Redemption is Here (An FBI/Romance Thriller Book 9) Read online

  “Yep, you got my number. That’ll teach you to rely on first impressions. Now, enough about me. How about I tell you what I know about you? From your reaction, I’m betting you had more than a work relationship with the victim.”

  “Emelia, her name was Emelia.”

  Again, he used the past tense.

  “So, care to tell me where you met? I like to hear all the sordid details. I’m crazy like that.”

  “We first met at church, and you’re right. We did have a relationship. Mostly, it was off and on again. There was nothing serious between us.”

  She didn't buy that at all.

  Neither did Callen.

  “So, you met her at church. How long ago?” she asked.

  He closed his eyes, trying to think. “Eight years ago. She’s worked for me just as long.”

  Callen continued making notes.

  “You said it was off and on. Can you tell me why?” Elizabeth looked around the room. Much like her office at FBI West, the man had a bookshelf right behind him. On it, there were family photos.

  “We didn't want permanency. She liked dating other people, and I didn't want a commitment.”

  Yeah, maybe that was because he looked to be married. There was a ring on his finger and a smiling family behind him in the photographs.

  “Why is there a hole in her chest?” he asked, refusing to look down at the picture. “Is that how she died?”

  Callen took a shot at it. “Someone cut out her heart.”

  That was all it took. The man rushed from the room, slamming the door to his private bathroom.

  While they waited for him to finish retching, Elizabeth pointed out what she had noticed. “He’s married.”

  “Want me to run him?”

  “Yeah, do it fast. I want to hit him hard as soon as he comes out. We have a dead secretary who was bed hopping with her married boss. Get me the wife’s name. Maybe she found out and decided to cut out the mistress’s heart. I know I’d do the same if I found some woman’s prints all over your sexy Native hide.”

  Callen began typing. As it began pouring in, he scanned the man’s information. “That’s a dead end,” he warned, showing her. “He’s filed as widow. It looks like his wife is dead.”

  That was interesting. First a dead spouse, and now a dead mistress. That didn't look good for him.

  At all.

  Just then, the door to the bathroom opened. “I’m sorry. I didn't expect this today. Now, I’m just not feeling well. Can we wrap this up? I want to go home.”

  “Not going to happen. We’re far from done. I still want to know about your family, Wade. You have a wedding ring and family photos, but you’re sleeping with your secretary. Is it because your wife is dead?”

  Gone was the sickness and in its place was anger.

  “Feeling guilty? Is your heart broken?”

  He was up and out of his chair so fast, it flipped over. As he rushed her, Callen managed to intercept him, slamming him in to the desk.

  “Try it and after I beat the hell out of you, then you’re going to jail for assault on a Federal agent,” he hissed in the man’s ear.

  When the tension in Wade’s body abated, he finally let him go.

  The man went back to his seat, but Callen remained standing behind Elizabeth, just in case.

  “Yes, my family is dead. No, I don’t feel guilty.”

  Elizabeth felt sorry for him, but she saw the lie. Yeah, he was feeling exactly that. “I think you need to spill it all, Mr. Dixon. You can’t hide anything from us. Eventually, we’ll dig it up and when we do, I’ll bury you with it. When you make us work for it, we tend to have very little mercy later on.”

  He took a deep breath. “I met Emelia at church. She taught Sunday school there. My wife was deeply religious and believed that the family should go to services every week. After my wife’s death, Emelia and I got close. I then hired her to work for me.”

  She saw he was still hiding something. The guilt was clearly visible on his face.

  “You had an affair with her, didn't you?” Callen asked.

  The man took a sip of water, and his hand shook. That was enough to tell them all they needed to know.

  “Yes. I was with Emelia at a hotel when my wife and children were killed. I told them I had a business trip, and when the house caught fire, they perished. So, to answer your question, yes, I feel guilty. If I was home, they might not have died.”

  They both had sympathy. His poor choices were going to be chains of guilt that he was forced to carry for a lifetime.

