“Next?” he finally said.
Elizabeth walked over to the second victim. She turned the tablet around to let him see what she’d walked into in that house. It was a free-for-all.
“It’s been staged.”
Yeah, that’s what she thought. No one died looking like that when they went to bed. Her hair was spread out, and she looked like she’d been preened.
Callen held up a bag with an antique bottle in it.
This killer was one sick asshole.
They both knew that with poisoning, it didn’t happen fast like on TV. The killer had to come back, after he knew they’d be dead to set this up.
That was ballsy.
“Okay,” he said, finally speaking.
“Enlighten me, Director Blackhawk,” she stated. “I need to know what to expect next.”
Ethan gave her his initial impressions.
“When we look at the first victim, Roman Conley, he was hidden away. The killer chose to bury him. Why?”
“Uh, I kinda need you for that one.”
He laughed. “It was rhetorical, Elizabeth.”
Thank God! She hated pop quizzes.
“Go on,” she stated.
“With Richard Goodwin, he was drowned in his own pool in his back yard. There was no hiding him, but he was wrapped in chains.”
“Okay.”
“With Fern Yoder, she was force fed coals to shut her up, correct?”
“Yes.”
“He was punishing them. He was hurting them. Poison, while devastating on the body, it’s the easiest way to go. He was moving away from hurting them to making a statement. In a way, he’s escalating.”
“He?”
“Yes. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say it’s a male. You’re looking for an intelligent male who loves drama.”
“So not a woman?”
Ethan stared at her. “Uh, no. Don’t let the poison throw you,” he said, knowing what was confusing her. At first, his mind went there too, but he was seeing it a little differently than she was. He was in the killer’s mind.
“This is all about a show.”
“Will he be out in the open? Will he be hiding in plain sight?”
“Absolutely. He’s going to love when you interview him. In fact, he’s going to be acting the entire time. He’s going to enjoy every second of it. This is now one hell of a game, and he’s the one pulling the strings.”
She hated games.
“I’m going to guess that if you look outside, you have the media there.”
“Oh, you could say that.”
“He’s going to play up to that too. This, to him, is fun. This is his way of yanking your chain while he leads you on an adventure.”
“I like my adventures less body filled, and more like a trip to wine country.”
He laughed. “I’m with you there, Elizabeth, but this is his story, and he’s telling it.”
“I want to give it one star for the shitty plot line.”
Callen laughed and then covered it with a cough.
“I just finished interviewing Selma Roth, and she had a bunch of men in her troupe.”
“Start there. This person is going to like the stage and like controlling the situation.”
“You really think it’s a man, right?” She really wanted to dislike Selma Roth. She was a director, and she could play this kind of game.
“My gut says so.”
Callen was bugged by something. “Um, can I point something out?” he asked.
They both looked over at him.
“I know I don’t know much about profiling, but I think you’re missing something, Director.”
Ethan was curious. It was rare he did any such thing. “What?”
“I know Shakespeare inside and out. If this killer is playing this game, trying to reenact all the plays, wouldn’t he do it to the letter of the law?”
“Yes, he would, but what do you mean?” Ethan asked. “What are you seeing that I’m not?”
Apparently, Elizabeth wasn’t seeing it either.
“Yeah, explain, Callen.”
“When Shakespeare was putting on all these plays, writing, producing, and showing the world his creations, he used all male actors. They would dress up to play the female parts. They were hidden beneath the costumes.”
Ethan stared at him. “Callen.”
“What if this killer is a woman, playing a man—flipping the script? What if the theatrics goes all the way back to the killer? What if the person doing this is playing with us?”
“That’s a really good point,” Ethan stated. “Callen, well done.”
“If this person is obsessed with Shakespeare, he’s going to know the ins and outs like the back of his or her hand. He’s going to make sure he or she is living it.”
Elizabeth rubbed her eyes with her fingertips. “And here I thought this would be easier after contacting you, Ethan.”
“I’m sorry,” Callen stated.
She stopped him. “No, Callen. You’re doing what I can’t do. You’re seeing the deviations in this. Ethan can’t do it either. He’s in-house. I need you to speak up. I need you to go with your gut and help me with this. I’ll put it together, but I need you to make sure you speak up. We’re partners.”
Ethan smiled. “We can discuss it later when we get home,” he offered.
It was her time to strike. “Oh, and Ethan?” she said, signifying that this was going to be more personal. “Pop in your earbuds. You may want this to be kept private.”
He grinned, assuming it was going to be some sexy chitchat.
She headed to the hallway where they could be alone. Well, her, Callen, and Ethan.
He did, making sure his tablet was secure. “Yes?”
“I kicked the shit out of your tails in the parking lot. When they snuck up on me, one ended up nursing his balls with my Glock in his mouth.”
His eyes went wide.
“If you ever pull that ‘follow my wife’ crap again, someone could get hurt. They could have been shot, especially Gabe’s idiot, when he went for my gun.”
