It was putting too much pressure on her and Ethan, and honestly, they were getting nowhere. Now that she found that book with the notations inside, she was sure where this was heading.
“Are you positive?” Callen asked, looking a little green over the entire thing.
“Yep. I have no doubt in my mind that he was neck deep in that kind of dirty dealing.”
She handed Ethan the book, and he checked out the notations. Alongside each organ, which was handwritten in, there was a price.
“So, he was selling organs on the black market.”
“It makes sense, doesn’t it? All these young, healthy women were killed, and only one organ at a time was harvested.”
Callen was confused. “Why didn't he take them all from one person?”
Ethan had an answer. “There could be two reasons,” he offered. “First, they didn't want to get caught. You kill someone and only take one organ, no one is going to think black market organ sales. It wasn’t where my mind went first. We automatically thought sicko rebuilding someone. Our team didn't connect it, and we deal with death all the time. It was a pretty decent ruse.”
Elizabeth took a bite of her pizza. “That’s exactly what had me tied up in knots over this. Plus, add in that he was warning us about the next organ.”
Callen couldn’t let that go. “That’s still weird. Why would a killer warn us?”
“Guilt,” they said at the same time.
“Well, he should feel guilty. He was killing people for their organs. That’s just sick.”
They didn't disagree there.
“What’s the second reason?” Callen asked. It was hard not to be curious. It astounded him that they got that one piece to the puzzle, and it fell into place for them.
He had a lot to learn.
“That’s the more likely scenario,” stated Ethan. “It was by demand. They found someone who needed a spleen, they took it when it was needed.”
Elizabeth continued, “That way they didn't waste any organs. They’d need a buyer. It’s going to look suspicious if the organ donor registry is flooded with spare parts.”
“Okay, this is getting sicker and sicker the more we discuss this,” Callen admitted.
“It’s a twisted world out there, my love. It’s all jacked up,” Elizabeth stated.
He definitely agreed.
Ethan turned his tablet around. “If we focus on the incoming money, we can tell if he’s working alone or with a partner,” stated Blackhawk.
They scrutinized the data, looking back and forth between the book and the dead man’s bank accounts. That’s when it all started clicking.
“He’s definitely working with a partner,” Elizabeth stated. “Look at the date right after he took Felicity Magliozzi’s heart. In his book, he has this number,” she said, pointing at it, “but then look at his bank records.”
Callen ran his finger down the dates to the following day. “It’s only half.”
Ethan scribbled down the account number that the deposit was attached to. “Yeah, he has a partner.”
“That’ll explain why he was murdered. He either got sloppy, or they were tying up loose ends.”
“Well, he did have unprotected sex with one of the victims and left his trace behind. That might piss off people who are running a lucrative organ theft ring.”
Ethan began typing fast, trying to put a trace on the account. “It’s in the Cayman Islands. We’re not going to be able to find the owner easily.”
Elizabeth figured as much. “No, but we can find the person Hallowell was working with and shut them down. His partner is done poaching people’s organs.”
“Hmmm. That’s interesting,” Ethan stated.
They both looked over. “What?” they asked at the same time.
“Right after he got each deposit, there was money sent from his account to another.”
“Can we trace it?” she asked.
Ethan played with the numbers a little bit. While he kept searching, his partners waited quietly.
“Holy shit!”
They leaned forward.
“What?”
“You’re not going to believe where that money all went. He didn't keep any of it for himself.”
“Really?” Elizabeth asked. “That’s really weird. He’s doing the dirty work, and he didn't even buy himself some reward trinkets?”
He shook his head before turning the tablet around to show them what he found. “See for yourselves.”
“Wait! Is that right to this school?”
Ethan was surprised himself. “He was donating the blood money to the university that he loved so much.”
Callen whistled. “He was really sick. Kill the students, and then donate the money to lessen the guilt. Wow. If he was alive, there was no way a court would convict him. He was a total fruit loop.”
Yeah, this was a first.
Their killer was doing it for the money, but not for himself. That was a whole new kind of crazy in their books.
“When he said he loved this school, he definitely wasn’t kidding,” Elizabeth stated. “It takes a sick person to twist the outcome into something like this. Seriously, this may be a first.”
Ethan couldn’t believe it either. “Well, that answers the why and the how. Now we just need to find our missing link—the who.”
Callen thought about it. “His place was absolutely clean. Whoever killed him took everything but that book. There were no coolers, no logbooks, or any other incriminating evidence. Would he be that paranoid?”
Ethan thought about it. “He’d have a safe place. One where he’d never think he’d be caught. That’s where he’d do the majority of his work. Organs have a very short shelf life, and he didn't exactly prep them out in the dirt. He’d want somewhere to make them all pretty. He’d want his money.”
“Yeah, so he definitely used his home,” Elizabeth stated, “except we already searched it. The killer got there first. I have no doubt that he died, and as he was hanging there, the partner stripped the place.”
