Semper Fi Pt. 04

Copyright @ calibeachgirl and shuttlepilot
All rights reserved, 2011

Chapter 18 Die Young

Caitlyn went up the stairs to her second floor office she shared with Garrett and soon stood in front of his desk.

"Well, it's about time you got back," Garrett grinned, standing up to give Caitlyn a bear-hug, lifting her off the floor and kissing her cheek.

She couldn't answer him with a straight face. "Well..." she started to say, looking around the room to see if anyone noticed. He watched her, thinking she looked better than he had ever seen her, before. Several inquisitive faces looked back.

"Welcome back, Caitlyn. So, did you have much time to work on your tan?" He gave her an appreciative glance from head to toes, laughing.

"Enough, you dirty old man... what did I miss?" Caitlyn asked, trying to change the subject as she plopped down onto her vinyl chair and closed her eyes.

It was at times like these that she thought of quitting and wondered if she'd ever have enough nerve to say so. She'd never leave him empty-handed, though...

He was still good-natured and downright charming... except when he was in the middle of a difficult case and the last five years...

"Not much, thank God. It's been quiet. I've caught up all your paperwork and we're good to go. You owe me lunch." He absent-mindedly reached into his drawer for a candy bar but then remembered he had given them up ever since meeting Barbara. "I just wish we could figure out who is doing all these "Lonely Hearts Murders." It's been bothering me ever since we came onto the first case." Returning to work had brought back all the frustrations of the last five years that had bothered her.

"I know... I know. There just doesn't seem to be anything I can put my head around other than it's got to be someone in the military." Someone pretty damn good, he realized... a bunch of someones pretty damn good.

"We could always get a decoy," he said, laughing. "You volunteering?"

She gave him a scornful gaze. "You've got to be kidding. First, there's no way to tell which bar they're looking at and second... we don't know how they're choosing the women..." She rattled her pencil cup on the desk top in frustration, got slowly up and hung her coat next to his, watching him out of the corner of her eye.

"They've got to have a list, somehow, that they're working from. It couldn't be too hard, they know who's overseas and who's married and what they look like. That's how I'd do it." He looked at her, proud of his pronouncement. "You know, we've been all through this, five years ago... and nothing's changed except the people involved."

Caitlyn put her head on her hands. "This sucks. I don't know, I thought... I was hoping that it would all disappear by the time I came back." She took a tissue and wiped her eyes.

"Yeah, well... welcome back." What the hell? He looked at her, wondering what had changed. Could getting married have changed her THAT much?

She sat in her chair, listening to its rhythmic creaking as she rocked.

The shrill call of the phone could be heard over the noise of the room later that afternoon.

"OK," Garrett said, a tired expression on his face, "we'll be there soon enough... c'mon, Caitlyn, we've got another one." He stood up and opened his drawer before remembering, once again, that the Snicker box was long gone.

"Ah, shit..." She clipped her holster onto her belt, grabbed her coat and followed him out the room.

She wasn't surprised to see her husband, Frank, and Barbara at the crime scene. It was a different thing, though, to see Frank in such a different light. She blushed, remembering their last night in Honolulu. A flash of tangled sheets and tangled limbs came to mind. Her face burned.

"Hey," she said, nodding her head at the black woman. "You've changed your hair." Caitlyn looked at Barbara, amazed at the transformation the black woman had undergone in the two weeks they had been apart.

Barbara had her hair in a long, loose braid, piled high upon her head, accentuating the profile of her exposed face, her chin pointing slightly below her full lips now colored with a pale pink lipstick. Her eyes had just the slightest bit of liner while her brows had been plucked into two long, thin lines. Her ears, now uncovered, each had a single diamond stud earring, and her skin had been toned just a shade lighter, more of a copper color.

"Hey, honeymoon girl... so...," Barbara grinned, "how was... I'm sorry, I can't..." Barbara started laughing. Three officers looked their way and she stopped. "You have to tell me all about it, promise?"

Caitlyn looked sideways at her husband. "Well, yeah, maybe..."

"I can always ask my partner," Barbara said. "There's no secrets between us."

"Don't you dare! There better be some secrets. What the hell!"

"I'll, uh, call you tonight or we can go out for dinner..." Barbara replied, quickly, before either man knew what they were talking about.