“Elizabeth.”
Ethan was horrified that he went for her gun. What kind of idiot did that? Oh, yeah—one who wasn’t accustomed to Elizabeth kicking ass first and asking questions later.
“As your punishment, you’re giving up one of your free nights.”
“I am?”
“Oh, yes. Callen and I have somewhere to be, and you’re joining us.”
He didn’t speak. Ethan could see the wicked glint in her eyes, and he knew it was going to suck. He may be above her in the FBI food chain, but his wife was sadistic and could out do him when it came to torture.
“You are going to see another play.”
That’s all she had to say.
“Oh, come on! Isn’t the one’s with POTUS enough?”
Callen started laughing.
Ethan…not so much.
“I really hate things like this, Elizabeth,” he stated. “If you loved me, baby, you’d change your mind. Have a heart. Save me from hours of boredom.”
She was amused that the people in the room could hear him. He was so flustered, he must have forgotten that.
It was funny as hell.
“Sorry, Cowboy, but when you do shifty things, you pay in the end. That’s how we roll.”
He laughed. “I’ll be there. I promise.”
“Great. I love you.”
He stared at her.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“No, Elizabeth.”
She simply grinned, knowing he was going to do it. Boss man or not, he’d never let her disconnect without those words.
Yes, she knew he got embarrassed by the public displays of affection, especially when she did it in front of people.
Still…
“Lyzee!”
“I love you, Mr. Blackhawk, you sexy suit-wearing devil. I always will.”
His heart skipped.
S
crew it.
“I love you too, Mrs. Blackhawk.”
She gave him a kiss and then cut him some slack. After all, he was in a room of people who called him boss.
“You let him off easy,” Callen stated.
“Watch and learn, my fine Native friend.”
She pulled out her cell and typed up a message to her husband.
‘PS. It’s dinner theater, and you have to dress up like one of Shakespeare’s actors. They all wore tights.’
She hit send and counted it down.
“Five. Four. Three. Two. One…”
Her phone chimed, and she read the message. It was one word.
‘ELIZABETH!’
And it was funnier than hell.
For them.
Chapter Fourteen
While the team worked on gathering all the evidence, Elizabeth had some other things to handle.
Like talking to the person who found the bodies.
Once downstairs, she located Marco Deltoro. He was the ‘help’. What he ‘helped’ with, she didn’t have a clue. What she did know was the man was more than just someone who worked there. He was mourning the loss of William Cochran and his wife, Jeanne more like they were his last connection to family.
Something felt off to her.
She just didn’t know what.
“Marco, tell me about this morning,” she said, taking a seat in the living room across from him.
“I woke up, I was going down to make coffee, and I saw their door was open a little,” he said, sipping some water a cop had given him. “It’s the same thing I do each and every day when I get the whole house routine started.”
“Okay, continue.”
“I found it odd that they were up before me. I usually make Mrs. Cochran breakfast and coffee for Mr. Cochran, and then they come down.”
She listened.
“I knocked, and no one answered so I peeked into the room. I figured I’d make the bed while I was up there. It cut down on the daily chores I have to complete.”
“And?” Callen asked.
“They were dead. Oh, God! They were dead,” he whispered in horror as it clearly replayed in his mind.
He began vomiting into the waste paper can that was sitting beside him. It was violent as he retched up everything in his stomach.
They waited.
“Peter is going to be destroyed. I have to call and tell him what happened. He needs to know.”
She lifted a brow. “Who is Peter?”
“That’s their son. He’s away at college and someone needs to tell him his parents are...”
He couldn’t say it.
“Where does he go to school?” she asked, making notes on her phone for later. “We can have a cop find him and break the news to him.”
“He’s enrolled at George Washington University. He’s a senior there studying theater.”
She and Callen both looked at each other. Yeah, that’s all he had to say.
It set off all kinds of alarm bells.
Ethan had just told them their suspect might be into acting. That was one hell of a coincidence staring them in the face. In fact, this whole case was turning into one hell of a theatric tragedy.
It looked like Peter’s day was about to get worse. Not only had his parents been killed, but he was going to have to go through interview now.
There was no way she could ignore it.
“Callen, can you have someone find him and bring him to the office? I want to have him notified, and then interview him in there. Meanwhile, we’re going to search his room.”
He nodded and headed off to make the call.
Marco looked horrified.
He looked worse than that.
He looked incredulous.
“Why are you doing this?” Marco asked, wiping his eyes. “Peter has just lost his family. He’s all alone. He doesn’t need this right now.”
She leaned back in her chair. “He just inherited all this, right? That’s a big motivator to kill. He’s fresh out of college next year, and already he has a life waiting for him—with a fat bank account to match.”
He shook his head. “You’re wrong. He wasn’t here. I would have known if he was.”
