Past Will Haunt

by Morgan Kelley

  “She definitely is. The one is so scorching hot. When you see her, you’ll know what I mean. It’s like a model fell from the heavens to the Earth.”

  Blackhawk grabbed the file. “Great. Let’s hope she’s not clueless. I hate cleaning up after newbies. They make one hell of a mess.”

  Jay shrugged. “She’ll owe us.”

  “Yeah, yeah. Let’s just get out of here and start working this case.”

  He wasn’t worried about another agent.

  He was the job.

  That’s all that mattered.

  That LaRue agent wasn’t his concern.

  Not now.

  Not ever.

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

  Morgue

  When Gabe finally got down there, the two women were standing there waiting.

  “I’m ready. I passed off your files. I hope everything was in there. If not, you’ll have two agents dogging you for more details,” Gabe warned.

  Elizabeth sipped her coffee as Livy handed Gabe one. “I’m not a bad agent. I know how to do my paperwork. I hate it, but I do it.”

  He laughed. “Yeah, I’ve seen it. You suck at it.”

  She grinned. “That’s why Livy does it. Right?”

  “If we want to keep our jobs, someone has to keep the wild woman from losing it.”

  Gabe laughed. “She’s not wild. She’s totally cowboy. When she starts wearing boots and a hat to work, we’re all screwed.”

  She elbowed him. “I didn't know that was an option. I think I’m going to start.”

  He sighed. “Of course you will.”

  “Yee haw! I certainly will.”

  “Okay, get serious. We have a body to view,” Gabe stated. He didn't need them making a spectacle. By them, he meant Elizabeth.

  When she headed into the morgue, it was dead silent in there. Generally, Chris Leonard was a bit more rambunctious. Today, it was like the fun was sucked out of him.

  She knew why.

  He was elbow deep in a dead woman, and that had to be a hard job to swallow.

  “Hey, Doc. I hope you have something for us,” she offered. “Gabe has opted to join us.”

  That was her warning to him.

  When Chris looked up, his face said it all. Doctor Leonard was struggling with this one, and it wasn’t like Elizabeth could blame him.

  It sucked.

  Gabe shook his head, knowing where this was heading. He’d seen the morgue sweats before, and this was just proof that this man wasn’t cut out to be in the FBI.

  “I’ll call in another ME,” Gabe stated, grabbing for his phone. “We’ll replace him.”

  Chris’s eyes went big. “Sir!”

  Elizabeth glanced over at her boss, putting her neck on the line. “Gabe, give him a shot. He’s learning, and I vouch for him. Chris has this. I know he does.”

  “Well, what are we supposed to do? Put a pair of gloves on and help him do his job?” Gabe asked.

  He didn't have time for this.

  Really.

  He didn't.

  Elizabeth handed her cup to Livy and placed Chris’s coffee on the empty metal table. She wasn’t giving up on him, and she couldn’t let him take the heat because they were all frustrated with this case.

  There was no way.

  She saw the value in his work.

  Gabe came across tough, but there were times when you had to be patient with people. You couldn’t ride them all the time. This was going to be one of those cases. Elizabeth could see it when she watched Chris.

  The man was meticulous. With time, he’d season and be one of the best in the field. She’d bet money on it. Besides, she had to give him a chance. She wasn’t leaving any newbie behind.

  If it worked for the Marines, it worked for her.

  “What’s she doing?” Gabe asked, watching his agent cross the room. She couldn’t be doing what he thought she was doing, could she?

  “It appears she’s helping,” Livy said, grinning at the look on their boss’s face. It was sexy and confused.

  She liked that in a man.

  “I’ll help,” Elizabeth said, snapping on the gloves. “Just tell me what you need me to do. This body is a mess. It has to be daunting.”

  It was.

  Chris stared at her like she was a Goddess, and if he wasn’t pretty sure she’d kick his ass, he would have kissed her. “Thank you, Elizabeth.”

  “What do you need me to do?” she asked. “Direct me, Doctor Leonard.”

