did the setting. She had already been arrested once for prostitution, when Grayson set her up and had her arrested for a couple of more charges. But something happened. Spike wasn’t real sure, but it appears that Grayson either fell for her or fell for what she could and would do. Anyway, ‘Tino’ was never one to pass up an opportunity, and according to Spike, he made sure that Sherilee gave Grayson everything he wanted. AND he made sure to get pictures."

AJ's grip on the steering wheel was so strong that his knuckles were turning white. Cassie saw his tension and reached over and touched his thigh lightly. He forced himself to calm down, but he couldn’t believe that his straight-arrow Marine had gotten involved with such a woman. He looked over at Cassie and smiled wanly. "Go on."

Cassie shrugged. "Spike said that the ‘relationship’ between Grayson and Sherilee was ‘mutually beneficial’." At AJ’s snort of disbelief she smiled. "Spike's words, I swear. He must watch PBS occasionally. Sherilee got her sick kicks and Grayson? Grayson got his humiliation served up every Thursday night and Sunday afternoon. Those were his times. Nobody else got her services at those times. We are confirming it with the neighbors, but again, according to Spike, she always went to his house."

AJ interrupted. "Galindez swears that he was with Sherilee at what turns out to be Grayson’s house on a Sunday afternoon."

"Well, one of my deep cover guys was able to shed some light there, and Spike confirmed some of it. We had been keeping tabs on Grayson, even before I finagled my way into being his partner. We came to realize that he had a lot to do with getting the guns from the Baltimore police armory, but we didn’t have enough proof to act on it. We also couldn’t figure out if it was because of the money or because of the blackmail from the pictures Tino had of him and Sherilee. Anyway, Sherilee liked playing head games almost as much as she liked…well, what she liked. She got Tino to insist that Grayson make a Sunday afternoon meeting, so she and Galindez could have a ‘date’ together. Spike said Tino had thought it a good idea to have a man on the inside of the Judge Advocate General’s office that he could control through black mail. Plus, Tino just thought it was grand fun to jerk Grayson’s chain. Afterwards, she bragged to Grayson that it was the best sex she had ever had and she didn’t even ‘hurt’ Galindez in the process. Evidently, Grayson went nuts. He nearly beat her to death that day. Tino finally had to pull him off. My guy was there that day. He told me that he had thought about stepping in, but Sherilee was laughing all the time Grayson was hitting her."

A confused look had settled on AJ’s face. "I don’t get it. Lieutenant Simms said something about the guy that broke into my house last night. She said, London told my people that Tino had offered to help him get out of the country if he would plant dope in my house." He looked at her pleadingly. "What made him think I could be of value to him? Did he think I could get him guns? Or, get him off the hook somehow? It just makes no sense."

Cassie shook her head resignedly. "AJ, who knows? We can ask Spike, but so much of what we have learned of Tino shows that he was as insane as Sherilee. They were a deadly match together."

They were nearing the Barre Circle neighborhood and neither were surprised by the police cars that passed them with their lights flashing.

After a moment, AJ brought the conversation back to Galindez. "That would explain why he couldn’t get in touch with her for a week. I take it that she and Grayson ‘kissed and made up’."

Cassie nodded. "At least Sherilee thought they did. Spike says she went crawling back to Grayson, telling him that it was Grayson that she loved and not Galindez and that Galindez deserved to suffer for the pain that HE has put Grayson through. She thought that she and Grayson should set Galindez up. Spike says that Tino thought it was a continuation of the original plan to rope Galindez in. That Sunday morning, I was checking on the surveillance team, when I saw Sherilee, just hours before her murder, walking with a Marine. As soon as we arrested Galindez, I knew it was a different guy, but I could never find him. You think it was this Sergeant London?"

AJ looked over at her. "Yeah I’m sure it was London." He found a parking space a block from the cop cars blocking entrance into the block where Grayson’s house stood. They strolled to the barriers and Cassie’s badge gained them admittance to the block, but when they arrived at the steps of Grayson’s house, the cop on duty insisted on calling on his two-way.

