Elizabeth wanted to vomit, as she pulled out her phone. “I’m calling her ‘guy’ right now. Maybe you know him, Julian Littlemoon.”
Duffy lost the smile fast. “I’ll get you the reports, but you just earned yourself a tag along when you head on out to their houses. I don’t trust the FBI as far as I can throw them.”
“What a coincidence, Sheriff. I personally don’t trust you or your gene pool. When you swim with sharks once, you learn to carry an even bigger GUN.”
Duffy went red at the meaning behind her words. He spun in his chair, furiously typing on the computer. When he found what he wanted, he printed them out. When he was done, Jimmy picked up his phone and buzzed Sheila. “Send in Deputy Kelly. He’s going out on assignment.”
When he hung up the phone, he glared menacingly at the Feds. “If this ends up being two outsider victims, you don’t have jurisdiction. I want in to work on it with no FBI interference.”
She laughed. “Since the murders occurred on Reservation land, which I can already prove thanks to that newfangled concept of DNA, the jurisdiction is ours.”
“We can share it.”
“Sorry Sheriff, but this isn’t my first rodeo with you, and if you remember correctly we don’t actually work well together. Last time you told me you were too busy, but when you found out that your brother was the killer, you tried to skew the facts and change the rules. In my book, I don’t play with people that change up the game halfway through the inning. You’re on the sideline.”
Duffy stared at her like he wanted to kill her.
“I don’t think you get that dirty looks don’t really scare me. If anything it makes me want to ride your ass even more, like a cheap pair of panties.”
Callen laughed and covered it with a cough. God, every day was a damn adventure with her. How did he ever think anyone could fill his heart like his Elizabeth?
She accepted the papers he handed her, hoping that the deputy was going to be less of a jackwagon than his boss. Scanning the information, Elizabeth located three names. You have two missing men and one is a teenager.
Callen touched her upper back, allowing his hand to linger, sharing an unspoken message. “Can we get the address of the two missing males?” he inquired, glancing up at Duffy. The man was staring at his hand on Elizabeth’s neck.
“Yes,” he pulled out the reports. “Do you want a copy of the actual missing person reports?” he asked, printing out a set of copies for them.
“Thanks,” Tori answered, taking the papers and ignoring the wink from the man.
Duffy pointed at Elizabeth’s belly. “How long does it take to grow the Devil’s offspring?” he asked, referring to the fact she was pregnant again at basically the same time as last year.
Callen went to move forward, furious that the man was insulting his unborn child. In his world, that meant one thing. You threw down and spilled some blood. James Duffy might be as big as him, but he was getting soft around the middle from sitting on his ass and drinking like a fish.
Looking up from her paper, Elizabeth didn't miss a beat. “Why don’t you call your momma and ask her how long she was pregnant with your crazy ass brother if you need that answer?”
Duffy stood fast from his chair, looking ready to commit homicide himself. Every time she brought up his brother and how she’d taken his life, he wanted to put his hands around her throat and squeeze.
At that moment there was a knock on the door. “Boss, you wanted me?” The deputy questioned, looking around at the angry faces in the room.
If Elizabeth had to describe a good ole’ boy, this would be the picture in her head. He was blonde, blue eyed and had a southern accent, much like the one she once had when she was green. Great, they were getting a newbie to babysit.
Awesome.
“Maxwell Kelly, meet the FBI. You’re their ride along today,” insisted Duffy, standing. He let the man in on the details. “You stick with them, especially her,” he pointed at Elizabeth. “She’s nothing but trouble. She’s been known to leave a trail of bodies behind her.”
It was funny as hell when the boy looked at her with big eyes. Elizabeth could tell he was a young kid fresh out of high school from the looks of it. “Nice to meet you,” she stated, holding out her hand.
“Hey Ma’am! The pleasures all mine.” He shook her hand enthusiastically. “I’ve never met a federal agent before. I’m excited to be working with you.”
