Chasing crazies was second nature, and she was going to ensure that this one ended up caught.
Dead.
Or.
Alive.
When they finally got into their ride, Ivan offering to drive so they could stay hidden in the back, the trek didn’t get any easier.
He’d nearly run over a few reporters.
Which was fine by them…
If you were going to be stupid enough to stand in front of their ride, you were risking your damn life.
“Bonnie is an asshole,” Callen said from his spot beside Elizabeth.
“You think?” Ethan offered.
“Yeah, she sicced the media on us.”
“Well, we are siccing Elizabeth on her,” he admitted.
She laughed. “Woof. Woof.”
“Where are the Marshals?” she asked Ivan, as he drove them to the scene.
“They were behind me, but it’s chaos on the beltway. They’ll have to get there on their own. I can’t sit in the traffic with cargo onboard.”
“Cargo?” she asked.
Ethan raised his hand. “I think that’s me.”
Ivan glanced up into the mirror. “Your ride isn’t bullet proof.”
“Why would it be?” she asked.
“It should be,” Ivan countered.
“Shut it, Igor the Ignorant.”
He laughed. “I love you, too, sunshine.”
Ethan cleared his throat. “Let’s make sure we’re sticking together on the scene, okay? Bonnie likes to leave traps, and the last time, someone got shot.”
“Shocking,” Ivan admitted.
“For your information, gun with a big mouth, it wasn’t me,” she stated. “Callen was shot.”
He stopped joking around.
“I’m sorry, sir,” he offered, glancing up at Whitefox. “I’ll be on duty.”
“It’s okay, Ivan,” Callen stated. “I’m healed. I got the sexiest nurse to take care of me.”
Ivan started gagging.
“Can I shoot him?” she asked her husband. “Just one bullet. I won’t even kill him. I just want to make him cry like a girl.”
Ethan laughed. “Denied.”
“You’re no fun.”
He wiggled his eyebrows.
She got the message. He was buckets of sexy Native fun.
“We’re here, Bullet Magnet.”
“Ivan,” Ethan warned.
“We’re here, Director Bullet Magnet.”
Blackhawk gave up.
There was no stopping those two. They fought like siblings.
“I’m ready. Let’s get this shit done,” Elizabeth stated, hopping out of her Escalade.
Once on the scene, there were shouts asking ‘if they were back together’, ‘if they were reconciling’, and ‘if this was just an act’.
All three questions made her mad, but she didn’t react. With the media, she knew they would take any comment she made and blow it out of proportion.
They were baiting her.
So, she said nothing.
As they headed toward the tape line, some reporter grabbed her arm, yanking her to a stop.
Ethan was there, his hand on the man’s wrist.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he asked, squeezing the man’s flesh until his fingers began going red.
“We need to interview your wife,” he began.
“My arm, Ethan,” she said, knowing that was her newly healed limb.
He moved closer to the man. “Let her go, or I’m going to give the media one hell of a story, and it won’t be about our farcical BULLSHIT divorce. It’ll be about your death.”
He let go of her arm.
Immediately, he tucked her beneath his arm.
“Thank you.”
“Don’t let them rattle you.”
It was hard not to when they kept reminding her of what had happened. She was sick of hearing about the Secretary of Defense.
It was getting old.
“I’m trying,” she admitted, as Callen helped shield her too. At the tape, she was ready.
Elizabeth flashed her badge, even though she likely didn’t need to do it.
Who didn’t know who she was?
“Ma’am, the scene is all yours. Our boss talked to yours,” he said, referring to Gabe.
“What do we have?” Elizabeth asked the police officer.
He cleared Chris Leonard before answering.
“One victim, and she appears to be an older woman. Inside, it’s a bloodbath. This killer…never seen anything like it before, ma’am. Good luck to you.”
Yeah, she’d need it.
That was all she had to hear.
It was time.
Ethan and Callen were behind her as she and Chris led them to the house.
“Where the hell are the Dakota and Sarah?” she asked again.
They looked around.
“Should we wait?” Callen asked.
Ethan shook his head as he sent a text to the man. “No, let’s get it done.”
There was an immediate reply on his phone. “They are stuck on the beltway. Apparently, the media caused an accident trying to get to you.”
She snorted.
“My bad.”
It looked like this was going to be her scene. In a way, she was glad. She didn’t need Dakota pissing Ethan off, Sarah provoking her, or the two of them giving each other sexy, googly eyes.
One mess at a time.
Before they could go in, two men exited the building.
“Director!”
They had her attention.
“Yes?”
“I’m Detective Moore, and this is Detective Brandson. We pulled this one. We were first on the scene when she called in the murder.”
Callen was making notes for his partner so she could focus on the details in present time.
“Who called it in, Detectives?” she asked. Elizabeth assumed it had to be someone who knew the woman, since the body was found inside the home.
“A woman by the name of Tammy Beard. She worked for Sister Margaret. She was the visiting nurse. When she arrived to take care of her, she found her—unfortunately.”
