Page 25 of CJ

“Command, I guess,” said Ross. “Tim was our lead, and we did what he told us.”

“Things must have been tense if Tim and Alana were screwing around while she was married to Adam,” said Moose. He looked apologetically at Jill, and she gave him a small smile, letting him know it was okay.

“It was different, but not what you think,” said Stratafos. “Adam actually seemed happier. He was going out with all of us for beers and dinner, something he hadn’t done since he married her. It was Tim that wasn’t around any longer, and he seemed fucking miserable. It was the weirdest shit ever.”

“Did she try to get to any of you?” asked Jill in a quiet, calm voice.

“Jill, she tried to get to all of us,” said Gordon, shaking his head. “Look, being on a Special Forces team is like having a room full of brothers. These guys can attest to that. Trust is everything. I trusted Adam, and for the most part, until the end, I trusted Tim. But I wouldn’t have trusted Alana as far as I could throw her. Didn’t you ever wonder why no one invited her to parties at our homes?”

“But she was at parties. I was there,” said Jill.

“At their home,” said Ross. “Adam threw the parties so that she could host. We never hosted parties where they were invited. If we did, we made it guys only. Our wives, our girlfriends, were instructed to not say a word to her about anything dealing with work.”

“Did she pry?” asked Georgie.

“All the damn time. She was striking up conversations with the women anywhere she could. The PX, the beach, the gym, anywhere. They all knew to just smile, nod, and walk away. Her only source of information was Tim and Adam. I don’t know what she had on them, but it must have been good.”

“You think she had something she was bribing them with?” asked CJ.

“It had to be,” said Thompson. “There couldn’t have been any other reason you would trust that woman and put up with her bullshit. Whatever she was involved in was high-dollar shit. We all got suspicious of what might be going on and hacked into their banking, both Adam and Tim. It was perfect. Their checks, payments for rent or mortgage, utilities, nothing strange at all.”

“Did you find banking for her?” asked Georgie.

“No. Nothing.”

“I’m on it.”

Georgie gave a smirk at the sound of Hiro’s voice in her ear.

“One last thing. Tim had a camera in a tree pointed right at Jill’s door after they’d split. Why?” asked CJ.

“He still loved her,” said Ross. “We all knew he’d fucked up leaving her for Alana, but when she told him she was pregnant, he felt he had no other choice. Bitch was lying about that as well.” Moose stood, signifying they were done.

“Do us a favor. Check your surroundings for cameras, including in your homes. If you can think of anything else about the last two deployments, contact us right away.”

They nodded and stood to leave. Gordon turned and looked at Jill.

“I’m really sorry about all of this, Jill. You’re the best and a great catch. We could never understand why you were dating Tim.”

Jill nodded at them, giving a small wave as they left the room. When she looked at the others, they had the same expression she did.

“We are missing something big.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

“Maybe this is all a case of a black widow gone awry,” said Dan. “I mean, so far, we’ve got three dead husbands and her dead. Maybe number four found out what she was doing and decided to get her first.”

“Number six,”said Hiro.“She was married six times. Marcus was the second husband. Before him was Corporal Leroy Carter from Arkansas. Twenty years old when he married her, twenty years and ten months when he died of an apparent self-inflicted bullet wound to the head. Then it was Marcus. After him, we have Sgt. Randy Holden from Lexington, Kentucky. Died from a poisonous snake bite while on patrol. Number four was Lt. Ashley McBride. She was killed in a car accident while driving to their six-month anniversary dinner. Number five was Adam. Number six was Tim.”

“Jesus, this woman was really on a roll,” said CJ.

“It gets worse. She was married to Randy Holden and Ashley McBride at the same time.”

“Bigamy? That seems odd for her. She seemed to lay down roots and gather stuff, just any stuff she wanted. Why would she risk being married to two people at the same time?”

“Guys, Randy and Ashley were killed on the same day. A thousand miles apart. Unless she knows how to fly, it wasn’t her.”

“How in the world,” muttered Georgie. Georgie suddenly sat up straighter, staring at the others. “Hiro? Do you have a wedding photo for each of these?”

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