Discarded by Fate

by Morgan Kelley

  He agreed.

  “Do it on the DL. We don’t need this blowing up,” Chris stated.

  He remembered the cop.

  He’d done the autopsy for Elizabeth, since she was his girl.

  “I feel like this is some wicked case of déjà vu. We’ve been here before, and done this with some of the same players,” she offered. How was that possible?

  The police captain.

  The ME.

  Now the son of a dead cop.

  Yeah, Elizabeth didn’t like that feeling, and it was back. That only meant one thing.

  Someone was definitely playing a game.

  And she just might be the pawn.

  Johanna and Blue knocked on doors.

  And knocked.

  And knocked.

  No one who opened had seen anything. They were all sleeping, and more than happy to tell them that. It was a school night and a work night.

  So all they found were pissed off locals.

  “How was your night?” Johanna asked, “Did you get your Marine on?” she teased, as they were heading to the next doorway.

  “Yep, and it was amazing.”

  Johanna patted her on the back.

  “Yeah, my husband arrived. You’ll meet him later at the morgue. He’s going to help us do some searches on anything we find.”

  The more the merrier.

  “He’s following us,” she whispered.

  Johanna’s hand went to her sidearm. “Who?”

  She looked around.

  “Ivan. I know he’s here.”

  Johanna relaxed.

  “You scared the shit out of me. Whenever someone is following someone on Elizabeth’s team, we get shot at by some lunatic.”

  She laughed. “Sorry.”

  “Well, at least you’re aware of your surroundings. We should head into the building that the body is hanging from.”

  She was probably right.

  They had to be thorough.

  As they walked around the block, they got to the front and headed in. The door had security, but someone had left it open.

  Well, that would be ending soon.

  They had a killer leaving bodies in the neighborhood.

  Once in the door, Blue began taking pictures of the mailboxes.

  “What are you doing?” Johanna asked.

  “We aren’t going to get them all to the door, but we can take the names and begin running them against the address. We can do searches that way.”

  Johanna stared at her.

  “What?” she asked.

  “That’s genius. I’m totally stealing that in the future to use on cases. You are pretty cool to work with, Miss Smarty Pants.”

  Blue laughed. “Thanks, but I borrowed it from someone else.”

  “Who?”

  “It was in Director Whitefox’s last book—or would that be Jackson James’s?”

  Johanna laughed. “I think both. Is that the new noir one?” she asked. “I have it at home, but I didn’t start it yet.”

  “Oh, it is. Wait until you read it.”

  She couldn’t wait.

  Inside, Johanna pointed to the stairwell.

  “I’ll take up, you take down,” she said.

  “Okay,” Blue offered, as her temporary partner took off up the stairs.

  “Shout if you need me.”

  Blue began knocking.

  A couple of tenants answered, and they weren’t happy.

  Then they found out there was a body outside, and oddly, that cheered them up. There was something wrong with that, and Blue didn’t doubt they were now peering off their balconies to get it recorded.

  As she headed around the corner to the other side of the building, someone reached out, grabbed her, and pulled her into him.

  She nearly screamed.

  Until Ivan’s mouth found hers.

  Slowly, she relaxed.

  The taste and feel of him was so familiar, she’d know it anywhere. As his hands cupped her ass, she let him lead the kiss.

  It was sexiness at its finest.

  And if her boss caught her, she’d be fired.

  When he broke the kiss, he was staring down into her eyes. “I was compelled.”

  “I wish you wouldn’t have.”

  His body tensed.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Now my brain is mush and all I’m thinking about is sex,” she said, running her hands down his body. He was wearing Kevlar beneath his shirt but she could still feel him react to her touch.

  It turned her on.

  Ivan started laughing, once he realized she wasn’t rebuking him.

  “Well, I was thinking about sex, and that’s why I had to do it.”

  She smiled.

  “I felt the need to kiss you again. I didn’t get enough last night,” he offered.

  “Well, feel free to make up for it later,” Blue offered.

  Oh, he would.

  Ivan knew he needed to get back into the shadows before someone caught them. He was braced against the wall, and she was leaning against his body between his legs.

  Blue was driving him insane.

  When she was naked, she was sexy.

  Wearing a badge and gun?

  Oh, yeah.

  It drew up all kinds of fantasies in his head.

  “As a heads-up, the window at the end of the hall is busted by the lock. You might want to let your partner know. That’s likely how the killer got in on the ground floor, since that balcony is between the two apartments. It’s communal.”

  Then he kissed her again and shoved her back around the corner. When she finally regained her senses, and looked back around to tell him thank you, he was gone.

  The man was sneaky.

  “Hey! Johanna! I found something!”

  She came down the stairs.

  Oh, she had information too.

  “That balcony is used by the whole building. Everyone has access,” Johanna stated, as she reached the main landing.

  She was aware.

  “Well, I found something you’ll like.”

  She led her to the window and before she could explain, Johanna got it.

