464Readers: I apologize for the long time between chapters. As you know I have had some troubles with my health. It is better now and I will be resuming regular postings, approx. once a week. Thank you all for your patience and well wishes.
For other work that I have had a hand in, check out the Army Wives page under SherwoodShippers. I am part of a writing team dedicated to Denise and Frank Sherwood. I do not update but it myself all the time but it regularly updated and only completed stories will be posted. Check it out!
Chegwidden Residence
McLean, VA
June 28, 2007
2130 EST
Mac closed the law book and lay her head on her arm, "We aren't gonna find it AJ," she sighed. "We aren't." She stared dully at the piles of documents, witness interview statements – theirs and those turned over to them in discovery - the autopsy and forensic reports.
"Not with that attitude, Mac," AJ replied looking at his partner. "You need to go home, check on the family, get some sleep, I'll keep at this."
Mac nodded, "I will in a minute but we go to trial soon, there has to be something we're missing."
"Maybe he really did do it, Mac," AJ suggested. "You would in his place, you know you would."
"Anyone might but I don't think he did this, AJ, I know in my heart he didn't," she replied. "I'll see you tomorrow; we'll have at it again."
Mackenzie-Rabb Residence
Manassas, VA
June 28, 2007
2219 EST
Things had been hectic at the Mackenzie-Rabb home the last three weeks. Mac had been working more and more hours lately as Tony's trial got closer. She was exhausted, but at least she was home. "Hey, I'm home."
"Hey," Harm called from the bedroom. "Stay there a minute."
He had been working hard the last three weeks since learning about their financial troubles and witnessing Mac's tears. Today, he'd made it from the bedroom to the kitchen on crutches; he couldn't wait to show her.
Mac did as he asked and sat down on the sofa, kicking off her high heels. She heard footsteps and looked up towards the door. She saw Harm standing to his full height for the first time in months, taking very slow but deliberate steps towards her. She couldn't stay seated, she was just that excited. "Oh my God!" she exclaimed happily. "Harm? Look at you!"
He stopped and let her into his arms where she snuggled her face into his chest. "I knew it, I knew you could do this if you tried hard enough and wanted it bad enough I knew it. I'm so proud of you."
He kissed her hair, "I'm proud of you, you've been carrying this family for so long and that wasn't fair."
He started for the kitchen; Mac hovered but let him do it on his own. The both sat down before she said, "I didn't let you in on a lot of that and that wasn't fair of me, either. Now that your mom got us out of the initial hole I can breathe easier but I still feel guilty."
Harm took her hand, "She wanted to do it Mac, believe me." He lifted her hand and kissed it gently. "You worked pretty late tonight."
"AJ and I were poring back over all the documents in Tony's case," Mac told him. "I cannot figure out how to get him off of this thing. It's like the "blue wall of silence" is offering him up and protecting someone else."
"Maybe it is," Harm suggested. "I did some reading on that myself, Mac and let me tell you, I think I got the how down."
"We have the how, honey. It's the who," Mac sighed.
"No, no," Harm broke in. "Not this 'how' you don't. The autopsy report showed Cynthia's stomach contents included a substance that was likely oatmeal or cream of wheat and a white powder, very fine, not fine enough to be sugar but fine enough to be powdered sugar but too fine to be salt or granulated sugar. Also, they found some intact white pills, barely digested, the toxicological report on the body says drug overdose, the pills were Vicodin, but the blood test says morphine. That was in a PCA not in a pill form. She couldn't OD on a PCA, Mac."
"Harm, it is too late for circles, please just spell it out for me," Mac said rubbing her temples nursing the start of a splitting headache.
"Someone somehow gave this woman ground up morphine. I called Bud and asked him to go over some of this stuff, and he called in some favors, this came back today," Harm said handing her a case file.
She read it, "I have to make a phone call," Mac said and hurried to the phone to call her client.
Tony picked up only because it was Mac, "Hello."
"Sorry for the hour but I have a quick question for you," Mac said as soon as he picked up. "On days you weren't there to do it, who fed Cynthia her breakfast?"
Tony thought a minute, "Cassie usually or a nurse. Why?"
"I think my husband just broke your case," Mac said smiling at Harm. "Meet us tomorrow morning at my office please."
Tony agreed and five minutes later it was settled that Tony would meet Mac and AJ at her office in the morning to go over the case. Mac helped Harm back to bed and got changed herself. They snuggled up together and enjoyed the quiet, until he spoke, "I want to go."
"Go where?" she asked, dozing off.
"To the meeting tomorrow. I want to go, I want to be part of this," he said, hoping she'd agree.
"Can you miss therapy?" she asked playing with his fingers.
"I'll take Lucy's time. She's behind me still anyway," Harm sighed. He was upset that his daughter hadn't fared as well under Analiese's care as he had. "I won't skip it but I want to be a part of this."
Mac nodded, "Okay, you did crack the case and we were always better together, like books off of Amazon," she laughed. "Now get some sleep, and you are using that wheelchair in the streets tomorrow, I don't want you falling and reversing your progress."
Harm agreed, he knew he wasn't ready for long walks yet, but he did negotiate the use of his crutches inside the building. He was up all night anticipating his reintroduction to his career and to life; he finally felt whole again and the beautiful woman sleeping in his arms was a major part of it.
Law Offices of Strutchen, McAuliffe, and Clark
Georgetown, Washington, D.C.
June 29, 2007
0832 EST
"Good Lord, Mac, if you eat this kind of stuff every morning…" Harm began seeing the breakfast spread in the main conference room as they slowly walked to Mac's office.
"Do not even go there or I will hit you upside the head with that crutch," Mac teased. "I have to have something to keep me motivated."
AJ arrived a moment later, "Good morning all," he replied to their greetings. He looked like he'd been up all night.
"Hard time sleeping, AJ?" Harm asked his former CO.
"Analiese was up all night getting sick," AJ replied. "Harriet is going to watch your kids the rest of the day. I called her on the way here; I don't want Ana near Lucy if she's caught something."
Harm and Mac nodded in agreement. "Let's get you up to speed," Mac said and sat with AJ as Harm explained his theory and the independent evaluation Bud had helped with on the stomach contents.
Mac's intercom buzzed announcing Tony's arrival. He came in and sat in the chair reserved for him. "I hope this is good, it's getting close."
"We know, but Harm might have had a breakthrough," Mac said and once again Harm explained about the white powder mixed with the grain in the stomach contents.
"So you're saying someone fed her ground morphine in her breakfast?" Tony asked. "I didn't feed her that day, I was in court; I checked the docket."
"Mac, get on the phone with Bud, see if he can pull the docket for that morning and find the turn over time on powdered morphine," AJ instructed. "Where's the list of evidence logged from her room?"
Harm handed him the list, which contained the oatmeal canister. "Call Bud and get an independent eval done on the oatmeal canister, they said it only had Tony's prints but I'm thinking he's being thrown under the bus," AJ sighed. "He pissed someone off over there. Harm, you still have that contact at the DA's office?" AJ asked. "Call her.
"Sure do, fixed her car enough times that she owes me a ton of favors," Harm answered, pulling out his phone. "Run the prints through their computers and see what hits?"
Mac and AJ both nodded, "Exactly."
Coming Soon in Let's Be Us Again: Lucy's desire for ice skating lessons motivate her in her therapy, Harm gets bitten by the legal bug, and Analiese's "bug" might just be more than that.