He swallowed as the muscle behind her moved towards him.
“Also, give me the recorder you have hidden to tape this conversation,” she said, having both men in her life look at her. “Now!”
The reporter stared blankly at her.
“Come on, you think this is my first rodeo?”
The man reached in under his desk, unsecuring it from the bottom before handing it to her.
Callen and Ethan started laughing.
She pushed play and listened to their conversation. “Wow, boys. Can either of you tell our new friend here what happens when you illegally tape a federal official with the intent to bribe at a later date?”
Craig Booker looked sick to his stomach at the word ‘bribe’.
Blackhawk spoke first. “I think our new friend understands completely, but I would like to go on record and say one thing, if I may,” he stated.
She nodded, waving her hand.
“You want to know why there’s nothing out there on us, Craig?” he paused. “Anyone that’s tried had a little problem pop up,” he bluffed, enjoying the fear on the man’s face. Ethan was well aware that when he played serious, he was intimidating. Be it his size, the darkness of his eyes, or the weapon on his hip, people generally backed down. “Loose ends are a no-no in the FBI.”
His wife began laughing. “Come on, boys. Let’s saddle up,” she said, glancing down at the paper. “Start writing your article and use the details. There’s some important ones missing, and I’ll fill them in after.”
He was finally able to speak, but his eyes never left the big Native standing protectively behind his wife. “I can’t wait.”
Out in the lobby, Callen began laughing at what had just gone down. Elizabeth had played nice, mostly. Ethan had scared the hell out of a media guy, basically threatening his demise, and they still managed to obtain the paper.
“Today’s going down in the record books,” he said, through a huge grin.
“Yeah it is,” stated Blackhawk. “Tyrannosaurus -lyz didn't take out the newspaper guy.”
She stared at him over her sunglasses. “Tread lightly, Cowboy, I may decide to sink my claws into something tastier, like native be-hind,” Elizabeth drawled lecherously.
Blackhawk grinned. “Yee Haw!”
Sunday Night
Chief Rick Longtree walked down the hall of his building deep in thought. As he nearly collided with Thomas, he was pulled back into focus. “I’m sorry! I wasn’t paying attention,” he muttered, patting the man on the back.
“That’s okay, Boss,” he answered. “I’m heading home now, if that’s okay with you.”
“Have a good one, Thomas,” he said, heading into the office where his three officers were waiting for him.
He’d called them all together when he’d received a text from Director Blackhawk confirming that an email had definitely gone out of his building, alerting all the media outlets. As much as he wanted them to be wrong, they had proof and that pissed him off.
One of his people, at the least, had betrayed their team and was possibly perpetrating this crime, he had a huge problem. It was going to be messy enough when it went to court, and a defense attorney was going to pick it apart and call the FBI on it.
All of them were going to get raked over the coals, and questioned on how much they knew regarding the killings. As he stared at his three officers, he tried to see if any of them looked like a killer. Yeah, he knew how silly that was, but maybe he could spot the slightest marker of a sick mind.
Officer Garrett Yazzie had been with him for five years. The man never took a day off, and after the whole incident of assisting a fugitive hide, he’d been on his best behavior. The man was blaming himself for his death.
The timeline still bothered him. What if Boyd was dead when the Feds were searching, and this was all an elaborate alibi?
Then there was Officer Kane Redwolf. He’d been hanging out a lot downstairs around the lab. He caught him skulking around where the FBI techs were working, and when confronted, he tried to use a lame excuse about talking to a tech. That screamed suspicious too.
Last was the only woman on their team. Officer Melanie Freeman was green and very eager to learn. She barely passed the entrance exam to earn the job, where Redwolf scored incredibly high. She’d been admitted mostly to put a woman on the force and appease the Native groups focused on the rights of the fairer sex. Would that gender bias make her have hatred towards the men?
It all made his head spin.
Once they all sat, he sucked it up and started. “We have a big problem.”
That got their attention.
“Today a memo went out of this office, via email to the news stations, papers and agencies regarding the killer. It gave them everything we have.”
No one spoke, but they looked at each other.
“Someone in this office did a really stupid thing, and I need to know who and why.” He looked at the people he’d called friends. “The FBI is about to nail my hide to the wall on this, and I need to know what I ever did to anyone to get strung up like this.”
Yazzie spoke up. “I hate the FBI, but I happen to like my job and my boss. I wouldn’t pull shit like that.”
He stared at Redwolf.
“Hey, don’t look at me. I don’t pull pranks that can cost an investigation. I don’t even know all the details other than the basics.”
The men all looked over at Melanie Freeman. “I know you all aren’t going to blame the ONLY woman here with this screw up. I had nothing to do with it.”
So much for getting one of them to admit it. It was kind of funny that he actually believed someone would raise their hand, confessing that they were the killer too. Maybe he was too damn naïve.
Rubbing his eyes with the tips of his fingers, he sighed. “I’m cutting out. I need to think about this. Someone in this building betrayed the FBI’s trust and mine too. There is just no way the killer could know the details released about the first three murders. When I find out, they’re fired.” He threw it out there, knowing that if the FBI was right, it wouldn’t matter. The guilty person was likely the killer and was going to Jail. The only thing he was sure of was, it wasn’t him.
