Consumed by Wrath: An FBI/Romance Thriller (An FBI/Romance Thriller ~ Book 8)

by Kelley, Morgan

  Elizabeth shook her head from the doorway, and was interested to see how Ethan was going to handle this one.

  “So, you found no bones, no skulls, no scraps of clothing and you assumed they ate all of him?”

  Tony shrugged. “We got the call that night, but again, policy says that we need forty eight hours before we investigate. When that passed, we showed up. That’s quite a while for a bunch of hungry hogs to belly up to the owner buffet. Plus, we’re not talking ten pigs. We’re talking about a good hundred hungry swine. That’s a feeding frenzy.”

  Ethan could see why Elizabeth wanted to hurt people. Tony was bordering on incompetent. “Okay, did you dig through the pig pen and find anything in the mud.

  The man looked appalled. “No one wanted that job, so we wrote it off.”

  Blackhawk pointed at Harper. “Run him too, and don’t make assumptions,” he warned.

  She nodded and went back to work.

  “Who’s left?” he asked, glancing over at Tyrell, as he hoped the man wasn’t going to be like his boss.

  “I think I have number three,” he stated. “His name was Herman Peterson, and he worked for the town paper as a photographer. He was in charge of public interest stories. He also went missing a little over nine months ago. He’s single, no kids and no partner. His boss at work called it in when he didn't show up for a full week.”

  Ethan wrote his name on the board.

  Cyra leaned over to her partner and whispered. “Run him too.” If the woman wanted to make it on this team, she needed to learn to take initiative and do things without being asked. The Blackhawks liked a team that thought on their own as a collective unit. They didn't babysit.

  Deputy Tyrell Donnell continued, “I think I remember this one,” he said, looking over at his boss. “Someone did a search of his house and came up with nothing.”

  Tony nodded. “Jessica handled that one. She went in, searched, and nothing was disturbed. Three days later, his Jetta was discovered abandoned on the side of the road. We towed it to impound and that was it. He never came in to claim it.”

  Ethan wrote down more details. “Did you have the car swept for trace?”

  “No, why would we? His boss said that he was out working on a story about the local Native tribes. We did a visual on the car and there wasn’t any camera equipment to be found. Had I seen some, I would have thought something was up. A man isn’t going to leave behind his work tools. People come and go around here all the time. Look at Elizabeth. She was here a year, and then ran off and got married. Soon after, she flew the coop. People bail when they want to or are convinced to leave.”

  Again, Ethan opted to just let it go. There was always going to be bad blood between them, despite the woman who connected them. For now, Ethan was taking the higher road. They had the leads, and now they would work them. “Okay, now we just need to find out what these three men have in common.”

  Finally, Elizabeth spoke up, “Four men, Ethan. You need to add Doc to that board.”

  Everyone turned in their chairs and stared back at her in the doorway. Most of the looks were speculative, and one wasn’t exactly welcoming.

  That was the one that made her day.

  “We can assume and tie Doc to this by way of investigation. He was working on the bones, and he may have found something that led him into danger.”

  Chris agreed. “I can say, that by looking at Samuel Trudeaux’s medical records, that the fracture on his femur and a few breaks in his left foot match the bones that we pulled from the water. The team is still reconfirming with DNA, but it looks to be a match.”

  Everyone stared at Elizabeth, waiting for her reaction.

  “Yeah, he did it in a skiing accident when I was a kid,” she stated. “When you showed me yesterday and mentioned the remodeling, that’s where my mind went. It was all that I needed up here,” she said, tapping her head.

  Ethan held his breath, as did Callen, to see if she could handle this news.

  Instead of losing it, she crossed the room and took the marker from her husband. Uncapping it, she added his name and scribbled in the details.

  “So, now we have four potential victims and they’re all male.”

  Callen held up the last file in his hand. It was the one that Tony had added to the pile that morning. “We have one woman. She went missing last night. Her name is Marjorie Willard.”

  Elizabeth was okay with more potential leads to follow. For all they knew, this woman wasn’t part of it, but if she was, then it meant that they had a better chance of finding who did this. “Did our teams pull anything from Doc’s house or car?”