“Oh, well someone was. Besides, you are just the ‘help’, right?”
Elizabeth knew how to break someone.
She was setting him up. It was only a matter of time. The man was way out of his league.
“You’re just working for them. I don’t see why they matter now that they’re dead.”
“Stop.”
“I’m going to find out where Peter was, and I’m going to make sure I break him. George Washington University isn’t far from here. He could have come home, killed his parents, and then made it back before anyone knew he was missing.”
She knew that wasn’t likely true.
They needed the time the couple ingested the poison, so she was simply winging it to see what she caught with the bait.
Marco shook his head, his eyes narrowing in anger. “Leave him alone.”
“I bet he’ll look good in orange,” she stated. “I’m sure prison will be a nice change from all that studying.”
That’s all it took.
The man snapped.
Whatever he was hiding, it was enough for him to do something stupid. He rushed her, flipping the chair over that she was sitting on, and they toppled to the ground.
When the cop pulled him off her, she was smiling. “You just assaulted a Federal agent. You’re going to jail.”
He began crying.
It wasn’t even fun. This was way too easy. Honestly, she liked more of a challenge.
Callen, once hearing the commotion, came rushing back into the room. “What the hell?” he asked, when she was wiping her split lip.
“He hit me.”
Marco wasn’t the only one who was pissed and trying to kill. Callen tried to get to the man, only two officers grabbed him before he could hurt him for touching his wife.
“I did it. I killed them!” Marco said, as he began weeping even more. “It was all me—not Peter! I killed them!”
She stared at him.
WOW!
She never saw that coming. Rarely did a suspect blurt out that they were guilty. Either she was getting really good at her job, or the crazies were getting bad at theirs.
Well, that wasn’t what she thought he was hiding, but okay. She’d take it.
“Bring him to the FBI Headquarters. I’ll talk to him as soon as I get there.”
The man calmed down when he thought she was going to leave the other man alone.
Yeah, he wasn’t too bright.
She wasn’t done yet.
“And bring in Peter Cochran. He’s going to have to deal with me, and now I’m feeling bitchy. Someone’s going to bleed, and it’s not going to be me.”
“But I admitted to the crime!” he said, as they were putting him in cuffs for transport.
“Yeah, you did, and I’m going to cover all my bases. That’s going to start with shaking down the heir apparent.”
The man stared at her. “You’re a horrible human being.”
Yeah, she’d heard that before.
Many, many times.
* * * B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x * * *
Merry was loading up the gear when she felt someone behind her. Immediately, she went for her gun, only to have Boone grab her arm to protect himself.
“Cher, that’s getting to be a habit. I hope you don’t shoot me one day. Maybe I should wear a bell.”
She knew he was right.
“I’m sorry, Boone. I’m just so freaked out most of the time. I feel like I’m being watched.”
He hated seeing her suffer.
It pissed him off.
First, no woman should be treated like this—let alone the one he was madly in love with. She was trying to grow a child, and he didn’t need his fiancée being stressed.
Something had to give.
Soo
n.
“I was thinking that when this is over, we can head back to New Orleans.”
She stared at him.
This was her fear.
He wanted her to leave DC.
“Boone, I have a job and house here. I can’t just walk away from all of this,” she stated. “Please understand that.”
She wanted to cry.
Instead, he smiled at her. “I meant so you can meet my parents. I was thinking about a week. That would be a good vacation after all of this was over. I really want to introduce them to the woman I’m in love with, and the woman who is giving them their first grandchild.”
Her heart softened.
Her Boone was a sweet, gentle soul, and she should have known he wasn’t going to make her leave her FBI family. He’d do anything to make her happy.
Merry loved him with all of her heart.
She immediately relaxed. “I’d love that. I haven’t taken any time off in a long time,” she stated. “I need a vacation.”
He pulled her into his arms. “I love you, cher. It’ll be okay.”
She knew he was right.
“Can we get some things from our place later?” she asked. “I need more clothes if we’re hiding out at Elizabeth’s longer.”
“We can. I’ll talk to Callen. I’m sure they don’t want you going there. If he goes with me, I can swing by before work tomorrow.”
“Thank you. Now I have to get to the lab. Want to help me scrape a dead woman’s nails for trace?” she asked. “Then we can swab her whole body for any sign of sexual assault.”
He began laughing. “If that’s your pick up line, it sucks. You should really work on that.”
She was well aware.
“I’ll try harder,” she said, and then she grinned. “Did it work though?”
Boone laughed. “Yeah, it worked. I’d like to add something else if you don’t mind, cher.”
“What?”
“Tonight, I’d like some alone time. I want to cuddle up with the mother of my child.”
Merry knew nothing sounded better than that. She couldn’t wait until she was back in his arms. Boone was everything to her. In a few short weeks, he’d filled all the gaping holes with his love.
Act of Blood (An FBI/Romance Thriller ~ Book 16) Page 37