Deep Dark Mire (An FBI Romance Thriller ~ book four)

by Kelley, Morgan

  Desdemona tensed.

  “Sex and love are not appropriate for the workplace. I suggest you focus on the problem at hand, like who killed your mother and sister. Let me worry about who’s fucking my wife.”

  Her mouth dropped open at the harsh use of words. It wasn’t like Ethan Blackhawk and frankly, it intimidated the hell out of her. “I won’t bring it up again. I apologize Director.”

  Elizabeth would have kissed him right then and there, just for dropping the F bomb. That wasn’t a word he said lightly, or threw around. To use it now was a powerful indicator of his mood.

  Blackhawk nodded. “Elizabeth, I believe you have some questions for Doctor Adare.”

  “I do have a few questions, thank you Ethan.” Elizabeth stared at the woman with icy eyes. “I know it’s going to be hard, it was over two decades ago, but I need you to think back to the day your mother went missing.”

  Desdemona forced herself to relive it. It wasn’t hard at all. She recalled every detail. It was burned into her soul. That was the day she died inside. The only other day she’d remember more clearly, was the day Callen Whitefox informed her he wasn’t in love with her, but with Elizabeth.

  “Can you tell me what you recall?”

  Desdemona thought about it. “She left early that morning, as I was getting ready for school.”

  Elizabeth leaned forward. “Who was she dating?”

  That surprised Desdemona. “I don’t think she was seeing any one.”

  Elizabeth pulled out her tablet and pulled up the pictures of the bones and left them there for her to inspect. “Please look.”

  Desdemona inspected them. “These x-rays show she had stress fractures to her shoulder blades, back of the skull, and the hyoid was fractured. This indicates strangulation.”

  “The locations where there are fractures, indicates she was engaged in rigorous sexual intercourse.” Elizabeth described the entire thing, and she ignored the horrified look on her face. No one wanted to think their mom was wild in bed and liked rough sex or met her end through this violent means. The sex had to be punishing.

  Desdemona pushed the tablet away.

  “Your sister was pregnant. Who was she seeing?” Elizabeth dropped the bomb, and did it without any cushioning. She needed to see the woman’s response.

  “I don’t know. Could you be a little bit colder? You do realize I have feelings, right?” she said, her heart twisting in her chest.

  “I could be much colder, Doctor Adare, and I’m very aware of you having feelings. Who were her closest friends?” Elizabeth slid paper and a pen across the table. “We need to talk to them.”

  She didn’t move.

  “Okay, I can go door to door and drag this through the town. You think I won’t execute this questioning to the best of my ability, I will. I’m done screwing around here in Cypress Grove. I’d like to get home to my family and continue on with my life.”

  Desdemona wrote the names down. “I’ll have them come to my grand'mere’s house. You can talk to them there.” She stood up and stared coldly at Elizabeth.

  “Terrific that makes my day easier, as I need to question your grandmother too. I’ll text you when we’re coming.”

  Desdemona shook in anger. “She’s an old woman, have some respect. I heard about your last conversation, and it was way past the line.”

  Elizabeth stood, as did both men. “I do have respect. I respect the women I’m here to find justice for, and I’m going to respect people that tell the truth. I’ve interviewed enough people to know when someone is lying to me. What I am is damn good at my job, Doctor Adare, and I’m aware your grandmother knows more than she’s saying. You want to be pissed at someone, then here’s a thought; go tell grandma to knock the bullshit off and tell me what she knows, so I can find who killed your family and who’s stalking you.”

  Her fist closed tightly, getting ready.

  Elizabeth dropped her voice, dangerously low. “Go ahead, darlin’. If you strike me again, Desdemona, I will knock you on your ass. You got your one free shot the other day. If you think I’ll take a second you’re completely wrong. Hate me all you want, because frankly I don’t care. Right now our job is to keep you alive, and to find a killer. Outside of that, you’re of no concern to me or my family.”

  Desdemona wished she could take her. If she thought she had a snowballs chance of knocking Elizabeth Blackhawk on her ass, she would and in a heartbeat.