  “But I didn't kill my secretary. Emelia and I had a rocky relationship. She wanted me to marry her, but I wasn’t there yet. I still go for counseling over my guilt. If I committed to her, it wouldn’t end well, but she didn't see it from my perspective.”

  Elizabeth hated beating the man while he was already down, but she didn't have the time to play games. They had four bodies and needed a time frame.

  “When did you see her last?”

  “We had sex here, Saturday. I was working, she came by and it happened. We had decided to take a break from each other. That’s why she was taking this week off. Yet, she came here and saw me. She was my heaven and hell all rolled into one. When I looked at her, I saw a chance at happiness, and the reminder that if I’d been home, I’d still have my kids.”

  “You were torn.”

  “Yes. So, when she arrived, I said no to sex. Unfortunately, Emelia had the power to convince me otherwise, and we fell back into the same rollercoaster ride. We both needed this week apart. I wanted to think this all through. Before she arrived, I was actually going to fire her. I’d come to the conclusion that I couldn’t heal with her here. If I wanted anything with her, I needed to have a clear division between my personal life and work.”

  Callen made notes.

  “I know that I’m a horrible sinner, but I couldn’t help myself. She brought out the best and worst in me.”

  The alarm bells went off in Elizabeth’s head. “You said that you met her at church, so we need to discuss that. Can you tell us where?”

  “Yes, I can. It was Saint Mary’s of the Sacred Heart.”

  Glancing over, Callen gave her the look. Yeah, they had a coach who worked there, a man who met his dead secretary there, and a cemetery attached to the building.

  They had their ground zero. This was definitely not a coincidence. Everything they had so far was pointing at that one place.

  “I also go for counseling there. Father William Dowell is helping me get through all this.”

  Yeah, they were going to be making a little trip to church, and soon.

  “Emelia didn't have any family. I’d like to have her buried at the church cemetery. When can I claim her body?”

  Yeah, there was so much irony with this whole assignment.

  “She’s part of an investigation, so not until we’re done with her.”

  “Can I see her?”

  Elizabeth didn't think he’d want to. “Mr. Dixon, she’s part of a murder investigation. By now, she doesn’t look like the picture I showed you. My anthropologist needed to get down to her bones.”

  He stared at her. “You pulled her apart? What kind of fucking animals are you? She isn't a science experiment. Emelia was a human being.”

  The rage was there, but so was the horror.

  This wouldn’t be the first time she’d seen this kind of reaction. Elizabeth easily accepted his angry barbs because after sorrow, came anger. It was just the natural progression of things. “We didn't pull her apart. We removed her flesh.”

  Callen waited for him to rush her, but instead, he walked into his bathroom, slamming the door behind him.

  “We have enough for now,” she stated. It wasn’t like she enjoyed browbeating people who cared about the victims, but for now, she was Emelia’s voice.

  Someone had to stand for her.

  “That didn't take long at all. Do you want to check in with the team before we head to the Rez?�
�� he asked, escorting Elizabeth to the elevator. Once inside, he knew what she was feeling.

  “Yeah, let’s do that.”

  “You did what you needed to do.”

  She knew it but still, Elizabeth didn't have to like it. “I need a background check on Wade Dixon. Can you send a text to my research monkeys?”

  He would do anything for Elizabeth. Where people thought she was hard and uncaring, the opposite was true. It was all a front. If anything, she cared too much.

  “When we get to the Rez, you’re going to have to run that one, Callen. I need to think about what we just learned. I wish we had a whiteboard at the cabin.”

  Callen sent the text, and then a second one to his brother. Oh, if she needed a whiteboard to help lighten the load, he could make that happen.

  Tonight, he was pretty sure Ethan’s return would cheer her right up. If not, they could bypass celebratory sex to talk death. He would do anything at this point.

  His love had no bounds.

  * * *

  Ethan was just getting off the flight when his phone began chirping. From the sound, he knew it was from his brother. As he read it, he could tell they were in for an interesting night. If his woman needed to talk death after dinner, he could do that.

