Dead Shall Speak (An FBI/Romance Thriller Book 10) (38 page)

“He had me call a town a few miles from here to hide the body. It’s in the hospital morgue there.”

“Are we talking about the town that you share the morgue with?” Elizabeth asked.

“No. It’s the one on the other side. He thought you’d head there first. If you tell him it was me who told you, I’m a dead man. The sheriff hates weasels. He’ll fire my ass after they kick the shit out of me.”

She had no reason to rat the man out. “I tell you what. You take my number. When he finds out the body is missing, you give me a quick text. Send anything—a number, a letter. It doesn’t have to be a message. As soon as you do, I’ll know he’s coming.”

“And if I help you?” Davvy asked.

“Again, I won’t tell him that you’re the rat bastard who betrayed your entire department to me. How’s that for FBI cooperation?”

He didn't have a choice.

“Shit. You’re blackmailing me. Aren’t you supposed to be the good guys?”

Oh, they were. They had Magdalene’s best interest at heart, unlike the sheriff.

“Yeah, well, we play it the way we see best. If I were you, I’d play dumb and save your own ass, because I’m about to show your boss what happens when you screw with the FBI.”

He didn't say anything.

“We’ll drop you off around the corner. No one will be any the wiser.”

Davvy Weatherly nodded.

When he was dumped off, Elizabeth grinned.

“That was the easiest shakedown I’ve ever seen you have to pull off,” Callen stated.

“Yeah, it was way too easy. Ethan, make that call. I want to make the sheriff miserable.”

“What are you thinking of doing?”

“I’m getting us that girl. We’re going to have our ME take over, and then make Sheriff Carlton look like a freaking jackwagon.”

Blackhawk dialed the phone.

“I can’t wait to see this one go down. It’s a good thing that Oracle didn't say you were in danger, or I’d know who was trying to gun you down.”

She snorted.

Elizabeth wasn’t afraid of that asshole. If anything, screwing with evidence, taking a body, and trying to keep the FBI out would be punishment enough.

The media wasn’t going to be kind.

“You’re going to have a press conference.”

Callen knew what that meant.

“He’s going to hate our freaking guts.”

Yeah, the feeling would be mutual.

                                 *    *    *

Two Hours Later

Tony didn't like leaving the morgue, especially since Jaxon was there. What he wanted to do was stay by her side, helping her with her reconstruction.

The tech team was pretty slow, since there wasn’t a new victim to work on, but he felt the need to be with her. Maybe he’d do something incredibly romantic that night.

You know, to show her how much he loved her.

After arriving at the dig site, he took the next two hours to handle all the mundane work involved with running an excavation.

The graves were untouched.

That was always a good thing. At least no one wandered in there, morbidly curious about the deaths.

He found the three students in a separate tent. They were studying the bones of their victims. It flashed him back to when he was a student. These types of hands on experiences made him the man he was today.

It gave him the need to find the dead.

It forged his future.

“What do you have?” he asked, looking at one set of pictures they were studying.

“This is weird,” stated Jeffery Whilton. “We’ve never seen it before,” he stated.

Tony took the picture and looked at it under a magnifying glass. “It’s a dislocation of the symphysis between the left greater cornu and the body of the hyoid.”

Donald Hopper spoke up, “How common is it?” he asked.

Tony stared straight ahead. “I’ve seen it once or twice.”

That had their attention. “Where?”

“Generally, it’s found in strangulation cases where the victim survives. Is this the only one?”

“We’ve just started looking. Do you want us to go through the rest of the women?”

He did. This was rare, and if they could pick it up as a pattern, it might mean something.

Or it could mean nothing at all.

But that was a chance they would have to take.

“Yes. Log anyone you find who has the same injury. It’s fairly uncommon.”

“So, they survived strangulation only to be murdered later?” Valerie asked.

“Possibly. On those victims, I need COD. Find for me what ultimately killed them. I’ll take it to the FBI and let them know you’ve found something amazing.”

