Rick understood where she was coming from, but still he ran his hands through his hair in frustration. When his temper simmered down, he finally spoke. “I’m sorry this happened to you. Is your husband okay?”
Elizabeth nodded.
Callen stepped in, picking up where she left off. “Did you tell anyone about us heading there? Anyone at all? Maybe a deputy or your wife.”
“Ex-wife, and no I didn’t talk to anyone. I’ve been sitting here working on payroll for Friday.” He thought about it. “Boyd is a bit of an eccentric, and he has a hidey hole not far from his house. If he ambushed you from the east side of the dwelling, then that’s why you didn’t see him coming.”
Elizabeth thought about it. “It was directly behind us as we faced his porch.”
Chief of Police Longtree nodded. “Then it was him from his spot. He spends most of his time there and likes to watch the road.”
“Does he have any family that lives with him?” Elizabeth questioned. “We saw cars and toys.”
Rick shook his head. “His wife bailed on him, hitching up to some guy from another town. She took the kids and left the Rez about two years ago. I can’t say I blame her. Prospects here are slim to none.” He glanced over at Whitefox, noticing his ring. “Are you married to a native or an outsider?”
Whitefox didn’t know what to say to that.
“Callen, Ethan and I are partners at work and also at home,” Elizabeth answered, waiting for any backlash. When people found out they were a threesome, there were varied responses; awe, shock or disdain, and sometimes they received all of them at once.
“Aren’t you married to the Director?” The man looked confused.
“Ethan’s my brother, and we share the same woman,” he offered, moving closer to stand behind her, placing his hand on her shoulder. Immediately, their fingers twined intimately.
Longtree noticed that her ring matched his too.
“Ahhhh, I see.”
Longtree used a word that Elizabeth never heard before, and she was fairly fluent in the native tongue. “Come again?”
He started laughing. “In our tribe, at one time it was fairly common for brothers to share a wife. I just haven’t seen it in a generation or so, and I guess it was mostly when I was a boy.” Rick shrugged. “If it works go for it.”
She made no comment about if it worked or not. Today seemed to be a mine field of mess going on left and right. Both men were obviously stirred up big time, and she had no idea why. “We’re heading over to the sheriff’s department in Red River. If these are non-native corpses, I need an ID and soon. You don’t happen to have any missing people do you?”
Elizabeth wasn’t really looking forward to heading into the Duffy’s office. It brought back bad memories and that made her edgy as hell. Unfortunately, they had to do what they had to do.
“No, we’re good. If someone goes missing here, it’s generally just until the morning. Once the bender wears off, they show up at home.” Longtree contemplated it. “You want one of our deputies to join you?”
Callen shook his head. “Where we’re going is a very anti-native place.”
“Let’s be blunt here. Sheriff Duffy and the majority of his staff hate Natives,” Elizabeth said, grinning. “I plan on breaking his face if he starts his shit, so why bother having more witnesses than needed.”
Longtree laughed, until he noticed she was serious. “Okay then. What can I do to help you out from here?”
She thought about it. “You can contact your council and tell them that William Boyd is suspected of taking shots at federal agents, and that means he’s now no longer a poacher but up for attempted homicide. Now he’s coming in with us.”
“That’s going to piss off Chief Soaring Eagle and the council big time.”
Elizabeth stood. “The difference between Sheriff Duffy and myself is fairly simple, Rick. I love me some Indians, but I hate any type of bullshit. I’ll run them right over to get justice.”
He believed her. “I’ll pass the word on to them.”
“Come on guys. I want to get this over with, and then plan for some lunch. I get mighty bitchy when I’m hungry.” The three walked out of the office and out the door.
Hopping in the back of the Denali, Elizabeth let Tori ride shotgun while she changed.
“Are you really going to start a war with the sheriff?” inquired Tori, glancing back at Elizabeth as she gingerly slipped into her shirt. On top of it all, her arm had to be hurting like a bitch.
