Celestia is Falling (A Croft & Croft Romance Adventure Book 1) Read online

  Briggs laughed. “Yep, and you’re like a rabid dog guarding her. She’s cranky, and you’re over protective. I’m guessing you didn’t seal the deal and get laid.”

  “I’m going to seal your casket if you ever say those words to me again about Emma.”

  Briggs got all the information he needed with the short conversation. “Someone’s in over his head on this one, Dad,” he snickered, staring at him.

  “You’ve obviously lost your mind. I should ship you back to the field office for being an idiot.”

  The younger man wasn’t worried. “You could, but I’m your favorite partner. I keep you entertained.”

  Croft pointed at the files. “Get back to work, and zip it or else.”

  Both men got back to work. It was Croft who glanced up when he heard the meeting room door open a few minutes later. He was surprised to see Emma coming in with three mugs of coffee. She handed one to each man and then pointed at Briggs.

  “Don’t get used to it,” she demanded, getting a snicker from the other agent. It was only two days ago that she’d said the same exact thing to him, and now, he was a coffee stealing junkie.

  Taking a seat beside Greyson, Emma sipped her coffee and caught motion in her peripheral vision. When Emma focused on him, he mouthed the word ‘sorry’, hoping she’d understand why he was apologizing.

  Reaching over, she gently touched his leg and offered him reassurance. Greyson Croft was simply being himself, and that meant wanting to wrap her in bubble wrap to keep her safe. She completely got it. Was it over the edge? Yes, but it was still heartwarming and appreciated. Emma had learned a long time ago that you couldn’t change people--only accept them for who they are inside and out. Let’s face it. Agent Croft was old school, territorial, possessive, and a gentleman to the core. Emma was enjoying the way she reacted to it. Inside, she felt all warm and mushy.

  Briggs interrupted their moment. “Damn, this coffee is good!” He felt like he needed to lighten the mood between them-- anything to help his partner out with the sheriff. The man was out of practice. “Where are we at today?” he continued.

  Emma spoke, “I called the mayor. The town meeting’s tonight at five at the fire hall,” she paused, “What would you like me to convey?” Emma inquired of the older agent.

  “I think first and foremost, we should open with everything is under control. The sheriff’s department and the FBI are working hand in hand to find out exactly what’s happening. Don’t mention the previous murders, and try and steer clear of any mention of the words serial killer.” Croft took a sip of coffee. “If it gets out, there’s going to be a fire storm and a huge mess to clean up.”

  “We don’t want to stir up the town, Sheriff,” added Briggs. “We don’t need every father, husband, and boyfriend walking around carrying shotguns to protect their women. That will just cause more chaos.” Briggs fully expected Croft to be toting a shotgun at any moment.

  There was a knock at the door, and it interrupting their conversation. Lila peeked around the corner, holding an envelope.

  “Agent Croft, this just arrived with one of your field agents.” She held out the envelope to him, but her gaze wandered to Briggs. “Good morning, Special Agent Briggs,” she smiled.

  “Morning, Miss Tate,” he answered, grinning at her.

  Emma rolled her eyes when the girl smiled and spun around, almost walking into the door. Croft started to laugh when the door closed.

  Briggs turned a flushed color of red.

  Greyson opened the envelope and glanced over at Briggs, only pulling out half the contents. “It’s hard copies of the crime scene photos,” he stated pausing, “and that file you requested,” he added, hoping the man got the meaning. It was the dossier on Emma from Quantico. The research was back and as usual, the federal government was a day late and a dollar short. He’d already ferretted out all the information on his own.

  “Great,” stated Emma, holding out her hand.

  Croft already screwed up once today, he wasn’t going to make her feel like she was their weakest link. Handing her the photos, he glanced over at his partner. “Briggs, we need info about all the dead women. There has to be a connection somewhere in all this mess. Serial killers pick the victims for reasons, rarely is it random.”

  “On it,” he said, typing away.