  Still, he wanted to lighten her heart. Grabbing his rental, he headed to the nearest office supply store. He was going to make her wish come true and show her romance, Blackhawk style.

  Tonight, Ethan was going to make her dinner, give her some flowers, and then distract her enough to make her forget death for one night.

  Afterward, he needed to talk to her and Callen about Oracle. They might be losing part of their family.

  It was going to take one hell of a whiteboard to make her forget about that.

  * * *

  Rolling into the morgue, Elizabeth was pleased to see that everyone was hard at work. Her ME was taking care of the last victim as the anthropologists were setting up plexi glass boxes to begin the de-fleshing process.

  Meredith saw her boss and rushed over to give her an update. “Ma’am, we’re running all the trace right now. We found some hairs beneath the victims’ wrappings.”

  “Good work, Merry,” she said, pleased that this head tech was capable of running it without her babysitting. This would make Chris Leonard’s job less stressful when he came back. Taking the newbies out into the field wasn’t turning out nearly as bad as she thought it was going to be.

  “I’ll get the reports ready for you when all the data is in, boss.”

  As she went to rush away, Elizabeth stopped her. “Well, actually, before you hop off the techie trail for the night, I need to give you the next job.”

  “You want us to scrub the victims’ homes first thing tomorrow for any evidence. It’s already on my ‘To Do’ list.”

  She closed her mouth and stared at Callen. “Oh my God! Finally! I may actually kiss you,” she stated, refocusing on her head tech.

  The woman kept a straight face before she continued, “Can Director Whitefox kiss me instead?” she asked, pointing at Callen. “He’s more my type.”

  He started laughing.

  Elizabeth did something she hadn’t done in a long time. She offered the head tech a fist bump. “I love you, Merry. Welcome to the team.”

  The woman was ecstatic. That one acknowledgment was hard earned. “Now, I’ll get back to work.”

  As she rushed away, Doctor Legend sat there laughing. “Does this mean you’re going to ease up on the rest of us too?”

  That drew a snort from her. “Hell no. Now, I can be worse. She’s able to handle it, plus she’s checking out my Native eye candy.”

  Callen just shook his head. He was thrilled they had found a good head tech. It took the pressure off all of them.

  “Great. That’s what we all need. You being tougher,” Zane stated.

  “Tomorrow, after the tech team searches each residence, I’m likely going to do a walk through. I want to learn more about the victims. You’re running this show in here, so please keep an eye on the team.”

  “I can do that.”

  “Thank you, Doctor. Are you ready to talk cause of death with me yet?”

  He pulled off his gloves as he finished with his last autopsy. “Yes, as a matter of fact I am.”

  “What do we have?”

  “Your female victims were asphyxiated. Someone took great pleasure in strangling the life from them.”

  “Do we know how?” she asked.

  “Well, I can venture a hypothesis, if you like,” he offered, moving closer to her. “I’ll need to show you.”

  From across the room, Doctor Magnus began chanting ‘show and tell’, over and over again.

  “You too?” she asked, lifting a brow.

  “Hey, when in Rome,” he stated.

  Callen wasn’t happy. The one thing that irritated him and Ethan the most was when the ME team liked to pretend their woman was a corpse or victim.

  It was creepy.

  “Watch her shoulder,” he warned, as the man approached Elizabeth.

  Doctor Magnus wandered over, not wanting to miss a single second of this. “Strangle her good! You may only get one chance at this,” he teased.

  Elizabeth pointed at him.

  He zipped his lips.

  “Okay, wait. On second thought, this might not work. Our female victims were smaller than the killer, so this won’t work,” he stated, before turning Elizabeth to face Callen.

  “You need a smaller victim,” she stated. “Oh, I know! You should use Doctor Armstrong. She’s a better fit for this little fun fest.”

  The woman came over, enthralled by this little game. “Okay,” she offered.

  “No, wait!” Doctor Magnus stated, not liking that idea. It was all fun and games to ‘play killer’ with Elizabeth, but not Jaxon.