  “I’m removing her stomach for content. It’s super full, so try and step back.”

  Elizabeth did what he asked. Yes, it made her want to toss, but she wasn’t going to let Gabe win this one. If he had his way, he’d be sending Chris Leonard to some backwoods town like Salem.

  When people judged, it made her want to dig in even more. Stubborn was her middle name.

  Gabe moved closer. “What do you have?”

  Chris tried not to see the dead woman. She was simply a specimen. That was the only way he was going to get through this report to Gabriel Rothschild.

  “She was assaulted. I found DNA under her nails.”

  “What about defensive wounds?” he asked.

  Elizabeth stared at him. “Really, Gabe? She’s been stripped of almost all her flesh. Most of her doesn’t even have skin.”

  Gabe knew that the best way to learn was under pressure. While Elizabeth wanted to shelter the man, Gabe knew it was better to make his teams work hard to impress him.

  It gave them a goal.

  “How did she die?” Gabe asked.

  “She was strangled. I have petechial hemorrhaging in her eyes, and her hyoid is definitely broken.”

  “What did he use?”

  Chris stared up at him as he dug out the stomach.

  “Quick, Doctor.”

  Chris looked rattled.

  Elizabeth placed her clean hand on his lower back for support. “You got this, Doc. It’s finals. Break it down for him like he’s your professor.”

  He closed his eyes and then did the job.

  “His hands were the likely the instrument of choice. I’ve yet to open her skull, but I’ve found fracturing. It’s the front of her head, across the frontal bone and into the parietal bone.”

  Gabe made notes. “Okay, so he knocked her out, and then?”

  Chris could see Elizabeth from his peripheral. He didn't want to look like an idiot in front of her, so he dug deep. “Then he began slicing her open. I’d assume that she was bound to the island where we found her. I found fibers in her mouth, so she was gagged.”

  “With?”

  “That’s not my job. I’ve sent the trace to Carol. She’s working on it. As soon as she knows, you’ll know.”

  Gabe grinned. The man was getting some backbone. That was a start. In this job, in this office, it was easy to get chewed up and spit out. If you came across as weak, you were going to be fed to the wolves.

  “What else?”

  “He took her apart, and it had to be painful. From the redness around the remaining flesh, I can tell that there was blood flow.”

  Gabe was curious how thorough the man was. He was waiting to see if he found that medallion.

  “Anything out of the ordinary?” he asked as Elizabeth held the container for Chris while he poured the stomach contents.

  It was smelly.

  Gross.

  And something she didn't think she ever wanted to be that close to again. Oh, she could have been a doctor. God knew she was smart enough, but she couldn’t handle this part.

  Stomachs should remain in the body.

  “If you puke, Elizabeth, I will too,” Chris warned, hearing her breathing escalate.

  Gabe laughed. “This should be a game. Which one of you will puke first? Anyone want to bet?”

  She gave him a dirty look. “Yeah, I’ll make a bet. I bet I can get you angry with my next sentence.”

  Gabe laughed. “Continue, Doctor. Did you find anyth
ing out of place?” he asked.

  “Not yet.”

  Gabe didn't have all day. It was apparent that this man was going to need a babysitter.

  “Look in her vagina. You know, that thing all women have, and all men like to be in?”

  Chris looked up. Was he really going to have to dig inside a woman while Elizabeth watched?

  Fate hated him.

  “Uh, okay. What am I looking for exactly?”

  “I don’t know maybe Santa fucking Claus? What do you think? You’re looking for evidence, son!”

  Chris nervously put down the woman’s stomach and moved to the bottom of the table. With gentle fingers, he searched for anything out of place. As his fingers sought anything out, he couldn’t look at Elizabeth. Already, he was feeling the heat flush up his body. It was incredibly awkward to have his hands in a dead woman’s vagina when he was thinking about her.

  Shit!

  This sucked.

  Elizabeth knew why Gabe made him do it. He was trying to teach him toughness, but still…it bothered her. This wasn’t how she’d break her staff in, and she never would. Elizabeth hoped, one day, she’d be a gentler boss.