AJ was surprised to see Officer Garvy opened the door at the top of the stairs. He jerked his head toward the opening. "Lute says it's okay, come on up." Cassie proceeded up the stairs. AJ thought for a moment to take her elbow again, but he knew that she would not welcome the familiarity here. Garvy held the door open and pointed to the stairway leading to the second floor. "Up there." Once AJ was level with the cop he had met last night he noticed that not only did the man look as exhausted as AJ felt, but Garvy was definitely ‘green about the gills’.

As they climbed the stairs both of them steeled themselves for what they were about to see. Cassie had heard first hand from Anderson what to expect, and AJ’s sixth sense warned him that this would be right up there with some of the more horrifying things he had seen.

They found Anderson waiting for them on the landing. He hadn’t been greatly surprised when Phillips at the front door had said there was an ‘FBI dame and a Navy Brass wanting to come in.’ Anderson silently prayed that his stomach would not embarrass him; he had not thrown up at a crime scene in nearly 10 years. He scowled at the two people before him and growled, "I’ve heard of about this kind of thing, but I’ve never seen it. I pray to God, I never have to see it again."

Cassie squared her shoulders and took a deep breath. She went to the door and stood there taking in the crime scene. Several technicians were dusty for prints and the M.E. was there with his photographer gathering preliminary evidence before placing the corpse in a body bag. She took in all this without focusing on the bed. It was AJ’s sharp intake of breath that finally forced her to really look at the body.

Grayson lay sprawled naked on the double bed. The bed sheets were soaked in blood. She noted dispassionately that there was one bullet hole to the head. Very little blood had been lost from that wound, however. No, the majority of the blood came from much lower down. Grayson’s genitals had been cut off and carelessly thrown on his chest. The knife that had been used was imbedded in his chest. She closed her eyes for a moment and then turned from the room.

AJ followed her. He had also only heard of such things, but he knew exactly what it had signified. He walked up behind her. The gallant part of him wanted only to take her in his arms and promise her that she would never have to see such a thing ever again. But, the part of him that knew she needed his strength now more than his useless platitudes finally spoke, "Well, I guess that Mr. Agurra figured he knew who killed Sherilee."

Cassie nodded and sighed.

Anderson looked bewildered. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Cassie quickly explained the connection between Sherilee and the jailed mobster, concluding with, "That in there." She fluttered her hand toward the bedroom door. "That is a classic mob revenge hit. They save that method for people who really piss them off. I suspect that the bullet hole came last."

She started down the steps. AJ pushed past Anderson to follow her. Anderson stood at the top of the stairs and yelled, "Hey. This is your case, you know."

Cassie looked up at him and shook her head. "Nah. You can have it." She continued down the stairs, but before she reached the front door she looked back up at him. "I’ll place a phone call. There will be a couple of Agents from Organized Crime come visit you. Okay?" She didn’t wait for him to respond but continued on out the door and down the steps into the darkening November afternoon.

::  Chapter 34  ::

Mac and Webb walked through the now quiet bullpen. The elevator doors chimed again and they heard Harriet go to her desk; the young lieutenant making noises that sounded suspiciously like she was stifling a fit of giggles. Mac glanced over at Webb who was looking around the room trying hard not to make eye contact with her, a smile tugging at his lips.

Bud came out of Rabb’s office, drawn by the sounds his wife was making in the otherwise still office. Before he could say anything though, the sharp sound of the phone ringing on Tiner’s desk cut through the silence. Since it was obvious that the Petty Officer had gone home for the day, Harriet pulled herself together and hit the ‘group pickup’ button and answered from her desk. "Judge Advocate General… oh…Admiral." She listened for a moment. Rabb emerged from his office and came around to join them at Harriet’s desk. Harriet made a few notes on her calendar. "Yes, sir. I checked them in earlier at the hotel, just down the street from the hospital. I gave them my number and told them to call if they needed anything." Mac surmised that she was referring to Gunny’s parents. Suddenly she perked up when she heard Harriet say, "Colonel MacKenzie, sir? Yes about ten minutes ago, Admiral. Yes, she is right here."

Mac suddenly found the phone thrust into her hand. "Admiral? Yes, sir. The drive was fine. The meeting went just as you said it would. I’ll have the report on your desk tomorrow…What? Oh! Very good, sir, I’ll have it to you by Friday then." She looked up to see Kate Pike enter the office, still in her trenchcoat, briefcase in hand. Kate saw them and ambled over.