“Not intentionally, but we’ve dealt with Duffy before. It’s more than likely once he hears that we may have non-Native victims on the Rez, he’s going to go bat shit insane.”
“This is going to be a mess isn’t it?” Tori knew that the relations were going to be strained to the max.
“Oh yeah, but we have one ace in the hole,” Elizabeth reassured.
“We do?” Tori had no clue what she was talking about.
Elizabeth grinned wickedly, as they pulled into a very familiar parking lot and came to a stop. “We have the best liaison that FBI money can buy, and lookee here! There he is driving us around,” she pointed at Callen.
“Just freaking great,” he muttered, taking the spare shirt she handed him. “I just love Duffy and his asshole staff.”
* * *
Ethan and Julian waited until they pulled out of the parking lot .They had an excellent view from the office window where they were monitoring the vehicles. Now it was time to make their move, but first they wanted to talk to Chief Longtree.
“Your wife is going to shit a brick,” Julian muttered, shaking his head. “You’re going to the scene of the shooting without her.”
“I’ll wear Kevlar, and so will you for that matter.” Ethan knew this was going to piss off Elizabeth, but he was feeling a bit Cowboy today. That and he had no plans on letting his wife anywhere near that scene to search for Boyd. “You want Tori there with Elizabeth wearing targets? Those gunshots weren’t aimed at me or Callen. They were on the only non-native on the porch. I get irritated and pissed when people continually try to kill my wife.”
Julian didn’t want Tori anywhere near gunfire. “Okay, suddenly I don’t mind doing this behind their backs. Carry on,” he stated, following Ethan to the chief of police’s office.
Knocking on the door, the man looked up surprised.
“Director Blackhawk, your wife was just in here with your brother.” Longtree walked around the desk and hugged Julian. “Jules, I haven’t seen you in a while. Where you been hiding?”
The man laughed. “I have a new girlfriend. She keeps me busy, and I’m working for the FBI until I get my business officially off the ground.”
“Anyone I know?” Rick asked, going back to his seat and dropping down in his chair.
“She was just in here with Elizabeth.”
Longtree nodded. “She’s not what I expected. You always leaned more towards the native women.”
Julian sat and stared at his friend. They’d grown up together and after his girlfriend broke his heart, he helped him kick the man’s ass. “Well, we both know how that ended last time. I find that I’m more into tough women that can keep my ass in line and less into Native women that you need to babysit.”
Rick nodded, understanding completely. “What can I do for you gentlemen?”
“We’re heading back out to William Boyd’s house to do a search and wondered if you wanted to join us. We could use a representative from the police force at our side,” Ethan said, crossing his arms.
“I can’t, but I have an officer that knows William Boyd fairly well. You want to take him with you?” Longtree knew just the man for the job. He’d been on the force a while, and was fairly friendly with Boyd. Knowing the shit that was going to hit the fan soon, he preferred the Feds to have an escort regardless.
Just in case…
“Yeah, he can tag along. I want to search the house and the grounds. Your officer can assist and keep it official in case Boyd trie
s to call foul.” Blackhawk stood and offered his hand. “Thank you, Chief.”
He nodded. “You sure you’re going to be okay to be out there with a concussion? Your wife was pretty worried.”
Ethan was amused. “I’ll be fine. She’s been out in the field with more than a concussion. I’m just proving that my balls are as big as hers.”
Julian laughed at how insane that was to even try to compare. He’d watched Elizabeth take a bullet to her Kevlar, followed by her making a kill shot ten seconds later. He liked Ethan, but if it came down to voting, he sided with Elizabeth. “Good luck with that.”
Blackhawk grinned knowing it was a dream, but a guy could always hope.
“We’ll meet your officer at Boyd’s. I’d give him a ride, but I’m planning on having lunch with the little lady.”
Julian snorted. The cowboy thing was going to get the man a huge beat down.
Longtree nodded. “I’m sure you know what’s best, since you’re the Feds.”