Elizabeth got why Duffy sicked the man-child on her. It was to drive her bat shit insane. It looked like she was right. They were all taking a walk down newbie lane and all before lunch. “I’m glad I can accommodate Deputy. For the record, you can call me Elizabeth.”
“Yes Ma’am, I mean Elizabeth Ma’am.”
Callen was chuckling at how the young man stared at his woman in awe. He wasn’t sure if it had to do with her looks or Duffy’s comments. “How long have you been a deputy?” he asked, walking out of the sheriff’s office.
“Today is day fourteen.”
Elizabeth opened her mouth and then closed it again. “Did you grow up down south?” she asked, trying to not laugh.
Even Agent Christensen was surprised, glancing over at her mouthing ‘two weeks?’.
When she rolled her eyes, Tori laughed.
“I surely did, Ma’am. I was raised in Georgia on my family’s peanut farm. I came out west when I chased a girl, and it didn’t work out. You know how that is,” and then he realized she probably didn’t.
Callen stepped in fast. “Son, get in your car and follow us to the first location.”
Maxwell Kelly tipped his hat and grinned, before running for his patrol car.
“It’s going to be a long day,” muttered Elizabeth.
Tori snickered, putting on her glasses and drawled, “It surely is, Ma’am.”
* * *
Damn the outsiders! They always came to the home of the Natives, destroying everything that mattered. Now there was trouble brewing on the horizon. It was all because of one person.
The man caused it all.
Lighting the fire, he tossed in the herbs and began his meditation. Soon it would be time to go back out on the hunt, taking the man’s skin and his essence.
It was their way.
It looked like the reaper was needed once again to find justice for his people. Now it was time to prepare for what was coming.
The next victim in his mind had a face.
For now at least…
* * *
The house appeared to be completely deserted and that was probably a good thing. Neither of the men wanted to have a run in with the mad gunman again. Just in case it did happen, Ethan and Julian had suited up and were ready. They waited until the police cruiser pulled up behind them before exiting the safety of their vehicle.
Julian kept his eyes on the surroundings; specifically the area that Ethan told him was the originating point of gunfire. He let the man beside him handle the officer.
“Hey, you must be Director Blackhawk,” said the shorter man, hustling up to the Denali. “The chief told me to meet you here. I know William Boyd personally. He’s a little eccentric, but he’s a decent guy.”
Blackhawk shrugged. “We believe that your decent guy tried to kill me and my wife today, so I think our definitions may differ.” He thought about it. “Do you have body armor?”
The officer laughed. “We don’t need it. If he’s here, he’ll come out to talk to me.”
Julian was glad to be wearing the extra protection personally. He wanted to get home to Tori tonight. He had plans of putting his hands all over her.
Repeatedly.
“I think we should do a perimeter search. See if he policed his brass when he was shooting at us.” Blackhawk nodded to Julian, and the man pulled a gun out of a harness under his jacket.”
Officer Garrett Yazzie looked at the man skeptically. “Julian, do you have a permit to carry that concealed?” he inquired, lifting his eyebrow.
Blackhaw
k interjected. “I filled out form I- twenty seven with the section F, part three rider. He’s covered as long as the FBI’s in town.”
Yazzie shrugged. “Okay then no problem. I’ll cover the back of the house,” he offered.
When the man was gone Julian glanced over at him. “What the hell is that form?”
Blackhawk grinned. “You think my wife is the only one that can talk her way out of shit with using complete nonsense? Elizabeth learned some of it from me.”
Julian started laughing. “You are just as bad as she is.”
“Finally someone notices and gives credit where it’s due.” He pointed to the location. “Let’s start there.”
Julian followed Ethan to the shadow of trees and something made him feel off. “This doesn’t feel right.”
Blackhawk didn’t turn his head. He was too busy looking for spent shells in the grass. When he found one, he pulled out a plastic bag and a pair of gloves. “Maybe we’ll get some prints off these.”
Julian didn’t like the lay of the land. There was something that didn’t feel natural. “Here’s another,” he said, pointing with the toe of his boot. “How many shots did he take?”