  Blackhawk was proud of his wife. Not only was she holding up, she was taking care of the duties that she needed to handle, seamlessly. “The team is running the evidence right now. We should have it later today.”

  She nodded. “Well, Cowboy, that means one thing. We have some fieldwork to handle today.”

  Both doctors stood. “We’re going to head back to the morgue to supervise the team,” Tony Magnus said, picking up his tablet. “If you need us for anything, just call, Lyzee.” When he walked past her, he patted her on the arm reassuringly.

  “I will guys. Get me something to work with.”

  When they were gone, Elizabeth stared at the board. “Okay, now we have three teams that can do field work.”

  Tony objected. “I’m going out, and I’ll take Tyrell.”

  Funny, the deputy didn't exactly look thrilled about that. In fact, the look on his face was almost one of pleading to be saved.

  She turned towards him. “Sorry, Tony, but that’s just not happening. We have your reports, and we’ll implement them in our investigation.”

  Yeah, she would use them to show her people how NOT to handle things. Fortunately, she managed to keep that part to herself, and it was a miracle in itself.

  Bonus points for her.

  “Cyra and Harper are going to take Duke Williams. Lead the investigation, Agent Austin,” she said, pointing at the newbie’s partner. “Harper, you need to get in a question or two. This is a good opportunity to get some field experience under your belt. Dig deep and get me everything that you can on the man. I want his hobbies, his favorite food and what he liked to sing in the shower.”

  Both agents stood and headed out to get what the boss wanted.

  “Tyrell, do you want to go out?”

  The man’s grin was huge. “If you’ll let me go, heck yeah! I’d love to help out, boss lady.”

  Tony actually let out a hiss in disgust. Yeah, Tyrell was a traitor.

  “Are you working?” she inquired. Elizabeth knew that the mayor gave them free reign, but she couldn’t abscond all of Salem’s police force at her whim.

  “I’m off this morning, and not back on until tonight for the late shift. I’m here because I want to learn and help out where I can. Doc was one of the good guys. I can live without a little sleep.”

  Yeah, this was why she had recommended him.

  Elizabeth turned and faced Callen. “Cal, darlin’ can you go out with Tyrell? He can show you the lay of the newspaper land.”

  He ran his palm over her cheek and broke the rules by kissing her on lightly on the forehead. “I can do that, angel.”

  She didn't bat an eyelash, since this morning the men had rescued her from herself. Elizabeth owed them a little kiss-y face for that alone.

  Callen held out his hand and shook Tyrell’s. “We can walk over. I noticed that the newspaper isn’t too far from here.”

  Tyrell was good with that. “We may need to get some coffee first. I don’t think that the man in charge comes in until a little later. He closes up the office at night.”

  That they could do. The café wasn’t far from their interview.

  Ethan handed Herman Peterson’s file to his brother. “Keep in touch and let us know if anything pops up, Cal.”

  Whitefox gave his brother and Elizabeth a fist bump, and then headed out the door, following the deputy.r />
  Before Tony could say anything scathing to Elizabeth, Martha appeared.

  “I’m sorry to bother you,” she said. “While you were having your meeting, the mayor called. He needs you to come over and meet with him and two council members.”

  Tony stood. When he got over there, he was going to drop some serious profanity regarding Chris tossing him to the FBI wolves on this one. So much for them being a team.

  “No, not you, Sheriff,” Martha corrected. “Chris wants to see Elizabeth and her partners.”

  The man’s face said it all. He walked from the room, and not long after there was the echo of his door slamming.

  Martha whistled. “Man, he’s all stirred up like a big ol’ hornet’s nest. That can’t be good,” she said, laughing.

  Elizabeth grinned. “Yeah, well, he’ll get over it. Besides, I have that effect on people.”

  When the woman left, Ethan faced his wife. “Are you okay?” he asked softly.

  She pulled him towards her by his shirt and brought his mouth to hers in a searing kiss. When her hands slid up his neck and into his hair, the moan built between them.

