Both of them looked incredibly shocked and horrified.
“Are you sure it’s her?”
They all nodded, saying nothing more. They wanted to see the reactions and the responses of the couple. It had appeared genuine, but then again, they never expected him to be having an affair with Harmony Wilcox either.
“How?”
Ethan took over. “Well, if you didn't have a circle, that means he grabbed her wherever she was heading to or from. That now means that the killer is escalating even further.”
“Oh Goddess, this is horrible,” Artemis stated. “We will have to have a circle to mourn her loss.”
Callen spoke up, “Yeah, you know what? That’s a really bad idea. He’s already claimed one more, and that’s like inviting him to the party.” They knew that the killer had already taken everyone off the photograph. His next victim was anyone’s guess.
She considered his logic. “You may be right.”
Wow, that was easy. Elizabeth was going to let their mediator work his magic more often. Generally, she suggested things and people just blatantly ignored her.
“Can we ask you some questions?” Ethan pushed, hoping to open the door for Elizabeth to start her maneuvering.
“Absolutely! We want to help. We’ll do anything to assist you in finding this animal!” Artemis stated, wanting justice for her Wiccan family.
“I’m glad you feel that way,” she replied as she leaned back. “I’m going to have to ask you questions, and I need honest answers.”
“We have nothing to hide,” stated Ares. “We harm none, as it’s the law we live by as Wiccans.”
She figured that was a good place to start. “I’m not going to lie, Jenna and Roger. We know everything about you both.”
It registered almost immediately.
“Those are names we buried many years ago, Director Blackhawk,” she stated. “They were from a different time and a life that we don’t adhere to anymore.” She tossed her red hair over her shoulder almost angrily.
Oh, Elizabeth could feel the ice wall forming. It was a good thing that she was accustomed to chilliness and didn't mind busting on through it to get answers. “Yes, I understand that, but that doesn’t make it irrelevant.”
“We can discuss it all you want, but we prefer to not be addressed as those names. Surely, we can reach that agreement,” Ares stated.
Okay, she could do that. “Ares, you were arrested for statutory rape and are supposed to be registering as a sex offender. How about we talk about that first?”
Where she expected to draw some surprise, it garnered nothing. Neither of them even batted an eyelash. It was as if they were ready and expected it.
“There is a reasonable explanation, and I think once you hear it, you will see all of this differently. Already, I can tell that you’re judging me by what you perceive to be the truth,” Ares began.
She objected. “You’re very wrong on that one, Ares. Our job is to ask questions and find the truth, not judge. We’re the law, not the jury.”
He nodded, hoping that they would give him the benefit of the doubt. “Very well. When I was a teenager, I was dating a younger girl. I was seventeen and she was fifteen. That’s normal, correct?” he asked, looking at each one of them. “After all, that’s the age difference between you and you,” he said, pointing at Ethan and Elizabeth.
How he knew that, they had no idea.
“We dated that full year and fell in love. We had sex, we made plans, and we started to pursue other avenues of interest like Wicca. I turned eighteen and went off to college, but when I came back on the weekends, we were still together.”
Artemis continued, “My parents were very disappointed. When they found out that I was planning on leaving their staunch Christian views for an alternative path, they became bitter and angry.”
The picture was becoming clearer.
“So, in order to keep her from converting to Wicca, they attempted to keep me away from her. It lasted for only two years. We’d sneak around or meet up in the woods, practice our magic and consummate our relationship. We were a couple. The only reason that I have the arrest and status of sex offender is because I dared to love a woman who was two years younger.”
Okay, so strike one there. He was right, it made sense, and it wasn’t exactly uncommon for parents to try the statutory rape offense out to dampen love between young kids.
“When I turned eighteen, I left home and we were immediately married. We left Washington and that ugly past behind to be a couple. In our journey, we’ve become stronger and more in love,” stated Artemis.
Yeah, unless you add in the sex talk with another woman. All the lovey dovey was nice, she believed in it herself, but enough was enough. “So, this union that you have is unbreakable?”
“Yes,” Ares said.
“Then why were you having phone calls of a sexual nature with Harmony Wilcox? Before you deny it, we have phone records and a witness that overheard the conversation on her end.”
He looked shocked. “I assure you that I wouldn’t ever cheat on Artemis. She’s my other half. I swear to the Goddess, you have to be mistaken.”
Elizabeth stared at Artemis and she saw the truth. There was the look of fear at being caught. Well, well, if this wasn’t one hell of a twist that she didn't see coming.
Ethan took it all in, as he watched to compare everything to his profile to see if either fit. He saw the look on Artemis’s face and knew what kind of heartache was coming for the man.
Apparently, their fidelity was a one way street.
“I believe you,” she replied, staring over at the woman. “How long were you having a sexual relationship with Harmony?”
Ares looked over, shocked and surprised at what he was learning. “You have to be mistaken.”
Elizabeth knew they weren’t. “Yeah, I’m sorry that I accused you, Ares. I see that I was off a little on the who, but not the affair.”
“Artie, tell me she’s lying and making all this up!” he pleaded tears filling his eyes.