Ethan shrugged, counting the casings in the bag. “I heard three and then I was out cold. You’d have to ask Callen or Elizabeth that for sure.” Blackhawk collected six and then there weren’t anymore. “From the empty shell casings, I think this is where he was standing. Can you spot which way he ran?”
Walking on the common path, Julian started focusing on the little things that meant recent foot traffic. Finally, Julian spoke up. “He didn’t leave this way. Maybe he went towards where you three were lying?”
Again, Blackhawk wasn’t sure.
“Nothing back here!” yelled officer Yazzie. “I don’t see any sign of him in the house.
“You said you knew him fairly well. If he were to hide out, where would he go?” asked Blackhawk.
Garrett Yazzie thought about it. “He’s most likely head into the thickest part of the forest. He’d camp out there. It’s not too cold at night now, and with supplies he could go under for a few weeks.”
Julian’s gaze flickered over to Blackhawk, grabbing his attention. “The thickest part of the woods is where Tori and I encountered our situation.”
It wasn’t looking good for William Boyd at all. He’d tried to kill a couple of Feds, and he’d been implicated in knowing his way around the forest.
“Where to next?” inquired Julian.
He thought about it. “We’re going to find Elizabeth and see what she’s dug up in town.”
“So basically, you’re going to go admit what we just did and get us both murdered before lunch.”
Where Blackhawk would do something like this to protect his pregnant wife, he absolutely wouldn’t lie to her face about it. They had rules as a couple, and deceit wasn’t tolerated. “Basically.”
“So much for getting lucky tonight,” Julian muttered, knowing the shit was likely to be hitting the fan.
Blackhawk couldn’t agree more. “Yep.”
When Elizabeth’s phone rang, immediately she answered it. She didn’t even have to look at the readout. The tone was distinctly her husband’s. “Are you okay?” she blurted in concern.
“Yeah Baby. I’m just checking in with you. Are you safe?” he questioned, worried about her. “Have you eaten anything since breakfast?”
Elizabeth got all warm and mushy when Ethan went all protective of her. “I’m good; we’re on our way to check on the two missing people in Red River. Then I plan on having something to eat. If you want you can meet us. How are you feeling?”
“Oh, I’m much better.”
Julian shook his head, as he watched the man setting the conversation up. Here it came.
“What do you have Julian doing?” she asked, watching the scenery pass by her window.
“He went and scoped out the poachers house to see if he was around.” He wasn’t exactly lying, but simply omitting all the facts.
Instantly, Elizabeth’s bullshit detector went off. “You sent Julian alone to the scene where someone was trying to put holes in us?”
Tori sat forward in the seat at his name and began feeling sick. The idea that Julian was alone and the lunatics target made her want to throw up. “Is he okay?” she whispered. Her voice must has told the entire story, because Callen reached back and patted her on the leg reassuringly.
“Not exactly alone,” Ethan paused, allowing his wife to get the picture in her head and ask the next logical question in the progression of the discussion.
Elizabeth was hoping he wasn’t going to say he went, with a concussion. She’d kill him. “Who went with Julian to the scene, Ethan?” she asked again.
“There was a deputy with him; a Garrett Yazzie, and he was very helpful.”
She relaxed marginally. “Did he find anything?”
Ethan grinned and offered Julian a fist bump. “We found shell casings,” and then he realized in his moment of celebration, he dropped the wrong word.
“You did go!” she accused, and then let out a torrent of profanities that culminated with her reminding him that she was put in a hospital because of a concussion and taken off duty.
Blackhawk let her rage for a few moments until she burned out. When she was done, he decided it was safe. “So where are we meeting for lunch?” he asked, grinning.
Elizabeth hung up the phone.
“Are we meeting them? I’m starving.” Julian questioned.
“Not exactly.”
Julian wasn’t surprised. “I hear divorce isn’t too painful if you don’t put up a fight.”