"I'll have to drag my husband along, then. I'm still on my honeymoon. Besides, he's not into that 'girls night out' stuff." God knows how much trouble that can cause.

"All the better, girlfriend, all the better," giggled Barbara. "You know you're going to tell me all about it, eventually. All Frank says is that you went to the beach. Uh, huh... the beach. One of those private beaches, I bet."

"Jesus, Barb, we had Kelly and Maria with us."

Before she could answer, Garrett interrupted. "What have we got? I hate to break up this little gab fest but we've got a murder to solve."

"Yeah, right," his partner retorted.

"Damn, Barbara..." said Garrett.

"Ah, you know as well as I do that this is an impossible situation," she responded.

Frank had moved over to look at the body, leaving the other three to the side. He put on a pair of gloves, crouched down and carefully touched the dead woman. She had once been pretty... still was if you overlooked the deep slash across her throat and the bloody asphalt gravel embedded in her cheek.

He stood back up, knowing he wasn't any closer to answering any of the questions surrounding the maddening murders than he had been five years earlier.

And this murder wasn't going to make any difference; he knew it in his bones.

Frank walked around the parking lot, looking for anything that seemed out of place. Aside from the woman's body lying in the middle of the lot, he saw nothing. It was incredibly frustrating and, for the first time, wondered what it was doing to his career.

Damn, he reflected, how mercenary was that? He was ashamed and immediately walked away in disgust with himself.

**********

Chapter 19 Your Cheatin' Heart

Barbara walked back and stood by Frank. The graveside ceremony was taking longer than expected and the drizzle was starting to bother her but she understood his need to be there. She looked over the crowd, wondering if the killer was there. Probably not, that would be too obvious. The crowd was small, only a few family members present... divorced parents, each standing with a new partner, one sister and three friends. The husband was still on station aboard the aircraft carrier, Reagan.

She photographed the three friends with her cell and approached them once the short service was over. Handing out her card, she started to speak with them.

The first woman didn't have much to add above what they already knew but the second one...

"Yeah, I knew she was steppin' out but what was I supposed to do about it? I told her it was stupid."

"Did you tell her it was wrong?" asked Frank, who had just stepped closer.

"What? Wrong? What do you mean?"

"Wrong. She was cheating on her husband. That's why she's dead."

"What do you mean? That's why she's dead?"

Frank ignored her questions; he had enough of his own.

"How often did she, uh, indulge in her 'dates'?"

"At least, once a week, sometimes two; I don't know, maybe more."

"You didn't have a problem with that?"

"Well, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. Men have been doing it for years."

"Did she go to the same bars each time?"

"No, she mixed it up and never took anyone back to her apartment. It was always motels or back seats."

"Back seats?"

"In cars, you know, for a quickie."

"Um, have you, uh..."

"Have I met guys there? Yeah, sure, but I ain't married. Girl's gotta do..."

*********

"Crap! All we learned is that she was a damned cheating slut who didn't care. At least, there were no kids. You know," Frank said, that night at dinner, "I wonder what the reaction has been from the husbands. We need to find out if it's been any different than from before."

"After you had left, you know, before, the agents had followed up on that idea but really got nowhere. The husbands were overseas and they were shocked. But, I'll do it again."

That night, Caitlyn held her husband tightly, seeking comfort in his arms. "Those poor men," she started, "are over there and not only are their wives dead, murdered but they were cheating on top of it."

"We'll have to figure this out, sooner rather than later," he declared, "but it won't stop the killings."

"What do you mean?" she asked, afraid of his answer.

"Think, honey... it's been over five years and they haven't stopped. It's a group of people, spread out over the years, each one responsible for maybe one to three each and then they stop and get replaced. I'm sure of it."

Beneath the sheets, Caitlyn reached farther down. "Make love to me, Frank."

**********

Barbara pulled her lunch out of the microwave and after tearing off the plastic film, mixed up the rice and chicken. In the background, Rush was talking about something. When she had first started listening to him, many years ago, he was funny but no longer. He just complained without solutions of his own and he didn't like the president. Well, the hell with him, she thought, her mood spoiled.

This is pretty good, she thought to herself, much better than the almost stale sandwiches out in the machine. I need Garrett to take me out to lunch, again. I'll ask Frank...