That got them excited. Every student had the big dream of finding that one thing that made a case for the police. He’d been no different at their age.

On his way out, he glanced at his watch. He’d pop back into his tent, and then send Jaxon a text. Maybe he could meet up with her to get something to eat.

Once inside, as he was arranging his desk, there was a clearing of a throat. Tony glanced up. There stood Doctor Bridget Seston waiting for him. “Yes?”

“I thought we could talk.”

“About?” he asked.

“Us.”

He was confused.

“You know…you and me.”

“Doctor, there is no us. I’m engaged to be married. I appreciate your interest, but there isn't a chance of anything happening between us. Besides, I’m your boss and that won’t look appropriate for either of us.”

“I think we could be good together. I’d like to see if I’m right. Besides, I’m a more experienced woman. I doubt that little girl of yours gets a man like you.”

He was appalled.

Tony wanted to reassure her that she was wrong. Jaxon was perfect for him, and despite looking young, there was only a little over a decade difference in their ages.

“Doctor Seston,” he began.

“Call me Bridget. I find you really sexy. There’s something about a smart man who knows how to do our job.”

She began moving closer.

Tony was trapped in the back of the tent. There was no escape, unless he vaulted the desk. The irony was that before Jaxon, he wouldn’t have put up a fight. He would have taken the easy woman and used her to fulfill his needs. Then he would have haphazardly discarded her—almost like trash.

Now, he wanted none of that.

He only wanted Jaxon.

“This is really inappropriate. You need to carefully think out your intentions,” he said. “I've already told you that I’m not interested, Doctor. Is it worth doing something stupid to damage your career?”

He hoped that worked.

Then, he realized he wasn’t going to be that lucky.

Bridget Seston attacked.

Not with fists and claws, but with her mouth.

Tony was caught off guard.

Completely.

Jaxon left the morgue to pick up some lunch. She couldn’t wait to surprise Tony with her impromptu picnic. He’d taken her to a cemetery, and now she hoped to lure him into that field of flowers not far from the university.

Maybe if she was lucky, she could get him to put his hands all over her. She giggled like a teenager in love.

Yeah, she was a goner.

As she drove there, her pretty ring glittered in the sunlight on the steering wheel. What Jaxon wished was that she could show her brother and mother the amazing piece of jewelry. While Jagger would be happy for her, sharing in her joy, Jaxon knew that she’d be missing out on a wedding with her mom.

The planning.

The dress shopping.

The advice.

Okay, scratch that last part. Her mother married a mob man. Her advice would be questionable, at best.

Everything else would be greatly missed.

When her eyes filled with tears, she quickly wiped them away. Nothing would ruin the moment. While her mom couldn’t be there, Jagger would.

That was still pretty awesome.

Earlier, she sent the man a text, wondering if he’d walk her down the aisle. Hopefully, he’d get some time off from whatever job he was working on, so he could be there for her. Since Elizabeth knew his location, maybe she could pull some strings if the wedding was soon.

Hopping down and out of the vehicle, Jaxon carried their lunch toward the tent. At the door, she called his name.

Then saw the most horrific thing in her life.

Her fiancé was involved in a lip lock with another woman. If that wasn’t bad enough, it wasn’t just any one, but Doctor Seston, her professional rival. Apparently, the female in his arms was now her personal competition too.

Jaxon dropped the lunch as her hand covered her mouth to house the gasp of heartbreak.

Tony finally got free of the doctor. “Jaxon!”

Her eyes filled with tears as she watched them. Slowly, she began backing up.

“Wait! Honey! This isn't what you think it is!” he pleaded, trying to get through to her.

At the look of hurt on her face, Tony’s heart began pounding in his chest.

The only woman he’d ever loved had seen him in a compromising situation that was out of his control. The last thing he would ever do is risk his relationship with Jaxon.

She completed him.

She was meant to be his.