  He observed Emma flipping through the photos and was forced to relive yesterday’s horrors. Greyson had made the right decision. She looked calm and cool, and the cop in her was back in control. Deep down, he knew she was cautiously covering the disdain, but she was a professional, and he’d give her the benefit of the doubt.

  Briggs continued working on his electronic device for a few more minutes. Quickly he shot the information over to the spare tablet sitting in front of his partner.

  “This is what I got, Croft,” he said, reading it off for them. “Victim number one is Maggie Wilson--age twenty nine,” he added, as Croft and Emma scrolled through the information. “She was single with no dependents. Her employment record says she worked for the public library.” He pulled up her picture. “She definitely looks like a librarian,” he mumbled, emailing them the photo attached to the DMV records.

  “What do we have regarding the crime?” inquired Emma.

  Briggs continued, “She was found in a field outside of Philly. The city ME has the cause of death as exsanguination. She was stabbed eighteen times in the chest and bled out all over the place”

  “Yuck,” Emma said, feeling Greyson’s hand on her lower back. It was simply there to offer her strength, without a spoken word.

  “Tox came back as negative of drugs in her system. We don’t have any pregnancy hormones or trace of sexual assault.”

  Croft thought about it. “Was there sex involved?”

  Briggs nodded. “There was evidence of recent sexual activity. The Coroner tagged it as consensual.”

  Emma stared at the details. “Was there a note left with this victim?”

  Again, Briggs sent them the attachment. “Yes, and the note was found on scene with one word scrawled on it in victim’s blood. It simply said one word.

  WHORE.

  Croft flipped through the file. “I don’t see any interviews with any family members. Did she have any?” he asked, waiting for the answer.

  Briggs flipped through his data. “I don’t see any interview notes from the Philadelphia PD, but the file notes that she had one sibling, a twin sister.”

  Emma found the information. She was used to the electronic files from the Philly police. After all, she’d been one. “Here’s the interview. We used to tuck them in the miscellaneous section,” she said, not realizing that she just gave away part of her history to Agent Briggs.

  He nodded, reading over the details. “Sister told police she wasn’t dating anyone at the time of her murder. Friends on the other hand said she was dating some executive, but she never gave them a name. She liked her privacy because the search of her apartment pulled up nothing.”

  Emma thought about it. “Okay, so if I’m having some tawdry affair, how would I play it?” she asked, staring at Croft when he gave her a look.

  Briggs almost laughed.

  “What I mean is this. I’m having sex with some mystery man, I certainly wouldn’t tell my sister if it was a fling. I would tell my girlfriends little details. It’s bragging rights. ‘I’m getting laid and he’s hot’,” she said laughing when Croft leaned back, crossing his arms.

  “Really, Emma?”

  She winked at him. “If he was a long term deal, that’s when she’d likely share it with her sister. I’d bet she was having some fun and nothing more.”

  Briggs grinned. “It’s amazing how the female mind thinks,” he said, tormenting his partner. “So, if she kept it a secret, she was just using the man to get off?”

  Croft could feel his temper rising, knowing where he was heading with it. “Zip it, Curtis.”

  Emma watched the two of them in action and it occurred to her tha
t the younger man was referencing the parallel between her and Croft.

  “What?” Briggs asked, innocently. “I’m just trying to get the woman’s point of view.”

  Croft’s eyes narrowed menacingly.

  She didn’t like seeing him stressed, especially over her or being tormented even in jest. After all, he did for her last night, it was her turn to comfort him. Delicately, she touched his cheek, and he focused on her with his amazing eyes.

  “You okay, Grey?” she asked softly.

  “Yeah,” he stated, the anger growing in him that Emma would be ashamed to let anyone know they were starting something together. The doubt flooded him.

  She leaned in slowly, placing her lips against his delicately, and kissed him. At first, his body tensed, and then went lax as he enjoyed the kiss. Pulling away, she stared back into his eyes. “Better now?”

  He grinned, taking her hand in his and running his thumb over her knuckles gently. “Yeah, so much better, honey.”

