The Killing Times (An FBI Romance Thriller (book 1)) (59 page)

“We can add the handcuff part in later, and stop trying to make me lose focus. Next,
we have backup waiting.”

“If they park around the corner, he won’t see them coming, so deal.”

“Then get your team here and ready. Build your case for the warrant, Sheriff, and make it fast. I want to get him into custody and onto that flight to Quantico before he gets an inkling what is going down.”

He left the room to get some of his FBI people mobilized
. There was still a heavy weight on his chest, and it threatened to paralyze him. The giant raven was back on their patio, and it sat staring at him through the glass.

Something was coming
, he could feel it.

                            *   *   *

Elizabeth briefed her team. Once she relayed to them who they suspected, it caught everyone by surprise. For each deputy, the anger was there as they wanted to nail the man to the wall. He took the life of one of their own, and now he would pay. If her half-brother was guilty, she was going to lock him away for a long time.

Prepping her team wasn’t easy. It was
Salem; none of her deputies had ever seen anything like this go down before. Her time in the FBI prepared her for the worst case scenario. Elizabeth made sure they all suited up. Vests were tucked protectively under their shirts, and their minds focused on two things. Bringing in George LaRue and getting themselves home at the end of the night. Everything else, she and her husband would worry about.

In theory, it should be easy in and easy out, bringing him in for transport and questioning. They would have to wait on search warrants for after the interrogation, and then they would play a bigger role. Ethan Blackhawk would let them help his tech team, and she knew he was doing it for closure for all of them and their lost friend.

“Everyone understands their job and role?” she questioned, looking around.

It was now or never.

They all nodded.

“I want everyone to remember that no one plays cowboy-including the Cowboy,” she said, pointing at her husband. “Be ready for anything and watch your backs.” She dismissed them, and walked to her front door. It was time for herself and Blackhawk to vest up too. Checking the inner pocket, she found the vest that she double plated. Cowboy wasn’t walking into this without a little guarantee he’d be coming home.

Blackhawk had prepped his team and
had given them the information that they needed. Now he was watching the woman he married carry their vests towards him. Never in his life had he been so nervous about an assignment. Yeah, he got butterflies before, but these were the size of large birds.

Ravens to be exact
.

“Time to suit up,
love bug.”

“Let me help you
first, sweet cheeks,” he said, helping his wife into her body armor, and adjusting the Velcro around her chest.

She did the same for him, assuring herself the
Kevlar was in place. The entire time her stomach was a giant knot. Both Blackhawks, despite the heat outside, were pulling on pullovers. It would hide the vests and hopefully not alert George LaRue as to what was going down.

“Ready baby?” he asked, even though he wasn’t. If he could make her stay at home, he would in a heartbeat.

Elizabeth took his face in her hands, uncaring that both their teams stood around them getting ready. “Promise me you’ll do everything in your power to meet me here tonight.” Her voice shook, scared at the possibility she could lose him. In the short time he was hers, Ethan became her everything.

Blackhawk was touched
beyond words. No one that he had a relationship with had ever said those words, or wondered if he would make it back. “I’ll be here, Elizabeth. You better make sure you are too.” His heart skipped a beat, and he looked at her lips, debating if he could get away with it.

That sli
ght tell warned her of his plan. “Don’t do it, Cowboy,” she said, laughing, as he pulled her into his arms and dipped her low.

Everyone in the room looked over at their bosses.

“I have to, baby. I’ve decide that you’re my new good luck charm before bringing in the bad guys.” Blackhawk kissed her hard and deep, uncaring that both teams were staring at him. Ethan kissed her like it was his last kiss, and he meant everything he put into it. When he broke away and righted her back to her feet, both teams clapped and whistled for them.

Once standing again, s
he tossed him his hair tie as she tried to catch her breath. “Next time Cowboy, I will kick your ass,” she drawled and then started laughing, not the least bit embarrassed.

Deep down, he hopped there would be a next time, and he’d willingly let her.

                            *   *   *

Blackhawk stopped the Jeep, and he and his wife hopped out, motioning for the rest of the team to block the road. This was the only way in and out. They set up a ready site and waited for their bosses to give them word.

“If this goes bad,” he whispered to his team, “you secure the perimeter and you make sure when entering the building
the subject is safe at all costs.” He knew they got the message; he wanted them to assure they’d take care of his wife first and foremost. “Stay safe and keep aware.”

“
We got your meaning, Agent Blackhawk. The subject will be secured.”

Back in the Jeep, they pulled casually around the bend.  Parking behind her brother’s truck
, they both began taking in their surroundings.

“
The barn’s out back,” she said, getting ready. She pulled her gun, and checked the clip and chamber, replacing it and looking over at her husband. “Remember your promise, Cowboy.” Elizabeth opened the door, scanning the area. It all looked clear.

“You remember yours, Sheriff.”

They crossed the driveway and up behind the house to the massive barn that her brother had made into a workshop. As they pushed the door open, they noticed there were lights on, but it was silent. Both pulled their handguns and began to enter.

“George,
it’s your sister. Where are you?”

“I’m over here
,” he answered back. “Working on my new project, you should check it out. I bet you’d appreciate it.”

Elizabeth and Blackhawk walked around the corner, and there
was George. He had a gun pointed at Doc’s head, as he stood on a stool with a noose around his throat and blood dripping down his face.

Doc watched them with tired eyes.

“Welcome, Agent Blackhawk and E.L. You’re just in time for the fun.”

