The detectives stared at her, and they didn’t look happy at what she was implying.
“If that’s what you want, Director,” stated Cyra.
“I would appreciate that, Detective. Both you and your partner are more than welcome to be there when we reopen the victims. I’ll have clearance for you at the gate.”
Leto wasn’t passing this one up. He wanted to see if she was indeed the boss. It was still hard to believe, and he suspected she was yanking their chains.
“Give us an hour, and we’ll be there.”
Elizabeth nodded at Tori, as they left the scene. Once they were far enough away, she glanced over her shoulder. “We’ll give them the chance to rectify their mess before we go in and show them how it’s done.”
“You think they’re incompetent?” she inquired, even as she had the same thoughts.
“Hell yeah I do. Not so much the woman, but she’s cleaning up after the partner. I’m betting they missed evidence.”
“It works for me.”
Elizabeth thought about it. “When the detectives show up at the office, I want you to grab Christina and a couple techs. Come back out here and do a walk through. I’m not comfortable with the detectives watching us do our job.”
“Not a problem.”
“Are you hungry, Tori?” asked Elizabeth, pulling away from the scene. “I’m ravenous.”
Tori laughed. “I could eat.”
Elizabeth nodded. “Might as well. I won’t want to eat after autopsy. Hello morgue diet.”
Something about five charred remains left her less than wanting meat. This was a first, but Elizabeth was suddenly craving a salad. Too bad the men weren’t here to see this. One or both might think it was a sign of the apocalypse.
* * *
Sitting in her office, Elizabeth waited for both detectives and her ME. Chris Leonard had called in and was successfully transporting all the remains back to FBI West. Unlike the attitude she’d received, the local ME didn’t give any pushback. That was probably a very good thing, or Elizabeth would have gone over to the Damascus office and cracked skulls. Messing with her was one thing, but screwing with her people was completely off limits.
As she pondered calling her husband and Callen, her phone buzzed and the intercom opened.
“Yes Ginny.”
“Boss, you have two guests here. Detectives from the Damascus PD. Would you like me to escort them back?” Ginny asked in her usual chipper voice.
“Yeah, bring them back.”
Elizabeth waited for the two to get to her office. At the knock, she called them in, looking up from the papers she was signing. “Ginny, can you get us some coffee. Doctor Leonard isn't back yet, and we have some wait time.”
Elizabeth stood, welcoming both detectives into the room. “Please come on in and have a seat,” she said, waiting for them to find a place to sit. It wasn’t hard to notice Detective Leto looked around curiously, while his partner’s eyes never left her.
“Sure thing, Mrs. B. Is there anything else?”
Elizabeth handed all the papers that she’d been working on to the administrative assistant. “I approved all the requisitions for the lab and the new vehicles. Can you please get these processed and transmitted to Quantico by end of business?” She smiled and then remembered their plan. “Also, please tell Agent Christensen that she can head out.” Elizabeth would keep the detectives busy as long as it took.
Ginny nodded pleasantly. “I also have some more things that need your signature. I’ll bring them in with the coffee.”
“More paperwork, Ginny?” Elizabeth asked, dropping back into her chair. “Seriously? What the hell?”
The woman laughed, accustomed to her boss. “Sorry Mrs. B, the government red tape doesn’t know it’s almost Christmas.” She went to go get them coffee.
Elizabeth waited until Ginny closed the door. “Do you believe I’m actually the boss now, Detective?”
Brian Leto noticed the sheer enormity of the office, the old wood and artwork behind her on the wall. Then there were all the pictures and books. “Nice view,” he said simply, unwilling to admit he was wrong.
Elizabeth glanced towards the windows and nodded. “Yeah, when you get to be director you get a chair that doesn’t hurt your ass and the superior view of the valley.”
Detective Austin laughed but before she could comment, the administrative assistant was back with coffee.
“Here you go, Mrs. B. I also relayed your conversation to Agent Christensen.”