  “I found something,” he said, pulling it from her body with two fingers.

  In his hand, there sat a medallion. It was shiny and embossed with a four leaf clover.

  “Shit,” muttered Gabe. “It’s him. We don’t have a copycat after all.”

  They all understood the magnitude of Chris’s discovery.

  Livy stared up at him. “It’ll be okay, Gabriel. We’ll find him. Elizabeth and I are pretty good at working a case. You can trust us to do it right.”

  He felt a million times worse.

  Now that they had proof that this was the lunatic, they were going to be risking a lot to catch him.

  Mainly, Olivia Spencer.

  “Well, that answers our most pressing question,” stated Elizabeth. “We have the ‘Irish Butcher’ and he’s opted to make DC his next playground.”

  Great.

  This was horrible news.

  “What else do we have on the woman?” Elizabeth asked, taking over for Gabe. He was standing there staring at Livy, and she figured she should cover for him too.

  The look on his face said it all, and she was pretty sure he was getting ready to do something detrimental for his career.

  “She was sexually assaulted. That I noted before finding the hidden medallion,” he stated. “Would you like me to show you how I knew?” he asked, smiling at Elizabeth.

  “Uh, no, Doc, I think we can forget that.”

  “Well, I wasn’t going to offer up show and tell,” he said, then realizing what he said. “Wait! I didn't mean…I wasn’t implying…”

  He went red.

  Then he went sheet white.

  “Oh, shit.”

  She laughed. “Tell me how you know, Christopher. You don’t have to show me. I’m a fast learner. Before long, I’ll be able to read your mind.”

  He opened his mouth and blushed. “I’m so sorry, Elizabeth.”

  “Are you two done?” Gabe asked, getting irritated. He needed the details and didn't have time for this mess.

  Elizabeth lifted a brow and then glanced over at her partner. She was staring up at the man and crowding him. Gabe should talk. He wasn’t exactly moving away from her.

  “Glass houses, Gabe,” she said, cluing him in.

  He cleared his throat. “You know what I meant.”

  “Anyway,” Chris said, opting to continue, “she was sexually assaulted. There are tears inside her body and blood. The fact that she bled during the assault is proof that she was alive at the time. Considering how spread out her skin and flesh was, and that it wasn’t damaged, I’d postulate that he started with rape and then moved on to the mutilation.”

  “Thanks, Doctor,” Livy said, making notes.

  She was trying to piece this murder to the case file Gabe had given them. Everything pointed to one person. It was likely the butcher had indeed found a new place to hunt.

  “Doctor, I’m going to need a copy of your report for the director. Make sure it’s complete, all the t’s are crossed and I’s are dotted. If he calls me on it, I’m going to call you on it, and trust me, you don’t want that.”

  He nodded. That was the very last thing Chris wanted to deal with.

  “Get back to work.”

  Chris did as he was told.

  Elizabeth pulled off her gloves and tossed them before she grabbed the man’s coffee. She saw he was coated in goo, so she held it for him.

  “Thanks, Elizabeth. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me.”

  She smiled. “I’ll check in with you later, okay? If you find anything, call my cell,” she offered. “Do you still have my number?”

  He nodded, his heart thumping in his chest. Of course he had her number. Over the last few weeks he’d stared at it in his phone as he built up the nerve to call her after hours.

  Gabe rolled his eyes. Then he turned his head to see Livy checking out his ass.

  His face flushed.

  Elizabeth snorted, but thankfully kept her mouth shut. If she said one word, he was going to lose it. Gabe could feel it coming.

  Now he needed to focus.

  “What are you two going to do now?” Gabe asked, hoping he could divert Livy’s attention. She’d been around Elizabeth too long.

  Who knew what she’d say?

  “Well, we’re heading out to the victim’s house. We’re going to canvas, talk to the neighbors, and check out the woman’s personal space. By now, the team should be done, and we’ll be cleared to dig around.”

