Elizabeth took the clicker from him, dragged the table to sit in front of the screen, and got comfortable.
No one was surprised, since this was something she always did when she was thinking. Only the town ME seemed confused.
“What is she doing?” Doctor Perette asked.
“Walking through the scene as the killer,” Chris said. “It’s her process. This is how she rolls.”
They said nothing.
Finally, she spoke.
“I think I need to talk to the priestess again.” Her gut was screaming, and she was going to listen.
It might close this.
“Why?” Callen asked. “We seem to have this part of it closed down. He died accidentally, the priestess was wrong thinking it was him, and the killer left a body to screw with us.”
She shook her head.
While it looked like that on the surface, she smelled a big, stinky rat—a female one who was trying to pull the wool over the FBI’s eyes.
That wasn’t going to fly.
“Ethan, look at the space opposite where you found the body. What do you see?” she asked.
“There’s nothing there to see.”
“Now, look around that kitchen. What do you see there?” Elizabeth asked.
It was a hot, gross mess. “A total lack of hygiene, plus lots of filth and disgustingness, perhaps?”
She smiled. “Yeah, me too, so why is that one spot in front of him spotless? Why does it look wiped down? There are dirty dishes everywhere. We have wall to wall soda cans peppered with paper plates. Why is that one spot the only one without any pigginess of a wayward bachelor?”
They all stared at her.
She already knew the answer. Elizabeth had figured it out. They could tell by the smile on her face and the twinkle in her icy blue eyes.
The bitch was definitely back, and she was on her game.
While she picked it up fast, Ethan was a bit slower. He stared at the location for a couple of seconds until his profiler brain put it all together.
When he figured it out, he glanced over at her.
“I’m sorry.”
She believed him.
Truth be told, Ethan felt like an ass. She’d picked it up, and he’d screwed her out of walking the scene.
“You think someone was sitting there, maybe talking to him, and when they killed him, they wiped everywhere they touched.”
“Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking.”
“So, our killer took his life?” Callen asked. “I’m totally confused. Is that connected to the blood and missing livers?”
“Maybe I can clear that up,” stated Merry. She looked over as the doors opened and in strolled Boone. She noticed he wouldn’t look at her.
It was heartbreaking.
“Yeah, they said you broke something wide open. What is it?”
“I found a hair.”
They waited for it. Merry often made the important things sound like nothing, right before she delivered the coup de grace.
“And?”
“There was one stray hair, and it was in Kaleb Meeks’ hand. In fact, it was wound around his fingers.”
She didn’t get it.
“Director Whitefox, run your hands through Elizabeth’s hair.”
“What? Why?” she asked. “What’s that going to do?”
“Let’s call it show and tell. We all know that on this team, everyone loves show and tell.”
Oh, hell!
Not her too!
Callen didn’t mind. He was going to enjoy this.
“One smirk, and I’ll hurt you.”
He wiggled his eyebrows as he did what Merry asked. When he was finished, he stared at his fingers.
“What did you find?”
“That I’m covered with lots of her hair. It’s wrapped around my…” Then he got it. “He was running his fingers through someone’s hair!”
Merry nodded, still not smiling.
That was odd.
She loved this game.
It made Elizabeth worry. She’d been a horrible Cupid during this case, neglecting her romantic duties as the matchmaker. Since she was dealing with her own personal mess, everything fell behind.
She made a promise to fix this.
“Did it have a root ball to pull DNA?” Elizabeth asked.
“Yes, it did. It matches the medallion you brought in for analysis. The DNA is an exact match. The priestess was with him right before he died. There is no way in hell that he wandered around with hair on his finger for an extended period of time.”
To prove a point, she motioned toward Callen, who had already pulled hers off his hands.
“It managed to get onto his person, right before he bit the big one.”
She smiled.
This was why her gut was stirred up. She’d been right about the priestess from the get go. She was kissing a little too much ass.
“I’ve got her on this one.”
The detective didn’t get it. “Is she the killer?”
“Oh, she’s a killer, but more so, she’s an opportunistic bitch.” Elizabeth told them about the vampires, who had been more helpful than they knew.
“She and Meeks were having a turf war over who was going to be the big dog.”
“So she offed him?” Chris asked.
“Yeah, it was the perfect strategy. He plays with poison, he accidentally takes his life being a douchebag, and she’s big Voodoo priestess in the city.”
“But she didn’t know we were going to visit her.”
“And when we did, she freaked out, pointing us at him, only she didn’t know we’d get a warrant and find him in his house. He had no family, no ties, and word out there was the Feds were looking. He went missing, and that was going to help her out. It covered her bases.”
“So she’s a murderer.”
“Yep. I’d like to say I’m surprised, but I’m not. She was kissing my ass a little too much.”
Boone looked upset. “A lot of people trusted her. That’s going to be a blow to our community.”
Yeah, she got that.
