“I’m not fraternizing with Justin Littlemoon. I’m married to him.” By the crackle of energy in the room, Vivian knew bad things were coming.
The man had no choice. “This makes it look worse. You’re on administrative leave until we bury this. If this comes to light, your job here is going to be over. You crossed a big line, Ms. Graves,” he stated, dropping her title. As of that moment, she wasn’t a detective with their department anymore. “Our policy is to notify the human resources department as soon as there’s a status change for any of our officers. You seem to be bucking policy left and right and that’s alarming.”
“It’s Mrs. Littlemoon,” she answered, defiantly. Already, she knew who had stirred the pot. There was only one person who hated the Littlemoons, and that was her partner. “You don’t have to put me on administrative leave. I’ll resign right now.”
“If that’s what you feel you want to do,” he stated, coolly.
With that, she removed her gun, discharged the clip, and the one bullet in the chamber and placed it on his desk. Taking off her detective shield, she ran her thumb over it.
“It’s probably for the best,” he stated, as he took it from her hand. “Every case that you ever touch will be circumspect if it crosses paths with the Littlemoons.”
She nodded. If it came down to her job or Justin, there could be only one choice. It was a no brainer.
Her husband came first.
“Goodbye,” she stated, as she headed to her desk. Once there, she couldn’t even look at the man. She was mad and ready to cry all at once.
Grabbing an empty copier box, she filled it with all her personal possessions and anything she accumulated on the case. If she had to leave, Vivian would take what she could with her for the Littlemoons.
When the detectives around her began to stare, she fought tears.
“Where are you going, Graves?” one asked.
Finally, she glared at her partner. “Why don’t you ask him, since he was supposed to have my back? He just cost me my job and turned on me,” she stated, as she turned to walk away.
He smirked. “I told you that the Littlemoons were nothing but trouble. Maybe you should have listened.”
She heard him, and that’s when she could no longer hold back the tears.
* * *
Monday Late Afternoon
They were sitting there, going through all the files that Vivian had copied for them. Right now, they needed to dig into the information and find out what the hell it was that they were missing.
Something had to be there.
Justin was getting worried. He’d sent a few texts to Vivian, and she had yet to reply.
“Maybe she’s busy, bro. Relax,” stated Julian, as his brother began pacing back and forth.
“I can’t. I feel off balance.”
They watched him stalk back and forth like a caged tiger. The man was definitely agitated and on edge.
When the bell to the front door chimed, he paused hoping it was her.
He got his wish.
As she came in carrying the absconded case files and tears streaming down her face, they knew something bad had gone down.
“Vivian,” he said, crossing to her.
She dropped them onto the table and went into his arms. After quitting her job, she had driven around a little while until she could face them all.
She parked and wept for a good hour before she was strong enough to find her husband.
“What happened, baby?” he asked, as he left kisses across her forehead and hair.
“I showed up to work, and they had surveillance pictures of us,” she began, “They put me on desk duty, and told me to stay away from you.”
His whole body tensed. This was part of what he was worried about. How long could they realistically keep their relationship secret?
“When I told them I couldn’t because we were married, they put me on disciplinary action.”
Justin tried to soothe her. “Well, that’s not too bad.”
Tori interjected, “That means she’s never going to be on the street again or promoted. It’s like the cop kiss of death. She might as well be a secretary with a gun.”
Julian got it, and his heart broke for his new sister.
“I don’t want to be a desk jockey, and I wasn’t going to deny what we have. It means too much to me.”
That touched Justin’s heart. It was endearing that his wife would stand up for him and not pretend that what they had didn't matter.
“So, I quit.”
Vivian began to sob even more.
“Oh, baby, it’s okay.”
Tori ran her hand down Vivian’s back. “Is it because you didn't step back from the case?” she asked.
The woman just nodded.
Justin looked distraught. Staring over at his brother, he needed help on this one. ‘Help!’ he mouthed.
It looked like family had to come to the rescue on this one.
“What am I supposed to do?” she asked. “I’ve always been a cop. I don’t have any other skills. What do I do now? I can’t go apply somewhere else, they’ll investigate why I left, and it’s going to follow me everywhere I go.”
Justin released her. “It’s going to be okay.”
Tori hugged her. “What you did was the right thing to do,” she reassured her.
Vivian nodded. “I couldn’t tell them that he wasn’t my husband. I love Justin too much to deny that.”
Julian crossed to his sister-in-law. “Can I hug you now?” he asked, thinking back to the other night.
When she nodded, he pulled her against his chest. “I happen to have a solution if you want to hear it,” he said, as she clung to him.
Vivian stared up at him. “What?”
“Well, we happen to have one more opening on the team. Justin needs a field partner. Kane has Christina and I have Tori. My brother shouldn’t be working out there alone.”
Vivian couldn’t believe what he was offering her. “Really? I can work with Justin?”