Mac was concentrating on what the Admiral was telling her. She started to reach for a note pad, balancing the handset on her shoulder. She was on the verge of losing both the pad and the receiver, when Clay gently pulled the pad from her and laid it back on the desk. He picked up the phone, so the cord would reach and motioned for her to move around the desk. With the receiver still at her ear she scooted around the desk. Harriet stood so Mac could sit. Suddenly something she heard made her face grow very pale. Rabb looked at her in concern and Clay’s knuckles turned white from gripping the phone so hard. She listened intently but finally whispered, "Yes, sir. I understand. I’ll have the motion ready for you by noon. I’ll arrange that too, sir. I’ll try and reach him now in fact. Yes." She looked at Harriet and made a note on the pad. "I’m sure that Tiner can handle all that for you, Admiral. I wouldn’t even worry about it tonight. Good… What?" She listened for a moment, her mouth forming a surprised "O" and then glanced at Webb and blushed. Then her face split into a bright smile. "Yes, sir. I’ll make sure than Mr. Webb knows. Goodnight, Admiral, I’ll see you tomorrow after your meeting."

She hung up the phone and took the entire group in with her gaze. She settled on Harriet. "The Admiral would like you to have Tiner meet him at his house at 0730 tomorrow morning. He can help him straighten the mess and get the computer set back up." Harriet nodded and turned to use another phone.

Mac then took the phone receiver back in her hand and dialed 411. "Baltimore, MD please. May I have the listing for the District Attorney’s office." When she was finally connected, she briskly requested, "DA Stark, please; Colonel MacKenzie of JAG." She wasn’t sure whether she was surprised or not when he picked up. "Mr. Stark? Admiral Chegwidden asked me to call."

Clayton Webb was pretty sure what Chegwidden wanted him to know, but for now he was content to stand, his hands in his pants' pockets, and listen to this strong woman handle the smarthy politico. Her inner strength had been one of the things that first drew his attention to her, all those years ago. His small, relaxed grin turned into an open smile as Sarah explained, in no uncertain terms exactly what she and Admiral Chegwidden expected.

"Mr. Stark, your office; 1300 hours tomorrow. We will have evidence that the City of Baltimore has brought false and retaliatory charges against a decorated member of the military. If you are unavailable at that time, then we will be forced to take a page from your book and advise the press. Good evening Mr. Stark." She gently returned the receiver to its cradle and muttered, "Supercilious little ass."

She stood and stretched and said to the group in general, "Well, I for one would like to know exactly what happened last night. The Admiral has been up for over 36 hours and is going to grab some shuteye. He has sent the Marine guards home."

Harriet gasped, but Kate blurted out. "He shouldn’t do that. What if Grayson or one of the gang members tries something else?"

Mac replied dryly. "No one is left. The leader of the gang – Tino – is dead. His lieutenants are either dead or in jail. And," her voice dropped dramatically, "Grayson was found executed in his house 3 hours ago. The Admiral said it was a mob hit." She watched the effect of her bombshell on the people milling around her. "Let’s adjourn to the conference room. We need to make sure the Admiral has all the ammo he can use on Stark tomorrow.

When they were all seated around the table, Rabb started. "So what did the Admiral have to say?’

Mac thought for a second. "He just told me about Grayson. He sounded exhausted and he has a meeting with Jacobs, the SecNav and someone from the Army tomorrow at 0900. I think that Tiner will be able to get the house back in shape. How bad is it, by the way?"

Kate shrugged. "The only room really effected was his office. And, I don’t think anything but the computer was actually damaged. I didn’t even break the sword. Tiner will do just fine."

Mac nodded. "The Admiral wants to make sure that he has all his ducks in a row so he can convince Stark to drop the charges. What about Coulter; did she make it in? Was she able to review the evidence?"

Again Kate replied. "Harriet took her and Gunny’s parents up to Baltimore this morning."

Webb asked softly, "What if Stark doesn’t see reason? You're going to need to file a motion in court to get the charges dropped."