Callen hurt for the man. He couldn’t imagine finding out that Elizabeth was sleeping with someone other than him and Ethan. He placed his hand on her thigh as he craved that simple contact for reassurance. It wasn’t lost on him that Ethan did the same thing as the possibilities haunted him too.
“I’m sorry, Ares. It just happened one night.”
The look on his face said it all. She couldn’t have hurt him more, even if she drove a dagger into his heart.
“But why?”
“We did a private circle, and it called for more energy and she suggested sex magick.”
The man looked physically sick by her admission. “We kicked Arlen James from the coven, because we said it wasn’t happening, and you went and did it behind my back? You should have come to me. You betrayed me, Artemis!”
“I did, and I’m so very sorry.”
Elizabeth stepped in. “So why the phone sex if it was just something for a ritual.”
“I didn't want to continue on with her, but she told me that she would tell Ares. What choice did I have?” she demanded, tears filling her eyes. “Harmony had a perverse sexual appetite and she swore she’d make up horrible stories to make Ares hate me.”
Well, that part was probably very true. They were well aware that Harmony was a sexual deviant.
Ares stood and glared down at her. “You could have told me the truth. I at least deserved that after thirteen years of love, adoration and fidelity!” Ares turned towards them. “I’m sorry, but I need to take a walk. If you have more questions, they’ll have to wait. I seem to be in a bad mood since finding out the only woman I’ve ever loved in my entire life has betrayed my heart.”
With that, he stormed from the room, his long hair flowing behind him.
Artemis began weeping uncontrollably.
Elizabeth stood and handed her the tissues. In her heart she felt bad for the woman, but this assignment was now just flipped upside down. He
re, she had expected to come in and crucify the man, when it was the woman who was the sinner. Yeah, her perspective was all out of balance.
“We’ll let you have your privacy,” Elizabeth stated, motioning to the men to leave.
Once outside, they untied Rex and headed to the Denali.
“Holy shit, I wasn’t expecting that!” stated Callen.
“Yeah, tell me about it,” Ethan replied. “I feel for that poor man. If I were him, I would probably be a great deal angrier.”
Elizabeth said nothing, only kept walking.
“See, that doesn’t offer me reassurance Elizabeth. You should be telling me that you’d never cheat on either of us,” Ethan said.
Still, she didn't answer.
“Elizabeth!” he tapped her arm.
She looked around. “What? I’m sorry. I was thinking.”
Both men breathed a sigh of relief.
Callen was curious as to what had her oblivious to their conversation. “About what?”
“How I would have handled that differently, had I known that it was Artemis cheating on him. I know it’s not fair, and I’m sure that makes me a horrible person or some raging man hater.”
“You’re far from that,” Callen reassured. “You’re with two men. There’s no hate going on here.”
Ethan touched her cheek, understanding what was eating away at her. Sometimes, you had to cross lines you would normally avoid.
She stared at him with haunted eyes. “I hope I didn't just destroy their marriage to find a killer.”
Neither man spoke.
“Yeah, I know. It’s a great time to find my freaking conscience.”
As they were just about to enter the police station, Cyra called Elizabeth. All three financial reports were done, and she needed an update to know if they had learned anything specific.
She explained what had just happened, and she too was taken by surprise on this one. That was a huge twist in the plot.
It was reassuring to know that they weren’t the only ones who didn't see it coming.
Focusing on the four companions in the photo, she wanted Cyra to work on finding a connection between the women. If they were best friends, they were likely together a great deal. “Check all four records for similarities and see what comes up.” Maybe a clue would show up in the statements.
Right before they walked into the police station, Callen turned towards them. “I hope everyone in that building is respectful, because I’ve had about enough of their bullshit and Circle Rock.”
Elizabeth laughed. Normally something like that would come from her, not Callen. After all, he was the mediator.
“Consider the source, Cal darlin’,” she replied, patting him on the shoulder. “I can’t let them bother me. I have too much on my plate right now to worry about it.”
Yeah, there was only one more victim between her and the altar.
They followed her in and stopped at Clifford Bean’s desk. It was strewn with a couple of large text books. As soon as he hung up the phone, he glanced up smiling at them. “Hey! How can I help you three today?”
“We’re supposed to have a meeting with Officer Marsh. I believe he’s expecting us. Is he in a conference room or at his desk?” Elizabeth asked.
“No ma’am. He’s up in the chief’s office. Do you want me to announce you’re arrival?”
She shrugged. Either way, she was pretty damn sure that neither person was going to be pleased to see them. Besides, Gena Lowry wasn’t going to be staying. She had nothing to do with this.
Walking in, the Feds found them both standing with arms crossed and twin looks on their faces. It was a cross between worry and anger.
Gee, shocking that someone was pissed off at them.
Go figure on that.
“You need to leave, Chief. Right now we have to ask your officer some questions about his whereabouts on the nights of the abductions.”
She stood her ground. “I’m sorry, but I can’t do that. First, I’m his boss, and it’s my job to keep his interests in mind when the Feds start a witch hunt, and also because I’m his alibi.”