“Thank you Ginny. Can you buzz me when Chris gets back in house with the bodies?” Elizabeth cringed at the papers that the woman dropped on her desk. Someone was going to be working at home tonight.
Damn it!
“Absolutely, Mrs. B.” The woman walked out of the room, and left her boss to talk to the people in her office.
Elizabeth poured cream in her coffee and offered it to her guests. “Please, help yourself.”
Both detectives prepared their coffee, popping the lids onto the tops of the cups. “I have the complete files for you, Director,” offered Cyra Austin, handing them to the woman sitting behind the desk. When she opened them and began scanning them, Cyra took the opportunity to scrutinize the room further. Behind the woman there were pictures on the book shelf, and in them Elizabeth Blackhawk was hugging two men. Chances are one of them was a husband. “I’m sorry they didn’t get sent sooner. There must have been some sort of mistake.”
Elizabeth glanced up, knowing no one in the room bought that. “Thank you for the completed file. It makes our jobs that much easier. What did the CSI’s come back with?”
Detective Leto smirked. “They found nothing that isn’t already logged in.”
For some reason Elizabeth doubted that they even went out to the scene. From the start, this just seemed to be low on their priority list.
Without warning, Detective Austin blurted, “I want in.”
Leto wasn’t being left out on this. “Me too!”
Elizabeth laughed, sitting back in her chair and staring at both detectives. “Why should I even consider it? Now that the FBI is in control of this, I can pick and choose who I want to assist. Let’s try honesty too. If you think I can’t smell bullshit a mile away, Detectives, then you must believe I really suck at my job.”
Leto went first, giving her what she wanted. If the woman wanted the truth, here it was. “I don’t want the FBI getting all the damn glory. This is a big case if the governor is concerned, and I want my name tied to it. Every detective has one big assignment that makes them, and this may be mine. These dead women could be my way to captain bars.”
“And you, Detective Austin?” questioned Elizabeth.
Cyra Austin had one reason she became a police officer, and it said it all; to protect and serve. “I want justice for the women. I don’t care about the glory.”
Elizabeth stared at the woman and measured the words. They were exactly the thing she’d say if asked the question. “Leave your cell number, and tonight I’ll review the file and go from there. I want to see what you dug up and see if you're an asset to the investigation or,” she paused looking over at Detective Leto, “a hindrance.”
He gave her a dirty look and stood. “We need to get going. There are other cases on our desk.” Leto didn’t even look back as he walked out of the room. If this woman thought he was jumping through hoops for her, she was mistaken. Screw the autopsies. One crispy body was just like another. Slamming the door, he was out of there. This bitch wasn’t going to let them in, and her words said it all.
“Director Blackhawk, I apologize for my partner’s behavior,” started Cyra Austin, once again covering.
Elizabeth stopped her and interrupted. “His attitude isn't yours, so please don’t feel the need to make excuses for Detective Leto. I spent a lot of time in the boys club before this position with the FBI. I’m not offended that he doesn’t like me.”
She was grateful her partner’s attitude wasn’t going
to cause her issues. “I really want justice for these women. Someone used them up and tossed them out, and that doesn’t sit well with me. No one’s even claimed them missing and that’s a sad testament to their lives. I want to find their killer, and then put them to rest.”
“If I exclude him is that going to make problems for you?” Elizabeth asked, curious of her answer, “because I don’t have time for babysitting immature men that have authority issues.”
“Yeah, but I’ll suck it up and deal with it.”
Yeah, she liked the detective. “Be here tomorrow morning at nine a.m. I’ll clear it with your captain and take the heat.”
Detective Austin grinned. “Thanks Director Blackhawk.”
“Have a good night. See you tomorrow.” Elizabeth watched the woman leave and whipped out a text to her field partner telling her the detectives had left the building. Next she messaged Chris only to find out he was in house.
“Okay, time to go check out some charbroiled women.”
