Pledging to Die (An FBI/Romance Thriller Book 11) (30 page)

“Really? The whisker burn on your cheek says otherwise, sister.”

Johanna covered. “I didn't say we didn't roll around and make out. I said we didn't have sex. I’m pretty sure you know there’s a difference.”

The woman seemed to buy it and wasn’t the least bit insulted. “Spill it.”

“I was freaked out about Page, and he stayed so he could try and comfort me,” she offered, trying to reinforce her cover story.

“You had to be scared. I would have been shitting a brick,” Garland stated.

“I was. It’s getting dangerous here.”

“I don’t think I’m going to anymore frat parties,” Garland admitted. “I have to admit that I’m really freaked out about all of this. Walking home at night from class has me on edge.”

She was glad.

It was about time someone got a clue and self-preservation kicked in. “I don’t blame you. I don’t want to see you get hurt, and not for some lousy frat boy.”

She laughed. “That’s easy considering you had one in your room last night,” she stated.

“We didn’t…”

She cut her off when she bent down and picked up a pair of blue plaid boxers. “So, all your male guests disrobe at the door? Can I come to the next unveiling?”

She was busted.

“Just keep it quiet, okay? I don’t want anyone to know.”

Garland grinned. “You know me.”

Yeah, that was the problem.

“Now, in order to keep your secret, I’m going to need lots and lots of details. So, if you want to buy my loyalty, you better spill it, and now.”

She stared at her. “Seriously? You’re going to blackmail me for sex talk?”

“Hey! I’m not getting any. I really need to live vicariously through someone, or I might have to go back out to those parties.”

That was the last thing she wanted.

“Fine. I had sex, okay?”

“And was it good? Please tell me it was as scorching as he is, if that’s even possible.”

Johanna didn't have to lie.

“It was so hot that I think I have third degree burns.”

Garland fanned herself. “Tell me more.”

Chapter Ten

Friday Morning

Morgue

When they arrived, the team was already in full swing doing their jobs. They worked through the night, pulling trace as they tried to find something on the victim from the killer. No one was speaking, but there was a hum of work going on.

“Doc, what’s happening?” Elizabeth asked, coming in with an extra-large coffee for him.

“Bless you,” he said, pulling off his gloves to take the offering. “I was just about ready to sell my soul for some caffeine.”

“Yeah, they go for a dime a dozen in hell, so you may want to offer up something far more valuable to the devil—like the details you’ve found.”

He grinned. “I know I said I was going to wait for you to do the autopsy, but I opted to get an early start.”

She was surprised. “Really? You didn't wait for me?”

Chris drank the coffee. “Nope. It was quiet, and I got it done all by myself.”

Elizabeth looked around. The other ME was missing, and that said it all. He didn't want the young man bothering him. In this case, since she screwed him over with the new guy, she’d let it go.

“What do you have?”

“I may have found something, and I know that’s going to make your day.”

“Great, because I’m heading in to see the agents next, and if they don’t have the research done, I’m going to boot them to the moon.”

Chris didn't make a comment.

That was odd. “What?”

He lowered his voice, drawing the three of them close. “I don’t like him, Lyzee. Earlier, when I got here, he was trying to start a mutiny on the ship.”

Blackhawk lifted a brow. “Really? How so?”

“I only heard part of it. The second he saw me, he went back to work. It’s pretty much a known fact that we’re close, and I think that’s why he zipped it.”

She was with him so far.

“He was bitching about being pushed aside by you three. He was running this, and then it was taken away. If Gabe Rothschild believed in him, why couldn’t you three let him do his damn job?”

She narrowed her eyes. “I don’t know if I should hurt him or Gabe, but someone should bleed for aggravating me.”

Callen had a suggestion. “You take the head Fed. We’ll take the agent. I’d love to hold him down while Ethan hurts him.”

Blackhawk liked that visual.

“He’s got one hell of a chip on his shoulder, Lyzee, and he hasn’t been on the team all that long. I get the feeling in my gut that he’s trouble, and I just wanted to let you know. Our crew is pretty awesome, and all it takes is one rotten apple to make the whole barrel stink.”

She patted his arm. “Thank you, Doctor Death.”

“Anything for my family,” he said.

“Now, let’s get back to work.” She needed to mull this one over before she made any moves. Elizabeth hated whiny agents, but they’d done everything he was complaining about.

