Darkness Of Truth (An FBI/Romance Thriller~ Book 6) (17 page)

Chris followed her over. “Off with the shirt
, Lyzee.”

Julian turned around and stared over at Tori. “Hey, she gets to watch?”

The woman laughed. “I saw her getting all strippered up, this is nothing.” She winked at her friend.

Ethan continued
with his eyes closed, but ready to tease Julian and Callen. “Tori was also making out with her yesterday when she was given her gun back. I got to watch.”

“What?” stated Julian, incredulously.

“That was some kiss, Tori,” Elizabeth teased.

Tori was laughing, because she could see Julian’s face. “My first girl kiss. I’ll never forget it.”

Callen began cursing. “Damn it! You didn't take a picture?”

Elizabeth laughed, until Chris poked the wound. “Hey!
That hurt!”

Chris grinned.
“You lucked out. It’s barely a flesh wound and all you need a gauze pad and some tape. I’m going to start carrying a full medical kit for you and your entourage.”

“Welcome to my world,” muttered Blackhawk.

“Uh, newsflash Love Bug, but he meant you too,” she said, laughing at the smirk on his face. “Tori, what happened out in the woods?” she inquired, as Doctor Leonard moved back to her side to begin patching her up.

The woman slipped effortlessly into work mode. Agent Christensen spilled it all. She described in detail what she saw, heard and smelled in the forest.

“Did you find any white eagle feathers?” Callen asked.

Julian turned surprised and then realized what he did,
quickly closing his eyes. “Shit! Sorry, I forgot!”

Tori punched him in the arm hard. “
That’s your warning shot, Jules!”

He grinned, not only that she was going to kick his ass or try, but that she’d used his nickname his family used. It warmed his heart. “Why white feathers?”

Elizabeth told them about the evidence found beside the corpses and what they suspected.

Julian started thinking about it. There was a little piece of what she was saying that bothered him.
It was almost like he remembered hearing something before about white feathers, but he couldn’t make the connection.

Blackhawk muttered from the table. “Elizabeth, take Tori with you to the
sheriff’s office. I think we should get a neutral opinion of the man. She’s the only one that hasn’t run into him before. Julian, I have a little side job for you. I’ll break it down for you when they head out, if you’re interested.”

Julian didn’t want to leave Tori’s side, especially now that they suspected the killer was after non-natives, but she was going to be with Callen and Elizabeth. “I’m in.”

“We need to tell the chief of police what’s going on,” stated Elizabeth. “I also just want to throw this out there, but he gave me the poacher’s name and address, and I gave him twenty minutes to email the council. He knew where we were heading before we got there.”

Julian shook his head. “I grew up with Rick, he’s a good man. If you’re suggesting he somehow sabotaged you then you’re way off, Elizabeth.

She shook his head. “I’m not accusing him of anything; I’m simply stating a fact. He was the only one that knew we were going there, and then we get ambushed. Maybe the poacher was lucky and heard us coming, but I have to put the facts out there.”

Whether he liked it or not, he completely understood that it was her job to be suspicious.

Elizabeth buttoned up her shirt. “Okay, Tori, Callen and I are going upstairs and then to Red River to deal with the sheriff. We’ll check in. Julian be safe on your side mission and Ethan please rest.”

Again he gave a barely audible answer.

The three left the room and Chris Leonard walked over to his boss, because something wasn’t sitting right with him. His eyes weren’t dilated, and he didn't think he had a concussion, but maybe he was wrong. “If you’re hurting that bad, you should see a doctor, but I’m not sure what for exactly.”

Blackhawk sat up, laughing. “I needed her out of here and to be able to work alone.”

Chris shook his head, knowing this was going to get damn ugly. Ethan was baiting a big, mean, pregnant tiger and now they were all pulled into his web of deceit. “You know I’m supposed to pull your weapon.”

Blackhawk lifted a brow. “You want that fancy piece of lab equipment you really don’t need but requisitioned anyway?”

The look on his face said it all. Chris was appalled. “You’re going to blackmail me?”

“Pretty much
that’s my plan.”

“You’re worse than Lyzee,” he ad
monished.

That
idea made Ethan laugh. “Yeah, I’m well aware. I’m not afraid to play dirty, Doc. You said it yourself. You can’t tell if there’s something wrong with me, so why pull my gun.”

The man shook his head. “She’s going to be pissed. If Lyzee confronts me, I’m more afraid of her.”

“Do we have a deal?” Ethan waited. “If she confronts you, toss me under the bus. I’ll be fine.”

Reluctantly, Chris offered his hand. “Deal
, but I get my lab equipment, AND you don’t let her fire me.”

He agreed.

Julian stood there witnessing it all, knowing one way or another that he was going to get caught in the blowback of it all. “What’s my side assignment?” inquired Julian.

“We’re going out to the
poacher’s house to look around a second time.”

Littlemoon
stared at him incredulously. “The two corpses aren’t the only ones going to be missing a hide when this is over.”

Blackhawk grinned. “They don’t call me Cowboy for nothing,” he stated, hopping down off the table.

“Ethan, when are you going to learn?”

~
Chapter Five ~

Wednesday Afternoon

When they strolled into his office so nonchalantly, he wasn’t quite sure what to think. The female was a mess and had blood on her shirt. The man looked disheveled himself, with grass stains on his white polo. The only one that didn’t look like they rolled down a hill was the other woman, whom he never met before.

“Rick, we have a big issue,” started Elizabeth crossing her arms over her chest. “It seems that while we were out at William Boyd’s homestead, someone got a bit bitchy and took shots at us.”

He looked surprised. “Are you okay?” he pointed at her shirt sleeve and the less than innocuous splattering of blood.

