Deep Dark Mire (An FBI Romance Thriller ~ book four)

by Kelley, Morgan

  Elizabeth nodded. “I’m going back to the bed and breakfast. I want to get the journal entries so that we can hit him with them and see what we can shake free. Can you two handle pick up?”

  “Yeah, you’ll meet us there?” There was hesitation in his voice, and Ethan was sure that she’d hear it.

  “I want to hit him hard with the words of the dead woman. Maybe guilt, remorse, or repentance will make a surprise visit today. Right now, he’s the most likely suspect. Jonathan Delray had the most to be angry about. Now we just need to tie him to the location and get him to spill he was aware of it.”

  Ethan didn’t want her going alone. “You should take Callen with you.”

  Elizabeth laughed. “You're going to bring in a suspect, and want me to have a babysitter? Did you hit your damn head, Ethan?” she asked. “I’m driving to the bed and breakfast, inside and then to the sheriff’s station. I’m probably going to be there before you. Take your brother and stop worrying about me.”

  Whitefox was torn. He didn’t want to leave either of them. “Why don’t we all go back, and then we all go pick him up.”

  Now she elbowed him in the side. “Callen, darlin’, go keep your brother safe. I’ll be fine.”

  Both men stared at her and their cheeks twitched.

  “I love you both,” she said, catching the keys from her husband. “Be safe, put on your Kevlar if you’re going into his house. I don’t want to hear that either of you got shot. I will be damn pissed that the two of you let some backwoods deputy hand you your asses! You both know better!”

  Ethan kissed her fast on the lips, oblivious to the tech team milling around him. Lightly he stroked her cheek with his fingers and stared into her eyes. “See you at the station.” Now he needed to steal a vehicle from one of their crew.

  Callen stared at her, desperately wishing he could freely kiss her too and have the same open relationship that his brother had with her. But, he knew better than to push the rumor mill further into overdrive. “Be safe, angel,” he said, hands remaining at his side. There were already stares from the team. He could feel them on his back. “I love you,” he said softly, turning from her, his heart clenching with pain in his chest.

  Elizabeth saw the hurt in his eyes. “Callen?” she called to him, drawing his attention.

  “Yeah?” he stopped and turned.

  Elizabeth went to him and planted one right on his lips, and it wasn’t a simple friendly peck. When she pulled away, he looked startled. “I told you that I don’t care what people think when it comes to the men in my life. We have another rule in this unit. If you’re going to do something risky, you kiss the ones you love, just in case.” Then she ran her hand down his cheek. “I love you too, Callen. Be safe and keep Ethan safe.”

  He watched her turn and walk away. When he went to follow his brother, he noticed there were techs watching, incredulously. The blush crept up his body.

  “Hey! You three get to work,” snapped Blackhawk, and when they scrambled, he glanced at his brother and winked. “Suit up, Cal. We have a suspect to bring in.”

  Whitefox grinned wickedly.

  Yeah, they did.

  * * *

  The truth was now out and soon it would be all over town. News of the old man’s death was spreading, but he wasn’t surprised in the least. He knew his father carried this sin his whole life. He was a man, and he couldn’t fight the allure of Trinity Adare. Just like the two sons, who were helpless to fight off the sexual desire and advances of Cordelia and Desdemona.

  They were their father’s children.

  Sinners one and all, and they paid the price.

  Now, it was all coming to a head, and the truth was going to be out for the world to see. But before it did, he was going to take care of the remaining sin in their dysfunctional family. The last tie to the horrible truth that they’d all succumbed to the Adare witches.

  It was time to fix the mess that his father had created over thirty years ago by not being able to keep it in his pants. Yes, he’d been a handsome, charismatic minister and the woman probably lured him in, and he’d been punished.

  His wife had died slowly of cancer.

  His body had fallen apart and become broken by arthritis.

  His sons had incestuous relationships with their own sisters.

  A child was created from the vile union.