Elizabeth dropped her phone in her lap, ready to lose it again. Now she was in an even worse mood. She had the newbie to babysit, two families to possibly notify of their dead relatives, and a husband that was out playing cowboy and Indian with his Native friend.
“Are they both safe?” asked Callen, leading in with that first, trying to buffer the anger off his brother.
Elizabeth looked over her sunglasses at him. “Don’t go there, Callen. If that was me, he’d have an armed guard outside my hospital room door.”
He knew that to be truth. When Elizabeth was almost blown up in Cypress Grove by Desdemona’s crazy brother, they’d put her in the hospital for observation. “Okay, being the only man here, I’ll say this once for the record and then move on.”
She crossed her arms waiting for it.
“Ethan’s a man, and he’s doing what men do. We don’t think we’re screwing it up, because it’s a genetic thing. Honestly, we have no control of the stupid gene. Have pity, because your sons are going to carry the curse too.”
Elizabeth actually laughed, as he pulled into the driveway at the farm. The explanation was so ridiculous she had no choice but to be entertained. When Callen looked over at her surprised, she grabbed his face in her hands and kissed him. It was warm, deep and was filled with so much love.
Tori sat in the back and snickered. “Nice one. That made me miss Julian,” she added.
Elizabeth broke the kiss and stared into his eyes. “That’s for being the mediator and trying to defend your brother when he does chauvinist things,” she stated. “I love you.”
“I’ll defend him more often if that’s the reward,” he answered, following out of the car. “You think you can kiss me some more later for being such a devoted brother?”
“Maybe,” she winked, as she walked to the front of the house. Callen and Tori joined her, as she knocked on the door. The woman that stood there was weepy and looked like she’d been run through the ringer. Elizabeth pulled out her badge. “Mrs. Sumners?”
“Yes,” she said, looking at the badge. “Is this about my husband, Andrew?”
She put her badge away. “Can we come in and speak to you, Mrs. Sumners?”
“Please call me Gail and come right in,” she corrected, stepping back to allow them access into the house. “Please, I need to know. Did you find my Andy?�
�
The heartbreak on the woman’s face was crushing. Tori knew exactly how she felt in that single moment. It was a cross between pain and the feelings of being hopelessly lost. She’d been there once before, until Julian came into her life. Now she was alive again.
“Ma’am, we found a body, but we need something with Andrew’s DNA to make a comparison.” One of her least favorite things in the world was telling people that their loved ones weren’t coming home. This was the easier visit. The next one would be far worse, because now there was still a glimmer of hope.
Gail began sobbing. “In the bathroom, there’s a green toothbrush.” She couldn’t finish her sentence.
Tori got up and headed in the direction the woman pointed to retrieve the DNA.
“Can you tell me what your husband was doing when he disappeared?” Callen asked, patting the woman’s hand gently and offering her another tissue.
“There was a break in the one fence out by the end of our property line. He was going out to repair it so our cows and sheep didn’t cross into the reservation forest.” Gail accepted the tissue, blowing her nose. “I told him I’d go with him, but he was so damn stubborn and always worried about me getting hurt.”
“Yeah, men are like that, Mrs. Sumner.” Elizabeth looked right at Callen, and he lifted an eyebrow.
“When will you know?” she asked, softly. “When will the DNA be back,” Gail watched Tori return with the toothbrush in a plastic evidence bag.
“Tomorrow at some point,” Elizabeth answered. “Do you have someone that can come stay with you, Gail?” she asked.
The woman shook her head.
“Ma’am?” spoke the young deputy. “If you want I’ll come back and stay here with you a while. I’m off shift in an hour, and I don’t mind.”
The woman nodded and tried to give a watery smile. “I’d appreciate that young man.”
Elizabeth was impressed with the deputy’s generosity. “Gail, would you mind if we wandered back by the fence to take a look around? I want to see where your husband was last seen.”
Darkness Of Truth (An FBI/Romance Thriller~ Book 6) Page 14