Mac nodded. "The Admiral hopes he won’t need it. Not with Smith’s outburst recorded for posterity on the morning news. Also, he said something about FBI surveillance tapes, but I’m a little confused about that part. He's really hoping with what London gave you and with what we hope Coulter will uncover, Stark will be reasonable. But he wants to be prepared. So, Flyboy, what have you got? And how did you get him to spill his guts?"

Webb’s patented smirk spread across his face. Kate snorted, trying to keep from laughing and Rabb looked sheepish as he replied. "Webb convinced him that the Admiral had installed a video camera that captured his break-in on film." Mac barely caught the rest of it as he muttered, "He could have warned me."

At her puzzled expression, Webb explained, "Rabb here almost ruined it by popping the tape in the player. It’s a good thing it had a long leader tape. London finally cracked and wanted to make a deal."

Mac managed to keep a straight face. "Do we know what he would have seen?" Webb looked first a Kate who shrugged a ‘no’ and then at Rabb who was studiously ignoring them all. Mac took pity on him and said, "Well I’m sure it’s nothing. What did London give you?"

Rabb cleared his throat and began. "Evidently, London had known Sherilee for a while. He met her while he was stationed at Fort Yuma. He ran into her again out here. She was the one who introduced London to Tino." Rabb sighed deeply. "It was a match made in heaven. London was a great one for big schemes and the three of them really hit it off. The deal he wanted from us was not do any time for the drugs that Tino gave him to sell on base." At Mac’s startled look, Rabb shook his head. "I told him no deal. I would do the best I could for him, but told him he had better cooperate or the best he could hope for was hard time at Leavenworth. And, last night we didn’t know anything about the gun raid. I’m bettin’ that Mr. London had a piece of that action too and will be in jail for a very long time.

"From what he did tell us last night, Sherilee got into her head that Galindez had ruined her life by walking out on her back in Taos. She convinced Grayson to help her and talked Tino into getting London’s help too. London says Tino was excited about having another person under his thumb. The original plot was to get Galindez in a compromising position, the stuff that Sherilee was good at. London was supposed to get Galindez to the apartment as visibly as possible. It was London who convinced Galindez to go to Petey’s to meet his friends. Galindez didn’t mention it, but London swears he had a couple of drinks before he even arrived at Petey’s."

Mac broke in, "I thought London just got off duty before he showed up at the bar?"

Bud spoke up, "No ma’am. Commander Rabb had me check and he was signed out at the base for the whole weekend." Mac nodded.

Rabb continued. "While they were at Petey’s, London slipped Gunny some designer drug and he was fairly far gone by the time they got to the Goth club. London has no clue that Kelly Matts, the waitress, recognized him and I see no reason to inform him until the trial begins. London felt that he could control the situation and even had Sherilee use a friend of hers to help get Galindez to the apartment."

Kate asked, "That would be Annie Fitzpatrick?"

Rabb nodded, "Yeah, she didn’t normally hang out there and I found two other people who remembered her, because of her decidedly non-goth appearance. She thought her job was to get Galindez to an apartment and then to engage in a little ‘three way action’." Rabb blushed to his roots but bravely continued. "It gets a little raw here." Kate had already heard the story so she was prepared. Mac merely raised her eyebrow. Bud glanced nervously at Harriet. "London left the bar and waited until Annie convinced Galindez to come outside. She and London got Galindez into the back of his car and Annie…uhm…kept Galindez occupied. Well, by the time they got the apartment, the drug and Annie pretty much had Galindez under control. They got him upstairs where they were met by Grayson and Sherilee." Rabb looked at Webb with a pleading look.

Webb snorted and continued for the profoundly embarrassed lawyer. "London says that there were various instruments of sexual torture laying around and Annie got it into her head that she was in some kind of danger and split. London and Grayson ran out after her, afraid that she would give away too much before they had Galindez where Sherilee wanted him. But, London says, they couldn’t find her, so they returned to the apartment. I see no reason to share with you the sordid details; I’m sure they are in London’s written statement." He looked over and saw Rabb nod in agreement. "Suffice to say, when Grayson and London got back, Sherilee was in bed with Galindez, but Galindez had passed out. Sherilee tried to wake him up using several… uhm… ‘tricks’. But, either the drug he had taken had been too strong or the combination of the drug and the amount of booze he drank were just too much for his system. London will swear that NOTHING was going to wake him up for hours. Sherilee started yelling at London, accusing him of botching the job. London says he was scared she was going to kill him and Galindez. He says that Grayson tried to calm her down, but that he had looked pretty pissed when he came in on Sherilee… uhm…Sherilee and Galindez in bed. London will swear that he got Galindez dressed without any help and got him downstairs. By the time he left, Sherilee and Grayson were going at it tooth and nail. But, the most important thing to remember is London has signed a statement and will testify to the fact that when he and Galindez left, Sherilee was alive and alone with Grayson."

