Callen kept making notes.
“I’ll have questions for you next, Chris,” she stated. “I’ll need to know what’s in those files, deeper than I was able to see on the surface.”
He nodded.
“Okay, Harry. What about the day that he didn't show up for work? Walk me through that timeframe, and help me understand why no one noticed a seventy year old man was missing.”
Harry felt bad about that. “When he didn't show up, I was worried. Doc Trudeaux had mentioned fishing the other day, and how he really wanted to take some downtime when he was done with the bones. I just assumed he wrapped it up last night. I called his house, and no one answered. I should have gone over there, but I was next in charge of the morgue when he’s out. I had to release bodies and get some paperwork done that Doc had forgotten about.”
“When did Tony come in?” she asked, buying his explanation. Elizabeth knew Doc loved to fish, and she would have made the same assumptions had it been her call.
“He showed up just as I was getting ready for the day, so I’m going to say just after eight in the morning. He mentioned that Doc had called him and that he was looking for him.”
Elizabeth was happy with what he told her. Harry Fillmore just gave them a starting point. At least they knew what Doc was focused on. Now, it was up to her team to find the trail.
“Chris, tell me about those files and give me everything that you can.”
He took his glasses off and stared in her eyes. “Doctor Trudeaux was meticulous and if anything, compulsive with his notes. His files actually put mine to shame. The man took pride in his work and left us enough information.”
“Like?” Ethan asked.
“He made notes that he was looking at the markings on the bones, not the bones themselves. That’s what had him perplexed. I also found page numbers referenced, and when I opened the book that was in his briefcase, it was explaining the density and markings that certain tools would make in the surface of the bones.”
Tony Magnus spoke, “That’s where I’m at, right now. When you’re done with Chris, I’ll tell you what I found.”
Elizabeth nodded. “How about the other cases he was working on?”
“They look normal so far. I’ll be done tomorrow with all of them. I can tell you that he didn't like guessing. The man was based in hard fact, and that I can appreciate.”
“You would have liked him,” she said. “You remind me of him, and that’s why we probably get along so well. I was used to the way he ran his morgue,” she stated softly, as the emotion filled her voice.
“You believe he’s dead,” Chris said, feeling nothing but the utmost in sympathy for Elizabeth. The family had taken a few hits lately, and it appeared that they were still coming.
She stared at her friend and tried to rationalize it. “Where you and Tony need logic, I am a big believer in my gut and instinct. I’ve been doing this too long to think that he’s going to mosey out of the woods with his pole and a bucket full of fish.”
Ethan and Callen each rested a hand on her shoulders.
“Now, I just need to find out how and why. That’s my focus for this moment.”
“I think I can tell you that,” Doctor Magnus offered. “I can give you the how these people met their end.”
That had everyone’s attention.
“Tell us what you have, Tony.”
When they had first come into the morgue, he had a show and tell planned to explain the methods that the killer had taken the victim’s lives. Then, he heard the pain and saw the sadness in Elizabeth’s eyes. This wasn’t the time or place for any of their morgue room antics. For a friend, he would cut her a break and protect her heart.
“Here are the femur bones.” On the table were six bones, laid together in pairs.
“Are they sets?” Callen asked, pointing.
“Yeah, they are. I can tell by the measurements and the density of the bones. These victims were relatively the same age and height. I conclude that they are indeed matching sets.”
She nodded, saying nothing.
“If you look here,” he pulled out his magnifying glass and pointed with his finger. “You can see cuff marks, or cuts, in the surface of the bone.”
“Okay,” Ethan said.
“This wasn’t made from bones banging together in the swirling water. The femur is one of the strongest bones in the body. As you can see on this one, there is slight remodeling. I’d say a fracture, not a break, since pins were never used surgically to repair it.”
They still waited.
“So, I used the book that Doctor Trudeaux was using, and I can say that the man was close to figuring it out. He was a tiny bit off, since he probably isn’t used to the same kind of killings that we are.”
“What did he assume had happened?” she asked, looking back and forth between her doctors.”
Chris interceded, “Harry, can you give us a moment?” he asked, dismissing the lab assistant and the techs in the room. “Everyone take a ten minute break outside.”
Elizabeth knew it was about to be bad. When the doctors in the lab were shuffling everyone out, it was going to be gut wrenching, and she suspected it was going to be aimed at her. This was very reminiscent of something that a friend would do to protect another, in case there was a cry fest on the horizon.
Well shit. She braced for it.
“I can take it, guys,” Elizabeth said, even as Ethan stepped closer, so that her body was pressed to his.
“At first,” continued Doctor Magnus, “Doc thought they were from bones slamming into each other, but then he realized that the lines were too symmetrical and perfect. So, he then began leaning towards a saw, which is a natural progression in the thought process.”
“So, the perp killed the people and sawed them apart?” She wasn’t getting why they cleared a room for that. Elizabeth could rattle off a few cases a year in her head where they dealt with dismembered bodies.
“It wasn’t a saw.”
“Okay, then what was it?” she asked, getting a tad bit impatient. Elizabeth didn't like how her gut was churning and her nerves were shot.
