She’d even learned a valuable lesson. Each day was about learning and growing, and she would become strong again.
The phoenix would rise once more.
Snapping back to focus on the run, she took in the beauty of the dark sky receding back from the top of the trees. It was so achingly early in the morning that even the wildlife wasn’t even out. As the day progressed in the deep bowels of the south, it got hot.
Hotter than hell, to be exact.
If Elizabeth wanted to run, it had to be early. Almost everything had to be before daybreak in Salem, if you wanted to avoid the sweltering heat.
The next song started on her MP3 player and the incline leveled out. It was less than a mile to home, and she was in the final stretch. Elizabeth pushed past the pain that begged her to quit, as she rounded the bend to the finish line. These last few hundred feet were the sweetest; they meant the end of the pain that coursed through her body.
Now if she could just lose the hurt that filled her heart.
In the driveway sat her Jeep, and it was her favorite possession. It was much like her; tough, rugged and sturdy. When she left Georgetown, the vehicle and the furniture in her home were the only things she wanted to take. Most of her stuffy FBI attire went with the brownstone. Elizabeth had to admit, she kept all her FBI t-shirts. But only brought them out when she wanted to run. Yes, they were fine for sweat, but not for daily life. Now she dressed how she wanted and behaved as she wished. She was home, and it felt damn good to steal back some of the previously lost control from the almighty FBI.
Elizabeth couldn’t help but notice the car parked beside her own. It was one of the sheriff’s department vehicles. Well hell! If there was a deputy at her house at five in the morning, it couldn’t be for anything positive. She raced up to the side of the car, and tapped on the window, nearly scaring the driver to death. Elizabeth rolled her eyes, grateful that Salem was a peaceful place, or her people would be in serious trouble.
“Tony, what gives?”
Deputy Tony Morel stepped from the car, unfolding his lanky frame as he took in his boss’s appearance. Once again, she looked like she was chasing her past or possibly running from it. “I hate to bother you, Lyzee, but there was a call about the lake. It seems a man fishing snagged a body.”
Elizabeth paused, sure that she’d misheard him. “I’m sorry, did you say a body?” she reiterated, as she walked towards her house, motioning for him to follow. She didn’t want to think about a body until she had coffee and a shower.
“Yeah, but the thing is that he reeled it in, and then got so freaked out that he cut the line, and it was gone,” Tony said, accepting the cup of coffee she offered him. “Thank you, boss,” he paused before continuing, “So we aren’t one hundred percent sure we have one to begin with, but we thought you’d want us to check it out.”
Elizabeth nodded, observing the man. They had history; Tony was her high school sweetheart. That lasted until the day after the prom, when he dumped her for another girl. It seemed the other teen was willing to put out and Elizabeth, not so much.
Then again, maybe her father finally came through with his threats and had scared him off. One way or another, they had once been an item, and now she was his boss. At first it was awkward, but now they’d found their rhythm. He was her best friend then, and he was one of her closest confidants now. Despite their past, she trusted him completely. In fact, he was one of the few people that she allowed to use her nickname. It was a treasured snippet from her past, a gift from her beloved father.
It was one thing she held closely protected beside her heart.
Elizabeth was her given name, and she liked it a great deal, but her father always called her Lyzee. Unfortunately, people generally felt the need to follow suit. It would often cause her to cringe, only because she liked to be selective with who had the right. Few were privileged with the honor and absolutely no one was permitted to use it on the job. That was her big no-no. Other than that, the ones who mattered to her most were given the precious opportunity freely.
Elizabeth could count them on one hand and that was fine by her.
“As soon as I’m dressed and ready, we’ll head to the scene,” she stated, sipping her own coffee. “Who ‘saw’ the body?”
Tony grinned, as if he were privy to some sort of joke. “That would be Horace.”
The one name said it all. Horace was a good guy, but the only reason he was fishing so damn early, was because he was probably out drinking so damn late.