Elizabeth scanned the crowd. “Where is she?” she asked.
“In the ambulance. We locked her down for you, assuming you wouldn’t want her talking to any of your…friends.”
Elizabeth laughed when he motioned at the media. “I’d like to shoot a few of my ‘friends’, so thank you for that.”
They each shook her hand.
“Tag, Directors, this one is all yours,” they stated as they headed under the tape and away from the chaos of a crime scene.
By the way they hauled ass, it was clear they didn’t want anything to do with it.
She couldn’t blame them.
Lucky her.
It was time to break into groups. They needed to cover more ground, especially since the two Marshals were busy.
“I can go interview the woman,” Ethan offered.
Yeah, there was no way anyone was going anywhere alone. Elizabeth wasn’t playing that game.
“Take Callen.”
He got it.
“Worried about me, Lyzee, my love?”
“Oh, yeah. If Bonnie wants to screw with me, you three are the shortest way to my fuse. We work in pairs, or we don’t survive this.”
Ethan happened to agree.
“Stick with Chris.”
She pointed at the techs waiting for them ten feet away. “I have Amir and the rest of the techs too. I’ll be safe. I’m staying inside until I’m done, and I’ll meet you right back here.”
That worked for them.
They would be fine as long as their wife was safe. That mattered most.
They split up, Ethan and Callen heading toward the ambulance. She saw Ivan in the crowd, trying to blend in, and she made eye contact.
‘Watch them,’ she mouthed.
He hesitated.
‘Please.’
It seemed to be enough. Elizabeth couldn’t wait until they had a backup team of security. As soon as they made it back to the Hoover building, that was her plan.
“Chris, are you ready?” she asked. The entire time, he’d been silent. She hoped he was going to be able to rebound from Cannon Austin’s death.
“I’m just getting ready for it, honey. I’m sure it’ll be bad. I’ve got this,” he said, as she helped him suit up.
“Okay, Doc. If you can’t…”
He stopped her. “I have you by my side. I can do it,” he admitted. “It’s like old times.”
Yeah, it was.
Amir started laughing from not far away.
It immediately had her attention.
“What’s so funny?” she asked.
“I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but I actually missed you. There was no one to snarl at me for almost two months. It was confusing as hell.”
She snorted. “Weirdo. That’s not going to get you a raise, but nice try.”
He winked.
“Update me,” Chris said, getting Amir’s attention.
“We have everything ready for both of you. The team will go in, divide up, and begin trace and photographs. As soon as that’s done, everything can be moved.”
Finally, Amir was getting it.
Chris pointed at the building. “Give them a head start.”
“On it, boss.”
Amir headed away.
“It looks like he’s learned some manners,” Elizabeth stated. “Could it be that he’s figuring out the hierarchy?”
Chris laughed. “I talked to Tony last week. He called and told me that Ethan talked to him.”
“About Christina’s return?”
He finished gearing up. “Yeah, and he said at first he was pissed until Ethan threw in the fact that he was in on the next round of agents. That’s likely why he’s not cranky. That and he doesn’t want to get fired by you this close to getting his dream job.”
Very true.
“Hey, whatever it takes. As long as he does his job, and finds me the evidence, I’m good to go.” Yeah, and he never stepped foot in her division.
Ever.
Chris agreed.
“Ready?” he asked.
“Yeah, let’s go look at a dead nun. Why not start my weekend out on some sacrilegious craziness?”
Yeah, it was always an adventure.
They headed up the stairs. Once there, they immediately began seeing blood.
Bloodbath wasn’t the half of it.
Elizabeth and Chris slipped on the booties and began doing their jobs.
“Where is she?” Elizabeth asked Amir as he continued to gather the trace from the team and sign off on it.
“What’s left of her is over by the stairs,” Amir offered.
They headed there first.
That’s when they saw her.
If this didn’t prove Bonnie’s insanity, nothing would. She’d hacked a nun to pieces.
That was…bad.
Chris whistled.
Attached to the banister, arms spread, was the dead, naked woman. She was crucified.
“Well, someone had a flair for the dramatic. This has to be her female partner. Bonnie is predictable,” she stated. “She also likes dick, which our nun didn’t have.”
“Bonnie is a sicko,” Chris corrected. “Who knows the level of depravity she’d be willing to stoop to?”
Yeah, she was aware.
They both snapped on gloves. As soon as he was ready, she hit him with it.
“Well, Doc? Tell me what you have.”
He laughed. “Nothing. I haven’t even touched her yet, and you know it.”
Elizabeth knew that his response wasn’t going to be good enough. When it came to Bonnie, they needed to be on their game and he had to make ‘guesses’.
“We don’t have time. Look at her, and give me what you can.”
He knew what was on the line.
Her life.
Ethan or Callen’s.
Even his.
Because of that, he’d be willing to guess.
Chris moved closer to the body, and then he scanned the surroundings as if he were looking for something to give him more information.
“What do you see?” she asked again.
