Page 19 of CJ

“I’m good, really, I am. I had no feelings for Tim after what he did to me, but I also didn’t want him to be murdered. The way he was murdered seems calculated, or someone was hoping I would touch that door.”

“It definitely was calculated. Someone wanted him dead, and I’m pretty damn sure someone wanted Yarrow dead as well. The easy target is Alana, but she doesn’t seem smart enough to kill two Army Rangers.”

“No,” exhaled Jill, “but greed, power, and status are impressive motivators. She knew a lot of people that the two of them knew. Maybe they did something that pissed off someone else. Maybe we should speak to Alana’s first husband.”

“First husband? She was married before Yarrow?”

“Sorry, I thought I mentioned that,” said Jill, shaking her head. “It’s been a lot all at once. She was married when she met Adam. I have no clue what his name was or what he did for a living, but I know that Tim said she dropped him fast when she hooked up with Adam.”

“Hiro? See if you can find a first husband for Alana Yarrow Weathers.”

“On it.”

“Okay,” she smiled. “I’m ready.” He grinned at her, the chunky sweater only serving to highlight those beautiful breasts that he loved so much.

“You’re beautiful.”

“You’re biased,” she grinned. “But thank you for saying that. You know, technically, since I’m cleared of everything, we don’t have to take this case on.”

CJ stared at her, tilting his head inquisitively.

“I mean, this must feel weird investigating the murder of my ex.”

“Not really,” said CJ. “I don’t have any love for the guy. What he did to you was shitty. But he was a brother. A Ranger. Maybe not a good one, but he was a Teams guy, and that means something to all of us. There’s definitely something rotten here. I don’t know what, and I’m not sure Alana had anything to do with it, but she certainly gives me a reason to doubt her intentions.”

“I agree with that. I don’t think she’s incredibly intelligent, but she’s shifty, or maybe crafty is the right word. I don’t know what I’m looking for. All I know is that she was a woman always looking for the next best thing. She was never happy with what she had.”

“She mentioned Adam’s life insurance. I’m sure she got Tim’s as well. Adam was killed in the line of duty, which would have meant more on his policy. Still, it doesn’t seem like enough to make a woman like her happy for long,” said CJ.

There was a pounding on the door, and CJ opened it to find Dan and Moose standing there.

“Ready for dinner?” smirked Moose.

“We’re ready,” smiled Jill. “I hate that you had to leave your wife and kids, Moose. Especially Sergeant, he’s just a baby.”

“Can I tell you a secret?” he grinned. Jill nodded. “It will be nice to sleep without him waking up every four hours. And I love Jennifer. But that child definitely knows how to interrupt adult time.” Jill laughed, shaking her head.

“I believe that’s what children are supposed to do. It forces parents to get creative for their alone time.”

“Did you have siblings, Jill?” asked Dan.

“No, sadly, I was an only child. My father was a police officer, and my mom couldn’t handle it. So, one day, she left me with the neighbor, my babysitter, packed her things, and left. She left a note for my dad, but I don’t know what it said.”

“I’m sorry,” said Dan.

“Don’t be. I had a great life with my father until he died. Then, Mrs. Clausen was my mother, grandmother, aunt, sister, everything all wrapped up in one big ball of sweetness. I was luckier than many children.”

“That’s a great way to look at it. I think sometimes we all forget how fortunate we were to grow up together,” said CJ. “It was like having dozens of aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, cousins, all of it. Then, when you throw in all the animals, we had an incredible childhood.”

“You guys were definitely lucky,” smiled Jill. “I had a nice group of friends, but I was more focused on getting into the Academy. Being a lawyer was always something I wanted to do.”

“Why?” asked Dan as they stepped into the elevator.

“Well, the woman that drove her vehicle into that river with her child in the back, she was deemed psychologically unfit to stand trial for what she did. She lost custody of her son, but that didn’t bring my father back. It just always felt that she got away with murder. I have empathy for her mental illness. I mean, there’s no doubt she was mentally unstable. But I was a little girl left without a father.”

“That must have been awful,” said CJ, kissing her temple.

“You guys know how this community is. Military, firefighters, police, you’re all the same. When one goes down, the others rally to help their families. I had a lot of my father’s fellow police officers who took up the role of surrogate father. If there was a father-daughter dance, someone was always there for me. My graduation, they were there for me. The police chief even wrote one of my recommendation letters to the Academy.”

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