Fire Burns Hot ((An FBI/ Romance Thriller~ (Book 5))) (15 page)

Chris actually took a deep breath.

“Okay, what else, Doc?” asked Elizabeth, pulling out her phone and typing in the information for later use on her white board. If she looked at him, she was going to start laughing.

“Victim number two is one of the victims that we have an ID on at this point. Christiana Dempsey was most definitely a prostitute. When I ran the tests, she was
a disease fun-fest. I feel bad for anyone that got on and off that ride.”

Tony Magnus shuddered at the idea.

Elizabeth glanced up. “Great. What did she have?”

“Christiana had herpes, Chlamydia and Trichomoniasis,” he said, reading the lab report. “Her hyoid was indeed snapped, and I’m calling COD strangulation.”

Tori scribbled something down on her notepad. “Okay, so he killed a prostitute. One has to think maybe he used her first, right?”

Chris smiled. “Many killer
s assume that if you burn the body it takes care of all the trace, but what gets left inside doesn’t get destroyed.”

“Was there semen?” asked Elizabeth
, getting excited at the prospects.

“No, but there was sex involved and our killer wasn’t gentle. I swabbed a few times, but they all came back negative. He used protection.”

“Awesome. Just when I want a john to not bag it up, we have a sexually conscientious killer. Damn those high school sex education classes.”

Tori laughed.

“Hey! I learned a lot from those classes,” joked Chris, and then he realized what he said, and in front of whom it was stated.

Now Elizabeth was grinning. The man’s torment was hysterical, and this time she didn’t have to do anything to watch it happen. Chris Leonard was a one man show. “Back in the saddle here, Doc. We don’t have time to take a side trip right now.”

He nodded, grateful for her taking control and redirecting it back on track. “Victim number three has also been ID’d. Jessica Arturo was twenty years old, and worked as a stripper.” As if on cue, Tony pulled up the photo on the computer screen. “When I did the full body x-ray, we came up with severe fractures on the back of her skull.”

“He’s escalating,” stated Elizabeth.

“Not only is he escalating, but his mode of murder is changing too.” Chris signaled Tony, and another picture popped up on the screen.

“Lungs?” asked Detective Austin.

“Yes it is, Detective.”

“So he beat her to death by slamming her skull into the ground or another hard surface?” she asked.

Elizabeth spoke this time. “No, she wouldn’t have died immediately, so I’m guessing what Chris is alluding to is that she died of smoke inhalation.”

He offered her a fist bump. “That’s why you’re the director,” he said grinning.

“I’m the director because I’m certifiably insane, and have no problem babysitting the other crazies in the loony bin,” she said grinning.

“So he burned her alive?” said Tori, shuddering. “I think this is definite escalation.”

“Doc? Opinion?” Elizabeth inquired.

Chris crossed his arms. “I’m not the profiler, but I can honestly say that from victim one to this one, it appears that the patterns of injuries are most definitely getting worse.”

Elizabeth made notes on her phone, and then looked up at Tony. “Victim four was she tortured?” Elizabeth inquired.

“Yes and no.”

Tony was going to make her work for this one, she could tell. “Tony, I’m tired. I miss Ethan, and I’m three days past riddles. Spill it or I’m going to beat it out of you and let everyone in this room watch. I possibly may even allow them to take bets.”

Detective Austin looked over when Chris Leonard began laughing. She’d just watched her neutralize an attack effortlessly. The man should probably be a little more wary.

“Lyzee, you know I have to demonstrate. Take off your boots.”

“Are you kidding me?” she said, crossing her arms.

“I’m dead serious, Boss.” Tony loved his job.

She thought about it. “Not going to happen.”

“I can wait,” he stated, grinning. When he made the zipping motion across his lips, everyone looked over at her, knowing it was back to her.

Elizabeth should have known better. When it came to the doctors, anything and everything was possible. “Fine, but this better be pertinent. You know how I get skeeved out at the dead body stuff in this room.” She pulled off her cowboy boots and socks and put her feet on the morgue table. “Let’s get this over with, shall we?”

Both men were laughing. “Look how cute! Your toes are painted red and green. You’re so damn festive,” snickered Chris Leonard.

“Do you both forget who signs your damn paychecks?”

Tony cleared his throat. “Point your toes, and then pretend you’re wearing really high heels.”

Elizabeth did what he said. “This better have some relevance
, Tony, or I’m telling Ethan and Callen. Don’t think I won’t.”

Detective Austin was clueless who these two men were, and then she had to wonder why there were two. Maybe they were very large, protective brothers? It wasn’t the first time she’d referenced them.

Chris laughed because he knew she wouldn’t rat them out. If Elizabeth was going to want someone hurt, she’d do the job herself.

“See this part of the foot?” he said, pointing to the arch and touching the bones beneath her skin. “This is your cuboid bone, and in our wom
an here, they’re fractured.”

“Okay, and?”

“You see this a lot in dancers and women that wear incredibly high heels,” stated Tony. “So, you have a prostitute, a stripper, and a woman with fractured cuboids.”

“Another dancer?” asked Detective Austin.

Tony nodded and grinned. “She liked to dance in incredibly high heels, and paid the price with fractures in her feet.”

“So how did she die?” asked Elizabeth. “Strangled or beat?”

Chris Leonard took over on this one. “The original ME called this one inconclusive, and assumed it was the fire, but after the x-ray, it was obvious how this girl was murdered.” He pointed at Tony and the next x-ray popped up on the screen.

Elizabeth moved closer to the
monitor, staring at the wounds. “Puncture wounds to the chest?”

