Choices will Destroy (An FBI Romance Thriller Book 14) (63 page)

She rushed to his computer and went into Elizabeth’s electronic personnel file. She read each and every one off where they had gone out in the field.

Then waited for confirmation from his wife.

As Livy typed, she started reading.

“Tristan Case accessed the files. Each and every one has his electronic signature. He was doing research on them.”

He thought about it. “I doubt it was him. Elizabeth knew my passwords and logons when we worked together. She probably knows her husbands’ too. I never change mine. The only time I did was after the Oracle debacle.”

“Well, yeah probably. What’s that have to do with it?”

“Want to bet that Tristan didn't give her the information, but that she used his access?”

“You think?”

He nodded. “She quit the FBI over nine months ago. When did ‘
he
’ last access it?”

She checked. “It’s right before that. If I cross reference it with Lily Sanderson’s last day, there’s nothing after it.”

Gabe pondered it.

“She didn't kill Tristan because of you, Livy. She killed him to cover her tracks. She took out Donnelly because he told me to ship her ass to Alaska.”

“We need forensic proof,” Livy stated. “What I don’t get is why did Lily murder Carol Spade?” she asked.

“We may never know how they connected, honey. All I know is that Carol and Lily likely crossed paths or worked together. Lily was based out of this office. I’m sure they had contact at some point. They may have been friend, or it could be as simple as she needed a scape goat to distract us.”

They both thought about the woman’s body. She looked like she’d had the shit kicked out of her. Maybe she was tortured, too, for information.

“I hate not knowing.”

“Yeah, me too. I wish we could tie this up in pretty little bows, but that’s not how it always works.”

She was aware.

“Call the lab. Have them run the hair they found on Carol Spade against Lily Sanderson’s DNA on file. I’ll ask around and see what I can dig up.”

She picked up the phone. “We might have just solved this.”

He hoped they did, and they weren’t too late.

 
         
* * *
  B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x   * * *

FBI West

Morgue

As an investigator, no one really liked watching an autopsy, but it was the element of the beast. If there was one thing a cop would tell you, it was that fire victims were the absolute worst.

When they were lit up, fire ravaged their body. As they burned with accelerant… it was a million times worse. The body curled into this sick position where they’re limbs locked.

It looked like something from a horror movie. Once you saw it, you never forgot it.

If that wasn’t bad enough, the smell was something that would haunt you. The cooking of human flesh was a cross between a roasting pig, and decay. As bowel and organs cooked in the body’s own fat, vile things were the outcome.

Cyra Leonard had become that mess.

No matter how hard you tried to think of anything else, it was right there, staring you in the face.

Her hair was gone.

Her features were gone.

She looked like an overcooked marshmallow before you used it to make S’mores.

This was the worst way to die.

As Elizabeth walked in, the room was dead silent, and that was out of respect for Doctor Leonard.

While he suffered, so did they.

“What do we have?” she asked, getting this horrible show on the road. The only reason she was there was for her best friend.

“We have matched dentals,” Doctor Zane stated. “I can say without a doubt that this is definitely Cyra Leonard.”

There was a quiet gasp from the entire team as they gawked at her in ruin. It was clearly written on their faces that the sympathy was now not for the dead, but the living.

Her husband and daughter had to carry on.

“Tell me that she was dead beforehand. I need to have something to tell Chris,” Elizabeth said, leaning against the men in her life.

She wanted to be sick.

This whole thing had rattled her.

“She wasn’t. She had blunt force trauma to the head, but her lungs had smoke in them. It looks like the killer tried to bash her skull in, but it didn't end her life. The fire did.”

That wasn’t what she wanted to hear. In fact, she had to do something about it.

“I need you to falsify the autopsy.”

Zane looked over at her. “What?”

“Chris is going to want to read that report. If not today, then someday. I need to protect him. I’d do it for anyone here. You wouldn’t want to see that your spouse or partner was cooked alive. He’s already dying inside.”

He got it, but still…

Elizabeth noticed his hesitation.

Screw it. She’d change it and falsify it if need be. Before she could say as much, Merry raised her hand.

“I’ll do it,” Merry offered. “I can go in and overwrite the reports. I’ll go in and fix it for Chris. I can’t stomach thinking he’s going to read this.”

She appreciated it. “Thank you, Merry.”

Zane pushed on, giving them the details. “We found trace of accelerant.”

“Gasoline,” Merry added.

“We also found many wounds to her bones. I don’t think they were related to the fire. They look peri-mortem.”

She made notes.

“There was no sign of anything on her but this.”

He pulled a vile off the cart and tossed it to his boss. “It’s a melted medallion. It was placed in a very sensitive place in her body and the heat didn't fully get to it.”

Well, finally this killer got it right.

It took five victims, but it was likely placed out of necessity. With the heat, it would have burned up.

“What else?”

“That’s about all we have so far on Cyra’s murder. The killer could have licked her for all we know,” Zane stated. “All trace burned up.”

“Not all,” stated Merry, picking up a baggie. “Our killer touched Chris’s child. She left transfer on her, or Bethe grabbed her hair. You know how she…”

Merry got silent and tears filled her eyes.

“I’m sorry. I just keep thinking about that little girl losing her mother. It makes me really sad.”