* * *
Ethan Blackhawk sat at his old desk flipping through papers and prepping for the next meeting. Yeah, he could have sat in the conference room and found some space to think. Yet sitting in his old area brought him back to the moments before he met his wife. On that day, he’d been preparing for a report to his boss on an assignment, and Gabe had informed him of his trip to Salem.
It constantly amazed Ethan that he’d lucked out and ran head first into the mystery woman that haunted his dreams. Every day with her was a blessing. Now that they had a comfortable relationship with his brother, he oddly felt nothing but peace.
“Ethan!”
Blackhawk looked up to see Gabe standing in his doorway.
“I need to talk to you before the meeting.” At one point he planned on telling his friend about Elizabeth’s assignment at home, but he didn’t want him cursing in front of the kids.
“Sure thing, Gabe,” he answered, sauntering into the room. Something about the tone in his boss’s voice made him wary. Or possibly it was the flashback of being called into his office. If you got the summons from the ‘Dragon Slayer’, it was generally a very bad thing.
“Have a seat, Ethan.”
Oh yeah, something was definitely going down. Now Gabe wanted him to sit. Blackhawk lounged back in the chair, brushing some lint from the pants of his very pricy suit. “Did Elizabeth blow up the building and are there mass casualties?”
Gabe laughed at the visual. “No, why?”
“You're calling me into your office, and you just told me to have a seat. Maybe I’m just being paranoid, but I get the feeling this isn't going to be good news.”
Rothschild leaned back in his chair, measuring up the man in front of him. He had handpicked him to run FBI West with his wife, and for a very good reason. Ethan Blackhawk was very hard to bullshit and had an uncanny ability to read people. “I had a call earlier from the governor of your state. He happens to be an old friend of mine.”
“And?”
“There seems to be a serial killer on the loose, and he’s burning the victims to death.”
“Okay, so you need a team to go out and take care of it.” Blackhawk felt immediate relief. “I’ll call Elizabeth and have her send out Agent Christensen. She’s our fire expert.”
“I already spoke to Elizabeth, and she’s sending out Christensen.”
“Oh, okay then what do you need?” Blackhawk began typing a text to his wife.
Gabe was between a laugh and feeling sorry for the man. “Once I told Lyzee, she informed me she was going out in the field with her.” When Blackhawk dropped his phone, Gabe did laugh.
“What did you just say?”
Gabe imagined it was hard to make a Native American flush that red, that fast. Ethan’s tan skin now had a crimson tint, and he didn’t look amused. “Lyzee informed me that you’re short staffed with the holidays coming up, and she’s taken the field assignment personally.”
Ethan Blackhawk didn’t know what to say that didn’t start with a string of profanity. “If you excuse me, I have a call to make. Then I may be hopping the first flight back to strangle her.”
“You can’t leave. You have mandatory meetings, Ethan. Send someone else to kill her.” Gabe kept laughing, and was infinitely grateful his wife had left the FBI before they started having kids. He felt bad for the man, because containing Elizabeth was like a full time job. Blackhawk was damn good at his job, and excelled at many things, but handling Elizabeth was way out of his league.
* * *
Elizabeth observed the unloading of the dead bodies from the back of the transport vehicle. Once the bags were opened, the acrid smell of cooked flesh filled the room and suddenly her stomach began to lurch.
This was a first. Never in her ten plus years in the FBI, or as a Sheriff had she ever puked on a crime scene or in autopsy. It never happened because Elizabeth had an iron clad gut.
“If you’ll excuse me for a second, Doctor,” she said, walking away as calmly as possible.
Chris Leonard was puzzled. Her skin looked pale and her voice didn’t sound right. “Okay, Lyzee. We’ll wait for you.”
Elizabeth cleared the autopsy suite and ran for the bathroom. Once inside, she proceeded to toss her lunch. When she was completely done, she stood up and wiped her mouth. Looking down at the incoming call from her husband on her phone, Elizabeth found it all too funny.
The man had some wickedly ironic timing.