Rabb was ready to say something about Webb copping out too, when he suddenly looked over at Kate. He remembered how pale she had become listening to the filth that had spewed from London last night. He was glad that Webb had saved them all from hearing in detail, just how perverted Sherilee could be.

Mac pursed her lips. "Well, it gives London and Galindez an alibi for Sunday morning. But the murder didn’t happen until Sunday afternoon. How did Galindez get back to his room?"

Rabb spoke up. "According to London, he dumped Gunny outside his apartment at around 0530 hours. We haven’t figure out how he got to his apartment though."

Bud quickly filled in the details. "Actually, sir, I think I have an explanation. Gunnery Sergeant Ralph Masters got him up to his room." All eyes were on the young Lieutenant. "I took the liberty of doing some checking on all the people staying in Gunny’s building. Most of the tenants are military. I found out that the cops didn’t really check with any of the tenants, another huge oversight. Anyway, Masters got him upstairs and found his keys and let him in. Masters says that was 0700 and he was pretty much out of it, but he thought that Gunny was just really drunk."

Kate asked, "Why didn’t he come forward last week?"

"Well, ma’am, he just got back from leave last night. He only called me this morning, when he found the card that I left in his door."

Mac sat back in her chair. It would have to do. "I need to get the paperwork started." She tried not to look at the man she wanted so much to be with tonight. But the Admiral had asked her to have the motion ready for his showdown with Stark and she knew that if she didn’t get it done tonight, she was sure there would be 1001 details that would show up tomorrow to prevent her from getting it done on time.

Rabb waited a beat. He suspected that she and Webb had plans for the evening. He looked over at Clay and realized that this was a great opportunity to pay him back for pulling the fast one with the so-called security tape. If it had been the Australian, he might have kept his mouth shut. But this was the man who Rabb suspected had the power to bring some real happiness into Mac’s life. He coughed gently. "Actually, I figured the Admiral would probably need something in writing. I already have most of the writ complete. All we have to do is fill in some of the details when we get them from Commander Coulter tomorrow." He grinned at Mac’s wide-eyed look of disbelief. "We can get one of the clerks to finish it first thing and we can review it later. Okay?"

Mac was speechless. She nodded her gratitude. "That’s great, Harm. Really, it’s a major load off my mind." She looked over at Kate. "Do you need my help on any of the cases you are working for me?"

Kate smiled and shook her head. "All taken care of, boss."

Mac smiled at her impertinence. "Well then, I guess we can all head for home."

She started to stand, but then sat back down with a thud. "Oh, one last thing, Mr. Webb." She narrowed her eyes at him, her expression stern.

Webb sat back in his chair and laced his fingers to cross his chest. "Yes, Colonel."

His manner was deceptively calm, but Mac knew him well enough to catch the tiny twitch at the corner of his mouth. <<<Damn him. He knows what’s coming.>>>

"The Admiral has a message for you. He said to tell you that if your boss decides to seek pay back for the prank that his old college roommate played on him and the whole CIA, to please keep the JAG, and his officers out of it."

Rabb, Pike, Bud and Harriet exchanged startled glances. Rabb recovered first. He turned to the spy and noticed the man was pressing his lips so tightly together they were almost invisible.

Clay finally exhaled and was able to keep his laughter under control. "Believe me, this prank, as you call it will be avenged, but not by anyone but the boss. He is still kicking himself for not realizing that Jacobs had the perfect opportunity to send the message, when Carlson had been called out of their meeting. I understand that this has been going on for over 30 years and rule number 1 is nobody else is involved."

Mac stood and looked down at him. "I’ll make sure to tell the Admiral you said so, Mr. Webb."