Blackhawk didn’t know if he agreed with his statement, but this was the least likely way to risk his wife’s life.
* * *
The three sat in the Denali, staring at the sheriff’s station after Callen changed his shirt. No one was in a rush to enter, especially the only male in the group. The place made him feel very uneasy for a few reasons. It was the beginning of his relationship with Desdemona Adare, and one that almost ended his life with a crazed killer. He was abducted from here and almost had his heart cut out.
Ironically, Desdemona took care of that personally on her own by betraying him with her vicious angry barbs. Now it was finally healing, only to be back here again and dealing with the ghosts of the past. This place ranked up there with some of Callen’s most loathed places on earth.
There were three things that ripped his heart to pieces whenever he saw it or thought about them. This sheriff’s station, Cypress Grove, and every time he looked out their bedroom window at the house that used to be Desdemona’s. When the for sale sign went up in the front yard, the stress actually eased. Now a nice family with kids lived there and peace was returning. The sound of life behind their home was cathartic and helped him forget that the path he took was a huge mistake. As Elizabeth constantly reminded him, the journey had to be navigated in order to build the bridge to his present, but it didn't negate the pain it caused deep inside.
“You okay?” Elizabeth asked, touching his arm from the back seat.
“Ghosts.” It was all he had to say, and he knew Elizabeth would get it.
“Me too, Cal.” She wanted him to know he wasn’t alone.
Tori had no idea what happened here, but both the bosses looked rattled to the point it was making her twitchy and nervous too. Nothing fazed her boss, until now.
“Come on,” Elizabeth said, hopping out of the Denali and taking Callen’s hand in hers. She held it all the way to the front door, and before entering, she went up on her toes to place a kiss on his lips. “I got you, Cal.”
He nodded, touching her cheek gently. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” she grinned. “Now let’s go shake Duffy’s tree.”
The three entered the office, waiting for Sheila Court to finally give them the time of the day. When she looked up, her face said it all. There was no love lost for any of them- especially Elizabeth Blackhawk.
“Hello Ms. Court,” said Callen, calmly. “We need to see the sheriff. Can you buzz him please?”
“He asked to not be disturbed. It seems that he has some Indian shit to handle.” Sheila gave them all a dirty look.
“Native American,” corrected Elizabeth. “I’m pretty sure we’ve had this conversation before, Sheila.” The woman was trying to provoke them. There was no way she was this damn clueless.
“Whatever. All I know is he said no one is to bother him.”
Elizabeth looked over at Callen. “If I sucker punch her right in the face for being a moron, how much trouble will I get in?” she asked.
“Probably a call from Gabe, maybe a few days off at the most. You were just telling me you needed a vacation,” Callen knew she was trying to intimidate the woman. “I say hit her.”
Tori loved watching her boss work. “Uh, I have an idea,” she offered, grinning. “If I hit her, then you don’t get the call because you’re my boss. Technically, I’m labeled as crazy in my personnel file, so what’s a little vacation from the grind.”
Elizabeth shrugged. “Okay, but you get one shot. Do as much damage as possible.” Then she stepped back.
Tori moved towards her and stopped when Sheila picked up the phone. “Jimmy, the FBI are here again. Yeah, want me to ship them out?” The woman listened on the phone. “Okay, I’ll tell them.” After hanging up, she pointed at the chairs.
This was all deja vu. It made Elizabeth start to laugh. “Ahhhh the fond memories,” she muttered, low enough that only Callen could here.
“It makes me all hot and bothered when you get cranky with the civilians,” he whispered in her ear. “Later tonight, want to go home and crawl all over the men in your life?”
Tori started laughing. “I have excellent hearing.”
Elizabeth began laughing. “Sorry about that, Tori.”
She winked at her friend. It didn't bother her in the least, since she was planning on some Native man climbing herself that evening too.
As if timing it just right, Sheriff Duffy opened his door and stepped out. When he saw who was waiting there, his blood pressure shot up. Not only did he have the man that knocked out his tooth, but the woman that pulled the trigger, stealing his brother’s life. “What do you want?” he practically growled.
