Elizabeth used his password. When he too was blocked, she couldn’t believe it. Trying once more, she got a warning. “What the hell?” she muttered. “This is being blocked by the US marshals? Since when do they have more power than us?”
Ethan glanced over at her. “Try searching her birth certificate.”
Going in, they took the back route into finding out who her father was. Often, the US marshals would get a little sloppy and miss a few things.
“Nope. It’s blocked. Who the hell is this girl?”
Callen thought about it. “Wait, she’s a pretty girl who obviously came from money. I’m betting she pledged a sorority. How about we search Harvard’s files for that?”
Elizabeth stared at him. “That was genius. I could kiss you.”
He leaned forward, and she laughed. “After I solve this mystery, if your suggestion pans out, then I’ll pay up.”
Ethan knew his wife. “This is going to bug you, isn't it?”
“Hell yeah, it is. I don’t like surprises that bite me in the ass when I least expect it.”
Taking the dates of her enrollment, Elizabeth scanned the sorority lists. “We have only one Jaxon. Thank God for the weird spelling.”
“What’s her last name?” Ethan asked.
She started laughing.
“What?”
“You look at that sweet bone doctor and think she’s just some nerded up scientist who loves playing with the dead. Well, she’s got the mother of all secrets.”
They waited.
“What does Boston, rich, and O’Banion mean to you?” she inquired.
Callen, who wasn’t in the FBI long didn't get it, but Ethan did. In fact, his face said it all, and he wasn’t happy.
“Are we talking Michael O’Banion?”
“Uh huh.”
“Holy shit. We have a problem.”
“What?” Callen asked, not getting it.
“Michael O’Banion was public enemy number one for the FBI out of Boston. He was head of THE crime family. If there was a poster child for dangerous underhanded doings, he was it.”
“The mob?” Callen asked, incredulously.
“Uh huh.”
“Holy shit. We have a mob boss’s daughter working in the FBI? Isn't that a little sketchy?” he asked. “I mean, if she was to testify at trial, and the defense team got a hold of that little tidbit, the entire case would be tanked.”
“Uh huh, which is why this has me asking more questions. There is no way this got past the FBI’s background check.”
“What happened to her father?” asked Callen.
“Until this moment, I believed that he died in a shootout outside a pub in Boston.”
“And now you don’t?”
Ethan took this one. “The US marshals don’t block an FBI file for a dead mobster. They also don’t get the FBI to hire the daughter of a criminal, unless there is one important reason.”
“They do for one in witness protection and to watch the family,” Elizabeth offered. “They can keep an eye on the son, since he’s in the military, and now the daughter, since she’s in the FBI.”
Yeah, here was something fishy.
“Now, the big question is, does sweet Jaxon Armstrong know that her daddy is alive and living a new life, or is she in the dark?”
“What are you going to do?” Ethan asked, pulling into the parking lot of Dixon Industries.
There was no question. She was mad as hell.
Pulling out her phone, Elizabeth made the call to his private line. When Gabe answered, she spoke, “Why the hell is Michael O’Banion’s daughter working one of my crime scenes?”
He didn't say anything.
“So you did know. What the bloody hell? I didn't deserve a heads up on this one, Gabe?”
“Good morning to you too, Elizabeth. It’s always a pleasure to have you bitch at me early in the day.”
She put it on speaker phone. “Her daddy is in witness protection. Is she aware?”
“You know I can’t discuss this. In fact, if you tried to access that file, I’m going to be getting a call from the US marshals this morning.”
She didn't give two shits. Let them have him for breakfast for all she cared. Elizabeth hated this covert bullshit, and she hated being used as a pawn.
“Gabe, answer the question. Yes or no. Is Doctor Jaxon Armstrong aware?”
There was a pause.
“No.”
This was shitty all around.
“And, you’re not to say a word. The marshals wanted her kept safe, and where better to keep her, than hidden in the FBI.”
“Well fuck, Gabe, she’s not really hidden. I figured it out in four days, and I wasn’t looking.”
He laughed. “Well, you always were too curious for my own good. Don’t worry about her. She’s under the wire, a newbie, and safe.”
“Until the Boston mob figures it out. It could have risked all of us. You know they like car bombs and big explosions.”
Ethan didn't like this at all. His family was at risk, and that scared the hell out of him.
“She isn't aware, the mob believes him dead, and they’re not after her. As long as Michael O’Banion remains hidden, she’s safe.”
“Well, you have a big problem. You little stowaway is planning on bolting from the FBI. She’s not really into the gig, and yesterday the killer tried to bash her brains in.”
“What? You should have told me.”
She laughed. “Yeah, likewise, I could say the same to you since we’re family.”
“Lyzee, you know I couldn’t. You need to keep an eye on her. She can’t bolt. If she does, we have a problem.”
“Well, my second problem is that my anthropologist is in love with her.”
Gabe spoke, “Under no circumstance are you to tell him. Michael O’Banion is dead. That’s what we’re saying and believing.”
She said nothing.
“Elizabeth.”
“Oh look. I have to go interview some untrustworthy asshole who might be putting me and my family in danger. It looks like that’s today’s theme.”