“It’s a cleaver.” Tony was trying to be gentle, but this really wasn’t his thing. Sometimes, he came across cold and callous, but he just didn't relate well.
“Like one you cut up meat with in a butcher shop?”
Both men nodded.
“Okay, so he killed them and hacked them apart with a meat cleaver.” She tried to not think about how those bones may be her friend and surrogate dad.
“That’s not all.”
Tony pulled up the big magnifying glass that sent the feed to the TV and pointed with his finger at the smaller bone. “See these little marks?”
Everyone nodded and Elizabeth could feel the energy in the room shift dramatically.
This was going to be the bad part.
“Someone gnawed on the bones.”
“What?” Elizabeth said, feeling her stomach lurch in horror. “What are you saying?”
“That at some point, when these victims were dead, someone ate the flesh off the bone.”
No one in the room spoke.
Of course, Elizabeth was the first to try and rationalize it. “There are lots of things in that river,” she stated. “Maybe an animal had a snack. Who knows what lives in that murk?”
Doctor Magnus shook his head. “I checked and they match human canines. Our teeth are very distinctive, and that’s why they can be used to identify bite marks in crimes. We have the shape and size, and when you find the person who did this, we can compare them and use it in court. It’ll be a lock.”
“No offense, Tony, but if that’s supposed to make me feel better, it doesn’t. You’re telling me that Salem has a cannibal running lose?”
They both nodded.
“Jesus, Mary and Joseph,” she muttered and began pacing. Part of her wanted to be sick and part of her wanted to be horrified. The latter was winning out on this one.
; “Are you one hundred percent sure?” she asked, hoping that one of her team had made an error. It wasn’t likely, but people could make mistakes.
Again, they both nodded.
“I checked and double checked, Elizabeth,” Doctor Magnus said. “I wanted to make sure for you.”
What they expected was either anger or tears. When Elizabeth began laughing, the men in the room weren’t sure what to do with it. This was definitely new, and frankly, it scared the bejezuz out of them.
It was always best to go with the devil you knew.
“Are you okay?” Callen asked, concerned for her mental wellbeing.
“Oh, I’m great, Cal. Last time I was pregnant, I had to deal with crispy hookers and people losing their skin. Now, I get to deal with a cannibal that may or may not have killed and eaten a man that helped raise me. God, there are days that I hate this,” she said, hopping up on the counter.
Ethan immediately stood in front of her, and she rested her forehead on his shoulder as she fought for composure.
“We can go home,” he whispered. “We can walk away from all this and not one person here would think any less of you. Everyone here is your friend, and they want you to not hurt any more than you are.”
She shook her head. “I can’t Ethan. It’s not who I am. It’s not who I was raised to be. This fell into my lap for a reason, and now I need to find justice. Fate brought us here to heal, and I need to trust that it’s for a reason. It started here, and now it’s come full circle.”
Lifting her head, she stared into his eyes.
“We will take care of it,” he said, offering her everything inside of him.
“I don’t know why I’m surprised,” she said, loud enough for everyone to hear her. “With my luck, of course I’m going to get a cannibal for Valentine’s Day. Nothing says love, like one person eating another.”
Callen felt for her. Their family had just started recovering from the last hit, and this one was going to try and take them back to their knees. He had to hope that the woman he loved could hold up under all of this.
“Lyzee, I’m sorry,” said Tony, as if it was his fault. Before she came in, they debated on telling her, or just letting Ethan and Callen break it to her in the privacy of their own home.
“It’s not your fault, guys. I’ll be okay.”
Chris stepped forward and touched her knee. “Lyzee we love you and if you think you can’t do this, we’ll carry it for you. Go home, call your boss, and back out of this. Tony and I will deal with it and work with whoever gets sent here. You’re still healing from the last one, and we want to protect you.”
Ethan stared at the man and was grateful that his wife had a circle who wanted the best for her, other than just him and Callen.
“I can’t Chris. I’ll be fine.” Leaning over, she hugged the man and whispered in his ear. “Thank you for being my friend.”
When he released her, she patted his cheek. “We’ll figure this out and get justice. We always do.”
Elizabeth watched him walk back over to the bones. Yeah, they always got justice, but how long would that luck hold out? Already, she feared failing, not only herself but Doc Trudeaux.
As if on cue, the door opened and in walked the two agents and the head lab tech.
Cyra immediately stopped, detecting the tension. She held out her arm and Harper Stanton walked right into it. “Do you want us to go out?” she asked, sensing that something big was happening.
Chris subtly nodded at Elizabeth, signaling that something did indeed go down.
“No, we’re good,” Elizabeth stated, as she focused on the team. Where Cyra was blonde and blue eyed, her partner was the opposite. The brunette with deep brown eyes was younger and still had that shine to her. Having them arrive was her cue to put the emotion away and do her damn job. There was no place for the weak in their career, and she had a team to lead.
“What did you find?” she inquired.
Everyone stared at the head lab tech, Veronica Lords, for the answer. When Christina had worked for them, she would rattle it all off in military fashion, getting right to the point. Yeah, she was over exuberant, but in hindsight, they missed it.
They all knew that this woman was still very green, and they were trying to cut her some slack.
“Nothing,” she answered.