Elizabeth stared at her with such disdain over her comment. “You’re a funny one, Chief Lowry. In fact, I’d say you should be a comedienne, except your shtick sucks. I bet all the dead Wiccans wouldn’t find your humor entertaining at all.”
The woman, just then, realized what she had said. “Listen, I didn't mean it that way. What I have to tell you is something no one else knows, okay? For the last year, Greg and I have been a couple. We started working together and it just happened, you must understand what I mean,” she said, pointing at the three of them.
“Actually, we three,” Elizabeth did the same thing, “aren’t applicable to that. See, we don’t hide our relationship, and we also are all ranked as directors. You’re his boss, and that’s going to look different when it hits the light of day.”
Greg spoke up, “Is there any way that we can keep this quiet? I don’t want Gena to lose her job. I’ll start looking for a new one as soon as this meeting is over. Can we please keep this off the record?”
The three Feds stared at him like he lost his damn mind.
The police chief and her officer began to look distraught as their only chance slowly slid down the drain.
“Yeah, okay,” she added. “How about you tell me about the notes? Why don’t you try and convince me that it’s not you that’s leaving them?” she inquired.
They both sat down, and he reassuringly took her hand in his. “We both have separate homes, but we mostly stay at my place. We really try to keep low key and like nothing is going on between us. My place has a garage and Gena parks inside, so no one is any the wiser. On the days that I received a note, I had left the house to go pick up our coffee.”
Making notes, Elizabeth urged him on.
“I leave first and grab two coffees, and then meet her at work. We casually walk in the door together. The one day that I didn't get coffee first, I headed to the gym because Gena had left earlier for a meeting with the mayor. I don’t know how the killer knew I’d be there, but he did.”
Elizabeth considered everything that he was saying. It was possible that the perpetrator was watching them too. He seemed to plan it all out. First, inviting her there, and then picking his victims meticulously. It had all the makings of a true stalker.
“Okay.”
They both looked relieved.
Gena crossed her fingers and smiled hopefully. “So, we can keep this quiet and not let this out since Greg has an alibi?”
No one was amused.
“So, let me get this straight. I come to your town and get accused of being difficult and hard to work with. You find out that I’m in a relationship with these two men and spread it around, and now you ask me for the same courtesy of not ruining your reputation or getting you fired? That takes a massive set of balls on your behalf to even think it, let alone let the words come from your mouth.”
They both knew that they were screwed.
Elizabeth stood and chose her words carefully. “You know what, Chief? Today’s you’re lucky day. I’m going to give you a little insight into my life. I don’t reciprocate people’s stupidity. You did something shitty, but I refuse to stoop to that level. So, where I may be a bitch or difficult because I believe in what I do, I won’t use what I dug up on you both to cause you any hurt.”
“I’m sorry,” she stated, apologetically.
“Don’t insult my intelligence. You look at the beat up boots and the jeans and think I’m just some country hick, but you’re wrong. I see right through that pathetic attempt at an apology. I don’t care what you think of me or the men I love. What I do care about is that you tried to stall my investigation by withholding information. For that, you can kiss my ass.”
As they headed to the door, the men followed her and tried not to laugh. Ethan and Callen loved when she got all stirred up and handed someone a tongue lashing. It was always so much fun to watch.
Outside, they found her smiling.
“Do you feel better?” Ethan asked.
“Hell yeah I do, Cowboy. There is nothing like a big ol’ plate of justification served up cold to make me a happy girl,” she stated as she fist bumped both men and grinned wickedly.
At that moment, all three of their phones started beeping.
“Looks like it is autopsy time, boys,” she said, heading to the Denali. Rex sat in it with his head sticking outside the window. The minute he saw her, he started barking excitedly.
“I think he’s in love with her,” stated Callen.
Ethan pulled out his sunglasses. “Can you blame him? That’s one smart dog.”
As he stood in autopsy, waiting for his three bosses, Chris rolled his shoulders and tried to get rid of some of the tension in his neck and back. When he had arrived back at the morgue, he found Patrick Parrish waist deep in victims of a car accident.
So, like a good professional counterpart, he offered his assistance. The man had eagerly accepted, and then proceeded to drone on about the different techniques and other work related topics.
Where Chris had tried to expedite the situation, it only took longer. Now, his head was pounding, his neck hurt from staring down for so many hours, and he still had one autopsy to go. It was a very long day for him.
Cyra was the first to arrive, as he stood there staring up at the ceiling to alleviate some neck tension.
“Hey, are you okay?” she asked, putting down two cups of decaffeinated coffee and crossing to him.
“I have a stiff neck from staring down. I swear it’s nothing, sweetheart,” he replied, still not looking at her.
“Turn around,” she stated, digging her thumbs into the sore muscles of his neck, as she tried to work out the knots. “How’s that feel?” she inquired.
“Really good,” he answered, tipping his head so she could find his sore spot. “This makes me want to lie on a table and let you have at it,” Chris added.
She laughed. “Please don’t ever let me come in here to find you taking a nap in the morgue on the table. That would freak me out more than the spider.”
Devil Hath Come (an FBI/Romance Thriller ~book 7) Page 45