  Briggs cleared his throat, trying not to laugh.

  Emma turned back to the other agent and glared at him. “Stop tormenting him or you’re going to have to deal with me. I know what you’re busting his ass over, and it pisses me off.”

  Croft grinned, enjoying how she was defending him. It made his heart pound.

  Briggs looked chagrined. “I was only teasing…”

  She cut him off. “Knock it off! Now back to the next victim.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he muttered, giving his partner a look for getting him in trouble.

  Croft merely snickered and stopped when she lifted a brow, staring at him now too. “Sorry, Sheriff Baby,” he said, with a straight face.

  Emma decided to simply ignore his antics. “What about the woman’s apartment?”

  Briggs read from the screen. “If she was seeing a man, it wasn’t in her apartment. All that was found was her DNA, a few friends’ fingerprints--all women and some cat fur.”

  Croft sat there tapping his pen thinking, and Emma added notes to the case file

  “Our next victim was Bekka Drake, age twenty nine.” Briggs pulled up her picture. “She was a pretty young thing,” he added. “File has her down as divorced with no children. She was an office manager for a law firm in Philadelphia. Her body was found in a warehouse in town. She had bruising on the face and rib cage. It appears she was beaten before killed, and had thirty stab wounds to her chest. This victim was found naked.”

  Emma looked up from the tablet and the digital information. “Was she completely naked?”

  “Yes.”

  Croft tensed as Emma’s leg brushed his under the table and little bolts of electricity shot through him. “What about a note, Curtis?”

  “There was one found at scene. Where the first message was only one word, Bekka Drake had a full sentence from the killer.

  ‘The world must be cleansed of WHORES’

  “Good to see he was getting more articulate as he went,” stated Emma sarcastically. “How about family?”

  Briggs flipped through the file. “None listed, but there was a notation stating there was a deceased sibling. Her parents were killed in car accident a few years ago.” Briggs paused when Croft stared over at Emma.

  She could feel his eyes on her, and she ignored him, continuing to make notes on the tablet. “Did she have a partner, boyfriend, or anything else?”

  He flipped the pages. “Her friends said she dated a lot after her divorce. They offered up a listing of potential men who she was seeing or sleeping with at the time. Each one was alibied.”

  “Anyone look suspicious?” Greyson asked, watching Emma twirl one of her curls around her finger, absently.

  “Not really. There was one man she was shacking up with weekly at a motel. It was her boss, and he was married with three kids. He was home with his wife that night.”

  That didn't sit well in Croft’s gut. Marriage should mean something.

  Emma thought about it. “How about her apartment?

  Briggs found the page. “It was a plethora of DNA samples. The tech lab found six different markers for six different men. This girl liked sex, and wasn’t afraid to party.”

  She sat back and crossed her arms. “So, if we swabbed your place, Curtis, and found samples from multiple partners, would you be considered a whore too?”

  Croft grinned, and then started laughing at how she schooled his partner so easily.

  The man looked mortified at the idea of that happening. “I don’t think I’m the topic here,” he added, blushing a bright red.

  Emma disagreed. “Why is it men can have multiple one night stands, and be considered studs, but a woman does it and she’s a slut?”

  Croft held up his hands in surrender. “Don’t look at me. I’m too old for one-night stands. In fact, I never did them at his age either.”

  Briggs was about to say something, and Emma pointed at him in warning. “Don’t even think about commenting on his age, or I’ll make you cry, Curtis.”

  Again, Greyson grinned wickedly at his partner.

  Emma turned towards him. “You’re far from old. Greyson is the perfect age for a man. He’s seasoned and still in the prime of his life,” she reassured. Hell, he was more than prime, and Emma couldn’t wait to roll around with him.

  Something inside the man relaxed at her words. She didn’t mind him being older. It gave him a definitive shot at hope that he had a chance at a relationship with her. Now, he had to convince her.