::  Chapter 35  ::

AJ and Cassie had reached the street to find Hobson waiting for them. Cassie wasn’t sure how Hobson had found out about the hit, but she was pissed that he had driven all the way from his home in Hagerstown. He should have been home with Sylvie and the kids. He walked up to them and Cassie noticed that he looked as tired as she did. She snapped. "Why aren’t you home?"

Hobson sighed. "Home? What’s home? I just got back from giving my statement to the State's Attorney regarding the Galindez stabbing. I heard what happened as I was leaving. I figured I would catch you before I went home, just in case you needed me to do anything."

Cassie shook her head in wonder. He was the best damn partner anybody could hope for and try as she might, she couldn’t remain mad at him for long. "Nah. There’s nothing for us here. I’m sure someone from OC will get this one. Trust me Lee, you don’t want to go up there."

Hobson grunted. "That bad huh? Thought as much. The cop I spoke to said something about it being a mob hit. They don’t usually hit cops. Bastard must have really pissed someone off, but good."

They turned to walk back down the street, their breaths visible in the ever-cooling evening air. Cassie walked between the two men, feeling as safe as she ever had. They reached Hobson’s G-Car, but before Hobson could squeeze into the Taurus, AJ grabbed his arm and asked. "You gonna' let me know what happened up there on the roof or do I have to get a copy from the State's Attorney." He hadn’t meant it to sound as gruff as it came out but he was tired beyond measure and he had so much to do. Cassie looked at him in surprise but Hobson only grunted and leaned against the hood of the car.

"Yeah, Admiral. I’ll fill you in. The guards had taken the whole cellblock up to the roof. I managed to stop two good citizens from the ‘hood’ from beating on Galindez in the showers that morning. He and I both concentrated on those two until it was too late." Hobson dropped his eyes and studied his shoes for a moment. He raised his chin again and made eye contact with AJ. "I finally realized that the little weasel, Jimmy Reardon was moving in behind me. Before I knew it, he had plunged a knife into the Sergeant’s side. I got there a couple seconds late but I managed to keep anyone from pulling the knife out. Thank God, the other guard wasn’t in on it."

AJ narrowed his eyes. "But, one of the guards was in on it?"

Nodding, Hobson continued. "Yeah, John Brown, believe it or not. Stupid bastard had his prints all over the damn knife. Brown has admitted that Grayson came to the lock-up early last week, right after Galindez had been jailed. Brown says that Grayson threatened him and his family if he didn’t get Reardon a weapon. We don’t know whether we believe that or not; we're checking him out thoroughly. That day, Grayson also checked in to talk to Reardon. Reardon took some persuading, but I convinced him that all his "friends" in the department were or would be under indictment and none of them would be available to help him out of the mess that he was in."

AJ started to pace back and forth in front of the two FBI agents. Cassie stood off to one side watching both men. She was hearing this part for the first time also. AJ stopped and asked, "Was Jimmy part of the gang? Will he be able to testify why Grayson wanted to have him kill Galindez?"

"No. And Grayson wouldn’t have told him. Jimmy is useless dredge. The wise guys used him when they didn’t want one of their own to get caught. Jimmy was like the runt of the litter, always looking for affection and always getting kicked for his efforts." Hobson leaned further back against the car and waited.

AJ looked at Ryan. "I’m going to try and meet with Stark tomorrow, after my meeting with your boss and my boss and God knows who else, about those damn guns. I need to make sure I have enough weight to push him over the edge and get him to drop all the charges. Just in case though, I am going to have my people prepare a writ to take to a judge. I need whatever you have to add to what my people got from London."

Cassie tried hard to meet his stern gaze, "AJ, I feel completely responsible for this mess. I promise you that I will get you whatever you need for your meeting. I want to go in with you tomorrow. If that’s okay." Cassie was suddenly very unsure where she stood with this man. But she knew she was prepared to fight to make him see she was on his side.

AJ knew that he was almost too tired to go on. He wanted nothing more than to curl up in his bed and sleep for hours, preferably with her. But, he also knew that he had too much to accomplish before he was ready to deal with her as a lover. He nodded curtly. "I’ll let you know. Now if you both will excuse me, I need to check on the damage to my house. Agent Hobson, I assume that you will see your partner gets home safely." Not wanting to see the pain that he knew was in her eyes he spun on his heel and stalked off toward his vehicle. Once again leaving her standing by a street curb.