With that, she hung up.
“I can’t believe you just hung up on Gabe Rothschild,” Ethan said, laughing. “He’s going to chew your ass out when he gets his hands on you.”
Callen joined in. “You’ve got one set of brass ones.”
She didn't care.
“What are you going to do?” Ethan asked, already suspecting it.
“Uh, oh,” stated Callen. “We’re all getting shit canned, aren’t we?”
“I can’t let Tony walk into this blind. If he wants to spend the rest of his life tied to this woman, he needs to know to look over his shoulder. I’m not watching one of my family get blown to smithereens. Tony matters to me, and I owe him.”
Ethan understood. “Just take care of it. I’ll watch your back.”
Callen held out his hand. Elizabeth put hers in his, and Ethan closed his over the top.
“I’m sorry, boys, but were going to break the law.”
“Well, what can they do to us? I hear waterboarding isn't too bad,” he teased.
They both looked back.
“They don’t water board traitors. They do something even worse.”
“Well, shit.”
* * *
The kill left him completely unsatisfied.
When he took her life, he assumed that he would feel better and more relaxed. After all, he needed to do God’s will. Instead, he was angry, frustrated, and on edge.
What he wanted was his little hideaway back.
Oh, and revenge.
The stupid FBI agent ruined everything for him. Had she just minded her own damn business, he wouldn’t have lost it all. All his tools, statues, and amazing oils were gone.
All because of the redhead.
There had to be something he could do.
Then, he remembered what he had left. There was one tool that they didn't get. In fact, he’d stolen it from he
r.
He was a big believer in poetic justice.
She stole his things, and now he was going to steal hers. First, he took her sidearm, and next, he’d take her life. Oh, she thought she was pretty clever, finding the entrance to his home away from home.
Now, he’d make her pay.
While this was ruined, there was blood yet to spill.
Hers.
He’d been watching the FBI, and unfortunately for them, he knew where they were staying. It wasn’t hard to find that redhead. All he had to do was watch, listen, and be patient. Then, it would all work out. He’d make it happen.
Oh, not only would God get his justice, but he would also reap his revenge.
The FBI was messing with something they couldn’t fight, and he was going to show them what happened when you challenged God.
Someone was going to die.
* * *
After being admitted into the large office, Wade Dixon’s main receptionist told them that he wasn’t there. After their last visit, he decided to take the rest of the week off as he mourned Emelia’s death.
Elizabeth wasn’t sure if she was buying it or not. Maybe the man was purposely hiding from them. It wasn’t unlike the guilty to do just that.
As they left the building, they weren’t happy,
“Pull up his address, Callen. We’re going to pop in and visit the man at his home.”
Callen didn't argue. When Elizabeth got that look on her face, it meant she was going to make someone suffer. Generally, it was a suspect.
Rattling it off, they hopped into the Navigator.
“You’re pissed off, and I don’t think it has anything to do with Wade Dixon taking a day off,” Ethan said.
“I feel like I’m running in circles. I just don’t know why. By now, we should have a decent suspect, and we don’t. Each person we’re looking at is connected to one or maybe two people, but no one else. How is that possible?”
Callen pulled up the notes Ethan had sent him from their profiling session last night. “I think there are a lot of people on this list,” he stated. “Can we start eliminating?”
“Ethan, how sure are you that it’s a man?” Elizabeth asked, as he drove them toward the address in their GPS.
“I’m fairly certain. Whoever is doing this has to be relatively strong. Let’s look at his secret hideout. He was carrying them down there and working on them. Then, he was preparing them and wrapping them like mummies. At that point, he had to carry them out of there, to a vehicle or across the cemetery to bury them. Could you do it?” he asked his wife.
“No,” she stated. There was no way that she was strong enough to carry a man up those stone steps.
“Well, unless we have two women doing it, then I feel almost one hundred percent certain we have a man.”
Callen could feel her frustration. “Forensically, what do we have?”
“Nada, but that means our criminal fits Ethan’s profile. He’s smart, calculating, and aware. What I don’t get is why the freaking mummies? Who does that? Is it just someone fucking with us or is this person off their rocker?”
“Honestly, baby, it could go either way.”
She let out the breath she was holding. “Yeah, that doesn’t exactly make me feel better. It’s like reaching into a bag of trail mix. Yes, you’re going to get your nuts, but you hope for a reprieve with just a piece of fruit or M&M.”
They both stared at her.
“What?”
“There is never a dull day with you,” Ethan admitted.
“I’m going to start writing all these all down to put them in a book of Elizabeth-isms,” stated Whitefox.
She snorted. “Well, I’m glad I entertain you two. I think this is the house up ahead,” she stated, as Ethan pulled up in front of the gate. “Wow, someone’s rich.”
Yeah, he certainly was.
Pushing the button to the intercom, they were surprised when it was Wade Dixon who replied.
“What?”
“We need to speak to you, Mr. Dixon. Open up,” Elizabeth ordered.
“It’s not a good time,” he stated, angrily. “The woman I love is dead, and I can’t get her released for burial.”
“We can discuss that. Open up and let us in.”