Jaxon heard him call after her, but she did the exact opposite of what he wanted. Instead, she raced out of there, only to hear Bridget Seston laughing at her retreat. It was the taunting that stopped her in her tracks.

Yes, it hurt, but then, something new happened.

The laughter made her think of all the women who tormented her through college and those who called her chicken and scaredy cat.

Jaxon froze. Once more, she was about to do the exact same thing again.

Thinking back to her promise not to run, she spun on her heel.

No. Not this time.

Today, she wasn’t going to escape like a wuss.

Heading back into the tent, she saw her horrified fiancé trying to get past the doctor to get to her.

Instead of backing down, Jaxon was making a stand. Marching over to them, she faced the woman. Without saying a word, she pulled back and swung.

Fist met face.

When the doctor hit the floor, she simply glared at Tony before walking out. “Goodbye, Doctor Magnus!”

This time she wouldn’t leave in fear.

This time, it was in anger.

And they both knew that was a totally different thing.

~ Chapter Eleven ~

      
Saturday Afternoon

At the hospital, the team gathered, ready to head in and ‘rescue’ the body of the next victim.

They were going to definitely make a scene, but that wasn’t Elizabeth’s problem. This was all because the local sheriff tried to stop her from doing her job. Let that be a lesson to him in the future. When dealing with the FBI, don’t be a jackwagon.

As they all headed down the hall, people stared.

Could she blame them? There were nine Feds, all wearing badges, guns, and Kevlar, heading straight to the morgue. It was reminiscent of some scene from a scary movie.

All they needed now was some disease outbreak or a few zombies.

At the doors to the autopsy suite, Elizabeth pushed through, her ME right at her side. Her plan was to distract the doctor on duty while Chris Leonard did what he did best.

Handle the dead.

As they saw the doctor in scrubs, getting ready to start, Chris Leonard nearly lost his mind.

“Stop!”

The man’s hand froze over the woman’s body, scalpel poised over her chest for the Y-incision.

“What the hell?” he asked, staring at the group of people who weren’t supposed to be in that room. “You can’t come in here.”

Doctor Christopher Leonard began pulling on a pair of gloves to preserve any evidence that might still be left on the bloated corpse of Magdalene Monroe. “Thank God! You didn't start yet,” he stated, moving toward the table which was holding their victim.

“Doctor Vanguard, I’m Director Elizabeth Whitefox-Blackhawk with the FBI. You’re about to cut into a victim who is part of an ongoing investigation. I can’t let that happen, so we’ve come to collect her. I need you to step away from the girl, and no one gets hurt.” Elizabeth threw that last part in just for shits and giggles, but by the look on Chris’s face that just might be a possibility.

No one messed with a body on his watch. The man took it VERY seriously.

“Please tell me you didn't wash her down.”

The man looked at him as if he was crazy. “This victim just came out of the water. Why would I wash her down?” Doctor Vanguard asked, perplexed by the question.

“There just might be a God,” Chris stated, motioning toward Meredith and the two techs who were holding the black FBI body bag. “Untag her and let’s get her loaded up. I want you to disturb her as little as possible.”

“Wait one damn second! You just can’t come in here and tell me you’re taking a body, and then do it. This is a morgue. I have paperwork to fill out.”

Elizabeth didn't even have to speak. It made her proud to watch her team in action.

Without saying a word, Chris pulled the paperwork from his back pocket. “You’ll find it in order, Doctor. On behalf of the Federal Bureau of Investigations, I am commandeering this victim.” When the man looked skeptical, he pulled his ID, letting the man read his credentials. “I assure you that Magdalene is in good hands from here on out. I’m going to be doing her autopsy, not you.”

He went to block the tech team, despite being warned.

“Is it worth going to jail for obstruction of a Federal case, Doctor?” Blackhawk warned, moving to stand between Meredith and the hospital’s coroner.

He paused, trying to weigh his options. He could call for security, but they wouldn’t be down in time.