  “You know, defending him is just going to make him unbearable later,” warned Briggs. “And for the record, I wasn’t going to comment on his age, I was going to comment on his sex life.”

  “Okay, then you can continue,” stated Emma, leaning forward in curiosity.

  “HEY!” Croft stated laughing. “I think that’s a really bad idea all around.”

  Briggs thought about it. “Okay, we’ve discussed all there is to say about it.”

  Emma was confused. “You didn’t say anything.”

  The younger man started laughing. “Yeah, exactly.”

  “Come on!” laughed Croft. “Really? I’m right here.”

  She winked at him. “Next victim?” Emma continued, refocusing them on the women. Thinking about the man, and how he was selective with sex, made her feel all warm and fuzzy. After all, he’d openly stated he’d wanted her.

  Emma felt like a well sought after prize.

  What women didn't like that?

  Curtis Briggs continued, “Victim number three is Megan Landry. She’s our first victim from Celestia. Her driver’s license photo has her at age thirty-one. She was proprietor of a boutique,” he stated, finding a thread that connected them.

  “What did you see?” inquired Croft.

  “The addresses of the store and her apartment aren’t in Celestia. They’re in Philadelphia,” he glanced up. “She resided in Philly and had family in Celestia? That’s too convenient, don’t you think?”

  They thought about it. It was Croft who finally spoke, “It ties the murder to both towns. He either lives in both or knows them very well.”

  “Or it’s how he found her,” Emma suggested.

  Briggs continued, “Her face was beat beyond recognition. She was the first victim who was pummeled. She had so many stab wounds, they weren’t countable by Doctor Brooks. Her breasts were mutilated by the stabbing. She was wearing her panties with no sign of sexual assault.”

  Croft ran his hand up and down Emma’s back, connecting them physically. “Re-read me the note.”

  Curtis did what he asked.

  The game has begun and the Challenge is coming.

  Be prepared for the next one.

  The Hunter

  Croft’s gaze flickered over to Emma, hoping she’d be okay if they continued. So far, she was hanging in there.

  Briggs went back to reading. “Megan Landry was divorced with no children, much like victim two. It was her husband that filed for divorce three years ago. The file lists him as
a dentist in Philly. Currently, he’s remarried with one kid. We’ll have to check up with the doctor to see why the divorce.”

  Emma made a note to make a call.

  He continued, “Her friends and family stated during the interview that she was dating but nothing serious. DNA evidence at Philly apartment is still pending the results.”

  “Victim number four…” Croft waited.

  Emma spoke up, “I’ll take this one,” she answered, knowing if she wanted him to not treat her like she was weak, she needed to prove it.

  Croft wanted to protect her, but he backed off, only offering her physical reassurance.

  Emma jumped right in, pulling strength from the man beside her. “Victim number four is Constance Hart. She was single with no children. Her driver’s license has her at age thirty two.”

  Greyson took over for her and began entering information on the tablet. “Any family, honey?” If it irritated her to be called that, she gave no response to it. He had preferred her to be bothered by him and not focused on the file she was breaking down.

  “None are listed here, just like the mayor stated. Connie moved here to Celestia around the same time I did, so about one year. She worked at the beauty salon in town. As far as we’re aware, she lived alone in an apartment not far from where she worked. It’s within walking distance. The apartment has yet to be checked for evidence, which will occur when the FBI lab arrives today. Information is limited at this time about her past. You’ll have to do that part, Curtis. I’ll contact friends in town and see what I can find out on a personal level.”

  Emma flipped through the pictures that had yet to be scanned and uploaded into the electronic files. She sighed and closed her eyes before continuing. When she opened them again, both men were cautiously observing her.

  Briggs looked on with curiosity and Croft with understanding.

  When he simply nodded, she continued, “Victims wounds were the worst yet,” Emma slid the corresponding pictures to them as she read them off. “Six wounds inflicted to the neck and more wounds to the chest. Her breasts and shirt were obliterated due to the depth of the strikes. The killer was far angrier this time.” She stopped to take a deep breath.