  Thankfully, the baby they made was destroyed when the truth was found. Gratefully, he’d run into Cordelia coming from the doctor appointment in tears. It gave him the opportunity to end this mess before another generation was destroyed by the sins of his father.

  Now, it was time to stop the last woman who carried the truth in her genetic code. Desdemona Adare was the last living piece of his father’s betrayal, and it was time that she found her way into the watery depths like her mother and sister.

  It was the beginning of the end. Once he took her life, he could be at peace, knowing the family was pure again and not riddled with incestual secrets. The secrets that to this day still warmed his body, because he was a sinner. The anger filled him that he enjoyed the memories, and it pushed him forward with his goal.

  No one was going to stop him. Then, he would follow his father into death. But first, he needed to take his dear Desdemona to the place where her mother and sister found their final graves.

  Then he’d take what wasn’t his to take.

  Her life.

  After all, he was a sinner and his father’s son.

  * * *

  The bed and breakfast was eerily silent, as Elizabeth ran into the building and to her room. The entire team was either out in the field working on Jefferson Delray, or at the ME lab pulling the bomb pieces apart. Looking at her watch, Elizabeth had a few minutes left before she needed to race to the sheriff’s office. Both men still needed time to bring in Jonathan Delray. Pulling out her papers, Elizabeth scanned and reread them. There in front of her was the list of names that Desdemona Adare had given her husband while they were in Red River hunting a killer.

  Something about it bothered her. It nagged at her incessantly and kept pulling her attention from everything else. Elizabeth was notorious for needing all the t’s crossed and i’s dotted, and there was a piece of her that was urging her to get the remaining doubts cleared. There was only one thing she could do to alleviate the nagging feeling in her brain. Pulling out her phone, Elizabeth dialed Sheriff Denton, hoping he’d give her the help she needed and feel less hostility if she called him first.

  His deputy put her on hold, as she walked down to the Escalade. When he finally came to the line, Elizabeth had one important question.

  “If I give you a few dates, can you tell me if Jonathan Delray was working or off duty?”

  “I certainly can, Director Blackhawk. I’m at my computer right now, so when you’re ready, fire away.”

  Elizabeth pulled up the dates on her tablet, as she leaned against the rental car and read them off. The specific ones she had in mind were the day the Denali was blown up in front of Callen house, and the day they started the trip to Red River. These dates were the days they had Desdemona’s stalker across the country with them.

  Sheriff Denton pulled up the electronic time sheets. “Jonathan was here working on the second date. On the first date, he was in court all day. That was his ticket day. We had a tourist fighting a speeding ticket, and the officer on duty had to be there to dispute the claims of the man.”

  Elizabeth felt sick to her stomach. “Thanks, Sheriff.” She hung up the phone and realized that they’d discounted the stalker for most of the assignment because he’d been silent. Pulling out her phone she dialed Callen, and she prayed he’d answer his phone. When he didn’t, she figured they were trying to deal with Jonathan Delray. It went to voicemail and Elizabeth left a message.

  Jefferson Delray killed his lover and mother of his children for a reason they’d never know. Maybe she was going to tell the girls the truth, or maybe tell his ailing wife. That secret they both to
ok to the grave with them.

  Elizabeth suspected the killing of Cordelia was a personal thing; one where the killer knew the truth of family blood ties. He’d taken her to the body of her mother, and laid her to rest beside Trinity Adare. That screamed personal, with a touch of feeling a disconnected stalker might not feel. The roses left for Desdemona Adare by her stalker were about love and relationship. The stalker was trying to tell her something, and Elizabeth believed she knew why. The stalker would need a personal connection, one that Jonathan never had that with Desdemona.

  Think about the symbolism of the roses, she thought back to the one that was left with Timothy in his casket. Elizabeth left it for only one reason; as a reminder of what they shared.

  Love.

  Pulling out the list of people Desdemona had made of all the men she had a relationship with; she circled the name on the top of the list. It was her first sexual conquest as a young girl and in the mind of the stalker, the most important one.