In one year, she had more drunk and disturbing the peace calls than her father had in five. She suspected that after a while, Charlie stopped tracking them to save the man some grief.
Elizabeth groaned over the rim of her coffee mug. “Well, we do have to check it out. Who’s headed there now?”
“Tyrell is on duty this morning, and he pulled the call.”
“Okay, call him and tell him to get a dive team there. I’ll shower and head over as soon as I can. Honestly, it’s Horace. Just last month he said someone was stealing his beer, and it turned out he was the culprit and didn’t even realize it.”
Tony laughed, “Lyzee, you want me to wait for you?” he inquired, dialing Tyrell’s phone.
Elizabeth took her mug and walked towards the stairs as she considered his offer. “Finish your coffee, Tony. You’re off shift in ninety minutes. If you want to head over with me, then fine. If not, then you’re free to head home. It should be a slow morning. It usually is on Tuesday,” she added. In all honestly, that was exactly how she liked it.
Tony couldn’t help but stare at his boss, as she left the room in her sweat drenched FBI t-shirt and miniscule running shorts. If he could turn back time and return to that prom in high school, he absolutely would. Tony would then take the old him back and kick the shit out of him for walking away from Lyzee LaRue.
If he knew then, what he knew now, things would have been different. Yeah, she was gorgeous in high school, but now there was no comparison. Tony took a deep breath, trying not to think of her in those shorts. Why torture himself?
Yeah, screw that.
He was going to look; he was only human and male. It’s what they did, and Lord knew Tony had been tortured plenty this past year, since Elizabeth came home to Salem.
Elizabeth sat in the air conditioning of her Jeep, filling out the forms required for a body retrieval. It was nothing like when she worked for the government. The paperwork as a Fed was a huge obstacle, but as sheriff, not as much. The only form needed was for the appropriation of the dive team. Who knew drone work would turn out to be the highlight of her day?
Sadly, what was working against her was the heat. In this weather, everything seemed to be more monotonous. As she continued filling out the report, she observed the happenings going on outside the Jeep. Horace was bouncing around pointing and getting animated, as he retold the story over and over again to anyone who would listen. The town’s people were looking at him like he was a drunken fool, and she felt pity for the man. Elizabeth remembered him from her youth. Horace had a family until one day his child died, and he just never recovered. His wife left because of the booze, and he sank deeper into the abyss.
Elizabeth stepped out of the Jeep to check on Tyrell and the dive team; they were going down again for the second time. The first trip down brought up a boot, a tire and a burlap sack.
“Ty, anything?” she yelled out to her deputy in the boat, trying to get his attention.
“Nada, Sheriff! I think after this resurfacing, we call it a morning.” He alluded that it was a waste of their time. Tyrell didn’t need to mention how hot it was getting in the boat out on the lake.
Elizabeth nodded in agreement. “I hear you!” She turned to Horace. “Are you sure it wasn’t the burlap sack?” Elizabeth probed, pointing at the refuse lying on the shore at their feet.
“Sheriff, I’m telling you that the body had long blond hair and hands,” he stated, adamantly. “I know you think I’m drunker than
a skunk, but see here missy- your pa would have believed me. He was good people!” He aimed and fired his words, right where he knew it would hit and matter.
Score one for the town’s drunk.
Elizabeth LaRue- big fat zero.
“You’re right, Horace. He would have and yes, he was a good man. I’ll give it one more dive after this, okay?” she patted him on the shoulder and glanced over at Tony who was staring at her. Elizabeth swore he mouthed the word ‘sap’, but she could be mistaken. It may have been ‘sucker’ instead, but it didn’t matter.
Clearly, she was both.
“Sheriff!” yelled Tyrell, standing haphazardly in the boat. “We have something!” He began pulling up the line that the divers tugged at to signal they found something, “and it’s gotta be big!”
Elizabeth moved closer to the shore and watched as the bubbles surfaced. First there were but a few, but as time progressed, there were more and more. Finally, a bloated body surfaced ahead of the diver. It popped up like some sick buoy.