“Geor
ge, what the hell are you doing?” Elizabeth demanded, gun trained on her brother. She watched him step behind Doc, using him as a shield and blocking any possible shots.

“I’m tying up loose ends.”

“Doc, are you okay?” she yelled to the man.

“I am for now, Elizabeth.”

“Why Doc? He doesn’t fit your criteria, George,” she said, stepping closer, as she and Blackhawk split up trying to get a clean angle at him. One of them had to get a shot in, and for now she was making sure her brother stayed focused on her.

“Stop right there,
Agent,” he said, pointing at Doc’s brain. “I’ll kill him. Please don’t think that I won’t do it because he’s a family friend.” He turned back to his sister. “Because his name’s Samuel; he’s on the list and was the bait to get you here. Had you gone to his house you would have found my last note. I’m guessing you didn’t need it, E.L.”

“No, George. I didn’t need the note.
The missing foxglove from my garden and the wood chips in Sara’s hair gave you away. You got sloppy there at the end.” How her own brother could be a murderer astounded and repulsed her. From her peripheral vision, she could see her husband facing her; he had managed to slip far enough away and was moving into position. He was just waiting for a clear shot, and he would take it.

He grinned wickedly. “I guess I should have left the flowers alone in my
MOTHER’S
garden,” he said, emphasizing that Elizabeth didn’t really have a right to call it hers.

“I understand all the women, George,” she said, trying to relate to him and calm him down. Doc’s life now depended on it.

“You have no idea!” he screamed in fury.

She needed to keep him talking, or Doc was dead. “You were cleaning up the town, right George? Using the victims of the Salem witch trial, right?”

“So, you did figure it out? Yes, I only killed those who the voice told me to kill, as they had to be cleansed of their sins.”

“What were their sins, George?” she asked, taking his focus as her husband took one more step away and into a better angle.
It alarmed her that he was hearing voices. It meant rationalizing with him was going to be difficult.

“They were wicked wom
en, E.L. Each one of them used men and their bodies to get what they wanted in life.”

“They didn’t practice witchcraft, George
. They were just young girls having fun.”

He pulled at his hair in anger
. “They offered up their bodies like whores, and I had to cleanse them. Don’t you see? They had no morals, and that’s why those women were killed. Women without morals are destructive and God needed them cleansed. Their names matched and the voice said it was a sign from God!”

“So you drugged them with Foxglove, and then killed them.”

“I cleansed them of their sins!”

Elizabeth hoped she could keep his attention. “Sorry
. Then you cleansed them.”

Blackhawk just needed to move a little more, he was twelve feet from his wife, and making his way closer. Just a few more feet and he would be in the clear. 

“I need to know, George, why did you kill dad? Was it because he suspected you?” Elizabeth pushed her brother, digging for more answers, and saw him look upset, and it didn’t make sense. Elizabeth felt that tingle of awareness that something was off.

“I didn’t kill dad,”
George peeked around Doc at his sister, almost like a small, fearful child. “That wasn’t me, E.L.”

But if it wasn’t him…

“I killed him.” The voice came from behind her husband in the shadows of the barn.

Elizabeth saw her husband turn
fast, the voice catching him off-guard. All she heard next was the tell-tale popping of rapid shots, and then pain ripping into her body. She watched her husband go down first, feeling the sting of a bullet imbedding into her own flesh too. Her arm went numb as the pain radiated, and she dropped to her knees.

Blackh
awk knew he made a huge mistake. He never checked behind him in the shadows, and now he could feel the burn of bullets tearing into his body. His eyes searched for his wife, as he fell backwards. Everything seemed almost in slow motion. When his wife dropped, fighting to stay upright on her knees, he knew he didn’t keep his promise. The error he made had now cost her too. He closed his eyes and prayed for a miracle and tried to find a way to fix his mistake.

“
Ethan!” she screamed, looking over at her husband lying on the ground, and then back to the woman emerging from the shadows. It was Abigale, and she was holding the gun trained on Blackhawk. She wanted to crawl to him, but she knew the woman was insane. Abigale would take his life if she dared to move. Now it made sense. Her brother was the killer, and his mother the one directing him. It was her garden, her toxic plants, and her ex-husband. Her father wasn’t only killed because he was investigating; he was killed because he had divorced her and she wanted revenge.

“I did that kill personally, and I have to tell
you it was gratifying, especially after he betrayed me. When he brought home the divorce papers to sign, I knew that I would have my revenge. It took years of careful planning, but I am a patient woman, Elizabeth.”

She
couldn’t take her eyes off the woman. Elizabeth knew her gun was still in her hand, but all sensation was gone. Abigale hit a nerve. All she wanted to do was get to her husband and check his wounds. The teams had to hear the gunshots, and it was a matter of time until help came, but she had to stall. The FBI team wouldn’t rush the building with them in it. They would surround them and wait until they had a clear shot. It was now up to her to buy them time, or they were dead. 

When her step-mother stared at her husband
, she had to get her to refocus. “You're a bitch, Abigale!” Elizabeth watched her move toward her downed husband. If the woman touched him, she’d charge her and risk her life in a heartbeat. Insulting her was risky, but it would keep her focus on her and not Ethan.

“You sound like your father. I
should have had George kill you when we had the chance. That bullet that hit the light, it should have been your brain.”

“Why this game? Why all those women, Abigale.
Are you that bored in your old age?”

“They were tramps and whores, like the witches in Salem. Do you think its coincidence they all had the same names? They slept around, cheated, and were vile. Just like you
and your father, Elizabeth. Both of you had no morals, and were in need of purification.”