Devil Hath Come (an FBI/Romance Thriller ~book 7) (40 page)

“Let me get this straight. You come into my town, take over
, and still do no better of a job than I would have done? I could have been confused all on my own. I didn't need you three leading the way.”

To say that
Elizabeth was getting a little hot under the collar would be an understatement. If the woman thought what they did was as easy as reading a crystal ball, she should have at it.

Callen continued
, “Chief, we are working as hard as possible on this and will get the results needed. We have a proven track record when it comes to assignments like this. You’re under the wrong impression, if you honestly believe that the FBI rolls into town and magically they solve it in twenty four hours. It takes time and right now, we need to figure out why the killer is doing it this way. What I need now is for you to sit back and be patient.”

Ethan watched his brother with pride.
The man who was once broken and afraid was disappearing, and in his place was someone who was building his self-assurance and strength. Callen was coming out of his cocoon and losing the tethers that held him back.

“You’re supposed to be the best
,” she directed towards Elizabeth.

Ethan went to state his objection, but was beat to it
once again.

“Let’s make this perfectly clear, Chief. If you’re in any way insinuating that our team is not to your ‘
standard
’, by all means allow us to head home and leave it to you and your men. You had one officer who tossed evidence and an ME that didn't do a full exam on the first victim. In the process, he missed a piece of evidence. Our jobs are long, tedious, and difficult at best. We have a family at home and lives outside of hunting down killers, and we would love to be there instead. We didn't come into your office and tell you how to do your job, so stay out of ours with your shitty comments,” Callen stated, getting angry at her insinuations.

The woman stared at him. “Then
, I’ll let you get to it.”

“That would probably be very prudent on your behalf,” he replied, giving the cold, icy attitude he had learned watching his brother in action.

With that, she turned on her heel and stormed away. When she was gone, Chris Leonard, Elizabeth and Ethan began clapping.

Callen turned
and his skin flushed with anger. No one was going to disparage his family and how hard they worked.

No one!

“That brought a tear to my eye,” Elizabeth stated, grinning.

Ethan offered him fist bump. “That was a mix between Elizabeth handing her the big ‘
eff
’ off and you being the mediator. Nice combination on that one. That took skill.”

He shrugged. “
When your team sits around pounding donuts and screwing up, you shouldn’t be allowed to critique other people’s work ethic.”

“You should have
punctuated that with some colorful profanity. Then it would have been EXACTLY what Elizabeth would have done,” offered Chris.

“I still have control of my filter,” Callen laughed. “She does not.”

Chris picked up the note and this time handed it to Ethan first. He generally was the cooler of heads.

Two more until it’s you I’m worshipping
, Elizabeth, my

sweet
. I wonder if you’ll scream for mercy like she did or

if you can handle a lot more pain
.

They wi
ll never catch me, until I’ve made you mine.

Ethan read it twice
and tried desperately to get past the red haze that was filling his vision. When he rolled his neck and closed his eyes, it was a dead giveaway of the tension and how hard he was fighting for control.

Callen knew it had to be bad, and when he read it,
he honestly wished that he hadn’t. His blood pressure spiked, and he wordlessly stared at the woman they shared and loved.

Elizabeth could feel their eyes as she read it. It was pretty much the same old story. The killer was trying to freak them out and rattle the cage.

Newsflash
.

None of what he was promising was going to happen
.

Not with her anyway.

“It looks like time’s a ticking, boys.” Elizabeth was well aware that some joke at that point would only cause a nuclear man explosion of epic proportions. Instead, she opted to let it go. This was the
ONLY
thing in their relationship that wasn’t perfect. They wanted to roll her up in bubble wrap and keep her safe, but she wasn’t a debutant who needed a rescue. By now, she had hoped that they would figure that out, but it didn't seem to be happening.

Ethan finally found the control to speak. “What else do we have?”

Chris scanned the body and searched for any other aberration. “She has facial bruising. I’m willing to venture that, like the other victim, he used violence to subdue her. I don’t see any other indications of assault. Her clothes are intact, except for where he cut the dress open to do his artwork.”

Elizabeth stared down at the woman. “If she was alive as he carved her up, that had to be painful.”

Chris moved as a tech bagged her hands. “That’s an understatement. I doubt that she could stay awake long enough to see it finished. He tortured her the entire time.”

“So
, she passed out,” Callen added. How horrific was it to have to watch your own body being mutilated? There was gratitude that the poor woman had succumbed to unconsciousness.

“That then brings me to this
.” He turned her head. “There’s a powdery residue on her upper lip. I’ll have them swab it and get working on it, ASAP.”

Ethan contemplated it. “Can you bag her up and work out of the morgue? I don’t like sitting out here like this. I’m feeling edgy, and
after years of being an agent that really only signals one thing for me. Something bad is coming.”

Chris
could do that.

Elizabeth whistled and everyone stopped. “Agent Austin,
I need you front and center.”

Chris watched as she jogged across the opening, and he prayed
that his boss was going to be gentle. He was aware Elizabeth had to be tough on her people, but this was his girlfriend. His eyes flickered back to his boss, and he waited.

“Yes, Director?”