They all waited for something more than a one word answer. When Elizabeth sighed, Chris stepped in to save the head tech from being devoured alive. He was well aware that Elizabeth could only stay calm for so long, and already she was an emotional tsunami, waiting to kill all in her path.
“I think you need to elaborate, Veronica,” he urged, giving her the look. Hopefully she would get the hint.
“We took tons of pictures and checked the area around the water. The person who chucked the bones didn't leave anything behind. Literally, he dumped and ran.”
Elizabeth focused on Cyra, as everyone in the room waited for her response to the tech’s pathetic report. “Since you’re used to me, I’ll have you redo what she just gave me. I’m going to assume that it’s still the newness of the job and not sheer insanity.”
Cyra nodded, breaking it all down. “When we arrived at the scene, Director, we found that the bodies appeared to be dumped in the same general location. The grass around the water edge was matted down in one specific spot. I took pictures to document it and sent them to you and the doctors. You should have them in your email, right now,” she replied. Cyra knew how Elizabeth liked a report. Veronica had a lot to learn, or she was destined to go down in flames.
All three directors pulled out their phones, and true to her word, they had an email.
“I also looked around the tree line to find a possible location that the killer may have taken to get there. We were assuming that he didn't use a car. I found one likely location and we may want to check it out at some point to see where it leads.”
“Anything else, Agent?”
“We also didn't locate any trace that a person had been there. No gum wrappers, no viable shoe prints. Too many people, including the dive team, had tromped through there for us to get something usable. I think that we may have had some scene compromise, and if there’s another retrieval, we can hopefully get more there.”
Elizabeth stared at Harper Stanton and Veronica Lords. The last thing she wanted to do now was train people on how to give a report, but she couldn’t handle one word answers or vague assessments.
Not in their job, where lives depended on it.
“Ladies, do you see the difference between the report that Agent Austin gave me and the one you gave me, Veronica?”
The two ladies nodded.
“That’s how we roll here. If you learn how to do that, and you do your job with minimal screw ups, you will have a long and happy career here with the FBI. If you tell me ‘nothing’ ever again, you will find yourself filing for unemployment benefits.”
She stared at the head tech.
“You worked under Christina for three years. You should know better than that, because I know for damn sure that my reputation precedes itself.”
The head tech nodded and swallowed.
When Elizabeth focused on Harper Stanton, the woman looked worried. “You’re just starting out. Cyra knows how it’s done, and that’s why she’s teaching you. Learn everything that she knows, because she’s excellent at her job. If you learn half of what’s going on in her brain, you’ll be good at it too.”
Harper took the advice.
Chris grinned at his fiancée. What Elizabeth just handed out was rare and precious. She just gave his girl a big shiny gold star, and in front of a room full of people. Team members went years praying that they would even get a nod from a Blackhawk, and Cyra got a whole lot more.
Elizabeth stared at Callen. “Can we make a note to follow up on that trail? I’d prefer we do it, or we go with Cyra and Agent Stanton, as soon as all of our schedules are clear. I don’t want them wandering around the woods alone.”
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Callen made a note for her.
“I think we beat this to death today. It’s a good start for now. How about we call it a night?” she said, hopping down. “Tomorrow, we’ll start back up with rechecking the yard, fingerprinting Doc’s car, and anything else we can think of to get a lead.”
Everyone made notes in their tablets and phones.
“You’re dismissed, Agent Stanton and Ms. Lords. You both can get your room assignments later.” Elizabeth watched them head to the door. “Not you, Agent Austin. Please stay.”
The woman tried to remain calm, but no one liked being asked to have a confab with Elizabeth Blackhawk. Yeah, they may all be friends, but work was work and friendship was something separate.
Ethan took that as his cue when Cyra took her spot beside her fiancé. “Doctor Leonard, I believe that you’re the only one that hasn’t been given your sleeping arrangements. You’re staying in Hotel Blackhawk with us.”
Tony dropped his magnifying glass. “WHAT? Are you freaking kidding me?”
Chris began laughing, uproariously. “To what do I owe that honor?” he asked, knowing that his morgue mate was going to stroke out.
Ethan played it straight. “Before anyone tries to pull the favoritism card, when we went to book ‘The Wayfarer’, they didn't have enough rooms. Since Salem is a relatively small town, we had to put two people up in our place.”
Elizabeth laughed at the look on Tony Magnus’s face. It was priceless and helped alleviate the pain in her heart, a little bit.
“How did he win that one?” Tony asked.
“Well, he has more seniority than you do. In fact, he’s been with the FBI the same amount of time as Elizabeth,” Ethan stated.
Chris grinned wickedly at his friend. Oh, the payback Gods were certainly on his side, then and there. The look on Tony’s face was worth every second of the torment he had been inflicting on him since he proposed to his girl.
“Since Cyra is marrying him, and they live together, we assumed that they would be sharing a room. That led us to picking her as his bunk mate.”
“You assumed correct,” Chris answered. “Oh look, we’re saving the FBI and taxpayers money. Awesome!”
Consumed by Wrath: An FBI/Romance Thriller (An FBI/Romance Thriller ~ Book 8) Page 19