So…

Really, he could have been venting and nothing more. Being at the top of the food chain, they didn't care if their people bitched a little bit. It released tension and in this job, you needed that. 

“Okay, our deceased victim is definitely Page Pinel. The dentals came in, along with a call from her brother. He wants the body back and to see her.”

“Yeah, that’s not happening. He can view her at a later time, but today is processing day. It’s going to have to wait.”

“As I said, to which he wasn’t happy.”

Yeah, they never were.

“COD?” asked Ethan.

“I’m calling it as a broken neck. Someone twisted and snapped it. The good news is that she died instantly and didn’t feel the rest. Do you need show and tell?” he asked, trying not to grin too much.

“NO!” they all said together.

“Tox?”

Merry heard her cue and answered from her microscope. “Nada. She was clean. Not a drug to be found in her system, but we did find some alcohol. She had one fruity drink with minimal booze content, and some chicken Caesar salad at some point before she died.”

“So maybe she was out with someone and had dinner?” Callen stated.

“Likely. Sorority sisters flock together, and they don’t usually have drinks alone in a bar.”

“Sex?”

“Yeah, she had that too, but oddly enough, there wasn’t any trace left behind in the form of semen.”

“So, he bagged up all of a sudden?”

“It looks like he definitely did.”

That was odd.

She stared over at Ethan. “Really? He’s switching it up again?”

“Yeah, I find it odd that Arman challenges the FBI, and then all the sudden everything is switched up. It’s like the killer is screwing with us. Before they didn't care, and now they do.”

She got what he was saying. “Or is someone switching it up to point a finger at him, only to have us think it’s him doing it to point it away from him?

“Please stop.” Callen rolled his neck. “This is hurting my head. I feel like I’m on a ride, and we’re going around in circles. I don’t know what they hell you just said.”

Yeah, welcome to the damn club.
Neither did she…

“I checked her body. The only things missing were her kidneys. Other than that, it looks like he freaked out and stabbed the shit out of her.”

Great.

They had a killer on the edge.

Chris pulled back the sheet and pointed to her pelvic area. “I checked to see if she was pregnant, and she wasn’t. I know whenever we see mutilation in this area of a woman’s body, that’s generally what the killer is trying to end.”

This was a puzzle.

“Right now, I’m at a loss.”

“I hate to admit this, but I really think that they’re taking organs for some nefarious reason,” Chris added.

“Maybe it’s for ritualistic sacrifice?” Callen offered. “Could it be that we have some wonky coven getting their mutilation on? Voodoo? Santeria? Could this fall under any of the black magic occults?”

Blackhawk couldn’t put his finger on it, but it was percolating in his brain. “I don’t think so, but give me some time to work it out.”

The question was, how much time did they have?

“What about trace?”

Merry took over. “She was clean, but we did pull her out of the water. She took a bath in the drink, and that destroyed a lot of it.”

“Awesome. So, that’s a dead end. It looks like our killer is learning. He put her in the water with the intent to make this harder. If he killed her in that shed, he had access to tarps, and he didn't want to use one.”

This was getting tricky.

“He may have jacked with the evidence on her, but I did find those same wool fibers in the shed. Someone got caught on a shard of wood on that work bench, and I can tell you that it ties the killer to the other victims.”

“Okay, that’s better.” At least they didn't have a copycat out there. They still had one killer, and that took a little of the pressure off.

“The team also pulled shoeprints. They’re standard dress shoes without the tread. I would say that they’re pretty close to what the director has on now. When I measured, they’re size thirteen.”

“And have we excluded the entire team? How do we know it’s not from someone earlier in the day?”

She pulled up the picture on the screen. “See the shoe print? Then I need you to look at the blood splatter. She was dripping blood. I’m guessing he was walking backward as he pulled her toward the water. Right by the edge of the pond, they kind of circle, but the blood is still on top. If the shoeprint came last, the blood splatter wouldn’t be so perfect.” She then switched to another shot and showed her. “When he left, he walked right through the blood, and I compared prints. They match. They’re definitely from one person—our killer.”

“Great work, Merry. No one on the team is a size thirteen, are they?” she asked.

Chris raised his hand. “But I was wearing these loafers, and they have treads,” he said, lifting his shoe.