“You’re only a probationary, and I don’t have time for field training right now, so I apologize but you’re on paperwork duty.”

Chris let out
the breath that he had been holding.

“I need you to run her prints and anything else you can to get me her
identification. We’re taking her photo to the witch shop to see if they have her name. If we luck out, then expect a text.”

Cyra nodded.

“Also, do a search on the land. You were a detective and I trust your ability to find the rationale as to why he’s picking these locations.”

“
I’m on it.”

She glanced over at her men. “I
need to talk to Chris privately for a minute. Can you two give us some space?”

They nodded, moving a little distance away
to ensure their privacy and yet remain on guard.

Elizabeth crouched. “What did you want to say to me?”

He wanted to laugh. Apparently, he sucked at keeping a neutral face. Then again, with Elizabeth he should probably know better. They’d worked together far too long to even try the bullshit angle. “I was worried you were going to rip into her.”

It was nice that he was completely honest. “I don’t just do it for fun, Chris. If someone needs it, I
really have no choice. If I let one person slide on the team, then the rest are at risk.”

“I really care about
her a great deal,” he admitted, knowing that he could trust her.

Staring deep into his eyes, she finally smiled. “I
don’t doubt that for a second, and I’m very happy for you. I’ll offer you this, since you and I have been friends for a very long time. I promise to handle her carefully and not be as brutal on her if she screws up.”

He grinned. “
When I marry her, you’re going to be my best man.”

She stood and laughed at that visual in her mind
. “Hell yeah I am, Christopher and we’re having one hell of a bachelor party. It’s going to make the men in my life blush.”

He gave her a fist bump. “I can’t wait to do it up Blackhawk style.”

“You say that now,” she drawled, walking towards the men. “When you see the carnage, don’t be surprised.”

“Hey, Lyzee,” he called, having her turn.

“Yeah, Doc?” she drawled.

“Watch your back
, boss.”

She winked at him and grinned, knowing
that she didn't have to worry about that. There were two fine specimens of Native masculinity currently all over that little task.

Walking back to the car, both men flanked h
er.

“Elizabeth, why were you discussing a bachelor party
?” Ethan inquired, almost afraid to ask. With his wife, you never knew what was going to come out of her mouth.

She dropped her voice. “Chris wants to marry the girl, and I’m going to be best man.”

Callen snorted and shook his head. “And we continue to propagate the insanity even further in our already chaotic lives.”

She elbowed him. “
Cal, who do you think is better qualified to work on that one for him? You remember my fine pole dancing skills,” she retorted, leaving that picture to percolate in their brains. “I may break out my stripper outfit once more.”

“Holy shit,” muttered Callen.
Oh, he had many a fond fantasy bouncing around in his brain over that costume. Watching her in the barely there outfit and beading had been very awe inspiring.

Ethan’s body reacted to the visual too. “Uh,
here’s a little newsflash for you, wife. It’s not going to happen, and we will be there to make sure of it.”

Her laughter filled the air. “Cowboy, then you better play nice with the ‘
best wo-man’
or you might not get an invite to the single-dom sendoff.”

The
y both stopped walking.

“Elizabeth!”

She just laughed, as she headed back to the Denali. There was nothing she liked more than keeping the men in her life guessing.

Chris could only imagine the conversation they were having. Knowing his friend, she was torturing them unmercifully.

“Chris?” Christina tapped his arm to get his attention.

“Yes?”

She hated telling him this. “We have a little problem, and I’m following protocols in reporting it to you, since you’re head of the lab.”

He knew right then it had to be a big one. He was next in the chain of command before it went right to Elizabeth and Ethan Blackhawk. “What?”

“I was double checking the evidence log from the first two victims to make sure we have processed everything, and I noticed something wasn’t right.”

Uh oh
. Already, Chris was feeling sick to his stomach over the tone in her voice and look on her face. “And?”

“Remember the hairs
that we pulled from the woman? The ones that were found clenched in her fingers?”

Chris did remember them. It was their only DNA link
to the killer. “Did something happen as you tested them?”

She really dreaded telling him. Never
, in all her years had she ever had this happen on her watch. “They’re missing.”

The ME nearly dropped his pen. “What?” he lowered his voice
as he stared over at the head tech. “Please tell me you’re screwing with me, Christina. This is a huge issue and not funny at all!”

Christina shook h
er head. “I was working on them and ran out of time. I placed them back into evidence with the intent to start up today. Only when I went to pull them this morning, they were gone.”

He stared open
mouthed. “How did this happen?”

“I don’t know!”

“Is someone else possibly handling them?” Oh, he hoped and prayed that was the case or Elizabeth Blackhawk was going to be dining on his carcass when she found out. Then Ethan was going to tap dance all over his grave while Callen cheered him on.

“I need to search the entire
work space, but I wanted to tell you first. I know that it’s procedure.”

God, he wished he didn't know.

“You have today to locate them. We’re going to have to tell the Blackhawks by tomorrow. I’ll give you twenty four hours to cover for you, but those hairs are listed as evidence, and they will be demanding a report shortly. That’s not something we can sweep under the rug.”

She was well aware. “I’ll work on it.”