Semper Fi

Copyright @ calibeachgirl and shuttlepilot

All rights reserved, 2011

Chapter 1 Cry Me A River, Justin Timberlake

You don't have to say...

what you did,

I already know...

I found out from him

Now there's just no chance...

for you and me...

there'll never be

And don't it make you sad about it...

Mary Gault heard the heavy rain beating against the fogged motel window; she opened her eyes and looked at her lover, feeling her heart begin to beat with a quickening rhythm. Just looking at him... seeing the hunger in his light blue eyes as he gazed down at her... that was enough to arouse her and she felt herself dampen. She just couldn't remember his name and wondered if he cared. She didn't.

She reached up to touch his face, loving the way he felt under her fingertips. "I saw you watching me... just the way you are now... and I felt... hot and breathless and... naked," she softly spoke.

He turned his head to press his lips to her palm. Then he leaned over her and very slowly began to unbutton her pale green blouse. When her blouse was unbuttoned to her waist, he opened it slowly and bent to trail his lips along the lacy cup of her bra. The front fastening gave way at his touch and his mouth pushed the material aside.

Mary caught her breath and her hand slipped to the back of his neck. She closed her eyes and bit back a whimper at the unbearable ache when he teased her tightening nipples with tiny flicks of his tongue.

She was coping with the buttons of his shirt, opening it up so that she could slide her fingers into the thick mat of hair on his chest and explore his hard cock pressing against her.

He reached down and caught the hem of her skirt, drawing it up as he touched her bare leg until the light floral material was gathered at her waist. She thought he would take her, standing against the wall.

Mary couldn't believe how incredibly sensual, how nasty it felt to lie there on the same motel bed as countless others had, her clothing opened or pushed out of the way. Only her panties were discarded and when he had stripped them down her legs, she could only make a shaky sound of need and parted her thighs for the touch of his fingers.

God, she was so wanton, so completely and utterly abandoned of fidelity when he touched her that nothing else mattered except feeling his hands on her and his mouth and aching because she had to have his cock inside her.

He shrugged out of his shirt and pushed his pants and shorts down and off and when he entered her, pushing himself into her pulsing pussy, she cried out and tightened her legs to pull him even deeper.

When it was over, when her heart had stopped pounding and her breathing had steadied, when her clothing had been put back into place, she was completely silent. She didn't talk to him and he left her in the room, already another faceless lover in her long line of conquests.

An hour later, Mary left the bed, walked over to the room table, picked up her keys and purse and took one look around making sure nothing was left behind. She saw her key chain charm, the Marine Corps bulldog from her husband swinging as she picked out her car key. He was still in Afghanistan and would be for another four months. They had an 'open marriage', he just didn't know it.

She opened the door and stepped out into the rain. "Hello," she said, smiling. 'My, aren't you handsome."

**********

"What do you have?" Sunday morning was never the right time to look at dead bodies and this one was no exception, especially in the dark rain that blew in off the gray Pacific. Caitlyn Bradford yawned and stretched her five foot eight frame, took off her 'granny' glasses slipping them into her blouse pocket, rubbed the bridge of her nose and then wiped the doughnut's cinnamon crumbs from her fingers as she left the unmarked police car.

She stepped out into the drizzling remains of the storm; she had her dark hair damp by the time she reached the motel room. Caitlyn reached into her pocket and put on her glasses and then pulled on her gloves and blue booties, hoping the murder scene wouldn't be too messy. She hated messy.

"Mary Gault, age 23, married to Sergeant Wilbur Hooper, USMC..." her partner, Garrett Brinkley read from his notes. He was short, only five six and built like a linebacker but amazingly fast on his feet and had the aggravating habit of running his hands through his buzz-cut.

"Wilbur?" Jesus, who named their kid 'Wilbur' anymore? Caitlyn walked closer to the space between the bed and the small table by the window. She wondered if they'd change the bloody rug after the investigation or just try to clean it enough that it wasn't noticeable. She went to look under the bed but the frame came all the way down to the carpet.

"Yeah, but his friends call him 'Will'. She took three shots to the chest, death probably instantaneous, little blood loss, probably small caliber... probably here with some boyfriend or something. Night clerk says she came with some guy." Garrett reached into his pocket and pulled out a Snickers. "Want some?" he asked.