She went through the motions. It was getting depressing, after all this time. She knew they were no closer to finding any of the killers than before. There were just too, too many suspects... the entire contingent of Marines at Pendleton, and Navy Seals, perhaps and God knows who else.

Barbara cocked her head, looked at the papers and and called the first of a long line of former husbands. "Sergeant Jack Bondle?"

"It's Mr. Bondle, now."

"This is Barbara Montgomery, from NCIS. I'm calling about your wife, Susan."

"The bitch is dead."

"Yes, I understand. I was wondering how you're doing and all."

"Look, it's been three years and while I'm not glad she's dead, I'm not unhappy about it, either. She cheated on me, too many times to count, evidently from what I've been told and now she's dead. I've got enough issues... now I don't feel like dating anyone, anymore. She's ruined my life. What do you want?"

"I'm sorry. Did you have any indication that your wife was cheating on you, I mean, before she was killed?"

"No. Look, I'm sorry for being so rude but unless you've got something really important to ask, I've got some stuff to do."

"No, that's all right, thank you for your time."

**********

Chapter 20 Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Barbara sat in the back booth at the Oceanside Red Lobster on Vista Way, waiting for Caitlyn, Clara and Mellissa to arrive. When she finally saw them, she waved as her friends approached.

"So, girl, how was that honeymoon. Frank's been quiet except to say that it was wonderful but not much else."

"It was incredible. Frank was wonderful... and, the sex... my God, that man knows things I can only imagine women dream about." Even as she spoke, Caitlyn felt her face flush red with both excitement and embarrassment as she related the highlights of her honeymoon.

"So, it's safe to say it was a success," Barbara declared. "That's great. I'm hoping that Garrett will take the hint..." Her voice dropped off, her feelings for the detective pushing her other thoughts away. "I need a husband. I want to stay home and raise babies and be a wife."

"You want me to..." Caitlyn stopped speaking for the waitress had arrived with their menus. "I'm having the shrimp and grilled chicken..."

"The haddock for me..." Mellissa took another sip of her soda. "And bring plenty of those cheese biscuits... and some butter."

"Me, too," Clara chimed in.

"I'll have the lobster and sirloin..." Barbara finally decided. "I need something more substantial, all this running around." Yeah, lookin' for murders and all...

"Oooo... living large, are we?" Caitlyn asked.

"Ha... ha... ha..." Barbara came back with.

"What were you saying about Garrett?" inquired Mellissa as she bit into a cheddar biscuit slathered with butter.

She decided to turn to the one person she could trust with her wish. "Well... to be honest, I was hoping that he'd take a page out of Frank's book and..."

"Ask you to marry him? Some men are the marryin' kind and some aren't."

"Ah, I know... but, I love him so much and I know he loves me. He's told me. Maybe, I need another job."

"Ah, that might just be his little head talkin'," laughed Clara. "Why, I remember..."

"No, I know he's in love with me." She pushed the cheddar biscuit across the bread dish.

"Then, why wait?" she replied.

"What do you mean?"

"It's simple, ask him."

"Ask him what?"

"Ask him to marry YOU. This IS 2012, after all. Ask HIM to marry YOU."

Barbara looked at the woman with a small smile growing on her face. "Maybe, you've got something there."

The conversation once again circled around Caitlyn's honeymoon trip and Frank's ability in the bedroom.

"You know," said Clara, "I'm going to have a hard time looking at him in the same way, again."

"A hard time, huh?"

The four women broke up in laughter just as the food arrived.

**********

On the ride back to the station, Caitlyn decided to say what was on her mind. "Garrett, I'm telling you, that's what's going to happen. You better make up your mind and do something about it, one way or the other."

"Thanks, Caitlyn." His face was crimson. He never thought he'd fall in love with another woman after his ex-wife's betrayal, let alone one who was going to ask HIM to marry her.

"That's what partners are for, Garrett, that's what partners are for."

***********

"Two thousand, eight hundred, huh?"

"Yes, sir. That, of course, is for the entire set, one engagement ring and matching bands. Of course, you need to bring the young lady in and have the rings sized."