  “The lock is popped. I think you found our killer’s way into the building! Now we know why no one saw him. He was inside and dropped her off the top! The boss is going to kiss you.”

  She blushed. “Well, then I have to be honest. I didn’t find it. Ivan did.”

  She looked around.

  “He was here?”

  She nodded.

  Johanna laughed. “Don’t tell the boss that. In this case, let her think you did it.”

  “Why?”

  “Kissy face. She doesn’t like it.”

  “Then I probably shouldn’t kiss her.”

  Johanna laughed. “Blue, you’re funny. I like working with you.”

  Honestly, Blue liked working with her too.

  This friend thing was an adventure.

  * * * B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x * * *

  When Chris had the victim in the bag, he stared down at the sick marionette and examined what the killer had left behind.

  “You’re going to have two different women—at least.”

  “At least? As in more than two? Are you shitting me?” she asked. “How do you know for sure? Maybe it’s one woman this time, and we’ll get lucky.”

  Yeah, Chris wished.

  Unfortunately, that was not going to be the case. Instead of saying a word, he pointed at her feet.

  They didn’t match.

  Neither did the hands.

  “I hope that’s not some subliminal message. This man needs to go into the cuckoo hall of fame on this one. Who does this kind of shit?”

  “Someone with no respect for life?” he offered.

  As Ethan approached, he shook his head.

  “Oh, that better mean you’re overwhelmed with information,” Elizabeth stated.

  He wished.

  “No, it means NADA. No one saw anything.
It looks like your killer pulled a Houdini again.”

  That wasn’t what she really wanted to hear.

  They were up to four victims, and that was never good when you were getting bodies one at a time. With two at a time?

  Yeah, no.

  It was bad.

  Callen headed their way too.

  Maybe they’d get lucky with him. Elizabeth had to cross her fingers.

  “Anything?”

  “Yeah, a drunk took a piss out here around two, but he didn’t see anything.”

  “Did he look up?” she asked.

  “Nope. He was staring down at his dick and trying to aim for the tin can over there.”

  She sighed.

  This killer was pretty smart.

  Or a freaking ghost.

  She wasn’t sure which.

  As Blue and Johanna headed their way, they were smiling. BIG smiles.

  “Oh, here comes our agents, and they look a little too happy to be delivering me bad news. Let’s hope they found something we can use.”

  Everyone was with her on that.

  “What did you find?” she asked.

  They pulled out their notes.

  Johanna began, showing Blue the ropes. Elizabeth liked her agents to report in specific ways. She didn’t like them to stall. If Blue wanted to last there for a long time, she needed to remember that.

  Showboating got you an ass-kicking.

  Period.

  “Our residents saw nothing. Most of the people here were asleep since it’s a worknight. They did hear a car around one, and it sounded like it took off like a bat out of hell. A few of them brought that up.”

  “Did any of them see it?” she asked. “Anyone can hear a car, but that’s not really going to help us.”

  Blue continued, “No, no one can ID it. There was backfiring in the distance.”

  She listened.

  “We also went into the building,” Johanna said, pointing at the building where the woman had been hanging. “We have good and bad news.”

  “Bad,” Elizabeth stated, wanting that first.

  “The balcony he used to dangle the dead is a community one. They use it as a way out of the building in case there is a fire or emergency. There’s one on each side facing two alleys.”

  She knew what that meant.

  Anyone, and their mother, could have used it, and that’s likely why it was picked. They could get up there and leave a body—like they had done.

  “Okay, what’s the good news?”

  “Blue found a busted lock on a window that would give the killer access.”

  She looked over at her.

  “You did?”

  She squirmed.

  “Well?”

  Blue didn’t lie very well. In fact, she was horrible at it. Now they were all staring at her.

  “I didn’t find it.”

  Johanna elbowed her.

  “Then who did? Johanna?”

  “Ivan.”

  She laughed. “Let me guess. He was just trying to be helpful and pointed it out to you with his lips.”

  She nodded.

  Well, in her defense, it was better to tell the truth.

  Right?

  “Thank you for being honest. As for him, you can tell him thank you, and that if I ever catch him making out with any of my investigators, he’s a dead man.”

  “I’m sure he won’t try to poach the directors, ma’am, and if I catch him making out with anyone, I’ll shoot him in that fine Marine ass, ma’am.”

  Elizabeth stared at her.

  Then she laughed.

  “Since you’re in the mood to be funny at three in the morning, Blue, tag. You get to run the detective.”

  She told them what she and Chris discovered.

  Her husbands whistled.

  “That’s an odd coincidence,” Blue said. “Honestly, ma’am, he’s been nothing but nice to me. He really has been trying to be helpful.”

  Well, that was great, but Amir Hayden had been helpful, too, right up to the point where he helped his sister and Bonnie get personal information and stay ahead of them.

  No.

  She wasn’t taking any chances on this one.