He grinned at his sister-in-law. “It’s more like babysitting. There’s no interview process since you qualify as the perfect employee, now that you’re a Littlemoon.”
She wiped her eyes.
“The hours are long and the pay is questionable, but you can have all the sex you want with him and no one’s going to say a word, unless it’s in the office or on my desk.”
She laughed and hugged him harder. “Thank you, Julian. I appreciate this.” Vivian glanced over her shoulder at Tori. “Can I kiss your husband just this one time?”
Tori laughed. “Yeah, just this once.”
She planted a kiss right on his cheek. “I love my new family,” she whispered in his ear.
“Okay, stop hugging my brother,” Justin said, “or I get to paw at Tori.”
She snorted. “I wouldn’t bet on that. I punch,” she stated.
Vivian laughed and took Justin’s hand.
“What now?” Julian asked, glancing at his wife. This was all her from here on out.
“We sit down, we blow this wide open, and get a little retribution for Vivian.”
They stared at her.
“Come on. Let’s make the cops look bad by doing their jobs for them. Sometimes turnabout is more than fair play.”
Vivian was down with that. It astounded her that she now had people who would forever have her back. “Let’s find the killer and get these women back. I want to prove a point.”
The men sat.
“And that is?” Julian asked.
“That you don’t screw with a Littlemoon,” she replied.
Amen to that.
* * *
He was beginning to get nervous.
They were getting closer to him, and he wasn’t quite sure what to do. The news was talking about the women over and over again all day, and he was forced to watch it at work.
Something was brewing, and he only hoped it wasn’t going to spill over and ruin his plans.
&nb
sp; Shit!
How could three women, in a city this big, be that huge of a story? Didn't people disappear every day?
He began pacing back and forth as he started to debate what to do.
He’d been so diligent and careful.
There was no trace left behind at any of the scenes. He knew better than that, and yet, they were breathing down his neck.
Okay, he took a deep breath.
There were two choices, and he had to make the best decision in this situation. What was done was done. He couldn’t go back and resurrect the dead victim, so, he needed to move forward.
If he stopped, he would have to kill the two women in his collection and hide the bodies. If he did that and got caught, he would get the chair.
Now, if he kept them and just moved ahead with his plan and got caught, he might be able to say he was just crazy. That could mean a cushy institution.
Besides, he really loved his collection.
He didn't have to go out to find companionship. All he had to do was pick a woman and be happy.
Then, he thought about the redhead and knew what he had to do.
He wanted her desperately for his own. He had the brunette and raven haired one, and he needed the fiery one to make his collection complete.
Need and lust took over, since sanity had left a long time ago.
For now, he was going to continue his plan. It was the only feasible option in his mind.
This time, he would get the girl and call it a collection. After this one, he promised to stop. With three beauties in his basement, he didn't need more. Who would blame him for keeping it small?
After all, this was his first attempt at it. The time had come to wrap it up.
He had to. There was no choice.
They were too close.
On second thought, he still needed a blonde…
Chapter Twenty Six
Monday Night
Sitting in the office, they ordered dinner and prepared to talk out everything they had on the three cases. There was no doubt in any of their minds that the clock was ticking, and they didn't have much time until the lunatic struck again.
They wanted to save another woman from her fate and keep Vivian from living another nightmare. It was all about showing the killer/abductor who was boss and schooling the police.
They had a mission, and it was an all-out attempt to get this wrapped up as soon as possible.
Kane and Christina had joined them and they were now moving forward as a team.
“Okay, let’s break this all down,” Tori stated. “We have three women, and they all intersect in one way or another with the medical field.”
Vivian agreed. “Christina, did you find anything to connect them?”
She shook her head. “I’m forced to use public resources to connect the dots. If you want, I can use a favor and call you know who.”
They all looked around.
“As much as I want to bury this asshole, and the police for screwing with us,” Julian began, “I like to save all my favors for when we have no choice. We can’t shake the Blackhawk tree every time our backs are to the wall. They’re my friends, not a free resource.”
Tori had to agree. “We’re not Feds, and we need to tread lightly. I know Elizabeth, Callen, and Ethan would love to help us out, but by contacting them, we put them in a bind too.”
Christina nodded. “I’m just putting it out there. I could have this comparison done in a day as opposed to multiple.”
Kane kissed her on the cheek.
“Thank you, but we’re smart enough to figure this out on our own. We can do this,” Julian reassured.
Justin agreed. “Who would you ask, anyway?”
She grinned. “Callen told me if I ever needed any help to call him, and he would hook me up anytime.”
Julian appreciated that his friends would watch his back and be there if he needed them. “I say we wait and see if he takes another woman. If he does, then I ask for help.”
Tori could see the muscles tense in her husband’s body. It was obvious that being boss and making the big decisions was weighing on his shoulders. She stood and began to rub the knots from his shoulders.
“Thank you, honey,” he stated.
She kissed the top of his head.