Caitlyn shook her head 'no'. "Some john? hooking gone bad? Damn, Garrett, at least, eat that outside. You're fucking up my crime scene." She ran a hand through her still wet hair, trying to dry some of it out. She couldn't understand these damned military wives cheating on their husbands. Marrying too young was probably the underlying cause. Just another excuse to cheat, as old as the Bible... if there had been another guy in Eden, Eve would have found a way to cheat with him, too... the original bitch... she found a snake, too.

"Doesn't seem to be the case... her purse is still here and so's her car keys. Probably a pick-up from the Main Attraction down on Coast Highway, it's the closest.... that place is always full of wives seeking 'consolation' while their husbands are laying it on the line over there. Damn bitches," Garrett angrily spat out.

Caitlyn looked at her partner. It was bad enough more than half of all California murders never get solved, this was the third suspected 'judy bar' killing in the last month. Garrett wasn't too interested in solving the case and Caitlyn couldn't blame him... too much.

Garrett had caught his own wife cheating on him, ironically enough, during a prostitution raid. Caitlyn was willing to look the other way on that one but Garrett insisted she be treated no better than the other four arrested that night. By Caitlyn's count, Garrett's wife still had more than four years due to the amount of drugs seized. Quickly following the sentencing was the divorce and her felony conviction allowed him to walk away suffering only a broken heart... that never really healed.

No, Garrett wasn't all that interested in solving the case. If I was him, I probably wouldn't be, either. "We got all the pictures we need? CSI finished?"

Garrett nodded his head.

"Good," she said. "Let's get the body out of here and try and dry up. God, I hate this weather. God damn stupid rain..."

**********

Chapter 2 Everybody's Cheating, Rick Springfield

I'm finding it harder every day

to take it as it comes

But as one fool once explained to me

you can't choose who you love

Everybody's cheating on the one they love

Everybody's looking for the summer sun

No I believe I'll love you 'til my life is done

I'll live your lies and alibis

The telltale stories in your eyes

Cause you are, you are the one I love

Monday, it was still raining as Caitlyn and Garrett drove north to Pendleton and delivered the news to the company commander. The Marine captain promised that the Corps would notify the dead woman's husband when it became possible... he was out on patrol and the news could wait, as the officer said, until Sergeant Gault safely returned to his base.

On the drive back to town, Caitlyn spoke what was on both their minds. "He didn't seem too shaken up, did he?" She looked out the window at the ocean, still choppy from the storm. "Might rain, again." She hated rain. What was the use in living in California if it was going to rain? Stupid damn weather...

"No, he didn't, but then, he deals with death as his business and this is the third one. What the fuck's the matter with these women, anyway? Just don't get married..." Garrett beat his fist against the steering wheel, accidently hitting the horn and startling them both. He sheepishly looked at her. "Sorry..."

Caitlyn knew her partner was heading to a dark place and glanced at him through that space between her glasses' lens and her face. "Garrett, don't worry about it. Let's just see if we can find whoever did this before there's another one."

"Yeah, another one..." Garrett looked out his window at the low flying helicopters heading south along the beach. "Yeah..."

Across the freeway, the northbound lanes were shut down as INS chased a family of illegals running across the lanes and out into the foothills. Caitlyn had no answer to the biggest question facing America... what to do with immigration? Where were they going to go? "Let's get something to eat... on me... Denny's?"

**********

Tim's hand was on her neck and he pulled her down far enough to kiss her. His mouth was shaking when he said, "Susan, I want to marry you, you know that."

"I know," she said to her lover, "but I can't divorce him while he's still over there. That would be cruel and I can't do that to him. If something happened to him because of me..."

"I knew you belonged with me as much as you did him, ever since that first night... but, you never want to talk about the future."

Susan looked at her lover lying next to her. She never talked about the future because she knew there wasn't one... at least, with him. She was already tiring of him and would soon look for someone new... someone more exciting... someone with more money. If, and it was a big if, her husband came back from Iraq, then she'd think about the future.