  Gabe was nervous. The idea that the ‘Irish Butcher’ might be watching the crime scene worried him. If he didn't have eighteen other agents to focus on, he would have been going with them.

  “Okay, keep in contact, and let me know what else you find,” he offered. “I want you to call me every hour to check in.”

  Livy stared at him. “Are you being serious?” she asked, wondering what the hell was going on. That was new.

  Gabe didn't babysit that much.

  “Yes. It’s an order. Don’t break it or…”

  “You’ll spank us?” Elizabeth teased.

  Chris stared openmouthed.

  Gabe pointed at her. “One day, Elizabeth, you’re going to go too far.”

  She snorted.

  “We’ll check in later, boss man. Keep your britches on and stop stressing,” Elizabeth said, as they headed out.

  Then she had an idea.

  It was a stroke of genius.

  “Hey, Gabe!” Elizabeth called over her shoulder.

  “What?”

  “Are you free to do dinner tonight? We can discuss what we found and get you on the same page. I know you love a meeting that involves whiskey.”

  “Elizabeth!”

  She laughed. “Are you in or not?”

  Yeah, he was good with that. “Send me the location. I have a meeting at five with the director, but then I’m free after that. I can meet you there.”

  “It’s a date.”

  Chris watched it all go down. How come he couldn’t get the nerve up to do what Elizabeth just did? It all looked so simple. You saw a person you liked, and then you asked them out.

  He was a chicken.

  Then Chris stared at Gabe, jealously.

  He had to wonder if there was something between them. People talked about how she was his pet agent.

  Still…he never noticed there was anything inappropriate going on between them.

  “See you then, boss,” she said as the morgue door swung shut behind them. It was hard not to be overcome with laughter.

  “What’s so funny?” Livy asked.

  “I’m just picturing his face tonight when he shows up at the place I pick.”

  She didn't get it.

  “Uh, why will you have to picture it? You’re going to be there having dinner. You’ll be able to see it first hand, won’t yo
u?” Livy asked.

  She smiled. “No, I won’t be. That’s the beauty of this plan.”

  Livy glanced over. “What? I think you lost me somewhere. What are you talking about?”

  “Well, I’m going to be busy chasing leads.”

  “Yeah, I will be too.”

  “Wrong.”

  “What?”

  Elizabeth was going to do something she never did before. She was going to play Cupid. “Actually, you’re going to put on something sexy and update our boss at a nice restaurant. He likes steak, and he likes whiskey. They’re his two favorite things in the world.”

  Yeah, next to Livy, but she was going to have to navigate this one on her own.

  “You’re bailing?”

  “Yep, and you’re going to attend this meeting and knock his socks off.”

  She laughed. “He’s going to skin you alive. The second you don’t show up, he’s going to lose it. Gabe is going to flip his shit on me.”

  Elizabeth laughed. “No, he won’t. He’s going to be outside his comfort zone, but you’ll get him trapped. Isn’t that what you want?”

  She thought about it. “No. I want him to want me.”

  Elizabeth touched her arm. “He does. You just freak him out.”

  “Why?”

  “He’s a control freak who has to be in charge. You made the first move, and now he’s reeling. Just go to dinner, update him, and don’t hit on him too much.”

  “Too much? It’s like being half pregnant, Elizabeth. You can’t really make a pass halfway. If you tried it more, you’d see that.”

  “Hey! I was helping you out. I know how to make a pass, and catch one.”

  Livy laughed. “Uh, you do not. Chris keeps sending you the ball, and you’re not catching anything.”

  “Well, there’s a reason for that. I’m not in the mood to get tangled up with a man. You are.”

  “Okay, how is this really going to work?” Livy asked, hoping her partner was right.

  “Simple. He’s going to crack, think it was his idea, and before you know it, you’ll be a couple.”

  “He won’t…”

  She cut her off. “Darlin’, I’ll bet money on it.”

  “I hope you’re right.”

  “Trust Cupid.”

  “What?” Livy asked, staring at her. “When did you decide to take on that role?”