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JAG Headquarters
Falls Church, Virginia
Monday, September 22, 2003
0804 Hours (local)

Mac caught sight of Harm as he strolled into the bullpen, a few minutes late as usual. He paused as he passed by Mac's open doorway, briefcase in one hand and his cover in the other. "Morning, Mac," he said with a wide grin.

"Good morning, Harm," Mac said, smiling sweetly. "You have a good weekend?"

"Yeah."

"How was the club?" she asked.

"Let me go put this stuff down and I'll be back," he said.

"Take your time," Mac responded as she turned back to her email.

Harm strode off to his office, set his cover down, opened the briefcase and removed the contents. Setting the briefcase on the floor, he flicked his computer on and headed back to Mac's office.

It was only when he approached her the second time that she noticed his limp. It was very slight, but it was there. "Your foot okay?" she asked.

Harm looked down at his foot. "Yeah. I stepped on some glass yesterday morning from a fallen picture. It went pretty deep and it is still a little sore."

The look Mac gave him could only be described as "funny." "Did you get all the glass out?" she asked, genuinely concerned. She was curious to know what picture had fallen and from where it had fallen, but she wasn't about to ask.

"I cleaned it pretty thoroughly."

"Good. So, tell me about Saturday night," Mac insisted as she leaned back in her chair.

Harm sat in one of the chairs in front of her desk. "To say that it was interesting would be an understatement. You should have been there, Mac."

"Nah. I enjoyed the company of a good book. I didn't need a bunch of strange people to look at."

Harm smiled, "And there were some strange people. People with pink hair, fairy wings, one guy had on what looked like chain mail over his shirt. There was a couple in the corner who was making out, maybe even going further than that."

At this, Mac looked away. He may not be telling her what he did, but he was still talking about it. Bastard!

"The place was pretty full and loud. And dark. Even with the light from the bar and the strobe light, the club was very dark. It would be easy to lose someone in a dark corner. If Johnson and Ellis's killer had them up against the wall like they were dancing or kissing, it would be very easy to stab someone. And that close to the speakers, any sound could very likely either be interpreted as a song or not heard at all."

Mac digested this information. Maybe his going to the club hadn't been a complete waste of time. They had something resembling an idea now on how a murder could take place in a crowded club. "So, it was worth going?"

"I think so."

Mac smiled weakly, unsure of what to say.

"Look, I'll catch up to you later. I've got a sentencing this morning, but maybe after that, you, me, and Denise could go interview Johnson's mom, see if we can learn more than the initial interviews."

Mac glanced down at her calendar. The rest of the day looked clear. "Sure, that sounds good."

"Okay," Harm said as he got to his feet. "I'll give Denise a call and we'll set something up." He walked out the door, giving Mac a smile as he left.

Once he was gone, Mac lowered her head into her hands. This wasn't going to be easy, but she was going to do it. If he wanted someone else, then he could have her. He wasn't going to know that he was breaking her heart. She opened one of the drawers on her desk and drew out a bottle of Advil. It was going to be a long day and she could feel the headache starting already.

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JAG Headquarters
Falls Church, Virginia
Monday, September 22, 2003
0827 Hours (local)

After skimming through his emails and listening to his voicemails, Harm was getting ready to call Denise when the phone rang. "Commander Rabb."

"I thought we weren't going to be so formal," the female voice said, laughing.

Harm laughed. "Hey, Denise, I was getting ready to call you."

"I thought my ears were feeling warm!"

"Cute."

"So, why was I going to be graced with a call from such a handsome man?"

"What are you doing later this morning?"

"Well, I was planning on doing some work. I have to earn my keep somehow. Why?"

"Well, I was talking to Mac and if you are free, we thought we'd go out and talk to Mrs. Johnson, see if she can tell us anything new."

Denise shuffled through some papers before she answered. "That sounds good. What time?"

"1130? I have a sentencing this morning after staff call, so it wouldn't be right now."

"Perfect."

"Good. I'll see you then."

"See you later, Harm," Denise said as she hung up the phone.

Harm moved the phone away from his ear and smiled. He had a few minutes before staff call and then he had to be in court. But hopefully, they'd be able to make some progress on the case today.

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