"I'm willing to wait," he said, "if you need more time." He moved suddenly, rolling her so she was on her back and he rose above her, moving her thighs apart with his knees. "I love you," he said, kissing her one more time. Susan held him in her right hand, bringing it down to her, dragging him along with it. As he pushed in, her left hand began to stroke herself, squeezing it until it hurt. The deeper he pushed, the harder she squeezed and her moans had nothing to do with him as she worked to bring herself off. She wrapped one arm around his neck to show her enthusiasm but had truly lost interest once she orgasmed and now just wished he'd hurry up and finish.

She looked at the nightstand alarm clock. "Look, uh, Tim, it's getting late and I think you should leave. I've got an early morning."

"I can stay..." As soon as he said it, he knew it was a mistake from the frown she grew on her face. "OK, I'll go... call you, tomorrow?"

"Sure... maybe, tomorrow evening..."

**********

Chapter 3 Blame It on Your Heart, Patty Loveless

You've got a thing or two to learn about me baby

'Cause I ain't taking it no more and I don't mean maybe

You don't know right from wrong

Well the love we had is gone

So blame it on your lying, cheating, cold deadbeating,

Two-timing, double dealing

Mean mistreating, loving heart

Holding a Snickers in one hand, he waved the other around, pontificating. "Another one? Damn, there're bodies dropping like flies around this town. You'd think this was 'Criminal Minds', or something." Garrett grabbed his coat. The weather had been poor all week and it was raining, again, much heavier this time. He opened his desk drawer and reached inside. "Hey! Who took my candy bars? Caitlyn! Did you take my Snickers?"

"This one's a little different... it's at her house... got the boyfriend, too," Caitlyn calmly said. She wondered if her partner was losing all his objectivity. Maybe, it was time for a new partner... maybe, it was time for Garrett to hang it up... maybe, it was time for her to hang it up and do something else... maybe, get married or something.

"That's more like it," said Garrett, wiping his hands together in mock glee. Caitlyn wasn't too sure Garrett was joking. Maybe, it was time...

The drive over to the house took longer than it should have; the Coast Highway was closed with a fatal three-car accident due to the rain. People in California did NOT know how to drive in the rain.

Caitlyn put her glasses away until they were inside the house.

Garrett bent down, looking at the body near the front door. "I'd say he opened the door to leave and took two to the chest and she caught it running up the stairs. Guess we're going to have to make another trip out to Pendleton." Hands in his pocket, swaying on his feet, Garrett started whistling the Marine Hymn.

"What makes you say that?" Caitlyn asked. Garrett was losing it... that was for sure. Caitlyn looked to see if anyone had heard his whistling but the uniforms were too busy pulling their yellow tape around the front of the house.

Garrett just pointed to the mantel where a wedding picture was standing. The beautiful bride bore no resemblance to the woman on the stairs with a bullet through the back of her head, blowing out the front of her face. Standing next to her in the photograph was a Marine major in full dress uniform, several medals on his chest.

"Jesus Christ. It's becoming an epidemic." Caitlyn took a closer look at the photograph. "He looks a little old for her, must be a second wife, maybe. I'm not going out there, again. I'm just going to call."

"Now," said Garrett, pulling out another Snickers, "you're getting smart. This is just the beginning."

"I think you're right. Let's go talk to the neighbors."

**********

"Well, that woman across the street was the best. Did you see the look on her face when we told her Susan Winslow was married? She served everything up except for the milk and cookies. Mrs. Winslow was a busy person." Garrett typed some more into his laptop, transferring his handwritten notes.

"I want to take another ride out to her house. You drive." Caitlyn stretched out her legs and then stood up. "You want anything before we go? Snickers, or something?"

"Don't I always? What are we looking for?"

"We'll know it when we see it." Caitlyn stopped at the vending machine and fed in a dollar but an Almond Joy fell out. She kicked the machine and two Musketeers bars fell down. She put them into her pocket. Stupid machine... she kicked it again.

Caitlyn walked around the front of the porch and then looked out at the street. Her feet were starting to hurt and she made another vow to take some time off, like she did every other week. "How did the shooter know that guy was leaving unless he was waiting here the whole time? Who knows what time the guy would have left and it was cold and damp last night."