  Callen began laughing. The man was getting a little taste of his own medicine. If he was objecting, that meant Cupid was in the building.

  “Come here, Doctor,” Zane said, getting into position. When she did, he stood behind her, pressing his body to the back of her before wrapping his arm around her throat.

  Tony wasn’t at all happy. The man’s body ran the full length of Jaxon’s, and it pissed him off. She was leaning against parts of Zane that she shouldn’t be.

  The entire thing made Elizabeth grin.

  “Are you comfortable?” Zane asked the woman, as she stayed pressed against his body.

  “Yes, I’m good, Doctor. I’m nice and comfy.”

  Tony was getting red as his hands ran anxiously through his black hair.

  “Please continue,” stated Elizabeth, enjoying every second of this. For years, Tony tormented her. Now, he was getting a taste of his own medicine.

  Thank you, karma.

  “Well, with the women, they were less than five foot seven. The killer was able to incapacitate them by sneaking up behind them and using a standard choke hold. He used this to kill them. He used the strength of his forearm to crush the windpipe, ending their lives.”

  It was hard to stay calm.

  When Jaxon’s hands went to Zane’s thighs to brace herself, Tony nearly had a stroke. While she wasn’t his, it still stirred up the anger up in him.

  That was an understatement.

  The emotions he was feeling were consuming him alive. The last thing he wanted to see was Jaxon against the other doctor.

  “So, that’s our females,” Elizabeth said, watching Tony. Yeah, he was a man on the edge. God, she was thrilled there was a spark.

  “Yes,” he answered, still keeping Jaxon in this position. “Now, when it came to the men, he went at them a different way. They were still asphyxiated, but he obviously couldn’t subdue them as easily.”

  “What did he do?”

  “I’m postulating that it went something like this,” he began, releasing Jaxon from his hold. With a hammer, which was lying on the table beside him, he swung it at the back of her head.

  Tony gaspe
d at the visual in front of him. It was making him sick.

  Zane started laughing. “Chill. I’m not going to kill her in front of the bosses. That’ll get me fired.”

  Elizabeth snorted.

  Yeah, this whole thing was priceless.

  Going back to the scenario, he finished up his theory. “Anyway, I found cracks in their skulls where a circular pattern was left after an impact. The techs are running it against possible weapons, but this isn't my first hammer related homicide. I’ll bet the team will concur with my postulation.”

  “That’s a damn good job, Doctor,” Elizabeth stated. “Can you give me more? Did the hammer do them in? Is that COD?”

  “No, it didn't end their lives. It was merely enough to take them to the ground, then they were strangled too. Only this time, he changed it up.” Moving in front of Jaxon, he placed his hands around her throat. He gently added pressure.

  “Okay! Enough!” blurted Tony, to everyone’s surprise. “I get it now. It’s creepy,” he said, staring at his boss. “I’ve learned my lesson.”

  Yeah, that told them everything they needed to know.

  Both Zane and Jaxon looked confused.

  “Okay, boys. Show and tell is officially over. I don’t need my bone guy having a stroke in the morgue. That’s a lot of paperwork, and Ethan will shit himself.”

  Callen agreed. “Yeah, he will.”

  “Anyway,” Zane continued, not getting what was happening around him. It was apparent that he had missed something. It must be a private joke.

  Jaxon moved back over by Tony, and proprietarily he dropped his hand to her shoulder.

  There was clue number two.

  “Okay, so we know that our killer likes to choke his victims to death. He’s taller than Jaxon and smart enough to know he can’t take out a beefy man like Allen Payne. What else do we have?”

  Callen spoke up, “It’s likely not a woman. If we had a female doing the killings, they don’t generally favor strangulation. It takes too much work.”

  Elizabeth thought about that. While she could probably choke someone Jaxon’s size, she couldn’t take out anyone much larger. One of their male victims was almost Callen’s size. There was just no way. She was strong, just not that strong.