She was pretty sure it would. They weren’t the only ones who had a brush with death.
Neither man enjoyed when she was in danger. Once she told them both about Kaleb Meeks, and how he’d booby-trapped his own house, the shit was going to hit the fan.
It was going to be a freaking husband free for all.
“Say something,” Callen asked, lifting her chin. “Silence is worse than the truth in most situations.”
With that, she happened to agree.
“I love you?” she offered.
Callen closed his eyes. “We’re screwed. It’s going to be really bad. I can already tell. You have that look on your face that screams ‘big fight on the horizon’.”
“I think I have a viable lead as to who might be behind this.”
“But?”
“We have a problem.”
That said it all.
Now he was really scared.
To his bones…
Chapter Fourteen
Thursday Late
Afternoon
After handling the Landon Walsh issue, Elizabeth, Ethan, and Callen headed back into the morgue to get the team situated. Only once there, they were already working.
Doctor Magnus was watching over the dead body as the beetles had a snack, Chris Leonard was perched on a table filling out paperwork, and Merry was doing her thing at the mass spectrometer.
“Okay, team. Let’s have it.”
Elizabeth crossed the room and hopped up beside Chris. “Where’s your partner?”
“He left. Apparently, he had something more important. Honestly, I think it was Tony munching on scorpions.”
She stared at him. “That is so gross, even for you.”
He popped one in his mouth.
“I can’t blame him for leaving,” Elizabeth offered. “Why don’t you tell me what you found?” Elizabeth offered.
“Well, our latest victim was as sick as we thought, and then some. She had Hep C, HIV, and a side of herpes that would make a sailor cringe.”
She didn’t doubt it at all. “She was a mess.”
“Yes, yes, she was.”
“What else?” Elizabeth asked.
“Her autopsy, except for the disease, was the same as all the others. She was missing a liver and when we drained her blood, quite a bit was MIA. If he killed her here, that means our suspicions were right, and he took some for the road.”
“How much is quite a bit? Are we talking a bathtub full or enough to do a few rituals?” Elizabeth was thinking about the man she and the detective had been looking for at his place. If Meeks was willing to poison trespassers, he’d certainly have no issue with using blood for spells.
“Well, in the name of science, and that you like the job done above and beyond, we emptied her.”
“And?”
“She was six pints low of a full tank. You figure one or two dripped out as she was here waiting for us, but the rest…”
“So four pints of blood? Merry, would that fit in the specimen jar we saw the killer with on the video?”
“With a liver, no. All by itself? Yeah, it would.”
All she could hope at this time was that the person doing this was doing spells and hexes—not trying to make people sick.
Her fingers were crossed.
“Tony, put the damn bugs away. I can hear you snacking. It’s freaking creepy.”
He strolled over with a specimen tray. They were sitting on a napkin. “Want one?”
“You’re a sick man,” she stated, laughing at her friend. His aqua eyes were filled with mischief, and she didn’t doubt he was trying to keep it light—in case Chris started struggling.
“Have one.”
“No, and how do you get your wife to make out with you?” she asked. “There’s no way I’d let you kiss me after snacking on a creepy crawler.”
“So…if I wasn’t eating them you’d kiss me?” he teased.
Ethan cleared his throat.
“Hypothetically?”
She was amused. “No.”
“Well, now that my heart is broken, I’ll explain why my girl doesn’t mind. As a fellow scientist, and anthropologist, she’s familiar with the cultural importance of getting protein from sources other than meat. Many societies fell if they didn’t have the food that they needed. I’m just preparing myself for any such thing.”
She stared at him.
She’d rather die.
“You two were made for each other.”
“I dare you to eat one.”
Callen and Ethan both objected. “Elizabeth!”
She snorted. “Don’t worry. I’m not that insane. I like to risk my life, but not by eating things that can kill me.”
“Bock, bock.”
She punched him.
“Shit!”
“We have other issues to worry about, Tony. Right now, we have a sick killer, who is toting around poisoned blood. We couldn’t find Meeks,” she offered.
Ethan had forgotten that she had been going out for an interview.”
“What happened?” Ethan asked.
Callen said nothing. He knew the shit was going to hit the fan, and he only hoped it didn’t get ugly.
“We had a little situation,” she offered.
Ethan lifted a brow. Then he glanced over at Callen. “Do you know what happened?”
“No, and I’m scared to ask.”
“We had to call Merry in to take a little sample for us.”
Then she told them the entire story. Elizabeth knew it was best to leave nothing out. Ethan was a smart man. He’d put two and two together and he’d come up with his own version of four—and that would be bad.
He did have one hell of a temper.
Ethan had been leaning against the morgue wall working on his phone. Now he was staring at her, his mouth open.
“Cowboy, you’re catchin’ flies.”
“Elizabeth, you’re a menace.”
Then he did something she never saw coming. He strolled right past her and to the detective. Holding out his hand, he shook it. “Thank you.”
Detective Savage accepted it. “It’s not a problem. I know you would have done the same.”