  Breaking away, she ran her thumb across his lower lip. “Yeah, I’m more than okay, Cowboy. I’m back in the saddle with one of my favorite Indians.”

  He grinned wickedly at her. After that kiss, he didn't doubt it. “You know, I had to wait a long time to get that kiss in this room.”

  She stared at him, and when he reminded her about the time he waited for her to make the move, Elizabeth began laughing. “Yeah, well, I’ll make up for it tonight with you and Callen.”

  “Promise?” he asked.

  “Yeah, I do,” she said, grabbing the file for Jefferson Harris. “How about we head to the mayor’s, and then do our interview? Later, we can grab lunch, and I’ll even let you buy.”

  “I get to pay, huh?”

  Rubbing her flat stomach, she winked at him. “You know the rules. He who knocks me up, feeds me at a moment’s whim.”

  “So I’ve heard,” he replied, still focused on the kiss and his wife. “Hey, baby, isn’t that the shirt you wore the first day I met you?”

  She walked backwards towards the door. “Hell yeah it is, Cowboy, but you should be more concerned with what I’m wearing under it.”

  That was all that she had to say. Ethan Blackhawk’s blood pressure shot up, and this time for a really good reason.

  “Oh, and one other thing, Ethan,” she purred, seductively.

  The sound of her voice sent shivers up and down his spine. It was genuinely good to have these feelings back. He had missed them. “Yeah, baby?”

  “The next time you put your hands on my whiteboard, wear your sneakers, because I’m going to chase you down and kick your ass.”

  Blackhawk grinned. Yeah, his sturdy Elizabeth would hold up just fine.

  At the mayor’s office, Ethan and Elizabeth were offered coffee and escorted right into the inner sanctum. She wasn’t sure if Chris Santana was trying to butter her up, or if the secretary was just being polite. Either way, she missed her coffee that morning, and that could be lethal for anyone who pissed her off.

  They didn't wait long and once inside, she was introduced to two men. Denton Kline was about Ethan’s age and was dressed in a suit. Terry Carney, the other gentleman, shook their hands and looked to be a little more laid back of the two. He kept winking at Elizabeth, and he reminded her of a used car sales man.

  The way Ethan crossed his arms over his chest defensively, she was going to assume that he was going to be a dead one, and soon.

  “Director Blackhawk,” Denton Kline said, staring at Ethan. “We needed to speak to you before you begin your investigation. Chris has told us that you’re good at what you do and you’ll have this solved before long.”

  Ethan leaned back in his chair and sipped from his cup. “I think you’re confused,” he said, finally. “I’m the profiler on this team. Elizabeth, my wife, is the one that will be doing most of the investigation. That’s her specialty.”

  The men looked back and forth between each other.

  “Before either of you say anything chauvinistic, that you may or may not regret later, let me assure you that I’m extra motivated to get this taken care of, and fast. Doctor Trudeaux was a family friend, and I’m going to get him, and the others we found, justice.”

  Terry Carney leaned forward. “What can you tell us about the bones that you discovered?

  “Our medical examiner verified that the last set is definitely the remains of Doc Trudeaux. They’re currently running DNA, but my ME is generally spot on,” Elizabeth said, emotionlessly.

  Both men shook their heads.

  “This town will miss that man. He was an icon,” stated Denton Kline.

  Yeah, he was also snacked on by some wackadoo with a hunger for flesh, but Elizabeth kept that fact hidden for now. They didn't need gossipy council members throwing that tidbit out. It would start a rampage in Salem.

  “What can you tell us about Jefferson Harris?” Ethan asked, trying to get the conversation off the topic of Doc.

  The men looked confused at the question.

  “What does this have to do with Doc’s murder?” Denton Kline asked, staring at Elizabeth. “Surely, you don’t think his disappearance a year ago has anything to do with our ME dying.”

  Elizabeth was watching Chris Santana’s face, curiously. Deep down, she believed that if you were ever a cop, that chances were, you were born to be one. While she understood the reasoning behind Chris leaving, she didn't buy that his instinct was gone.