“Detective, I don’t buy into religion anymore, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t. Let’s write this off as there are assholes who use it to their advantage every day. This isn’t about Voodoo. This is about a skank with no morals. Think of it as me cleansing the Voodoo pool so the true believers can worship without getting eaten by a shark.”
He nodded, pretending that was what was bothering him. It wasn’t. She wasn’t even close.
Boone didn’t give a shit about religion anymore. It wasn’t keeping Merry in his life. What was the point in believing in a higher power if they couldn’t help you find the one you were supposed to be with for the rest of your life?
He went with the obvious. “You’ll need more than a hair to bring her in. You need her to give herself up.”
She smiled. “I think I know how.”
“How?”
“Join me and see. Oh, and, Detective Savage, have you heard from your partner?” she asked.
“No, ma’am. He’s probably sleeping.”
“When he’s up, see if he has an address for the pimp. My people are working on it, but if he can give us the address, I’m one step ahead. I’m closing part of this murderous mess down, and then I’m heading to the B&B. We have some work to do.”
With that, the three directors and Boone headed out the door. When he stopped to turn around, he stared right at Merry. “Will I see you later?” he asked.
“If you want to and I get my trace done.”
“I do want to, Merry. Meet me at my place. We need to talk.”
And then he was gone.
No one spoke because they clearly saw the tears in Merry’s eyes. Chris grabbed his cane and headed her way.
“Do you need to talk?”
She shook her head. “I have to process those samples we found on the victims.”
Chris let her go.
Merry would talk when she wanted to be comforted
by her family, and not a moment sooner.
For now, they’d start digging back into the mess. Something had to be there, and it was a matter of time before they figured it out.
And they caught their killer—the real one.
Chapter Twenty-One
Friday
Mid-Afternoon
He was tying up loose ends.
Before long, the Feds would figure it out, and he couldn’t let that happen. He needed to stop them from getting any closer to him, and that meant the man had to die.
The body count was going up, but that was okay.
He’d take his liver and some blood and head home to hide out. While he hated going out in the sun, he didn’t have a choice. Hopefully, it was so late in the day, that he’d be okay. If not, he was going to be in pain.
This was why he needed to keep killing.
He didn’t want to live like this, a prisoner to the night, but he was too young to die. He was trapped.
As he approached the flop in ‘The Quarter’, he had the knife in his hand.
When he knocked, he was forced to wait in the setting sun. His skin burned. He could feel the blisters forming on his face.
He tried to be patient as the man opened the door.
It was clear that he’d just woken up, since he was holding a cup of coffee in his hand.
“What do you…?” he stopped.
That moment of surprise was all he needed. While Otis recognized him, he took the opportunity to end his life.
The knife found its way into his chest, and he stumbled backward into the dingy pimp’s nest.
The killer followed, closing the door behind them to give him the privacy he would need.
As he lay on the floor, bleeding out, he looked around. There was blood spreading. He’d have to leave it behind—but the liver…
Oh, that was coming with him.
He worked quickly, and the man was still alive as the cutting began. He whimpered in pain, as life leached from his body.
“Don’t be shocked. You lived a very bad life. You had to know I’d show up and kill you.”
Otis Short struggled to speak. On his last gasp of breath, his eyes died as his heart stopped pumping.
His life was taken along with his liver.
As the killer left, he made sure the door was locked behind him. Let the FBI come there.
Let them try to get the answers they so desperately needed to close this case.
He was tying up loose ends, and soon, he’d leave.
This town was getting dangerous, and he needed to get the hell out.
‘The Big Easy’ was anything but.
It had become a colossal pain in his ass—thanks to Elizabeth Blackhawk.
For that, she’d pay.
* * * B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x * * *
Marie Babineaux’s
When they got there, the woman looked a little too happy for her own good, and Elizabeth knew why. All over the news, there were reports how Kaleb Meeks, the poison Voodoo guru had bought it by his own hand in a horrible accident.
Well, there was a reason it was on the news. They wanted the woman to be off balance when they arrived.
They wanted her to think she’d gotten away with something. Instead, they were going to use her ignorance to their advantage.
Elizabeth was going to catch a manipulative bitch in her own web of lies.
Despite their plan, her happiness was irritating.
Yeah, of course she was celebrating. Marie honestly believed that she’d gotten away with murder.
Not on their watch.
Death insulted her, but people, who thought they could get away with it, were destined to run smack dab into justice.
Taking a seat in her over cluttered Voodoo-filled lounge, she smiled and shoveled a ton of shit.
This was going to be gratifying.
Marie had wasted their time and distracted them from the case. Women had lost their lives, they’d been stalled, and now she was going to pay.
Blackhawk style.
“You look all chipper today,” Elizabeth offered.
“I feel free and safe. I don’t have to keep looking over my shoulder to see if Kaleb is trying to hurt me.”
Oh, they bet she felt free.