And he would have.
Then again, Boone didn’t like the idea that Merry could ever be in danger. She already had some crazy ex after her, she handled toxic things, and she was a Fed.
Holy shit!
He was going to age fast.
“What did you find on that webbing, Merry? Tell the men folk there was nothing to worry about.”
Merry crossed toward Ethan and handed him the paper. She didn’t say a word. Instead, she let him read it for himself. That told them everything they needed to know.
When he stared over at her, she got it.
Kaleb Meeks was playing a dangerous game, and she’d nearly walked right into it.
Literally…
“Mass Spec says that the substance found on the webbing was Tetrodotoxin,” Ethan said. “From the name, I’m betting it’s not sunshine and rainbows.”
Callen shook his head. “Anything with the word toxin in it won’t be.”
Merry took over.
“It isn’t. It’s a nature-based poison found in the skin and glands of certain animals. You can find it in frogs, some poisonous fish, and other things found in nature. This particular one is from Pseudoalteromonas…”
Elizabeth was staring at her. “Merry, really?”
“Uh, it’s a bacteria.”
“Thank you.”
“I told you that he was Bokor. Kaleb Meeks deals in poison. That’s his thing. He’s not only playing with Juju, but he’s willing to kill.”
That bumped him up on her list.
It looked like Boone had been right. Meeks was an asshole trying to hurt people, and that gave him motive.
“This is getting out of hand. You had someone try to firebomb you, and now this,” Blackhawk said.
“Chill, boss man,” she said, giving him a hint. H
e was treading close to making the same mistake he’d made before. “It’s all in a day’s work. They don’t call this the violent crimes division for shits and giggles.”
Ethan got it.
He closed his mouth.
Took a deep breath.
And then refocused on his wife.
“For the record, the detective had my back, and I wasn’t in any danger. I am a Fed.”
Boone understood both sides of the issue. “Really, she was safe. I spotted it before she could get tangled in it.”
It seemed to calm Ethan down.
“I think this Voodoo mess is getting dangerous. In fact, I think it’s safe to say we try and avoid anything like this ever again.”
Yeah, she was well aware.
“Darn. Now I have to cross it off my bucket list of crazy. What a letdown.”
He gave her a look.
It was best to drop the sarcasm.
He was trying.
“Speaking of Voodoo and mess, what did we find on the DNA on that medallion? Did we run the priestess Marie Babineaux?”
Merry pulled out her papers. She knew the boss was going to ask at some point. She was ready for her.
“We finished running her and the crypt. The fire destroyed everything, and I’m thinking that might have been part of the point.”
It could very well be.
“And her?”
“As we speak, she’s running through the system, I was able to pull a partial print off the back of the medallion. I’m running her through AFIS to see if she is who she says she is.”
“Awesome. I love when my team does their job.”
Elizabeth looked around. “Where are Seaton and Madden?” she asked.
Ethan replied, “I have them playing spy on your priestess. Since she’s really the only lead we have, other than Meeks and his poison, they’re sitting outside her place acting as tourists. Since she hasn’t seen them, we should be okay.”
She was good with that.
Elizabeth hopped down and began walking back and forth. She was trying to think about all of this.
“Ethan, can you please have our agents wrap it up in an hour and head back to the B&B? I want them to start pulling everything they have on Kaleb Meeks, and cross run him against Marie Babineaux. If he has a big old hard on over hurting her, it has to be for a good reason. I can’t imagine he’s just bitchy and wants to make her pay.”
He pulled out his phone.
“Callen, you’re on warrant duty. I don’t think there’s a judge in this city who will give us one, but we still have to try. Send it over, and we’ll hope that a man trying to poison trespassers is enough to buy us a look into his home. If that doesn’t work, we need to get the mayor involved. He might be able to ‘convince’ someone to sign off on it.”
Callen pulled out his tablet and began filling out the warrant. He didn’t think he’d get lucky either, but you never know.
Stranger things had happened.
“If you have a problem,” Ethan offered, “let me know. I might be able to get it through. Judges don’t mind when the Deputy Director pushes. I’ll owe someone a favor.”
She was good with that. Maybe having a sexy man with clout could work in her favor.
“What do you want me to do?” Detective Savage asked.
“You’re going to call your partner and have him meet us for an update. I want him going into ‘The Quarter’ with a picture of Meeks in tow. We don’t need this guy running free.”
He was good with that.
“Have him meet us at the B&B. We’ll have dinner and work out some things.”
Yeah, that didn’t sit well with him.
He didn’t want to leave Merry behind.
“To cover our bases, Merry,” Elizabeth said, seeing the two lovebirds staring at each other. “Tomorrow, half the team is heading to Landon Walsh’s home. We’re going to verify his statement. In the process, get DNA and sweep the place. He mentioned a book, and we’ll see if we have his contact in there. If not for us, we can pass it off to the right cops to bring him in. We might get lucky. He could be the killer.”
Merry made notes.