“Don’t apologize, Merry. If this didn't make you want to cry, hate people, or break something, then you’re heartless. I personally want to find this bitch, rip her face off, and then feed her to a pack of wild dogs.”

“Can we watch?” Merry asked. “Chris has to be…”

“Broken?”

She nodded.

“Yeah, he is. That’s why I need the best team in the world to do their thing. I need to know who did this.”

Merry pushed a clicker and pictures showed up on the screen. “I think I know.”

“If you do, you get a big fat raise when you move to DC with us.”

Everyone looked around.

There were murmurs.

“Yes, we’re heading out. You’ll have new bosses here to replace us. Ethan has been promoted.”

She told them about it.

Then, she dropped the good news. “Anyone who wishes to transfer, can do so. I’ll be forming my new team there.”

They all started raising their hands.

This was the true testament of her team. While she rode them hard, they still loved their jobs. That’s why they were the best.

Ethan smiled. “We’ll work on it after you tell us who killed Cyra.”

Merry jumped back into the rhythm. “I found fingerprints on the bill, and the hair on Bethe. I ran them both, expecting nothing, only that’s not what I got.”

“What did you get?”

“This.”

She pulled the face up.

Immediately, Elizabeth was filled with rage. “I should have killed her when I had the chance. This one is on me.”

Ethan was shocked at the picture on the screen. He never even thought that his ex-partner would do something like this. They didn't part on good terms, but this? “Really?”

“Yes, sir. She’s definitely the killer. She touched the bill, and left the hair on Bethe.”

She needed to make a call.

As she was dialing, Callen didn't get it. He’d never seen her before. “Who is she?”

“That’s Lily Sanderson. She was my partner at one time. When that case ended, she was transferred. She hated us for that. I’d heard through the grapevine that she told everyone we ruined her career. More or less, she always said she’d get even for having her moved across the country. Gabe yanked her out of the DC office as punishment.”

If he’d never saw the woman again, it would have been fine with him. Their parting moments had been her slapping him, and Elizabeth breaking her nose.

Elizabeth stood there, waiting for her first partner to answer. When she did, she put her on speaker.

“Livy, you’re on speaker in the lab. Where’s Gabe?”

“He’s right here. We have news for you. I was just going to call and let you know.”

She rolled her neck, trying to alleviate the tension. This was a long time coming, and this sick bitch had crossed one hell of a line.

“Gabe, it’s Lily Sanderson. We have forensic evidence tying her to Cyra Leonard’s murder.”

“Yeah, we just figured it out. She was Tristan Case’s partner, and we think she used his password to get the case information. He pulled every electronic file with your name on it. There are hundreds. She was studying you.”

Well, that explained it.

“I need to find her.”

“We have a BOLO out on her, and we’re searching for her. Lily’s last address is across the country. She quit the FBI almost a year ago. She’s been working on this for a while.”

Yeah, she was dead when Elizabeth found her. There was no way she’d let a court handle this.

Livy spoke up, “We also have forensic evidence. The tech team here just sent the trace report. They found DNA on Carol Spade. She killed her too, likely stole her phone, and turned it on near your location to screw with you.”

“Well, she did. I didn't see this one coming.”

“I’ll contact all the airports, bus terminals, and ports. I’ll have Homeland put a hold on her passport,” stated Gabe. “Now you just have to find her and bring her in.”

She wanted to laugh. Oh, she’d find her, but there was no way she was coming in. Lily was a dead woman.

“Where would she go, Elizabeth?”

She was targeting the people in Elizabeth’s life, and this was supposed to be seven of seven. Who would be next?”

Ethan was watching her. His face said it all. He knew she was going to be the next target. Before she could reassure him, the mother of all contractions hit.

It nearly took her to her knees.

Callen was at her side and holding her up. “Angel, are you okay?”

“Contraction.”

Immediately, Zane was by her side. His stethoscope was out, and he was checking on her. “How often are they happening?” he asked.

“I’m good. I swear,” she said.

“Elizabeth, go home. Get your feet up, and stay out of the open. She’s gunning for you,” Gabe stated. “She doesn’t know we’re onto her, so we have the advantage.”

“Gabe…”

“That was an order. Ethan, get her out of there. We don’t need her giving birth in a morgue. She still has seven weeks until her due date.”

“More like six and a half,” she said, trying to plead her case. Only, both men were staring at her.

“Okay! I’ll go home—
UNTIL
you get a lead on her. Then I’m back in the game. She’s mine, Gabe. I don’t care what you say. I get to bring her in.” She nearly choked on those words.

“Thank you,” Gabe said. “We’ll find her. You just go home and relax. When I find her, you’ll be the first to know.”

Already, her mind was going a mile a minute. Elizabeth was trying to figure out who would be next.

Elizabeth knew that Lily was going to be hard to catch. She had a head start. Not to mention that she had been a Fed. She knew how to lay low. If she’d driven, she’d steal cars. If she flew, she’d have bogus ID. This was going to take a while.

Unless something popped, they were waiting.

So, Elizabeth decided not to fight. She wanted to be home, where the people she loved were hiding out. If Lily wanted to hurt her, she’d strike at her family.

They were all in one place.

“Ethan, can you do me a favor?” she asked.

“Yes, what?”

“Call Julian and Tori Littlemoon. Give them the description of our killer. If she’s studied our cases, she knows that I have a fondness for both of them.”