  “We do.”

  Both men reacted the way she assumed, but her old co-worker just drank his coffee.

  “This is horrible!” Terry Carney said. “Poor Jefferson! He was a damn fine man. I feel for Mrs. Harris.”

  Ethan spoke up, “We haven’t confirmed that he is one of the sets of remains, but we’re going to speak to his wife this morning.”

  The two council members looked over at Chris Santana. “You’re in charge of the sheriff’s office, Mayor. You need to make sure that this stays low key, especially now. The Spring Fling is right around the corner, and we need it to go off without a hitch. This is how Salem gets its funds to pay for things like new deputy uniforms and vests,” Denton Kline, added. “We want this done without it being a mar on our fine town.”

  Terry Carney glanced over at Elizabeth. “Your daddy was a good man and knew everyone in Salem. We know you did a lot for us too, when we had that other issue. Please make sure we don’t become the laughing stock of the state.”

  Elizabeth nodded, since opening her mouth would just lead to terrorizing both men. If they only knew what was stalking their town, they might not give a rat’s ass about the damn Spring Fling or purchasing equipment.

  Getting up, both men shook hands, and then left the room. Once gone, Elizabeth stared over at the mayor.

  “Well, you look like you want to say something.”

  He shook his head. “I’m just thinking about Jefferson Harris. When you came in and brought it up, I immediately flashed back to something that happened not long before he went missing.”

  That piqued her interest. “Spill it, Chris.”

  “I was at a town hall meeting, and there was a dispute between two people. One of them was Jefferson Harris.”

  That most definitely had them both sitting forwards. “What about?”

  “Someone brought up the misappropriation of town funds for the Spring Fling, I believe.” Chris sat back in his chair and steepled his fingers as he thought back to the incident. “Yeah, that was it.”

  “Who?” Ethan asked.

  Again, Chris paused contemplatively, as if weighing and measuring his options.

  Elizabeth prayed that he wasn’t planning on playing politician on this one, so she offered him a bit more. “Chris, you know I’m a straight shooter on pretty much everything. I’m going to give you the details that I didn't share with your council buddies, but you have
to keep it quiet.”

  Ethan added, “You’re going to want to keep this discreet. If this gets out, hell is going to break loose.”

  He nodded. “Okay.”

  “The killer is eating parts of the victims. The bones have been checked by our anthropologist, and he confirmed it.”

  That alone was enough to loosen Chris’s lips.

  “That’s disgusting,” he stated. “This is why I got out of the cop field. I was sick of all the death. I don’t know how you keep doing it, Elizabeth.”

  Yeah, she didn't either, honestly.

  “Okay, I’ll drop what I know and keep your information to myself. The fight was between Jefferson Harris and Denton Kline.”

  Both Blackhawks found that curious.

  “Really? They were going at it on the council?” Elizabeth asked.

  Chris shook his head. “No, Denton wasn’t on council at that time. When Jefferson Harris went missing, he took his place and seat on the dais.”

  Elizabeth whistled. “So, we have a man disappear and the person who accused him of stealing money took his place?”

  Chris Santana shrugged, and then reminded her, “It’s merely speculation.”

  That made her laugh. “Bullshit! You know better than that, even if you’re sitting up in this fancy office. You were one of us in the trenches. I know you’re looking at this the same way we are and see what we see.”

  That he did.

  Blackhawk was a little mystified over the entire Spring Fling thing. “Maybe this little carnival should be put on hold until after we get this situation under control. I don’t know if having a buffet of victims wandering aimlessly all over the place, in one central location, is a prudent choice.” The visual in his head even turned his stomach.

  It was like leading lambs to the slaughter.

  “The Spring Fling must go on,” Chris said. “It’s important to our town. We crown a Miss Salem, and she gets scholarship money. In fact, Elizabeth was one of the winners her senior year in high school.”

  That sentence alone had Ethan’s attention. “Seriously? Are you yanking my chain?”

  “Chris you bastard,” she said, laughing.

  The man grinned.