“Okay, how about the syringe?” Justin asked. “Did we get that information back before you walked out?”
Vivian smiled. “Yeah, I have that.” She pulled up the report on her phone and read it to them. “The syringe was filled with a substance called Dilaudid.”
Christina actually began bouncing in her seat, full of excitement. “God, this is so my area,” she said, grinning. “Okay,” she began rubbing her hands. “Dilaudid is a pain killer. That’s its brand name, so what it’s really called is Hydromophone Hydrochlorate.”
They all looked at her like she was speaking a foreign language, because technically she was.
When no one spoke, she glanced around the circle of faces. “Really? You guys too? Okay, I know, I know. Break it down into simpler terms,” she said.
Tori laughed. “Do you want me to guess what it is?” she asked. “I have a conjecture from the name alone.”
“Shoot,” she said.
“Hydromophone sounds like it has the word Morphine in it,” Tori stated. She’d worked for the FBI long enough to know how Christina liked to do this. She was big on the chemical-ese terms.
“Give the boss a prize. Hydromophone Hydrochlorate is a derivative of Morphine. It acts as a sedative and to dull pain.”
“So, he’s dosing them up to knock them out? Is that possible?”
Christina nodded and began doodling some chemical structure on paper to show them the similarities between the two drugs. “As you can see, their chemical composition is fairly similar, but it has another substance that it is closer related to,” she added.
They all looked at the molecular drawing.
Justin laughed. “You realize that you’re the smartest one in the room and that’s wasted on all of us.”
She grinned. “I miss using my mind.”
Kane tensed beside her. Here was just more of his fear staring him down.
“Okay, let me give it to you straight. The street name for Hydromophone Hydrochlorate is ‘hospital heroine’.”
Julian thought about it. “So, this directs us right back to Doctor Lenny Walters. He’s in the ER, and they have to have access to this drug.”
Tori glanced over at Justin, and he looked tense. “Christina, what form does this shit come in?”
“There are a few different ones. You can get it in pills, liquids to drink, and also a one to two milligram injectable syringe.”
Vivian slid the picture of the syringe over to Christina. “Is this the kind?”
She studied it. “No, that’s a needle you can buy at the local pharmacy. People use those for diabetes.”
“Can you cook the Dilaudid, and then put it in a syringe?”
She shook her head. “Chances are that the person using it just emptied the syringe into the new one. The ones that come preloaded are relatively small doses. They would really only make you dizzy. To take down a person, you’d need to triple or quadruple the dose, depending on the size of the individual.”
Julian thought about it. “So, how much would you need to take down someone Tori or Vivian’s size?”
It looked like Christina was doing math in her head. “At least double the dose, and for someone as big as Kane, they would need at least two double doses.”
“So, this is pointing right back at the hospital.” Justin could feel his heart aching in his chest at the thought that someone he served with was doing this to women.
Christina grinned. “Not necessarily. There’s another place that the person could be getting it.”
They all waited and allowed her the moment of drama. After all, she had earned it.
“Ambulances carry it. That’s one of the approved medications that a trained paramedic ca
n administer on the way to the hospital. They carry Dilaudid and morphine in really small doses. They mostly use it to calm a patient down when they’re combatant.”
Julian smiled. “I love having you on the team,” he stated to Christina. He was well aware that she was just on leave from the FBI and could return if she wanted to at any time. God, he hoped she stuck around. This was just what they needed to break this entire thing wide open.
“I love being here,” she replied, as she leaned against Kane.
Tori was excited. It was all starting to come together for them. “So, we are pointed right back at the paramedics.”
Vivian agreed. “We have one that was stalking his ex and one that was cheating on his girlfriend. What we need to do now is connect them to the third victim.”
Christina shook her head. “I’ve tried. They don’t intersect. Bridget Green wasn’t in contact with any of them.”
Tori leaned back in her seat and braced her hands behind her head. “I have an idea, but it’s not exactly legal, and it may not work.”
Julian and Justin stared over at her with the same look on their faces.
She began to laugh. “I know, but desperate times call for desperate measures.”
Julian took a deep breath and let it out. “Okay, hit me with it.”
“Technically, Christina is still in the FBI. She still has her badge, right?”
“Oh boy,” Kane said, not liking this at all. This screamed of prison time, in no uncertain terms.
Christina pulled it out of her purse. It was attached to her gun. When she left, Ethan told her to keep them in case she came back. She laid them on the table and waited to hear the plan.
“Okay, so, what if we send her and Kane to the doctor’s office in the morning. We don’t ask for files, but we have her try and get one question answered.”
“What is it?” Christina asked.
“If Josh Devaul or Brock Edwards were patients there,” Tori replied.
“No,” Kane stated. “That’s very illegal.”
“Technically,” Christina stated, “it’s not. I’m still with the FBI, and I’m still getting paid. I’m burning up my vacation time.”
Blood Red Rage (LIttlemoon Investigations Book 1) Page 38