For now…
In a few minutes, she’d be in cuffs and heading off to jail if they had anything to say about it.
Elizabeth hoped she liked orange and prison mattresses. This twisted priestess was going to be living in a concrete cell for the rest of her life.
“Thank you for helping me. You are really as good as they say on the news.”
Elizabeth saw the smirk.
This bitch really through she’d gotten away with it.
It made her want to kick the shit out of her, right before feeding her to her Voodoo Gods.
“Yeah, about that.”
“What?”
“The detective needs to tie up some loose ends before he can file his official report.”
“Really?”
“Yes. You know how tricky situations like death by accidental poisoning can be.”
She offered them tea.
Yeah, hell to the no.
There was no freaking way they were eating, drinking, or touching anything. Sitting on the couch was bad enough—she expected some serpent to slide out and back to the mother of them all.
“Okay, what can I do?”
Boone had been briefed on the way over there. “We need to confirm your alibi.”
“For?” she asked, trying to pull off puzzled.
Elizabeth had sat face to face with killers before, so she could read her. She was trying to figure out where they were taking this. If anything, Marie was cold, calculating, and smart.
They were the best criminals to get off the street.
“Loose ends,” he offered. “What days were you with Jasper Butler?”
She pretended to think about it. “Last night, we were together, and last week on Tuesday.”
Boone made notes.
“And you’re one hundred percent positive of those days?”
She nodded.
Elizabeth watched, and she could see the worry. Oh, this bitch was hoping they wouldn’t realize that Jasper didn’t corroborate her alibi.
He’d said Wednesday.
She gave them Tuesday.
Coincidentally, that was the day Kaleb Meeks was murdered.
“Yes, I’m sure.”
Elizabeth took over. “Yeah, we have an issue then.”
“What?” she asked, focusing on Elizabeth.
“Jasper told us a different day.”
She tried to stay calm, but her jugular was wildly bouncing, and she was looking to the left, attempting to fabricate a story.
“He must be mistaken. It was Tuesday, not Wednesday.”
Callen smiled.
His wife had just put one nail in the coffin.
“I never said that he told us Wednesday. Where did you get that?” Elizabeth asked.
If this bitch thought this was her first day at the interrogation rodeo, she had another thing coming. This was her game, and she knew how to trip a suspect up.
Welcome to her world. Here, she was queen.
“I…I don’t know. I just said it. Maybe it was something in the smoke. The spirits always talk to me.”
Hell no!
She wasn’t going to try and use that lame ass excuse, was she?
Even Boone looked skeptical.
That said a lot since he was a card-carrying member of the cuckoo farm.
“I know you’re not going to try to write this off as a Voodoo thing. Only someone who is crazy would whip that out in their last ditch attempt to save their ass from the sling.”
Elizabeth was the one smirking now.
“Are you?”
They could tell she was desperate. Yeah, she was holding on by the skin of her teeth.
“I’m doing no such thing. If you don’t believe me, you shou
ld leave.”
They all laughed.
“What’s so funny?” she asked.
“I don’t have to leave. You gave me enough to lock you up, and throw away the key.”
“You have nothing,” she said to Elizabeth.
Yeah, how very wrong.
“Let me walk you through how the law works, Marie. When you leave a trail, you get caught. It just so happens that not only do you have your days wrong, you left DNA evidence behind when you killed Kaleb.”
“What? No! I did not!”
Then she realized she was digging the hole deeper.
“I mean…”
Elizabeth cut her off.
“Let me tell you a little story, Marie. This one is about a girl who wants to be the best, the richest, and the one running the show. Only she made a mistake.”
The woman stared at her.
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Fact—you hated Kaleb because he was pulling away some of your clientele.”
She said nothing.
“Fact—you met with him in his home on Tuesday. After your little rendezvous, you killed him.”
“You don’t know I was there with him. You’re reaching for straws. I’ve seen this on TV. If you had anything, you’d be arresting me.”
Elizabeth slapped her cuffs onto the table. “I plan on it, but first, I want to watch you squirm. I want you to know that you didn’t fool us. I knew from the beginning something was up. I just needed the proof, and now I have it.”
Boone watched the woman work. He was curious how she was going to pull this off. They had one hair. In a court of law, there would be reasonable doubt. Marie would walk. Even the alibi was sketchy. The man was smoking pot. He was high as a kite. The defense attorney could question it.
This was going to be one hell of a dance.
Elizabeth smiled. “Oh, I’m not. You see, you kissed him. We have your DNA on his lips.”
She looked panicked.
It was a good guess on Elizabeth’s part. Merry said the dead man was running his hands through Marie’s hair, so she went with that. This wasn’t her first time at the interrogation rodeo. It wasn’t all scaring people with brute force. Sometimes, you simply had to lie, like they did.
Blood Shall Run (An FBI Romance Thriller Book 15) Page 54