Garrett poked a hand around the flower bed. "I still don't see any footprints. As a matter of fact, the ground here is pretty firm, even with all this rain. I got nothing." He started another Snickers, jamming the wrapper into his pocket as the caramel strung away from his mouth. "You know, none of the bullets match anything on file or any of the shootings. It's like there's a one-use policy in effect."

The two detectives circled the house twice, three times but found nothing and yet, they knew there was something they were missing, they just didn't know what.

"You know, Garrett, you should go to Costco and just buy them by the case."

"I do. Two at a time..."

**********

The police report the next morning to the newspaper summed it up, Caitlyn thought.

"The names of the deceased male and female found in the home in the 700 block of Via Marina are being released. The male has been identified as 27-year-old Timothy Bishop, and the deceased female has been identified as 25-year-old Susan Winslow. Mrs. Winslow resided at the address. On September 29, 2011 at 8:58 a.m. Officers were dispatched to an address in the 700 block of Via Marina. The reporting party was anonymous and used a phone we traced to the back room of a 7-11 located on Coast Highway. Officers entered the unsecured residence and found a deceased male near the front door and a deceased female on the stairs; both appeared to have sustained gunshot wounds. No weapon was found. Police have no 'persons of interest' yet."

The San Diego news broadcasts covered it but two days later, the bars were once again full of women looking...

Caitlyn considered assigning plainclothes officers to the bars but realized the futility of it. There were just too many women and who knew who was who? Besides, she thought, it was becoming a case of winning a 'Darwin Award.'

"Hey, Bradford, listen to this: An unwitting Hesperia woman was caught cheating on her husband with a man wanted for murder in South Carolina she met on MySpace, San Bernardino County Sheriff's Hesperia Station officials said. Maurice Lamont Council, 20, of South Carolina was arrested Sunday morning when it was learned Council was wanted in South Carolina for a murder which took place in August, Sgt. Colleen Kuhn said.

"The woman's husband learned of his wife's illicit MySpace affair and alerted deputies to the couple's whereabouts when the jilted spouse spotted his wife's car in the parking lot of the Motel 6 in Hesperia, Kuhn said. 'We really weren't sure what the call was,' Deputy Chad Gomez said of the strange call. 'We didn't know if it was a jealous husband trying to get us out there just because his wife was cheating or if this really was a possible homicide suspect.'

"When Gomez and Deputy Chuck Foster arrived at the motel, they found the woman, her 1-year-old child and Council in one of the units. Council was not combative and acknowledged he was wanted for murder, Kuhn stated.

"That's rich... how can she be so damn stupid?" Garrett laughed.

"You let that stuff get to you too much, Garrett. It's going to drive you crazy one of these days." Caitlyn was starting to think her partner had already stepped over that thin line.

**********

Chapter 4 Cry Me a River, Diana Krall

Now you say you're sorry...

For being so untrue...

Well you can cry me a river...

Cry me a river, I cried a river over you.

You drove me mad...

and drove me out of my head...

While you never shed a tear...

Remember, I remember all that you said...

'told me you were through with me ...

"Detective Bradford, I'm Frank Carlson and this is Cynthia Hodges. We're from NCIS."

Even though her feet were killing her, Caitlyn stood up as a courtesy, greeting the two visitors. "You're here about the dead wives." It was a statement more than a question and Caitlyn had wondered when they were going to arrive.

Carlson stood just over six feet one and about 175, Caitlyn's practiced eye told her. Hodges, she was about five foot four and 130 and had a hard look to her face that made her much older than she actually was.

"Yes. We'd like copies of whatever you have," Carlson said, putting his ID away.

"Are you taking over the case?" Caitlyn wondered if there was going to be a jurisdictional 'pissing match' with the Feds.

"No," Carlson said, looking at the dark-haired beauty now sitting on her desk. He couldn't help admiring the way her tailored slacks fit her body, following the curves with just enough definition to whet his appetite, while still maintaining the impression of professionalism. She glanced back at him, giving him a small smile and his heart leaped. "We'd rather work together, if it's all right with you. We know there's been at least one outside civilian involved."

"Timothy Bishop. Took a couple to the chest leaving Susan Winslow's house; she took one to the back of the head. Closed casket on her. You want a Snickers?"