The hostility was expected, and it was directed at Elizabeth. It was probably a good thing she wasn’t afraid of the man, despite his gene pool being halfway to crazy town. “Well, James Duffy! It’s been too long. I was in town and thought I’d swing on by, and we could become reacquainted.”
Duffy glared at her. “This better be important.”
“It’s official business, so don’t worry. I’m not here to flip your ass into any snow banks, or let Callen knock out any more of your teeth.”
He literally growled and stepped towards her.
All three agents put their hands on their side arms. “I wouldn’t make any menacing motions towards me, Sheriff Duffy. We all know what happens when the crazy train takes a detour from the station and tries to hurt one of us.” She let it hang between them. The reference hit its mark, causing him to turn red and glare at her.
“Again, what do you want?”
“We have a situation that you need to be apprised of, but if you’d like me to discuss the case in front of your entire staff, I will.” Elizabeth turned around and waved at the two male deputies watching her curiously. “You I remember from last time,” she said, pointing at the one. “You’re new. You must have taken over for Julian Littlemoon. Man… that was Sheriff Duffy’s loss. We love Julian. He’s the most amazing tracker.”
“Enough! Get in my office!” The man spun and headed back into his room.
Elizabeth grinned at Sheila. “That’s how you do ‘bitch’ the right way, blondie. Take some notes and learn from the queen and maybe we can be in the same league one day.”
The woman looked outraged.
Callen pulled out a chair for Elizabeth and stood protectively behind her. His eyes never left Jimmy’s face. “We have a problem on the Rez, and we think it relates to your town.”
Jimmy didn’t look impressed. “That’s Soaring Eagle’s problem not mine, just like he informed me the poacher’s mine and not his.”
Elizabeth shrugged. “Do you by any chance have two missing men?” It was easy to see that his attention was piqued by her words.
“Maybe. Did they turn up on the Rez? What did they do?” Duffy didn’t need any more problems with the damn Indians. There had to be some mess for the FBI to send in the woman. She was a walking nightmare. If death had a face and name, it was this bitch.
>
“They ended up dead. So, if you have any missing person’s reports, we need them.”
Duffy actually sighed and sat back in his chair. “Dead huh? Car accident? Fight on the Rez?”
Elizabeth broke the news to him. “No, their dermis was completely removed, and their bodies were dumped in a cave.”
The man stared at her like she’s spoken a foreign language. “They were skinned? As in all of it was removed from their bodies?” That didn’t make his day any easier or brighter.
“We found two bodies, and we need to ID them. No one’s come forward saying any natives are missing, plus our anthropologist is fairly certain the remains are Caucasians. Our next logical progression was to come here and ask you.” Elizabeth leaned forward. “We aren’t asking for your help. We simply need a list of any town’s people that have gone missing in the last few weeks.”
“We’re actively seeking for the perpetrator, Sir,” added Tori. “Any help you can offer in a possible victim would be well appreciated.”
Jimmy turned his head towards the redhead, grinning at her. “How badly do you want that list, Agent?” he smiled. “Maybe enough that you’ll have drinks with me tonight?”
Elizabeth shook her head. “You just don’t learn. You’re seriously going to blackmail a federal officer into a date while her boss sits right beside her? That’s a special kind of crazy, Jimmy.”
Duffy didn’t look worried, but gave her a dirty look at her implication.
“I’m sorry, Sir, but I’m currently am involved in a relationship and very happy with it. But I appreciate your offer.” Tori wanted to keep the room as calm as possible. The whole interaction between the three was a powder keg ready to blow.
Duffy winked at the woman. “It’s just a drink, Honey. We can spend the night talking about your guy if you like.” Yeah, in a non-vertical position. “You can even think about him and call out his name.”
Darkness Of Truth (An FBI/Romance Thriller~ Book 6) Page 13