“She was drained of her blood. There’s slice marks on her wrists. The blood on the floor is minimal. While it’s sprayed around, I think that was more for ‘ambiance’.”
She looked at him. “I’m afraid to see what kind of ambiance you like on a date, Doc. That’s horrific.”
He laughed.
This was how they rolled.
“You know what kind of dates I like. We’ve only been on about a thousand of them. You know…when we were dating.”
All the techs looked over.
“What?” she asked, when they leered in curiosity.
“You and the doctor?” Amir asked.
“Yeah, yeah, we knocked some boots for about ten years. You found me out. I like MEs…a lot.”
He snorted.
It felt nice not to have to pretend.
“I’m feeling the love.”
“Feed me the answers to my questions, or I’m going to boot your ass around the front yard so the media can watch.”
He got it.
She needed something.
“She wasn’t drained here.”
Okay, that was a start.
“So, there’s a big patch of blood somewhere, right?”
“Yeah, there is.”
“Okay, what else?”
“Her head was cut off after she was dead. There is no pinking of the flesh around the wound.”
Elizabeth began making her own notes. “What can you tell me about the wounds and what killed her?”
Chris knew this was a stretch. “Elizabeth.”
“Try.”
“I’d say exsanguination was what did her in. There’s barely a pint of blood around this room. They bled her while they tortured her.”
“What kind of torture?”
He crouched down by her feet. Toes were missing, and the flesh was burnt from her feet.
“To get that hot of a temperature, I’m going to say blow torch.”
Yeah, she was sick.
“What else?”
He moved up her body.
“They burned her with what looks like cigarettes too. Bonnie doesn’t smoke, or we don’t think she does, so this might be her partner’s work.”
Chris kept going.
“I need more. Help me set the scene.”
“They mutilated her breasts.”
“Of course they would. She was a nun, married to God. Bonnie is going to want to shock me.”
“Did she?” Chris asked.
“Nope. I’ve seen worse—and by Clyde’s hand. If her partner is driving this crazy, she’s not nearly as sick as him.”
“I wouldn’t tell her that. She’ll up her game.”
Elizabeth was aware.
“What else?” she asked, as Amir kept taking pictures that Chris pointed out.
“Her body is bad, but her head…”
“What?”
“The eyes are gone, the tongue is gone, and I don’t see a medallion up her nose or in her mouth. I’ll have to get her back to the morgue and look there.”
Elizabeth suspected where it would be.
A nun?
Married to God?
Yeah, Bonnie would place it somewhere impactful.
“Was she sexually assaulted?” Elizabeth asked.
“I have to get her down and spread her legs to see, but she has dried blood on her thighs, and that’s generally a sign that it’s happened.”
“The medallion will be in her vagina. Bonnie will want me to know she had fun. She’s swinging to women.”
“You think?” Chris asked.
“Yeah, she had an intimate relationship with Clyde, according to Dakota. While they had him, she told him that before she kille
d her sex muffin.”
He let her talk it out.
“She’s going to use sex as power, so I’m willing to bet whoever is helping her is definitely ‘petting the kitty’.”
He looked up at her and shook his head.
“What?”
“In a nun’s home, Elizabeth?” he teased. “You may have reached a new level with that one.”
She snorted.
“She was my teacher. Trust me. She wouldn’t be shocked at a single thing I say.”
He’d take her word for it.
“What else?” she asked.
Chris kept working, ignoring her question. “Take her down. We have the photos,” he offered.
Amir began rolling out the black body bag.
“Anything else is going to take an autopsy. I’m all out of speculation,” he stated.
Elizabeth was good with that. She needed to talk to him, and in private.
“Walk with me,” she said.
That surprised him.
“Uh, okay.”
Chris followed her to a room that looked like an office. It was filled with statues, Jesus, and crucifixes.
To a tech, he passed off the first layer of rubber gloves to keep from smudging anything if he touched it.
“Give us some time,” he asked, having everyone leave. When the door closed, she had his attention.
“What’s up?”
“I need a favor.”
“What?”
“Pack up and head to Salem. The house is being protected, and you’ll be safer there.”
He stared at her. “No.”
“Christopher.”
He stood his ground.
“I am NOT leaving your side. If we want to catch her, it’s going to take all of us. You can’t send me away. Besides, I’m safer with you, and you know it.”
She sighed.
“Newton, why do you have to be stubborn?” she asked. “It would be so much easier if you just listened.”
“Why go with easy when I can be a pain in your ass?”
She laughed.
“Need a hug?” he asked.
“Yeah, that poor woman.”
“Were you close?” Chris asked as he held her. “Did she mean something to you?”
“Yeah, I hated her freaking guts to this day. She rode my ass, hit me with a ruler more than once, and my mother nearly kicked her nun, habit-wearing ass across DC.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, she was a bitch on wheels, and I wish I could say this shocked me, but I pictured stabbing her with a pencil as a child.”
He was horrified.
Revenge has Come (An FBI/Romance Thriller Book 19) Page 26