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Unconditional Love 7: Is There a Psychiatrist
in the House?
Rating: IM15 for now
Summary: A long one, but, as you’ll see, everyone has some emotional
issues they need to work through.
Disclaimer: See Part 1
Harm caught Mrs. Talbert before she got any further down the hallway. “Whoa!
What’s wrong, ma’am?”
“The doctors just said Ron may … may never-” Her knees wobbled and Mac jumped to
her other side to help support her. She swallowed and continued speaking. “He
may never wake up. And if he does, he’ll probably be brain-damaged.” Tears
started rolling down her face.
Harm and Mac shared a look, and then, as one, guided Mrs. Talbert to a private
waiting room. She sat down in a chair and her shoulders shook with sobs. Mac
held Mrs. Talbert gently, letting her cry herself out.
Mrs. Talbert grew calmer. “I’m sorry for that. It’s just … it’s just I feel like
it was only yesterday when Ron and I buried Nathan, and now Ron may be living in
limbo. He could stay in this coma for decades. His doctor told I should start
looking at long-term care facilities.” She shook her head. “I don’t know how
long his Navy benefits will last and I can’t afford to pay for that.”
“Ma’am,” Harm began.
“Brenda-“ she interjected.
“Brenda, the Colonel and I would be happy to help you with the legal and
financial issues you are facing.” Mac flashed a glance at him, but he ignored
it.
Brenda Talbert took both Harm and Mac’s hands and squeezed them. “Thank you so
much.” She began to cry again.
Deciding it was time to distract her a little, Harm asked, “Now, if you don’t
mind, can you tell me anything you might remember about one of Nathan’s friends
in the Navy?”
Brenda looked confused. “I thought you were investigating what happened to Ron.”
Mac cut in smoothly, “We are, but as we said before, we’re investigating every
possible avenue. Do you remember Nathan talking about an Eric Matheson?”
“Eric Matheson?” Brenda thought for a moment. “He and Nathan were roommates. I
met him when I came to visit Nathan once. He was nice enough, but very quiet.
Nathan mentioned that he had a difficult time fitting in on the ship.” She
paused again. “There was something more, towards the end. Nathan didn’t tell me,
but a mother has a sense about these things.”
So nothing concrete, but certainly enough to raise suspicion, Harm thought,
bracing himself for him question. “Did Ron ever mention Eric Matheson’s name to
you?”
“No. Do you think he’s connected to Ron being in his coma?”
A young man answered, startling all of them. “I know he is.”
They turned around and saw one of Talbert’s companions that they had
interviewed. Mac thought for a moment and put a name with the face. “Seaman
Richardson, right?” He looked almost too young to be old enough to drink alcohol
legally.
“Did you mean what you said, Seaman?” Harm asked.
He stiffened. “I did, sir.”
“How do you know this?” Mac asked, trying to be as non-threatening as possible;
it was clear the young man was nervous.
“Ron told me, ma’am. He said if something bad happened to him, that Eric
Matheson was behind it.”
“Why didn’t you tell us this earlier?”
“There are eyes and ears on the ship, ma’am, sir. And after what they did to
Ron, I didn’t want to end up the same way.”
“So you came here to tell us?” Mac asked gently.
“I also wanted to see Ron, ma’am.”
“Why don’t you come with me?” Brenda Talbert took a motherly tone with Seaman
Richardson. They walked towards Ron’s room.
Harm turned on his cell phone and called Gibbs. “We caught a break. One of
Talbert’s friends from his wild night is talking. I thought maybe you could
interview him and get his accurate version of the events of Saturday night. But
you’ll need to arrange protective custody for him – he’s scared.” He listened to
Gibbs’ reply, and grunted a few affirmatives. Finally, he said, “Works for me.
See you then.”
He flipped the phone shut and turned to Mac. “We just need to wait until Gibbs
gets here. He’s going to take both Seaman Richardson and Mrs. Talbert in. He
doesn’t want to lose any more witnesses.”
“How is he going to swing that?” Mac asked. “We don’t have anything besides
circumstantial evidence at best.”
“He said, and I quote, ‘if the damn bureaucrats can’t see springing a few
dollars to give these folks a safe place to stay, I’ll take them to my place and
guard them myself.’ Gotta respect a guy who’s willing to bend the rules,” he
chuckled. “The trade-off is, we get the job of checking through the contents of
Talbert’s computer. McGee got it all printed, we just have to find the needle in
the haystack of paper.”
“That and helping Brenda Talbert with her search for long-term care facilities,”
Mac stated. “Why did you volunteer us for that? Is your hero complex coming back
to the surface again?”
“No,” he retorted defensively, then laughed a little. “Okay, maybe a little. But
you can’t deny she needs our help. You know she won’t get it from the overworked
clerks in Legal Aid and certainly not from Ron’s father.”
Mac replied. “You’re right about that.” Then she asked, “Are you planning on
taking his place?”
Harm heard a tinge of jealousy in her tone and grew angry. “Dammit, I’m not
playing this game with you, Mac. Can’t I help a woman without it being a sexual
thing?” He held up his hands. “Forget it. We’re not having this conversation.”
He moved to the other side of the room and sat down to wait for Gibbs.
Gibbs decided not to comment on the palpable tension in the room when he walked
in. Harm gave him a concise summary of what had transpired with Mrs. Talbert and
Seaman Richardson. Gibbs assured him that he would watch over them very
carefully.
Harm and Mac walked out to the car in silence. The atmosphere on the ride back
to their motel was chilly, to say the least. When they got out, Harm turned to
Mac.
“If it bothers you that much, you don’t have to help with Mrs. Talbert’s
personal stuff,” he said coldly. “I’ll do it on my own time, so it won’t
interfere with the investigation.” He walked to his room and closed the door,
leaving Mac standing out by the car alone.
Harm’s Motel Room
Harm balled up the piece of paper, threw it in the trash and started over. He
missed having Mac there to bounce ideas off and for her unique perspective. Why
did he have to lash out at her?
He picked up the phone and dialed Mac’s room number. The phone rang until the
hotel voice mail picked up. Maybe she’s in the shower, he thought to himself. He
decided to go over in person and apologize. It was better done face to face,
anyway.
Happy he had come to a decision, Harm opened the door to walk over to Mac’s
room, only to find Mac standing in his doorway, hand raised to knock at his
door.
“I’m sorry.” They said in unison. They both smiled. Harm invited Mac in. “I
think we have some talking we need to do, and not about the case,” he said
gravely.
To Part 8
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