“Likely.”
“So what do we do?” Callen asked.
“We try and figure out who is now running this, and before someone else has to die,” Elizabeth said.
Callen stared down at the book. “He had another entry left that hasn’t been filled.”
“What’s next to be harvested?” Elizabeth asked.
“Bone marrow.”
She shook her head. “We need to work fast. That’s going to be an ugly one. I really don’t think I want the nightmares of walking up to a totally deboned human.”
They didn't doubt that she was right.
This killer had to be stopped before it was too late.
* * * B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x * * *
Johanna knew exactly when she found it. There was no way it could be a fluke or a mistake.
It was too obvious.
As Brody slipped in and out of sleep, she picked up her phone and made the call. There was no doubt that her bosses needed to know about this, and fast! Finding this tiny tidbit might be enough to put this case to bed, and they all wanted that.
When the phone was answered on the second ring, Johanna wasted no time with conveying how important this was.
“Get here fast. I found something!”
“On our way.”
As she hung up, her attention was on the laptop screen. When the bosses saw this, they weren’t going to believe it. This was crazy.
No, it was three days past insane.
She only hoped that they were in time, and that the person behind all this wouldn’t get away with it.
After all, they owed the victims justice.
And someone had to pay.
* * * B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x * * *
When they arrived, Johanna was sitting on the edge of her bed, laptop ready, and papers bedside her. Brody was awake and lounging against his pillows.
“First, are you both feeling better?” Ethan asked,
knowing Elizabeth was so amped that she would likely jump right in, forgetting to even go there with their people. Right now, she was so focused on work, that’s all that mattered.
They nodded.
“What do you have?” Elizabeth asked.
“First, I pulled up the college annuals and found all the pictures of past frat members. I was focusing on the ones who graduated, but that didn't get me too far. Instead, I went with the ones who just moved out or didn't complete their pledging.”
“Okay.”
“Here’s what I found.”
She turned the laptop around. “Forth row, second male in from the left.”
Elizabeth checked it out. “Is that David Lessman?” she asked.
“Yes, it is. He’s listed as a pledge two years ago. Instead of continuing, he took on a job as a TA.”
She nodded. “Yeah, he was in the class I lectured.”
“Well, yes, but that wasn’t his first job as TA. He had a stint as teaching assistant for a different professor,” Johanna stated. “Do you care to guess who?”
Elizabeth looked up. “Do you care to be in traction?”
Brody laughed. “Sorry. I had a visual.”
Johanna shook her head. “There was a sex scandal not long ago, and David Lessman was the teacher’s assistant for that professor.”
Ethan thought about it. “He had contact with the victims, he had knowledge of the frat house, and likely the game they were playing, and now we just need to connect him to the president of the university.”
“I can’t give you that,” Johanna said shrugging. “His records are clean. By that I mean squeaky clean. Brody has more skeletons in his closet than that TA.”
“I like my skeletons. They have character, sweetheart.”
Elizabeth gave him a look. “I’m going to write that off as you being as high as kite on some good drugs.”
“Yep. Pretty much, lovely boss lady.”
Callen covered a laugh with a cough. “Then we should probably find out how this one TA is connected to a president, and if he’s the one who took him down.”
“Yeah, we need an interview,” stated Elizabeth. “Johanna, that was some excellent work. I’m glad you’re my research monkey.”
She offered her a fist bump.
“Thank you, ma’am.”
“Keep digging. We’ll keep you up to date. If you find anything else, you know how to find us.”
With that, they all headed out to find David Lessman. When they were gone, Brody pulled her closer.
“Want to make out?” he asked, wiggling his eyebrows.
“Brody, we’re in the hospital and you’re drugged up.”
“And?”
She laughed. “I guess one kiss wouldn’t hurt.”
“Hell no it wouldn’t. In fact, it’s just what the doctor ordered.”
She looked at him suspiciously. Something wasn’t right. Brody’s blue eyes were crystal clear, and a nurse hadn’t been in for a while. “You’re not drugged up.”
He started laughing. “I know, but how many times, in your life, are you going to be able to pull one over on Elizabeth Blackhawk?”
She laughed. “You’re screwed.”
“And here I thought it was only going to be a kiss.”
* * * B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x * * *
When they found him, he was busily grading papers in Professor Levitz’s office. The second David saw them, he stood in panic.
“What?”
Elizabeth made sure to put as much menace in her voice as possible. “It’s been brought to our attention that you might be involved in our case,” she stated.
He swallowed. “How? I’m just a TA.”
“Oh, so you like playing school? Okay, we can do that. It’s quiz time. If you answer correctly, you walk out of here. If you make a mistake, you’re going to jail.”
David looked freaked out. “I didn't do anything!”
“True or false? You pledged and lived with the frat brothers of Beta Phi Ti?”
He opened his mouth.