  “Just the fact you’re contemplating getting your ass handed to you by me, shows that you’re out of control. Reign it in doctor, before it gets you hurt. I don’t fight like a silly girl over boys. I fight like a woman with a family on the line.”

  “I’ll pass your message on to my grandmother,” she stated, through gritted teeth, as she tried to remain in complete control.

  “I appreciate your cooperation on this matter. Please know we at the FBI offer you and your family our sincerest condolences in your time of loss.” Elizabeth repeated the standard line verbatim and without feeling.

  Desdemona Adare walked away with Julian following wordlessly.

  “Wow,” said Whitefox. He wasn’t sure what to think of that. Callen was still shocked by his brother pretty much admitting they were all a sexual couple, and then to see Elizabeth, who generally had compassion, go ice cold.

  “Problem Callen?” she inquired, sitting down and closing down all her emotions. If she let one through, they’d all follow.

  He took her hand from her lap, and it was chilly. “Hey, I’m not judging you. I just felt the tension in the room. I understand why you did what you did, and I’m not saying you were wrong, angel.”

  Elizabeth relaxed a little.

  Blackhawk took her other hand. “I blame it on the change of clothing.” He grinned at her and winked.

  “Come on, I want to visit Cordelia Adare’s family doctor. I need to see if she had official blood work, or just the over the counter pregnancy test.”

  Blackhawk glanced at his watch. “I’d love to join you, but today is the budgetary conference call. Unfortunately, I’m still responsible to handle it, unless you want this one,” he said, standing and kissing his wife.

  “No thank you!”

  “Then swing back and pick me up before you head to the Adare home.”

  Whitefox took the keys, and they shared a look. His brother trusted him with the most important thing in their lives, and he was willing to take the responsibility.

  “Come on beautiful. I can’t wait to see you in action today,” he stated, whipping out the famous Blackhawk grin.

  Her heart melted and she patted his cheek. “I can’t imagine it being any more exciting than how the day started.”

  “Oh, I think I could make it fun,” he suggested.

  Ethan grinned. “No bloodshed, Elizabeth.”

  She smiled over her shoulder. “Darlin’ you know I can’t promise that.”

  Blackhawk watched his wife walk away, and he only hope the fallout was kept to a minimum.

  Elizabeth studied the papers on her lap. The one that had the friends listed for Cordelia Adare had something that piqued her interest.

  “Hey Cal! Guess who’s on the friend list?” she said, glancing over at the man driving.

  Whitefox didn’t look over. If he did, he would start thinking about the way that she was dressed and smelled again. “Who?”

  “Deputy Jonathan Delray.”

  Now he knew where she was heading with it. “You know a man can’t be friends with a woman without it involving sex of some sort.”

  “We were best friends, and we weren’t having sex,” she stated simply.

  Callen started laughing at the statement. “Lyzee, the only reason we weren’t having sex is that you are married to my brother. Had he been any other man, you were fair game from day one. I would have gotten you in bed and kept you there with me.”

  “Fair game?” She tried to sound outraged, but she didn’t think that he bought it. Heat warmed her body over h
is possessiveness.

  “Remember that first day I ever saw you? We were in FBI West, and you were talking to me about the killings on the Rez.”

  “I recall it.”

  “I wasn’t paying attention. I was too busy trying to figure out how to get you to come home with me and marry me that same day,” he admitted. “It’s the truth, I swear. If you weren’t married to my brother, I was going to find a way to steal you away and make you mine. I’ve always wanted you and coveted that he found you first.”

  She looked surprised at his honesty.

  Whitefox touched her cheek. “I wanted you that first day, and would have dragged you to bed every time I saw you after that. So, the whole guys and girls can be non-sexual friends, I’m calling it bullshit.”

  Elizabeth weighed the words in her mind. She guessed he had a point. If she wasn’t madly in love with her husband, she probably would have been with him from that day on too. From the second she saw him, he drew her attention.