Grabbing his keys, he headed out to the dark parking lot. Noticing something was off, he stared up at the one main light, finding it busted out. He’d have to get that taken care of tomorrow, before someone got hurt. Rick made a mental note to whip out an email to Thomas first thing in the morning.
At the beeping, he pulled his phone out and glanced at the incoming message. The FBI wanted to see him, and he was sure it wasn’t as a social call. “Damn it,” he muttered. “Could this day get any worse?”
As he turned, there was only a brief flash and then an intense pain as something collided with his head. Before he lost consciousness he saw the man standing above him, and the sense of betrayal hurt almost as much as the strike to his skull.
Damn! The Feds had been absolutely right.
The gray closed in the last thing Rick Longtree mind was the answer to his own question.
The night was going to get worse.
In fact, it was about to be total hell.
* * *
The killer moved quickly. After the little lecture in the office, he knew that the Feds had to have put good old Rick up to it. There was no way the man could figure all this out himself. When it came down to it, he was a simple man and basically clueless.
Lifting him into the back of the trunk was a struggle, he wasn’t a light weight. When he finally got the last part of him in the back, he made sure to tie his hands and legs securely. There was no way he’d risk the man escaping. Taking his gun he held it reverently. He loved the feel of the Glock in his hand, and envious that it wasn’t his.
“I guess we’ll have to have a little talk, Rick,” he said, closing the trunk. He had to move and fast to get this last kill under his belt. There was only one safe place he could finish up and hand out justice to the man he now hel
d captive. It looked like he was going to take the man home after all. The Feds would head to the main site if they discovered him missing. Why would they bother to think of going to his home?
There was one step left. He snuck back into the building and placed the white feather on Rick’s desk. Tomorrow when he didn’t show up, they’d find it and know.
Melanie Freeman waved as he headed back out the door. Again, no one was any the wiser. He’d once again outsmarted the FBI, the reservation police and the world.
The Great Spirit was on his side after all.
* * *
Thank God! They stopped for something to eat. The baby she was growing was a fickle little man. He’d gone from hating food to loving it almost overnight. Before they headed back to the police station, she swore she was going to die if she didn’t eat something again.
When she demanded food, both men were happy to comply and a little entertained at the tone in her voice.
One thing was for sure. When this was all over, she was definitely taking a pregnancy break. Elizabeth was one step closer to exhaustion and needed a vacation.
Before they arrived, there was a text from Christina and it was written in some girl code that she didn’t quite get. Calling her, Elizabeth needed clarification. The sample they took from her didn’t match the blood. There were similar Native markers, but other than that, Kane Redwolf was in the clear.
After finally arriving, they sat in the office, flipping through paperwork. In the back of her head, she visualized the white board and was trying to tie up the loose ends. It had to be there.
“What are we missing?” she asked, glancing over at the men. Callen was lost in thought as he scanned a report, and Ethan was leaning back his eyes closed.
“I wish I knew,” he said.
Elizabeth stared down at the memo, scanning everything. Then something caught her eye. “Wait a minute,” she muttered standing up.
Both men watched her.
“What time did we get to the crime scene at Chief Soaring Eagle’s house?” The little tingle on the back of brain was going full alert.
Callen thought about it. “It was before lunch, maybe ten in the morning, why?”
She re-read the time stamp of the incoming email. “What time did Rick and his officers arrive?”
Blackhawk knew because he had just signed a tech report and had to look at the date on his watch. He’d seen the time too. “It was around eleven.”
She handed Ethan the paper, and he and Callen stared at it.
“I don’t see it,” stated Whitefox.
Elizabeth pointed to the time it was sent and received. “The chief of police and his officers couldn’t have possibly sent this email. They were with us. They don’t have access via mobile.”
Both men stared at her.
“If not them, who?” Blackhawk asked. This detail made it harder not easier. All their suspects were from the station.
Before she could answer, there was a knock and the door opened partially.
Kane Redwolf stood there. “Is Rick here? I need to talk to him about something that’s been bugging me.”
She shook her head. “I haven’t seen him. We sent him a text, needing to see him ourselves, and he hasn’t returned it.”
The officer crossed his arms. “Yeah, his truck is still here, so I thought maybe you guys tagged him.”
“What’s bugging you? Can we possibly help you out?”
He hesitated and then decided to just spill it. “Rick pulled us aside and asked if we emailed the news. We all denied it, but right before he left he said something that has me wondering.”
Elizabeth pointed to a chair. “What did he say?”
“He stated that there was just no way that the killer could know about the details of the first three murders. I think I figured out a way he could do just that.”
Redwolf had their full attention.
“I’m assuming that you all think it’s one of us, and that the killer sent the email to screw with you.”
“Yeah, and we also have lab trace on a feather. Someone got the cleaning chemical specifically made for the FBI on Duffy’s feather.”
