Darkness Of Truth (An FBI/Romance Thriller~ Book 6) (72 page)

Knocking on the makeshift morgue doors, Tony peeked out before opening it. When he saw it was the bosses, he let them in with a grin. “You said lockdown, and we went literal.”

Elizabeth didn’t blame them. “Anyone try and gain access to the lab?”

“No one yet,” he said, looking around.

Blackhawk stared at the man on the slab. “Talk body to us, Chris,” he requested, pulling out his phone to enter anything he needed to add to the file.

Elizabeth went over to the spare table and hopped up next to Tori.

“Ben Soaring Eagle, age sixty seven was relatively healthy. He had some liver issues that he was probably well aware of too. When I cut him open I found no trauma to any of his organs. I removed the scalp and cranial cap. His brain was mostly pristine for a man that age. It appeared that at some point he’d had a small stroke, but it was most likely something so minuscule he never noticed.”

“So COD?” requested Callen.

“Hyoid is broken and the man asphyxiated as I first believed. He was wide awake when he was strangled with the rope. The abrasions match exactly, and he didn’t struggle. None of his own DNA under his nails, and that proves that when he took the step off that upper banister, it was with the intent to die.”

“He never changed his mind?” Elizabeth shuddered. She couldn’t imagine hanging there and not
contemplating the need to get free.

“
There is no indication that he wanted to save himself.”

Christina popped in with her tablet in her hand. “I have blood results on the message left on the wall,” she said, not looking up.

“Okay, what do we have?” Blackhawk was ready for it.

She sent them all the information, keeping it a paperless trail. “The blood was definitely the same person’s sample. The drop that Julian found in the woods was an exact match for the words
left for the victim.”

“Great, we only need to look at every person’s arm that works here and f
ind needle marks. Gee, it’s damn simple.” Elizabeth’s tone showed her exasperation.

“So we think it’s someone here?” Christina’s voice was barely above a whisper.

“Yeah, we do but we have no proof.”

She swallowed. “What
if I had a way to eliminate one of the possible suspects?”

“Go on,” Blackhawk urged.

There was that tiny bit of hesitation. “I’ll go on record and say that if he is the killer, it may not stand up in court.”

Elizabeth didn’t care. She didn’t want any more people to die.
“It won’t be the first or last time that this lab skirted the law to get a killer off the street. If you have a way to eliminate or find a suspect, you need to tell me. I’ll take the brunt of it in court.”

This had to be the most mortifyi
ng moment of her life. “I kind of…may have…you know.” Christina stared over at Elizabeth for help, “had a one night stand with one of your suspects.”

Doctor Leonard got the meaning first. “
So you had unprotected sex with one of the men. Which one?”

Christina flushed six shades of red. “Kane Redwolf.”

Elizabeth grinned. “Are you willing to submit to a swab, Christina?” she asked. This could help them eliminate him and narrow their focus.

“Yeah, I guess
I can, but I want to keep this quiet. I don’t think he’ll ever want to see me again if this gets out. I mean, if he’s not the killer. Then again, if Kane is the killer, he’s definitely going to want to see me. He’ll probably break out of jail and murder me.”

Ethan went right to the woman and hugged her. “You’re my favorite tech for just this reason!” Blackhawk kissed her on the forehead.

“Okay, I feel a little better,” she admitted.

Callen mimicked his brother
’s actions, hating to see the embarrassment on her face. “Totally bad ass, Christina,” he said, hugging her and whispering in her ear. “Possibly more than Elizabeth.”

That
cheered her up even more, and when her boss winked at her, she started laughing.

Chris pulled out some swabs and was ready. “It won’t take long, Christina.”

She swallowed. “Uh okay.”

“I’ll stay with you,” Elizabeth
offered, taking her hand in hers.

Tori hopped down off the table. “Me too. All the men
need to get out of here.”

They headed towards the door.

“We’ll be upstairs in the office waiting for you,” Callen added over his shoulder.

Elizabeth gave them both a look. “Neither of you leave this building without me. Killers like arrogant men who think
they’re invincible, and I’m really attached to your sexy Native hides.”

They started laughing.

“You too, Julian,” admonished Tori. “Keep that skin of yours safe.”

He winked at her and grinned. “Yes, Victoria.”

Tony locked the door behind them. “I’ll head into the lab and keep the techs in there. You’ll have privacy.”

Christina stood there, unsure what to do next
. “This has to be the most mortifying thing.”

Elizabeth shrugged. She’d had to submit to the test when a killer abducted her. “
It goes by really fast if you’re distracted.”

“N
o, I mean Chris doing the test. It’s like having your big brother seeing things that he really shouldn’t.”

He started laughing. “You all realize I am a real doctor, and I actually did rotations in obstetrics and the ER. I’ve seen
it all. Then you can toss in that I’m a heterosexual man who’s had sex before. I’m familiar with the female anatomy. Trust me- a vaginal swab isn’t a big deal.”

Christina was creeped out. “Please don’t call it that. It makes it sound… ick.”

Everyone started laughing that after playing in bodily fluids, handling skin flayed from a body, and decaying corpses, that what amounted to a pap smear had her freaked out.

“Strip from the waist down and up on the table. Cover your lower half of your body,” he directed. He turned around to give her privacy.

When she was up on the table, Elizabeth and Tori each took a hand. “Thanks, guys.”

“It’s the least we can do.”

“I’m going to do two swabs, just in case we need a second one,” he paused. “As a doctor, I’m going to tell you how dangerous one night stands are,” he stated, looking up at her.