“Sweet blessed Jesus,” muttered Horace, as he stood beside the sheriff, grabbing her hand and crossing himself. “I told you I saw a body!”
Immediately, the trained professional in her took over. “Tony, call the station. We have a crime scene! Get the ME and his team out here ASAP!” She turned to the crowd before continuing, “Everyone back! This is now a crime scene, and we need to preserve any evidence that may be on the shore. No one goes anywhere. I’ll need to interview each and every one of you before you’re free to go. Give me a few minutes to handle the victim, and I’ll be with you all shortly.”
It was as if she never stopped dealing with death. It all came back effortlessly.
People began whispering as Tony tossed her the crime scene tape and began dialing his cell. “Here you go, boss,” he said, before walking back to his vehicle.
“Horace, don’t you go anywhere. In fact, it’s hotter than hell out here. Go get in my Jeep and keep cool. I need you completely lucid later for questioning.”
Elizabeth began cordoning off the crime scene, her eyes never once leaving the body of the redheaded woman being pulled to shore.
Suddenly, she knew it was all wrong…
“Damn it! Head back down boys!” she yelled out to the men, moving towards her with the corpse in tow.
“What?” yelled back Tyrell, incredulously. “Why? What are we looking for now?”
“Tyrell,” she paused, hopping she was going to be proved dead wrong; “Horace said he saw a blond, and we fished out a redhead. We have to make sure she didn’t have company down there.”
“Well shit, Sheriff LaRue!” Tyrell signaled the divers. It was time for round three.
It was going to be a long hot day, and all she could hope was it didn’t get any worse.
Six hours later, they indeed found another body. It brought the count up to two, and Horace had absolutely been right. He did indeed see a blonde. To confirm his story, all they had to do was look for the fishing line and hook embedded in her leg.
Elizabeth sent Tyrell off duty. He had a wife and kids to go home to, and even though he protested, she kicked him off scene. He did his time in the sun, and his shift was officially over. Two bodies in one eight hour shift was more than enough for anyone to have to stomach in one day.
She jumped when Deputy Morel tapped her on the shoulder, pulling her back to reality. In his outstretched hand was the offering of an iced coffee and a wicked grin on his face.
“You scared the hell out of me!” she exclaimed, glaring at him. The whole body thing reminded her a bit too much like the life she had run from last year.
“Hey now Lyzee, it’s not my fault you were zoned out. It’s not like I snuck up on you.”
She glared more, as she leaned toward him. “Sheriff LaRue, Elizabeth, or yes ma’am,” she corrected, staring him down as she tried to not laugh at the face he was purposely making.
Tony took all her comments with a grain of salt. They had this conversation at least once a day. Eventually, he’d wear her down. Using her nickname was a habit. He’d been calling her Lyzee, since they started making out behind the drive-in screen on the bench seat of his Chevy.
“Oh, I beg your pardon, Sheriff Elizabeth LaRue, but really if you’ve seen someone half-naked, and swapped gum then almost all formality should be pushed aside.”
Elizabeth couldn’t help the un-lady like snort when he bowed. This was the inherent problem with small towns. Your past always came back to bite you in the ass. The only consolation for her was at least they never had sex.
“Anyway, I am technically off duty, so I brought you some lunch. You need to eat.” Casually he waved a hand down his body, to indeed prove he was out of his uniform, and thusly free to call her by her nickname.
She looked at him like he was crazy, and that was a good possibility. “We just fished two dead women from the lake, and you think I am actually hungry?”
He shrugged. “It’s not a matter of hunger, Lyzee. It’s a matter of sustenance and survival.”
“Pass.”
Tony shrugged, “Do we have an ID on them yet?”