He understood why they suspected one of them now. “The killer knew details, and I think it’s because of the files downstairs in the basement. I went down there just now, and I know I put them away in the right order. The other day we pulled certain ones for the FBI to do research.”
“We remember.”
“I returned them in a specific order, knowing I might need to pick up where I left off. I just went down to work on them more, and the door was open and unlocked.” Redwolf dropped the key on the desk. “I didn’t put it back yesterday. I forgot.”
Elizabeth already believed he wasn’t the killer. DNA and that he was bringing them what he suspected. “Who else has the key?”
“Maintenance.”
Elizabeth needed clarification. “You mean the guy that I’m always seeing collecting the trash?”
Kane confirmed what she just stated.
Blackhawk stood. “That would explain how the killer knew things we didn’t release. The garbage the team threw away. They didn’t think to shred.”
Damn, he blended right in!
“What’s his name?” Elizabeth demanded.
Redwolf ran his hands through his hair. “Thomas Aster.”
She had her phone out and called down to Christina, placing the call on speaker. When the woman answered on the second ring, she blurted into the phone. “Do you have the families run on the first two victims, Christina?”
“Yeah, I’m working it right now and checking them against every police officer in the department.”
“Stop. I need you to run it against one name. Ready?”
“Shoot.”
“Thomas Aster.”
Christina clicked away. “I can do this faster if I get off the phone. Give me five minutes, and I’ll call you back.”
She hung up. “We need to find Rick and fast. Officer Redwolf, will you go see if he’s back in his office?”
He nodded, and turned at the door. “If it matters, the only other rooms downstairs besides the file room and the rooms the FBI are using is the janitor’s closet.” Kane hustled out of the room to go find his boss.
Elizabeth grinned. “Could we have the bastard?”
Blackhawk nodded. “He’d have been here when the email was sent, and he had access to all the files.”
Kane rushed back into the room. “Directors, you need to come fast.”
They all followed him out of the office.
“I didn’t touch it,” he said, pointing to the center of the desk.
Staring at the feather, Elizabeth knew they were too late. Her phone began ringing. “Blackhawk,” she answered, putting it on speaker phone.
“Elizabeth, we have a match to the first three victims. I can link the police officer that was killed in the hit and run, Kevin Clark to the name you gave me. The man was his father’s cousin.”
There was the thread that tied it all up.
“Christina, get up to Rick Longtree’s office. We have another feather, and I believe a potential victim.”
“Thomas applied for the officer position that’s now filled by Melanie less than a year ago. He couldn’t pass the entrance exam and was told he couldn’t have the job,” offered Redwolf.
“He’s seeking justice,” answered Elizabeth. “The first three killings were to avenge his great uncle, and the rest are to avenge people that are ‘breaking the law’ according to him.”
Callen shook his head. “Great. We have a Native vigilante who is psychologically over the edge.”
Blackhawk didn’t like the odds. “We need to figure out where he’d take Rick. We don’t have a whole lot of time either.”
She looked at her watch. “When did Rick leave?”
Kane mimicked her action, glancing down at his own wrist. “It was less than an hour ago that we had our meeting.”
“We have tim
e,” Elizabeth reassured, hoping she wasn’t wrong. Elizabeth called Julian and Tori and began focusing on their plan to get the police chief back in one piece.
Blackhawk grabbed their attention. “His life depends on us finding this location.”
“Then let’s go do what we do best,” Elizabeth said, already working out the details in her mind. “We’re going to balance the scales of justice, not Thomas Aster!”
* * *
His vision wavered as a chill filled his body. Rick was in intense pain, as his head throbbed and his shoulder ached from lying on the ground. He tried to focus on the flames he saw dancing before him, but the hit to his head was making his vision distort everything around him. This was all one really weird dream.
Then he realized where he was.
Shit!
His naked body was contorted with his limbs bound behind him. Rick began probing with his fingers at the knots that held him captive. He was going to have very few chances at escape. Hog tied meant his heart was an easy shot for the man.
“Thomas, why are you doing this?” he asked, trying to pretend he was still groggy. Maybe the man wouldn’t think he was untying knots.
“Why? It’s all about justice of course, Rick. I’m getting revenge for those that were killed. Ben Soaring Eagle murdered three people without even caring. Each one had a family, and they were robbed from them.”
“You could have come to me,” he offered. “I would have reopened them and found the truth. I believe in Justice.”
Thomas shook his head. “My plan was to become a cop and then find the truth. When you wouldn’t let me on the force, I had to find a way around it. You think I like being a janitor? The only reason I took the job was to blend in and be invisible. No one sees me, unless they need something cleaned up or fixed.”
“We respected you, Thomas. You were part of our family. I even told you that you could retest for the job if another position opened.”
“If you respected me then you would have bent the rules like you did for Melanie Freeman. She’s a brainless twit and you made her a cop. Yet I solved a twenty five year murder. ME! Not the FBI, not your cops. Me alone and you know what, Rick? When you’re gone there’ll be another opening to fill. I may not get to be chief of police, but when Redwolf takes your position, I’ll get his.”
Darkness Of Truth (An FBI/Romance Thriller~ Book 6) Page 54