Elizabeth pointed at her spiffy husband. He was still wearing his tie and dress shirt. It made her heart skip. She couldn’t help it. “You’re on profile duty.”
He figured that was coming.
“I have a baseline worked up. It’s not fully filled in because we don’t really have much.”
She was aware.
“Can you include in it a priestess and a crazed Juju practitioner?”
“I can.”
That worked for her.
“What about us?” Tony asked.
“There’s so much trace still to be worked, that I need you two to do the unthinkable.”
He held up a scorpion.
“Yeah, that’s your dinner. You’re working late.”
Tony started laughing.
“I’m not eating that for dinner,” Chris objected. “I’m crazy, but I’m not certifiable.”
She was glad. If he ate it, Elizabeth would question his sanity.
Elizabeth focused on her team. “Please be careful, keep this door locked, and for Christ’s sake…if someone comes by trying to sell bodies, or talk you into giving up a liver, shoot him.”
There were snickers all around.
The team saluted as their bosses headed out. At the door, Elizabeth stopped.
“Detective, are you joining us?”
“I’ll be there. I need to handle one thing.”
Elizabeth didn’t have to ask what that one thing was. She could already tell.
The detective crossed toward Merry. “Hey,” he said, lowering his voice.
“Hey.”
“Be safe,” he practically whispered. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”
When he brushed one of the strands of her hair from her cheek, Merry felt the flush. She also knew everyone was watching her. Instead of being mortified, she began praying.
‘Please kiss me.’
‘Please kiss me.’
“I’ll see you later,” he offered.
“Yeah, have a good night,” Merry said, disappointed that her prayer didn’t work. This was why she didn’t buy into this religion crap.
He weighed his options. He really wanted Merry to be in his bed tonight. So, he took the chance. Leaning down, he kissed her. His body didn’t touch hers, but the electricity between them was clear.
She closed her eyes and let him control the mating of mouths. It was amazing, and filled her with such joy. It was so inappropriate, but she’d gotten the answer to her prayer.
When he pulled away, his mouth moved toward her ear. “Stay with me tonight. I want you to come home with me. If you won’t, I’ll stay with you at the B&B, but I want to be with you.”
She swallowed.
Jesus.
She was falling for this man.
“Okay. I’ll see you at your place as soon as I can get out of here.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out his keys. With everyone watching, he took one off.
It was his spare.
“Here,” he said, taking her hand and placing it in it. “You now have the key to my home.”
And his heart.
It was hers.
Merry didn’t know what to think. Her brain was on Native overload.
Holy shit!
He was moving fast.
“Can you get there safely?”
“I’ll get a ride.”
Yeah, he didn’t like that idea.
Instead, he’d make sure he was the only one giving her a ride, inside and outside the bedroom.
He smiled. “Thank you, cher. I don’t want you driving there alone. I’ll pick you up when I’m finished with the directors. We’ll have dinner.”
Yeah, and he’d take her back to bed, as many times as he could, so she’d realize how much he needed her.
How much she needed him.
“
I’ll be waiting,” she offered.
He ran his fingers across her cheek. “Thank you.”
Merry went to hand him back his key, but he wouldn’t take it. “Keep it. If you ever need to find a safe place, and you’re scared, you can go there. You’ll be safe,” he whispered.
Her heart skipped.
She fell in love.
There and then, she was a goner.
When he turned and walked away, she could barely breathe. At the door, he stopped to glance back at her. The piercing blue of his eyes nearly took her to her knees.
Yeah, she was screwed.
Then she did something so unlike her.
She blew him a kiss.
When he caught it and touched his heart, she nearly wept at what she’d found. He was a good man. Maybe there were good cops out there. Maybe, she’d found one after all.
As soon as he was gone and she turned around, both doctors were staring at her.
“Don’t!” she warned.
The men laughed.
“Let’s get to work and then grab dinner,” Chris said. “It’s going to be a long night. Let’s make the boss proud.”
And they would.
As they were getting ready to work, Chris got a text. Pulling his phone from his lab coat, he read over it.
‘Look in your lab coat, Christopher.’
He did what Elizabeth said. When his fingers found the treasure, he grinned. He pulled it out and held it in his palm like it was the most priceless thing.
She was feeding his body and soul.
He appreciated it.
“She left you a candy bar?” Tony asked, pointing at it.
“Yep.”
“That’s not fair. I didn’t get one.”
Chris was well aware. Not only was it a candy bar, it was the same kind she’d once give him when he’d been sick on a scene. She’d remembered.
“It must be love,” Tony said, sliding the tray toward him. “Want to melt it and pour it over the scorpions?” he asked.
Chris unwrapped it and took a healthy bite. “Hell no! I’m not sharing.”
“You’re mean. You used to be my best friend. Now you’ve replaced me with a woman who bribes you with chocolate.”
He snorted.
Yes, he had.
And Chris was more than okay with that.
Blood Shall Run (An FBI Romance Thriller Book 15) Page 38