  “Now, you're thinking, because I can hear the wheels turning all the way over here.”

  “Okay, so here’s what we’re going to have to do.” Elizabeth had a plan and it was coming together. “He’s not going to want to come anywhere near me, you know since I knocked him out three times.”

  They both laughed.

  “Although Lyzee, he may want you to talk to him dressed like that.”

  “I doubt it Cal. He already called me a dick tease. I think he’s pretty much over me.”

  Whitefox looked over. “You’re not a dick tease, angel.” In her voice he could hear the unhappiness that someone thought she’d use her body to get what she wanted. Elizabeth Blackhawk was many things, but tease she wasn’t.

  Elizabeth held his hand in her lap, and ran her fingers over the circular burn scars. She lovingly stroked them, as if healing the memory that was tied to them. “So, you take that interview then. You’re a man; you know how to talk to a man about we fairer sex. Assume he was having sex with Cordelia, and then drop on him that she was pregnant and we have the fetus’s DNA and we’re going to test him.”

  Whitefox glanced down at her fingers as they traced the marks on his arm. It touched him that she was lovingly trying to soothe something that happened over twenty years ago. So much so, that it stirred his body and gave him butterflies. “You think he’ll admit it?”

  Elizabeth shrugged before continuing. “If he gets defensive, we can put him on the suspect list. If he tells us to take his DNA, then chances are your theory of the opposite sex is wrong.” Elizabeth read through all the names. “All of these ‘friends’ have the same last name.”

  Callen pulled into the parking lot of the doctor’s office and turned off the engine. Still he couldn’t focus on her, and he was desperately trying to not think about it. It was going to be a really long day.

  “Hey, you okay?” she asked, touching his cheek with her fingertips, and making him look into her eyes.

  “I’m having a really hard time focusing on what’s going on around me. You’re very distracting, Elizabeth. Part of it’s just you, how you're dressed, and how you smell like a spice cookie. I want to run my lips all over you and just taste you. So, no I’m not okay.”

  Elizabeth didn’t know what to tell him.

  “Let’s just go get this done, and I’ll be fine in a little while.” Callen knew it wasn’t the truth, but it would have to wait until they returned back to the bed and breakfast. Then he was going to solve his problem, repeatedly if she’d let him.

  “If you say so,” she answered, hopping down and starting across the parking lot.

  Whitefox followed close behind, scanning the area around them. There was a feeling of eyes on their movement, and everything in him was on alert. Once before he’d had this feeling, and someone took shots at his family. Now he didn’t ignore the need for self-preservation when it popped up.

  Ever!

  As the door to the doctor office closed behind them, there was a sense of relief. At least inside the office Callen knew Elizabeth would be safe. She was his utmost concern. If anything happened to her, not only would his heart be shattered, but his brother’s would too. There was a lot riding on keeping her protected, and his mind kept flashing back to Morgana Adare’s warning.

  Callen kept his sunglasses on and let Elizabeth do her thing. Watching her work was a thing of beauty on a normal day, but she was in rare form today, and he figured it was going to be entertaining.

  Elizabeth approached the counter, waiting for the woman to notice she was there. When the woman did, there was nothing but smiles. “Good morning, I’m Director Elizabeth Blackhawk.” Her FBI ID came out, and she slid across the counter. “This is my partner, Director Whitefox. We’re on assignment here in Cypress Grove working on a murder, and I need to speak to Doctor Lombardi.”

  The woman stared at the agents standing in front of her, and slid the ID back. “He’s finishing up with a patient. Can you give him five minutes, and then I can slip you in before his nine a.m.?”

  Elizabeth wasn’t accustomed to people working with her when she had a request, maybe it was the clothing. If that was the case, she was going to start wearing suits again. “Certainly, where can we wait?”

  The woman pointed right to the waiting room.

  She nodded, taking her badge and slipping it right back onto her hip. This was too easy; she was waiting for something to screw it up. Her husband wasn’t going to believe this one. They finally found a receptionist that they didn’t have to beat down to get assistance.