  The killer was going to make one last shot at the family to finish up what he started, so many years ago. He was going to kill the last illegitimate child of Jefferson Delray, because he loved her.

  Shit!

  Desdemona Adare was marked for death because of who she loved as a young girl. Elizabeth started dialing, as she drove towards the woman’s house, praying that Desdemona would have enough sense to answer her damn phone.

  Sending the woman out of the bed and breakfast was exactly what the killer needed her to do. Distraction and divided attention may have just cost the woman her life.

  Damn it!

  * * *

  When the caller ID lit up on her phone, Desdemona Adare stared down at the incoming number. The options were simple. Answer the call from the woman that was once her friend, or pretend she didn’t give a rat’s ass anymore.

  She went with option two, only because she told the woman to never contact her again. Now pride was at stake, and Desdemona wasn’t going to kiss the ‘great’ Elizabeth Blackhawk’s ass no matter what. Enough was enough, and it was time to take care of her own life and kiss the old one goodbye.

  There was a knock on the back door, and once Desdemona saw it was her brother, she was sick to her stomach again. How did you face a man who knew the truth?

  “Hi,” she said, answering the door hesitantly.

  “I just heard about your mother and sister and our father. I’m so damn sorry, Desdemona.”

  Her eyes filled with tears. “But hey, at least we all have each other, right?” she said, wiping her eyes.

  Desdemona’s brother opened his arms, offering her comfort against his body. “You always have family, Des and we’re here for you now. You’re not alone.”

  She hugged him tight in complete gratitude. Maybe the truth of what happened in their past wouldn’t break them but make them stronger in the end. The idea gave her an iota of peace.

  “The rest of the family is going to where your mom and sister were found. They want to say a prayer and do a little memorial for them. Do you want to come?” he asked, breathing in the scent of her hair.

  Desdemona thought about it. This was now her family, and despite what happened, she needed to embrace it and them. It was time for everyone to heal. “Okay, let’s go,” she answered, closing the door behind her.

  “Great!” He held out his hand and took his sister’s in his own. “I think this will cheer everyone up and be a great way to start to heal. We can talk and reminisce about the past and what the future holds.”

  Desdemona smiled at the idea. Maybe having a family was going to be a big blessing after all. “I agree. I think a trip to where my mom and sister were found will help me become free.”

  He smiled and thought about the words she just spoke. The truth couldn’t be clearer.

  Oh, Desdemona you have no idea.

  * * *

  Elizabeth pulled up into the driveway at the Adare home, slammed the Escalade into park and ran to the front door. Furiously, she banged on the wood with the palm of her hand, trying to get Desdemona or Morgana Adare’s attention. When no one answered, Elizabeth ran to the back, only to find it open. Hesitantly, she entered, calling for either woman and hoping that the trigger happy granny wasn’t going to shoot her on the spot for trespassing.

  On the table was the phone, the car keys, and beside it sat the suitcase Elizabeth had seen at the bed and breakfast.

  “Hell,” she muttered, pulling out her phone. Elizabeth dialed her husband, and he too didn’t answer. Now it was dire and she needed help. Next there was just one person left that she could think of, and she dialed his number.

  The phone rang three times, and finally Julian Littlemoon answered the call. “What’s up, Elizabeth?”

  “We have a huge problem. Vincent Delray killed Cordelia Adare, and I think he’s just taken Desdemona.”

  Just then, as if she was being given a sign, there were loud caws of birds coming from the swamp behind the Adare house.

  “I think he just took her into the swamp, Julian. Right to where he killed her sister and left her.”

  Julian pulled on his boxers and his jeans, and stared down at Tori Christensen lying in bed. As much as he disliked being interrupted, the urgency in Elizabeth’s voice told the tale. “What do you need me to do, boss?”

  “Get to Ethan. He’s not answering his phone, and neither is Callen. I’m going to go into the swamp to see if I can find Desdemona, before he kills her.”