  “Yeah, well, I don’t believe in coincidences, so we have a killer calling me out in Boston, a city that I’ve worked previous cases, a detective that was the son of a dead cop I’ve worked with…”

  “Isn’t he young to be a detective?” Johanna asked.

  “If he was good, and he passed the test, no,” Ethan stated. “I’ve met cops who were only on the beat for three years before they tested up and got their gold shields.”

  “Well, now I’m suspicious,” Elizabeth stated. “Blue, I want to know everything about him. We’re going to dig.”

  “Okay, boss.”

  “Head back to the hotel, start searching. When you find something, find me. I’m going to be out in the field.”

  She saluted and headed toward the tape.

  “Send Ivan to help.”

  Ethan stared at her. “You know he’s your security, right?” he asked. “He doesn’t get paid to watch her body. He gets paid to watch yours.”

  She waited.

  “That sounded really bad when I said it out loud,” Ethan admitted.

  “Well, if you want him watching me…”

  “Elizabeth.”

  So, she went with logical.

  “You know the detective was in her hotel room, and she’s as green as the grass, right?”

  His wife had a point.

  “Ivan!”

  The man stepped out of the swarm.

  “Back to the hotel.”

  He got it, and he was on his way.

  “That was the first damn time I didn’t have to argue with him,” she stated. “Follow Callen, and he fights. Follow Chris, and he fights. Follow you...”

  “We get the point. He fights.”

  They all got it.

  “Johanna, show me this window.”

  They all headed around the building, ignoring the comments from the media and residents. Once inside, Elizabeth pulled on a pair of gloves and looked at the busted latch. Someone had stuck something into it and jimmied it.

  It was definitely a good way in.

  Then she saw it.

  “Is that blood?” she asked, as they saw a little red spot on the window.

  Both men got down.

  “Yeah, it is.”

  “Joey, go get Christina. I think we may have gotten one hell of a break. Someone may have left us DNA, and that makes me very happy!”

  “Like kissy face happy?” she teased.

  “No, like ‘send your husband back to DC and make you cry like a girl running crappy leads the rest of the case’, happy.”

  She snorted. “On it, boss.”

  Elizabeth stood.

  “What the hell is it about this area?” she asked. “Why is this killer staying close to this space? First, he takes a woman who is meeting her dean here, and then a hooker. Now we have a victim dangling in the alley behind this place.”

  “I don’t know,” Ethan stated.

  “Add it to the list of things for our agents to handle. I need them to run this bar, and anything attached to it.”

  “Top priority?”

  She thought about it.

  Then Elizabeth saw the detective, and he was heading their way.

  “No, he’s top priority until we figure out what the hell is going on in Boston. Someone calls me out, and it’s like a bad case of déjà vu.”

  Callen hushed her as the cop approached.

  “Ma’am, I found two good leads,” Detective Chase said, as he stopped in front of her with his notebook.

  “What?” she asked.

  “One of the cops on the line recognized the face of the victim. He’s pretty sure she’s a nurse at the local hospital.”

  “The one around the corner?” she asked.

  “Yeah, that one. He said he thinks her name is Melanie.”

/>   Well, that was helpful in getting an ID. It looked like they were heading toward the hospital, and not because someone was shooting at her.

  For a change.

  “And?”

  “The patrons at the bar noticed one thing,” he offered. “It’s pretty significant.”

  “What?” Ethan asked, knowing his wife was going to strangle the man shortly if he didn’t get right to it.

  “Molly Flannigan, the head waitress, disappeared. She took out the garbage and…”

  She stared at her husband.

  This area was like the freaking Bermuda Triangle. Now someone she’d talked to yesterday had disappeared too.

  Was it the killer?

  There was no freaking way this was a damn coincidence.

  NO.

  FREAKING.

  WAY.

  “Yeah, I want every building in this square block run. Something is way fishy.”

  Ethan gave her the look.

  “In the order I requested.”

  Well, he could do that. First, they’d cover the detective, and then they’d dig into Boston’s ‘dead triangle’.

  “Do you think he has her?” Max asked.

  They all knew the truth.

  He absolutely did.

  It was going to be too late.

  Molly was a goner.

  And this case sucked.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Tuesday Morning

  Coffee shop

  S he had to take a break to gather her bearings. It wasn’t that she was overwhelmed, since this was her normal every day on the job, but she wanted to regroup her thoughts and figure out her next route to take. There was something bothering her about this case.

  Until she worked it out, she was going to be dwelling on it.

  So, Elizabeth pulled out her cell phone and got down to work. Her first call was to her bone expert. She knew Tony wasn’t going to be at work, but that didn’t mean that she couldn’t call him and ask some questions.

  They were friends, and that meant being there for each other when they needed some assistance.

  Like now.

  She needed to get ahead of this killer before it became a runaway train.

  Truthfully, a part of her was afraid the Bonnie case had broken her. She really believed that maybe, just maybe, she’d lost her crime solving mojo.

  This felt like a test to her.