“The reason the ME didn’t notice them was when you light a body on fire, once the skin gets
heated, the tension causes tears in the flesh. Beneath it is subcutaneous fat and that oozes through the cracks and acts as a fuel source, making the body burn more. The fat crusted over when it was cooled and hid the wounds”

“So he punctured her with something?” asked Tori.
“There’s no weapon listed from the scene. He must have taken it with him.”

Elizabeth knew right away
, in fact, she’d worked a case out of Quantico that was similar. “Heels. He took the shoes off her feet and used the spike of a heel. It’s what? Four inches long?”

Chis confirmed it. “I believe you’re correct, and our tech team is processing the evidence that came in, hoping to find the spike part. It didn’t get imbedded in her bod
y, so it has to be in evidence or it’s in the burned out rubble of the motel.”

“
I hoped that the CSI team only jacked up one scene, but if all of them were half assed that means we have more work to do,” stated Elizabeth. “When Tori went out, she brought in cigarette butts, a condom wrapper and chewing gum papers. They either missed them, or…” Elizabeth let it drop off, they all knew the likelihood wasn’t that the killer went back, but that the police sweepers weren’t really on their game.

“Ready for victim five?” asked Chris. “She’s the reason I tried to assault you.”

“I can’t wait to hear this, and if it doesn’t blow my mind, the big scary Indian men will be waiting for you,” she said, laughing at the look on the detective’s face. “Inside joke, Detective. You’ll meet them later, and they’re not really scary.”

Cyra
nodded and Tori snickered. “Yeah they are.”

Elizabeth winked.

“Anyway, the last woman is still unidentified, but she was beat beyond recognition. Her face alone registered ten strikes.”

“What kind of strikes,” asked Tori.

Chris looked at the blonde woman. “May I use you as an example, Detective?”

“Cyra,” she said,
taking his outstretched hand.

Elizabeth snickered. “You’re afraid to use me because you know I’ll beat your ass
- AGAIN.”

“Absolutely,” he answered, facing the beautiful detective.
That and he wanted to get up close and personal with the woman in front of him. How often was he going to get that chance? “If I were to guess, here’s what I’d say happened,” he began. “Cyra put your arms up to protect your face.”

When the woman did, Chris prepared himself. “Here would be blow one and two,” he said, showing them where the killer hit the woman first. “Then he physically twisted
her arms, and caused something like greenstick fractures. At that point she couldn’t defend herself, and he went after her face.” Chris moved the detective’s arms to her side and smiled at her. “Then he pummeled her cheeks and center of the face, until she would have been a bloody mess.” Delicately, Chris touched the places on her face where the strikes met, and it was hard to not notice how soft the woman’s skin was, and how really great she smelled.

“Nice
. He’s escalating, and we need to find him before he goes from psycho to unstoppable,” stated Elizabeth.

“It didn’t end there,” stated Chris. “He then went for the ribs. I imagine that she was in a great deal of pain, or passed out at this point. I think with the severe damage to the breaks in the ribs, he probably kicked her fairly hard or was wearing steel toed boots.
The bones actually shattered.”

Elizabeth let out a deep breath.
The killer was exhibiting rage and that was far from a good sign. If anything it made her sick to her stomach at what could be coming.

Chris lifted the detective’s arm and pulled her blazer back. “The ribs from here,” he touched a bone high up on her side, “to the one’s here,” he ran his fingers down her side. “
They are in pieces and fragments. Once we de-flesh them, Tony’s going to have a big job playing reconstruct the skeleton.”

“That’s
terrible,” whispered Tori, horrified.

Cyra just stood there and watched the man that was using her as a test subject. When his hands ran down her side, she got a flash of heat through her body.
The ME’s hand was currently resting on her hip, above her gun and badge. It was more than distracting.

“She was little too. You three ladies are fairly tall, Elizabeth you’re six feet
in your boots and Detective, you look to be about five foot ten. This poor victim was even smaller than you, Agent Christensen. Tony, what’s her official height?”

Tony Magnus flipped through the papers. “Once I get her defleshed I’ll know better, but I think she’s at the most f
ive feet tall on a good day. Five foot four in really high heels, possibly.”

Elizabeth nodded. “Guys, as usual you pulled this one off for me and under a time constraint. I appreciate it.”

“Say it with a new back up ME,” stated Chris. “Doctor Adare has been gone three months now, and we need someone to help pick up the slack. I need some days off too and a social life.” His eyes flickered to the cop and Elizabeth grinned.

“I’m working on it, but I’ll tell you this much. I’m picking HIM.
I don’t want to relive the last mess that occurred when you picked someone ‘unique’. IF you know what I mean.”

Tony laughed and then covered it with a cough.

“Ladies, we can head on up to my office and discuss our next move. Doctors, thank you. If you need anything Chris, just come upstairs.” Now she winked at him, giving him a chance to spend more time near the detective. If it wasn’t Christmas, she’d think she was playing the role of cupid. First, Julian and Tori were having love issues, and then now Chris and Cyra were throwing off sparks.

“Thank you, Lyzee.”

Chris Leonard watched the women leaving the autopsy suite, and he couldn’t resist staring at the blonde detective. When she looked back over her shoulder, he grinned like an idiot.

“What are you thinking
about?” asked Tony, pretty sure he already knew from the dumb grin on his friend’s face.

“I was just thinking that the woman I’m going to marry just left autopsy.”

“Seriously?” his friend asked, staring incredulously.

“Yes.”

Chris Leonard was dead serious.