  “That’s an incredibly stupid idea, Elizabeth. Wait for us! Tori and I’ll be your back up and go in with you.”

  Elizabeth calculated the time it took them to find their way to the bodies in the crevasse and knew the truth. They didn’t have time; she just knew that the brother was going to end the woman’s life. It was just sitting in the pit of her stomach. “I don’t think Doctor Adare has that kind of time, Julian. Get to my husband and get him out to the swamp as fast as you can, because I’m sure I’m going to need back up. I’ll delay confronting him as long as I can, and maybe you can get there in time. If not, I’m her last chance.” Elizabeth hung up the phone and started towards the water and then she heard the wind chimes tinkling in the light breeze, and she remembered the warning.

  “Okay, Granddad. I get it. I’ll vest up.” Running back to the Escalade, Elizabeth pulled out her FBI vest and struggled into it. She checked the front and back to make sure they had the extra ceramic plates, as she velcro-ed into it. Slipping into a pull over, Elizabeth prayed it would keep the vest hidden, just in case it was all that stood between her and death. After all, that was granddad’s warning, wasn’t it? Wear the vest or else.

  The wind chimes stopped their song, and she took it as a sign. Elizabeth needed to get into the swamp and fast. “Damn it, these are my favorite cowboy boots,” she muttered, stepping into the swamp water and moving as quietly as possibly to the location that was the makeshift Adare family crypt.

  All Elizabeth could hope, was she was in time or Desdemona’s blood was on her conscience.

  * * *

  Blackhawk and Whitefox had one hell of a time subduing Jonathan Delray at his sister’s home. The sisters had practically attacked them, as they put the man in handcuffs. It wasn’t easy, and they were particularly vicious little women too.

  “You both are just lucky my wife wasn’t here to kick your asses,” he stated, as his brother zip-tied their hands in front of them. “You assaulted Federal agents, and that’s jail time ladies.”

  “Our brother isn't guilty of anything! We loved our father!” The one woman protested and struggled against the ties, trying to kick Callen in the groin.

  When his phone rang again, this time he reached down to grab it. He knew his wife had tried to call him, but they were a little busy getting the two women subdued and keeping them from scratching their eyes out at the same time.

  “Blackhawk,” he said into the phone.

  “You have a big problem,” Littlemoon said, driving towards the swamp entrance.


  “I have quite a few problems today, but what specifically is my issue now?” he asked, pulling the man up from the ground roughly.

  “Your wife is on her way into the swamp to where the bodies were found. She said Desdemona Adare’s been taken by Vincent Delray.” It was all he had to say.

  Blood began pumping, and his heart thudded in his chest. “Elizabeth’s absolutely sure on that?” he demanded, dropping the man back to the ground.

  “She just called me two minutes ago, and told me to keep calling you until you answered your damn phone. It didn’t sound like Elizabeth was yanking anyone’s chain on this one.”

  “Okay, we’re coming. I don’t know my way to where the bodies were found. Wait for me there.” He felt his stomach rolling at the idea that his wife was once again in danger. Damn it, he was getting her a leash!

  “You have Callen with you, he knows the way in and out. I’m going in as soon as I get there. Director, I have a really bad feeling about this, and I don’t know if she should be in there alone. Elizabeth mentioned needing backup on this.”

  “Just get to my wife, Julian!” Once he heard that Elizabeth requested backup, he knew she expected it to go bad.

  Whitefox didn’t like what he was hearing. “What is going on?” he asked, as his brother hung up the phone.

  “Do you know your way to the site where the bodies were found?” he asked, bordering on hysteria, as he started dialing his wife. When it dumped into voicemail, he knew the truth. The love of his life was on her way into the mire to take care of business and didn’t want the distraction.

  “Yeah, I can get us there. Why the change of plans?”

  “Elizabeth somehow thinks that Vincent Delray is the killer, and she believes he has Desdemona in the swamp. Right now, Elizabeth is tracking them alone.”