“That’s okay,” Ethan reassured. “What do you have for us?”
Christina took a seat and opened her tablet. “First and foremost we have the initial woman’s ID. We did what Chris suggested and we came up with a name. Our victim was once Jenna Martin.”
Elizabeth was glad that they had her real name. “What else?”
“I have the report back on the powder residue found on the last victim’s lip. Doctor Leonard was indeed right. It’s smelling salts.”
“So he’s escalated to torture,” Callen added.
Christina shrugged. “All I know is that this guy is screwing with the lab techs.”
“What do you mean?” Elizabeth didn't like anyone messing with her team, and she intended to catch him and put a stop to it as soon as possible.
“Generally, our killers follow a plan. Everything is consistent from victim one to the final one, but not him. With Scarlet Red, he shoved a necklace down her throat. There was raven blood and the fire contained evidence. That’s not the same with victim two, Dyana Carlos. She had the raven blood and no clothing burnt or necklace.”
“Could he be keeping the necklaces as a souvenir?” Elizabeth inquired, staring at her husband.
He considered the possibilities. “If they were significant to him, then he could be doing that.”
“Christina, continue,” Elizabeth urged.
“With victim three, Harmony Wilcox, we had no clothes burned again and this time no raven’s blood, but did find trace.”
“Yeah, did we get DNA on the hairs and run them through the system?” Elizabeth asked.
“Um, yeah. I have really bad news about that.” Christina didn't want to be the one who told them the truth, but they couldn’t hide it for long.
“They weren’t viable?” she asked, waiting for her reply.
“We had a really bad screw up, and you’re going to want to kill someone,” she gushed.
“Oh shit,” muttered Ethan. “Christina, what’s happened?” He prayed the only DNA sample wasn’t destroyed.
“I was working personally on the hairs. I logged them out, I didn't get to finish since more evidence came in, so I placed them back in holding and re-logged them. The next day, I went to finish and they were gone.”
Elizabeth stared. “I’m sorry, gone?”
“Yes,” she squeaked. “I’m taking full responsibility for this one, and I want to tell you that we pulled the lab apart and searched the dumpsters and still nothing. They just vanished.”
“Like magic?” inquired Elizabeth.
Both men watched her flush a shade of red that only happened when she was about to blow.
“So, what you’re telling me is that someone lost the only DNA evidence we have, after we officially put it on the log?” she drawled, the southern coming out.
Oh hell.
“Yes.”
“That we did something so rookie, that if it were someone else I would have humiliated them unmercifully, dragged them down the street and kicked the shit out of them?”
“Probably.”
Elizabeth stood and that caused Christina to slide back in her chair. Instead of going after the woman, she turned and rested her forehead against the white board. Finally, after a few minutes she spoke. “I want you to go back to the lab and find them. I don’t want to hear they’re gone. Am I clear?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Next time that there is a screw up, mistake, issue, incident or anything else, you’re to report it ASAP.”
Christina swallowed and knew she had no choice but to tell the truth. “I did, boss. As soon as I figured out that they were gone, I told Chris, and he instructed me to find it or he was going to have to tell you.”
“Please go.”
She didn't want to lose her temper, but now she had two people to be angry at over this. Her head tech and ME were in big trouble if she couldn’t get it under control.
Christina ran from the room, not even looking back.
Ethan got up from his chair and led her to it. Sitting her down, he knelt beside her. “Baby, it happens. You have to relax. We like to believe that we’re above mistakes, but sometimes we’re not. I’ll call FBI West and have them recheck the evidence that we shipped with Chris. We’re running on minimum staff here and scattered.”
“It’ll turn up, angel.”
She nodded and took a deep breath. “You’re both right. Evidence doesn’t just walk away.”
There was a knock on the door, and Chris Leonard and Cyra Austin walked in together.
“Director Blackhawk?” she called, waiting for acknowledgement.
They both answered, “Yes?”
“I have a little problem.”
Elizabeth started laughing. It was that scary laugh, the one she let out when she was going to put her hands on someone and inflict pain.
“If it’s about the missing evidence, let me assure you that we just found out.” Ethan stared at Chris. “A day after we should have been told.”
The looks said it all.
He grimaced at the cat being let out of the bag. “I’m sorry. I was trying to give them until today to find it. I did warn them I was going to have to tell you both.”
She was still laughing. “We just compromised our court case. It’s logged in as being collected. Unfortunately, we can’t unlog it.”
“It has to be here. I’ll go help after our reports,” Chris stated.
Elizabeth stared over at her. “What’s your problem, Cyra?”
She whistled, and in trotted a dog.
There was more laughter.
“I know this is unprofessional and inexcusable, but my brother bailed on me and the dog had nowhere to go. I couldn’t leave him in a house for the rest of the time we’re here.”
“He can sit in the lab with me,” Chris offered. “He’s really a good dog.”
She stared at him openmouthed. This was just plain insanity. They lost evidence, and now she was actually contemplating letting a beast of a German Shepherd stay while they worked.
Cyra clicked and he walked over to Elizabeth and offered his paw.