At the promise of some resolution, the gate swung open, allowing them access. As they drove up the drive, something made Elizabeth curious.
“So, if you’re rich, Ethan, and I’m your hussy on the side after your wife is dead,” she began.
“I like the idea of having you be my hussy.”
She slapped him. “Focus. Your wife dies, you build this mega mansion, but your mistress doesn’t move in. Why?”
Callen raised his hand. “Guilt?”
“She didn't want to?”
Elizabeth pulled up the tech teams photos of their walk through her apartment. It was small, cramped, and would fit into two of the rooms in the mansion. “Yeah, I would be giving you a blow job every hour on the hour if it meant moving on up to this place.”
He went to say something, and she lifted a brow.
“Keep in mind that smart comments will knock that option way off the table.”
Callen snickered.
“Why weren’t they together? He couldn’t pull the trigger and marry her?”
“Maybe she wasn’t the marrying type. Not all women that men screw are the ones they want to give their last name to. I was dating that flight attendant and never once did I want to marry her.”
Callen was with him on that. “I was only marrying Desdemona because I couldn’t be with you. I wanted to give you my name, and ironically I still can’t, but at least I get to have you in my heart.”
She could hear the hurt in his voice, and immediately she worked on a way to take care of it. Honestly, it bothered her a little that Cat and EJ didn't share a name with her.
“We better get this interview done. Keep your eyes open and give me an impression of what you see,” she stated.
As they approached the door, it was wrenched open, and an angry man stood there waiting for them. “When can I get her?” he demanded.
Elizabeth strode in. She wanted to see the inside of his humble abode. “We should go sit down and talk, Mr. Dixon.”
He stormed toward a room to flop down on the couch. “Fine. Talk.”
It was hard not to notice the décor. Yeah, mystery solved. Elizabeth wouldn’t have been able to move in either if she was the mistress. Above the fireplace, there sat a giant portrait of a woman she imagined was his deceased wife. She was larger than life, and in fact, she looked…angelic.
It was freaking creepy.
This was like a monument to the dead family he lost.
“Nice painting,” she said, pointing it out. She could read the look on both men’s faces. They understood now too.
“It’s Melissa. I believe she watches over me from heaven. She’s my guardian angel.”
Yeah, that was one hell of a statement from a man who was banging his mistress while she died in a fire.
“Are those your children?” she asked, pointing to the other walls.
“Yes.”
No wonder he couldn’t commit to Emelia. He was surrounded by his past whenever he was home.
“We need to ask you some follow-up questions, and maybe you can enlighten us a little.”
He stared at her.
Elizabeth noticed he looked like hell. His eyes were bloodshot and his skin was pale. The man was suffering, but the big question they had was it from his mistress and wife now both being gone or from a guilty conscience?
“Ask.”
“Why didn't Emelia live here with you?”
He closed his eyes. “She wanted it to be her house, but I wouldn’t erase my kids and wife. I’m not ready to let go. We fought about it all the time, so it became easier to just pay her rent on a small apartment elsewhere.”
“Did you kill Emelia?” she asked.
He glared at her.
�
��Your wife dies in a fire, and suddenly a serial killer comes to town, and your mistress is next. Did she try and leave you? Were you pissed and had to make her pay?”
He clenched his fists.
“It looks damn suspicious to us.”
“I don’t care what it looks like,” he stated. Standing, he pointed. “Get out of my house. If you want to talk to me, do it through my lawyer. In fact, you’ll hear from him. I’m going to get Emelia’s body released if I have to buy it back.”
They stood. “Yeah, money doesn’t really work with us, but I tell you what, it makes me think you have something to hide. I mean if you have her body, then you can bury what happened, right?”
He got angry.
“Get out.”
They headed toward the door. “We’ll be back, Mr. Dixon. You may want to get that lawyer on retainer. You’re on the top of my suspect list. By any chance were you purchasing the services of a hooker named Kaylee?”
Her bluntness did what she intended.
His face registered it all. Rushing Elizabeth, he tried to get his hands on her. Unfortunately for him, Ethan was in the way. He shoved him to the ground and rolled him to his stomach.
“Just because you didn't care if your wife was safe, doesn’t mean I feel the same. Consider yourself lucky, Mr. Dixon,” he hissed, releasing his thumb.
The man began sobbing on the floor.
Outside, Ethan brushed the lint off his sleeve.
“I’m so glad you two are back to your own clothes. Watching you take down a man, while you’re in a suit, is sexy.”
Callen rolled his eyes. “You do realize I let him have all the glory, right?”
She laughed.
Hopping into the Navigator, they headed down the driveway. “Where to now, Lyzee?” Ethan asked.
She stared at her watch. “Well, it looks like we can head to the house of sexified fun.”
“Can we shop?” Callen asked. “I saw this leather outfit, and it would look smokin’ hot on you, especially while your breasts are all pregnified.”
She stared at him. “Are you out of your damn mind?”
“Yes, about you.”
She shook her head. It amused her that now he was making up words, much like she did.
“What am I going to do with you two?”
Redemption is Here (An FBI/Romance Thriller Book 9) Page 41