  Whitefox leaned over and whispered in her ear. “That was anti-climactic. I was expecting at least some girl on girl slapping.”

  Elizabeth laughed and leaned into him to speak. “Don’t get your hopes up, I punch. Rarely do I slap, and you may want to keep that in mind.”

  Before Whitefox could comment further, the receptionist came to the door and called them back. He let Elizabeth go first, this time not to protect her, but because he wanted to check out the view of her ass in that skirt. Good God! It was going to be a long day.

  Elizabeth walked into the exam room and found a young man sitting on a stool and flipping through a file. When she cleared her throat, he looked up, and first the look was of confusion and then pure masculine appreciation.

  “Hello, I’m Doctor Lombardi and Jenny tells me that the FBI is here to speak to me. I have to say, I’m wildly intrigued. What can I do for you, Agent?”

  Elizabeth again was pleasantly surprised that he was going to cooperate too. Today was just an odd day all together. Maybe this was the first sign of the apocalypse. Elizabeth reintroduced herself and Callen, holding out her hand.

  Doctor Lombardi shook her offered hand, and smiled warmly at the woman. She was beautiful, and he couldn’t help himself. “Please, Director Blackhawk, have a seat. I apologize for the accommodations, but it’s an exam room.” He pointed at the exam table, and Elizabeth hopped up and crossed her legs.

  The man watched the action, like he was helpless to stop himself. A woman with legs that long, in a skirt, was a sight to behold.

  Whitefox remained standing and noticed that he was completely invisible. The Doctor was focused on one thing, Elizabeth, and he wasn’t please about it at all. In fact, he felt his temper brewing deep in his gut, as the doctor continually checked out Elizabeth’s body.

  “No worries, Doctor Lombardi. I don’t mind,” she smiled, easily. “I’m here to discuss Cordelia Adare.”

  “Director, I can’t without a warrant. I hope you understand.”

  Elizabeth nodded. “She’s dead, Doctor Lombardi.”

  That seemed to catch him completely off guard. “I just saw her and everything seemed fine! Was it due to the pregnancy?”

  Whitefox watched the man’s face, and he seemed genuinely surprised. Maybe there was something a bit more between the doctor and patient.

  “She was murdered.”

  Lombardi considered what she was saying, and finally he stood. “Give me
two minutes, I’ll grab her file and you can take it with you.”

  Elizabeth smiled. Yeah, it had to be the clothes. This was too easy. Way too easy. Something bad had to be coming to bite her on the ass. When she looked over at her partner, the look on his face wasn’t a happy one. Maybe if she ignored it, she could avoid the conversation she knew was coming.

  Doctor Lombardi came back into the room, flipping through the papers. He handed Elizabeth the file and stood incredibly close to her. Directing her attention, he pointed at the information and helped her read what was written. Okay, it was mostly to check out the woman.

  “So Cordelia came to see you regarding the pregnancy?” Elizabeth hoped that possibly she’d told him who the father of the baby was, and they’d have a lead.

  “Yes, it was Cordelia’s first check-up since she was fairly early on in her pregnancy. We estimated the pregnancy to be at approximately two months.”

  That matched what the HCG hormones stated in the lab reports. “Did she by any chance come in with her partner?” Elizabeth mentally crossed her fingers.

  “No, she saw me alone, but I will say something that I found odd.”

  Now he had her attention. Odd was a good thing because it usually meant a clue.

  “She requested genetic testing.”

  Elizabeth didn’t understand. “As in she wanted to check DNA to see who the father was?”

  Doctor Lombardi shook his head. “No, and that’s the odd part. She was pretty hysterical and believed something was going to be wrong with her baby. When I pushed to find out what her concern was exactly, she was hesitant and stopped talking. At first I thought it was because she was worried about her age. I reassured her that mothers were having babies older and older and late thirties wasn’t advanced in age.”

  Elizabeth just had her first child at relatively the same age, and she remembered the option of testing. “What was she worried about exactly? Did she say?”