“Where is all the trace from her body?” Merry asked, waiting for the man or his one assistant to make it appear.

“There wasn’t much brought in with her. We only have her clothes.” He pointed toward the counter.

“Did you scrape her nails for DNA?” Chris asked, as the zipper was closed and Magdalene was sealed up in the bag.

He looked at his tech. “Not yet.”

That one reply said it all.

It was a rare thing to see Doctor Christopher Leonard lose his mind. In fact, Elizabeth could count the times on one hand. Most involved someone screwing around with ‘his’ dead. She almost felt bad for poor Doctor Vanguard as her ME tore him three new ones.

“When you pull a body from anywhere, the first step is trace. I don’t know where you trained or went to school, Doctor Vanguard, but in the real world of forensics, you do your damn job so the investigators can do theirs.”

The man stood there.

“If the killer gets away with this, it’s going to come back to shoddy work, and now my name is going to be on her file. I’m appalled and disgusted that I have to clean up after a fellow ME.”

Chris flushed red.

Doctor Vanguard didn't comment on the other man’s tirade. Instead, he stared at Elizabeth. “What am I supposed to tell Sheriff Carlton when he shows up to get the findings on his victim? He’s going to be incredibly angry.”

Elizabeth laughed maniacally. This was part one of her plan. She couldn’t wait to show the local sheriff how the FBI rolled. “Tell him that the Director of the FBI told him to kiss her ass. He’ll know exactly where to find me.”

With that, they headed out, victim in tow.

“Well, that went well,” Ethan said, laughing as he flanked his wife on one side. Callen was grinning as he took the other.

“At least there was no blood shed,” Whitefox offered.

Elizabeth knew that was still a distinct possibility. When the town sheriff heard about this, it was going to be very interesting.

“Christopher?” she called, getting his attention.

“Yes?”

“That was one hell of a sexy display in there. Wait until I call Cyra to tell her how badass you are.”

He snorted, knowing she was trying to calm him down. “Can you wait until I’m home? At least then I can reap the benefits.”

She offered him a fist bump.

“Hell yeah, I can.”

After all, it was the least she could do. Once more, her team had come through.

Now to get it done.

                                 *    *    *

There was this sense of panic overwhelming him. No matter where he looked for her, Tony Magnus couldn’t find his fiancée. It was like she disappeared off the face of the earth.

It was making him nervous. On his way back toward the morgue, he checked the local diner, coffee shop, and then the concrete building where the tech team was working.

Nada.

She was gone, and so was the rest of the team.

Everything about this scared the hell out of him.

There was one last place she could be, and if she wasn’t, he was screwed. If Tony had to tell his bosses that he needed to send out a fiancée search party, there was certainly going to be bloodshed.

Hers and his.

Elizabeth was knee deep in an assignment, and she wasn’t going to like that they had a wayward anthropologist wandering around.

Already, beneath the nerves was a slow simmering anger. Jaxon had left him once before, and it took him weeks to get the strength back to find her. If she ran, yes, he’d chase, but there would be one hell of a fight when he found her.

At the last possible location, he found the Denali that she had been driving. It gave him a little calm that she was back at the hotel. Now, all he had to hope was that he could calm her down before it was too late.

Tony had that sick feeling in the pit of his stomach that their first fight was on the horizon. He had to hope that they could withstand some angry words.

Who was he kidding?

His fiancée just found another woman plastered to his body. This was bound to be a bloody brawl unless he kept it under control. Granted, it was all one sided, but he knew that it had to sting.

Tony had an ego too.

He understood.

If the situation was reversed, he was man enough to admit that he would have reacted the same way. Yes, there would have been a fist fight, but instead of leaving, he would have tossed Jaxon over his shoulder to carry her home.

He wasn’t a fool.

Upstairs, he placed his key in the lock and headed in. Tony could hear her moving around their shared room, packing her things.

