when we were little. Dani had a closet full when we were teens.”
“But she went barefoot in the house?”
Maggie wrinkled her brow. “Not that I recall.”
Nate glanced down at his notes. “Let’s go back to the beginning. What happened after you entered the house?”
She explained how she had searched the rooms and, finding nothing, had made her way to the attic. “The upstairs was pitch-black. I couldn’t see anything and waved my hand in the air to find the pull cord for the overhead lightbulb.”
“If you hadn’t been here before, how did you know about the pull cord?”
Angling her head, she paused, as if weighing her words. “My dad was military,” she said at last. “We lived in similar quarters sixteen years ago.”
“At Fort Rickman?”
“That’s right. In this same housing area.”
“A three-year assignment for your dad?”
“Yes, but—”
Maggie clasped her hands then worried her fingers. “My father…” Deep breath. “His tour of duty was cut short.” She looked down as if gathering courage to go on. “Regrettably, my father committed suicide.”
Not what he had expected to hear. Nate fought to keep his expression neutral as she glanced up at him with troubled eyes.
“He hanged himself in the attic of our house.” She leaned closer to Nate. “The similarity in the two deaths proves Dani would never have taken her own life.”
“Because—?”
Her eyes widened as if the conclusion she had drawn was obvious. “Because Dani did everything to overcome the stigma of his death. That’s why she went into the military. She idolized him. Dani tried to be the son he always wanted. Problem was she tried to prove herself to him, even after his death.” She leaned closer. “Don’t you see, for Dani, suicide wouldn’t have been an option?”
Unless Major Bennett wanted to prove how much she loved her father by following him into death. Nate kept that thought to himself.
“You brought up depression earlier. Is there a history of depression or anxiety disorders in your family?”
“None that I know of.”
“Tell me about when you were in the attic. You said the light was off?”
“That’s correct. The moon shone through the window and—” She struggled to find her words.
His voice softened. “That’s when you saw your sister?”
She nodded. Tears pooled in her blue-green eyes and slowly trickled down her cheeks. Nate tried to remain detached despite his desire to wipe away her pain. He pulled his handkerchief from his pocket and shoved it into her hand, his fingers touching hers for longer than necessary, as if attempting to pass on support.
Maggie seemed oblivious to the way his hand burned where it touched hers. What was happening to his ability to remain neutral? He had been around other attractive women…had dated a few along the way…but no one had ever affected him like the woman sitting close to him.
Nate turned to look over his shoulder as Jamison scurried down the stairs and motioned him into the foyer, providing the reprieve Nate needed. Time to regroup and focus on the internal warning signal that was telling him something unexpected and downright powerful was happening to his status quo.
“Excuse me for a minute.” He rose from the chair and met the agent in the kitchen.
“You okay?” Jamison stared at him with narrowed eyes.
Nate straightened his shoulders. “Yeah, why?”
“You look troubled.”
“An officer died tonight. That is troubling.”
“Of course, it is. The ME is getting ready to release the body. They’ll bring Major Bennett downstairs soon. Might not be good for her sister to watch.”
Jamison was right. Maggie shouldn’t be around when the body was removed.
“What did the doc say?” Nate asked.
“Only that he’ll order a toxicology screen. Drugs and alcohol. As backed up as the lab is at Fort Gillem, I don’t know when we’ll get the results back, though.”
“See what you can find out about Major Bennett’s father,” Nate said. “He was stationed at Rickman sixteen years ago and evidently committed suicide.”
Jamison let out a low whistle. “Quite a coincidence.”
Before Nate could respond, the front door opened and CID agent Kelly McQueen scurried inside and joined the men in the kitchen. She was blond-haired and blue-eyed and the best marksman in the unit.
“What do you need me to do?” she asked after Nate filled her in on what they had learned so far.
“Help me decide where Major Bennett’s sister can stay tonight,” Nate said. “The downtown area has had problems with all the rain. The basement of the Freemont Hotel is flooded, and they’ve shut down temporarily.”
A number of small motels were located immediately off post, but most of them were fleabag rentals that catered to a transient troop population. At this difficult time, Maggie deserved something more ac com mo dating.
“I’ve got an extra room,” Kelly volunteered. “She’s welcome to stay at my place.”
Nate nodded. “That works.”
Kelly was good at her job and had compassion to embrace someone reeling with grief. Her apartment was directly across from Nate’s in the bachelor officer quarters on post so he would be able to keep an eye on Maggie and offer his support.
“I’ll have Mills follow us to the BOQ,” said Nate. “He can bring me back here once I get Maggie settled.”
The corporal responded with a thumbs-up. “Can do, sir. By the way, Ms. Bennett’s driving a silver Saturn. I checked the car and her personal effects. She’s clean.”
“You need authorization.”
Mill’s face darkened.
“We’ll talk about it tomorrow.”
“Yes, sir.”
“What about the wine bottle? Did you find prints?”
“Negative.”
Nate turned back to Jamison. “Pull the major’s medical records and see if there’s any history of psychological problems. Also, check with the main gate and find out what time the sister, and any other guests the major may have had this evening, entered post. Question the neighbors in case the major and her husband aired their dirty laundry and
