Page 22 of CJ

Sor pointed up and then, in spite of the snow, climbed the tree and brushed off a chunk of snow. Beneath it was a camera pointed directly at Jill’s front door.

“A camera,” she gasped. “That’s a camera. Pointed at me.”

“He was obviously watching everything,” said CJ. “I’m sorry, honey.”

“It’s not your fault. I just never thought he would spy on me. I mean, why screw around on me, dump me, and then spy on me? It doesn’t make sense.”

“Maybe he wasn’t spying on you,” said Brix. “He could have been spying on CJ, or he was concerned that someone would look for something inside your home.”

“Jesus,” she muttered. “I never thought of that. He could have hidden something in the house. I thought he took everything that was his, other than a few clothing items. Now I’m worried that there could be something else inside.”

“I’m going to send the camera feed to Hiro and see what we can find. It might show the killer. Let’s get inside and see what’s there,” said Brix.

Dan held Georgie and Jill back for a moment while the guys searched the apartment for any bugs or cameras or the horrific possibility of any explosive or poisonous devices. When they were certain it was clear, they allowed the two women inside.

“We’ve got about two hours before we have to meet the rest of the Ranger team,” said Brix.

“My place isn’t all that big,” said Jill. “One bedroom, a small office nook, the kitchen, that’s it. It’s not like I had a lot of places for things to be hidden.”

“You’d be surprised,” said Moose. “Things can be hidden in the most unusual places, and it could be something really small and seemingly insignificant.”

“I understand that, but I’m a lawyer. I’m supposed to see those things,” frowned Jill.

“When you’re too close, you often miss those things,” said Georgie. “Believe me, it’s difficult to see when you’re in the fray.”

“Did that happen with you and Carl?” she asked. Georgie turned and smiled at her.

“Not exactly. I was madly in love with Carl, and I knew he had feelings for me as well, but I was a few years younger than him. He was home on leave and got drunk with the guys. I took advantage of that.”

“You took advantage of it? How?” asked Jill. Georgie blushed, staring at Jill. “Oh. Ohhhh, no.”

“Yep. Not my finest moment. Poor Carl woke up and found me next to him and nearly had a stroke. It was my fault. I lured him into bed, not the other way around. He left to go back to the Teams. I found out I was pregnant and left home, suffering a miscarriage alone.”

“Oh God, Georgie, I’m so sorry,” said Jill, hugging the other woman.

“It’s alright. It was my fault. Had I told my family, someone may have been able to save the child. Instead, I was lost for a long, long time. It was a few years later that Carl came home, and we realized that we still loved one another. I never stopped loving him. I was hurt that he turned me away, but realized he did what he thought he had to. I was too young.

“What I didn’t realize at the time was that Carl could have been charged with rape in spite of it being my fault. He was considered the adult, even while under the influence. I knew all of that, Jill. I knew he was drunk. I knew he wouldn’t want things to happen as they did. I knew that he recognized I was too young. I looked for my opportunity, and I took it. I hated myself for a very long time because of that.

“But I was lucky that Carl was a lot smarter than me. He never stopped loving me. Even when he found out about the baby, he still loved me. Even when he found out I couldn’t have any more children.”

“Georgie,” she whispered, hugging her friend.

“Youth is a tricky thing,” she smirked. “You’re energetic, in love, think you know what you want, but then when you get it in all the wrong ways, you realize how foolish you were. Carl and I are an anomaly. Statistics would say that we should have never made it, but we did. We’re stronger today than we were twenty years ago.”

“Because it’s true love,” said Jill. “You two are so fortunate that you actually found true love with one another.” Georgie looked into the kitchen, seeing CJ searching the cabinets.

“Looks like maybe you’ve found the same,” she smiled. Jill followed her eyes and nodded at the handsome figure in her kitchen. She nodded.

“The only thing that could make that scene more perfect would be if he were naked, fixing me breakfast.” Georgie laughed, standing from the chair.

“I do not want that picture in my head. Let’s go. We’ve got to find something. I don’t know what. But there’s something here.”

After searching for nearly an hour, Jill finally pulled out some suitcases and filled them with her personal belongings. She packed up her personal laptop and a few other things, leaving the rest behind.

“What about the furniture and dishes?” asked Georgie.

“It was all second-hand. I’ll let the realtor know that she can keep it for staging or toss it. I won’t need it. I spoke to my commander a few days ago to let him know that I would be accepting the job with VG. He’s given me extended leave considering everything that’s happening, so I’ll be able to start my job with all of you right away.”

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