“Ethan and I were
almost killed. He’s down in autopsy with a concussion, and I have a big ol’ case of freaking irate going on right now,” she drawled, the southern coming out.

“You better sit down,” he said, standing and motioning to his spare chair. Do you need me to get you a doctor?” Rick was
concerned about the pregnant woman.

“No, I had the ME check me out. But I need to know how the hell William Boyd knew we were coming. You and I just had the
conversation, and you gave me twenty minutes to get there before sending the email. It only took us seven.”

He knew what she was implying. “If you think I tipped off Boyd to give him a heads up, you’re out of your damn mind. I don’t screw with the
Feds. I’m between a rock and a mountain here, Director.”

Elizabeth watched his face. “I believe you.”

The man stared at her, unsure if she was being serious or yanking his chain. “How do you know that I’m not bullshitting you?”

She shrugged. “I’ve been doing this a long time. Eleven years in the FBI and law enforcement. I can tell when someone’s lying their ass off. That’s why I came at you fast. I didn’t want to give you time to think about it.”

Rick understood where she was coming from, but still he ran his hands through his hair in frustration. When his temper simmered down, he finally spoke. “I’m sorry this happened to you. Is your husband okay?”

Elizabeth nodded.

Callen stepped in, picking up where she left off. “Did you tell anyone about us heading there? Anyone at all? Maybe a deputy or your wife.”

“Ex-wife, and no I didn’t talk to anyone. I’ve been sitting here working on payroll for Friday.” He thought about it. “Boyd is a bit of an eccentric, and he has a hidey hole not far from his house. If he ambushed you from the east side of the dwelling, then that’s why you didn’t see him coming.”

Elizabeth thought about it. “It was directly behind us as we faced his porch.”

Chief of Police Longtree nodded. “Then it was him from his
spot. He spends most of his time there and likes to watch the road.”

“Does he have any family that lives with him?” Elizabeth questioned. “We saw cars and toys.”

Rick shook his head. “His wife bailed on him, hitching up to some guy from another town. She took the kids and left the Rez about two years ago. I can’t say I blame her. Prospects here are slim to none.” He glanced over at Whitefox, noticing his ring. “Are you married to a native or an outsider?”

Whitefox
didn’t know what to say to that.

“
Callen, Ethan and I are partners at work and also at home,” Elizabeth answered, waiting for any backlash. When people found out they were a threesome, there were varied responses; awe, shock or disdain, and sometimes they received all of them at once.

“Aren’t you married to the Director?” The man looked confused.

“Ethan’s my brother, and we share the same woman,” he offered, moving closer to stand behind her, placing his hand on her shoulder. Immediately, their fingers twined intimately.

Longtree noticed that her ring matched his too.

“Ahhhh, I see.”

Longtree
used a word that Elizabeth never heard before, and she was fairly fluent in the native tongue. “Come again?”

He started laughing.
“In our tribe, at one time it was fairly common for brothers to share a wife. I just haven’t seen it in a generation or so, and I guess it was mostly when I was a boy.” Rick shrugged. “If it works go for it.”

She made no comment about if it worked or not. Today seemed to
be a mine field of mess going on left and right. Both men were obviously stirred up big time, and she had no idea why. “We’re heading over to the sheriff’s department in Red River. If these are non-native corpses, I need an ID and soon. You don’t happen to have any missing people do you?”

Elizabeth wasn’t really looking forward to heading into the
Duffy’s office. It brought back bad memories and that made her edgy as hell. Unfortunately, they had to do what they had to do.

“No, we’re good. If someone goes missing here, it’s generally just
until the morning. Once the bender wears off, they show up at home.” Longtree contemplated it. “You want one of our deputies to join you?”

Callen shook his head. “Where we’re going is a very anti-native place.”

“Let’s be blunt here. Sheriff Duffy and the majority of his staff hate Natives,” Elizabeth said, grinning. “I plan on breaking his face if he starts his shit, so why bother having more witnesses than needed.”

Longtree laughed, until he noticed she was serious. “Okay then. What can I do to help you out from here?”

She thought about it. “You can contact your council and tell them that William Boyd is suspected of taking shots at federal agents, and that means he’s now no longer a poacher but up for attempted homicide. Now he’s coming in with us.”

“That’s going to piss off Chief Soaring Eagle and the council big time.”

Elizabeth stood. “The difference between Sheriff Duffy and myself is fairly simple, Rick. I love me some Indians, but I hate any type of bullshit. I’ll run them right over to get justice.”

He believed her. “I’ll pass the word on to them.”

“Come on guys. I want to get this over with, and then plan for some lunch. I get mighty bitchy when I’m hungry.” The three walked out of the office and out the door.

Hopping in the back of the Denali, Elizabeth let Tori ride shotgun while she changed.

“Are you really going to start a war with the sheriff?” inquired Tori, glancing back at Elizabeth as she gingerly slipped into her shirt. On top of it all, her arm had to be hurting like a bitch.

“Not intentionally, but we’ve dealt with Duffy
before. It’s more than likely once he hears that we may have non-Native victims on the Rez, he’s going to go bat shit insane.”

“This is going to be a mess isn’t it?” Tori knew that the relations were going to be strained to the max.

“Oh yeah, but we have one ace in the hole,” Elizabeth reassured.

“We do?” Tori had no clue what she was talking about.

Elizabeth grinned wickedly, as they pulled into a very familiar parking lot and came to a stop. “We have the best liaison that FBI money can buy, and lookee here! There he is driving us around,” she pointed at Callen.

“Just freaking great,” he muttered, taking the spare shirt she handed him. “I just love Duffy and his asshole staff.”