“If you lie, you die. The electric chair is behind door number two. You may not want to go there.”
“True.”
“True or false? You’re no longer part of the fraternity, and the sick games they play?”
“True.”
They could see the animosity on his face. It was clear as day, and the man wasn’t holding back.
“You really hate them?”
“True.”
Ethan kept watching David, trying to get a read on him for his wife.
“True or false? You’re trying to sabotage them by poaching girls from their parties to harvest organs?”
He looked horrified. “FALSE! VERY FALSE!”
She stared at him.
“I have a girlfriend. I don’t mess around at that frat house. Once I started dating her, I gave up that kind of chaos. Yes, I was involved in the mess there, but that was before I fell in love. She changed me.”
“When did you meet this girl?” she asked.
“It was right after the sex scandal. I saw her and just knew. She’s the one who was being preyed on by the professor.”
“So, the girl you’re dating, and in love with—from the stars in your eyes—is that one who was shacking up with her professor to get her A on?” Elizabeth asked.
He didn't look happy she phrased it like that. “Yes, it is, and she works here now. It was part of the settlement from the university. They gave her the degree she was working on, and if she kept out of the limelight, she could work here and no one would know.”
Ethan searched the internet on his phone.
There wasn’t any mention of this woman’s name. Apparently, the university buried that too.
“Who is it?” she asked when her husband shook his head.
“I’m not supposed to talk about it.”
“True or false? I look like someone who will come over there, rip your head off, and then shove it sideways up your ass just to entertain myself?”
“Pricilla Sanchez.”
“The president’s secretary?” Elizabeth asked.
He nodded.
“Does she ask you questions about the frat?” Callen asked, trying to figure out if it was a coincidence or something far more sinister.
“I don’t see how that…”
“Answer!” she stated, moving closer to him. “When the FBI tells you to spill it, you do it!”
He stammered and finally got it out, “Yes.”
“Did you tell her things about Arman Smithfield?”
“He’s a douchebag.”
Elizabeth took a step closer. “I said…”
“YES!”
“You’re going to go with my partner here. He’s going to take you some place safe.”
“She wouldn’t hurt me,” he stated.
Elizabeth growled. “It’s not to be safe from her! It’s because I want to kick the shit out of you for being an idiot!”
That’s all he had to hear. David grabbed his papers and bag. “Okay.”
“You’re not to contact her. Am I clear?”
He nodded.
“I’ll take care of our guest here, and then I’ll catch up,” Ethan said, glancing down at his watch. “It’s nearly nightfall. If she’s going out for the next victim, it’s going to be tonight.”
They were well aware.
As he left, Callen stopped her. “You’re putting on a vest before we do anything.”
“Will you be joining me?”
“Hell yeah! I like my organs safely tucked inside my skin. Call me crazy like that.”
She laughed.
“Let’s go catch a killer.”
That he could do.
* * * B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x * * *
An Hour Later
Sitting in their vehicle, not far from Pricilla Sanchez’s house, Callen was running searches on the potential killer’s financials.
It didn't take long to find th
e same exact account number dumping cash into her savings. It was apparent that she didn't think she’d be caught. It wasn’t buried to deep. All Callen had to do was run a few variations on her name, and it popped.
She was definitely Doctor Hallowell’s partner in this sick, perverted crime.
“She’s guilty as sin.”
Elizabeth wasn’t shocked. “She fits Ethan’s profile of a psychopath. She randomly uses sex to get what she wants, she’s smart and blends in, and when we saw her after his death, she was all weepy and crying. She’s really good at manipulating. None of us even suspected her.”
“She would have access to his office, and as his administrative assistant and partner in this, she’d have access to his house too.”
She agreed. “It fits. Ethan said that Doctor Hallowell wouldn’t make personal attachments, but with someone he was with day after day, he’d begin to trust her. She was a psychopath preying on a sociopath. He didn't have a chance.”
“This case is giving me a migraine. I swear.”
She completely understood. That’s why she loved working with Ethan. He sorted through all the psych mumbo jumbo for her. “I’m betting that when we search her house, we find his shit there. She’s going to keep it like a trophy. She’s sick like that.”
“Yeah, she really is.”
They sat in silence for a few minutes before Elizabeth realized that Callen wasn’t saying anything.
“What are you thinking about?” she asked.
“Nothing.”
“You are a bad liar, Cal. I thought we had an agreement about not keeping secrets in our relationship.”
She had a point. “Okay, so be it, but if it pisses you off, I’m not responsible. I was minding my own business.”
“What?” she asked.
“I was thinking about kids.”
“Oh, crap.”
He started laughing. “See? You made me tell you. It was better if I kept it to myself.”
“No, it’s not,” she stated, watching the house. “Spill it.”
“I know you’re done, but I want more.”
She laughed.
Pledging to Die (An FBI/Romance Thriller Book 11) Page 48