Garrett looked at the rings lying before him, each one shiny gold on black velvet, the diamonds brightly reflecting the jewelry store's lights. Caitlyn was right, what was he waiting for? Barbara had pushed his ex-wife so far back in his memory that he hadn't really thought of her in... he wondered how long, not that it mattered, anymore, he realized. She was the past. In all his life, though, he never thought he'd fall in love with a black woman. How life changed.

He took out his cell. "Barbara, honey, say, you good for dinner tonight, say someplace really nice?"

**********

Chapter 21 The Way You Look Tonight

Garrett pulled his Tahoe into the restaurant's parking lot. It wasn't as sexy as Frank's Corvette, he knew but it was still a good car... leather seats, and all.

Walking around to the passenger side, he helped Barbara out. She was wearing a new dress, dark peach, with a single strand of pearls and high-heels that accentuated her long legs.

He almost shyly took her hand and they walked into the French farmhouse.

"Welcome to the 94th Aero Squadron," the hostess said. "Table for two?"

"Uh, yes, I have reservations under the name Garrett," he said, hoping that Frank and Caitlyn hadn't arrived yet. He didn't see them, anywhere and his heart slowed just enough that he could follow the two women to a table along the window overlooking the spotlighted replica World War One fighter plane outside. He quickly pulled out Barbara's chair, his heart speeding up, once again.

He was so nervous that he didn't even remember ordering and was surprised when two rib-eye steaks arrived later. He tried to make small talk during the meal and ended up stuttering for most of the evening.

Barbara was nervous, herself, wondering when would be the best time to ask him. She decided she'd do it before dessert arrived and her hand shook as she took another small bite of her baked potato.

The music was slow and bluesy. Garrett stood and held out his hand. "Dance with me?"

She put her hand in his and he led her to the far end of the dance floor and took her into his arms. To Barbara, it seemed like the most natural place in the world for her to be. He was warm and strong and she fit him perfectly.

Her response to him was something she had no control over. She'd been responding to him since she first set eyes on him. She was responding to him that very moment. She had no intention of holding back anything from him.

As the music swirled around them, they swayed closely together. He bent his head and rubbed his nose against her head. "You smell wonderful."

Goose bumps ran down her spine as she felt his hot breath on her face and with her head on his shoulder, she let her eyes drift close and inhaled.

A shiver ran down her arms.

"Cold?" he asked.

She raised her head and smiled. "No."

He studied her face, just as he had done when he picked her up from her apartment. "Your heels make you taller," he said.

Another couple bumped into his back, pushing him against her and her new height pushed her against his hips. For a brief moment, she enjoyed a familiar pressure against her.

She started to move back but he held her in his arms. "This is perfect." Now, barely moving, they swayed to the distant music. Lifting his head, Garrett met her eyes, saw caution mixed with desire and a bit of fear. He chose to ignore it all but her desire. His mouth, a whisper away from hers, teased her bewitching lips and he watched her eyes darken in response.

He paused only for a moment then moved forward, tighter into her embrace, knowing only that he wanted to taste, to explore. He felt nothing but hunger.

Her lips were soft and he traced their outline, running one finger along them, then to the seductive line of her collarbone to her neckline. Her mouth opened in a gasp and he took swift advantage, touching his lips to hers, gently exploring the tender recesses a she joined her body to his.

Barbara put her fingers around his neck, then through his hair before moving down to his shoulders.

Unable to resist, he drew his hands down her sides and then cupped her full breasts, eliciting a gasp as her fingers tightened convulsively on his shoulders. Even as she leaned toward him, he sensed a rapid beating of her heart and her face flushed hotly. Her lips were ripe and full and seeking his kiss.

The music hadn't slowed yet their movements had... a seductive swaying that had nothing to do with the now forgotten song that was playing, only the heat that had built between them. Disregarding the other couples in the room, he cupped her head in his hand and pulled her mouth toward his.

Whatever she was going to say turned into a murmur of pleasure, encouraging him to deepen the kiss, clutching him with what seemed strangely like desperation. As her need drew him, sending off the signals that made him want to protect and cherish and lover her forever and even as he acknowledged that she had become for too important to him, he wanted more.

Each taste, each bit of pleasure... it intoxicated him. Despite the fire raging between them, he knew this wasn't a simple need that sex would... could ease.