“I know, I know.” Christina never did anything rash, stupid or out of control. “Tequila is not my friend.”

“Are you on birth control?” he asked, being the big brother now.

Christina had to believe this was possibly one of the worst conversations she’s ever had in her life. “Yes, Dad.”

Chris snickered, as he did the swabs. “You're done and for the record, tequila is no one’s friend.”

“Amen,” muttered Elizabeth.

Tori laughed.

“Get me the results fast,” requested Elizabeth
, releasing her hand.

Quickly Christina dressed. When she was finished she grabbed the samples and ran for the other room, pausing at the door
but not looking back at them. “Is it wrong that I don’t want it to be a match?”

Elizabeth grinned. “No, it’s not at all.”

She released the breath she was holding. “Give me an hour to run it. I’ll process it as fast as possible.”

Tori started for the lab door. “We better go keep an eye on the men. I don’t like the idea of all that testosterone sitting in one room just waiting. Someone’s liable to do something stupid.”

Elizabeth snorted. “Don’t I know it?”

The three men sat there waiting for the women to join them.
Christina’s offer to submit to a swab might be the defining moment of the investigation. It could possibly take a suspect off the list or hand them the killer.

At the knock on the door, the men glanced over. It wasn’t Elizabeth and Tori but Chief Longtree.

“Come on in, Rick,” Blackhawk said, making the motion.

“We have a problem,” he said, picking up the remote to the TV and turning it on. “I just got a call from the council. Someone’s spread the death of Chief Soaring Eagle to every local TV station.”

They all watched it unfold on the news.

Just then, Elizabeth and Tori walked in the room and stared up at the TV. The reporter was handing out the sensitive information regarding the killing like candy on Halloween.

“Son of a bitch!” she exclaimed, irritated. “How did they get that information?”

Ethan could feel the heat rising up hi
s neck. This made them look bad; like unprofessional idiots. Any minute now his phone would be ringing and Gabe Rothschild, his boss would be on a rampage.

Longtree didn’t look happy either. “I have no idea. You asked earlier if we sent out an update email to the local news, I checked and nothing is logged as going out in the sent files.”

She shook her head. “Who has access to the email account?”

Rick closed his eyes. “I do, as do my officers. Any office staff has access.
”

Elizabeth rubbed her eyes. “
Is it password protected?”

The man looked sick to his stomach. “Yes and No.”

None of them knew what he was getting at. “I don’t understand,” stated Callen. “Email generally needs a password to access it.”

He tried to explain and keep the agents calm. “You have to understand. We don’t have a great deal of crime here. The email account password is on a post
-it note stuck to the side of the computer.”

If Elizabeth could, she’d slap the shit out of the man for being plain stupid. “I’m going to breathe deeply and count to twenty. By then, maybe I’ll have control of my incredibly violent temper.”

Blackhawk stared at the man. “You need to question your men. If an email went out, it had to be one of them,” he didn’t have to say anything more. It was obvious to everyone in the room, including the police chief what Blackhawk was implying.

“You suspect one of my people, don’t you?”

Elizabeth was nowhere near twenty yet, and ignored everything he was saying.

Callen stepped in as mediator. “Chief, look at it from our perspective. First, the media is alerted and the skinning detail is released. Only your staff and ours knew that detail. We held it back, to make sure there were no copycats.”

Longtree still wasn’t happy.

“The feather was released to them too. We’re trying our best to not assume the worst here, but we have a big problem.” Callen watched Elizabeth regaining control.

“I don’t see how that ties my people to this.”

Blackhawk rolled his
head; the tension in his neck was slowly causing a headache to brew. “On the feather we found with Sheriff Duffy, there was trace. It was the chemical we use to clean up after an autopsy. That means that someone in this building had access to the chemical, most likely inadvertently and then placed the feather on the body.”

Rick wasn’t ready to believe it was one of his people. “Maybe your lab techs
screwed up.”

Callen eyed up Elizabeth, waiting for t
he nuclear explosion. She didn't like people pointing blame at her team, unless they were indeed guilty.

Blackhawk crossed his arms, understanding
where the man was coming from, and then he thought about the woman that just went the extra step to give them DNA on one of his men. “You know if my people didn’t do this day in and day out, I’d consider it a possibility, because accidents happen. Unfortunately for you and your theory, I know them and they’re meticulous when it comes to processing. Someone was in the lab, touched a table, getting the solution on their hands and then proceeded to handle the feather.”

He went to speak and was cut off.

Elizabeth was back in control, mostly. “You’re the only one other than our staff that knows that. We’ve had that detail two days now. It never got leaked. Want to bet if we tell your staff, the killer is alerted along with the media?”

The man didn’t look happy. “I’ll go talk to my
officers and discuss the importance of keeping their mouths shut.”

“If the chemical detail gets out, we might as well pack up our shit and head home,” drawled Elizabeth. “We need that one detail to keep the killer from knowing we’re on to him. So, if it gets out, we know
who couldn’t keep his damn mouth shut.”

He stepped towards her, fists clenched
and anger brewing in his gut. His intent was clear in his eyes. The tolerance of the FBI was wearing thin.

Both men stood, alerting him that it would be a really bad idea
to make any hostile move towards their pregnant woman.

“I’ll let you know what I find,” he said
, as he opened the door. “For the record, I think you’re wrong about the killer working here in the building.” With that he slammed the door.

“Well that was ugly,” Tori said, leaning against the wall. “What’s next?”