The smirk on his face said it all.
Oh, if he thought this was going to end quietly, he was dead wrong. Elizabeth Blackhawk had played hardball with men far more maniacal than this man.
“Director, it’s nice to see you again,” he stated. “I see you heard about our victim.”
It was on.
“Yeah, we did.” It was time to start playing the man to get what she needed out of him. He was a jackwagon, and she hoped he’d be so arrogant that he’d spill his guts with little provocation.
“We found Magdalene in the river. She’s now my case. Consider the FBI shit out of luck. It looks like the better MAN won.”
Ethan and Callen were ready to take him out at the knees. In fact, when they were finished with him, he wouldn’t be a man, but a eunuch.
“You know damn well that Magdalene is part of our investigation,” she hissed, trying to keep her voice down. There were civilians roaming around, and Elizabeth wasn’t sure if the deceased girl’s family was there.
He leaned forward until they were practically nose to nose. “Prove it, Director. Until you’re smart enough to do that, which I doubt will be ever, she’s staying with us. Sometimes the facts are just the facts. In this case, you were outthought by a man. Maybe you should have let one of the Feds behind you do the thinking.”
She vibrated with anger. Here was another man who looked at her beat up boots and jeans and thought she was some backwoods hick. Ironically, he was just that.
“Head on home and have yourself a baby. Better yet, have a few. You’re out of your league.”
Oh, she wanted to fuck him up in the worst way.
Ethan placed a hand on her shoulder to offer her calm. There was no doubt that if Elizabeth took a swing, they’d be heading home. Gabe would yank them. There was no way that the FBI wanted this kind of publicity.
She got the hint.
At his touch, and Callen softly saying her name, she reined it in.
“I’ll be interviewing the family as soon as I can.”
He shrugged. “They’re pretty shaken up. I don’t think that’ll be happening any time soon. In fact, I don’t know where they went. Huh, that’s funny. I guess they stepped out to an unnamed location.”
Elizabeth wanted to pluck his eyes out of his head, and then shove them up his nose. “If I can link these two cases, she’s going to be mine. The second my ME looks at her, he’s going to rule she is.”
He laughed, his voice drawing attention from all his men and the people hustling around him. “Funny thing about that, Director, ma’am. You seem to have absconded our morgue, so I had to send her elsewhere.”
“Where is she?” Elizabeth hissed.
Callen dropped his hand to her lower back. While he’d enjoy watching the man get his ass handed to him, he was concerned about Charlie.
“Gee. Let me get you that address. You should get it in about…never. Now, you need to leave my scene. My people are looking for traces of who killed this poor girl.”
It was said with no remorse or sympathy.
Magdalene was nothing but a pawn for him. Douglas Carlton was only using her to get some digs in.
That alone made her want to hurt him in the worst possible way. She was going to make his ego bleed before this was all said and done.
He could bet on it.
Elizabeth stood straight. “This isn't over, Sheriff. Now you’re screwing with the Federal government. Let’s see if your balls are brass enough to withstand that kind of pressure.”
He grinned. “You don’t have a body, so that pretty much signals the end of this entire conversation. A woman’s place is in the home. Why don’t you go there.”
Blackhawk and Whitefox were pretty sure that was going to be the one comment that set her off. When it didn't, they knew the man was a goner. Elizabeth was containing it all, and she’d eventually use that to take him down.
If he only knew what he’d just done…
Spinning on her heel, she headed toward the door. Once outside, she glanced over her shoulder. “I want Magdalene’s body. He isn't standing for the dead. This is a pissing match to try and make us look bad. We’re going to find where he’s stashed her, and I know how.”
With that, they followed her to the vehicle.
Elizabeth was stirred up.
This didn't bode well for anyone at this point. She was pissed, irritated, and ready to do anything necessary.
“Buckle up, Callen,” Blackhawk stated. “It’s about to get bumpy.”
Callen didn't doubt that for one second.
* * *
When the call came in, they were all ready. Elizabeth Blackhawk was in a frenzy, and that meant one thing. They were about to head out.
Only, she didn't have a location yet.
“Do you think I should head to the dig site?” Tony asked. He’d heard her voice over the phone and she meant business.
Chris wanted his friend as far from that morgue as possible. “Yeah, you probably should. The boss isn’t happy. I’ll get the team ready to move. I don’t know what’s going on, but one way or another, we’re going to be heading out soon. I can tell.”
Tony grabbed his messenger bag and headed toward his fiancée. “Stay out of trouble,” he stated, dropping a kiss to her lips. Then he realized she was working on another skull. “Who’s that?” he asked, pointing at the skulls on her tray.
“The two victims you had sent from the original grave. I just don’t know which one to start working on,” she replied.
Tony stared at them. He was oddly drawn to the one on the left. “Start with her. She was in the grave longer. It might give someone some peace.”
She smiled up at him. “Yes, Dad.”
He grinned and leaned down to her ear. “Save it for our bedroom, my little minx.”
Her blood heated and a slow flush crept up her face. “Tony!”