All the way back to McLean he berated himself for his actions, but once he arrived at his home and saw the Marine guards he knew he had been right. He pulled himself out of the SUV and trudged up the steps, barely managing to return their salute. He checked out the whole house. The back window latch would have to be repaired, but he wasn’t really worried about that. He went to the office and stood in shock. Papers and pictures had been strewn about. Glass was everywhere and the computer monitor lay on its side on the floor. He had no idea if it was broken or not. He ached for a shower and his bed but instead picked up the phone and called the office.

He was surprised when Harriet picked up the phone. He told her that he needed Tiner to come out early to see if he could salvage the computer. If not, then he would have to deal with "Dave" the computer guy and he was in no mood to be nice to the obnoxious little slug. He knew that he did not have time to come into the office tomorrow before his meeting and prayed that Mac had gotten back from Norfolk. He felt that something was finally going right when he heard her voice. He knew he could trust her to get everything done and still keep the office running smoothly. After he told her what he needed, he hung up and went to the front door and dismissed the Marine guards. They looked at him questioningly for a moment but his glare soon had them in their Jeep, moving down the country lane.

He stood for a very long time under the shower. In fact, the only reason why he got out at all was because he ran the 50-gallon tank of hot water completely cold. He dried off and donned a pair of boxers and his terry robe. He knew that he needed to get to sleep, but he had one last thing to do. He walked over to his dresser and pulled a business card from his wallet. He double checked to make sure it wasn’t too late and dialed the number that had been hastily scrawled on the back of the card. When Jacobs answered and heard his request, Jacob’s didn’t even hesitate before giving AJ what he wanted. AJ quickly wrote the number on the pad by the phone; thanked the Director and hung up.

He walked over to his liquor cabinet and opened the bottle of fine old Scotch that Francesca had given him for his birthday and poured a small portion into a glass. He went back to the phone and stared at it for a very long time, slowly sipping the excellent blend. Taking a deep breath he dialed the number that Jacobs had given him. He heard four rings and was preparing to return the handset to its cradle when he heard, "Ryan." She sounded as tired as he felt.

"Hi." He couldn’t think of anything else to say. He felt like a tongue-tied schoolboy. He was of half a mind to just hang up.

"AJ?" The surprise in her voice was evident.

"Yeah. Uhm…I…look Cassie, I’m really sorry for the way I left back there…but…I." There was no excuse for what he had done. He had only known he had to leave.

Cassie voice was barely above a whisper. "No. Really, AJ, I understand. We are all exhausted and we have to get some sleep. But I’m really glad you called." She paused for a moment and when she continued her voice came through the phone stronger. "So how bad is the house?"

He took a drink of his Scotch before answering. "The house itself is fine. The office is a mess and lord knows if the computer will ever work again. But I have my petty officer coming out tomorrow to fix it, I hope." He paused and was surprised that he had only one drink of Scotch left. "Look, I’m sorry I left you just standing there. Did Hobson get you home okay? Where are you, anyway?"

He could almost see her smile when she answered. "Hobson always takes good care of me. He just dropped me off at my place in DuPont Circle. It sure is nice to be home after all these months. The cleaning service has kept the place up so it doesn’t even smell too stale. My bed is really welcoming me."

AJ closed he eyes and an image came to mind that he didn’t want to deal with tonight. He swallowed, trying to force some moisture into his suddenly dry mouth. He looked longingly at the Scotch bottle but refrained from pouring another glass. "Well then, I’ll let you go. I just didn’t want you to think that I still blamed you for what happened."

Her laugh was suddenly bitter. "Why not AJ? I still do. But, thank you for calling. I’ll see you tomorrow." She didn’t wait for his reply and hung up.

He made the rounds, turning off the light in the kitchen, then in the living room. He left the lights on in the office for reasons he couldn’t explain to himself and padded into the bedroom. He shed his robe and stretched out on his bed. He felt the tension start to leave his body and surprisingly, fell asleep almost immediately.

Chapters 36 - 38

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