“Well hell. I do believe I need a damn pregnancy test.”
* * *
Agent Christensen walked the perimeter with Christina, searching for anything that could be construed as evidence. They had already found a few wrappers and other pieces of debris. It was going to be hard to tell if it happened before the crime scene or after. For all they knew, the wind could have blown it from down the road.
“Anything?” Tori asked the tech.
Christina pleasantly smiled back at her. “Nothing I wouldn’t normally expect. We’ll keep looking. You never know what the local CSI missed.”
Tori nodded. “I feel like I should be doing something. What can I help you with?”
She laughed. “You’re all nervous, Agent. What has you all riled up?”
The agent looked around. “Working with Director Blackhawk. She has me all out of sorts.”
Christina started laughing. “Welcome to the world of every tech on staff. The boss lady is tough, but you get used to it.” She glanced up. “I’ll let you in on a secret.”
Tori lifted her eyebrow.
“Elizabeth Blackhawk is actually really sweet when you get past the prickly boss exterior.” Christina thought back to being in the burn ward, and how she came and visited her every day until she was released.
She stared at her like she was crazy. Was this the same woman that she watched get shot point blank range and then blow the brains out of the suspects head? Sweet? Really?
“Uh, yeah. Anyway, what can I help you with?” Tori continued.
Christina shrugged. “I need some samples of the ground where the body was found burning. I want to double check for chemicals. I don’t want to overlook anything. It tends to make the boss cranky.”
Tori pulled out gloves. “Well, let’s do our best to not piss them off this close to Christmas.”
* * *
When Elizabeth didn’t answer her phone, Ethan began to panic. Immediately, he called for backup and dialed his brother. When Callen picked up on the second ring, he blurted into the phone. “Where’s Elizabeth!”
Now Whitefox could feel the wave of worry. “How the hell should I know? Isn’t she at FBI West? You can’t find her?” His heart started pounding in his chest.
Ethan told him what he just found out.
“I swear I’ll kill her,” mumbled Whitefox. “She’s out in the God damn field?”
“Yeah, and not answering her phone.” Ethan hated the sick feeling that was overwhelming him. They’d come close to losing her a few times, and her bei
ng out of contact scared the hell out of him.
“I’ll try and call her.”
Whitefox hung up the phone, and started dialing her number. When he got his hands on that gorgeous body of hers, he was going to chain her to his side.
Once and for all!
* * *
Back in autopsy, Elizabeth stood far enough away as Chris Leonard as he peeled back the charred skin of the victim. Elizabeth stood there silently observing, praying she wouldn’t be sick.
Chris was having a hard time focusing. His concern was the woman standing in the room with him as he began the process. She didn't seem like herself. “Can you clear the techs in the room?” he asked his lab assistant as he stared at Elizabeth. “I need a few seconds with the director in private.”
“Sure thing Doc,” the girl answered, hustling them out of the room.
“What’s up, Chris?” asked Elizabeth as she hopped up onto an unused table. Her stomach was still sick, and she was hoping she didn’t retch in autopsy. The men wouldn’t ever let her forget it if she did.
“Remember back in Cypress Grove when I called you a liability and you were mad at me?”
How could she forget? “Yeah, why?”
How to approach this? “You told me to pull you aside and talk to you privately if something was bothering me, and I guess that’s what I’m doing.”
“What’s the burr under your saddle, Chris?” Now she was concerned.
“You look sick. You’re standing as far from the bodies as humanly possible, and you aren’t yourself today. What’s up?”
Just at that moment, Callen called, and Elizabeth sent it to voice mail. “I’m fine, Chris.”
He stared at her, knowing her well enough to see that was bullshit.
“Okay, are you asking as my friend or my doctor? You know, the one that did my rape kit, advised me through my pregnancy, and checks out my shoulder when it’s jacked up?”
Fire Burns Hot ((An FBI/ Romance Thriller~ (Book 5))) Page 5