Winking, he walked away.
While he didn't really want to go, he didn't have a choice. He had an obligation.
It was time to babysit his team.
Once gone, Chris wandered over to the skulls. He’d sent Tony away for one main reason.
Them.
“Which one is this one?” he asked, watching her place the markers.
“This is victim twenty five. She’s the older of the two who had children. She’s been in the ground for a while. I can tell by the markings on her skull.”
Chris took a deep breath.
“Get some done before lunch. Elizabeth needs that face. Keep it under wraps as much as possible.”
She didn't understand, but then again, this was the FBI. Who was she to question it? They had a job to do, and Jaxon was enjoying the art behind the science.
Chris headed away, praying they didn't screw this up. His boss was pissed about something, and now the skull on the tray had the potential to blow up around them.
Shit! This was a mess!
“Okay, who are you?” Jaxon asked the skull, right before she got back to work. Soon, they might just have their answer. She couldn’t wait until her next break. She was going to go hang out with the living—specifically her sexy fiancé.
Tony would love a surprise lunch date.
Then she could tell him all about it.
* * *
Elizabeth tracked him down.
It wasn’t really hard. She was ready to play hardball, regardless of what anyone thought about her.
The dead woman deserved the best, and from the looks of this sheriff, and how he ran his shop, that wasn’t going to happen.
When Deputy Davvy Weatherly saw her striding toward him, he actually spun, trying to run.
Only, he ran face first into Callen’s chest.
“We’re taking a ride, Davvy,” she stated.
“What? Why?” he asked.
She grinned wickedly. “We’re going to have ourselves a little interrogation. I hope you’re ready to see how the government does it. Your boss has been very bad, and in his place, I’m
going to take it out on you. I hope you have a high tolerance for pain.”
That scared him.
She didn't care.
“Ethan, after we load him up, can you call Gabe? I need his help.”
Blackhawk knew exactly what she needed. While they didn't have much pull against the sheriff, the all mighty government would.
“I’ll make sure Carlton’s boss rides his ass. The town council is about to have hillbilly for lunch.”
She grinned ferally as they pushed the off duty deputy into their rental. “Now, Davvy. Are you going to sing like a canary or do I have to snap off your wings to get you to talk? Maybe I’ll pluck you first. Trust me, that sounds better than it is.”
He swallowed.
“I hope you make me work for it,” she offered, cracking her knuckles. “Callen’s going to hold you down, and I’m going to make you beg.”
Davvy Weatherly looked about ready to puke.
“I need that victim. Your boss has her hidden.” She pulled on a pair of purple latex gloves that the tech team used on scene. It wasn’t lost on her that his eyes didn't leave her hands. “If you give me the location, I won’t tell him that you’re my secret informant. If you don’t give it to me, I’ll beat it out of you. Either way, I have no problem with making you cry.”
The man was scared.
Elizabeth hoped she didn't laugh. There was no way in hell she could lay her hands on him. This was all about making him believe she’d lost her mind and wanted to hurt him. It now all hinged on him falling for this cockamamie act.
She prayed for strength as she fought the giggles.
In fact, Callen looked like he was close to losing it himself.
“I told him to call you. It was the first thing I said when we found her. He’s so damn pissed at you. He’s just not thinking straight. I swear, he’s a good guy and means well.”
She smiled ferally, not really giving a damn. “You may be the smartest man working under the sheriff. Now, why don’t you share what you did, and maybe when the FBI rolls into town, we won’t make your life hell.”
He looked around. Callen was staring at him through his blacked out sunglasses.
Ethan was doing the exact same thing. From the front seats of the Denali, they looked every inch a Fed.
She would have been intimidated had she not know the truth. They were the easy ones.
Davvy needed to be very afraid of her, especially now.
“He had me call a town a few miles from here to hide the body. It’s in the hospital morgue there.”
“Are we talking about the town that you share the morgue with?” Elizabeth asked.
“No. It’s the one on the other side. He thought you’d head there first. If you tell him it was me who told you, I’m a dead man. The sheriff hates weasels. He’ll fire my ass after they kick the shit out of me.”
She had no reason to rat the man out. “I tell you what. You take my number. When he finds out the body is missing, you give me a quick text. Send anything—a number, a letter. It doesn’t have to be a message. As soon as you do, I’ll know he’s coming.”
“And if I help you?” Davvy asked.
“Again, I won’t tell him that you’re the rat bastard who betrayed your entire department to me. How’s that for FBI cooperation?”
He didn't have a choice.
“Shit. You’re blackmailing me. Aren’t you supposed to be the good guys?”
Oh, they were. They had Magdalene’s best interest at heart, unlike the sheriff.
“Yeah, well, we play it the way we see best. If I were you, I’d play dumb and save your own ass, because I’m about to show your boss what happens when you screw with the FBI.”
He didn't say anything.
“We’ll drop you off around the corner. No one will be any the wiser.”
Davvy Weatherly nodded.
When he was dumped off, Elizabeth grinned.
“That was the easiest shakedown I’ve ever seen you have to pull off,” Callen stated.