Callen and Ethan were both excluded, because they were size fifteen and fourteen.

“Nope. Everyone else is cleared.” 

“What else?”

She grinned. “I broke down that single flake of dandruff that was found in victim four’s hand.”

“And?”

“It doesn’t match the sperm left by the five other donors. This one is completely different.”

That didn't exactly thrill her. “We have another person thrown into the mix?” she asked. “Christ! Merry, you and I have to have a discussion on what constitutes good news. That’s probably the worst thing you can tell me at this point.”

The men felt her frustration. This was getting deeper and deeper, and she could see it all falling apart.

“Sorry, boss. I wanted to cover all of our bases.”

She took a deep breath. “You were, Merry. It pleases me that I have a team so thorough, that they tried to get DNA from dandruff. I’m just pissed at the killer. It’s not you.”

She nodded.

“I might have something to cheer you up,” stated Chris. “You love when I find something big.”

“Are we talking bigger than a bull’s balls when he’s being ridden by a three hundred pound cowboy?” she asked.

He stared at her. “What? That’s quite the picture.”

“She’s out of Native sayings,” stated Ethan. “We never thought it would happen, but she’s moved on to redneck-isms.”

Chris stared at her. “Okay, and yes it’s big—but then maybe it’s not. I’m not quite sure. It’s a bit of a mystery.”

“Well, Doc, you can’t ride two horses with one ass, so which is it?”

Chris scratched his head. “Really? I think the Native comments were easier to understand. That one made no sense at all. You can’t ride multiple anything with only one ass.”

Callen dropped his voice, so only the four of them would hear him. “She can and does quite often.”

It earned him a sucker punch, but it was well worth it to see the look on her face.

“It means make up your mind, Christopher. Is it big or not?”

His fingers began moving through the dead girl’s hair. When he found what he was looking for, he showed Elizabeth. “See?”

Using the lighted magnifier, he showed her.

“Is that a needle mark?”

“It appears to be, but it’s not new.”

“Is it on the other victims?”

“I don’t know.”

“Chris, shouldn’t you find out?” she asked, trying to stay calm. “Maybe it’s important since we found that the first three bodies were all hopped up on a Xanax cocktail?”

“Well, I just found it ten minutes before you strolled in. Want me to shave them all bald and look for it?” he asked. “The floaters will be a little harder, but with Lori Denny, if I can find it there, I can give you a better idea if it’s a lead or a fluke.”

Elizabeth thought about it. “Wait, didn't the Tox come back clean on Page Pinel?” she asked. 

“Yes, and that brings up an interesting point,” Chris stated. “It’s definitely not fresh. Maybe it happened earlier. It looks like at one point, it scabbed over and got infected. Our victim must have scratched at it, and that kept opening it up.”

“So, she was injected at a different time?”

Ethan thought about it. “These frat boys have been screwing with women for a while. Maybe she’s been used by them before and lived to tell about it.”

That horrified Elizabeth. This poor girl survived that mess, only to lose her life walking home from somewhere.

Fate sucked.

“We need to find out if the others have these marks.”

Just then, the door opened and the young ME strolled in with his bag. He looked around at what he was obviously interrupting.

“Shit! Did I miss all the fun?” he asked, as he dropped his backpack on the counter.

Chris tried not to sigh. This was exactly why he started the autopsy early. “We had another body last night.”

“You should have given me a call. I was home watching old movies all night. I would have come in and helped you out,” he offered.

Elizabeth pointed at the three bodies. “Doctor Leonard thinks he found something. You can help him with that.”

Chris gave her the look. “Thanks, Elizabeth. That’s exactly what I need,” he muttered.

She grinned. It was the least she could do. Elizabeth loved sharing the fun.

Now she had more balls to bust.

As she headed toward the room with her agents, she stopped when Ethan touched her arm. “What?”

“Do you want me to send Agent Blaise back to Gabe now? We can run with just Agent Flowers.”

She shook her head. “We don’t need him, but if I bust his balls, he’s going to make up some sissy-ass story about how mean Elizabeth Blackhawk is, and how I play favorites. That’s the last thing I need right now. I have to keep Gabe safe, two agents protected, and find six people leaving their DNA on drugged up co-eds. I don’t have time for this. Besides, Callen ran all the frat guys. We’re going to see how good Agent Blaise is at his job.”