Well, shit!

This was just about as bad as he thought it would be. She was going to leave him. Tony had to find a way to stop it.

In the doorway, he watched his angry redhead streak around the room throwing things into her bag.

“Going somewhere?” he asked calmly, despite the anger brewing in his gut.

She ignored him.

That pissed Tony off.

He hated when people did that. It reminded him of one of his foster homes. Whenever he did something bad, the mother there would give him the silent treatment until he broke. It took him back to his past and memories he’d rather keep hidden.

“Jaxon, I asked you a question,” he stated, trying to keep calm, but Tony was pretty sure the icy tone of his voice told of his true feelings.

She stopped.

“I’m leaving this room. I have no intention of staying here with you. I’m going to ask the Blackhawks to get me a new room.”

His anger surged. “You’re not leaving. What you saw was a misunderstanding, nothing more. Doctor Seston kissed me. I wasn’t given an option.”

She stared at him, her eyes focusing on his. “Oh, okay. So, when some man kisses me, I’ll just stand there and let it happen until you see it. Then we can revisit this conversation, and you can tell me how it feels.”

The threat was hardly veiled.

Over his dead body was another man kissing his fiancée. It wasn’t ever going to happen.

Deep down, Jaxon knew she was being childish, but she was so angry. Her heart actually ached in her chest. This man had the power to break her, and he was.

She wanted to weep.

“Then after you see that man holding me in his arms, you’ll understand why I’m so hurt! In the cemetery, you made a promise. That’s been broken.”

Tony didn't like what she was implying. If he ever caught another man touching her, he’d lose his mind. Yes, he’d promised to never touch another woman, but this wasn’t his fault.

“Jaxon, you’re coming close to dangerously pushing my last button. I’ll tolerate a lot, but I won’t accept threats. I suggest you stop.”

“Or?” she challenged childishly. “You’ll run out and lock lips with Doctor Seston?”

His face went cold and emotionless.

“It’s too late. The damage is done, Doctor Magnus. You already broke what we had.”

When he didn't speak, she went to push past him with her bag. Unfortunately for her, she didn't get very far. He cuffed her wrist with his fingers, stopping her just out in the sitting room.

“We’re not done,” he stated, moving back in front of her. If need be, he’d use his body as a barrier between her and the door. There was no way he was letting her go.

It wasn’t happening.

He’d fought to live to be with her.

He fought to heal to find her again.

He’d fought for this life for Jaxon
.

Now, he’d fight to the death.

“I said I’m leaving.” She once more attempted to shove past him. This time pushing against his chest with the palms of her hands, and it only incited her more when she couldn’t budge him.

“You’re not leaving. That’s it.”

She didn't like his tone. Tossing her bag at him, Jaxon knew he’d catch it. That’s when she moved in the opposite direction, heading toward the door.

Tony was no fool. He knew what she planned. He dropped the bag and grabbed her arm, spinning her around. Effortlessly, he tossed her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

Jaxon saw red as the world tipped upside down.

“Put me down!”

He carried her, kicking and fighting to the bed they shared. After dropping her carelessly onto it, he then crossed his arms over his chest. “As you wish.”

She was furious.

This man had the ability to drive her to madness with his stubborn ways. There were times it was sexy, now it was just infuriating.

Immediately, she was up.

“You don’t get it. You could have stopped her. She’s dogged me for years professionally. Of all the women you could kiss, why her?”

He knew that Doctor Seston was Jaxon’s rival, and he got that. After all, he’d had a few in his time too. “Again, I didn't kiss her. She threw herself on me. What you saw was a three second segment of what happened. Before you walked in, she jumped at me. I was too shocked to stop her.”

Her heart still hurt.

“It doesn’t matter. You let another person touch you. I’d never do that to you.”

She went to push by him, and he shoved her back onto the bed. Again, she got up.

“Listen to me, Jaxon. You’re acting like a child, and I won’t have it.”