“Not as of yet. The fish had a bit of a snack.” Elizabeth didn’t have to elaborate. The bottom feeders in the lake had nibbled on the girls. Gone were parts of their extremities and soft flesh, including most of their eyes. They didn’t even have eye color at this point. “The ME is going to do dental, and maybe he can pull a fingerprint that wasn’t nibbled on, I really don’t want anyone to have to do a visual identification.”
“Good idea,” he said, sitting beside her on the bumper of her Jeep.
“I’ve seen worse bodies, but those fish…I may never swim in fresh water again.”
Tony grinned, “I may be with you on that one.”
“I can’t believe we had two dead bodies in one day. This has to be a record for Salem. I can’t remember when the last dead body turned up,” she stated, drinking the coffee he brought her, as she passed off her sandwich.
“I can remember,” he shrugged, as if it was nothing.
Elizabeth lifted an eyebrow over the plastic coffee cup. “Pardon? We’re practically the same age, so if you remember it, why don’t I?”
“We had three bodies a year ago. Your dad was investigating them. We had two arson deaths in the same house, and one possible suicide in the park.”
“I don’t know if I would classify them as ‘finding a body’. To me it sounds like misfortune and all together a sad situation.”
Tony just shrugged again. “Your dad had a burr under his saddle about them. He didn’t think they were random acts. When your pop got gung-ho about something, he didn’t let it go. He just told us that the circumstances looked wrong to him. The fire was obviously murder, and he wasn’t buying the suicide at all.”
“Seriously?”
“When he had his heart attack, Deputy Bishop was checking in on him. Charlie was found lying on his laptop and case folders. He had been studying them before he…” Then he let it go, realizing he was discussing her dad and not some random victim. “I’m so sorry, Lyzee.” He touched her cheek when he saw the pain in her eyes.
She nodded, guilt flooding her that her dad died alone, when she should have been here for him. “When you go on shift tonight can you get Sara to pull all the files that my dad was reading on the night he died? I want to see it all.”
Elizabeth made a mental note to look at his laptop too. Since returning, she’d yet to turn it on; she had his things packed away and placed in the attic. Her heart couldn’t handle the pain of staring at them.
The only constant memory Elizabeth kept, she now wore. On her thumb, she twisted his wedding ring. It was the one he’d cherished after her mother had passed away. Now, it was a daily reminder of them both.
Tony patted her on the back. “I’ll make sure it’s on your desk for you in the morning,” and it would be. If Elizabeth needed this, he wanted to help her heal a little. Losing Charlie had bruised a lot of p
eople’s hearts. So Tony could only imagine how bad this bruised hers. Charlie was a great man, and he raised a damn good daughter.
That was his greatest legacy.
“Okay, thanks,” she said, finishing her coffee and tossing him the cup. “I’m going to follow the ME back to the morgue. I’ll catch up with you later.”
Elizabeth jumped into her Jeep, as the van pulled away. She had a lot in common with her dad. The number one thing was she didn’t buy into coincidence. When a burr stuck, it became a borderline obsession with her. It was what once made her an excellent FBI agent.
Elizabeth LaRue had wicked tenacity just like her father, and now her interest was piqued.
* * *
Special Agent Ethan Blackhawk crouched, his body hunched below the safety of the SUV. He was wearing his bullet proof vest, emblazoned with the FBI lettering, and his gun was drawn.
For two weeks he and his partner had been working on a tough case. They were hunting down a missing child and her abductor. Charla Walters had disappeared into the night with a trail of suspicion, leading them to the house in the woods and hopefully to the man responsible.
His partner, Special Agent Lily Sanderson was sitting with her back to the SUV, as bullets ricocheted across the hood of their vehicle. With every audible metal on metal hit, she visibly flinched.
“Well, what now?” Lily asked. He was lead investigator, and it was his call. “Did you call for backup?”
“Yeah,” he ducked, as another shot rang out. “I don’t think that kid has a chance if we wait. He’s going to get desperate, and kill her, and then probably off himself too.”
“I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but for once I agree.”
The Killing Times (An FBI Romance Thriller (book 1)) Page 2