Okay, so he was smart. Maybe he could find the evidence.
Next, he laid his head on her knee and she finally broke down and ran her fingers through his fur. “What’s his name?”
“Rex.” Cyra couldn’t believe the tough Elizabeth Blackhawk was even considering it. It had to be a sign of the apocalypse. All that they needed now were some horsemen to fly by the window, and she’d know it was the end of the world.
She stared down at the dog. “Rex, do you promise to not eat evidence or pee on the floor?”
When he barked, she laughed. “I may replace all my lab staff with dogs.”
Blackhawk was entertained by the notion, especially today.
“Okay, can we finish this meeting?” Elizabeth asked. “I have a killer to find.”
Chris and Cyra sat together as they prepared for the reports. Chris opted to start first, since he was going to need to get down to the lab to help tear the place apart. “The team finished the church processing. We have seventeen different DNA samples from males on that altar cloth. I won’t say what from. You’re all smart enough to figure it out on your own. There were three samples from women. We’re running them through the system, but you know how far of a long shot that’s going to be.”
She was well aware.
“The Demon powder that they were burning matches the same one as we’ve consistently found on the victims. Here’s the good news; they found the original packing materials, and we’ve contacted the company asking for any names of buyers in this area. We told them to comply, or we would be forced to get a warrant.”
“Good job, Chris,” stated Blackhawk.
“I also can tell you that the killer moved positions during the kill. I re-ran all the numbers, and it looks like with Scarlet Red/Jenna Martin that he stood beside her body. With Dyana and Harmony, he was behind them and moved the knife in the opposite di
rection.”
“He didn't want to get messy?”
Blackhawk thought about it. “Or have to burn his clothes. If he stood behind her he could redress if he was naked, or just stay clean if he was clothed.”
Elizabeth glanced over at her ME. “Anything else?”
“Not yet. If you don’t mind, I’ll go help find the hairs and then start working on anything else we’re behind with for the day.”
She dismissed him.
Before he left, Chris leaned down to kiss Cyra on the lips before walking away. He ignored the look on her face and how red she flushed.
“Oh my God! I’m so sorry!”
Elizabeth laughed, finding it funny. She knew exactly how Cyra felt. “You get used to it. You had searches to run, how about you tell us what you found?”
Trying to not be mortified, she made a mental note of warning Chris not to kiss in front of the bosses. It was weird. “You wanted a comprehensive search run on Harmony Wilcox and it’s done. First, she’s thirty two years old and gainfully employed at a CPA’s office as the manager. She’s had the same job for six years now. When she graduated college, Harmony came back home to live in Circle Rock to take care of an aging parent until his death. Everything about her looks squeaky clean and there’s not a single thing that screams Wiccan either.”
“So, you’re telling me that you found nothing?” Elizabeth asked as disappointment began to settle in her gut.
“Oh, I found you a suspect,” Cyra said victoriously. “Our last victim had filed a PFA against her live in boyfriend one month to the day that she was murdered.”
“What did she allege?” Callen asked, entering details.
“It seems that he was angry when she tried to break up with him, and he tried to shove her through a glass door. He ran from the scene and wasn’t arrested because there was no one there to verify the story. It was he said/she said, but they helped her file against him.”
“Do we have a name?”
She sent the information to their phones. “I took the initiative to get you the address of his new residence.”
Elizabeth pulled the man’s name and driver’s license picture up on her tablet. “Terrific. We’re going to be making a little stop to meet Stephen Harding this morning.”
“I’m glad that I could be of service,” Cyra said, watching Rex sitting protectively beside Elizabeth. “What do you need me to do now?”
“I want you to start pulling the financials on all the victims. Maybe we’re missing something. I want to assure that when this goes to court, we don’t get screwed big time.”
She began working.
Before they could pack up their gear and head out for the interview, there was another knock at the door. In walked the chief of police and her one officer.
“Chief Lowry and Officer Marsh, to what do we owe this pleasure?” Elizabeth inquired.
The woman stood there with her arms crossed. “You’ve yet to file an update with my office or give me copies of the reports like you said you would. I figured since you obviously don’t want to play nice, I’d come to you.”
Had the woman asked politely, she would have immediately complied. Since Elizabeth didn't like her tone, she was going to slap some bitch down. “Oh, I’d love to do just that but I’m sorry, we’re about to run out to interview a suspect, so it’ll have to wait.”
The woman didn't look impressed. “No, you’ll give it to me now.”
When Elizabeth stood, Rex also got up, making his appearance known.
“What the hell is that fleabag doing in here?” demanded Lowry, stepping back. “We don’t allow dogs in our buildings, and he’s got to go.”
The big thing with Elizabeth was that the more people told her no, the more she wanted to stir the pot to get the answer she wanted.
Yeah, Rex wasn’t going anywhere now. Since he irritated the chief of police, he was staying. If anything, he’d assure the woman left her alone.
Elizabeth patted him on the head. “That’s our FBI dog. He sniffs out bullshit and other random acts of stupidity.”