“Yeah, it was way too easy. Ethan, make that call. I want to make the sheriff miserable.”
“What are you thinking of doing?”
“I’m getting us that girl. We’re going to have our ME take over, and then make Sheriff Carlton look like a freaking jackwagon.”
Blackhawk dialed the phone.
“I can’t wait to see this one go down. It’s a good thing that Oracle didn't say you were in danger, or I’d know who was trying to gun you down.”
She snorted.
Elizabeth wasn’t afraid of that asshole. If anything, screwing with evidence, taking a body, and trying to keep the FBI out would be punishment enough.
The media wasn’t going to be kind.
“You’re going to have a press conference.”
Callen knew what that meant.
“He’s going to hate our freaking guts.”
Yeah, the feeling would be mutual.
* * *
Two Hours Later
Tony didn't like leaving the morgue, especially since Jaxon was there. What he wanted to do was stay by her side, helping her with her reconstruction.
The tech team was pretty slow, since there wasn’t a new victim to work on, but he felt the need to be with her. Maybe he’d do something incredibly romantic that night.
You know, to show her how much he loved her.
After arriving at the dig site, he took the next two hours to handle all the mundane work involved with running an excavation.
The graves were untouched.
That was always a good thing. At least no one wandered in there, morbidly curious about the deaths.
He found the three students in a separate tent. They were studying the bones of their victims. It flashed him back to when he was a student. These types of hands on experiences made him the man he was today.
It gave him the need to find the dead.
It forged his future.
“What do you have?” he asked, looking at one set of pictures they were studying.
“This is weird,” stated Jeffery Whilton. “We’ve never seen it before,” he stated.
Tony took the picture and looked at it under a magnifying glass. “It’s a dislocation of the symphysis between the left greater cornu and the body of the hyoid.”
Donald Hopper spoke up, “How common is it?” he asked.
Tony stared straight ahead. “I’ve seen it once or twice.”
That had their attention. “Where?”
“Generally, it’s found in strangulation cases where the victim survives. Is this the only one?”
“We’ve just started looking. Do you want us to go through the rest of the women?”
He did. This was rare, and if they could pick it up as a pattern, it might mean something.
Or it could mean nothing at all.
But that was a chance they would have to take.
“Yes. Log anyone you find who has the same injury. It’s fairly uncommon.”
“So, they survived strangulation only to be murdered later?” Valerie asked.
“Possibly. On those victims, I need COD. Find for me what ultimately killed them. I’ll take it to the FBI and let them know you’ve found something amazing.”
That got them excited. Every student had the big dream of finding that one thing that made a case for the police. He’d been no different at their age.
On his way out, he glanced at his watch. He’d pop back into his tent, and then send Jaxon a text. Maybe he could meet up with her to get something to eat.
Once inside, as he was arranging his desk, there was a clearing of a throat. Tony glanced up. There stood Doctor Bridget Seston waiting for him. “Yes?”
“I thought we could talk.”
“About?” he asked.
“Us.”
He was confused.
“You know…you and me.”
“Doctor, there is no us. I’m engaged to be married. I appreciate your interest, but there isn't a chance of anythin
g happening between us. Besides, I’m your boss and that won’t look appropriate for either of us.”
“I think we could be good together. I’d like to see if I’m right. Besides, I’m a more experienced woman. I doubt that little girl of yours gets a man like you.”
He was appalled.
Tony wanted to reassure her that she was wrong. Jaxon was perfect for him, and despite looking young, there was only a little over a decade difference in their ages.
“Doctor Seston,” he began.
“Call me Bridget. I find you really sexy. There’s something about a smart man who knows how to do our job.”
She began moving closer.
Tony was trapped in the back of the tent. There was no escape, unless he vaulted the desk. The irony was that before Jaxon, he wouldn’t have put up a fight. He would have taken the easy woman and used her to fulfill his needs. Then he would have haphazardly discarded her—almost like trash.
Now, he wanted none of that.
He only wanted Jaxon.
“This is really inappropriate. You need to carefully think out your intentions,” he said. “I've already told you that I’m not interested, Doctor. Is it worth doing something stupid to damage your career?”
He hoped that worked.
Then, he realized he wasn’t going to be that lucky.
Bridget Seston attacked.
Not with fists and claws, but with her mouth.
Tony was caught off guard.
Completely.
Jaxon left the morgue to pick up some lunch. She couldn’t wait to surprise Tony with her impromptu picnic. He’d taken her to a cemetery, and now she hoped to lure him into that field of flowers not far from the university.
Maybe if she was lucky, she could get him to put his hands all over her. She giggled like a teenager in love.
Yeah, she was a goner.
As she drove there, her pretty ring glittered in the sunlight on the steering wheel. What Jaxon wished was that she could show her brother and mother the amazing piece of jewelry. While Jagger would be happy for her, sharing in her joy, Jaxon knew that she’d be missing out on a wedding with her mom.
Dead Shall Speak (An FBI/Romance Thriller Book 10) Page 31