Cyra made a hand signal that only Rex could see. On cue, he jumped up, placed his paws on the table, and barked like mad. It caused Gena Lowry to back out of the office and slam the door. When she was gone, they all started laughing.
“I think I love you, Rex,” she leaned down to drop a kiss on his snout. She noticed that he was looking at her peanut butter cookie, so Elizabeth broke a piece off. “You’re the best dog ever.”
Cyra knew that was a huge tactical error on Elizabeth’s behalf. “When he pukes in the Denali, I don’t want to be blamed, since you’re feeding him people food.”
She shrugged. “I’m a mom. I clean up a lot of puke.” Changing the subject, she pointed at her agent. “While you’re running financials, I want you to really dig into Artemis and Ares’s lives. That’s obviously not their real names, so find them and get me an in depth on the man and his witchy wife.”
As they all walked to the door, Rex began whining. He moved across the room and sat in front of Ethan, dropping his paws on his feet.
He crouched down to run his hands over the dog’s coat. “What’s wrong? We’ll be back and the pretty one will probably have a bag of something for you. She’s predictable.”
“Hey!”
Cyra laughed. She was glad the bosses loved her dog.
On the way out, Elizabeth looked at the men. “Can I get a dog?”
They both answered at the same time. “NO!”
“Why not?”
Ethan went first. “Dogs make a mess on the carpet.”
“Newsflash ace, so do kids, and you want more of those don’t you?”
Ethan crossed his arms. “Are you saying if I let you have a dog, you’ll let me have more kids?”
“That is exactly what I’m saying.”
“Then you show me a positive pregnancy test and I’ll find you a bouncing ball of fur.”
Callen started laughing at what he already saw coming. “I can’t believe you just negotiated a child with an animal.”
Ethan really wanted more kids in their family.
If the price was a dog, so be it.
* * *
He had noticed that they were all becoming complacent.
Well, he’d fix that too. It was time to start to watch the next woman and prepare for the moment when he would take her. Oh, they assumed that it had everything to do with the coven meetings, well they were very wrong.
Now, he would make a point. He would take one without there being a meeting. Just so they would shake their heads in wonderment.
Yes, the dark Lord was calling once more, begging him to bring another to the sacrificial altar, so his power could grow.
Who was he to disobey?
He’d offer up another just to make a statement.
Tonight, the magick was going to happen.
In the cover of darkness, he’d take her and give her soul to the one who owned his own.
It was time…
* * *
Knocking on the door, they waited patiently for someone to answer. If he wasn’t there, they’d be back. As of right now, they didn't really have a lot of leads to work with, but Stephen Harding was their best bet.
Everything that they had on him showed that he had a propensity to cause harm to women, and unfortunately for him, their killer fit that description perfectly.
Once more, they began banging on the door, only this time Callen was using his booted foot. It obviously worked, since they heard footsteps as someone approached to answer.
When he pulled it open, he was caught off guard. Standing there were the three Feds with their badges out and not an ounce of amusement on their faces.
“Stephen Harding?” Blackhawk asked, tucking his ID back into his pocket.
“Yeah, that’s me. What do you want?”
Callen picked up where his brother left off, “When’s the last time you saw Harmony Wilcox?”
The man tensed.
“Why?”
It was Elizabeth’s turn. “Oh, no reason. The FBI is a little slow this month, and we decided to go door to door randomly and ask stupid people, asinine questions.”
He stared at her and looked confused. “I haven’t seen her since that lousy bitch had me slapped with a PFA.”
“Wow, we love when people answer us that way. Now, you need to give us an alibi,” Callen said, staring menacingly at the man.
“Wait, what’s going on?” he asked as he looked from one to the other. “You only need alibis when someone’s dead.”
And then he finally got it.
“You’re a quick one, Stephen Harding. So now, entertain us with yours.” Elizabeth was getting tired of idiots. Her tolerance was running very low, and she wasn’t expecting that to change while here.
“She’s dead?” He stared openmouthed. “Shit. Okay, when do I need the alibi for?”
Ethan gave him the date and prepared to enter any information he gave into his tablet.
“Okay that’s easy. I was at work. I go in every night at six and work until six in the morning. I work four shifts on and four off. Today’s my first day off since Monday.”
“We need your boss’s number,” Callen stated as he entered it into his phone. When it began ringing, he walked away to have the conversation in private.
“Is she really dead?” he asked, still shocked.
“Yes.”
He didn't like the idea that they were basically accusing him of being a murderer. “Wait, I’m not a killer. I don’t know what you heard, but I didn't hurt Harmony. Yeah, we broke up, but I’m not a nutcase.”
Ethan looked up. “Then why were you slapped with a PFA? Why don’t you tell us your side of the story then?”
“I came home one night smelling like perfume. She lost her mind and accused me of having a cheap affair.”
“And were you?” Elizabeth questioned.
“Well yeah, but it didn't mean anything.”
Callen walked back over. “He’s in the clear.”
“See! I told you!” Stephen was so glad that he was at work last night. “I may have cheated on her, but I wouldn’t kill her. I loved Harmony!”
Devil Hath Come (an FBI/Romance Thriller ~book 7) Page 38